He looked down at his wrist "Echo 2-". The text tattooed there would be his new name, his identity. It would tell where he was from, and what/who he was now. They would give him a completely unique serial number after he got to the camp...Assuming they let him live.

The chains on his cuffs jingled as the transport sped up. The windows may have been blocked out, but if you concentrate hard enough, you can feel the turns, transfers, and changes in speed.

The interior was dimly lit, the passengers sat on the seats. At one point in the past this was used for civilian transit, but now it moved prisoners, refugees, war criminals, the like.

Two his left were two armed guards at the head of the car talking with each other, glancing over at the prisoners from time to time. The prisoners themselves were relatively quiet, some of them cried, others muttered to themselves, most just stared straight ahead, already broken in spirit.

The two prisoners sitting directly across from him were whispering inaudibly, staring straight ahead, shooting a look at the guards, at the hatch, at each other, one of them nodded resolutely and they fell silent.

Delta-tac-Delta...Bravo-tac-Sierra...numbers. He couldn't read them, but judging from their brands they had been to a camp before.

Echo 2 looked back up at their faces, they were both glaring coldly at him, expressionless.

"Um...hey guys...Do you know wher-" Echo 2 said, leaning forward. The guards at the front looked over, "Prisoner, be silent!"

The two across from him didn't react, motionless, hands on their knees. Echo 2 sank back into his seat, the guards resumed their conversation.

He looked to his right, the prisoner seated there was looking back at him. Alpha 2-numbers.

"Hey, I saw you at the processing station", Alpha 2 whispered, "I already went through processing" He motioned at the additional numbers on his wrist, "I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that you have a throbbing headache, and you're having trouble remembering things...Like your name."

Echo 2 frowned, "Yeah I have a headache, but my memory...my name is...the fuck? Why can't I remember my name?" One of the guards looked towards them, Alhpa 2 lowered his voice even more.

"That's what happens in processing, you'll get some of your memory back eventually, but some things are gone for good... Usually we just refer by your brands. For example, I am alpha 2, or Altu, the combination of your first two marks. You would be Ectu."

"Ectu..." He looked back forward, "My name is Ectu?" he repeated to himself.

"Prisoner!" One of the guards started to make his way towards Ectu, the other exited into the next cab.

The two across from Ectu exchanged another quick glance.

The guard stopped directly between Ectu and the others.

"You were ordered to stay silent!"

The guard grabbed Ectu firmly by the neck with one hand, pinning him to his seat, in the other he raised a baton to strike...

****

Chapter 2:


Ectu winced, anticipating the blow, his vision already fading as the life was crushed from his throat.

A blur of movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.

As the guard raised the baton above his head, a pair of shackled hands from behind caught his wrist.

Startled he released his grip on Ectu, he whirled around to face this new threat.

The one gripping his wrist continued the motion, spinning the forearm, catching it with the chains. Twisting it at an impossible angle, an audible snap coming from the guard's elbow.

The other prisoner behind him was already on his feet, snatching the pistol from the guard's belt as he turned. Immediately he conditioned the pistol and sprinted to the front of the car, positioning himself beside the door, weapon readied.

The guard cried out in pain as the first prisoner torqued his arm, the elbow protruding in the wrong direction.

The front car door burst open as the other guard rushed in. He made two steps into the room before prisoner number two painted the wall with a spray of blood and brain. He dropped lifeless to the ground, the keyring jangling melodically as he hit.

The prisoner holstered the gun, going straight for the keys, the shackles were off his wrists and wrapped around the door handle securing it from the other cars in a speed that was nothing less than unhuman.

He took the keys and tossed them towards the first prisoner. Prisoner one spun his entire body in the opposite direction, The guard's shoulder crunched loudly as it was viciously ripped from his socket, the forearm snapped, the bloody bone tearing through his sleeve.

The guard was thrown off balance to the ground, howling in pain as he gripped the mangled remains of his arm. An empty pair of shackles and a set of keys fell on the floor in front of him.

The first prisoner rushed to where the second prisoner was, he already had gotten the side door open. The world rushed by loudly outside, lights flashing by, shining off the water below the bridge.

He looked back over his shoulder. Ectu stared back, his eyes wide, gaping mouth, completely dumbfounded. The prisoner shook his head, said something to the other one, and they were gone out the doorway.

"...the fuck?" Ectu was dazed, he rubbed his throat. The guard on the ground whimpered in pain, blood pooling around him on the floor.

Another pair of shackles hit the deck.

"Come on! Let's get out of here!" Altu shoved him, jarring him from his stupor, holding the keys out.

Ectu grabbed them, immediately going to work on his own shackles.

"Hurry up!"

 He finally got the cuffs off, stumbling over the body of the guard he rushed to the open door. The wind blew cold across his face, stinging and the world continued to rush by.

"Move fucker!" He felt another shove from behind as he was launched through the doorway.

The ground was a blur as it rushed at him...fuck, this was gonna hurt...
****

Chapter 3


Tuck and roll? Go limp? Some shit like that?

Sure it sounds easy enough to remember, but when you are flying at the ground, application isn't so easy.

Ectu hit hard, it pretty much felt the way he anticipated. The initial shock sent him spiraling, rolling down the side of the hill. It was better than a direct impact, at least he was only getting shredded up on a gravel hillside instead of splattered against the pavement.

The transport was going at a decent speed, when Ectu finally slid to a stop he was a considerable distance from the tracks.

Everything ached as he lay on his back, looking up at the sky. The stars spun and waved overhead, the light pulsing...and then they began to fade to black with the rest of the sky.

"Ectu." A voice in his dream... "Ectu!" Who was that? "ECTU!" It sounded familiar...wait...was this a dream?

A sharp pain accross his face jolted Ectu back to reality, he sat up abruptly.

"You're awake!"

Ectu squinted at the figure silouhetted by the morning sun in front of him, rubbing the side of his face. It was Altu, grinning.

"Ow! Did you just hit me!?"

"I was looking everwhere for you. I landed a ways down the track in the grass..."

"You did! You just fucking slapped me! What the fuck?!"

"...Chill Ectu, it worked didn't it? I guess you would have prefered I let you sleep here until they come back looking for us?"

Ectu started to stand up, "I can't believe you fucking slapped me..."

"Geez, get over it. We need to figure out what we're going to do. I guess I didn't really think out the plan much past jumping out of the transport."

Out of the transport... "Hey, wait a minute, that's right! You shoved me out of a moving train too! What the hell is wrong with you?" He pointed accusingly at Altu.

Altu smiled nonchalantly, "A superior survivor mindset maybe? Maybe I don't feel like just giving up and dying?...Whatever! That's beside the point. We need to figure out where we are going to go and hide right now. We can plan our next move from then."

" 'We', huh? So now after you push me out of a moving vehicle and bitch slap me you want to be a team all of the sudden? Why the hell would I want to stay around you?"

Altu grinned again, "Because I have this..." He produced a pistol from behind his back, "And unless you have a better way of defending yourself out here, it may be a good idea for you to stick around someone who has one of these."

"Where the hell...?"

"The guard from the train."

"Whatever...let's just get going then. I say we head towards those office buildings over there." Ectu pointed to some ruined buildings a few miles off. "We can hide there, and maybe get a good look around from the top floor to figure out what to do next."

"Fine by me, let's roll."

...

****

Chapter 4

"...and he was like 'BADOOSH!' And he fucking snapped his arm right in half! So I was like, 'Oh My Gawd!..."

Ectu rubbed his temples, Altu had been babbling the entire way and Ectu was desperately looking for a way to shut him up.

"How about there?" He interjected, motioning towards one of the taller buildings. This one was taller than most of the other ones, and the upper floors seemed intact, at least enough to get a good view of the area.

"Yeah! We'll be able to see for miles for up there!"

The sun climbed in the sky as Altu and Ectu entered the shadow of the tall building. A light breeze brought old dirty newspapers down the deserted street, cluttered with the charred remains of cars and trash.

The lobby of the building had long since lost the glass panels which kept the ash outside, an open emergency exit lit the stairwell with a dim glow.

"Ugh, it's like a thousand stairs..."

"Yup, probably" Ectu reached for the handrail, reconsidering when he saw the layer of filth built up on it.

"Fuuu-uuuuck, more like a MILLION stairs!" Altu stomped up the stairs behind him like a cranky child.

Ectu rolled his eyes, "We're almost there, quit complaining."

Altu conceded, sulking and muttering to himself the rest of the way.

The staircase went up a few more floors, but rubble from the building blocked the path. The door to the floor was ajar.

"The windows are on the other side of the building." Ectu pushed open the door with his shoulder, once again shying away from the dirty handle.

The walked down a hallway, papers and assorted trash were scattered about the floor, framed pictures hung crooked on the wall.

"Cooool!" Altu held a picture of a waterfall accompanied by some motivational quote.

Ectu ignored him and moved down the hallway, careful not to brush up against anything dusty.

*CRASH!*

He whipped around, not knowing what to expect, and not expecting what he saw. Altu stood there looking blankly at the frame, shattered at his feet.

"What the fuck was that?!"

"I smashed the picture."

"Huh?...What the fuck did you do that for?"

Altu shrugged innocently, "I dunno, I just wanted to smash it."

Ectu stared at him, Altu was already looking around for something else to amuse himself with. Ectu closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, "...you're fucking impossible."

Ectu moved forward into one of the offices, stepping around desks, over chairs, and between cubicle dividers. Sun poured into the room from a broken wall of windows in the far side of the room.

Another crash startled Ectu. It came from the doorway of an adjoining room. Ectu frowned, crossing the room with large strides.

"I swear to god, Altu, if you break one more fucking thing..." The room appeared to be a kitchen, shards from a coffee pot lay shattered across the tile. Standing amidst the pile of the broken glass was tall, shirtless man. His eyes were completely white, blood stained his face.

"....Oh fuck."

****

Chapter 5:

"Oh, hello there young man! Sorry if I startled you, the coffee pot just slipped out of my hands."

Ectu breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were...Well, nevermind. But yeah, you scared the shit out of me!"

The old man bared a toothless grin, "Heh, I suppose if I could see as well as I used to, I'd be pretty terrified of me too!"

He chuckled, offering the old man a handshake. "Either way it's good to see a friendly face-"

The gun thundered, deafening, man's head exploded in a glorious red spray, leaving a limp headless body and a loud ringing in Ectu's ears.

Altu stood behind him, screeching and covering his ears with both hands.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT SHIT?!?"

"Ohmahgawd-Ohmahgawd-Ohmahgawd-"

"Shut the fuck up Altu!"

"Oh fuck! A fucking zombie! Holy shit!"

Ectu tied to wipe the old man's blood off his face, "He wasn't a zombie, dumbass! You just blasted some old man for, like, no fucking reason!"

"Dude was zombie! I KNOW a zombie when I see one..."Altu jammed his finger in his ear, struggling to stop the ringing, "Ow, that was loud..."

"Yeah, no shit Altu. It's a fucking gun. Guns are loud. You shot a loud gun in a small area, making it even more loud...Yer fucking dumb." Ectu looked over the gruesome scene again, he shook his head, "Let's just get out bearing and get out of here before you find some other innocent old people to shoot in the face."

The sun was high in the sky as they looked out the window. They could almost make out the lake the tracks crossed far in the distance. In the other direction lay city, as far as they could see.

The two were still arguing as the left the building, somewhere along the way Altu had managed to shoot two rats, an office chair, and a water cooler; each time thoroughly convinced that they were zombies. Ectu had demanded that he hold on to the gun for the sake of safety, while Altu argued that he should maintain possession of it as he had yet to miss a target.

"...I'm just saying, had those actually been more zombies, I TOTALLY would have saved the day!"

"You're retarded! If they had been real zombies-"

A noise stopped Ectu in mid-sentence. Behind them stood a young man, wearing a tattered grey overcoat that rustled in the breeze.

*Click*

His eyes went wide, he staggered back in surprise.

"...fucking thing..." Altu muttered, trying to unjam the gun.

"Holy dumb fuck Altu!" Ectu snatched the pistol away from him, "You just tried to shoot someone again!"

"I thought he was a zombi-" Ectu hurled the gun down the street, "Hey! What the fuck Ectu! What if the zombies get it!"

"Zombies can't shoot guns!"

"Aha! You just said there WEREN'T zombies! Now you say there are?!"

"Dammit Ectu! I said that the zombies...er, that there weren't...wait. Shut up!"

Altu pouted, glaring at Ectu, ectu returned the look.

"Please don't kill me, you guys." The young man inturrupted timidly. They both looked at him. "Please?"
****

Chapter 6:

"Geez, I thought you guys were gonna kill me!" The kid led the other two down the street, "My name's Clarence! They sent a bunch of us out here to look for you guys, we knew you'd be getting off the train somewhere around here."

Lawrence produced a half-eaten candy bar from his pocket and proceeded to devour it like the chubby little bastard he was.

Ectu's stomach rumbled, "Whoah, slow down there, Clarence! You're liable to lose a finger that way!"

Altu licked his lips, "Ectu's right...besides, you won't have enough to share."

The kid chewed the rest of the candy bar, sucking the residual chocolate off his fingers. "So, um, what kind of a name is Ectu anyway? Is that like a code name or something?"

Ectu started to respond, but Altu interrupted him, "Yeah? What kind of a name is Clarence? Ectu is short for 'echo-two'" He motioned to the tattoo on Ectu's wrist, "It's a very tactical naming system!"

The kid pulled another candy bar from his coat, "You guys named yourselves after your brands? That's stupid."

"Your face is stupid!" He snatched away the chocolate, dangling it over Clarence, just out of his reach.

"Hey! That's mine!"

"Dude, Altu, give the kid is candy back."

"Fuck you! I'm hungry!" Altu tore off wrapper, cramming the entire bar into his mouth, chewing loudly. "Mmmmm, yum, so good!"

"Actually, I'm pretty hungry too. You got any more of those Clarence?"

"Not for you guys, there's boxes at them back at base though, they also got a ton of those apple pie things, but I get sick if I eat too many..."

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

The sun dipped behind the skyscrapers coating the street in shadows. They had been walking for a while, although the buildings all looked so similar it was hard to tell how far for sure.

"Ok, we're here." Clarence stopped in front of an office indistinguishable from the surrounding buildings. He knocked on the door, "Ex pulgis!" a voice inside called out. "Ut pulgis" Clarence whispered in return.

The sound of metal on metal grated as the bolt unlocked, the door swung open slowly. A short, bespectacled old man waved them inside, closing the door behind him.

"Welcome, we've been waiting to move until you two arrived. We've heard so much about you. With your experience, ability, and leadership we will strike a great blow for our cause!"

Clarence sprinted past him and down the hall, the man continued to talk as he led the other two along, "I was hoping we could get started right away, in fact. The group is ready for your command."

"Actually", Ectu interjected, "I was hoping we could get something to eat, maybe rest up a bit first."

The man scratched his head, "I suppose we could wait, I just assumed you'd be eager to begin. Are you sure?"

"Yes" Altu added, "Please sir, direct me to the pies, so that I may have at them."

"Very well, I will tell the others that you have arrived and we act tomorrow."

****

Chapter 7:

A small mob of people clustered around them, clinging on every word from the speaker's mouth. The old man motioned for the two to approach the podium as he finished his speech.

"..We rise from the the ash to fight and return our enemies to the dust from whence they came! And we are not alone in this endeavour, we have the two most prominent figures in our movement here with us today to lead us on toward victory! My friends, I give you, Altu and Ectu!"

The crowd roared, applause and cheering greeted the two as they stepped on the makeshift stage. Altu stopped in front of the podium, but was quickly pushed aside by Ectu, grinning and waving like some politician on the campaign trail. The noise died down as Ectu cleared his throat, Altu conceded to standing by, engaging himself in a wrapped pie he produced from his pocket.

"My friends! My fellow warriors! We are honored to fight alongside you... and... um... fight! It's good to see... um... such a good turnout...Um... Gee, there sure are a lot of you out there..." Ectu felt a lump in his throat, he felt his hands growing clammy already. "Um... so, uh, fighting..." How does speaking work? The brain tells the mouth to move and make sounds and stuff, right? "You...should... er... we" Boy, that's a complicated process, first you have to understand words, and then make them with sounds, "Eh...ur..." But you also have to breathe, that's just another thing to do at the same time!

Altu looked up from his pie as Ectu gasped for breath. The guy had been standing there for a while, stuttering, sweating, making faces and choking noises. This sure was taking a while, and the crowd looked uneasy. Time for Altu to take over!

He shoved Ectu aside, still not stirring him from whatever idiot-coma he had put himself into, and took a firm grasp on the podium. "Brothers! Lock and load; it's time to wreck some shit! Woooooooo!"

The crowd, mostly just happy to have some sort of comprehendible speaker, once again erupted in cheers and whistles. Altu, still gripping his pie, pumped his fist into the air triumphantly, leading the cheer, "Altu! Altu! Altu!"

Ectu stood, flabbergasted as the entire mob followed that chanting idiot out of the room. How could that happen? How could that moron have just stolen his moment of glory away like that?

Just as Ectu made up his mind to leave, Altu jogged back into the room, red-faced, out of breath, and smiling from ear to ear.

"Whoah! Ectu, did you see that?" Altu bent over panting heavily, "The crowd loves me, I'm so AMPED! This mission is gonna be awesome!"

Ectu frowned, "Doesn't it bother you how eager these people are to have us lead them? I'm starting to get the feeling they think we're someone else."

Altu's grin shrank away, "Maybe they DO have us confused with someone else. Why can't you just enjoy it?  We get all the free guns and equipment we want! This is gonna be awesome, besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

****

Chapter 8:
Rounds tore chunks from the wall, leaving a trail of concrete dust and shrapnel behind Ectu as he ran.

The shotgun bounced wildly in front of him as he stumbled over shattered stone barricades and mangled rebar. More hindrance than help at this point; his pursuers were too far to hit with shot, and the sling caused it to swing violently into his gut with every other lurching step.

The corner of a nearby shop exploded, knocking him flat on his face. Dirt and debris rained down all around him, pelting the back of his head and surrounding the entire area with a cloud of grey.

Ectu acted on this newly provided concealment and clambered on his hands and knees into the damaged shop. Torn books,charred papers, and splintered shelves smoldered around him in the remains of the bookstore as he headed to the back.

The back office was well lit, due to a gaping hole in the ceiling, yet far enough from the street to be away from any immediate danger. Still, the sounds of gunfire and war-cries permeated the room; a reminder of the carnage he had so narrowly escaped.

As he slumped against the wall, one cry in particular stood out. A childlike shrieking that seemed to be heading straight towards him from the street.

Ectu leaned back into the doorway enough to see the ingress he had taken to the bookstore interior. Sprinting clumsily towards him was Altu, bawling at the top of his lungs, his face spattered in blood, one hand covering the top of his head and the other being dragged forward by a very determined looking Clarence.

They burst into the room, Altu immediately tripped over an upended file cabinet, sending him head-on into another. The contact of his face and the steel was enough to momentarily silence his vociferation. A silence that gave way to a quiet whimpering as he rolled over and sat up, holding his face with both hands.

Clarence ignored this whole commotion, focusing instead on slamming the door shut and force another file cabinet in front of it, barricading the entrance and muffling the sounds on the street.

"Well hello there guys." Ectu greeted the two, eyebrows raised.

Clarence glared back silently, arms crossed indignantly over his chest.

"What's wrong there little bud-"

"Are you fucking serious Ectu?! 'Wisconsin Disco'?!? Really?!?" Clarence interrupted ardently.

Ectu looked over towards Altu for support, but Altu had already distracted himself with a charred medical textbook he picked up from the ground.

"I thought it would work... I mean, if we had-"

"WISCONSON DISCO!?!?" Clarence roared, his face beet-red, eyes wide with rage.

"Yeah...Ok...So maybe not such a good plan after all." Ectu shook his head concededly.

Ectu was relieved when Altu broke the awkward silence that followed. "Um... hey Ectu?"

"What is it?"

Altu looked up from the book in his lap, "I think I might have syphilis..."

"...Wow Altu."

****


**Daedalus Storytime**
Act II:
Chapter 9:

Ectu rubbed his temples, "Alright Altu, what makes you think all of the sudden that you have contracted syphilis?"

"Well I was just reading this thing", Altu held up a page from the medical book, "And I was reading the symptoms...And I have syphilis!"

An explosion outside shook the walls, bringing dust down all around, "You're telling me that in the middle of a fucking warzone, magically, you've managed to contract a disease that usually requires at least two people. When...How is that even possible?"

"Well you know when you said the plan was 'Wisconsin Disco'? And then we all started dying?"

Clarence muttered something about "Wisconsin Disco" under his breath and continued to pace the room.

"Yeah, I get it! Maybe it wasn't such a great plan; we got blown to fuck. That still doesn't explain how you managed to convince somebody else to hang around you long enough to give you a disease."

"I'm getting to that! Geez!" Altu was clearly concerned about telling his story, "So when we started fighting back and you ran off like a bitch with the radio and Tommy No-Nads."

"Don't call him that."

"Why not?"

"It's not nice. Also, it's stupid."

"He's dead, I hardly think he gives a shit what I call him." Altu shook his head, "Anyway, we were bravely holding the line while you were off being a pussy. And all of the sudden we got hit again and shit went everywhere, I think I dropped my gun-"

"Yeah, I was wondering about that. Where did you even find a pirate gun?"

"It's CALLED a 'flintlock', and there was one in the armory."

This time it was Clarence who interrupted, "It was in a display case. The base used to be a museum. Probably didn't even work. You're dumb for taking it."

Altu glared at Clarence, "Yeah? Well yer fat and your parents are dead!"

Ectu was aghast "DUDE!"

"What?! It's true! He has to learn to deal with it eventually." Clarence began to sob uncontrollably, Altu ignored him and continued talking, "Besides the gun could have worked! I never got a chance to try it, I dropped it when we got hit. I started running,to go rescue you, and I noticed I was bleeding."

Altu wiped his face with his hands, blood caked with dust smeared across his cheek, "At least I thought I was bleeding, but it turns out that it's someone else's. And I thought I was good, but then this book says that syphilis has something to do with blood and it burns, which is when I knew I had syphilis all over my face!"

"Ow." Ectu clutched his head, "You're so fucking dumb it hurts."

"Ectu! I'm serious I could maybe die from this!"

"Altu...As much as I hate to tell you this; you don't have syphilis on your face. Stop worrying about it and help me figure out what we're going to do next."

"Wow, that's a relief!" Altu grinned, "Hey did ya hear that tubby? I'm cured!"

Clarence glared, face still wet with tears, "Fuck you Altu!"

****
Act II Chapter 10


Altu drew impatiently in the dirt, tracing his finger around the small mound he had already artfully crafted in the dust on the floor.

Ectu coughed, rolled over, and went back to sleep.

Clarence remained perched precariously on top of the stack of filing cabinets, the upper half of his body disappearing into an aperture torn in the roof.

The prevailing consensus was that they were to wait it out in the back room of the book shop. The gunfire outside had long since subsided, but Clarence had insisted that they wait anyway, delegating himself to the duty of standing watch.

"Hey Altu!"

Altu looked up from his project to see that Clarence had pulled his head back inside the room.

"Hey, wakeup Ectu, I think the coast is clear. We should move out." Clarence continued, speaking in a half-whisper atop his tower of cabinets.

Altu sighed, scooping up a handful of dirt and debris from the floor, muttering to himself as he struggled to his feet.

Clarence watched in amazement as Altu insouciantly shuffled across the room, pausing next to the quietly snoring Ectu for a moment before hurling his handful of dust and pebbles of concrete directly into his face.

Ectu sat up abruptly, coughing and spitting, desperately trying to wave the dirt cloud out of his face.

Altu chuckled, the dust had caked in a dirty grey powder over Ectu's face, and gave him the complexion of a low-budget mime.

Ectu glared at him as he rose to his feet.

"Ha ha ha! You look so stupid!"

Ectu shoved the Altu, still snickering, full-force backwards into the pile of file cabinets, already precariously balanced, and sending them tumbling, Clarence yelped as he fell with them, all crashing in to the ground in a giant heap.

Altu erupted with laughter, tearing at the eyes as the other two swore, Ectu desperately trying to shake his hair clean and Clarence tripping over cabinets trying to climb out of the pile.

It was almost 15 minutes before the room calmed down to a level where discussion was once again possible. They had decided that as it late, and it had been quite some time since any commotion outside, it would be an opportune time to leave, under cover of darkness.

Upon exiting the building, however, Ectu was surprised at what he found, or rather, what he didn't.

Although it was clear that excessive gunfire and bloodshed had occurred, there were neither bodies or weapons anywhere to be found. Even the shotgun, which had come loose on his way to shelter wasn't there.

Unfortunately, the plan had included gathering some sort of weaponry before heading north to another base. This phase no longer possible put the group on edge. With no way to defend themselves, and no knowledge of the conclusion of the battle it was clear they were at a severe disadvantage.

Altu, always positive, chalked it all up to 'bad luck', and reassured the others that they would be fine. Ectu and Clarence, however, didn't share that sentiment.

*****

Act II Chapter 11

**Daedalus Storytime**
Act II
Chapter 11:

They must have been walking for an hour, maybe two, completely silent. Ectu was grateful for the peace and quiet, the lack of Altu's verbal nonsense was almost therapeutic in a way.

The cluttered alleyways stretched in front of them, buildings looming on each side.The moon shone low in the sky before them, casting long shadows into the darkness behind.

Altu took up the rear, following a few paces behind Ectu. The quiet shut him inside with his own thoughts. He thought of all sorts of jokes and amusing stories. A particularly humerous one caused him to chuckle quietly.

Ectu shot a glare over his shoulder, bringing his finger to his lips and hushing Altu.

Altu scowled back, sticking out his tongue as Ectu turned back around. He had thought of so many good jokes along the way, and not once had he been able to tell them.  Ectu was such a buzz kill.

Altu was once again confined to silence, boredom once again washed over him as he glanced around for some way to stay entertained.

Clarence led the way,careful to avoid the obstacles the trash scattered on the ground created.

He glanced back at the two following him. Ectu had good about avoiding noise but he seemed more relaxed than vigilant as he strolled nonchalantly. Behind him, the dark shape of Altu weaved drunkenly back and forth across the alley, pausing to pick up something, and then proceeding to fuck with it as he shuffled behind Ectu.

Another street ahead, Clarence motioned for them to stop.

Ectu stopped unceremoniously at the end of alleyway and watched, amused, as Clarence nimbly darted from cover to cover across the open street.

Right as he saw Clarence reach the far side a clatter from behind Ectu made him jump and whirl around.

Altu stood there, a glass bottle glinted in each hand, and a third rolled across the ground.

Altu looked up at Ectu, grimacing, "Shit...Juggling. I didn't drop it on purpose"

Ectu stared at him astonished for a second, shook his head and turned back across the street at Clarence.

Clarence's eyes were bugging out of his chubby face as he stared back gaping. Altu saw him swearing silently to himself, his stupid, bossy, fat little face lit up by the reflection of the moon.

Just as Ectu was about step towards the street he felt the air move as a bottle flew by his head, barely missing him, and landing with a crash a few feet from Clarence.

Ectu once again spun around, glaring at the idiot who had just lobbed the projectile across the street.

Altu was grinning, "I guess that one was on purpose... Did you see that face he was making at me!?"

As Ectu stepped forward to beat the ever-loving fuck out of Altu he was startled by the sound of shouting from the street. Circles of light danced wildly up and down the street, multiple beams focused on Clarence who stood there with both of his hands in there.

Altu's grin vanished.

 "Whoops."

****
Act II Chapter 12

The short list of four letter words poured through Ectu's mind, it was all he could to not to verbalize them.

He darted up against the wall, pulling Altu with him. Light swept quickly down the alley, missing them by inches

Ectu's eyes darted frantically around, looking for cover. They landed on a dumpster, piled high with sacks of trash.

Without a second thought he dove behind it, throwing himself between it and the wall. There was barely enough room for him, let alone Altu, who squeezed in beside him.

They could hear the shouts now, coming not only from the street, but up the alley from whence they had come.

As if to compound the lack of space, the dumpster, jarred by the two crammed against it, spilled its fetid payload of plastic bags and mushy rotting papers on top of them.

Ectu could just barely make out the commotion where Clarence had stood, a crowd of dark figures swarmed about him; searching for others.

It felt like they lay there, crushed behind the dumpster for hours, watching the commotion die down, spread out, and vanish. Thoughts that a uniform was standing next to the dumpster waiting for them to move tormented Ectu. In fact he would likely have decided to wait for longer had Altu's patience not finally run out.

"HGhrhmmmghfff!"

Altu squirmed around, under his pile of trash.

"Shhhhhh!"

He struggling for a moment before bursting out dramatically, flinging wet garbage in all directions.

Ectu cringed, half-expecting to be caught in the beam of a flashlight.

Meanwhile Altu danced around, furiously brushing off the clinging mess and trying to shake the foul rot from his clothes.

"Calm the fuck down!" Ectu hissed, "They could still be out there!"

Altu stopped his dance and glared back, "Ectu....I am being eaten alive by spiders! I don't give a fuck!"

"Altu... there are no spiders-"Ectu began, but when his eyes drifted to the pile of filth around him; he noted the squirming livelihood of the pile...Maggots.

Ectu likewise jumped to his feet abruptly, he could feel them crawling all over him, in his shirt and socks, on the back of his neck. He shuddered violently, trying to shake himself free, joining Altu's strange dance.

After a few minutes of this frantic ritual he had to convince himself to stop. He still felt the crawling, but he actively resisted the urge to continue.

"Ectu..." Altu was trying to be calm as well, "What do we do now?"

"What do you mean?" Ectu scratched his hair, "We keep going!"

"What about Clarence?"

"What about him? There is nothing we can do, he's gone."

"Dude, Ectu, that's a real dick move. I know you didn't like him and all..."

"I didn't like him?! YOU were the one who tried to kill him with a bottle!"

"That's different Ectu."

"Whatever! It doesn't matter, we don't even know where they took him, we just have to keep going."

"Dick move, bro. Dick move."

Ectu rolled his eyes; the sky had just begun to glow with the rising sun as they moved out of the alley.

******************

**Daedalus Storytime**
Act II
Chapter 13:
“Ectu”

“What”

“I’m hungry.”

“I don’t care.”

Altu’s stomach growled again, he groaned to accompany it.

“I know I ate the last of the rations, and I’m sorry, but I’m still hungry.”

“...And I still don’t care.”

Altu looked legitimately hurt as Ectu glared at him. He paused for a second to think before shuffling to catch up to him.

as much as he didn’t want to say anything, he had to agree with Altu, it had been a while since they had last eaten. He couldn’t even get angry with Altu about eating the “rations”, there had only been one crushed pie between the two of them, and it was Altu’s idea to bring it in the first place.

He was just cranky, nothing he could do about it now, just stick it out and keep moving, maybe if they… Shadows darted across the street in front of them. He paused abruptly, Altu almost crashed into him from behind.

“What are you-“

“Shhhh!” Ectu hissed, pointing down the street where another shadow darted across the alley.

“What is that, are those…”

“no, they weren’t moving in formation, it’s more civilians.”

“Maybe they have food!”

“They could be dangerous,” Ectu started, the grumbling of his own stomach interrupted him, causing him to reconsider. “Fuck it, maybe you’re right, and I’m too hungry to argue.”

They ran down the alley in the direction of the sun and after the shadows. Clearing the corner they spotted the origin of the shadows.

A group of people, a man and woman, both equally scrawny and dirty pushing a rickety shopping cart, one that contained a massive, obese man, his fat pushing through the gaps in the cart and spilling over the sides in a grotesque display.

The man and woman were rooting through a pile of trash, fresh cardboard packages, already torn, and brown plastic wrappers. from time to time they would find an unopened package, look it over, and toss behind them. The fat man made noises and squirmed in the cart behind them, waving his arms frantically at each of the discarded items, catching one of them in mid-air, and proceeding to devour the contents.


"Food!" Altu blurted out, sprinting straight towards the group, Ectu was surprised to find himself following.

The fat man tried to turn his bald head to this new noise, but soon found himself deeply engaged in the wrapper of another package.

The other two ignored Altu as he fished through their pile of discarded packages. Ectu was on his knees next to him doing the same. He couldn't read the writing on the packages, but he recognized them as the contents of military rations.

Ectu tore open a package containing a soggy gray thing that vaguely resembled a hamburger patty. It didn't taste much better than it looked, and it made him incredibly thirsty, but he was still grateful to have something to eat.

Altu was equally distracted, and neither of them noticed that the couple had finished and now stood up looking down at them.


********

**Daedalus Storytime**
Act II
Chapter 14:

It wasn't until the fat man had stopped eating that Ectu noticed the two standing over him.

"Uhhh" he gawked at them, crumbs of dehydrated meat fell form the corner of his mouth, "Sorry, I thought you were didn't want these."

The couple exchanged a glance, the fat man's beady eyes glared down from his puffy sunburnt face, nostrils flared and lower lip drawn up in indignation.

Ectu was almost surprised when they responded in the same language, "No, no, you were right. We can't eat that stuff, you're welcome to it."

The thin man grinned, dirty teeth sparsely populating his gums, "My name is Sunshine and this is my partner Moonbeam." He put his arm around the woman as she kissed his cheek.

Altu choked and coughed a little at the mention of their names, but kept eating. This time it was the woman who spoke, "We don't eat meat. Marshmallow does" She motioned to the fat man, "but then again, he eats anything!" She giggled obnoxiously, sharing another enthusiastic kiss with Sunshine.

Altu gagged again, the sweaty fat man applauded happily, and Ectu just stared in amazement.

"We are going to Rat-town if you want to come along." It was Sunshine who spoke this time, "We've been heading there for a while, I've heard tell there is a whole civilization underground!"

"Sounds gay...'Rat-town'" Altu muttered under his breath, Ectu interrupted him before he could continue, "That sounds great! We'd be happy to go with you!"

The couple smiled and turned to the cart. Altu and Ectu followed from a distance as the other two pushed Marshmallow down the street.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Ectu hissed, careful not to let the others hear, "You know how rude that was? We're lucky we found some people willing to help us, and you have to go and be rude!"

"Rude? How was I rude?" Altu responded innocently, trying reach the last crumb in the bottom of the packet.

" 'Sounds gay'? That phrase ring a bell?"

Altu tossed the packet behind him, "Oh that reminds me, you know what else sounds gay?"

Ectu sighed loudly and began to rub his temples.

"Their names! Isn't that the gayest shit you've ever heard? Sunshine and Moonshine?"

"Moonbeam, moonshine is... never mind."

"Moonbean, whatever. Seriously. Their names could hardly be worse if they were Magic Sparkle Wizard and The Star-Fairy Princess from Cupcake Land."

Ectu wanted to reply, but his brain hurt from trying to comprehend what he had just heard.

"And Marshmallow? What the hell is his deal? Can he talk, or just communicates by eating?"

Altu continued to babble as they made their way down the road. The couple talked amongst themselves as the pushed the fat man, snoring loudly.

The sun rose, hovered, and began to fall as they walked. Altu and Ectu exhausted all the food they had brought while the couple ate sparingly from a packet of dried fruit.

The sun had just started to set when Ectu began seeing graffiti on the wall repeat a common theme: Rats.

************

**Daedalus Storytime**
Act 3 Chapter 15


"What's our goal?"

Altu raised an eyebrow at Ectu.

Ectu frowned, "I mean, like, what are we doing? Where are we going?"

Altu pulled his hands from his pockets as they shuffled along. "Uh, we are going to Rat Town. Duh."

Ectu shook his head, "No, I know that. I mean...what are we trying to accomplish? First we were escaping from a train, then in a city following a kid, then getting shot at..."

Altu giggled.

This time it was Ectu who raised an eyebrow. "Something funny?"

Altu grinned, "I just think it's funny that you're asking all these stupid questions."

Ectu glared back, "Stupid questions? Seriously. What the fuck are we doing? I mean, are we just wandering aimlessly?"

Altu laughed loudly this time, two of the other three glanced back over their shoulders at them, the fat one merely snored in his cart.

"So the great and wise Ectu suddenly has to come to lowly, annoying Altu for guidance! Behold verily, forsooth! I shall beseech thou with mine wisdom!"

Ectu opened his mouth to say something mean, reconsidered, and just shook his head.

"Verily, Ectu-"

"Stop fucking talking like that!"

"Fine. Ass. Since you obviously haven't been paying attention; we are heroes. Freedom fighters."

"Wha...where the fuck did you get that?"

"Uh, don't you remember? Back when we had the army? We were going to fight the bad dudes and shit? That's why they put us in charge anyway; destiny!"

Ectu rolled his eyes. "Actually, Altu, I think they put us in charge because they had us confused with someone else."

Altu smiled broadly, "Yes! Destiny!"

"That doesn't even make sense!"

Ectu's outburst once again drew confused glances from the two pushing the fat man in front.

"Ectu....verily-"

"Don't fucking start that shit again!" snapped Ectu, pointing accusingly.

Altu cringed back, "Ok, ok! Sorry, geez. Plebeian."

Ectu glared, Altu continued, "So anyways, we gotta find Clarence, he'll know how to take down the bad guys' fortress. But first we have to get the rat people to help!"

"Altu... I cannot, with supreme confidence, claim that this is the stupidest fucking thing you have ever said. Solely because you are so consistently fucking retarded."

Just as Altu was about to thank him, Moonbeam interrupted him.

"we're here! Rat town!"

Both Altu and Ectu gaped in amazement at what was probably the most disappointing excuse for a civilization they had ever encountered.

"Holy shit...What a fucking dump." Ectu scratched his head. What appeared to have once been a shopping center had been surrounded by a crude fence of rubble, debris, vehicle carcasses, and overturned dumpsters.

"Where are the rat people!? I wanna see the rat people!" Altu blurted out emphatically.

The three in front seemed to share the excitement as they motioned towards the front gate.

"Why do I get the feeling this is going to suck?" Ectu mumbled towards Altu.

Altu was grinning from ear to ear and shaking with excitement, "Ectu! Rat people!"

*********


**Daedalus Storytime**
Act 3 Chapter 16

Inside the gate the shopping center was densely populated. Grungy, ragged individuals mulled around.  Others sat in the street in front of their shacks.

As the group shuffled through the corridor whispers and mutters followed them by everyone they passed.

Altu pouted, glaring at each as they passed him by, but their attention was on the fat man in the cart.

The couple led the way to the side of the path, and into a long-abandoned storefront. While it was no less dilapidated than the shacks and lean-to's outside, the shop was more spacious and capable of accommodating more trash and useless scrap.

Moonbeam turned back to the two, grinning broadly, "Welcome to our humble abode!", waving his arms to encompass the room.

He and Sunshine turned their attention to the fat man, who appeared to be fussing about something.

Ectu glanced over at Altu, who was still making faces.

"Altu, what is your problem?" Ectu hissed.

"There's no rat people." Altu glared back, arms crossed indignantly.

"Uh...what?"

"Rat people!" Altu uncrossed his arms, using his fingers to mime rat teeth.

Moonbeam walked over, chuckling as he also tried to mimic the visage of a rat.

"That's not fucking funny dipshit!" Altu snapped at him.

"Whoah, little man, not cool."

"Altu! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Altu's face was bright red, "You! These guys! This shit!"

"What-?"

"We should be trying to find Clarence, and we're dicking around in this shit-hole!"

Moonbeam started to speak, but was cut off abruptly.

"And another thing!" Altu pointing angrily at the couple, "How come your name is Moonbean?! That's the gayest fucking shit ever! I'm calling you moonbean!"

"Well we feel-"

"Your name is Jack! Her name is Jill!" Altu paused his rant as he looked at Marshmallow, "And he doesn't even fucking talk, so he doesn't get a name!"

"Hey man, mother earth named-"

Ectu stepped in before Altu had a chance to fire-off again. "Actually, dude, Altu is right. We should be trying to find Clarence. Also, not digging the 'Moonbeam' thing either."

"Jack" Sunshine tasted the word, "It's not very spiritual."

"Or original" Ectu muttered.

"Shut up! Your name is Jill, his is Jack."

The couple looked at each other and seemed to agree that it wasn't worth fighting over.

It was in this awkward silence that the telltale grumbling of Altu's stomach gave away the driving force behind his temper.

Likewise, Ectu felt the emptiness in his own stomach, "Listen guys, I'm sorry if we offended you, but we're actually pretty hungry."

Jill looked at Jack, then back to the other two, "Well, we don't have anything here; that's what we were out searching for. But the town can help out, we get food from them all the time!"

As if summoned by these words, there was a loud rapping on the wall. Two men with matching armbands stood in the doorway.

"You've been summoned by the king." One of the men said, then turning his gaze to Alto and Ectu, "all of you."