2096 SFS I RELICS

She was trying her best to focus on the screen in front of her, but the intense heat and sweat dripping off of her made it difficult. The sweat trickled into her eyes and burned. A few times she made the mistake of rubbing them, but that only made it worse. She was trying to find something below the surface of the desert. The constant bouncing of the vehicle as it traveled over the rolling dunes also didn’t help.

“You just had to forget to charge the cooling system didn't you!” she yelled.

“Bah!” was his only answer. He did. A mistake he was regretting and very upset about. He felt like he was cooking. Just then she saw the outline of a building below.

“Hold!” she yelled. But he kept on going. “Stop!” she screamed and he slammed on the brakes. She was just able to brace herself as the vehicle slid to a stop. He mumbled something under his breath, but she wasn’t able to discern what it was. Not that she really cared. She picked up the data pad and jumped out of the vehicle, walking a few meters away she studied the data pad's screen. There was definitely something down there.

He got out of the vehicle and stretched. He was 2.1 meters tall and had a massive frame. His huge body cast a shadow over her as she analyzed the data. She wiped her brow and pointed towards the ground.

“Here.” she said. He nodded and activated the vehicle's four stabilization legs, which dropped down and sunk into the sand, leveling the vehicle. The vehicle was itself quite heavy but was well suited for driving through the desert. It had large wheels and ample room for cargo. It was considered a heavy hauler by some and was well taken care of. Everything aside from the cooling system.

He pulled a heavy-duty swing arm out from the side of the vehicle and positioned it directly above the dig site. There was also a reflective metallic awning that popped up above everything. The awning lowered the temperature underneath by almost ten degrees, made it an almost bearable forty degrees Celsius.

There was also a cable that ran through the arm that was connected to a powerful winch. Not only was it able to lift out large relics, but it acted as a safety net in the case of a cave-in or an unexpected roof collapse.

While he prepared the dig site she walked back to the vehicle and pulled out a folding chair, setting it down next to the vehicle under the awning. She grabbed a drink pouch from the cooler and sat down, taking a sip of the milky white fluid. It was only worm water but in this heat it tasted like the nectar of the gods.

“How deep?” he asked, clipping the cable to his harness.

“Only a couple of meters.”

“You always say a couple of meters," he said shaking his head. He thrust the shovel into the sand and started to dig.

He occasionally stopped and placed half circular trench supports inside the hole to keep the sand from filling it back up. But even with the supports some of the fine sand found its way back into the hole.

After another hour of digging he finally hit something. His shovel reverberated with a metallic clang. He reached down and wiped away some of the sand. It appeared to be tin.

“I think we’re there.” He said, climbing back out of the hole. She stood up and walked over as part of the arm separated and made its way down into the hole. A second later there was a bright green light and the arm made a circle, cutting through the structure roof. There was a loud groan and the sand in the hole instantly vanished. Falling into the darkness below. Then a burst of air sent sand skyrocketing into the air past them as the pressure inside the building changed. A moment later there was a crash as the debris hit the ground below. Luckily, the supports remained intact and stopped the metric tons of sand from filling up the void below.

Even with all of the equipment relic hunting was dangerous. An entire structure could collapse completely and swallow everything above. Being buried alive under mounds of fine sand was a horrible way to die. She snapped a couple of neon green chem lights and dropped them into the opening.

“I’ll meet you at the bottom.” She said.

“Wait! I’ll…” He tried to grab her, but it was too late, she had already jumped. He sighed and watched as she disappeared into the darkness below.

She was attached to another cable that also went through the swing arm and was connected to a second winch. She slowed her descent as she neared the glowing lights and softly landed on the pile of sand and debris that had accumulated from the portion of roof that had fallen. She looked up at the perfect circular hole which had a piercing ray of bright light streaming through it. It highlighted all of the dust particles that were in the air, and they shimmered almost magically.

The air was quite cool as it was protected from the harsh sun above. It also had a very distinct odor to it. Not unpleasant, it was a dry, oaky, sweet smell, similar to what one would find at a backyard BBQ. The rest of the structure was very dark, and she turned on her flashlight for more visibility. It was still hard to see, and the structure appeared to be quite large. She unclipped herself from the cable and took a few steps forward. She bent down and brushed her hand across the ground. It was covered in a layer of charred sawdust.

She jumped as there was a sudden loud thud from behind her. She turned to see him smiling standing on top of the pile of debris.

“Sorry did I scare you?” He asked, laughing. He unclipped himself and took off his back pack. He pulled out a large light and deployed its telescopic legs. He placed it on the floor and turned it on. The hi intensity light illuminated the inside very well.

The structure was ten meters wide and about thirty long. It had large wooden posts and beams that were still strong enough to fight against the tons of sand that was piled on top of it. It was a wonder how the structure was able to fight against the weight. But also a testament to the craftsmanship that built it. The structure was in incredible shape all things considered.

“So?” he asked.

“It’s an old, run-down barn," she replied.

“Run down's an understatement. Old. Buried. Forgotten. Abandoned. Lost.”

“I get it…”

“So if this is the place where are the goods? It looks pretty empty.”

“Let’s find out.” She pulled a small spherical device about ten centimeters in size from her utility pocket. She held it out in the palm of her hand and the top of it opened up like a flower. She was suddenly bathed in a blue glow. The inside of the sphere was filled with hundreds of tiny black dots. Each one barely a millimeter in size. She giggled as they suddenly shot up into the air and flew off in every direction. Each one looked like it was trailing a short thread behind it — a streak of white light from their tiny lev pads that blurred from the lack of light. Each dot was a tiny recon drone that quickly disappeared into the structure to map it.

She pulled the data pad out of her backpack and watched as the drones created a 3d image of the structure. In a few moments, the structure was fully mapped. She rotated the map looking for anything of interest. The barn was definitely quite empty. However there appeared to be another part of the barn that was separated from where they were.

Hungry from all the digging he took out a protein block and opened it. He held it out and offered it to her, but she declined.

“I’m not hungry, thanks.” She looked up as some sand syphoned down from the desert above and the buildings timbers groaned.

“I’m not sure how safe this is so we should be quick.” He said, taking a bite of his protein bar. She nodded in acknowledgement and walked toward the back of the barn where the other room was.

She pulled on the door and its hinges creaked as it opened. She walked into the room and looked over at him. He pulled out another one of the large lanterns and lit it. Setting it down in the middle of the room. The ceiling here was only about three or four meters high. Lower than the rest of the barn, but still, well out of arms reach. This room was filled with various items.

On one side of the room there were a large number of hay bundles stacked neatly. There was no moisture to rot it or make it mold. In one of the corners there were various barrels filled with who knows what. It peaked her interest, but it was not what they had come for. Hanging on the wall were ropes and horse bridles. There was also a heavy wooden table across the room that had various tools scattered about on it. There was an old worn vice, hammers, and screw drivers. Above the table there was a large oxen yoke. Nothing really worth anything.

“What was this?”

“A workshop by the looks of it.”

“Smells funny," he said, wiping his nose on the back of his hand.

“It’s the hay.” She said, pointing toward the stack. Above the stacks of hay there was a large cobweb that shimmered in the light.

“Hope whatever made that is gone.” He said and took another bite of his protein block.

“Yeah me too…”

She looked around and thought of the memories and stories this barn could tell if it could. Things that were long forgotten. She could only imagine what it was like all those years ago. As far as she knew no one else would ever venture here again.

It was then she saw another door that was next to the bales of hay. One that didn’t come up on the scan for some reason. She walked over and grabbed its handle. She started to pull it open and its hinges eerily creaked. She shined her light into the room and her heart jumped.

Hanging from the ceiling were a mass of objects about two meters in length. Each one roughly the size of a person. In the dim light she couldn’t tell what they were exactly. They were all dried and wrinkled. Preserved from the dry heat. Her breathing intensified as she stepped into the room and moved closer. The smell was even stronger here. It wasn’t unpleasant and that startled her. She reached out towards one of them and touched one of them. She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled when she realized what they were.

It only took a couple of hours to get everything topside and the vehicle loaded. She sat in the front passengers seat and looked back at all of the tobacco leaves that they had recovered. It was a great score and would be worth more than ither of them could have hoped for. She thought about the old barn and smiled. Hoping that it could endure. Hoping that its memories would remain intact. She fidgeted with the recon pod and put it back in her utility pouch. Not realizing that one was missing. That one of them was still in the corner of the barn, stuck in that shimmering spider web.

“By the way," she said, loud enough to get his attention, “it's still hot!”