Danger Days: The Escape

The morning after is supposed to be awkward, and, as Fun Ghoul and Party Poison were about to discover, so was the almost morning after. They awoke together, laying side by side, with the sheets pulled up around their shoulders. Their eyes were focussed on the wall opposite them.

“Imaging how much worse this could have been if we had actually slept together...” Party Poison laughed nervously.

“Yeah... imagine,” Fun Ghoul mused, actually imagining the situation in his head. He pictured their fluid movements, skin on skin, clinging to each other as they climaxed, and waking up holding each other, content and happy. “I think it would have been less awkward if we had have had sex.”

“We could always...” Party Poison trailed off as he reached over, delicately pulling the sheet down from Fun Ghoul’s shoulders to reveal the cluster of tattoo’s across the expanse of his torso. He leaned in for a kiss. “You really are beautiful, Ghoul.”

Just as their lips touched, Fun Ghoul pushed the man away. He looked into Party Poison’s eyes apologetically and sincerely. “I can’t have sex with someone who doesn’t know my name... I don’t even know yours.”

“Then tell me your name, and I’ll tell you mine,” Party Poison replied softly, stroking his cheek gently as if it were porcelain. “Because I really like you...”

“I really like you, too...” he paused to take in the beauty of the man next to him, deciding he was ready for this kind of intimacy with his friend. “My name’s – ”

“Breakfast!” Lady Killer’s voice called from downstairs.

Both the men groaned, especially seeing as they were both semi hard at this point in time. They elected not to keep everyone waiting and got out of bed, dressing in their pyjama’s. Even though they had caught glimpses of each other naked plenty of times before when they were out in the deserts, they faced away from each other as they dressed.

Everyone met down in the kitchen for breakfast. They were all so happy to finally be together again that the conversation was chipper and excited. The regaled Bob with stories of their adventures together before the horrible months where they were separated and he told them about how he came to work for BL/IND. They could hardly believe it when he said that his family had left him at the entrance to the compound in Battery City because he was a coward and was slowing down their escape. Since knowing him he’d been nothing but brave.

The conversation eventually turned to the other killjoys out fighting in the other Zone’s. They had finished breakfast at the point and were now just talking. Kobra Kid was informing everyone about something he’d been told about while he was being held at the Zone 30 compound by one of the other inmates.

“It’s like a ball,” he was saying, “with all the huge puffy gowns, and smart black suits for the men. They’re holding it tomorrow night out in Zone 3 in this deserted hall. Apparently Dr. Death is going to be there.”

“A killjoy ball?” Lady Killer questioned. “It sounds fabulous, but don’t you think it’s a bit dangerous? Hundreds of killjoys in one place at one time... anything could happen if the Drac’s find out.”

“How would they find out? The nearest BL/IND facility is Battery City.” Kobra Kid reasoned. “I think we should go. All of us could use a night out, and it’ll give us a chance to make alliances with other killjoy groups should we get into trouble.”

The killjoys looked around the table to see who was interested in going. All the males wanted to go, each for their own reasons, but Lady Killer was still a little concerned. In the end they managed to convince her that it would be okay to go out to the ball for the night.

Approximately an hour after the conversation she came downstairs, dressed in normal clothes with her car keys and wallet in hand. If you saw her you would not believe that there was a war going on.

“Going somewhere?” Fun Ghoul asked obviously.

“Well, yeah. I don’t have a ball gown just lying around the house now do I,” she replied sarcastically. “I’ll be back later, then you guys can go out and find your suits.”

“Take someone with you,” Party Poison said, concerned. While he was all for the idea of a killjoy ball, he did not want his best friend out there alone.

“No can do, Poison. You guys can’t see the dress before tomorrow night. I’ll be fine, I have my ray gun.”

There was no chance to argue further as Lady Killer was already out the door and on her way to the car. It only took a couple of minutes for her to reach a small boutique a few blocks away from where the house was. She knew that the shop would be abandoned just like the rest of Zone 2, but she didn’t feel right taking an expensive dress from a store that would most likely reopen once the war was over, so she had enough money on her to afford almost anything on the racks and mannequins.

Lady Killer was mesmerised by the beautiful dresses the store had to offer. There were cocktail dresses, floor length dresses made of silk, ones with long trains, neat dinner dresses, modern empire dresses, and finally, what she’d come for, ball gowns. They were lined nicely along one wall in colour order from lightest to darkest. She completely bypassed the warmer colours, like red and orange, but was drawn to the purple section of the rack. It only took her a few minutes to find the perfect dress. She found her size in the back room of the store, zipped it up into a special bag, and left a note explain herself with a couple of hundred dollar bills attached to it. As soon as the dress was safely in the back of the car she returned to the house.

***

The killjoy ball was approximately an hour away. The men had been banished downstairs by Lady Killer since mid afternoon when she had chosen to start getting ready. They themselves were essentially ready, dressed in there suits, with only minor details to fix up.
Kobra Kid had just re-entered the living room after sneaking upstairs to find out how much longer Lady Killer would be. After spending close to ten minutes outside her bedroom door he still had no idea.

“Did you guys know that Kill has developed a mantra?” he asked as he flopped down beside Party Poison on the sofa. “She’s in her room repeating it over and over.”

Bob barely looked up from his PDA. “It’s nice she’s gone spiritual when there’s a war on. What’s the mantra?”

Kobra Kid smirked. “Oh, something quite simple. It goes a little something like: ‘Beauty is pain! Beauty is pain!’”

The room immediately filled with laughter which didn’t stop for quite some time. When the five men had finally calmed down Lady Killer called down to them from the second floor, telling them she was ready to come down in a minute. They all moved to the base of the stairs to watch her descent into the living room.

“Okay, I’m coming down,” she said, “Don’t you guys dare laugh.”

Slowly Lady Killer appeared at the top of the stairs. She placed her hand daintily on the banister and began to descend the stairs. The men were in complete awe of her; she looked incredibly beautiful. They took in every part of her as she got closer to them. Her dress was light purple, strapless, with a sweetheart neckline and carefully embroidered silk bodice that lead to a full tulle skirt that began at the waist. She had curled her hair and pinned it all to one side in a long ponytail, leaving a curled tendril on either side of her face. The makeup she had on was kept simple with nude colours, with the exception of her signature silver eye shadow.

As she neared the bottom step Kobra Kid immediately held a hand out to her like a gentlemen. She was clearly taken aback by the gesture but took his hand nonetheless. They let go when she reached the bottom of the stairs.

“How do I look?” she asked nervously, trying to avoid eye contact with them by smoothing out her skirt.

“Beautiful, absolutely beautiful,” Party Poison said, taking her hand and kissing it lightly.

“Perfect...” Kobra Kid whispered.

“Thanks. You guys don’t scrub up too badly either,” she smiled at them. “Now let’s go get our ball on.”

Still shocked by her appearance, the men followed Lady Killer out to the cars. They split themselves into two groups and drove out to Zone 3 where the killjoy ball was being held.

About twenty minutes after leaving the house they arrived out the front of a small abandoned airport. A smartly dressed killjoy stood out on the streets and directed them to where they could park their vehicles, which turned out to be the bigger of the two hangers on the property. Once the cars were safely stored, they proceeded over to the second hanger where the ball would be taking place. The ball was just beginning as they entered through the corrugated iron door of the hanger. Dr. Death was working as the DJ just as Kobra Kid had been informed of. Somehow knowing that he was here made them feel safer; he was the untouchable killjoy after all.

“Let’s start this party up by going a little old school with some Lady Gaga, ‘cause you were born this way’ motor babies,” Dr. Death announced over the sound system in his usual laidback tone before ‘Born This Way’ started playing.

The other killjoys in the hanger started jumping and singing along with the music. With no other choice but to let go, Party Poison, Fun Ghoul, Jet Star, Kobra Kid, Lady Killer, and, for tonight, Neon Nightmare joined in with the crowd and danced along to the music. Dr Death kept everyone involved by switching genres every couple of songs to suit the different personalities in the room. All the different killjoy groups were mingling with each other and making new friends, as well as gaining new knowledge about the different Zones from others personal experiences there; the night was going along as it was supposed to.

After more than an hour of vivid dancing around the floor and conversing with various killjoys, Lady Killer plopped down next to Party Poison on one of the chairs lining the wall. She was exhausted, but she intended to do a lot more dancing once she sorted out the issue plaguing her best friend.

Party Poison smiled warmly at her and casually slung an arm around her shoulders. He could see how tired she was so he gently eased her head down onto his shoulder. She complied willingly, resting her left arm across his stomach and latching her fingers onto his jacket pocket to keep it in place. They sat in content conversational silence with the music, currently 'Six Feet Under the Stars' by All Time Low, thrumming in the background.

About halfway through the song Lady Killer chose to speak. “I have it on good authority that the next song is a slow song.”

“Are you trying to ask me to dance?” he asked, bemused.

She shook her head. “Not me, him.” Her index finger pointed over to where Fun Ghoul was talking eagerly with Kobra Kid.

“Somehow I don’t think Kobra would appreciate the sentiment.” Party Poison was intentionally avoiding the point.

“Don’t be a dick, Poison. I know how you and Ghoul feel about each other, I’ve known all along, so go ask him to dance and enjoy the night while you can.”

“I can’t, Kill. Things between me and him are kind of awkward at the moment.” He intended on stopping there, but Lady Killer’s bright brown eyes probed him for more information. He continued, not looking her in the eyes out of embarrassment. “A couple of nights ago things got a little heated between us and we ended up making out... a lot. That led to us almost having... well, you know – but we didn’t! Don’t look at me like that! Put your eyes back in your head for Christ's sake. Anyway, we tried again yesterday morning and probably would have finished what we started the night before if you hadn’t called us down for breakfast. We’ve barely spoken since then; it’s just really weird right now.”

Lady Killer could barely comprehend what her friend had just disclosed to her. She knew how close they’d grown recently, but she didn’t realise they were that close. “Our bedrooms share a wall, how on Earth did I not notice?”

“That’s what you took from that?”

“Look, forget about that. Just go show him a good time. This song is almost over; take him by the hand and just dance with the music.” She was already on her feet and pulling him upright before ushering him over to the dance floor. “Go.”

Knowing that he had no other choice, Party Poison walked over – very slowly – to where Fun Ghoul was standing. He took in a deep breath just as the next song was introduced by Dr. Death. Time to slow things down a bit motor babies with a little Amber Pacific. The slow piano track began and the killjoys in the room began to mould together with anyone who was willing to dance. Bob had already led Lady Killer onto the floor and Jet Star was ushering a petite blonde in a pale blue evening gown into the crowd of people. Even Kobra Kid was searching for a woman to dance with. It was now or never, Party Poison thought.

He took a few more cautious steps toward Fun Ghoul and held out a quivering hand to him. “Would you care to dance?”

To his surprise, Fun Ghoul took his hand willingly and started for the dance floor. They found an empty space, completely out of sight from their housemates, and moved nervously into each other’s arms. It took a few bars for them to find their rhythm, but once they had everyone else in the room seemed to dissipate around them. Their eyes were locked together as tightly as their hands gripped onto each other. Neither one wanted this closeness to end.

Suddenly the music stopped. The couples on the floor broke apart, murmuring questions to each other about the unexpected ending of the song.

Dr. Death’s voice came over the speakers, echoing loudly in the silenced hanger. “Got a Drac warning for you killjoys. There’s an army circling the airport right now.”

Shocked gasps followed the announcement. Some of the women were already in tears just at the mention of the draculoids. The men closest to them pulled them into a comforting embrace, but no one dared to speak, move. Fast approaching footsteps could be heard coming from outside. The army was almost upon them.

The double doors of the hanger swung open abruptly. More than a hundred draculoids entered and dispersed through the crowd. They were grabbing killjoys left, right, and centre, ghosting those who spoke out against them. Following the mass invasion of draculoids was Korse, dressed in his usual grey outfit with his white ray gun held high. He approached the makeshift stage, stomping loudly up the stairs. He stared out at the sea of dresses, suits, and uniforms.

“Well, look what we have here,” he boomed piercingly, striding confidently from one end of the stage to the other and back again, “all the killjoys in one place. How convenient – for me that is. You have two choice; join BL/IND, or be ghosted right now. I see some have already made their choice.”

One killjoy, who had been quiet popular that night, spoke up. “We’re not going to join you, you sick, twisted tyrant!”

Korse didn’t hesitate and fired a white beam directly at the defiant killjoy, killing him instantly.

“No!” Lady Killer screamed out. She’d been standing quite close to the killjoy that had just been shot.

“Grab her! Bring her up here!” Korse ordered.

A nearby draculoid clasped his arms tightly around her waist and dragged her threw the throng of people up onto the stage. He was extremely rough with her and pushed her to the ground in front of his leader. Korse latched on to the back of her neck harshly and pulled her to her feet, casting his cold, hard eyes over her face. In his mind he was placing a pink mask with purple diamantes encircling the eyeholes across her face; the image of her he was conjuring fit the one on the surveillance system from that night in Battery City.

“You,” he snarled viciously before striking her hard across the cheek with his ray gun.

Party Poison had lunged forward, but Fun Ghoul kept him firmly in place with a tattooed hand clasped tightly around his wrist. They watched on in horror as Korse inflicted more pain on their fragile friend.

Lady Killer was screaming in agony, hot tears running down her cheeks, as Korse hit her repeatedly, using both his ray gun and his hands. He pulled her by the hair to the very front of the stage to make an example of her. With each vocal point he made to the crowd he would hit her once more.

“No one escapes from our compounds.” Slap.

“No one enters BL/IND unauthorised.” Slap.

“No one takes my prisoners.” Slap.

Her face was already showing the purple of the bruises he was giving her. Each time Korse’s hand made contact with her skin the killjoys closest to her would flinch, their hearts aching for her, tears forming in their eyes, as she was broken down in front of them. Time seemed to be being drawn out until she had been pushed violently to the ground. Things quickly sped up as Korse fired random shots out into the hanger, not caring who he hit.

Finally he stopped shooting, leaping from the stage to walk through the mass of people. He was lecturing them on what was to come for them when he began to wean them on to his side. Some people were drawn to the figure on the stage, though. Lady Killer laid their lifeless, her dress torn, her hair dishevelled, and her foundation streaked with tears. No one knew whether she was alive or dead.

A draculoid quickly entered the hanger and shouted out to Korse. “Boss, it’s ready!”

Korse and all the draculoids who had infiltrated the hanger quickly left through the doors. Their actioned stunned the crowd of killjoys for a few moments, but they quickly sprung to action, checking on everyone around them and all the bodies that had been shot down to the floor during Korse’s rampage. Party Poison and Fun Ghoul were on their way to Lady Killer when...

BANG!

The hanger exploded into an inferno of flames, beams falling, trapping all the killjoys.