Ruin // Danger Days (Book 3)

25.

Alien and David spent the whole afternoon planning their escape. What they had so far was this:

They would wake up early on Saturday morning (three days from then). Frank and Sara would drive over to their house at that time with food and clothes and all that stuff. Then, they would gather together all of David's contraband stuff (including his guitar) and put it in the van. Then they'd all pile in their cars and drive to the Ohio border. Alien would contact Emma, who she was fairly certain would let them through the gate. And then, they'd be free! They'd go back to the Zones and figure things out from there.

When they were done planning, they ate pizza. Alien had no idea how much she missed pizza until she was eating it. Destroya, she loved pizza! After five years of only eating dog food and canned beans, it was as if her taste buds had died and went to heaven as soon as the cheese touched them.

And then, David said the words that Alien had been dreading to hear: "You know you're going to have to go back to school tomorrow, right?"

Alien sighed. "Yes, I'm aware."

"I'm going to let you handle this yourself. You're an adult, you deserve it. But if you get in trouble, don't say I didn't warn you."

"I'm probably gonna go to bed now," Alien said, deliberately changing the subject.

"Okay, goodnight El."

"'Night, Dad."

Alien went back up to her room, sat on her bed, and began to think. I'm not dyeing my hair, that's for sure. But I can't go back to school with it without getting yelled at...

Then, she spotted the beanie that she had been wearing to school lately because of the cold. It hadn't covered her hair completely, but she hadn't been trying to cover it.

She grabbed the beanie and went into the bathroom. She took her braid out and tried to shove her hair into the hat, but she couldn't fit all of it in without it looking weird.

Then she noticed a pair of scissors on the bathroom counter.

I'm gonna regret this, she thought, then she took the beanie off, grabbed the scissors, and started slicing her hair off in a straight line at her chin. It was really thick, so it took a while, but eventually, it was done.

When she looked at herself when it was finished, she was reminded of the first time she had done that. She had just gotten her Killjoy name, and had been looking for ways to disguise herself. Her long hair had annoyed her for a while, so she just cut it off and dyed it purple.

She put the beanie back on, and all of her hair easily fit into it. Perfect. That should satisfy them.

Then she went to bed. Sleep is important.

🛸

School the next day was insane. It seemed like hundreds of people came up to Alien and asked if she knew about the list. She said that she did, and that whoever did it had really good ideas. Thankfully, she was a good actress.

The official that had yelled at her yesterday saw her, and smiled. Thank Destroya, I'm not gonna get in trouble. She doesn't suspect me.

When she got to homeroom, the same thing happened. Everyone was talking to her about the list. A couple of people said that it made them want to rebel, which really excited her. She of course smiled at them and said that they were really good ideas, and to let her know if they found the person that did it.

Then she sat down with Frank and Sara. "I thought you were going to stay home?" Frank asked.

"They'd suspect me if I did," Alien sighed. "That's why I'm wearing this. I didn't want to dye my hair back, so I just cut it and hid it under here."

"Really?" Sara said. "You have to show me later!"

"But anyways, guys," Alien changed the subject. "I have something to talk to you guys about later. Don't let me forget."

🛸

She didn't forget. She thought about the plan all day, and had to write down a lot of her thoughts so she wouldn't forget them.

When they got to David's house after school, the three of them went down to the basement and met David there. There, they discussed the plan.

"Oh my gosh, yes!" Sara shouted. "I've been waiting for this my whole life!"

"I'm actually gonna be a Killjoy! Holy shit!" Frank yelled. He actually had a pretty good filter, but there weren't any cameras in the basement, so he swore like a Killjoy.

"Yes you are," Alien grinned.

"Wait," Frank said, "Can Eva and Jessie come too? I don't want to leave them. They'd want to be Killjoys too."

Alien considered this. "You'll have to ask them, but I guess so. You guys can all take your car, and Dad and I can be in my van."

"Wait, don't you need a name, Mr. O'Reilly?" Sara asked David.

"Oh yeah, I do," David replied. "I don't know how I'm going to come up with one, though."

"Well, that happens to be one of my strong suits," Alien smirked. "Okay, let's see..." she thought for a moment.

"You just have to think of two cool words that go together," Frank told David.

"I've got it!" Alien exclaimed. "Murphy's Law."

"But that's a bad thing," David commented. "It means 'if something bad can happen, it will'."

"Well, you can make it so it's directed to BLI," Alien replied. "When you're around, bad things will happen to BLI no matter what."

David shrugged. "Since they don't like rock music, I guess it makes sense."

Alien laughed. "Yeah, it really does!"

"We'll call you Murphy then," Frank said.

So, it was settled. The next morning, all of them would get up and start their journey to freedom.

🛸

The next morning, Alien and her dad woke up at 0400, or 4:00 AM as the government mandated. It was really early for both of them, and Alien was really sluggish for the next few minutes.

They spent about a half hour loading the van up. Every CD, every book, and every food item in the house was moved to the back of the van. They'd need all of the stuff that the van could carry, especially the food.

Alien wore her normal Killjoy getup rather than the clothes that she'd been given. She was returning to the desert, after all. She'd have to take the others to Tommy's.

Frank and Sara got there with Eva and Jessie right after they finished loading the supplies. They all had their stuff, and loaded up nonessentials into Alien's van. Jessie and Eva also told the others the Killjoy names they'd come up with for themselves (Eva was Goth Kitten, and Jessie was Glitter Bomb). The new Killjoys wouldn't start using their names until they got to the Zones, of course.

Alien gave Frank one of the extra guns she'd had in her van and her communicator, just in case they were attacked or they had to contact the van, and gave them a couple of CDs for the road. She also told them that if they were attacked by BLI to aim for the tires on their vehicles.

And then, they were off. They went as quickly and quietly as possible trying to remain inconspicuous. All of their minds were filled with the prospect of the freedom that awaited them.