Hopeless for You

The storm died down while we slept. Dr. Death was keeping track on his satellite radar, announcing it over his radio broadcast every hour. Of course I had a sleepless night. No nightmares. I just couldn't stay asleep long enough.

I rolled out of bed at 3 AM and went for a walk around the bunker. My eyes were half-closed and I began to slow down. Suddenly, I tripped over my feet, falling to the floor on my front. I groaned into the carpet and turned on my side.

Why am I still alive? Why am I still here?

"What're you doing on the floor?" a voice that belonged to a female asked. I rolled on my back and saw Mortician and Destroya standing a few feet away from me.

"What're you doing out of bed?" I countered.

"Touché." Mortician mumbled.

"Can't sleep." I mumbled, turning on my side again.

"Neither can we." Destroya spoke up. I sat up and shrugged. "Mind if we join?" I shook my head. The girls sat to my right, Mortician to Destroya's right.

"So, where were you before Jet and Pony found you guys?" I asked.

"Stranded out on Route Guano." Destroya replied. "You know, like, on the out-skirts of Battery City.

"Do you all know each other?"

"Revenge and I are good friends." Mortician answered, her tone slightly melancholy. She was staring at her hands in her lap and biting her bottom lip. "We lived in Oklahoma for a long time. She's from Battery City. We met in middle school." she paused. "When the bombing started, I didn't know how to react. I gave up, right then, and decided to lay down and die with everything and everyone I love."

"You didn't want to fight for your life?" I asked her, anger bubbling inside me. "For everything and everyone you love?"

"How do you fight a bomb, Poison?" She was sobbing now. Destroya took Mortician's hand comfortingly.

"I was all by myself," Destroya began. "A lone wolf. For 5 months. Lucky found me asleep on the beach, er, what was left of it, and brought me to the group."

"That was after we found Grace, too." Mortician added, smiling at her thoughts. "God, she is such a darling. The sweetest thing. Reminds me of my baby girl, Blair."

That froze me completely. The girls fell silent, either expecting me to say something, or mourning Blair. I wondered if Blair was anything like my sweet baby girl...

"How did you guys meet?" Destroya asked me.

"Well, Kobra's my brother, Jet was already here with Dr. Death and Show Pony." I paused and the memory-the horrific memory of Ghoul's mangled ashen body-flashed across my mind. "Fun Ghoul, um, I found him in the woods around a children's playground. He was crushed under a chunk of bricks from a nearby building. Er, his ankle was crushed. He was there for two days before I found him. Kobra was already here, taking shelter."

"Where were you?" Mortician asked, her eyes narrowed in curiosity.

That memory flooded back, too, fresh as if it happened seconds ago.

"I'm going to bed." I yawned, avoiding the question and leaving the girls with their wandering imaginations.