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Desert sun scorched the zones, heating up the car as Party Poison drove, hands gripping the wheel. The sun felt like it hadn't set in days but he knew it was only really only around 100° and he'd never been more grateful for the AC in the car to give out today rather than tomorrow or the next day. It was the coolest that it had felt in fucking forever, and they'd been fairly happy when hearing the weather report from Dr. Death.
“Party, they're going to start shooting at us if they get any closer.” Jet star mentioned absentmindedly as if Party couldn't see them behind the Trans am in the rearview mirror.
“I'm aware.” They gritted their teeth, seeing the car of the dracs get slowly closer to them. “Damn it.”
They'd been so careful to avoid them, and here they fucking were, and now they had to go out into zone 2, even further away from the diner, just get the stupid fucking videos that the dracs were recording to lure them away from where they were staying. Party really couldn't prove that they had video on them, but knowing BL/ind they might and that was good enough for their paranoia.
“Jet, start shooting them, will you?” Party asked, swerving onto a road that would take them into zone 2.
Some part of them wondered if they were driving them towards Battery City on purpose, but the more important thing was that they were still fucking behind them. Jet star rolled down the window of the Trans am, and pulled out his ray gun, aiming at the dracs behind them. Neither of them had managed to get a good look at the things, they hoped that they were just dracs, and not crows.
They heard the ray gun fire at the dracs, wind whistling into the car as Jet Star half leaned out the window to shoot. Party kept glancing back in the mirror, eyes watching as the car behind them kept swerving to miss the shots, and at least keep themselves from getting shot and ghosted. Looking back, they furrowed their brow as Jet Star ducked briefly as the drac on the passenger side had started to return fire with a lime green ray gun.
“Shit, was that the drac that fucking stole Ghouls gun?” Party asked, watching in the rear view mirror as Jet Star managed to land a blow on the driver, shooting somewhere on their face. The gun had been taken around where they were intercepted, but it probably wasn't it.
The car swerved somewhere behind them, and began to drive off the road to their demise, those dracs had been ghosted. They focused on the road ahead, seeing signs on where to turn to get back to zone 3. Jet Star got back in the car, leaving the window unrolled despite the dust. It was a little better in zone 2 as more people were around here, and so there was less dust, but it was still annoying. They pulled up their bandana, covering their mouth and nose from the dust.
“Nah, too yellow.” Jet answered the question that they'd asked moments ago.
“We still need to get that back.” Party mentioned. “Or find another vending machine. Haven't seen one of those in ages.”
Hunger gnawed at Party's gut, and they were reminded of why the two of them were out here to begin with. Looking for food, anything edible, the damn dog food would be fine, they'd survived off that for weeks, finding it intermittently, but there hadn't been food in a few days at this point. Maybe nearly a week. Water sure, but barely food. Three nights ago, they'd all stared down the last can of power pup they'd been able to find and share it.
God, they missed seasons. They missed spring, when all the flowers bloomed. They missed autumn and winter when it would actually be cold. Now it was just perpetually summer and helping temperatures plagued them while food spoiled.
“Pois, I don't think we're gonna find anything.” Jet Star sighed.
“I know, Jet.” Party sighed, looking out for anything. Any abandoned shelters because they'd gotten too notorious to even think about breaking into Bat City and stealing it.
Ghoul had been angrier than normal the last few days, hunger and heat getting to him. Kobra had gotten quieter, choosing to shut up rather than snap at them all because that was better than making someone hate him. Right now, it was good that they had all split up because there was half a chance it would end in all of them arguing because they'd get annoyed.
Party tapped the wheel, scanning their surroundings as they drove. Jet Star leaned forward and turned the radio on, tuning it effortlessly to Dr. Deaths radio station, listening to any warnings that the man might have. There had probably been a warning about more dracs being out in zone 3 than normal, but Party was sure that they could get back through 3 and into 4 where there were less dracs, and then out into zone 6 where they never went, and they'd be safe. Zone 6 was a desolate wasteland, which was why they stayed out there. They'd never be found, and while they'd need more gas when driving, gas wasn't much of an issue.
Party found themselves driving the car into Zone 3, watching as more natural coverings began to pop up, and they turned the corner, intending to drive straight through to zone 4, so they could go south via Zone 6, but there was a crashed motor bike and a couple of dracs in the way, sitting in the middle of the road.
They did not slam on the brakes in time, or the gas, so the Trans am crashed straight into the dracs, tossing them in the air, landing with a crunch that they could hear from here. The brakes finally squealed to a stop, and they stared out the window. The dracs weren't getting up so they wouldn't have to worry about that, but they could also see a crashed motorbike and the body of another motorbaby that they didn't recognize.
They glanced at Jet star who looked at them, eyes looking between them and the dracs on the ground.
Suddenly, a very bad idea settled into Party's head. They looked at the dracs, knowing they were dead, and knowing that the crash probably wouldn't be reported for hours. There was no way that BL/ind knew immediately when dracs died, and no way that they tracked their body vitals, and if they did, it would be buried inside their masks. Food had been getting so scarce lately, and they were desperate.
“Party, you gonna go?” Jet Star asked, and they could feel his eyes boring into them.
“Jet, I have a very, very bad idea.” Party said, turning to him.
Jet Star furrowed his brow beneath his mask, and Party stared at him until his eyes widened, looking between them and the bodies.
“Pois, I don't know if I'm that desperate yet.” Jet managed to force out, sounding almost sick at the idea, yet keeping his voice level.
“It's supposed to rain tomorrow. No chance of going out and finding food. But, we're out of food, have no idea of where to get more because we've either raided everything or it's hiding behind Blind walls or someone else has it. Either way, right now, we can't get to it and we're about to starve.” Party said, unbuckling their seatbelt, the leather of their jacket sticking to their skin.
“Do you think Ghoul will even eat that?” Jet star asked, turning to any other solution.
“Jet, we're starving to death right now.” Party reminded him, repeating the word, ignoring one small tenet of their morals.
Jet Star continued to look conflicted but Party got out of the car, going around to open the trunk. They were not sticking a body in the back seat. Not where people sat in the damn car. They weren't stupid.
They got a look at the motorbaby who had been out doing something clearly, something alone, which is not something you wanted to do unless you wanted to get killed. The motorbaby wasn't anyone they recognized, but they took a moment to honor their death. Party did take another moment to move them off the road, and onto the side with their bike. It looked like what had really got them ghosted was a shot from a ray gun from one of the dracs.
Then, they walked up to the dracs, leather burning on his skin, but keeping him that much safer. Pulling out their ray gun, Party got closer, kicking them with the gun held out, just to make sure that they were dead. They heard footsteps behind them, and they glanced to see Jet Star walking up to help them. Once they were both sure that the drac was dead, Party grabbed the dracs hands, and Jet star grabbed the dracs legs, and they started to carry it towards the Trans am.
Desperation. Desperate killjoys were not good killjoys. Desperate killjoys were sloppy and got ghosted before they could even complain about being shot. Desperate killjoys was not what they were.
They were desperate and they were killjoys. Very separate things.
Jet Star hauled the drac up, and the two of them dropped the body into the trunk of the car. Party patted them down, finding something that looked like a tracker. They gave it to Jet Star for him to decide what to do with since he was the one who kept fixing all their shit, and could figure out what it was and if they needed it. They pulled out a ray gun, a green one not unlike Ghouls. It was a low chance that it was the same one, but Ghoul would be happy enough hopefully. It would be good protection.
A good thing to tell them before they told the other two what they had found.
Party closed the trunk after Jet Star tossed the device on the ground, deeming it something that may give away their location. Getting back in the car, they pulled the door shut, and they could hear Jet Star doing the same. Jet seemed almost at odds with what had happened.
The drive was quiet this time, except for the crackling of the radio and quiet reports from Dr. Death on various zones. Most of the zones being the first three, but when they crossed into Zone 4, some tension left their shoulders. They weren’t being followed and there were a lot less dracs out here. They were honestly more likely to run into Crows out here but those were still few and far between. Hell, Party hadn't seen a damn crow for almost a month.
Zone 4 was done in a flash, and they were in Zone 5, speeding into Zone 6 before they knew it. Party finally turned the car, heading towards the familiar diner on the roads of Zone 6, the zone they knew the best. Jet star reached forward and turned the radio off, then rolled up his window as the clouds were causing more static and if it started to rain then neither of them would want to deal with it. The silence was something that sometimes was only manageable with Jet Star. They loved it when Jet Star went out with them.
The diner came into view, and Party pulled in, parking the Trans am in the small shack they had next to it and staring ahead at the wooden panels. They glanced at Jet star who looked at them. Some part of their morals took a deep dive into their souls for the sake of food, for the sake of satiating a hunger building in their guts, nuzzling its way into their organs.
Jet star sighed, and got out of the car, so that was their sign to get out as well. Party followed, grabbing the keys from the ignition and pocketing them, going into the diner after Jet Star. They'd have to do the talking and they both knew it. Maybe giving Ghoul the new ray gun would make the man feel better about it. That was a low chance but it was better than nothing and honestly, they were sure that the other two would hesitate and then agree to the matter.
At this point, food was food, and it might be worse than power pup which was a feat but it could happen. They'd been seeing less and less motorbabys and killjoys around and BL/ind kept getting more and more people. They had to take any food they really could at this point.
Jet Star opened the diner door, holding it for them, and Party slipped in, Jet star following them in. Kobra sat up from a booth that he seemed to be sleeping in and then groaned as he fell back on to the seat again as the man definitely saw that they had no new food with them.
“There's no fucking way all the food in every damn zone is gone.” Kobra hissed, seeming to have finally snapped either right now or while they were gone.
Ghoul was sitting, reading one of the few magazines they had for the millionth time and closed it, looking irritated. Before he could talk, Party pulled out the ray gun that they'd grabbed and handed it to the man. Ghoul took it but it didn't seem to make his mood any better.
“Gun's no use if we can't eat and live another day to use it.” Ghoul muttered.
Party glanced at Jet Star who was looking like he was trying not to spill Party's insane idea. It would be quite the turn of events.
“There’s a dead drac in the back of the car.” Party blurted out, an unfamiliar feeling of unease spreading through their body.
That got Kobra to sit back up again, staring at them in acknowledgement of what they just said, of what they just insinuated.
“What to eat?” Ghoul asked slowly.
Party nodded, and Ghoul seemed to follow their logic. Ghoul didn't have to agree with it but at this rate, the dracs body is what is going to keep them alive a few days longer with hunger biting at their stomachs, becoming nauseating. The hunger was just too much at this point.
There was silence.
“Well…” Kobra started, hesitant almost. “It's food, right? They've tried to kill us all so many times over that it's okay.”
They watched Jet Star nod, and Ghoul seemed to agree. A simultaneous agreement that morals were put down for now. With that, they left the diner, going out into the heat, and opening the trunk of the trans am. Jet star helped them bring the body into the diner. It would get blood everywhere but they could clean it up, probably.
Hunger. A hungry killjoy is a desperate one is what Party has learned over the years here in the zones. A desperate one will get ghosted if they aren't careful.
Hunger. That's what this was about. This was desperation in the form of self control and hunger. They'd checked to make sure there were no trackers. They'd checked to make sure they weren't being followed.
The minutes after are ones that Party tried to block out.
The feel of flesh that isn't their own underneath their fingernails, the grip of Kobras knife in their hands, the sound of flesh ripping in their hands. They'd all been so used to ray guns that they really had forgotten how bloody human bodies could really be. They remembered now with the blood staining their hands and the table beneath the body getting redder.
The first bite was tender, juicy and quickly asserted to Party that cannibalism was not something they wanted to participate in if they could help it. The iron taste exploding in their mouth was the only thing that kept them from spitting out the texture, feeling the odd texture of meat in their mouth.
All things considered, they should not be eating the drac raw, but it wasn't like they could cook it, they didn't have gas. None of them knew how to cut up a human being, let alone how to prepare one for eating.
Party tried to ignore the feeling of their gut swirling around because it was food and it was edible. The blood staining their fingers and mouth were simply by products. The taste left almost a sour taste in their mouth as more pieces were cut with Kobras knife, the bites were each less and less of a hassle. Eventually, they could pretend that it wasn't a human they were eating right then. They could pretend it was something else entirely, and not raw meat. The texture was the only thing that told them it couldn't be anything they ever expected.
Yet, somehow, the blood also quenched the slightest bit of thirst that they felt, and by the time that they leaned away, they felt almost full for the first time in days. They would've eaten more just because they actually had food and you learned to eat when you could out here, but they couldn't stomach much more.
The body looked horrific, a bloody mess on their table that they would be able to clean tomorrow if the water falling from the sky wasn't acidic or would cause them to be sick.
Party couldn't eat anymore because they might throw up.
It wouldn't be edible after this moment, but Party was content. Even if they knew they could eat more, this was it. This was all they could handle. This would stave off that gut wrenching feeling of hunger for a fair few days hopefully. They glanced at their hands and saw the blood had mostly dried which meant that they could wash it off hopefully. It might be a while before they could do that though.
They were quiet, but after they were all done, Kobra and Ghoul took the body outside, probably throwing it somewhere that whatever creatures left could get at it or it would decay to a point where it wouldn't be annoying or a hassle anymore. Maybe they'd get acidic rain tomorrow and it would corrode the body so it wouldn't stink up the area. At least the acid rain wasn't like what it used to be, it was a lot more tame compared to when any of them were kids. It mostly destroyed any unfortunate living things that happened to be out in it.
At some point, Jet Star found a rag and cleaned their hands for them, getting the blood off with as little water as it took before wiping down the table, managing to make it look a light pink instead of the red it was stained with.
Ghoul and Kobra came back. Party ditched their jacket, hanging it up on one of the chairs of the diner, before sitting behind Jet where he was sitting in one of their constructed beds. Which was just booth seats pushed together to be marginally comfortable. It was better than the linoleum floor, so there was that.
Jet Star didn't say anything as Party started to braid his hair. It was something small, just so that Jet Star wouldn't wake up with hair all over the place and with his curls a mess. It was the easiest way to manage them as they got longer out here, and they did make his curls look more prominent the next morning. They heard either Kobra or Ghoul turn on the radio, looking for the weather for tomorrow to see if it had changed or if they were truly stuck in here tomorrow.
Party wasn't the person who braided his hair every time, but they liked to do it. Almost made them feel calmer, and helped ease the tense feeling that they sported whenever dealing with others.
Here in the diner, even if Kobra and Ghoul may be upset with them, Jet Star still liked them. That was enough for them, and Killjoys had to help each other of course. This may have been a small thing, but it was the part of their days that Party really did enjoy, and they were sure that Jet Star did too.
“Done.” Party whispered, letting the braid rest at the top of Jet stars back, as the man moved.
Party moved out of Jet star's space, and moved to their own booth as Jet Star took off his own jacket, hanging it on a chair next to Party's jacket. The radio that was playing still said the weather tomorrow was supposed to rain most of the day, and may start tonight but not what type. Oh well, they wouldn't go out to try and find out.
Laying down, Party used the cushion of a regular chair that they'd ripped out a while back as a small pillow, just so their neck wouldn't hurt in the morning. Hopefully, the next time they were able to get out of the diner, they would be able to actually find food. Party did not want to resort to that again, and they were sure that no one else would either.
Either way, Party let his eyes close, listening to the radio, and hearing the start of rain drumming on the diner, slipping into sleep, thinking of the possibility of finding food in the desert.