The Only Hope for Me Is You

"MOM!" Avarie screamed, watching as her mother got pulled by the hair into the white van. "Stop it! You can't do this!"

The men in the white masks with a black smiley face came towards her. She kicked and punched at them, struggling with all of her might. She didn't know why they had invaded her home or why they were being taken away, but she knew that it wasn't good news.

"Sissy!" She heard her little sister, Abigail, cry out. They were holding her legs and arms as she tried to twist away from them. Avarie tried to break through the force of the men to help her sister, but it was no good.

They caught her and gagged her, binding her arms and legs together so she couldn't move or make a sound. They took away her mother, her sister, and her brother, Mark. She was the last to leave the house and as they carried her out, she watched her childhood home go up in flames.

When I awoke, it was nighttime and Show Pony had switched places with Agent Cherri Cola. My skin was covered in beads of sweat from the overpowering dream and I tried to shake the memory out of my head. I stretched and basked in the freedom of not having to be instantly alert. I lay there for awhile, just looking out the window, not really thinking about anything except for how pretty the sky looked out here in the-

"We've got company,"

And it's over.

Show Pony nudged Agent Cherri Cola awake as I threw the blankets off of me and slipped my boots on. I hauled my jacket on and strapped my holster around me. I grabbed my ray gun and unhooked it from its charger, ready to blast some Drac's asses.

"Whoa, you do that fast." Agent Cherri Cola commented as she reached for her own ray gun.

"Practice, my dear friend, practice." I readjusted my mask, having slept with it on, and looked out towards the front windshield. I didn't see nothing at first, and I had started to think Show Pony was seeing things, when I saw a flash of white out of the corner of my eye.

The van didn't stop or slow down, we kept motoring on, pretending not to notice the Draculoid or Draculoids. They didn't seem like they were going to attack, but they were unpredictable.

"So, what's the plan, Chief?" I asked, looking to both of them. I honestly didn't know who was in charge of this little escapade.

"Well," Agent Cherri Cola started. "We have to call in Dr Death Defying and let him know of our sighting, first. If the Draculoids attack, we defend. Simple." I nodded and continue to look out all of the windows as Agent Cherri Cola took out a device that looked like a cell phone, but it was way more high-tech. She held it out like it was on speaker phone, keyed in a few numbers, and waited.

"D-D-D, come in, D-D-D. A-C-C, reporting. A-C-C." Static crackled over the speaker and I soon found out that they were using codes. D-D-D for Dr Death Defying and A-C-C for Agent Cherri Cola.

There was no answer and Agent Cherri Cola's face immediately turned to worry. "D-D-D, come in. D-D-D." Silence. No answer came back and Show Pony started to go into panic mode.

"He's not answering! He always answers! They got him! Oh, I just know they got him! We have to go back, we have to help him!" My eyes widened at this scene because I honestly had never seen Show Pony like this. I knew he cared about Dr Death, but I also knew that Dr D could handle himself.

"Show Pony! Breathe! Everything is gonna be alright," Agent Cherri Cola said to him. "He's probably doing a broadcast or out in the surveillance room, checking out the Zones. He's fine."

Just as Agent Cherri Cola said that, the device that she had tried to contact Dr D on, came to life and a voice that was obviously broken, started to speak.

"A-C-C. This is D-D-D. I tried to hold down the fort but it was no good. Help is not needed. Make sure that Massacre gets into the heart of Zone Six." Show Pony gasped and slammed on the breaks while simultaneously turning the wheel. The wind was knocked out of me as I flew to the side and smacked my back off of the window. I was very lucky I hadn't gone through it.

"Show Pony!" Agent Cherri Cola screamed as the van started to barrel back to the beginning of Zone Five. "You almost killed Midnight!" She unbuckled herself from the passenger seat and crawled into the back with me. I was gulping in air as I tried to regain my normal breathing pattern.

"Are you okay?" she asked, checking me over and making sure there were no serious physical injuries. I nodded my head. I wasn't yet ready to speak.

"Show Pony, turn this van around right now!" she yelled, returning her attention to the panic-stricken driver.

"He needs our help." he replied and Agent Cherri Cola rolled her eyes.

"You heard him! The most important thing for us to do for him is to get Midnight to the Killjoys. He is fine. Dr D is a fighter and he can handle himself."

It took a lot of negotiation between Agent Cherri Cola and Show Pony to finally get the van turned around and heading to Zone Six, once again. But we forgot something much more important; we were being followed by Draculoids. And we got reminded of that when they started to shoot at us.

"Motherfucker!" Agent Cherri Cola swore. "As if I don't have to deal with enough of this bullshit!" She rolled down the passenger window of the van and leaned out, shooting back at the Better Living truck that had appeared behind us.

I knew what I had to do, so I put my plan into action. I crawled across the van floor and slid open the back door behind Show Pony. I had made sure it was opposite to Agent Cherri Cola because, one; I did not want to get caught in the crossfire, and two; we would be shooting at them from both sides. I held onto the bar that was bolted to the interior of the van and leaned out, pointing my ray gun at the drivers' side of the windshield. I pulled the trigger three times, but the rays just bounced back.

I bet they had some kind of new invention to protect the glass. I had to think up a quicker scheme, something to totally blow them back. A beam of light grazed my cheek, jolting me out of my thoughts, and I quickly pulled back. It didn't do any damage but the shock of it being so close to my face sent me into high alert. I stuck my body out again and shot at the oncoming truck, watching as it drew nearer.

I pulled back inside the van long enough to hear Show Pony talking to someone on the device Agent Cherri Cola had used to contact Dr Death. "Yes, we're right at the edge of Zone Five and we need back up. No doubt these fuckers are trying to drive us right into the heart of Zone Six. And you know what is in Zone Six."

Zone Six, one of the most dangerous Zones, along with Zone One, of course. But out there in Zone Six were multiple Draculoid bases. They were scarce, yes, but they had connection to each other and if someone was moving during the night, every one of those bases would know about it. They only do their dirty work during the night, never the day. I don't think I've ever seen a Draculoid during daylight, come to think of it.

"They're coming, Cherri!" Show Pony shouted to the Agent that was still hanging out the window. She pulled back inside, breathing deeply, and looked at Show Pony.

"Are you sure? I thought they were hesitant of Midnight, here." Who were they talking about?

"They were and still are, but they know us and they would never let us fall by ourselves." he explained, trying to force the van to go faster. The Draculoids continued to fire and pick up speed.

I leaned out again, but this time, I aimed at one of their front tires. I steadied myself, took a deep breath, then pulled the trigger as I slowly exhaled. The tire blew and the truck swerved violently but they managed to keep it on our tails. I aimed at the other tire, but with all of my nervousness, I missed. I forced myself to concentrate and succeeded the second time. The truck swerved off of the road and turned over once. I smiled and slid the door shut as I sat on the mattress.

"Way to go, Midnight! You're certainly Killjoy material if you can do that!' Agent Cherri Cola raised her hand for a high five and I slapped it, still beaming with pride that I had taken out the Better Living truck. Sure, I had taken out a lot of Draculoids but never a truck or during a high speed chase.

Agent Cherri Cola gripped the device in her hand, once again, and called into whoever Show Pony was talking to earlier. "K-J, K-J, P-P, J-S, K-K, and F-G. Come in. We do not need your assistance. I repeat, we do not need your assistance. M-M took them down pretty good."

"How far are you away from Zone Six?" The reply came. I still didn't know who they were talking to. I was still on a high from taking down that truck to figure anything out.

"A good hour and a half or so. That Draculoid encounter made the van go faster than it ever had." he said, keeping his eyes on the road ahead. Agent Cherri Cola repeated the information to make sure whoever it was received it well.

"Alright, we'll meet you half way there." The voice answered.

"Really? You're finally gonna accept a new team member because, let me tell you, she's got some aim on her." Another smile erupted onto my face as I listened into their conversation.

"We are not accepting a new team member. It's the four of us and that's it. Good aim or not." Agent Cherri Cola rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Whatever. We'll see you soon." Agent Cherri Cola turned off of the device and placed it back in its original spot. "Stubborn idiot." she muttered underneath her breath.