They were already on their way out when Civilian noticed the recent tremors had brought down part of an old garage wall.

Without a word, he motioned for Soldier to follow. Garages always hid something valuable. Something useful.


They slipped through the opening, stepping past a mound of rubble... And then Civilian stopped.


He stood frozen, mouth slightly open.


It was there.


Abandoned. Forgotten.


Possibly the last of its kind in the city.


Dust-covered, bodywork battered by debris, but it still had the shape, the power, the possibility.


A car.


Big. Sturdy. Once the pride of the road. Now just a relic of a world long gone.


Civilian stepped closer. He ran his fingers over the cold metal of the open hood, and for a moment, his mind drifted. He imagined what it would feel like to drive a beast like this. To feel the engine shudder awake. To weave through the empty streets. Instead of creeping through ruins.


“Look at this,” he whispered with reverence.


Like he’d found buried treasure.


Soldier raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, looks nice. What do you plan to do with it?”


Civilian sighed.

“Shame we have to leave it…”


“Have to?”


Civilian shot him a look.

“Yes. We do. Even if we somehow got it running, the noise would bring every Shadow in the district down on us.”


Soldier shrugged. That made sense. Besides, the thing was a wreck. Even before the world flipped upside down, it had probably been junk. And time hadn’t done it any favors.


Still, he got it. It had been ages since either of them had seen a real vehicle. Not like the patched-up junk carts people used now. Even this rusted-out beast felt like a machine.


Civilian leaned into the interior, fingers brushing the cracked dashboard. He wasn’t expecting keys, but maybe… something else.


Documents? Old maps? What did people used to keep in their glove boxes?


Meanwhile, Soldier wandered over to a toppled toolbox.


He dug through the pile...screwdrivers, wrenches, a busted flashlight…


Then he paused. There, beneath the clutter, sat a sealed pack of batteries. Completely intact.


He picked it up and grinned. Now that was treasure.


Even he understood that much by now.