Blue eyes opened wide and provided a brief light in the soft darkness. With a grunt, the figure lifted himself up, feeling the grass underneath his feet. Everything had happened so fast. So fast that after passing out due to hunger, the covered man couldn’t remember how he arrived here. At first, the night reminded him of the capitol. But, the stars shining in the sky told him he was somewhere completely new.
His eyes adjusted to the dark and everything was illuminated. Grassy hills as far as one could see. It was a barren plain, a tree here or there. The shadow weakly ventured forward, in search of somewhere safe to eat and rest. Even with the shrouded land, his body wasn’t able to keep up. Not being able to eat for two days was sending his body into shock. And the cybernetics couldn’t keep up.
One step after the other, each one growing increasingly heavier. Looking to the south, he saw fire and smoke. But it wasn’t inviting. Instead of a gentle, quiet fire, it was one of a failed landing. Fuel cells popping off and causing the flames to roar every few minutes. The figure continued going west, climbing up the hillside.
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It had been several hours and his body was on the verge of shutting down again. He had only climbed two hillsides and traversed through a relatively small cleft in this time. There was still no predators for him to hunt, or prey for him to see. His vision was blurred as his energy kept dropping.
This... is the end, isn’t it? Dying on some barren planet? After everything I’ve survived?
The moment the words entered his mind, his legs gave way. Collapsing to the ground, but remaining conscious despite it all. Tiny machines were tingling across his body, attempting to repair the damage but softly burned as they had no energy to transform. His eyelids were twitching as he fought off the urge to fall out of consciousness.
Then, a sound. A loud humming and clanking across the empty hills. He attempted to look up but even craning his neck was difficult. Fear and exhaustion built up inside of him.
Over the hillside, a small, loud, and overall, unsophisticated machine flew out from the top of the hill in the north. It stopped just short of the shadow, lighting him up for just a moment. A boy with pale skin, blonde hair, and a gaudy blue uniform was illuminated in the black of night. While a being made of pure red light hopped off of the machine, pulling out his rifle and shifting the barrel inches away from the boy’s forehead.
“Now, who’re you and what’re you doin’ on my planet, kid?” the figure said, with some kind of unfamiliar twang. With his vision blurred, the boy couldn’t make out any features on the being. Just that he seemed to be the antithesis to the very thing that kept him safe; darkness. Using what energy he had left, he gave the mysterious junker a goofy grin.
“Food?” the boy said with all the innocence of a child before losing consciousness. The junker let out a sigh, mumbling something underneath his breath. The young man was placed on the back of the rickety machine and the junker revved up the engine. The boosters engaged and sent the two flying towards the north, in the black of night. Heading home.
