It's Not Easy Making Money in the Apocalypse

"This is suicide!" Zara hissed.

"It's only suicide if we die." I reminded her. "If we make it, it'll be clever."

"Why am I always having to risk my life when I'm around you?" She whined.

"There is no point in continuing to complain," I stated before touching the earpiece. "Cici?"

"They're stubborn. They think you'll flee the truck before the Rok is too close."

"They're still there?" I asked in disbelief. "Stubborn."

"Their chances of survival are slim." Cici declared.

"Idiots…"

"Desperation causes people to take extreme risks." Zara explained, "We're here, aren't we? And not everyone has an AI that can access those risks in their Perco."

I closed my mouth. Zara seemed to be speaking from personal experience, and based on what she said before, I was a bit to blame for how she ended up in her current predicament. I lost my thoughts as I started hearing screeching and the sound of gunfire muffled by the door.

"The Rok have arrived, they're running."

"We need to use this opportunity. Zara?"

"I'm ready!" She responded, clutching the rifle in her hand.

"Open the door."

The door sprung open, and the pair of us jumped out. Almost instantly, a massive dinosaur-like bird landed right in front of us. It seemed to be just as surprised to see us as we were to see it. Before I could even raise my gun, the turret overhead erupted in fire. It sprayed the Rok directly in the face. The mutated creature shrieked as it fell back. Although these Rok were deadly, they weren't invulnerable, and several piercing bullets at point blank were more than enough to kill it.

As it fell back, its massive wings created small whirlwinds as it entered its death throws. The pair of us ran on either side of the vehicle. Most of the returned Rok were doing fly-downs over a group of people rapidly trying to flee and using cars for cover. The Rok knew they were there though, and many of them were landing and then shoving cars aside in the hope of getting to the people underneath. Yet, the death of the Rok next to us also drew some attention.

At least three Rok started nose-dives as soon as we were seen. It had only been about ten seconds, but we would have been dead meat if we didn't already have a location to run. That location was the front compartment of the truck. The doors sprung open and the pair of us jumped into it. I only just managed to close the door before a creature slammed into the side. It made a big thud, but this truck was a lot sturdier than many of the other vehicles. It was heavily armored and built like a tank. The glass was bulletproof too.

Yet these mutated creatures were no slouches. A single strike still shook the truck, and after the creature raised a claw and slammed it into the window two more times, a slight crack started to form. All of this only happened in moments, because the turret turned and then started unloading into the three Rok around us. Meanwhile, I started to turn on the vehicle trying to follow the instructions Cici had given me before. While we had been waiting, I had been running through the motions time and time again. Cici didn't even know if this vehicle had some custom driving controls, so she only gave me a general rundown.

"You can drive, right?" Zara asked.

"We're about to find out!" I declared as I managed to find the key and the fusion core roared to life.

Our commotion was attracting even more Rok. At the moment, we were dealing with only the first ones back from the nest. These were perhaps the suspicious ones that thought it strange the nest was suddenly attacked and decided to check on their hunting ground. More were returning every minute, and soon it'd be impossible to escape. The Rok had managed to take the entire convoy at their prime, so I had no delusions of getting away once they were organized.

Thus, I only had one chance, and that was to get out of there immediately. I hit the gas, grabbing the wheel tightly. The vehicle rumbled forward, slamming into the one in front of it.

"Shit!" I growled as it pushed against the small truck, slowly pushing it forward as the engine helplessly roared.

The turret blurred overhead.

"More Rok are incoming!" Cici's voice wasn't designed to show panic, but she still managed to convey urgency.

I spun the wheel, not even certain I could put the vehicle in reverse, or put it back to forward once I was done reversing. Instead, the truck slowly moved to the side and our vehicle shoved between the truck and another car. The entire time was probably only ten seconds, but it felt like hours as more and more Rok descended. Some died on the way, slamming on top of the vehicle with a thud, while others attempted to grab at the turret and rip it away before it shot their feet off.

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As I cleared the path between the cars, I slammed the accelerator down and shifted up. The vehicle made a growling sound as it peeled out. It struck car after car as it went, but as it picked up speed, the cars were helpless against the larger vehicle and were merely pushed aside. Roks were flying at the window shield, blocking my view. More and more cracks formed on the shield as they tried to get in. I was afraid of being overwhelmed and I felt like there were too many Rok to drive over.

That's when a cascade of explosions erupted behind us. Some of the cars we were hitting must have had their fusion cores compromised. Once one car exploded, it trigger another. The concussive explosion was blocked by the truck. If anything, it helped me move the truck in the direction I wanted to go. As for the Rok outside of the dungeon, they were severally injured. They started falling from the sky like flies. Many of them let out shrieks as they were blown away. Those blocking my view disappeared, and I shifted up again as I sped out of the neighborhood.

Some of the Roks aimed to chase us, but the turret was covering our backs, shooting down Rok after Rok with an accuracy few could achieve. Once we finally picked up a decent speed, the area of the Rok's was left behind. Zara was breathing hard, one hand gripping the dashboard, while the other was gripping my arm. As she realized the Roks were falling behind us and giving up the costly chase, her hand left my arm like she had been burned. She quickly returned to her normal expressions, although there was a slight curve to her lips she couldn't hide.

"Over here! That garage is safe." She pointed to an old fueling station.

There was an open garage that still appeared to have a functional door. Although the Roks had given up, they might still send scouts. The little I knew about them from other people's conversations suggested they didn't like to give up prey if they didn't have to. I pulled into the garage without hesitation. I then got out of the car, grabbed the garage door, and slammed it close.

"Cici?" I asked.

"No lifesigns. It appears safe."

I let out a breath of relief before walking back to the car and shutting off the engine. As it purred down, I was left with an off kind of silence. After the screeching, roaring, and explosions, it felt strange. Zara got out the other side and started stretching. I watched her as she lifted her arms, causing her pale midriff to be exposed. When she noticed me looking, she dropped her arms quickly.

"What?" She asked.

"We made it." I grinned.

Her lips tightened for a moment, and she nodded. "We did."

"Ah! That's right. Is this what you needed?"

I pulled an item out of my digitizer and held it to her. It wasn't so much a chip as it was a large cylinder, but it had the word synthesize on it, so I snatched it while we were waiting in the back of the truck. Her eyes widened, and she lunged for the item, snatching it from my hand. It was only when she had it in her hands that she froze, and looked up at me, a look of suspicion on her face.

"I didn't do anything with it. It's yours, as agreed upon."

Zara blinked. "Y-you're giving it to me?"

"You wanted it." I scratched my cheek. "Isn't it what we agreed upon?"

"You don't know how much this is worth. This might be the only one like it in a thousand miles."

"Then, I'm glad you were able to find it."

She seemed to grow even more suspicious, her hand unconsciously moving to her throat. "What is your game?"

"My game?" I blinked. "I have no game. I said I want to work with your people. I'm a merchant. I've never hidden that. I believe we can all survive better working together than fighting and killing each other."

"This is the Wasteland." She responded distastefully. "Death and killing are all we know."

"Perhaps, it's time we changed all that." I sighed. "However, it needs to start somewhere. Well, I'm starting it here."

I didn't know if I could change the Wasteland… but perhaps, if I just changed a few people it'd be enough.