Meanwhile – Hundred-Hundred Fleas

“This is great!  They’re dead already and we didn’t even have to do anything!” Windkiller was shouting from her position perched on the corner of Suffering Bastard’s roof.” 

“It’s terrible!” shouted Sturnk right back at her from his position on the other side runner “they’re dead already we didn’t even get in the battle!” 

I don’t know which of them is right.  Both.  Neither.  There’s nothing better than killing your foe before they can fight back.  But this?  I don’t even know what this is.  It doesn’t even seem right to call it a war party, there’s too many for that, so what is it?  A warhost?  There are more fighters here than there are people in Dynamite City.  A lot more.  Ten times as many.  There are more vehicles here than I thought existed in the world.  It’s just so . . . many.  

When the tall woman showed up with the savages from the plains and gathered us all together (who set her in charge of us anyway?) it was sight that took my breath away.  So many fighters, so many weapons, so many machines, all gathered together.  It was like the earth had emptied us all into one spot.  I saw it and at first I was like “whoa”.  But then, after a while you’re like “whoa”. 

This doesn’t seem right.  Something has changed.  Everything is going to be different now.  The world is larger but also somehow smaller?  I can’t shake the feeling that somehow what we had before, which let’s be frank sucked, that those were the good times.  That now we’ve got a whole new world in front of us and it’s going to be an even worse one somehow.   

We headed west towards the mountains.  “We” being the savages from the plains, King Hollywoodland’s fighters, our fighters, Queen Ela’s river subjects, the mine shaft people, the other a smaller river kingdoms, some people from down south that I never seen before, a bunch of those religious freaks, refugees from Antolpe and Junktown, people I don’t even know where they came from.  Dozens and dozens and hundreds.  All working together, mostly, and all ready to fight.   

The first time we came across an Invincible patrol they were dead before word that they had been spotted even made its way back to us.  One of those flimsy plains savage carts came to tell us that it had already happened.  That’s supposed to be our scout but I can’t understand their foreign gibberish.  I nearly shot their chief on instinct when they sped up on us.  A few days ago they were our enemies and now this?  I can’t understand it.  I don’t know if I want to understand it.   

The next few patrols the mob came across we saw but they were dead before we could get at them.  One time some hard looking fucker from up north came by afterward it was over and chewed us out for “not staying in position”.  What does that even fucking mean?  Toothbiter told us that guy was going to give us orders but fuck that.  I don’t even know him.  This whole thing is crazy.   

“What are your orders chief?” asked Empty Skull from behind the wheel. 

I shrugged and gestured around us “Keep following everyone else, we couldn’t do anything else if we wanted to, we’re trapped.” 

“Where’s Toothbiter?” Windkiller asked, straining to see through the dust and grit and commotion of so many people and machines. 

“How the fuck would I know?” I grumbled as Sturnk passed me up some dried sloar.   

It’s good meat but I don’t know where it came from.  I don’t know who cooked it.  I don’t even know how it got here.  There was just a box of supplies on Suffering Bastard one day.  I don’t know who put it there.  I keep hearing about someone called Logistics but I can never find them.  No one I ask knows who or where this Logistics person is.   

“I’m worried that all the Invincible are going to be dead before we get in the fight” Sturnk grumped as he unattached his axe-blade from his stump. 

Invincible.  I’ve never even heard of these people.  How are they our enemies now and the plains savages aren’t anymore?  I had never even seen the Invincible until we set out with this mass of machines and people.  How can they be our enemies if they’re so far away from us, across a mountain?  It makes no sense. 

“There will be plenty of fighting for everyone” a voice startled me, suddenly there was someone right next to us “the Invincible come from the endless plains, there are more of them than you can even imagine.  Plenty of fighting when we get to the mountains.” 

Some little fucker on a little fucker bike was leaning there beside us.  There are so many people and so much going on that you can’t even keep track of it all.  Anyone can sneak up on you at any time.  Not even sneak, just walk up on you.  You could have your throat cut without any chance.  How are we supposed to fight like this?  I couldn’t even tell what community he was from.  How can you trust someone that you don’t even know?

Windkiller slipped down off the roof, astonished “There can’t be more of them than we have here!” 

The biker looked smug and punchable “More and more and more again.  You’ll see when we reach the mountains.” 

“Shouldn’t you be with your unit instead of here bothering us?” I said chewing up the new unwelcome word. 

He smirked “This is my unit.  You’re my lieutenant.  Don’t you remember?” 

I spat at him “What the fuck is a lieutenant?” 

Empty Skull laughed like that was the funniest thing ever.