Man’s New Best Friend

Piles of garbage. That's all Caspian could see for miles as he sat in his electric car overlooking a ten-mile-wide valley below him. And it wasn't the typical garbage one might expect to see. No, it was acres upon acres of discarded technology – cell phones, MP3 players, televisions, and so much more.
"You know this is illegal?" Todd said from the passenger's seat as he scarfed down on dehydrated potato Snaps.
"And you know those things will kill you?" Caspian pointed out.
Instead of arguing about the Snaps' nutritional value, Todd offered one to his friend. Caspian tried to resist, but he loved how the bar-b-que flavor stung his tongue.
"We'll slip in and out, and no one will be the wiser. I need to come up with something to wow the judges at the science fair," Caspian explained.
Todd leaned into his seat, resting his boots on the dash. "What does it matter? Mr. Gorgon has it out for you anyway. And you know Eloise is going to win."
Todd did have a valid point. Eloise's father owned a big tech company and has a ton of money. For a moment, Caspian was about to give up, but then he shook his head.
"No. I'm doing this. Stay in the car if you're too scared," Caspian said, then opened the car door.
Todd waited inside the car, continuing to snack on his Snaps while Caspian remained. He finally slid his legs off the dash, set his Snaps on the floor, and opened the door.
"Don't make me regret this," Todd said low, but his voice echoed throughout the valley.
Caspian held his hand over Todd's mouth. "Would you mind keeping it down? I don't want to be arrested any more than you do."
They continued into a ravine into the heart of the tech dump. There were so many kinds of discarded devices, many of which Caspian had never seen before. He picked up a small box with a round, domed screen.
"What do you think this was used for?"
Todd took it from him, looking at it from all angles. "Looks like an etch-a-sketch. My grandmother showed me one from when she was a kid." He tossed the box aside. "What are we looking for again?"
"VR headsets. I want to link them to create a grid that will project everything you see around you," Caspian explained.
"Didn't someone already do that?" Todd mentioned.
Caspian ignored him. "Headsets," he reminded.
Todd emptied a plastic basket of cell phones and began gathering VR headsets. "I don't understand why this is against the law. I mean, no one is using this stuff anymore."
"Because the government is afraid that people left personal information on their devices and that thieves will use it," Caspian explained.
Todd held up his palm, showing Caspian the chip implanted in his wrist. "Identity theft isn't a problem anymore."
Caspian shrugged. Some of the old people don't want to use them. He paused, motioning to a pile of cables. Beneath the mound was something that resembled a hind leg of a dog.
"Hey, check this out," Caspian said, waving Todd to his side as he focused his phone's flashlight on the object.
Todd stared at the leg with a puzzled expression. "Is it alive?"
"It can't be alive if it's made out of metal," Caspian said. He forced aside the cables, revealing the body of a mechanical dog. The outer shell of the dog was beaten, and sections ripped away to reveal its inner workings, but it was still obvious it was a dog.
"I don't recall seeing anything like this ever sold," Todd mentioned.
Caspian petted the dog's mangled muzzle, the wheels in his head turning. "I know, right." He glanced over his shoulder at Todd. "Skip the VR headsets. I have a better idea."
Todd shook his head in protest. "Oh, no! You're not thinking about taking that? It must weigh a hundred pounds! Besides, what if it's out here for a reason?"
Caspian continued to untangle the dog. "Like what? Not fetching his creator's slippers. I just need something that will wow Mr. Gorgon enough to get me an A. I'll grab the head, and you grab the tail."
Todd shook his head, muttering under his breath. "I can't believe I let you talk me into these things."
The two lifted together with one mighty UMPH!
"You know you owe me for this," Todd cried in a strained voice as they carried the dog through the junkyard.
Halfway back to the car, the dog's tail began to wag—first, an inch, then a foot. When Todd noticed, it nearly scared the life out of him. He dropped the hind end, causing Caspian to stumble.
"What the--–!" Caspian turned back to see the dog lifting his head to look at him. "Oh. Uh, how did you turn him on?"
Todd shook his head. "I didn’t."
"But–" Caspian started to argue when the dog rolled onto his legs. It immediately began panting and barking.
Suddenly, a security helicopter appeared overhead. A light flashed toward the heaps of garbage nearby.
"RUN!" Caspian called in a hush.
The two ran towards the car. By the time they reached the car, the helicopter was directly overhead. The two hurried into the car. Caspian paused, noticing the dog standing outside, whining that he was left behind.
"Uh," Caspian opened his car door.
"What are you doing? We've got to go!" Todd demanded.
"I'll be right back." Caspian stepped out, moving his seat forward so the dog could jump into the backseat.
Todd looked out his window, pointing to the helicopter. "GO!"
Caspian pushed the button to start his car. Nothing. He tried again. It wouldn't start.
"Somehow, we ran down the battery. It's dead!" Caspian announced in a panic.
"And so are we if you don't get us out of here!" Todd cried back. He turned to the dog in the backseat, noticing a charging port under his collar. "I have an idea."
Todd grabbed the charging cable for the car and attached it to the dog. The car filled with the sound of pops, snaps, and then a low groan of something powering down. Within seconds, the car had enough of a charge to drive away.
It wasn't until Caspian pulled into his driveway that he bothered looking back at the dog. When he finally brought himself to look, it confirmed his worse fears. The dog was once again a lump of discarded, lifeless, tech.
"I'm sure there has to be a way of fixing him," Todd mentioned.
Caspian shook his head. He knew it was a waste of time to fix the dog. The charge had fried all of the dog's sensors. But, at least he did save them from being arrested, or worse.
"So… do you want to help me gather VR headsets tomorrow?" Caspian asked.
Todd stared at him, his bottom jaw gaping. "Yeah. Sure. I'll see you tomorrow."