THE MOMENT
Greg woke with a sudden start. He looked around his office in mild confusion. He didn't remember falling asleep; but, it wouldn't have been the first time. He was one of the night guards at the junkyard. Sometimes it was exciting. But, when it was boring, he was almost bored to death. He glanced at the clock, then hopped out of the chair and to his feet.
"Aw Hell," he grumbled. Greg grabbed his shotgun and rushed out the door of the converted mobile home. He should have started his rounds already and he hoped his boss hadn't noticed his late start.
Towering flood lights illuminated the junkyard. He walked the dirt path confident that he could handle any trouble that popped up. Piles of junk surrounded him on both sides making it impossible to see beyond his lane; but, that was okay. He'd been doing it so long that he knew the yard like the back of his hand.
He reached the first intersection and automatically turned to his left. He preferred to make his way around the outer edges of the yard first and work his way into the center. That way he could just walk out when he was done. He'd tried going to the center first and winding his way out before; but, he quickly decided that didn't suit him.
Despite dozing off earlier, his eyes and ears were focused on the job. He scanned the path ahead and as much of the junk walls as he could in his search for trouble. He froze midstep when he heard a voice.
"How many more times?" the question came from around the corner ahead of him. It sounded like it belonged to a teenage boy. Greg sighed. He'd dealt with magical artifacts and alien tech and more in his time there; but, the most common nuisance was trespassing teenagers. He had no idea what it was that drew them to the junkyard. He'd dealt with teens so often that the events blurred together. He couldn't remember exactly when the last time was; but, he knew it was probably the night before.
"There's no way to guarantee it," another voice answered the first. It sounded like a girl. "But, we can leave whenever you want and just try again later here and there." Greg inched forward step by step, but he stayed hidden.
"What about Ace?" the first voice asked.
"What about me?" a third voice, another boy, spoke up.
"Can't you use your luck to improve the drop rate?"
"I... I don't know?" the second boy said.
"I don't know either," the girl replied. "Try it."
"Okay..., here goes."
"Three of them?" Greg had a sudden thought. It was one thing to chase off a kid or two. But, if there were three voices, there might be more of them being quiet. And, if not, three was still enough to overpower him if they decided to be dangerous. "I hope I brought it...," he reached down to his belt.
The major benefit of working at the junkyard was that he often found helpful things to play with. He was relieved when he felt the cool, glassy rod. He pulled it off his belt and took a moment to appreciate it. The red translucent rod was as long as a pencil and thick as the large end of a pool cue. It was his favorite piece of tech he'd discovered. The shotgun was special in its own way; but, he didn't want to kill anyone. He just wanted to scare them off.
Greg firmly gripped the rod in the center and a red energy shield formed in front of his arm. It was shaped like a tall rectangle that ran parallel with his forearm.
"Did it work?" the first boy asked. Greg stepped closer ready to turn the corner. He held the shield up in front of him.
"I don't know," the second boy said. "When's the respawn?"
"Any second now...," the girl replied. Greg chuckled to himself. He couldn't have asked for a better way to surprise them. They were obviously waiting for something.
"HEY YOU KIDS!" Greg put on his most threatening voice and dashed around the corner. He was glad to see only the three kids. One of the boys had pale, almost blue skin and bright blue hair pulled back in a ponytail. The other boy had curly blonde hair and sported a healthy tan. The girl was pale and had short, straight dark hair that framed her face. But, not one of them was surprised; and, they were all holding weapons.
"Hey, there he is again!" the curly-haired boy spoke. Greg recognized his voice as the second one. The blue boy looked excited too.
"Hey, Ace your luck worked! He brought the shield this time!"