Let Art Be Our Weapon: Frerard/Killjoys Epic

The Girl

          I finally start pacing with Alec close to 235 mph. Mikey holds onto the handle bar over the door for dear life. The others do there best to not be tossed around. I like fast but this is a whole new level of it. I didn't even know Alec can drive like this. I guess a desperate man is capable of doing a lot of things.
Frank works on the radio. Steve comes through. "Mitch, any reports from Zone 10?" he asks.
"Negative," he replies. The outside blurs by as I focus on driving. At a speed like this, overcompensating will result with flipping the car over and we won't be able to survive the impact.
"Firebird, we got a still scene ahead of us in 60 seconds. Check out what's gong on. There will be another team meeting you here in 5 minutes. Killjoys driving the van, stick with us. We've got 4 more miles."
"Firebird copy," Franks says.
"Van copy, over" I hear Melanie say. I see what Steve was talking about. A few still Draculoid cars are sporadically parked around and there are a dozen bodies scattered.
"Gerard, we're approaching the site, slow down; you're freaking me out," Mikey says. He's pushing himself against the seat and his knuckles are white from gripping the handle so tightly.
"If my velocity starts to make you sweat, then just don't let go," I reply. I hit the breaks and the seat belt locks me in place. The others knew better to wear one for this ride and they remain in their seats. The needle falls fast as we get closer to the site. I turn towards the site getting out of the way as the van speeds past us and Alec drives away. I come to a complete stop and we get out of the car with caution, our blasters drawn.
There are white suits lying everywhere stained with blood. Some of the cars are smoking or burning while others are fine with the doors wide open. We spread out looking at the wreck. Whatever happened here, someone did a lot of damage. There's about a dozen Dracs lying dead and shot up. The Scouts put up a great fight. A part of me believes they are capable of still being alive but I don't see any Killjoys in sight. Walk around, there's only desert and bloody Dracs.
"Guys!" Ray calls outs standing on a small steep hill. He climbs down to the other side of it and disappears from my line of sight. "Oh my god, guys! Quickly!" We all start running over to him. He must've found the Scouts. Mikey and I climb up the incline and look over to the edge. No, it can't be...
My instincts take over and I grab Mikey as falls to his knees clutching his chest. He fights to get down next to Ray, who kneels next to the Scouts. They used the little ledge of a the hill for cover while shooting at the Dracs but they were out numbered.
My eyes sting but I mange to hold on to Mikey, wrapping my arms tighter around him as hold him back as he tries to lunge forward. I pull him back and he starts crying. "Oh my god, Addison! Cole!" he shrieks, reach for his friends, who lie in the dirt. They still hold onto their ray guns, their masks and scarfs have shifted and don't conceal their face. Mikey tries to get to them but I need to hold him back while Ray checks them. After Woody died, Ray took it into his own hands to study medicine. Since, we didn't have a knowledgeable field medic with us, we would run the risk of some injuries being a bigger problem than they used to be. Ray knows as much about medical treatment as Woody did.
"Mikey, it's going to be okay. They're still alive," he says. Mikey cries out still panicking. I slowly let him go so he get get down next to them. He crawls over to them but I hold his shoulders back so he doesn't throw himself on his friends. As the shock passes through him and he slowly starting calming down, I let him go. He moves Addison's blonde hair. The blood has plastered it to her neck. He wipes the blood off her face.
Cole opens his eyes and bolts up. He fumbles with his blaster, not sure where to point it at. "Cole! Autumn Wisp!" Mikey corrects himself. He already said both their names but I doubt there's a threat around us. Blood cakes his face and he quints trying to see who's talking to him. "Autumn, it's okay, it's me. It's me Kobra Kid," Mikey says, slowly he takes the blaster out of his hand.
"Kobra K-" Cole slurs. He looks down and holds his stomach. More blood was coming out of him.
"Hey, Autumn Wisp, look at me. I need you to lie back down," Ray commands. He places a hand on Cole's shoulder and guides him back on the ground. "You have been shot up, we need to stop the blood flow."
Mikey takes Cole's hand as Ray starts applying pressure to his wound. Addison hasn't responded yet. Mikey looks at her, giving her a nudge. She doesn't react. "Nightingale," he whispers, his voice cracking.
Car tires come speeding along. A Killjoy van in the distance nears us. "I'll flag them down," Frank says. He runs out and gestures the van to head over where we are. The other Killjoys get out of the car.
"We need immediate medical treatment on these two. Get them back to the base quickly. Time is of the essence." The Killjoys carefully lift Addison and Cole into the van and they turn around and start heading back to the base.
I put a hand on Mikey. "How are you doing," I ask.
He looks at me, his face stained with tears. "I-I don't know," he whispers. His shoulders sink low. I comfort him, putting his head on my chest. "We need to go help the others," he stutters to say. We stand together and head back to Kemia. Following the direction the others went, the radio gradually becomes harder to read. The nasty interference takes over to the point where we don't receive anything.
The closer we get to our destination, the more it feels like I've been here before. It's like a forgotten dream and the landscape is something I can almost remember. Mixed emotions crowd my head as I try to piece together everything. A little under five minutes, we reach the Hot Spot. Bounty Hunters and Draculoids swarm the area as if we have entered BL/ind itself. There are many teams of Killjoys fighting the the goons, everyone running around, dodging blasts. People are more concentrated on taking cover than accuracy.
A blast skims over the windshield, leaving a small crack. I pull over next to the other Killjoy cars and we get out crouching behind a van. I lean against the side of the door, blaster drawn. There is something so familiar about this location. I know where we are but I don't know why. The radio is pure interference and at this point useless. Frank turns it off and clips it to his belt. We start making out way to the front of the line. "Boys, I hope you're ready for a firefight," I say as we make it to the edge. The rest of the Killjoys are about 40 feet away from us taking cover behind a small ledge. There are a few that have advanced about ten more feet behind a half fallen tree. "Killjoys, let's make some noise." We get up and sprint across the land towards the ledge with the others. The Bounty Hunter see us and start firing at us. We hold out our guns and shoot the closer one but the main focus is running for cover.
In the center of this massive gun show, there is the house that Helena was talking about. I realize why everything is like a distant dream. I've been here before. As I slide on the ground barely dodging a blast, I crawl to the side and I have to stare at the house again. My mouth gaping open as the house stands right before my eyes. It never occurred to me that I would see this place again. The place where Mikey was born and where we grew up. The zones that we used to play in as kids. And the place where we ran away from just the two of us as our parents were executed.