“So,” Ghoul said eventually. “You been in the zones for long?”
I gave him a withering look. “Probably longer than you,” I replied. “From the very beginning, right after the fires. I didn’t wait for BLi to show their true colours, I just left in case they were…..well, what they are.”
There was a moment of silence, and then Kobra Kid said. “So….you wanna order a drink or something? On us, obviously.”
I smiled at him. He seemed like a sweet guy, nicer than Ghoul, at any rate. “No thanks, I’m fine,” I said. “I had already finished when Poison came over and started getting in my face……”
Party Poison shifted guiltily. “Yeah….” He said awkwardly. “Sorry about that. Ghoul – ” “I know,” I cut across him. “Ghoul dared you. Whatever, we’re cool. I’m not gonna shoot you. Well, not now at any rate.”
“She’s got spunk,” Jet Star muttered, and I grinned. “Hell yeah, I do,” I said. “But I had better be going, gents. Dracs to exterminate and all that…….”
“Yeah, we had better go as well,” Poison said, and the other killjoys stood up. We walked to the door together, and Ghoul said, “See you round, I guess.”
“Bye,” I smiled, as they walked over to their Trans Am and I headed for my car.I drove a black Plymouth Superbird with purple spray-paint emblazoned across it. Yeah, I get bored really easily, and armed with a spray can……
I climbed in and shoved my keys in the ignition, turning it.
Nothing.
“Aw, nooooo!” I moaned, banging the dashboard as I turned the key again. “Come on, girl! Come on babes, don’t die on me!”
I had plenty of petrol, so that wasn’t the problem. I think, after three hard years in the zones with me, my faithful Plymouth had finally given up on life. The engine didn’t even make a sound. It was completely gone.
Cursing luck, fate, and pure misfortunate chance, I climbed out of my dead car, kicking the door closed and sitting on the bonnet. I had been planning to go to Zone Seven next, but now what the hell was I gonna do?
Seized by a sudden inspiration, I glanced sneakily over at Party Poison and company, who were getting petrol for their Trans Am. Maybe hitching a ride to Zone Seven, my next destination, wouldn’t be as hard as I thought.
I cursed loudly and kicked the front of my car, yelling with the pain that shot through my foot. Even with my custom red leather boots, that hurt.
“Stupid car!” I yelled. “Now I’m screwed!”
Without even glancing at the other killjoys, I collapsed onto the ground in front of it and buried my face in my hands.
“Em…..Jinxx?”
It was Fun Ghoul. I looked up at him. “Yeah?” I said, sounding world-weary and tired. “You wanna lift?” he asked. “You can hang with us for a while, if you want. You don’t have to be a complete loner……”
“Great!” I exclaimed, jumping to my feet. “Excellent. I’ll just give Dr D my keys so he can seen if there’s anything that can be done for my poor baby……” I cast a regretful glance over my car, ran into the diner and left my keys, then joined the other killjoys in the back of their Trans Am. It was a tight fight, I’ll be the first to admit, and Kobra Kid ended up squished between Fun Ghoul and me, half sitting on his friend. “Dude, get your elbow outta my face!” Fun Ghoul complained, as Party Poison started the engine.
“COME ON, COME ON, KISS MY BATTERY, COME ON, COME ON, I’LL BE YOUR ANDROID GIRL!”
The music blared from Dr D’s radio channel. It was a familiar song, one most people knew. “You like Mad Gear and Missile Kid?” Kobra Kid asked me. I snorted. “Who doesn’t?” I said. Party Poison looked back at me and winked. “You can be my android girl anytime, darlin’,” he grinned. I smacked him around the back of the head. “Cool it, hotshot,” I smirked. “And if you like your face in the shape that it is, I’d avoid calling me darling’.”
Jet Star hooted with laughter at Party Poison’s face. “You tell him, Jinxx!” he laughed. “I’d stay outta her way, Poison, or someone’s gonna end up with their nose on the wrong side of their face……”
I realised, as we drove, that these killjoys treated each other with such a blatant lack of respect that it was hilarious. They also had no regard for the driver, (neither did I, I did smack the back of his head, after all) and Fun Ghoul even licked his finger and stuck it in Party Poison’s ear once. The red-haired killjoy nearly crashed the car. “Dude! Not cool, Ghoul,” he said, wiping at his ear with his sleeve. “Gross!”
Fun Ghoul and the rest of us howled with laughter as he tried to steer one-handed. Jet Star reached across and took hold of the wheel, keeping us on the road.
Night was falling when we reached Zone Six. It wasn’t safe to travel in the dark, so we parked the Trans Am to camp for the night. Party Poison lit a fire while Jet Star pulled a radio with BOOM written on it out of the car and tuned into Dr D.
“Look alive, sunshine…..” The familiar voice of Doctor Death Defying began his daily report to the zones. It didn’t sound good.
“Well, we lost three good Killjoys today, guys……Poison Orchid, Dead Silence and Demolition Moonlight, ghosted east of Route Guano. Steer clear of Zone Four, Korse is patrolling with twenty or so draculoids, and he ain’t taking any prisoners…..Just to make you happy, though, we exterminated twelve dracs today, seven of’em taken out by Poison Orchid and her gang when they took their last stand….a minute of silence, then for our fallen killjoys.”
There was a long minutes of heavy silence, and then the station went back to Mad Gear and Missile Kid.
“Did you know any of them?” Poison asked me. “We didn’t, I don’t think….”
“Yeah, I said quietly. “I knew Demolition Moonlight. Good kid, good killjoy. I’d say he fought to the end.”
More silence, and then Jet Star said, “Well, at least we took down another twelve dracs. Only….I dunno…..fifty thousand to go?” We all cracked a smile at that, however, bleak and true it might be. “Well, I’m off to sleep,” Party Poison yawned, pulling his blanket closer to the fire. “Wake me up if there’s any trouble. Sleep tight, don’t let the dracs bite.” We all muttered our assent and rolled over, ready to sleep. Fun Ghoul was keeping watch for a few hours, before waking Jet Star to take over.
I closed my eyes, but didn’t fall asleep. My years of being alone and sleeping without someone keeping watch for dracs had made me a very light sleeper, and made it difficult to rest.
