Silence. The world was eerily still below, the heaviness of the atmosphere almost tangible as a light breeze shifted through. The dust seemed to dance in small whirlwinds as the stale air drifted across the land.

Stretched out for as far as the eye could see lay a wasteland, a grey, flat landscape devoid of any signs of life. Occasionally, the bone white skeletons of trees stretched up into the stormy sky, searching for the sunlight that had once graced it. Signs of past human connection to the land could be seen in traces. Crumbling walls and the rust ridden remains of cars were scattered about, creating a uniform mosaic of a time long gone.

The ground was cracked and dusty and varied from grey to a rusty brown colour, emphasising this desert-like world. It created a strange contrast with the black clouds above, but strangely they never seemed to yield any rain. A never ending thunderstorm hung over the region, lightning flashing in violent forks and a constant rumble filled the air off in the distance.

From far off, a continuous thump, thump, thump could be heard, increasing in volume as it crossed the desolate landscape. A black dot appeared on the horizon, its form slowly taking shape as it came into full view revealing a large, cigar-like body. Two sets of rotors were spinning above it as it slipped through the air fast and low, a sense of urgency about it.

Within the confines of this black, metallic contraption were five people.

A young man of no more than twenty, with close cropped brown hair and an angular, handsome face who sat next to a young female pilot with short red hair, wearing a helmet with a visor displaying the helicopter’s location, fuel, altitude and various other components essential to flight.

The back of the helicopter was open on both sides to the rushing wind and seats were positioned opposite each other on the front and back of the space. There was a further compartment behind this, a large, stripped back space used for storage.

In the space behind the cockpit, two people, around seventeen sat next to each other facing forward. The one on the right was a boy with blonde hair. He had green eyes and a scar cut across from his left jaw and over his nose. The other was a girl, black hair tied loosely at the back of her head. Her eyes were an electric blue and she wore a cautious expression on her face as she watched the man across from them.

He was of a muscular build, veins chorded as they stretched the length of his exposed arms. His skin was weathered and covered in scars. He was a middle aged man, and she was in no doubt that he was experienced in war.

Their ride continued without them speaking, their existence in this wasteland alien in nature, at odds with the silent, yet raging landscape they had entered.

The blonde boy was the first to break the silence: “how are we doing for time?” he asked through his head set, shifting in his seat.

“Alright, it shouldn’t be too long now. The place’ll be coming into view pretty soon if what the old guy says is true,” Replied the pilot, checking the coordinates as she went.

“You better be right about this, Connors, or you’ll be walking home,” Growled the young man next to the pilot.

A thin mesh separated the cockpit from the space in which the three sat, giving an intimidating feeling of separation between the two areas.

“You still think I would be lying about this place? I showed you enough proof didn’t I? What am I gonna gain by hiring a salvage team just to lead them on a wild goose chase in the middle of nowhere? I’ve spent a long time researching and tracking this place down, I think I know what I’m doing,” the middle aged man said, irritation leaking into his voice. “You don’t exactly come across as trust worthy, especially when you come to us with nothing but a sketchy explanation, offering a crazy amount of money and the possibility of Quantium at the same time,” remarked the blonde. He locked eyes with the older man as he pulled a knife from a combat boot, twirling it between his fingers.

“What is it you’re really after? It’s hard to believe you’d put up such a disadvantageous deal, especially considering where we’re going,”

Connors didn’t respond immediately.

“I already said; there’s something I need to check out,” he said simply.

“How exactly are we supposed to help you if we don’t even know what you’re after? Or are we merely acting as escorts?” asked the blonde.

“Kyte.” The young man with the close cropped brown hair warned.

“No, it’s fine. I need you for more than just an escort. If I manage to find what I’m looking for, I’ll need your help getting it back,”

“Finally, some more info!” the blonde said, sarcastically.

If it wasn’t for the Quantium, I doubt we would have ever taken this job on. Taylor knows more than he’s letting on too, the blue eyed girl thought, is there something more to this that he doesn’t want us getting involved in? If this guy’s lying… The girl contemplated internally.

She observed the man’s movements, watching for any indication of dishonesty.

This wouldn’t be the first time they had been double crossed by someone claiming to know a good place to salvage from. It happened all the time in their line of work.

The four of them had been working as a salvage team, gathering and selling long lost artifacts and valuable scraps from the decaying ruins of the old world for almost two years now. It was a tough, dangerous job, but it payed well. When they found something worth selling, that was.

Apart from the risks that came with contamination in some areas of the wasteland, there were also the Lost to deal with, strange, destructive creatures that were home to the surrounding areas.

****

The group had just come back from salvage to the west of a black market border town known as Regus, serving as their base of operations, when the middle aged man had approached them. He had a military feel about him, with a strong build and comfortable, combat ready clothes. His face was scraggly, lacking a few days’ worth of shaves. “You’re a salvage team right? I wanna offer you a job. If you take it on, I’ll be willing to pay big money. None of that small stuff you’d get from your usual expeditions,” he had said slowly. They had just set their antique, modified chinook down on solid ground and were busy unloading their latest haul, stacking it into a trailer attached to an ancient jeep.

The town they were in was set into the side of a mountain with towering cliffs encasing it into something of a valley. A river ran at the bottom of the town, supplying the town with a trade route and a water supply. The team had landed on the outskirts of the town at an airstrip that served as the local aerodrome. The place was a black market hotspot, being so close to the wastelands, and was just about one of the most dangerous locations. So it wasn’t surprising that they would get one or two people offering big money for some illicit or fraudulent jobs.

Taylor, the young man with close cropped brown hair, jumped down from the inside of the helicopter where he was helping to load things down. “The name’s Taylor, team leader. So what sort of job are we looking at here?” He asked, dusting his hands off on his jeans. His speech was casual, but there was an underlying warning in his voice.

“There’s a place about a three hundred and fifty k out in the Deadlands that-“

“Sorry, but we don’t do the Deadlands. Doesn’t matter how much you’re paying there’s no way I’d ever risk a run out there,” Taylor said, cutting the man off.

“Look. The work will be quick, in and out. I’m willing to pay whatever expenses are needed, fuel and all, on top of paying you three times what you’d earn in a year,” he said, stepping forward as an expression of desperation passed across his face.

He had obviously tried a few crews already. No body with any sense would visit the Deadlands; it was said that it was haunted by some of the worst of the Lost and many crews that had ventured out there never returned.

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“You’ll have to search elsewhere. I won’t risk the lives of my team needlessly, no matter how much you’re offering.” Taylor said as he took a solid stance, conveying his decision on the matter. If he had to, he would use force.

By this time, the other three had stopped unloading to watch, eager to see how things would play out. Taylor was an experienced fighter and had spent most of his teenage years in the underground fighting rings. Often, when the group encountered trouble, he was the one to step up.

“What do you think? Will we get a glimpse of Tay’s skills today?” the red headed pilot, Lex, whispered to Kyte, the blonde, as she sat in the helicopters compartment, legs tangling.

“Geez, that’s all you ever think about. Violence isn’t always how it works,” he whispered back in a mocking manner.

The girl with the black hair sighed, closing her eyes for a moment, her arms crossed as she leaned against the helicopter.

“Jett, you didn’t die on us did you?” asked Kyte, teasingly, poking her a few times. Jett swatted his hand away. He chuckled, enjoying the reaction he got.

The man glanced over at the other three, seeming to take them in for the first time. His steel coloured eyes made contact with Jett’s, recognition registering on his face. He looked back quickly to the team leader, the recognition replaced with an expression of determination.

Jett felt a knot form in her stomach.

Great, just great, she thought bitterly.

“What if I told you that what I’ve found is the remnants of a hidden ancient city? What if I told this place contained not just high quality salvage materials, but Quantium?” The man said persistently, lowering his voice.

Taylor looked at the man, his expression changing from one of disinterest to one of careful deliberation.

Quantium was an extremely rare, naturally occurring metal and one that was extremely valuable. The energy contained within a kilo of it could power a whole city for ten years. A few grams could easily sell for five to ten million dollars. But for him, it wasn’t the price that was alluring.

If we can get our hands on some Quantium, I might finally be able to finish it. Taylor thought

“I’ll need more than just your word. I need solid evidence before I even think of taking up your request. I don’t care about the money, as long as what you’re saying about the Quantium is true,” He said, making solid eye contact with the man.

“Here, will this much evidence do?” the man asked pulling an envelope from his pocket along with a small, cylindrical vial and handing it to Taylor.

“No way! Is that…?” Lex gasped, locking onto the glowing silver metal contained within the vial.

“What? What is it?” Kyte asked, wondering what had Lex excited.

“That’s Quantium! Quantium! How did that old man get his hands on it? Was he telling the truth?’ Lex exclaimed, unable to believe what was before her eyes.

This is too suspicious. To just be carrying around something as valuable as Quantium in his pocket? It’s a wonder he wasn’t picked off by the other crews. After all, no one would be willing to go to the Deadlands, but if an easy profit is right in front of you… unless… there’s no way, right? Thought Jett, suddenly realising something.

“It’s something I took as a souvenir,” the man said, adding more mystery to his circumstances.

Taylor ignored the vial; it was already obvious to him what it was. Instead, he opened the envelope and inspected the photos expressionlessly before looking at the ground, deliberating.

This guy, was he part of Hidden Ops? He wondered silently.

“What’s your name?” he asked slowly, looking up.

“James Connors,” the man replied.

“I’ll say it now; if there’s even the slightest sign of trouble, we leave. Immediately. Got it?” Taylor said firmly, crossing his arms.

The others were stunned; they never would have thought he would agree to something like this. He was never the kind of leader to take these sorts of risks.

“Of course,” Connors answered, a slight smile twitching across his lips. He had not been expecting them to agree and was prepared for a fight over the Quantium instead. But it looked like he had finally found a willing team. He found it quite surprising at first that the team was so young, but he knew not to judge by appearances. Especially out in these parts.

The rest of the day was then spent in preparation for the salvage trip. Taylor spent a few hours going over the rest of Connors’ information with him, planning the route in and out as well as multiple backup plans. If they were heading to the Deadlands, they needed to be ready for anything.

****

As the helicopter reached the area around the designated coordinates, it began circling, searching in tight circles over a massive abyss-like fissure that scarred the ground. It was approximately a hundred kilometres in width and an couple thousand kilometres in length, stretching as far as the eye could see. The depth of the fissure was impossible to tell, falling into darkness within the first hundred feet. It was as if they had found themselves at the end of the earth.

“Shit! What’s with the size of this place? I’ve never seen anything like it,” Kyte said in wonder, as he gazed into the expanse of black.

“Well, looks like you were right about this place so far,” Taylor said as he began readying his gun, checking it’s mechanisms before loading it.

“Let’s just hope it remains that way.”

Connors remained silent as he stared intently out of the helicopter down at the scene below, a complex expression on his face.

Jett glanced in his direction. As far as she was concerned, they shouldn’t have taken up this job at all; it was too much of a risk.

She thought back to his reaction to her, the flash of recognition in his eyes, and how easily he seemed to walk around with that Quantium on him, not to mention his information. She felt a chill run the length of her spine.

Let’s just hope things aren’t the way I’m thinking. Though one things for sure: It was only a matter of time until someone turned up knowing who I was anyway…

There was a lot of her past that she would rather forget about, but knew with this man around there was a high chance the team would end up learning one or two things that were better left buried.

Turning to search the darkness, she spotted something glinting not too far in the distance.

“I think I have sight of something,” she said slowly, keeping her eyes on the area, “there’s something reflecting off our port at about one thirty degrees. It’s probably 30 k from here”

“Got it, nice spotting Jett,” Lex said, banking the helicopter in the direction indicated.

The aircraft began to descend from a safe distance of about two hundred feet above the crevice to about thirty as it approached the area Jett had pointed out.

Everyone was silent at what came into view.

Looming before them was an entire city clinging to the edge of the abyss, concealed mostly by a thick network of shadow root that extended over the place like a canopy, almost completely hiding it from sight. One of the windows from a building that was still intact had lit up from the endless lightning and reflected through a gap in the roots.

Shadow root was a mysterious root-like organism that seemed to be the only plant that thrived here. It was especially prevalent in areas with a high toxicity level, meaning they would have to be extremely careful not to come into direct contact with anything.

The city was in ruins, some of the buildings almost falling into the endless depths below. It was hard to look at, to even begin to imagine what had befallen this place. No one knew what had really happened those two hundred or so years ago, but what was known was that some sort of war occurred and at least ten percent of the planet’s landmass could no longer support life. Or at least not the conventional sort of life.

Lex navigated the helicopter, spotting a place that was safe enough to land, a cleared area, almost like the point of a blast zone towards the edge of the city. The buildings surrounding the area were either reduced to rubble or were at odd angles leaning away from the area.

As they set down, the reality of where they were really hit them.