Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys
Those Cloudy, Methane Skies.
Chapter 1.
Wow. Wake up. Sunshine, bam. No, not sunshine, flames. Three hours sleep, sluggish.
"Finally decided to join the barbecue yeah?"
Ignore him. Take precious moments to think things over. Try to remember. They were expecting us, again. Fuck. Need to sit up and gain clarity but experience sharp pain at the top of my left arm. Shit. Inspection reveals burnt, charred skin.
"Mmm they got you good Party."
I glance up at Fun Ghoul, hunched over the fire shovelling his face with pieces of who-knows-what meat, burnt almost as badly as my shoulder. The others are sleeping, crashed out on the floor. Kobra is snoring. Loudly. I start to panic; someone is missing.
"The girl? Where she?"
He gestures for me to calm down by raising the palm of his free hand, not bothering to pause his meal.
"Don't scare it. Girly gone for walk. Boreds. Felt bad for her, man."
Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Punch the floor with my left fist, the pain searing down my left arm only making me angrier.
"What the fuck Ghoul? You let her go alone? She could be dead now you know, while you chew meat! What the fuck! Fuck! You can't be acting real right now."
He threw his grub to the ground, stood up and pointed straight at me. "Hey man, I ain't no babysit person. I like to kill Dracs. Saving kiddies, that's not my shit. Want girl, go get girl."
Idiot. Get up and start moving towards him. Pain in right thigh, must've got me there too. So angry. Shove him in chest. Hard. Probably shouldn't have. But fuck him.
"Do you realize? If she's gone for good me, you, us; screwed. They most probs knifing her up right now! And it's your fault!"
I'm screaming. Notice the other two awake now, laying and watching in awe.
"One thing to do, watch the girl. You fuck up!"
He backs up a bit, palm raised again. No reassurance this time, just fear. His eyes look frightened.
"L...Look, I'm so...sorry, man. Don't scare it, I'll go find her."
I throw my arms wide and look around. Its night.
"In the desert? in the fucking night? How long she been gone?"
He can't look at me. Must be a pretty picture on the floor 'cause that's where the dick-face is staring.
"'Bout...hour? Maybe less. Probably less."
"An hour? And you just sat there eating meat like a fucking dog?"
He doesn't like that, gets some of his confidence back.
"Man, what were you doing? You love little girly so much you went and snoozed. Left me to watch her. You talk alotta shit, man. I like her, so give her time to herself. Big fuck. Get your red head outta your ass.
Motherfucker. Cheek. I grab him and the guys gasp. He's gunna get what he deserves. No more mess ups. But just then...
"Hey guys?"
We all turn. There she stands, this tiny girl on a starlight horizon. Standing on a mound of sand above us but in the dark it looks like she's floating. Small angel. I let go of Ghoul.
"Please stop fighting, I'm fine, honestly. Look."
She proceeds to twirl round, flicking her brown curls everywhere, then stops and smiles nervously.
"I'm sorry for going. It wasn't Fun Ghoul's fault, I was just so bored and couldn't sleep. I just wanted to stretch my legs. I'm sorry."
I clear my throat. Killed hundreds of men, if you call them that, but still nervous around small child. Damn.
"It's...okay. Don't do it again. Can't lose you."
I sigh and repeat.
"Can't lose you."
She smiles. I look at Fun Ghoul, who hasn't taken his eyes off me and nod. He looks relieved. Hmm. I walk away, go to try and catch my thoughts. Impossible. I sit on a dune and the sand slips away beneath. Behind me I hear three grown men laughing with the giggle of a small, important girl. In the distance, tiny lights pierce the darkness. I wish they were stars.