It happened on the eve of Halloween, when survivors traditionally carve evil faces on pumpkins and chase each other across the Wasteland, trying to take away the cherished yellow balloons. Mechanic Joe was not like that. He was working on an urgent order - he was strengthening the cabin of an armored car that belonged to a respected raider. So when a traveling merchant’s wagon pulled up outside Joe‘s garage, among other junk he took a liking to a well-preserved mannequin. Just in time for the final crash test. The merchant had tripled the price, boasting that he got it from the ruins of an abandoned laboratory, but Joe only spat and gripped the handle of the large wrench tighter.
The guest drove away in a bad mood, and the mechanic put the dummy in the corner of the garage and went back to work on the cabin. The order has to be ready in three days. In the morning Joe did not find the mannequin in its place. The mechanic thought that thieves had climbed into the garage at night, but then he saw that it was standing near the cabin. The doll seemed to be looking inside. Joe swore and put the mannequin back in place, cursing the swill he had bought from the merchant along the way.
The next couple of days, the mechanic again and again found the dummy in different parts of the garage. It was beginning to get on his nerves. While adjusting the acceleration mechanism for the crash test, Joe glanced at the dummy and muttered under his breath: “Let's see how you run when I bump you into the wall”.
In the morning, the raider with his guys came for an order, but no one met them. Soon they found Joe. More precisely, what he turned into inside the cabin, crushed into the wall. Deciding to compensate for the unfulfilled order, the raider ordered the guys to take out everything of value. The former workshop was empty. But no one paid attention to the motionless mannequin sitting in the crash test control room.
For more information on Crossout, follow these channels:
Welcome to the next issue of Voice of the Wastelands! Murch is on air with you with a few pages of text and a stash of coins sent by the Rat King!
