Chapter 2

The Ongoing History of the End of the World

Battery Towers was the epicentre of Better Living Industries, indeed the very heart of Battery City. It overshadowed everything around it, which is exactly what it was intended to do. A parent towers over its child. The child learns to fear and respect the parent. The child obeys. A corporate office towers over a factory. The workers learn that the power lies within the office. The workers obey. The President is raised over his people on a stage. The people worship him in awe. The people obey.

From the window of her office at the very top of the tower, Eri could see across the entire city, and even into the borderland between it and the slums of Zone One. The view was a luxury her status afforded her; she was the president and CEO of BL/ind, and as such was almost singularly responsible for the salvation of humanity...or so she told herself. Under her leadership, BL/ind had become one of the largest corporations in the world before the Fires of 2012. It was her alone who had taken the initiative to step in and take charge of the survivors. And with her guidance, human civilization would be rebuilt better and stronger than ever before.

Her thoughts were interrupted by an electronic tone. She sighed sharply.

"Come," she instructed loudly. The door to her office slid open, barely making a sound, and Korse, head of the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W Division, and possibly Eri's least favourite thing on the planet, walked in. "Your report, Mr. Korse?" she said, not even turning to look at him.

"Of course Eri-sama," he replied in the horrible voice that even the strongest anti-REM drugs couldn't keep out of her dreams. "As you know, the Subject is travelling with three Undesirables. They had left the scene before my Exterminators arrived to detain them."

"Killjoys," Eri hissed, as though the word was a particularly foul profanity.

"The team is, of course, in pursuit," Korse continued. Eri turned away from the window, and regarded him coldly.

"Yes, I'm aware of that. I understand that they're proceeding on foot. Would you care to explain the logic behind that decision?"

"I wasn't aware that my command decisions required your approval, Eri-sama," Korse said with flagrantly false innocence. Eri's eyes narrowed, but she forced herself to maintain her composure.

"Mr. Korse, I allow you to operate with relative autonomy because I believe that it maximises the efficiency of the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W Division. However, this does not mean that I will allow you to do whatever you want with company property. Your Exterminators, I remind you, are company property. I want to know why you didn't order a vehicular pursuit, eliminate the Undesirables, and bring back my Subject."

"Of course, Eri-sama," Korse said with a predatory smile. "I believe that there is a high probability that the Undesirables in question will lead us to more of their kind, perhaps even a residence of sorts. This could be a valuable opportunity to eliminate a number of Undesirables with minimal effort...and minimal cost."

"That was not your assignment," Eri told him sternly. "The Subject is of vital importance to the future of this company!"

"Eri-sama," Korse said patronizingly, "you are responsible for running this company, and you do an admirable job. I am responsible for sanitizing Battery City and the surrounding Zones. That means that my job is to kill as many Undesirables as possible." He came close to her, far too close for her liking, and she was infinitely grateful that her desk kept him away from her, as though it were a shield. "You have your grandiose visions of the future, Eri-sama. And I am the tool you use to achieve those visions. I know this. But if you want me to be the means to your ends, I will do so as I see fit. Agreed?"

Eri felt her stomach churning. She wanted to reach out her hands and strangle him, that freak who dared to command her. But she willed herself to remain calm, willed her heart to slow back to its normal, medically-regulated rhythm. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, and when she opened them again, she made sure that they were hard as diamonds.

"Order your team to engage the Undesirables and bring the Subject back to the City," she instructed coldly. For an instant that felt like an eternity, Korse said nothing. He simply stared into her eyes without a trace of expression. Though his face betrayed no emotion, Eri could feel the challenge in his silence. But after that moment, Korse smiled, and backed away.

"Yes Eri-sama," he said. He turned to leave, but spurred on by a sudden flare of courage, Eri called after him.

"And Mr. Korse?" He stopped, and turned to face her. She smiled darkly. "I think I shall schedule a diagnostic of your restoration chamber today. I'm afraid you will be unable to use it." Korse's face remained frozen, expressionless, but Eri could feel his simmering rage. Then, without a word, he swiftly turned and stalked out of the room.

"Move!" Danger roared, twisting around to fire off a few quick shots at the attacking Exterminators without breaking his stride. Jenny needed no prompting; she ran in blind panic, desperately trying to keep pace with Memory, who turned his head every few seconds to check that she was still with him.

"Almost there!" Desert called out, leading the way. "Any second now – " He promptly tripped, and fell flat on his face. "Found it!"

"Punch in the code!" Desert yelled. "Vamp, do a Syria, now!" Memory abruptly stopped, and pivoted 180 degrees, pulling a laser gun from his belt. Danger stopped beside him and spun around, so that they were both facing their attackers. They fired relentlessly into the Draculoids until most had either been eliminated or had dove for cover in a manner quite unbecoming of elite Exterminators.

Meanwhile, Jenny was crouched beside the Bunker's hatch, which was pitted and dust-covered, but otherwise seemed in perfect condition. Desert's finger hovered over a small keypad on the hatch door, with a hesitant expression on his face. Jenny's stomach flipped.

"What, don't you know the combination?" she asked, trying to keep the hysterical edge out of her voice.

"Could you kindly shut up a moment?" he responded absently, and Jenny couldn't help an entire legion of panicked thoughts from invading her mind. I'm going to die. I can't believe it. I'm going to die.

Memory and Danger ran towards the hatch, taking cover behind a large boulder. The Draculoids were advancing again, but not en masse like before. Instead, they sprinted from cover to cover in pairs or threes, and laid down cover fire for the groups that followed.

"Have you noticed?" Memory commented, ducking a laser shot that splintered the rock above his head. "They're only shooting as the two of us."

"We're the only ones shooting at them!" Danger pointed out. He stood up to return fire, but crouched back down immediately as the Draculoid's fire came ever closer.

"Yeah, but Desert and the girl are easier targets," Memory said.

"So?"

"I dunno, maybe they want the girl alive," Memory suggested.

"And this helps us...how?" Danger peeked out from the side of the boulder and fired off three shots. "Got one!"

"It doesn't really," Memory admitted. "But I think I know something that might."

"Grenades?" Memory nodded. "I think I left them in the car."

"You what?" Danger grinned sheepishly. "Oh goddamn it!" Suddenly, a small black object landed on the ground beside them, an object that looked curiously similar to a...

"Oh shi –" was all Danger managed to get out before the stun grenade activated. They fell to the ground, thoroughly incapacitated.

The Draculoids began to advance on Desert and Jenny. With an irritated groan, Desert pulled a laser pistol out of his jacket and handed it to Jenny.

"Here. Point and shoot. I'm gonna need a minute." Jenny blanched. She'd never even held a gun before!

"What? But...but I can't...!" The Draculoids were almost on top of them.

"Shoot goddamn it!" Desert barked, and Jenny, spurred on more by panic than anything else, began to fire wildly at the advancing Exterminators. They dove for cover to evade her erratic shots, but she failed to hit even a single one. All of a sudden, before Jenny even had a chance to flinch, one of the Draculoids shot the gun right out of her hand. All she could do was stare in awe as he approached. He pointed his gun at her head and...

Just a second there Killjoys, we've got a call coming in. Who am I talking to?

"Hey Dr. D! It's me, Delegate Zed."

Hey Zed, what's your problem?

"Not my problem, man. Just calling in to let everyone know that there's a Drac patrol coming through Zone Six, so everyone keep your eyes open."

Well thank you very much for the heads-up my man. They sure are stepping up patrols lately, aren't they?

"Yeah, everyone's feeling the pinch. It's really weird, but I almost miss the old days. I mean, I know it was still dangerous, and I know we still had to hide and everything, and I know it flat-out sucked sometimes, but...I dunno, I just feel like those were still the days, man.

I know just what you mean, man. Those were the days. The danger days. Well, I'm gonna have to let you go now man. Thanks again, and keep your boots tight!

"I will man, and thanks for sticking around. We all really appreciate what you do for us."

Well, I dunno how much I do myself... Anyways, thanks for bearing with me Killjoys. Now, back to Jenny and the boys!

"Come with me," the Draculoid said, words which Jenny's fear-stricken brain could barely process. I'm going to die, she thought. I'm going to die. I'm going to die.

But then, a succession of small miracles occurred.

First, having recovered from the effects of the stun grenade, Danger raised his gun and shot the Draculoid straight through the head.

Second, at almost that exact second, Desert's eyes widened as he remembered the pass code, which he frantically keyed into the panel on the hatch, causing it to spring open. The raised hatch then became a small shield separating Desert and Jenny from the rest of the Exterminators, who were now charging forwards.

"Get inside!" Desert yelled, and Jenny needed no further prompting. She dropped into the darkened pit, thankfully managing to grab the ladder that lined the side, and climbed down into the pitch darkness resulting from her unadjusted eyes. Initially, this was just as disorienting and frightening for her as the Draculoid attack had been, and she began to hyperventilate as she spun around, desperately looking for anything at all that she could see. However, Desert was right behind her, and as soon as he reached the bottom, he clapped his hands twice and the Bunker was suddenly filled with light. It was considerably smaller than Jenny had expected, only about half the size of Jenny's apartment, but she noted that each wall was adorned with either shelves of provisions or bunk beds...although one also had "Fuck the BL/ind!" spray-painted on it in acid green.

Back on the surface, Danger and Memory locked eyes.

"Iraq?" Danger asked him.

"Iraq," Memory agreed. The two then sprinted to the hatch, screaming at the top of their lungs and firing at the already puzzled Draculoids. The third miracle was that this bizarre tactic was actually quite effective, allowing them to fell several more of their assailants before they scurried into the Bunker. Danger was the last to descend, pulling the door closed above his head. As it closed, there was an audible click, signalling that it was now locked from the inside. The Killjoys were safe...for the moment.

For a few seconds, the only sound was the heavy breathing of the five occupants of the Bunker as they tried to calm their racing hearts. Danger was the first to speak up.

"Well, I vote that we never do that again!"

"Are you all right?" Memory asked Jenny, to which she nodded rather unconvincingly.

"Yeah, it's just...I can't believe...I'm so sorry about all this."

"This isn't your fault," Memory insisted.

"Technically," Desert jumped in, "it kind of is." Memory glared at him. "What? I'm just saying!"

"In any case," Danger said, sitting down on one of the bunk beds, "I think it's about time you told us what the hell you're doing out here in the first place. I'd bet you haven't spend a day of your life outside the city before now, and I sure as hell didn't plan on starting a career as a babysitter when I got up this morning! I think we're entitled to some answers."

"Oh back off!" Memory snapped, but Jenny shook her head.

"No, he's right. I...this is my fault. And you guys saved my life. The least I can do is explain why. But...it's kind of a long story."

"Those Dracs aren't going to just go away," Desert said. "We probably scared the crap out of them, but that probably means they're calling for backup right now. We're not going anywhere."

"All right then," Jenny said, sitting down on a black swivel-chair that rested beside a desk. She took a moment to collect her thoughts, realizing for the first time how incredible this all seemed. Re-tracing the chain of events that had led her to this moment only served to make it harder to believe that they had happened at all. "This whole thing started about a month ago..."