CRASH HEAP

In the heart of the Ash Heap, where the air is thick with soot and the ground is littered with the bones of industry, SumGuy found his calling. It started as nothing more than a pile of scavenged junk—a busted forklift, rusted sheet metal, cracked neon signs, and a heap of mangled rebar. Most folks passed it without a second glance, assuming it was just another collapsed ruin swallowed by the dust and ash. But SumGuy saw potential. Piece by piece, trip by trip, he began shaping that pile into something more.

Over months, the heap transformed into a strange, ramshackle fortress. Corrugated metal walls leaned at odd angles, patched with billboard scraps and road signs. Inside, the chaos gave way to careful order: a small workbench tucked under a tarped awning, a kitchen corner built from repurposed gas station counters, and hammocks strung between support beams for any wanderer willing to trade stories or goods. The whole place reeked of burnt coal and oil, but to SumGuy, it smelled like home.

Crash Heap became more than shelter—it was a base of operations. From here, SumGuy ventured deep into the ruins of Welch, Beckley, and the abandoned mines, scavenging pre-war relics and valuable scrap. He knew which bridges still held hidden caches, which train cars were worth prying open, and which buildings were better left untouched. Each new find was hauled back to Crash Heap, sorted, stripped, or repurposed into something useful. To strangers, it looked like a junk pile; to SumGuy, it was a living, breathing machine, constantly evolving.

Despite its cobbled-together look, Crash Heap became a hub for trade and conversation in the Ash Heap. Wanderers who found it were offered a hot drink, a place to rest, and sometimes, if the timing was right, a deal they didn’t know they needed. All the while, SumGuy kept his reputation as just another harmless scavenger—nothing special, nothing worth worrying about. And in a land where standing out got you killed, the man who was always “just some guy” had built himself an empire out of other people’s trash.