Keep Running

After we got dressed, we walked outside only to see everyone outside listening to the radio in the Trans Am. Thank God Karma probably told them to go out there for some crazy reason that wasn’t for my pleasure. Gerard smoothed out my hair as we sat in my booth, the black and white checkered table.

“You know about Blixen’s name, right?” Gerard asked, holding my hands from across the table. I nodded sadly and sighed.

“I’m sorry baby.” Gerard leaned in to kiss me but soon we were blown back by an explosion. I rolled on the ground and put my arms over my head, feeling the glass and debris scratch my arms and pierce through my shirt. “Fuck,” I muttered to myself, slowly getting up and looking around. The windows were blown out and everyone outside was out of sight, hopefully ducking.

“Head count!” Gerard yelled, blood running down his pale skin on his back.

“I’m here.” Frank’s voice yelled back. Dammit.

“H-Here.” Mary yelled back nervously.

“I’m here!” Ray yelled.

“Here!” Musetta yelled.

Gerard and I went silent when we didn’t hear the fifth voice.

Mikey’s voice.

“Mikey?” I asked. “Mikey!” I got up, despite the pain in my back, arms, and face since I had landed roughly on the linoleum floor. The glass on the door was already blown so I went through the frame and looked around, trying to see in the big cloud of dust. “Mikey,” I coughed, “Mikes!” Hot tears ran down my cheeks as I realized the bitter truth.

Mikey was gone.

“Everybody, inside!” Gerard roared, looking at all of us through the window, his teeth clenched. No one messes with someone’s brother. All of us ran inside and slid into my booth. I sat on the inside, Frank sat next to me, Mary sat across from me, Ray sat next to her, Musetta sat on the very edge with Ray, and Gerard paced in front of us all.

“As you can all see, I am pissed the fuck off.” he stopped to point to his red face before walking again. “Now, Musetta, can you pick up on his thoughts?”

“Nope, Neon blocked his thoughts because of some pills he slipped him. Get this,” Musetta took out a little strip of newspaper that looked freshly printed. “I had grabbed this earlier to get everyone’s names right but look here.” she pointed to a section that said ‘Deceased Residences’ and underneath it read ‘Professor Neon, age 78.’

“He lied?” I asked, looking at Musetta.

“No BLI agent would give out their real names.” Gerard and I both nodded at her fact, taking everything in. Mikey was gone and we had no fucking idea where he was. He could be at Better Living Industries but if he’s not then we set ourselves up for disaster.

Ray threw his arm across Mary’s shoulder to comfort her. He ruffled her hair and she gave him a hug, crying into his chest in the process. It was times like this I wanted a brother.
Or at least wanted to remember where he was last taken.

Red wasn’t the first person I knew who was taken. She was the first person outside my family to and now I don’t know where either of them are.

“Anyways, we’re getting my brother back no matter what. I will die for him. I will kill for him. I will do anything for my kid brother.” Gerard slammed his hands down on the table and we all flinched.

Musetta froze when crunching glass filled the diner. A little girl with a messy fro and colorful clothes looked up at us, holding a little robot looking toy.

No. No. No. A thousand times no.

“Kid, you should go.” I commanded.

“B-But I just got out.” she whined, crossing her arms. “I’m not leaving, I’m Grace.”

Mary cringed when she saw the girl. Something told me stuff wasn’t about to go down easily.

Mary’s POV

Fuck that kid. I may sound harsh because it’s a kid but I’m serious. That little brat nearly got my brother killed a few months ago and ever since then I’m like, “Fuck her and her nasty ass afro.”

“No.” I said sternly, crossing my arms and shaking my head. “You can’t stay here, It.”

“M-My name’s Grace.” she said, cocking her head to the side like she was confused. She knew damn sure that I just called her ass an ‘It’.

“I don’t like you, therefore, I will not speak your name. I don’t want you here. You nearly killed them all and its bad enough I got caught! You made my life hell with Korse! I was his whore for 5 months!” I yelled angrily. Ray gripped me tighter and Travis gave me a confused look.

“Mary, she’s cute.”

“She won’t be cute when she steals Gerard from you!” Grace and Gerard looked at me like I was crazy but I nodded, looking at Travis again. “Yeah, he rescued her all those times. He risked his life for her and what happens? He gets killed. He’s lucky Show Pony knows how to save lives.”

Travis stood up on the seat and jumped over Frank, walking into the kitchen while shaking her head. She obviously took my side now. Frank glanced at me before sliding out of his seat and into the kitchen as well.

Frank’s POV

Don’t ask why I went after her. It just felt right, kinda like she needed comfort from an unknown friend. Wait, we aren’t friends, are we? I opened up the door to the kitchen and found Travis pacing the kitchen with a bottle of beer. They still made that?

“Travis,”

“I’m drinking my shitty life away. I’m not gonna let that kid steal Gerard like Mary said.” she took a long swig and shook her head.

“Travis, its not like that. She’s too important to be lost. Her secrets keep us all in tact, she’s the main source of our findings.” Travis handed me a beer and I shook my head. She shrugged and took a drink out of that one because her other one was already gone.

This made me think. Travis wasn’t as bad as I thought she was. Well, yeah, we can’t stand each other but really she’s just trapped inside of what has been of her old life.

“Fine, then you just lost me.” she threw the beer bottle on the ground and walked out of the room. I followed her and saw her fading in the distance with Gerard standing motionless at the front door.