Summertime

Chapter Twenty-Two-Vine Spider's P.O.V / Mama, Just Killed a Man

Coughing and leaning against a wall to support myself, I staggered through the streets. I’d just had a rough patch with a Drac, and he had punched me in the stomach and smacked me in the head with his gun. I had to continuously wipe away the blood dripping down my forehead to keep it out of my eyes. A tip: getting blood in your eyes is bad.

Finally it stopped bleeding. For a moment, I just rested against the wall, trying to regain my breath. What was I trying to do again?

Korse…

He had killed my boyfriend, the one I’d had before I became a Killjoy. I was forced to watch as Korse killed him, shooting him in the stomach. Gerard had begged me to sing to him as he was dying. I remembered singingHelenawith him. And he died in my arms.

With a start I realized I was crying. I angrily wiped the tears from my face and glared at the wall opposite to me.

Then Korse had also killed Party Poison. I did like Poison when I first met him, but that was only weeks after Gerard had died. It would’ve been too much for me to start dating another guy so soon after my boyfriend’s death. So I left them. When I came back, well…Poison and I got really attracted to each other. Then Korse killed him by shooting him in the neck.

So you can understand why I want to find that old bald bastard.

I raised my green and red raygun and shot a Drac in the head. Where would Korse be? Out fighting, most likely.

For twenty minutes I searched the streets, but I couldn’t find my enemy. Then I looked up at Better Living Industries headquarters. If that motherfucker was hiding out in there…

Something collided with the side of my head and I staggered to the side. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the Drac who had punched me in the head. I whirled around to face him, not even dazed by the punch.

“What?! You think that hurts me?!” I yelled, throwing my own punch. There was a loud crack and the Drac fell over, blood streaming down through the nose holes in his mask. I drew my laser gun and shot him through the head.

“Motherfucker…” I muttered to myself as I stormed into Better Living Headquarters.

I bit my lip as the sight of the headquarters brought back painful memories. My capture, the death of the Killjoys…so many horrible things had happened here. The shiny white walls and nice carpets didn’t suggest the bloodshed that had occurred just months before.

Then I heard screaming. It was a long, painful, drawn out sound that made me start. I recognized Ghost Lightning’s voice.

“Ghost?” I yelled as I ran down the hallway towards her voice. The screams got louder, and seemed to be coming from behind a large door at the end of the hall. I grabbed the handle and pulled; it swung open easily. The room was pitch black, but I didn’t think to grope for the light switch. Ghost sounded as though she was right in front of me.

With a sudden abruptness, her voice cut off.

“Ghost Lightning!” I screamed.

The lights went on. I stood in a long, narrow room illuminated by a dark blue light. The walls, floor, and ceiling were pitch black. It was so eerie, I felt chills go down my spine.

“Ghost…?” I croaked one last time.

Then there was a flash of light and the walls sprang to life. Images flashed across them, completely silent. It took me a minute to realize the walls were gigantic televisions. My mouth hanging open slightly, I walked down the hall. Coverage of the Battle of Battery City was on every news channel, and every news channel was the only thing that seemed to be on. I saw familiar faces of Killjoys I had briefly met, and once even a flash of Party Poison’s red hair. I smiled to myself.