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div class="text" style="padding: 15px 15px 37px 33px; margin: 0px auto; line-height: 1.5em; font-size: 13px; z-index: 20; position: relative; word-wrap: break-word; overflow-wrap: break-word;"A beam of light shone through the cracks of the blinds. It was just enough to illuminate the dim room where the four men stayed. Dust particles danced through the room, the space must've once been a cream color but age and destructive guests changed that. A dark gray layer of dirt and grime ran along the wall, accompanied by various scuff marks and small holes. It was as if someone threw their dirty boots against the wall then used a screwdriver, punching hole after hole, trying to create a pattern but failing horribly. Aside from the two beds in the room, there was a small table, hardly bigger than a large pizza. It seemed to be on its last leg- the wood was old and unpolished, a scratched surface with various swears carved into its unwilling wood. The deep auburn, beige and deep brown spirals on top forgotten for the flashes of deep damage in it. On each side was an oversized pleather chair. They were lashing a color that was a mix of 'baby shit' yellow and lime green. The surface was cracked, and covered in its own scratch marks, though they appeared unintentional, just the usual wear and tear of /br /Aside from its appearance it still gave off the feeling of safety, the scent of homemade bread spiraled through the air as if it were a cheesy commercial. The smell lingered with the incense of the night before, the mix brought to mind a visit to a psychic. The need to make one's guests feel welcome, but with a mystic eerie feeling that could make even the biggest skeptic believe in magic and unicorns. Even the worn chairs provided comfort, then again if one was staying in the middle of nowhere with naught but rocks, sand and an old car to sit in, the most lumpy couch would seem like a garden of Eden. The room was quite small, hardly large enough for the makeshift sitting area and full sized beds, the carpet was a dirty, musty brown. Probably beige, white or some neutral color that had taken abuse from many a shoe and bag. It was on this floor that Ghoul discarded his opened vest, in the middle of a debate between his /br /"I don't wanna stay here! Why do you guys get'ta go? Just get me a wheelchair like D's! C'mon! I feel better!" The younger man was protesting with his best puppy dog pout. Big eyes, the works, he usually tried this when it came to getting his way, though; it rarely worked, to his own disappointment. Nonetheless, he would always try and pray that it would one day work its magic as it had worked on many women before. He was a genius in the way of the female, and loved to brag about it to no end, although it usually just earned him a few laughs and eye rolls, they even accused him of never sleeping with a girl! This of course was total bullshit, with a gorgeous mug like this, who wouldn't want a piece of Ghoul?br /br /"Don't even think about it," Poison snapped behind a clenched jaw. "Not only would that be a bitch to find, it would probably break down! Then I'd be the one stuck pushing you while you decide to rock the chair and drive me nuts!" his hazel eyes met the other man's with a heavy glare. That look, oh god, was Ghoul that fucking desperate to come along? A small sigh escaped his lips. "Fine!" Poison cried out, giving in. "If we managed to come across one… We'll pick it up, if it breaks down you're staying there!" This of course was total bullshit, he could no less leave his own brother behind, as much as he liked to remind Ghoul that he wasn't related, the man was practically blood. Especially when he decided to pull pranks, like the time he painted the Trans pink, oh but not just any pink, the same pink as those nasty ass candy hearts people once gave out for valentines. The ones that were like flavored chalk. "Do you hear me buddy boy?!" came his last snarl before the man busted /br /Although laughing hurt, Ghoul just couldn't help it! "B-b-buddy boy?! Pfff! What is this, the nineteen-fucking-fifties?!" he managed to keep jabbing Poison's choice of words between his heavy guffaws. "Whats the next one? Bucko? Gonna start talking all 'now see here mista,' that is just too funny!" The laughter continued until tears stung his eyes and the pain got to be too much, he laid back wheezing slightly, causing Kobra to dart over in concern, this wasn't good. br /br /His brows were furrowed as he looked over Ghoul's wounds, some bleeding but nothing too bad. He looked to Ghoul "You can't get yourself riled up like that, it's gonna risk bleeding, and if I'm not around..." he began to scold but froze, shaking the thought out of his head. "Just... Just stay in bed, a'ight? Do your best to sleep, etcetera..." With a swallow and shake of his head, Kobra turned to gear up, his red jacket releasing a small cloud of dust as he jerked the item onto his /br /Poison nodded in agreement. "Just get your dumbass self some sleep so we can move on." Once said, he turned to head out the door, running his hand through his newly cleaned hair. The hallway was now lit, much to Jet's obvious pleasure. After last night, man, he was ready to high tail it out of there, but now it was nowhere near as freaky. The night before they were too distracted by, well, Ghoul, to really take in the ruin of this inn. Spider webs and cracks, dusty furniture falling apart, even the doorknobs were twisted loose, it looked like if you even touched one they would shatter, the tarnished metal flying through the air like glitter from a child's birthday /br /Another trip down the old staircase and they came face to face with the woman who let them in. Arching a salt-and-pepper brow at them, her wrinkled face stuck in a skeptic glance, "Be back, near six," she muttered under her breath, despite the distance the smell of fish oil and garlic rolled off of her in waves, it seemed. A rather overpowering combination it was. "You must do work, I have list for you," she added firmly and straightened her back to the best of her ability. Despite this, she still hardly came up past Poison's shoulders. With a slight nod from each man they walked past her, dark eyes following their every move as her old cracked lips pushed into a straight line. br /br /They flipped their shades on as the door closed with a muffled noise. Jet was instantly alert, eyes scanning everywhere. It was more crowded than before, but not much. Occasional groups of people stood, laughing and talking, probably about the day, or what they had planned. Their outfits were in various stages, some were just in civilian street clothes, others wore full out desert garb. One group of four girls were looking their way and giggling, they couldn't have been more than sixteen, yet they wore killjoy attire, and something about that made Poison's stomach sink. These kids saw them running around and followed them, they were risking their lives. And so many of them lost their families, or would get hurt, even forfeiting their lives to mimic them…br /br /While their cause was important, was it really worth all these kids dying over it? It was one thing for them, the thirty-or-so-odd men to be aware of the cost if they lost a fight. But could a child really understand that? A life long lost before it even began? He blamed himself to be honest; some nights when sleep wouldn't find its way to him for hours, he would lie and stare off into nothing. Plagued by guilt of pain and murder. He could have put his gun to those kid's heads and pulled the trigger, which would have been kinder. Yet, something about dying in this life seemed better. There weren't too many choices out here, conform to Better Living, run in the desert, or settle down in a community like this and risk problems for both sides. Maybe death was the best choice…br /br /This town probably was threatened at all times. Whether it be Dracs blowing in, or Killjoys who thought they were giving in. Looking to the small towns boundary line he squinted slightly. Imaginary people running in and out through his line of sight. Kids being taken, people killed, All over what? A choice to not fight but not wanting to be controlled, something about this made him feel even sicker. He WAS mad at these people; if half the adults in this town were to fight they could make a huge difference, but... His eyes moved to rest on a small family, single mother and two kids. Someone like that had to stay behind, but the burly man behind her could fight. He swallowed, eating his own words as the man handed her a loaf of bread with a smile. br /br /The people here depended on each other. If they took out all the men and laborers, the town would fall apart. Women can't fix everything and take care of their families, and gain produce. He began internally beating himself up. How could he even imagine recruiting these men, it would destroy their way of life. Then again, their cause was important too! All those innocents under control, these people were pretending that it didn't exist!br /br /The internal battle ebbed and flowed in his mind, he moved to tug at his fair face turning red, torn between his way of life and any compassion for others. Soon he was making a spectacle of himself. Kobra reached to touch his shoulder, brows furrowed with honest worry and concern. br /br /"Poison?" the younger man's voice shook slightly, a small wrinkle formed above the bridge of his nose. "Are you alright?" Kobra tried to keep his voice lowered as to not draw any more attention than /br /Poison let out a small groan and shook his head; a fine coat of dust had coated him in the time he had spaced out. The dirt flew off his hair creating a small dust cloud around his head. A few coughs and sneezes later his tired eyes set on his brother. He looked more aged than tired, the bags under his eyes more defined as if he hadn't slept in a few days. The man swallowed as his gaze met the ground. Guilt and shame painted his features, he was also mourning. For those deaths he caused, for those kids who he couldn't protect. That's what they were trying to do, protect human life at the costs of many /br /"Poison," Kobra whispered again and rubbed his back weakly, he couldn't stand to see his brother this way. Poison was the leader; he took all responsibility in some ways. As much as he tried to avoid it, Kobra knew this would one day take its toll. As much as he pretended he wasn't, his brother was a caring guy; in fact he cared so much, that it killed him. "It isn't your fault," he addressed, his voice quiet but firm in its message. "It's not your fault that tho-"br /br /"Where do you think they first saw it?! Where do you think they got the idea, Kobra?! We were the ones who started running out here! They saw us and wanted to help! Wanted to be like us! These are fucking kids! They have no idea what they're giving up, what they're risking! Abandoning their families to play Cowboys and Indians! They think they're becoming huge heroes but they're not!" Poison was doing his best to keep his voice at a stinging whisper, he was still cornered as to who might be watching. "All they're gonna do is end up getting killed for this… They're just kids, Ko… At their age we were hiding in the basement and reading comic books, not out risking our lives for something we could avoid!"br /br /"Times have changed," Kobra's quick reply. "During the second World War, kids at this age would falsify documents to join the war, if it was what they really wanted to do they found a way to do it." With a shake of his head he paused and swallowed. "And that's what these kids are doing, it's not just us, they believe in our cause, our goal, what we're trying to do here... They want to see the city liberated as much as we do! Their friends, their families, all of it back. They want to see their loved ones just like them, able to feel! Able to think for themselves, to enjoy life again!"br /br /Poison glowered for a moment but his face soon fell back to sorrow. Closing his eyes he thought about his brother's words, how passionate they were, his mind took him back. If it were the same situation and he was sixteen, fifteen, hell even fourteen; and his brother was under Better Living's control. He would go out there in an instant; he would do whatever it took to help him, his baby brother. He loved that kid more than anything, even that young. Kobra had always been his best friend, let alone the idea of all his friends and family… all numb to life. He opened his eyes, a new fierceness there. "We need to get to a CB," he growled with a new passion to his cause. They would win this fight, not only for the kids that were lost, but the ones who were still locked up and suffering in that womb of lives that they called Battery /br /"That's my brother!" Kobra grinned and wrapped his arm around Poison. They walked around the town searching for a working CB, eventually finding one in the backroom of the general store. Once they had shut the door into the light brown room they checked on the waves to find the familiar frequency that would lead them to their /br /"D here, speak," came a familiar, gravelly voice, the gruff sound of teeth grinding followed the sound. He must have been trying to quit smoking again, every time his temper got shorter and he ground his teeth louder, Ghoul would always joke they should just record the noise and play it through the streets of Battery to annoy everyone in Better Living to death. However D didn't find the joke so funny and it earned the young man a few smacks of a cane to the /br /Poison's eyes were still determined, "It's Poison, Ghoul got hurt, we're in a small town outsida the Zone lines, we're stuck 'ere till he can move again, we're gonna need a motorized chair and a shitton of time, but we're ready to be running missions again." His teeth were gritted as his body shook so full of rage, he was ready to take on the entire world for /br /D let out a loud groan and rubbed his brows before pinching the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb "He's that bad off, huh?" the man managed to grunt out, pulling his hand back to stare at the calloused flesh. Of course the man already knew the answer, he was Dr. Death Defying! He knew every single thing that went down in the /br /"He can hardly sit up, you're gonna have to find us, I don't have coordinates and I'm not sure how safe this line is, just hurry with this one… Have there been any big raids?" It may have only been a day but sometimes that's all it took for all hell to break /br /"A'ight, I'll see what I can do. There was a pretty bad one out in Zone two yesterday…three dusted, two were ours." the older man grunted before hanging up the mic and turning to his polka dotted assistant. Sighing and shaking his head, he grumbled something along the lines of 'These fucking kids are gonna be the death of me,' closing his eyes. The whirr of his wheel chair filled the small colorful ragtag station as he moved to do what he /br /Poison hung up the CB nodding to his team, he was ready for this. "We're going out to Zone two," he announced. That attack would be a hotspot for a while and he needed to take down some fuckin' Drac scum that was the best fix out here in the zones. Hearing those assholes hit the ground one by one, the sizzle of the air in a fight, that fixed ya no matter what mood you were /br /Jet and Kobra nodded in unison, both zipping up their jackets. Jet headed out first as Kobra shot his brother a grin. He was back to normal and nothing would take this away. The brothers headed out, joining their remaining member, Jet was waiting by the trans and pulled his bandana over his mouth, ready to be in a real fight /br /The men hopped into the car, and Poison revved the engine and drove out of town. A large dust cloud forming behind them, Poison's hands were shaking violently, it was affecting the car's path. He was gritting his teeth and sweat was budding on the nape of his neck as he glared into the horizon. "We're gonna kick some Draculoid ass," he hissed as the car hit the road of route guano. The familiar road provided a different comfort: Reality. This was his world and he was gonna fucking show them how to do /br /Finding a former raid wasn't too hard, the scent of gunpowder filled the air and let you know you were close, usually a wrecked campsite was the best sign. Sure enough, a few singed sleeping bags and a poorly extinguished fire were waiting for them. A corpse lay next to the circle of rocks; a white suit dirtied with sand, the head was forced into the charred pile of rocks as if they were trying to burn the mask from the enemy's /br /The three men exited the car and looked around the site. Two more bodies were stiff in the sand, the winds must've been harsh last night as they were half buried and not much more than mounds of sand. Jet headed for the bags, a few items strewn around. Some herbs and half full bottles of water, it felt like one of those video games, where you'd take things from the dead to keep yourself going. But this was life, you couldn't just reset it and hope to keep /br /Collecting the items, he discarded them in his ample pockets. Kobra headed for the bodies, burying them in silence, there were no signs of any Dracs right now and with him being a medic he had to make sure that they were buried properly as well. Call him superstitious, but he didn't want to be haunted by the ghosts of those uncared for after /br /Poison kept an eye out; there was no sign of them on the horizon. He almost shook in fury, he needed to blow some steam off, but there wasn't much else he could do to let this rage out. Hazel eyes squinted, trying to keep the glare off his eyes, the…glare?! Sure enough there was a beam of light sparkling off a windshield. A white car sped for them; a smirk grew on his covered lips, perfect. br /br /Jet dropped his searching hand on his gun, he began to fire first. He crouched behind a sand dune and focused on the car's tires, they needed to fight on even ground, and needed to take them down quickly. Poison let out a dark chuckle as one of the tires blew out, bits of black exploded and the car spun out hitting a dune. The driver's head was smashed against the dashboard; blood splattered against the glass, dripping down as if Poe himself had designed the sight. The passenger door swung open, and a man's white suit was stained with the blood of his partner, gun raised and firing at the three /br /The hot sizzle filled the air, it got Kobra's blood pumping, pupils dilated with the adrenaline now rushing through his veins. More men piled out of the car, each with a different degree of blood spatter on them. The shots flew wildly. The Dracs were taking all the hits, really, the three colorful men more alert and ready than ever. Nothing quite like that to get Poison's blood singing with /br /Each blast left red marks and swelling, blood flowing from the wounds mingling with the blood that was already covering their bodies. Jet was grinning, eyes lit up, with the expectancy of the bodies falling, slumping in the sand with the sound of their victory. This was a high no one else could know, not unless you loved fighting with the same passion as this group /br /The opponents were advancing on them, however, the shots getting closer to their bodies. They dragged this out long enough, with a flick of the wrist Jet brought down two of the masked men and Kobra gave the third a violent headshot. Ghoul would have loved to be in on this, Kobra thought, shaking his head as he moved over to kick the bodies to be certain of their deaths. He nodded three times; all dead, the smoke still rolling off the blast marks on their /br /Panting heavily Poison slumped down in the sand; his brilliant yellow blaster's barrel was emitting a foul smell along with the usual smoke. It was the usual post-fight scenario. He felt a bit out of practice, even after one day, he needed to keep this up daily, every hour he wasn't fighting felt like days... He just sat there for a while, reflecting on the soothing endorphins filling his entire form. The man only jumped up hearing tires hit dirt, the sound was familiar. Poison blinked to see D's /br /Kobra was stretching his stiff muscles as the driver's door opened, a youthful face emerged. Sand clung to his slim stomach along with his once white clothing. His skates sunk into the ground slightly but that didn't stop him from smoothly transitioning over. The red design on his face was highlighting his features. "Had some fun?" He asked with a chuckle. "The old man figured you'd come here right away so I wanted to drop off some supplies," he opened the side of the van, pulling out the wheel chair along with a bag of herbs. He handed the items over and pulled a wad of carbons from his tight undershirt. "D figured you might need these," he winked as Kobra took the cash. "Stay safe guys, I have to get back to work," he chuckled as Poison opened his mouth, Pony never stuck around for long but God be damned if he wasn't a life /br /Kobra shifted through the crumpled bills and counted. "We got three hundred carbons," he whispered and shoved a third of them to the other two men, they might need them later on, you never know when you need to bribe someone to keep their mouth shut. Threatening with a blaster didn't always go over the best..br /br /Nodding to each other and loading up the car, Jet hopped in the front this time, him and Kobra sorting through the various dry herbs and sniffing them. Most herbs could be eaten plain or brewed into a very bitter tea. It depended on if the victim could swallow easily or not. The most important thing was not to mistake the herbs; they could be poisonous if you didn't know the right herbs to mix. Or if you used a topical mixture as an edible /br /The plants could be sorted from scent; the more bitter the smell the more potent it was. Most of the jars that were taken off the campsite were just mild in odor. Nothing too special but they'd help with pain and dizzy spells. The jars from pony however had a strong distinct smell that reminded Jet of cannabis, the way that it would fill the room even if you only opened it a little bit. These could cure anything that ailed ya, they were expensive to boot, where could he have… Oh, of course, Tommy would have them. They must've cost a pretty penny, though…br /br /Hitting the asphalt again, Jet sorted through the other items they grabbed. The two flasks were shaken, about half filled with water, and water was worth ten times its weight in gold out here. It was the distinct line between life and death, people who had it had power out here, however hoarding it wasn't always the best idea, it got so hot that it could evaporate quicker than it takes for a blast to the chest to kill ya. A small charm was tied around one of the containers, just twine and the item itself. A sandstone carved peace sign with ribbons of red, bringing to mind a rainbow. Jet gripped the charm and slid it into his jacket pocket; he would dispose of it later on. Usually these little memories were burned in honor of those who fell. He shook his head and closed his /br /Heading back into town they pulled up in front of the inn, nodding a hello to Mrs. Palafox with the wheelchair strapped over Jet's back. Heading up the lengthy stairs, they went to see Ghoul. When Jet reached the room, he carried the chair in with a smile. "We got ya some help," he /br /Ghoul looked over with tired eyes and waved them off with a big yawn. "Sleep first," he mumbled and slumped back into his sheets, cuddling his pillow. He was content resting up, this earned him a few eye rolls, Lazy ass. The men set up the chair for him and headed back down, they had to get back to their /br /Downstairs and back into the sun, they were each glancing around. They needed to explore the town more today, get a taste of what these people offered. The threat risk, all of it, one hint of perfection and they would have to get out of here, maybe head to D's station and annoy the shit outta him for a while. With a tilt of his head, Jet saw the diner, it looked packed and lively. Stomach rumbling with need, he glanced at Poison and Kobra, both seemed to be on the same page, their stomachs audible as well. br /br /"Food?" The dark haired man offered with a heavy arched brow, and by the look on the other's faces the answer was obvious. The three men strode across the dirt road, ignoring the somewhat paved walkways and ducked inside the diner. It was actually quiet despite the crowd inside, mainly just groups of adults and teens seated around the rectangular beige tables. Aside from the tile immediately under their feet, the rest of the diner seemed to be somewhat clean and well kept. As well kept as you could keep out here, anyway. The smell of food drifted around and had their mouths watering, and without thinking they seated themselves into an empty booth. The surface of the table had small cracks and marks in it, it was obviously once white, but time in the desert, and people being unclean had stained it like coffee stains /br /Where there once sat sweeteners and salt there now were four small menus, poorly laminated as if they were done by a school teacher in a rush, but the food on said menus were enough to make Poison's jaw drop. They had meat… It was probably horse meat… or something like that. Hopefully an animal… The idea of a Donner party or Sweeney Todd situation entered his mind but Poison shook it off. This sounded great, a platter of pastries and coffee passed by, coffee with cream, real fucking cream!br /br /This was bliss, almost too good to be true, that thought snapped Poison out of it, resting his hand on his blaster as a waitress came up. She looked young aside from the deep dimples on her cheeks and bags under her eyes. Dirt and grease were smudged on her baby blue uniform. She wore a half assed smile along with it showing the front of her slightly stained teeth. "What can I get you guys?" she managed out with a small sigh. Her hip jutted out to the side, notepad resting lazily in her hands as she glanced at them with tired /br /Poison blinked and frowned softly. "Just a coffee and uh," he blinked, examining the plain menu and squinting slightly he lifted his own goggles up, it seemed to be fine, no one had swarmed them, no one had called their names, they were just anonymous wanderers here. "Fuck, anything sounds good," he frowned and glanced at his /br /Kobra was almost drooling, "U-uh… Large coffee and… The biggest steak you have!" the words came out similar to a foggy moan, real meat, even if it wasn't fully meat…but anything that tasted like real meat would be better than sex in a jar of peanut butter right now!br /br /"What he said," Jet mumbled, as he glanced through the menus leaning back. "Easy on the sugar and no cream," he half muttered, looking through the menu with a furrowed brow. "Hey so, what's the deal with this combo?" he pointed to a section of the laminated menu, looking to the waitress with a brow arched, it was just worded /br /The waitress blinked and squinted down at the menu, a finger twisting her tied up violet hair. She bit her lower lip heavily and muttered something to herself, clearing her throat she realized all men were waiting on her "I-I… I uh, I think that one's outdated, sorry, we haven't really had a chance to update the menus in a while," she kept mumbling a few things that they couldn't make out as she glanced over her shoulder, flipping through the notebook of orders. "Uh, anyway," she turned to Poison again, "For you?' she arched a /br /The leader coughed, his brow falling from its inquisitive arch, gently he looked to his hand, resting on the hilt of his gun. That was secure, just in case this chick started flipping out or some shit. "I'll go with them, coffee and steak," he nodded once casting a wary glance to his teammates. The ones he got in return made him shake his head and glance up at the woman who /br /"I'll be right back then." The woman walked away and headed back into the kitchen, adjusting her hair in its messy bun and washing her hands free of her skin's oils, she sighed and turned to see a very angry looking man glaring up at her. Her boss 'Walter' was a very small man, roughly five foot, and he was round, skin always had a slight orange tint. He honestly reminded her of a pumpkin, his hair thinning right on top in a way that even slightly resembled a jack o lantern. However he was far from fun, the man had a poison tongue that would put a rattlesnake to shame, and he flew off the handle easier than the MMA fighter that punched that annoying Jersey cunt way back in 2009. Swallowing heavily, she gave him a bored look back, which was always the best way to handle these situations…br /br /"Revenge, I swear to God, if you embarrass me or this diner, I will personally throw you back into the whorehouse you slid out of you fucking..." he gripped his thinning strands of blond hair, and growled. "Listen up," he snarled grabbing at the front of her uniform "If you fuck this shit up, I'll find someone who can do the job right," he pushed her back softly, raging at one of the cooks before retreating back into his office like the little slime he /br /Revenge rolled her eyes and poured out three mugs of coffee, putting each to the individualized orders and grabbing a small cup of cream in case she messed anything up, putting them on a serving platter and carrying them back out to the three men to which they belonged. "Steaks will be out in a minute boys," waiting for their nod of thanks and walking /br /Diving into his coffee, Kobra let out a small sigh of content. "So where do we go from here?" he arched a brow and looked around the table waiting for a reaction, seems everyone had the same question just past their own lips. Sipping their scolding beverages, a silent conversation seemed to be passing between the three patrons. One of raised eyebrows, skeptic glances and the occasional headshake. br /br /Finally, Jet let out an audible swallow and leaned in to whisper, not that the people here didn't seem 'nice' enough, just habit, really. "Well, obviously we're stuck here until Ghoul get better… I guess we'll crash around here and keep running missions outta the inn?" he offered, his heavy brow /br /Poison frowned heavily. "I guess that's all we really can do. Hey, Ko, how much longer you think till he'll be up and walking?" The redhead looked to his younger brother expectantly, his fingers drumming against the table, the usual sign of his impatience, or just plain /br /Kobra let out a small sigh, refilling his coffee and taking a long satisfying drink. "I have no idea," he admitted with a mumble. "It's kinda up to him on whether he'll lay back and rest or fight me at every turn." Another big drink passed his lips. "The more I argue with him about it, the more he's gonna fight." He shook his head with his lids shut weakly. "We just gotta see how this pans out."br /br /Both men frowned, nodding their thanks when the woman came back handing their food over with a fresh round of coffee, even a new pot. She smiled weakly. "Ain't you boys getting no sleep?" She was trying to be polite, but it was just small talk. She soon shot a glare over her shoulder and headed back into the grey swinging doors of the kitchen. The steaks weren't huge but the smell of spices and herbs made the men's mouths water, the brown skin indented with charred bits of brown was a forgotten paradise. They just stared at the food for a moment with their mouths watering before they each dug in, the meat was a bit tough, but tasty nonetheless. Their knives were soon coated in the animal meat and juice. Gulping down each bite, it sure as hell was better than power pup, and hell, if bein stuck here meant they got'ta eat like this at times, well the who the fuck cared?br /br /About fifteen minutes passed before Jet finally leaned back with a content sigh, hand on his stomach and licking at his lips. A small burp came out as he reached for his coffee, downing yet another mug of that God sent liquid. It ran down his throat smoothly, the rich aroma floating up to his nose as he sighed happily, yup, this was the /br /Poison crossed his arms behind his head and closed his eyes. Meat was good, oh god yes, meat was good. He almost felt like lulling himself to sleep, eye unwillingly opening to hear someone walking up, their waitress handed them a small piece of paper. "Your bill," she said quickly, "You pay up front." And with that she turned away and went back to work. Poison closed his eyes again, suppressing a long yawn. Having another sip of coffee, he glanced to the bill. 25 carbons? He shook his head, those steaks put them over worse than anything, coffee was cheap here, and the coffee was damn /br /Standing, as much as no one seemed to want to, was the next step of their journey. Heading for the front register he paid their bill, glancing back to see his brother and Jet dragging their feet along behind him, stretching was the inevitable trait. They had to stay awake and check out the town as a team. Slipping his shades on Poison headed out into the cruel light of the desert sun. The perfect remedy for overeating. Stretches and small noises filled the air as they headed back to the rock lined walkway, rubble crunching under their heavy boots as Jet let out a content sigh. The sun kinda felt good on their skin, the diner was cool in almost a cruel way... An unnatural way, but they had good /br /Kobra stretched out and yawned, squinting even under his tinted shades. He spotted a garage and took the lead, strolling over. The building itself was beat to shit, but the actual equipment seemed to be in good shape. A longing for his own motorcycle hit him but he tried to shake it off, taking a look around. He saw cars from all ages, some were even from the 2000s, and those were harder to come by. You needed computers to fix them and where there were computers, there was Bli. A shiver ran down his spine as he looked around the open building, no computers…glancing to the cars again he noticed it was interiors being scrapped, that was… a bit better...? A frown tugged his lips, who the fuck cares about their interior?! He sighed and glanced around realizing he wandered into the garage alone, Kobra groaned, he always did that and got yelled at for it!br /br /Ready to head back he felt a hand touch his shoulder and spun around ready to fight, the quick motion and awkward posing made him fall on his ass with a loud 'thud'. The body connected to the hand chuckled. "Nice moves," the man teased, extending his hand to the form on the ground. Kobra took it warily, and stood squinting through his shades to get a look at the man who scared the shit out of him. The man was young, easily in his early twenties; he had bright hazel eyes and mussy dirty blonde hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. He wore a half grin that vaguely reminded Kobra of an embarrassed anime character. Shaking the thought off, his eyes darted back to analyzing the man before him. Despite his age, the kid was near as tall as him! Wasn't quite as thin but they held similar builds. They probably could have passed for twins with a change of clothes and some hair dye! /br /"Sorry 'bout that, I have a tendency to walk quietly," gesturing to his boots he chuckled. "You'd think these things would make more noise out here, but oh well, sometimes life just has it's little mysteries, eh?" he relaxed his hands, looking to the man in shades with a half-smile "Name's Greased Whiskers," He extended his hand to the older man easily. The situation soon felt awkward…br /br /Kobra stared at the dark oil coated hand for a moment before Whiskers retracted it wiping his hand on his black patchy jeans, obviously not thinking of what he was doing, before seeing a strange man wander into his building. The hand left dark stains on his jeans, they lingered among the other various blotches in a way that was similar to a pattern, almost intentional. Extending a smudgy, less dirty hand Kobra weakly shook it with a nod. "Just was admiring your setup here, got a good work space." His eyes darted around the dirty grey walls covered with various clippings of newspapers, magazines, sketches, all of various engines and parts. One in particular was tacked up above a dimly lit work desk with a chair pulled out. Must've been where he was sitting when Kobra strolled in. "That Ford-289 V8 looks pretty damn good there, you into Mustangs?" He arched a brow, the obvious answer there but, just gave him time to check out the /br /"Oh hell yeah!" Came the kid's eager reply. "64 and ½ all the way!" his eyes lit up and he clasped his hands together, cars were his thing, simple as that. "Man, my mom had one when she was a kid, parents got it for her sweet sixteen. Only cost 'er 300 bucks! She had to sell it when she married my dad though, it sucked so hard!" he groaned, obviously still upset by her choice. Moving to flop his body down in one of the open cars he laughed "I'd kill for one of 'em now. But then again, I woulda killed for one at any time," he joked. "That machine was a fuckin' beast!" he grinned wide at the older /br /Kobra chuckled at the kid's enthusiasm. This was cute, he shook his head. "Yeah, a li'l before your time, huh?" Kobra inquired with a smirk splitting his face at one side. With a shake of his head he continued "Well I gotta head out, man, sorry to bug ya." He was about to walk out when he stopped and half turned back "Wait, how much you know about bikes?"br /br /"Bikes?" the younger man blinked, "Like what? Motorcycles?" Stroking his chin slightly he headed for the back room, a load of spare parts laid there. Shuffling through them he muttered to himself and frowned softly "I got enough spares to fix one up," he turned back and looked to him "Why, whatcha need to know about 'em? Need one fixed?" Obviously a bit spacey in his thought process, it'd been so long since he'd gotten paid for doin' this... this was like a perfect dream come true, all he could have ever /br /He nodded and stroked his chin. "I got one myself, but uh, I think the engines shot…" he swallowed "It's in the back of my bro's car… Would you mind taking a peek at it?" he crossed his arms, watching the kid's face. He was hoping this could be the fix he needed; Poison and Ghoul usually got theirs from the fights, fan girls and attention. Jet got his from the feelings of accomplishment when he completed a mission perfectly. And Kobra? Well Kobra got his from the freedom of his bike. The privacy and thrill of really having the time to introspect, to lose yourself in the /br /Whiskers lit up. "Y-yeah, of course I could!" he grinned proudly. "Just... Just bring it by whenever and I could could take a peek at it!" He was beaming with excitement. Hands clasped together he chuckled shaking his head "I'll see you later!" he called. noticing Kobra was walking out of the garage. "Yes!" Kobra whispered to himself with a big grin. He would be back on his bike soon enough and he could even run missions on his own again, any little bit helped out right /br /Heading back out into the sun, Kobra adjusted his glasses to find Jet and Poison sitting outside of a medical clinic giving him a stern look. He waved them off slightly as they stood. Crossing his arms, he tilted his hips slightly, waiting for the shitstorm to touch down. Poison looked like he was gonna smack him as the pair met up with Kobra, an eye roll and glower was the main communication right now, sometimes non-verbal contact was all they did. Plus bystanders didn't need to be nosing into their business. br /br /Poison opened his mouth but was cut off by Jet coughing. "We're gonna stop inside, see if they got any herbs and shit to help Ghoul out." Dusting some of the dirt off his dark jacket, he let another cough fly. "Don't wander off again or I'll let Poison blast through this whole damn town," Jet took off inside of the building to hopefully get a little extra boost of help, never could have too many /"I found a garage willing to look at my bike, I was just checkin' shit out," Kobra attempted to explain to his brother as they walked into the building. It was clean, but not freakishly so, there was dirt on the buttercup floors and the walls were an odd seafoam green. Like they were trying to make hospitals "happy". The wallpaper turned to stripes, like a circus design; bring out the big top stripes. Various counters lined the room with off-white tile. Dirty brown lines for grout, various coffee stains lingered there, the shades from light beige to a rich /br /Jet walked up to one of the women hovering over a clipboard that was desperately trying to fall apart in her hands. She blinked and looked up at him with an arched brow. "Can I help you?" She twirled a pencil around one of her yellow locks. She didn't even stand up to Jet-Star's shoulder, but from her glance alone he felt as if he was being looked down on. Her dark eyes were bearing into his own, every breath she took made the deep scar tissue on her neck expand and retract- She'd been given a death blow, and most of all she survived it. A strong woman stood before him, to say the /br /Jet swallowed thickly. "My friend was shot up pretty bad and our medic… Well, he did everything he could, I was wondering if you had any pain meds or anything..?" He arched a dark brow and crossed his strong arms over his chest, watching the woman let out a sigh before moving around to pick up various herbs in small glass jars, handing them over. Her gritty nails were stained with oil and dirt, they were rough and jagged, betraying her as a nail biter. Stress was here in the town, but the signs of it were /br /The woman went back to her charts straight away. "They grow all around this town, you know. Just in back alley ways, along buildings, so on." The woman mumbled as she flipped through a few pages, "We're a free service, so if he gets any worse, feel free to bring him in." With that she turned back to her work, waving Jet off with a flick of her wrist. She didn't even give him a second glance. Her work was too important for small /br /After all that's what she was about, saving lives was more important than a chat with some stranger. That was the kind of thing that distracted her, and she couldn't afford that. "Razor!" Called another nurse and she rushed over, a kid sat there with a scraped knee that was covered in bits of glass and rock. 'Tsking' softly, she knelt down and used tweezers to pull bits of the glass free. Then gently brushing the rock away, Razor cleaned the dirt and wiped the area clean before wrapping it in a /br /"Now be careful out there," she said, smiling and ruffling the boy's hair. His dirt coated face lit up and he nodded, hustling back to his friends. The doors let out a gentle hum as they closed, as the woman sighed and washed her hands free of all the dirt she could /br /Jet watched the woman with soft eyes. Shaking it off, he extended the herbs to Poison, whose hand was still hovering near his blaster. This town was off. It was like the war never even happened. That wasn't normal; it even had a false sense of security. Poison swallowed heavily and gave both men a nod, with that the two headed after him. The sun was blinding up above them, it rays taunting and burning the men. The heat was almost unbearable, the safest action was just to slump back into the inn, and all three dirty sweating /br /As soon as the door shut they were greeted by the aged woman, her shaking hands clutched over the curve of her belly. "You had good time?" she arched one of her brows before turning to pull a few papers from the front desk and extend them to Poison. He couldn't help but let out a soft groan, he'd forgotten about this nonsense, and wasn't really in the mood to dress up in a goddamn maid outfit before getting ass fucked over a barrel by this biddy. She poked him slightly until he took the papers glancing over the list and mumbling, the paper had an off texture to it. A bit more grainy then most loose leaf paper, and it was an odd tan shade. One small whiff explained everything: hemp paper. Of course, the conditions out here were perfect for growing… They must've… So that's why the town was so relaxed!br /br /Holding off a chuckle at the thought, Poison began to read on. Nothing on there was too time consuming or difficult, mainly things like dust the cobwebs, clean the glass, just small things to make the place look better. Shifting through the papers he noticed there were three papers, through the last one had less to do, the work was harder. Smirking softly to himself, he passed them out, giving himself the first and his brother the last. "Alright, we'll finish this up before headin' back upstairs," proceeding to go and start dusting off the /br /A few hours and one very annoyed Kobra later; the men were finally heading back to their room. Upon entrance they found a very content, very loud snoring teammate of theirs, surrounded by plates of various Mexican foods. Stifling a small chuckle, Kobra slumped into the bed opposite the sleeping man. Poison rolled his eyes as he headed for the bathroom, cleaning up the dust that coated his hands. The remaining man went to slip off his jacket and boots, despite the fact that his work wasn't that bad, in this heat he still managed to work up quite a sweat. Slumping onto Ghoul's bed, Jet let out a sigh, taking the half-eaten plates of food made him want to gag. He threw the bundle onto the floor with a sigh before stretching /br /Staring at the ceiling with brows furrowed, he recapped the last few days. It was an odd feeling, going from the terror of losing a teammate back to normal, was the terror still there? Not really, they knew Ghoul would pull through this. Turning to roll onto his right side and face the damaged wall he closed his exhausted eyes. Even being in this kind of environment was exhausting at times. It was all a false sense of security; they could be walking right into a trap… just those thoughts get to you. He shook off the idea as he waited for the leader to /br /Minutes later Poison did just that, stretching with a long yawn. Jet pushed him out of the way to handle his own mighty needs. With another yawn, Poison squinted his eyes, trying to get the blur to fade. He felt dead on his feet at this point, he was so used to never getting sleep that the prospect of sleeping in a real bed was orgasmic. He joined into the same bed as his brother and let out a louder yawn slumping on his side and curling up. Poison passed out almost straight /br /Kobra pushed his brother slightly. "Fatass," he mumbled, as he rolled over on his side trying to get comfortable. He only could stay in this position for a few minutes, part of him nervous, the other excited. He might have a bike again soon! Smiling softly to himself, he didn't even hear Jet slip back into his bed, all he could imagine was being on the road again. The way the chrome looked through the visor of his helmet and the salty scent of sweat that dripped down his body when his protections lipped off and he stood there, truly a man. The thoughts lulled him into vivid dreams, bright nameless colors and ever changing shapes, all played out against the bright white of the Summer's /br /br /Waking up the next morning, dust particles dancing in the air as a small irritating noise overtook the room. Jet let out an unhappy moan at this; he just wanted to get some fucking rest after yesterday. Nonetheless, his dark lids slowly lifted, squinting against the white designs on the opposing wall. Once again that bastard sun deciding to give him a "wake up" fuck in eyes. Another disgruntled noise emerged from his thick chapped lips. His eyes darted to the source of the throaty grunts. "Ghoul, if you're gonna fuck your pillow, at least wait till we go o-" eyes widening in realization at what the man was /br /Ghoul was mid-battle with his wheelchair. He swore softly as the damn thing snapped shut, crushing his hand in the process, he almost howled with pain. Unable to hold himself up, he was hunched against the wall like a crushed croissant on the ground. The aggrieved arch of his spine was as painful to look at as it was to be in. Yanking his reddened hand back he let out a fresh string of swears, shaking the damn thing to try to get the feeling back into his digits. Cracking his swollen knuckles, he focused back on getting the damn chair to open up, completely unaware of the sympathetic gaze in his direction. He was always a strong fighter, and he didn't want the guys thinking that he was giving in because of this shit. He was tougher than that!br /br /His teeth let out a loud crack noise as they clashed together again, brows furrowing in frustration. He'd been working on getting the damn thing to open up for nearly two hours. Doing it was a challenge in itself, let alone having to censor his volume for the sake of his teammates. Once again, he would never let them know how bad this shit was. They may have been his team, but they were still men, and he wasn't gonna be the butt of the goddamned /br /Jet watched the man sadly, he understood how it felt. Well, not so much that he'd been there before, but that empathy. Ghoul had always been the fiercest, the one willing to go out guns-a-blazin'. Being stuck in this room, fuck he must be going stir crazy. No wonder he wanted that goddamned chair to work right. The tall man extended his hand as if to help but withdrew it. He balled his fingers into a fist staring at the rough texture of his thick, yellowing nails. As good as his intentions were he had to let Ghoul suffer through this on his own, there was no other way. Offering help would seem like an insult to Ghoul's pride, and well, when you're Ghoul, pride was /br /The best choice seemed to be laying back, just allowing this to take its toll. Moving silently, Jet managed to get back into a horizontal position. Being sure he was facing away, he just stared intently at the wall, the brothers seemed to be sleeping through it. He just wanted to give Ghoul that chance, the ability to just rest for a moment and have his private struggle, once that was finished he'd forget this entire thing happened. After all, he was just dreaming right? Smirking softly to himself, he closed his eyes again. Yes, just a dream...br /br /Ghoul froze for a moment, keeping his body still while his eyes darted to his side. Out of his peripheral vision, he checked on his three companions. Kobra seemed to be in sloth mode, like he'd been drugged into sleep. Just the thought tugged a frown at the corners of his lips, closing his eyes and giving his head a slight shake he discarded the thought. No way in hell that could happen. Glancing back he noticed Poison sleeping with one leg out and snoring. He always did sound like he was a man when he slept… A man who had a rag stuffed in his mouth, that is. Rolling his eyes, his attention finally settled on Jet. This brought a full on frown to his dry lips. Jet's breathing pattern was off, it was too quick, too shaky. Fuck, he was awake. With an odd movement he released his grip on the chair. /br /"Fuck," he snarled heavily once again, pulling his wrist out of that Devil trap. His eyes narrowed. Devil…? D…? Oh, that mother fucker! Ghoul muttered a long string of obscenities. That asshole gave him a faulty chair on purpose! Probably was hoping that fuckin' thing would snap on him and cut him in half! After all these years of being whacked with that old cane, the old man wanted to finish him off! He couldn't help but laugh at his own little joke. One day that man was gonna put his eye out and he would never let him forget it. A small smirk spread across his face until the throbbing in his hand reminded him of that blasted /br /The metal gave a small wheeze of protest as it was forced to open again. The various bolts and screws had grown old and stiff from lack of use. Finally with enough pressure and fiddling they snapped into an open position. The seat itself was a murky swamp brown. The cracked center was a cream star in the vast sea of cheap padding. It's rough irritated edges looked uncomfortable and inflexible, but when Ghoul's finger applied pressure, he found it to be quite the opposite. Though the plastic-y substance was smooth, with a little give it was still the kind that stuck to your skin and made it feel muggier than you wished. Like the time Poison jacked a few water bottles off some Dracs, not even halfway back to the diner they all had that waxy feeling on their hands. The armrests had the same kind of padding. Thought it wasn't broken it still had indentation. Someone must've put plenty of weight on this baby for a long ass /br /Sighing, Ghoul's attention went to the pedals, dark as the sky over Zone 6, they went tilted inward. Frowning at the wear and tear on those as well, this baby was a fixer upper to say the least. Sadly, he could feel his muscles growing sore and tired. His breathing became more labored; Ghoul moved his body to slump back down. Eyes closed, his pink lips parted slightly, hot breaths came out in short pants. This was hell, it had to be, and he was being punished for something, wasn't he? Fuck, whatever it was, he was sorry already!br /br /His lids grew heavy, bobbing up and down like a hipster at an indie concert. Things came to him in small bursts, like watching a series of film clips on a screen. Ghoul was reminded of smoking pot for some reason, how the world felt like a screen, and he was just laying back and watching it. First it was just the light moving against the wall, different intervals, a montage of life. The noises, he could hear snores growing, fussier, the sign that they would soon be waking. Squeaking of angry mattresses soon followed, the protest and give of unwilling springs. Blackness. Feet on the ground, the small taps of carpet versus the deeper thumps of tile. Water rushing through pipes and their own groans through the drywall, a loud creak when the water was cut. More black. Voices, deep and raspy from their slumber, no words, just the guttural sounds of a half asleep Poison, obviously pissed off at missing his beauty sleep. Kobra's softer voice, a bit more hopeful, but slower, carefully planned out. Ghoul could hardly open his eyes; they weren't willing to submit to him. Jet's own groggy voice joined the mash up of tones; the throbbing in Ghoul's head gave the entire thing a beat. Bang, bang, bang, soft mumbles, bang, bang, bang, raspy irritants, bang, bang, groggy /br /The sickening song was starting to make Ghoul's stomach churn. He felt like screaming but his throat didn't want to work. A sigh seemed to match his need, it was all it took for all the noise to stop, all attention snapping to his form. The whoosh and taps of bodies moving, the warmth of another living being close by, his lids finally managed to part to see Kobra, flashes of white light surrounding him. His lips parted seeing a jar in the man's hand, sweet, mother fucking relief. The acidic taste of herbs filled his mouth, a small chunk of dirt made him hock some out, but he managed to down the rest happily, tears stinging his swollen eyes. The herbs always made him feel a bit woozy but those fuckers really did the trick, within a few minutes you felt like you were floating on cloud nine. br /br /Kobra watched the injured man with worry, eyes darting to the now opened wheelchair he frowned. "I told you not to push it," he all but hissed at the injured man. As laid back as Kobra could be, it did piss him off when someone directly disobeyed what he warned them against. "Now listen to me, you're gonna lay here and get the fuck better, so we can move on, got it?" Kobra's tone took on a strict command that was usually reserved for Poison. He was the medic here, goddammit!br /br /A small groan of agreement came from the bedridden man. Closing his eyes, he let himself relax, back to his symphony of torture. Bang, bang, mother fucking /br /Raking his thick digits through unruly curls Jet sighed, shaking his head. He decided against telling the guys what he saw this morning. Once again, the bitter taste of a man's pride founds its way into his mouth. He tugged a few small rocks out of his dry, spoiled hair. The sun has really been doing a number on him, taking his normally dark hair to a lighter shade, the lighter it was, the more brittle, the more brittle…well, the more shit he had to pull out of it. It was like a freakin' jungle in /br /Scratching at his nose, Poison winced; tugging some of his sun burnt skin off. On average, he didn't burn to bad, but his nose always got to peeling. Tossing the bits of discarded tissue to the side, he flicked his fingers trying to get whatever was stuck under his nails out. Running a hand through his dyed locks, he coughed. "A'ight let's head out, try to get ahold of the old man and see if there's any other runnin' 'round he needs done." Nodding to the two able men, he headed out the /br /Kobra lingered a few minutes longer, checking Ghoul- he seemed to have passed out. That was the best for now, shaking his head with a sigh, Kobra trudged to follow his brother, the least they could do was thank D for forcing Pony out there to drop that shit off. Deep footsteps sounded through the hallow of the staircase, two sets of rapid and one set of slower, planned thumps. The noise drowned out the squeaks that steps normally made. It was less creepy than normal, thank god for /br /Beams of light shone through the less dingy glass of the entrance. After their work yesterday everything looked a bit nicer. The biggest offenders, cobwebs and thick dust, were now gone. Though everything was still faded and covered in a film of dried dirt, it made the place look more put together, at least. A few florescent bulbs flickered with unease as they walked underneath, Kobra had a feeling he knew what awaited him when they returned. Gaze narrowing on a small scuffed stepstool that confirmed his fears, he groaned as he caught up to his brother and Jet grabbing breakfast burritos left on the counter, still steaming from the freshly scrambled eggs inside. He could see the red of the salsa leaking out from his brother's tortilla, and feeling his mouth water, he snatched the third plate. It was wider than his fist and long enough to hang over the edge of the plate. The steam danced up to caress his face in its warmth and spicy scent, and he dove in happily. br /br /Stomachs satisfied and flasks filled, they finally headed out. It was a bit cooler today, high nineties; the biggest relief was the humidity was low. It wasn't that heat that got ya, it was that damn mugginess, it made you feel sticky, and sluggish. Those were the days it was dangerous. Going straight for the CB they used yesterday, Poison placed out his call for Dr. Death Defying. Tapping his hand against the wooden wall he awaited his response, the Air was dead. Poison frowned, trying all of their frequencies, nothing. This was bad, very bad. Grimacing, he looked to Jet and Kobra, upper lip curled up slightly. He knew something was going down, he just knew it! Normally they at least left a transmission running, even if they were moving! This was bad, so fucking bad!/div
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div class="text" style="padding: 15px 15px 37px 33px; margin: 0px auto; line-height: 1.5em; font-size: 13px; z-index: 20; position: relative; word-wrap: break-word; overflow-wrap: break-word;"A beam of light shone through the cracks of the blinds. It was just enough to illuminate the dim room where the four men stayed. Dust particles danced through the room, the space must've once been a cream color but age and destructive guests changed that. A dark gray layer of dirt and grime ran along the wall, accompanied by various scuff marks and small holes. It was as if someone threw their dirty boots against the wall then used a screwdriver, punching hole after hole, trying to create a pattern but failing horribly. Aside from the two beds in the room, there was a small table, hardly bigger than a large pizza. It seemed to be on its last leg- the wood was old and unpolished, a scratched surface with various swears carved into its unwilling wood. The deep auburn, beige and deep brown spirals on top forgotten for the flashes of deep damage in it. On each side was an oversized pleather chair. They were lashing a color that was a mix of 'baby shit' yellow and lime green. The surface was cracked, and covered in its own scratch marks, though they appeared unintentional, just the usual wear and tear of /br /Aside from its appearance it still gave off the feeling of safety, the scent of homemade bread spiraled through the air as if it were a cheesy commercial. The smell lingered with the incense of the night before, the mix brought to mind a visit to a psychic. The need to make one's guests feel welcome, but with a mystic eerie feeling that could make even the biggest skeptic believe in magic and unicorns. Even the worn chairs provided comfort, then again if one was staying in the middle of nowhere with naught but rocks, sand and an old car to sit in, the most lumpy couch would seem like a garden of Eden. The room was quite small, hardly large enough for the makeshift sitting area and full sized beds, the carpet was a dirty, musty brown. Probably beige, white or some neutral color that had taken abuse from many a shoe and bag. It was on this floor that Ghoul discarded his opened vest, in the middle of a debate between his /br /"I don't wanna stay here! Why do you guys get'ta go? Just get me a wheelchair like D's! C'mon! I feel better!" The younger man was protesting with his best puppy dog pout. Big eyes, the works, he usually tried this when it came to getting his way, though; it rarely worked, to his own disappointment. Nonetheless, he would always try and pray that it would one day work its magic as it had worked on many women before. He was a genius in the way of the female, and loved to brag about it to no end, although it usually just earned him a few laughs and eye rolls, they even accused him of never sleeping with a girl! This of course was total bullshit, with a gorgeous mug like this, who wouldn't want a piece of Ghoul?br /br /"Don't even think about it," Poison snapped behind a clenched jaw. "Not only would that be a bitch to find, it would probably break down! Then I'd be the one stuck pushing you while you decide to rock the chair and drive me nuts!" his hazel eyes met the other man's with a heavy glare. That look, oh god, was Ghoul that fucking desperate to come along? A small sigh escaped his lips. "Fine!" Poison cried out, giving in. "If we managed to come across one… We'll pick it up, if it breaks down you're staying there!" This of course was total bullshit, he could no less leave his own brother behind, as much as he liked to remind Ghoul that he wasn't related, the man was practically blood. Especially when he decided to pull pranks, like the time he painted the Trans pink, oh but not just any pink, the same pink as those nasty ass candy hearts people once gave out for valentines. The ones that were like flavored chalk. "Do you hear me buddy boy?!" came his last snarl before the man busted /br /Although laughing hurt, Ghoul just couldn't help it! "B-b-buddy boy?! Pfff! What is this, the nineteen-fucking-fifties?!" he managed to keep jabbing Poison's choice of words between his heavy guffaws. "Whats the next one? Bucko? Gonna start talking all 'now see here mista,' that is just too funny!" The laughter continued until tears stung his eyes and the pain got to be too much, he laid back wheezing slightly, causing Kobra to dart over in concern, this wasn't good. br /br /His brows were furrowed as he looked over Ghoul's wounds, some bleeding but nothing too bad. He looked to Ghoul "You can't get yourself riled up like that, it's gonna risk bleeding, and if I'm not around..." he began to scold but froze, shaking the thought out of his head. "Just... Just stay in bed, a'ight? Do your best to sleep, etcetera..." With a swallow and shake of his head, Kobra turned to gear up, his red jacket releasing a small cloud of dust as he jerked the item onto his /br /Poison nodded in agreement. "Just get your dumbass self some sleep so we can move on." Once said, he turned to head out the door, running his hand through his newly cleaned hair. The hallway was now lit, much to Jet's obvious pleasure. After last night, man, he was ready to high tail it out of there, but now it was nowhere near as freaky. The night before they were too distracted by, well, Ghoul, to really take in the ruin of this inn. Spider webs and cracks, dusty furniture falling apart, even the doorknobs were twisted loose, it looked like if you even touched one they would shatter, the tarnished metal flying through the air like glitter from a child's birthday /br /Another trip down the old staircase and they came face to face with the woman who let them in. Arching a salt-and-pepper brow at them, her wrinkled face stuck in a skeptic glance, "Be back, near six," she muttered under her breath, despite the distance the smell of fish oil and garlic rolled off of her in waves, it seemed. A rather overpowering combination it was. "You must do work, I have list for you," she added firmly and straightened her back to the best of her ability. Despite this, she still hardly came up past Poison's shoulders. With a slight nod from each man they walked past her, dark eyes following their every move as her old cracked lips pushed into a straight line. br /br /They flipped their shades on as the door closed with a muffled noise. Jet was instantly alert, eyes scanning everywhere. It was more crowded than before, but not much. Occasional groups of people stood, laughing and talking, probably about the day, or what they had planned. Their outfits were in various stages, some were just in civilian street clothes, others wore full out desert garb. One group of four girls were looking their way and giggling, they couldn't have been more than sixteen, yet they wore killjoy attire, and something about that made Poison's stomach sink. These kids saw them running around and followed them, they were risking their lives. And so many of them lost their families, or would get hurt, even forfeiting their lives to mimic them…br /br /While their cause was important, was it really worth all these kids dying over it? It was one thing for them, the thirty-or-so-odd men to be aware of the cost if they lost a fight. But could a child really understand that? A life long lost before it even began? He blamed himself to be honest; some nights when sleep wouldn't find its way to him for hours, he would lie and stare off into nothing. Plagued by guilt of pain and murder. He could have put his gun to those kid's heads and pulled the trigger, which would have been kinder. Yet, something about dying in this life seemed better. There weren't too many choices out here, conform to Better Living, run in the desert, or settle down in a community like this and risk problems for both sides. Maybe death was the best choice…br /br /This town probably was threatened at all times. Whether it be Dracs blowing in, or Killjoys who thought they were giving in. Looking to the small towns boundary line he squinted slightly. Imaginary people running in and out through his line of sight. Kids being taken, people killed, All over what? A choice to not fight but not wanting to be controlled, something about this made him feel even sicker. He WAS mad at these people; if half the adults in this town were to fight they could make a huge difference, but... His eyes moved to rest on a small family, single mother and two kids. Someone like that had to stay behind, but the burly man behind her could fight. He swallowed, eating his own words as the man handed her a loaf of bread with a smile. br /br /The people here depended on each other. If they took out all the men and laborers, the town would fall apart. Women can't fix everything and take care of their families, and gain produce. He began internally beating himself up. How could he even imagine recruiting these men, it would destroy their way of life. Then again, their cause was important too! All those innocents under control, these people were pretending that it didn't exist!br /br /The internal battle ebbed and flowed in his mind, he moved to tug at his fair face turning red, torn between his way of life and any compassion for others. Soon he was making a spectacle of himself. Kobra reached to touch his shoulder, brows furrowed with honest worry and concern. br /br /"Poison?" the younger man's voice shook slightly, a small wrinkle formed above the bridge of his nose. "Are you alright?" Kobra tried to keep his voice lowered as to not draw any more attention than /br /Poison let out a small groan and shook his head; a fine coat of dust had coated him in the time he had spaced out. The dirt flew off his hair creating a small dust cloud around his head. A few coughs and sneezes later his tired eyes set on his brother. He looked more aged than tired, the bags under his eyes more defined as if he hadn't slept in a few days. The man swallowed as his gaze met the ground. Guilt and shame painted his features, he was also mourning. For those deaths he caused, for those kids who he couldn't protect. That's what they were trying to do, protect human life at the costs of many /br /"Poison," Kobra whispered again and rubbed his back weakly, he couldn't stand to see his brother this way. Poison was the leader; he took all responsibility in some ways. As much as he tried to avoid it, Kobra knew this would one day take its toll. As much as he pretended he wasn't, his brother was a caring guy; in fact he cared so much, that it killed him. "It isn't your fault," he addressed, his voice quiet but firm in its message. "It's not your fault that tho-"br /br /"Where do you think they first saw it?! Where do you think they got the idea, Kobra?! We were the ones who started running out here! They saw us and wanted to help! Wanted to be like us! These are fucking kids! They have no idea what they're giving up, what they're risking! Abandoning their families to play Cowboys and Indians! They think they're becoming huge heroes but they're not!" Poison was doing his best to keep his voice at a stinging whisper, he was still cornered as to who might be watching. "All they're gonna do is end up getting killed for this… They're just kids, Ko… At their age we were hiding in the basement and reading comic books, not out risking our lives for something we could avoid!"br /br /"Times have changed," Kobra's quick reply. "During the second World War, kids at this age would falsify documents to join the war, if it was what they really wanted to do they found a way to do it." With a shake of his head he paused and swallowed. "And that's what these kids are doing, it's not just us, they believe in our cause, our goal, what we're trying to do here... They want to see the city liberated as much as we do! Their friends, their families, all of it back. They want to see their loved ones just like them, able to feel! Able to think for themselves, to enjoy life again!"br /br /Poison glowered for a moment but his face soon fell back to sorrow. Closing his eyes he thought about his brother's words, how passionate they were, his mind took him back. If it were the same situation and he was sixteen, fifteen, hell even fourteen; and his brother was under Better Living's control. He would go out there in an instant; he would do whatever it took to help him, his baby brother. He loved that kid more than anything, even that young. Kobra had always been his best friend, let alone the idea of all his friends and family… all numb to life. He opened his eyes, a new fierceness there. "We need to get to a CB," he growled with a new passion to his cause. They would win this fight, not only for the kids that were lost, but the ones who were still locked up and suffering in that womb of lives that they called Battery /br /"That's my brother!" Kobra grinned and wrapped his arm around Poison. They walked around the town searching for a working CB, eventually finding one in the backroom of the general store. Once they had shut the door into the light brown room they checked on the waves to find the familiar frequency that would lead them to their /br /"D here, speak," came a familiar, gravelly voice, the gruff sound of teeth grinding followed the sound. He must have been trying to quit smoking again, every time his temper got shorter and he ground his teeth louder, Ghoul would always joke they should just record the noise and play it through the streets of Battery to annoy everyone in Better Living to death. However D didn't find the joke so funny and it earned the young man a few smacks of a cane to the /br /Poison's eyes were still determined, "It's Poison, Ghoul got hurt, we're in a small town outsida the Zone lines, we're stuck 'ere till he can move again, we're gonna need a motorized chair and a shitton of time, but we're ready to be running missions again." His teeth were gritted as his body shook so full of rage, he was ready to take on the entire world for /br /D let out a loud groan and rubbed his brows before pinching the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb "He's that bad off, huh?" the man managed to grunt out, pulling his hand back to stare at the calloused flesh. Of course the man already knew the answer, he was Dr. Death Defying! He knew every single thing that went down in the /br /"He can hardly sit up, you're gonna have to find us, I don't have coordinates and I'm not sure how safe this line is, just hurry with this one… Have there been any big raids?" It may have only been a day but sometimes that's all it took for all hell to break /br /"A'ight, I'll see what I can do. There was a pretty bad one out in Zone two yesterday…three dusted, two were ours." the older man grunted before hanging up the mic and turning to his polka dotted assistant. Sighing and shaking his head, he grumbled something along the lines of 'These fucking kids are gonna be the death of me,' closing his eyes. The whirr of his wheel chair filled the small colorful ragtag station as he moved to do what he /br /Poison hung up the CB nodding to his team, he was ready for this. "We're going out to Zone two," he announced. That attack would be a hotspot for a while and he needed to take down some fuckin' Drac scum that was the best fix out here in the zones. Hearing those assholes hit the ground one by one, the sizzle of the air in a fight, that fixed ya no matter what mood you were /br /Jet and Kobra nodded in unison, both zipping up their jackets. Jet headed out first as Kobra shot his brother a grin. He was back to normal and nothing would take this away. The brothers headed out, joining their remaining member, Jet was waiting by the trans and pulled his bandana over his mouth, ready to be in a real fight /br /The men hopped into the car, and Poison revved the engine and drove out of town. A large dust cloud forming behind them, Poison's hands were shaking violently, it was affecting the car's path. He was gritting his teeth and sweat was budding on the nape of his neck as he glared into the horizon. "We're gonna kick some Draculoid ass," he hissed as the car hit the road of route guano. The familiar road provided a different comfort: Reality. This was his world and he was gonna fucking show them how to do /br /Finding a former raid wasn't too hard, the scent of gunpowder filled the air and let you know you were close, usually a wrecked campsite was the best sign. Sure enough, a few singed sleeping bags and a poorly extinguished fire were waiting for them. A corpse lay next to the circle of rocks; a white suit dirtied with sand, the head was forced into the charred pile of rocks as if they were trying to burn the mask from the enemy's /br /The three men exited the car and looked around the site. Two more bodies were stiff in the sand, the winds must've been harsh last night as they were half buried and not much more than mounds of sand. Jet headed for the bags, a few items strewn around. Some herbs and half full bottles of water, it felt like one of those video games, where you'd take things from the dead to keep yourself going. But this was life, you couldn't just reset it and hope to keep /br /Collecting the items, he discarded them in his ample pockets. Kobra headed for the bodies, burying them in silence, there were no signs of any Dracs right now and with him being a medic he had to make sure that they were buried properly as well. Call him superstitious, but he didn't want to be haunted by the ghosts of those uncared for after /br /Poison kept an eye out; there was no sign of them on the horizon. He almost shook in fury, he needed to blow some steam off, but there wasn't much else he could do to let this rage out. Hazel eyes squinted, trying to keep the glare off his eyes, the…glare?! Sure enough there was a beam of light sparkling off a windshield. A white car sped for them; a smirk grew on his covered lips, perfect. br /br /Jet dropped his searching hand on his gun, he began to fire first. He crouched behind a sand dune and focused on the car's tires, they needed to fight on even ground, and needed to take them down quickly. Poison let out a dark chuckle as one of the tires blew out, bits of black exploded and the car spun out hitting a dune. The driver's head was smashed against the dashboard; blood splattered against the glass, dripping down as if Poe himself had designed the sight. The passenger door swung open, and a man's white suit was stained with the blood of his partner, gun raised and firing at the three /br /The hot sizzle filled the air, it got Kobra's blood pumping, pupils dilated with the adrenaline now rushing through his veins. More men piled out of the car, each with a different degree of blood spatter on them. The shots flew wildly. The Dracs were taking all the hits, really, the three colorful men more alert and ready than ever. Nothing quite like that to get Poison's blood singing with /br /Each blast left red marks and swelling, blood flowing from the wounds mingling with the blood that was already covering their bodies. Jet was grinning, eyes lit up, with the expectancy of the bodies falling, slumping in the sand with the sound of their victory. This was a high no one else could know, not unless you loved fighting with the same passion as this group /br /The opponents were advancing on them, however, the shots getting closer to their bodies. They dragged this out long enough, with a flick of the wrist Jet brought down two of the masked men and Kobra gave the third a violent headshot. Ghoul would have loved to be in on this, Kobra thought, shaking his head as he moved over to kick the bodies to be certain of their deaths. He nodded three times; all dead, the smoke still rolling off the blast marks on their /br /Panting heavily Poison slumped down in the sand; his brilliant yellow blaster's barrel was emitting a foul smell along with the usual smoke. It was the usual post-fight scenario. He felt a bit out of practice, even after one day, he needed to keep this up daily, every hour he wasn't fighting felt like days... He just sat there for a while, reflecting on the soothing endorphins filling his entire form. The man only jumped up hearing tires hit dirt, the sound was familiar. Poison blinked to see D's /br /Kobra was stretching his stiff muscles as the driver's door opened, a youthful face emerged. Sand clung to his slim stomach along with his once white clothing. His skates sunk into the ground slightly but that didn't stop him from smoothly transitioning over. The red design on his face was highlighting his features. "Had some fun?" He asked with a chuckle. "The old man figured you'd come here right away so I wanted to drop off some supplies," he opened the side of the van, pulling out the wheel chair along with a bag of herbs. He handed the items over and pulled a wad of carbons from his tight undershirt. "D figured you might need these," he winked as Kobra took the cash. "Stay safe guys, I have to get back to work," he chuckled as Poison opened his mouth, Pony never stuck around for long but God be damned if he wasn't a life /br /Kobra shifted through the crumpled bills and counted. "We got three hundred carbons," he whispered and shoved a third of them to the other two men, they might need them later on, you never know when you need to bribe someone to keep their mouth shut. Threatening with a blaster didn't always go over the best..br /br /Nodding to each other and loading up the car, Jet hopped in the front this time, him and Kobra sorting through the various dry herbs and sniffing them. Most herbs could be eaten plain or brewed into a very bitter tea. It depended on if the victim could swallow easily or not. The most important thing was not to mistake the herbs; they could be poisonous if you didn't know the right herbs to mix. Or if you used a topical mixture as an edible /br /The plants could be sorted from scent; the more bitter the smell the more potent it was. Most of the jars that were taken off the campsite were just mild in odor. Nothing too special but they'd help with pain and dizzy spells. The jars from pony however had a strong distinct smell that reminded Jet of cannabis, the way that it would fill the room even if you only opened it a little bit. These could cure anything that ailed ya, they were expensive to boot, where could he have… Oh, of course, Tommy would have them. They must've cost a pretty penny, though…br /br /Hitting the asphalt again, Jet sorted through the other items they grabbed. The two flasks were shaken, about half filled with water, and water was worth ten times its weight in gold out here. It was the distinct line between life and death, people who had it had power out here, however hoarding it wasn't always the best idea, it got so hot that it could evaporate quicker than it takes for a blast to the chest to kill ya. A small charm was tied around one of the containers, just twine and the item itself. A sandstone carved peace sign with ribbons of red, bringing to mind a rainbow. Jet gripped the charm and slid it into his jacket pocket; he would dispose of it later on. Usually these little memories were burned in honor of those who fell. He shook his head and closed his /br /Heading back into town they pulled up in front of the inn, nodding a hello to Mrs. Palafox with the wheelchair strapped over Jet's back. Heading up the lengthy stairs, they went to see Ghoul. When Jet reached the room, he carried the chair in with a smile. "We got ya some help," he /br /Ghoul looked over with tired eyes and waved them off with a big yawn. "Sleep first," he mumbled and slumped back into his sheets, cuddling his pillow. He was content resting up, this earned him a few eye rolls, Lazy ass. The men set up the chair for him and headed back down, they had to get back to their /br /Downstairs and back into the sun, they were each glancing around. They needed to explore the town more today, get a taste of what these people offered. The threat risk, all of it, one hint of perfection and they would have to get out of here, maybe head to D's station and annoy the shit outta him for a while. With a tilt of his head, Jet saw the diner, it looked packed and lively. Stomach rumbling with need, he glanced at Poison and Kobra, both seemed to be on the same page, their stomachs audible as well. br /br /"Food?" The dark haired man offered with a heavy arched brow, and by the look on the other's faces the answer was obvious. The three men strode across the dirt road, ignoring the somewhat paved walkways and ducked inside the diner. It was actually quiet despite the crowd inside, mainly just groups of adults and teens seated around the rectangular beige tables. Aside from the tile immediately under their feet, the rest of the diner seemed to be somewhat clean and well kept. As well kept as you could keep out here, anyway. The smell of food drifted around and had their mouths watering, and without thinking they seated themselves into an empty booth. The surface of the table had small cracks and marks in it, it was obviously once white, but time in the desert, and people being unclean had stained it like coffee stains /br /Where there once sat sweeteners and salt there now were four small menus, poorly laminated as if they were done by a school teacher in a rush, but the food on said menus were enough to make Poison's jaw drop. They had meat… It was probably horse meat… or something like that. Hopefully an animal… The idea of a Donner party or Sweeney Todd situation entered his mind but Poison shook it off. This sounded great, a platter of pastries and coffee passed by, coffee with cream, real fucking cream!br /br /This was bliss, almost too good to be true, that thought snapped Poison out of it, resting his hand on his blaster as a waitress came up. She looked young aside from the deep dimples on her cheeks and bags under her eyes. Dirt and grease were smudged on her baby blue uniform. She wore a half assed smile along with it showing the front of her slightly stained teeth. "What can I get you guys?" she managed out with a small sigh. Her hip jutted out to the side, notepad resting lazily in her hands as she glanced at them with tired /br /Poison blinked and frowned softly. "Just a coffee and uh," he blinked, examining the plain menu and squinting slightly he lifted his own goggles up, it seemed to be fine, no one had swarmed them, no one had called their names, they were just anonymous wanderers here. "Fuck, anything sounds good," he frowned and glanced at his /br /Kobra was almost drooling, "U-uh… Large coffee and… The biggest steak you have!" the words came out similar to a foggy moan, real meat, even if it wasn't fully meat…but anything that tasted like real meat would be better than sex in a jar of peanut butter right now!br /br /"What he said," Jet mumbled, as he glanced through the menus leaning back. "Easy on the sugar and no cream," he half muttered, looking through the menu with a furrowed brow. "Hey so, what's the deal with this combo?" he pointed to a section of the laminated menu, looking to the waitress with a brow arched, it was just worded /br /The waitress blinked and squinted down at the menu, a finger twisting her tied up violet hair. She bit her lower lip heavily and muttered something to herself, clearing her throat she realized all men were waiting on her "I-I… I uh, I think that one's outdated, sorry, we haven't really had a chance to update the menus in a while," she kept mumbling a few things that they couldn't make out as she glanced over her shoulder, flipping through the notebook of orders. "Uh, anyway," she turned to Poison again, "For you?' she arched a /br /The leader coughed, his brow falling from its inquisitive arch, gently he looked to his hand, resting on the hilt of his gun. That was secure, just in case this chick started flipping out or some shit. "I'll go with them, coffee and steak," he nodded once casting a wary glance to his teammates. The ones he got in return made him shake his head and glance up at the woman who /br /"I'll be right back then." The woman walked away and headed back into the kitchen, adjusting her hair in its messy bun and washing her hands free of her skin's oils, she sighed and turned to see a very angry looking man glaring up at her. Her boss 'Walter' was a very small man, roughly five foot, and he was round, skin always had a slight orange tint. He honestly reminded her of a pumpkin, his hair thinning right on top in a way that even slightly resembled a jack o lantern. However he was far from fun, the man had a poison tongue that would put a rattlesnake to shame, and he flew off the handle easier than the MMA fighter that punched that annoying Jersey cunt way back in 2009. Swallowing heavily, she gave him a bored look back, which was always the best way to handle these situations…br /br /"Revenge, I swear to God, if you embarrass me or this diner, I will personally throw you back into the whorehouse you slid out of you fucking..." he gripped his thinning strands of blond hair, and growled. "Listen up," he snarled grabbing at the front of her uniform "If you fuck this shit up, I'll find someone who can do the job right," he pushed her back softly, raging at one of the cooks before retreating back into his office like the little slime he /br /Revenge rolled her eyes and poured out three mugs of coffee, putting each to the individualized orders and grabbing a small cup of cream in case she messed anything up, putting them on a serving platter and carrying them back out to the three men to which they belonged. "Steaks will be out in a minute boys," waiting for their nod of thanks and walking /br /Diving into his coffee, Kobra let out a small sigh of content. "So where do we go from here?" he arched a brow and looked around the table waiting for a reaction, seems everyone had the same question just past their own lips. Sipping their scolding beverages, a silent conversation seemed to be passing between the three patrons. One of raised eyebrows, skeptic glances and the occasional headshake. br /br /Finally, Jet let out an audible swallow and leaned in to whisper, not that the people here didn't seem 'nice' enough, just habit, really. "Well, obviously we're stuck here until Ghoul get better… I guess we'll crash around here and keep running missions outta the inn?" he offered, his heavy brow /br /Poison frowned heavily. "I guess that's all we really can do. Hey, Ko, how much longer you think till he'll be up and walking?" The redhead looked to his younger brother expectantly, his fingers drumming against the table, the usual sign of his impatience, or just plain /br /Kobra let out a small sigh, refilling his coffee and taking a long satisfying drink. "I have no idea," he admitted with a mumble. "It's kinda up to him on whether he'll lay back and rest or fight me at every turn." Another big drink passed his lips. "The more I argue with him about it, the more he's gonna fight." He shook his head with his lids shut weakly. "We just gotta see how this pans out."br /br /Both men frowned, nodding their thanks when the woman came back handing their food over with a fresh round of coffee, even a new pot. She smiled weakly. "Ain't you boys getting no sleep?" She was trying to be polite, but it was just small talk. She soon shot a glare over her shoulder and headed back into the grey swinging doors of the kitchen. The steaks weren't huge but the smell of spices and herbs made the men's mouths water, the brown skin indented with charred bits of brown was a forgotten paradise. They just stared at the food for a moment with their mouths watering before they each dug in, the meat was a bit tough, but tasty nonetheless. Their knives were soon coated in the animal meat and juice. Gulping down each bite, it sure as hell was better than power pup, and hell, if bein stuck here meant they got'ta eat like this at times, well the who the fuck cared?br /br /About fifteen minutes passed before Jet finally leaned back with a content sigh, hand on his stomach and licking at his lips. A small burp came out as he reached for his coffee, downing yet another mug of that God sent liquid. It ran down his throat smoothly, the rich aroma floating up to his nose as he sighed happily, yup, this was the /br /Poison crossed his arms behind his head and closed his eyes. Meat was good, oh god yes, meat was good. He almost felt like lulling himself to sleep, eye unwillingly opening to hear someone walking up, their waitress handed them a small piece of paper. "Your bill," she said quickly, "You pay up front." And with that she turned away and went back to work. Poison closed his eyes again, suppressing a long yawn. Having another sip of coffee, he glanced to the bill. 25 carbons? He shook his head, those steaks put them over worse than anything, coffee was cheap here, and the coffee was damn /br /Standing, as much as no one seemed to want to, was the next step of their journey. Heading for the front register he paid their bill, glancing back to see his brother and Jet dragging their feet along behind him, stretching was the inevitable trait. They had to stay awake and check out the town as a team. Slipping his shades on Poison headed out into the cruel light of the desert sun. The perfect remedy for overeating. Stretches and small noises filled the air as they headed back to the rock lined walkway, rubble crunching under their heavy boots as Jet let out a content sigh. The sun kinda felt good on their skin, the diner was cool in almost a cruel way... An unnatural way, but they had good /br /Kobra stretched out and yawned, squinting even under his tinted shades. He spotted a garage and took the lead, strolling over. The building itself was beat to shit, but the actual equipment seemed to be in good shape. A longing for his own motorcycle hit him but he tried to shake it off, taking a look around. He saw cars from all ages, some were even from the 2000s, and those were harder to come by. You needed computers to fix them and where there were computers, there was Bli. A shiver ran down his spine as he looked around the open building, no computers…glancing to the cars again he noticed it was interiors being scrapped, that was… a bit better...? A frown tugged his lips, who the fuck cares about their interior?! He sighed and glanced around realizing he wandered into the garage alone, Kobra groaned, he always did that and got yelled at for it!br /br /Ready to head back he felt a hand touch his shoulder and spun around ready to fight, the quick motion and awkward posing made him fall on his ass with a loud 'thud'. The body connected to the hand chuckled. "Nice moves," the man teased, extending his hand to the form on the ground. Kobra took it warily, and stood squinting through his shades to get a look at the man who scared the shit out of him. The man was young, easily in his early twenties; he had bright hazel eyes and mussy dirty blonde hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. He wore a half grin that vaguely reminded Kobra of an embarrassed anime character. Shaking the thought off, his eyes darted back to analyzing the man before him. Despite his age, the kid was near as tall as him! Wasn't quite as thin but they held similar builds. They probably could have passed for twins with a change of clothes and some hair dye! /br /"Sorry 'bout that, I have a tendency to walk quietly," gesturing to his boots he chuckled. "You'd think these things would make more noise out here, but oh well, sometimes life just has it's little mysteries, eh?" he relaxed his hands, looking to the man in shades with a half-smile "Name's Greased Whiskers," He extended his hand to the older man easily. The situation soon felt awkward…br /br /Kobra stared at the dark oil coated hand for a moment before Whiskers retracted it wiping his hand on his black patchy jeans, obviously not thinking of what he was doing, before seeing a strange man wander into his building. The hand left dark stains on his jeans, they lingered among the other various blotches in a way that was similar to a pattern, almost intentional. Extending a smudgy, less dirty hand Kobra weakly shook it with a nod. "Just was admiring your setup here, got a good work space." His eyes darted around the dirty grey walls covered with various clippings of newspapers, magazines, sketches, all of various engines and parts. One in particular was tacked up above a dimly lit work desk with a chair pulled out. Must've been where he was sitting when Kobra strolled in. "That Ford-289 V8 looks pretty damn good there, you into Mustangs?" He arched a brow, the obvious answer there but, just gave him time to check out the /br /"Oh hell yeah!" Came the kid's eager reply. "64 and ½ all the way!" his eyes lit up and he clasped his hands together, cars were his thing, simple as that. "Man, my mom had one when she was a kid, parents got it for her sweet sixteen. Only cost 'er 300 bucks! She had to sell it when she married my dad though, it sucked so hard!" he groaned, obviously still upset by her choice. Moving to flop his body down in one of the open cars he laughed "I'd kill for one of 'em now. But then again, I woulda killed for one at any time," he joked. "That machine was a fuckin' beast!" he grinned wide at the older /br /Kobra chuckled at the kid's enthusiasm. This was cute, he shook his head. "Yeah, a li'l before your time, huh?" Kobra inquired with a smirk splitting his face at one side. With a shake of his head he continued "Well I gotta head out, man, sorry to bug ya." He was about to walk out when he stopped and half turned back "Wait, how much you know about bikes?"br /br /"Bikes?" the younger man blinked, "Like what? Motorcycles?" Stroking his chin slightly he headed for the back room, a load of spare parts laid there. Shuffling through them he muttered to himself and frowned softly "I got enough spares to fix one up," he turned back and looked to him "Why, whatcha need to know about 'em? Need one fixed?" Obviously a bit spacey in his thought process, it'd been so long since he'd gotten paid for doin' this... this was like a perfect dream come true, all he could have ever /br /He nodded and stroked his chin. "I got one myself, but uh, I think the engines shot…" he swallowed "It's in the back of my bro's car… Would you mind taking a peek at it?" he crossed his arms, watching the kid's face. He was hoping this could be the fix he needed; Poison and Ghoul usually got theirs from the fights, fan girls and attention. Jet got his from the feelings of accomplishment when he completed a mission perfectly. And Kobra? Well Kobra got his from the freedom of his bike. The privacy and thrill of really having the time to introspect, to lose yourself in the /br /Whiskers lit up. "Y-yeah, of course I could!" he grinned proudly. "Just... Just bring it by whenever and I could could take a peek at it!" He was beaming with excitement. Hands clasped together he chuckled shaking his head "I'll see you later!" he called. noticing Kobra was walking out of the garage. "Yes!" Kobra whispered to himself with a big grin. He would be back on his bike soon enough and he could even run missions on his own again, any little bit helped out right /br /Heading back out into the sun, Kobra adjusted his glasses to find Jet and Poison sitting outside of a medical clinic giving him a stern look. He waved them off slightly as they stood. Crossing his arms, he tilted his hips slightly, waiting for the shitstorm to touch down. Poison looked like he was gonna smack him as the pair met up with Kobra, an eye roll and glower was the main communication right now, sometimes non-verbal contact was all they did. Plus bystanders didn't need to be nosing into their business. br /br /Poison opened his mouth but was cut off by Jet coughing. "We're gonna stop inside, see if they got any herbs and shit to help Ghoul out." Dusting some of the dirt off his dark jacket, he let another cough fly. "Don't wander off again or I'll let Poison blast through this whole damn town," Jet took off inside of the building to hopefully get a little extra boost of help, never could have too many /"I found a garage willing to look at my bike, I was just checkin' shit out," Kobra attempted to explain to his brother as they walked into the building. It was clean, but not freakishly so, there was dirt on the buttercup floors and the walls were an odd seafoam green. Like they were trying to make hospitals "happy". The wallpaper turned to stripes, like a circus design; bring out the big top stripes. Various counters lined the room with off-white tile. Dirty brown lines for grout, various coffee stains lingered there, the shades from light beige to a rich /br /Jet walked up to one of the women hovering over a clipboard that was desperately trying to fall apart in her hands. She blinked and looked up at him with an arched brow. "Can I help you?" She twirled a pencil around one of her yellow locks. She didn't even stand up to Jet-Star's shoulder, but from her glance alone he felt as if he was being looked down on. Her dark eyes were bearing into his own, every breath she took made the deep scar tissue on her neck expand and retract- She'd been given a death blow, and most of all she survived it. A strong woman stood before him, to say the /br /Jet swallowed thickly. "My friend was shot up pretty bad and our medic… Well, he did everything he could, I was wondering if you had any pain meds or anything..?" He arched a dark brow and crossed his strong arms over his chest, watching the woman let out a sigh before moving around to pick up various herbs in small glass jars, handing them over. Her gritty nails were stained with oil and dirt, they were rough and jagged, betraying her as a nail biter. Stress was here in the town, but the signs of it were /br /The woman went back to her charts straight away. "They grow all around this town, you know. Just in back alley ways, along buildings, so on." The woman mumbled as she flipped through a few pages, "We're a free service, so if he gets any worse, feel free to bring him in." With that she turned back to her work, waving Jet off with a flick of her wrist. She didn't even give him a second glance. Her work was too important for small /br /After all that's what she was about, saving lives was more important than a chat with some stranger. That was the kind of thing that distracted her, and she couldn't afford that. "Razor!" Called another nurse and she rushed over, a kid sat there with a scraped knee that was covered in bits of glass and rock. 'Tsking' softly, she knelt down and used tweezers to pull bits of the glass free. Then gently brushing the rock away, Razor cleaned the dirt and wiped the area clean before wrapping it in a /br /"Now be careful out there," she said, smiling and ruffling the boy's hair. His dirt coated face lit up and he nodded, hustling back to his friends. The doors let out a gentle hum as they closed, as the woman sighed and washed her hands free of all the dirt she could /br /Jet watched the woman with soft eyes. Shaking it off, he extended the herbs to Poison, whose hand was still hovering near his blaster. This town was off. It was like the war never even happened. That wasn't normal; it even had a false sense of security. Poison swallowed heavily and gave both men a nod, with that the two headed after him. The sun was blinding up above them, it rays taunting and burning the men. The heat was almost unbearable, the safest action was just to slump back into the inn, and all three dirty sweating /br /As soon as the door shut they were greeted by the aged woman, her shaking hands clutched over the curve of her belly. "You had good time?" she arched one of her brows before turning to pull a few papers from the front desk and extend them to Poison. He couldn't help but let out a soft groan, he'd forgotten about this nonsense, and wasn't really in the mood to dress up in a goddamn maid outfit before getting ass fucked over a barrel by this biddy. She poked him slightly until he took the papers glancing over the list and mumbling, the paper had an off texture to it. A bit more grainy then most loose leaf paper, and it was an odd tan shade. One small whiff explained everything: hemp paper. Of course, the conditions out here were perfect for growing… They must've… So that's why the town was so relaxed!br /br /Holding off a chuckle at the thought, Poison began to read on. Nothing on there was too time consuming or difficult, mainly things like dust the cobwebs, clean the glass, just small things to make the place look better. Shifting through the papers he noticed there were three papers, through the last one had less to do, the work was harder. Smirking softly to himself, he passed them out, giving himself the first and his brother the last. "Alright, we'll finish this up before headin' back upstairs," proceeding to go and start dusting off the /br /A few hours and one very annoyed Kobra later; the men were finally heading back to their room. Upon entrance they found a very content, very loud snoring teammate of theirs, surrounded by plates of various Mexican foods. Stifling a small chuckle, Kobra slumped into the bed opposite the sleeping man. Poison rolled his eyes as he headed for the bathroom, cleaning up the dust that coated his hands. The remaining man went to slip off his jacket and boots, despite the fact that his work wasn't that bad, in this heat he still managed to work up quite a sweat. Slumping onto Ghoul's bed, Jet let out a sigh, taking the half-eaten plates of food made him want to gag. He threw the bundle onto the floor with a sigh before stretching /br /Staring at the ceiling with brows furrowed, he recapped the last few days. It was an odd feeling, going from the terror of losing a teammate back to normal, was the terror still there? Not really, they knew Ghoul would pull through this. Turning to roll onto his right side and face the damaged wall he closed his exhausted eyes. Even being in this kind of environment was exhausting at times. It was all a false sense of security; they could be walking right into a trap… just those thoughts get to you. He shook off the idea as he waited for the leader to /br /Minutes later Poison did just that, stretching with a long yawn. Jet pushed him out of the way to handle his own mighty needs. With another yawn, Poison squinted his eyes, trying to get the blur to fade. He felt dead on his feet at this point, he was so used to never getting sleep that the prospect of sleeping in a real bed was orgasmic. He joined into the same bed as his brother and let out a louder yawn slumping on his side and curling up. Poison passed out almost straight /br /Kobra pushed his brother slightly. "Fatass," he mumbled, as he rolled over on his side trying to get comfortable. He only could stay in this position for a few minutes, part of him nervous, the other excited. He might have a bike again soon! Smiling softly to himself, he didn't even hear Jet slip back into his bed, all he could imagine was being on the road again. The way the chrome looked through the visor of his helmet and the salty scent of sweat that dripped down his body when his protections lipped off and he stood there, truly a man. The thoughts lulled him into vivid dreams, bright nameless colors and ever changing shapes, all played out against the bright white of the Summer's /br /br /Waking up the next morning, dust particles dancing in the air as a small irritating noise overtook the room. Jet let out an unhappy moan at this; he just wanted to get some fucking rest after yesterday. Nonetheless, his dark lids slowly lifted, squinting against the white designs on the opposing wall. Once again that bastard sun deciding to give him a "wake up" fuck in eyes. Another disgruntled noise emerged from his thick chapped lips. His eyes darted to the source of the throaty grunts. "Ghoul, if you're gonna fuck your pillow, at least wait till we go o-" eyes widening in realization at what the man was /br /Ghoul was mid-battle with his wheelchair. He swore softly as the damn thing snapped shut, crushing his hand in the process, he almost howled with pain. Unable to hold himself up, he was hunched against the wall like a crushed croissant on the ground. The aggrieved arch of his spine was as painful to look at as it was to be in. Yanking his reddened hand back he let out a fresh string of swears, shaking the damn thing to try to get the feeling back into his digits. Cracking his swollen knuckles, he focused back on getting the damn chair to open up, completely unaware of the sympathetic gaze in his direction. He was always a strong fighter, and he didn't want the guys thinking that he was giving in because of this shit. He was tougher than that!br /br /His teeth let out a loud crack noise as they clashed together again, brows furrowing in frustration. He'd been working on getting the damn thing to open up for nearly two hours. Doing it was a challenge in itself, let alone having to censor his volume for the sake of his teammates. Once again, he would never let them know how bad this shit was. They may have been his team, but they were still men, and he wasn't gonna be the butt of the goddamned /br /Jet watched the man sadly, he understood how it felt. Well, not so much that he'd been there before, but that empathy. Ghoul had always been the fiercest, the one willing to go out guns-a-blazin'. Being stuck in this room, fuck he must be going stir crazy. No wonder he wanted that goddamned chair to work right. The tall man extended his hand as if to help but withdrew it. He balled his fingers into a fist staring at the rough texture of his thick, yellowing nails. As good as his intentions were he had to let Ghoul suffer through this on his own, there was no other way. Offering help would seem like an insult to Ghoul's pride, and well, when you're Ghoul, pride was /br /The best choice seemed to be laying back, just allowing this to take its toll. Moving silently, Jet managed to get back into a horizontal position. Being sure he was facing away, he just stared intently at the wall, the brothers seemed to be sleeping through it. He just wanted to give Ghoul that chance, the ability to just rest for a moment and have his private struggle, once that was finished he'd forget this entire thing happened. After all, he was just dreaming right? Smirking softly to himself, he closed his eyes again. Yes, just a dream...br /br /Ghoul froze for a moment, keeping his body still while his eyes darted to his side. Out of his peripheral vision, he checked on his three companions. Kobra seemed to be in sloth mode, like he'd been drugged into sleep. Just the thought tugged a frown at the corners of his lips, closing his eyes and giving his head a slight shake he discarded the thought. No way in hell that could happen. Glancing back he noticed Poison sleeping with one leg out and snoring. He always did sound like he was a man when he slept… A man who had a rag stuffed in his mouth, that is. Rolling his eyes, his attention finally settled on Jet. This brought a full on frown to his dry lips. Jet's breathing pattern was off, it was too quick, too shaky. Fuck, he was awake. With an odd movement he released his grip on the chair. /br /"Fuck," he snarled heavily once again, pulling his wrist out of that Devil trap. His eyes narrowed. Devil…? D…? Oh, that mother fucker! Ghoul muttered a long string of obscenities. That asshole gave him a faulty chair on purpose! Probably was hoping that fuckin' thing would snap on him and cut him in half! After all these years of being whacked with that old cane, the old man wanted to finish him off! He couldn't help but laugh at his own little joke. One day that man was gonna put his eye out and he would never let him forget it. A small smirk spread across his face until the throbbing in his hand reminded him of that blasted /br /The metal gave a small wheeze of protest as it was forced to open again. The various bolts and screws had grown old and stiff from lack of use. Finally with enough pressure and fiddling they snapped into an open position. The seat itself was a murky swamp brown. The cracked center was a cream star in the vast sea of cheap padding. It's rough irritated edges looked uncomfortable and inflexible, but when Ghoul's finger applied pressure, he found it to be quite the opposite. Though the plastic-y substance was smooth, with a little give it was still the kind that stuck to your skin and made it feel muggier than you wished. Like the time Poison jacked a few water bottles off some Dracs, not even halfway back to the diner they all had that waxy feeling on their hands. The armrests had the same kind of padding. Thought it wasn't broken it still had indentation. Someone must've put plenty of weight on this baby for a long ass /br /Sighing, Ghoul's attention went to the pedals, dark as the sky over Zone 6, they went tilted inward. Frowning at the wear and tear on those as well, this baby was a fixer upper to say the least. Sadly, he could feel his muscles growing sore and tired. His breathing became more labored; Ghoul moved his body to slump back down. Eyes closed, his pink lips parted slightly, hot breaths came out in short pants. This was hell, it had to be, and he was being punished for something, wasn't he? Fuck, whatever it was, he was sorry already!br /br /His lids grew heavy, bobbing up and down like a hipster at an indie concert. Things came to him in small bursts, like watching a series of film clips on a screen. Ghoul was reminded of smoking pot for some reason, how the world felt like a screen, and he was just laying back and watching it. First it was just the light moving against the wall, different intervals, a montage of life. The noises, he could hear snores growing, fussier, the sign that they would soon be waking. Squeaking of angry mattresses soon followed, the protest and give of unwilling springs. Blackness. Feet on the ground, the small taps of carpet versus the deeper thumps of tile. Water rushing through pipes and their own groans through the drywall, a loud creak when the water was cut. More black. Voices, deep and raspy from their slumber, no words, just the guttural sounds of a half asleep Poison, obviously pissed off at missing his beauty sleep. Kobra's softer voice, a bit more hopeful, but slower, carefully planned out. Ghoul could hardly open his eyes; they weren't willing to submit to him. Jet's own groggy voice joined the mash up of tones; the throbbing in Ghoul's head gave the entire thing a beat. Bang, bang, bang, soft mumbles, bang, bang, bang, raspy irritants, bang, bang, groggy /br /The sickening song was starting to make Ghoul's stomach churn. He felt like screaming but his throat didn't want to work. A sigh seemed to match his need, it was all it took for all the noise to stop, all attention snapping to his form. The whoosh and taps of bodies moving, the warmth of another living being close by, his lids finally managed to part to see Kobra, flashes of white light surrounding him. His lips parted seeing a jar in the man's hand, sweet, mother fucking relief. The acidic taste of herbs filled his mouth, a small chunk of dirt made him hock some out, but he managed to down the rest happily, tears stinging his swollen eyes. The herbs always made him feel a bit woozy but those fuckers really did the trick, within a few minutes you felt like you were floating on cloud nine. br /br /Kobra watched the injured man with worry, eyes darting to the now opened wheelchair he frowned. "I told you not to push it," he all but hissed at the injured man. As laid back as Kobra could be, it did piss him off when someone directly disobeyed what he warned them against. "Now listen to me, you're gonna lay here and get the fuck better, so we can move on, got it?" Kobra's tone took on a strict command that was usually reserved for Poison. He was the medic here, goddammit!br /br /A small groan of agreement came from the bedridden man. Closing his eyes, he let himself relax, back to his symphony of torture. Bang, bang, mother fucking /br /Raking his thick digits through unruly curls Jet sighed, shaking his head. He decided against telling the guys what he saw this morning. Once again, the bitter taste of a man's pride founds its way into his mouth. He tugged a few small rocks out of his dry, spoiled hair. The sun has really been doing a number on him, taking his normally dark hair to a lighter shade, the lighter it was, the more brittle, the more brittle…well, the more shit he had to pull out of it. It was like a freakin' jungle in /br /Scratching at his nose, Poison winced; tugging some of his sun burnt skin off. On average, he didn't burn to bad, but his nose always got to peeling. Tossing the bits of discarded tissue to the side, he flicked his fingers trying to get whatever was stuck under his nails out. Running a hand through his dyed locks, he coughed. "A'ight let's head out, try to get ahold of the old man and see if there's any other runnin' 'round he needs done." Nodding to the two able men, he headed out the /br /Kobra lingered a few minutes longer, checking Ghoul- he seemed to have passed out. That was the best for now, shaking his head with a sigh, Kobra trudged to follow his brother, the least they could do was thank D for forcing Pony out there to drop that shit off. Deep footsteps sounded through the hallow of the staircase, two sets of rapid and one set of slower, planned thumps. The noise drowned out the squeaks that steps normally made. It was less creepy than normal, thank god for /br /Beams of light shone through the less dingy glass of the entrance. After their work yesterday everything looked a bit nicer. The biggest offenders, cobwebs and thick dust, were now gone. Though everything was still faded and covered in a film of dried dirt, it made the place look more put together, at least. A few florescent bulbs flickered with unease as they walked underneath, Kobra had a feeling he knew what awaited him when they returned. Gaze narrowing on a small scuffed stepstool that confirmed his fears, he groaned as he caught up to his brother and Jet grabbing breakfast burritos left on the counter, still steaming from the freshly scrambled eggs inside. He could see the red of the salsa leaking out from his brother's tortilla, and feeling his mouth water, he snatched the third plate. It was wider than his fist and long enough to hang over the edge of the plate. The steam danced up to caress his face in its warmth and spicy scent, and he dove in happily. br /br /Stomachs satisfied and flasks filled, they finally headed out. It was a bit cooler today, high nineties; the biggest relief was the humidity was low. It wasn't that heat that got ya, it was that damn mugginess, it made you feel sticky, and sluggish. Those were the days it was dangerous. Going straight for the CB they used yesterday, Poison placed out his call for Dr. Death Defying. Tapping his hand against the wooden wall he awaited his response, the Air was dead. Poison frowned, trying all of their frequencies, nothing. This was bad, very bad. Grimacing, he looked to Jet and Kobra, upper lip curled up slightly. He knew something was going down, he just knew it! Normally they at least left a transmission running, even if they were moving! This was bad, so fucking bad!/div
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