Gary ‘Gearhead’'s Arc

Chapter 13 of 15

Gary pulled the truck back through the scrapyard gates just as his radio crackled. Sherrie's voice came through sharp and fast. She'd traced the military map he'd found at the dig site back to his scrapyard—the symbols matched old surveyor marks from his property line. The Ravens had figured it out too. Armed riders were already moving toward his gates. Gary killed the engine and grabbed his rifle. He shouted for the woman to get everyone inside the walls and bar the main gate. Then he climbed the makeshift watchtower he'd welded together from salvaged scaffolding and rusted steel beams three days earlier, scanning the eastern approach with binoculars. Dust rose in the distance—four bikes, maybe five, moving fast along the access road. They'd be here in minutes. He radioed Sherrie back and told her he needed backup or a distraction, anything to buy time. She said her people were already mobilizing but wouldn't reach him for at least twenty minutes. Gary locked the tower hatch behind him and positioned himself at the top rail, checking his rifle's chamber. The Ravens would hit his gates hard, and he'd have to hold them off alone until help arrived. He'd built these walls to protect a marketplace, but now they'd prove whether his scrapyard could survive as a fortress. The bikes stopped fifty yards out, engines idling in formation. Gary counted five riders, all armed, but none advancing. The lead rider held up a hand and the engines cut. Silence settled over the scrapyard. Gary's finger hovered near the trigger, waiting for the first move. But the Ravens just sat there, watching the walls, assessing the watchtower, measuring what Gary had built. Then the lead rider turned his bike around and the others followed, dust kicking up as they retreated east. Gary kept his rifle raised until the sound faded completely. They hadn't come to fight—they'd come to see if he was worth the cost. The Ravens had confirmed his scrapyard was real, fortified, and defended. They'd be back with a plan, but today he'd proven his walls could make them hesitate.