Hold on Tight and Don't Look Back

“Hello ladies.”

Cyanide tried her hardest not to tremble. The voice was unmistakably familiar and probably their worst nightmare. It was from sheer determination that she remained calm and upright. She glanced to her left at Exterminator, who was trying (and failing) to keep her face free of panic.

“Korse,” Cyanide said coolly, “What an altogether pleasant surprise.”

There was a chuckle from behind them and this time, Cyanide Revenge couldn’t hide the shiver that ran up her spine. She knew that Korse was evil, but somehow, being in the same room with him and his Dracs made it more real.

She was hyperaware of the eyes on her. She felt her heavy boots, the ripped fishnets on her legs, and her leather jacket, weighing on her shoulders. Her raygun was tucked in the back of her shorts haphazardly. A million plans ran through her head, each as unlikely as the next.

“So the rumors are true,” he said thoughtfully, “Two new Killjoys running around doing the dirty work of those other nuisances.”

Cyanide was trying to buy them time. If Exterminator could get her gun out, they would have a chance. She glanced at her best friend, who gave her the most startling look Cyanide would ever read on her face: Keep talking.

“They’re not nuisances, they’re fucking heroes,” she spat, turning her head and glancing peripherally through her purple hair at her enemy. He looked mildly angry but mostly entertained. He was well put together in his white suit, his arms crossed and a raygun dangling lightly from his fingers.

“Heroes? Some heroes they are, leaving their friend to bide his time with us. Let’s just say Jet Star hasn’t been having the time of his life. He’s uncooperative at best and he knew nothing about the two girls staying with his friends.”

“And how would you know about us anyway?” Cyanide said, spitting on the floor in his direction. Her anger was flaring now. Korse was arrogant and unforgiving. He’d already thought he won, he thought everything was over.

“Even I hear Killjoy rumors, you brave little fool. Isn’t it interesting? Two groups of Killjoys settling down and playing house in Zone 3? Almost as interesting as a deluded mentor turning his back on his prodigy’s. I’ve been looking for you Dr.”

Exterminator and Cyanide watched in near horror as Dr. D grinned at Korse. Each Killjoy glanced at the Dracs surrounding them. There were at least ten that they could see, not counting the few that were probably Korse’s guard.

There was a huge chance of them all dying.

“I think you will find that I am neither deluded nor that I have turned my back on the Fab 4 Korse. My, ah, prodigy’s as you say, have been doing quite well on their own,” Dr. D answered calmly. He glanced at Exterminator and then Cyanide.

Both girls simultaneously moved their hands slowly to drop their masks over their eyes. Korse laughed to himself. Die with your mask on if you’ve got to. It was one of the first lessons that Cyanide had ever learned. It occurred to her that Korse had never even seen her face.

“Yes they have done well, haven’t they? Recruiting two weak, idiot girls who are about to get themselves and you killed for absolutely nothing. Even their little boyfriends will die, shortly after them.”

“You’re forgetting something Korse,” Exterminator said finally. Her voice was like cold steel and it was obvious that Korse was surprised to hear such a cutting edge to her tone. He snorted quietly.

“And what might that be?”

“We’re Killjoys.”

At those words, Cyanide sprung into action. She kicked high at the nearest Drac, knocking him clean into another. She ducked as she was shot at and pulled out her own gun, shooting three Dracs with the deadly precision she was known for.

Exterminator was shooting steadily and trying to ghost as many Dracs as possible. Korse looked furious and both girls aimed at him before being preoccupied with Dracs. Cyanide kicked one straight in the chest and then shot it as it fell back. She saw Exterminator across the room, flipping delicately off of a table and shooting the Drac that cornered her in the back.

From the same door that she herself had emerged from, Cyanide noticed Show Pony. She barked a quick order at him, just to get Dr. D into their car. He obliged, knocking Dracs out of his way.

A beam from a raygun missed her face narrowly and she whirled around, staring directly at Korse. She smiled and then raised her gun, pointing it at his chest. At the moment she pulled the trigger, a beam grazed her leg and a Drac slammed into her.

She punched it in the face from the ground and then shot, close range. There were Dracs everywhere, more than she had anticipated originally. Her and Exterminator had managed to kill at least 12 altogether and yet there were still 15 standing.

“Baby, get the fuck out of here!”

“Not without you!”

It occurred to Cyanide for a moment that it would be easy to die. She could kill as many Dracs as possible, keep Korse distracted, and let her friends get away. She would be a legend; Cyanide Revenge, the girl who died with her mask on, the girl who sacrificed herself for her friends.

But dying wasn’t an adventure she was ready to undertake.

“Then let’s go,” she said grabbing her friends arm and running. They ran out of the building, Dracs at their heels. The car was already running, both doors open with Dr. D and Show Pony in the backseat. Both looked mildly anxious.

Exterminator slid into the driver’s seat and Cyanide threw herself over the hood of the car, turning and ghosting a Drac, before rolling into her seat. Exterminator was speeding out of the dirt and onto the road before her door was even shut.

Without a word, Cyanide was propped out of the window, aiming at Drac cars. There were only two behind them at the moment. Her first few shots missed their target, or hit the hoods. After ducking a few beams, she finally hit the tire of the front car, which swerved into the second, knocking both off the road.

She got back into the car, closing her window and whipping her mask off. She wanted to celebrate and scream in happiness. Minutes ago they had all looked death in the eye and laughed in its face. There was still, however, a lot on the line.

Korse was still alive and behind them somewhere. He was the immediate threat to them and the guys, who they were speeding to. A quick glance at Exterminator’s determined face and the speedometer at 120 miles per hour told Cyanide that the adrenaline coursing through her veins wasn’t just left over.

“So Doc what exactly were you saying about information that could get people killed?” Cyanide asked, wiping the sweat off her forehead and placing her mask back over her eyes. She didn’t want to risk getting caught with it off again.

“That is information best left to be explained when we’re all together,” he said quietly, an amused smile on his face.

Cyanide sighed, checking the mirrors and surrounding landscape. It soon became clear that despite the high speed, it would be hours before we reached the guys and that those hours would be filled with an uncomfortable, fidgeting silence.

“You okay Baby?” Cyanide asked softly. Her friend had a tear escaping from her eye and her knuckles were white on the steering wheel. Apparently only just taking notice of her present condition, Exterminator wiped away the tear and loosened her grip.

“I just faced the man that killed my father and I was powerless against him. Now, it’s a fucking race against time to the only people I care about except for you. I’m alive but just a little fuckin’ stressed,” she said. Cyanide laughed.

“You were pretty badass with that ‘we’re Killjoys’ line though, not gonna lie,” she said, the smile on her face only faked a little bit. They were alive and there was an increasingly large chance that they would make it to Party, Fun, and Kobra in time.

“I’m pretty badass all the time Cy, you just don’t notice,” she teased lightly. It was a tension-filled banter just to fill the silence.

Eventually, the girls got tired of pretending and each settled into their own silent thoughts. Dr. D and Show Pony spoke rarely and usually in whispers. Hours passed and soon the sun was low in the sky. They entered into Zone 3 and suspense filled the car. Adrenaline shot through the hearts of the girls as they pulled down the dirt road to the only place they could call home.

The beat up Trans-Am was there and Exterminator stopped next to it. Cyanide was out of the car before it stopped and Exterminator was behind her. She shouted a warning that it was them before barreling into the house. Exterminator’s eyes fell on Fun, alive and well albeit a little startled, and she threw her arms around him.

“We have to go, now. We had a run-in with Korse himself, almost fucking died. Dr. D is in the car and this motherfucker is on his way,” Cyanide was saying.

Her and Party looked at each other with a ferocious intensity. The guys all looked somewhat slack jawed at the news of Dr. D. Cyanide decided that they weren’t moving fast enough and started throwing stuff into packs.

“Wait, you found him? Where?” Kobra asked.

“There’s time to explain later but he was at the radio station. Didn’t bother looking there, did you?” she asked, smirking. “It was Baby’s idea. Now, we can stay here like sitting ducks and get killed or we can run and hear what the Dr. has to say that apparently can get people killed.”

The choice was easy, obviously. The boys packed quickly and followed the girls out to the cars. It was almost hard to be leaving the small house with a sense of finality. It had become a home in the middle of the desert. But Killjoys had to keep running, no matter what.

As Kobra and Fun greeted Dr. Death Defying, Party pulled Cyanide back into a hug. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, feeling so relieved that she might cry. Here he was, in front of her, and she was there and alive. She leaned back and ran a hand through his bright hair.

“I came back to you,” she said. He smiled tightly and let her go. There had been enough time wasted. Cyanide got into the driver’s side as Party nodded to Dr. D. It was obvious that Party was angry at his mentor for deserting them.

Exterminator hugged Fun before she got into the passenger’s side. Kobra leaned out of the window to talk to Cyanide quickly.

“Follow us babe, we know a spot to go.”

Cyanide nodded and revved the engine. He leaned back out of the window with a lopsided grin on his face. “And Cyanide,” he said, gaining her attention, “It’s good to see ya breathing.”

They both pulled out of the dirt road, speeding as they hit gravel. Cyanide turned on the radio and raised the volume. The wind whipped through their hair as they followed the guys. Their destination was unclear but as Cyanide stepped on the gas to keep up, one thing was absolutely clear:

They were alive, and they were fighting.