Faith Is Unavailable

They watched as the late people rolled in ready for their rest.

They leaned against the old a/c that did little aside from easing back pain on watch nights.

“Do you remember what the world was like before all of this?” Party Poison asked gently as he looked out toward the vast expanse of open desert landscape.

Silver Sands remembered what she knew and she was certain it was nothing like what he spoke of. “Hardly. I just hope for something better than what we know now.”

He looked at her wondering how she could hardly remember, she wasn’t too young to remember. He looked at her narrow nose pointed out toward the horizon light painted lips slightly parted just for ease of breathing. He wondered about all the things she never told anybody. All the secrets she kept. Why she had those days -much like today- where she just had to fly off the handle and do something completely bonkers. It was almost like she was trying to prove something.

She felt his eyes on her, scrutinizing her. She all but knew his thoughts. Often she wished she could be as open as everybody else but it would just ruin everything.

“I miss the kids.” He said finally getting over what he was thinking. “The hope you could see in their faces. The way they still thought they could rule the world any day. Little did they know some mad man would be.”

He could see the kids and their rudimentary paintings, sculptures, and simple drawings that he knew would only get better if fostered. Most of his students had been eleven to thirteen, only a little older than Girl. He could imagine her in his art class easily. The spunky little thing. He smiled imagining everything was okay.

“Girl is the future, you know. She’s the hope for us all.” He was just pouring out his heart tonight.

Silver Sands looked over to him. “If she’s the future we’re in good hands.”

“Party Poison! Silver Sands!” The little voice they’d just been discussing called up from the ladder on the side of the building just as her little curly haired head popped up high enough for them to see. “I can’t sleep.”

“Come on up, kid.” Party Poison said to her patting the spot between him and Sands.

She came up and snuggled between the two. Sleep wasn’t something that’d been easy for her since she ended up with the Killjoys.

She often came up for part of the night watch and fell asleep on the roof.

Sands’ hands started running through her hair as was her habit. Sands remembered in her childhood nothing relaxed her like hands softly running through her hair.

Party Poison watched again the flaxen haired woman as her hands ran through the little girl’s hair. He wasn’t surprised that Girl always found her way to the sides of either Jet-Star or Silver Sands. Jet-Star reminded Girl of her family -people were always wondering if she actually was his daughter or kid sister- and Sands treated her in a way that she treated no one else, gently, almost motherly. It was the soft side she saved almost exclusively for Girl.

“Party Poison, will you tell me about freedom?” She asked softly.

This was almost like her favorite bedtime story. No one told it quite like him either.

“It was a beautiful thing Girl.” He started softly gazing off looking for the stars. “People had the right to wear whatever they wanted without being put on a list to be exterminated. We had the right to make the choices of the leader, of the laws.” He went on it in depth, explained the beauty he once knew.

Silver Sands looked over to him as he continued. “She fell asleep like ten minutes ago.” She whispered trying not to laugh at him.

He stopped abruptly and looked down and smiled. “There are some things you just can’t help but get lost in.”

“That’s why she likes it best when you tell it.”

Chuckling he said, “Only because you’d throw in jokes she wasn’t old enough for, Fun Ghoul talks too much of politics that don’t matter anymore, Kobra Kid just gets depressed, and she has Jet-Star tell her about it too.”

Sands’ almost gray eyes connected with his. “You have a way with words, Poison Pen,” She teasingly changed his name. “Accept that.”

Hazel eyes kept peering into hers and his eyebrow popped up questioningly amused. “You’re really intense today Sands, something on your mind?”

Everything she could never say was on her mind making her act the way she did. “Do you remember the movies? Anytime there was a woman in a crazy situation she was either a fainting wimp or she was 6 times as badass as any man or she was dead. I’d rather have crazy days just to know I can survive this.” She spoke an honest lie.

He was amazed this was like opening up. “Sands, you’re going to survive. We wouldn’t let you get dusted.”

They were keeping their voices soft minding the little girl between them. Party Poison even stopped to pull his blue jacket off and rest it on top of Girl like a blanket.

Silence consumed them for another moment or so before Party Poison’s voice penetrated the night air ever so quietly. “Sometimes I worry this is like the movies where the good guys die and the bad guys win.”

Silver Sands was glad she wasn’t the only downer that night. “Bitch please, we aren’t the good guys that die.” She shot him a sarcastic smile. “Besides ‘Even if you’re dusted out here in the desert your shadow lives on without you.’”

She quoted their friend Dr Death Defying.

He nodded like she was preaching a sermon knowing the words’ origin. “How can a man who looks like he may have been the most badass “Dead Head” to ever live be so ridiculously brilliant?” Obviously Dr D wasn’t old enough to be a true hippie but he could fool you.

“Hippies had expert weed.” She joked.

He looked at her, “Drug and sex jokes all day. Leads me to wonder what you were like as a teenager.”

Her smile spread higher over the left side of her face. “You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.”

The night continued with hardly an upset, one Drac stupidly stumbled by the diner and Party Poison dusted him quickly and dispatched with the body. She watched gun ready, Girl still in her lap, in case it hadn’t been alone. They continued their talking in quiet voices, continued in their soft laughter, and bonded strange as that was to her.

Their shift ended as the sun kissed the horizon. People inside would wake and be prepared to take care of themselves.

As that sun came into view Party Poison glanced over at girl. “Should we wake her?”

Silver Sands looked at the girl too. “She could rest with us in the attic until Kobra Kid is ready to go. That is if you don’t mind being woken up by him when he comes for her.”

He looked at Sands noticing the way she looked at the girl. “That’s fine, I’ll go down and tell Kobra Kid.”

She nodded and began to lightly stand up leaving Girl laying on the ground and walked over to open the hatch to the attic and shove the little stairs down.

The stairs were old and somewhat unstable, but they were wider and less treacherous to carry someone down than the ladder up to the roof.

Sands then walked back and scooped up Girl just like parents do, with that insane skill that keeps them from waking the kid.

She laid her on on the mattress and laid down next to her.

Soon enough Party Poison was back up in the attic. He closed everything and darkness took over the room. He laid down next to Silver Sands. “She didn’t wake up at all?”

She looked at him over her shoulder, “Nope.”

He smiled a little toothy grin, “You’re good Sands.”

***

They woke up early afternoon and Girl had already gone off with Kobra Kid. They decided it was time to get a move on figuring there was way too much to be done to lay around.

They re-entered the main dining hall seeing only Fun Ghoul and Jet-Star in the place they looked glad to stay back and have something that was almost like a day off every once and again.

Fun Ghoul was trying to coax Jet-Star into playing his infamous “hot rock” game that only he and Kobra Kid were crazy enough to play. So far as Sands had it understood it was like hot potato... but she wasn’t exactly sure what the cups were for. She was also fairly certain that no one knew except for Kobra Kid and Fun Ghoul.

“Dude I’m not playing your crazy game!” Jet-Star responded frustrated at Fun Ghoul’s wild need for the insane game. Girl came dashing into the diner about that time frantic look on her little face. “We found someone. She’s in the car.”

All eyes snapped to her.

“What?” Party Poison asked back concerned.

Girl took hold of his sleeve and started hurrying back to the car with him in tow. “Come on.”
They rose up to follow they had to see what’s going on.

Silver Sands and Fun Ghoul watched from the door curiously as Party Poison and Jet-Star approached the car.

All they could see was Party Poison climbing into their colorful Trans-Am for a moment before simply saying, “Bring her in,” and walking back to them.

Fun Ghoul spoke. “What is it?” He asked curiously even though he’d honestly know soon enough.

Party Poison looked over at Fun Ghoul and Silver Sands. “It’s a woman.” He continued inside passed them.

Fun Ghoul followed but Sands stood watch as she saw the body of the slender woman being pulled from the car by Kobra Kid and Jet-Star. The blue and white attire, she knew that uniform. She was worried. Nothing good ever came out of Battery City. That was something she knew.

They walked the woman inside right by her. Sands stood outside looking at the clear sky which housed the sun that shone far to brightly these days. She could damn near feel it bleaching her hair lighter than the day before. She rubbed her face trying to rid herself of the worry.

She had to walk back in before anyone started to wonder. Plus she couldn’t be certain this girl would be as dangerous to them as she feared.

“Sleeping Death.” She heard spoken passed Party Poison’s lips as she came in.

Her eyes fell on the girl’s back sprinkled with spots of blood. This made her trust this girl slightly more, there was something that tried to stop her.

“I don’t know, but she still might wake up. We need to clean her up.”

Girl had already gone and grabbed water and clean rags to clean her up.

Sands stepped up knowing she had to help. Girl, Jet-Star, and Silver Sands cleaned the caked on blood off the woman.

Fun Ghoul asked from his safe distance, “What do we call her?”

“Suspect 12, that’s what her bracelet says.” Kobra Kid answered with something that still sounded like a question ringing in his tone.

His eyebrow popped up, never before had he heard what they called the captives before. They weren’t even people to Korse. They were numbers. “Okay then.”

Soon enough the dried blood was gone and only the tiny puncture wounds remained and they laid her out on one of the mattresses only with hope she’d wake.

They gathered back at their table, the only one that seated them all talking about nothing but what to do with her.

Sands sat there wondering if she should voice her suspicions or just let it go. None of them thought about the simple fact that no one made it out of Battery City.

Either she was target practice for some really bad Dracs or... Sands didn’t even want to think of it.

The guys sounded worried, more about Dracs knowing the girl was alive and out here and the possibility that she was to be hunted.

None of them knew how Korse worked quite like Silver Sands.

They all decided there needed to be extra shifts on the roof especially at night. The guys were all worried about what else may have happened to her and were eagerly waiting for her to wake from her chemical induced coma.

As the sun started to retreat behind the western horizon and gave way to the night sky the woman stirred. Her eyes opened and she pushed herself up before glancing around.

With the six of them staring down at her it made sense that she looked a little frightened.

She attempted to hop up to her feet which were also pretty torn up but now with the chemicals dissipated enough to let her feel she couldn’t manage to get all the way up.

Party Poison was the first to speak to her. “Hey.” He spoke it cautiously trying not to alarm her anymore.

She shrank back just the same.

He stood moving toward her and put his hands up. “We ain't here to hurt you if you ain't here to hurt us?”

A simple shake of the head told them she wasn’t here to cause any harm.

“Good.” He said as he came closer and sat on the edge of the mattress. “What happened to you?” He asked softly.

Her eyes bounced around the room looking at them all no trust showing in her features, she remained silent.

“I don’t think she wants to talk to us.” Jet-Star said.

“Oh Captain Obvious, it’s been so long since you’ve visited.” Fun Ghoul joked back.

“Maybe she can’t talk.” Girl offered.

Her eyes fell and she began anxiously playing with the bracelet. She was lost in her own world.

Silver Sands got up from the table and moved alongside Party Poison who was backing off the girl letting her relax. They walked out the front door wordlessly.

Of course once the doors were closed behind them they started speaking.

“I wonder what they did to that poor girl.” Party Poison said with a worried sigh running his hand through his red hair feeling the stress.

Sands let out a sigh of her own. “I’m worried about us.” If there was anyone who she could share her fears with it was him.

He looked over to her questioningly.

She sighed again. “Captives don’t make it out of Battery City. Ever.”

His head tilted. “What are you implying Sands?”

She reached back and pulled her long blond hair into a tight ponytail. “I’m not even sure yet Party Poison.”

He racked his brain trying to think of a way to figure this new girl out definitively but he realized they hadn’t even figured out the girl who’s been riding with them for what could have been years. “We’ll take her to see Dr Death once she’s healed up better because he’s hiding out at the other broadcasting stations for a while. Dr D’s got an eye for the enemy.”

She nodded slowly. Honestly she didn’t want to wait that long. It was too easy for attachment to form. Especially with a woman surround by so many men.