Mirage

//Rabbit-The Getaway

The oldest of the four siblings, Rabbit opted not to join the Metal City Armed Forces after completion of Advanced Combat Course. Opting instead to try to join the Universal Rangers, a group operating outside the military whose primary purpose was long range cartography of the Universal Wall, as well as defending frontier towns from Plague Species and Insurrectionists. Despite his high scores in the BCC and ACC, as well as demonstrated proficiency in his element and survival skills, his application was rejected with no reason given.

3 Years Ago

Black Mountain County Park

Metal County, Universal Wall

Cold rain dripped from the overhanging trees that shrouded the muddy mountain path. Off to his right, Rabbit had a view that in other places would have cost and arm and a leg to obtain. He could see for miles, even the ever so slight curve of the Universal Wall itself was visible through the frigid mist. The mountain itself provided a little protection from the wind that howled over his head. The trees that clung to the sides of the rock face for dear life shielding him, for the most part, from the rain. Despite the wind protection, it was still a bitterly cold 27 degrees, and Rabbit felt it even through his layers. More used to the heat, he had little experience in properly dressing for anything else, besides maybe rain. One day, he would find something that allowed him to stay warm without ending up drenched in sweat. The slog up the mountain trail had been long, but so far it had been worth it. The trail had caught his eye at the base of the mountain, concealed behind some dense foliage, it was by dumb luck he had stumbled across it. The path had traced up the mountain through a couple of small caves that were strung up with ancient, rotted light ropes, making it clear that the path had at one point been used regularly. It seemed to be an old war path, as he had found a couple of decayed Volume rifles leaning against the side of the mountain. He figured that their previous owners had left them there in a hurry, he had grabbed one at a time to see if he could use his abilities to restore it, but upon picking up five of the six, the weapons disintegrated from only God knew how many thousands of years of leaning against the wall. With a captured Insurrectionist I-416 tucked under his arm, he had continued up the trail. Rounding a corner that snaked under a huge overhang of solid granite with thick, lush vines dangling from it, a covered Volume halftrack sat rusting away. It wasn't terribly uncommon for one to find leftovers from the Great Wars during travels on the Universal Wall. As a matter of fact, some of the biggest sources of 237 Basin tanks these days were the old graveyards scattered around the UW. Rabbit sort of wondered if this truck was destined for some Volume position nearby. The four door, covered back transport vehicle had no rubber left on the track wheels, nor did it have any front tires. A thick layer of vibrant moss grew on the vehicles rubber cover, windows and windshield, while several different kinds of lichen were growing on the halftrack's metal parts. It was clear upon basic inspection that the tarp covering the bed was rotten beyond saving. The design was from what he thought might have been the First Great War, however, some of the details didn't seem correct for what he had read about in the past. He couldn't put his finger on it if he had been asked, just that something didn't seem quite right.

He tried the driver side front door, the truck was unlocked. Nodding to himself in surprise, he attempted to pull the door open, however, rust and centuries of neglect wasn't going to allow him to open the door with one free arm. Tying the 416 off to his body, Rabbit held the door handle with one hand, and grabbed the door lip with the other, putting all of his weight and strength into pulling the door open. One hard pull at a time, he finally managed to pull the door open far enough to inspect the interior. The smell of old, decaying glues and rotten foams hit Rabbit's nose in a way that most people may have considered revolting, but to Rabbit, all these old military trucks smelled strangely like chlorine, and for some reason, the smell was appealing to him. The Volume didn't build trucks like this anymore, for a few good reasons. Rabbit figured that this thing had been sitting here since the First Great War, and yet, upon cracking it open, it was like a window into the past. The interior of the vehicle, thanks to heavy cast iron and very thick rubber seals, had been spared the decay that was eating away at the outside. The vehicle appeared to have been abandoned in a hurry, as several personal effects, including a half smoked cigarette in an ashtray secured with double sided tape to the dash, were still present. Someone had left a novel in the Volume's native language open to a specific page in the back seat, and someone else had left their PDA, now long dead, in the center console. Aside from that, and a scribbled note that he couldn't read, the interior of the truck appeared empty. Closing the door, Rabbit walked around to the back of the truck. The tail gate pins were rusted in place, rendering the tailgate itself locked beyond repair, for anyone else, that is. Sliver colored light began to swirl around his hand like gasses falling into the event horizon of a black hole and, with little effort, Rabbit pulled the hitch pins out of the tail gate. With some elbow grease, a little more Veil Energy and a rather ear splitting screech, he lowered the halftrack's tail gate. Letting the energy dissipate from his hand, he attempted to throw back the rubber curtain, only for it to fall apart upon the slightest touch. Breaking the curtain away revealed that the truck was still fully loaded with whatever cargo it had been carrying when it was abandoned.