Wasteland Angel

Gregory dropped to his knees, accepting his fate not because of his own will but because his own body could not move due to the utter terror that he was feeling at that point of time. He started sweating heavily and he was feeling dizzy, he felt as if he was about to faint while the monstrous gigantic cockroach was getting ever so closer to him. He could see many reflections of himself in the black compound eyes of the cockroach, while the hideous monster was showing its mandibles which were covered in that slimy corrosive substance.

Bang

"...!?"

Click

The sound of gunfire filled the vast emptiness of the desert. A single shot had been fired at the cockroach and the abomination quickly started screeching and fell to the ground. In that process though, the roache's blood was splattered around the area and some of it fell on Gregory's leg. He felt a terrible pain while the blood of the cockroach was burning his skin

"AAAAAAGHGHGHHHH!" Gregory screamed in agony.

"Calm down. And don't touch it with your hands" A low, stoic, and almost machine-like voice somehow overpowered Gregory's screaming and so he decided to try and silence his screams. He turned around to the sound of the voice and was now facing a somewhat small and slender humanoid figure covered in rugs, machine parts, armor, and all kinds of weird gadgets. A small cross was attached to the chest area of the uniform and this mysterious figure put the gun that it was holding in its holster.

"The pain will go away soon, it won't cause you any damage long term but there is a risk of an infection.

Is that a human? He thought

"You should follow me to the shelter so we can sanitize it properly, I don't have the necessary equipment on me." 

This entity had completely covered every part of its skin with either rough clothes and or armor, and had a gas mask and a brown hood covering its face. Only a few strands of blonde shoulder length hair were sticking out of its cover so Gregory came to the conclusion that it was most likely a human beneath that peculiar outfit.

"Stand still please."

The figure came closer to Gregory and ripped a part of his shirt of from his arms.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
"I told you to stand still. This is for your own health."
Gregory was hesitant but chose to trust the person that had just saved him.
His saviour wrapped the piece it tore from Gregory's shirt and wrapped it around his head, making a face mask for him.
"The desert wind is hazardous for your lungs."
"Are you a human?" Gregory had many questions but he had to start somewhere.
"Not exactly, but that doesn't matter right now. If you want to live hurry and follow me, it's gonna be night soon and you really don't want to be out here when that happens." Said the humanoid figure in a monotone voice.
"Do you know where Nemesia is? Where are we right now? What was that thing that just tried to kill me?" He didn't want answers to these specific questions but rather an explanation for everything that had happened to him until know.

The figure didn't pay any mind to Gregory's questions and instead continued walking in a direction that seemed random. Gregory decided that following the figure was probably the best course of action, and so he did.

***

"So you don't want to answer my questions?"
"I will tell you everything once we get to the shelter. No point wasting energy talking right now"

They had been walking side by side for what felt like an eternity for Gregory, but was just 30 minutes in reality. 30 minutes can seem like a long time when you are walking on roasting hot sand under the scorching light of the desert sun while your right leg is in pain.

"And where on earth is this damn shelter you keep going on about?!?!" Gregory shouted.

 It was only natural that he started to lose his cool and get agitated at pretty much everything.

"I already told you what you need to do right now. If you want to live follow me." The mysterious figure spoke with a monotone voice that was as sure as a monolith.

Gregory finally understood that he should just shut up and do as he is told. This feeling was something that he was used to in his previous life after all. Despite all the commotion that had taken place when he first arrived in this world now the desert seemed quiet and empty, like an aquarium without any fish. A mass of sand without life. The only notable sightings were pieces of scrap metal that were littered around the sand and some abandoned vehicles and buildings.

The heat of this wasteland was starting to get to him. His mouth was as dry as the very sand he was walking upon and he could tell his eyes were red without having to look at them. Gregory started feeling a bit dizzy and the shape of the humanoid figure that he was following started to look an awful lot like an angel. An angel in the wasteland, a candle in a dark room.

***

After some time Gregory noticed that they were approaching a small settlement. He could not see inside because the place was guarded by a wooden wall about 5 meters tall and there were also 4 towers positioned at the corners of the wall on the inside, also made of wood. He felt incredibly relieved but that relief quickly went away as he heard a person shouting.

"Astrea, who is that?"

He saw a human with an outfit that was similar to that of his saviour holding an automatic rifle that was aimed at him, presumably a guard of this settlement.

"I mean no har-" Gregory was about to state something but the figure next to him cut him off.
"He is fine, Robert. Tell them to open the gate."
"I trust you." Said the guard while lowering his weapon.

After a few seconds the wooden gate started to open slowly with very audible creaking. The figure next to Gregory started going inside the settlement and he soon followed.