Killjoys: Another storyline (Book #1: The Begining Of A New Time)

Hoplophobia

Days had already passed without escape, each killjoy has been interviewed multiple times and despite Dream not being a killjoy, he was interviewed as well. Everyone had been interviewed but Star, strangely. “Is it funny how they ask us THE SAME THINGS EACH TIME?!”, Ghoul shouts out in frustration. They all had been moved to another room, the walls painted white and the floor a cement color. The light was brighter in this room, making it easier for communication and safety. The walls were about 12 feet wide and 7 feet tall, and the area within the walls was a bit cleaner. There was only one metal door and no windows in the room. Not long ago, a BL worker had given Star a kit to help everyone with their wounds. It was now obvious they needed the killjoys alive. Currently, he had already gotten done helping Jet and Dream, he was now helping Ghoul since Cheetah and himself weren't beaten so badly. “You’re right, but how come they haven’t asked me anything?”, Star asks as he wraps bandages around Ghoul’s injured arm. Ghoul  clenches his teeth a bit as Star tightens the bandages, “Maybe cause you’re a rookie. I don’t f---ing know.”. “They’re being awfully nice to him.”, Jet says adjusting his sunglasses, “But he is a rookie, so that may be a reason.”. As Star tightens the bandages again, Ghoul shouts, “F---ing stop pulling so hard!”, “I-I’m sorry but, the bones are broken and I have to pull them together. I’m being as careful as I can.”, “Ugh…”, “I’m sorry, really I-I...I don’t like hurting you.”. Tears fill Star’s eyes as he continues wrapping the bandages on without another word. Ghoul looks up and sees this, then he sighs, knowing what Jet was probably about to say. He decides to speak before Jet’s able to, “I’m sorry Star, I didn’t mean to yell at you like that. I’m just frustrated, ok? Don’t cry, you’re not who I’m mad at.”, he says in a much calmer tone, yet his anger showed in his eyes even if he hid it. “It’s ok, Ghoul. I understand.”, Star replies, wiping his tears away. None of the other killjoys or Dream say a word after that, till there’s suddenly loud noises outside the door. The noise seems to them to be coming from down the hallway, loud thuds, growling, and possibly chains hitting the floor and each other. Star gets up off the floor after pulling Ghoul’s arm in a sling he was given, walking to the door and putting his ear against it. A few times, something hits into the wall not too far from the door. Low growls and rattling of chains could be heard along with the growling. “What the h--- is that?”, Cheetah asks, he and the others watch Star in near silence. Star looks back at them with a bit of a worried look, “I dunno, but it kinda sounds like an animal.”. A rough bash against the door suddenly sends Star falling backwards on his back, the low growling right outside of it. “Star are you ok?”, Dream asks emotionlessly, looking down at the fallen killjoy. Star quickly gets up and watches the door, “I’m ok.”. The door slowly swings open, a shocking scene confronting them. Four B.L.I. guard hold chains to what appears to be Blood in some psychotic struggle. His eyes are pure black with a muzzle over his nose and mouth, dark blackish red blood dripping from his eyes and from under the muzzle. The chains held his wings and arms in place behind him, he stares dead at Star with wildness. Star steps back a little and looks back at the others fearfully. Jet looks calm yet he could tell he was upset by this, while cheetah just looks confused and kinda nervous. On the other hand, Ghoul is pure of anger and shock, tears rolling down his cheeks as he stares at his brother. Dream was the only one seeming to not show any emotion. Star looks back at Blood, a soft look of sympathy in his eyes though one be hidden by his bangs. The guards release the chains and rest them near Blood’s feet, exiting the room and slamming the door shut behind them. Blood’s death stare on Star doesn’t cease, a low growl muffled by the metal muzzle concealing his mouth. They stay like that, the only noise other then the growling being Ghoul’s quiet sobbing. “Blood...what did t-they do to you..?”, Star asks, hoping that he can be strong for the rest of the group. The chains drop to the floor and Blood’s wings flutter out behind him, his arms being free as well. No response comes from Blood, and he takes a few steps toward Star. Star trembles a bit, but he stands his ground, “B-Blood, we can help you. I think. J-Just tell us what happened.”. “You’re gonna get killed.”, Dream says quietly, watching in amusement of the others reactions. Cheetah now comforting Ghoul, while Jet prepares to protect Star if it’s needed. Blood’s now right up to Star, his face only inches from Star’s as he growls again. Slowly, Star lifts his hands up to the muzzle and places his hands over the hooks keeping it over Blood’s mouth. “Hey, that’s not a good idea, Star. You might not want to do that.”, Dream states in a smooth tone, glancing over at Jet and the others before looking up at Star. It seemed Jet was watching cautiously, allowing Star to do whatever he was about to do. There was no telling what would happen if Star moved away or if he made a wrong move, and Jet seemed to be the only one who cared to really pay attention. Though he kept his faith in the young recruit. Star slips the latches and hooks apart, the muzzle lightly falling into his hands. The whole time Blood just stood there quietly, glaring at him like a beast ready to kill. Dark black blood drips out of the muzzle, it still covering the lower part of Blood’s face. Star very carefully pulls the muzzle off, revealing Blood’s full face. Ghoul didn’t even want to look, while Cheetah and Jet just look shocked. In the light, Star sees Blood’s look soften as he lowers his head, “You just wanted that muzzle off, didn’t you? No wonder you were fighting them, they treated you cruelly.”, Star says, disregarding the growling and snarling he heard behind the door not long ago. “You shouldn’t be s-so near me, Star...I might hurt you.”, Blood says with a saddened voice, looking up again, “They’ve infected me with something...it makes me go nuts.”, “I’m not scared of you, and I’m not going to leave you to be alone in such a state!”, “Star...you don’t understand. You can’t help me. Not even my brother could help me. Nothing can help me.”, “You’re being very negative. I’m sure there must be a way.”. A moment later, Blood turns to face the others, it certainly upset him to see his brother crying. “I hope you’re right, Star...and just to let you know, us killjoys aren’t used to so much positivity. For the sake of our situation, keep your heart set on that if you will.”, he replies after looking back over to Star, the dark blood dripping down his face. Star nods and smiles a bit, putting the muzzle on the floor. Whatever disease was in his blood, it caused him to suddenly lash out violently. Before Star could react, he was pinned to the floor unable to see what had pinned him. Blood snarls and tries to bite him, but he’s yanked upwards before he can even get close. “He’s acting like an animal.”, Jet says calmly, he was the one who had bravely stepped in to pull Blood off. The smaller killjoy thrashes and screams as he struggles in Jet’s grip, he snaps at him multiple times. On the other hand, Jet was kind of shaky on his injured leg, though he kept his grip on Blood, “Are you ok, Star?”. Star sits up and rubs the back of his head, nodding in response with a startled look on his face. “Hey, he warned you, my guy. What did you expect?”, remarks Dream with a slight smile. Cheetah immediately responds without thought, “Did anyone ask you, smart a--?”, “No one had too.”, “That doesn’t mean you beat him up over it! At least he’s trying to help us!”, “Whatever, I’m not a killjoy so why should I care? I don’t have to listen to any of you fellas.”. Jet wanted to stop them, but he couldn’t release Blood for the moment being. A few seconds pass and Star puts the muzzle back on Blood, crying a little cause he didn’t want to. But he knows, it’s the only way to protect the others and even Blood himself. He goes and sits by Ghoul, watching Jet set Blood down before sitting back in his place. “Hey you two, that is quite enough.”, he says as the killjoy and the killjoy’s so called companion argue. They continue to verbally fight, Cheetah getting mad and Dream smiling at him just to make him more irritated. Without hesitation, Jet picks Star up and moves him over towards Ghoul, “You two are probably not gonna like what you witness from those two if they fight.”, he says as he looks over at Cheetah and Dream again. “If those two fight, I swear Imma f---ing hurt both of them!”, Ghoul shouts out, “Star’s in here!”. The voices arguing raise a bit in volume and a little bit of smoke fills the room, Cheetah stands up while glaring angrily at Dream ignoring the others completely. “If Poison was here, he’d slap the stupidity out of them.”, comes Blood’s much more calmed voice, muffled by the muzzle. Surprisingly, Jet laughs at this, “Honestly, I wouldn’t mind letting him do that at this point. If he were here.”. The small group sits there and watches the argument carry on, Cheetah trying to calm himself yet unable to while Dream actually stands up with a blank expression. The door creaks open suddenly, surprising them all as Tiger is suddenly thrown in. Silence fills the room as the door shuts, Tiger gets up quickly and looking around. “Woah, how many of us did they catch?”, Tiger asks skeptically, “I knew they had Ghoul and Jet, but did they actually get Poison and Kobra here too?”. “It’s only us, we haven’t seen any sign of Poison or Kobra being here.”, Jet says calmly, sighing a bit. The room silences again, and it stays that way for a while. And as the minutes drag on, the door opens again. Two BL workers enter the room, “Which one of you is Star Chip?”, asks one of them, though it was obvious they already knew who it was. “Me!”, Star replies to them, waving one hand up like an impatient kindergartener trying to get the attention of the teacher. The other worker looks at him while was the one who spoke before stands at the door, “Come with us.”, he says. Star stands up and looks at the others, looking a little nervous before following the two workers out of the room. They lead him to one of the many interrogation rooms down the hallway, opening it and letting him inside. One of them takes him to the table in the center of the room and seats him across from a strange man. “So you’re the no info boy? How adorable.”, the man says in a low, menacing tone. “Who are you?”, Star asks, tilting his head in confusion, “And how come you guys are just wanting to talk to me?”. The man smirks a bit, “They haven’t told you who I am? Well...I’m the boss of the industry, Korse. And the reason we haven’t interviewed you is because you happen to not have any history here in Battery city.”. The voice of Korse startled Star mentally, he had a feeling he may be in some sort of trouble. “Well that’s probably because I never lived in Battery city, sir.”, Star says, fidgeting with some of his hair. Korse crosses his arms and continues to smile, “I see...that doesn’t explain where you’re from or who you are. So kid, tell me. Who are you and where are you from? You have no record of living in any city, not even a small town. We spent days looking for you in the citizenship system, your picture never came up. Heck, we even searched the Canadian system. Do any of your fellow Killjoy’s know you kinda...don’t exist?”. This just confuses Star more than he already had been, “I-I don’t...I didn’t know anything about that. And Poison told me not to tell you my real name.”, “You’re special, Star Chip. If you died, no one would even care if you existed, as it seems. Cause the only people who would know about you would be dead too. They’ll die soon, trust me. You have no trace, no cyber footprint, nothing. Not even any medical history.”, “I’m really confused…”, “You look quite nervous as well. Would you like for me to make you a citizen? That would help you a lot.”. Star stops fidgeting, looking up at him with a stern smileless expression, “No, sir. I’m a killjoy, I don’t belong in the city.”. For a short moment, Korse frowns and thinks to himself. His eyes watching Star as the boy goes back to fidgeting with his hair. “You’re only a kid, if you become a citizen now you can be adopted into a family.”, Korse says, resting his arms on the table top. In response, Star looks up at him once more, confused yet having a determined look in his shown eye, “I have a family, I don’t need a new one. What I have already is what I want. I don’t want to buy a new life from you, sir, cause that’s what your offering. A new life that I don’t need or want. If you’re going to kill my family you might as well kill me too. Right here and right now. Because nothing is gonna replace the hole they’ll leave when they’re dead. Not even a new family or a new life. Not even making me watch them suffer will break me into a new life, cause I know that new life was worth the lives of my dearest friends. And if you think I’d be ok to live with that knowledge and be readopted into your horrible society, you’re dead wrong, sir.”. This response seems to dumbfound Korse, his expression being blank with surprise. “Those killjoys must have taught you nonsense, but even if they didn’t it won’t matter. I tried to deal with you kid, you should feel great that I offered such a deal. I see that you don’t want what I offered. Now you have to die with you ‘family’.”, Korse says in a slightly psychotic tone. Star seems to change a little, seeming defensive, “I already lost so much, I’m not going to let you take away something I’ll never get again. Both your offers are death to me. Either with or without my family.”, “You won’t die being a citizen”, “The others tell me what happens in the city. I don’t want any part of this place.”, “Fine, so be it.”. Swiftly, Korse stands up and points the gun to Star’s head. Star just freezes up, barely even able to breathe. It’s strange for him being a killjoy, “Huh...you look terrified. Out of all the times I’ve held a gun to someone's head, you’re the first to look so frightened by it. Even a child has never been so scared.”, Korse states as he pulls the gun away, “Heck, I did it to Poison once and well...that motherf---er there spit right in my face. I expected you to act like the others but you seem scared.”. “I have Hoplophobia…”, Star says quietly, tears forming his his eyes as his whole body frame shakes. This puts a smile on Korse’s face, “So, that’s a gun phobia, right?”. “Y-Yes sir…”, Star stutters out softly, lowering his head. Korse signals behind Star and a BL worker walks over and pulls Star out of his seat, “It was nice getting to know you, I hope maybe we can arrange another meeting kid.”. The worker leads Star out, shoving him down the hallway and back into the holding room. The others all look up at him as he enters the room and he just wipes his eyes and says, “I’m terrified of guns.”.