Desert Revenge

Excellence Award in the 'The Text Generation 2014' competition

The desert sun was high in the sky, and the scent of petrol lingered in the wind as the dune buggy rumbled to a stop near the grave. The driver turned off the ignition and stepped out, before walking briskly to the side of the grave. He was a short man, with closely cropped, greying hair and stubble along his jawline. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt with combat pants and army boots. The grave was in the shade of a solitary oak tree, and the man made the sign of the cross before starting to talk.
"Hi, Laura, it's me, James", the man said to the grave. "Look, it's been a while, but the desert wars are getting worse with the Scavengers expanding their territory, so I haven't been able to visit." James continued talking to the grave as a rumbling sound grew louder and louder in the distance. He paused and turned. "What is that?” he thought as he spied a pack of cars in the distance. Then he recoiled. "Oh no", he whispered to himself. "Scavengers!"
"I'm sorry, Laura", James said before dashing back to the dune buggy. He grabbed the top of the frame and swung himself in before trying to turn the engine over. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" he said to himself as the engine spluttered. He tried again, to no avail. He looked back at the Scavengers as he tried again. They had seen him and were coming. The engine kicked into life, and James sped off.
James scooped up a radio in the seat adjacent and yelled into it: “Barney! Barney, are you there?”
“Is that you, James?” his friend replied.
“Barney, listen, I got Scavengers on my tail and I need you to meet me at the outpost. Bring the big toy. You know what to do”.
The outpost was an old abandoned mining town, and James was desperately racing there with the Scavengers slowly gaining on him. There was no doubt in his mind that the Scavengers, a ruthless gang, would kill him if they caught him. James was flooring it, but he was running out of petrol and there was no telling if he would make it in time.
There was only a mile left between James and the outpost, but the Scavengers were right behind him. In the distance, James could see the figure of a man. The radio crackled to life. "James, where do I shoot?"
"Dead ahead", James replied.
James swerved out the way as a rocket flew through the air and blasted the Scavengers to hell. James coughed into the smoke, and pulled himself out of the buggy. "James! James!" Barney called out, taking off his sunglasses to reveal blind eyes. "Did I get 'em?" he asked in his drawl.
"Yeah, Barney", James said. With tired, sad eyes, he looked at the smouldering ruins of the Scavengers. "That was for Laura". Then they piled into the dune buggy and drove off, leaving the burning corpses behind.

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