Happy Dagger and the Fabulous Killjoys
Chapter 4: Keep Running
“And this is the vase we found in a restaurant near Zone 3. We call it the sasquatch vase because the lady on here looks like a yeti…” I hear Violence say as we enter the house. I pause to let Fist bolt the door and then continue to the kitchen.
“This way!” I call over my shoulder as I lead Kobra through the halls of Benvolio’s Goat. Fist Kiss follows closely behind. As we near the kitchen, I can hear Violence’s tour growing louder and louder.
“Geez,” I say as I turn to Fist. “She’s really talking their ears off.”
“No kidding,” says Kobra. “She spent a whole minute talking about front door. I had to get out of there.”
Fist and I laugh. Classic Violence. We climbed up the steps to enter the second floor.
“Over here,” I say as lead I up another small flight of stairs to make our way to the kitchen.
The kitchen was large and modern. Dark wood cabinets lined the tops of the walls. Black laminate countertops stretch across the corner of the room, reaching the two broken refrigerators. In the middle of the room, there was a stainless steel island. I nodded toward it.
“Just put those down right there,” I say as I lay my crates on the opposite side. I begin to reach into them and pull out supplies. Kobra and Fist did the same. Soon various food and supplies were scattered across the island.
“Geez, where’d you get all this stuff?” I asked Fist.
“Oh! I forgot to tell you. We found a Wal-Mart out in Zone 5. It had been blocked by a massive pile of rubble, but we got through eventually.”
“You got coffee?” Kobra says as he picks up a bag with his eyes widened. “You seriously got some coffee!”
“Uh, yeah. Want some?” Fist asks.
“Yes, please.” He says eagerly. Fist puts a pot of water on the gas stove and opens the coffee.
“I must warn you, though.” She says. “It’s not going to be good.”
As Fist and Kobra chat, I’m left to put away all the supplies. I sort out all the food and put it in the cabinet. The rest of the supplies I put neatly into a crate, which I carried into the open dining room situated right next to the kitchen.
“Dagger!” I hear Violence call.
“I’ll be right there!” I call back. I navigate my way back to the den, where the Killjoys are back on the couch, with Violence avidly talking to them.
“Oh, Dagger! So glad you’re here. I was just telling them about the time we faced those Dracs in Zone 4.” She eagerly told me.
“Uhm, Violence… You do realize we never faced anything.” I turned to speak to the Killjoys. “We saw them across an abandoned parking lot.”
“Okay, maybe I exaggerated a little.” Violence says with that devious look of hers.
“A little?” Jet says. “She told us you guys had an all-out battle.”
The Killjoys laugh and I can’t help but join in. You can’t help but love Violence and her crazy stories. As it dies down, I turn back to the Killjoys.
“While I’m down here, I might as well ask. Does anyone want coffee?”
Every hand shot up.
After dinner, I showed the Killjoys to their rooms while Fist and Violence clean up the kitchen. Since the Goat was an old firehouse, there were four bedrooms on the second floor for the firefighters. We only used up one, with all three of our single beds crammed into the tiny room. The other three rooms, however, were unoccupied.
“Here you go,” I say to the Killjoys. “You can use any of these three rooms any way you like.”
“Great, thanks,” says Party Poison. “This is awesome.”
“No problem.” I reply. “Night!” I wave back at the Killjoys and head to my room at the end of the hall. I quickly change into some pajama shorts and a tank top and crawl into bed. Soon, Violence and Fist creep in. They silently get dressed and get into their own beds.
“Night you guys,” I whisper.
“Night,” Fist says.
“Can I just freaking go to sleep?” Atomic Violence asks.
I laugh and reply, “Night, Vi.” I close my eyes and wander off to sleep.
~#~
I woke up to see a flashing light outside the window. I bolted out of my bed and groped for a flashlight. Finally finding the one Fist always keeps on the nightstand, I turn it on and tip toe outside the room to check and see what it was. Better safe than sorry. Making my way to the balcony, I scan outside for any signs of the light. Nope, maybe I just imagined it. I finally find my way to the sliding glass doors. I turn off the flashlight and step outside onto the balcony overlooking the desert of Zone 6. There! I wasn’t imagining it. The light was coming from a car in the distance, heading straight towards the Goat. I squinted and looked closer at the car. I could faintly make out the BLI symbol painted boldly on the front of the hood.
“This way!” I call over my shoulder as I lead Kobra through the halls of Benvolio’s Goat. Fist Kiss follows closely behind. As we near the kitchen, I can hear Violence’s tour growing louder and louder.
“Geez,” I say as I turn to Fist. “She’s really talking their ears off.”
“No kidding,” says Kobra. “She spent a whole minute talking about front door. I had to get out of there.”
Fist and I laugh. Classic Violence. We climbed up the steps to enter the second floor.
“Over here,” I say as lead I up another small flight of stairs to make our way to the kitchen.
The kitchen was large and modern. Dark wood cabinets lined the tops of the walls. Black laminate countertops stretch across the corner of the room, reaching the two broken refrigerators. In the middle of the room, there was a stainless steel island. I nodded toward it.
“Just put those down right there,” I say as I lay my crates on the opposite side. I begin to reach into them and pull out supplies. Kobra and Fist did the same. Soon various food and supplies were scattered across the island.
“Geez, where’d you get all this stuff?” I asked Fist.
“Oh! I forgot to tell you. We found a Wal-Mart out in Zone 5. It had been blocked by a massive pile of rubble, but we got through eventually.”
“You got coffee?” Kobra says as he picks up a bag with his eyes widened. “You seriously got some coffee!”
“Uh, yeah. Want some?” Fist asks.
“Yes, please.” He says eagerly. Fist puts a pot of water on the gas stove and opens the coffee.
“I must warn you, though.” She says. “It’s not going to be good.”
As Fist and Kobra chat, I’m left to put away all the supplies. I sort out all the food and put it in the cabinet. The rest of the supplies I put neatly into a crate, which I carried into the open dining room situated right next to the kitchen.
“Dagger!” I hear Violence call.
“I’ll be right there!” I call back. I navigate my way back to the den, where the Killjoys are back on the couch, with Violence avidly talking to them.
“Oh, Dagger! So glad you’re here. I was just telling them about the time we faced those Dracs in Zone 4.” She eagerly told me.
“Uhm, Violence… You do realize we never faced anything.” I turned to speak to the Killjoys. “We saw them across an abandoned parking lot.”
“Okay, maybe I exaggerated a little.” Violence says with that devious look of hers.
“A little?” Jet says. “She told us you guys had an all-out battle.”
The Killjoys laugh and I can’t help but join in. You can’t help but love Violence and her crazy stories. As it dies down, I turn back to the Killjoys.
“While I’m down here, I might as well ask. Does anyone want coffee?”
Every hand shot up.
After dinner, I showed the Killjoys to their rooms while Fist and Violence clean up the kitchen. Since the Goat was an old firehouse, there were four bedrooms on the second floor for the firefighters. We only used up one, with all three of our single beds crammed into the tiny room. The other three rooms, however, were unoccupied.
“Here you go,” I say to the Killjoys. “You can use any of these three rooms any way you like.”
“Great, thanks,” says Party Poison. “This is awesome.”
“No problem.” I reply. “Night!” I wave back at the Killjoys and head to my room at the end of the hall. I quickly change into some pajama shorts and a tank top and crawl into bed. Soon, Violence and Fist creep in. They silently get dressed and get into their own beds.
“Night you guys,” I whisper.
“Night,” Fist says.
“Can I just freaking go to sleep?” Atomic Violence asks.
I laugh and reply, “Night, Vi.” I close my eyes and wander off to sleep.
~#~
I woke up to see a flashing light outside the window. I bolted out of my bed and groped for a flashlight. Finally finding the one Fist always keeps on the nightstand, I turn it on and tip toe outside the room to check and see what it was. Better safe than sorry. Making my way to the balcony, I scan outside for any signs of the light. Nope, maybe I just imagined it. I finally find my way to the sliding glass doors. I turn off the flashlight and step outside onto the balcony overlooking the desert of Zone 6. There! I wasn’t imagining it. The light was coming from a car in the distance, heading straight towards the Goat. I squinted and looked closer at the car. I could faintly make out the BLI symbol painted boldly on the front of the hood.