SCARECROW

Move your body when the sunlight dies
Everybody hide your body from the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W
Everybody hide


"It's getting darker," she noticed as she looked in the rearview mirror at the setting sun.

"Um, XO, think we can pull over for the night? I don't think we should drive without headlights, and that's the only way to go unnoticed out here," her sister suggested sweetly.

"God, Bunny you're so paranoid sometimes," XO growled, but she knew her sister was right. Sitting shotgun beside her, one of the other girls began fiddling with the stereo, only to be greeted by white noise.

They pulled onto the curb, and each one of the nine killjoys disembarked. The blonde, Stellar, immediately piled up some kindling out of dried grass and began striking the flint into it to make fire. The sparks took eventually, and with some help from the others, they had a pleasant blaze in minutes.


Make a wish when your childhood dies
Hear the knock, knock, knock when she cries
We're all alone tonight


XO looked up at the clear sky and sighed. At least it wouldn't rain tonight… probably.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Bunny-Q asked, crawling up to the alienated XO. It wasn't like her to seclude herself from the group.

"He's out there, isn't he?"

"If he's not dead… Yeah!" XO rolled her eyes at her sister. Behind them, the group roared with laughter about some subject unknown to the sisters. Bunny patted XO on the back in reassurance, then left to join the group by the warm fire.


Hold your breath when a black bird flies
Count to seventeen and close your eyes
I'll keep you safe inside

Stellar looked through her bangs across the campfire at one of the boys they had met earlier that day. Something about him was painfully familiar; his stoic expression and quiet demeanor. He turned to the red head he was sitting next to whom XO had yelled at earlier. The two boys were oddly close, like family.

The stoic, brown and blonde haired boy looked across the fire at her, meeting her covered eyes. She shut her discolored eyes tightly and her cheeks burned bright red.

A bird screamed somewhere in the distance, causing the outlaws to all look up overhead, making sure it wasn't some sort of bomb or spying device. It was just the haunting scream of a vulture, synonymous with death.  

"What the hell was that?" XO and her silver haired sister came walking over to the fire from where they had been sitting separately, having sister time. The red head(presumably the leader of the male Killjoys) went dead silent as soon as she approached behind him.

"Just a vulture," Tiger Blood replied, looking up at XO from across the bonfire.

"It was an ALIEN!" Kosmik Heartbreaker exclaimed, punching the air with her fist, obviously high. The black haired guy sitting on the other side of the red head laughed loudly at her.


He burns my skin
Nevermind about the shape I'm in,
I'll keep you safe tonight


The cherry haired leader shifted uncomfortably next to the black haired man.

"What's up Party Poison?" he asked him as he scratched the back of his head.

"It's nothing Ghoul," Party Poison answered, rubbing the side of his neck where a Drac had kicked him earlier, during the bar fight. Next to them, their dead pan counterpart eyed Poison nervously. Poison smiled at him.

"Kobra Kid, really. Don't worry about me," he stretched his neck out, making it pop.


Move your body when the sunlight dies
Everybody hide your body from the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W
Everybody hide


"You all aren't taking this seriously! That fire is way to fucking big and we're going to be noticed because of it!" XO growled, smacking her forehead with her palm.

"But it's soooo cold tonight!" Kosmik wined, moving closer to the blaze and holding her hands out to it.

"You wanna get killed, or spend one night in the cold?" XO threatened.

"I'll keep you warm, babe," The black haired Killjoy, Fun Ghoul, mused, moving in
on her. Kosmik sat bolt upright and scooted far away from him, into Stellar, who pushed her off of her shoulder.

"N-No you won't!" Kosmik yelled, poised to kick him. XO rolled her eyes. They had known these people for about four hours and already one was sexually harassing Kosmik, Stellar was giving one googly eyes and one was pissing her off. This was going to be hell.

This is what you get, of course, for offering to help some pretty boy Killjoys whose car you accidentally ruined.


Blow a kiss at the methane skies
See the world through your playground eyes
We're all in love tonight.


XO succeeded in kicking the fire out, ruining everyone's fireside 'get to know you' chat. The new group of Killjoys was settling down in a tightly knit clump on the desert floor, for protection in numbers. XO stood first watch some ways away.

The muffled whispers of the group were getting on her nerves. She could already tell Stellar was talking to the Kobra Kid boy. Kosmik was hiding behind an annoyed Bunny-Q from the pervy Fun Ghoul and Tiger Blood and Jet Star had long since been asleep. She had no idea where the ladies' man red head was, and frankly, she hoped he was far away from her.   

That bastard had tried to shoot her earlier.

She zoned out staring at the hypnotic navy blue sky, speckled with white stars and plum colored, wispy clouds.

"Hey, XO Apocalypse?" a familiar voice came from behind her, breaking her out of
her lovely trance. She groaned.

"What is it-," she turned around to face Party Poison, the last person she wanted to see. "Ugh. What do you want, lady lips?"

He laughed softly at her insult, which annoyed her further, and sat down next to her.

"You seem like you have these girls wrapped up pretty tight. You're the leader, aren't you?" He asked her, stretching out by her side and making him self comfortable.

XO sighed. "Yeah I guess I am. Never asked to be, I just sorta am," she replied casually, making sure to make her annoyance apparent with her voice. "You're the leader of those guys, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I never really asked either, it just sorta is the way it is. Thanks for saving our asses today. We would be dead without you."

XO laughed at his kiss ass tone. "Dead like your car? And I still haven't forgotten you almost killed me, asshole," her tone was very bitter.

"Sorry about that…"


Leave a dream where the fallout lies
Watch it grow where the tear stains dry
Just to keep you safe tonight


"I know," XO coldly replied, not looking at him and rubbing her thigh to play on his pity. Poison rolled his eyes. She was a difficult, bitchy woman with a poison tongue. He smirked at the thought of a 'poison tongue'.

XO bristled hearing Kosmik yell something that sounded like a muffled "GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME!"

"Can you please keep you men's dicks out of my entourage?" XO growled to Poison icily.

"If you keep your fucking harlots from seducing them, maybe," Poison replied with a tone just as icy. He was getting sick of her attitude. He was able to get along with all the other girls perfectly, but their stubborn ass leader was too proud to accept an apology.

XO snorted. "What do you and your marry band of horny bastards want from us anyway?"

"Nothing but a good fuck, my darling," he growled back.

XO's blood was boiling. What the hell was wrong with this guy?!

"Yeah fuck you buddy. I expect you all to leave by morning, got that?"

"Or what?"

"Or I'll make that bruise on your neck a whole lot worse," XO snapped, intending for that remark to sound exactly how it sounded.

"Oh I'd like that."

"Oh I know."

XO stood up and walked away angrily, annoyed as hell by that cherry haired asshat, leaving him with a content smirk laying in the sand.

"What a cool bitch," he chuckled, and followed her to the campsite.


He burns my skin
Never mind about the shape I'm in
I'll keep you safe tonight


Stellar lay awake. Kobra Kid had told her goodnight, leaving her no one to talk to. She stared at the stars, thinking.

In the distance on watch she heard XO arguing with Party Poison. Stellar rolled her eyes. XO was so difficult. She was a strong woman, but honestly, a total bitch. She didn't think Poison all that bad, in fact, she thought he was pretty damn good looking.

She turned on her side and looked affectionately at the lightly sleeping Kobra Kid. She smiled to herself, thinking how much she already liked him.

I'll keep you safe tonight… she thought to herself, and closed her eyes.


Move your body when the sunlight dies,
Everybody hide your body from the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W
Everybody hide


Kosmik sighed, happy to have Ghoul away from her.

Well, sort of.

She thought.

Maybe….

She enjoyed the attention… She had never really gotten a real boyfriend back in the pre-apocalyptic world. She had always been afraid.  

But now there was something more to be afraid of.

She clung to Bunny-Q's shirt, suddenly feeling more cold than before, more lonely and frightened.

There was something out there. Something big. Something unstoppable. Something deadly.

She shuddered, remembering the plans XO showed them a day earlier. The plans for the bomb.


Love
Love
Love won't stop this
Bomb
Bomb


"Hey, Bun. Get up." XO prodded Bunny-Q in the side.

Her sister stared back up at her with her ice blue eyes, the color identical to XO's.

"It's your turn to watch," XO informed her through her teeth. Bunny-Q nodded and got up.

"You ok, XO.A?" Bunny-Q asked, noticing how tense XO seemed.

"Yeah I'm fine, whatever, just get on fucking watch, ok?" Bunny-Q nodded and stood
up and staggered off to the watch post. XO nestled down and tried to calm her nerves.



A few long hours later Bunny-Q found herself dangerously taking a walk around the uncharted desert not far from the campsite, to keep her from falling asleep on the job.  

She hummed songs to herself, making the job less lonely and kicked around rocks and things, barely paying attention to the campsite and unaware of how far away she really was.

She was oblivious to the slight sounds around her, to the rustling and the soft footsteps that followed her, to the dark burlap gloved hands closing around her neck.

Bunny-Q screamed, but was choked off by a rough hand over her mouth, holding her tightly against an uncomfortable, inhuman body. She felt it's breath, hot on her neck and could almost see its teeth.

She attempted to bite down on its hand and kick at whatever was holding her with all her might.

She hit it.

She felt her leg meet something inhumanly soft and yet humanly physically strong, and whatever it was that had her let go of her mouth for just a second.

She screamed.

She screamed as loud as she possibly could, and the thing dropped her.

She ran fast from the shadowy figure, not looking back, attempting to make her way to the campsite, to the others and their guns.


Run
Run
Bunny, Run
Run
Run
Bunny


The light sleeper, Tiger Blood, was first to notice the scream. She sat bolt upright, then started waking everyone up as fast and efficiently as she could.

"XO! I heard someone scream!" XO shot up from her resting spot and looked at Tiger Blood. XO's blood ran cold.

Her sister.

XO jumped up and grabbed her gun. Stellar, Kosmik and Tiger followed behind her as they ran into the dark desert towards the scream. The boys followed, realizing the seriousness of the situation.

They ran, but heard nothing more. And found nothing more.

Bunny was gone.


Move your body when the sunlight dies,
Everybody hide your body from the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W
Everybody hide!