Foolish Heart //Danger Days//

13. The Zone Tour

"Sailors fighting in the dance hall
Oh man!
Look at those cavemen go
It's the freakiest show
Take a look at the Lawman
Beating up the wrong guy
Oh man! Wonder if he'll ever know
He's in the best selling show
Is there life on Mars?"

::Life on Mars- David Bowie::

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The night air provided me a sense of relief, even though I was just inhaling toxic. I wish I didn't make myself think about my life before the fires.

"You came all the way from Detroit?"

Party had followed me outside.

"Why do you always sneak up on me out here?" I turned on my heels. Party simply shrugged.

"How come you came here? I mean, Detroit is rather far, isn't it?" He asked.

"We just drove. Everywhere my family stopped, the flames followed. An old man at a gas station told us that his grand kids were safe in Los Angeles, so we came here." I told him, leaning up on the hood of Party's precious Trans AM.

"How long did that take you?" Party came up beside me, imitating my position on the car.

"A good two days of straight driving. It was complete hell. Dylan was only three."

"You never saw your band mates again?" Party propped his head his head up on his arm, facing me.

"No, and I don't really feel like talking about them." I admitted. Party nodded in understanding. We rested on the car in silence for a few moments.

"So, tell me about this David fellow." Party teased, causing me to crack a small smile.

"Oh, he was gorgeous. He was much taller than me, and I loved that. He was a bit scrawny, but I was never a big muscle sort of girl. He was a fantastic musician, but preferred to produce. He always dyed his hair the strangest colors. It's been green, blue, red..."

Party rushed his hands through his fiery hair.

"He would have fit in perfectly here." I sighed.

"I miss them a lot."

Party's cocky grin faded, and he pulled me into a greatly needed hug.

"I know you miss them, but you have us now." Party spoke into my hair.

"I just don't want to loose you like I lost them." I confessed, trying not to cry again.

"Hey, you won't loose us, and we certainly won't loose you." Party reassured me, not letting go of my trembling body.

"But how do you know that? You can't prevent death." I argued.

"I promise, I won't leave you alone. None of us will."

I smiled into Party's jacket, realizing that I could trust this man with my life. Party's body stiffened when I gave him the tiniest kiss on the cheek.

"What was that for?" He stammered, his bright hazel eyes staring into mine.

"To say thank you." I grinned, causing Party to copy my expression.

"I think I should go to bed." I coughed after standing in the Killjoy leader's arms for far too long. Party let me go, shuffling his feet awkwardly.

"Uh, yeah, me too." He stared at the ground.

"See you tomorrow. You better take me on that tour you promised." I warned.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Party smirked, sticking his hands into the pockets of his blue jacket. I made my way into the basement, giving a final 'Goodnight' to the three other Killjoys inside.

I went to bed in good spirits that night, even ignoring the frightening snores of Dylan, who was forced to share my bed.

---

"Get up, Sunshine, we're going driving."

I groaned, rolling over in my bed. Dylan had left, and I looked up to find Ghoul and Party waiting for me to leave the comfort of my blanket.

"Why so early?" I yawned.

"It's 9 o'clock. Get your ass out of bed." Ghoul poked my shoulder.

"I want to get on the road in fifteen minutes, so lets go." Party tapped his boot on the floor.

"Fine." I rubbed my eyes, forcing myself to wake up.

"We'll be waiting upstairs." Party told me, his usual bossiness shining through. I waited for the two boys to leave before hopping out of my covers. There was no way I was going to let them see me in my underwear. I quickly threw on my typical white shorts and black tank top. I pulled the navy blue jacket over my arms, and brushed my messy blonde hair with my fingers. I pulled on my black combat boots, and ran upstairs.

"Look who finally woke up." Jet teased me, sitting with Kobra, Dylan and the girl.

"Here, eat up. You have five minutes." Kobra tossed me a can of who-knows-what.

"This isn't the usual can of beans." I examined the can. Ghoul snorted in amusement.

"Honey, you're a real Killjoy now. There are only so many cans of beans in the world."

I opened the can, quickly gagging at the smell.

"What the hell is this?" I held the can away at an arms length.

"Dog food." Kobra informed me, no trace of humor in his face.

"Oh good god." I cautiously dug my spoon into the cold brown mush. Taking one last breath, I shoved the spoon into my mouth. The taste was horrendous, and had a texture to match. The dog food was soft and slimy, and slid down my throat easily. I gagged again after finishing my first spoon full."

"How was that?" Party teased.

"Shit." I replied.

"That's the spirit." Ghoul patted me on the back.

---

After finishing the hellish can of dog food, Ghoul, Party and I made our way into the Trans AM, leaving Jet and Kobra with the children.

"What kind of stuff can you even find out here? It's a wasteland!" I questioned.

"Believe it or not, there's a lot to see out here." Ghoul responded. Party hopped into the driver's seat. I opened the door to the passenger side, only to hear Ghoul protest.

"Oh come on! I should be sitting in the front."

"Go sit in the back, asshat." Party rolled his eyes at his friend.

"Fine, only because I'm a decent human being." Ghoul huffed, sitting down in the back. I felt the Trans AM lurch forward, and Doctor Death began to speak on the radio.

"Good morning, Tumbleweeds. Yet another quiet day out in the zones. Not a single dirty Drac in sight. The weather's looking shaky, so make sure to cover up that skin before the radiation hits it. A group of Killjoys from Zone 5 just went for a little supply run into Bat city, so if any of you crash queens are thirsty, water containers are down at the shop in Zone 4. That's all I have to report this morning, so I'll leave you with some music..."

Dr. D's broadcast ended.

"We should probably get some more water. We're running low." Party commented, dust kicking behind us as he drove.

The Zones were a wild place. There was life out here, life that I was only now a part of.

I prayed that I'd be able to last out here.