Four

Seretonin Dreams blinked her eyes open only to squeeze them shut again at the overly bright light that met her. There was a horrible pounding in her skull that made her feel like a little boy's drum set. She struggled to sit up, immediately regretting this as a wave of nausea crashed over her.

    “Hey, she’s awake.” Came the familiar low drone of Widows Whistler. Sere opened her eyes again, more slowly this time and looked around. She was rather confused, her head pounding, her mouth parched. Her whole body was sore, and there was a strange stinging pain radiating from the inside of her left thigh. Her gaze fell on Widows and Devils Cannon where they stood by the bed.
    “You feeling alright?” Devils asked while Widows helped her sit up.
    “No. I feel sick, and I’m thirsty, and I am really confused.” She replied in a scratchy voice.
    “I’ll go get some water.” Widows said and left while Devils gave her a brief rundown of the past week.
    “After that you passed out, and well, you’ve been out for a while.” He finished as Widows came back in with Falling Tears, Neon Zombie and Angels Fall behind him.
    “Glad to see you’re doing good, means we can move.” Neon said as if she hadn’t just been through a lot.
    “Move? Move where?” She asked after drinking the water.
    “A friend of mine, Warzone Wasp, called me up the other day, she needs us out there in Zone 2, Falling said that you all would accompany me.” He said, already packing. It wasn’t long before they were all piled into Neon’s van headed in the direction of Zone 2.
    “So what are we gonna do there?” Sere asked looking up from her book, Moby Dick.
    “Wasp wanted me to stop by, has some stuff to tell me, then we will be going back.”
    “Then why are we going?” Devils asked
    “Well, my son is a member of her family, and since Sere is basically my niece I wanted you to meet him. You two are cousins you know.” Neon replied as they continued to drive on.
    “You have a son? I thought you were gay?” Sere said as she put her book mark back in place.
    “Well, yeah, but he isn’t my blood son, just like you aren’t my blood niece. So we are gonna go for a short visit, then be on our way.” He said before they all lapsed into a silence, Sere reading, Falling napping in the front, Devils and Angels playing checkers, and Widows in the very back tinkering with a small box.
    It was maybe an hour before they turned onto the Dixie Death Highway. They drove for another half hour before they pulled into the parking lot. Seretonin gazed out her window, amazed at the amount of vehicles and killjoys that were bustling about.
    “Welcome to the Basket.” Neon said as he pulled the keys from the ignition. They all climbed out, Neon wasting no time in waltzing right in like he owned the place. Seretonin and Devils exchanged glances before following Falling in.
    Inside they area was like a dinner, there were even more people moving around, eating, napping, mingling. They ventured in slightly further, where Neon was exchanging words with short woman. Widows elbowed Sere and Devils out of his way and hugged the woman tightly.
    “Wasp! It’s been ages” He said as he let go of the woman known as Wasp. Wasp had a very country air to her that was foreign to Sere, aside from what she had learned from the books she read.
    “Widows, good to see you too.” She replied patting his arm before turning her gaze to Sere, Devils, Falling and Angels who were standing behind Widows and Neon with unsure looks and stances. “Introduce your friends here?” She said with a nod in the their direction.
    “Of course!” Widows said motioning them over closer. They each stepped forward as Widows motioned to each with their name. “Falling Tears, Devils Cannon, Seretonin Dreams, and her baby brother Angels Fall.” He told her with a grin.
    “I’m not a baby!” Angels protested angrily. Widows grinned and pulled him into a hug holding tightly while Angels squirmed and struggled to get away.
    “Nice to meet y’all.” Wasp said with a sweet southern smile. “I’m Warzone Wasp, and this here is my Killjoy outpost The Basket.” She told them and motioned with her hand for them to come further in. They followed them then Widows led them over to an empty booth where they sat while Neon and Wasp disappeared to talk. Sere was seated between Devils and Widows on the inside so she could sit with her legs parted slightly allowing her healing wound to breath a little. Since they had left and allowed her to walk around she had been wearing skirts since it was for more comfortable for her.
    “So, you’ve been here before?” Falling asked from one end of the table.
    “Oh yeah. Before I met up with Shanty, I was holed up here for almost a year, doing odd missions for the Big 4.” Widows said in an offhand tone.
    “The Big 4, as in the Fabulous Killjoys?” Sere asked looking at him closely.
    “Yeah, they are good friends of mine now.”
    “Then why don’t you run with them?” Angels asked.
    “Because your dad came along, and he needed me, plus Party never asked, so I never mentioned it.”
    “Oh.” Angels said then slumped as if that wasn’t that answer he was looking for.
    “Hey, it was before he convinced your mother to take you to and leave the clutches of the city. She was still pretty sure that those fucks from B.L.i were gonna do some good.” Widows told him before he grew silent. Sere looked up to see an unusually tall kid walking over to them. He was dressed in dark clothing, which seemed slightly unusual for a Killjoy. He took a chair from one of the other tables and sat it at the open end before taking a seat in it.
    “Hey,” He said in a kind of awkward way that showed he might not be there willingly.
    “‘Sup” Devils nodded.
    “I’m Adolescent Suicide,” He said, his eyes not meeting any one.
    “Nice to meet you. We are-” Widows started but was interrupted.
    “I know who you are, I saw the intros, and of course, I think everyone knows about the Dreaming Killers.” He said and smiled the tiniest of smiles.
    “You know us?” Falling asked confused.
    “Yes, not only do you have the famous hacker Widows Whistler with you,” He nodded towards Widows who was grinning. “But, you also recently pulled off one of the most daring rescues ever since the Big 4 had one years ago. You two had some serious guts just busting into Battery City like that.”
    “Wait, how do you know about that?” Sere asked staring at him now.
    “Well, one, Neon has a huge mouth and can’t keep a secret to save himself, and I heard Dr. D mention it a few days ago.” Adolescent said with a small shrug.
    “Oh, okay...” Sere replied, not really believing it. The kid Adolescent didn’t say anything else; instead he stood up and walked off, leaving them to stare after him.
    “The people are a little less friendly than I remember, but there are quite a few new faces here.” Widows said leaning back in his seat. They sat there mumbling among themselves before there was a clatter then silence in the area. They too grew quiet and looked up to see two people.
    The tall guy looked strong and had an air of pure silence to him; he wore a black jacket, a red shirt under it that read Anarchy, black pants and black boots, covering his eyes were a wicked set of goggles with spikes on them. The girl who was shorter was wearing a white husband beater and regular jeans, along with a pair of old combat boots on and a light, natural blonde hair that was long and pulled back into a low ponytail.

Near one table where a girl was sitting on a jerkish looking guy’s lap a bitchy blonde girl sneered. “Arizona and his little whore finally showed up.” She said quietly, but just loud enough to be heard.

“Oh, so I’m assuming you want a make-up job like Solar’s?” the blonde girl shot back threateningly. The girl rolled her eyes but said nothing more.

Neon walked by the girl and shoved her face to the table. “Now you be nice princess.” He said. He walked right up to them and winked at the guy. “So Ari, did you really make a baby with a baby around?” He asked, a large smile on his face. Amazingly, the kid’s face stayed completely impassive. Neon looked down at the girl then pulled her into a hug. “You aren’t as small as Solar, but you are a bit skinnier.” He said then got real close to her ear and whispered, then laughed and clapped Arizona on the shoulder. “If you get jiggy tonight, try to keep it down eh?” As he spoke many people made hooting noises and other side comments, but the guy known as Arizona stayed completely silent and impassive.

“Well then Solar and I can compare notes, ‘cuz there is plenty,” The girl, Alabama, paused and looked over to Arizona, openly checking him out, “to say on this subject, if you catch my drift.” Arizona’s jaw tightened as his cheeks flushed. “But seriously, we didn’t even sleep in the same bed. And who are you, exactly?”

“His name is Neon Zombie.” Arizona said through gritted teeth. Neon grinned more and grabbed Arizona around the neck and pulled him close into a head lock, giving him a noogie. “Neon! Quit!” He groaned though he was grinning and laughing himself.

“I’m Neon, Arizona’s dad.” He said without pause or even acknowledging they weren’t the same race.

“I, uh, see the resemblance.” Alabama said with a look between the two of them.

“Ehh, calm down chicky, I’m not his biological father, just the Killjoy one who gets his ass out of tight places.” He said with a wink.

“Who’s the bitch over there then? And the rest of y’all?”  Alabama said, sneering.

“Feisty little thing arent you?” Neon said then turned. “Well, you know most everyone in Bird’s group, the ‘bitch’ is Cyanide Queen. Over by the boarded-up window is Adolescent Suicide with his group.” Around Ado sat three more people, one being a girl. They were all white and pale with somber expressions. “Over in the corner is my group, recently attained; Seretonin Dreams, Devils Cannon, Sere’s brother; Angels Fall, Widows Whistler, and Falling Tears.” They each nodded in turn before turning back to talk more, they were done with all these people. “You know all your people, and Wasp. And then the last group which belongs to JarJar Binks.” The last group only had two other people aside from JarJar. “There are way more, so don’t think this is it. There must be another 40 people, but you know, business has them out and such, being busy ghosting Dracs and foiling plans.” He said with a shrug.

The three dispatched and the loud bustling in the area started up again with out fail. Widows looked over at Falling and leaned a little closer to him. “You don't really think Neon is one of the B.L guys do you?” He asked quietly, but Sere heard and perked up.

    “What?” She asked, shocked. Falling waved her off and she humphed then slumped back, starting to worry.
    “I do, you saw the papers, why would someone like Neon have things like that?” Falling said with a serious face. His eyes showed he wanted to trust Neon, but the evidence made it hard. Falling grew silent as the green haired kid, Arizona sat down.

    “Don’t mean to intrude, just wanted to meet the people who are gonna be with Neon for the time.” He said leaning his elbows on the table.  “I’m Toxic Arizona.” He told them.

“Pleasure.” Falling said “Names Falling Tears, that’s Seretonin Dreams.” Sere waved but didn’t smile. “And the brunette bloke is Widows Whistler.” Widows nodded but didn’t say anything either.

“I’m Devils Cannon.” Devils said with a nod then, stuck out his hand and Arizona took it, shaking it once before they let go.

“I’m Angels Fall.” Angels said excitedly.

“Nice to meet you all.” Arizona said with a small nod. Then Falling stood up.

“Mind if I speak to you alone Arizona?” He said with a somber look. Arizona nodded and followed him over to an empty pantry where they stood for a moment in silence. “I’m a little worried about Neon.”

Sere tried to hear more, but the conversation grew intensely quiet until the boy Arizona slammed his fist into the wall.

Widows laughed and elbowed her. “That’s your cousin, hon.” He said with a grin. Sere groaned and sank even lower, feeling tired and left out.

Sere was talking to her brother Angels when Widows walked up to the table. He had a few bowls of mush which he set on the table. "Eat up, we have a funeral to get to." Widows said as he sat down.
"Like the one we had for Shanty?" Angels ask digging his spoon into the mush. Widows nodded. 
"Kinda, only we will have paint cans and stuff, so it's gonna be a real traditional one."
"Paint? For what?" Angels asked through a mouthful of food. Sere glared at him and popped him upside the head.
"Finish eating before you speak." She scolded him, Widows grinned before answering.
"We bury him then paint the grave, like graffiti." He explained.
"Oh." Angels said then smiled before going back to his food. Sere to began eating but at a much slower pace.

Some time after Neon had taken the girl away they were all out in the middle of a desert. There was a funeral going on for the blonde girl’s old leader. It was a sad, mellow gathering, very subtle, but you could feel pain from every Killjoy, even from those who had never known the deceased. Sere and her clan all joined in the decoration, Sere having a can of strawberry red paint. She smiled and painted out a large strawberry, it was slightly crude, but you were able to tell what it was if you knew what a strawberry was. She smiled and stole a can of black and green to finish off the fruit before using a blue can to write the words, World Peace Please, under it in cursive. Falling smiled and hugged her close.

“I’m sure this man is grateful.” He said before they all headed back to the Basket. They stayed for another day helping out with cleaning and anything else that was needed, making friends. She had actually made friends with the boy Adolescent Suicide, and they were always talking about books. Something they both loved, the one thing that kept them both sane sometimes.

Having talked to Adolescent for some time that day she decided she wanted to read the book she had received for her birthday, they day her father bit the dust. She climbed into the back of the van rummaging through her bag. She found her black shawl and pulled it out, unwrapping the old book she sat back then sighed. She put her shawl on her head covering her hair the way she normally had it before climbing back out and slamming the door closed.

She looked up from the book and jumped a small squeak escaping her mouth. Adolescent was standing before her in that same way that made him seem so awkward. He shifted his feet then apologized.

“Don’t be sorry, just make noise or something.” Sere said with a smile. “I got my book.” She said holding out the book, The Scarlet Letter.

Ado took it and turned it over in his large hands. “It’s old,” He said then flipped open the cover. He read everything Sere had read the day she received the book then he started to flip through the pages trying to pick a good random page to read when a piece of paper flitted out. Moving swiftly he caught it and looked at it. His face looked quizzical as he handed it to Sere.

“I think that belongs to you.” He said. She looked at it, her mouth gaping slightly. It was a picture, a color picture. It looked to be kind of old, but still in good condition. There were three people, one she immediately recognized as Shanty, her father, next to him was a woman with blonde hair. She was nearly a foot shorter than Shanty, and much more round in the stomach, at first Sere thought the woman was just fat when she realized that this was her mother and that she was pregnant with her second child, Angels Fall. She looked at the little blonde girl on Shanty’s hip, she was smiling the largest smile she had ever seen. Unknowingly she touched her head where a set of brunette locks sat. So Neon was messing when he had said she had once been a blonde.

She felt a pressure on her shoulder and looked over to see a hand which was attached to Ado. She looked up to the worry on his face.

“Are you ok Sere?” He asked and that’s when she noticed the tears streaming down her cheeks. She nodded weakly but he didn’t move instead he pulled her into his arms and rocked slightly. “Its alright to cry” He said. She shook her head again the tears falling faster now, it was the first time she had cried since her father had died. It had been months now, and Angels was done with it, had moved on, but Sere coudn’t do it. Hell she wouldn’t even let herself cry about his death because it meant she had to let him go.

She couldn’t stop which made her so angry that more tears flowed. At some point The warm arms of Ado were switched to the familiar encasing arms of Widows. There was a hole in her chest that seemed to continue to poor all the hate for her father and all the love out in those stupid salty tears that wouldn’t stop and after sometimes she fell asleep.

    It wasn’t long before Sere opened her eyes to find she was curled up next to her brother with Devils on her other side. She sat up and looked around. Widows was up and pulling his shirt on.

“Widows, when do you want us up?” She asked after a yawn.

“We aren’t leaving.” He said over his shoulder.

“What?” Sere stood and stepped over a sleeping Devils. She was waring a blue camisole and just a small pair of orange boxer shorts. Widows turned to her.

“Neon left already, said we should stay here, get to know people, Sere, you look like shit.” He said taking his face in his hands.

“Be nice.” She said.

“Go wash your face, it’s still red and puffy.” He told her before he let her go and walked out. Sere yawned again and looked around determining it was still early enough that most the killjoys were still sleeping. She stepped around lightly and headed for the bathroom.

She slipped into the bathroom and looked at her face in the mirror. The sun streamed through the windows that were stationed near the ceiling and allowed her to see just how puffy her eyes were. They were red and had bags underneath them. Sere sighed and turned the water on and let it sun for a moment before she grabbed a well worn and well used cloth and held it under the water. She pulled it out and held the cold soaked cloth to her face lightly rubbing her eyes through the cloth.

She pulled the cloth away from her face and looked in the mirror then shrieked jumping. She turned around to face Ado who was standing near one of the shower stalls in a pair of felt pajama pants, his hair soaked and clinging to his skull.

“What the hell are you doing in here, this is the girls’ room” Sere said angrily.

“Uhm, no, this is the guys’ room.” He said before grabbing a towel and throwing it over his head to dry it. “I think you’re still tired.” He said casually.

“I think you should learn to make noise when you walk.” She shot back.

“I also think you don’t wear enough to bed.” He said and though she couldn’t see his face she could hear the sneer in his voice.

Sere crossed her arms over her tiny chest in an effort to cover herself, her cheeks flaming. “I think you should shut up and leave me alone.” She snapped. Ado chuckled and pulled the towel down to let it sit around his shoulders.

“Pull that stick out of your ass, I was joking.” He said though he was still smiling.

“Excuse me?” She asked shocked her cheeks warming even more.

“I’m just saying, you should loosen up, yeah, I don’t know you to well, but I have learned from the past few days that you think to much and smile to little. You need to let yourself out or let someone in.” He said leaning against the shower stall.

“I let myself out-” She started but he cut her off.

“No you don’t, Both Widows and Falling are worried that you keeping all that emotion about loosing Shanty is going to tear you apart and scar you emotionally.” She stared at him a little shocked that Falling and Widows had talked to Adolescent about her. “I think they are right, you need to just let it out, its ok to mourn, and to cry, but you need to maybe loosen up, let other things take your interest.” He paused as if thinking about this, “The reading is good,” He stopped again and looked at Seretonin closely.

“What?” She asked her cheeks still flushed.

“You want to help me teach a little girl how to read?” He said suddenly.

“Wha-? Who?” She asked taken aback.

“Her name is Pink Venom, and she isn’t to fluent in English, I mean, she speaks it well, but reading it is a challenge, and you read really well, so I want to teach her.” He said with a shrug. She stared at him for a moment as if shocked that this is what was being said. “Well, I mean if you don’t want to then that’s-”

“No, I’d enjoy helping her learn.” She said with a smile. He grinned then walked out.

“Well, you better get out of here and put some clothes on, we can start her off with See Jane Run.” He told her before he left the bathroom altogether.