Categories > Celebrities > My Chemical Romance > Doublecross the Scarecrow
Yeah, I probs deserve to be decapitated for how long it has been since my last update. I don't even want to look to see how long it has been.... I am WAY too ashamed.
But what can I say? Life (unfortunately) gets in the way >kicks life out of the way> but that's probably going to be the longest drought you've all suffered.
Then again - was that the last chapter????
I dunno it might be.
All depends on you people.
And you may also want to decapitate me at the end of this chapter. Either way, please leave your guillotines until the end. Thanks! :D
"Woah, Party what's up?" Kobra Kid cried as his older brother barrelled into him.
Gerard stuttered out an apology, running a hand through his trademark hair. "It's... Never mind."
The younger Way sibling placed a hand on the other's shoulder. "Seriously Gee, what is it?"
He didn't want to tell Mikey about his intimidating exchange with Bleach, so he made up an excuse instead. "Umm Roulette sounded pretty upset when I spoke to her. Somehow I managed to piss her off even more, so do you think you could drop into Sanctum tomorrow and give her a visit?"
Kobra nodded. "Yeah, sure. Got any idea what's wrong with her?"
Gerard shrugged. "Nup. I'm gonna go and um... Get the Trans Am started."
"Okay, I'll take BMW. Bleach and Ghoul can ride with me, that good?"
Party nodded, secretly thankful he wasn't expected to chaperone the lime-eyed snake his brother liked so much.
Bleach shrugged on a leather jacket, glancing in the dirty mirror to check her appearance. The netted stockings and slinky, black dress which barely covered her butt was made for a different era, but the heavy combat boots were chosen carefully. Her thoughts turned to Korse's warning. She knew that the dracs would be all over Route Guano tonight, and wearing heels in a firefight wasn't practical. She twisted a curl around her fingers, playing with the flaxen strand idly. The desert moon shone strongly through the filmy window, lighting the natural waves of hair up, but casting dark shadows over her eyes. Her steady hand reached up and traced her darkened features in the reflection. A patch of cloud passed over the moon and for a moment as she was shrouded in darkness, Bleach could envision the ink waterfall of hair instead, falling across half her face like a curtain. The yellow gleam of her eyes betrayed her as someone else.
Abbey let out a long breath. “Who am I?”
“Huh?”
She turned to see Frank leaning in the doorway, eyebrow raised.
Bleach smiled slowly. “Nothing – just talking to myself.”
He grinned cheekily. “They say that's the first sign of madness, you know.”
Instead of denying it the girl struck a playful pose and declared “Oh but don't you know, I'm already loopy!”
They both laughed and waltzed outside to the waiting cars, and although Frank didn't think on it again, Bleach was silently thankful that she had evaded another heavy conversation.
Gerard was tapping out an unfamiliar rhythm on the steering wheel. His eyes scanned the road ahead for any danger, before swinging off the dirt track onto the main highway.
“Beams man.” Ray reminded him, smiling gently. He knew that Party was having trouble accepting advice from anyone these days, and didn't want to stir any trouble.
But Gerard just grinned back. “Opps, thanks Jet.” The Killjoy leader flicked the lever and the Trans Am was engulfed by the darkness. Their eyes slowly adjusted and soon the landscape around them became partly visible beneath the light of the moon. The strangeness of the barren zones was heightened with the hour. The forms of cacti and weathered rocks morphed into nightmarish creatures that prowled the desert sands. Patches of fog hung in depressions, brushing across the protective windshield with poisonous fingers. The lack of wind stilled the entire scene, eerily foreboding by enveloping the zones in silence. The only sound was the distant hum of Kobras beamer travelling a click or so behind, and the throaty rumble of the Trans Am.
“What's the song?” Ray asked, nodding at Gerard's tapping fingers.
He shrugged. “Just having ideas for a new tune. Silly, considering we aren't musicians anymore.”
Jet Star shook his head. “It's not silly Gee.” he paused before adding, “Any lyrics?”
Party Poison took a breath and started singing.
“ Make a wish when your childhood dies
Hear the knock, knock, knock when she cries
We're all alone tonight
Hold your breath when a black bird flies
Count to seventeen and close your eyes
I'll keep you safe inside
He burns my skin
Never mind about the shape I'm in
I'll keep you safe tonight, y-yeah
Move your body when the sunlight dies
Everybody hide your body from the scarecrow
Everybody hide
Move your body when the sunlight dies
Everybody hide your body from the scarecrow
Everybody hide.....”
Ray closed his eyes, absorbing the quiet lull of the music. The lyrics lingered in his mind and he paused over a particular line. “Hear the knock, knock, knock when she cries....”
Gerard shifted his face slightly so that Jet couldn't catch his gaze. “Yeah? What about it?”
Jet Star hesitated before asking. “Which one is it about?”
Pretending he didn't understand, Party shrugged. “I don't know what you mean.”
“Is it about Lyn-Z, or is it about Bleach?” Ray asked bluntly.
Party Poison turned and faced Jet Star when he answered. “Bleach will be the one to rat us out – mark my words. All I can hope for is that when that day comes, we'll all be strong enough to fend them off.”
There was a strained silence. Ray sat back against his seat, trying to understand why his leader was so suspicious. His thoughts turned to the song and a slow smile formed.
“It's beautiful Gerard. Then again your lyrics are always beautiful. And you're wrong; we're still musicians, we're still artists. It's not us that's changed. It's the world.”
Party nodded. “You know, Roulette was right about music bringing the rebels together. Maybe we should chuck another concert sometime soon.”
“Definitely.” Jet Star agreed. “It brought back so many great memories, performing again. I really wish that...”
Party glanced at his friend who had trailed off. “Wish that...?”
“Dracs.” Ray breathed, pointing at the light ahead.
Gerard turned his head sharply and saw with growing apprehension that Jet Star was right. Barely 500m ahead were three cars, aligned in a solid formation. No zonerunners would drive like that – it was typical BL/ind tactics.
“Run!” Ray shouted.
Party didn't bother to correct him – “drive” would have been a more appropriate word, but who gives a shit when you're faced with that. Gerard turned the wheel hard, braking accordingly so that the tail of the Trans Am swung round and they were facing the other way. His foot slammed on the accelerator and his hand expertly flicked the gearstick higher, tapping the clutch only as long as necessary.
“Get on the transmitter, now!” he barker at Ray.
Jet fumbled for the mic, twisting the dial frantically till they found Mikey's airwave. “Kobra! Pick up now!”
“So what do you get when you cross a wheel barrow with a ray gun?” Frank grinned.
Bleach shrugged, cheeks already sore from laughing. “I don't know. What do you get when you cross a wheel barrow with a ray gun Ghoul?”
“Kobra! Pick up now!”
All three heads in the car turned to the radio. Frank reached out and grabbed the mic, hitting the intercom. “Jet this is Ghoul, over.”
“What the?” Mikey squinted, seeing a pinprick of light ahead.
There was a rush of static before Ray's voice came through. “We have dracs, three vehicles headed our way. Turn around NOW!”
“But...?” Frank started, but was cut off.
“No need to question that.” Mikey announced, hitting the brakes and making as tight of a turn as he could. The Beamer fishtailed for a moment before settling. Bleach grabbed hold of the arm rest and clung to it, eyes wide. She knew that there was a good chance this was going to happen, but part of her had foolishly hoped that it wouldn't.
“We've turned.” Frank's thumb tapped the dashboard excitedly.
The transmitter crackled and Mikey glanced at it nervously.
Gerard's voice suddenly came over the speaker. “Head towards the Diner. If we don't shake them by then go past the turn off then cut across Nuke Valley. There's no rocks so the Beamer should be able to handle the terrain. Cut your lights at least half a click before you make the turn. On the other side of Nuke traverse onto Hanging Creek riverbed, it should be dry. Avoid Deadman's Pass – it's a death trap. But if they follow you across the Valley, ditch the car and make for the old Cardz bunker beneath Skull Falls. Don't go past hanging creek because the drop zones are near......” his voice faded out with a burst of static.
“Party!” Ghoul shouted into the mike. “We lost you!”
Kobra glanced at Bleach's face in the rear vision mirror. Her luminescent eyes looked back, tight with fear.
“Poison, we've lost you!” Frank cried frantically.
There was a tense moment fuelled by the angry sputter of static, before a familiar voice replied.
“They've got Nq4!” Jet's voice boomed over the speaker, “Can you hear me? The drac vehicles are running on Nq4!”
“We're fucked.” Kobra stuttered.
“Completely screwed.” Ghoul agreed.
Bleach gripped the seat. “Nq4? What does that mean?”
Mikey went into nerd mode, babbling like a teenage gamer. “Nq4; developed during the takeover. Extremely explosive, highly toxic and an environmental disaster. Made using the nuclear residue in power plants and the dregs of oil sourced only beneath the drop zone lake in west California. When mixed with regular fuel, Nq4 has the ability to enhance vehicle power by 200%.”
“In other words,” Frank said bluntly, “no one can outrun a car on that shit.”
“Oh.” Bleach mumbled.
Mikey glanced in the rear vision mirror and saw two lights pull up next to the Trans Am. His heart froze slightly, but they overtook his brother. Obviously the dracs weren't satisfied with one car of zonerunners.
“What do we do?” Bleach asked.
Frank made a quick cross over his chest. “Cut the lights and pray that an unprecedented meteor squashes them.”
Gerard and Ray watched in horror as two of the vehicles powered past them.
“Shit.” Poison cursed, tossing Jet his ray gun. There was still one car tagging them.
“What's the plan?” Ray asked, face masked with fear.
Gerard shook his head. “I don't know.”
They watched as the two drac cars in front of them pulled further ahead, chasing Mikey and the others. Party knew that even if his brother did make it to Nuke Valley before the dracs got them, the chances of them getting off Guano without being noticed was slim.
There was a roar as the engine of their own rivals began to pull up beside them. Gerard's foot pressed harder against the accelerator, even though he knew it was impossible to outrun a vehicle on Nq4.
The drac car began to push at them, bumping against the side of the Trans Am persistently. Party held the wheel steady, but he knew that a solid enough thwack and they could go spinning into the darkness.
“They're herding us!' Jet Star cried, firing at the drac's wheel fruitlessly.
Party thumped his glove against the steering wheel. “I know!” he snarled, “But I can't do anything about it! If we go off the track we'll blow a tyre!”
The drac car pushed up further, nose jutting ahead of the Trans Am. Just as the BL/ind vehicle swung into them Gerard saw a turn off. He dragged the steering wheel to the right, wincing at the shriek of the tyres as they skidded round the bend. The moment he got control of the car he cut all of the lights.
“Lost them!” Ray cried happily, turning to flash a smile at his flame headed friend.
Party smirked, accelerating hard to get away from dracs. “It's lucky this road came up right when we needed it. For a moment there I thought they were going to get us.”
Jet Star snorted. “Stupid dracs.”
Gerard chuckled, running a hand through his hair. He looked around them, but didn't recognise the landscape. “Where are...?”
“Uh, Gee?” Ray piped up, eyes going wide with fear, glued on the sign before them. “I don't think we got away that easily.”
Party squinted at the upcoming sign, heart sinking in his chest as he made out the grinning skull and crossbones symbol. “What were we saying? Oh yeah...” he groaned, “Stupid dracs.”
“Cut the lights now!” Frank cried, seeing the first depression in the earth that marked Nuke Valley.
Bleach peeked out the back windscreen and watched as two ominous sets of lights drew closer. She knew that there was little hope they would get away unscathed.
Mikey was thinking exactly the same thing, but he stuck to his brothers plan and pulled off Guano, forcing the Beamer into the desert sand. The low lying car grudgingly rumbled across the uneven landscape, dodging the few rocks and cacti that inhabited the sparse land.
Bleach pressed her face against the cold glass and watched as her breath fogged up her reflection. She wished that a fog would roll in now and mask them from unfriendly eyes. But life isn't that kind.
“They're following us.” Frank said simply, voice flat with acceptance.
“Then we'll just head for the bunker.” Kobra replied firmly.
No one bothered pointing out that they'd be caught long before they made it even half way across the valley.
True to their expectations, after only a few minutes of traversing the valley one of the drac cars pulled ahead and nudged the back of the Beamer. Bleach's hand flew over her mouth in shock and she screwed her eyes shut, as though that might save her from this nightmare.
Kobra looked and Ghoul, eyes filled with dread. Frank nodded slightly, then turned to the girl in the back.
“Bleach?”
She looked up just as their car was shoved again. Her eyes bulged and her hand reached out to grasp Frank's. He squeezed it warmly.
“Bleach you have to listen to me, okay?”
She nodded.
Ghoul swallowed the bile that wanted to creep up the back of his throat. “We're going to stop.”
“No, no, no, no...” Bleach shook her head.
“Yes.” He patted her hand reassuringly. “We are going to stop and Mikes and I are going to fight them. But you're going to slip out while the dracs aren't watching and hide. It's dark and they wont be able to find you. Besides, there's only four Fabulous Killjoys so they wont be looking for anyone else.”
Bleach stared at Frank like he was crazy. “I'm not leaving you to fight by yourselves!”
He smiled grimly. “Yes, you are. Someone needs to bring us home if we get ghosted. I want to be buried back at the Diner, beneath the big cacti out the back. You know the one?”
Tears began streaming down Bleach's face. She shook her head continuously, too choked up to say anything else. The Beamer lurched forward as they were rammed by the drac car again.
Frank leant forward and held her face with one hand, stopping her head from shaking. “Please Bleach, we don't want you to die. You have to go on and tell people what happened to us. Dr Deathdefying needs to know, so does Roulette and Harley. It'll do no one any good if you get butchered. Besides,” he grinned, “who says we're going to loose anyway? They're just dracs. We take out a platoon of 'em every morning before breakfast.” His voice cracked, betraying the false bravado layering his tone. “We want you to hide, just incase something goes wrong.” He held her large eyes with his own. “Mikes and I are such good shots, you'd just be getting in the way if you hung around.”
Mikey kept his hands firmly on the steering wheel, but inside his heart was aching. He could see Bleach struggling to accept Frank's words. Her face was contorted by fear, tears leaving shining wet trails down her face.
“Bleach, listen to Frank.” Mikey said softly, “Do as he says.”
She stared at them both, barely believing that she was agreeing to abandon them when they needed her most. There was still a very large part of her that refused to accept their instructions, but she didn't have the time to think of them because the car was already slowing.
Kobra saw a patch of vegetation and scattered rocks ahead and he directed the car towards it. The lights of their followers flashed in the rear vision mirror and he blinked as they blinded him slightly.
“Here,” Bleach mumbled, slipping her ray gun from it's sheath and pressing it into Frank's hand, “if I can't be of any use at least let me give you this.”
Fun Ghoul wanted to reject it, as she may need to protect herself if the dracs suspected her presence, but the pleading in her eyes softened his resolve. He curled his inked fingers around the weapon and smiled at her gratefully.
“It's gonna be okay kid.”
She nodded solemnly. “I know.”
The sign flashed by them and Party had the urge to stomp on the breaks. “Deadman's Pass, which leads straight to....”
“The drop zones.” Ray growled. “They do realise that they're going to get themselves killed as well if we keep heading down this track?”
Gerard shook his head. “Pretty sure they don't care as long as we get ghosted.”
Headlights glowed in the rear vision mirror and the two Killjoys quietened. The road grew bumpy, lights on the dashboard spinning crazily as they flew through the desert.
“You don't think we could make a run for it through the scrub?” Ray asked softly.
Party shook his head, despair leeching through his body. “If we loose the road who knows where we might end up? And if we're this close to the drop zones.... We could be breathing death before we even knew it.” His head thudded back against the seat. “Our best chance is to keep going. There's six of them or more in that car... If it comes to a firefight the odds aren't in our favour. Just keep your eyes peeled for another road or a rock formation... Anything we could hide behind.”
Bleach closed her eyes, breathing hard. The rock face was rough and scratched at her legs uncomfortably, but she pressed herself into it anyway, wishing for the millionth time that she was invisible.
They had stopped the Beamer, Mikey and Frank heroically leaping from the car in a storm of laser fire. In all her life Bleach had never seen two people so determined and focused. The first drac car's tyres had been blown out within a few seconds and in all the confusion she had cracked open the door and slipped out into the night. The first mad dash was the worst. Any moment she had been anticipating the burning sting of a laser to come. But it never had.
The dehydrated shrubs covered her sufficiently until she had reached this decent sized rock, which she was now huddled behind. Infuriatingly her teeth kept chattering and her fingers shook until she was sure her brain was going to be rattled right out of her head. The sound of ray guns firing repetitively and the occasional shout echoed eerily off the walls of the valley. In the light of the moon she could see the towering walls of what Frank had mentioned was Lightning Ridge. Even though the deathly air of the drop zones lay beyond she wished that she could hide behind the mammoth wall of rock. Surely no drac, no BL/ind agent, not even Korse could find her then.
“Or how about I grow gills and hide like a fish in the sea. I'm sure they wont find me there. After all it'd be just as easy grow gills as it would be to live in the drop zones.” she mocked herself.
Her thoughts turned sombre.
Bleach peered around her rock and saw the brilliant flashes of light in the distance where Frank and Mikey were sacrificing themselves to save her. She looked down at her dirt-stained hands angrily. BL/ind had taken so much from her already – why should they be able to take her friends from her too?
“Not today BL/ind. I'm not letting you win this time.”
Kobra Kid fired off three shots at a drac. The first one missed, the second one connected with it's leg, but no third one was fired. He glanced hopelessly at the gauge and saw that it was out of charge.
“Ghoul!” he shouted, “I'm out of ammo!”
Frank dropped behind the Beamer, silently thankful that they reinforced the shell of the car. It was holding up pretty well under the circumstances. He grabbed Bleach's ray gun from his back pocket and tossed it at Mikey.
“It's almost empty too, so aim carefully!”
Frank glanced at his own gun. It was only just half full.
He shrugged off the reality of the situation and concentrated on the task at hand. Ghoul was just finishing off one drac when he heard a gut-wrenching scream. He looked over and saw Kobra writing on the ground, eyes glazed over in pain. He was clutching at his arm, fingers scratching at whatever it was. Frank sprinted to his friends side, hauling him back behind the Beamer.
Mikey whimpered, clawing at the bloody patch on his arm. His fingernails were submerged in blood and Ghoul had to try hard not to gag as he tore Kobra's hands from his own flesh.
“No!” Mikey groaned, whining pitifully. “It's hurts! Oh god it fucking burns!”
Frank sat the taller man up against the car and looked him in the eye. “Don't touch it. I know it hurts, I think they got you with a Firetag, but you have to keep control.”
Kobra's eyes were wet with tears, but he nodded, head pressing back against the metal body of his car. He gripped his wound, but this time applied pressure to it, ignoring the blood spilling between his fingers.
Frank knew that this was the end. Mikey was down, and he had less than half a charge of ray gun to take down god knows how many dracs. But instead of surrendering to the stress, he gritted his teeth and went back to keeping the BL/indos at bay.
When Bleach saw Mikey get shot she felt as though the ground had fallen out beneath her. She realised that she had come to love him as a brother, and the very thought of loosing him twisted like a knife in her stomach. From her position behind a patch of Creosote she saw the Killjoy go down. His whole body was wracked with pain, struggling in a way which sent ice straight through her veins. She experienced an uncontrollable surge of loathing for BL/ind and the dracs that they employed to kill innocent people. Frank's pleas went out of her head. She didn't care that she was less trained in combat, all she wanted to do now was kill.
Bleach leapt out from behind her cover, charging straight at the nearest drac. It barely had time to turn and shout before she sprang at it, arms encircling it's neck as they went down. The soft desert sand cushioned the fall, but Bleach wrenched upwards with her artificially reinforced arms, hearing the sickening crack as the BL/indo's neck snapped. She saw the dracs head loll on an unnatural angle, and wasted no time in snatching it's ray gun and jumping to her feet.
With all the commotion between Kobra, Ghoul and the other dracs, no one had noticed her taking down the first one. She bared her teeth and ran at another, determined to kill them all with brute force. This drac however faced her as she knocked it down and grabbed hold of her wrists as they tumbled together across the ground. The BL/ind officer was heavier than Bleach and they rolled over until she was pinned beneath them. Her arms failed as she fought to free herself, but she grinned slightly, knowing that while it held her wrists it couldn't reach for their gun.
“Whatcha gonna do now?” she cackled, jerking her knee up between the dracs legs.
It let go of her with and angry howl and she socked it hard in the mouth before it could draw more attention to herself. She grabbed the BL/ind gun, fallen from her hand in the struggle and victoriously fired off three rounds into the dracs head.
Frank held Mikey behind him as they were assaulted with laser fire. Kobra's lips were pulled back into a fierce snarl as he held his wounded arm. Small curls of smoke slipped between his fingers as his jacket singed, mingling with the stench of burnt flesh.
“Kobra?” Frank croaked, one hand gripping his friend's shoulder, the other firing off half-aimed shots at the enemy. “You okay man?”
Mikey's eyes were screwed shut, but he nodded. “I'm fine Ghoul, just gotta breathe through it... Fuckin dracs! Least they only got my arm...” He sucked in a deep breath. “You keep going, we've gotta fend them off until Party gets here...”
Frank grimaced, turning to face their adversaries. Mikey had been hit by a Firetag – a ray gun designed specifically to burn and caused almost unbearable pain to the victim. Even being grazed by the weapon incapacitated the recipient for hours. He glanced over the hood of the Beamer and felt a wave of despair. There were half a dozen dracs sheltered behind rocks and shrubs, and a car full of backup parked just out of firing range. Even if Gerard and Ray did make it back before Frank and Mikey were ghosted, the chance that they could take on so many BL/indos and come out on top was slim.
He glanced at his ray gun. There was only a third of the charge left. “We need a miracle.”
The road twisted upwards on a slight incline and Party felt fury bubbling up inside him. Deadman's Pass was a track beaten into the side of the old Lightning Ridge. The road that wound it's way along the side of the mountain was filled with so many kinks and hairpin bends that you'd think it was built as a joke.
But it wasn't funny at all. The chiselled road was edged by a sheer drop which after a few kilometres plunged straight into the borderland where the drop zones started. Due to shifts in wind patterns and increasing pollution, no one knew where the death threshold was, but Party wasn't keen on testing that out.
Once the road reached it's peak it came to a tunnel, or so they say, which leads straight through the top of the ridge to the very thick of the drop zones themselves. The only people who had made it to the other side and back alive were the dracs who monitored the toxin levels of the lethal gasses which saturated the air there. BL/ind may not fear anyone, but they were paranoid enough to keep an eye on the ever increasing spread of this chemical disaster.
The Trans Am crept along the narrow path, rising higher and higher above the safe sand of zone 4. Ray stared straight ahead, visibly pale beneath his tangle of hair. “This isn't good.”
Party groaned. “Tell me something I don't know. Even if the dracs weren't following us I don't think I could make the turn on this road. It's too narrow. Unless....” His mind peeled off into thoughts and plans, though all seemed ludicrous. “So,” he asked sarcastically, “which would you prefer? Death by falling from impossible heights, death by toxic gas or death by laser fire?”
Jet Star rolled his eyes.
“We need a miracle.” Frank whispered.
“Whatcha gonna do now?”
“Huh?” Fun Ghoul peered around the Trans Am to see Bleach roll free of a drac and shoot it square in the head. She grinned darkly then made a beeline for the next group of unsuspecting dracs, loosening off a few shots as she went. Two of them went down, holes smoking in the backs of their heads, but the other one met her mid-stride with a punch to the stomach.
Frank cried out, sure that she would fall, but the savage looking girl only smirked and aimed a high kick at it's head. The heel of her boot clipped the dracs temple and it crumpled to the ground with a small whimper. Bleach fired straight at it's chest as it fell, barely pausing to check her aim before she leapt towards the next band of dracs. By now however, they were catching on that something wasn't right and they spread out to circle her.
Frank wanted to run out and protect her, but he couldn't leave Mikey's side. He tried to shoot at them, but they were out of range and it was too hard aiming between the cacti in the dark. He bit his lip, praying that somehow the inexperienced girl would come out all right. However as he watched, Fun Ghoul began to doubt that Bleach was as unskilled as she claimed.
The dracs let off a few shots in her direction, but Bleach dodged each one, returning some fire of her own. Her shots fell short of their mark, but they were close enough to singe the white suits with black streaks.
“Come on,” she taunted, “it can't be that hard! There's three of you and only one of me, so why don't you all grow a pair and fight?”
Infuriated by the girl's taunting, one of the dracs leapt at her, swinging a fist round to connect with her head. Or at least it would have if her head was there. Bleach ducked the blow easily and landed a solid kick on their stomach, grinning as she heard something snap. The drac howled and fell to the ground, clutching it's torso. The other two dracs seemingly enraged by her felling their comrade attacked simultaneously.
Instead of backing off Bleach met them head on, tossing her ray gun to one side as it was only preventing her using both hands. She had to admit, it was more challenging avoiding two sets of fists and feet, but the artificial Scarecrow system inside her took the challenge and ran with it. Her sense of movement and form was heightened to the point that she felt disjointed from her body, almost as though she were watching herself fight rather than doing it. Each move was made with swift calculation, fist pushing forward to connect with the dracs body before pulling back hard to avoid the defensive block. The only real sounds were their heavy breathing and the grinding of the sand beneath their boots, but Bleach could have sworn she could hear the air move as one of their fists came towards her. Most assaults she dodged, but a few did land on her. These she shrugged off, as though the pain was a mere superficiality. She isolated the areas the hurt and disregarded them, for in a few short seconds the synthetic white blood cells in her system had targeted the damaged area and healed it.
It was apparent that the dracs were tiring, as their blocks became slower and they soon lost the energy to attempt striking at her. Within a few short seconds the tables had turned and Bleach had them both side by side, stepping backwards as she pummelled them mercilessly. In Bleach's mind she saw Korse's face and the faces of The Head, laughing at her, taunting her. She snarled like a feral animal and fought with renewed fervour, so much so that the next two hits she landed were fatal. One drac she kicked in the chest, driving the sternum straight into the lungs. The other received a swift upper cut, forcing the cartilage of their nose deep into the brain. They fell in unison, hitting the sandy ground with soft thuds.
Fun Ghoul watched his all, mouth slightly ajar. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The Killjoy hadn't seen anyone fight like that since the Scarecrow Kite. There was no way Bleach had fluked that, her skills were practically exuded as she fought. Any mark they laid on her she had returned ten-fold, clobbering and thrashing them until nothing was left but two defeated men. However Frank didn't have long to ponder this latest occurrence, for the doors were opening and the backup dracs were spilling out of their car.
“Bleach!” Fun Ghoul shouted, seeing the onslaught of BL/ind heading towards her. She looked at Frank, eyebrow raised quizzically, drac blood splattered across one cheek. “Run!”
Bleach turned and saw six drac charging towards her, each wielding two ray guns. She looked at her empty hands, eyes widening with panic before turning back and looking desperately at Frank.
Fun Ghoul screamed as the first laser found it's mark on the girl. She swayed slightly, hand going to her stomach where the blood was already blooming.
Her eyes held his, clouded with horror and pain.
When the second laser hit her she jerked forward, mouth opening in a silent scream. Frank shouted, crying out her name as he felt agony tearing at his heart already.
The third struck her as she was sinking to her knees. It connected with the back of her head, and Frank could see the light leaving her eyes. Dark liquid spilled from the corner of her mouth and she gagged once before slumping face-first into the sand.
Mikey who sitting behind the car, unable to see the tragedy unfolding, turned to his friend. The Killjoy's eyes glazed over with pain. “Frank, what is it?”
*RATING AND REVIEWS!
IF I GET 10 REVIEWS AND 5 RATINGS I WILL UPLOAD TOMORROW (not lying)
or else you get no more*
But what can I say? Life (unfortunately) gets in the way >kicks life out of the way> but that's probably going to be the longest drought you've all suffered.
Then again - was that the last chapter????
I dunno it might be.
All depends on you people.
And you may also want to decapitate me at the end of this chapter. Either way, please leave your guillotines until the end. Thanks! :D
"Woah, Party what's up?" Kobra Kid cried as his older brother barrelled into him.
Gerard stuttered out an apology, running a hand through his trademark hair. "It's... Never mind."
The younger Way sibling placed a hand on the other's shoulder. "Seriously Gee, what is it?"
He didn't want to tell Mikey about his intimidating exchange with Bleach, so he made up an excuse instead. "Umm Roulette sounded pretty upset when I spoke to her. Somehow I managed to piss her off even more, so do you think you could drop into Sanctum tomorrow and give her a visit?"
Kobra nodded. "Yeah, sure. Got any idea what's wrong with her?"
Gerard shrugged. "Nup. I'm gonna go and um... Get the Trans Am started."
"Okay, I'll take BMW. Bleach and Ghoul can ride with me, that good?"
Party nodded, secretly thankful he wasn't expected to chaperone the lime-eyed snake his brother liked so much.
Bleach shrugged on a leather jacket, glancing in the dirty mirror to check her appearance. The netted stockings and slinky, black dress which barely covered her butt was made for a different era, but the heavy combat boots were chosen carefully. Her thoughts turned to Korse's warning. She knew that the dracs would be all over Route Guano tonight, and wearing heels in a firefight wasn't practical. She twisted a curl around her fingers, playing with the flaxen strand idly. The desert moon shone strongly through the filmy window, lighting the natural waves of hair up, but casting dark shadows over her eyes. Her steady hand reached up and traced her darkened features in the reflection. A patch of cloud passed over the moon and for a moment as she was shrouded in darkness, Bleach could envision the ink waterfall of hair instead, falling across half her face like a curtain. The yellow gleam of her eyes betrayed her as someone else.
Abbey let out a long breath. “Who am I?”
“Huh?”
She turned to see Frank leaning in the doorway, eyebrow raised.
Bleach smiled slowly. “Nothing – just talking to myself.”
He grinned cheekily. “They say that's the first sign of madness, you know.”
Instead of denying it the girl struck a playful pose and declared “Oh but don't you know, I'm already loopy!”
They both laughed and waltzed outside to the waiting cars, and although Frank didn't think on it again, Bleach was silently thankful that she had evaded another heavy conversation.
Gerard was tapping out an unfamiliar rhythm on the steering wheel. His eyes scanned the road ahead for any danger, before swinging off the dirt track onto the main highway.
“Beams man.” Ray reminded him, smiling gently. He knew that Party was having trouble accepting advice from anyone these days, and didn't want to stir any trouble.
But Gerard just grinned back. “Opps, thanks Jet.” The Killjoy leader flicked the lever and the Trans Am was engulfed by the darkness. Their eyes slowly adjusted and soon the landscape around them became partly visible beneath the light of the moon. The strangeness of the barren zones was heightened with the hour. The forms of cacti and weathered rocks morphed into nightmarish creatures that prowled the desert sands. Patches of fog hung in depressions, brushing across the protective windshield with poisonous fingers. The lack of wind stilled the entire scene, eerily foreboding by enveloping the zones in silence. The only sound was the distant hum of Kobras beamer travelling a click or so behind, and the throaty rumble of the Trans Am.
“What's the song?” Ray asked, nodding at Gerard's tapping fingers.
He shrugged. “Just having ideas for a new tune. Silly, considering we aren't musicians anymore.”
Jet Star shook his head. “It's not silly Gee.” he paused before adding, “Any lyrics?”
Party Poison took a breath and started singing.
“ Make a wish when your childhood dies
Hear the knock, knock, knock when she cries
We're all alone tonight
Hold your breath when a black bird flies
Count to seventeen and close your eyes
I'll keep you safe inside
He burns my skin
Never mind about the shape I'm in
I'll keep you safe tonight, y-yeah
Move your body when the sunlight dies
Everybody hide your body from the scarecrow
Everybody hide
Move your body when the sunlight dies
Everybody hide your body from the scarecrow
Everybody hide.....”
Ray closed his eyes, absorbing the quiet lull of the music. The lyrics lingered in his mind and he paused over a particular line. “Hear the knock, knock, knock when she cries....”
Gerard shifted his face slightly so that Jet couldn't catch his gaze. “Yeah? What about it?”
Jet Star hesitated before asking. “Which one is it about?”
Pretending he didn't understand, Party shrugged. “I don't know what you mean.”
“Is it about Lyn-Z, or is it about Bleach?” Ray asked bluntly.
Party Poison turned and faced Jet Star when he answered. “Bleach will be the one to rat us out – mark my words. All I can hope for is that when that day comes, we'll all be strong enough to fend them off.”
There was a strained silence. Ray sat back against his seat, trying to understand why his leader was so suspicious. His thoughts turned to the song and a slow smile formed.
“It's beautiful Gerard. Then again your lyrics are always beautiful. And you're wrong; we're still musicians, we're still artists. It's not us that's changed. It's the world.”
Party nodded. “You know, Roulette was right about music bringing the rebels together. Maybe we should chuck another concert sometime soon.”
“Definitely.” Jet Star agreed. “It brought back so many great memories, performing again. I really wish that...”
Party glanced at his friend who had trailed off. “Wish that...?”
“Dracs.” Ray breathed, pointing at the light ahead.
Gerard turned his head sharply and saw with growing apprehension that Jet Star was right. Barely 500m ahead were three cars, aligned in a solid formation. No zonerunners would drive like that – it was typical BL/ind tactics.
“Run!” Ray shouted.
Party didn't bother to correct him – “drive” would have been a more appropriate word, but who gives a shit when you're faced with that. Gerard turned the wheel hard, braking accordingly so that the tail of the Trans Am swung round and they were facing the other way. His foot slammed on the accelerator and his hand expertly flicked the gearstick higher, tapping the clutch only as long as necessary.
“Get on the transmitter, now!” he barker at Ray.
Jet fumbled for the mic, twisting the dial frantically till they found Mikey's airwave. “Kobra! Pick up now!”
“So what do you get when you cross a wheel barrow with a ray gun?” Frank grinned.
Bleach shrugged, cheeks already sore from laughing. “I don't know. What do you get when you cross a wheel barrow with a ray gun Ghoul?”
“Kobra! Pick up now!”
All three heads in the car turned to the radio. Frank reached out and grabbed the mic, hitting the intercom. “Jet this is Ghoul, over.”
“What the?” Mikey squinted, seeing a pinprick of light ahead.
There was a rush of static before Ray's voice came through. “We have dracs, three vehicles headed our way. Turn around NOW!”
“But...?” Frank started, but was cut off.
“No need to question that.” Mikey announced, hitting the brakes and making as tight of a turn as he could. The Beamer fishtailed for a moment before settling. Bleach grabbed hold of the arm rest and clung to it, eyes wide. She knew that there was a good chance this was going to happen, but part of her had foolishly hoped that it wouldn't.
“We've turned.” Frank's thumb tapped the dashboard excitedly.
The transmitter crackled and Mikey glanced at it nervously.
Gerard's voice suddenly came over the speaker. “Head towards the Diner. If we don't shake them by then go past the turn off then cut across Nuke Valley. There's no rocks so the Beamer should be able to handle the terrain. Cut your lights at least half a click before you make the turn. On the other side of Nuke traverse onto Hanging Creek riverbed, it should be dry. Avoid Deadman's Pass – it's a death trap. But if they follow you across the Valley, ditch the car and make for the old Cardz bunker beneath Skull Falls. Don't go past hanging creek because the drop zones are near......” his voice faded out with a burst of static.
“Party!” Ghoul shouted into the mike. “We lost you!”
Kobra glanced at Bleach's face in the rear vision mirror. Her luminescent eyes looked back, tight with fear.
“Poison, we've lost you!” Frank cried frantically.
There was a tense moment fuelled by the angry sputter of static, before a familiar voice replied.
“They've got Nq4!” Jet's voice boomed over the speaker, “Can you hear me? The drac vehicles are running on Nq4!”
“We're fucked.” Kobra stuttered.
“Completely screwed.” Ghoul agreed.
Bleach gripped the seat. “Nq4? What does that mean?”
Mikey went into nerd mode, babbling like a teenage gamer. “Nq4; developed during the takeover. Extremely explosive, highly toxic and an environmental disaster. Made using the nuclear residue in power plants and the dregs of oil sourced only beneath the drop zone lake in west California. When mixed with regular fuel, Nq4 has the ability to enhance vehicle power by 200%.”
“In other words,” Frank said bluntly, “no one can outrun a car on that shit.”
“Oh.” Bleach mumbled.
Mikey glanced in the rear vision mirror and saw two lights pull up next to the Trans Am. His heart froze slightly, but they overtook his brother. Obviously the dracs weren't satisfied with one car of zonerunners.
“What do we do?” Bleach asked.
Frank made a quick cross over his chest. “Cut the lights and pray that an unprecedented meteor squashes them.”
Gerard and Ray watched in horror as two of the vehicles powered past them.
“Shit.” Poison cursed, tossing Jet his ray gun. There was still one car tagging them.
“What's the plan?” Ray asked, face masked with fear.
Gerard shook his head. “I don't know.”
They watched as the two drac cars in front of them pulled further ahead, chasing Mikey and the others. Party knew that even if his brother did make it to Nuke Valley before the dracs got them, the chances of them getting off Guano without being noticed was slim.
There was a roar as the engine of their own rivals began to pull up beside them. Gerard's foot pressed harder against the accelerator, even though he knew it was impossible to outrun a vehicle on Nq4.
The drac car began to push at them, bumping against the side of the Trans Am persistently. Party held the wheel steady, but he knew that a solid enough thwack and they could go spinning into the darkness.
“They're herding us!' Jet Star cried, firing at the drac's wheel fruitlessly.
Party thumped his glove against the steering wheel. “I know!” he snarled, “But I can't do anything about it! If we go off the track we'll blow a tyre!”
The drac car pushed up further, nose jutting ahead of the Trans Am. Just as the BL/ind vehicle swung into them Gerard saw a turn off. He dragged the steering wheel to the right, wincing at the shriek of the tyres as they skidded round the bend. The moment he got control of the car he cut all of the lights.
“Lost them!” Ray cried happily, turning to flash a smile at his flame headed friend.
Party smirked, accelerating hard to get away from dracs. “It's lucky this road came up right when we needed it. For a moment there I thought they were going to get us.”
Jet Star snorted. “Stupid dracs.”
Gerard chuckled, running a hand through his hair. He looked around them, but didn't recognise the landscape. “Where are...?”
“Uh, Gee?” Ray piped up, eyes going wide with fear, glued on the sign before them. “I don't think we got away that easily.”
Party squinted at the upcoming sign, heart sinking in his chest as he made out the grinning skull and crossbones symbol. “What were we saying? Oh yeah...” he groaned, “Stupid dracs.”
“Cut the lights now!” Frank cried, seeing the first depression in the earth that marked Nuke Valley.
Bleach peeked out the back windscreen and watched as two ominous sets of lights drew closer. She knew that there was little hope they would get away unscathed.
Mikey was thinking exactly the same thing, but he stuck to his brothers plan and pulled off Guano, forcing the Beamer into the desert sand. The low lying car grudgingly rumbled across the uneven landscape, dodging the few rocks and cacti that inhabited the sparse land.
Bleach pressed her face against the cold glass and watched as her breath fogged up her reflection. She wished that a fog would roll in now and mask them from unfriendly eyes. But life isn't that kind.
“They're following us.” Frank said simply, voice flat with acceptance.
“Then we'll just head for the bunker.” Kobra replied firmly.
No one bothered pointing out that they'd be caught long before they made it even half way across the valley.
True to their expectations, after only a few minutes of traversing the valley one of the drac cars pulled ahead and nudged the back of the Beamer. Bleach's hand flew over her mouth in shock and she screwed her eyes shut, as though that might save her from this nightmare.
Kobra looked and Ghoul, eyes filled with dread. Frank nodded slightly, then turned to the girl in the back.
“Bleach?”
She looked up just as their car was shoved again. Her eyes bulged and her hand reached out to grasp Frank's. He squeezed it warmly.
“Bleach you have to listen to me, okay?”
She nodded.
Ghoul swallowed the bile that wanted to creep up the back of his throat. “We're going to stop.”
“No, no, no, no...” Bleach shook her head.
“Yes.” He patted her hand reassuringly. “We are going to stop and Mikes and I are going to fight them. But you're going to slip out while the dracs aren't watching and hide. It's dark and they wont be able to find you. Besides, there's only four Fabulous Killjoys so they wont be looking for anyone else.”
Bleach stared at Frank like he was crazy. “I'm not leaving you to fight by yourselves!”
He smiled grimly. “Yes, you are. Someone needs to bring us home if we get ghosted. I want to be buried back at the Diner, beneath the big cacti out the back. You know the one?”
Tears began streaming down Bleach's face. She shook her head continuously, too choked up to say anything else. The Beamer lurched forward as they were rammed by the drac car again.
Frank leant forward and held her face with one hand, stopping her head from shaking. “Please Bleach, we don't want you to die. You have to go on and tell people what happened to us. Dr Deathdefying needs to know, so does Roulette and Harley. It'll do no one any good if you get butchered. Besides,” he grinned, “who says we're going to loose anyway? They're just dracs. We take out a platoon of 'em every morning before breakfast.” His voice cracked, betraying the false bravado layering his tone. “We want you to hide, just incase something goes wrong.” He held her large eyes with his own. “Mikes and I are such good shots, you'd just be getting in the way if you hung around.”
Mikey kept his hands firmly on the steering wheel, but inside his heart was aching. He could see Bleach struggling to accept Frank's words. Her face was contorted by fear, tears leaving shining wet trails down her face.
“Bleach, listen to Frank.” Mikey said softly, “Do as he says.”
She stared at them both, barely believing that she was agreeing to abandon them when they needed her most. There was still a very large part of her that refused to accept their instructions, but she didn't have the time to think of them because the car was already slowing.
Kobra saw a patch of vegetation and scattered rocks ahead and he directed the car towards it. The lights of their followers flashed in the rear vision mirror and he blinked as they blinded him slightly.
“Here,” Bleach mumbled, slipping her ray gun from it's sheath and pressing it into Frank's hand, “if I can't be of any use at least let me give you this.”
Fun Ghoul wanted to reject it, as she may need to protect herself if the dracs suspected her presence, but the pleading in her eyes softened his resolve. He curled his inked fingers around the weapon and smiled at her gratefully.
“It's gonna be okay kid.”
She nodded solemnly. “I know.”
The sign flashed by them and Party had the urge to stomp on the breaks. “Deadman's Pass, which leads straight to....”
“The drop zones.” Ray growled. “They do realise that they're going to get themselves killed as well if we keep heading down this track?”
Gerard shook his head. “Pretty sure they don't care as long as we get ghosted.”
Headlights glowed in the rear vision mirror and the two Killjoys quietened. The road grew bumpy, lights on the dashboard spinning crazily as they flew through the desert.
“You don't think we could make a run for it through the scrub?” Ray asked softly.
Party shook his head, despair leeching through his body. “If we loose the road who knows where we might end up? And if we're this close to the drop zones.... We could be breathing death before we even knew it.” His head thudded back against the seat. “Our best chance is to keep going. There's six of them or more in that car... If it comes to a firefight the odds aren't in our favour. Just keep your eyes peeled for another road or a rock formation... Anything we could hide behind.”
Bleach closed her eyes, breathing hard. The rock face was rough and scratched at her legs uncomfortably, but she pressed herself into it anyway, wishing for the millionth time that she was invisible.
They had stopped the Beamer, Mikey and Frank heroically leaping from the car in a storm of laser fire. In all her life Bleach had never seen two people so determined and focused. The first drac car's tyres had been blown out within a few seconds and in all the confusion she had cracked open the door and slipped out into the night. The first mad dash was the worst. Any moment she had been anticipating the burning sting of a laser to come. But it never had.
The dehydrated shrubs covered her sufficiently until she had reached this decent sized rock, which she was now huddled behind. Infuriatingly her teeth kept chattering and her fingers shook until she was sure her brain was going to be rattled right out of her head. The sound of ray guns firing repetitively and the occasional shout echoed eerily off the walls of the valley. In the light of the moon she could see the towering walls of what Frank had mentioned was Lightning Ridge. Even though the deathly air of the drop zones lay beyond she wished that she could hide behind the mammoth wall of rock. Surely no drac, no BL/ind agent, not even Korse could find her then.
“Or how about I grow gills and hide like a fish in the sea. I'm sure they wont find me there. After all it'd be just as easy grow gills as it would be to live in the drop zones.” she mocked herself.
Her thoughts turned sombre.
Bleach peered around her rock and saw the brilliant flashes of light in the distance where Frank and Mikey were sacrificing themselves to save her. She looked down at her dirt-stained hands angrily. BL/ind had taken so much from her already – why should they be able to take her friends from her too?
“Not today BL/ind. I'm not letting you win this time.”
Kobra Kid fired off three shots at a drac. The first one missed, the second one connected with it's leg, but no third one was fired. He glanced hopelessly at the gauge and saw that it was out of charge.
“Ghoul!” he shouted, “I'm out of ammo!”
Frank dropped behind the Beamer, silently thankful that they reinforced the shell of the car. It was holding up pretty well under the circumstances. He grabbed Bleach's ray gun from his back pocket and tossed it at Mikey.
“It's almost empty too, so aim carefully!”
Frank glanced at his own gun. It was only just half full.
He shrugged off the reality of the situation and concentrated on the task at hand. Ghoul was just finishing off one drac when he heard a gut-wrenching scream. He looked over and saw Kobra writing on the ground, eyes glazed over in pain. He was clutching at his arm, fingers scratching at whatever it was. Frank sprinted to his friends side, hauling him back behind the Beamer.
Mikey whimpered, clawing at the bloody patch on his arm. His fingernails were submerged in blood and Ghoul had to try hard not to gag as he tore Kobra's hands from his own flesh.
“No!” Mikey groaned, whining pitifully. “It's hurts! Oh god it fucking burns!”
Frank sat the taller man up against the car and looked him in the eye. “Don't touch it. I know it hurts, I think they got you with a Firetag, but you have to keep control.”
Kobra's eyes were wet with tears, but he nodded, head pressing back against the metal body of his car. He gripped his wound, but this time applied pressure to it, ignoring the blood spilling between his fingers.
Frank knew that this was the end. Mikey was down, and he had less than half a charge of ray gun to take down god knows how many dracs. But instead of surrendering to the stress, he gritted his teeth and went back to keeping the BL/indos at bay.
When Bleach saw Mikey get shot she felt as though the ground had fallen out beneath her. She realised that she had come to love him as a brother, and the very thought of loosing him twisted like a knife in her stomach. From her position behind a patch of Creosote she saw the Killjoy go down. His whole body was wracked with pain, struggling in a way which sent ice straight through her veins. She experienced an uncontrollable surge of loathing for BL/ind and the dracs that they employed to kill innocent people. Frank's pleas went out of her head. She didn't care that she was less trained in combat, all she wanted to do now was kill.
Bleach leapt out from behind her cover, charging straight at the nearest drac. It barely had time to turn and shout before she sprang at it, arms encircling it's neck as they went down. The soft desert sand cushioned the fall, but Bleach wrenched upwards with her artificially reinforced arms, hearing the sickening crack as the BL/indo's neck snapped. She saw the dracs head loll on an unnatural angle, and wasted no time in snatching it's ray gun and jumping to her feet.
With all the commotion between Kobra, Ghoul and the other dracs, no one had noticed her taking down the first one. She bared her teeth and ran at another, determined to kill them all with brute force. This drac however faced her as she knocked it down and grabbed hold of her wrists as they tumbled together across the ground. The BL/ind officer was heavier than Bleach and they rolled over until she was pinned beneath them. Her arms failed as she fought to free herself, but she grinned slightly, knowing that while it held her wrists it couldn't reach for their gun.
“Whatcha gonna do now?” she cackled, jerking her knee up between the dracs legs.
It let go of her with and angry howl and she socked it hard in the mouth before it could draw more attention to herself. She grabbed the BL/ind gun, fallen from her hand in the struggle and victoriously fired off three rounds into the dracs head.
Frank held Mikey behind him as they were assaulted with laser fire. Kobra's lips were pulled back into a fierce snarl as he held his wounded arm. Small curls of smoke slipped between his fingers as his jacket singed, mingling with the stench of burnt flesh.
“Kobra?” Frank croaked, one hand gripping his friend's shoulder, the other firing off half-aimed shots at the enemy. “You okay man?”
Mikey's eyes were screwed shut, but he nodded. “I'm fine Ghoul, just gotta breathe through it... Fuckin dracs! Least they only got my arm...” He sucked in a deep breath. “You keep going, we've gotta fend them off until Party gets here...”
Frank grimaced, turning to face their adversaries. Mikey had been hit by a Firetag – a ray gun designed specifically to burn and caused almost unbearable pain to the victim. Even being grazed by the weapon incapacitated the recipient for hours. He glanced over the hood of the Beamer and felt a wave of despair. There were half a dozen dracs sheltered behind rocks and shrubs, and a car full of backup parked just out of firing range. Even if Gerard and Ray did make it back before Frank and Mikey were ghosted, the chance that they could take on so many BL/indos and come out on top was slim.
He glanced at his ray gun. There was only a third of the charge left. “We need a miracle.”
The road twisted upwards on a slight incline and Party felt fury bubbling up inside him. Deadman's Pass was a track beaten into the side of the old Lightning Ridge. The road that wound it's way along the side of the mountain was filled with so many kinks and hairpin bends that you'd think it was built as a joke.
But it wasn't funny at all. The chiselled road was edged by a sheer drop which after a few kilometres plunged straight into the borderland where the drop zones started. Due to shifts in wind patterns and increasing pollution, no one knew where the death threshold was, but Party wasn't keen on testing that out.
Once the road reached it's peak it came to a tunnel, or so they say, which leads straight through the top of the ridge to the very thick of the drop zones themselves. The only people who had made it to the other side and back alive were the dracs who monitored the toxin levels of the lethal gasses which saturated the air there. BL/ind may not fear anyone, but they were paranoid enough to keep an eye on the ever increasing spread of this chemical disaster.
The Trans Am crept along the narrow path, rising higher and higher above the safe sand of zone 4. Ray stared straight ahead, visibly pale beneath his tangle of hair. “This isn't good.”
Party groaned. “Tell me something I don't know. Even if the dracs weren't following us I don't think I could make the turn on this road. It's too narrow. Unless....” His mind peeled off into thoughts and plans, though all seemed ludicrous. “So,” he asked sarcastically, “which would you prefer? Death by falling from impossible heights, death by toxic gas or death by laser fire?”
Jet Star rolled his eyes.
“We need a miracle.” Frank whispered.
“Whatcha gonna do now?”
“Huh?” Fun Ghoul peered around the Trans Am to see Bleach roll free of a drac and shoot it square in the head. She grinned darkly then made a beeline for the next group of unsuspecting dracs, loosening off a few shots as she went. Two of them went down, holes smoking in the backs of their heads, but the other one met her mid-stride with a punch to the stomach.
Frank cried out, sure that she would fall, but the savage looking girl only smirked and aimed a high kick at it's head. The heel of her boot clipped the dracs temple and it crumpled to the ground with a small whimper. Bleach fired straight at it's chest as it fell, barely pausing to check her aim before she leapt towards the next band of dracs. By now however, they were catching on that something wasn't right and they spread out to circle her.
Frank wanted to run out and protect her, but he couldn't leave Mikey's side. He tried to shoot at them, but they were out of range and it was too hard aiming between the cacti in the dark. He bit his lip, praying that somehow the inexperienced girl would come out all right. However as he watched, Fun Ghoul began to doubt that Bleach was as unskilled as she claimed.
The dracs let off a few shots in her direction, but Bleach dodged each one, returning some fire of her own. Her shots fell short of their mark, but they were close enough to singe the white suits with black streaks.
“Come on,” she taunted, “it can't be that hard! There's three of you and only one of me, so why don't you all grow a pair and fight?”
Infuriated by the girl's taunting, one of the dracs leapt at her, swinging a fist round to connect with her head. Or at least it would have if her head was there. Bleach ducked the blow easily and landed a solid kick on their stomach, grinning as she heard something snap. The drac howled and fell to the ground, clutching it's torso. The other two dracs seemingly enraged by her felling their comrade attacked simultaneously.
Instead of backing off Bleach met them head on, tossing her ray gun to one side as it was only preventing her using both hands. She had to admit, it was more challenging avoiding two sets of fists and feet, but the artificial Scarecrow system inside her took the challenge and ran with it. Her sense of movement and form was heightened to the point that she felt disjointed from her body, almost as though she were watching herself fight rather than doing it. Each move was made with swift calculation, fist pushing forward to connect with the dracs body before pulling back hard to avoid the defensive block. The only real sounds were their heavy breathing and the grinding of the sand beneath their boots, but Bleach could have sworn she could hear the air move as one of their fists came towards her. Most assaults she dodged, but a few did land on her. These she shrugged off, as though the pain was a mere superficiality. She isolated the areas the hurt and disregarded them, for in a few short seconds the synthetic white blood cells in her system had targeted the damaged area and healed it.
It was apparent that the dracs were tiring, as their blocks became slower and they soon lost the energy to attempt striking at her. Within a few short seconds the tables had turned and Bleach had them both side by side, stepping backwards as she pummelled them mercilessly. In Bleach's mind she saw Korse's face and the faces of The Head, laughing at her, taunting her. She snarled like a feral animal and fought with renewed fervour, so much so that the next two hits she landed were fatal. One drac she kicked in the chest, driving the sternum straight into the lungs. The other received a swift upper cut, forcing the cartilage of their nose deep into the brain. They fell in unison, hitting the sandy ground with soft thuds.
Fun Ghoul watched his all, mouth slightly ajar. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The Killjoy hadn't seen anyone fight like that since the Scarecrow Kite. There was no way Bleach had fluked that, her skills were practically exuded as she fought. Any mark they laid on her she had returned ten-fold, clobbering and thrashing them until nothing was left but two defeated men. However Frank didn't have long to ponder this latest occurrence, for the doors were opening and the backup dracs were spilling out of their car.
“Bleach!” Fun Ghoul shouted, seeing the onslaught of BL/ind heading towards her. She looked at Frank, eyebrow raised quizzically, drac blood splattered across one cheek. “Run!”
Bleach turned and saw six drac charging towards her, each wielding two ray guns. She looked at her empty hands, eyes widening with panic before turning back and looking desperately at Frank.
Fun Ghoul screamed as the first laser found it's mark on the girl. She swayed slightly, hand going to her stomach where the blood was already blooming.
Her eyes held his, clouded with horror and pain.
When the second laser hit her she jerked forward, mouth opening in a silent scream. Frank shouted, crying out her name as he felt agony tearing at his heart already.
The third struck her as she was sinking to her knees. It connected with the back of her head, and Frank could see the light leaving her eyes. Dark liquid spilled from the corner of her mouth and she gagged once before slumping face-first into the sand.
Mikey who sitting behind the car, unable to see the tragedy unfolding, turned to his friend. The Killjoy's eyes glazed over with pain. “Frank, what is it?”
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