Armored chapter 6

We moved at an increased pace without any uneven terrain or bushes and trees to block our way. With an unblocked view of our surrounding and hard ground beneath our feet, the other scavengers seemed to feel safe.

I didn't feel safe at all. My mind was numb. Every step forward felt like a step closer to the grave. I tried remembering the symptoms of radiation poisoning.

Weakness, dehydration, bleeding from the orifices, bloody stool, nausea and vomiting, hair loss. Dear God this is awful. What am I going to do? Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.

My thoughts spiraled in hopeless and dark circles. My body moved as if it was on autopilot. I tripped and fell multiple times due to not watching my feet and path properly. I felt numb to the world.

An entire day passed like that before I shook myself from my stupor. I couldn't keep going like this. When I finally started to come back to reality I slapped my cheeks hard.

Wake up dumb shit. Crying over this isn't going to help. I need to think. I need to find a path out of this. What did they say over the channel? It MIGHT be fatal for us scavengers, right?

I thought it over. MIGHT be. Wouldn't that mean it was close to fatal levels but not guaranteed to kill? Could I seek treatment when we returned to the city? I didn't even know how much radiation sickness treatment would cost.

Damn it. I'll have to take this one step at a time and hope for the best.

There wasn't really anything else I COULD do. It felt maddening to leave it to fate like that. I felt so powerless... again.

My hatred for the knights grew to a whole new level. Especially that damn noble. He knew he was leading us into this radiation. He just didn't give a shit. If I ever got the chance I would kill this noble. I made the vow in my heart. The bastard deserved it a hundred times over.

As the second day in this rocky barren area came to a close I noticed the noble using his portable drone more and more. He was searching for something. But What? I could only guess.

The knights all had their guesses and openly talked about their postulations over their com channel. Most seemed to believe the noble had tracked down a map to a hidden bunker or base with old world tech stashed away.

Some believed we were heading for an ancient battlefield to pick through the remains in hope of finding leftovers.

It's was anyone's guess really. The noble was completely silent on the topic. In fact besides issues a few course corrections he didn't speak at all from what I could tell. At least not over the common channel.

There was one thing I was certain of. The noble hadn't been to this place before. He was looking for something that he believed should be here, but wasn't sure of its exact location. I hoped he found it quickly.

Based on the talks of the knights the radiation levels were climbing. When I heard one of the knights finally stop using vague terms and speak an actual number for the rad levels I knew my time was very limited. Four hundred rads was a fatal dose. We were already in the high three hundred range.

This also was not a single flash dose of radiation. This was constant exposure. If I didn't get treatment within a few weeks I was a dead man. I highly doubted I would even be able to walk back home. I was already beginning to feel the symptoms of radiation sickness.

My teeth began to ache. I felt sick. I could see blood in my drool from time to time. My urine had begun to take an orange tint. I knew it was blood coloring my urine. Eventually, it would be red. Eventually, I would weaken to the point I would be left behind.

The other scavenger also began noticing their symptoms. The poor bastard didn't even know what was happening. Maybe it was better that way. I knew eventually they would catch on, but it was already too late.

On the fourth day in this radiation filled land when our weakness had truly started to affect our ability to keep up the pace we finally found something. By this time panic had begun to truly set in among the scavengers. They had guessed what the sickness meant and despair was written on every face.

The noble suddenly jerked to a stop and the knights channel was filled with the nobles voice.

"Stop!"

The knights obeyed and issued commands to stop the entire group. The entire group waited silently for the nobles orders. I figured he found something with his drone as we simply stood in place for a long period of time. Finally, he spoke again.

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"To the east. The drone found something. Move out."

And we did. The entire column was soon heading east. We were pushed to a breakneck speed. The nobles excitement was obvious. He kept pushing further and further forward until he was leading the pack. Half a day later we found what we were looking for. We came to an exhausted halt and surveyed our findings.

It wasn't much. Before us lay what seemed to be dozens of weathered rocks. They seemed weirdly shaped. It took me a few moments to realize what they were. They were the weathered remains of buildings. Time and wind, as well as rain, had made the once sprawling complex little more than a husk of its former glory, but the outline was still there. Some of the building held their original shape though their outer surfaces showed the corrosion of time.

It was a base of some type. From the looks of it sections of wall still stood marking the installation as a probably military outpost. It was a small outpost. Not much more than a mile across. Many of the smaller building nothing more than ruble and a few walls.

The knight's chatter was a cacophony. Whoots, yips, hurrays, and laughing could be heard all mixed together. It was as if they had hit the jackpot. Maybe they had. I doubted they would see any of the profits though. The noble would horde the good things for himself. It was their nature.

We immediately moved into the complex. Passing through one of several sections of crumbled walls we moved between crumbled and weathered building.

Our group of scavengers was sent to scout every building we passed. Not much was found initially, but eventually, we began to find bits and pieces of tech.

One group came back with a few objects that looked like rifles. They were corroded and some of them little more than broken pieces. The remains of a few tanks were found. These tanks were in better shape than should be expected, however. When the tanks were found the knights were filled with glee.

I expected they were considered a big find. What confused me was the nobles reaction to their discovery. He didn't have a reaction at all. He simply pushed us to keep searching.

As the complex was searched more and more we finally found two beaten and battered armor that seemed to be simple and basic mass production types. They were identical to each other. Still, the knights went nearly apoplectic at the discovery. The discovery of the armor was the find of the century for our little backwater region. Any type of old world armor was an amazing find. Even the more basic types.

But still, the noble showed agitation, impatience, and unconcern at the findings. I realized he was here for something specific.

When the news came back that an underground tunnel was found in one of the large hanger like building at the center of the outpost the noble's armor came to a sudden halt and he ordered the entire group to uncover it with a voice quivering with anticipation.

Our group of scavengers was a truly wretched lot as we slowly uncovered the entrance to the tunnel with our dying and pathetic bodies. The knights and noble were already enjoying the treasures to come and we were dying.

Blood ran from most of our noses. Men passed out and when others went to aid them we were ordered to continue digging. Hatred for our slave drivers could be seen in every eye, but weakness and death loomed close robbing us of any will to fight.

I hated using the last of my life to uncover the treasures these bastard knights would live to enjoy. I hated my fate. The fate of a rat.

When the tunnel was finally uncovered it revealed itself to be too small for any armor to fit into.

Night had fallen at this point and in unaccustomed mercy, we were ordered to set up camp by the noble.

We didn't understand. The knights didn't understand.

"What's going on? Why pause now? We are so close. There must be all sorts of goodies down there!"

"I don't know. Baron MacArthur wants us to stop for the night. Set up camp. There is no rush."

"I can't believe we actually found a bunker. We are going to get a massive payout for this!!! I'm going to buy one of those fancy Northern Coalition Hydra armor!!"

Similar exclamations sounded out among the knights. Apparently, while they didn't get to keep the tech as they were simply hired hands, they did get a massive pay bump for the find. I didn't understand the pay structure for these merc knights and frankly, I didn't care.

No scavengers were put on watch as we were in no condition to do it anyways. We were almost completely ignored at this point. We were nothing more than used up rags to these privileged assholes.

We camped in the building the tunnel entrance resided in. I felt defeated and exhausted. My mind was numb. I was dying and all I wanted was to sleep. We scavengers simply fell into heaps and went to sleep. I wondered how many of us would wake up. Some of us had begun puking blood. Others seemed to be passing in and out of consciousness.

I hated these knights and the noble so much. I wished them death and destruction, but I knew it wouldn't come. I knew this was the best day of these damn knights lives. They didn't even feel guilty about what it had cost us.

When the shooting started I was so sick and exhausted it took me a while to even respond after waking. I wrenched myself into a sitting position and guessed we must be under attack by some core beasts. I felt happy at the thought. A quick death at the claws of core beasts seemed merciful at this point. Maybe the beasts would even kill some knights. I soon realized I was way off in my assumption.

The loud boom boom boom of automatic fire made my headache, but what my eyes saw shook me even more. Every knight in camp was firing not out of the massive building we camped in, but inward.

On the ground lay the shattered remains of two GOLIATH armor and above them stood an orb of energy that was semi-translucent. Round after round bounced off the orb. The knight's com channel was a complete mess of swearing and screaming men filled with anger.

Inside the bubble of shimmering energy was the old world armor of the noble holding another GOLIATH armor from behind. As I watched in total confusion a blade of light sprouted from the chest of the GOLIATH armor.

The remains of the now useless armor and dead knight were casually tossed aside. The large sniper rifle looking weapon that was usually mounted on the armor's right shoulder blade swung down and smoothly inserted itself into the hand of the old world armor. The muzzle slowly tracked up and aimed at a batch of Goliath armor still unloading round after round into the energy shield.

And the noble fired.