Welcome to the Scraplands

By Jack Braxton and J W O Braxton

Welcome to the Scraplands! Earth has become a post-apocalyptic wasteland and life as we know it is now extinct, only recycled robots and malfunctioning AI remain. But fear not, Circuit, a thirteenth-generation salvage bot is about to embark on a wild adventure that will make the biggest, baddest bosses tremble with fear.

 

Now that radiation has returned to habitable levels and changed into something else, Circuit is tasked with uncovering the 'Gene Stash', a DNA repository of all organic life from the Old World. But beware, Ravagers, Scrapbeasts, mutant cockroaches, and an evil organisation called 'Tax-CORP' stand between Circuit and his goals.

 

Circuit must salvage and equip new parts to upgrade and evolve, harnessing the awesome power of radiation to perform super cool feats. So with the help of his trusty AimBOT, get ready to blast, loot, and level up across the Scraplands with the fate of humanity in his cold, mechanical hands.

• Language: English
• Publisher: JackOfHeart
• Release date: Jun 5, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224895991

Jack Braxton

J.W.O.Braxton also goes by the online username JackOfHeart. He has been an avid fantasy reader and martial artist since childhood. Seeking to blend his two passions together in creating a story that will explore his imagination and share his experience with a larger audience! Jack has been training in and teaching martial arts since he could walk adding to more than Twenty-five years across various disciplines. He has trained with many world-class athletes in a range of different styles, including multiple world champions in both Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. It also extends to current UFC competitors and coaches in mixed martial arts. Jack is motivated to continue the legacy of his recently deceased mentor and friend who is recognised for his contributions to the sport in the New Zealand MMA Hall-of-fame. To find Jack's up-to-date work and social media, check out here! https://linktr.ee/jwobraxton

Book preview

Prologue: Welcome To The Scraplands!

Loud engines of a large group of junkyard speeders roared across sand dunes, dust billowing up behind them. They were racing towards brutalist-style metal buildings in the distance. A lone all-terrain motorcycle sped ahead of the others, clearly trying to break away from pursuit. The rider was obscured by a soiled yellow plastic tarpaulin parachuting behind him in the wind, acting as a hooded cloak.

The cloak stained with grease and other unsavoury liquids moved to the side to allow a mechanical hand to extend from within. The arm was made from a collection of ram-shod parts, exposed wires and cylindrical hydraulic pistons. 

Revving the throttle, the speeder suddenly lurched forward with an abrupt burst of speed. Glancing over his shoulder, three lenses adjusted into focus the widening gap between him and the Ravagers. At least a dozen speeders chased him, each rider was a bot made of a unique assortment of parts similar to the fugitive. 

One leaned forward on his speeder, getting as low as possible while accelerating ahead of his peers. The fugitive bot’s lenses whirred wide in response. An alarming rattle shifted his attention back to the speeder under him. He sparred it with only a quick glance, enough time to see a bolt fly loose behind him.

His gaze remained fixed on the bolt as it unexpectedly flew into the spinning turbine of the lead Ravger’s air intake. It was immediately followed by a concerning sound and a short burst of flames. The Ravager angrily slammed a metal fist of the chassis as the speeder rapidly decelerated and the others overtook him. 

Thick black smoke engulfed and hid the speeder and Ravager from view. The fugitive strained to turn to see what was happening. The Ravager emerged from the smoke using a fan on its torso to drive it away, stopping to watch them speed away. The fugitive finally turned his gaze back to the road in front. 

But a moment later, an enormous explosion sharply drew his attention back. A pulse of solidified air rocketed towards him carrying a thick barrier of dust. A mushroom cloud grew into the sky and dyed the landscape red from the nuclear core of the speeder.

Fighting for control of the bike, the impact blew the hood from his head, revealing his face. His lower face was a tangled mess of cables attached to a cranium cap with three lenses as eyes. Beams of lights from inside the lenses flickered on as the world turned dark with abrasive dust. 

He briefly hesitated after noticing his speeder breaking through a red virtual barrier animated in a fixed position in the air. As soon as he crossed through the line, sirens started emitting from his speeder, prompting him to slow down.

Using the cover to his advantage, the fugitive kept the headlights of his speeder turned off while the pursuing Ravages turned theirs on. He was close enough to pick up the short-band radio waves transmitting their search for him in the binary language.

Damn, there goes CH4D. 

He had to just go and scrap it up for the rest of us too.

Forget CH4D, where did that other scrapper go?

I don’t know, I think we lost him.

Maybe we should wait for the dust to clear, I can’t see a scraping thing.

Stop complaining.

Yeah. Do you want miss out on all those prime parts? Do what you want, I’ll happily take your share...

Obscured by the dust, the fugitive ignored their discussion and drove slowly, watching the lights of Ravagers drive past him and disappear into the distance. He became aware of a piercing alert coming from the console of his speeder. Smashing his fist onto the thick coating of mud, he cracked it into pieces and pried them off.

He wiped the final pieces from the screen and saw the source of the alarm, a red radius on the GPS map. It no longer displayed accurate topography, the marked buildings were long buried under unknown centuries of sand. His location was smack dab in the middle of the red area.

Shit, we’ve entered a forbidden zone from before the collapse. I don’t think the Ravagers have realised it yet. I need to get out of here before the dust clears and make some repairs.

Not much was left of the fugitive’s speeder, important parts dangled off the sides. It was barely hanging together after the prolonged pursuit. Pulling to a stop, he planted both feet down, sinking into the sand. He pressed a button on the console, causing a mysterious magnetic field to envelop the bike and lock it in place on the dune.

Climbing off the speeder, the fugitive bot walked around the thick wheels to the side of the speeder and retrieved a long-range blaster from its holster. A long cable attached it to the speeder which he quickly unplugged. Holding the blaster to his eye, he inspected the battery level. Dissatisfied, he tucked it inside his yellow cloak, sticking it magnetically to his side.

Not enough charge left but I have to risk it, the fugitive said out loud. His voice was distorted by static, speaking the binary language of bots which was a series of strange sounds similar to an old internet modem.

He walked to the rear of the speeder and opened the seat, taking a reflective cover from inside. Shaking the sheet open, he quickly hid the bike underneath. Reaching up, he pressed a button next to a slowly spinning fan on his torso. It emitted a sound of confirmation and the cover shimmered with digital light and became invisible to artificial eyes.

Pinning a marker of the location on his internal GPS, the fugitive pulled his cloak tightly around him and hunched over to endure the dust storm. His tracks in the sand were quickly obscured by the wind behind him walking toward the nearby buildings. 

Once the fugitive was out of sight, the maw of an enormous creature made of metal with rows of serrated teeth opened under the speeder, swallowing it whole. The bike plummeted inside, echoing as it bounced against the hollow walls lined with spinning saw blades, stopping only when it landed atop a collection of rapidly rotating spiked drums. 

The invisible cloak glitched out and revealed the severely damaged speeder as it was dragged into the mechanical digestive system of the colossal machine. On the outside, the maw slammed shut as the mechanical beast submerged itself back into the dune, leaving only the peak of a huge horn on its snout. 

Chapter I One

The metal behemoth’s horn parted the sand like the fin of a shark, slowly lowering itself deeper until it completely disappeared, heading in the direction of the fugitive. The fugitive’s figure was furtively entering the shadows of the tall buildings. There were no obvious doors or windows on the outside of the exterior walls that were covered with weather-resistant metal relics of unknown purpose. 

These buildings look like they were built in the final days of the old world before the collapse. If I want to get inside, I’ll have to find the approximate location of the entrance and start digging. Over there looks like a good spot.

The fugitive bot approached the indicated location, reaching up behind himself and pulling an object from his back. Giving it a shake, the object silently extended and unfurled into a conveniently sized spade. Burying it deep into the sand, the bot started digging as the dust storm started dying down.