Hurricane // Danger Days (Book 2)

07.

Sunset was once again with the Ultra Vs. They seemed to really like her, and she was becoming particularly attached to the three recruits. She favored Val out of all of them, but she obviously couldn't voice that opinion.

Today, she had made it her mission to show them as much of the desert as she could.

The first place they went was deep in Zone Six, where a large, dead robot that androids liked to call Destroya laid. There was a legend among the droids that Destroya would one day come back to life and set them all free from BLI's control, which is why the Killjoys had integrated the word into their vocabulary in the place of the word "god". Volume had freaked out when he saw it. He asked so many questions about how it might have worked, none of which Sunset was able to answer.

Her second thought was that she would take them to the Fabulous Four's diner. It was pretty important to Killjoy history. But when she tried to lead the group there, she couldn't find it. They circled the area where she knew the building would be, but it just wasn't there.

Then she spotted a large pile of rubble. She told Val to go towards it, and they stopped in front of it.

It wasn't until she saw the remains of the diner's neon sign that she realized that they'd reached their destination.

Her throat began to constrict against her will, and her eyes filled. She tried her hardest not to let her mind fall into the deepest pits of her thoughts, but she couldn't help remembering that five of her closest friends would still be alive if it weren't for her. She didn't know how the diner had been destroyed, but her emotions didn't seem to care.

"Hey, are you alright?" Val asked, taking her hand.

She didn't want to seem weak in front of them, but her thoughts spilled over anyway. "It's all my fault," she gasped, "They're gone and it's my fault, and Ven—" She choked up.

Val didn't hesitate to pull Sunset into his arms. She buried her face in his black denim jacket, her sadness and anger exploding out of her like water from a cracked dam.

🌩

Cola collapsed into Alien's desk chair. His right shirtsleeve has been reduced to tatters, and his arm sported a large, ugly burn.

Storm, Capricorn, and Benzedrine all filed into Alien's office to relay their experience to her. Benzedrine tended to Cola in the meantime.

"Damn! I knew it was a trap!" Alien yelled, slamming her hand on her desk when they finished.

"For the record," Revolution commented, "Cola was the one who told you not to go."

Alien ignored them. "Man, these guys are good! So what do we do now?"

Storm spoke up. "Well, we know we can't attack them, 'cause they have Toxic Revenge. That kid is a genius."

"But we can't just leave them," Capricorn argued, "Then they'd have the last laugh. Nothing's safe for you anymore, Al."

"Wait," Revolution interrupted, "Is this going to interrupt our plans tonight?"

"Yes," Cola said.

"No," Alien said at the same time.

"Wait, what?" Storm said afterwards.

"We were gonna go to a concert," Alien glared at Cola, "and we still are."

"It's not safe!" Cola argued. "What if they find out you're there? We can't risk that!"

"Keep in mind that I'll be there," Revolution commented. "I won't let her do anything stupid." Alien punched her friend in the arm at that.

Cola sighed. "Fine. But Storm goes with you. And Sunset."

"What?" Storm was very confused.

"Sunset's out with the Vs again," Alien corrected. "But Storm can come, if he wants to. Do you want to?"

"Uh," Storm calmed down a bit. "That's fine, I guess." Inside, he was screaming. He didn't want to spend a whole night with Revolution! They were practically a traitor, walking out on their friends like that!

"We should probably head out now," Revolution said. "The show starts at 2100."

"Okay then, let's go!" Alien hopped off of her desk and headed out, Revolution on her tail. Storm reluctantly followed after a push from Capricorn.

🌩

"So," Revolution begins, "Palaye are a relatively unknown band, so they can't quite get a spot at the Pit. So they usually play at their bar. That's where we're going." They had insisted on driving, because apparently, Alien is terrible at going places she doesn't know the way to.

"Their bar?" Alien asked, "Do they live there?"

"Yup. I thought you said you picked them up?"

"I was picked up with them. They just kinda disappeared one day, and I was too depressed to care."

They carried on their conversation in the front, while Storm looked out the window in the backseat. He had been silent the whole time. He tried to dispel his anger; Come on, he thought, Al trusts them, they've got to be fine... right? But he couldn't help his persistent negative attitude towards Revolution.

They arrived at a small bar/restaurant, which was surrounded by vehicles of all kinds. There was loud music pouring from its windows, as well as the sound of people yelling.

"Al, you're gonna love these guys," Revolution told Alien.

"I trust you," the general grinned.

Of course you do, Storm thought, trying not to show his anger.

They walked into the building, straight into a crowd of people. There was hardly any space to move around in, but none of the Killjoys in the room seemed to care. They were surrounding a small stage in the corner of the room, upon which were a band made up of three guys.

Storm recognized them immediately. They were Remington, Sebastian, and Emerson, the three men that he and the Four had rescued along with Alien. But they definitely looked a lot more like Killjoys now. Their music sounded rough in a way, especially Remington's vocals. But they were very good.

"Hey Al," Revolution said tentatively, struggling to be heard over the loud music. "I kinda didn't tell you something... and you're not gonna like it."

Alien was confused. "Wait, what do you—"

"SIR!" a voice said behind her. "Glad you could make it!"

She turned around, and found the one person she did not want to see.

Then Killer King saw the general, and his face instantly fell into one of annoyance. "Well shit," he said, "that ruins my plans."