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They lived happily, the mechanic and his son. Relatively at least. Good fortune never sticks around for long and rarely does it leave alone.
Expanded Content:
While leaning against the railing of the second story balcony of his home, the Mechanic -- a gruff looking, forty-something year old man who looked like he knew the meaning of a hard days work -- looked on at the world beyond the perimeter of his fence. Seeing so much that had changed over the years and so little that had stayed the same. While he missed the way things used to be, he looked on at the world with a smile. The Mechanic and his son had lived well these past few years. Relatively well at least.
Things were not always easy, of course. Even before everything began to change they faced many difficulties, but with his son at his side he felt as though nothing could bring him down. The confidence that the Mechanic's son instilled in his dear father was all that kept him going during those darker days. While it's true that there were times the Mechanic pined for the simpler days, where he had a simple job as an engineer at one of the top military research facilities. Working on the latest and greatest technological advances the world may never even see. Staying up until the wee hours of the morning just to get the blueprints of various weapons, battle-suits, whatever else the brass decided the technology breakpoint of the week was completely fleshed out before the quickly approaching deadline. All far less complicated and stressful than being a husband and a father. Well, just a father now.
It was actually his wife that dragged him away from that sector at work. It was her brand of love that reignited his interest in working simpler machines. Cars, lawnmowers, blenders. All those simple, everyday things that got him into engineering in the first place. She was the one who made him realize that working on the most advanced designs at another behest wasn't the only life he could live. That giving up a cushy job in the government sector for a simpler family-oriented lifestyle could reinvigorate his creativity and allow him to pursue his own path of creation. It's thanks to her that he has such a wonderful son and all the time in the world to spend with him. It's just too bad that she turned out to be such a nut bag and left them before his son's fifth year on this strange planet of ours.
The Mechanic sighed as he draped himself over the balcony, his thick arms dangling loosely over the side. It was unfair of him to put so much blame on her. It really was his fault for not seeing her problems sooner. He might have been able to help if he had just payed closer attention, but he was too busy being selfish. Using her as an excuse to get away from the stale life he was leading to chase his own fanciful dreams. He knew that he should be thankful for the gifts she gave him, including his son, the greatest gift he had ever received.
As the Mechanic was getting lost in his own memories, a deep rumbling sound began to rolling towards his perch and the house began to shake soon after. His heavy arms swung back and forth in time with the house as they dangled over the edge. The shaking only lasted for a handful of seconds before dying away along with the rumbling.
"Hm, was closer than normal, but still on the outer edge." The Mechanic said to himself in a rough voice that very much matched what you would expect from a man like him. Though he sounded completely unconcerned about the event that just occurred. After a few more moments of silence the Mechanic pushed off against the balcony railing with a grunt and stood up straight. While the Mechanic was average height, his wide shoulders and thick frame always left those around him describing him as 'big' and was often told he gave off an intimidating presence.
Which he of course used to his advantage anytime negotiations were going poorly or an argument broke out. Very few people he worked with were willing to stand toe-to-toe with him when he stood up straight and puffed out his chest. On the other hand, his ex-wife had absolutely no problem calling him out on his shit and refused to back down no matter what tactics he used. Perhaps that was part of what pulled him towards her.
Interested in exactly where the source of the disturbance came from, the Mechanic began to walk around the balcony. Years ago he expanded the balcony that was built with this house so that it wrapped completely around the second floor. Even though it wasn't exactly the most aesthetically pleasing addition to be built, it allowed to him easily observe the world around his little home. Plus, it's not like he was going to get any complaints about it. After making it a quarter of the way around the house, the Mechanic located the source. A dust cloud was slowly rising over the roofs' of the houses just two blocks away.
"South-East, of course. They've been particularly active over there for the past month or so." The Mechanic said quietly to himself as he recalled other similar incidents that had occurred recently. "I wonder what they think they found." The Mechanic smiled at the thought of something interesting being that close to him. "It must be incredibly important if the Burners think it's worth sending more men into my territory, feeding themselves right into my traps." The thought of the Burners writhing and struggling in one of any number of traps he had set out there brought a devilish smile to the Mechanics otherwise stoic face.
At first the Mechanic went easy on the Burners, he thought they were only doing what they needed to protect themselves from "The Taken", as they liked to call them. Burning the poor things with home-made napalm and flamethrowers, because that was the easiest way to keep one of them down. However, the Mechanic had the displeasure of speaking with a Burner during the first year, when panic still filled the streets and "The Chosen" -- as The Mechanic preferred to call them -- were still mostly an unknown entity to those who were left. It was quickly apparent that the actions of these "men", if you could still call them that, were not driven by survival. They were driven by hatred. Hatred of beings they knew next to nothing about and were completely unwilling to put in any modicum of effort to become educated.
Instead of listening to the Mechanic plead for "The Chosen", asking only that they be given a chance, the Burner instead talked at length about the various techniques they've used to destroy them. His face alight with glee, eyes burning with a fire that only a man absolutely consumed by hatred could have. In great detail the Burner described the sizzling of flesh, the popping of sinew and bones, the empty eye sockets after the eyeballs had been melted out. The Mechanic couldn't stand listening to even a second more of these horrifying and gruesome acts.
So the Burner died.
The Mechanic had never killed a man before that day, but he has killed many since. Even though the Mechanic made it very clear to the other Burners that their kind were not welcome here, delivered by leaving the lone Burner's disfigured corpse along with a note near one of the patrol routes the Burner had mentioned before his passing, they continued to probe into his territory. They paid dearly for it, though. The Mechanic kept a running tally of the number of Burner corpses he found in his traps. He also kept a tally of the number of Burners he found who had be Chosen, but that number was incredibly low. Burner's often quickly took down any member of theirs who had even the slightly chance of being Chosen, so the Mechanic would occasionally find a charred Burner corpse while doing his own patrols.
What could possibly be important enough in this area to warrant such a consistent loss of life? The Mechanic wondered about this everyday and even now could not come up with an answer. Originally he thought they were after his home base or the technology he continued to develop in here, but with the number of lives that had been lost, he couldn't see those as being reasonable rewards. Figuring it out didn't bother him as much as it used to. Keeping them at bay kept him occupied and working at least.
The Mechanic opened the double-doors, reinforced to withstand most regular munitions and smaller explosives, and went inside. It was about time to go on patrol and to see what was left out there to be scavenged. The Mechanic walked from room to room gathering what he thought he might need. Everything was either homemade or so modified that it's original design could not be seen at a glance. Once everything was gathered and fit snugly to his form so it wouldn't impede movement, all that was left was to let his son know he was going out, so he headed for the basement.
Even with the thick, cumbersome armored gloves on, the Mechanic still managed to deftly unlock each of the five locks that kept the basement door securely shut. As soon as it was unlocked he slowly opened it and peaked inside to make sure nothing out of the ordinary was occurring. Satisfied that all was well, he swung the door wide open and stepped inside, the door slamming shut behind him shortly after and he began making his way down the stairs. The heavy, plated boots on his feet thudding loudly with each step.
The basement was by far the safest place in the home. Absolutely everything was reinforced twice over. The walls, ceiling, and even the floor were reinforced so well that it could take an average crew days to make it through. The Mechanic had to be sure that nobody could get in here without him being present. After all, this is where his son lived. As he reached the bottom of the stairs the Mechanics face lit up as he saw his son. The Mechanic quickly crossed the room to the thick metal bars that kept his son safe.
His son slowly approached him, arms stretched out towards his father. As he came within grasp of the Mechanic, he was pulled into a great big hug by his father. Held as tightly as he could be with metal bars separating them. The son scratched and clawed at his father, but was unable to get any purchase due to the Mechanic's armor. The Mechanic paid no mind to his son's attempts, knowing that he was only doing what was natural to him. What was natural to all the Chosen. All they want is for their loved ones and friends to join them. To finally be at peace and be one with the rest of them.
Unfortunately, the Mechanic could not join them just yet. There was still work that needed to be done. So much work left before he could finally be truly together with his son once again.
"Don't worry, son. We'll be able to join everyone soon." The Mechanic said softly into his son's ear as he held him close. "Just please wait for daddy to be ready. Just a bit longer." The Mechanic continued to hold his son for a long while, never knowing if the dangers of the outside world would prevent him from ever making it back to his son again. But eventually, he let go and slipped away from his son's grasping hands.
"I'll be back soon, my son." The Mechanic called back as he began thumping his way up the stairs. "And don't worry, I'll be sure to bring you back something to eat if I can. I love you!" The basement door slammed shut and the Mechanic left to continue the work that needed to be done.
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