The Badlands: Kinship

 I wake to the heat piercing through the metallic frame of the tent is amplifying the heat outside. I lean to roll onto my back, Mia already is up out of bed, her side is empty. I admit that" I thought I was going to be the first one out of bed, however it's the best I've slept since childhood.

I can hear rustling about outside. I assume it's Mia getting prepared for the day. I get fully dressed in a hustle. I don't know if she already seen anything but I try to avoid the idea anyways.

I slip out of the tent and see her standing before the platform from the insta-campfire. She presses a green button and backs away. The platform collapses, along with everything upon it. The entire process feels like seconds, however I do feel awestruck by the sight of such advanced technology at work. The box reshapes and lays in the dirt.

"Thank you, Ark Tech." Mia says.

"Ark Tech?" I ask.

"It's an Old World company that no one really knows about anymore, though they did make most of the advanced tech we only can imagine, or scavange." She explains.

"So, they made the camp thing?" I ask.

"Yep, the tent and blaster too." She replies calmly.

She kneels and gestures me away from the tent. I walk back a few steps. she presses the button on the tent and a flash causes everything that came from it to vanish, nothing laying about but the cylinder that it came out of. I only wish I understood what this was all about.

"I'll never get used to that." Mia laughs as she rubs her eyes. I only assume it's because of the light that came from the cylinder.

"What other fancy gear have you got?" I ask.

"I'll show ya one of my stashes when we get to New Boston." She replies.

She turns and faces me. She passes me with a wild strut. I follow her lead. I know by now she is just going to keep leading until we hit New Boston at the least.

"What's your budget like?" Mia asks.

"I've only a hundred bits." I reply.

"Eh, that's enough to buy An Old World pistol." She sighs. "We will have to fit you up."

"Eh? What's that supposed to mean?" I ask.

"Armor, Weapons, Ammo and survival gear. The usual." She replies.

The wind kicks up. a low rumble can be heard in the distance. Mia stops in her tracks and halts me, a hand on my chest. She watches cautious as can be. We wait as the wind settles. The rumble continues.

"We better move. quickly at that." She says as she slips her hand to my hand from my chest.

She pulls hard with a tight grip. She begins to sprint and I almost fall over as I get to my own running pace. I pump hard as I make each step count. My heart is pounding as I rush with her.

The strength of the vibration has me nervous, Mia almost falls over as she tries to go even faster. I look behind us, a light blue fin splits the sands. The dust flurries violently from its speed in the distance.

"What are we running from?!" I shout as we keep bolting away from the noise.

"I think it's a Desertianian Wyrm!" She shouts back.

"What's that?!" I exclaim.

"Ask when we make it through this! just run!" She shouts to me.

I stay close to Mia as we can see a small section of greenery ahead. I only wonder what the green color is. I haven't seen true plants living. They usually brown and weary. Mia heads towards the spot. I can hear flapping as we start to get closer to the spot.

"Oh no!" Mia shouts as she must hear the new sound too.

"You know what that is?" I ask as we run.

"That's an Ostoros, they eat Wyrms!" She explains as we dip into the green area.

Little lengths of green reach for the sky underneath of my feet, towering bits of wood that have green sprouting off of it. As we hide beside the tall thing, we wait as the Wyrm passes us. This spot somehow seems familiar, even though I've never been here. I walk a few steps before I see a crystal blue surface that swallow up a section with sands.

"Now, this isn't something you see often out here." Mia says as she places an arm around me, leaning onto me as well.

"What is all of this?" I ask.

"This is how the whole Old World used to look, Etha." She explains.

"Think that's safe to drink?" I point to the pond.

"Let's do a test and find out for sure." She replies.

She approaches the edge if the liquid and dips some weird rectangle into it. She waits. she removes the rectangle and shakes it then back into the liquid. She looks at me with disbelief in her face.

"Rad clear." She says.

"Wait, so no radiation at all?" I ask.

She nods in response. That is almost entirely unheard of in the Badlands. We share a moment in silence.

"So, let's collect some." I say.

She takes a few empty containers and fills them. the suction from the container is audible. I assume this is to prevent spilling liquid through her pack.

We sit by the water for a little, drinking and cleaning the filth from the sands sweeping the Badlands all day and night. Mia seems to be in her comfort zone. Myself, on the other hand, I am still checking over my shoulder to be sure I'm not about to be eaten alive.

"You are a nervous person out here." Mia points out.

"Well, yeah. I never left Basha." I reply.

"Really? Never? Why?"

"Why leave what makes you safe?" I ask.

"Fair. No risk, no reward though." Mia says.

"Right." I sigh. "You've got a point. I mean look at where we are, I wouldn't have seen this if I didn't leave with you." I admit.

The silence grows uncomfortable for me in a moment as she is putting the containers back into her pack. I shift as she stands. She always seems so collected in everything she does.

"Alright. We still have a way to go until New Boston, however." She says.

She turns and walks forward. I follow her. Sometimes I feel like a lost puppy when I just quietly follow. I figure that's why the silence gets awkward for me so easily. The sand of the Badlands is beating in the wind. The heat is intense.

We travel along until Dusk hits the horizon again. She stops. my legs ache from the long journey. The whole day was rather quiet after we left the oasis. Yet, I still feel like we have traveled a great distance.

Mia unpacks the campfire and tent devices from the prior night. I sigh. I can't help but feel so vulnerable out here. She pulls out her containers and passes me one. I take it. I feel as though she sees me like the lost soul I am.

"Mia..." I break our silence.

"What's up?" She asks.

"Tomorrow we hit New Boston right?" I ask.

"Should be sometime in the afternoon. Why?" She asks. "Don't tell me you are homesick."

"No, it's not that. I was wondering how long we will be there for?" I ask.

"Probably two nights. we want to be well supplied for the next stretch." She replies.

"What is the next stretch?" I ask.

"The Lawrence Canyon." She says.

"Where is that?" I ask.

I never heard of this place. I have to be sure about everything we come across. Especially if I ever do want to go back home, to Basha. I wait for her to reply. She looks up and stares at me.

"Look, it was the main river in land from the sea around here, once upon a time. however, it will lead us to where the country had its hidden documents, a place they called Ottawa." She explains.

"What a weird name." I say.

"Look, I am not a scholar for nothing, you're going to have to trust me on this one." Mia says.

"I do, I just want to know more, I feel kind of, useless." I say.

"Well, it's hard not to feel that way when in between settlements." She sighs.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Think about it, Etha. I spend alot of time in the Badlands. I'm usually alone. Normally I wouldn't have anyone to even talk to." She sighs.

"I see." I reply.

Who ever would've thought being so cool, would be so lonely. She is living the life of a legend. Yet, no one around to share with. My heart sinks for her. She stands and throws the tents device into place. The tent and campground assemble from it.

"It's nice to have someone around, Etha." She says.

"I never thought about it like that." I admit. "It's gotta get lonely sometimes."

"Yeah. Often." She replies.

She tosses the device for the campfire to be setup. It whirs and releases the setup. A flash blinds me for a few seconds, it seems to always catch me off guard.

We both share the effort of starting the fire. The temperature of the air is getting like ice the farther we travel. I can't figure out why, since the Badlands are always so hot and dry. We sit up for a while. We debate about the origin of bits, our currency, and what the old world may have used them for. We draw no conclusion before heading into the tent to go to bed for the night.