The Cemetery Drive

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          Frank sits with us when we eat breakfast. This is the first time he got out of the hospital and eaten with us at the diner oppose to the hospital. We make small talk when two Killjoys run through the diner and into the garage. I listen to the chatter. There's Draculoids not too far away from the diner. They need to be eliminated before they discover what lies here. After two minutes, a car drives off into the zones. They must be respondents. They are like guards, except their job specifically involves preventing BL/ind from getting close to the base in the first place.
We finish our meals and then head downstairs to the shooting range. I've learned that Mikey isn't that handy with a blaster if the target is over 50 feet away. But if the target is in a 10-foot proximity to him, he would rather just fight them.
I make it to the 100-foot mark and quickly fire rapidly. I hit every single one dead center. Last time I was at the range, I had to concentrate. Now, it was second nature how to aim. "Mikey, try from here. See how good you are."
"Gerard, I know I will miss it," he rebuttals.
"Just try it," I say. He comes over and raises his arms. He closes one eye and squints. Before he pulls the trigger, the whole base shakes with a loud explosion noise.
We all fall over and the lights flicker. Dust falls from the ceiling. Someone calls out but I already know what happens before they scream "We're under attack!"
I remember protocol distinctively. Mikey immediately knows what to do. I have never been at the base when it's been attacked but Mikey said that it's happened twice while I was gone. Bonnie and the Weapons Modifier head downstairs with the kids under 15. Others run downstairs to their lockers. I open mine and quickly throw on my jacket and mask. I grab a bandanna and pull it over my mouth and nose. The kids all make it in the bunk. They check to make sure that it's everyone and then they slide the door shut and you hear it automatically bolt locked. It doesn't even look like there's a room behind it, just another wall. I grab my blaster and run back upstairs with the other. Killjoys ready to fight. Frank is at the top readying his blaster. I put a hand on his shoulder and we run up the stairs to the diner together.
The stairs lead up directly behind the counter so there is cover from all the blasts that shoot overhead. The other Killjoys crawl behind and then make their way to the front. I hold my blaster and peek above the counter. Three BL/ind vans are outside the base. Bounty Hunters and Draculoids spread out and fire at us. Killjoys take cover behind the counters, shelves, the booths and the doorway that leads to the garage. The respondents went to go stop them. Only two went against what probably is close to 20. Those Killjoys are dead.
I crawl to the edge and then dive under a vacant booth. I lean up against the wall and point my blaster between the boards that cover the broken window. I fire and shoot the white suits. Three of them go down before one catches me and shoots in my directions. I lean back as the wood boards explode off the wall and the splinters fall on me. I roll off the seat and take cover under the table as two Draculoids fire from the window. I grit my teeth as each blast gets closer and closer to hitting me. I curl up in a ball and do my best to compress myself to get better cover. Frank shoots at them from behind the counter. He hits them dead. A blast hits the counter right by Frank and he crawls back behind for cover. I look around. A few Bounty Hunters advance into the diner. They head into the garage. Mason shoots them from behind a car. His assistant doesn't have good cover. He shoots one of them before the others take him out. Mason hits another one but he takes a blow to his shoulder. Bonnie screams out. She runs out from a booth and runs into the garage shooting. The rest of them are hit. She jumps over the hood of a car and checks on her husband.
I spot Mikey leaning behind a shelf that is taking heavy fire. He holds his red blaster and covers his face from the sparks that fly after the blasts hit the metal covering the counter. A Scavenger jumps up from behind the counter and starts shooting. He hits a few before he gets shot in the face and falls back dead. I army crawl towards the door. One of them starts shooting the floor near me. I cover my head. Ray dives across the diner and shoots them. He makes it next to me.
The rest of the Bounty Hunter and Draculoids charge into the diner. The blasts start nearing us. Ray grabs the table and knocks it down as a shield. The two of us crunch up as the table absorbs the blasts. I peek around the corner and I see a Draculoid near Mikey. Mikey rolls out of the way from the shelf and wraps his hands around the Draculoid's neck. He knees him in the gut. A Bounty Hunter shoots at Mikey but he uses the Drac as a shield. The blast knocks them both on the ground. I shoot the Bounty Hunter. Bonnie steps out of the garage with blood dripping from her hands and fires at the last of them.
Silence follows. Ray and I lift up the table and put it back in place. I run over to Mikey and I lift the Draculoid off of him. "Mikey, are you hurt?"
"No," he grunts and he drags his legs out from underneath the Drac. I help him to his feet and then I go check on Frank.
He sits behind the counter staring at the scavenger. The blast burns his skin and mangled his features. Blood puddle around his head. I kneel next to Frank. "I used to share a bunk with him when we were kids," he says.
"I'm sorry, Frank."
"You and I were next to each other, both on the bottom. He took the top and was next to Mikey." He shakes his head and then stands up. Someone next to him grabs the radio. "We're clear but there are a few casualties. Also, notify paramedics. We got a medical emergency. I repeat, a medical emergency. We can still save him." A medical team comes up to the diner. They put the Scavenger in a body bag and carry him outside. They also put the mechanic in a body bag. They bring Mason downstairs on a stretcher. Blood seeps from his shoulder fast. Bonnie holds his hands but stays in the diner. We start dragging the other bodies outside. We empty one of the vans and load the Dracs and Bounty Hunters in the back. When all of them are in, someone gets in and drives the van away, somewhere close to the Society to dump the bodies to be found by BL/ind. It's our way of showing that we are superior to them. It's a little sadistic, returning the corpses but they killed our own. This is our way of telling them to back off.

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