I hold my blaster in my hands, finger over the trigger. Ray kneels next to me. We are on our way home when Frank tells us the readings he's getting says there are Draculoids coming in our direction. I drive the car down a steep incline and Ray helps me cover her up. Kemia Enamiĝo. Frank named the car. He got it from some foreign language, Esperanto I think? I don't recall the English translation for that matter. I just remember that I liked what the translation is and how it sounds. Frank and Woody went off to get a closer reading to report to Alec. They haven't returned in half an hour but I'm not worried. It takes time but after spending three years in the zones with my team, we become connected and in sync. We learn how to work together to the height of our abilities. It strengthened my trust with Woody after a month. I was wrong to feel jealous of him. He is my friend. He is a great guy and I learn to get over myself and enjoy his company genuinely. The zones aren't too bad. Once you know how to survive them, it becomes home. Where to look for water, food, and material. My first week driving out was nerve wrecking. Being 15, I was worried I wouldn't have the guts to kill or know how to live. But with those masks on and them shooting at us and the distinct memory of what they did to my parents, I found it wasn't as hard to pull the trigger as I thought it would be. It's either them or us, and I'm not about to give up my friends' life over an enemy stranger.
Three years has given me a lot of experience. One of the biggest things I have to do is trust better judgment. If you feel someone behind you, look. If you feel a gun pointed at you, arm yourself. If you feel that the person you stumbled across is lying and waiting for you to turn your back so they can stab you, check for weapons and never leave them out of your sight. There is always a chance you can die. There could be a sniper aiming at the back of your head or a bomb with five seconds counting down as you unknowingly walk closer to it. This life runs the risk of death a lot higher than standard living. But BL/ind taking over and freedom or actual living isn't a choice. The Draculoids and Bounty hunter are not soldiers. What they are is a corrupt industry killing other to protect their rights of power. The price we fight as soldiers are possibly dying to protect someone else's rights to individuality and creativity.
Ray takes out a scope and raises it above his head and over the ledge. "Looks like there isn't anybody there so the shooters are either hiding or they moved on," he says.
"Why would they move on? If they saw Killjoys, they would hunt them down. Unless.." I trail off.
Ray looks at me. "Party, you aren't saying you think they found them?"
"It's been half an hour at least, maybe longer. I don't think they are captured but maybe they got distracted."
Ray raises his gun and points it over the ledge the same time he peeks his head up for a second and ducks back down. "There isn't anyone. We might as well go while we still have a chance."
I nod. We stand and raise our blasters. We hike over the ledge and start treading across the zones looking for any signs of life. We walk a great distance without any progress. We might as well be the only one for miles. Someone was shooting at us and Frank and Woody are still out here. "Maybe they ditched them but can't find us. Maybe they are back at the car?" I ask. Frank would want to get us back together. He doesn't like being split up because in a group we are strong. If we separate, we are easier to pick off.
Ray considers this. "He would want to get us united and the only place we would go to for certain is the car. It would be the most logical place," he adds. "We might as well. And if they're not, we could wait for them or drive around. We will find them." We turn around and head back to the car but keep our weapons drawn. You also naturally learn your surrounding. The certain dead tree, a small ditch, or a large stick tell you where you're at. The valley where we parked Kemia comes in my line of sight.
An explosion erupts from the valley and thick black smoke rise from the ditch. Shouts and blasts echo. A cry, Frankie screams out. Something inside me twists up at the sounds of Frank hurt. I don't have to look at Ray. We know there is bad trouble and we start running. My stomach knots up and my eyes sting as imagines of what I find below comes to my head.
As we approach the valley, I know that the smoke is coming from the engine. Ray and I start shooting the white suits. After a few fall to the ground, the rest know we are here. Ray and I duck out of the way as the other Draculoids and Bounty Hunters fire at us. We take cover behind a large boulder. Every few seconds, we take a few rogue shots. I can tell the difference between the blast hitting a person or not clearly. The person's body absorbs the blast and the sound while a miss lets the blast resonate the sound. We lean against the boulder ducking down for half a minute. We might have hit two or three on our surprise attack before they could respond. Maybe we killed four-five in total. They will eventually all get shot. I am not going to let it happen any other way. I peak my head out briefly and fire. I hit a Draculoid in the shoulder. I take a moment before firing again. When I turn to shoot, I immediately pull back behind cover as a blast flies passed me.
In my peripheral vision, I see the white uniform on my right. They aim the gun at Ray. I instinctively grab his jacket and throw him to the side out of the way. The Draculoid still fires and I become the new target. I roll out of the way but I'm too close to avoid getting hit entirely. The blast hits my side and burns me. It burns so painfully. I forgot how excruciating it felt to be shot. I haven't taken a blast since I was 10. After 8 years, I still haven't gotten over the pain.
While I lie on the ground, the Draculoid raises his gun again but he doesn't fire the next shots. Ray hits him dead. He looks over the rock, dodges a blast then fires twice. He doesn't fire again and no one returns shots.
Ray looks at me. "Are you hit?" he asks.
I remember the yelling. Frank and Woody are down there. "No," I lie, "let's go." My heart pounds in my chest. We were going to the base today. We were going to be safe. I start panicking. Frank and Woody could be dead. Frank screamed. I heard his voice. Adrenaline covers up the pain. I crawl towards the edge. I see many white uniforms on the ground. Woody is alive and for the most part well. Ray jumps down and runs over to him. Woody mutters something. He stands and sides steps towards the blazing car. He and Ray are covered in the thick smoke and I can't see what they are doing? I look for Frank. I scan the white uniforms but that's all I see. No Fun Ghoul.
Ray and Woody start coughing. They wouldn't be in the smoke without a reason. I refuse to believe it. No. No. He's not in the car. I drag myself further over the ledge. Woody falls back out of the smoke and coughs out. He takes a breath and helps Ray. Ray falls back and wheezes. No. Please, no.
Covered in black soot, I recognize Frankie. Underneath the black, he is bleeding out. He's bleeding out. Pain strikes me at the sight of Frank wounded so badly and I slip off the ledge and fall into the ditch. I crawl over to the others as they carry Frank away from Kemia. My vision blurs. They set him down and I grab his shoulders. "Fun Ghoul?" I shake him but his head bobs around. I feel the hot tears spill and I quickly wipe my eyes frantically. I wipe the soot off his face. I put my finger to his neck searching for a pulse. I can't find anything. My hands tremble and I hold him. "Please!" I beg. "Please, don't be dead. I need you." Ray checks his airways. He knows what he needs to do. I do too but I can't function.
"Party, set him down." I gently lie him on the ground. Ray opens his eyelids and he opens his mouth looking for a clear airway. The look on his face said they weren't. I start shaking. Frank, please this can't be happening. I would never have let you guys go if I knew this would happen. I wasn't freaking out then. I was calm when they were missing. I should have been looking. If we got to the car sooner, we could have protected them.
I slump over and feel extremely dizzy. I hold my side. My hands submerge in a warm sticky substance.
Woody slides over near me. "Move your hands, Party Poison," he orders. I do my best to release pressure off my side. I clench my jaw tightly and hold back screams. The adrenaline no longer hides the pain. "You need medical attention. We need to get back to the base."
Ray snaps his head over. "I asked if you were hit? You lied!"
"We needed to help them. Frank screamed out. I needed to get to him," I say through my teeth.
"You won't last long with the wound open. I need to cauterize it."
My hands fumble to a pocket and Woody takes out my knife. He holds it out and points his blaster at the blade. Holding it at an angle, he shoots the blade a few times. The blasts reflect off and shoot away. Woody kneels at my side and looks at me sternly. He speaks slowly. "Five. Four. Three. T..." He presses it against my wound and I scream out. My fingers dig into the dirt and my feet kick around. He kneels on my arm and I can't move away. The pressure is applied harder and I can't take it anymore. With my free hand, I grab Frank's arm and pass out from the pain.
I toss to the side but jolt on my back. Pain jabs me. I've been shot. And then burned. Of course, it will hurt. I am in the medical area. I feel like someone is watching me. I'm usually right about my gut feeling. I look over and see Mikey staring at me throw the glass. How he has changed so much in just three years. His hair was cut differently. The bottom part a close trim but the rest of his hair was long and brushed back. It's was bleached to a pale blond. He didn't wear his glasses either. His jacket fit him more than it did when I last saw him.
I do my best to smile. A nurse comes over and she scans a card and the doors slide open. He jogs over to me. Tears hover in his eyes. "Gerard, you're okay?" he asks worriedly.
I brush his bangs back. "Of course I am."
Mikey buries his face in my shoulder and I do my best to hug him. It hurt but I didn't care about the pain as much. "You said you would be home in three years just before my birthday. You said you would drive in. A truck towed the car in and doctors were working on you and Frank. What happened?
"While we were heading home, we scanned BL/ind coming. We parked the car and split up for a bit. Ray and I went back to the car trying to find Woody and Frank when the car blew up while Frank was half sitting inside. Woody was throwing back from the explosion. Frank tried crawling out of the car when Draculoids started shooting him. Ray and I killed them all. I was hit on the side at point-blank."
"Don't leave again," he said. "I don't want you to die. I don't want to be training one day and Alec comes over saying you were killed in action,"
"Mikey, it's my job. I can't just stop."
"Well, you need to be more careful."
I smile. "I was pretty careful. For three years I was okay until the last day."
Mikey hugs me. "It doesn't matter if it was the last day on your mission. It could have been your last day alive. That goes for the others too. Frank isn't doing to good."
My stomach drops and my throat goes dry. I forgot that Frank's heart stopped. I remembered what happened but it didn't fully register until now. I can't imagine losing him. I fall back against the pillow. "Where is he?" I ask.
"He's in a privet wing. Critical condition."
"His heart stopped in the zones. I couldn't find a pulse and his airways were shut. He is still alive?" I ask. My voice shakes.
"Barely alive. He's in a coma and slipping fast. The machines are doing more work to keep him alive than his body. Bonnie is in there constantly making sure that everything stays working because if they malfunction for just a minute, he's gone."
I have trouble breathing. My best friend is on death bed. Best friend? That term doesn't do just what Frank means to me. He's more than a best friend. He's the most important person in my life, maybe after Mikey but still. "Mikey, do you think Bonnie would let us see him?"
"We can find out right now." Mikey helps me up. He has grown a lot. He helps me walk over to the privet wing. We go past a few doors and Mikey knocks on one on the right side. After a few seconds, the door opens. "Bonnie, is it okay if we come in?" Mikey asks.
"Yeah, of course. You two might as well be considered his family," she says.
Mikey helps me into the room and he sits me down in a chair. It has wheels so he pushes me over towards Frank's bedside. I look at him. Cut up and stitches running up and down his face, neck, and shoulders. His skin is purple and blue. An oxygen mask is over his face and he has needles in his wrists. A monitor shows his heartbeat. Steady for the most part. I hold his hand, my fingers intertwining with his, and look at him. So wounded but still Frankie. He looks dead but as long as I hear the beeping I know he's not.
I snap my head up. I have fallen asleep a while ago. I'm still in the gripping Frank's hand tightly. The monitor continued a steady beep. He's still alive. Bonnie left the room and a different technician sits in the chair reading a book. They are on the night shift making sure he stays alive. Mikey sits in the chair asleep. I get up and walk over to him. I grit my teeth and lift him up. He is a lot heavier than he was last time I picked up, which was my return home from the week trial. He ran over to me and I hugged him lifting him off the ground. It would be easier to carry him if I wasn't shot. I wave at the technician and say good night. Before I leave I take a hard look at Frank. His jet black hair and tanned skin. I try to imagine him awake. His hazel eyes taking in the world with wonder. His smile and laugh. The sound of his voice. The way he freaks out when he gets excited. I take a moment to say good night to him as well. When I turn my back and walk out of the room, I hope to myself that it wasn't also a goodbye.
I head downstairs and go to the bed. I lay Mikey down on his mattress and tuck him in. For old time sake's and because no one else is there, I lay in my old bed beneath him.
The radio goes off and I groggily get up for one reason. Today is September 10th. Mikey's birthday. I get out of bed and stand up. "Hey, Mikey?" I tussle his hair around. "Happy birthday."
His eyes open. "You remembered."
"I never would forget," I say smiling. He climbs out of bed and we walk to the lockers. Upstairs at a table with Cole and Addison, there is a small birthday cake covered in white frosting. Written in red icing "Happy Birthday" across the top. And in the center, was a skinny candle twinkling an orange flame.
Mikey smiles wide. "Thanks, guys!" He hugs them both.
Addison giggles. "It took a long time to get everything to make this but we managed."
"How did you guys pull this off exactly? Things are scarce. Alec shouldn't have let you."
"He doesn't know. We saved some rations from our meals and took a little extra last night. They won't notice," Cole whispers.
Mikey smiles, blow out the candle and uses a fork to slices small sections. He takes the first piece. "This is the greatest thing I have tasted!'' He gives Addison and Cole a piece. Then me. He's right. It is the greatest thing I have tasted. Living off of canned food and bland plants isn't considered the greatest. Out in the zones, there are some abandoned factories or stores that have edible food. We raid the supplies then search for more Draculoids.
Addison gestures that last bits to Mikey. "Go on, finish it before it goes bad, or before someone notices."
Mikey smiles at her and eats the last bit of cake. He hugs her and Cole again. "Thank you so much! You guys are the best!"
"What'd you wish for?" Addison asks.
"I can't say or it won't come true. And I really want it to happen."
"Well, if it does happen, then tell us afterward?" Cole asks.
"Will do," Mikey says.
A hand is placed on my shoulder. I turn around. Ray has a tense look on his face. "Gerard," he says. There is nothing else. We both know that we messed up. We did so well and tripped at the finish line. We were on route coming home. We would have been home within the hour. We could have called it in and ignored it or waited for back up. No. We split up. There was no good reason to do that. We just separated. Frank and Woody never saw the attack coming. We were walking to the car. We should have been running. We were mere seconds away from them. We could have saved them. Woody was stunned but Frank, after being in an explosion and then shot, he didn't stand a chance.
Woody comes up the stairs and into the dinner. He looks at me and Ray. "Guys, I just came from Frank's room," he says. Ray and I exchange looks. Mikey, Addison, and Cole fall silent. "Come quickly."
Ray and I follow Woody back down the stairs and to the Medical Area and the privet wing. He explains on the way. "I was just in there with him and so was Bonnie but the beeping just stopped!" he says flustered. "Bonnie started trying to get things back to work but then the machine starts alerting a medical notice. She told me to get someone. I found a nurse and a doctor. When I left to get you guys, they didn't know what was going to happen."
I feel my lungs tighten and breathing becomes harder. I remember Mikey's words. If the machine fails for one minute, he's dead. His own body can't keep him alive. That's why Bonnie always stayed. To make sure the machines always worked. The beeping means they are working and he's alive. If it stopped...
We knock on the door and a technician answers. He'll let us in. Bonnie stands by the monitors. She looks over at us. I walk around her and see Frank. A doctor and nurse stand by his side. Please, be okay. His skin is ghostly pale and the bags under his eyes are a violet. Please, be okay.
"Bonnie, what's going on?" Woody asks.
"I'm not sure," she whispers while concentrating on the screen, "but something is going on with his monitor. It's acting up and none of the reads of his status are consistent."
The man wearing a white jacket checks Frank's eyes and pulse. "I don't think there is a malfunction. By the looks of things, it appears he is coming out of his coma," the doctor says. Huge relief comes off my shoulders. "But his state of mind will be unknown because of a concussion he suffers. When he wakes, he can range anywhere from perfect condition to brain dead and anything in between. The possibilities vary. There's no way to tell how well he will be until he is fully awake."
The small amount of relief is gone. "It's best if you three step out of the room. I'm sure you will be the first to be informed," the nurse says. I glance over at Bonnie. She gives a halfhearted smile and nods. She'll tell us what happens when she knows herself.
We step out and Mikey, Addison, and Cole wait outside the room. "What's going on?" Mikey asks.
"The bad news is that because of a concussion, they aren't sure how stable his mind is," Ray says.
"Meaning he can be able to function or he could be brain dead. He also could have amnesia or lose physical abilities. He could be paralyzed and even those extents vary. Possibly blind or deaf. He could lose his fine motor skills or coordination," Woody adds. He trained to be a surveyor but also has deep knowledge of medical treatment. What he says about possibilities are most likely true. And it frightens me of all the things that could happen.
They look horrified. "As bad as it can be, there is a possibility he will turn out okay?" Addison asks.
"Yes, he can. But it's not certain he will," I say.
"Is there any good news to this?" Cole asks.
"The good news is that he is waking up out of his coma so we will find out soon," Ray says. "But," he continues, "If he is brain dead and not responsive, they are going to pull the plug. I doubt they are the type of people to waste energy on those who can't do anything."
He's right. So today we are going to find out what condition Frank is in. But if it is bad, then he is dead; it'll be over. I will lose him, my best friend. I break and tears escape my eyes. Mikey looks at me and hugs me. It is my turn to bury my face in his jacket. I can't lose Frank. He means too much to me. It wouldn't be right. He's my best friend, more than that. I don't know what it is but I know that I can't lose him. He's too important to me. I think about what I feel and stop. No, Gerard. Don't think like that. That's not right. The idea haunts me and I suppress it. No, stop it. Don't think like that. You can't afford to think like that. It's not true.
The door opens and the nurse steps out of the room. We all look at her but she walks past us. We wait. The medical wing is fairly large and off to the side. Being in the privet wing, we are away from everyone. It limited the sound heard from the rest of the base. The silence is almost eerie. I hear my heartbeat in my ears. The nurse comes back. "He is awake but we don't know anything yet," she says before going back in the room.
He's awake and alive. If he isn't alive, they would have said that. He is still with us. How much is unknown but he is still with us. Every passing second drags out. I lose track of actual time and it feels like a summer has passed when Bonnie steps out of the room.
"You three can come in," she says as the nurse steps out of the room again. Woody, Ray and I go in and we see him lying in bed. The doctor starts unhooking him from the machines but leaves the IV in his arm and the oxygen mask over his face.
"Can you tell me your name?" the doctor asks him.
He sits there for a moment. I look desperately at him. Please have your memory. "Uh, my name?" he says. "Frank Iero."
"Good, can you recall your job?"
"I am a technician fighter for the Killjoys," he says slurring his speak.
"What is the last thing you can recall happening?"
"I was in the zones. I was coming home but something happened. I tried to meet at a car to wait. The car blew up and we were taking heavy fire."
"You seem to have your memory but you are a little slow at it. Are you feeling dizziness?" Frank nods. "What else is there that is out of the ordinary"
"My vision is doubled. It's too bright in here. Basically can't see too well. My head is pounding and things are loud. I feel lightheaded."
"Those are common signs of suffering a concussion. They will heal over time. You have visitors. Your team is here," the doctor says.
I walk over to his bedside. "Frank, I'm so glad you are alive," I say happily.
Frank look in my direction. "What?" His eyes squint and they don't focus on one point. "Who is this?" he asks.
My smile drops. Those words just escaped his mouth and I feel like a was punched in the gut. He doesn't know who I am. Sadness sinks inside. He doesn't know who I am. I look at Ray and Woody. They look shocked. Bonnie stands horrified. He-he doesn't remember me?
"Who are you?" Frank reaches his hand out in my direction. I feel my lips quivering and eyes stinging. "Wait, who is this?" His fingers wrap around my wrist, his touch startling. He runs his hand on my skin and feels my jacket's sleeve and then he slides down to my hands intertwining with my fingers. "Gee?" he whispers at the realization of my touch. "Gee! Are you okay? I remember you got hurt?"
My eyes light up. "Frankie, you remember?" I exclaim delightedly. I laugh out and hold onto him with both hands. Tears well up in my eyes. He is okay. Woody comes over and takes his other hand and Ray stands by my side.
"Gee, I should have known it was you. There is nothing else as brilliant of a red other than your hair."