Chapter 8: The Driver's Secret
1298 Words
The truck roars across the wasteland, kicking up a cloud of dust and ash in its wake. Inside, the engine's growl vibrates through the metal floor beneath us. Finn leans against the window, his rifle still gripped tightly in his hands. Lila sits across from me, her knife resting in her lap, her gaze locked on the driver.
He's an older man, his face weathered and scarred, with a thick gray beard that covers most of his jawline. His eyes are sharp, darting between the road ahead and the rearview mirror. His clothes are patched together from various scavenged materials, but a badge sewn into his jacket catches my eye. It’s faded and torn, but the word Sentinel is still visible.
The silence is broken when Finn clears his throat. “Thanks for the save back there.”
The driver glances at him, smirking. “Don’t mention it. Not every day I get to play hero.”
“Who are you?” Lila asks, her voice cold and direct.
“Name’s Kade,” he replies, keeping his eyes on the road. “Used to be part of the Sentinels. Guess you could call us wasteland rangers. Not much of a group anymore, though.” His voice carries a note of bitterness.
“What happened to them?” I ask.
He chuckles darkly. “What happens to everyone in this godforsaken place. The creatures, the radiation, the factions… take your pick.”
The truck jerks suddenly as Kade swerves to avoid a pile of twisted metal. Lila grabs the door handle, steadying herself. “And what are you doing out here now?”
“Surviving,” he says simply. “Same as you. Except I’ve got wheels.”
---
The road ahead begins to slope downward, leading into a valley surrounded by jagged cliffs. The landscape changes subtly—scraps of greenery poke through the cracked earth, and the air carries a faint, damp smell. It’s a stark contrast to the barren wasteland we’ve been trudging through.
Kade slows the truck, his eyes narrowing as he scans the area. “We’re coming up on Haven Rock. Used to be a settlement here, but it’s been abandoned for years. We’ll stop here for the night.”
“Why was it abandoned?” I ask, already dreading the answer.
Kade’s grip tightens on the wheel. “You’ll see.”
The truck pulls to a stop near the edge of the settlement, a cluster of crumbling buildings surrounded by a makeshift wall of rusted metal and wood. The place is eerily quiet, the kind of silence that feels alive, like it’s waiting to pounce.
We climb out of the truck, weapons at the ready. Kade leads the way, his steps confident despite the oppressive atmosphere. Lila and Finn follow close behind, their eyes darting to every shadow.
The buildings are in various states of decay—some reduced to rubble, others standing but barely intact. Strange markings cover the walls, symbols painted in what looks like dried blood. They’re crude and unsettling, depicting twisted shapes that seem almost human.
“What the hell is this?” Finn mutters, running his hand over one of the symbols.
“Cult markings,” Kade says grimly. “They called themselves the Scourge. Claimed they could ‘purify’ the wasteland through sacrifice. Turned this place into their playground for a while.”
“What happened to them?” Lila asks.
Kade smirks, a dark glint in his eyes. “Let’s just say they didn’t account for the Sentinels.”
---
We set up camp in one of the sturdier buildings, a small structure with a partially intact roof and walls. Kade starts a fire in the center of the room, using scraps of wood and paper he’s scavenged from the truck. The flames cast flickering shadows across the walls, making the symbols seem even more sinister.
Lila sits near the fire, sharpening her knife. Finn is by the window, keeping watch. Kade rummages through a crate in the corner, pulling out a can of food and tossing it to me.
“Eat,” he says. “You’ll need your strength.”
I nod, prying the can open with my knife. The smell is faintly metallic but tolerable. I take a bite, the taste bland but filling. Across the fire, Kade watches me, his expression unreadable.
“You’ve seen them, haven’t you?” he asks suddenly.
“Seen what?” I reply, though I already know what he means.
“The creatures. The ones that don’t die easily. The ones that seem... smarter.”
Lila and Finn exchange uneasy glances, but I nod. “Yeah. We’ve run into a few.”
Kade leans back, his face illuminated by the firelight. “They’re not natural, you know. Mutants, sure, but not like the others. They’ve been… engineered.”
“Engineered by who?” Finn asks, his voice sharp.
Kade shrugs. “No one knows for sure. Some say it’s remnants of the old government, experimenting in secret bunkers. Others think it’s the work of cults like the Scourge, trying to create their own gods. All I know is they’re spreading, and they’re getting worse.”
The fire crackles, filling the silence that follows. Lila stares into the flames, her jaw tight. “If they’re spreading, then there has to be a source. Something creating them.”
Kade nods slowly. “That’s what the Sentinels thought. We were trying to track it down before… well, before everything fell apart.”
---
The night passes uneventfully, but the unease lingers as we prepare to leave Haven Rock. The morning light reveals more of the settlement’s decay, the buildings crumbling further under the weight of time.
As we pack up, Finn stops suddenly, his rifle raised. “Do you hear that?”
We all freeze, listening. At first, there’s nothing, just the faint whisper of the wind. But then it comes—a low, guttural growl, followed by the sound of something scraping against metal.
“Stay close,” Kade orders, his voice calm but firm. He draws a pistol from his belt, the weapon gleaming in the sunlight.
The growling grows louder, and then we see it.
A creature emerges from the shadows, larger than the ones we’ve encountered before. Its body is covered in patches of mangled fur and exposed muscle, its eyes glowing with an unnatural light. Long, spiked appendages protrude from its back, twitching as it moves.
“Back inside!” Kade shouts, firing a shot that grazes the creature’s shoulder.
We retreat into the building, barricading the door with a heavy beam. The creature slams into it moments later, its growls turning into a high-pitched screech that makes my ears ring.
Kade fires through a c***k in the wall, the bullets hitting their mark but doing little to slow the creature down. “This thing’s tougher than the others,” he mutters, reloading.
Finn climbs onto a ledge, aiming his rifle at the creature’s head. His shot is precise, and the creature collapses, its body twitching violently before going still.
The silence that follows is deafening.
“What the hell was that?” Lila asks, her voice shaking.
“One of the bigger ones,” Kade replies, his face grim. “They’re getting bolder.”
---
As we climb back into the truck, I can’t shake the feeling that Kade knows more than he’s letting on. His calm demeanor, his knowledge of the creatures, and the faded Sentinel badge all paint a picture of a man with a past he’s not ready to share.
As the truck roars back to life, I glance at him, the question burning in my mind. But for now, I keep it to myself.
We’re still alive. That’s enough for today
- Writer
