The Only Hope For Me Is You

A few days passed since I had joined the Killjoys. Kobra and I shared a room together, it was a small room with two mattresses on either side. At first I was uncomfortable with the fact that I would be sharing a room with a stranger, but it turns out that Kobra hardly sleeps. I would fall asleep before he came back and he would be up by the time I awoke.

I had learned a lot about the small group. Kobra and Poison were brothers, Poison being three years the senior. Ghoul was the youngest of us all, being nineteen, Kobra was twenty, and both Poison and I were twenty-three. They had all been rebels since the Pig Bombings of 2019 five years ago, they told me that the desert was even worse back then. The radiation from the bombs made the desert almost unbearable, just being outside for too long could be fatal. However over the years the radiation began to fade away, it was still a threat but not as bad as it was five years ago.

I also found out that Poison and Ghoul were together, they said that shortly after the bombings they got together and had been together ever since. I was confused by the notion of same-sex couples, BL/ind had always told us that it was wrong. Only a man and a woman were supposed to be together, so that Battery City’s residents could procreate. But my mother had always told me that love was love, people didn't have a choice in who they loved and wanted to spend the rest of their lives with. I had always trust my mother and I wasn't about to believe anything BL/ind had told me.

They also warned me of the man named Korse. He was BL/ind’s top S.C.A.R.E.C.R.O.W. exterminator. I had heard of him but I never knew how lethal the man was. He had killed more Killjoys than all the other exterminators combined. He had a kill rate of over ninety percent. Poison said that they were lucky they had never come in contact with the killer, he knew that if they had they would not be sitting with me now.
Currently I was standing outside, a gun in my hand and several bottles and cans were placed at multiple levels and heights for shooting practice. Kobra was next to me, he was wearing his sunglasses, and also had his gun out. Apparently Kobra was the best shot of the group, Poison had said that he had never seen his younger brother miss a shot.

"Alright Jet…show me what you got.” Kobra motioned for me to begin. I raised the gun and pulled the trigger several times, when I saw the cans and bottles I saw that only a few had been knocked over.
I groaned, "Its been a while okay?”

Kobra smirked, “It's alright, go again…this time really focus on your targets…each and every one of them. And make sure your feet are planted firmly.” I listened to his directions and tried again. I missed a few but did significantly better. “Good job Jet…now do it again. You need to be a good shot in a firefight, a Drac or an exterminator will not hesitate to kill you, so you cannot hesitate to kill them.”

I practiced until I could hit every single target on the first try, Kobra even threw a couple and I was able to hit the moving object. The sun was beginning to set, the sky was painted in shades of reds and oranges.
Kobra had taken off his jacket and I could see how toned they were, his skin was tanned from the desert sun. I could also see the many scars from different fights that adorned them. I hadn't realized how stunning he truly was. They way his nose scrunched up when he didn't like something, or the way he looked at me when I told him the way people lived in the city. He was curious about city life, he wanted to know how people could trust BL/ind, how the citizens could be so blind? However I especially loved the way his eyes seemed to sparkle in the setting sun.

I knew I liked him, I liked him more than a friend should. What scared me though was that I didn't even know anything about him. I didn't even know his real name for God’s sake. How could I be infatuated with someone who I didn't know the basics of?

I decided that, if I did have feelings for Kobra, than I wanted to get to know him a little better, “Hey Kobra?”

He looked at me, the wind blowing his hair into his face, “Yeah?”

“Do you miss living in a city…I mean before the bombings?” I asked, I heard Kobra take a deep breath.

“Well yeah, I miss life like it was before. It seemed so simple then, there were no rebels or a company that was trying to wipe more than half the population off the planet. You were free to be whoever you wanted.” He answered, after a short pause he tried to change the subject, “You and I are on watch tonight, so we might as well get comfortable.”

I watched as Kobra walked over to the diner and lean up against the wall. He pulled out a cigarette, put it in between his lips, and lit it. He took a long drag before exhaling. I wasn't done asking him questions though, “But aren't you free to be whoever you want out here in the desert?” I asked.

Kobra shrugged and took another drag before answering, “To a point…but we have to come up with new identities out here. You always have to be guard, you always have to be ready for the fact that the people you love could die, you could die at any moment. You have to be ready to face this world alone.”

My thoughts traveled to my mother, how I didn't even hear her scream, how she gave up her life for me. I wonder if my father is gone as well? Had they taken mercy on him? I was snapped back to reality by Kobra’s voice, “Shit!” He seethed as he dropped the cigarette and grinded it into the ground with his boot.

“What's wrong?” I asked.

“Dracs…they must be doing their patrols.” He stated and I watched in horror as five Dracs on motorcycles came barreling towards the diner. I heard Kobra call into the diner for Poison and Ghoul. Both Kobra and I took out our guns from the holsters, Kobra took aim and shot at one of the motorcycles, hitting the tire and making the Drac tumble to the ground. Before the Drac could get to its feet Kobra shot it straight between the eyes.

Kobra called again for Poison and Ghoul, the Dracs got off their motorcycles and began to shoot at us. Kobra hit another Drac, making it fall to the ground. I tried to aim at the moving Dracs but I couldn't seem to hit them, all that training and I couldn't even hit a single Drac. Before I could get another shot out I felt a laser hit my shoulder making me stumble and gasp in pain. Kobra glanced at me, worry evident on his face. As Kobra was distracted with me getting hit, I watched as a laser grazed the side of his face, blood instantly began to run from the wound. Kobra hissed in pain and tuned his attention back to the firefight. Finally Poison and Ghoul made their way out and immediately began to shoot down the remaining
Dracs.
“
"C’mon lets get you inside.” Kobra muttered, grabbing my hand a leading me to a booth. He sat me down and went behind the counter, he came back with small first aid kit. I shrugged off my jacket, a burning pain in my shoulder making me seethe. I saw a small, smoldering hole in the fleshy part of my shoulder. “Well it looks like it missed the collarbone, you're lucky…collarbones are a bitch to heal. But I'll need you to take off your shirt so I can clean the wound properly.”

I nodded and Kobra helped me lift my shirt above my head. Once the shirt was off I got a good look at my wound. It was about the size of a quarter, the edges of the wound were chard black and a small trickle of blood ran down my shoulder. Kobra pulled out a small brown bottle of hydrogen peroxide, “This is gonna sting okay?”

I nodded again, “Just do it.” Kobra took a deep breath and pour the liquid on my wound, it started to bubble immediately. I gasped at the stinging pain, but within a few seconds the pain started to subside. Kobra put some ointment on it before wrapping the wound. His fingers lingered on my chest, causing a shiver to run down my spine.“Thank you Kobra.” I stated. Kobra cleared his throat a let his hands fall to his sides.

“No problem, this will be your first scar as a killjoy.” Kobra smiled. I suddenly remembered that Kobra had been injured as well, there was a cut on his cheek and blood was still oozing from it.

“You're hurt.” I stated simply, Kobra looked confused until he gently touched his cheek.

"It's nothing, just a small cut. A Drac must have grazed me.” Kobra shrugged and shut the first aid kit. He looked up at me and I stared into his hazel eyes. The sun had completely set now and the moon casted shadows on his face. I saw the sharp angles of his face, his firm jaw, he was beautiful.

Poison and Ghoul entered the diner, they were both breathing heavy. Poison looked at me,“Well the bodies are disposed off and we were able to save the bikes. Jet, hopefully you can fix the one that Kobra shot.” Poison said, his eyes lingering on Kobra and me. Kobra quickly rose to his feet and put away the kit, I could swear I saw him blushing.

I put my shirt back on and nodded, “Alright, I'll start on it tomorrow.”

"Good, good. Well Ghoul and I are going to be in our room for the rest of the night.” Poison looked to Kobra smirking, “You interrupted a very good moment kid.” Poison ruffled Kobra’s hair, making his younger brother push him away playfully.

I saw Kobra scrunch up his nose, “I so did not want to know that.” He groaned.

Ghoul giggled, “Too bad.” Poison grabbed Ghoul’s hand and led him into their lock, I heard the audible click of the door locking.

“I swear those two are, like, conjoined at the hip.” Kobra laughed. “Well we still have watch to do, I'll start the fire, meet me outside when you're up for it.” I watched Kobra walk out of the diner, I felt heat rise in my cheeks. I was confused on how Kobra was making me feel, I was confused about my feelings for him. I had never been this smitten by boy before, I had always thought I was a straight man. But Kobra was making me question everything I knew about myself.

Notes

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