Part 22: Alabama

I kept riding until the rain started coming. I was soaked, but I didn’t care. I scanned the horizon for five minutes before spotting the solitary cross in the distance. Even in the torrential downpour, the bright colors were clearly visible, even if some of the sand has been whisked away by the desert winds.The cross had been coated with a special resin I’d seen Neon use the day before, something they used on Battery City houses to protect from acid. I pulled my bandanna down from my mouth as I dumped the bike to the side and walked forward to stand in front of the waist-high cross. My knees made a muffled thump as they hit the dirt in front of the cross.

“I never should’ve trusted him.” I told G.I., regardless of the fact he was buried at least 6 feet under me. “I never should’ve trusted any of them. I should’ve stuck with my instincts, I should’ve never let it get this far. He was meant to be with Solar in the first place, regardless of me. Why did I trust him?!” I screamed to the wind, my words getting lost in the rain. I crawled forward through the dirt and hugged the base of the cross, curling into a ball of misery, anger and resentment.

“You would’ve known what to do. You would’ve saved me. I’m so sorry G.I.” I sobbed and hiccuped, now totally drenched. “So sorry, so sorry…”

I stayed like that, totally vulnerable and exposed, until my skin began to burn from the acid in the rain and the rational side of my brain took over. I stood, letting the rain wash over me, wiping off all the dirt and mud from my body before picking up the red dirt bike and starting it, just to keep driving. I couldn’t go back to the diner just yet, so I drove aimlessly until I saw the small town in the distance. I entered cautiously and looked around. It was old and crumbling and obviously abandoned, the only remnants of a life before the pills left in the cracked sidewalks and dilapidated houses. The burning on my skin getting gradually worse, I kept looking for somewhere to hide out when I the engine below me sputtered and slowly died. Great. Just to make my day, I was out of gas.

Sighing, I climbed off the bike and began to wheel it, looking for anywhere to hide, when the old-fashioned street I was on dead-ended into a massive brick structure. I looked up at the old sign on the side that read, “Redwood County Community High School, Home of the Mountain Lions.” A high school, huh? That would do. I wheeled the dirt bike through the broken courtyard gate, concealing it carefully under some overgrown bushes and grabbing the satchel kept on all dirt bikes just in case before running towards a row of glass and metal doors in the side of the building. I opened one and stepped inside, glad to be out of the rain, but shocked at my surroundings. The school had high ceilings and a big open foyer, which I was standing in just then, with doors leading to other places lining the walls to the front of me and to my left. I chose the doors ahead of me, quickly walking through them partially because I was still out in the open and partially because I was just curious as to what the previous civilization had left behind. Walking forward, I spotted glass and metal containers that must’ve once held rows and rows of food packages, the glass smashed and the food already taken from them. My stomach rumbled as if on cue, causing me to pause and think about the food I knew was in the satchel. No, I reprimanded myself, you might need that later. You’ve been hungrier, just keep moving and look for some place to hide. I walked through yet another set of doors, these wood and glass this time, and into a large room with a wood floor and metal and glass structures hanging from the ceiling. The floor creaked as I moved forward in the dark room. No windows meant no light, so as my eyes adjusted, I continued to move forward.

“Don’t move another muscle or I swear to God I’ll blow your brains out.” I froze, my heartbeat getting erratic as I felt a cold raygun barrel at the base of my neck. Dammit, someone else lived here too. I cursed myself silently as I tried to think of ways out of my current situation.

“Nice to meet you too.” I muttered, shifting from foot to foot. “I just came in here to get out of the rain, I won’t bother you and I’ll leave once the storm’s over.”

“Sure you will.” I heard the raygun cock. “Nice try, but you won’t live to tell your BLI thugs where we’re living.”

“What are you talking about? I’m a Killjoy. At least, I’m kind of a Killjoy.” I took a chance and turned around, staring straight down the barrel of a bright red raygun. Obviously, the person didn’t believe me. As my eyes adjusted, I noted the red-rimmed eyes and shaky hands. The figure sniffed, wiping its nose. A Ritalin Rat. My day just keeps getting better.

“Look, nobody wants to hurt you.” I kept my hands raised, posing no threat although the guns on either hip said otherwise. Ritalin Rats were kids the company had misdiagnosed with ADHD on purpose back before the Takeover as a precursor to the emotion-controlling pills the citizens were popping in Battery City. Once they were no longer prescribed the medication, the Rats became crazed, eventually going to the black market and outside dealers to get their fix. Some were no older than 14 today, others were in their late 20s. All were dangerous.

“Y-you need to leave now.” The shaking got worse as I started to make out more of the person’s face.

“How long have you been off the pills?” I said softly, my hands still raised.

“W-wha... How did you...?” The gun started to droop, which gave me the opportunity to take a chance. I grabbed the gun and bolted.

“Hey! No fair...” The voice said behind me as I booked it out the first set of doors. I turned to see if I was being followed, but was simultaneously tripped into a waiting net, which closed on me quickly. Someone was holding a lantern and several rechargeable flashlights, all pointing towards me. I blinked in the light, my sight mostly gone.

“Hey, it’s a girl!”

“Thanks, captain obvious, I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Take the net off her, for Pete’s sake, she’s a Killjoy!” I was unwrapped slowly as my eyes adjusted to the painful light.

“Sorry, friend, safety precaution. Are you all right?” I was picked up and dusted off before someone grabbed my hand, shaking it. “You got a name?”

“Alabama,” I blinked quickly, squinting against the light. “Alabama Napalm. I run with Wasp’s group.”

“I’m Captain A-Bomb, this is Carrot Top Queen.” A man with medium brown, closely cropped hair and a blue jacket gestured to the redheaded girl next to him, who shifted from foot to foot nodding at me. Both looked normal, like neither had ever touched the pills. “Inside the gym was TNT Termination.”

“You guys seem normal, what are you doing with the Ritalin Rat?” I questioned. I was quickly shoved up against the wall, a raygun at my throat.

“Don’t you say another fucking word about my brother, you got me?” The redheaded girl, Carrot Top, was about two inches away from my face.

“Come on, Carrot Top, she didn’t know.” Captain A-Bomb tried to defuse the situation.

“Yeah, I got you.” I said soothingly, “Sorry. I didn’t know it was your brother.”

“Yeah, just keep your fucking mouth shut.” She shoved me before Captain pulled her backwards, out of my face.

“Leave the poor girl alone. She must’ve had a rough day, what with gallivanting around without her family and having your brother sticking a gun in her face.” Captain reprimanded. “You don’t remember how close Killjoy families are? Leave her alone.” Carrot Top sullenly crossed her arms, but obeyed.

“Where’s your family, hon?” Captain A-Bomb seemed friendly enough.

“I kinda... well, it’s a long story.” I sighed, running a hand through me soaked and dirty blonde hair.

“Well, you’re not going anywhere any time soon in this storm, so how about you come upstairs and tell us what happened, hm?” He said nicely.

“All right, I guess.” I nodded.

“Great. Carrot Top, go get your brother please.” Captain said to the girl quickly. She walked around him and was headed into the gym until I stopped her.

“Hey Carrot Top.” I called as she was almost to the door.She spun around impassively, and I tossed her her brother’s raygun. “Here.” She snatched it and walked away without a word.

“Don’t mind her, she’s just a little touchy.” Captain smiled warmly to me, taking me by the hand. I followed him back through the big room with wooden floors, (this time with a flashlight), over to another, smaller hallway. Carrot Top and TNT were right behind us, from what I could tell, TNT whimpering softly and Carrot Top speaking to him soothingly, trying to keep him calm. Captain A-Bomb turned left halfway down the short hallway to a flight of stairs. We climbed them carefully, trying not to trip, all the way up to the top. I was led forward, through a set of wood and glass doors propped open with chairs to a large room with high, exposed ceilings and around 30 empty desks, all piled against the door on the far side of the room. A fire was already going near the door I was led to, surrounded by blankets and other sleeping materials. A copy of Catcher in the Rye on one makeshift bed, while a white raygun rifle sat on another, a black strap and scope attached.

“You found one of these?”I raised my eyebrows at Captain, excited. Carrot Top was tucking her brother into his own bedding not far from the fire. “These are limited edition from what I’ve heard, only Exterminators have them.”

“Carrot Top found it. I prefer knives myself, but that’s just me.” He shrugged. “You should get out of those clothes, they’ll burn your skin.”

“You just want me naked, huh?” I smiled, taking off and laying out my clothes to dry.

“Except I don’t swing that way, m’dear.” He winked at me.

“That explains a lot.” I said to myself, wrapping a blanket around my shoulders.

“So what’s the deal with you running away from your family, huh?” He laid back, propping himself up on his elbows.

“Well, it’s kinda like-” I sighed, trying to find the words. “I’ve been with this guy for a month. Everything seemed to be going great, y’know, we just really worked, regardless of how fucked up we both were.” I sat cross-legged, staring into the fire. “The second day I met him, actually, I drove him so crazy he threatened to kill me and then kissed me within 10 minutes later, with a lot of crying on both our parts.” I chuckled at the memory. “See, I’d gotten into a fight with this girl in his Killjoy clan the night before, gave her a shiner she had for a week. I was in a gang in the Zone 2 ruins before our leader got ghosted and Wasp’s gang took us in. We were heading back to Wasp’s in the car when I’d insulted this girl, prompting the guy - his name’s Arizona - to get all sorts of pissed and threaten to kill me because he was in love with that girl - Solar Crash - and I’d insulted how she loved a total asshole, not him. You with me so far?” I looked at Captain, who nodded. “Anyway, he basically spilled his guts to me, telling me how he was in love with the other girl, but she never loved him back, and then we got into his little sister, who’d died two years ago, and I’d kissed him. Don’t look at me like that, it was the heat of the moment.” I rolled my eyes as Captain shook his head at me. “So everything’s great once we get back to Wasp’s until the girl Solar’s asshole boyfriend bird Song dies along with his whole clan.”

“The Kung Fu Krew? Yeah, I heard about them.” Captain nodded.

“Well, I make peace with Solar, just ‘cause I feel bad for her, when I come off of kitchen duty and walk in on Arizona and her sucking face in the sleeping area.” I shook my head. “We yelled at each other and I took off before anything else could happen.”

“What a scumbag.” Captain shook his head.

“And you know what the worst part is? I knew this would happen - Hell, I even told him in the beginning I wasn’t sure I wanted to get involved because I knew he still loved Solar. He convinced me to at least give it a shot, because I would’ve followed him off a fucking cliff, and look who got burned.” I exhaled, staring deep into the bright red embers. “I guess it serves me right, considering he told me about this up front.”

“It does not serve you right.” Captain sat up indignantly to look at me. “You trusted him. There’s nothing wrong with that, especially after him promising to be good. You didn’t know he had no control, this isn’t your fault.”

“Yeah I guess.” I ran a hand through my hair. “Man, I’m beat. The emotional roller coaster I’ve been on today really takes it out of you.”

“We’ve got tons of blankets here, let me dig something up for you.” Captain stood, turning to a cardboard box nearby.

“Thanks, I appreciate this, y’know.” I smiled at him before looking back into the fire. “When’s the last time you guys ate?”

“Yesterday...morning, I think?” Captain looked to Carrot Top for conformation. She nodded once, looking up from cleaning her new rifle.

“I have food, please, take it.” I took out my satchel and dug through it, taking out a can of ravioli and a can of dog food. “It’s not much but it’s better than nothing, and it’s the least I can do.”

Their eyes lit up as I set the food down near the fire. "We can't take that from you though." Captain stared hungrily at the cans.

"Yeah you can, please, take it." I handed the food to Captain, who eventually took it.

"Thank you." Captain looked at me seriously as Carrot Top came over to inspect the food. He elbowed her quickly, jerking his head at me.

“Thanks.” Carrot Top muttered quickly, her eyes darting  snatching the cans from Captain and putting them in the fire to warm. Captain rolled his eyes and busied himself in digging out blankets.

“Y’know, I heard about a detox station in Zone 4.” I said quietly to Carrot Top. She looked up from her gaze at her brother suddenly, guarded.

“Detox?” She said softly, her voice catching and her face softening.

“They could get him clean for good. He might still have some brain damage, but if it works on Dracs, I think it’ll work on him.” I nodded to TNT, who was sleeping peacefully.

“Really?” Tears trailed down her face, the hope and relief apparent.

“Really.” I nodded. Captain handed me old but warm quilts, helping me make a nest before I climbed in and fell fast asleep, the day’s emotions getting to me.