Living Past the Killjoys

Chapter Four

Atomic ran as fast as she could to Battery City. Dirt and sweat dripped from her face as her body temperature rose. Running down the back roads, she made her way to the back of the Better Living Industries building. She stopped at a dumpster and began to push it just enough so she could squeeze behind it. Quickly, she removed her clothes and opened a hidden compartment behind the dumpster. She paused for a moment as she pulled the ribbon from her mask, loosening it up. Slowly she pulled it off her face and looked at it. She shook her head and kept going. She pulled out a pair of jobber shorts and workout top with the BLi logo on them. Her hands trembled as she put them on. Atomic shoved her clothes into the compartment, carefully putting her mask on top of the clothes. She slammed the compartment door shut and carefully moved the dumpster back into place. Tying up her hair she ran to the front of the building. The doors opened and a robotic women at the front desk smiled.

"Morning Ms. Cyber! You're late. Is everything okay?" Her words were choppy.

"Yes I'm fine." Samantha said running in.

"I want Korse in my office in no more than thirty minutes." Samantha huffed as she ran to the elevator. The doors opened and she shuffled in.

"Oh and one more thing. Get yourself a new battery. You deserve it." She winked as the doors to the elevator closed. The robotic women held her hand up to her face and smiled, a tear falling from her eye. Outdated models like her never get batteries.

Samantha ran to her office the moment the elevator doors released her. She ignored the 'hi's and 'hello's of her workers as she ran past them. Her legs came to a halt as she approached her office doors. Her palms were sweaty as she placed her hand on the reader. A green light flashed as she rushed inside, slamming the door behind her. Her "work out" clothes shed onto the floor as she desperately threw on formal clothes from her closet. Frantically she ran to her desk and pressed a button on her phone.

"When will Korse be here?" Her voice was loud and surprisingly shaken over the intercom.

"Mr. Korse could not be reached. Would you like me to keep trying?" The robotic female said.

"Yes I would! I need him now!" Samantha shouted. She screamed as she let go of the button.

"God fucking damn Korse!" She shouted as tears left watermarks on her dirt stained cheeks. She sat in her chair and began to quietly sob. She could feel the pit in her chest begin to open once again. The guilt along with the blame filling her empty chest cavity and pouring out into her tears. She longed to hear Party Poison's laugh; to feel his hand intertwined with hers; to smell the dirt as the two of them slept under the stars. A loud and droning buzz broke her longing.

"Ms. Cyber, Mr. Korse has been contacted and will arrive in fifteen minutes." The robotic female said. Samantha stood up and did her best to pull herself together. She pressed the same button on her phone,

"Send me a warm wash cloth please and the bourbon." She said, taking her finger off the button. Moments later, a women walked into the room. She held a silver tray; on one side was a white towel that was folded up neatly, on the other side there was a glass bottle of bourbon with two matching shot glasses. The women's hair was cute just past her chin. The darkness of her hair made her complexion even whiter. Her black dress clung to her skin just past her thighs. Her black heels clicked against the floor as she walked to Samantha's desk. Bending down at the waist she set down the silver tray. She stood up straight and smiled at Samantha. Her eye darted past Samantha and onto the hand print on the glass.

"Here are the items you requested Ms. Cyber." She paused, her voice surprisingly human despite her robotic movements.

"I will tell the cleaners to clean your window." She said. Samantha turned slightly to the glass.

"No, leave it. Don't clean the window." Samantha turned towards the women.

"But Ms. Cyber, a clean office-"

"I said no Animalia! Don't; ever talk to me like that again. You may not like it but I am your superior and I could have you ghosted so quick-" Samantha suddenly stopped talking. Her eyes widened.

"Samantha. . . why did you use an outlaw word? No one says 'ghosted' except bandits." Animalia questioned. Samantha walked out from behind her desk and stood in-front of the woman. Samantha looked into the eyes of the women, hazel.

"I've been looking over bandit files. The slang must have just stuck." Samantha looked at Animalia. She took Samantha's hand and held it.

"I know you miss him." She whispered.

"I miss my brother too, but they did it to themselves." Animalia ran her thumb over Samantha's hand.

"But the moment he became Fun Ghoul he stopped being my brother. The same goes for you and Jet Star. They became outlaws. . . bandits. You need to let go of him. Jet Star killed your brother. Not you. You did your job by sending d out. You became the real hero of Battery City by eliminating The Killjoys. Now. . . I'm going to ask you again. . . shall I have the cleaners take care of the window?" She placed her hands on Samantha's arms. Samantha held back tears as  Animalia's eyes burned her soul.

"You look just like him." Samantha finally said after what seemed like hours of silence. Animalia tilted her head.

"Who?" She questioned.

"Fun Ghoul" Samantha said, pulling away from her. Animalia looked and opened her mouth to speak, but Samantha jumped in again.

"You position at Better Living Industries is no longer needed. Your passion for and kindness has been appreciated. Please gather your things and leave." Samantha smirked as Animalia gasped.

"You. . . you can't do that! We started at BLi together! You know how bad I've wanted to work her. Look how close I am to the top!" She argued. Samantha grinned coldly,

"And look who made it to the top." She replied.

"We made our way this far together! Remember when we were little, dreaming of making our way in here?" Animalia begged, reaching for Samantha's hand. Samantha rolled her eyes and walked back behind her desk.

"remember the same day we started working here? How happy we were?" Tears filled Animalia's eyes.

"You mean the day our brothers joined a bandit group? They only joined because we took the jobs here." Samantha snarled. Animalia stood still. Samantha composed herself, sitting down in her chair.

"Better Living Industries thanks you for your time spent here. But you are no longer needed. Please pack your things, and leave." Samantha pressed a button on her phone. 

"Send a third floorman to help Ms. Animalia pack her things. She is no longer needed here at Better Living Industries." She sat back in her chair, crossing her legs.

"You can leave now." She said, flicking her wrist. A man in a white suit walked in and took Animalia by the wrist. She struggled, but couldn't get free of the man's grip.

"Let go of me!" She shouted squirming. The man picked her up by the waist and began to carry her out the door.

"BLi thanks you!" Samantha cheerfully said over Animalia's screams. The door shut behind them, leaving Samantha alone in her office. She pressed the red button on her phone.

"I need draculoids send to Ms. Animalia's home. Make it look like a bandit group." She removed her finger and sighed, realizing what she had done. She gave orders to kill her only memory of her life before The Killjoys.