Silence // Danger Days (Book 1)

04.

"Oh, hell yeah!" Al exclaimed when Storm entered the room again. "Lookin' shiny, man!"

"Shiny?" he queried.

"Oh yeah, you're new," she apologized. "When something's shiny, it's like, cool or awesome."

"Oh, okay," Storm said. It's weird thinking of myself as a Killjoy, he thought.

The door next to him opened, and—wait, is that Hailey?

She looked as if she'd been a Killjoy her whole life, though the bright orange jacket was a bit much in Storm's opinion. She also stood differently, as if she could take on the world if she wanted to.

"Whoa, kid," Al remarked. "If I didn't have a boyfriend, I'd say you're hot, but—"

Ven cleared his throat.

"I said if!" Al said again.

"Allie!" a new voice from behind them said. Another man had entered, and was holding his arms out to Al. This must be Jared, Storm thought.

"Jay, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" Al griped, then hugged him anyway. "Where have you been? We've been here since 1500 hours."

"Sorry, I was talking to Dustin about business and shit," Jared told her, then eyed the two newcomers. "Ah, picked up some greenies today, I see."

"This is Storm and Sunset," Al said, gesturing to each of them, "and actually, they got out on their own."

Jared's eyes widened. "Really?"

Al nodded, grinning.

"Destroya, when was the last time that happened?" He looked shell shocked.

Destroya? Storm wondered.

"Actually, the last one might have been me," Al said with a wink. "The rest were pulled out by other 'Joys."

"Wow, okay." He seemed to accept the idea, then turned to the new Killjoys. "Jared Leto, at your service." He held his hand out to Storm.

"Luc—I mean, Storm," he stuttered and shook the other man's hand.

"Wait," Jared seemed to do a double take. "What were you about to say?"

Al pulled him away and whispered in his ear.

"Holy shit! It is them!" Jared exclaimed after looking them over once more. He addressed Al, "How'd you find these two? Wait, you said they escaped on their own?"

Storm felt his face heat up. This was to be expected, he knew, but he'd never experienced it before.

"Yup," Al told Jared. "They were just wandering around at the edge. I thought they were BLI at first, so I jumped them, then they told me who they are and I recognized them."

"You've got to make sure they can't be recognized," Jared told Al, concerned. "They probably already have targets on their backs."

"We'll handle that when we get out there," Al assured. "We'll stop by Tommy's."

"How's everyone doing, by the way?" Jared asked casually. "Haven't seen the guys in a while."

"The Four just released their record," Al reported. "They're still managing the Girl, which I'm surprised about. The Suitehearts are still making mischief, as expected. Dr. D and Pony still play you guys' songs sometimes. I've been hearing about a kid called Mad Gear, who apparently hallucinates a drummer on stage with him when he's singing. That's pretty much it."

Jared stared blankly for a second. "I miss it out there," he said wistfully. "But I don't think we'd be able to handle ourselves without—" he choked up.

"Hey," Al put an arm around Jared, which Storm wouldn't think possible, given her size. "It's alright. He's with the Witch now, and it was the best thing for you guys to come here. He'd want you to be safe."

Jared sniffed. "I know. Thanks." He stood up straighter.

"I'm here for you," Al reminded him. "It wouldn't hurt for you to call me every once in a while, either!" she joked.

"Shut up," Jared gave her a playful shove. "Now you better get out there, Mama Jet will want you home before 2200."

"Oh alright," Al grinned. "See ya, Jay."

Jared saluted her. What is going on here? Storm was confused.

The group headed back to the front of the store to wait for Ven, who had disappeared somewhere. He soon appeared from between the shelves, holding something in his hand.

"You're gonna need these," he said, handing a pair of mirrored sunglasses out to Sunset and a bandanna to Storm. "Unless you want the whole of the slums knowing who and where you are,"

Storm carefully tied the cloth around his mouth and nose, and then the group ventured back onto the street.

Storm looked around, and noticed that they weren't getting as many pretending-not-to-looks as before. Thank goodness.

After a while of Al maneuvering the group through the crowd, they reached a street that was nearly empty, and took a right onto it. The buildings were covered in graffiti and looked like they had never received maintenance. They kept walking until they reached a staircase that went down under the sidewalk.

"This is our way out of here." Al gestured toward it. She smirked. "The Getaway Mile." She grinned and hopped down the steps into the darkness.

Sunset whispered to Ven, "What exactly does she mean?"

"It's a mile-long tunnel that leads out into the Zones," Ven replied. "It's called that because Killjoy patrols go through here to pull people out of the city. Our van is parked at the exit."

"Oh, and by the way," Al popped back out of the tunnel. "You must still be wondering who we are." She pulled her hoodie off and traded it with Ven for a black leather jacket. She pulled it on with a grace that showed that she'd been doing it for years. She asked Ven, "You wanna go first, babe?"

He shrugged. "My name's Violent Vendetta, and I'm this little shit's boyfriend." Al punched him in the shoulder, but he hid his wince of pain with a playful grin.

The purple-haired killjoy pulled her goggles off of her head, ran her fingers through her hair, then placed the goggles in their former position. "My name is General Atomic Alien," she said smugly, "and I'm the motherfucking leader of the Killjoys."

The siblings gaped at her.

She only grinned, as if this happened every day. "Any questions?"