Despite the smell, it was an excellent cover. They played Kae Bae Bo*. They made everyone play with their good hands. Derek got up to catching all five on his hand, when they reached the border. Agent 5 also made a noise when they arrived. Not at all used to the kind of disregard that the other agents faced. He thought Serena would be the most nervous out of all of them. She just chewed her bubble gum and hummed, like they weren’t even there. But it must seem strange to him, the playing, and the silence. It wasn’t important how you felt, it was that you kept quiet. He caught three on his hand but they rolled off because he was trembling.

He had tried not to think about it being Honker in that place. He didn’t like to imagine anyone in a place like that. Even though Derek was tough enough to handle it, he didn’t like to think about the kind of stuff they did in there.

When he rode with the clan, it had never reached anything past, those scary and dangerous pranks on each other.

They all told the story of when Honker Muddlefoot killed Negaduck’s Paradise component, Darkwing Duck. It sounded like something they exaggerated, probably didn’t even give him a singed tail feather. Darkwing was lucky he interesting to Honker, most times any other clan would shoot him and loot his body. The story filtered down through the clans that Honker had done it to Negaduck. Some clans were sure Negaduck was dead and reborn.

The only thing that was plentiful on the Waste, were Darkwing and Honker stories. It was strange. He knew them both better than anyone. He seemed to remember him better than anyone. Even the original Three’s memory of the real Darkwing was fading into legend.

Darkwing was no more than a brave man. Then Negaduck was an evil one or Honker was a smart one. It was strange how fast story turned into myth. Maybe it was better than playing Kae Bae Bo and blowing up bridges.

Leader of the Muddlefoots, slayer of Negaduck, Son of the Waste, Canard God. It said nothing about Honker, son of Binkie and brother of Tank, who liked to ride his bike across the Waste, who put sand in his brother’s shoes, who read War and Peace in two days and never picked up another book.

The stories kept growing. Honker was the Champion of Darkwing, because they couldn’t defeat each other in battle. It was like something out of Carnadia. That Darkwing was a messiah. Garbled beyond all understanding.

He had spent the day driving Walnut to FOWL headquarters for her home near the docks. She asked him what Darkwing was like. Knowing she would only believe what she would expect, Tank fed her some cock and bull story about his bravery and courage. She asked if he was coming back. Tank nodded but never said yes.

Derek never asked any of them anything about Darkwing, ever. He never even talked about it. He didn’t believe, in the same way some people couldn’t believe in God. He mocked the stories and the sagas the Muddlefoots taught their kids, and often rolled his eyes when Professor Sparks told someone of his experiences. It was strange when a person meant so much more than who they really were. People could stop believing in them all together. But these were strange times.

Serena had made it to the front gate.

The SHUSH Monkeys at the gatehouse were oozing charm.

"Well if it isn’t Serena Crabapple. Hey there honey. How’s the transport business going?"

"Oh I got a good load today. I must have picked up seven or eight tons this time."

"I can tell."

"You don’t wanna check my load, do ya?"

"Well. I don’t know." The guard grimaced. "There has been a lot of trouble with those dirty terrorists. They could have jumped in the back of the truck without you even knowing. They broke into the city two days ago and blew up a watchtower on the west border. Lost some very fine Enforcers."

"FOWL killed Enforcers. No! no! that is not possible. They can’t die. That’s why they got to be Enforcers. I mean that’s impossible…" Serena put on look of complete disbelief.

"I don’t know how they figured it out myself. But GryzliCop is now dead."

"Oh my Gods. They killed GryzliCop. There hasn’t been a day as dark as this since Negaduck came down in his chariot of flame. I’ve got to get out of here." She pulled the truck and backed away.

"Wait, no don’t worry. We got everything… everything is under control." The guard tenderly tried to calm the young fox "The terrorists probably aren’t even coming back for a while. They aren’t that organized to strike twice in one week."

"They’re like rats, dirty rats. But you said, You said yourself, they could get in the back of my truck and I wouldn’t even know it. Who knows what they would do to me?" she panicked.

The gate guard put his arm around the hysterical female "Don’t worry, there is no way FOWL is getting in your truck. There isn’t an agent in five miles."

"I just feel so helpless. It’s like you can’t even feel safe anywhere, Between The gangs in the Suburbs, Negaduck temples downtown, and now those horrible terrorists attacking Canardberg. I mean where is it gonna end?"

"We can’t lose hope. We know our way is right. We’ll be protected by our own virtue I suppose, while everyone else is powered by greed and superstition. Well I know one person from the Waste I can trust."

"Thank you." Serena sighed

"Enjoy your stop in Canardberg Serena."

"Thanks."

Serena shook the bitter taste of the crying hysterical female out of her mouth.

"Negaduck’s chariots of Fire?" Derek asked, sticking his head up.

"Trust me they talk just like that in the Crabapple clan."

"You are one stone cold professional Serena." Derek tipped his hat in appreciation.

"Thank you. I’m not that strong but I can fake cry with the best of them."

"I can’t believe you fooled him like that." Agent 5 gawked.

"Well I have been faking this route for a few months now. Serena Crabapple is well on her way to Canardbergian citizenship, if she can collect a thousand dollars for the license. Now phase two. The rope is in the back. Have fun you kids." Serena nodded at them.

Serena held her breath.

Agent Walnut creeped out the front door, underneath the axle.

Serena began to scream. "HEEEEEELLLLLLPP!"

Agent 5 gagged her, with the rope.

Agent Boo clutched to the top of the roof.

"Help Oh. Help" the gag wouldn’t work. Agent Boo tipped his hat to Agent 5, and snuck belly first onto the top of the truck.

Boo took his augmentation, and switched his eye into binocular mode, and scoped out the guard tower. They had finally heard something, they moved out. One, Two, Three, Four, leaving one two behind. That would be a breeze. If they could get the access code to the tunnel before they called for reinforcements.

The truck lurched as Agent 5 drove the truck. They could sneak into the SHUSH pod bays only if they made it past the tower. Agent Boo was nearly flat against the truck, accept for the clip, probably cause no one in their right mind would ride on top of huge transporter truck.

The truck lurched to a stop. He could hear the first guard.

"Serena just left here. This is really weird."

He unhooked himself off of the truck and sat up. He looked around for the two guards. They were on the other side of the truck, there was no way inside from this height except by jack hook up to the second story window. He crossed his fingers and loaded one.

He heard for some kind of cue. When they wouldn’t be looking. They were getting inside of the cab

"Serena, Serena."

He launched the jackhook over to the wall, not a sound. God Bless Jack. He tied the end to the top of the truck so it would be taught enough to climb across. That would be simple enough, if the resin was as strong as he said it was. He pulled on it once to make sure.

He listened for more cues as he walked over the wire.

"Serena-Oh no."

"Oh shit!"

"Hands up! Look like we got ourselves a terrorist."

Derek began to chant to himself, that they wouldn’t shoot Agent 5 first. Get to the canteen.

"Not so fast. Give me the bottle. What’s the matter run out of candy canes, scum?"

"That’s Lollipops." Tank said tossing the canteen over

Derek was more than halfway there. When

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

A huge noise nearly knocked him of the wire, he grabbed both hands on it to keep himself from falling. Thank Darkwing, it was nighttime.

He made it to the roof. And snapped the cord so no one could follow. He loaded another jack hook in his tool and searched for the right window. He opened the window and looked around. Had they got the wrong blueprints this looked nothing like the pod bay. No one was inside so he stuck the hook on the window and repelled on the jack hook. These things were beautiful.

In the room he encountered Walnut, frantically pacing.

"Sir. The pod bay isn’t here. They moved it. I don’t see how there is anyway we can sneak in."

Derek was used to such pessimism in rookies.

"They’ve got it guarded, three guards, all in the only door. They must be on the look out for FOWL agents from the last time."

"Well we can’t sneak in then."

"I told you that already sir-"

Derek shrugged cocked his hand, and ran into the door. Walnut barely followed him in time.

"This has been a diversion provided by the Federation of World Liberation." Derek shout, took two shots. One hit on target, the other hit the bookshelf. The guards ducked behind furniture. Walnut shot three shots and none of them landed, but she did manage to grab one of the guards, and put her tool to his head.

"Put down your gun or he dies." Derek nodded.

"I don’t-"
Walnut shot the guard in the head.

Derek grimaced. He had to stop worrying about killing these people. This guilt was going to get him killed.

"Let’s try this one more time. Put down the gun."

The guard dropped the gun, slowly looking at Walnut.

"No, why are you looking at her. I’m the one pointing this tool at you. Now, where is the right pod?" Derek held his tool to his forehead.

"I don’t know."

"I think he does know." Walnut said almost snarling, wiping the blood off her leg

"Where is the pod to subsection 427." Derek said terribly, red eye blazing like the flame of the skinniest laser.

"It’s there." Not really coherent enough to point. Derek dropped the tool.

Derek grabbed him. "Well you can show me then." Derek dragged him along. The rows and bins and lines of pod bays. Any place in Canardberg besides the presidential quarters. It was as convenient as it was dangerous.

"Why are you going there? There is only some school up there."

"Oh I see somebody wishes to become top strategist for FOWL." He threw him on the ground "Which one?"

The guard could motion clearly.

Derek kicked him aside and opened the access panel.

"What’s the lucky number, Skippy?"

Walnut headlocked him and put her tool to his forehead

"1107-HT89"

"Thank you." Derek said. "Lock it up after I leave doll face, and watch him make sure he doesn’t escape and tell his buddies we are here. We’ll want to question him after."

Derek stepped into the pod bay, and closed the door.

As soon as Derek had entered, Walnut turned around and shot the guy in the face without another word or a thought.

The use of the pod bays of Canardberg was the right of every full citizen, so over the years had been a privilege reserved for the rich, soldiers, and SHUSH. He felt the old thrill of being a little boy taking his first trip, but it soon passed as the grim reality of his mission weighed upon him. He was home.

This school was probably no different from any of the other countless Re-Education centers, maybe this one had better security. But they were generally laid out the same. With any luck, Agent Boo could sneak in and out before the reinforcements arrived at the station. They weren’t expecting the FOWL agents to attack by pod. They assumed FOWL had no idea what was going on in Canardberg. But for the first time, FOWL agents had infiltrated the inner wall. They were attacking from the inside now. It was probably a good idea to bring Agent 5 after all. Any halfway decent agent could have easily remembered how to work the pod mechanism. If they could find the right codes.

Agent Boo slipped in, tool loaded with his third jack hook. He would have to conserve them, he only had two left.

He padded along the hall, as the sounds of a bustling yard overwhelmed him. There were lots of people there trying to be very very quiet. He sighed, but let no other noise escape his mouth.

He had to admit though every bone in his body knew it was different, different stone floors, different white walls; different and indifferent moonbeams streaming in. There was something that spoke so familiar, so scolding so sure. He couldn’t escape the light.

He heard a noise.

He attached the spider to the ceiling and climbed like a fiend, upside down.

Two figures, a typical man and a tall duck with her hair long dark hair parted over one eye like the fashionable women and men wore in Canardberg. Derek could have sworn he recognized her from somewhere.

"Thanks for coming with me, Agent Bellum." The doctor said "This little barbarian put me on edge."

"We don’t want him sedated. It will slow down the healing process."

"I can’t help but feel he is waiting for something."

"Well, if you can’t handle him, we could always take him back to SHUSH. The treatment is to important to be dealt with by squeamish fussy-"

Derek Boo sprung into action.

He swung down. The Doctor dropped the tray of medication. The other stood and looked blankly. The Doctor in a show of misguided bravado tried to grab his hand.

Derek shook his head.

"You realize I have a Handtool." He pointed it at them.

"It’s FOWL." The doctor snarled.

"Look." Derek said menacing the doctor. "We could do this any number of ways. But frankly I don’t like making messes. So just give me the key to the Muddlefoot kids room."

They both backed into a curtained room.

"Where is The Muddlefoot?"

The cornered doctor began to spout self-righteous propaganda as he took the key away from the other one.

"You’ll never get away with this Terrorist scum." The doctor shook his fist.

"That has never stopped us before getting away with it before." He shrugged "I’m afraid whether I live or not is out of your hands, at this point."

At this the other one ducked behind the counter and grabbed a syringe, and stabbed it into his foot.

He lurched back.

Agent Boo cursed as she pulled out her hidden gun.

"SHUSH Agent 437. Kiss the ground Agent."

"I knew it where technological nightmares abound, thus appears Sarah Bellum, Doctor Frankenstein herself."

"This kill is going to get me a lot of Brownie points up at R&D. A complete corpse of a FOWL agent. They might let me into a laboratory again."

"Dr. Bellum had a farm, eh? A hand tool here, a Handtool there, here a beak there a wing everywhere a dead chicken. Eieio" Derek mused.

"You know Agent Boo, your pathetic attempts at humor almost make we want to keep you alive." She was so desperately close he could see the red light glittering in her outlet.

"Thanks but I don’t date genocidal maniacs, sweets."

"You really make me sad, Boo. That the effects of Re-Education took no hold on your mind." She pushed back her hair revealing her ghoulish metallic eye, red as his was green.

"Like yours did, you freakin' butcher."

"You look troubled Derek. It is funny how fate leads people. I am doing my duty for the state. I know where my place in the world is. And yet you terrorists, the proponents of freedom cannot find happiness, despite all your claims. It’s really sad." She repeated.

At the very least he had to make sure they didn’t get his body. She held the gun to his forehead.

He closed his eyes, and in one fell swoop attacked. Kicking up at her in the stomach. She reeled long enough for him to roll out of the room.

Bellum’s bullets bounced against the walls and Derek didn’t even have time to look back and aim. His bullets bounced and pinged of the walls. He ran too slowly with the syringe still in his foot, trying desperately to reload his Handtool.

He ducked into a doorway, and could hold his ground. The Muddlefoot’s room was only two doors away.

He had only one recourse and one weapon left.

The use of the pod bays of Canardberg was the right of every full citizen, so over the years had been a privilege reserved for the rich, soldiers, and SHUSH. He felt the old thrill of being a little boy taking his first trip, but it soon passed as the grim reality of his mission weighed upon him. He was home.

This school was probably no different from any of the other countless Re-Education centers, maybe this one had better security. But they were generally laid out the same. With any luck, Agent Boo could sneak in and out before the reinforcements arrived at the station. They weren’t expecting the FOWL agents to attack by pod. They assumed FOWL had no idea what was going on in Canardberg. But for the first time, FOWL agents had infiltrated the inner wall. They were attacking from the inside now. It was probably a good idea to bring Agent 5 after all. Any halfway decent agent could have easily remembered how to work the pod mechanism. If they could find the right codes.

Agent Boo slipped in, tool loaded with his third jack hook. He would have to conserve them, he only had two left.

He padded along the hall, as the sounds of a bustling yard overwhelmed him. There were lots of people there trying to be very very quiet. He sighed, but let no other noise escape his mouth.

He had to admit though every bone in his body knew it was different, different stone floors, different white walls; different and indifferent moonbeams streaming in. There was something that spoke so familiar, so scolding so sure. He couldn’t escape the light.

He heard a noise.

He attached the spider to the ceiling and climbed like a fiend, upside down.

Two figures, a typical man and a tall duck with her hair long dark hair parted over one eye like the fashionable women and men wore in Canardberg. Derek could have sworn he recognized her from somewhere.

"Thanks for coming with me, Agent Bellum." The doctor said "This little barbarian put me on edge."

"We don’t want him sedated. It will slow down the healing process."

"I can’t help but feel he is waiting for something."

"Well, if you can’t handle him, we could always take him back to SHUSH. The treatment is to important to be dealt with by squeamish fussy-"

Derek Boo sprung into action.

He swung down. The Doctor dropped the tray of medication. The other stood and looked blankly. The Doctor in a show of misguided bravado tried to grab his hand.

Derek shook his head.

"You realize I have a Handtool." He pointed it at them.

"It’s FOWL." The doctor snarled.

"Look." Derek said menacing the doctor. "We could do this any number of ways. But frankly I don’t like making messes. So just give me the key to the Muddlefoot kids room."

They both backed into a curtained room.

"Where is The Muddlefoot?"

The cornered doctor began to spout self-righteous propaganda as he took the key away from the other one.

"You’ll never get away with this Terrorist scum." The doctor shook his fist.

"That has never stopped us before getting away with it before." He shrugged "I’m afraid whether I live or not is out of your hands, at this point."

At this the other one ducked behind the counter and grabbed a syringe, and stabbed it into his foot.

He lurched back.

Agent Boo cursed as she pulled out her hidden gun.

"SHUSH Agent 437. Kiss the ground Agent."

"I knew it where technological nightmares abound, thus appears Sarah Bellum, Doctor Frankenstein herself."

"This kill is going to get me a lot of Brownie points up at R&D. A complete corpse of a FOWL agent. They might let me into a laboratory again."

"Dr. Bellum had a farm, eh? A hand tool here, a Handtool there, here a beak there a wing everywhere a dead chicken. Eieio" Derek mused.

"You know Agent Boo, your pathetic attempts at humor almost make we want to keep you alive." She was so desperately close he could see the red light glittering in her outlet.

"Thanks but I don’t date genocidal maniacs, sweets."

"You really make me sad, Boo. That the effects of Re-Education took no hold on your mind." She pushed back her hair revealing her ghoulish metallic eye, red as his was green.

"Like yours did, you freakin butcher."

"You look troubled Derek. It is funny how fate leads people. I am doing my duty for the state. I know where my place in the world is. And yet you terrorists, the proponents of freedom cannot find happiness, despite all your claims. It’s really sad." She repeated.

At the very least he had to make sure they didn’t get his body. She held the gun to his forehead.

He closed his eyes, and in one fell swoop attacked. Kicking up at her in the stomach. She reeled long enough for him to roll out of the room.

Bellum’s bullets bounced against the walls and Derek didn’t even have time to look back and aim. His bullets bounced and pinged of the walls. He ran too slowly with the syringe still in his foot, trying desperately to reload his Handtool.

He ducked into a doorway, and could hold his ground. The Muddlefoot’s room was only two doors away.

He had only one recourse and one weapon left.

Bellum walked down the hall with her gun. It never even occurred to her to call for backup. This kill was going to her.

"Hey Bellum. Think fast."

Agent Boo pointed a jack hook at her. It knocked her in the head flattening and pinning her against the wall.

He checked her pulse.

Still alive.

"See ya later toots."

He was out of Jack hooks, stranded in the middle of the Canardberg state. Limping with an empty syringe in his foot.

He had dropped the keys.

"Muddlefoot."

A weary groan of assent arose in the room.

He really hated to do this kind of thing.

He jammed his beak through the door and spun for about a second. He clutched it. He pushed his hand through the lock. Why didn’t he bring more bullets?

He entered the room.

"How are we doing today?" Derek said sarcastically.

The young goose man straightened up out of his bed.

"Come on Muddlefoot, we got to book it."

"You came." He said groggily, almost innocent.

Agent Boo had seen him several times but never like this. Out of his waste gear, in the thin white robe. He looked frail, even gangly. The bandage still sat red soaked on his eye.

He hoped that the kid didn’t see him wince.

"It’s nothing. They couldn’t crack me. Stupid Shushers. They think I’m actually listening." His voice was still as rich in contempt as it always was, if not lessened by lack of sleep and most likely truth drugs.

The Leader stood up out of the bed to his full height.

"But don’t stare at it." He said coldly.

Derek assented.

"I haven’t been everywhere. I’m not used to this. I can’t see if I’m running into something, everything is so flat."

"Your neurons aren’t adjusted to the mechanism yet. If we get back you are going to need a cane for a while.

"Can you walk?"

"Yeah."

Good cause I can’t run. Agent Boo thought to himself.

"We’ll take it slow. We might have to cross the grounds."

"We can’t there are snipers." The Leader said, looking fearfully out his window.

Agent Boo looked out the window. Nothing, just an empty field.

In his days at the Re-Education center, everyone was sure that the Center was surrounded by land mines. Sometimes these social and psychological restraints were just as effective especially on the kind of imaginative and clever kids that ended up in these places.

"I could hear the guns and Donnie said he saw them. He clutched his head. "At least I think I could hear the guns."

Agent Boo realized he couldn’t expect much help from him.

"My head hurts."

"Well we’ll get you all fixed up with some good FOWL drugs when we bust out of here." Agent Boo said joking.

"We’ve got to get back. My people are probably worrying about me."

A strange figure cut it’s way into the hall. Large and strangely metallic. He put his strange thick hand around Bellum’s hair. Lifting her head out.

"I’m seeing she’s unconscious." The strange grey robot seemed to say.

He slammed her head into the ground, carelessly.

The Doctor sat inconsolable. "It’s FOWL. They’ve come after the Muddlefoot."

NecroDuk turned around "I would ask, How would they know about the Muddlefoot?"

Dolittle slinked next to his amazing bulk and impressive stature. Her mechanical features less obvious and obviously more advanced.

"I would say, I don’t know." she said as laboured and timid as the hulking death machine, but her voice was just as soft.

NecroDuk turned around "I would ask, How could they found out what we were doing to him? When would Jack ever save someone? Let alone The Muddlefoot?

"I’m seeing they know more about Lazarus Project than they let on." Dolittle said. She flipped back her hair over her eye outlet.

"I am seeing, They seem to know all of our weak links. Everything would tell me I thought they were just desperate trying to kill GryzliCop, but they have to know about Lazarus. Why else would they kidnap the Muddlefoot from us? I’d see they are probably going to want his eye for themselves."

The doctor sat listening to their cold and passive speech as if everything was weaker, more passive and more confusing as a Necrobot.

Dolittle addressed him. "I’m saying to the doctor, Where would they run?"

"No one ever runs." He said "This is a Re-Education Center. It is not a right it’s a privilege…" he said in his faith as a good citizen

"I would ask, How do the students try to escape?" NecroDuk lifted him.

The Doctor panicked.

"The students climb down the trellis in front of the 3^rd sleeping hall, to the Open field some nights. But why would they want to escape this is what they need. No one ever escapes this Center. We don’t even have walls."

NecroDuk set him down and headed in the direction.

The doctor held on Dolittle’s arm.

"This event will ruin this Center’s reputation. I hope you know what you are doing, starting a battle in a children’s Center."

"I would calculate. There is little probability any children will be killed." Dolittle said, taking his arm off her shoulder. "It will matter very little in the long run if the Muddlefoot escapes us."

Honker led Derek down the hall.

He leads him down the hall to the bunkroom.

"This takes us down to the field."

"Right in front of all these kids?"

"They won’t talk."

"Children don’t talk at all, here." Honker said with one painful look.

They entered the room. The children awakened in their beds and sat up.

They were all young. Some were younger. None were over twelve.

Honker didn’t even think twice, didn’t even look at them as he made his way to the window. As if the room was empty, as if they were the only two souls in the world, and everything else was just a dried strange husk.

Derek was transfixed on their whole perfect eyes. Some still had light in them, others had tears which brightened their eyes, enough.

He paused.

"This is the easiest way out to the field." The Leader tugged on his arm

The children sat silent conditioned by the silence of the Center in their beds. Only staring up at them.

One of the younger ones woke up. Still unused to the patterns and habits of his fellow children. Young enough to think.

"Who are you?" he asked.

Honker turned his face away, from him. Setting to open the windows.

"You didn’t see nothing kid." Honker said viciously.

"Yes Honker."

"You keep your mouth shut, or I’ll be back to get you."

The child trembled "Yes Honker."

Honker snapped open the window and opened it.

"Where are you going?" he asked once.

Honker crawled out the window.

Derek knew there was only one rule in these places. Bullies. The strong and tough were given dominion over everyone. Honker had been lucky to be strong enough. Before Derek got his eye outlet, he had always been kind of small. The reason the bullies broke his beak that first event so many years ago.

Derek watched as Honker pushed the others around, remembering.

The little kid too afraid to ask Honker looked at him.

"Where are you going?" the little kid asked Derek.

There was nothing he could say to him. "We’re getting outta here." Derek walked to the window.

"Right now?" the little kid asked completely surprised.

"Yes."

The little kid seemed to fall back as if he had been given some great insight, some rapturous epiphany.

"I’m going home?"

Derek turned around. He never felt so powerless. There would be no rescue, no salvation, and no redemption for these children. Only the Muddlefoot. The rest would stay here.

The little one held out his hand in the air

"I wanna go home." He cried. "Please take me home."

A shrill cry came from outside the window. "Fowl Man get going. Get rid of him."

He reached out to Derek.

"I wanna go home."

His two little hands wrapped around Derek’s neck.

Honker climbed back up the wall.

"Ditch the kid. We can’t have him slow us down."

Derek knew that. The kid’s dark eyes devoured him.

Honker drew his knife menacing the young child.

"I said buzz off."

The little child mad with hope, his eyes flashed at the dagger blade. He held on.

"The SHUSH are on us." Honker growled.

Derek felt all the weight on his heart.

"He’s just a kid Honker." He said

"Exactly." Honker said "Just one kid."

"Take me home."

The others stared at them silently, to startled to breathe.

Honker leaped out the window.

As Derek watched him jump out the window. There was a strange ta-tink against the floor…