Whoo, check me workin my ass off just for you. Two chapters in one night!! Hopefully this ones not too short as well...ah well i dunno. Thanks to everyone who's commented and voted - my friends in this one, so comment EVEN MORE to make her happy!! Enjoy ;)
"He's waking up!" came a voice from far away. The darkness was lifting, as though blankets were being pulled away from on top off him. Poison blinked his eyes open to see a crowd of anxious faces, relief apparent on each one. He groaned and rubbed his face. His mouth tasted vile, an his skin was covered in a sticky paste. His family were gathered around him, looking concerned. Kobra Kid, Fun Ghoul and Jet Star. Yes; they were his family now.
Kobra leant further over Poison. "How do you feel?" he asked, worriedly. He looked tired and the desert sand had setteled so deeply into his hair that it looked like he had gone grey while Poison was unconcious. Party Poison considered the question thoroughly before answering.
"Like a vampire." he decided. The confused expressions on the other's faces were priceless. Party chuckled and stopped them before they could ask.
"My throat burns" he explained to them. It was true - it did hurt. But it was nothing like the searing pain of yesterday. Whatever those doctors had done had worked. He shuddered. He just hoped it hadn't involved needles.
"The doctors say that you inhaled a lot of smoke," Kobra explained, his voice catching slightly. "It got into your lungs." Poison just nodded.
"And the sticky stuff?" he asked, indicating his skin.
"Burn ointment."
Poison looked around. He was lying on a blanket on the desert floor a couple of hundred yards outside zone three. The Killjoys had set up a camp in the desert; small fires were dotted around all over the place with blackets and killjoys spread around them. Although they had camped as a unit, the killjoys had still split off into their seperate groups around the fires.
Suddenly Poison stopped.
"Wher's the kid?" he said franticaly. "Is she okay? did she make it?" He sat up too quickly, and doubled over, coughing, while the others patted his back.
"She's fine" Ghoul reassured him. "She wants to see you. She's got something to tell you..." Ghoul faded off as the girl skipped over.
Poison stared at her, taking in her dark hair and hazel eyes. Something within him stirred, but he couldn't place it. She stood, staring at him, for a few minutes, and then stuck out her tiny hand.
"Hi. I'm Bandit Lee Way. I'm told you're my father."
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Poison stared at her in disbelief. His daughter? His daugh-
His Bandit.
Poison started to choke and cough again, but batted the others away when they came to help. Instead, he jumped up, forgetting the pains in his chest, and leapt on his daughter, holding her tightly. She hugged him back and he could feel her shaking as she sobbed.
"Oh Bandit. Oh my fuck -"
"No swearing" Ghoul chuckled. "You're a father, remember?" Poison punched Ghoul on the arm, causing him to moan in mock pain, and pulled back from Bandit, holding her face in his hands.
"I can't believe you're still alive!" His heart dropped to his stomach. "And your mother...is she..?" Bandit nodded, eyes shining.
"She's fine. She's alive." She bit her lip. "But she-"
"She's not quite herself at the moment" Kobra Kid cut in, with a look at Poison. "She'll be alright when the affects wear out." Poison nodded, understanding. Damn pills. They took everything he loved and handed its will straight over to BL/ind. Thank god Bandit was too young to have been given the pills yet. It became compulsory at twelve years old. After that, they belonged to BL/ind.
Kobra had taken the pills once, before it became compulsory, and Poison had panicked so much that he thought he may have frightened Kobra into never taking them again, rather than persuaded him that they were bad.
Poison started runnig towrds the vans, dragging Bandit behind him. She hung back. Poison guessed she knew what her mother would be like and was reluctant to go and see her. He knew he probably shouldn't go either, but he had to see her. He had to know that she was okay - in a sense of the word.
Kobra and Ghoul watched as Poison ran off to see his wife.
"I'm not sure he's gonna like what he sees..." began Ghoul. Kobra shook his head.
"No, but it's not gonna stop him. Besides, he knows what she'll be like. He hates those pills more than anyone."
There was a cough from behind them and they turned around. Jet was standing behind them. He had grabbed a killjoy by the arm and dragged her over to meet them.
"Hey" he said. "Guys - this is Lunar Bite". The killjoy smiled and waved, her orange afro bouncing.
"Hey guys!" she said. "Ghoul -" she pointed at Fun Ghoul - "and Kobra, right?" She pointed at Kobra and he blushed slightly. "Jet's been telling me about you."
She walked over to Ghoul and stood beside him.
"How small are you?" she asked, resting her elbow on his head. She wasn't much taller than him, but he scowled anyway.
"She's a keeper " he muttered sarcastically to Jet, who flipped him the finger.
Poison stood in font of the vehicles. They were a motley collection of bright vans - not unlike Dr.D's van. A killjoy stood leaning against the one in front.
"Can I go in?" Poison asked him. The killjoy nodded and waved him through. There were six vans in total. He walked cautiously u to the first one - a bright red one - and poked his head inside. He tried to calm his fluttering heart as he peered through the gloom. The iside of the van was dark, except for the beam of sunlight the door let in. The killjoys hadn't bothered to leave the light on. Poison supposed that the van's only occupants weren't exactly in a state to notice whether they could see or not.
The figures were sitting, poker straight, on the floor in the boot of the van, resting their chins on their hands and staring into space. He looked around at the faces of the drugged zone three citizens. They ranged from teenagers, all the way through to old, wrinkly adults. But no matter their age they all wore exactly the same, vacant expressions.
"Lyn?" Poison called softly. He couldn't see her, so he moved on. The next van was the same; the same looks - and still no LynZ. Nor in the third. The fourth van was different, in that it was smaller and it's yellow sides had been spray painted with phrases such as "down with pills", 'yah boo sucks to you, BL/ind" and "spacky-dracs". Poison smiled. Killjoys after his own heart.
He poked his head in again - heart rising in anticipation - and there she was. At the back. Looking at the ceiling with that empty, bored look on her face.
"Oh, Lyn" he sighed, running over and taking her hands in his. SHe ignored him.
"I know you don't remember me. I know you don't even know that I'm talking to you. But that doesn't matter. Lyn - you don't need the pills to make you perfect. You're perfect to me, and always have been. We're okay - I promise. I love you." He leant forward and kissed her, and, in that instant, it didn't matter that she didn't kiss him back - that she didn't say she loved him - because he felt her eye-lids flutter at his touch. SHe was still in there, and he had a family again.
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Bandit sat cross-legged on teh ground, scratching pictures in the sand with a stick. She was thinking through the day. Could she really have a daddy? It felt nice to be able to say that. Of course - she'd always known that she'd had a daddy - once. She wasn't stupid. But six years with just a mum, a mum on pills, had left her whether the faint image she still retained of her father wasn't just a dream after all. Now, not only did she have a daddy, but when the pills had worn off she'd have a new mum too. Her old mum. Like she was before the pills.
She'd been so scared, trapped in that house. It had been bombed and she couldn't find her mum (who'd been taken outside by the men in scary masks). It was too hot and she couldn't breathe. But she could still cry. She'd screamed and screamed but no one had heard her. Then her daddy had come and her daddy had saved her. As soon as she was in his arms - even though the building was still on fire and collapsing around them - she felt safe. Even though she didn't know he was her daddy, she trusted hm.
He had her eyes.
The funny man came up behind her - the small one.
"He Ghoul" she said. He reached down and pulled her up.
"Hey. You seen Lunar Bite anywhere?"
"Who?" she asked.
"Guess not" he said dismissively. "Doesn't matter. So what you up to?" He peered over her shoulders at the drawings in teh sand. They depicted her mum, Poison, and a burning building.
"You alright?" he asked. She shrugged and nodded, scuffing over the pictures with the sand.
He nodded and rubbed her arm sympathetically.
"Poison found your mum..." he said, almost apologetically.
"Great." She sighed. "C'mon then. Let's go find this Lunar person..."
End of another chapter and now my hands are tired. So, so long and goodnight, and thanx for all the fish. Hope you enjoyed the latest chappie
-H
