Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys

The Only Hope For Me Is You

As he was sifting through the last of the ashes in the building he was in, Gerard heard a whimper and sobbing behind him. He turned slowly, pulling out his laser gun, but he was met with a pathetic sight; a boy who looked about as old as Mikey (two or three years younger than Gerard) was pinned under a beam that had fallen from the ceiling, and he had a deep gash running down the side of his face. Gerard put his gun back into his holster, leaping over a fallen bookcase, and went to the boy.

"It's okay, I'm gonna get you out of here. Don't worry," he told him, pushing his gas mask up before hooking his gloved hands under the beam and heaving it up, off the boy's legs. The boy, who had long, matted black hair and was unusually short, latched onto Gerard's arm once he had moved the beam away, and he began to cry, shaking violently.

"Oh, Christ – hey, come on, let's get out of here before anything else falls," Gerard groaned, hauling the boy up and onto his feet. As soon as he put weight on his left leg, however, it buckled, and he clutched the older boy. Gerard gritted his teeth and threw one of the boy's arms over his shoulder, helping him. They stumbled out of the building just as another board came down, sending up a cloud of cinders that chased them away from the fire.

"M-mama," the boy whispered, his face going white as he looked around at the devastation. Tears ran down his face, mixing with the blood and sweat already coating his face. Gerard led him over to the bike, propping him on the seat and taking out a canteen and a rag. The boy timidly reached for the canteen, and Gerard handed it over, watching him gulp down half of the water. When he had finished drinking, he handed it back to Gerard, who wet the rag and began to clean his face.

"What's your name?" Gerard asked, trying to divert the boy's attention from the massacre around him and the pain of the cut on his face.

"Frank," he replied quietly, cringing as Gerard dabbed at the blood. Another building collapsed and Frank began to hyperventilate, his eyes going wide and his hand curling around Gerard's wrist.

"Okay, Frankie – I'm gonna call you that, alright? – Frankie, you're okay. I'm Gerard, and I'm gonna get you out of here. Everything is going to be okay. You're safe now, and you're my only hope right now because I've got to clean you up and see if I can salvage anything, and you've got to keep watch, make sure no more Exterminators come. Can you do that for me?" Gerard looked Frank directly in the eyes, raising his eyebrows. Frank nodded, his breathing going back to normal, and he kept an eye on the road out towards the Zones while Gerard finished cleaning his wound.

"Thank you," Frank said weakly, shyly looking up at Gerard with a slight smile. Gerard grinned back, nodding as he poured out a little bit of water onto the rag.

"I never thought I'd be this good at saving people," Gerard joked, chuckling a bit as he rung out the rag and patted Frank on the shoulder. "There you go, all cleaned up. I'll just put a bandage on that cut-" he began, but he was cut off when Frank started frantically shaking his arm and pointing back at the Getaway Mile, the road Gerard had come on.

Gerard frowned, digging around in his backpack for the bandage, holding up a finger to say 'one second.' Frank just kept tugging, whimpering now. Finally, he groaned and spoke up.

"Gerard, Exterminators!"