They'll Never Take My Heart

“Adrenaline has a problem, Silver.” I said cautiously. Everyone was still recovering from our last run in.

“Yeah?” She replied, stealing one last glance at Korse’s corpse. Huh, Korse’s corpse. That sounds funny.

“I keep having these nightmares. And… they’re starting to really freak me out.” I replied.

“Like what?” Silver looked interested.

“Well, the one I’ve been having the most always starts out the same. I’m standing in the BL/ind* lab again, back in the uniform, and I’m in a line. You’re usually next to me on one side, Dr. D and Show on the other. The guys are in front of us. We all look a bit the same, standing in rows like that.” I started.

“And? What happens next?”

“Korse, and the Asian woman. They’re in front, staring back at us. Korse smirks a bit in our direction, and the Asian lady does that smiling thing of hers. Then they call for a S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W member, and first they drag Jet forward, and put him in a chair. Then Kobra, then Fun, and then Poison. They don’t resist at all. It’s like they’re… already gone. But, then,” This was the hardest part to say. “They put this weird helmet on them, then they drag forward you, and the doctor, and Show Pony, and do the same to you, and- and- they flip a switch, and then- Silver, it’s horrible. They hit the switch and then there’s this shock thing, and everyone is screaming, and I’m trying to get the helmets off, but they just won’t come off! Then a drac drags me back and forces me head up. I have to watch you guys die, every. Single. Night, Silver. Again, and again, and again. And every time, after they take away your bodies, Korse comes forward and says something. “We’re keeping you alive because the pain of living is worse torture than death.” By that point, I try to fight back. I want to avenge you guys.” I explained. Silver stared, wide eyed.

“And how long have you been having these?” She asked.

“I don’t know, a week or two, maybe. Even before the last big fight. And it doesn’t even end there. They break my bones, one by one, and put me on life support, so that no matter what, I can’t die. They pipe chemicals into my body, so I shrink away until I’m nothing but a skeleton, with a still beating heart, hooked up to a blood transfusion.” I finished.“I want them to go away, Silver. I don’t know how many more times I can see this.” I said, shaking my head.

“I… don’t know how to help. But, Korse is dead, rotting away. This will never happen to you. You can handle a grenade better than anyone else I know, and you’re almost as good as the rest of us with a raygun now.” She reassured me.

“We thought Korse was dead before. And it turned out he came back to life. I know that it’s silly, but I can’t tell the guys about this… I don’t know how they’d react. I’m sick and tired of making people worry about me over nothing.” I declared.

“Write it down on a piece of paper, the nightmare, and then rip it up. Rip it up into a million little pieces. I think that might work.” Silver responded.

“Thanks Silver. Adrenaline’s going to try that.” I replied, skipping to my room to grab a notebook. I stifled a scream when I thought I saw a S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W member, before I realized it was just a white shirt stained with motor oil thrown carelessly off the edge of a box.

“Is this what being paranoid is like? I asked myself, shoving the shirt back into my box of stolen clothing. Sighing, I took off my mask and rubbed my eyes. This was getting ridiculous. I’d been perfectly fine up until the day the nightmares started. I was a killjoy. I was used to hearing people scream, and seeing blood, but… their blood? Their screams? It was a weakness I couldn’t let any of BL/ind* know about. For some reason, they want Silver and I. And if they have something to aid them in getting us back to where we were ‘safe’ and drugged off our rockers, they would use it. Sighing again, I scribbled the details of the dream furiously down on paper before shredding it like a maniac.

‘Even if this doesn’t work… it DID make me feel a bit better.’ I thought, returning back to the main room of the diner.“Adrenaline! Come on over.” Poison called. Everyone was gathered at the counter.

“Okay, like I was saying. I think it may be better if we left the die-ner for a little while.”

“Why? This place is awesome! It has all our stuff, and it’s close enough to a supply source,” Silver interjected

“And the idiots in BL/ind* are finally catching on that this is where we live. Look at what they sent after us. It’s not like we’re leaving permanently, just enough so that we can throw them off.” Poison explained.

“Road trip!” Fun exclaimed.

“I’ll have to fix up the Trans Am before we go, any idea on where we’re heading?” Jet asked

“How about over by zone 4? There’s an old motel I think.” Kobra offered.

“Sounds good to Adrenaline.” I agreed.

“So get your stuff packed, we’ll set out tomorrow.” Poison finalized. I was already mostly packed, between my never ending messenger bag, and my box of clothing. So while everyone else went to get their stuff together, I sprawled out on the floor of the diner and stared at the ceiling. If you stared at it for long enough, little patterns would start showing up. It was like… indoor cloud watching.