One In The Chamber

Change of Plans {The Fabulous Killjoys}

Party Poison held Missile Kid close as they walked through the desert, all of them looking for some form of life. He looked back at Kobra Kid, at his brother, who shook his head, telling Party Poison everything he already knew. He was only tiring himself out by carrying Missile Kid as well as his own weight, and as the leader of the Fabulous Four, he couldn't work himself to the point of exhaustion. Party Poison knew this. But he also knew that Missile Kid wasn't able to keep walking on her own, and there was no way he was leaving her behind. Not after everything they had risked at Better Living Industries headquarters. Missile Kid had been kidnapped by Korse, and the Fabulous Four had risked their lives to get her back. They had barely gotten out with their lives, but an unknown ally had helped them with a well-placed grenade. Party Poison knew that without this help they never would have made it out alive.

"It's a shame that whoever helped us out at Better Living Industries can't help us now," Fun Ghoul said, and Party Poison nodded in agreement.

"No kidding," Jet Star added. It was a car bomb. In the middle of the night, two Draculoids had placed a bomb in the Trans-Am and had detonated it. They had also laid down a trail of kerosene to the Hideout, hoping that the Fabulous Four would burn with the Hideout. However, Missile Kid had woken up from a nightmare at precisely the right time, and saw the Dracs laying the kerosene. The five Killjoys escaped out the back, and they watched as their home burned to the ground. They then had two options. They could either flee into Battery City and pray they found shelter before Korse's minions found them, or they could risk the perilous trek through the desert to the nearest Killjoy village, which was at least two zones away. Only the Fabulous Four had dared to keep their Hideout so close to Battery City, near the edge of Zone One. The border into Zone Two was only about fifteen miles away, but then they had to travel completely across Zone Two, and they didn't know exactly how far in Zone Three the nearest known establishment was. That, and they would be going on foot.

But there was no way they would go to Battery City. They would rather die in the desert than get captured and turned into a Draculoid. The Fabulous Four were used to the desert heat and didn't have as much of a problem with it, but Missile Kid was so young and not used to the elements. They had reached Zone Two by daybreak, and after that, the heat only increased, until Missile Kid collapsed, unable to walk any more. That had been when Party Poison had began to carry the little girl. The four Killjoys continued to walk, each one wishing for something different.

Fun Ghoul wanted the Trans-Am back. He had put his heart and soul into fixing the abandoned vehicle they had found into the vehicle it had become. Jet Star wanted to bash Korse's head in for everything he had put them through. For setting fire to the Hideout, for kidnapping Missile Kid, for creating Battery City in the first place. Kobra Kid wanted to find drinkable water. He knew they couldn't make it to Zone Three without water. Missile Kid might not even make it to see the end of the day. Party Poison simply wanted for everyone to be safe. But he knew that as long as Battery City stood, they'd never truly be safe. Missile Kid...she wanted her mother. She wanted her mother to soothe her and tell her everything would be okay, but her mother was long dead, and so she held on to Party Poison a little tighter.

Eventually the sun was directly overhead, and they all knew that without some water, Missile Kid wouldn't make it another hour. Party Poison knew that when he tried to talk to her and she didn't talk back that things were bad. He pinched a little bit of her skin, but instead of her whimpering and the skin going right back into place, she remained silent and the skin formed a little tent, before slowly easing back into place. She was suffering from severe dehydration and possibly even heatstroke at this point. If they didn't get some liquid, she would die. They wanted to stop, but Kobra Kid pointed out that they could only find water if they kept going. And finally, salvation came.

In the distance, they saw an old, abandoned convenience store that they knew outdated both the Helium and Analog Wars. It was dilapidated with bits of the ceiling missing, but it wasn't going to collapse on top of them, so it was shelter. It was dark except for patches of sun, some of the shelves had been knocked down, and none of the coolers worked anymore. But inside one of them sat several cases of bottled water. Just what they needed. Party Poison took the very first one they pulled out, and managed to wake Missile Kid just enough for her to drink a little bit. But Party Poison knew she needed a doctor, or as close to one as they could get in the Zones. Just some water wasn't going to be enough. They grabbed as many water bottles as they could carry and continued their journey. Eventually, Fun Ghoul spoke up.

"Why do you think he burned the Hideout?" They didn't need to ask who he was talking about.

"We all know he planned on killing us when we came for Missile Kid. But that grenade...it changed his plans. So he burned the Hideout so he could either catch us in Battery City, or hope the desert would do us in. But it won't. We're gonna make it," Party Poison assured him.

"Even Missile Kid?" Jet Star asked.

"Yeah. Even Missile Kid." They continued to walk, occasionally stopping to drink some water. Missile Kid showed no signs of improvement, but she also had quit getting worse. Party Poison only hoped that she would hang on until Zone Three. Night came, and they stopped to sleep for a few hours, but long before the sun came up, they all started walking again. They were all tired, hungry, and hot, but they knew they had to keep going. They knew they were nearly at Zone Three. Only a few more miles. They reached the border before the sun had even thought about coming up, and they all cheered. They were gonna make it. But after a little more walking, Party Poison saw a orange glow in the distance, and his heart plummeted, praying that he was wrong. As the orange glow grew bigger, his hopes of incorrectness diminished. Soon enough, they saw the cause of the orange glow. The Killjoy village was completely on fire. They hadn't found safety after all.

"Oh my God," Party Poison breathed.

"This certainly changes our plans," Kobra Kid said.