Post by diamondxbutterfly on Apr 6, 2011 1:17:32 GMT -5
Out here in the Zones, real names carry too much weight, too many memories, so I go by Diamond Butterfly. You can call me Ghost though, because it's easier that way. There is only one Killjoy who knows my real name, because he knew me before all of this. Anyways, on with my story.
I lived all of my life on an island. Vancouver Island, BC, Canada to be exact, now Zone 32. We were one of the last places to fall under the shadow of BLI, but fall we did. It used to be a beautiful place, and I suppose it still is, but on the day I left it was the ugliest corner of the world to my eyes.
My father was killed in action in the Helium Wars. I was 12 at the time, and it tore my family apart. My mom receded into herself, becomming a shell of the vibrant woman she once was, and my younger sister and I were, for all intents and purposes, left to fend for ourselves. Every day was the same, though the pain and loss in our mother's eyes slowly faded into something like resignation. She knew there was nothing she could do, but she wasn't able to move on. Then BLI came into our lives.
Before my father's death, my mom had worked for our Parliment, as a receptionist of some sort. When BLI came, promising the perfect life, an escape, they also offered her a job. She took it readily. She also took the pills, clinging to the false perfection like it was a lifeline. We probably could have kept living like that, as a half broken family, but then Richard came into the picture. He was a higher up, sent from the BLI headquarters in Battery City to keep an eye on the newest outpost. I guess he saw her as a chance to move up the chain, to prove he was worthy of more than being sent to inspect BLI outposts. She fell in love with him - well, as in love as the pills would allow - but although he played the part well, she was just a means to an end.
The day he came into our lives was the day I knew that soon I would have to leave. I started listening to Dr. Death Defying's broadcasts obsessively, planning how I could escape, how I could make it to California. I got my sister on board, and my best friend. My sister designed our costumes in the moments we could get away from the adults, and the three of us would sit around for hours making plans, choosing names, pretending we were already there, running the zones with the Fab Four. The name I chose back then was Neon Ghost, and my sister was Phoenix Scorpio, but we called each other Neon and Nix. My friend never chose a name, stalling and making excuses, saying she needed the "perfect tag." I should have known something was wrong when she suggested that she keep tabs on the BLI broadcasts, "so we know what they're up to." Three weeks before we planned to leave she disappeared. Everyone pretended like they didn't know where she went, but I knew: She'd gone to California alright, but her destination wasn't the Zones. It was Battery City. It was the first betrayal, but certainly not the last.
So Nix and I were left to make our plans alone. We found a hiding place in an abandoned building and set up there, knowing the house was no longer safe. Richard had been on the warpath, and had figured out that we didn't really take the pills, and he was determined that we would become mindless zombies like our mother. In the end we had, for all intents and purposes, moved out. We were hardly ever home, choosing instead to live in the building where our plans and dreams were hidden. It wasn't long though, before we were discovered and everything fell apart.
It was only a day before we were going to leave, and I was out getting the last of our supplies while Nix put the finishing touches on everything we already had. We'd been home the night before, a rare thing, and only because it was Richard's birthday and our mom insisted, but we had woken up early and headed to our hide out. I left almost right away to collect what we needed, and when I got back Nix was gone. I tried her radio, thinking she'd maybe thought of something else and gone to get it, but when I got no response I knew something was wrong. My fears were confirmed when I saw the note.
Neon, they found me. I don't know how but they must have followed us here. Don't wait for me, just run. It's the only way.
Love, Nix
Alone now, I gathered up what I could take with me, and hunkered down to wait for the cover of darkness. When the sun set and I could no longer hear people passing on the street I took off. All I had were the clothes on my back, the raygun I'd jacked from Richard's weapons cache, and the food we'd stockpiled for this occaision. There was one more thing I had to do before I left though. I had to send them a message, telling them that they had picked the wrong Killjoy to mess with. So I snuck back to the house and broke into the underground room where I knew there would be what I needed. Armed to the teeth with explosives all connected to the same detonator I hotwired a car and headed to the BLI outpost. I didn't have a plan, I only knew that I had to do something, and fast. So when the "guard" came past on his rotation I took him out - the first person I'd ever ghosted - and put his uniform on, using the ruse to get into the building. Once inside I rigged every empty room I could get into, then slipped out again. A block away I pushed the detonator, and the explosion that ripped through the building was the last beautiful thing I saw before I turned my back on the life I'd had and became Diamond Butterfly.
Somehow I made it to California, to the radioactive Zones, always looking over my shoulder, fighting for a life I didn't even want. The only thing that kept me going was the thought that I could rescue Nix. By the time I got the chance though, it was already too late. She had fallen under into the perfect lie and become a worker in Department 14 of BLI in Battery City. I'm not alone anymore though. I have my Killjoy family, and Muze. They are who I live for, and they are who I would die for. So until this all comes crashing down and the world really does end, I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere. If you need a hand don't hesitate to radio me, and if you're stranded in the Zones just keep an eye out for a dirty white car with rainbow stripes on the hood.
Look alive, keep running, stay shiny, and never forget who you are.
I lived all of my life on an island. Vancouver Island, BC, Canada to be exact, now Zone 32. We were one of the last places to fall under the shadow of BLI, but fall we did. It used to be a beautiful place, and I suppose it still is, but on the day I left it was the ugliest corner of the world to my eyes.
My father was killed in action in the Helium Wars. I was 12 at the time, and it tore my family apart. My mom receded into herself, becomming a shell of the vibrant woman she once was, and my younger sister and I were, for all intents and purposes, left to fend for ourselves. Every day was the same, though the pain and loss in our mother's eyes slowly faded into something like resignation. She knew there was nothing she could do, but she wasn't able to move on. Then BLI came into our lives.
Before my father's death, my mom had worked for our Parliment, as a receptionist of some sort. When BLI came, promising the perfect life, an escape, they also offered her a job. She took it readily. She also took the pills, clinging to the false perfection like it was a lifeline. We probably could have kept living like that, as a half broken family, but then Richard came into the picture. He was a higher up, sent from the BLI headquarters in Battery City to keep an eye on the newest outpost. I guess he saw her as a chance to move up the chain, to prove he was worthy of more than being sent to inspect BLI outposts. She fell in love with him - well, as in love as the pills would allow - but although he played the part well, she was just a means to an end.
The day he came into our lives was the day I knew that soon I would have to leave. I started listening to Dr. Death Defying's broadcasts obsessively, planning how I could escape, how I could make it to California. I got my sister on board, and my best friend. My sister designed our costumes in the moments we could get away from the adults, and the three of us would sit around for hours making plans, choosing names, pretending we were already there, running the zones with the Fab Four. The name I chose back then was Neon Ghost, and my sister was Phoenix Scorpio, but we called each other Neon and Nix. My friend never chose a name, stalling and making excuses, saying she needed the "perfect tag." I should have known something was wrong when she suggested that she keep tabs on the BLI broadcasts, "so we know what they're up to." Three weeks before we planned to leave she disappeared. Everyone pretended like they didn't know where she went, but I knew: She'd gone to California alright, but her destination wasn't the Zones. It was Battery City. It was the first betrayal, but certainly not the last.
So Nix and I were left to make our plans alone. We found a hiding place in an abandoned building and set up there, knowing the house was no longer safe. Richard had been on the warpath, and had figured out that we didn't really take the pills, and he was determined that we would become mindless zombies like our mother. In the end we had, for all intents and purposes, moved out. We were hardly ever home, choosing instead to live in the building where our plans and dreams were hidden. It wasn't long though, before we were discovered and everything fell apart.
It was only a day before we were going to leave, and I was out getting the last of our supplies while Nix put the finishing touches on everything we already had. We'd been home the night before, a rare thing, and only because it was Richard's birthday and our mom insisted, but we had woken up early and headed to our hide out. I left almost right away to collect what we needed, and when I got back Nix was gone. I tried her radio, thinking she'd maybe thought of something else and gone to get it, but when I got no response I knew something was wrong. My fears were confirmed when I saw the note.
Neon, they found me. I don't know how but they must have followed us here. Don't wait for me, just run. It's the only way.
Love, Nix
Alone now, I gathered up what I could take with me, and hunkered down to wait for the cover of darkness. When the sun set and I could no longer hear people passing on the street I took off. All I had were the clothes on my back, the raygun I'd jacked from Richard's weapons cache, and the food we'd stockpiled for this occaision. There was one more thing I had to do before I left though. I had to send them a message, telling them that they had picked the wrong Killjoy to mess with. So I snuck back to the house and broke into the underground room where I knew there would be what I needed. Armed to the teeth with explosives all connected to the same detonator I hotwired a car and headed to the BLI outpost. I didn't have a plan, I only knew that I had to do something, and fast. So when the "guard" came past on his rotation I took him out - the first person I'd ever ghosted - and put his uniform on, using the ruse to get into the building. Once inside I rigged every empty room I could get into, then slipped out again. A block away I pushed the detonator, and the explosion that ripped through the building was the last beautiful thing I saw before I turned my back on the life I'd had and became Diamond Butterfly.
Somehow I made it to California, to the radioactive Zones, always looking over my shoulder, fighting for a life I didn't even want. The only thing that kept me going was the thought that I could rescue Nix. By the time I got the chance though, it was already too late. She had fallen under into the perfect lie and become a worker in Department 14 of BLI in Battery City. I'm not alone anymore though. I have my Killjoy family, and Muze. They are who I live for, and they are who I would die for. So until this all comes crashing down and the world really does end, I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere. If you need a hand don't hesitate to radio me, and if you're stranded in the Zones just keep an eye out for a dirty white car with rainbow stripes on the hood.
Look alive, keep running, stay shiny, and never forget who you are.
Yes, I'm still running - sort of. But it is lonely out here. Haven't seen anyone else for a while.
//