'TUNNEL-VISION II'

  I lost it in the canyon again. Is this a rust-bucket?

  I wouldn't have noticed it without the flare confirmin' it. There was a vague shimmer of metal curling up the wall, sharpening to a point, a flare of grey and white barely visible against the dark. I had to squint to see it, each segmented piece slowly filtering into the black.

  Something was squirming in the dark, each leg scratching against the wall, the faintest noise like nails against glass. A bulky backside made up of the battery which powered the gate crawled against the canyon wall. My analysis was brief but complete.

  The colossal cable began to twitch and wave in response to the careful movements. It was gone again, not even the multi-vision could find it, and I'm not willing to waste another flare. I can't believe it's enough to freeze me, but, I've never dealt with one like this, not here.

  A deafening silence followed the harrowing realisation. It was simple; we're not alone.

  "Lila?" One of them asked, I didn't catch which,

  I turned to them all staring outward into the darkness, roughly where I had seen it seep into the recesses of the tunnel. But, it may not know we're here, not yet.

  "I didn't think they could be that big." Oscar half-whispered,

  "We usually only find slim ones out 'ere." I solemnly reply,

  The cabling was an easy target, but not a good one, if it can move like that with the means to power a whole tunnel gate. I'd hate to see what it moves like without it.

  "We should just shoot out the cable and jump start out of here." Jasper flatly suggested,

  "Bad idea, we won't start the cart fast enough, it'll drop the battery and jump on long before we get to start anythin'." I gruffly rebuke,

  Jasper shrank at the thought that the rust-bucket would be able to move faster than we could even jumpstart a cart.

  "Should we get weapons, Lila?" Ari politely whispered,

  "You don't need any weapons. I'll protect you as always." I proudly reassure,

  I look over to the charge gun. Looks like it won't be coming back, those sorta' batteries are worth triple their weight too. A cruder method is probably needed then.

  "Protect us? Like back there? There's nowhere else to fuckin' run Lila, we're stuck and all you know is runnin'!" Oscar suddenly shouted, before immediately covering his mouth,

  We all collectively froze, waiting for some reaction from outside the cart, but nothing came. Which in itself was confirmation of somethin' worse.

  I've been a collector for a while. Practically my entire life really, but once you get as far I as have you start countin'. You start realising how often you get some parts over others, it's only a natural progression. That's enough insight I need for rust-buckets generally speakin'.

  Rust-buckets equip themselves with all manner of sensory devices, if not, some other form of communication with surrounding machinery. By that merit, they cannot taste, nor can they smell. But, they can hear, see, and touch. You just never know how many, or how well that can do it.

  There's a simple pattern though, let me lay it out for you. If it can touch, then it probably can do it all, that's quality for ya'. If it can see, then it can probably hear, good chance it can't touch. If it can only hear, that's all its got. But if it can't hear, they can make other measurements sorta' speak.

  Akin to a replacement for the human sense of smell, they can detect chemical differences in the air, down to the carbon coming out of your mouth. For taste, they can measure heat to the dot.

  We're plenty heated, and last time I checked we all breathe. It knows we're here.

  What is it waiting for? I use the multi-vision to check over the top of the cart, weren't there either. Well, fuck, no point waitin' for it to kill us.

  "Ari, check if the rust-bucket inside of the gate is workin'. Jasper, drag Oscar over to the console before he gets dragged out through the window." I auspiciously command,

  Both nod, and Jasper begins dragging Oscar down the cart to an extreme amount of protest, but we're all used to that at this point.

  Ari rummages through my tool box and takes out a shocker, which is basically just a jump-start stick for electronics. I have no idea why the battery doesn't run out on it either.

  "Let me go you fuckin' ass! I can move myself!" Oscar idiotically argued, kicking at Jasper forcing him to let him go halfway down the cart,

  Oscar can smoulder in a corner forever, so it's best to let him do that in this sorta scenario, besides it's probably worth the character buildin' for him.

  "Let him go, just fetch me a rifle Jasper, he can drag himself over here." I boorishly order,

  Jasper responded with a shrug letting Oscar go. He strolled over to the wagon and pulled out one of the many rifles at my disposal and handed it over to me.

  I make sure it's in order. I'm not much of a shooter, but I can hit anythin' in front of me, besides I'm hopin' I ain't gotta' use it here.

  "How's the jump-start workin'" I comment, aiming with the rifle out the window for a moment,

  Funnily enough, that's when Ari's efforts proved fruitful. The gate's rust-bucket sprung out as a camera looking into the cart.

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  If there is a door which is required electricity to open and close, it most certainly has or had some sort of rust-bucket attached to it. I dunno' why, or how, or what, it just is. Either way I doubt they got methods of attack or defence, they are just doors after all.

  The camera stared into the cart, I was half prepared to shoot it for some reason or another, it just ain't comfortable with a rust-bucket lookin' at you. But, I've heard enough from Ed to know that he always complains about 'damn red lens', this one ain't got any of that.

  It looked around diligently with a single blue light, it wasn't the lens itself but the light behind it, but Ed wasn't much of a- well, he wasn't much more than a tool to Elis. What's this? It wasn't lookin' at us, it was lookin' for somethin' else.

  It then stared at me, somehow enough to give me a chill with that, and then it's blue light faded into a red one. After which the camera sparked and fell apart. What the fuck?

  "Is that supposed to happen?" Ari quietly asked,

  "No." I awkwardly answer,

  I've never heard of something like that happening. Maybe just an extremely faulty camera? Possibly. Either way that means we only got one option.

  "Jasper, check if we got any EMP grenades left in the wagon, it's sad to say we gotta' use them." I strictly order,

  He goes back to rummaging, and I turn back toward the toasted remains of the camera. Picking apart the thing it seemed extremely worn, but even then, a reaction like that?

  "Ari, when that gate opens you need to start the cart, ASAP, you got that?" I calmly inform,

  She nods at me in acceptance, but then a slight crash is heard, I immediately raise my gun to the back window. Nothin', just Jasper dropping somethin'.

  "Here you go." Jasper impishly said, handing over two EMP grenades,

  All of that ruckus for this? I look over him for a moment, nothing catches my eye, so it's best to keep on focus.

  I look over the roof with the multi-vision again, still nothing, and this rust-bucket isn't quite a small one either. It could see so many bodies as a higher threat, but then, what is it waitin' for? Is it bettin' on latchin' on while dropping the battery?

  If I use the EMP to take out the connection, it may cause the battery to overload, so it could be waitin' to for the moment to drop it? How would it know I have an EMP? I've never known rust-buckets for formin' plans, or making bets on anythin'.

  This is some sorta' ambush. All I can do now is play the game. Problem is, if I use an EMP inside the cart, the cart ain't gonna work. I shoulda' never overloaded the charge gun, this problem wouldn't exist otherwise. So be it, gun meets rust-bucket, what could go wrong?

  Or maybe, gun meets cable? If I force it into action by shootin' at the cable, could it then interpret that as us lackin' EMP equipment? Is it even thinkin' like that?

  "Son of a bitch. I have an idea, it's a bit crazy, prep yourselves." I forewarn,

  I pin the EMPs to my belt for a moment. I raise my rifle, with both Jasper and Oscar lookin' at me in confusion. I think it's the best chance we got.

  "What why?" Oscar loudly whispered, I'm just surprised he managed it,

  The other two simply observed per usual, but I had only slightly more confidence in this completely idiotic action than the EMP plan.

  I twice fire, missed twice, but the screaming metal told me it got the memo.

  Something crashed onto the top of the cart. Then flung around the side, using its body to curl around the entire cart once over. It was heavy, though mostly due to the battery it seemed, and used it as a anchor to achieve this. Along with using its legs to scratch into the carts outer walls.

  I could at first see three segments of the body, which were split evenly into plates of misshapen rusted metal sheets. Each segment seemed to have four sharp nail-like legs which were put at each corner of each segment. There was a pair of claws, sorta' like diggers on one of the segments.

  The body was tightly linked, leaving a negligible gap between the armour plating which separated each segment of the body. The shape of the segments were slim oblong cubes, with large spherical metal joints that likely flowed through the whole body like a spine.

  It was far faster than I had anticipated, to which point I had already pulled out the EMP from my belt but I wasn't fast enough. Ari dropped the tool in her hand and I pushed her back from me.

  It crashed through the window right next to me, smackin' me down to the floor in front of the opposite window. Screwed up my shoulder pretty badly too.

  I thought I was done for, but then Jasper jumped in front of me, stopping it in it's tracks with a strange looking box which seemed like some sorta radio.

  The rust-bucket stopped right there, got a good look at it too, horrific thing.

  There was an almost humanoid figure at the very front of it, split into four arms and one main torso which contained much of it's sensory apparatus. It was headless of course, with a large array of snappers, crushers, and needles in its frontal arsenal.

  It even had at its very forefront two saws which seemed purpose made to intersect parallel to each other in the middle of its torso to rip someone to shreds. Or, rip another rust bucket apart. It's entire frontal portion seemed capable of overlapping into a smaller shape like a palm into a fist.

  Four green lights shone from its front and Jasper seemed quite surprised at the success of his own action. It seemed somehow allured, or distracted? It slowly drifted backward from the device, which looked like one of Elis' inventions from a while back, forgot I had it even.

  Which means he stole it from my wagon, but, how did he know what it was?

  "What did you do?" I involuntarily ask,

  "I saw Elis do this to a smaller one." Jasper proudly answered,

  I looked at my arm as I got up, it had several lacerations just from the thing bumping into me practically. It could've ripped us all to shreds, no problem.

  If I had known Elis made something like that cooped up in his lab all day, I would've gotten him to get me a schematic, imagine a factory of that, I'd be rich enough to buy a bigger wagon.

  Oscar picked up Ari's discarded shocker, after which he looked above himself at one of the segments of the machine.

  "Don't shock it!" I pre-emptively shouted, which Oscar jumped at,

  "Why the fuck not!" Oscar argued,

  "Don't argue with me you dumbass! In a situation like this!" I shout back,

  In just that moment the green lighting on the rust-buckets sensors flickered red, and with a quick swipe is slashed at Jasper, knocking the device out of his hands and slashing his palm.

  I turn quickly swing to it aimin' my weapon and shootin' into it twice, causing it to jolt backward, after which Oscar decided to shock it which caused it further recoil.

  Shootin' that gun was a mistake, I had to grimace with both of those shots, my shoulders in terrible fuckin' shape.

  It's sensory equipment was damaged, and it had lost all its momentum, if we don't throw it off here we're dead.

  That's when Ari decided to do exactly what I asked of her, and started up the cart. The start-up was much slower than the one at the maintenance station, too slow.

  Was the battery so heavy that it was slowing down the cart? Too late to think on it, I take out one of the EMPs off my belt and activate it, I throw it as hard as I can to the large cable connection.

  I just didn't have the power to get it there, it fell short and didn't reach, instead explodin' out near the middle of the canyon.

  "Shit!" I blurt,

  As the cart moved the rust-bucket struggled to latch itself as without warnin' the cart came to a halt. The gate cable was keepin' the entire thing back.

  I took the moment to take the second EMP out, I looked to the window behind me, and toss it up into the air attempting to get it as far up as I'm capable above the cart.

  This is fuckin' risk, but I'm hopin' if I got it high enough.

  The EMP explodes, which, thank fuck, caused the rust-bucket to drop it battery, and it would fling off the side as now the cart began to pick up speed.

  The rust bucket without its anchor slipped away from the cart, doing all it could to latch on, scratching at the metal, clawing at the windows, but it wasn't enough as it's coiled body seemed to fling off the side.

  I fall back against the window, droppin' the rifle to my side.

  Today just keeps gettin' worse, don't it?