Generation Nothing

Chapter three

I poured the water into the engine, as Frank drummed his fingers along the car's black finish. He was staring off into the sky, looking at nothing at all, until he looked back over his shoulder at me.
'How do you know the others?' He asked suddenly, spinning himself around and leaning down on the edge of the car. I looked up at himfor a moment before turning my gave back.
'Kobra is my kid brother, the Doc is my uncle. Doc hired Show Pony just this morning.' He nodding, biting his lip as he turned his back to me once again.
'Do you ride the zones with anyone?' He shook his head.
'Nah, I ride solo. My family's either back in Battery City, or...' I put the water down, and went over to put my hand on his shoulder to let him know it was alright.
'Hey, at least you got someone, brainwashed or not. Gives you a reason to believe, you know? Something to fight for.' He took a deep breathe and nodded, trying to avoid eye contact with me. I knew he was close to tears, so I pulled him into a tight hug.
'Man, come on. Cheer up, you got us at WKIL with you, you'll always have us. Come on, I think I've still got some booze at D IE that we both deserve.' He chuckled, finally looking up at me.
'Serious?' I nodded.
'Cross my heart and hope to be a Draculoid's dinner if I lie. Come on.' Ghoul smiled, pulling his mask down over his head as he got onto his bike. I shut the bonnet of the car and rushed to the drivers side, slipping in and saying a quick prayer before I turned on the car. I gave a cheer as she started back up, and Ghoul kicked his bike into action. I watch Ghoul race off, before I spun my car around and chased him. He fell back behind me before pushing his bike into a wheelie as he passed me again. I gave him the finger, before we turned it into a drag.

Ghoul easily beat me back to the diner, and when I pulled up he stuck his tongue out at me.
'Fun Ghoul: one, Party Poison: none.' He smiled. I walked over to him and gave him a dead arm.
'A bike, verse a car. Pretty obvious I'm screwed.' Ghoul walked away with a triumphant air about him, and I shook my head as I followed him into the diner.
'Alright. Main area slash kitchen and lounge room.' I said, as I began a brief tour, 'This was the store room, it's now Kobra's room. The office is now the Doc's room. And this is my room, the staff room.' I opened the door, and let him in. I couldn't help but chuckle as I heard his gasp.

'How did you get all this? This is amazing!' He said, as he looked around my room. I had a lot of random junk in my room, from action figures and comic books to rubber ducks and the head of a blue mouse costume. I also had a clothes stand full of bright colors and dark leathers, which he found the most entertaining.
'You're worse than a girl.' I chuckled, as he flicked through them. Every so often he would pull out a jacket or a shirt and hold it up against himself. I rolled my eyes whenever he did this, and went and sat down on my bed.
'Did you collect all of this through the zones?' He asked, as he moved his attention from the clothes to a pile of comics.
'Most of it. Some things did come straight from Battery City, though.' I said, as I watched him flick through a Batman comic. He moved on from there to a stack of CD's, running his finger down the spines as he read the bands. It took him a good twenty minutes before he finally collapsed on the bed beside me.

'I hope this place never get's raided. It'd suck if you lost all this.' I shrugged, nonchalant.
'To be honest I don't care about most of this stuff. Or, to say that better, I wouldn't care if I lost most of this stuff. There's only a few things in here that I'd really care about if I lost them. The rest of the stuff is in my car.'
'What would you care about losing?' Ghoul asked softly.
'See the Batman figure over there?' Ghoul nodded, 'That. I think I'd go nuts if I lost it. There's also an art book in the first draw of the desk that I would never be complete without. I also really like the mouse head.' I added with a smile, and Ghoul laughed.
'Why wouldn't you? The mouse head is fucking awesome!' I noticed Ghoul grab at his shirt, and I gave him a curious glance.
'Ghoul, what would you care about losing?' I asked him softly, and he sighed.
'Not much, really. I guess it'd suck to lose my bike, but I'd mostly care if I lost my mask and this.' He fished out from underneath his shirt a chain, which held three small objects. The first was a heart, which looked a little to feminine for Ghoul to tell you the truth, a gold ring, and a small silver and red guitar. I reached over to take it from him, as I looked at each pendant carefully.
'Why?' I asked him softly, as I let the chain fall back against his chest.
'The heart belonged to my mother. It's the only thing I have of hers. The ring...it was my wedding ring. When my girlfriend got dusted they took everything. This is the only thing I have to remind me of her. The guitar I got from my grandma on my eighteenth birthday, and she told me to never stop being creative. I guess it's snapshots of the three most important women in my life.' I smiled.
'My mum told me something similar. She told me color was the key.' I sighed, shaking my head softly. I really didn't need to be thinking about that.

Suddenly, above us a speaker crackled into life and the Doc's voice came through.
'Boys, we got a Drac-fest out on route nineteen. We need to spring into action. Take as many energy packs as you can carry, you're gonna need them.' I jumped up from the bed, grabbing a mask and a bag full of spare energy packs, before grabbing Ghoul's wrist and pulling him outside. Mikey was already out there, his own mask covering his eyes. I chucked the bag to him and he caught it, slipping into the front seat. To my surprise, Fun Ghoul hoped into the Trans Am with us. I smiled to him as I got into the car and turned the engine on, blasting out of the diner. With one hand on the wheel, I pulled my mask over my head, resting it gently on my nose. I grabbed the bandana around my neck and pulled it up over my mouth, catching a glimpse of Ghoul as he pulled his own mask down over his face.

Barely twenty minutes out and we had the Draculoids in sight, along with those they were opening fire on. It was a young couple, a man and a women, one they both looked like they were struggling. I spun the car to it's side as I hit the brakes, and Ghoul and I both bailed. We used the car as a shield while we tried to gain the upper hand. Mikey, however, simple opened the door and started firing. I would have blast him had I not been worried about all of us. We were out numbered eight to five, and it was more important to bring the numbers down then to focus on Mikey's stupidity. I caught a Drac on the shoulder, before shooting again and catching him in the chest. I didn't wait to watch him fall as I turned my gaze to another in battle with Mikey. I caught him in the stomach, scorching his clothes as he fell to his knees. Another shot to the head by Frank had him finished. I heard the woman scream, but I didn't have a chance to look as a Drac targeted me. I stretched my arms out as I fired several shots at him, cursing as my ray gun died. I scrambled around through the car, before I got my hands on another energy pack and swapped them. I stood back up, and just as I did so I got a shot to the neck. I gasped, falling down behind the car. I grabbed at my neck, hissing as my fingers touched the burn. Luckily it was nothing more, and I would be fine. With that I stood back up and continued to open fire.