( unknown pov )
"Aaah , sweet mother of the trash where the hell are you going A-aron " i screamed at my idiot dog running away from me to those hivers area.
Only God knows what kind of atrocities those fools will do if they found us
My dog was running towards the old columbia river bank , this long toxic green river .
Who knows how much polluted this place is afterall these fools directly dump all their garbage in it
Earlier both me and my dog A-aron came here following the old western railway tracks to this aldercreek railroad bridge
As soon as we stepped here , it went mad , running towards the river bank
I ran behind him with all my strength maybe he found some treasure and is chasing it but it's highly unlikely because those damn hivers won't let any important thing sit still in there territory
Finally I caught upto this idiot there he was with his long tongue out fully covered in dirt then i finally look beside him
I found a kid perhaps 10 year old lying there possibly dead , his face was pale and without any scratch
He had short hair and from his face alone i could tell he was one of those hivers and his uniform and that broken exoskeleton confirmed it even more
" Come back ! " , i don't want to associate myself with someone from hive
I told my dog to come back but it still lingered there , hesitate to leave him behind
Just then " cough , cough !!! "
Yep that boy was alive somehow and i wanted to run away before he woke up
" Get back idiot or no food for you today " I told A-aron in my angry voice
He finally came back but looked one last time back , I was leaving just then that hesitation came back in me...
" Aah , fuck ! "
I knew now that I had to do something for this boy
So I went back and knelt beside him , i checked his pulse
Yep still there but weak , His whole body was trapped in this broken exoskeleton of his
I then called my dog on his top was a makeshift pouch of mine
I took out a mini military grade cutter from it and began cutting it down to free the boy
After what felt like eternity , i finally managed to get him out of there
I then picked him up in my arms , he was just 4 feet 7 inches while I was whole 6 feet 2 inch.
Then I quickened my pace and began walking towards to the nearest town of Roosevelt.
...
The wind howled across the river as I started walking.
Dust scraped against my face.
The Wooden bridge behind me creaked like it was about to collapse any second.
It was one of those makeshift wooden bridge built during the war after the original one was destroyed by those rebels
A-aron followed closely behind me
I walked fast as sun was setting behind me and weather could get worse at any moment .
I looked down at the kid again.
His head lolled slightly with every step.
"…Don't die on me before we get there boy"
I don't even know why I said that.
Finally I reached the nearest town of Roosevelt before dark
I got entry in this town quickly without any trouble perhaps due to my frequent visits here
There i rushed in between It's resident eyes towards the clinic in the center square while trying to hide this boy as much as possible from the onlookers
In the wastelands these kind of clinics were rare and fortunate to find
" Knock! , knock ! "
I hurriedly knocked on the door and finally door opened
I came face to face with this familiar mexican man of decent height in his classic texan hat
" Hey , what got you here carl...
He paused when he noticed the boy in my arms especially the uniform he was wearing
This uniform was the fastest way to catch attention in these waste lands , the kind of attention you wouldn't want even your enemies to get
He hurriedly shoved us in his humble abode and then said
" What's this kid doing here , did you kidnap him ? " He asked worriedly
" Nah , do you believe me to be that kind of person , he is just a boy who I happen to found on the river bank " I said while placing him down at the nearest bed .
Uhh damn my back hurts ...
" Just don't tell me , you want me to treat this subhuman hiver " he said clearly panicked but also had a look of disgust in his face .
I sighed then straightened up and said
" Well just do it for my sake , i know it ain't that difficult for you "
He saw the conviction in my eyes and then said " remember i am only doing it for old times "
He then with a tired look took the boy inside to check on him leaving me and my trusted buddy A-aron behind .
I remained seated and started playing with A-aron while in deep thinking
After some time, he finally came out and said
" I have thoroughly analysed him , i have to tell you that his limbs are extremely weak , has many bone injuries and even has his larynx missing because of which he can't speak ..
I don't think he will survive without cyber enhancement in the wasteland " he said then sat beside me
" So what can we do now ? " I asked keeping my eyes on my dog
" Well i say let's just free him from his misery , it will already be considered mercy and then we can remove his usable organs for future medical cases , what do you say ? " he said like speaking facts
" Is there any other way to save him ? " I said while still looking down deep in thought
" Aah so you want to save that subhuman guy produced in a damn factory , huh !
See there's no need to hide anything, i know you for a long time and I also know you are doing it because you don't want anyone whether a subhuman to suffer the same fate as your kid...
I am saying it is as a good friend , It's not worth it to go to such lengths "
I remained silent and then i finally spoke with a heavy voice
" Sigh!! , I have been a real bad man my entire life Hector .
I have killed countless people and what happened back then was my karma...
Aah , You know me..
just let me do it...
just let me save someone's life..
It is my chance at redemption, i want to save him whether he is a hiver or not as long as he is alive..."
I looked in his eyes and then said in a broken voice by this time I had clearly lost my composure
" Please Hector do it for old times sake , i don't care how much it costs b-but save him , I-i just don't want another kid to die on my watch "
A brief moment of silence continued then-
" Carl always the emotional fool...
You—you are a good man , Carl Harlan ! " He then patted my shoulder and said
" I will do what I must then...but keep the money ready as it gonna cost a lot to you , you old fool !!!"
" Aah haha , Classic Hector always trying to ruin the mood with your damn jokes.. "
I then laughed a little while A-aron was trying to comfort me , maybe because of my previous loss of composure
Maybe occasionally letting go of my emotions is good too...
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