"He whom the gods love
Dies young."
-Menander

I was wheeled in a wheelchair onto a large plane. Kobra also needed a wheelchair but the others insisted that they could walk. The inside of the plane was quite luxurious and even fitted with a TV on one of the walls. There were a few other people also on the plane besides us. Ross introduced them as medical professionals who would be taking our blood. They moved me from the wheelchair to one of the large couch-like seats covered in a foggy, white plastic. I assumed this was someone's private jet.

Ghoul sat next to me on the couch and held my hand. One of the medics turned over my arm and wiped my inner elbow with alcohol. She looked to be in her early 20's and had long brown hair pulled behind her head in a ponytail. Her name tag read, "Morgan". She smiled politely at me and I attempted to smile back. She pulled out a weird, white pen. It projected a blue light onto my inner arm and revealed an x-ray of my veins. I looked away when she put in a needle and began taking vials of my blood. Once she was done, she removed the needle and put a square of gauze on my arm followed by medical tape.

"Just incase, we need you all to change into medical gowns until we can sterilize your clothing." Ross explained. "It wouldn't be fun to have you all covered in radioactive clothing."

Ross showed us a room where we could change in privacy. I had Ghoul help me change because I could barely walk. I had to shove my clothes in a plastic bag and then sit back on one of the couches. The medics were already having our blood tested by a machine.

An hour later, we had our results. The cause of our pain was definitely radiation poisoning. Kobra and I had suffered the worse so far. There was also infection detected in Ghoul's body from his wound. Fortunately, we had all arrived in time to receive treatment. If we had stayed another few days out in the open, we would have been dead. The first part of our treatment was receiving Potassium Iodide. By the time we had our first pills admitted to us, the plane was already off the ground. Then, we were told we had to eat something before they could give us another set of pills called Prussian Blue. The worst of us would have to receive other medications through IV as a precaution.

They made us a microwave pizza. I hadn't had pizza in a long time. When I first bit into the gooey, cheesy pizza, I almost died from the heaven in my mouth. I savored every bite of it. It was real cheese and real sauce. Then we were asked if we wanted soda with our pizza. We all agreed immediately. The taste of the fizzy Cola brought tears to my eyes. I immediately felt better with food in my stomach and sugar in my body. While the IVs were being set up, Ross asked us if we wanted to watch a movie. Everyone was eager to watch something but I wanted to go lay down. They moved my IV and I to a back room where a small bed was set up. I was able to lay down as long as I didn't accidentally pull out my IV. It wasn't long before I fell asleep.

When I woke up, we were almost landing. They had changed my IV several times during the night and gave me medicine but I didn't remember waking up. I found that I could get up by myself and get dressed in a new hospital gown. The others were doing better too. We weren't fully back to our real selves yet, but we were getting there. It would take time to recover.

When we landed, they offered me a wheelchair but I declined. I wanted to use my legs for the first time in awhile. I leaned on Ghoul to get out of the airplane and onto a runway. The air was cold and misty causing my arms to be covered in goosebumps. We followed Ross and the other medics who were wheeling Kobra to a black car. I slid in the backseat with Ghoul. He put an arm around me and we got comfy in the leather seats. Now that we were technically safe, I was more interested in talking to some kind of official about what was going on. I didn't want my friends to be stuck in the desert. If they couldn't come too, I would go back to living in the wasteland and I would take care of BLI myself.

It was a long drive through the city before we got to any kind of official building. I watched the people on the streets walk by with their multicolored umbrellas and unique clothing. It had been a long time before I had seen a city filled with people who were allowed to be themselves. I could see them talking and laughing with each other. Some of them smoked cigarettes (which were banned in some sections of Battery City). I was finally seeing normal citizens. They were allowed to protest their government for change without fear of being destroyed.

As we drove towards what looked like a smaller version of BLI's HQ, I saw a baby in a mother's arms. That baby was lucky to have been born in a different world. It didn't know what it was like to live in a crumbling world. It never would know the feeling of losing its family to a war. The blissful ignorance of the newborn made me jealous. Maybe one day I would be safe again but I would never forget what I had seen. I would never forget how cruel people can be to each other to survive.

I wasn't exactly comfortable going into an official building in my hospital gown but Ross handed us each a bag of clothes to change into in a bathroom right inside the building. I creeped into the public women's bathroom and peered around to make sure there was no one inside before I ran to a stall and changed. I was given a pair of army green jeans that fit nicely on my hips and legs but were a little too long so I had to roll them up. I slipped on an orange tank top. I was surprised that they knew the color that other Killjoys associated me with. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Finally, I laced up a pair of boots that they had given me with my clothes. I brushed through my dark hair with my fingers and tried to braid it by looking in the mirrors over the sink.

I got a flashback to the moment when the disgusting man who pushed past me into the inn grabbed me by the hair. I forced my eyes shut at the memory and tried to push it away. It was in that moment that I decided my hair was contaminated ever since he touched it. I had to cut it off to grow new hair that he hadn't touched. I didn't have time to do it today, but I would do it soon.

I finished putting my hair in a braid and met the others outside of the bathroom. Ross led us to a front desk with a dark skinned man with a heavy foreign accent. It sounded like something from around the Caribbean. I wasn't sure of any places of origin anymore. Things in the world had changed a lot and I was very sheltered in the desert. I wasn't aware of the outside world. I am formally apologizing for any mistakes I may make.

His smile lit up the whole room and I felt a little more comfortable. I was trying to ignore the fact that it reminded me of BLI and the drugs they used to make people smile. How could anyone be that genuinely happy without pills?

"Jake is going to make you guys some ID cards so you can come in and out of this building whenever you want. Someone will always be around to help you with whatever you need." Ross explained. "It's okay to use your nicknames....or whatever they are. I know you aren't exactly all in the clear yet."

I glanced over at Ghoul who was dressed in a fitted green t-shirt and dark jeans. I couldn't help but admire how good he looked in his outfit. He caught me staring and winked at me. My face began to turn red. He smirked when he saw my reaction and raised an eyebrow at me. I wanted to melt right there in my boots.

"Lovebirds, you're up first." Poison announced and cocked his head towards Jake who was waiting patiently at the front desk.

I had to give my nickname and take a photo for my ID. It was printed out instantly. It was just like the ones in Battery City and felt smooth in my hand. I even received a clip so I could put it safely on my jean pocket. I looked official with my ID badge. Maybe now I could be like a secret agent.

Once the others had gotten their IDs, Ross has us follow him into an elevator. It was quiet for the first few floors before Ross spoke up.

"I don't mean to be rude but it's very strange to hear an American accent after so long."

Kobra chuckled. "When was the last time you heard your own accent?"

Ross smiled. "Just be careful. If you don't want to draw attention, don't talk to too many strangers."

"Why is that?" Jet asked.

"Americans are almost extinct to the rest of the world."

| Sorry if this chapter is a little short. I just graduated and I've been trying to get my hands on a laptop (I have a desktop computer but a laptop is more convenient for writing). I have enough money to buy one so I should be making longer chapters soon or somethin' |