Summertime

Chapter Five-The Amount of Pills I'm Taking Counteracts the Booze I'm Drinking

Kobra and I hopped in the jeep and continued to the Diner, now accompanied by Lace and Noise. Lace was probably the chattiest, happiest girl I had ever met, and she practically bounced alongside us. Noise, obviously her best friend, occasionally had to catch her from tripping and falling flat on her face.

Finally we reached the Diner. The door swung open and a short man with shoulder length black hair approached us. I recognized him as Fun Ghoul.

“Wow Kobra, you finally scored? It’s usually Party Poison who brings back the girls like that,” Ghoul teased.

“Oh, shut up,” Kobra Kid said, “She almost got killed by some Dracs and sprained her ankle. She couldn’t walk.”

Fun Ghoul looked at me, watching me with puppy-like brown eyes.

“She looks familiar…” he said.

“That’s what I thought, too. Her name’s Ghost Lightning,” Kobra said. He shifted his weight uncomfortably.

“I need to put her down, I’ve been carrying her for half an hour. Is Show Pony here? He knows how to fix injuries,” Kobra said. Ghoul snapped his fingers and pointed at me, ignoring Kobra’s question.

“She’s that girl we almost rescued from the school a few years ago!” Ghoul said excitedly.

“Great, now we’ve got that off our minds, where’s Show Pony?” Kobra said irritably.

“You’re lucky to be alive, I can’t even begin to imagine all the terrible things Korse could have done to you,” Ghoul muttered, leaning against the doorway.

“GHOUL WILL YOU JUST TELL ME WHERE SHOW PONY IS?!” Kobra yelled.

“Oh, yeah, he’s with Dr. D. I’ll go get him!” Ghoul yelped, darting down a hallway.

Kobra Kid walked into the diner and set me down on the couch before sitting down next to me. Noise muttered something to Lace about parking the jeep, and they left.

“Um…I was thinking…maybe you’d like to come and live with us? I mean, you’re out in the desert all on your own and if you get hurt there’s no one to help you. And, uh…I kind of think you’re a nice girl…but, what I mean is…ah…um…fuck,” Kobra Kid muttered, glaring at the floor. I laughed.

“Well, I mean, for safety reasons I should probably stay with you guys, right?” I asked. He nodded, still looking at the floor.

“And I think you’re a nice guy…” I stopped and stared at my hands, blushing. Kobra scooted a little closer and I looked up at him. He was blushing, too. He reached out and took my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. I smiled shyly at him, and he started to lean in closer when a man on roller skates entered the room.

“Whoa! Sorry, am I interrupting something?” he said.

“Oh—no, no it’s fine. You have the stuff for her ankle?” Kobra Kid said in embarrassment, standing up quickly. The man, who I guessed to be Show Pony, held up a bottle of ointment and some gauze.

“Okay, yeah, I guess I’ll just go now…” Kobra mumbled. He quickly left the room in embarrassment, making me smile.

“He likes you. Don’t hesitate to take up that offer, doll,” Show Pony said. He knelt by my bed, took off my boot, and started to work on my ankle.

“Party Poison and Jet Star went out earlier today to shoot Dracs. They’ll be back soon. We’ve also got a few other girls your age crashing here tonight. You staying the night?” he asked.

“Yeah. Kobra wanted me to just…uh…just stay with you guys because I don’t really have anyone else. I was alone in the desert for two years, after I lost my memory,” I said.

“Lost your memory? Ouch. You’re lucky to have lived this long. Well, it’s totally fine with me if you stay. The more Killjoys, the better. We’ll have to talk to Party Poison, though, he’s basically the leader. Although, he’s been really high strung lately. A girl Killjoy—he really liked her—left us about a year ago and he’s still not over it. What’s your name?” he asked.

“Ghost Lightning,” I said.

As Show Pony tied up the gauze on my foot, I heard crashing and yelling in the hallway. The door was thrown open, and a man in a blue jacket with candy apple red hair ran inside. He drew a bright yellow laser gun from the holster at his waist and started towards me.

“Whoa, whoa Poison! What the hell’s going on?” Show Pony yelled, jumping to his feet and skating backwards a bit. Party Poison grabbed me by the front of my jacket and pressed his laser gun against my collarbone. He was pale and beads of sweat dripped down his face. I stared fearfully into his bloodshot hazel eyes, eyes that were a lot like his brother’s.

“You guys should know, we can’t trust her! We can’t trust anyone! There was a whole shitload of Dracs attacked us here yesterday, and you don’t think that this girl is suspicious?!” he yelled. Fun Ghoul and another man, who I guessed to be Jet Star, ran into the room.

“What the fuck?!” he cried, seeing Party Poison holding me at gunpoint.

“Poison, calm down! She was found about a quarter mile from here, you can’t blame her for—” Show Pony started.

“We have to be cautious,” Party Poison snapped. He jabbed at me with the laser gun.

“What’s your name?” he barked.

“I—Ghost Lightning!” I shrieked as he shook me.

“Likely,” he snarled. “You hesitated. She could be an android, some sick creation of BLI—”

“Bro,” a soft voice said from the doorway. Kobra Kid stood in the door, and I saw two new figures behind him. He slowly walked towards his brother.

“Have you been drinking again, Poison?” he asked, placing both hands on his brother’s shoulders and looking him in the eyes. Party Poison lowered his head in shame.

“A—a bit, maybe,” he growled.

“You’ve got to stop. You know why she left, and it was better for her. Maybe she’ll come back once she’s over him. I’m sorry, but alcohol will not stop the pain,” Kobra Kid said gently. Party Poison hiccupped and hid his face in his hands.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’ve just been on edge lately,” he murmured to me. I didn’t reply, angrily rubbing my shoulder where he had gripped me.

“Let’s let her sleep,” Kobra Kid said, leading his brother and the others out of the room. I laid down on the couch and my eyelids grew heavy. With a soft sigh, I cuddled into the thin blanket and fell asleep.