Hurricane // Danger Days (Book 2)

14.

Night lead Storm through the absolute maze that is the Hub. There were so many different types of weapons, most of which were Analog models, so Storm recognized them. There were a lot of things that he didn't recognize, however, and he figured that those were Toxic Revenge's inventions. Val trailed behind, mainly laughing at Storm's new character.

"So this is just the wares section," Night told Storm. "You likin' the digs so far? You've been lookin' at the weapons like you wanna undress 'em for the past half hour."

Storm forced himself to be confident. "Hell yeah. I love this kind of thing. Analogs are my specialty. Well, the programming bit. I know jack-shit about putting them together."

"Really?" Night smiled. "The guy who invented 'em is the O.G., man! Castellan was like, the George Washington of the rebellion!"

Storm's heart skipped a beat when he realized that Night was talking about his father. His dead father. "Yeah, he's really cool. Is he still alive?" He wanted to know if they knew. He hadn't spoken a word about it since he'd been out here.

"Haven't heard otherwise," Night said, "but there were rumors flyin' around that his kids went missin' a while ago. Most people think that they probably ran out into One and died after a day of radiation, but I think they're still out here. Among us, as 'Joys. I've been trying to spot 'em for a long time. The boy's hair is pretty distinct, I'd know it if I saw it."

Storm almost laughed at the irony. Thank Destroya for Al! "Well, let me know if you find him, I'd love to meet him!"

"Ya know, a couple years ago, I had suspicions about that one kid that kissed Party Poison on stage. I can't remember his name... Silent somethin'. But he fell off the face of the planet when the Four got ghosted. He probably died or somethin'. If it was him, that would suck."

Storm was very entertained by this guy being so oblivious. "Yeah, it would. Anyways, let's keep going. I wanna see the rest of this place."

Night seemed to get an idea. "Ya know, I should take you to meet Ren. She'd probably like you."

"Who's Ren?"

"Grenade Shock, the leader of this here operation. Polar opposite of that Atomic asshole, thank Destroya. You'll like her."

Storm winced when Night insulted Alien. He figured he would be hearing a lot of those, so he'd have to get used to it. "Wait, I'm gonna get to meet Grenade Shock?" He feigned excitement. "She's so badass! I heard about the bombing on the news, that was literally the coolest thing ever!"

Night grinned. "She's the most badass fifteen-year-old anyone's ever met," he sighed in admiration. "If she wasn't fifteen, I'd go after her in a heartbeat. But I'm twenty-five, so nah." He laughed to himself.

Two things: one, she's fifteen? How? Well, the same way that Toxic Revenge is ten, I guess. Two, this dude is attracted to her for some reason and that's serious pedophilia. No thank you. "Yeah, I get what you mean," Storm said because he couldn't think of anything else.

"How old are you, kid?"

"Twenty-one."

"Cool. It doesn't really matter out here though. Age doesn't define a person. Just look at lil' Revenge. He's a bona fide genius!" Night gestured for Storm to follow him. "C'mon, let's go see the boss."

At this point, Val had wandered off to some unknown location. Storm couldn't help but be suspicious, but he didn't care as much as he usually would. The Killjoy and the Rioter headed to the back of the building, where a door awaited them. Night knocked on the door and shouted, "Ren, you in there? I got a greenie who wants to meet you."

"C'mon in, Night," a muffled voice replied from inside.

Night pushed open the door and stepped in. As he did, he held the door open for Storm to step inside.

The room looked exactly how you'd picture a villain's lair. There was very little lighting in the room, and it came from one of those little spinning disco light thingies, as well as two glowing computer monitors sitting on a desk in the center of the room.

A girl sat at the desk with her feet up on it. She had dark skin and bright pink hair, and grinned when Night walked in. "'Sup, my guy?" She shot finger guns at him, reminding Storm of Alien.

"This here is Hurricane Lightning," Night said, stepping back to let Grenade see Storm. "He wants to join up."

Grenade squinted, looking him over. Then she stood up and walked over to him, getting fairly close. He was shocked at how tall she was. He was about 5'8", and he knew she had to be at least six foot. She stared down at him intensely. "Are you familiar with the Killjoys?" she asked.

Storm blinked, then scoffed. "Well yeah, isn't everyone? I hate those guys. I stayed with them for a bit when I first got out of the city, but I never liked them. Especially that Alien chick."

Grenade's face didn't change. "How did you learn about the Riot?"

"Well, I was listening to the radio one day and heard about the bombing. That was awesome, by the way. I asked my buddy Val Velocity about it, and he said this was the place to go, so here I am."

"How much are you willing to sacrifice to join? Will you do whatever it takes for the good of the Riot?"

Storm smirked. "Pretty much, just as long as you don't boss me around all the time. If you do that, I'm leaving. Got it, sweetheart?"

Night put a hand on his shoulder, signaling him to calm down. But he stood his ground.

Grenade didn't move for a moment, then she smiled. "Defiant. I like that." She held her hand out for him to shake. "I'm Grenade Shock. My friends call me Ren."

Storm shook her hand firmly. "I know. I've heard a lot about you. My name's Hurricane, but you know that."

"I do," she said. Then she let go of his hand and sat back down at her desk. "Anyways, Night will show you to your room now. I hope to see more of you, Hurricane."

"Same to you." Then he pulled the door open, and walked out, Night on his heels.