Resurrection

The Trans Am sped on, gaining speed but the chase was on and Crimson was starting to get worried. With Kobra or Ghoul beside her there would have been a fighting chance but she could see Gerard was terrified, he was ghostly white and staring at the gun in his hand. She checked the dial, the engine roaring at ninety and tried to think of a solution. Gerard couldn’t think at all, his mind blank.
“We can’t outrun them or go back to the bunker.”
“Then what do we do?”
There was a hint of hysteria in his voice that bothered Crim but she forced her voice to remain calm and scanned the horizon until she spotted a mass of crumbled buildings. She swung the car in that direction and checked the mirror again.
“We fight.”
“I can’t.”
“Then you get to die all over again.”
They didn’t speak anymore, both considering the implications as Crimson swung the car behind the ruins and further into the complex. It was impossible to know what the jumbled remains had been but it provided cover and her mind was picking out high points that could swing the advantage their way. She killed the engine, leaving Gerard there was she popped the trunk and reached inside for the armoury that the Trans Am carried.
“You just going to sit there?”
Gerard shook himself and climbed out the car, Crimson now carried a bag of grenades and a modified laser rifle which she handed to him with another magazine. Grabbing the last weapon, her favourite, Crimson pushed him towards some steps up onto a parapet that overlooked the road below. It was crumbling and he had to take careful steps until he reached the ledge.
“Can we do this?”
Crimson turned, her hand reaching out to push his hair out of his eyes.
“No choice but to try Gee.”
“Guess not.”
He lifted the gun and stared at it. Gerard could almost feel it calling to him, he had used it before and he had killed before. Now Crimson was right, there was no choice left but he still didn’t know if he could. The dizzy sick feeling of vertigo combined with seeing the cars heading their way made him grab the masonry for support.
“That’s it, come to mama….”
Crimson had almost forgotten he was there, caressing the heavy rocket launcher and waiting for that one sweet spot to come. She had got used to taking people out from a distance, a skill required if you wanted to live for very long alone in the zones. It took patience, something she didn’t have much of, but she was still alive.
“Any moment….NOW.”
Gerard dropped the gun, blocking his ears as the rocket exploded out in a shower of sparks. It was a high velocity round, pre war and starting to decay which just meant it packed an extra punch. The lead vehicle was obliterated, blowing itself into shards of super hot metal that speared the one behind so it exploded too. Crimson giggled in delight, already reloading as Gerard picked up the gun and looked at her.
“Fuck!”
She nodded and winked at him.
“Holy fuck baby.”
The second shot she aimed lower, using the rocket to flip the first car onto a third. Another two were behind and Gerard watched anxiously as she reloaded. There was a whistle from below and the masonry opposite exploded outward causing both of them to duck. Crim grabbed the laser rifle and took out the drac holding the grenade launcher. Another grabbed it and she reached for Gerard’s collar, pulling him down as it sailed over their heads and into the hollowed out building. The concussion shot up huge amounts of dust and both of them were momentarily blinded.
“They’re in the building. Don’t move.”
Gerard nodded, wiping the dust from his eyes as Crimson drew her gun and grabbed the rifle. She hopped over the debris and swung into the stairway, her gun shooting out bright laser fire into the dracs below. Answering rounds caused her to disappear from view and suddenly he was alone. It was terrifying but Gerard found the gun was back in his hand and he forced himself to crawl forward and try to follow.
More laser fire seemed to be coming from everywhere and he couldn’t see Crimson, just white suited figures that ran and then fell in smoke. His mind exploded, he and Kobra back to back, Ghoul running towards them, Jet grabbing Missile and…..Korse, the gun under his chin.
Bright lights.
Darkness.
Pain.
Rebirth.
Gerard screamed, anger flooding his system and suddenly he was on his feet and running. The gun in his hand came up, firing left and right as the dracs turned to face the whirlwind of his rage. Crimson was on the floor, a smoking wound in her arm and a drac pointing a gun at her head. Gerard obliterated him, seeing the shock on her face as he used the butt of the gun to smash another over the head. The fallen laser rifle was picked up and he adjusted to the new weapon, the remaining dracs now turning to run at the nightmare reborn.
Silence finally fell and he dropped the rifle again, the yellow gun going into his waistband as he shrugged off his jacket and removed his shirt. Crimson couldn’t say anything, his muscled arms in the white vest were something she hadn’t remembered and she watched, still slightly in shock as he tore it into strips.
“Take the jacket off. We need to stop the bleeding.”
Crimson complied, gritting her teeth as Gerard washed out the wound with their remaining water and bound it up with the strips of shirt. He was still remembering, the past painfully clear to him and with it something else. When he was satisfied, he lifted her chin and smiled, searching her face to see if she could see it too.
“I remember.”
“You do?”
“Everything.”
Crimson blinked, his lips suddenly on hers and the pain fled. Her arms went around his neck and he pulled her to her feet never breaking the kiss. Party couldn’t believe he could have forgotten his Crimson, there was so much that had been stolen from him and now, thanks to her and Rainbow and his boys, it was time to get it back.
Breathlessly, Crimson pulled away. She laid her head on his chest and they stood, holding each other tightly and surrounded by the enemy dead. It was familiar and she never wanted this moment to end, he had found his way back to her.
“I love you Crim, I should have stayed in bed that night.”
“It doesn’t matter now, you came back to me Party.”
He smirked, the grin that was reserved just for her and kissed her again hard. This time his hands found the keys in her back pocket and she giggled, obviously there would be no more driving his car. They gathered up the weapons and walked hand in hand back to the car, Crimson reloading the trunk as he pondered.
“Oh, we need to get home. Ray hasn’t broken yet and he’s going to try and sell us out.”
Crimson blinked, the pain was blooming in her arm and now Party was telling her that their best buddy was going to bring BLI down on them.
“What the fuck?”
“Whatever they did to us is nasty shit. C’mon, I got a plan.”
Party gunned the engine, his hand sneaking onto her thigh as Crimson settled into the seat and the Trans Am thundered back out into the Zones. This time its rightful driver was behind the wheel and ready to unleash hell.

Notes