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As the sun beamed over the desolate wasteland, an old, beat up truck sped through the sandstorm. Loud music played through the speakers as the man driving focused on the plain horizon. After a while of driving through the haze of sand, he eventually reached a calm area, slowing down and letting out a sigh of relief. He opened the back of the truck, grabbing a couple of bags with scavenged food and materials, walking toward the shed. He opened the door, set down the bags and closed it behind him.
The man grabbed a small notepad that was in his pocket, the cover labeled with the name “Crater”. “f###ing finally, took hours to just find one scrap of food..” Crater grumbled with an obvious tone of annoyance in his voice. He kicked off his boots, walking over to a desk and leaning over to look at the crumpled map on it. He set down the notebook and looked at some things he wrote, then marked a spot on the map as “possible hints for finding other people here????”. He hastily put it away afterwards along with a compass, then grabbing a backpack filled with materials and tools and darting out the door. He practically threw the bag in the back seat, jumping in the front of the truck and starting it as quick as possible while gripping the map in his other hand. “Well, I don’t know if theres anyone still alive out there, but its worth a shot…” Crater said to himself.
Crater drove towards the east, already back in the harsh, unforgiving storm of sand. He drove for a while, the storm only getting harsher the further he went. After only a couple minutes he noticed a weird lab-looking building, and stopped. “Huh..” he murmured. “...never seen this place before. Must have some valuable materials if its this big.” He put the gas mask and goggles he had over his face, getting out of the truck and going into the abandoned lab. The building was dark, and there was random stuff strewn across the floor, such as shattered glass and scientific materials. Crater cautiously walked through the long hall, looking around for anything useful but finding nothing. He frowned once he reached the end of the hall, kicking a random test tube on the floor. “Urgh, nothing? Did I come in here for f####ing nothing?!” He exclaimed. “I’m not gonna waste any more time here, this is bullsh##.”
Crater speed walked back down the way he came, his head low as he cursed under his breath over and over. “s##t, f##k, d#mnit, oh my GOD this is so dumb, f##k my lif-” He was cut off by a loud clattering sound coming from the room he just passed, his expression immediately dropping as he shuddered. He turned around, muttering, “What the hell…”. He took a cautious step forward, putting a hand on the doorknob and slowly pushing it open. Inside there was a rusty looking robot in the corner that seemed to be looking down at a large pan it had just dropped, also looking scared by the noise produced by its own actions. Crater’s eyes widened the moment he saw the robot, trying to stay quiet as he observed. It looked to be made a long time ago, and had a gps-like head. It had a pixelated screen face, and on top of its head on the right side there was an antennae. Crater realized that it was a gps robot, a thought running through his head…he could use this to find other people.
Crater walked in, a smug expression on his face as he came up behind the robot and tapped it on the shoulder. It turned around, its expression loading for a moment before looking surprised. “Huh-? U-uh, are you a…a human?” the robot questioned Crater, looking him up and down curiously. For some reason it immediately imitated his bad eye on its screen, distorting one of its own eyes. Crater didn’t question it for now. Crater nodded and gestured for the robot to come closer, turning it around roughly to look it over, acting as if it was an object rather than a sentient being. He looked at the information engraved on the back of the robot’s neck. “...manufactured in 1999, S.A.A.L.T model…the hell does that stand for? …aha, there it is! gps features included! So you ARE a gps…would ya mind helping me?” Crater grinned, turning the robot back around to face him. He looked under its chin, behind its neck again, etc., trying to find a button. “No off button…? What kinda robot does not have an off button?” Crater sighed, not realizing the robot was uncomfortable…he probably didn't even know “it” was sentient at all.
“I… uh, could you please stop? I would rather you not break my system…also to answer your previous question, S.A.A.L.T stands for Self Automated Artificial Life Technology. But Salt is fine… And yeah, i’d be fine helping you.” Salt mumbled, attempting to put some distance between him and Crater. Crater finally stopped looking for a power off button, rolling his eyes when the robot told him to stop.
“What, they program ya with some personality sh*t too?” Crater scoffed. “The f*ck kind of name is Salt, id rather just…” Crater trailed off, noticing Salt’s expression becoming more and more disappointed. He stopped and sighed, putting a hand on the robot’s shoulder. “...sorry.”
After a bit they left the lab and went to Crater’s truck. Salt looked around it in awe, reaching a metal hand out to touch the steering wheel. Crater quickly slapped his hand away, giving him a death glare but saying nothing. They sat in awkward silence while Crater started backing the truck out of the lab area. Suddenly, a loud robotic voice came from Salt’s speaker’s, stating “FUEL LOW”. Salt quickly put his head down and started mumbling out apologies like he was embarrassed while Crater said, “You need fuel? I got some gas in the back if you need it”. Salt nodded quietly, but upon hearing the word “gas” he shook his head.
“I run on oil, not gasoline.” Salt mumbled, putting his head immediately back down. “It’s okay though, I wouldn't want to be a bother…if I run out of power you can just go without me-”
“NO- I mean, uh, no, I can find you some oil!!” Crater blurted out, quickly looking at the sandy road ahead instead of Salt. The robot tilted his head, not understanding Crater’s worry. He processed it through his systems and realized Crater cared about him, so he smiled. “...thank you…”
“D-don’t take it the wrong way, you stupid piece of scrap metal. I just need your gps thing to achieve my goal, and thats IT.” Crater retorted. He used his free hand to cover his face with his hair to hide the red hue tinting his cheeks. “Stupid f*ck…”
Salt continued to try and talk to Crater while he drove, but every time the robot spoke up he would tell him “shut up” or “k*ll y***s*lf”. Crater was just being rude to cover up the fact he was starting to care about Salt, but Salt didnt get it and eventually stopped trying.
They both reached an abandoned town, and at the same time Salt began to emit a loud beeping noise. He looked embarrassed again, especially when Crater exclaimed, “What the hell?! Turn that sh*t off-!!”.
“I can’t- urgh, my head hurts…”Salt muttered, holding his head in his hands. Crater winced at the noise and scoffed, getting out of the truck. The beeping noise stopped, but he still didn't wait for Salt.
“W-wait!!” Salt exclaimed, running after Crater. Crater turned around, staring Salt for a moment through his mask.
“...just help me find materials. Least you could do. And if you can, try to look for oil so you don't power off. Got it, dumba##?” Crater said harshly. Salt stopped in front of him and nodded, though he was a bit discouraged by Crater’s tone. His screen flickered and glitched from the electrical interference, but neither of them noticed
About 20 minutes of searching later, Crater made his way back to the truck and set all the things he scavenged down. “Found a lot of good stuff, and i got that gps robot too…dang, I think im set!” He smiled to himself, putting his hands on his hips. However, upon realizing Salt was nowhere to be seen he looked around. Crater spotted him in an abandoned repair shop close by. His eyes widened as he looked through the window and noticed the robot trying to plug something into the port on the side of his neck. “Hey, what the hell are you doing-?!” Crater exclaimed, quickly rushing over. He slammed the door open while Salt was in the act, making the robot drop the usb device completely.
“1 w@s try1ng t0 f1x mys3lf.” Salt said blankly, his screen extremely messed up, as it was malfunctioning from the long exposure to the interference. His voice was allso weirdly glitchy. He looked down, his movements static and less life-like than usual as he grabbed the usb device. Crater rushed over to him, gripping his arm.
“H-hey, no, whatever you're trying to do, stop- I don’t know what you mean by fixing yourself, but you’re sure as hell not doing it by plugging in this weird…” Crater trailed off, noticing the engraved text on the device. It basically said it was made to fry internal wiring on any device. He froze and stared at Salt, dropping the usb device from the shock. “You’re not…seriously actually trying to do this. Right?” Crater muttered.
Salt just stared at Crater with a blank expression through the glitching screen, not saying anything. Then he quickly grabbed the usb device once again and plugged it into the side of his neck as fast as he possibly could. Crater could visibly see the sparks through the gaps in his outer metal shell, then Salt going still.
Crater sits in front of the robot for a while, unable to comprehend what just happened. He couldn't believe it…Salt just straight up killed himself. He seemed fine, happy even…Crater didn't understand. Was it because he was being too harsh on Salt? He didn't mean to actually make Salt think that he hated him…
Crater got up slowly, grunting as he tried to pick up Salt, who was surprisingly heavy despite being a sort of small robot. He heaved the robot over to his truck, placing him in the back. He stared down for a moment while tears began to prick at his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away and got into the front seat. “God damn it…what the f**k…why the hell…” Crater leaned forward then smashed his head into the wheel, which caused the truck to honk. He grit his teeth and gripped the wheel, still unsure of what he was supposed to do at this point. He looked around the inside of the truck, noticing the bag he packed earlier with materials. He realized he could use them to fix Salt…
In Salt’s mind….
Salt found himself in a black void of sorts, beneath him was a shallow lake of water. It was freezing cold. He got up and looked down, seeing his reflection…it was himself, but he didn't feel like he was actually himself. He felt like a shell of his former self. Looking up, Salt noticed a dim light far, far off in the distance. He felt like it was calling to him…he began to slowly walk through the shallow water, focused on only one goal; reaching the light. His footsteps echoed through the endless void, the water becoming deeper the further he went. He walked until it reached his waist, stopping when he heard a familiar voice cutting through the silence. Salt couldn't comprehend what it was saying, but it sounded uncannily familiar…and then, the void was gone.
Salt’s memories came rushing back as he jolted upright, finding himself in the back of Crater’s truck in the desert. He took a moment to collect himself, his optical sensor focused on Crater’s relieved face, and the randomly scattered tools around him. “...Crater? What happened…?” He muttered, looking around with a confused expression on his face. “The last thing I remember was seeing a bright light in the distance…” He smiled up at him after examining the area around him. He was about to say something else, but was cut off by Crater pulling him into an extremely tight hug, a small choked noise escaping his speakers at the sudden move.
“Don’t f***ing do that again.” Crater said sternly to Salt, though there was a hint of worry in his voice. He finally pulled away, looking the robot dead in the eyes. “I mean it.”
“I wont.”
“You promise..?”
“...yeah.”
“...I swear to god if you do-”
“Alright, calm down!!” Salt chuckled, noticing Crater’s face turning red. He smiled and walked along with Crater to the front of the truck, getting into the passenger seat while he got in the driver’s seat. “...I didn’t know you worried so much about me…I thought you just said I was some dumb piece of scrap metal, huh?” Salt teased.
“Well you’re just… a piece of scrap metal that I happen to care a lot about-” Crater mumbled, gripping the steering wheel while he grabbed a compass, and turned toward Salt. “So, uh, how does your GPS thingamajig work?”
“Well, I gotta power up on the oil I found while scavenging earlier first…” Salt said. He grabbed a small plastic container with a nozzle that he’d apparently scavenged, presumably containing oil, and handed it over to Crater. “You just put it right there.” He adjusted his jacket slightly, revealing a small panel on his upper back. When opened there was a small hole, underneath was labeled “insert oil here”. Crater nodded, filling it up until the plastic container was empty. After that, Salt turned back around and said, “Alright, now we just gotta know which way to go.”
“I’m pretty sure we’re going to need to go up north, I haven't explored that way and I think there’s signs of a civilization pointing that direction…I just never explored since the sandstorms are especially harsh there.” Crater explained. Salt nodded and pressed a button on his face panel, changing his screen to show a GPS rather than his face like it usually did. “So, north…alright. Does this look good?” Salt questioned. Crater’s eyes widened as he saw it, muttering, “Holy sh**, thats…yes, that’s extremely helpful, Salt.” He stared in awe at the screen for a moment, before quickly turning his attention back to the crumpled up map on his lap. All the signs showed a possible civilization 20 miles north. “Well I'm glad that I was able to help!!” Salt exclaimed. Crater just nodded, too focused on the idea that he could actually leave this hellhole…he wasn't going to be stuck here anymore. He took a deep breath, trying to collect himself, but there was too much adrenaline coursing through his body. He couldn’t get his mind off the idea that he could actually be free, no longer stuck in an infinite radioactive sandstorm hell.
“Salt, are you positive this is the right way?” Crater asked.
Salt replied, “yeah, the GPS is based on satellite data plus this little thingy on my head communicating with ut, but I’m not sure exactly how it works-” He pointed to the bulky antennae on the left side of his head. Crater let out one more deep breath, getting his foot on the gas pedal and driving like his life depended on it. Salt yelped, being pushed back against the seat from the force. “G-geez, you really don’t have to go so fast Crater, it’s not like our destination is going a-anywhere-!”
“Do we really know? It could be gone by now, even if you think it’s not possible…listen, maybe I’m just paranoid and excited because I’ve been trapped in this stupid place my whole life, but I’m NOT gonna pass up this f**ing opportunity. “ Crater said with urgency. Salt noticed the sweat on his face and the focused, almost crazed look in his eyes as he drove, and he realized he probably shouldn't bother him more.
Crater drove and drove, almost hitting a number of things on the way, such as a large rock and a log. Once he noticed the sandstorm beginning to fade he started driving even faster, accidentally making Salt start to panic again. “For f-f**ks sake Crater, you’re going way too fast!!!” Crater ignored him, just continuing to go fast until…
…There was no longer a sandstorm. It was almost like he was somewhere different entirely, despite only just having driven past the sandstorm. He looked behind him, and didn’t see the storm either. Like it had simply just vanished. He saw a small town in the distance, breathing heavily. He actually made it…he was no longer trapped. He no longer had to suffer in that place. He looked at Salt, who also seemed to be in awe of the clear weather. “Woah, I haven't seen the sky like this since my creator left…” He said under his breath. Crater smiled at him, replying, “I haven’t seen weather like this outside of the calm zone, and even then it was surrounded by the sandstorm anyways…this is what i’ve been chasing after my whole life, Salt. Out of that stupid radioactive place…finding people. And see, there's a non-abandoned town right there!” Crater exclaimed.
Salt showed his face again instead of the GPS, grinning as he asked, “So, are we gonna go there or..?”
“Of course, you dumb**s.” Crater laughed, putting his foot on the gas pedal once more and driving toward the town. The two continued to talk on the way there of what they would do once they got there, both excited to finally be free.
Once they arrived on the outskirts, Crater turned off the truck and hopped out. This time he waited for Salt, letting him get out of the truck and walk over to him. He patted the robot on the back, afterwards just leaving his arm draped across his back, his hand on Salt’s shoulder. They both stared at the Walmart nearby. Though to most people it would be unremarkable, to the two it was something new, something they’d never seen before. Salt analyzed it, saying, “Is that a store? I’ve never been to one…”
“I’m pretty sure. I’ve never been to one either, aside from those abandoned ones…” Crater replied.
Salt then said, “Wow, there’s a lot of those “store” things here.”
“Hey, off topic but…thank you for everything. I know I treated you like absolute sh*t, but I genuinely do care about you. I’m sorry if I made you think that I didn’t care at any point…at first that was true, I just thought you were some dumb robot, I didn’t realize you were sentient. But now I know that was a mistake. Again, thank you…for everything.” Crater said quietly, close to Salt’s ear.
Salt looked up at Crater, smiling. “You’re welcome, Crater. I also wanted to say thank you…you kinda saved me from being indefinitely powered off, h-hah-” he said awkwardly, trying to joke. Crater raised an eyebrow, confused for a moment. He understood quickly, nodding and pulling the robot closer to him. Salt leaned in closer, his head resting on Crater’s shoulder while they looked at the building, and the sunset off in the distance.