"Stay close!" Tarek barked, his voice muffled by the mask's filter.
The team's scavenge leader.
They had given everyone a mask.
The team moved through Zone 12 like ghosts in the fog—rusted beams jutting from the ground like bones, the air thick with static from dying power lines that refused to quit.
It was a wasteland. The air wasn't safe to breathe, every step landing in puddles of bluish-purple sludge that hissed when touched. Collapsed towers blocked their path, forcing them to climb or cut through the wreckage piece by piece.
Kael stuck close to Tarek. Everyone else worked in pairs, but being the newcomer, he'd been assigned to the leader. Not that he minded—Tarek's silence was easier to handle than small talk.
The man was built like a wall: tall, broad, a metal brace running along his spine. His steps were heavy, steady, the kind that said he'd done this a hundred times before.
So, It wasn't that unusual to see someone with metal parts. He wondered if having a metal box stuck to your chest was normal too, so he'll stop wearing this cloak.
"So, you're new, huh?" Tarek said, voice rough through the static of his mask.
Kael just nodded. It wasn't a lie. He was new—to the city, to the work, to this world. Even to his own body.
They moved on, scanning the ruins for salvage. Most of it was useless—bent scrap, burned-out circuits, broken shells of what used to be drones. The others called out to each other across the fog, trading finds and warnings, the sound dull and distant.
He picked up many things, some he had no idea what they were and some that looked like things back on earth.
"Tarek, what about this?" Kael asked showing Tarek the things he scavenged like Derelict Drones, Cyborg Corpses and a nanite vial— which Tarek said gave good pay because they were used for temporary healing and only those in the Core could afford them.
They moved deeper into Zone 12. The fog grew thicker, glowing faintly where it caught the light from their lamps. The air hummed around them—an electric sort of silence that made Kael's skin prickle.
Tarek raised a fist, signaling the team to halt. "Energy spike ahead," he said through the mask. "Keep it tight."
Kael followed his gaze. Through the haze, he could make out a faint, blue shimmer bleeding from a collapsed structure up ahead—what looked like the remains of an old transport hub.
"Could be valuable or a trap," someone from the back said.
Tarek took a minute to think. "We should go back, don't want to risk it." He finally said.
"We already have enough haul," he said looking at Kael with a look of recognition because he got a really valuable object.
As they were leaving, a Cyborg eye, Kael picked up from where the Corpses were fell out of his sack and rolled to where the spike was.
"Where you going," Tarek yelled watching Kael go to where the spike was.
"Something fell," Kael replied as he reached for the eye.
But he paused, something catching his eye.
Kael's eyes locked on the glow. He could feel it now—like the pod was calling to something inside him.
Then the pod split open.
A burst of blue energy ripped through the air, crackling across the ground and racing up the walls before vanishing into the fog. For a heartbeat, Kael stood frozen, the sound swallowed by static. He barely heard Tarek shouting.
"Back!" Tarek's voice cut through the hum. "Fall back, now!"
The others scattered, grabbing whatever they could before disappearing into the haze. Kael didn't move. The light held him—something deep in his chest, that cold artificial core, thumped in time with the pulsing energy.
Then, as suddenly as it began, the glow faded. The pod went still.
The ground split beneath his feet.
"Kid!" Tarek shouted, running toward him—just before Kael dropped out of sight.
---
"Ugh." Kael hit the ground hard, groaning as he pushed himself up.
"Idiot," he muttered, his voice echoing faintly off the stone. "Fucking idiot."
He slammed a fist into the wall. Tarek had warned them about traps. About the ground giving way. And still—he walked right into one.
He just hoped he didn't see any invader.
The air was thick, damp, stinking of rust and rot. Even through the gas mask, the stench clawed at his throat. It was pitch-black, and his torch was gone—only the rough weight of his scavenger's sack still slung over his shoulder.
He pressed a hand to the wall and started moving, slow and careful. The stone was slick; liquid pooled beneath his boots. Each step echoed deeper into the dark.
"What's that?" he murmured.
A faint glow shimmered ahead—a thread of blue light bleeding from the depths. The metal box in his chest vibrated again, the same low hum that pulsed through him when the pod broke open.
When he reached the source, he stopped.
A broken tower jutted from the ground, half-buried in sludge. Its surface was scarred with old circuitry, and across its base was a faded symbol—the same one that marked the terminal Node 45-B chip.
"Old tech," Kael thought, remembering Bronn's words.
The tower looked dead—rusted, useless—but Kael knew better. He brushed off grime until he found a small access port, just the right size for the chip.
"Let's see what you're hiding," he muttered.
He slid the chip in.
The chip clicked into place.
For a heartbeat, nothing. Then the tower groaned—metal grinding against metal—as faint blue light crawled through its cracks. Dust fell from the ceiling. The hum that followed wasn't electronic; it was old, deep, like something waking after centuries underground.
Kael took a step back.
A panel on the tower snapped open, spitting sparks. Then letters flickered across its face, burned into the rust like a brand:
REQUIREMENT 2 COMPLETED
"Requirement 2?" He muttered. "What was one?"
The glow swelled until it filled the chamber. Kael raised an arm to shield his eyes, teeth clenched as blue light washed over him—so bright it burned through the fog of his mask. The air stank of ozone and hot metal.
Then—silence.
When his vision cleared, the light had died. The tower was quiet again, and looking even more rusty than before.
Kael blinked, eyes watering, and saw something lying beside the base. A short, thick rod of metal, no longer than his forearm. Its surface was carved with strange grooves, the edges still glowing faint blue. Steam coiled from it, disappearing into the dark.
He picked it up. The weight felt right—solid, heavy. It vibrated once, faintly, like it recognized him.
Kael looked around.
A new crack split the far wall, glowing just enough to show a slope leading upward. The light was faint, but it was there—a way out.
"Kael!!" Tarek shouted his name through the slope.