The Unwanted Killjoys

Chapter 9

It was getting dark, and with the setting sun, the temperature started to drop as well. I was struggling to keep my eyes open. We haven't even reached Zone 7 yet. These zones are starting to stretch out even more. "I think that's enough for today," Poison announced with a defeated sigh and placed his bag down. He glanced at me with a frown. "Are you okay?"

"More like exhausted," I sighed and flopped down. "Are we sleeping here?"

"I think there's a shack a few kilometers ahead," Poison said. "Stay here and I'll check." I nodded and took a drink. My body is tired but my mind is racing with a thousand thoughts. I was so worried about everyone else. If they were in Battery City, then we were in a wild goose chase. But I at least have to check. I ran a hand through my crazy hair. I covered my face as I felt tears sting my eyes. I heard rustling so I looked up. I didn't see anyone, but I decided to grab my ray gun and stood up. I slowly walked around, glancing at anything that could jump out. I searched for Poison, but he was nowhere to be seen. I stood up straight when I felt something behind me. I took my gun off safety and turned around quickly, pointing my ray gun to the person. I put it down when I saw Poison's wide eyes.

"Sorry," I apologized and put my gun away. "I'm a bit nervous."

"After all the dracs coming here, I can see why," he said with a chuckle. "We have to sleep here. There's no shack over there." I nodded and sat back down on the sand. "I'll set up a fire."

"Are you sure it's safe?"

"It's night; the dracs are back in the city. We should be okay," he assured. I leaned back on the sand and sighed. "That's like your fifth sigh so far. How are you holding up?" He started setting up the pit for the fire.

"How do you think?" I asked. "My sister and best friends were taken. Your brother and friends were taken. We're in the same situation."

"Yeah, we are..." He lit the fire, providing us warmth. "I'll keep watch first. I'll wake you up in a couple of hours. We'll start walking again after sunrise." This time I didn't argue, I was exhausted. I pulled out my sleeping bag and laid on top of it. I gazed at the stars and allowed sleep take over my body.

Poison's POV

She fell asleep almost instantly. I opened a can of Power Pup and downed the wretched meal. I poked at the fire with a stick. I miss my friends. It didn't feel right being separated from them. I glanced at the night sky. I searched for constellations to pass the time. I glanced at Dynamite, noticing she had woken up again. "Weren't you asleep?"

"I got a few hours of sleep."

"Three hours."

"More than I thought I would." She sat up and crossed her legs. "Are you going to sleep?"

"Not yet." We stayed silent for a long time.

"Tell me your story." I snapped my neck to her direction.

"My story?"

"Before you joined Dr. D's ranks. How did you manage?" I sighed. I don't know what made me do it, but I decided to tell her. And I hated reliving my story.

"I lived in LA, right in the center. I used to live with Kobra, trying to find a way to pay the bills. My parents lived in New Jersey. They were divorced as well. It was all a blur when BL/ind took over. I just knew something was wrong. My parents ended up moving in a house with Mikey and I. I never understood why. Then suddenly, I was walking down the street when this smell hit me. I don't know what it was, but it made me realize that the city was taken over by Korse and that we were being controlled. I managed to convince Kobra to stop taking the pills. We were still pretty young, and since we were so creative, we had a strong resistance against the happy pills." I sighed and looked down at my boots. I continued, my voice straining from the memories I went through.