Ice in the Desert Chunk 11

The accident has really shaken the group, and a certain person has --unsurprisingly-- turned out to be a traitor.

 Poison and I whipped around to the source of the scream. A hunched figure stood over a crumple shape on the ground. I shiver, knowing that someone's grieving over a lost friend. Then I notice the red hair on the person standing over the body. Poison starts forward. “Stay here, kid.” he commands, but I'm already running over.

Scorch is crouching over her twin, tears streaming down her face. Crimson's shirt is soaked in blood. He's gasping for breath, holding the hand of his sister. I step forward to comfort her, but someone shoves me back, and hard. I slam into the ground. Poison is standing above me, glaring. “I said stay.” he says venomously. I freeze up. As odd as he is, he really is in command.

I lie uncomfortably in the sand and watch as he slowly approaches Scorch. He stands there silently as She weeps, an observer. My heart leaps when Crimson sits up and leans in to whisper something in Scorch's ear. She goes silent for a moment, staring at nothing. Then Crimson coughs, ruby droplets spewing out his mouth. He falls back down, and continues to wheeze horribly. Scorch starts wailing, and I can't take it anymore. Sickened, I look down and vomit. I don't move until the sounds had stopped. I look back up, shivering and sweating.

Crimson has stopped moving entirely, blood dripping the corners of his lips, eyes wide open but staring at nothing. Scorch weeps softly, hugging the body of her dead brother, shoulders rising and falling as she sobs. Poison watches over the whole thing in silence for a little bit, then bends down and rests his hand on her shoulder. Straining my ears, I hardly catch what he says to her. “It's time to move on,” he murmurs, “He's with the--” I try to hear the last words, but I just can't catch them. She looks up at him, face red from the crying, and shakily stands.

By now, a tiny crowd of the consisting survivors have gathered around to watch. They're considerably closer to her than I was. I start to stand, wondering why I got pushed away while everyone else is allowed. I reason that it was just me then, and that a whole crowd isn't worth fighting back. I should be able to get a closer look now. I take a step forward

My logic about the crowd is shot down when Poison glances over at me and glares me back to sitting again. What's his problem? Maybe he's sick of my antics today. Or is there something else? A vague idea forms in my head, but slips out of my grasp before I can think about it.

Scorch is still crying, and I can't blame her. However, I have a short attention span, and can't watch something if nothing new happens. I can't watch the crying for long. My gaze averts to where Ghost is sitting. Or was sitting. By some feat of strength, he managed to stand up and had slowly navigated to a few feet away from my spot. “Ghost, what are you doin'?” I say, mouth hanging open.

“I told ya, I ain't dyin'. Came to see what's goin' on.” he replies, teeth gritted and injured arm hanging limply at his side. I shake my head.

“Sit down, knucklehead. Just because you aren't gonna die on me doesn't mean you need to get yourself even more hurt.” I order. He just keeps standing.

“I'll do what I want.” he says defiantly. I roll my eyes. Like it was going to work. “So, what's got everyone riled up over here?” Subject changer.

“Scorch found Crimson dyin'. Then he died in front of her. Poison pushed me. Comforted her. Had me sit back down when I tried to stand.” I say, giving a rough summary of it.

“I saw him shove ya. What was that all about?” he says curiously, with just a hint of dangerousness.

“No idea. Let's everyone else crowd around, but not me.” shrugging halfheartedly, I flash a brief glance back to the crowd, heart leaping a little when I see Scorch, leaning against Poison staring right at me. Not a zoned-out-in-your-direction stare, an I'm-going-to-kill-you death glare. I look back at Ghost quickly, who noticed as well.

“Well, this is bad for us.” he comments nonchalantly.

“What're you talking about?” I reply in confusion. Why did she look at me like that? I'm not the one that killed Crimson. Ghost looks like he understands.

“Good. That's the way we want to sound. Play dumb, ya know?” he says quietly. “Keep it up, you really sound convincin'.” Pride fills his voice and he smiles slightly, and I fall further into confusion.

“I'm serious, Ghost.” I say, giving my most genuine and honest look. His smile disappears. His eyes darken.

“Are you seriously this thick?” he asks, bewildered. “I figured you knew, as you always know what I'm thinkin'.”

“Guess I'm not following you on this one. Fill me in.”

“No. It's really nothing that special. It'll clear up.” he says. While his casual expression may fool others, I can see the uncertainty behind his eyes. He's right. I really do understand him.

“I know you ain't telling me the truth, but I won't be able to make ya.” I give in. Poison's voice rings out, ending the conversation for now.

“Look, I know this is tragic. But we have no time for grieving right now, only time to move on. Remember, they're all in a better place now. We have to carry on for them, our fallen friends and partners. If we want the Killjoys to live on, hurt but alive, we need to keep moving. We're very nearly there, trust me. We have to do this. For the ones that are gone.” he finishes. At the very least, my spirits were raised by him.

We get back on the move again. This time, we actually move faster. There's less people and no idle talking, just silence and a longing to be out of the sun. Ghost walks a little ways behind me, holding his arm. I'm somewhere in the middle, not wanting to be in the front of back. Scorch is next to Poison in the very back. Dust leads the way now, being the only surviving member of his party. We have about half the people we had when we started.

It really doesn't take us very long to get to the end of our trip. Dust announces that we're here. I look around, confused. Then I see it. It's a cave up in the side of a cliff as opposed to an underground bunker. It's a bit of a climb to it, but it's very possible. I'm a little disappointed at the idea that we'll all share a cave, but I can't complain. Somewhere is better than nowhere. We start scrabbling up the rocks, me assisting Ghost, and I catch a little snippet of conversation from behind me.

“So, where's the money?” demands Dust, who dropped back.

“You'll get it when we get inside.” comes the calm reply of Poison.

“If you were anyone else, I wouldn't believe a single word.”

They keep chatting, and I would've listened in if Ghost hadn't been having troubles. His arm kept bumping against the rock wall, making him cringe. It might have been the first time I'd ever seen his eyes tears up. We manage to get up eventually, much to the relief of a few below us. Now I can see the inside of the cave.

For starters, it's actually very spacious. It widens when you get past the entrance into a grand room. Unfortunately, there's no other tunnels, so we'll all be crammed into the same room. It's also nice and cool, but not wet. A plus. It's going to be dark though. With no covering over the exit, we won't be able to light the place without being killed the first night. Was this really the best choice for a hideout? Then I think: That's the point. Any Exterminators or Vamps will just ignore it, knowing that it was dark and uninhabited all the other times they'd walked by. It might not have the best living conditions, but that's the idea.

I lead Ghost to the wall and he sits down, obviously gracious that he's getting a break. I lean next to him on the wall and watch the last of the Killjoys filter in. A kid comes around and hands everyone granola bars, each one sealed in a white wrapper with that familiar black and white logo. It's the first I'd eaten all day, and before that, I had only snacked on what we had at the Dust Bunny when I picked up Ghost. I tear into it, wolfing it down, and look over at Ghost. He's hardly nibbled on it. “Aren't you hungry?” I ask. I'm tempted to ask him if I can have it, but decide against it.

“No.” he replies. “Trust me, you wouldn't be willing to eat either.” I worry at his statement, then decide on something.

“You need help.” I state, putting it out in the open. He scowls at me, and acts stubborn and tough.

“No. I just need a little rest is all. The ache'll wear off.”

I roll my eyes and repeat myself a bit more forcefully. “You need help.” I press. He sighs.

“Fine. But who's gonna help? You don't know a thing about this stuff.” he argues.

“Poison does.” I say, but that doesn't make me feel any better. Last time we communicated, he was glaring at me, and before that telling me that my partner was messed up in the head. I need to ask him for help though. I can't do anything about it. I take a deep breath, and walk over to where he is.

I stop a few feet away, seeing that he's dealing with Dust. I wait for him to finish his conversation. I, maybe unintentionally, listen in.

“So are ya payin' me now?” asks Dust, looking fed up with waiting.

“I'm afraid I'm going to have to change the terms of our deal.” says Poison, voice grim and serious. This elicits a shout from Dust.

“What do ya mean changin' the deal?!” he demands angrily. “I gotcha here, that was my job. Now I get paid.” He starts to get a little flustered as he speaks.

“You got us here, true. However, you said the path would have the least trouble. That they hardly ever patrolled there. Yet we were found. Care to explain?” he questions calmly. Dust's eyes widen, and he opens his mouth but no sound comes out. “Thought so. They were probably payin' you better, weren't they? Didn't us to stand a chance against them, though. So, in the end, you just stuck with my deal. I'm smart man. You should've ran when you had the chance, boy.” he steps closer. The color has drained from Dust's face, and he puts a hand on his gun. It's too late, though. As he does, Poison pulls a knife from his pocket and holds it to Dust's throat. Poison leans in. “I won't kill you. I've done my bad things, but I wasn't killed. Now look how I've turned out. Maybe it'll work for you, too. Just don't try anything. There might yet be another body in the sand today.”

While he speaks he takes Dust's gun, knife still held in place. He throws it behind him. “Now, no more trouble. Got it?” he warns. Dust nods hastily. “Good. Sit.” Poison orders. Dust obeys with a terrified expression. I think he's never been in a tough scrape before. Dust sees me, and glares silently. Poison follows the glare, and his eyes narrow when he sees mtopia, problemse.

“Still looking for trouble, I see.” he states, crossing his arms. “Oh well, I needed to talk to you anyway. Come here.” he says, and I start to get nervous. “I know you and Ghost aren't accustomed to living in groups, but my word is law. You don't go wandering off whenever you feel like it, and you don't get into places where you don't belong.” Okay, I understand the first part. It wasn't the best idea to head out to the shop that morning. But what did I get into? I can't ask anything though; he just keeps talking. “Can't let that go, you know? You're just like everyone else, and you've got to learn that there's consequences.” Poison pauses for a moment, letting it sink in. I take sudden interest in my feet, hoping that I won't get something too bad. He drops it on me.

“The two of you aren't allowed to leave for a few weeks. I'll tell you when the time's up. You also have to do some work around the new camp and guard our prisoner.” he says, nodding to Dust, who flashes a shark's grin. I have a mental shudder.“I'm assuming this ought to keep you from getting into trouble for a while.” he finishes, and I remember why I went to talk to him in the first place.

“About Ghost, well, he's hurt his arm really badly. He can't move it. Can you help him out?” I ask hopefully.

“Is he bleeding?” is the short reply.

“No.”

“The he'll have to wait until I've seen the others. We have a couple of more severe injuries out there, and I'm sure Ghost has enough endurance to wait.” is the disheartening conclusion. “Go back to him for now and wait for me to come around. I might need you to help me out.” he says, the leaves. The guy has no patience. I sigh and walk away, flashing a quick look over my shoulder back at Dust, who's messing with rocks.

I get back to Ghost, and he stares up at me expectantly. “So? Is he coming?”

“Yeah, in a little while. He said that 'cause you aren't bleeding, you don't need to be looked at first.” I think for a moment. “Oh, and we're still in trouble.” I add. He frowns. I go on. “Yeah, we're not allowed to leave the cave for a few weeks. Not entirely sure how long that is. We also have to work in camp and guard Dust.” He raises an eyebrow. “He's in trouble. Long story.”

I sit down next to him and explain everything that happened, and he groans. “I'm startin' to regret coming here. We couldn't even leave if we wanted to now.” I nod in agreement, and start zoning out, thinking about the past few days. It had been busy, from the time I got caught up until this moment. It was all kind of fun though. The shop, my mask, our eccentric leader, even the twins before they were halved.

Even though life had become more complex and dangerous, there was more fun and excitement. I don't think I want to leave, even if Ghost isn't thrilled. The issue will be getting him to think the same way.

Author's Note

The normal request for typo check. Also, I would really like to hear your opinions on it.