We arrived outside the shack and jumped out of the car. The guys were really anxious about setting up a camp before the night hit and I was still finding it hard to believe that they'd camp.

Why would they want to do that when they have a perfectly normal shack to stay in?

Okay a shack didn't sound so good now that I think about it but there might be mosquitos around outside and I didn't feel like getting bitten, plus I had no idea what I was like when I went camping.

What the hell would we be sleeping on anyway? I'm not sure how I felt about having sand in my hair but I had a feeling that once I was asleep I'd be staying asleep.

I've had a long day even though I've been asleep for god knows how long and I just wanna catch some shut eye so I'll be ready for whatever the morning throws at me.

In this strange world anything could happen, it could range from a draculoid to an earthquake and everything in between. Personally I think I'd rather it be a drac, I'd had no trouble ghosting one earlier and I now had a gun and rather good aim to keep myself safe.

No matter how tired I was though, in these clothes I felt better, fresher and a lot happier than I did wearing that ugly dress that should literally be burnt to ashes.

I put my hand on the zapper on my hip and smiled a little, it was a cool thought having my own ray gun, isn't that what every kid dreams of?

"Electric, come and help me move some sleeping bags." Party called out and my smile got wider, I liked my new name. Whatever my old one was it could easily be beaten by Electric Revenge.

My new name was like my clothes, it made me feel like a old piece of wood that got restored by a fresh coat of paint.

I felt fucking shiny.

"Coming." I yelled back and ran over to help out.

~~~

Jet had driven us out to a place that it looked like they camped out at a lot. There was a campfire already set up and all they had to do was light it, Fun Ghoul had been the one they handed the lighter to which was obviously a bad idea.

It'd taken about five seconds for Ghoul to set the sleeve of his shirt on fire and Party Poison had to throw his jacket on him.

"So you guys sleep in the desert every night?" I asked, unrolling the sleeping bag onto the dusty ground.

"Yep, unless Ghoul decides to crash at Sunshine's place or we fall asleep after a party in another zone." It didn't surprise me that the Killjoys were party animals, they seemed like it.

With my sleeping bag spread out on the ground I sat down and looked up at the stars. It'd gotten dark quickly but the campfire gave enough light for us to see clearly.

Party was now sitting on the ground fiddling with a box that had lots of numbers on the front with one side of set of headphones held up to his ear.

"Dinner is served." Kobra said, dropping on the ground between Party and I with an armful of white cans.

Girl, Ghoul and Jet joined us, turning it into a small circle that was situated around my sleeping bag that was surprisingly comfortable considering there was about two inches of padding between me and the dusty and rocky desert.

"What is it?" I took one of the cans from Kobra and turned it over, it was the same kind I'd been shooting at when Party gave me a lesson earlier.

"Try it." Party had put down the headphones and handed me an already opened can with a spoon sticking out of it.

I hesitantly took the can from him because after looking at the contents I was afraid it would try to attack me. It looked like someone had gotten curry, bread and then blended it up and canned it. So not very appetising.

Carefully I lifted the spoon to my mouth and after taking a second to brace myself I tried the gelatinous mass.

Oh god this is the worst tasting thing ever, I honestly think licking the bottom of my shoe would taste better than this.

I managed to swallow the food without throwing it up then immediately shuddered and wished for a glass of water to get rid of the taste.

"Whattaya think?" Ghoul asked as he started eating from his own can as if it didn't taste like rotted rat intestines.

"It's definitely not cake." The only other way I could think to describe it would be if I threw up on them but I don't think they'd appreciate it very much.

"It's dog food." Girl said casually, eating a mouthful of the dreadful canned food that should not be sold ever.

"Yeah it tastes like it." What she'd said were the perfect words, it tasted exactly like dog food. Like crap too.

"No it's actually dog food." They're kidding right?

I turned over the can and read the label on the front.

'Power Pup, pre moistened kibble.'

Well isn't that just lovely.

They fed me dog food.

"Alright well thanks for that and I'm gonna throw up now." I put the can beside me and walked over to the car then dropped on the ground next to it with my back against one of the wheels.

I stared out across the dark desert, wondering how far it stretched out before switching to the stars that littered the darkened nighttime sky. They are pretty, how long must it have been since I last looked at the stars?

It's got to have been a while. Party said that I might have been one of 'the comatose.' Part of a group of people who were in comas before the fire and had their memories erased while asleep.

What could it have been that put me in a coma? I was probably doing something really stupid like playing tag with a draculoid that had no idea what time out means.

I wish I could remember what my life was like before all this happened. I'd be happy just to know what my old name is, or was I guess.

When was my birthday? Where did I come from? What happened to my family?

What if my parents were on those pills that I'd heard the Killjoys talk about? They said the pills take away all your emotions so you don't feel anything at all.

No happiness, sorrow, jealousy, anger, joy.

They take everything away from you and you're just empty of everything that makes you, you.

What's the point in living if you can't feel anything?

I'm so glad I didn't stay at that place. What if they tried to make me take that pill if I didn't go anywhere?

If I slowed down and let them catch me when I was running away from the drac I would have been caught and who knows what could have happened.

I'd probably be sitting in a corner somewhere with my head shaved and drooling onto a straight jacket.

From what I've collected after what they've said it's like a lobotomy in a pill and I won't ever be taking that pill, that's for sure.

I never want to be separated from the world again, I want to be right here in reality where I know what's happening all the time.

What if the next time I go to sleep I don't wake up again?

What if I just go back into a coma and never get to live here again?

As much as this world confuses me with what's going on I couldn't imagine living in any other time. This place suits me and I want to stay here forever even if I hate the desert.

I hope that the Killjoys like me as much as I like them because I'll be sticking around for a long while. Where else would I go anyway?

They did say there were more of them in other Zones so if they ever wanted me to leave I suppose I could go to one of those groups because over my dead body will I be going back to those heads shaving psychos.

Would the Killjoys from the other Zones be as cool as Party, Jet, Kobra and Ghoul or would they be very different?

There was the sound of boots hitting the ground and I turned around to see Party Poison leaning against the hood of the car and looking at me. His bright red hair fell in his face and cast shadows over his eyes, it would normally look dark on someone but the smile on his face balanced everything out.

"You alright now?" He asked, sitting beside me and resting his head on the car.

"Other than the fact I ate dog food I feel completely fine." I was kinda pissed off they didn't tell me what that canned stuff was.

It wouldn't have killed them.

"We eat that all the time. It didn't really occur to anyone that you wouldn't like it. It's pretty much the only food we can get out here and it's only grain and gravy. It just tastes bad." No shit, I wouldn't feed it to my dog let alone another person. I feel sorry for the Killjoys if they have to eat it all the time.

"You get used to it, trust me." He added and I nodded. It's not like I had any other options, it was either eat that or starve.

"And if I don't then you'll have to get used to me complaining a lot." I laughed, I didn't have any reservations in whinging about something.

"We'll just give you a gun and point you at the nearest group of dracs, problem solved." Great, hand a ray gun to a moody teenager and tell her she's allowed to shoot at things.

Pure genius.

I looked at the sky again and tried to imagine how many draculoids I could ghost when I was in a bad mood. I'm guessing a lot because I might not be able to remember my past but I have a feeling I get violent when upset.

"So is there anything you want to know about now? Lingo or just some stuff you're curious about?"

I have so many question going around my head and I can't decide what I want to know the most.

At some point my brain suggested asking him if he had a girlfriend, goddamn it brain stop being a twat.

Party started laughing and my face went bright red when I realised I'd been thinking out loud again. My mouth friggen hates me, this is proof of it.

"Naw, we don't really get many chances for stuff like that around here. Besides no girl's willing to come near us when she knows it means hanging around, Ghoul. It's too risky as well, when you have someone you care for it's too easy to be manipulated by BLI." I nodded at his words, it was a nod of feeling sad for him and a slight touch of self pity as if I'm the sort of girl who could be in a relationship after sleeping for god knows how long.

"Unless you wanna be my girl." My mouth fell open and he started laughing, oh it'd been a joke.

That's kinda disappointing.

"What the deal with BLI?" I asked, trying to change the subject before my face got too red.

"Ah, alright. BLI's also known as Better Living Industries. They took over a while ago. Starting off with putting out the fires of 2012 even though they probably started them. The fires would have burn down half of America if they weren't stopped. They gained the publics trust and started manufacturing this 'magic' pill that fixed all your problems. Small groups of people didn't agree with it so there was the Helium Wars in 2016 and BLI said all the people who were fighting to save everyone were practically nazis even though they were only doing good." He rolled his eyes when he spoke, he obviously thought everything they said and did was complete bullshit.

"Because everyone believed them about the nazi thing they started taking the pills. It didn't fix your problems, it just made you not care about them. There were a few individuals left after the Helium Wars who were smart enough to restart the rebellion. The Killjoys. I was one of the first ones along with Ghoul, Jet and Kobra." I nodded and pulled my knees up to my chin while he talked.

He was the kind of guy who described things with his hands and I almost got hypnotised with each small gesture he'd make. Party had the hands of an artist. He should be holding a paint brush, not a zapper.

"Actually I'm being kinda modest. I was in the Helium Wars so were the guys and Dr. D. It was amazing that Kobra made it through he would have been about fourteen and I told him to stay at home but he insisted that he go with me." I never realised how much they must have gone through while I've been asleep.

I couldn't imagine Party Poison dressed for war, with the khaki clothes and a gun. He seemed like he'd never want to do something like that but he did say it was a rebellion so maybe they just wore normal clothes.

"Any more questions?" He asked and I snapped my head up and payed attention then remembered something else I wanted to know about.

"What's, Korse? Ghoul mentioned it the other day." He'd made a joke about Korse and draculoids when we were outside Sunshine's place.

"Korse is the Chief Exterminator of the Scarecrow division of BLI. His job is to hunt down the Killjoys and either ghost 'em or make them dracs." So I guess Korse was the bad guy then because he didn't sound like a good person, that's for sure.

I bet he was the one who taught the draculoids their atrocious behaviour.

"Where did you meet Bluejay?" I wanted to know about Girl as well, they hadn't told me anything about her. I didn't know if she had parents or a family.

"It was kinda a similar situation as the one we found you in. She was running through the desert, away from some dracs and we protected her. Her parents had been Killjoys that got dusted by Korse so we've protected her ever since we found her. She's like everyone's little sister." That's what I thought when I looked at Girl, everyone treated her like their baby sister.

"Okay you can ask one more question then you should probably get some sleep. We all should, it's gonna be a big day tomorrow." I wanted to know what the 'big day' was he'd been talking about but I had a question I wanted to ask even more.

"What are your real names?" It was obvious it wouldn't be Party Poison, Fun Ghoul, Jet Star and Kobra Kid. Some people gave their kids unusual names but these sounded like nicknames.

"I don't remember. It's been too long since we've last used them." He looked sad for a moment before smiling and standing up.

"What's the big day that you've got planned tomorrow?" I might as well ask, I can deal if he refused to tell me. I'm tired and will just go straight to sleep anyway.

"We're going to Hyper-Thrust tomorrow." I didn't know what he was talking about exactly but I was laughing at the words hyper thrust.

"What?" Party asked as I almost rolled on the ground with laughter, this was gonna get me ghosted one day.

"Hyper thrust, haha." A smile slowly spread across his face as he got the joke and he chuckled a little bit.

"Hyper-Thrust is a nightclub out in Zone 3. We'll be meeting up with Agent Cherri Cola and DJ Hot Chimp. I think Neon Kiss might be there as well." I grinned at the names and followed him back to the camp area where the guys had finished eating and were laying down on their sleeping bags.

Girl was sitting on her sleeping bag playing with a robot doll and when Party and I walked back she looked up then smiled.

"Bluejay get some sleep. I don't want you staying up too late." She nodded, put the toy beside her then got in the sleeping bag and lay down.

"G'night, Electric." Party said before heading to his sleeping bag that wasn't that far away from mine.

I noticed all the guys had taken off their holsters and their jackets so I did the same.

I undid the small buckles that attached the holster and blaster to my hip then dropped it next to my sleeping bag. I slid off my jacket and added it to my ray gun.

The warm air hit my arms and I got into the sleeping bag with my shoes still on. I didn't want to take my shoes off in case a spider or something might show up and bite me on the foot, okay that sounded a bit ridiculous.

"Hey Electric can I ask you a question?" I sat up and looked at Ghoul who'd turned onto his side and was looking at me.

"Sure thing." The look on his face told me I'd regret agreeing to answer his question.

"Do you sleep naked?" I pursed my lips and stared at him for a moment before coming up with an answer.

"Why yes I do. Did you also know that I happen to bite in my sleep?" He laughed, then rolled over to his back when Poison stared at him.

"I don't mind, I like biters." I could tell right now that Fun Ghoul and I would be having a very interesting friendship.

"Did I mention that I also have lockjaw?" I'd gladly keep coming up with things until he stopped, I wasn't feeling that tired.

"And did you know that I have a di-" Party picked up Ghoul's jacket and threw it at him. It landed on his head and whatever he was about to say was muffled.

"That's enough. Don't give her another excuse to try and dust you." I grinned at Poison's words, he hadn't even been around me for that long and he knew me well enough that I'd pull the trigger while aiming at Ghoul with no hesitation.

"Okay. Goodnight, Electric." Ghoul turned away from me and I sighed, good he's dropped it so I can go to sleep.

"Thanks, Party." I said to him as he took off his jacket and dropped it on the ground. Oh my god.

He wore a shirt with the sleeves cut off and it slit down the side. If I wasn't spazzing out looking at him right now I'd think I've just passed out.

"What's the matter?" He asked, when he realised I'd been unabashedly staring at him and I blinked a couple of times to focus.

"Uh, nothing. I was just thinking about something." I mumbled before lying back down and turning away from him so he couldn't see my face go bright red.

I put my arm under my head and stared out at the stars for a moment then closed my eyes, letting sleep take me.

~~~

I woke up to the sound of something rustling and sleepily lifted my head from my arm then winced. My body really hurt after sleeping on the hard ground.

Yeah I'm gonna be sore for the rest of the day, there's no doubt about that. The guys shouldn't be surprised if I bitch a little bit today.

What on earth is the time anyway?

It's still dark they shouldn't be waking me up this early in the morning unless they want me to be very cranky.

I started mumbling swear words and sat up, looking around and trying to see something. It was very dark and the campfire had gone out and was now barely smouldering.

Party was still asleep, on top of the sleeping bag and snoring slightly. Someone was standing next to him and staring. I bet that's Ghoul who's up, he's probably gonna go something to Party.

"Ghoul you woke me up before sunrise so I suggest you go back to sleep or I'll ghost you." I muttered to him, reaching for my blaster so I could use it for effect when threatening him.

He turned to look at me and I immediately screamed when the glow from campfire embers lit him up enough for me to see his face.

It wasn't Fun Ghoul, it was a draculoid standing over Party Poison with a ray gun in hand.

The drac lifted the zapper and pointed it at me, I screamed even louder and rolled to the side as the beam of light came racing at me.

This is way too fucking early for this kind of shit.

My arm got a slightly scorched feeling like it'd been burnt and I flinched but managed to grab my ray gun before he aimed at me again.

"No one wakes me up this early you stupid motherfucker." I yelled at the drac before getting to my knees, clicking off the safety and pulling the trigger back.

The purple bolt of light shot from the tip of the zapper and hit the drac in the chest, knocking him off his feet while I grinned.

The drac landed close to Party Poison and ended up half on him which made him wake up immediately.

"What's going-ahh!" He yelled when he realised there was a freshly dusted drac on top of him.

"A drac woke me up. He's a ghost now and I'm going back to sleep, night." I said to Party who was sitting up and still trying to figure out what was going on.

I was surprised my screaming didn't wake him up, it's not like I was trying to be quiet.

I dropped my beamer on the ground and climbed back into my sleeping bag as the guys woke up, realising there was a drac on the ground.

They can do whatever they want with the body, I'm going back to sleep and I'm staying asleep until its morning or unless Korse happens to show up.

Then if that fucker wakes me up he'll be ghosted as well.