But Maybe We'll Live Forever

I wasn’t a Killjoy at first.

I was on the pills. I was doing everything the BL/ind. told me to do. I was obedient. I thought I was smart; headed great places. But I didn’t know anything, it seems.

I didn’t know they were taking over the world with ways that were less than good. I didn’t know they were brainwashing me with the pills. I didn’t know that those videos they made us watch were hypnotizing us for evil. I didn’t know that as long as I was under their spell, I wouldn’t get anywhere in life.

I didn’t find out until that fateful day I met them. The Killjoys. At first, I’d thought they were heroes with minds that were unstable – I mean, who’d fight BL/ind. to save someone like me? Of course, I didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t know why BL/ind. had arrested me and was trying to take me back. I didn’t know why or where these men had come from, their eyes of steel and guns ablaze.

Because, you see, before I was Atomic Battery, I was Shelby Chauncey. And Shelby Chauncey had stumbled across something she wasn’t supposed to stumble across.

Shelby Chauncey had been working late hours at the receptionist’s desk at a Verizon Wireless store in Battery City, California. There was lots of paperwork she had to do because no one else would do it for her. But this story isn’t about paperwork – it’s about what happened after the paperwork.

Shelby had finally gotten off work at 11:00 PM. She locked up the office and headed out to her Jeep, which was the only vehicle in the parking lot at this late hour. It was kind of eerie, seeing nothing there except her car. She shook it off and walked to the Jeep. She unlocked the door and was about to get inside when she saw him.

He was hard to miss. His hair was a blazing red color. Not normal red hair, either – no, the color red that you would see on a rainbow. The color red on a sports car. He was wearing faded jeans, a t-shirt, and an interesting jacket with a patch on it that said “DEAD PEGUSUS.”

Now, the girl who used to be me wasn’t as bright as she thought she was. Because when she saw this man, she thought he was a rapist or a vandal or some sort of criminal of that sort. No one in their 30s – which was how old this man looked – would ever, in their right mind, dye their hair a bright red color and then hang around in an almost empty parking lot without some sort of motive. So, as quickly as she could, Shelby turned her eyes away and jumped into her Jeep.

But she wasn’t fast enough for him not to notice.

“Hey!” he called to her across the lot in a raspy voice, jogging over to her car. As he ran closer to her, she caught a glimpse of a ray gun in his belt.

Naturally, she panicked.

“Hey,” he said, stopping at her car and knocking on the window. He motioned for her to roll the window down with his hands. He didn’t look vicious the way he was being so casual. He seemed rather… nice, in fact. He looked pleasant enough; not completely intimidating.

Shelby Chauncey was stupid. She rolled down the window and looked at him suspiciously. “Yes, sir? May I help you?” She tried her best to sound polite, but it came out sounding guarded and croaky.

He looked at her intensely for a moment through hazel eyes. Then he said, “You’re Shelby Chauncey, right?”

“Yes…” Shelby wasn’t sure if she was doing the right thing; responding to this strange man.

“I knew your brother.”

The words hit her like a ton of bricks. Her brother, Rory Chauncey, had been dead for about two years now, and no one knew exactly how he died. There had been an investigation that had wrapped up a little too quickly saying that he’d been caught in the middle of a crossfire during a gang shooting. A simple case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Shelby didn’t buy it, though. It was all too suspicious. There weren’t gangs in this part of Zone 6. This neighborhood was far too… civilized, per se, to have gangs and shootings. And he brother would’ve known not to mess around with anyone who looked suspicious. Rory was a smart man.

But Shelby had let it go. All things were possible, she’d decided, and that she was just in denial that her brother had died in such an ugly way.

“You… How did you know Rory?” Shelby asked.

“It’s… complicated.” The man smiled ironically for a flash, then his face settled back into the calm, serious look that he’d been holding before.

Shelby sighed deeply and looked away from the man for a moment. She thought for a while, then leaned over and opened the passenger door. “You can tell me all about it on the way home.”

The man paused for a moment. He seemed cautious about getting into her car. He looked her in the eyes, and gave a soft smile, then got inside, closing the door after him. “Most of it’s on this tape.” He pulled out a video cassette tape and put it on her lap. The label read, in Rory’s scrawl, “FOR SHELBY – I LOVE YOU.”

Shelby looked down at it for a moment, then pulled out of the parking lot, one hand resting on the tape. She was playing it casual, but inside she felt herself being torn apart. She missed him so much. “So how did you know Rory?”

“He was a Killjoy.”

“And that is?”

He didn’t answer.

Shelby didn’t push it – this man could shoot her with that death ray thing at any moment, and she wasn’t too keen on that happening. Call her a freak, but she didn’t want to die by this man’s hand. She sighed and tried to get a few details. “So… are Killjoys a… gang?”

A laugh. “No, not exactly. They’re a… association, organization, whatever you want to call it. But don’t mix it up with a gang.”

“Then why do you have a gun?” She got ahead of herself. She shut her mouth after than and gripped the steering wheel, keeping her eyes on the road. She shouldn’t have mentioned it…

The man looked over at her. “We need to protect ourselves in times like these, Shelby. I know you don’t understand yet, but the tape should explain it all. Don’t let anyone else see it though. It’s for you only.”

“What is this tape?” Shelby asked.

“The answers to all the questions you’re asking.”

“Why won’t you just tell me?”

“You might have flies in your car.”

“Flies?”

“You saw the news report, didn’t you?”

“I must’ve missed it.”

The man looked over at Shelby again, this time with an intense look like she was crazy. “That’s one news report you shouldn’t have missed. Better Living Industries has made some hi-tech camera things that look like flies to ensure everyone’s safety.” He scoffed. “Like that’s the real reason.”

“You probably shouldn’t be saying things like that if there is a fly in my Jeep.” She turned onto the street where her apartment was.

“As a citizen, I’m entitled to my opinion.”

“Whatever you say.”

This guy couldn’t be sane. He was paranoid and crazy. Probably a schizophrenic. But all the same, the tape was real. Her brother’s handwriting was plain to see. There was a mystery intertwined in all of this.

She turned into the parking lot at her apartment. “This is where we part ways,” Shelby said, turning off the engine after she’d reached a parking space. “Whatever’s going on, thanks for… giving me the tape. Anything that’s from Rory means a lot to me.”

“It’ll mean more to you soon, I promise.” The man opened his door and got out. She did the same.

He held out his fingerless-gloved hand to her. She looked at it for a second, then took it and shook his hand, smiling slightly. He didn’t smile, but nodded with a look in his eyes that she couldn’t comprehend. They let go of each other’s hands, and just before the man turned around, Shelby asked, “I didn’t catch your name.”

The man turned around. A slight smirk was on his face. “My name?” He walked backwards, a slight jump in his step. “My name’s Party Poison.”

Then he turned around and disappeared into the night.

“Party Poison’s his name.” Shelby scoffed. “Right.” She rolled her eyes and climbed the stairs to the top floor, where her apartment, Room 203, was. She looked over the railing, wondering if she could see ‘Party Poison’ anywhere.

She heard the faint sound of an engine revving.

Shrugging and mumbling to herself, Shelby turned and unlocked her door, going inside. She needed some sleep. Then she’d watch the tape and fight out what the hell was going on in the morning.

Shelby, the girl who used to be me, didn’t know that tomorrow I’d be born.