DEMOLITION LOVERS

Can You Save Yourself Tonight?

He was bringing Fun Ghoul home.

'Ready?' Party asked his brother, who was sitting on the passenger seat of the truck.

'Let's go.'

Party checked the rearview mirror, getting a glimpse of his own reflection while at it. It had been a while since he saw how he looked. The red was fading from his hair, and he hadn't shaved in a while so his beard was starting to grow. He looked like a completely different person. And felt like one too. Not long ago, he was checking himself in the mirror every chance he got, and worried about his appearance. But now there were more important things.

Without thinking it twice, Party Poison started the ignition, and drove off into the desert.

It would be a few hours to Battery City, plus a few stops, but he couldn't live another second without Ghoul.

They barely made the truck run, they didn't have time to fix the radio. So, they only had the silence of the desert night to make them company. 'You think this is going to last us all the way to Battery City?' Kobra asked, on the most pessimistic tone, but that was how Kobra was.

'It better. It's our only option.' Party was doing his best to remain positive. He knew the odds were against him. It was too risky to go to Battery City, and how the hell were they supposed to know where Frank was, or how they were supposed to drag him out from wherever he was and bring him home.

They didn't have a plan, per se. All they had was the truck, some masks and outfits he'd stolen from Dr. D's shack and an old map.

They knew there was a hideout somewhere closer to the City, and they could spend the night there if they got tired or if it got too cold. They'd probably trade some of the stuff they had for information or a blanket or food.

They had to lie to Jet and tell him that they were picking up some packages for Dr D. Kobra knew at some point he'd realize the truth, but they'd be too far by then.

There was a long silence, and Party thought his brother had already fallen asleep, which didn't help his anxiety because now he was alone with his thoughts. It was moments like this when he missed Fun the most. He would always know what to say to make things better, and even make him laugh in the most depressing of situations. He knew that if he was here, Fun would hate the silence and would be making jokes or singing dumb songs.

He missed him so much.

'It'll be okay,' he heard Kobra's voice say. He wasn't sleeping, just looking out the window. But he reached for his brother's hand nonetheless, squeezing it hard. 'We'll find him, and you'll be together again.'

Party was crying by now, unable to form words, but just nodded at him.

'Remember when we first moved to the desert with my dad?' Kobra said with a smile, his voice soothing. 'We slept under the stars and my dad told us stories about the people who used to live here and that we should honor them.'

'I remember.'

Kobra kept going on, reminiscing about their childhood. Trips to the lake up north before things got really bad. Living in that motel room for a while. Late nights watching cartoons and chasing rabbits.

'My dad would have liked Fun, you know?' Kobra said, and that made Party smile. 'I'm sure they'd get along.'

'Me too,' Party replied, smiling. He could picture them talking to each other for hours, about bombs and rebelling against BLI. His dad meeting Grace, and Fun showing him all the drawings she made for them like a proud dad.

God, it was going to be a long ride.

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