Holding Out for the Wishing Well

“So, been here long?” Gerard asked as Kel lead him through the city, taking him through lesser-used alleys and down side streets that seemed to be so far off the radar they were invisible. Shady people stood in the shadows, conducting deals and thieving in the darkness.
“I’ve been dead for three years, if that’s what you’re asking.” Kel shrugged. “I don’t really miss much of Earth.”
“Oh.” Gerard said softly, and Kel turned to shoot him a sympathetic look over her shoulder.
“Sorry skip, but you’ll get used to it here. It can’t be too different from what you’re used to if you wound up here, anyway.” Seeing that Gerard still hadn’t cheered up, Kel suddenly seized his wrist. “C’mon, I know where the fun is down here.” She towed him quickly through the overlooked passageways of the underworld, laughing slightly if he couldn’t keep up as she vaulted a dilapidated fence or scaled a rusting fire escape. She kept glancing back at him as if to ascertain that he really was there, right up until she reached an alley packed with thugs, all of which stood around a campfire in a trashcan.
“Here we are.” Kel grinned, pulling Gerard forward. She knew he’d never find this place on his own, and she was glad; she knew better than to trust fresh skips. “This is one of the ways we have fun.” She showed him the way people were playing card games, every one of them cheating, the way people were pounding beers and singing songs, the way some people were roasting various foods over the fire. It was somehow lively and fun, even if it was a gathering of thieves and murderers in the deepest rings of Hell.
Kel pulled Gerard right into the thick of things, introducing him to the underworld as if it were one of her closest friends. Gerard found himself laughing with her, singing along as he learned the words to the raucous songs, thoroughly enjoying himself. He and Kel passed a beer back and forth, relishing the pleasant buzz, though staying alert enough to keep an eye out for trouble.
By the time Kel finally towed Gerard away from the others, he found he was sorry to go. A glance at the sky showed the sickly sun hovering in the murky sky, though it took Gerard a moment to realize that it was rising. He had spent the night with the very cutthroats he was supposed to be doing away with. Kel isn’t like them. She’s some sort of vigilante. She stopped those thugs from before. Gerard thought, grinning at his newfound friend, who grinned back, her impish eyes dancing. Something about her seemed like she would never grow up, but in a good way. Like the way Jane had managed to stay young at heart even after she left Peter Pan and Neverland. Kel was holding Gerard’s hand by then, leading him back home. Their one shared beer had become several, and both were slightly tipsy enough to need help keeping their balance.
Their lighthearted journey down the sidewalk was interrupted when Kel glanced ahead, suddenly scowling, and she dragged Gerard into the nearest alley. Gerard saw Ray walking up the opposite side of the road in his Killjoy gear, gun drawn, and moved to shout to him before Kel covered his mouth.
“Shut it, skip.” Kel ordered. “He’s a Killjoy. His gun is the only thing that can end us out here. You’ve gotta stay away from them if you wanna make it, okay?” She met his eyes, impressing her point on him, before cautiously removing her hand. “The knives I stuck in those idiots before? They won’t even scar, once they heal up. Those guns are the only damage.” She rolled up her sleeve, revealing a shiny, long, narrow burn scorched into her upper arm. “The last Killjoys had it out for me, one of the bastards just grazed me. Damn, it didn’t heal up for months.” Kel shook her head in irritation. “It’s awful, but I was almost glad to see them go – it’ll be a while before the newbies get it down. Like this guy, everyone sees him coming and scatters. He won’t see a single soul tonight, not even a drunk one.”
“Why not?” Gerard asked.
“Those stupid colors.” Kel snorted. “Come on, skip, are you blind? There’s nothing ‘pretty’ here other than that idiot’s mask and gun. He sticks out like a sore thumb. The rest of us are just shadows in the dark, ghosts in the snow.”
Gerard nodded slowly, understanding that point. “So if they weren’t so colorful, they’d have better luck?”
“Yeah. And maybe they wouldn’t get creamed so easily. Mostly, they just have to learn to sneak around.” Kel agreed.
“What happened to the last Killjoys?” Gerard asked suddenly, realizing he didn’t know. He was alarmed by the scowl Kel was twisting at the sidewalk, though he tried not to show it when she met his eyes.
“A bunch of thieves, murderers, cutthroats, the like; they all went and found a Killjoy patrolling all by himself, just like that one.” Kel nodded in the direction Ray had disappeared. “They beat the shit out of him and killed him with his own gun. Then they picked off all the other Killjoys the same way. The last one standing, he had it worst. He knew what was coming, and he had to watch his friends drop like flies. He knew he couldn’t win, not against the entire underworld.” Kel shook her head, a twisted smile forming on her lips. “He knew. So when they finally caught up to him, they took their time. They played with him first. Tortured him for a bit. Then they killed him real slow, using each of his friends’ guns, then killing him with his own.” Kel sighed, looking almost haunted. “It’s a shame, because it happens to every batch of Killjoys, sooner or later. The little fucker in charge picks some saps who thought they could change the world, the best of the best, and sends them on down to Hell to get erased for good. These new Killjoys are as dead as the last eight sets.”
Gerard swallowed, not liking this new perspective on afterlife. He’d felt invincible before, but now…. “About… how long do the Killjoys last?”
“Well, it depends.” Kel shrugged. “The last few sets barely made a week, and there were six each time.”
Once Kel was absolutely certain that the Killjoy was gone, she lead Gerard out of the alley, casting a quick, wistful glance after the Killjoy, then turning to Gerard. “Where do you live? All I need to know is what’s carved on your door.”
“A spider.” Gerard answered, wondering if it was a mistake to tell her that. She was frowning as she thought that over, repeating the word over and over under her breath, until her eyes lit up in realization.
“Oh, you lucky bastard.” She chuckled, clapping Gerard on the back. “You live on the good side of town.” She trotted off, Gerard working to keep up as she answered his questions about previous Killjoys.
When they finally reached the house, Kel gave a low, appreciative whistle. “Nice place.” She nodded approvingly, then grinned at Gerard, her already impish eyes dancing wickedly. “I’m not much of one for heartfelt farewells, so I guess I’ll just see you around, skip. Don’t be locked out, now, or I’ll have to find you someone to deal with.”
Gerard grinned, then headed up the steps, opening the door and grinning at Kel as if it were the greatest thing in the world. She shot him a wink, and he headed inside, immediately turning to look out the window, but Kel had already vanished, although there were no alleys nearby for her to slink off into.
-
“Skip! I was getting worried!” A familiar voice laughed, and Gerard turned too see Kel wandering down the decrepit sidewalk towards him. “Two whole days without seeing the fresh meat? That’s gotta be some sort of record!”
Gerard grinned at her, glad he’d just sent Mikey off with Frankie. The two were relentless, always patrolling in their Killjoy gear. Gerard, however, stuck mostly to his Black Parade uniform, though he’d been out several times as a Killjoy. He’d already taken down several unsavory souls on the hit list he’d been given. “Please, you couldn’t get rid of me that easily.”
Kel winked at Gerard, then immediately whisked him off to show him more fun in the underworld. She took him to the railroad tracks, ducking out of sight of Mikey and Frankie just before they got spotted, and lead him a long way down the rails, jumping happily from tie to tie.
“Aren’t you too old for things like this?” Gerard teased as Kel bounced about, laughing at her own silliness.
“Never!” She grinned back, the most vibrantly alive being Gerard had met in the underworld. He wondered how she’d wound up there, in the corrupt, polluted cesspool of human waste. She seemed far too innocent, too sweet, too alive to be in Hell. She was far from broken, beaten, or damned. Kel chose that moment to seize Gerard's hands, tugging him to stand on a rail tie and pulling him with her when she leapt to the next one. He found himself laughing and joining in her game, keeping a tight hold on one of her hands as if it anchored him to the tracks.
By the time they were out of breath and the sun was falling in the sky, Kel finally pulled Gerard off the tracks, leading him down what looked like a deer track through overgrown, dying grasses and weeds.
Gerard found himself standing in a grassy field, stretching far off in all directions, the city skyline just visible to the west, thrown into sharp relief as the sun set behind it. The colors were vivid, even more than on Earth, because the sky was already scarlet and the sun was dangerously green. Purples, oranges, and peacock blues streaked the sky, as well as colors he had never seen before, even in all his years as an artist. Out here, so far from the city, there was nearly no smog to dilute the colors, and Gerard found it all breathtaking. He glanced at Kel, who was smiling at the sunset with a dreamy, faraway look in her grey eyes.
“I come here a lot. It’s nice, to get out for a while. It helps me think.” Kel explained softly, then promptly flopped onto her back in the tall grass, making a cross-shaped indent as she spread her arms out to either side as if crucified, her ankles crossed as she stared up at the sky.
Gerard followed suit and was amazed to see faint lights dancing above him in the sky, which was growing darker with every passing second. Some were colored, some were white, and some moved, while others blinked or flashed different colors. “What are they?” he asked, the lights becoming clearer as he stared longer and longer, though they remained faint.
“I used to think they were stars, but…” Kel began, pausing before continuing. “The moving ones are headlights. The colorful ones are ads, storefronts, casinos, parades, concerts, anything you can think of. We’re looking at life, Gerard. Everything you see up there is something you used to know.”
Gerard lay silently for a while, thinking that over. He wondered if any of the lights were on in his old friends’ houses, if he could see them. Was someone playing a concert at a venue he frequented as a teenager? Was someone cashing in big time at some over-the-top casino?
“Kel, if we’re looking up at… Earth… is Earth really looking up at… at Heaven?” Gerard finally asked, and Kel sighed.
“I don’t know, Gerard. We all wound up here for a reason. Would they really let hellions like us catch a glimpse of Heaven? I doubt whoever passed judgment on us ever wanted us seeing Heaven’s light at all.”
After a long silence, as they watched the lights of Earth shining above them, Kel sat up, looking around the dark field. When Gerard followed suit, he was shocked to see small lights fading in and out of existence all around them, in gentle blues and reds.
“Fireflies.” Kel smiled, pulling a clear jar out of he hoodie’s pocket. She leapt up, dancing around with it, scooping firefly after firefly inside. Gerard walked up to her, hands cupped, and offered his catch for the jar, the lights dancing across both their faces as they grinned at each other.
“See? Now we can get back.” Kel grinned at Gerard, taking his hand in her free one and using the jar to light their way with her free hand. Both avoided looking at the cityscape ahead of them, which was illuminated by firelight and the rare flash of a Killjoy’s gun. “They’re busy tonight.” Kel said softly. “I’m going to take you straight home, okay? I don’t want you coming out again until daylight. Those Killjoys are heartless, for avenging angels.”
“Heartless?” Gerard asked, and Kel looked at him in disbelief.
“Gerard, all they do is shoot us. Not all of us had a choice in how we lived, some of us were forced into Hell. It’s not our fault that we’re here.” Kel said bitterly. “And those fucking Killjoys, think they’re all high and mighty, all ‘holier-than-thou,’ just erasing anyone who looks like they belong here!” Kel kicked a particularly stiff weed, sending a branch-like stalk skittering off into the darkness. “I bet they never even asked what happens to everyone they kill in Hell.”
“What does happen?”
Kel looked at Gerard, trying to hide her pain and fear behind anger and disgust. “They’re just erased, Gerard. This is the end of the line; if you’re done here, you’re just gone. No one remembers you, and no one cares that you’re gone. There’s nothing after this, Gerard, nothing.”
Gerard let that sink in, feeling rotten about being a Killjoy. Was it really right to just erase everyone here? Wasn’t Hell meant for the damned? What about the broken, the beaten?[i/] Whispered a small voice at the back of Gerard’s mind. They’re here, too. They should be protected from the damned. The damned are gone, there’s no saving them. Gerard sighed, running a hand through his hair. He’d blacked it again, not liking the way his hair matched the mockery of the sky. But how do I tell the bastards from the beaten?