Without a Whisper //Danger Days//

3. The Restless Desert

This whole 'new identity thing' wasn't as bad as I thought.

When we had decided on what clothes we were going to use, I was wearing the red dress with a thin black trench coat, similar to the one Murdock always wore. Party was wearing a white button-up with a black sweater vest and grey jeans. He looked far too professional, so I tossed him a pair of black Converse.

"Oh, how classy." He joked, replacing his black boots with the shoes I had offered.

Kobra had replaced his leopard print muscle shirt with a blue flannel. He pulled on a black hoodie to finish the look. 

Jet decided on a brown leather jacket with a black t-shirt that advertised a band nobody had heard of.

"I don't know if I like this." He examined his outfit.

"Nonsense." Brandy slapped his back. 

"You look fine."

Ghoul put on a tight fitting grey t-shirt, leaving his heavily tattooed arms out for all the world to see.

"Can't I wear my jacket at least?" He pleaded.

"It'll be so obvious that you're a Killjoy." Ricki reminded him sympathetically.

All of us looked like complete and utter strangers when we had finished. We were clean, mellow and... normal. No weird punk clothes. No elaborate colours. Although most of the usual Zone attire was stripped away, we still looked nothing like the people from Battery City. We were a whole new species of human. A breed of people who didn't have to worry about their next meal, or who weren't scared of being out alone at night.

It was like we stepped fifteen years into the past.

I had absolutely fallen in love with the red dress. It made me look curvier than I actually was, due to the fact that I was a collection of bones taped together with sun-kissed skin.

"You look like a movie star from the 60's. I love it." Party commented, hugging me from behind.

"Freia Clark, famous Hollywood actress. It has a nice ring to it." Ghoul smirked, leaning against the portable kitchen counter.

"Another hour until we're in the city." Murdock informed us, scratching his stubbly face.

My heart was ready to leap out of my chest. I was terrified of what I would arrive to. Would everything be the same? What was I supposed to be expecting? 

"You guys ready?" Brandy asked, taking a sip of steaming coffee.

"I hope so." Jet replied, staring out of the window.

How long would we have to keep up our fake identities for?

---  

"Good evening, Killjoys. Today marks the third day since the horrible battle in the Nest, and we are only just recovering. The radio waves have gone quiet for a few days, and they will never be the same without our beloved speakers, Dr. Death Defying and Cherri Cola. Never again will DJ Psycho play his beautiful collection of music to help us through thick and thin. We can rebuild what they had, but we will never replace them. Our own leader, and the Fabulous Four, have sadly left us. Let's all pray that they will return home soon. We mourn the loss of many, and we will remember this day for years to come. This is DJ Hot Chimp, signing off."

     Val Velocity flipped the radio off, too distracted to hear any more. He was planning a new method of patrols, in case the Dracs ever came back. It was very late at night for a broadcast, but he knew that nobody was sleeping.

'God, I hope Atomic's doing okay.'

He was concerned, who wasn't? The leaders friends have been worrying about her constantly. Mad Gear had tried to reassure them that she'd be back, but even he wasn't sure about his sister. She was unpredictable. For all he knew, she could have abandoned them all.

"Val?" A knock at the door brought the white haired man back into focus.

"Mhm?" He answered groggily. Mad Gear and Missile Kid stepped inside, dark bags under their eyes.

"What d'ya want?" Val asked, letting out a huge yawn.

"We just wanted to see if you needed any help with patrols tomorrow. Missile and I would love to go out there." Gear explained, motioning to his best friend.

"Aren't you two a bit young to be going out on patrol?" Val narrowed his eyes.

"Well, I'm fourteen, and he's almost sixteen." Missile responded. Val thought for a moment before nodding in approval.

"Alright, you can be on the noon patrol. Now go get some sleep." He waved the two children away.

"Could you tell Vamos and Vaya to shut up? They're drunk again and we can't fall asleep." Missile shuffled her feet awkwardly.

'Not this again.' 

Lately, the twins have decided to be extra annoying at night. It was their special way of grieving, but it inconvenienced the two kids who lived with them terribly. Last night, Gear and Missile were forced to find peace and quiet in Val's bedroom, leaving the very tired and very annoyed man on the couch. He let out a deep breath.

"You can take the bed again." He rubbed his eyes in frustration.

"Thanks, we appreciate it." Gear let out a weak smile, walking towards the bedroom.

"This is the last time I'm letting you two into my room!" Val called, but they had already left his sight.

The new leader turned back towards his patrol plans, forgetting about his intentions of ever going to sleep.