Dry and lonely.  That's what it was, that sandy stretch of sunburnt road in the middle of nowhere with nothing but sand dunes and vultures for company.  If it had had a mind to, it would have surely shuddered and cried beneath the weight of many long, slow centuries of boredom and sameness.  As it was the winds seemed to sigh from the tedium of mere existence, kicking up small whirlwinds that spat dust impotently into the air before settling down again in quiet mourning.  For the first time in ages the road had some real company, but its company was in no condition to hold a proper conversation.<br/><br/>A horde of vultures, oily buzzards with scabby faces and unwholesome eyes, all clustered around a big 'ole lump of rusty metal half-submerged in a pit of sand.  They squawked with irritation like a rabble of street hoodlums, all bluster but no brains, pecking at the thing like some over-sized tin can they were<em>certain</em>had delectable morsels inside to eat.  But on closer inspection it wasn't just a pile of scrap.  Oh no, this was something far more interesting, and far more dangerous.<br/><br/>It was a complex machine, a heavily armored behemoth whose massive metal hide bore the wear and tear of centuries, and in that it shared a common bond with the very road it sat beside.  Four burly arms extended from the sides, connected by fleshy black joints and pistons and the like, ending in three-fingered manipulators.  Half-buried as they were it seemed they were currently useless, and the way the nearby pavement cracked it was clear that the hulking robot had tried to struggle its way to freedom.  All manner of guns and ornamentation were strapped to the outer hull, from machine pistols and rifles to crosses and tinsel.  It was like some mobile gun store and religious shrine all in one, only the<em>mobile</em>part didn't seem to hold very true at the moment.<br/><br/>The thing emitted a low hum, half-heartedly shifting its great weight around in an attempt to convince the vultures to move on to easier prey.  It was just one of those days.