Diamond and Ghoul sat just outside the diner, their backs to the wall, staring towards the sunset. It was peaceful. The calm before the storm.
"We're supposed to get rain in a few days." Ghoul broke the silence.
"Really?" Diamond was surprised. It hadn't rained in the desert in years.
"Yeah," he took a quick drag of his cigarette, making sure to blow the smoke away from her, "everyone in Battery City is pretty stoked. They've been running a little low on water. Not like the other Better Living branches wouldn't bail them out if they went into crisis mode, though. I don't know why they bother. That water's hardly safe after all the radiation. They'll need a top-notch purification system."
"Better Living branches?"
"You didn't think that Battery City was the only headquarters for BLI, did you?" he chuckled.
Diamond shrugged. She'd never given the inner-workings of Better Living Industries much thought.
"Nah, there's headquarters in at least two of the major cities." Ghoul took another thoughtful drag before adding, "Well, once-major anyway."
"What cities?"
"New York and Chicago. I think they were planning to build ones in Vegas and Orlando too, so there wasn't such a gap between populated cities, but they never got around to it. The destruction was too bad."
"What happened anyway? I don't remember much of what happened when the disasters hit."
Ghoul sat in silence for a while, taking a few more drags on his cigarette before flicking it to the ground and sighing.
"I'm not entirely sure what was going on as far as the rest of the country."
"Well then what happened here?" she rushed to ask and realized this might still be quite a sore subject. She rushed to say, "I mean, if you don't want to talk about it-"
"Nah, its fine." He shrugged, "It'll probably help me, getting this off my chest. Therapy, y'know?" he flashed a crooked smirk at her. She nodded wordlessly, her face solemn.
Ghoul leaned back in the wall, shoulders slumped. After a few more moments of collecting his thoughts, he began.
"It was just like any normal day. We-the guys and I. You know we had a band, right?" he looked at her and she nodded. My Chemical something, wasn't it? She's heard Dr. Death say something about it to Kobra once. Ghoul continued.
"It had been about two years since our last album. We figured it was time to get back in the studio. So we were all getting ready to go meet up at the studio. Jet and Kobra were at my house, waiting for me to finish getting all my shit together. That's when Kobra noticed the TV."
He took another deep breath, "Bombs were being dropped. New York had already been hit. Chicago was in the process of being attacked. Most of the south was already up in flames. The east coast was nearly gone, reduced to ash and smoke. They were suspecting several different terrorist organizations, even a few entire countries. The death toll was in the hundred-thousands, and rising with every minute. Everyone was in panic mode. Some of the news reporters were hysterical. Everyone was panicking. And we knew we were next.
"We looked at each other for a split second before running out, not taking anything with us. We already had our wallets and phones. We were kind of stupid, doing that.
"We all tried to contact our wives. I managed to get a hold of Jamia, but Kobra and Jet...their wives were in Jersey. The east coast. There was little to no chance of them surviving.
"It's good you came to me with this. Kobra still gets worked up about not saying goodbye. In a way, we all do. Though at least I got to hear the voice of my wife one more time.
"Halfway through me telling her to hold on, I'd be there soon, my phone lost service. The last thing I ever heard her say was, 'Don't forget, we all love you. Come back as quick as you can.'"
"We tried to get back. God dammit, we tried so fucking hard. The streets were flooded with people trying to run, trying to find some way out. Just crowds of people. It was like they all forgot cars were an option. So we ran too, we even managed to make it to Party's apartment, down the street from mine. But then the bombs fell,"
"I remember looking up, seeing the tall building in front of us. Then a plane. And it just kept flying, lower and lower. I saw it drop something. Then it hit the building.
"The rest of the attack is hazy. I remember Party and his family running out. They only lived on the second floor, thank Christ. They ran with us. There was fire everywhere. Bodies in the streets. Blood. So much blood.
"Somehow, we lost Party's family in the crowd. He tried to find them, but they were gone. And just like that we were alone. Not literally, but we felt more alone than we had in a long time.
"I can't really tell you what happened next. The combination of confusion and adrenaline and panic just kind of helped me forget the rest of what happened that day. Maybe it's my mind protecting me form further emotional trauma. Here's hoping I never have to remember."
He stopped talking then, pausing to put a cigarette to his lips and holding the lighter to it, looking at her with a 'May I?' expression.
She nodded and managed to whisper, "Go ahead."
He lit the cigarette, pocketing the lighter and taking a long drag. "It's been years," he finally said, "and I think that's the first time I've thought about that day without losing it. Closure's a funny thing." He shrugged and took another quick drag, "I thought I would know when it happened."
"Maybe it's just been happening." Diamond suggested quietly, "Maybe all these years you've just been slowly accepting it."
Ghoul smiled wryly, "Yeah, maybe. Of course, my positive outlook on life sure helps."
"Care to explain?"
He chuckled, "Through all of this, I've been the one making jokes and keeping morale up. I guess being the ray of sunshine in our little group has helped."
She smiled a bit, "I guess trying to keep a positive outlook has helped you develop one in the end."
He looked at her, "Yeah, I guess."
They sat in silence again. The sun was nearly under the horizon, coloring the sky a bright orange before fading into star-speckled night behind them. Already the temperature had begun to drop, and Diamond felt a shiver run through her in response to the cold.
"You wanna go back in?" Ghoul noticed the shiver.
"I'm fine if you are." She shrugged, "Besides, you have a cancer stick to finish."
He chuckled again, finishing his cigarette and tossing it to the dusty ground. "Not anymore." He stood up his back still against the wall, leaning against it. He looked down at Diamond, who looked up at him.
The door near them swung open, and Party poked his head out.
"He's awake." Was all he said before shutting the door, Diamond immediately stood and went to enter the diner.
"Wait," Ghoul reached out, lightly gripping her shoulder before she reached the door. She looked at him and he frowned slightly.
"Just be careful. If anything goes wrong or you need anyone, just call. I'll be in the main room with everyone else."
She nodded, "Thanks. For everything."
They smiled briefly at one another again before Diamond turned and headed in. Ghoul turned back to the setting sun, now nearly gone, and decided to have one more cigarette.
