We stepped off our motorcycles and stood in aww as what used to be a town stood in ruins. I look over to Jason who pulls out a picture from his pocket. It was as small as an ID.
"Jason? You alright?" I said coming forward and comforting him. I see the picture more clearly as it was of him and another women.
"Me and Ava, we came here all the time. That's where we met." He says pointing to a burned down building. It didn't look anything like a restaurant.
"Was she your wife?" I asked looking at the burned building.
"Oh, no. Never got the chance to propose. Those things. They took her away too soon."
"So she's not alive?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.
He looks at me with a sad face his grey-ish brown hair pushed back from his face and his brown eyes teary, "no."
He was 56 but remembered everything as if he was 30 and it happened yesterday. News flash: it didn't. When I was born my mom told me how it happened. It was a new era starting 3000. The president wanted a change so he did what people called the faze ten plan. Created robots. Those pricks. Were the end of humanity. Turns out they were smarter than they looked and wanted to kill any human they saw to take over. They even have their own little army, or at least I heard.
Anyway, speak of the devil. A laser shot between me and Jason thankfully missing both of us. We didn't hesitate to start a fight so we immediately shot back.
"Fuck! Why are they not dying?" Jason exclaims.
"I think they've got armor."
"Armor? Got dammit they have everything." Jason says amazed.
"Not everything I suppose." I say putting my gun in the holster and cracking my knuckles.
"What do you mean- what the hell are you doing keep shooting."
I ignored him instead I realized guns weren't gonna stop them. I threw a smoke bomb blinding them before sneaking behind them and taking them out. Each and everyone of them either got there head cut off or chip taking out.
As the smoke cleared I killed the last robot and held his microchip. Jason sits there in amazement.
"They don't have me." I said kicking the robot out the way. "Here's a souvenir." I threw the microchip to Jason who smiles.
"That's why I'm glad that you're on my team." He says getting up from his spot.
"Always." I smiled. Me and my mother had stayed at his camp for as long as I could remember. Now he's kinda like a second father to me…next to my real father of course.
"We…should…uh…get going before more show up." He says holstering his gun. "We've got a contract to read."
. . . . . .
"And don't forget to hunt more food or we will all starve. Believe me if it comes to that, we'll eat you first-ah Jason, lap dog come in have a seat."
I roll my eyes as I sit across from him at his office-like table. The guy smiles at the both of us his teeth showing. He pulled his brown hair back and straightened his glasses hitting his hazel eyes.
"What are we doing here Vance?" Jason says with a untrusting big look towards him.
"I'm just shocked you came. Who's your friend?" He says slyly.
"She's Mack's child. Probably heard a while ago before you cut me off that Rebecca had a baby." He said with hatred in his voice. I never knew the story between the two of them, but seeing the situation it must have been serious.
"Wait, hahahahaha, a beautiful, majestic, women is with a sad hopeless criminal?"
Blood boiled as those words slipped out his mouth. Without thinking I stood up in my seat my eyes on him. I pulled out my gun and pointed it right between his eyes.
"Piper calm down, no need for this." Jason says trying to get me to sit down.
"Ha, I enjoy watching a women pretend to know what she's doing with a gun. Put it away sweetheart you belong in the kitchen." He smiles at me flashing his teeth.
I pulled the trigger in a mist of anger. It misses as he ducks down in shock and fear. Jason pushes me up against the wall and starts whispering to me getting me to calm down.
"What the hell is wrong with you? We don't need more dead bodies. Keep it together."
I whispered back "I see what you mean when you said he was a dick. If he makes one more remark like that I will shot him again, but next time I won't miss."
Jason nods his head left to right, "that's fair, but this is supposed to be a peaceful meeting. Can we do that? Please?"
I look over at Vance who's mocking me.
"Vance knock it off before she kills us all!" He shouts. "Look at me, look at me. Trust me. This will be worth it." He whispers.
I did trust him he was like a mentor and I knew shooting the prick wouldn't solve the problem. I nod at him and we both take a seat in the chairs.
"In case you haven't notice she doesn't miss, you'll want to stay on her good side." He says nervously.
"Oh, you don't say? Why is she here anyway?"
"Back up just in case you try anything sneaky" Jason says lighting up a cigar.
"Me, never. I'm just bluntly honest.
"More like bluntly dead." I said under my breath.
"What was that sweetheart." He says already annoying me. I hated men calling me anything, but my name.
"Nothing, dipshit" I said smiling.
"Quiet a talker Jason, you got a keeper." He says smartly.
"Oh we're not-
"Oh I know, I'm just pushing your buttons, you know like old times. At least before all this mess."
"What are we doing here? What do you want." Jason says leaning forward in is chair still smoking the cigarette.
"I've been getting my men to do research. they found that someone is behind those robots. I figure me and my men can't take him down alone, and it seems you've got a sharpshooter here so…" Vance grabs a picture from a cabinet and slides it towards us. "What do you say? Just like hold times? Kicking ass?"
"Why should we trust you. You just called my dad a criminal." I said not buying his crap.
"Well sweetheart that cause he was, don't need to speak of that right now. I was just trying to lighten the mood."
"Lighten the mood? Uh huh-
"Fine." Jason says out of nowhere his voice his firm.
"You're seriously not falling for this?" I said not believing a word I'm hearing at this point.
"We don't have a choice. Those robots have been killing the animals so we have no food around our parts. He could possibly be telling the truth of how we can survive and kill those pricks. Besides we need resources." He says his voice shaky.
"But you said we were fine, your told everyone we were fine." I said flabbergasted.
"I didn't want you to worry and I still don't. We don't have a choice at the matter so we must help him." Jason says.
"Your gang could be a big help to this." Vance says adding his two sense.
"Well what's the plan I guess, genius?"
"Actually sweetheart, me and Jason will talk over it first and then we will let you and the rest of your gang know?" He says smartly. He gets up and starts pacing around the room.
" I think it's agreed if I'm gonna be risking my ass for you two I least deserve to know how I'm doing it." I said getting frustrated.
"Who said you were gonna be helping us? Jason, how about I bring my gang to your hideout, if we can even call it that, and we will talk about our first plan of action." Vance says slyly.
"Hold on now Vance, you've seen she's damn well at shooting a gun. She could be a big help to this. She's worth 15 men." Jason says sticking up for me.
"Look she's impressive, but not good. My men could do better than her. Besides it's too dangerous, she couldn't handle it. Look i see where your coming from, like I really do, but we can't put her in harms way." He says getting emotional.
"Harms way? I've hunted animals bigger than you, I have better aim then when you pee into the toilet, and I basically had to fight Jason to go on missions with him (which I won by the way) and you want to talk about harms way? Jason, you can't be going along with this. We've been partners since Wyatt died and your gonna throw me off cause he's got some bastards behind him?" I said irritate.
"Piper, he's right. This might be too dangerous for you. Your are my partner and it wouldn't feel right to lose you like I lost Wyatt." He says as if he was giving up.
"Well it's settled. I'll come by later with my boys and talk to you about the plan. I promise you man, when we're through with those bastard robots, we can turn this place back to normal." Vance stops pacing and opens the door for the both of us to leave. I gave him the stink eyes as we left.
I couldn't believe that Jason thought this was too dangerous for me. I could tell it hurt him to say that and most of all say that the gang was gonna starve, but still I thought we were partners in crime. Maybe, he was right and I'm over reacting but still after all these years and the stuff I did to bust my ass for the gang, harms way? I flashed back to Wyatt. We all hated saying his name because it was too long ago when he passed. We all saw it. Those robots stormed into our camp. Started shooting at any human they saw fucking move. Got him first trying to save Jason. Then I got hit trying to save him. Though, I came out of that predicament alive. After that day jason said he saw something in me that my father use to have before. He said it was my determination and leadership. now it feels like he's got a new Wyatt and is throwing me out.
. . . . . .
I stabbed my knife into the kitchen table. "harms way though, dad? All the shit I did? Harms way?"
My dad scratched his dark brown-grayish beard. He wore a grey tank top and blue jeans with black boots.
"Look maybe he's right. You can't go getting into things. Besides me and your mother wouldn't want to watch you be buried beside Wyatt."
As my dad said those words angered rushed over me. I stood up from my seat with no shits to give. "You're not burying me, you're not. I don't have a death wish! I just want see what the world was like before all this shit. Can't I do that?" By the end of my sentence I had calmed down and sat back in my seat guilt somehow rushing over me.
"Look I was like you. I wanted to help and be the hero. Now look at me. I lost everything that day. If I would've stayed away-
"Mom would've died." I said interrupting him. My dad lost his left arm when he and my mom were pregnant with me. They went out to a river not to far from here to get another supply of water and those bastards attack them. My dad jumped in front of a bullet to protect my mom, but it costed him his arm.
"It feels like he's replacing me." I said trying not to sound pitiful.
My dad sits across from me at the table, "I promised him I wouldn't tell you, but it's good for you to know now. Jason's afraid he won't live long with his condition and what not, so he told me when he dies, he wants you to take his place and finish what he started. Me and your mom were hesitant but your right for it."
"He said that?" I said not believing a word of it.
"Of course. He specifically told me "I know she will do us right, I trust her more than I did Wyatt"."
Though I didn't know if my father was lying to cheer me up or what he actually said was true, I knew one thing…if Jason said it he definitely meant it.
Just as I picked up my knife that was stabbed into the table and put into my holster I heard motorcycles ride past. I got up and went towards the window.
5 guys hopped off their bikes and into the main building which was in the center of all the houses they built. It was a place we used for supplies and to make/serve food. All the guys either had at least one tattoo or scar on their face. They were all broader too.
"Wouldn't do that if I were you." My dad says mysteriously.
"Do what?" I ask
"You know what. I wouldn't suggest you eavesdropping on their meeting." He says lighting a cigar.
"Me? What-how dare you assume such a thing father? For shame." I said sarcastically.
"Real funny aren't you?"
"Got it from you didn't I?" I said sitting on the table.
"Like everything else…I suppose." He says dropping the ashes into the ash tray. "You know what? You are like me and I don't know why I bother telling you these things. Your gonna do what you want to do anyway."
He leans forward in his chair, "just don't get hurt okay, whatever dangerous stunt you do."
"Dangerous? How dare you put me and that word in the same sentence. You have really shamed me father!" I said laughing.
"Yeah, yeah. Go before I change my mind." He says laughing. I give him a hug before walking out the door. As I open the door I remember that I hadn't eyed my mother once since I had came home from earlier.
I turn back to him in a quick second. "Oh there's more?" He says laughing.
"Very funny. Were's mama?" I asked look around.
"She went to the stream to get more water. Maybe you should join her instead of eavesdropping." He says smoking again.
"Maybe you should help her instead of smoking." I said back.
"With what arm, ma'am?" He says waiting for an answer.
"You got two feet don't you? Better yet use your mouth. Could serve as a bucket." We both bust out laughing. Once we calmed down I hugged him again before finally walking out.
Once I get outside I debate to eavesdrop or "spy" as I call it. After a "hard" decision I decided to meet up with my mom at the stream. Thankfully, right?
. . . . . .
My mom waves as I walk over to her. She heaves a bucket of water on a wagon cart beside her.
Her Afro flows with her grey hairs showing. She wore black leggings and a blue sweater.
"Glad one of you decided to help." My mom say stubborn. She hands me a bucket of water to heave on the cart.
I grab the bucket and put it in the cart "Ma, don't be like that. You know I was busy with Jason.".
"I know and I'm thankful for it. We all are. Your keeping him straight. God knows what would happen if you died l, he'd lose his mind, and so would I." She say smiling.
"You think?" I said sarcastically.
As I looked at my mom her face changed she looked disappointed. She sets the last bucket of water in the cart and holds my hand while watching the stream.
"You know, he looked after you as a child." She says looking at me.
"He did?" I said surprised. First time I heard anything of it.
"Yes, I didn't want you around the house while I was cleaning, you liked to get into things. Your father was still injured from…well…you know. Jason said he would. After that day you couldn't stay away from him. You always wanted to do missions with him."
"He didn't get tired of me huh?" I said looking we're my mom was.
"Of course, but he was inspired by you. He wanted to give you a childhood even though he never had one. It hasn't happened but I'm sure your kid will have one to remember." She says
I yanked back, "kid?" I said jokingly
"I'm just kidding grasshopper." She kisses my forehead.
I rolled my eyes, my mom always messed with me. Get the wittiness from her.
We were silent for a moment as a gunshot that sounded far away was heard going off. I noticed robots appearing out the trees behind us and I didn't hesitate to shoot back. Of course they attacked me when I didn't have a long range weapon so I hid behind a rock not to far from my mother or the robots. As I aim at both tin buckets and pull the trigger, I then hear another shot that didn't come from me. Instead it landed somewhere else behind me. I look over to my mother, also behind me, swimming in a pool of blood. I panicked, definitely wasn't trained for that.