Chapter Text
The woman pushed up on her elbow and dragged herself out from under her hiding spot to reach out for the little girl in front of her. The sound of heavy boots on sand and screaming faded out in her focus. The girl fell to her knees to get closer, eyes wide and afraid.
“Baby, you need to get out of here,” she said, running a hand over her daughter’s hair and wiping a smear of dirt off of her face. “Go find the Diner. Ask for Fun Ghoul-” she was interrupted by a cough, one that racked her body and made her daughter flinch. “He’ll help you.” She grunted as her arm gave out underneath her. “Go! Save yourself, babygirl. I love you.” She watched the girl stand and pause, staring down at her with tears pouring down her cheeks, before turning around and running in the direction she knew the Diner was in.
Witch, keep my baby safe, the woman prayed. She finally let herself collapse when her daughter ran out of sight.
Party stared out the front window, watching a breeze stir up pockets of sand and rustle the branches of trees. Doctor Death-Defying’s voice continued in the background with rapid-fire updates about a Drac patrol nearby, punctuated by exclamations from the rest of the crew as they listened. Party had taken a break from listening actively to calm themself down; they’d heard enough when Dr. D announced that the Dracs were attacking a group of families. Ghoul would tell them anything they needed to know when the broadcast was over.
The midday sun made everything hazy, and Party watched the heatwaves warp the area around the Trans Am. Something moved on the horizon in the corner of their eye, and they jerked their head around to find it again. Far in the distance, something small was moving towards the Diner.
“Hey, guys,” they called over their shoulder, “any a’ y’all see that?”
Kobra, sitting closest to the window Party was looking out of, craned his neck. He found the spot Party was staring at and nodded. "What is that? What is that?"
Jet stood and walked over, Ghoul close behind. "I think it's a person."
"If that's a person, it's a kid," Party said, pushing off of the window and running out the door. The person couldn't be much taller than four feet; it had to be a kid. They jumped up and waved their arm. "Hey! You okay?"
The person paused, then sped up. Oh Witch, they're definitely a kid. A kid on their own heading their way couldn't be good. As they neared, Party could make out dark skin, coiled hair, and wide brown eyes. Their cheeks were wet like they’d been crying. The kid finally got close enough to stop in front of Party and catch their breath, hands on their knees.
"Is Fun Ghoul here?" They asked, still panting.
Party startled. "Uh." They looked behind them and waved Ghoul over.
Looking understandably confused, Ghoul put a hand on his hip and looked down nervously at the kid in front of him. "What can I do ya for, kid?" His voice was tight, but his casual attitude remained.
The kid stopped rocking on their feet. "Dracs attacked my home. My momma sent me here to keep me safe."
Ghoul’s face fell. He looked at Party, who shrugged. They knew that their crew had become well-known, but this was definitely a first. Ghoul sighed and leaned down a bit to talk again.
"Let's get you inside then, it's hot out." He held out a hand, which the kid took hesitantly. "Are you injured?"
"Just my arm," they said, turning their arm over to show an abrasion. "It doesn't hurt," they added.
"We'll clean that up real quick; you'll be good as new." Ghoul said, leading the kid to the Diner. Party followed and shut the door behind them, moving to stand next to Kobra and listening to Ghoul explain to the others. Ghoul and Jet got to work with a small bandage around the kid’s arm. They sat quietly and watched Jet secure the wrap, face blank.
Jet checked the bandage once more and let go of the kid’s arm. “So, your mom sent you here?”
The kid gave a small nod. “She told me to find Fun Ghoul, and save m’self.” If they saw Ghoul stiffen beside them, they didn’t say anything, just blinked heavily and yawned.
“You’ve been through a lot,” Ghoul said. “You should rest, okay?”
“Okay,” the kid mumbled, letting Ghoul take their hand again and bring them to a booth. He grabbed a blanket from the shelf and laid it over them, before turning around and motioning for the crew to follow him into the kitchen. He hopped onto the counter and waited for Kobra to settle with his legs crossed on the floor.
“So, her mom is definitely dead.”
“Yeah,” Party sighed. “Must be from the attack Dr. D was talking about.”
Kobra spoke rapid-fire, “So, what-do-we-do, what-do-we-do? What do we do with them?”
“They’re the authority on that,” Ghoul said. “But I think we should ask if they want to go back to their community, even if it’s just to see who’s still there. They didn’t say where they lived, did they, Party?”
Party shook their head. “Nope, just asked for you. Why is that, anyway? You have a reputation for helping kids?”
“Not that I know of,” Ghoul scoffed. “They said their mom sent them to me…”
“We can probably figure that out later,” Jet said. “But Ghoul, you think we should check their home?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Ghoul said distractedly, “We’ll ask them when they wake up. Or tomorrow. Whenever. I’m gonna keep an eye on ‘em, okay? Y’all can do whatever.” He slid off the counter and trotted the few paces to the kid’s booth, taking a seat at the table next to it.
“He okay?” Kobra said, leaning back to lay on the floor so he could see Ghoul.
“Probably shaken up by the attack,” Jet replied. “Let’s just leave ‘em both alone; we’ll know what to do when the kid wakes up.”