One Man's Garbage...

[Arthur Gray]

”Now this is a find! Here, come look at this.” He said, motioning to the worker sitting with him behind the counter. The elderly woman leaned forward to look at what he held. It was a small wooden music box the scavenger on the other side of the desk managed to find. In decent condition, it was a miracle the wood hadn't rotted away yet or at least cracked horribly.

“Pretty isn’t it?” He offered, temporarily ignoring the man who’d brought the thing to him. He let his worker observe it for a bit before taking it back. “Wonder if it still works.” He mused mainly to himself. With a little fiddling, he managed to get it playing. Soft music filled the space with a lullaby, and Arthur smiled. “Jude please add that to the list.” He said to the woman while putting the box on the counter to play.

“As for you, head off to the side and you can get your food in exchange.” He addressed the scavenger as his helper wrote in a small notebook. The man nodded and hurried to get what they came for. Arthur turned his eyes then to the figure lingering behind them. “Next please!” He called with a friendly smile.

Erika Clarke-Davis

[Erika Clarke-Davis]

Erika fidgeted as she stood waiting for her turn. She didn't pay much attention to what the others had brought. In fact, she had taught herself not to compare. Although the competitive side of her wanted to scoff and roll her eyes, she realized that likely wasn't the best thing to do in a room filled with hungry, desperate people.

Once it was her turn, Erika stepped forward, placing a small linen bag on top of the counter as her brown eyes lifted to met that of the man's standing behind it. Her olive tanned fingers pulled a few items out of the bag;

Duct tape, copper wiring, an old revolver (She'd seen something similar in an old western comic she'd found, but she hadn't found any ammo for it) and a pack of AA batteries. She could only hope that they still worked.

[Arthur Gray]

He kept his smile easy when she walked up to the counter. She looked relatively young, pretty, and entirely too nervous. That was usually the case for first timers. The minute she put the bag in front of him though, his eyes diverted to what she’d brought.

“Let’s see here…” He hummed, sorting through each by hand. “Oh, duct tape is always useful.” He commented, picking up the item to test it’s stick. “Especially when it’s still sticky.” He added with a smile when it checked out. “Copper wire? Good, good. But wow look at this.” The duct tape was replaced with the gun. It was old and reminded him of a cowboy’s revolver, and was in surprising condition. Unfortunately the cylinder were all empty of rounds, but the gun itself was still a prize.

“Where’d you find this?” He asked, looking back up at the girl with his smile. “This is a real nice piece! Although you would’ve gotten more if it had ammo, but this is still definitely good.” He assured her before handing it off to his assistant. The batteries were inspected too, but the revolver was more interesting in his opinion. How often did someone find that?

Erika Clarke-Davis

[Erika Clarke-Davis]

A small, almost embarrassed smile formed on the young brunette's lips. She wasn't good at small talk. Never had been. In fact, Erika avoided most people as best as she could, save from the people she counted as her friends. And even them she kept on an arm's length. It was easier that way. But again, that also meant that social situations weren't her forthe.

Shrugging lightly, the brunette wrapped her arms around her waist. "I uh," she began, biting her lower lip as her eyes fell to the ground. "I found it in a house a few miles away from the ruins." It was a lucky find, she agreed. She'd never ventured that far away from the ruins before and it seemed to have paid off.

Though, she also realized the fact that it was getting harder to find anything worth trading anymore, unless you were prepared to take the extra long trip. The nearby houses around the ruins had already been emptied a long time ago.