As always, the smell of smoke awoke me.
I got up, and stretched. There came a metallic barking, it was a little mechanical dog, something I repaired like a couple years back. I think it was some mass-produced little pet for people of some city before it got destroyed. I named him Sprocket, and he was little more than a robotic puppy.
Me own name's Kyranka. I'm just a normal elf girl trying to survive. I wear leather clothing made from the hides of Dryglocs- some mutated thing, I think it evolved from some ancient thing an elder once told me about, think it was called a wolf- cut into a practical long-sleeved patchwork outfit that covered my entire body. I've added various metal parts and pieces onto the outfit, so that it was like a junky jewelry suit of rusted iron, copper, steel and various other metals. This clothing is called a Hakra which is Elvish for "It'll do." Elves learned to sleep in their Hakra for it was the clothes on your back, meaning it was all you had.
I have messy hair, I'm unsure of the color, cause soot and mud and grime all muddled and murky-fied it into some unidentifiable brown. My skin is similarly covered with soot, so to me I've always been soot-skinned and brown haired. I look into some leftover piece of reflective metal and see the one thing that stands out about me: my bright green eyes. where I come from everyone with green eyes is called Greeneyes, cause it said in legend, back when the that mystical all-powerful force called "Nature" existed, everything was green, some crazy elven hobos even proclaim that the Greeneyes are blessed by Natures Ghost to someday "resurrect" or "rebirth" Nature. But no one believes them. Do you? The world is all tan, rusty orange, red and brown and grey now.....I don't think the Green is coming back.
I pick up my shot gun and my Partsintools Bag. When I came of age, I received my Partsintools Bag to honor me becoming grown up at the age of fifteen. I'm nineteen now and it had never failed, and neither has my shotgun.
I then walk on over to this crude pipe with a nozzle, I put this old frying pan under it and with some effort, turn the nozzle- the rusted thing probably hasn't been turned for years. Out poured some oil into the frying pan, which Sprocket wandered over to, opened his mouth, extending a pipe out from his mouth he sucked up all the oil in the frying pan.
I looked at the oil gauge on Sprocket's side, the arrow pointed to "F" meaning it was full. Sprocket was fed for the day.
"C'mon Sprocket. Lets go find something for me to eat."
Sprocket in response let out out a happy bark of a grinding gear.
I wander through the wasteland of metal scraps and sand that was my home.
My shot gun is held ready. I had signaled long ago for Sprocket to be quiet. I was in hunting mode now.
It is difficult, hunting in the wastes. Only predators exist here. I was just one with superior firepower. I am also camouflaged, but so is everything else. Everything is dirty and muddled here.
It was a few hours before I found something. The sun was starting to rise higher into the sky, and I am getting really hungry for some breakfast.
I spotted a Zykero. Its this... thing. Its like a big cat, except with a scorpion tail and tongue. And bright purple fur. I aim my shotgun- BLAM!!
It immediately sprinted away, darn it. I HATE it when I miss! Now I have to follow it and waste more ammo!
I started to walk to follow the Zykero when I suddenly smelled something out of place.
The Smell of Smoke.
Then I hear a rumbling, I wheeled around, my shot gun ready. Sprocket had started his metallic barking again, and was barking furiously at a particular pile of junk.
The suddenly a smoke elemental burst out of the scraps, its odor of pure smoke dominating the senses.
Me and Sprocket being to run away as it pursued us.
My shot gun is a good weapon, but I have limited ammo which I need for hunting- I can't get out alive of being attacked by a smoke elemental only to starve. I needed to find something else among the scraps to destroy it with.
"Sprocket!"
I yelled
"Go that way!"
If the smoke elemental gone for Sprocket then he would be a good distraction until I could come up with something, if the smoke elemental went for me, then at least Sprocket would be safe.
The elemental went for Sprocket, running in the other direction. I had only a few minutes, Sprocket couldn't out run the smoke elemental forever. Come on there has to something here that I could, something that could work! I search frantically, desperately trying to find anything that would work.
Then I spotted it: It was some kind of cannon on top of another pile of melted scraps and other junk. I run forward and started climbing, little bits and pieces of nails, wires, gears and shards of plating scattered underneath my feet and I feel old oil, grease and lubricant under my fingers as I climbed the random assortment of trash.
I finally got up, but I still needed to fix the thing, hopefully a quick job. I opened the panel and looked at the wiring and such- if I do a quick repair and fix up, it might be able to work. Once.
No time to worry. Just hope that it works and fix it as best you can.
I pull out my tools, rewiring this and that, replacing this with this part, and just generally working as fast as I could. My bond with the metal guided me towards its completion, it kept saying
"Go! Keep going! You'll do it! activate me in a fury! Unleash it!"
finally I closed the panel and called to Sprocket, then hovered my hand over the firing trigger and my eye in the aiming scope.Sure enough Sprocket came running in, barking while the Smoke Elemental pursued him closely behind.
I took a deep breath for a moment then adjusted the cannon as I could before I could take a shot. One shot, One chance. Win or fail, Live or die.
Then the Smoke Elemental came into sight.
I took aim and pulled the trigger.
Out roared a big flash of lightning, streaking across the air like a blade stabbing through fire. It burned the world it went through, passing right above Sprocket and hitting the smoke elemental directly, the electricity filled up the smoke, an inhuman shriek bursting from the elemental while it seemed to turn into some twisted living storm cloud with electrical veins.
Then as soon as it began, the smoke elemental dissipated, leaving the new, unfamiliar smell.
I shouldered my shot gun and petted a barking Sprocket.
I didn't know what the smell was, but it smelt good, better than smoke.
I could wake up to it.