California 2019
Zone 6
The next morning, Frank was the first to wake up. He reached into his pocket for his cigarettes, and realized he was in his pyjamas. He sat up. Gerard was beside him, also in his pyjamas. Gerard whimpered in his sleep.
"It's okay, Gee. Go back to sleep." Frank whispered, brushing the hair out of Gerard's face. He felt like an asshole. He had spent most of yesterday crying and passing out, and Gerard had been there to help him the whole time. Frank hadn't comforted Gerard at all, and Gerard had also lost his wife and daughter. Frank got up, and found two piles of clothes at the end of the mattress. One was an outfit his size – he assumed it was for him, so he got dressed quickly, praying that Gerard wouldn't wake up and catch him in his underwear. After a minute or so, he was dressed in black jeans, a yellow and black striped shirt, and a dark green vest. He wandered out into the diner, craving a cigarette. Instead, he found Ray and Cherri eating at a booth. Ray was wearing a new outfit, too – black jeans, a black t-shirt, and a black jacket with an upside down American flag and a spider sewn onto the back.
Frank slid into the booth beside Cherri, and was met with a can of shit being pushed in his face.
"What's this?" He asked groggily. Cherri and Ray looked at each other, and Ray spoke.
"Breakfast." Frank screwed up his nose.
"Smells like dog food." He said.
"Good guess. Now eat." Cherri pushed a spoon towards him. He looked at her.
"You're joking, right? We're being hunted down by an evil group that goes by Better Living Industries, we've all lost family and friends," Frank flinched, "And you think I'm joking?" Frank grabbed the spoon, but didn't begin to eat. He looked at Ray, who took a bite of the canned food with a pained expression, and then he looked at Cherri, who glared at him.
"If you don't eat that, Ray and I will hold you down and force it down your throat." She growled. Gerard walked around the corner and looked at their group with a confused expression. Frank and Ray noticed he was wearing grey skinny jeans, a black t-shirt, and a blue jacket. As he sat down at the booth with them, they noticed the red logo on his back – a pill and an X under them, somewhat like a skull and cross bones, but it reminded them of their band, My Chemical Romance. Ray smiled a little.
"Morning, Gerard." He said, gently sliding a can of dog food in front of Gerard. Gerard looked at Frank, who said,
"It's dog food. We have to eat it or we're getting beat up by these two." Gerard nodded and took a bite. He seemed...defeated. He grimaced when he began to chew the food. Cherri looked at him with a motherly expression.
"Gerard, it's easier if you take small amounts and swallow them. Chewing it makes it worse." She said. Gerard followed her advice. Frank looked at his best friend, then at his can of dog food, and then back to Gerard. If Gerard can eat this, so can I. Frank thought stubbornly. He took a small spoonful, put it in his mouth, and swallowed quickly.
"Hey, this isn't so bad!" He said somewhat happily. The others stared at him, and Gerard gave a small smile.
"Remember when I dared you to eat one of your dog's treats back home?" Gerard asked Frank. Frank laughed.
"Yeah, and it still didn't taste as bad as most of my cooking!" The two smiled at each other, and Frank began to giggle. A few seconds later, the two were howling with laughter. Ray and Cherri stared at them in amazement, and just then a small voice shrieked in laughter. Show Pony skated into the diner with the small girl on his shoulders – Missile Kid, they remembered – the new Killjoys had met yesterday. Pony skated over to their table and lifted Missile off his shoulders and stood her up in front of the booth they were all sitting in. Missile smiled at them, a gap in her mouth where she had recently lost a tooth. Frank, Gerard, Ray, and Cherri finished their 'breakfast', and Ray, Cherri, and Pony stayed with Missile while she ate her can of dog food in a somewhat happy manner.
Frank and Gerard went outside and fidgeted nervously. Frank turned to Gerard.
"D'you have any smokes?" He asked.
"No, but I wish I did. I want coffee, too." Gerard paced a bit. "Wait a minute...where's Mikey?" Frank shrugged, and they turned toward the diner. They had walked about forty feet away from it without noticing. The headed back slowly, but began to walk faster as they became more concerned about Mikey. When they entered the diner, they went directly to Cherri Cola.
"Where's Mikey?" Gerard asked her in a worried tone. She smiled.
"Oh, he's probably still in his room. Probably just getting used to his outfit." She giggled. Frank raised his eyebrow.
"Can we go see him, or what?" He asked. Cherri's smile grew larger.
"Alright, c'mon. His room's in the same hall as all yours." She led them to a small hallway just off the diner, and went to the room on the far end. She knocked on the door.
"Mikey? You in there?" She was met with a somewhat worried tone.
"Umm, yeah, but I have some clothes in here – I mean, they fit and all, but...I don't think they're...right."
Gerard stepped up to the door. "What d'you mean, Mikey? Let me see it." He said.
"Umm...no."
"Mikey, come on." Frank called.
"No." Came the firm response from behind the door. Ray stepped up to the door.
"Michael James Way. Open this door now or I'll break it down." He said sternly. Mikey gasped.
"You wouldn't." He said, but his tone was nervous.
"Yeah, I would." Ray said with a finality that won the conversation. The door slowly opened. Gerard and Frank stared at Mikey, and began to howl with laughter. Ray slowly smiled, and had to turn away so he wouldn't start laughing at Mikey. Mikey slowly walked out of the room, and his outfit was revealed. He was wearing super-skinny black jeans, a tiger striped, loose tank top, and a somewhat tight red and black leather jacket.
"I feel dirty." Mikey said quietly, and this caused Frank and Gerard to lean on each other for support from their laughter. Eventually, they fell over and began rolling around in the hall way. Ray walked away with Pony and Missile, and Cherri nudged Frank and Gerard with her foot.
"C'mon, guys. Leave him alone. He didn't choose that outfit." Mikey looked at her.
"Well then, who did pick this out?" He asked. Cherri smiled.
"I did." She giggled and turned around, leaving Frank and Gerard in the hall with Mikey. Mikey stepped over them, muttered,
"Fuck off, guys." and walked into the main part of the diner, where he too experienced what breakfast in 2019 consisted of – at least for the Killjoys. But Mikey knew he would rather eat dog food than be controlled by BL/ind. He hated the thought of millions of people worldwide being controlled by pills. He decided he would ask Dr. D about it later, but for now, he had to find a way to eat dog food, or rather, shit in a can, without being sick.