In a future where outposts swelter beneath a nuclear sun and run-gunners patrol dusty wastelands to protect against winged creatures known as devlars, Trin is the mech at the waystation in Arens. He has a thing for the gunners: rough men with strong hands and hard bodies, who roll through his garage like the hot desert wind. Gerrick’s the best gunner around, a quick draw with a deadly aim and a penchant for sharing his pallet with young men. He has a roving eye and roaming hands, and has left a string of broken hearts in his wake. Having heard the tales of Gerrick's bravery and seen the man in action for himself, Trin has fallen in love with the man he believes Gerrick to be, and he’s sure he can change the gunner’s mind if given the chance. Gerrick’s all he wants out of this blasted world, and he tells anyone who will listen. Then Gerrick rides through Arens. He’s heard the rumors of what Trin will do for a gunner who only mentions his name. What he wants to know is, what will Trin do for him?

Trin

When he doesn’t offer anything else, Blain primes the pump again to get the water flowing and tells him, “Rinse off, Trini. How are you coming along on the trucks?”


Trin shrugs again and plunges his hands into the icy water. “Alright.”


Blain gives him a look that says he saw the parts strewn across the concrete floor out in the garage. “So you finally met him,” he says. 


No preamble, no name even, but Trin’s heart flutters nonetheless. Gerrick. Who has to be upstairs by now, has to be wondering where the fuck his boy is at. Above Trin, the bare bulb buzzes faintly. The back of his neck warms under the light and he feels like a criminal at an interrogation. If his brother wasn’t so humorless, he could almost think Blain planned this. The burning light, the itching soap, the whole bit. As Trin rinses his arms, Blain wants to know, “What do you think? Did you get to talk to him?”


Chapter 14