The Legendary Junkmaster

Jason roared at Zach to hurry up, as the caravan almost caught up with him. Some of the guards had peeled away to stall the enemy, as it had become clear that they were not going to make it to the city before they caught up. However, the enemy split up its own forces. One to tackle the guards while the others went around to target the caravan.

Jason cursed when he saw that. It seemed like this group from the alliance was not willing to let anyone get away. The best solution would be to lose them. But he figured this group from the alliance would take its time to comb through the city if they lost track of them. 'What the hell are we going to do?' Jason groaned as he glanced around. 

There was no time to check on the situation behind them as the waggons raced into the city limits. The guards that had been left with the waggons who had defensive abilities began to use them. Some created walls from the cracked earth. Others formed strange substances that would act as hazards. Jason prayed that these would be enough until they settled on a plan of action.

Before long the sound of the two sides clashing reached his ears. This sent a chill down his spine as he realised how close the Alliance soldiers had come. 'Damn it! Come on!' 

"There's a junction up ahead!" The driver of the lead waggon shouted above the noise. "Which way do we go?"

Jason heard Zach complaining under his breath as he struggled to make a decision. The wrong one could potentially lead to their death. However, before Zach could answer, Jason remembered what the strange woman had said not long ago. 'Is this what she meant?' Jason chewed his lower lip before shouting out.

"Turn Left!"

The caravan driver did not care who had shouted. All he cared about was that someone had made the decision, so whatever happened, he could not be blamed for it! Zach cursed as the waggons made a sharp turn. The wheel of one of them broke, sending goods and the personnel onboard across the broken road. 

Jason grit his teeth as he ignored the pleas for help that came from them. He knew that by leaving them behind, he was probably giving them a death sentence. But hopefully, their pursuers would waste a little time checking the survivors first. The road they had turned onto seemed to be in better condition than the previous ones. Allowing the caravan to pick up its pace.

Jason wanted to smile at this, but the worry of being caught turned it into an ugly grimace instead. 'If only she had given us more than just turn left!' Jason complained as they rushed past broken street furniture and dilapidated buildings. Nature was beginning to take a toll on these structures as thick trees, weeds and flowers sprouted in any crevice they could find. 

At that point, he heard the yelling of soldiers not far behind them. They had clearly just turned at the same junction that they had! Jason cursed as he wondered how this advice was meant to let them escape, if that had been the woman's intention. 

Just as he was thinking that, a soft tremor ran through the ground beneath them. Jason's eyes widened in shock as cracks ran across the road surface behind them. When he glanced behind him, he saw that the alliance soldiers had come to a pause. The ground was beginning to split between them as earth and buildings fell into the cavity. 

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-Antihero]

"What's going on?" Zach yelled but Jason could only shake his head.

Suddenly, the soldiers shouldered their rifles and started to fire into the hole while backing up! Jason suddenly had a bad feeling and urged the drivers to move faster before whatever was down there caught wind of them! The air was ignited with the sounds of gunfire, time seemed to slow down for Jason so he had no idea how long had passed before he heard the first scream. 

When he dared to look back, he saw beasts that he recognised from the files in the NEST, emerging to swarm the alliance soldiers. He hissed under his breath as he recalled what they were. They looked like moles, with sharp spikes running down their spines. According to the files, these beasts were capable of using the spikes as a means to attack from range. 

In other words, they were strange bones that could regrow and be ejected from their body at will. Not only that, but their claws were capable of cutting through concrete. So these soldiers would not stand a chance! Jason grinned maniacally at the soldiers' misfortune. However, this caused him to wonder a bit more about the strange woman. Why did she help them?

Before he got a chance to gloat too much, he noticed that a squad broke off from the rear and seemed to be searching for a way around! 'Jason's laugh caught in his throat as he wondered why these soldiers were so desperate to catch them. They should not be aware that he was the same person that had been fighting in the battle near Bridgend so they had no excuse to target him. 

Jason's eyes narrowed as he turned his attention to Zach. The only thing that would make sense to him was if this lazy merchant had something worth stealing from his cargo! "Zach! If you're hiding anything worth them chasing us in these waggons, you better spill it! Now!"

"What nonsense are you on about at a time like this!" Zach's face turned red as he screamed back from the rear of his waggon. "The most valuable things we've got are your materials! Your vehicle! This gift you gave me and you, yourself!"

Jason was taken aback by the hostility in Zach's voice. It gave him a moment of pause that allowed him to think clearly. "Is it... Really because of me?" 

Jason squinted over his shoulders as the ANT-V lumbered onwards. His mind raced to try and put two and two together. 'The alliance should not be this deep in the territory. They'd never make it as far as Bridgend so we could have only have crossed paths in Murk Point. That was when two ideas hit Jason. The first, was that the alliance assumed he had more of the liquid metal and wanted to seize it. The other... That he himself was worth seizing because of his part in upgrading the Murk Walker.

Jason groaned when he realised that either of the reasons could be enough for this group to chase after them. 'Why the hell is it always me!' Jason wanted to scream at the skies as if there was someone there that he could blame for all of his misfortunes. But he knew that it was a stupid thing to do because then he would confirm Zach's own suspicions on the matter. 

'What's done is done. Now we need to find a way out of this mess!' Jason scanned every alley they passed, hoping to find something worth taking note of. There had to be something or somewhere that could lead to their full escape. Otherwise, there was no point in telling them to go this way! 

However, the further they went, the more that Jason began to suspect that there was no more help to be found. 'Perhaps the moles were the only help that the woman was willing to give... Which means... We have to find our own way out from here!' 

"Zach? How well do you know this city? Is there a way for us to get from here using less travelled roads to reach the other side?" Jason yelled over the sounds of gunfire bouncing off of the ruined buildings. 

Zach frowned as he searched his memory. Naturally, he had explored this city a bit during his youth. Believing it held some kind of secret to repel the beasts. Of course, now, he knew it was because of the moles living in the area. A pack that size would be more than enough to scare off even the most seasoned predators.

"There used to be a way, but I can't guarantee the state it is in now." Zach frowned as he glanced towards Jason. "If we carry on down this road, there's a large industrial building that's in complete ruins. If we turn left there, there's a bridge that goes all the way to the opposite side of the city..."

Jason nodded at the good news. "Let's hope it's still in one piece then! It might just be our way out of this!"