2
'I am Missile Kid.'
Who? He was frozen. What was this shit?
I.N.E.E.D.Y.O.U.R.H.E.L.P.
W.E.A.L.L.N.E.E.D.Y.O.U.R.H.E.L.P.
W.E.C.A.N.L.I.V.E.F.O.R.E.V.E.R
I.F.Y.O.U.'.V.E.G.O.T.T.H.E.T.I.M.E.
'I need your help. We all need your help. We can live forever if you've got the time.'
"The time for WHAT?" Gerard screeched, then winced when he remembered that Lindsey was in the other room.
"You alright honey?" she called.
"I'm…just fine!" he replied. He turned back to the screen. It was blank.
P.A.R.T.Y.P.O.I.S.O.N.
F.O.L.L.O.W.T.H.E.L.A.D.Y.B.O.Y.
"Follow the what?" he sat forward, squinting at the screen. "What the heck is a party poison? WHAT IS THIS!" he cried out in despair. Lindsey rushed in.
"What the fuck are you screaming about?" she asked worriedly.
"THIS!" he flustered, gesturing at the screen. "WHAT IS THIS!" She walked over and peered at the screen. He was too afraid to look. She sighed.
"Look. Just write what you think they need to hear." Confusion washed through him. He looked at the screen. It was the blog again. The writing had gone. She patted him on the shoulder as he stared at it, frozen. "You always write the right thing." He tried to speak, but no words came out. She waked away, leaving him struggling.
"But-there-was-a-thingy-on-the-screen!" he managed, but it was too late – she had left the room. He turned back to the computer. The blog still lingered. Nervously, he flopped his hand on the keyboard and batted it around, as if it were read hot. Random letters appeared in the empty blog space as a result. No black screen. No white type. "ARGH!" he announced loudly. What had that been? He edged away from his computer, eyeing it as he left the room. "Babe, I'm gonna do that blog a little later, ok? Right now I…I think I need some air…" he called out to Lindsey as he grabbed his jacket. He shut the door and braced the wintry cold. Snow lay thick upon the ground from the flurry two nights before. His feet crunched through it as he walked down his driveway, where he sat on the wall and contemplated what had happened inside. Missile Kid…Party poison…Lady boy? Why did those words seem so…so…relatable? He'd never encountered them in his life! As he sat there, his phone buzzed in his pocket.
"Yellow?" he answered.
"…Gerard?" Mikey answered, his voice wavering.
"Mikey? What's up?"
"Erm…there's some…erm…freaky shit…on my answering machine…" Gerard froze.
"Wh-what kind of freaky shit…?"
"Something about…helping someone?" Oh no. "And a..a..damn, what was it again…oh yeah…a kobra kid? I mean, what the hell? A fan's got hold of my number Gee. But this is just…not normal…" Gerard shivered. With that, he poured out and told Mikey everything that had just happened to him. "What the- You think we've got a stalker?" Gerard paused. He hadn't thought about that. He suddenly felt very claustrophobic.
"…I don't know. Look, I'll call the others. We'll meet at the studio in fifteen minutes."
"Ok." The phone cut off. He called Frank, Ray and Bob, and hurriedly told Lindsey he was heading out. She kissed him on his cheek. As he hugged Bandit, she wouldn't let go.
"Hey sweet cheeks! I gotta get going!" he chuckled, but as he peeled her off, his heart stopped when he saw her face. She looked…devastated. He'd seen her sad…but never…never this.
"Da da?" she sniffled. He couldn't move. His heart broke as her lower lip trembled. "Good luck, Da da." And she burst into tears. Lindsey looked at him wide-eyed.
"Did she just say…"
"I….I…"
"But that was…a full sentence…We haven't been teaching her those words!" Lindsey was shocked.
"I…I…I know…" he stammered. His baby looked…so…emotionally broken. He wrapped his arms around her.
"B? What's wrong?" She clung onto his hair, holding him close.
"Help us," she whispered in his ear. He nearly dropped her. Lindsey caught her as she slipped from Gerard's arms. He shook himself. Lindsey glared at him angrily.
"Careful with her!" she snapped. Then she saw his expression. "What? What happened? Did she say something else?" He couldn't speak. "GERARD!" He blinked. He didn't know what to do.
"I…have to go!" he stuttered. He hugged her tightly. He felt like this was…the last time he'd see her in a…in a long time. And Bandit. Shit, he couldn't stand looking into those desperately saddened eyes any longer. But he embraced her. "I love you both so much," he said, his voice cracking. Then he left. He had to. But before he shut the door, he felt he had to say something.
"I'll miss you," he half-called, half-choked. He didn't know why he'd said it. He wouldn't be gone for that long. Or…or would he?