"Why are you so obsessed with them?"
Jack shoved his hands in his pockets and averted his eyes from Alex. The two were walking up and down the corridor of the basement, past the cells and interrogation rooms. They were supposed to be on guard duty watching the intruder, but it turned into more of a casual stroll instead.
"I dunno," Jack shrugged. He fiddled with his Clique bracelet on his wrist. He couldn't be prouder to wear one. "I'm not obsessed with them, I just look up to them I guess."
Alex half-laughed. "More like look down on them. You're like, 6'2'' dude."
"Yeah," Jack smiled a little. "I am a lot taller than them. It's just..." he paused and shrugged his shoulders. "With the Sinners, Brendon was never...he didn't...he wasn't...h-he wasn't a leader. Mad Gear is. I respect him for that."
"Speaking of..." Alex started carefully, twisting his mouth in thought. "What did he do to him?"
Jack raised one eyebrow and looked over at Alex. "Who?" He asked.
"Missile Kid," Alex replied, lowering his voice. "What did Brendon do to Missile Kid?"
"I don't know," Jack said simply. He shook his head, and a dark look came across his face.
Alex averted his eyes from Jack. He knew. He obviously knew.
"It's just that Mad Gear barely tells us anything, especially about Missile Kid," Alex continued after a short moment of silence. "He has PTSD so bad it's scary."
Jack slowed his steps, and his shoulders slumped ever so slightly.
"He does?" he questioned, chewing on his lower lip. His dark expression changed to a look of sadness.
Alex nodded in response. "You hear those screams every night, don't you?"
Jack took a deep, shaky breath. "I..." he whispered, his voice so quiet that Alex could hardly hear him. "I didn't know that was him."
Alex said nothing. He didn't even offer him a nod. The two of them walked in complete silence for a few awkward moments.
"But they are pretty great," Alex suddenly piped up. His voice was light, as though he was attempting to lighten the mood. "Mad Gear and Missile Kid."
"Yeah," Jack nodded with a small smile. "I don't think they like me though."
"Oh, sure they do," Alex waved him off. "They're just really serious. Badass. Serial killers, ya know the type. They just gotta get warmed up to you. Hell, Mad Gear actually shot me a while back. We're cool now, I think."
"He shot you?" Jack's eyes widened.
Alex ran his hand through his hair and shrugged his shoulders. "Long story. Tell ya later."
"I hope they warm up to me soon," Jack said. "The way Mad Gear looks at me is fucking scary, man. They're both fucking scary."
"Everyone's fucking scary here," Alex chuckled.
"But Mad Gear and Missile Kid are the worst," Jack continued. "Like, have you seen Missile Kid's arms? I feel like he could crush me just by shaking my hand."
The two walked a few silent steps before Alex spoke up again.
"What...What about my arms?" He asked, trying to sound nonchalant. He put his hands in his pockets and looked up, down, and sideways.
"Alex, shut the fuck up."
"I-I just thought...that you and I-" Alex stuttered, heat rising to his cheeks. He quickly racked his brain, searching for an excuse to smooth over the awkward conversation. "Y-You just go on and on about Missile Kid, and I was just-"
"No no, Alex, really," Jack interrupted. He put his hand on Alex's chest to stop him from walking as he tilted his head drew his eyebrows together in concentration. "Shut the fuck up."
Alex shook his head and gave him a confused look.
"What are you-?" He began, but Jack just violently shushed him again.
Alex's heart pounded as he watched Jack stand there, hand still on Alex's chest, with a focused expression on his face. He sucked on his lower lip and listened.
Alex held his breath and focused on listening too. What exactly he was listening for, he didn't know, but Jack seemed very bothered by whatever it was.
Soon, a quiet sound disrupted the silence of the basement. It was a distant, metallic sound that was so soft you could barely even tell it was there. Though it was almost silent, it was still so haunting it made both Alex and Jack's hearts race.
Jack slowly raised his eyes up to Alex's. "Do you hear that?" He whispered.
Before Alex had a chance to answer, he was interrupted by a deafening, earth-shaking BOOM at the end of the hall, towards the cells.
The explosion made both Alex and Jack fall forwards, and they tightly held onto each other's arms to keep themselves standing steadily. They exchanged glances before pulling out their guns and rushing to the cells.
The corridor was filled with a thick grey smoke, so thick that the two had to wave their arms and hold their breath just to walk through it.
The explosion itself came from the very first cell, where the Young Vein was being held. By the time Alex and Jack reached it, the smoke had cleared just enough for them to see inside the small cinderblock room.
Alex saw them first. Jack was still
behind him, his vision obscured by Alex's shoulder and the smoke filling his eyes and lungs.
There were two of them at first. Then another. Then another. Soon, nearly the whole cell was filled with people. The Young Vein was out of his chains and standing upright, though he was heavily leaning against one of the men.
At first, Alex had no idea where they all were coming from. He simply stared at the people in stunned, frozen shock. Their bright, colorful clothing stood out against the dark cell. They all had some sort of makeup painting their faces, similar to the Young Vein's. Their guns were just as colorful as their clothes. Alex had never seen any weapons like those before.
When the smoke finally cleared, and Alex snapped out of his daze, he saw what exactly had happened-these people had blown straight through the cinderblock walls of the cell. How they got a bomb downstairs in the cellar, Alex didn't know, but he didn't have any time to think about it. Even though the people hadn't noticed them yet, it was only a matter of seconds before they did.
They were the Killjoys.
They had come to take back the Young Vein, and God knows what else. There was no telling what these people were going to do to the Clique.
And Alex wasn't having it.
He quickly turned to Jack behind him and shoved him out of the cell, back into the smoky hallway.
Jack groaned when he hit the wall, but before he had any time to recover, Alex grabbed his wrist and hit the ground running.
The Killjoys behind them had finally taken notice, and they didn't waste any time. They rushed out into the hall and began firing their weapons, but they didn't sound like normal guns. They didn't shoot like normal guns.
Before they knew it, Alex and Jack had beams of red and blue and green and yellow whizzing past their heads, between their legs, under their arms.
"What the actual fuck are those?!" Jack screamed, whipping his head to see his attackers behind him.
Alex didn't answer, only picked up his speed. He tightened his grip around Jack's wrist and practically yanked him down the hall. Their heavy breathing and footsteps pounding against the concrete were completely drowned out by the sound of...whatever the Killjoys were shooting.
The two were running so fast they had to skid to stop themselves from slamming into the wall when they rounded the corner. They practically tripped over each other as they scrambled up the metal spiral staircase that led up to the first floor.
The Killjoys weren't very far behind. They're bright clothes almost glowed in the dark hallway, not to mention the glowing beams of light coming from their guns.
Heat radiated off the beams, and few of them managed to hit Alex and Jack's ankles as they ascended the staircase. The lasers were so hot they burned right through their jeans and the top layer of skin.
One of the lasers suddenly flew right over Jack's shoulder and came dangerously close to Alex's head. Jack had to grab the back of Alex's shirt and yank him down just to keep the side of his face from being burned clean off.
Alex leaped up the last few steps to the first floor, pulling Jack up by his arm and practically throwing him through the door. Alex jumped in after him and slammed the door behind them. He made sure to put the barricade over the door, and lock it for good measure.
"Wh-What..." Jack began, but he was panting too heavily to finish his sentence. He was laying on the floor on his back, his arm across his eyes. "Wh-What the fuck just ha...happened?"
Alex ran his hand through his sweaty hair, leaned against the door, and rested his hands on his knees. He stared blankly at the floor as he caught his breath and tried to wrap his head around the Killjoys, how they got in, what the hell they wanted.
"S-Shit, Alex...you...you dropped y-your gun," Jack said in between gasps for air.
Alex bit his lip and shook his head. "Go...Go get Mad Gear," he managed to get out. He groaned and rubbed the back of his neck.
Jack propped himself up one his elbows so he could see Alex. "You kidding me? I-I can't go by myself. H...He's in Missile Kid's room! He'll s-s-shoot me-"
"Just fucking go!" Alex yelled. He clenched his teeth and pushed his back hard against the door. He could hear the Killjoys on the other side, banging against the steel door and firing their guns in vain.
Despite how exhausted and out of breath Jack was, the tone in Alex's voice made it clear that he shouldn't wait another second. He pushed himself up and forced his legs to run even faster than they had before.
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Tyler woke up sore.
Of course, he almost always did.
Small bits of light filtered in through the slits in the closed blinds. It was almost morning, but thankfully Josh was still asleep. For the very first time in months, he had slept soundly.
A shiver suddenly ran down Tyler's spine. He heard a distant sound, a sort of muffled boom, but it was so faint he thought nothing of it.
He slightly stretched under the sheets, then scooted closer to Josh laying asleep next to him. He smiled a little as he wrapped his arms around him and softly laid his head on his bare chest. He listened to Josh's slow, melodic breathing and thumping heartbeat. Tyler entangled his legs with Josh's underneath the sheets and sighed in contentment from the warmth radiating off his body.
"Love you, Missile Kid," Tyler whispered into the darkness, placing a light kiss on Josh's cheek.
Josh suddenly stirred, turning both himself and Tyler on their sides, so that Tyler's back was pressed against his chest, and his arm was wrapped around Tyler's waist.
"M'sorry if I hurt you," Josh mumbled, his gruff, sleepy voice breathing hot against Tyler's ear.
Tyler just chuckled and pressed himself closer against Josh's chest. "I'll get you back for it," he replied with a sly smile.
"Mhm," Josh hummed, nuzzling his head in the crook of Tyler's neck. He left a soft kiss on his shoulder before hugging him tightly and slowly drifting off to sleep again.
For a moment Tyler laid there peacefully, trying to match his breaths to Josh's and drifting in and out of sleep. The safe, cozy feeling of being in Josh's arms made him drowsy, and his heavy eyelids easily closed and allowed him to finally sleep.
Until a loud, rapid knocking on the door woke him up.
Tyler's eyes shot open. His entire body froze in its place, and he clung to Josh tighter. He silently prayed that the knocks didn't wake Josh up. God knows he needed the sleep.
When the knocking persisted, Tyler had no choice but to get up. He carefully edged away from Josh, wincing as the bed squeaked under his weight. He looked behind his shoulder, and when he saw Josh was still sleeping, he reluctantly got out of bed.
Annoyed was an understatement. The familiar feeling of rage was beginning to boil inside of Tyler, just as he was finally happy with Josh.
The desperate knocks at the door pounded through Tyler's head as he groggily grabbed random clothes from off the floor and got dressed.
He let out a big sigh and threw his head back as he shuffled over to the door. He lazily reached for his gun off the bedside table with one hand, and ruffled his messy hair with the other.
"Name and business," Tyler stated, his voice hoarse and gruff. He blinked a few times to clear his sleepy, blurry vision.
"Name, Jack-" came a voice from the other side of the door. "Business, i-it's an emergency-!"
Tyler rolled his eyes so much they lolled to the back of his head. With another exasperated sigh, he set his gun back down on the table and threw open the door.
Jack Barakat was standing in the hall before him. Pieces of red-striped hair hung in front of his eyes, and his sweaty black shirt stuck to his chest.
Tyler rubbed his tired face with his hands and squinted through the bright light of the hallway to see.
"What the fuck is it this time, Barakat?" He groaned. "This is the second time you've woken me up in one night."
"I'm sorry, sir. I..." Jack began, but his voice slowly trailed off. He stared at Tyler with a puzzled expression. "W-Wait, have you...have you been crying?"
Tyler simply stayed silent and looked down at the gun in Jack's hand.
"Can I-can I see that?" Tyler asked in a high-pitched, childish voice. A sarcastic smile was plastered across his face.
Jack shook his head in confusion, then followed Tyler's eyes down to the gun he was holding.
"This?" He asked, raising his eyebrows and pointing at his weapon.
"Yeah, this!" Tyler laughed brightly, pointing at Jack's gun too. "Can I see it?"
"O-Oh, yeah," Jack couldn't help but smile too. Looking at Tyler's wide, creepily happy smile made him relax. "Sure! Here-"
Tyler continued smiling and laughing, as if he and Jack were neighbors having a friendly conversation.
But as soon as Jack placed the gun in Tyler's hand, the act disappeared. The smile immediately dropped from Tyler's face as he pulled back and cocked the gun with a click.
"Now what was that you were saying?" He growled, pointing the gun directly at Jack's face.
Jack's wide eyes crossed to look down at the gun that was just inches away from his nose.
"Ever been shot point blank, Barakat?" Tyler asked with a smirk, baring his crooked teeth.
"N-No sir," Jack hastily shook his head. His eyes were still looking down at the gun aimed at his face.
"Then I suggest you shut your mouth about this crying shit," Tyler spat, unloading the gun and shoving it back into Jack's hands. "You either tell me what this fucking emergency is, or you get out of my face."
"They're downstairs, sir," Jack rushed out. His words were so jumbled together Tyler had a tough time understanding him. "They blew up the cell and took back the Young Vein and they shot at us and-"
Tyler simply held up his hand, and Jack immediately shut his mouth.
"Who?"
"The Killjoys, sir," Jack replied. "All of them. Th-There's...there's so many of them. Basement. Alex locked and barricaded the door, but I don't know how long he can keep them down there."
"Get me my guys Horseshoe and Donnie," Tyler ordered. He grabbed his gun from the nightstand as he spoke. "You can bring your friends Rian and Zack too. No one else. Just those four, got it?"
"W-Wha..." Jack began, but his voice was shaking. He put his fist on his chest and cleared his throat. "What about Missile Kid?"
Tyler looked behind him at his Missile Kid laying in bed. His bare chest rose and fell slowly. His eyelids were delicately shut, protecting his eyes from his wild hair hanging in front of them. The thin sheets draped over his body, leaving little to the imagination. For the first time in a long time, he looked at peace.
Tyler slowly turned his head around to look back at Jack again. His grip tightened around his gun.
"You sure you've never been shot point blank, Barakat?"
"Point taken, sir."
"That's what I thought," Tyler muttered. He focused on loading his gun.
"But there's just too many Killjoys," Jack argued. "We're going to need a lot more than four fucking people."
"Listen," Tyler snapped, shoving Jack backwards by his shoulder. "I've been in situations much worse than this. I know what the fuck I'm doing."
Even though he didn't dare argue, Jack wasn't too sure about that.
✗✗✗✗✗
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God I love murderer AUs so much.
OK BUT GUYS DID YOU SEE THAT CONFESSION POST ON INSTAGRAM THAT'S BEEN GOING AROUND THAT SOMEONE SAID TYLER AND JOSH WOULD BE HOT AS MURDERERS
FRICKING ME
(Ok it wasn't me but I just found that hilarious)
Anyyyywhoooo, I hope you enjoyed today's chapter, and yesterday's too you little sinners. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Or should I say.....
Killjoys.
-Liz.