The Legendary Junkmaster

"You what!" Dani exclaimed while standing in the doorway to her family's apartment.

"I said, I've opened a store, and I really need your help outside of town," Jason repeated himself with a slightly annoyed expression. "Gramps says there are places we won't be able to reach without you."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner that you were opening a shop!" Dani wailed as she stared at him with disbelief. "I thought we were good friends?"

"We are! It just all happened rather fast. I didn't get the chance to warn you! Now can you focus for a moment? Can you help us or not?" Jason was eager to get going. However, the haul from their expedition would depend significantly on whether or not Dani could accompany them.

"I'd like to say yes… But you know my parents. They'd never let me go outside!" Dani complained loudly while rubbing her temples.

"I think I can sort that. How about you take me inside to talk to your parents." Harry declared confidently.

Dani stared at him for a moment before deciding that it would indeed be better hearing it from another adult. Although, she still did not hold out much hope of him being able to convince them to let her go. Jason waited while his grandfather disappeared inside behind Dani. A few moments passed before Dani reappeared.

"Did they shoot you down that quickly?" Jason asked in surprise. They had not even been gone long enough to explain the situation. However, at that moment, Jason realised that his Gramps was not behind her.

"No, your Gramps asked to talk to my parents in private. Something about adult-related matters." Dani sighed as she stepped outside and closed the door.

As the noise from closing the door echoed in the stairway, Jason suddenly felt grateful that their apartment door was connected directly to the outside of the apartment building. It was one of the few perks of living in the lowest apartment in the block. The rest had to climb up a cold enclosed stairway with a door at every second level.

'It could be worse. We could liven those apartments that only have a single floor each instead of two.' Jason mentally sighed as he thought about how cramped life would have been if he lived with Harry in an environment like that. Still, all they could do for now was wait and see if the old geezer had a silver tongue or not.

"So, where would we be going?" Dani asked. Her tone was thick with curiosity.

"I don't know." Jason shrugged his shoulders. "I've never been there, but Gramps said the area is called the Zoo. Whatever that means."

"That's a strange word." Dani chuckled as she brushed her hair behind her ear and stared at Jason with big bright eyes. "You've changed. You know that?"

"Yeah, you don't have to tell me that." Jason rolled his eyes at her as he thought about quickly everything had been moving since his mutation happened. "What's taking him so long? OW!"

Jason rubbed his shoulder where Dani had just punched him. She had a deep frown on her face as she stared at him with an angry expression. "You idiot!"

"What?" Jason was perplexed as Dani turned around, so she did not have to look at him. "What the hell did I do?"

Syssie chuckled behind him, causing Jason to glare at her. "You really need to learn how to read women. You know that?"

Syssie's words just confused Jason even more. He could not help but stare helplessly at Dani as he tried to figure out what he had actually done wrong. At that moment, the door to Dani's home opened to reveal a beaming Harry.

"Let's go, kids. They're completely fine with loaning Dani to us." Harry said with a smug grin plastered on his face as he walked swiftly down the stairs.

"What! How? You're not joking, right?" Dani was full of questions as she raced after him. After all, how could she believe that her parents were allowing her outside of Highrise!

"No, I'm not joking. You're honestly allowed to come with us. I've got your parents permission to have you help us out." Harry's smile grew wider as he replied to Dani's questions.

As Jason followed behind them, he could not help but feel like something was off. He knew his grandfather better than anyone, and that was why he could tell that Harry's expression was the one he wore whenever he managed to scam someone. 'This better not blowback on Dani. I don't know what trick you pulled, but you'll definitely be the one to take the blame if shit goes south!'

Dani practically skipped the whole way to Highrise's gate. Her excitement was almost contagious as her eager eyes studied the stacked up car ruins that made up the town's walls.

"You kids wait here, and I'll deal with getting our gear and registration. It's not even noon yet, so we should be able to get to where we're going not long after nightfall." Harry stormed off to the office by the gate, leaving the two of them alone.

"You never said we'd be gone overnight!" Dani squealed in excitement.

"I didn't know! I just assumed it would be a regular day trip! He never said how long it would take!" Jason moaned in response. "Oh shit! If it's going to take that long to get there, then…"

"Then what?" Dani became worried when she saw the ugly look that Jason was pulling as he realised something.

"Then we won't be away for just one night! At the very least, it'll be two!" Jason felt like punching the old man square in the face for this stunt.

"Eeek!" Dani jumped up and down on the spot in excitement. That just made this trip all the better! "Why'd you make me worry like that! I thought you figured out the area this Zoo is in, and you didn't like it or something!"

"No, you don't get it! The problem is that if we're gone that long I'm not sure I'll have anything ready for the shop opening up!" Jason groaned. If Harry had told him how long it would take, then he would have opted for just grabbing what he could get nearby!

"Well, you did say that these plants were essential for the shop to survive, right?" Harry thundered from right behind Jason, startling the latter. "If that's the case, then you probably won't be able to gather enough nearby. You'll just have to work overtime when we return to make it up!"

"You did this on purpose, didn't you!" Jason pointed an accusing finger at his Gramps, who had started laughing. "This is to get back at me for making you deal with the other shop owners!"

"Maybe, but if I've got to work that hard, then so do you!" Harry shrugged his shoulders as another smug grin appeared on his face.

'Dammit, old man! This isn't the end of this! Just wait, I'll get you back!' Jason clenched his teeth in frustration as he took his backpack from Harry and passed one to Dani. It was like watching a kid get excited about going camping for their first time as she eagerly strapped it to her back with a bright look on her face.

Jason sighed heavily at her enthusiasm. He was sure that she would only complain once she got to experience what it was like. Especially when she realised that there were no toilets out there for her to use. Harry would never let her go off on her own in case of a sudden attack by a beast. Which meant she'd have to do her business close by every time.

Of course, neither Jason nor Harry would get any enjoyment out of it. It was purely to keep each other safe. However, Jason was unsure whether Harry would survive, explaining it to Dani or not. She could have a bit of a temper on her, so he was almost sure that Harry would receive a sucker punch as soon as he mentioned it to her. Jason could not help himself but snigger at the thought of the little show he would be treated to sometime soon.

"What is it?" Dani asked as she tilted her head curiously while looking at Jason.

"Ah, it's nothing. Don't worry about it too much." Jason chuckled again. In fact, he was eager to get it over with so that he could enjoy the show sooner. "Hey, Gramps! This is Dani's first time outside, so don't you think…"

"Ah, right! Sorry about that!" Harry quickly cut off what Jason was about to say. "Go ahead and explain the rules to her! I'm sure she'd appreciate it more from her friend than an old codger like me!"

Jason shot a hateful glare at the old man, who returned it with a look that said, 'Don't think you're going to catch me with that trap! Have a taste of it yourself!' Jason could only resign himself to the inevitable. The geezer had seen through his ploy and countered it before he got the chance to trigger it. With a deep breath, Jason turned to look at Dani's expectant expression. After ten minutes of explaining the rules, he finally got to the part about bathroom breaks…

A dull thud sounded as Jason fell to the ground and yelled as he held his right eye while Dani stood over him with a furious look on her face. Slightly ahead of the pair, Harry fell to the ground laughing his arse off…