We Can Live Forever

"The fabulous killjoys?" I arched my eyebrow incredulously.
His cocky grin faded.
"You've never heard of us?"
"Should I have?"
"Yes, you should have! We're on Dr.D's radio station!"
"Does it look like poor ass shit like us have enough money to buy a fuckin' radio?"
He looked me over.
"On second thought, no, I don't believe you would. Let me introduce ourselves. I'm Party Poison." He gestured to the short one, "That's Fun Ghoul," The afroed man, "That's Jet Star" The blonde Dracula, "And that's Kobra Kid."
"Well, I'm Bulletproof Adrenaline." I pointed to Riley. "That's Star-Fire Bright," Nodded to Paige, "And that's Paranoia Acid."
Party Poison grinned again.
"Pleasure to meet you."
A hand reached out into the open air, calling for mine.
His handshake was firm. A sign of good leadership, I suppose.
I glanced toward the horizon, watching the blazing sun sink ever-so slowly beneath the clouds.
A shiver went through my body as the first gust of the night flushed the desert. What most people didn't know about deserts and Zone 6 in general, was that the days were sweltering hot and the nights freezing cold.
It was one of the bad things about being a Killjoy.
Riley must have noticed that, since she wrapped my leather jacket on my shoulders.
"Night is approaching. We need to build a fire." Her voice was like chipped velvet.
Jet Star nodded. "Agreed." And paced to the back of the Trans-Am. Kobra Kid followed closely behind. There was loud clunks as they pulled firewood from the trunk and carried it back to us.
He lifted his head, and somehow, I knew what he wanted. I rummaged through my many pockets, before finding the lighter and throwing it straight for the logs, lock already released.
Flames were always home to me.
***
Later that night, when I was curled up beside Riley, who was snoring like a man, I saw the four boys talking to each other in hushed voices, seriousness radiating from the circle.
"BL/ind won't be that easy to get into, Frank!" Party Poison argued. "You know that they will get information that we are coming."
Fun Ghoul growled. "I know it won't be easy! But, we need to! Dr. D is counting on us to take them down, and the least we can do is get them on their knees so that someone else can finish them."
Jet Star rolled his eyes. "Even if we can get in, how do you suggest that we knock 'em down a few pegs? Who, or what, would we attack to accomplish that?"
"Korse and the Scarecrow Unit of course! BL/ind would practically be shark bait without them."
Kobra Kid lifted his head, and without his sunglasses, I could see that his sharp eyes held the wisdom of a man many years older than himself.
"I agree with Frank. If we took out the Scarecrow Unit, they WOULD be defenseless. The Scarecrow Unit is their defense, so if we took them out, Bl/ind would be easy as pie."
Fun Gho- Frank, sighed in relief. "Thank you, Mikey. "
Party Poison shook his head in disbelief, but said nothing.
"We should get to sleep, guys." Jet Star said, "If we are going to plan this shit out, we are going to need our rest."
The four of them agreed and they curled up in a semicircle, Party Poison's hand resting on the top of Mikey's head.
***
The following morning, I clambered out of my position and stretched. Looking around the campsite, I saw Party Poison with an open can of Power Pup, cigarette in hand.
Walking over, I took a seat next to him and stared out across the desert.
"Want one?"
His scratchy morning voice woke me from my staring, making my eyes turn toward his outstretched hand, which had a pack in it.
I nodded gratefully and took it, lighting the tip.
I took a quick a whiff as he began to speak.
"We plan on attacking BL/ind. I was wondering if you guys wanted to come along. We could use some help. More brains."
I exhaled, nodding.
"Yeah, I'd love to. The only action we seem to be getting in this zone is a lot of Dracs."
He grinned.
"Awesome."
****
A little while later, the whole lot of us were awake and packed into the Trans-Am, speeding through sand.
The wind was vicious, wiping through my unkempt hair.
And then, all of a sudden, Party Poison slammed on the brakes.
"What the hell, man?" Frank yelped as his face bonked on the back of his seat.
"There's....there's a kid in the road."
I stood on top of my seat, staring in front of the car.
There was.
There was a little girl, with a mini Afro squeezing a teddy bear.