Danger Days: An Incomplete Chronicle by Cellophane Cola; gen; pg
Title: Danger Days: An Incomplete Chronicle by Cellophane Cola
Rating: PG (language)
Genre: Action, drama, sci-fi
Fandom/Pairing: SHINee/Gen
Word Count: 8173
Disclaimer: SHINee aren’t mine. This didn’t happen. Killjoy!verse is MCR’s.
Prompts: NaNaNa by My Chemical Romance and Sing by My Chemical Romance.
Summary: In a post-apocalyptic world, Taemin got into a run-in with the ‘law’. He passed out mid-chase, coming to only to find himself a runaway and the latest addition to a group of anonymous vigilantes.
A/N: Written for themedpop Challenge 01.
So this is what I have been working on for the past month. Monster of a 'verse. ;_; A billion thanks to hoodedstarr for listening to all my whining, pushing me to finish, for the minkey, jongkey, 2min, and for being my beta. ♥
“- All you crash queens and motor babies make some noise! You’re here with me, Dr. Death Defying, coming at you live from Zone 5, pumping out the slaughtermatic sounds to keep you alive! It’s 44 in the sky but the pigs won’t quit-”
Dr. D’s voice continued to boom from the car stereo speakers as the Trans Am sped along the dusty two-laned highway. Taemin popped his head out of the window in the backseat only to pull it back in a few moments later, hot dry air uncomfortably scratching at his throat. He pulled at his star-patterned blue bandanna and wrapped it tightly around the lower half of his face. It didn’t stop him from breathing in the polluted air, but it did help filter out the palpable dust particles.
“Night, I think we need to drop by a Dead Pegasus. Gas is running pretty low,” said Sunshine, hands on the wheel and eyes gazing at the horizon at the end of the straight road, where cloudless skies met dry orange land.
“Great. We’d probably need to get more food. And power for the guns too,” piped Leather, who was playing a game of Bitch-Bot Wars with Gracie from next to Taemin.
“To the Dead Pegasus it is then,” Night affirmed from his place in the passenger seat.
Taemin slouched down in his seat and peeked at the screen of the handheld game in Gracie’s little hands. He smirked from behind his bandanna and stuck his hand in front of the handheld. Gracie gave a little yelp and twisted her arms about, trying to free her game from Taemin’s meddling. When Taemin finally relented, the screen had gone blank with pixelated words declaring a ‘GAME OVER’ at the girl.
She snapped her head to Taemin in annoyance and pouted her lips. “Hey! I was winning that one, Cola!”
Deep chuckles escaped from Leather’s mouth as Gracie tried to reach up and smack Taemin multiple times, who dodged this way and that before finally pretend-collapsing, ‘dead’ after getting hit in the neck. From the other side of Leather, Roulette leaned over and patted Gracie on the head.
“That’s okay, Gracie. The next time Cola dares to bug you again, I’ll make sure I’ll ghost him permanently with an Exploding Sheep.”
Taemin sat up promptly and stuck his tongue out at Roulette. “Yeah? I wanna see you try, you Ritalin rat!”
Leather simply chortled harder while Night and Sunshine blocked out the banter like it was ordinary white noise in a BLI radio transmission.
--
It began (or continued- picked up where Taemin was left off) two months ago in Battery City, ten years after what everyone deemed The Explosion had happened. Unlike everywhere else, Battery City remained cool, at an average temperature of 22°C. It was a bleak city made up of tall monotonous buildings devoid of colours, largely controlled by the company ironically named Better Living Industries, or BLI, or BL/Ind - as Taemin would prefer to call it.
In the dark, depressing wake of the catastrophe, BLI was the only one to have come forward to take charge and ‘clean things up’. They had provided comfort when calls of anguish rang throughout the entire city; assurance when the hopes of mankind’s survival had been dashed by The Explosion. Taemin wasn’t exactly sure what BLI’s true intentions were, but mankind in general was seen singing praises and prayers to their newfound ‘God’. People he loved; his friends and family, have sworn their souls to them.
Taemin had thought it to be alright. If the existence of BLI had brought order to relieve chaos, it didn’t matter how they do it, did it? But Taemin found that he had had problems with BLI’s main drive and goal - ultimate unilateral conformity.
BLI was viciously bigoted in their ways, and sometimes, more often than not, Taemin found himself dissatisfied and unhappy. He liked music, dancing and bright colours on his clothes. He had held dance sessions amongst like-minded people and taught classes but BLI had immediately pulled the shutters on these sessions, as ‘any form of creativity is non-productive to the future and can lead to harmful consequences’.
His parents however, told him countless times to ‘just go with the norm’ and to not ‘cause trouble for us, we don’t want the Crows on our backs’, constantly reminding him that he was too young to remember what it was like post-apocalypse: pre-BLI. Wings of rebellion started to rustle restlessly within him. The more they had tried to stop him, the more he had wanted to defy them. He simply continued on with his classes, just more discreetly.
One night, Taemin was walking back from one of those sessions in his lime green sweatpants, black cotton tee and bright red cap when a dull grey beaten-down Mustang swerved to a stop next to him. Two figures decked in white clothes- white t-shirts under white sport-coats and off-white pants- came out of the backseat doors. Taemin’s eyes travelled to their faces- grotesque masks of hollowed out eyes, bushy brows, pale broken skin and mouths agape in permanent screams. Draculoids. Taemin cursed under his breath as he made a run for it.
BLI’s law enforcement unit, the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W, was finally on his tail- the consequences of not heeding his parents’ warnings, of skewing away from the set ‘norm’. He’d much rather hell to swallow him up than to ever get caught by the Crows. He had heard what BLI would do to all the rebels- some sort of ‘thought adjustment treatment’- and he shuddered at the thought of it happening to him.
Taemin didn’t stop running as he twisted around dark alleys, constantly looking over his shoulder. There were three Draculoids- the lowest ranked and the most dispensable minions of the Crows. Taemin’s stamina was waning and yet the Dracs were still hot on his pursuit. A quick fleeting thought that they probably run on renewable chemical energy crossed his mind before he halted, turned on his heels and took advantage of the Dracs’ momentum to trip them and throw them forward, making them skid across the concrete pavement one by one. Taemin took off again in the opposite direction before the Dracs could regain their bearings or pull out their white ray guns from the holsters on their belts.
For half-droids, the Dracs sure weren’t very smart or competent. They took some time to scramble to their feet and, ray guns in their hands, start shooting at Taemin, but missing every shot.
Taemin bent his body about as he ran, dodging the shots of high-powered electric current that glowed fluorescent white in the air. He went down another alley, coming out to an open road. He heard loud screeching of tires and his brain was desperately sending him signals to stop as it registered the oncoming of a car to his left. His body reacted just in time, hands braced against the hood of the car that was fortunately decelerating, body receiving minimal impact.
Even so, Taemin saw his vision blacken out and passed out.
--
When he had regained consciousness, he found that it was day and he was lying on an old leather couch. He blinked hard and struggled to get his brain in gear.
“Rise and shine, sleepyhead.” He heard a voice from somewhere above him and he sat up with a groan, body aching immensely.
“Mwurgh? What happened?” he looked all around him and recognized the settings of an abandoned diner, “Where am I?” his eyes finally landed on the man who had spoken before, “Who are you?” he asked as he eyed the other. He was wearing a multi-coloured jacket-hoodie with matching high-cut sneakers. Messy, blond-tipped brown hair and- oh, what is his red cap doing sitting backwards snugly on his head? Taemin narrowed his eyes, unhappy.
“One question at a time, kid. You’re somewhere in Zone 3 now.”
“What? Zone 3? What am I doing here? …Who are you?” The man sighed heavily in response. Two mugs of something were placed clumsily onto the coffee table between them, contents sloshing a little. Taemin’s gaze travelled up the arms to look at their owner. An auburn-haired man with a kind smile looked back at him. With eyes filled with concern he asked, “You’re okay, right? I mean. I didn’t hit you too hard?” “-Thanks, Sunshine,” the blond-haired man cut him pointedly. He pouted a little as he walked away.
Sun...shine? His brows furrowed in confusion as his eyes began to flicker to his surroundings. He spotted a man with shoulder-length wavy hair and lanky limbs sitting in a corner booth reading the kind of papers Taemin has never seen before. But then again BLI only allowed one kind to be published and sold in Battery City - they forbade any kind of liberal media.
His eyes roved again and stopped at a fair-skinned man (weird, considering the scorching weather) who had jet-black short hair and asymmetrical bangs coloured in strips of green and red. He was in a booth across from him, talking to a little girl no older than eight.
The confused expression was still etched on his face when he turned back to face the blond man. Then an electrical charge of realization hit him, and his eyes darted back to the lanky man. Taemin stared at the front page of the paper: “The Fabulous Killjoys - Our Saviours, The Pigs’ Enemies”
Taemin’s head reeled as he searched his memory, mind scanning for information from deep within the crevices of his brain. Killjoys: a group of four zone-runners who had been on BLI’s most wanted list. Countless times they’ve held raids on Battery City, stealing food supplies and weapons for the other zone-runners back in the Zones. And they managed to delude BLI and the Crows, every single time.
Taemin turned to the blond again, who cocked an eyebrow at him in an amused manner.
Shit. He had run into the fucking Killjoys, of all people. Or, technically speaking, the Killjoys had run into him. The articles ran through his mind again as he tried to recall their names. Night Diamond, Sunshine Bomb, Leather Anarchist and Killer Roulette. He didn’t know who was who though, save for the one called Sunshine. How apt, he thought, the guy had a pleasant look about him, easy smile on his face. Then the blond in front of him must be Night Diamond- the leader.
“First off, care to tell us what you were doing getting chased by three Dracs?” the blond- Night Diamond - inquired, pulling a mug closer to him and gesturing for Taemin to take his too. Taemin grasped the mug and peered into it suspiciously before giving a noncommittal shrug.
“Who knows? Maybe they think I’m a threat?” Someone grunted. Taemin turned and glared at the multi-coloured bangs guy. Night Diamond ignored the interruption.
“What’s your name, kid?”
Fortunately Taemin’s brain managed to catch his reflex reaction and stop it before it was too late. “Hah! I’m not falling for that. And stop calling me kid. You guys don’t even look that much older than me.”
Night pouted his lips a little. “Okay fine. Do you have a name you want to be called, a nickname or something? I can’t not call you ‘kid’ if you don’t have a name, kid.”
“- Seems like a brat to me. There we were, saving his ass from being ghosted by the Dracs. To think he’d faint over a slight tap from the Trans Am. Tsk. I never knew rudeness and disrespect were the new gratitude-”
“- That’s enough, Roulette,” snapped Night, before looking at Taemin hard and giving him a friendly, toothy grin. “Now, tell us what to call you.”
“What? Something like Night Diamond or Killer Roulette?” He almost broke into a snigger but stopped himself after seeing Night’s smile faltering. “...Cola. Or Cellophane. I’d like to be called that.”
“- Cellophane Cola... That’s nice. Has this... ring to it.” Taemin looked over to the source of that voice to find Sunshine beaming at him from his new place sitting across the lanky one - who must be Leather Anarchist since the rude, sharp-tongued, funky-coloured hair one was Killer Roulette. Leather seemed to have felt Taemin’s eyes on him as he had peered over the papers suddenly, staring hard. Roulette threw Sunshine a death glare and the little girl between them smiled in amusement. Who the hell is that girl? Taemin wondered absently.
“Okay then. Have a drink, Cola,” Night said before sipping at his own mug.
“I- erm. Thanks but no thanks.” Taemin promptly got up. “I mean, thanks for saving me. But I gotta get back now.”
Night’s already big eyes widened, making it look almost comical. “Get back? What do you mean, get back? Get back to where?”
“Uhh. The place where I came from? Somewhere called Battery City?”
Night rolled his eyes again. He didn’t seem to have the patience to be the leader. And, eyeing the cap that he’d stolen from him, nor did he have the maturity. “I know what you mean, kid- I mean, Cola. But why would you want to go back?”
“Because my family’s waiting for me there?” He recognized the look of forlornness as it flashed across Night’s features. He almost felt bad for him, but Taemin had decided that the Killjoys were rogues, and he’d better get away from them before they could commit more crimes and get him involved. “Look, I won’t pretend I don’t know who you guys are. And I know what you’re trying to do. But I can’t leave. I have a family. I have friends. I can’t. Just. Leave.”
“We all used to belong somewhere too, Cola. We all had something to get back to, once upon a time.” Leather has set down his paper somewhere along the conversation and set his gaze upon him, giving him this all-knowing look.
“Besides...” Roulette cut in, unfolding something in front of him, “This was in today.” He held up a tabloid which Taemin recognized as The Daily Facts - the only Battery City newspaper. And on it, there was a mugshot photo of him, with headlines that read: ‘Latest BLI Subject of Nonconformance: All Citizens Beware.’
“I don’t think you should go back now. It will actually be better for your family and friends... Lee Taemin.”
--
Taemin idled away as he leaned against the hood of the vandalized Trans Am, jiggling his leg restlessly. They had pulled up into the next gas station they came across. It was old, rundown and abandoned, symbols of a horse with broken wings decorating the station, along with the black-and-white BLI logo of a smiley emoticon.
Roulette stayed in the car, flipping through the latest edition of Shiny while Night and Leather scavenged the convenience store for more canned food and ammunition. Taemin sighed. The sweltering heat was making him sweat, but the intense radiation didn’t allow them to expose much of their skin. He resolved to watch, with mild interest, Gracie and Sunshine hack into the BLI vending machine with the Vend-A-Hack, mooching off the enemy’s ray guns and batteries, exchanging looks of triumph at every success. Sunshine ruffled Gracie’s hair before grabbing a white ray gun and walking towards him.
He absently played with the weapon in his hand, balancing and juggling it as he regarded Taemin, joining him, leaning against the hood. “So. How d’you like it so far?” Taemin didn’t answer, eyes never leaving the swinging gun. “You know. Being a zone-runner,” he continued, wagging his brows.
Taemin shrugged in response. “Mm. Alright, I guess. Nothing spectacular, you know?”
Sunshine nodded absently. After a while, he finally stopped spinning the gun, gripping it with both hands. He peered at Taemin’s face, eyes widening. “Are you still that scared?”
“What?” Taemin felt insulted. “No. It’s just- you.” He scrunched up his face. “The way you’re swinging it around. Next thing I know, I’d have a face full of ray gun.”
Sunshine burst out laughing. “But these things are harmless! Until I reprogramme and activate them. So it’s cool now.” The slamming of a door could be heard then and Sunshine resumed spinning the gun as Roulette joined them, leaning at the other side of Sunshine. “Too hot in there,” he remarked.
“After all, Cola,” Sunshine continued, “You’re safe as long as your ghosted body don’t end up in the hands of BLI...”
“- And never unmask a Drac,” Roulette piped in. Taemin gave him a questioning look. He returned it with a serious gaze. “It’s better for you not to find out. Believe me.”
A soft curse then escaped from Sunshine’s lips. The gun slipped from his fingers, swinging powerfully in the air, before hitting Roulette squarely in the forehead with a loud, painful smack. Sunshine’s eyes went ridiculously round.
“- Hell, Sunshine!” Roulette started rubbing at the sore spot as he continuously smacked Sunshine hard on his shoulder, arms and chest. Taemin stifled his laughter behind his hand as Sunshine cowered from Roulette’s attacks, apologizing profusely.
Gracie bounded up to them with arms full of batteries, and a few ray guns, bursting into giggles at the duo’s antiques (“See, that’s why you’re our driver-” “-but everyone knows I can shoot just as well as anyone!”). Beaming up at Taemin, she asked, “Hey, want to hear a joke? Sunshine just taught me.”
Roulette abruptly stopped his ministrations on Sunshine, ears perked. “Oh. Oh. No...”
Gracie ignored him. “So. A man walks into a bar- and says ‘ouch’!”
...What? Taemin’s lips twitched, and it wasn’t even funny, but he was laughing.
“What is invisible and smells like carrots? -Rabbit farts!” Taemin was doubling over, clutching his sides now. Roulette shook his head unbelievably at him and Sunshine and Gracie were giving each other high-fives, faces split into satisfied grins.
Just then, Night and Leather burst through the front doors of the store, marching heavily to the Trans Am.
“All of you, get in. We need to cruise outta here. Quickly.” The four obeyed without question, sensing the urgency in Night’s voice. Sunshine started the engine, and as he hit the gas, asked, “What’s bubbling, Night?” Taemin caught the flash of worry reflected in his eyes through the rear-view mirror. Night tried to lower his voice for only Sunshine to hear, but the spaces in between the six of them were too narrow and familial, so he decided not to in the end.
“Dr. D dropped me a birdie. Said a group of Dracs were spotted somewhere near here, cruising around in their shiny Mustang, offing random zone-runners they bump into.”
“Shit,” Roulette stated simply as he cast a worried glance at Gracie. Leather mirrored the look, and Gracie worried her lips. Taemin looped his arm around her and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
“Shit indeed,” Sunshine said gravely as he stepped on the gas harder, the sudden burst of speed sending them all against their seats. Taemin craned his neck over the backseat and narrowed his eyes at the black Mustang rolling onwards from a few distances behind them, orange dust swirling in their wake.
“Come on, guys. Guns at the ready.” Taemin didn’t have to wait for Night’s orders- he already had his hands curled around his grass-green ray gun. He exchanged looks of determination with Roulette and Leather, who were both gripping their own guns.
With one swift movement, Taemin ducked his head out of the car while drawing his gun, aimed, and shot at the Mustang’s front hood. At the same time, Leather made a direct hit at one of the wheels and the tyres screeched as the Mustang careened off the road.
With one down, another of those damn vehicles and two motorbikes suddenly appeared from beyond the horizon, speeding after them. Taemin cursed under his breath as several gruesomely masked faces, each with guns in their hands, popped out from the car windows and began shooting at them rather blindly and carelessly, the bright white beams buzzing past his head.
Leather and Roulette, and now Night too, returned the shots, each with their own bright beams - only theirs were red, yellow and blue respectively. Taemin managed to get one Drac square in the head and he gave a satisfied smirk as he fell off his bike. He heard Gracie whimpering a little from next to him in the car. “Hurry Sunshine, go faster!”
“I’m trying, m’dear. Everyone, hold on to something!”
The Trans Am swerved violently to the right and Taemin would have been flung out the window if he hadn’t been holding on to the frame. A series of curses escaped from his three comrades’ mouths.
“Hell, where are we off to now, Sunshine?” Night asked, raising his voice over the noise of the tyres rumbling over loose rocks as the car pushed forward violently on uneven ground. In the distance, the Mustang and bike slowed to a stop at the point where their car had veered off.
“I- I don’t know!” Sunshine stuttered as he threw wild glances at the rear-view mirror. “We just had to get off the road, you know?” Three figures in white had gotten out of the Mustang and stood staring in their direction now.
“Ugh those pigs!” grumbled Roulette, “When will it get through to that empty head of theirs that they’ll never catch us? We are way above them!”
“Doesn’t matter. If they do catch us, we’ll off them to oblivion even before they can say ‘Think Happy Thoughts’” Leather quipped, giving an off-putting smile.
“Guys, put on your bandannas. Ready your rebreathers. We might be heading into a danger zone- air toxicity at a high.” Shuffling ensued in the car as everyone obeyed their leader’s command. Sunshine was still trembling slightly from the chase, knuckles turning white as he gripped onto the steering wheel hard.
“Sunshine, shouldn’t you be used to all this by now? Come on-”
“Hey hey,” Leather’s low voice cut Roulette’s curtly. “Cut him some slack, will you? Not every one’s born to do this kind of shit.”
Night leaned over the divider and gently put Sunshine’s bandanna on for him. Then he grinned, patted his cheek lightly and murmured, “You’re alright, Sunshine. We’re alright.”
--
Vivid vibrant colours bounced off the running children and playthings at the playground, hitting him so hard, he almost fell from the impact. They tickled him. He broke into peals of laughter; so happy, so delightful. Throwing his head back, he slowly opened his eyes but frowned almost immediately. Dense, grey clouds were obscuring the sun. Then a fat drop of water hit his cheek. It left a burning sensation on his skin. Like acid. Children were screaming and the drops turned vicious green, evaporating to steam with a menacing hiss as they hit concrete-
“-Cola! Get up Cola! Wake up! Shit.” Taemin sat up and looked around their makeshift camp blearily. It was still dark and the fire was burning low, throwing soft orange light on the other mounds of bodies around him. Leather was already bending over them to rouse them.
“What’s going on, Leather?” asked Roulette as he pulled Gracie up against him, still nestling the half-asleep girl.
“Drac alert. Saw one wondering about. Already offed him. More might be coming. We need to run, now,” he hissed urgently as he grabbed their bags of canned food and chucked them into the boot of the Trans Am a few metres away.
Taemin could barely register the sound of rubber soles scuffling against grains of dried earth before there was a flash of movement to his right. He heard Night calling out- “Roulette! Gracie!” -followed by Gracie’s ear-splitting scream. A flash of fluorescent white illuminated the campsite briefly and Taemin spotted three Dracs in their midst.
He threw his body forward and tackled the nearest Drac to the ground as the surroundings began to light up by flashes of blue and purple coming from Night and Sunshine’s guns. Saddling and pinning his enemy down, he threw a couple of punches to his face before snatching the white ray gun from his hands and blasting his face with it.
Taemin heard Night calling “Everyone in the Trans Am now!” at the same time a helpless shriek rang from Gracie and a sharp “Gracie! No!” came from Roulette. His eyes darted to Roulette, who was zapping the Dracs away as they came to him, and to Gracie, who was already in the tight grasp of a couple of those monsters. He then tore his eyes away to the direction of the car where Leather could be seen blasting and fighting off the Dracs as he got in, trying to start the engine. Taking a cursory look around, he found Sunshine and Night to have their hands full with them too. Taemin found himself wondering just where the hell all these imbeciles had come from.
He willed his mind to think of a way to save Gracie; as he kicked, punched and shot at the Dracs. Diverting his attention away from himself for just a moment, his eyes widened slowly as the scene unfolded before him. Night heaved the Drac that was holding him down over his shoulder and offed him. Then he proceeded to punch the Drac that had a grip on Sunshine, immediately offing him, before making to save Gracie. Roulette aimed his ray gun at the forehead of one of the Dracs gripping Gracie’s arm and pulled the trigger, releasing a bright yellow beam that hit its target squarely. At the same time, a bright white beam had escaped from a Drac’s gun, narrowly missing Roulette’s chest as he fell backwards to the ground, dodging it.
Night screamed in anger as he ran forward, ray gun pointing in a threatening manner at the assailant’s chest. The Drac shrugged in response and despicably turned his ray gun to Gracie’s temple. Night abruptly stopped his rampant charge, gun-yielding arm dropping to his side.
The remaining Dracs felt an air of difference at the change of situation and understanding it, relented. In a sequence of events, the Killjoys could merely watch them withdraw, white ray gun still held against Gracie’s head. From the corner of his eye, Taemin saw Leather raise his equipped arm imperceptibly, teeth baring in a silent growl. He only gripped his weapon harder.
They were getting farther and farther, some already mounted onto their bikes, engines roaring loudly into the night. Gun almost perpendicular to his body, it would only take a pull of Leather’s finger to send the Drac holding Gracie captive propelling to the ground. Taemin could feel his palms turn sweaty, as he stood his ground, anticipating, waiting.
Petrified eyes looked at them, almost pleadingly. Taemin could see that she was holding herself back from easily sending the Drac spiralling into the hood of the Mustang. It was the feel of the Drac’s presence beside her and the cold metal kissing her temple that was stopping her.
What was Leather waiting for? Why hadn’t he offed the Drac?
The offending Drac proceeded to violently shove Gracie into the black Mustang before speeding off. Even when the last of the bikes had gone off into the dark, Leather still had his arm outstretched, brows furrowed deep. Even when there was nothing they could see except for the black expanse of the night, his arm was still held in front of him. It was not until Roulette grabbed the lapels of his jacket, clenched fist meeting his defined jaw, did he break his position, stumbling a few steps back. Even so, Roulette kept on raining punches onto him until the only thing tearing the silence were his distressed wails.
If it were not for Night who gathered the sobbing mess that was Roulette, who knew when the attacks would stop.
“Why? Why didn’t you fucking shoot? She was there! So fucking close and yet - you, you didn’t do a fucking thing! YOU MORON!” he shrieked, finger pointing accusingly at the collapsed figure on the ground.
Night was heaving violently, anger in check as he led Roulette back to the Trans Am. Leather glared at the ground, lip split and mouth a bloodied mess. Sunshine merely sported a helpless look before he too retreated in the pair’s wake. Taemin was angry. He was beyond furious, lips pursed in an unamused frown. They stayed that way for a while longer, the lanky boy refusing to look anywhere else.
Letting out an exasperated groan, Taemin rubbed his face irately before he walked over and crouched before the other. He reached out for a dipped chin, ignoring the mulish grunts as he turned the beaten face to face his. What he had expected to see was an unabashed look but what he witnessed instead were delicate brown eyes lined with tears.
“I tried. I tried to force myself to shoot but I couldn’t, not with Gracie there. Not when there’s a possibility of shooting her. I couldn’t, Taemin, I couldn’t,” his voice losing its usual baritone.
At the sound of his real name, he cupped Leather’s face, face softening. The night was dawning, sky turning a mocking green and light blue. Taemin could not find any words enough to comfort the weeping boy. Instead, he took him in his arms, fingers raking through long strands.
--
“What’s that you got there, Gracie?” Taemin asked, nudging his chin towards the envelope clasped in the girl’s hands, which was covered with colourful crayon doodles.
“A letter. To Mom,” Gracie said, placing it through the mailbox. “She’s in Battery City.”
“Oh.” Taemin tried to hide his surprise. Gracie gave him a small smile and skipped away, her springy curls bouncing, disappearing into their diner-home before he could ask the questions that had started forming in his head.
“Sweet little kid, ain’t she?” Taemin spun around to see Night strolling towards him. “Such a waste- caught up in this shit. Girl doesn’t deserve it,” he continued as he stopped on the other side of the red mailbox, resting his elbow on the top of it, head in the palm of his hand. The colour matches the cap on his head, which had become a permanent fixture since a week ago- the day Taemin had woken up in the diner- much to his contempt.
Taemin screwed his brows together as he thought over it. “What do you mean? How is she here with you anyway?”
“Have you noticed anything special about her?”
“Not really.”
“Well I guess you wouldn’t even if you put surveillance on her 24-7. No one would. Well, her mother had come to us personally herself. Said she couldn’t take the Crows’ prying no more. Apparently Gracie served some kinda threat. Can you believe it? Such a sweet little girl- a threat!
So she said to us: take her away from this city, sooner or later the Crows are gonna come get her. And protect her at all costs! We didn’t believe it at first. And we didn’t want to do it. Another addition, another mouth to feed, another life to protect.
But as days went by we found out- we had to learn- the hard way, how true it actually was.”
Taemin frowned, curiosity piqued. “So, she...?” Is some kind of superhero? He gestured randomly as he tried to urge Night to continue.
Night turned and looked him in the eye. “Gracie is valuable to us zone-runners, Cola. Maybe not now but in the far-off future. She’s going to save us. It’s in her genes. We must protect her. At all costs.”
Taemin kept silent, mulling over everything. It was one thing to turn into a wandering runaway overnight without ever having the intention to, it was another to actually become an addition to a group of, as Taemin would call it, vigilantes, getting involved in exploits against the law for the ‘greater good’. But this whole being part of something bigger- something so huge that it would eventually save mankind- was on a whole different league altogether. He couldn’t even begin to think on how to respond to it at all. For the most part, he didn’t-couldn’t-care right then.
Taemin wondered absently instead if he should send something to his family - just to tell them he was doing alright - before something hit him.
“Does this-” he rapped the red metal box a couple of times with his knuckles, “- even work?”
Night’s eyes dropped to his worn-out sneakers as he said, “Nope.” before looking up and fixing a faraway gaze on the diner, like as if he could mentally project his regret and apology and send them to Gracie.
Taemin regarded the look and somehow understood, and he began to see the boy- young man- in front of him in a different light. “It might seem like I’m prying, or something, but since we’re kinda on the topic, how did you, or the others, come to this?”
Night turned to him and simply gave him a bright smile, corners of his eyes crinkling slightly. The sun was setting now and the fading light bounced off his blond-tipped bangs, turning it slight orange. Taemin studied his face and came to a realization: Night, or any of the others, didn’t deserve this either, not just Gracie. No one does. And yet, here they all were.
“You are prying, though.” Night gave him a couple of strong pats on the shoulder. “It’s gonna get dark out soon. Come on, let’s go in.”
--
Ever since the conversation he had had with Night, Taemin had developed a soft spot for Gracie. Well he decided that everyone must have too. They all doted on her like she was their own. Presently, in the diner, he could see how much she had meant to each of them. Roulette was chewing on his nails and Leather, bruised lips and all, snaked his arm around his shoulders, giving it a gentle squeeze, but Roulette only screwed up his face in annoyance and coldly peeled the arm off. Sunshine was pacing to and fro, and Night studying the map of Battery City with a gaze so intense that Taemin wouldn’t be surprised if it burst to flames right then and there.
Taemin recalled that one time where Gracie had tagged along when they had to go through Zone 6 in order to get to Dr. D’s haven for some communications trinkets. Zone 6 was known to be highly toxic, with occurrences of slight to severe acid rain. Not equipping themselves with their rebreathers would spell a slow death as they continuously inhaled the poisonous gases. But Gracie, the sweet thing, only had on her navy blue bandanna over her nose and mouth.
In a moment of panic, he had asked her urgently about her rebreather, only to get a respond from Leather that ‘she doesn’t need it’ and that ‘her body can handle it’. Taemin’s eyebrows had risen and he had caught a knowing look in Night’s eyes from the rear-view mirror. And it was then that realization had dawned on him.
They have to protect her. At all costs.
“- How are we going to rescue her?” Sunshine had broken the silence, gloom hanging heavily in the air. “We are going to rescue her right?”
Roulette abruptly stopped chewing on his nail and gave Sunshine a pointed glare. “Like hell we are, Sunshine. What did you think?”
“We’re gonna have to break into BLI HQ,” Night declared grimly.
--
The air inside the Trans Am was tense with unspoken determination as it cruised along the long underground tunnel into Battery City. It would be the first time back in the city for Taemin since the day he had become a runaway and he didn’t know how he felt. The plan was almost like a no-plan at all: go in and save Gracie, with some help from the other zone-runners, at all costs. He was unsure of what to expect at BLI Headquarters. Maybe he should expect the worse. But one thing he was very sure of: where his loyalty lay.
--
Eyes lined thickly with kohl, she had a pretty face if not for her painted lips set in a thin line. Straight black hair set in an asymmetrical bob did little to soften her sharp chin and cheekbones. Gracie looked up at her, childish grin in place. She returned it, teeth showing. Arms crossed, she looked over the shoulders of the pair of Dracs whose fingers were expertly punching into an entire board of lighted buttons. She saw them and smiled inwardly.
--
Night was leading the pack of four, shoulders set in determination as they marched across the metal link way. Just a little behind him was Roulette, grace no longer apparent as he trudged towards the building with a straight back. Leather followed suit but Taemin did not expect Sunshine to have balled fists, mouth in a grim frown. He had expected the gentle man to take hesitant steps, face squinched up in distaste. This had Taemin gripping onto his gun harder, chin jutting out as he fell in step beside Leather who dipped his head in acknowledgement.
The tall BLI Headquarters building loomed in front of them, and several S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W recruits in their white combat wear and BLI logo masks were trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible as they crouched low at the entrance. Night raised his arm straight and Taemin and the others followed suit, as if they were starting a volley salute. They aimed and pulled their triggers, before any of the Crows with their semi-automatic rays could even load their ray guns.
They charged their way in, blasting off any Crows that came in their way, bursting through the glass double-doors. More men-in-white came through the polished hallways and the group zapped at them, and they advanced with ease. It almost seemed too easy to Taemin and before he knew it, they were already at the surveillance room. Roulette and Leather released their yellow and red beams at the Dracs sitting at the main control panel. Then from beyond the machines, a head full of brown curls appeared, and Gracie dashed towards Night, who scooped her into his arms protectively. Sunshine smiled fondly at the sight and Taemin felt a wave of relieve washing over all of them as he stood and kept watch at the entrance of the room. Still, he had an uneasy feeling probing at his insides, an unexplainable feeling.
“Hey hey. We need to get going now guys,” he hissed urgently.
--
They strode down the narrow hallway- which was lined with posters of themselves, no less- as the soles of their sneakers made squeaky sounds on the polished tiles. The sound of several heavy boots marching from somewhere behind them echoed in the hallway, and Taemin found himself breaking into a cold sweat. His heart was drumming against his chest and he could feel the adrenaline pumping in his veins.
The hallway was opening up into the large, clean-cut, high-ceiling lobby and he heard Night muttering under his breath, “We’re surrounded. On three, we split and attack. Protect Gracie.”
Taemin was only half-listening as they emerged into the lobby and he could barely hear the final, loud “Three!”. He spun on his heels, ray gun poised in front of him, keeping his mind focused and eyes sharp as he shot at every Crow recruit in sight, leaving no room for mistakes.
The enemy was coming in by the hordes and even though their shooting accuracy ratio was 4:1, the Killjoys soon found themselves overwhelmed. Gracie stood rooted in the middle of the lobby, sandwiched between Night and Sunshine, looking more terrified than Taemin had ever seen. The poor girl was trembling, head held in her hands, shutting her eyes and ears; most probably imagining she was someplace else, not caught in a dangerous shoot-out of bright high-energy beams.
Taemin shuffled nearer towards the exit as Leather and Roulette kept up their tasks of clearing the route. The looks of fierce determination were apparent on their faces as they stood back-to-back, bringing the number of the enemies down steadily. Taemin then called out, “Gracie! Night! Sunshine! Come on, let’s go!”
Night had his face scrunched up in concentration as he shouted over his shoulder, “Run to Cola, Gracie, now!” Gracie shut her eyes tighter and let out a helpless scream instead. Night could clearly be seen huffing in frustration before he bellowed another order, “Sunshine! Get her out of there, quickly!” Sunshine snapped to attention at the call of his name, then fumbled about and grasped Gracie’s thin wrist, pulling her forwards, heading to the exit.
Taemin kept his mind alert and shot at any Crow who had managed to elude Leather or Roulette’s fire, watching their, Sunshine and Gracie’s, as well as his own, backs as the duo made towards him with linked hands.
Another high-pitched shriek rang in the air and Taemin looked to see Gracie struggling against Sunshine’s grip, trying to pry her wrist free.
“Gracie, come on! What are you--” Sunshine stopped abruptly, and following his gaze, Taemin knew why as his own eyes were set ablaze. Night was pinned against the wall at the far end, dirty blue ray gun at his feet. Sunshine then let go of Gracie and shoved her forwards. “Take her, Cola!”
He sprang forward just as a white beam was released point-blank at Night’s chest. His eyes rolled to the back of his head before his legs buckled, body sliding down the wall. Sunshine let out a pained cry and charged at the group of Crows senseless. Taemin panicked. “What the hell are you doing, Sunshine? Sunshine!”
Leather and Roulette came up next to him and Taemin gave Leather a helpless look as Roulette grabbed on to Gracie’s arm. Eyes moist with tears, they held their gaze for a split second before another yell broke it. And then Sunshine was falling, falling slowly in the centre of the lobby, before hitting the ground soundlessly, landing amongst the fallen recruits in combat white.
Roulette inhaled sharply and Taemin swallowed the lump in his throat. A couple of Crows had their semis aimed at them but thankfully Leather cut in and zapped at them mercilessly. He said in a low furious growl, “Save yourselves. I’ll hold them back.”
“Nu-uh,” Roulette said in a shaky voice as he resumed firing, determinedly blinking back his tears.
“Save yourselves, damn it!” Leather snapped as he violently shoved Taemin, Roulette and Gracie out the door and shut it behind him.
“Leather!” Gracie clung on to the doors, banging her small fists helplessly on the hard glass. Roulette’s face scrunched up in confused anger. Taemin looked on dismally, before he realized Crows and Dracs alike were coming for them, taking other exits from the building.
“Come on, we must go,” he said, urging the group towards the main road.
“Shit, Cola, this is- this is shit. I can’t. Shit-” Roulette’s trembling voice turned into incoherent mumbles as they ceaselessly fired at the oncoming enemies, keeping Gracie safe between them, whose tears were flowing angrily down her cheeks. Taemin’s nose flared as he tightened his lips.
“I know Roulette, I know- Shit!” Taemin turned around in time to send a Drac down to the ground before he could sneak up on them from behind. He eyed the vandalized Trans Am parked haphazardly at the main road a few metres away and Roulette glanced in the same direction too.
“Can you drive the thing, Cola?” he asked breathlessly.
“What? I’m the one who should be asking you that!”
“Well. Shit.” He sent two more yellow beams at the enemy as a white one whizzed past. “You gotta try and do it though--” His voice trailed off and Taemin followed his gaze back to the BLI building- only to see Leather’s silhoutte crumbling through the glass walls. Taemin snapped his head back to Roulette, whose eyes had lost their focus.
“I- I. We,” he swallowed thickly, “never really made up...” Gracie sniffled loudly then, face tear-stricken, but still set in fierce determination. The girl was strong. Strong indeed.
“Get yourself together Roulette!” he snapped, trying his best to keep his voice steady, his own tears threatening to spill as he released several green rays from his gun. A white beam buzzed past just over his head, and Roulette snapped himself out of his reverie, gripping Gracie’s hand firmly.
“Get in and drive this, Cola,” he said. Taemin nodded absently as he shot more enemies down, covering the other two as they move to get to the backseat. He shuffled to the driver’s side of the car carefully. They were completely outnumbered but Taemin thought that it’d be okay like this. They could get away after all.
Then he heard another pained scream, this time coming from Gracie. Taemin’s head spun on the hinges of his neck so fast, it almost broke. When he saw Roulette collapsing, hitting the metal hood of the Trans Am with an audible clank, his jaw dropped in a muted scream.
It took all but three seconds, and then Taemin didn’t care to hold himself back any longer. “No, no, no! Damn it!” His body shook violently as he screamed his lungs out.
Gracie stared at him with such terrified eyes, glinting and watery. No one has ever seen him blow up before, losing his cool like that. He clamped his eyes shut, breathing hard, letting his emotions take him over for a while, let them wash over him. Then he reopened them, jaw clenched, fixing his gaze on Gracie.
“Listen to me, Gracie. The getaway van is taking longer than expected. I’ll hold these pigs back, and the moment you hear it coming- the usual jams you always hear on the radio- you run and you go to them. Dr. D, News and Pony will be there. They’ll take care of you. Got that?”
Gracie only whimpered in response. Damn, if it was anyone who was scared shitless right then, it would be himself. But Night’s words remained crystal clear in his mind: Protect Gracie.
“Got that, Gracie?” he asked again, voice raising in pitch and cracking at her name. The girl nodded vigorously. “Good girl. You’re amazing, y’know that?” he said, lips curling into a strained smile, part relieved and part regretful as he gave her a quick firm hug before going back to take a defensive stance, using the body of the Trans Am as his shield. He resumed fire at any Crow that came too close, holding on and fighting for their, or at least Gracie’s, survival.
He heard the low rumbling of an engine coming closer and felt Gracie leaving his side. He knew it was going to be over soon. He never ceased his fire, covering Gracie’s back. His eyes spread over the scene in front of him, mind clouded. Anonymous people covered by masks and guns drawn out were coming at him, and time was moving slowly. He could faintly hear a few voices calling him, including a high-pitched one of a little girl’s. He turned to look, but as he did so, something hit him in the cheek so hard, the force made him stagger backwards, lose his footing. The skin on his cheek started to burn. It stings and hurt. Like acid.
His back met the rough tarmac road. For the second time around, Taemin blacked out.
--
Taemin opened his eyes to find himself in a stark white room void of any furnishings, save for a flat-screen television mounted on the wall in front of him. He was sitting on a soft, cushioned white couch.
He steadily blinked. He tried to recall how he had gotten there, but his mind felt like it had been dunked in sanitizing soap water, shrouded in a cloud of blissful ignorance. It felt so empty for once, it was refreshing.
A soft buzz came from the television and Taemin looked up to see it flicker to a white screen. An odd symmetrical shape made of multiple disks spiraling black and white appeared in the centre. The title read “Thought Adjustment Test” and there was “BL/Ind” written at the foot.
Taemin blinked a few more times. The disks started to spin then, and a female voice boomed from the speakers.
“Initiating Cycle 5 of Thought Adjustment Test. Please focus your eyes at the centre of the disk.” The voice had a lovely lilt to it. It was very gentle, soothing and calm. The disks spun faster, and the black-and-white spirals blended in a hypnotizing manner. Taemin felt his pupils dilate.
“Everything will be fine.”
Everything will be fine.
“You will always remember to take your medication.”
I will always remember to take my medication.
“You are feeling happy today.”
I am feeling happy today...
----
Rating: PG (language)
Genre: Action, drama, sci-fi
Fandom/Pairing: SHINee/Gen
Word Count: 8173
Disclaimer: SHINee aren’t mine. This didn’t happen. Killjoy!verse is MCR’s.
Prompts: NaNaNa by My Chemical Romance and Sing by My Chemical Romance.
Summary: In a post-apocalyptic world, Taemin got into a run-in with the ‘law’. He passed out mid-chase, coming to only to find himself a runaway and the latest addition to a group of anonymous vigilantes.
A/N: Written for themedpop Challenge 01.
So this is what I have been working on for the past month. Monster of a 'verse. ;_; A billion thanks to hoodedstarr for listening to all my whining, pushing me to finish, for the minkey, jongkey, 2min, and for being my beta. ♥
“- All you crash queens and motor babies make some noise! You’re here with me, Dr. Death Defying, coming at you live from Zone 5, pumping out the slaughtermatic sounds to keep you alive! It’s 44 in the sky but the pigs won’t quit-”
Dr. D’s voice continued to boom from the car stereo speakers as the Trans Am sped along the dusty two-laned highway. Taemin popped his head out of the window in the backseat only to pull it back in a few moments later, hot dry air uncomfortably scratching at his throat. He pulled at his star-patterned blue bandanna and wrapped it tightly around the lower half of his face. It didn’t stop him from breathing in the polluted air, but it did help filter out the palpable dust particles.
“Night, I think we need to drop by a Dead Pegasus. Gas is running pretty low,” said Sunshine, hands on the wheel and eyes gazing at the horizon at the end of the straight road, where cloudless skies met dry orange land.
“Great. We’d probably need to get more food. And power for the guns too,” piped Leather, who was playing a game of Bitch-Bot Wars with Gracie from next to Taemin.
“To the Dead Pegasus it is then,” Night affirmed from his place in the passenger seat.
Taemin slouched down in his seat and peeked at the screen of the handheld game in Gracie’s little hands. He smirked from behind his bandanna and stuck his hand in front of the handheld. Gracie gave a little yelp and twisted her arms about, trying to free her game from Taemin’s meddling. When Taemin finally relented, the screen had gone blank with pixelated words declaring a ‘GAME OVER’ at the girl.
She snapped her head to Taemin in annoyance and pouted her lips. “Hey! I was winning that one, Cola!”
Deep chuckles escaped from Leather’s mouth as Gracie tried to reach up and smack Taemin multiple times, who dodged this way and that before finally pretend-collapsing, ‘dead’ after getting hit in the neck. From the other side of Leather, Roulette leaned over and patted Gracie on the head.
“That’s okay, Gracie. The next time Cola dares to bug you again, I’ll make sure I’ll ghost him permanently with an Exploding Sheep.”
Taemin sat up promptly and stuck his tongue out at Roulette. “Yeah? I wanna see you try, you Ritalin rat!”
Leather simply chortled harder while Night and Sunshine blocked out the banter like it was ordinary white noise in a BLI radio transmission.
--
It began (or continued- picked up where Taemin was left off) two months ago in Battery City, ten years after what everyone deemed The Explosion had happened. Unlike everywhere else, Battery City remained cool, at an average temperature of 22°C. It was a bleak city made up of tall monotonous buildings devoid of colours, largely controlled by the company ironically named Better Living Industries, or BLI, or BL/Ind - as Taemin would prefer to call it.
In the dark, depressing wake of the catastrophe, BLI was the only one to have come forward to take charge and ‘clean things up’. They had provided comfort when calls of anguish rang throughout the entire city; assurance when the hopes of mankind’s survival had been dashed by The Explosion. Taemin wasn’t exactly sure what BLI’s true intentions were, but mankind in general was seen singing praises and prayers to their newfound ‘God’. People he loved; his friends and family, have sworn their souls to them.
Taemin had thought it to be alright. If the existence of BLI had brought order to relieve chaos, it didn’t matter how they do it, did it? But Taemin found that he had had problems with BLI’s main drive and goal - ultimate unilateral conformity.
BLI was viciously bigoted in their ways, and sometimes, more often than not, Taemin found himself dissatisfied and unhappy. He liked music, dancing and bright colours on his clothes. He had held dance sessions amongst like-minded people and taught classes but BLI had immediately pulled the shutters on these sessions, as ‘any form of creativity is non-productive to the future and can lead to harmful consequences’.
His parents however, told him countless times to ‘just go with the norm’ and to not ‘cause trouble for us, we don’t want the Crows on our backs’, constantly reminding him that he was too young to remember what it was like post-apocalypse: pre-BLI. Wings of rebellion started to rustle restlessly within him. The more they had tried to stop him, the more he had wanted to defy them. He simply continued on with his classes, just more discreetly.
One night, Taemin was walking back from one of those sessions in his lime green sweatpants, black cotton tee and bright red cap when a dull grey beaten-down Mustang swerved to a stop next to him. Two figures decked in white clothes- white t-shirts under white sport-coats and off-white pants- came out of the backseat doors. Taemin’s eyes travelled to their faces- grotesque masks of hollowed out eyes, bushy brows, pale broken skin and mouths agape in permanent screams. Draculoids. Taemin cursed under his breath as he made a run for it.
BLI’s law enforcement unit, the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W, was finally on his tail- the consequences of not heeding his parents’ warnings, of skewing away from the set ‘norm’. He’d much rather hell to swallow him up than to ever get caught by the Crows. He had heard what BLI would do to all the rebels- some sort of ‘thought adjustment treatment’- and he shuddered at the thought of it happening to him.
Taemin didn’t stop running as he twisted around dark alleys, constantly looking over his shoulder. There were three Draculoids- the lowest ranked and the most dispensable minions of the Crows. Taemin’s stamina was waning and yet the Dracs were still hot on his pursuit. A quick fleeting thought that they probably run on renewable chemical energy crossed his mind before he halted, turned on his heels and took advantage of the Dracs’ momentum to trip them and throw them forward, making them skid across the concrete pavement one by one. Taemin took off again in the opposite direction before the Dracs could regain their bearings or pull out their white ray guns from the holsters on their belts.
For half-droids, the Dracs sure weren’t very smart or competent. They took some time to scramble to their feet and, ray guns in their hands, start shooting at Taemin, but missing every shot.
Taemin bent his body about as he ran, dodging the shots of high-powered electric current that glowed fluorescent white in the air. He went down another alley, coming out to an open road. He heard loud screeching of tires and his brain was desperately sending him signals to stop as it registered the oncoming of a car to his left. His body reacted just in time, hands braced against the hood of the car that was fortunately decelerating, body receiving minimal impact.
Even so, Taemin saw his vision blacken out and passed out.
--
When he had regained consciousness, he found that it was day and he was lying on an old leather couch. He blinked hard and struggled to get his brain in gear.
“Rise and shine, sleepyhead.” He heard a voice from somewhere above him and he sat up with a groan, body aching immensely.
“Mwurgh? What happened?” he looked all around him and recognized the settings of an abandoned diner, “Where am I?” his eyes finally landed on the man who had spoken before, “Who are you?” he asked as he eyed the other. He was wearing a multi-coloured jacket-hoodie with matching high-cut sneakers. Messy, blond-tipped brown hair and- oh, what is his red cap doing sitting backwards snugly on his head? Taemin narrowed his eyes, unhappy.
“One question at a time, kid. You’re somewhere in Zone 3 now.”
“What? Zone 3? What am I doing here? …Who are you?” The man sighed heavily in response. Two mugs of something were placed clumsily onto the coffee table between them, contents sloshing a little. Taemin’s gaze travelled up the arms to look at their owner. An auburn-haired man with a kind smile looked back at him. With eyes filled with concern he asked, “You’re okay, right? I mean. I didn’t hit you too hard?” “-Thanks, Sunshine,” the blond-haired man cut him pointedly. He pouted a little as he walked away.
Sun...shine? His brows furrowed in confusion as his eyes began to flicker to his surroundings. He spotted a man with shoulder-length wavy hair and lanky limbs sitting in a corner booth reading the kind of papers Taemin has never seen before. But then again BLI only allowed one kind to be published and sold in Battery City - they forbade any kind of liberal media.
His eyes roved again and stopped at a fair-skinned man (weird, considering the scorching weather) who had jet-black short hair and asymmetrical bangs coloured in strips of green and red. He was in a booth across from him, talking to a little girl no older than eight.
The confused expression was still etched on his face when he turned back to face the blond man. Then an electrical charge of realization hit him, and his eyes darted back to the lanky man. Taemin stared at the front page of the paper: “The Fabulous Killjoys - Our Saviours, The Pigs’ Enemies”
Taemin’s head reeled as he searched his memory, mind scanning for information from deep within the crevices of his brain. Killjoys: a group of four zone-runners who had been on BLI’s most wanted list. Countless times they’ve held raids on Battery City, stealing food supplies and weapons for the other zone-runners back in the Zones. And they managed to delude BLI and the Crows, every single time.
Taemin turned to the blond again, who cocked an eyebrow at him in an amused manner.
Shit. He had run into the fucking Killjoys, of all people. Or, technically speaking, the Killjoys had run into him. The articles ran through his mind again as he tried to recall their names. Night Diamond, Sunshine Bomb, Leather Anarchist and Killer Roulette. He didn’t know who was who though, save for the one called Sunshine. How apt, he thought, the guy had a pleasant look about him, easy smile on his face. Then the blond in front of him must be Night Diamond- the leader.
“First off, care to tell us what you were doing getting chased by three Dracs?” the blond- Night Diamond - inquired, pulling a mug closer to him and gesturing for Taemin to take his too. Taemin grasped the mug and peered into it suspiciously before giving a noncommittal shrug.
“Who knows? Maybe they think I’m a threat?” Someone grunted. Taemin turned and glared at the multi-coloured bangs guy. Night Diamond ignored the interruption.
“What’s your name, kid?”
Fortunately Taemin’s brain managed to catch his reflex reaction and stop it before it was too late. “Hah! I’m not falling for that. And stop calling me kid. You guys don’t even look that much older than me.”
Night pouted his lips a little. “Okay fine. Do you have a name you want to be called, a nickname or something? I can’t not call you ‘kid’ if you don’t have a name, kid.”
“- Seems like a brat to me. There we were, saving his ass from being ghosted by the Dracs. To think he’d faint over a slight tap from the Trans Am. Tsk. I never knew rudeness and disrespect were the new gratitude-”
“- That’s enough, Roulette,” snapped Night, before looking at Taemin hard and giving him a friendly, toothy grin. “Now, tell us what to call you.”
“What? Something like Night Diamond or Killer Roulette?” He almost broke into a snigger but stopped himself after seeing Night’s smile faltering. “...Cola. Or Cellophane. I’d like to be called that.”
“- Cellophane Cola... That’s nice. Has this... ring to it.” Taemin looked over to the source of that voice to find Sunshine beaming at him from his new place sitting across the lanky one - who must be Leather Anarchist since the rude, sharp-tongued, funky-coloured hair one was Killer Roulette. Leather seemed to have felt Taemin’s eyes on him as he had peered over the papers suddenly, staring hard. Roulette threw Sunshine a death glare and the little girl between them smiled in amusement. Who the hell is that girl? Taemin wondered absently.
“Okay then. Have a drink, Cola,” Night said before sipping at his own mug.
“I- erm. Thanks but no thanks.” Taemin promptly got up. “I mean, thanks for saving me. But I gotta get back now.”
Night’s already big eyes widened, making it look almost comical. “Get back? What do you mean, get back? Get back to where?”
“Uhh. The place where I came from? Somewhere called Battery City?”
Night rolled his eyes again. He didn’t seem to have the patience to be the leader. And, eyeing the cap that he’d stolen from him, nor did he have the maturity. “I know what you mean, kid- I mean, Cola. But why would you want to go back?”
“Because my family’s waiting for me there?” He recognized the look of forlornness as it flashed across Night’s features. He almost felt bad for him, but Taemin had decided that the Killjoys were rogues, and he’d better get away from them before they could commit more crimes and get him involved. “Look, I won’t pretend I don’t know who you guys are. And I know what you’re trying to do. But I can’t leave. I have a family. I have friends. I can’t. Just. Leave.”
“We all used to belong somewhere too, Cola. We all had something to get back to, once upon a time.” Leather has set down his paper somewhere along the conversation and set his gaze upon him, giving him this all-knowing look.
“Besides...” Roulette cut in, unfolding something in front of him, “This was in today.” He held up a tabloid which Taemin recognized as The Daily Facts - the only Battery City newspaper. And on it, there was a mugshot photo of him, with headlines that read: ‘Latest BLI Subject of Nonconformance: All Citizens Beware.’
“I don’t think you should go back now. It will actually be better for your family and friends... Lee Taemin.”
--
Taemin idled away as he leaned against the hood of the vandalized Trans Am, jiggling his leg restlessly. They had pulled up into the next gas station they came across. It was old, rundown and abandoned, symbols of a horse with broken wings decorating the station, along with the black-and-white BLI logo of a smiley emoticon.
Roulette stayed in the car, flipping through the latest edition of Shiny while Night and Leather scavenged the convenience store for more canned food and ammunition. Taemin sighed. The sweltering heat was making him sweat, but the intense radiation didn’t allow them to expose much of their skin. He resolved to watch, with mild interest, Gracie and Sunshine hack into the BLI vending machine with the Vend-A-Hack, mooching off the enemy’s ray guns and batteries, exchanging looks of triumph at every success. Sunshine ruffled Gracie’s hair before grabbing a white ray gun and walking towards him.
He absently played with the weapon in his hand, balancing and juggling it as he regarded Taemin, joining him, leaning against the hood. “So. How d’you like it so far?” Taemin didn’t answer, eyes never leaving the swinging gun. “You know. Being a zone-runner,” he continued, wagging his brows.
Taemin shrugged in response. “Mm. Alright, I guess. Nothing spectacular, you know?”
Sunshine nodded absently. After a while, he finally stopped spinning the gun, gripping it with both hands. He peered at Taemin’s face, eyes widening. “Are you still that scared?”
“What?” Taemin felt insulted. “No. It’s just- you.” He scrunched up his face. “The way you’re swinging it around. Next thing I know, I’d have a face full of ray gun.”
Sunshine burst out laughing. “But these things are harmless! Until I reprogramme and activate them. So it’s cool now.” The slamming of a door could be heard then and Sunshine resumed spinning the gun as Roulette joined them, leaning at the other side of Sunshine. “Too hot in there,” he remarked.
“After all, Cola,” Sunshine continued, “You’re safe as long as your ghosted body don’t end up in the hands of BLI...”
“- And never unmask a Drac,” Roulette piped in. Taemin gave him a questioning look. He returned it with a serious gaze. “It’s better for you not to find out. Believe me.”
A soft curse then escaped from Sunshine’s lips. The gun slipped from his fingers, swinging powerfully in the air, before hitting Roulette squarely in the forehead with a loud, painful smack. Sunshine’s eyes went ridiculously round.
“- Hell, Sunshine!” Roulette started rubbing at the sore spot as he continuously smacked Sunshine hard on his shoulder, arms and chest. Taemin stifled his laughter behind his hand as Sunshine cowered from Roulette’s attacks, apologizing profusely.
Gracie bounded up to them with arms full of batteries, and a few ray guns, bursting into giggles at the duo’s antiques (“See, that’s why you’re our driver-” “-but everyone knows I can shoot just as well as anyone!”). Beaming up at Taemin, she asked, “Hey, want to hear a joke? Sunshine just taught me.”
Roulette abruptly stopped his ministrations on Sunshine, ears perked. “Oh. Oh. No...”
Gracie ignored him. “So. A man walks into a bar- and says ‘ouch’!”
...What? Taemin’s lips twitched, and it wasn’t even funny, but he was laughing.
“What is invisible and smells like carrots? -Rabbit farts!” Taemin was doubling over, clutching his sides now. Roulette shook his head unbelievably at him and Sunshine and Gracie were giving each other high-fives, faces split into satisfied grins.
Just then, Night and Leather burst through the front doors of the store, marching heavily to the Trans Am.
“All of you, get in. We need to cruise outta here. Quickly.” The four obeyed without question, sensing the urgency in Night’s voice. Sunshine started the engine, and as he hit the gas, asked, “What’s bubbling, Night?” Taemin caught the flash of worry reflected in his eyes through the rear-view mirror. Night tried to lower his voice for only Sunshine to hear, but the spaces in between the six of them were too narrow and familial, so he decided not to in the end.
“Dr. D dropped me a birdie. Said a group of Dracs were spotted somewhere near here, cruising around in their shiny Mustang, offing random zone-runners they bump into.”
“Shit,” Roulette stated simply as he cast a worried glance at Gracie. Leather mirrored the look, and Gracie worried her lips. Taemin looped his arm around her and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
“Shit indeed,” Sunshine said gravely as he stepped on the gas harder, the sudden burst of speed sending them all against their seats. Taemin craned his neck over the backseat and narrowed his eyes at the black Mustang rolling onwards from a few distances behind them, orange dust swirling in their wake.
“Come on, guys. Guns at the ready.” Taemin didn’t have to wait for Night’s orders- he already had his hands curled around his grass-green ray gun. He exchanged looks of determination with Roulette and Leather, who were both gripping their own guns.
With one swift movement, Taemin ducked his head out of the car while drawing his gun, aimed, and shot at the Mustang’s front hood. At the same time, Leather made a direct hit at one of the wheels and the tyres screeched as the Mustang careened off the road.
With one down, another of those damn vehicles and two motorbikes suddenly appeared from beyond the horizon, speeding after them. Taemin cursed under his breath as several gruesomely masked faces, each with guns in their hands, popped out from the car windows and began shooting at them rather blindly and carelessly, the bright white beams buzzing past his head.
Leather and Roulette, and now Night too, returned the shots, each with their own bright beams - only theirs were red, yellow and blue respectively. Taemin managed to get one Drac square in the head and he gave a satisfied smirk as he fell off his bike. He heard Gracie whimpering a little from next to him in the car. “Hurry Sunshine, go faster!”
“I’m trying, m’dear. Everyone, hold on to something!”
The Trans Am swerved violently to the right and Taemin would have been flung out the window if he hadn’t been holding on to the frame. A series of curses escaped from his three comrades’ mouths.
“Hell, where are we off to now, Sunshine?” Night asked, raising his voice over the noise of the tyres rumbling over loose rocks as the car pushed forward violently on uneven ground. In the distance, the Mustang and bike slowed to a stop at the point where their car had veered off.
“I- I don’t know!” Sunshine stuttered as he threw wild glances at the rear-view mirror. “We just had to get off the road, you know?” Three figures in white had gotten out of the Mustang and stood staring in their direction now.
“Ugh those pigs!” grumbled Roulette, “When will it get through to that empty head of theirs that they’ll never catch us? We are way above them!”
“Doesn’t matter. If they do catch us, we’ll off them to oblivion even before they can say ‘Think Happy Thoughts’” Leather quipped, giving an off-putting smile.
“Guys, put on your bandannas. Ready your rebreathers. We might be heading into a danger zone- air toxicity at a high.” Shuffling ensued in the car as everyone obeyed their leader’s command. Sunshine was still trembling slightly from the chase, knuckles turning white as he gripped onto the steering wheel hard.
“Sunshine, shouldn’t you be used to all this by now? Come on-”
“Hey hey,” Leather’s low voice cut Roulette’s curtly. “Cut him some slack, will you? Not every one’s born to do this kind of shit.”
Night leaned over the divider and gently put Sunshine’s bandanna on for him. Then he grinned, patted his cheek lightly and murmured, “You’re alright, Sunshine. We’re alright.”
--
Vivid vibrant colours bounced off the running children and playthings at the playground, hitting him so hard, he almost fell from the impact. They tickled him. He broke into peals of laughter; so happy, so delightful. Throwing his head back, he slowly opened his eyes but frowned almost immediately. Dense, grey clouds were obscuring the sun. Then a fat drop of water hit his cheek. It left a burning sensation on his skin. Like acid. Children were screaming and the drops turned vicious green, evaporating to steam with a menacing hiss as they hit concrete-
“-Cola! Get up Cola! Wake up! Shit.” Taemin sat up and looked around their makeshift camp blearily. It was still dark and the fire was burning low, throwing soft orange light on the other mounds of bodies around him. Leather was already bending over them to rouse them.
“What’s going on, Leather?” asked Roulette as he pulled Gracie up against him, still nestling the half-asleep girl.
“Drac alert. Saw one wondering about. Already offed him. More might be coming. We need to run, now,” he hissed urgently as he grabbed their bags of canned food and chucked them into the boot of the Trans Am a few metres away.
Taemin could barely register the sound of rubber soles scuffling against grains of dried earth before there was a flash of movement to his right. He heard Night calling out- “Roulette! Gracie!” -followed by Gracie’s ear-splitting scream. A flash of fluorescent white illuminated the campsite briefly and Taemin spotted three Dracs in their midst.
He threw his body forward and tackled the nearest Drac to the ground as the surroundings began to light up by flashes of blue and purple coming from Night and Sunshine’s guns. Saddling and pinning his enemy down, he threw a couple of punches to his face before snatching the white ray gun from his hands and blasting his face with it.
Taemin heard Night calling “Everyone in the Trans Am now!” at the same time a helpless shriek rang from Gracie and a sharp “Gracie! No!” came from Roulette. His eyes darted to Roulette, who was zapping the Dracs away as they came to him, and to Gracie, who was already in the tight grasp of a couple of those monsters. He then tore his eyes away to the direction of the car where Leather could be seen blasting and fighting off the Dracs as he got in, trying to start the engine. Taking a cursory look around, he found Sunshine and Night to have their hands full with them too. Taemin found himself wondering just where the hell all these imbeciles had come from.
He willed his mind to think of a way to save Gracie; as he kicked, punched and shot at the Dracs. Diverting his attention away from himself for just a moment, his eyes widened slowly as the scene unfolded before him. Night heaved the Drac that was holding him down over his shoulder and offed him. Then he proceeded to punch the Drac that had a grip on Sunshine, immediately offing him, before making to save Gracie. Roulette aimed his ray gun at the forehead of one of the Dracs gripping Gracie’s arm and pulled the trigger, releasing a bright yellow beam that hit its target squarely. At the same time, a bright white beam had escaped from a Drac’s gun, narrowly missing Roulette’s chest as he fell backwards to the ground, dodging it.
Night screamed in anger as he ran forward, ray gun pointing in a threatening manner at the assailant’s chest. The Drac shrugged in response and despicably turned his ray gun to Gracie’s temple. Night abruptly stopped his rampant charge, gun-yielding arm dropping to his side.
The remaining Dracs felt an air of difference at the change of situation and understanding it, relented. In a sequence of events, the Killjoys could merely watch them withdraw, white ray gun still held against Gracie’s head. From the corner of his eye, Taemin saw Leather raise his equipped arm imperceptibly, teeth baring in a silent growl. He only gripped his weapon harder.
They were getting farther and farther, some already mounted onto their bikes, engines roaring loudly into the night. Gun almost perpendicular to his body, it would only take a pull of Leather’s finger to send the Drac holding Gracie captive propelling to the ground. Taemin could feel his palms turn sweaty, as he stood his ground, anticipating, waiting.
Petrified eyes looked at them, almost pleadingly. Taemin could see that she was holding herself back from easily sending the Drac spiralling into the hood of the Mustang. It was the feel of the Drac’s presence beside her and the cold metal kissing her temple that was stopping her.
What was Leather waiting for? Why hadn’t he offed the Drac?
The offending Drac proceeded to violently shove Gracie into the black Mustang before speeding off. Even when the last of the bikes had gone off into the dark, Leather still had his arm outstretched, brows furrowed deep. Even when there was nothing they could see except for the black expanse of the night, his arm was still held in front of him. It was not until Roulette grabbed the lapels of his jacket, clenched fist meeting his defined jaw, did he break his position, stumbling a few steps back. Even so, Roulette kept on raining punches onto him until the only thing tearing the silence were his distressed wails.
If it were not for Night who gathered the sobbing mess that was Roulette, who knew when the attacks would stop.
“Why? Why didn’t you fucking shoot? She was there! So fucking close and yet - you, you didn’t do a fucking thing! YOU MORON!” he shrieked, finger pointing accusingly at the collapsed figure on the ground.
Night was heaving violently, anger in check as he led Roulette back to the Trans Am. Leather glared at the ground, lip split and mouth a bloodied mess. Sunshine merely sported a helpless look before he too retreated in the pair’s wake. Taemin was angry. He was beyond furious, lips pursed in an unamused frown. They stayed that way for a while longer, the lanky boy refusing to look anywhere else.
Letting out an exasperated groan, Taemin rubbed his face irately before he walked over and crouched before the other. He reached out for a dipped chin, ignoring the mulish grunts as he turned the beaten face to face his. What he had expected to see was an unabashed look but what he witnessed instead were delicate brown eyes lined with tears.
“I tried. I tried to force myself to shoot but I couldn’t, not with Gracie there. Not when there’s a possibility of shooting her. I couldn’t, Taemin, I couldn’t,” his voice losing its usual baritone.
At the sound of his real name, he cupped Leather’s face, face softening. The night was dawning, sky turning a mocking green and light blue. Taemin could not find any words enough to comfort the weeping boy. Instead, he took him in his arms, fingers raking through long strands.
--
“What’s that you got there, Gracie?” Taemin asked, nudging his chin towards the envelope clasped in the girl’s hands, which was covered with colourful crayon doodles.
“A letter. To Mom,” Gracie said, placing it through the mailbox. “She’s in Battery City.”
“Oh.” Taemin tried to hide his surprise. Gracie gave him a small smile and skipped away, her springy curls bouncing, disappearing into their diner-home before he could ask the questions that had started forming in his head.
“Sweet little kid, ain’t she?” Taemin spun around to see Night strolling towards him. “Such a waste- caught up in this shit. Girl doesn’t deserve it,” he continued as he stopped on the other side of the red mailbox, resting his elbow on the top of it, head in the palm of his hand. The colour matches the cap on his head, which had become a permanent fixture since a week ago- the day Taemin had woken up in the diner- much to his contempt.
Taemin screwed his brows together as he thought over it. “What do you mean? How is she here with you anyway?”
“Have you noticed anything special about her?”
“Not really.”
“Well I guess you wouldn’t even if you put surveillance on her 24-7. No one would. Well, her mother had come to us personally herself. Said she couldn’t take the Crows’ prying no more. Apparently Gracie served some kinda threat. Can you believe it? Such a sweet little girl- a threat!
So she said to us: take her away from this city, sooner or later the Crows are gonna come get her. And protect her at all costs! We didn’t believe it at first. And we didn’t want to do it. Another addition, another mouth to feed, another life to protect.
But as days went by we found out- we had to learn- the hard way, how true it actually was.”
Taemin frowned, curiosity piqued. “So, she...?” Is some kind of superhero? He gestured randomly as he tried to urge Night to continue.
Night turned and looked him in the eye. “Gracie is valuable to us zone-runners, Cola. Maybe not now but in the far-off future. She’s going to save us. It’s in her genes. We must protect her. At all costs.”
Taemin kept silent, mulling over everything. It was one thing to turn into a wandering runaway overnight without ever having the intention to, it was another to actually become an addition to a group of, as Taemin would call it, vigilantes, getting involved in exploits against the law for the ‘greater good’. But this whole being part of something bigger- something so huge that it would eventually save mankind- was on a whole different league altogether. He couldn’t even begin to think on how to respond to it at all. For the most part, he didn’t-couldn’t-care right then.
Taemin wondered absently instead if he should send something to his family - just to tell them he was doing alright - before something hit him.
“Does this-” he rapped the red metal box a couple of times with his knuckles, “- even work?”
Night’s eyes dropped to his worn-out sneakers as he said, “Nope.” before looking up and fixing a faraway gaze on the diner, like as if he could mentally project his regret and apology and send them to Gracie.
Taemin regarded the look and somehow understood, and he began to see the boy- young man- in front of him in a different light. “It might seem like I’m prying, or something, but since we’re kinda on the topic, how did you, or the others, come to this?”
Night turned to him and simply gave him a bright smile, corners of his eyes crinkling slightly. The sun was setting now and the fading light bounced off his blond-tipped bangs, turning it slight orange. Taemin studied his face and came to a realization: Night, or any of the others, didn’t deserve this either, not just Gracie. No one does. And yet, here they all were.
“You are prying, though.” Night gave him a couple of strong pats on the shoulder. “It’s gonna get dark out soon. Come on, let’s go in.”
--
Ever since the conversation he had had with Night, Taemin had developed a soft spot for Gracie. Well he decided that everyone must have too. They all doted on her like she was their own. Presently, in the diner, he could see how much she had meant to each of them. Roulette was chewing on his nails and Leather, bruised lips and all, snaked his arm around his shoulders, giving it a gentle squeeze, but Roulette only screwed up his face in annoyance and coldly peeled the arm off. Sunshine was pacing to and fro, and Night studying the map of Battery City with a gaze so intense that Taemin wouldn’t be surprised if it burst to flames right then and there.
Taemin recalled that one time where Gracie had tagged along when they had to go through Zone 6 in order to get to Dr. D’s haven for some communications trinkets. Zone 6 was known to be highly toxic, with occurrences of slight to severe acid rain. Not equipping themselves with their rebreathers would spell a slow death as they continuously inhaled the poisonous gases. But Gracie, the sweet thing, only had on her navy blue bandanna over her nose and mouth.
In a moment of panic, he had asked her urgently about her rebreather, only to get a respond from Leather that ‘she doesn’t need it’ and that ‘her body can handle it’. Taemin’s eyebrows had risen and he had caught a knowing look in Night’s eyes from the rear-view mirror. And it was then that realization had dawned on him.
They have to protect her. At all costs.
“- How are we going to rescue her?” Sunshine had broken the silence, gloom hanging heavily in the air. “We are going to rescue her right?”
Roulette abruptly stopped chewing on his nail and gave Sunshine a pointed glare. “Like hell we are, Sunshine. What did you think?”
“We’re gonna have to break into BLI HQ,” Night declared grimly.
--
The air inside the Trans Am was tense with unspoken determination as it cruised along the long underground tunnel into Battery City. It would be the first time back in the city for Taemin since the day he had become a runaway and he didn’t know how he felt. The plan was almost like a no-plan at all: go in and save Gracie, with some help from the other zone-runners, at all costs. He was unsure of what to expect at BLI Headquarters. Maybe he should expect the worse. But one thing he was very sure of: where his loyalty lay.
--
Eyes lined thickly with kohl, she had a pretty face if not for her painted lips set in a thin line. Straight black hair set in an asymmetrical bob did little to soften her sharp chin and cheekbones. Gracie looked up at her, childish grin in place. She returned it, teeth showing. Arms crossed, she looked over the shoulders of the pair of Dracs whose fingers were expertly punching into an entire board of lighted buttons. She saw them and smiled inwardly.
--
Night was leading the pack of four, shoulders set in determination as they marched across the metal link way. Just a little behind him was Roulette, grace no longer apparent as he trudged towards the building with a straight back. Leather followed suit but Taemin did not expect Sunshine to have balled fists, mouth in a grim frown. He had expected the gentle man to take hesitant steps, face squinched up in distaste. This had Taemin gripping onto his gun harder, chin jutting out as he fell in step beside Leather who dipped his head in acknowledgement.
The tall BLI Headquarters building loomed in front of them, and several S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W recruits in their white combat wear and BLI logo masks were trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible as they crouched low at the entrance. Night raised his arm straight and Taemin and the others followed suit, as if they were starting a volley salute. They aimed and pulled their triggers, before any of the Crows with their semi-automatic rays could even load their ray guns.
They charged their way in, blasting off any Crows that came in their way, bursting through the glass double-doors. More men-in-white came through the polished hallways and the group zapped at them, and they advanced with ease. It almost seemed too easy to Taemin and before he knew it, they were already at the surveillance room. Roulette and Leather released their yellow and red beams at the Dracs sitting at the main control panel. Then from beyond the machines, a head full of brown curls appeared, and Gracie dashed towards Night, who scooped her into his arms protectively. Sunshine smiled fondly at the sight and Taemin felt a wave of relieve washing over all of them as he stood and kept watch at the entrance of the room. Still, he had an uneasy feeling probing at his insides, an unexplainable feeling.
“Hey hey. We need to get going now guys,” he hissed urgently.
--
They strode down the narrow hallway- which was lined with posters of themselves, no less- as the soles of their sneakers made squeaky sounds on the polished tiles. The sound of several heavy boots marching from somewhere behind them echoed in the hallway, and Taemin found himself breaking into a cold sweat. His heart was drumming against his chest and he could feel the adrenaline pumping in his veins.
The hallway was opening up into the large, clean-cut, high-ceiling lobby and he heard Night muttering under his breath, “We’re surrounded. On three, we split and attack. Protect Gracie.”
Taemin was only half-listening as they emerged into the lobby and he could barely hear the final, loud “Three!”. He spun on his heels, ray gun poised in front of him, keeping his mind focused and eyes sharp as he shot at every Crow recruit in sight, leaving no room for mistakes.
The enemy was coming in by the hordes and even though their shooting accuracy ratio was 4:1, the Killjoys soon found themselves overwhelmed. Gracie stood rooted in the middle of the lobby, sandwiched between Night and Sunshine, looking more terrified than Taemin had ever seen. The poor girl was trembling, head held in her hands, shutting her eyes and ears; most probably imagining she was someplace else, not caught in a dangerous shoot-out of bright high-energy beams.
Taemin shuffled nearer towards the exit as Leather and Roulette kept up their tasks of clearing the route. The looks of fierce determination were apparent on their faces as they stood back-to-back, bringing the number of the enemies down steadily. Taemin then called out, “Gracie! Night! Sunshine! Come on, let’s go!”
Night had his face scrunched up in concentration as he shouted over his shoulder, “Run to Cola, Gracie, now!” Gracie shut her eyes tighter and let out a helpless scream instead. Night could clearly be seen huffing in frustration before he bellowed another order, “Sunshine! Get her out of there, quickly!” Sunshine snapped to attention at the call of his name, then fumbled about and grasped Gracie’s thin wrist, pulling her forwards, heading to the exit.
Taemin kept his mind alert and shot at any Crow who had managed to elude Leather or Roulette’s fire, watching their, Sunshine and Gracie’s, as well as his own, backs as the duo made towards him with linked hands.
Another high-pitched shriek rang in the air and Taemin looked to see Gracie struggling against Sunshine’s grip, trying to pry her wrist free.
“Gracie, come on! What are you--” Sunshine stopped abruptly, and following his gaze, Taemin knew why as his own eyes were set ablaze. Night was pinned against the wall at the far end, dirty blue ray gun at his feet. Sunshine then let go of Gracie and shoved her forwards. “Take her, Cola!”
He sprang forward just as a white beam was released point-blank at Night’s chest. His eyes rolled to the back of his head before his legs buckled, body sliding down the wall. Sunshine let out a pained cry and charged at the group of Crows senseless. Taemin panicked. “What the hell are you doing, Sunshine? Sunshine!”
Leather and Roulette came up next to him and Taemin gave Leather a helpless look as Roulette grabbed on to Gracie’s arm. Eyes moist with tears, they held their gaze for a split second before another yell broke it. And then Sunshine was falling, falling slowly in the centre of the lobby, before hitting the ground soundlessly, landing amongst the fallen recruits in combat white.
Roulette inhaled sharply and Taemin swallowed the lump in his throat. A couple of Crows had their semis aimed at them but thankfully Leather cut in and zapped at them mercilessly. He said in a low furious growl, “Save yourselves. I’ll hold them back.”
“Nu-uh,” Roulette said in a shaky voice as he resumed firing, determinedly blinking back his tears.
“Save yourselves, damn it!” Leather snapped as he violently shoved Taemin, Roulette and Gracie out the door and shut it behind him.
“Leather!” Gracie clung on to the doors, banging her small fists helplessly on the hard glass. Roulette’s face scrunched up in confused anger. Taemin looked on dismally, before he realized Crows and Dracs alike were coming for them, taking other exits from the building.
“Come on, we must go,” he said, urging the group towards the main road.
“Shit, Cola, this is- this is shit. I can’t. Shit-” Roulette’s trembling voice turned into incoherent mumbles as they ceaselessly fired at the oncoming enemies, keeping Gracie safe between them, whose tears were flowing angrily down her cheeks. Taemin’s nose flared as he tightened his lips.
“I know Roulette, I know- Shit!” Taemin turned around in time to send a Drac down to the ground before he could sneak up on them from behind. He eyed the vandalized Trans Am parked haphazardly at the main road a few metres away and Roulette glanced in the same direction too.
“Can you drive the thing, Cola?” he asked breathlessly.
“What? I’m the one who should be asking you that!”
“Well. Shit.” He sent two more yellow beams at the enemy as a white one whizzed past. “You gotta try and do it though--” His voice trailed off and Taemin followed his gaze back to the BLI building- only to see Leather’s silhoutte crumbling through the glass walls. Taemin snapped his head back to Roulette, whose eyes had lost their focus.
“I- I. We,” he swallowed thickly, “never really made up...” Gracie sniffled loudly then, face tear-stricken, but still set in fierce determination. The girl was strong. Strong indeed.
“Get yourself together Roulette!” he snapped, trying his best to keep his voice steady, his own tears threatening to spill as he released several green rays from his gun. A white beam buzzed past just over his head, and Roulette snapped himself out of his reverie, gripping Gracie’s hand firmly.
“Get in and drive this, Cola,” he said. Taemin nodded absently as he shot more enemies down, covering the other two as they move to get to the backseat. He shuffled to the driver’s side of the car carefully. They were completely outnumbered but Taemin thought that it’d be okay like this. They could get away after all.
Then he heard another pained scream, this time coming from Gracie. Taemin’s head spun on the hinges of his neck so fast, it almost broke. When he saw Roulette collapsing, hitting the metal hood of the Trans Am with an audible clank, his jaw dropped in a muted scream.
It took all but three seconds, and then Taemin didn’t care to hold himself back any longer. “No, no, no! Damn it!” His body shook violently as he screamed his lungs out.
Gracie stared at him with such terrified eyes, glinting and watery. No one has ever seen him blow up before, losing his cool like that. He clamped his eyes shut, breathing hard, letting his emotions take him over for a while, let them wash over him. Then he reopened them, jaw clenched, fixing his gaze on Gracie.
“Listen to me, Gracie. The getaway van is taking longer than expected. I’ll hold these pigs back, and the moment you hear it coming- the usual jams you always hear on the radio- you run and you go to them. Dr. D, News and Pony will be there. They’ll take care of you. Got that?”
Gracie only whimpered in response. Damn, if it was anyone who was scared shitless right then, it would be himself. But Night’s words remained crystal clear in his mind: Protect Gracie.
“Got that, Gracie?” he asked again, voice raising in pitch and cracking at her name. The girl nodded vigorously. “Good girl. You’re amazing, y’know that?” he said, lips curling into a strained smile, part relieved and part regretful as he gave her a quick firm hug before going back to take a defensive stance, using the body of the Trans Am as his shield. He resumed fire at any Crow that came too close, holding on and fighting for their, or at least Gracie’s, survival.
He heard the low rumbling of an engine coming closer and felt Gracie leaving his side. He knew it was going to be over soon. He never ceased his fire, covering Gracie’s back. His eyes spread over the scene in front of him, mind clouded. Anonymous people covered by masks and guns drawn out were coming at him, and time was moving slowly. He could faintly hear a few voices calling him, including a high-pitched one of a little girl’s. He turned to look, but as he did so, something hit him in the cheek so hard, the force made him stagger backwards, lose his footing. The skin on his cheek started to burn. It stings and hurt. Like acid.
His back met the rough tarmac road. For the second time around, Taemin blacked out.
--
Taemin opened his eyes to find himself in a stark white room void of any furnishings, save for a flat-screen television mounted on the wall in front of him. He was sitting on a soft, cushioned white couch.
He steadily blinked. He tried to recall how he had gotten there, but his mind felt like it had been dunked in sanitizing soap water, shrouded in a cloud of blissful ignorance. It felt so empty for once, it was refreshing.
A soft buzz came from the television and Taemin looked up to see it flicker to a white screen. An odd symmetrical shape made of multiple disks spiraling black and white appeared in the centre. The title read “Thought Adjustment Test” and there was “BL/Ind” written at the foot.
Taemin blinked a few more times. The disks started to spin then, and a female voice boomed from the speakers.
“Initiating Cycle 5 of Thought Adjustment Test. Please focus your eyes at the centre of the disk.” The voice had a lovely lilt to it. It was very gentle, soothing and calm. The disks spun faster, and the black-and-white spirals blended in a hypnotizing manner. Taemin felt his pupils dilate.
“Everything will be fine.”
Everything will be fine.
“You will always remember to take your medication.”
I will always remember to take my medication.
“You are feeling happy today.”
I am feeling happy today...
----