Desert Children (Killjoys)

When the Lights Go Out

        I was overwhelmed by sadness. I had never seen something so tragic. When I thought about all of the cities just like this one standing empty and rotting, I realized how alone we were in the world. This small civilization in the midst of a wasteland. I felt panicky and unable to breathe. I had to sit down again on the dusty ground.

        “You alright?” Ghoul asked. “I’m really sorry I thought you would think it was cool.”

        Ghoul sounded sad. I felt awful for reacting the way I did.

        “It is cool. It’s just…” I couldn’t think of words.

        Ghoul sighed. “If you’re uncomfortable, we can go home.”

        “No. I’m okay. Just exhausted.” I tried to change the subject. “My shoulder hurts.”

        Ghoul started a small fire. We set up a tent and ate some canned food while watching the sun disappear into the ground. After we finished our mediocre food, a smile formed on Ghoul's face.

        "How about we tell some ghost stories?" He suggested and laughed.

        "I don't know any. Well, except for the usual urban legends but I suppose after all we've seen those aren't really so scary anymore." I replied.

        Ghoul warmed his hands and smirked. "I know a few. Real stories, too."

        "You believe in ghosts?" I asked.

        He looked up at me. "You don't?"

        "Well, I mean, I guess I do. But I've never had any supernatural experiences." I pulled my long hair into a ponytail.

        "Poison's anger can be supernatural."

        We both laughed. Silence followed. I never thought about ghosts. I had seen monsters first hand but ghosts? Nah. There was nothing really ghostly that happened in my life. I had lived in an old victorian, but I never experienced creepy things. Maybe I had just passed off the weird creaks of floorboards as 'it's an old house and it's going to make spooky noises at night'. I was curious to hear what kind of stories Ghoul had to tell, even if they probably were exaggerated.

        I broke the silence. "Haha, Ghoul telling ghost stories."

        He smiled when he got my joke. "I see what you did there."

        I was surprised by Ghoul’s first story, and thought he was just messing with my head.

        “So, back in the day our little inn used to be really exclusive. Only the most famous people stayed there. In fact sometimes celebrities would rent out the whole place to have ‘extravagant’ parties. It wasn’t like a regular motel or hotel. It was the inn. When you referred to it as The Inn, people knew what you were talking about.

        “Anyways, parties always have their share of drugs, alcohol, scandals, cheating, gambling. I know it from experience. Well one night at the inn, there was a little bit of an argument about a guy being in debt to another guy. One of those guys decided to poison the other’s drink. The guy died in his room. Since there really wasn’t a place to hide the body, he just shoved it under the bed and left. No one knew the guy was there until guests complained of an awful order. They discovered his corpse a few days later.”

        “Ew that’s so gross. And they didn’t even know?” I replied, making a face.

        “Nope. Stayed there for a week or so.” He laughed.

        “So what does that have to do with ghosts?” I asked.

        “Nothing really,” He said. “I just thought it was a cool story to share.”

        “What about the ghost stories?” I pried, interested.

        Ghoul grinned. “Well, it’s not much of a story but...some folks believe that the spirits of dead Killjoys wander the desert. There’s an old graffitied mailbox in Zone 3 and people put letters to their lost loved ones in it in hope that maybe they might be read. I don’t know much about it, I guess. When I was younger I used to slip letters in to my sister but I don’t think it was of much use. It was just a way to cope with my emotions at the time.”

        I moved closer to him and leaned my head on his shoulder. He put an arm around me, sighing. There was no noise except for the crackling of the fire. It was very different from my city life. Back in Battery City, there was always noise. Always cars and people moving about. Here, it was a silence that almost became deafening.

        It was getting chillier. I shivered and huddled up to Ghoul.

        “Time for bed?” He asked.

        “I guess. I’m kinda tired.” I said quietly.

        We got into a sleeping bag together, pushed up against each other to keep warm. I closed my eyes and focused on Ghoul’s steady heartbeat. He stroked my hair softly.

        “I love you.” He said quietly.

        “I love you too.” I whispered, cuddling up into the crook of his neck.

        As I fell asleep, I was still very aware of the looming buildings next to us and I was ready to leave my past behind.