The World Is Ugly

Killjoys, Make Some Noise!

Frank's eyes flickered open to the sound of bitter static cutting through the voice projecting from the radio.

"Gerard, up." He mustered, nudging his friend. "Static. Dracs on the way, I think."

Gerard groaned, squinting and rolling over.

"Gerard!" Frank barked, and Gee sat up.

"Cut it out, Frank."

"We need to go."

"Listen. The static's gone now, I bet they left. Please, we haven't had a full night's sleep in weeks. Let us sleep. Please. And go to sleep yourself."

Frank scoffed. "Fine. For like, an hour or so. That's it."

"Thanks," Gee mumbled, rolling back into a thick sleep.

And, reluctantly, Frank did the same.

-

Gerard's vision faded from nothing, to a thick whirl of sand.

The sandy wind was splashing against his face, his hair flickering angrily around his head. But for some reason, he couldn't feel it.

He looked around. He couldn't see anything.

So he started walking.

He walked until he could see the faded silhouettes of four figures. Two were on their knees.

Gerard walked closer. He could now see the faces of the two crouched figures, and the two standing, and he wanted to scream.

The two standing were clearly Draculoids, holding the hands of the prisoners behind their heads, pressing white ray guns to their temples.

But the two kneeling figures where what made him want to die.

Frank and Mikey.

However, this was not the Frank and Mikey of now. This was Frank and Mikey from nine years ago. A sixteen year old Mikey, fifteen year old Frank. Gerard had only been twenty.

He remembered this.

He remembered this, this was shortly after BL/ind took over. They ran to the desert, took shelter. Gerard was supposed to take care of them.

But he left.

He left to get them food, telling them they needed to stay at the shelter.

But he was gone for longer than they expected. They went to look for him.

And they got caught.

Gerard watched them, struggling on their knees to break free from the grip that could mean their deaths.

And he ran to them, he saved them, that's how it went, so in this situation, he would do it again.

He ran. But he was going nowhere.

He was just inches from them, a few more steps, he could save them.

But he couldn't move.

He screamed to them, but his ears were filled with the hiss of static.

They were screaming his name back, as he tried to run, but-

The screams stopped. The static stopped. The two boys looked up at Gerard with tear stained faces,

and two gun shots rang through the desert.

Gerard screamed. No, no. This wasn't how this happened, he had grabbed them, knocked out the Drac, taken it's gun, saved them.
But he hadn't.

Blood leaked from their heads, staining Mikey's beanie and trickling through Frank's sprawled out hair.

And Gee was released, he ran to them, cradling their heads as he sobbed.

He looked down at his hands and his lap, both soaked with their blood, and his vision faded to static.