Breakdown (Short Story)

I was going to write this as a Zapfic and post it to Leo Threads but then decided to continue on the story haha, I think it's kind of interesting and follows two people who broke down just outside The Dead Zone.

Source

"The dust from the old industrial district is poisonous," Vertax said with a look of pure disgust.

"Yeah?" Adi replied. After so many years? She thought to herself, not wanting to argue to point that she knew he was wrong. "Yeah, really. That's what I heard anyway." Vertax said, looking back down at the engine as he tried to fix it.

Adi couldn't help but look back at the bomb-blasted shells of buildings that divided the old world from the new. "I'm sure we could find what we need in there." Vertax shook his head. "No." "Well, we're this close to it, and haven't died yet from the toxic dust," Adi said, turning to head toward the twisted steel and broken-down scrap heaps.

She ignored the protest from Vertax. Toxic dust, give me a break. The only toxic thing about this situation is expecting to sit around all day on the outskirts of the city. "I can fix it, I just need time." He said at the end, but it was too late. Adi was convinced that him saying that, was little more than a ploy to make her stay. Either he was too afraid to go in himself, or he was afraid to be left alone this close to it.

The road was clear, apart from the odd bits of rubble that were strewn across it. Cracks in the concrete became more pronounced as she got closer to the zone. The rose-tinted sun of Jex was nearly setting, the pinkish hue had become darker and darker as the hours drew on. Soon, it would be night. She knew there was a chance of finding what she needed on one of the wrecks that were definitely lying dormant. The thing that did kind of scare her was the idea of who could be around the place.

Adi heard stories about the freaks that made The Dead Zone their home, chem-addled maniacs, psychos, killers, and in general, the sorts of people who couldn't live in society. "The ones who gave up on life." Is what her father told her as they flew over The Dead Zone when she was younger; albeit old enough to ask and be told about the ruins of what used to be, and those who lived there.

The road came to an end, where a wreck of a tower had crumbled barring entry. There was a gap; it was small enough to squeeze past, but there were some corrugated sheets blocking the way. She wrenched one back, it bent and stayed bent when she let go. As she shimmied past she could feel the jagged steel and sharp stone scratch at her. She ignored it and carried on. Now on the other side, she could feel a sting; inspecting the cut she could see it was deep, but it wasn't a gusher. The old "Toxic dust," that now coated her arm seemed to help against the cut. Thanks for helping keep the blood on the inside. She thought, almost laughing to herself as she did.

The place wasn't as busy as she had hoped, there were a few buildings left barely standing, and some fauna had taken back the place; not much though, just some tufts of grass and hardy weeds. She could see some old speeders, but looking at them from this distance there was nothing left of their insides. The Scrapper Guild must have picked everything clean, but who knows, maybe they were kind enough to leave a starter motor.

The thing was an old model and she was almost unable to open the hatch to check the innards, the rust had nearly completely sealed the thing. After a bit of wrestling with it though, she managed to get it open. She was looking through and the cavity was cleaned out, apart form some old wires, gears, bolts, and loose screws, but no tech. She did like the look of the casing though, these old models had some style to them. Her and Vertax's speeder had no paneling left, exposed cabling gave it some of its charm they thought. At the very least it gave easy access for repairs, of which the old thing needed many. Some people kitted their transports out and made them pretty like they were part of some prized collection, but for them, they were lucky enough to have something that made it to the sky, regardless of how it looked.

She looked up, to the next wreck, but out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed something or someone. Adi made sure not to stare at them, however, she decided to back away and head back down the road to the wall. Should I take out my blaster? She asked herself but decided against it. Better not draw too much attention. Turning around, she noticed more movement, this time it was coming from one of the buildings. A quick flash, as someone or something, darted past a window. There are more of them.

"Why were you touching my ship, human?" Adi jumped, startled to hear a voice behind her. She turned to see a Beskin standing next to the old wreck she had been looking at. "What?" She said, letting out a slight yelp afterward. "I didn't know it belonged to anyone." Adi continued in a panic. Glancing back to the buildings to her left.

"Well, they do, this land is my land. Everything in it belongs to me." He replied. The fur that covered his entire body was matted and greasy. "I'm sorry, I was looking for something." "What were you looking for?" Adi felt uncomfortable and backed away slightly. "It's nothing, I'll be on my way." The Beskin waved a hand at her. "People always come here to steal, constant streams of them. We had to stop them, and now they don't come as often." "I was just looking at it."

The Beskin shook his head. "Empty your pockets, I don't like thieves, and I don't like liars either." "I don't have anything. I was looking for a starter motor because my ship broke down." "Scavengers. Always scavengers. If I try to start this and it doesn't start, then I guess you stole my starter motor." The Beskin said as he walked around to the front of the wreck and tried the engine. Which, obviously didn't work. "There, you see, this is the prize of my collection and now it's broken." She shook her head to that and turned to see that the now empty street was dotted with the worn-out faces of people, all staring silently.

"I didn't think anyone owned it, I didn't even think anyone lived here." She said in a slight panic. "Many people live here. It's silent, hear the silence? We hear everything, because most people who are meant to be here, stay quiet. But, not you, you were loud. We could hear you." There was nothing she could say to that, all she could do was look around her.

"I have to go." The Beskin shook his head. "No, stay, I will give you a starter motor and you can leave then. I've got a bunch of them. They aren't with me though, we'd need to go back to the base." "No, that's fine, we'll be okay."

"We? I can only see you." A cold streak ran through her, and all she could do was stare.

The sound of silence was broken by a distant engine whirl, which grew louder and louder. It was familiar and had the distinct chug that she was so used to. Vertax.

She turned and saw it flying toward them, over the walls made of the old building and directly down the road. Taking her com-link, she lifted it to her mouth. "Down here."

Vertax took the speeder down to a hover just above the ground and she ran over to it and hopped onboard. "Thanks for the offer, I'll be sure to remember it if we ever break down again."

The Beskin and all the others got smaller and smaller as the Speeder ascended. Turning around, they left The Dead Zone behind them, and the relief was overwhelming.