Happy Dagger and the Fabulous Killjoys
Chapter 7: Road Trip
“Okay, I can’t take this. Are you going to tell me what happened back there?” Violence finally blurts out after a minute or so of driving.
“Yeah, Dagger. What was that?” Party Poison asks.
“Well, right now, we’re on the highway. I saw the highway warning signs when we were getting closer. That’s when I realized we were going to hit it. We were going too fast to stop and couldn't afford another run-around with the car. So, I figured, the only way were going to make it is if we got on the highway, jerked left so that we wouldn’t crash into the median, and turned off our headlights so the Dracs in the car will never know what happened.”
Everyone was silent.
“What?” I asked.
“That’s insane,” Jet Star says. “How did that even work?”
“I honestly have no idea, but let’s all take a moment and thank our lucky stars it did,” I reply. I turn to look at Kobra, who has been silent the whole time.
Kobra looks back at me and laughs.
“What?” I demand.
“Nice pajamas.” He says.
I can feel my cheeks turning red. Of course, I completely forgot I am still wearing my pajamas.
“You better not be saying anything.” I say loudly. “I saved all of your butts!” This earns a burst of laughter from everybody.
~#~
After a while, everyone started to get antsy. I unzipped my bag and pulled out a pack of jerky.
“Takers, anyone?” I said and waved the bag back and forth.
“Oooh, jerky!” Ghoul says as he grabs the bag and rips it open. He hands a piece to Fist and Jet Star and gnaws on one himself.
“It was smart of you to pack that bag beforehand.” Party Poison says as he looks at us through the mirror.
“Thanks.” I say. “Fist’s idea.” Fist and Violence each hold up their own bag.
Poison smiles and replies, “Nice.”
I look out the window to see the first few rays of sunlight peeking up from the horizon.
“Hey Fist,” I say to my friend in the second row. “What time is it?”
She glances at her watch and replies, “5:45.”
I can’t help but groan. We’ve been on the road for about an hour now, so that means we’re somewhere around Zone 5. We won’t make it to Zone 2 until the evening.
I yawned and finally realized how tired I was. With the car chase and waking up in the middle of the night, we only got about four hours of sleep. I grabbed my bag once again and lay it under my head. It was filled with food cans and other lumpy supplies, but it’ll work as a makeshift pillow. I curled up into a ball around it and closed my eyes.
~#~
I woke up later to find many others asleep as well. Fist is leaned up against the side door, Violence is curled up in the front seat, and Ghoul is sprawled across the middle row. I looked outside and saw the sun was directly above us. Dang. I slept until noontime.
“Oh,” says Party Poison from the front seat. “Look who’s awake.”
“Yeah,” I reply groggily. “Where are we?”
“Somewhere in the middle of Zone 4,” He says back. “We’ll be stopping soon for some lunch.”
I nod and pull my bag out from under my head. I paw around inside of it until I find what I am looking for. An old, battered book filled with scribbles and highlights from the days I was still in school. I’ve read it over a dozen times, but each time I do, I love it even more than before.
“What book is that?” asks Kobra Kid from the seat next to me.
“To Kill a Mockingbird,” I reply as I open to the first page.
“Wow, that’s an old one.” He says and studies the cover.
“Yeah, that’s why I like it,” I say. “It reminds me of the times where we weren’t controlled by an all powerful government facility.”
I pause and add, “That and it’s an American classic.”
“Was,” interjected Poison from the front seat. “You don’t see books like that around anymore. All there is now is fake digital wannabes.”
I smile, look down at my page, and begin reading. I tune everything out for the next hour. My world is now in Macomb, Alabama dealing with the mysterious Boo Radley and Tom Robinson’s upcoming trial. Reading is my small dose of relief from this chaotic, maddening world of ours. I finally am allowed to be free within my own mind, even if the government tells me not to.
“Yeah, Dagger. What was that?” Party Poison asks.
“Well, right now, we’re on the highway. I saw the highway warning signs when we were getting closer. That’s when I realized we were going to hit it. We were going too fast to stop and couldn't afford another run-around with the car. So, I figured, the only way were going to make it is if we got on the highway, jerked left so that we wouldn’t crash into the median, and turned off our headlights so the Dracs in the car will never know what happened.”
Everyone was silent.
“What?” I asked.
“That’s insane,” Jet Star says. “How did that even work?”
“I honestly have no idea, but let’s all take a moment and thank our lucky stars it did,” I reply. I turn to look at Kobra, who has been silent the whole time.
Kobra looks back at me and laughs.
“What?” I demand.
“Nice pajamas.” He says.
I can feel my cheeks turning red. Of course, I completely forgot I am still wearing my pajamas.
“You better not be saying anything.” I say loudly. “I saved all of your butts!” This earns a burst of laughter from everybody.
~#~
After a while, everyone started to get antsy. I unzipped my bag and pulled out a pack of jerky.
“Takers, anyone?” I said and waved the bag back and forth.
“Oooh, jerky!” Ghoul says as he grabs the bag and rips it open. He hands a piece to Fist and Jet Star and gnaws on one himself.
“It was smart of you to pack that bag beforehand.” Party Poison says as he looks at us through the mirror.
“Thanks.” I say. “Fist’s idea.” Fist and Violence each hold up their own bag.
Poison smiles and replies, “Nice.”
I look out the window to see the first few rays of sunlight peeking up from the horizon.
“Hey Fist,” I say to my friend in the second row. “What time is it?”
She glances at her watch and replies, “5:45.”
I can’t help but groan. We’ve been on the road for about an hour now, so that means we’re somewhere around Zone 5. We won’t make it to Zone 2 until the evening.
I yawned and finally realized how tired I was. With the car chase and waking up in the middle of the night, we only got about four hours of sleep. I grabbed my bag once again and lay it under my head. It was filled with food cans and other lumpy supplies, but it’ll work as a makeshift pillow. I curled up into a ball around it and closed my eyes.
~#~
I woke up later to find many others asleep as well. Fist is leaned up against the side door, Violence is curled up in the front seat, and Ghoul is sprawled across the middle row. I looked outside and saw the sun was directly above us. Dang. I slept until noontime.
“Oh,” says Party Poison from the front seat. “Look who’s awake.”
“Yeah,” I reply groggily. “Where are we?”
“Somewhere in the middle of Zone 4,” He says back. “We’ll be stopping soon for some lunch.”
I nod and pull my bag out from under my head. I paw around inside of it until I find what I am looking for. An old, battered book filled with scribbles and highlights from the days I was still in school. I’ve read it over a dozen times, but each time I do, I love it even more than before.
“What book is that?” asks Kobra Kid from the seat next to me.
“To Kill a Mockingbird,” I reply as I open to the first page.
“Wow, that’s an old one.” He says and studies the cover.
“Yeah, that’s why I like it,” I say. “It reminds me of the times where we weren’t controlled by an all powerful government facility.”
I pause and add, “That and it’s an American classic.”
“Was,” interjected Poison from the front seat. “You don’t see books like that around anymore. All there is now is fake digital wannabes.”
I smile, look down at my page, and begin reading. I tune everything out for the next hour. My world is now in Macomb, Alabama dealing with the mysterious Boo Radley and Tom Robinson’s upcoming trial. Reading is my small dose of relief from this chaotic, maddening world of ours. I finally am allowed to be free within my own mind, even if the government tells me not to.