The next day we woke up early, stumbling down to breakfast before anyone else. We had to get out soon, considering we had a long drive ahead of us and the tower’s launch date was a mere two months away.
“Dude, gimme the can opener.” Ghoul slurred as we shoveled spoonfuls of dog food into open mouths. Due to the fact that raids nowadays were only for weapons because we were too nervous to eat the food prepared in BLI factories, considering of what it might contain, it was dog food for all as the main source of our nutrients. Dog food in soups, dog food in sandwiches, dog food baked into flour, water and some sort of substitute to make a pie-type thing. Eventually the mush becomes stomachable, but by no means good. I ate to live here, as the rest of the Killjoys did, considering the words “good” and “food” weren’t used in the same sentance unless it was, “this food is NOT good.”
“Anybody else find it funny that their dogs eat better than us?” Jet said musingly through a mouthful of mush.
“Technically, we’re eating the same as their dogs.” Party said, dejectedly staring at his half-empty can.
“Well they don’t blindly kill their dogs in the desert.” Kobra muttered, glaring at his food as though he could just shoot it and be done with it. He hated the dog food more than anybody, barely stomaching it to stay alive. That’s partially why he was so lanky and lean, taller and thinner than any of the other guys.
“Well eat up either way. If you down it faster, you can barely taste it.” Party scraped his can and stood up. "We’re leaving in 20, get going.”
20 minutes later, we were driving down Route Guano, me squished in the back of the old, familiar Trans Am between Ghoul and Jet, Party driving, as usual, and Kobra chilling in the front seat.
“This was a lot easier when you were 12.” Ghoul squirmed next to me.
“Well, you had to go giving skinny the front seat.” I elbowed him. “Now stop moving before I put my foot up your ass.”
“At least she didn’t get too much wider, just taller.” Jet said, chuckling.
“Well what do you expect, living in the Zones, I don’t get a buffet every night.” I rolled my eyes. “I may be lanky but I’m tough.”
“Oh yes, we all know.” Jet rolled his eyes.
“Personally, I blame Ghoul for that mouth.” Party looked in the rearview mirror at us.
“Personally, you can eat it, Party.” I cheerfully flipped him the bird. “If you wanted a say in how I turned out, maybe y’all should’ve stuck around.”
The oppressive silence after that comment was awkward for all of us. “C’mon, Terror, we have to do this now?” Ghoul said quietly, trying to defuse the situation, but I didn’t want to let it drop.
“No Ghoul, she’s right.” Party nodded. “We should’ve at least visited her. We just dumped her there, and it wasn’t right.” He looked at me in the rearview. He didn’t say he was sorry per say, but looking at him, I knew he was sorry, and I think he knew he was forgiven.
“Well, if we’re done with the lovefest, can you focus on driving now? You’re swerving and it’s giving me a headache.” Jet griped. The tension was dissolved as Party retorted some comment about Jet's hair and turned up the radio, everyone secretly relieved that we hadn’t hashed out our feelings in a confined space. Me, I was just glad to be back with the guys.
Three days and around 450 miles later, we pulled up to Suicide Sally’s prison complex gates in the middle of the day, Party merely having to flash his hair to gain entrance, the guards starstruck. Typical. We pulled up to the looming structures, the bars still on the windows and the air still feeling ominous. It was one of the only places not taken over or destroyed by BLI, as were most churches, hospitals and government offices, considering the structure was just too far away to deal with. We pulled into the parking lot and got out, stretching after the long drive. Suicide Sally quickly came out to fawn over the guys, as per usual whenever we went somewhere. This was the part I hated, the fussing and gushing over them. They put their pants on one leg at a time, they were just people. No one seemed to understand that.
“Oh, how’ve you been since we’ve last seen you, my little Terror?” She looked down at me adoringly, like I was some cute little charity case, as I zoned back into the conversation.
“Oh I’ve been fine, just chewing on my feet and playing with my Barney doll, how about you, eh?” I grinned as offensively as possible, poking fun at her old-Canadian accent. She smiled through tight lips as Party’s elbow caught me sharply in the shoulder. Ghoul, Jet and Kobra, however, were snickering behind me, barely able to hide it.
“Would you like to meet our friend Space Nuke now? He and his clan were just heading out for the day.” She said, the hatred radiating off her forced smile.
“We came here to meet him, now would be preferable.” Party nodded warmly, suddenly melting the ice queen. “We really appreciate this, you letting us in on such short notice.”
“Oh, well, whatever I can do to help...” She prattled on, leading us inside. Party looked over his shoulder to glare at us before following her inside, nodding to seem interested.
“That man has some serious skills.” Ghoul said as we followed at a safe distance. Party’s ability to convince stupid women of anything, despite not being particularly handsome or charming, had helped us out many a time. He had a certain aura about him, letting people fall under his spell quickly the second he turned on the charm. Luckily, it had never worked on me, leading me to have an excellent bullshit detector.
“Here’s where we all sleep, most clans taking one or two cells, depending.” Sally led us through the converted prison as though it was a summer camp. Cells with the doors flung open housed lots of mattresses, sleeping well over 200 people should you really wish it. Regardless of my personal feelings, I couldn’t help but admire the resourcefulness.
“This is our main floor, where everybody meets up to eat and such.” Sally shepherded us into a large main room, where a few late-starting clans were preparing to head out. “Here’s the California Bombing Squad, some of our more permanent residents.” She led us to a table containing six people, four guys and two girls, all preparing to head out, strapping up boots and talking. I recognized the back of Space Nuke’s head quickly, given the dreds. He turned around, his lopsided smile quickly disappearing as he recognized the guys.
“Can we help you?” One girl, seeing Space Nuke’s distress, stood up, looking at Party, her green mohawk swaying.
“Space Nuke, right?” Party smiled at him. “Would you mind talking to us in private, just for a few minutes?”
“I swear, I’ve changed.” The fear was apparent in the kid’s eyes, his hand reaching up to instinctively rub his tattoo. “I know what you’re thinking, I’ve heard the rumors-”
“Sally, what is going on here?” Mohawk girl looked to Sally, indignation in her eyes as Party tried to explain himself to Space Nuke, the scene escalating as everyone’s voices rose.
“Okay, that’s enough.” Party boomed, causing everyone to quiet and look to him. It was silent for a second before he spoke again. “It has to do with your past, friend, but I promise you’re not in any trouble. Just let us explain ourselves to you and we’ll see where it goes from there, okay?” Party looked honestly at Space Nuke as he wavered, deciding whether or not to trust Party.
“Okay.” He nodded warily, watching us.
“Sally, do you have somewhere we could talk in private?” Party turned to Sally, who nodded, giggling.
“Of course, I mean, anything for you four.” She batted her eyelashes and led us to a nearby office with a desk and enough chairs for only me, Space Nuke and Party. We sat across from Space Nuke, who still eyed us carefully.
“Thank you, Sally.” Party smiled at her, trying to get her to leave. Given she wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, she didn’t get it. “Could you give us a minute, please?”
“Of course, of course.” Sally sashayed away, grinning and closing the door behind her. Space Nuke squirmed under the glances of the five of us as Party took the papers from Ghoul, who’d kept them in a backpack he’d picked up from who-knows-where. Nuke’s hand anxiously tapped his thigh quickly, the nervousness showing on his face.
“I’m sorry we had to drag you away like that. I promise, you’re not in trouble or anything. Actually, we really need you. BLI is planning something big, and we need your help. Can we be sure you won’t share this information with anyone else, not even your clan?” Party’s face drained of charm, the seriousness of the situation showing on his face.
“Wait, I can’t tell my clan?” Nuke’s eyebrows furrowed, unsure.
“What I’m about to tell you is very sensitive and very, very dangerous. If you tell your clan, they could potentially go charging in to be heroes and aggravate the situation, not to mention get themselves killed. This is something they’d kill citizens over without a second thought, not to mention Killjoys, and I want to know right now if I can trust you.” Party stared at him, the intense vibes making even me edgy.
“You can trust me. I promise.” Space Nuke said quietly, his hand still going rapid-fire on his leg.
“All right then. Here’s what’s happening.” He spread the plans on the table and, piece by piece, ran down everything he knew about the tower, filling this kid in.
“So basically, they’re building a tower, and you want me to help you sneak into the headquarters and help shut this thing down with you guys.” He looked at us for confirmation.
“Not us. Her.” Party jerked a finger at me and suddenly, he was staring at me, those dark eyes seeming to stare into my soul.
“Her?” He seemed confused. “She’s so... tiny.”
“Hey-” I leaned forward, about to whip off some remark, when Party silenced me with a “Don’t say another word and fuck this up or I will kill you in your sleep” glare.
“She’s actually the best spy in our organization. She’s broken into hundreds of outposts, killed numerous Dracs and stolen vital information that’s kept us afloat. She could easily kill you now, if she wanted to, so I suggest you watch your comments about her when we’re not here to protect you.” Party said coolly.
“Great, her head’s not gonna fit out the door now.” I rolled my eyes at Ghoul’s remark from somewhere behind Party, which got a chuckle out of Space Nuke.
“He can laugh!” Jet chuckled.
“Only at my expense, it seems.” I sunk into my chair.
“What can I say, sugar, you’re fun to laugh at.” He smiled at me, not nearly as nervous now.
“I can yank those dreds right out of your head, smartass.” I glared at him. “And my friend Ghoul here will gladly do it himself if you call me sugar again. See, I’m like his kid,” I watched his eyes dart to Ghoul, “and he nearly killed a doofus yesterday who tried to kiss me.” I watched the smirk slide off his face, grinning triumphantly at Ghoul, who didn’t look all too happy at my victory. I turned back to Space Nuke, who was once again smiling that lopsided smile of his, unabashed at my threats.
“I’m going to have to watch my back around you, huh?” He smiled at me.
“So are you in then?” Party asked him.
“I’m in. I know that place like the back of my hand.” He said, still looking at me not as though he was checking me out, more as one would observe a friend. “I can help.”
“Great. We leave tomorrow. I suggest spending some time with your clan now, considering you won’t see them for quite some time after today.” Party stood, as did I and Space Nuke, extending his hand, which Space Nuke accepted. “Welcome to the team.”
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