RC4.1

The winter storm would have been really bad for any travel plan. Yet I got us to a radioactive area full of untouched things. The only bother has been the mindless hiding in the sheltered busted areas.

As I thought with storms and radiation that there is a whole ton of untapped things laying around. I were able to find clothing that would fit me. Several sizing of radiation haz suits. Many supply and gear from before the nuclear station failures.

I found a news paper writers office. We choose here for the lack of mindless and the openable and lockable parking garage. The upstairs is a office space for a newspaper journalist gathering. The lower downstairs is a mechanic for cars.

So there we was with a very handy metal (may have been 5 months salary) tool cabinet. It had a attachment that was a board to roll under the car with. There was a bottom draw of jacks to lift anything. I must have been at the tool cabinet a long time with just seeing what I learned into practice. A few busted car nearby to pull apart... feed the box the wanted gears, wiring and whatever.

Upstairs I let him scan things while I were playing about. He came back with a lot of office stationery, wrist watches and very interesting jewellery. In asking, he said it were from the many folks dead up there. I nod gently in accepting that answer but gently warned about not upsetting the spirits of the dead. Its bad karma. That we will pay respect when we up together.

A wipe away of oils, a quick nap and food. The storm ever stronger and harder hitting. It is no wonder that no one is out there if the ice is so hard hitting that it broken window panes upstairs. The window screen on any car out there is going to be smashed. I should add a cage in the front of the van from this sort of storm... or bullets.

"Kate. There is movement outside." I gear up with a suit and with a gun at hand but not aiming to kill. I open the door of the garage a creak to see what feet it is. To my surprise its a car... I open all the way with waving them in. They weren't able to care about freind of foe. All them in hazmat suits. One them has a damaged suit. A back window smashed. I make a check for any other cars or potential people. No... just this lot. I close the door. The folks are freezing.

I open the car hood, clean around and closed the bonnet. I gesture that they turn in on. They did... the heating kicked in.

"Thanks." Someone said and I nod. I am to wary to sleep with folks around. But the gun was put away, no interest in taking the anyone's life. I continued to play about with cars, as the storm was worse and worse.

The folks in the car huddled together for warmth. I felt bad in watching them freeze... I did more to make them warm. Like temporary back window sealing and passing over coats, blankets and a new haz suit for the fella that broken his. They settled better, only one among them stayed watch... out the car even and watched the storm hitting at the buildings doors.

"So what's your deal?" A talker then. The leader it seems, male with cold eyes. He had done most of the dirty work to keep themselves safe.

"Just trying to survive." My accent is older then theirs and it seems to spooked the fella, "I am well aware that I am out of my league being out this far. But I would rather this way then to make people scared of me." I took out the entire engine by hand, he backs off in seeing such strength at ease, "I would rather save lives." I twisted it about in working out what good parts were good replacements for their car, "What about you lot? To be out in a hale storm must not have been your choose to make. No normal raiders to trade caravans cross in such weather."

"Kicked out of the colony." He admits but says no more.

"I am sorry to hear." I pass these parts over, "Here... before that engine cuts out."

"None of us are good at this sort of thing." I nod in getting it, "what are you under the suit?"

"You wouldn't want to know. Much like how you wouldn't want my prying into your past." I walked gently over to their car again and open up... Make more repairs, "One of you has a fever. The child have a injury on the left side. She's pregnant." I gently sigh, "The plants will eat you up very easy... and this newspaper and garage isn't anything worth being hull in for to long. Not for what you need." Lifting area at ease and gentle in putting down again, "Sorry... I can't help seeing things. Call it unwanted xray vision." He snarls quite a bit, "I used to be human... but... I lost everything I loved. I thought of things... many things. I guess whatever chooses I made had lead me to care for others above myself. Total strangers and I still would take a bullet. I gave up even more and more things that I didn't know was possible to lose. Gifts from a government I wanted to believe in. Made the same words I did when I signed up to loss more and more." I finished fixing things and gently close the bonnet again, "Weirdest still... in spite all that I lost to be here now. I would still stand in front of danger to protect someone like you. I don't care about your past. Mr murderer... the way you hold that gun and the path of you eyes."

"Then you too had to murder." He noted.

"A different calender. A different time. A different government. A different way of life." I back away from the car, "A past erased and left me behind." I am back to car scraps. Toying about the parts.

"Thank you for the repairs, the warmth and the suit replaced." He leans at the car.

"No problem. I don't know what you want to do about the back window. But I am not going to disturb their sleep." He nods more with what I was saying.

Left me be to tinkering, the hover camera returned from scavenged up stairs. Piling pieces in a box I left from the side of the van. It connects back to the our box, guarding the van and contains.

The storm was passing onwards... and by day break it was left this garage ice locked. Everyone from the car was out and the protector in for his sleep. He said a few choose words to the two older set. The youngest holds himself with wondering close with them... looking at everything.

"Do you have a name?" The kid manage to sneak right near me.

"Mrs Nick. You should stay with your group." At least the child listens, returning back. There is one the adults checking out the car under hood. Noting the repairs as the lady is watching my van.

"Mrs Nick..." I sigh with getting off the floor at the time of being shouted, "Sorry to disturb you but in thanks... we wanted to offer food." They took off suits.

"No thank you... I appreciate the offer. But you lot need more food then little old me. I am alone with a computer. I have all I need in terms of basics." I use the wheel board to crawl back under, "Although why are you lot not wearing your suits? I thought there was high radiation around here."

"We have a connector device for the local weather and radiation networks." I hummed on that why would my computer have no access to radio of all things. Again, it must be adaptive technology or something. Maybe it's the opposite where my tech is to high spec to bother in the low frequency. Many thoughts has passed with silence. She did walk away taking whatever she offered with her. I was back under for another hour or so... something tricky that my scans said we needed.

I moved out of the underneath of the car I was tinkering to take a few things back. I carried my hull towards the van and to stand watching what the kid was up to.

He playing around with a the box of things the computer left. I open a side door away from the child. With some little digging about, I came around gave him hand sanitizer for touching that stuff.

"You don't know where that stuff came from... you never know amount of bacteria and illness would come from touching stuff." The child washes hands and I take the tricket box away. I climb in with storage sorting once more... the door left open for listening.

"Wow... there no room in there for you to sleep." a nosy child whom does stay out.

"I don't need as much space to sleep. I am not human anymore." I looked about at things and noticed I have a few children's books I kept for this sort of occasion. I wipe it down good and give it to the child, "Here... something to read or just look at. I don't want anything in return." They take it in looking confused, "Its a book. You only need a sort of light to read it. No battery charge or anything high tech to make it work." The child tots back.

Back to my focus of sorting things, well pretending to be. They sit around together eating foods from the gear they were using... it was most certainly a very different era. That the survival kit was very high technology. Pure safe to eat paste with all the nutrients and renewable resource. I am sure from the child's expression that it was dull and boring.

"Mrs Nick, you are welcome to join us." I slide on out from the door. I lingered with thinking about it, with eventually just sitting within the ring they made. The device at the centre is a heater, food producer and a TV. They were watching a weather area broadcast with many measurements. I sensed the hover drone had locked the van but is at choose to land on my head top. Interested in people too.

"I mean no rudeness to not remove my suit. I just don't think my appearance would help your meal." I sit away from them in a sort of way... being furtherst from any particular person, "But I am not contagious of anything. That I am certain." I was within the bubble ring.

"So your from one them city sheilds." The leader directed about the camera. I settle on the floor without any care for the dirt or the cold. I have my right have fluttering passively in showing my carelessness about it.

"Yes and no. I was there... certainly was implanted against my will. Yet... I can't complain. We have worked well together since. We have not in any city access, we haven't for years. Its not interesting story and my history is mixed. I am very old and this technology is very different."

"A pre-fallout then... you were under ice." The middle aged lad whom is protective of his lady is whom said this.

With them out of the hazmat suits, its clear that they come from a raider colony with some city access... or stole from a city. Clothing is a mix of before fallout and city made. Hair style was practical but neat. Healthy as possible. The injury on the child is his left arm, he hold it to himself constantly. She early stages, no bump yet. The one with a cold is the elder leader, oldest too. There is two others I had paid mind about, man and woman. Sort of silence. I have a guess they were criminals if they were ill or anything. The male protecting the lady was here for his child. These two silence folks... even the leader kept a eye on them.

"Older then you think. I was talking about it to your leader here. A very different world it was then. It's not worth the hassle of me telling you. It apparently breaks laws, so my computer is warning me." I tilt with listening to the weather forecast and having the computer analysis what sort of parts we need for our own version. I don't want to steal it from them or break the one they have, "It doesn't matter."

"You would be allow in a colony like ours." I nod in knowing this.

"I could at least trade... I gathering from places that no one else is able to. Clean away any harmful radiation ash. I hope to trade for trade. Hop around and keep traveling. We... I don't need much to survive on." I peer with how there is sparkle in the two silent ones, "I wouldn't recommend playing with my van... Its not as it seems. Boredom does strange things."

"But it perfect for what your doing, automatic defence but unassuming looking on the outside. Just the strange metal sheets that are bolted on that give it away." So the silent do speak.

"And it will never turn in without me. The engine is my creation. It useless junk otherwise." The raise of brows, "I am more machine now. You would never be able to drive it because there is no strring wheel."

"There no space in there. She doesn't even sleep like us." I snicker with the children's excitement, he has the book beside him. He talks about it. I felt something about him happiness to share information. I guess I must like children in a protective way. It not love... no... it a little painful.

"Joe..." the leader settles him.

"Its fine. He came over earlier touching some scrap that my computer took from upstairs. I recommend not letting him go up there. I haven't finished checking this place for danger and whom knows what else took shelter from the storm from the upstairs windows."

"Your not wrong there. You being on your own has stealth... us being here changes things."

"Its fine. I just haven't been up there to get the bigger stuff yet." The tilt with watching what the camera also noticed... someone whom didn't join this sitting group. Teenager whom is playing about the locks of my van door, "Hey teen, don't touch that door handle." I shouted backwards. They skitter across the floor from setting off my defence, "Alright. Stop scarying the twit before he wets himself." I stand and comment to the computer. The camera lifting to hover over, staring on the kid locked to the wall by metal limbs, "Drop the kid... come on. Jokes over." Fold away, "He was testing you fear response." Collar lifted to force the teen to walk away, "honesty... we can not bully children for data collection. Werido would scare off my customers."

"Anti their protocol is adequate." I hear and sigh.

"Sorry about that."

"Nah, we sorry that he was nosing in the wrong place." Making him sit among the quite two, "Those three were kicked for stealing... not helpful in most situations."

"I get it. You still need thier pick locking skills for when you do cross a battlefield or a locked house. Better the busting a door you want secure." I sit back down again.

"What is in there?"

"The computer." I answer softly, "We are a little unsociable and still learning. I still haven't worked out what you use as currency anymore."

"Memory sticks, cards and mother boards. But they got to be working condition." the protective male tells, "If you can't... metal scrap for repairing such things." I nod in understanding.

"Weapons and ammo... we used to by a bowl of good food by a bullet casing. There so many bullet cases around that it's the most widely used. the caliber or metal varies the value." I didn't think that was what folks would go for if they can be forgery.

"Any broken technology has a price... the more priceless is the condition and working use."

"Thank you for telling me. I can make sense of some organising."

"Its thanks for fixing the car. None of us would have been able to so quick like you. We came to this garage to use the lifting mechanisms here and parts. You seem to bet us to it." I flutter a hand.

"Its fine... Can I ask one last thing?"

"Sure."

"Can I touch your device? I wish not to steal or break." A few guns to hand but the nod with going ahead. I pose my right hand around and with gentle in the correct way to hand it. I scanned it thoroughly and put it down again.

"Mmm... I guess I have to look out for some the scraps of this thing."

"60% of already obtained materials." The computer notes too with a speaker on the hover camera, "39% have obtained before. 1% new metal recourses."

"So maybe a iPhone might have the metal."

"processing records... background task."

I moved away with posed thinking.

"Just how much did you loose in turning machine?" the leader asked.

"Its not that... Please do not shoot me." I removed the helmet, "It wasn't the machines that did this to me. In fact, it saved me more then once." They are all freaked but the leader hasn't moved a inch... he was thinking, "I did it to myself maybe. My chooses." The helmet back on, "Can't cry over spilt milk."

"Sorry. What?" the lady asks.

"It a old saying... it sort of a metaphor. You can't change something that already happened. Sometimes things will never return back the ways it used to be and we can't do anything about it." I sigh with following, "I look back at the path I walk, see the prints I make now and look ahead towards the light. Another old thing I would say. It means we can't change the past but we can change the present... in turn pave the future."

"So wise from a plague victim."

"I am not contagious. If I were, I would not be sitting here near you. Maybe restrained by the computer even." I start at how the holographic is back on and the new radar images is up, "I am going to leave you lot be. You had enough from me... for sure I would be haunting your nightmares." Back up with leaving but the hover camera sticks around, "If you want computer, just don't get your eye stolen." It buzzing about with nosing at what the folks are doing, "Dont be to curious or you be no better then little Joe." It snaps the lens at me, "Just saying."

"Good night Kate." I wave and open the door at ease, hop on and close the door... I got all the clothes off and into the box for longer sleeping.