Saving the Fabulous Killjoys (DISCONTINUED)
Chapter 31: There's things that I have done
Kobra Kid
I chased Pink Insanity all the way across the hall and down stairs. She knew these passages better than me…. but soon she would tire out…. and when she did, i would tear the bottle from her hands. i thought about my brother…. frozen in his body…. I had to help him... I had to get my hands on that liquid hope....
I ran faster. Pink was beginning to tire out. She was breathing heavily. I took this opportunity to run faster. soon, I had wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to a stop. She squeezed the bottle in her hands.
“You are NOT getting this bottle, Kobra Kid.”
“Don’t you want to save Party too?”
“Dr. D knows what he’s doing! I’m not about to let you do something rash!”
“So you won’t give it to me. Fine.”
I picked her up and flung her over my shoulder. Then, I calmly began to walk. She was too tired to fight, so she just hung there limply. I spun around in a quick circle and ran in the opposite direction. Then, I turned again.
“Kobra, stop! I’m getting dizzy!”
Her nails sunk into my back. I spun into a tight circle and dropped her. She slumped to the ground. I reached over to pry the bottle from her, but she wouldn’t let it go. I lifted her again and shook her. Hard. Her eyes were watering.
“Give it to me. Give me the bottle, Pink. GIVE ME THE THE BOTTLE!”
She looked at the edge of vomiting, but her hands were still strong.
The hysteria crawling up my spine was strong.
I felt my lungs beginning to squeeze. I hadn't had an asthma attack in years. I fell, clutching my chest and screaming my brother's name. I couldn't do anything without him. I wasn't worth anything without him. I needed him. I felt blood rush to my face as my lungs pulled in tighter. My hand automatically reached in my pocket for my inhaler, but it wasn't there. It hadn't been there for about fifteen years. A choked scream as I began to shiver.
"Kobra! Calm down!... What’s going on?”
"I can't breathe.... I can't... breathe!.... Oh God…. Oh God….”
My eyes were stinging. Not like this. Wheezing. Not like this. I needed to get this to Party... I coughed and tightened my hand on the bottle. Then, I used my elbows to begin to drag myself across the squeaky clean floor.
"Kobra! Stop! You'll kill yourself! Give me the bottle and I'll give it to Dr. D!"
"And then what?! We... wait around until he... decides to try and test it?!"
"What if it's poison! What if you hurt Party!"
"Party would... take... the chance!"
"No. You're wrong."
I ignored her and focused on getting air in my slowly closing lungs. Noises.
"Kobra!"
They came to try and help me up.
"Take me to Party." I mumbled "I won't be a burden... anymore. I’m not... hiding anymore."
“Kobra! You’re not making any sense.” Pony said, trying to take the bottle from me “Calm down and look at it rationally-”
“I DON’T CARE! I’M TIRED.... OF RUNNING AND HIDING! I... WANT.... TO LIVE! DON’T WANNA.... BE AFRAID...."
My lungs pulled in closer and I let out a choked scream. I began to cry as all my energy went to a minimum.
“We need to help him…” Jet said “Does anybody know what’s going on?”
I tried to mouth what was happening, but I couldn’t let anything out. Not the slightest sound.
“Party knows.” Missle Kid said softly “If we could just ask him…”
“We can’t.” Pony answered “It’s dangerous. Kobra. YOU have to tell us. Why can’t you breathe.”
A tear ran down my face as I pointed to my chest and squeezed my hand into a fist.
“What the heck does that mean?!” Jet screamed “Someone get Dr. D! He’s not making any sense!”
“He’s saying that something is squeezing his lungs.” Agent Cherri said calmly “He WAS having a panic attack about 15 seconds ago…. Has this happened before, Kobra?”
I nodded slowly and lifted my heavy hand up to my mouth. Then, I made a sucking motion.
“He has asthma! We need to get him to Dr. D! Does anybody know where we can find an inhaler?!”
Cherri took over the whole operation as they carried me to the nearest elevator and took me up. Pink pointed out the shortcuts and we were there in less that 10 minutes. I still hadn’t released the bottle, but no one was trying to take it anymore.
“DR.D!” pony screamed “ASTHMA MEDICINE! GO!”
The clanking of machinery as my eyes slammed shut. My heartbeat was slow and sluggish. It had never been this bad, but i knew what would happen next. I would die.
Jet Star
First Party…. Now Kobra…. Oh God.… I paced up and down the room as Pony and Dr. D rushed to get something ready. They were dropping like flies…. Would I be next? I walked over to the window and opened it. I then looked outside. City life. Nothing had really changed since we took over. Everyone was still shuffling about… miserable. Mourning over their lost family members. Someone looking up. I looked down to see a little girl with a small doll. She was looking at me. Right at me. I smiled and waved. She gestured for me to come over. Huh? In a few seconds, her mother appeared from the crowd and she also looked up.
I left the room and rushed down to the plaza. They were still there.
“Hello,” I breathed.
The little girl smiled, her mother hugged her.
“Please don’t hurt us…”
“Why would I hurt you? We’re the good guys…”
A crowd had begun to gather. They were screaming insults and throwing things.
“STOP!” I yelled.
Everyone froze.
“Look. We’ll help you as soon as we can. We’re just facing some problems right now-”
“Like what?!” A man yelled “Eating the city’s food supply?”
“No! We haven’t eaten a single thing since we got here! Our leader is sick! We’re trying to save him! Can’t you see we’re trying to pull things together for you?! We’ve already lost one of our own! We don’t want to lose anybody else!”
The crowd was silent. Some of the angry faces twisted with understanding.
“Can I help?”
I looked down. The little girl. Her mother was trying to shush her. I kneeled down to talk to her.
“I’m sorry, sweetie. I don’t think you can help us with this.”
“Is he dying?”
An innocent question. Curious eyes. I was trembling.
“Yes.”
Murmuring. No angry faces. Confused faces. Worried faces. I stood up.
“I’ll help divide the food as soon as I can. We just need to get this sorted out. Can you take care of yourselves for a couple of days? Not much. About 2 or 3 days…. please….”
In that moment, my stomach growled. I then nodded to the citizens and turned around.
“WAIT!”
I turned to see a few people running towards me with bundles in their hands. They gently gave them to me and I unwrapped them. Food…. My mouth watered.
“Thank you….” I whispered.
“What’s his name? Your leader?”
“Party Poison.”
I ran back into the building and up the stairs. Nearly-barked orders coming from the room. I stepped in to see that they had a mask on Kobra's face. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be out of it.
"We never knew." I heard Cherri whisper. "Didn't he trust us?"
"Guys." Pony said, calmly "this is Kobra we're talking about. Communication isn't his middle name."
"This changes everything." Dr. D said softly "It hadn't reacted in a couple of years, but it came back. We need to make special precautions for him."
"That's why he never told us."
All heads turned in my direction as I came in. I placed the bundles on Dr. D's lap. He sniffed it and his eyes lit up.
"The people downstairs can be really nice if we just talk to them."
Dr. D carefully divided the hard bread and a few pieces of cheese. We saved some for Party. We saved some for Kobra.
A few seconds. Dr. D frowned and took Kobra's wrist. Pony checked to see if he was breathing.
"Dr. D.... it's hardly working...."
"Give it time."
So we all did. We sat around as Dr. D explained to Missle Kid what was going on and what asthma was. More seconds dropped by. Slowly, Kobra came to. He was dizzy and disoriented. He mumbled Party's name and rubbed his head. Dr. D told him to take three good breaths.
He tried, but the air seemed to get stuck in his throat.
"Jet. Can you please go get a stethoscope?"
I stepped into the small office. White. Clean. Organized. I was soon able to find what he asked for. I took it to him and he put them on. Then, he listened to a few seconds of Kobra breathing. He handed them to Pony who put them on.
"It's his.... right lung. It's still bound."
"Good." Dr. D said nodding. "What else?"
"Well, the damage isn't permanent, but we need to wait a while until it stretches out."
"Perfect. A plus."
We all clapped and hooted. Pony blushed madly.
"Thank you." He murmured.
Kobra tried to get up, mumbling something about Party, but we held him down. I looked at Pink, who was sitting on a chair with her eyes closed. Fast asleep. I was slow and careful as I slowly tiptoed over to her and leaned down to whisper in her ear. Soft snickers from the rest. This was truly something Fun Ghoul would do.
"Hey Pin-"
She screamed and in a second, my face was red. Everyone began laughing. Even Kobra. As le laughed, Dr. D watched him carefully. Afterwards, he put the stethoscope on his chest again.
"Breathe."
He did. Dr. D then turned to me.
"Make him laugh again."
“What?"
"Make him laugh again."
Uh....
"Come on Jet," Missle Kid said smiling "Do that thing you and Fun Ghoul used to do when I was feeling sad. That really funny Korse impression!"
So I did. I squared my shoulders and put on my best poker face. I walked foward and stopped.
"Vee must destroy all zee Killjoys. I cannot wiztand their avesome hair."
Laughing. I tried to keep my face straight, but it was slowly breaking into a smile.
"I zpend hours in zee morning putting on ma makeup to look like zee handsome devil that you zee. Beware all of ze ladies in a zthree zone razius."
More laughing. I couldn't help it. I laughed. Everyone looked at Kobra then.
"Sorry guys." Kobra mumbled "I was stupid. I just want him to be here...."
"It's okay." Pony said, slapping him on the back.
Kobra winced. Pony then snarled something into Kobra's ear that made the killjoy shiver.
"It won't happen again." Kobra stuttered.
"You can bet your colors it won't. That's the only reason I'll forgive you."
Dr. D placed the stethoscope on Kobra's chest.
"How do your lungs feel?"
"Better," he breathed "they stopped contracting."
That's when I left the room. I went down the hall and into what used to be Korse's room. Party was still asleep. I took a seat on one of the chairs and dragged it closer to the tube.
"Why not me?" I asked the sleeping Party "Why am I not leader material? Is it something I'm missing?"
Silence. Soft breathing.
"Your brother had an asthma attack today. Don't worry. Dr. D has it covered. He's fine."
A moment of silence.
"I went out to see the townspeople. They were really nice."
Soft breathing.
"Can you... can you hear me? Party."
I stood up and placed my hand on the glass. It was at a slightly cold temperature. I tapped it. No reaction. I sighed and sat back in the chair.
"When we get that thing out of you... things will get better.... you'll see. You can have that home you've always wanted."
I was half trying to convince him, half lying to myself. Things would never be completely normal again. We had no idea where there might be more guards.... They could be waiting for us to relax before striking. We would never be calm again. Always looking over our shoulders.... that would be the rest of our lives. If I ever had a daughter or a wife... they would be in danger too. There would be no way to keep them safe.
I sighed and stood up, to see Pink standing at the door. She looked at the floor when she realized I was there. I stepped out of the room and let her in. As I walked away, I could hear her begin to speak to him.
I chased Pink Insanity all the way across the hall and down stairs. She knew these passages better than me…. but soon she would tire out…. and when she did, i would tear the bottle from her hands. i thought about my brother…. frozen in his body…. I had to help him... I had to get my hands on that liquid hope....
I ran faster. Pink was beginning to tire out. She was breathing heavily. I took this opportunity to run faster. soon, I had wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to a stop. She squeezed the bottle in her hands.
“You are NOT getting this bottle, Kobra Kid.”
“Don’t you want to save Party too?”
“Dr. D knows what he’s doing! I’m not about to let you do something rash!”
“So you won’t give it to me. Fine.”
I picked her up and flung her over my shoulder. Then, I calmly began to walk. She was too tired to fight, so she just hung there limply. I spun around in a quick circle and ran in the opposite direction. Then, I turned again.
“Kobra, stop! I’m getting dizzy!”
Her nails sunk into my back. I spun into a tight circle and dropped her. She slumped to the ground. I reached over to pry the bottle from her, but she wouldn’t let it go. I lifted her again and shook her. Hard. Her eyes were watering.
“Give it to me. Give me the bottle, Pink. GIVE ME THE THE BOTTLE!”
She looked at the edge of vomiting, but her hands were still strong.
The hysteria crawling up my spine was strong.
I felt my lungs beginning to squeeze. I hadn't had an asthma attack in years. I fell, clutching my chest and screaming my brother's name. I couldn't do anything without him. I wasn't worth anything without him. I needed him. I felt blood rush to my face as my lungs pulled in tighter. My hand automatically reached in my pocket for my inhaler, but it wasn't there. It hadn't been there for about fifteen years. A choked scream as I began to shiver.
"Kobra! Calm down!... What’s going on?”
"I can't breathe.... I can't... breathe!.... Oh God…. Oh God….”
My eyes were stinging. Not like this. Wheezing. Not like this. I needed to get this to Party... I coughed and tightened my hand on the bottle. Then, I used my elbows to begin to drag myself across the squeaky clean floor.
"Kobra! Stop! You'll kill yourself! Give me the bottle and I'll give it to Dr. D!"
"And then what?! We... wait around until he... decides to try and test it?!"
"What if it's poison! What if you hurt Party!"
"Party would... take... the chance!"
"No. You're wrong."
I ignored her and focused on getting air in my slowly closing lungs. Noises.
"Kobra!"
They came to try and help me up.
"Take me to Party." I mumbled "I won't be a burden... anymore. I’m not... hiding anymore."
“Kobra! You’re not making any sense.” Pony said, trying to take the bottle from me “Calm down and look at it rationally-”
“I DON’T CARE! I’M TIRED.... OF RUNNING AND HIDING! I... WANT.... TO LIVE! DON’T WANNA.... BE AFRAID...."
My lungs pulled in closer and I let out a choked scream. I began to cry as all my energy went to a minimum.
“We need to help him…” Jet said “Does anybody know what’s going on?”
I tried to mouth what was happening, but I couldn’t let anything out. Not the slightest sound.
“Party knows.” Missle Kid said softly “If we could just ask him…”
“We can’t.” Pony answered “It’s dangerous. Kobra. YOU have to tell us. Why can’t you breathe.”
A tear ran down my face as I pointed to my chest and squeezed my hand into a fist.
“What the heck does that mean?!” Jet screamed “Someone get Dr. D! He’s not making any sense!”
“He’s saying that something is squeezing his lungs.” Agent Cherri said calmly “He WAS having a panic attack about 15 seconds ago…. Has this happened before, Kobra?”
I nodded slowly and lifted my heavy hand up to my mouth. Then, I made a sucking motion.
“He has asthma! We need to get him to Dr. D! Does anybody know where we can find an inhaler?!”
Cherri took over the whole operation as they carried me to the nearest elevator and took me up. Pink pointed out the shortcuts and we were there in less that 10 minutes. I still hadn’t released the bottle, but no one was trying to take it anymore.
“DR.D!” pony screamed “ASTHMA MEDICINE! GO!”
The clanking of machinery as my eyes slammed shut. My heartbeat was slow and sluggish. It had never been this bad, but i knew what would happen next. I would die.
Jet Star
First Party…. Now Kobra…. Oh God.… I paced up and down the room as Pony and Dr. D rushed to get something ready. They were dropping like flies…. Would I be next? I walked over to the window and opened it. I then looked outside. City life. Nothing had really changed since we took over. Everyone was still shuffling about… miserable. Mourning over their lost family members. Someone looking up. I looked down to see a little girl with a small doll. She was looking at me. Right at me. I smiled and waved. She gestured for me to come over. Huh? In a few seconds, her mother appeared from the crowd and she also looked up.
I left the room and rushed down to the plaza. They were still there.
“Hello,” I breathed.
The little girl smiled, her mother hugged her.
“Please don’t hurt us…”
“Why would I hurt you? We’re the good guys…”
A crowd had begun to gather. They were screaming insults and throwing things.
“STOP!” I yelled.
Everyone froze.
“Look. We’ll help you as soon as we can. We’re just facing some problems right now-”
“Like what?!” A man yelled “Eating the city’s food supply?”
“No! We haven’t eaten a single thing since we got here! Our leader is sick! We’re trying to save him! Can’t you see we’re trying to pull things together for you?! We’ve already lost one of our own! We don’t want to lose anybody else!”
The crowd was silent. Some of the angry faces twisted with understanding.
“Can I help?”
I looked down. The little girl. Her mother was trying to shush her. I kneeled down to talk to her.
“I’m sorry, sweetie. I don’t think you can help us with this.”
“Is he dying?”
An innocent question. Curious eyes. I was trembling.
“Yes.”
Murmuring. No angry faces. Confused faces. Worried faces. I stood up.
“I’ll help divide the food as soon as I can. We just need to get this sorted out. Can you take care of yourselves for a couple of days? Not much. About 2 or 3 days…. please….”
In that moment, my stomach growled. I then nodded to the citizens and turned around.
“WAIT!”
I turned to see a few people running towards me with bundles in their hands. They gently gave them to me and I unwrapped them. Food…. My mouth watered.
“Thank you….” I whispered.
“What’s his name? Your leader?”
“Party Poison.”
I ran back into the building and up the stairs. Nearly-barked orders coming from the room. I stepped in to see that they had a mask on Kobra's face. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be out of it.
"We never knew." I heard Cherri whisper. "Didn't he trust us?"
"Guys." Pony said, calmly "this is Kobra we're talking about. Communication isn't his middle name."
"This changes everything." Dr. D said softly "It hadn't reacted in a couple of years, but it came back. We need to make special precautions for him."
"That's why he never told us."
All heads turned in my direction as I came in. I placed the bundles on Dr. D's lap. He sniffed it and his eyes lit up.
"The people downstairs can be really nice if we just talk to them."
Dr. D carefully divided the hard bread and a few pieces of cheese. We saved some for Party. We saved some for Kobra.
A few seconds. Dr. D frowned and took Kobra's wrist. Pony checked to see if he was breathing.
"Dr. D.... it's hardly working...."
"Give it time."
So we all did. We sat around as Dr. D explained to Missle Kid what was going on and what asthma was. More seconds dropped by. Slowly, Kobra came to. He was dizzy and disoriented. He mumbled Party's name and rubbed his head. Dr. D told him to take three good breaths.
He tried, but the air seemed to get stuck in his throat.
"Jet. Can you please go get a stethoscope?"
I stepped into the small office. White. Clean. Organized. I was soon able to find what he asked for. I took it to him and he put them on. Then, he listened to a few seconds of Kobra breathing. He handed them to Pony who put them on.
"It's his.... right lung. It's still bound."
"Good." Dr. D said nodding. "What else?"
"Well, the damage isn't permanent, but we need to wait a while until it stretches out."
"Perfect. A plus."
We all clapped and hooted. Pony blushed madly.
"Thank you." He murmured.
Kobra tried to get up, mumbling something about Party, but we held him down. I looked at Pink, who was sitting on a chair with her eyes closed. Fast asleep. I was slow and careful as I slowly tiptoed over to her and leaned down to whisper in her ear. Soft snickers from the rest. This was truly something Fun Ghoul would do.
"Hey Pin-"
She screamed and in a second, my face was red. Everyone began laughing. Even Kobra. As le laughed, Dr. D watched him carefully. Afterwards, he put the stethoscope on his chest again.
"Breathe."
He did. Dr. D then turned to me.
"Make him laugh again."
“What?"
"Make him laugh again."
Uh....
"Come on Jet," Missle Kid said smiling "Do that thing you and Fun Ghoul used to do when I was feeling sad. That really funny Korse impression!"
So I did. I squared my shoulders and put on my best poker face. I walked foward and stopped.
"Vee must destroy all zee Killjoys. I cannot wiztand their avesome hair."
Laughing. I tried to keep my face straight, but it was slowly breaking into a smile.
"I zpend hours in zee morning putting on ma makeup to look like zee handsome devil that you zee. Beware all of ze ladies in a zthree zone razius."
More laughing. I couldn't help it. I laughed. Everyone looked at Kobra then.
"Sorry guys." Kobra mumbled "I was stupid. I just want him to be here...."
"It's okay." Pony said, slapping him on the back.
Kobra winced. Pony then snarled something into Kobra's ear that made the killjoy shiver.
"It won't happen again." Kobra stuttered.
"You can bet your colors it won't. That's the only reason I'll forgive you."
Dr. D placed the stethoscope on Kobra's chest.
"How do your lungs feel?"
"Better," he breathed "they stopped contracting."
That's when I left the room. I went down the hall and into what used to be Korse's room. Party was still asleep. I took a seat on one of the chairs and dragged it closer to the tube.
"Why not me?" I asked the sleeping Party "Why am I not leader material? Is it something I'm missing?"
Silence. Soft breathing.
"Your brother had an asthma attack today. Don't worry. Dr. D has it covered. He's fine."
A moment of silence.
"I went out to see the townspeople. They were really nice."
Soft breathing.
"Can you... can you hear me? Party."
I stood up and placed my hand on the glass. It was at a slightly cold temperature. I tapped it. No reaction. I sighed and sat back in the chair.
"When we get that thing out of you... things will get better.... you'll see. You can have that home you've always wanted."
I was half trying to convince him, half lying to myself. Things would never be completely normal again. We had no idea where there might be more guards.... They could be waiting for us to relax before striking. We would never be calm again. Always looking over our shoulders.... that would be the rest of our lives. If I ever had a daughter or a wife... they would be in danger too. There would be no way to keep them safe.
I sighed and stood up, to see Pink standing at the door. She looked at the floor when she realized I was there. I stepped out of the room and let her in. As I walked away, I could hear her begin to speak to him.
Sorry I stopped commenting. I've been horribly ill. But I'm back now and hope you'll continue this.
5/3/16