Dax and Baljeet Episode 1 - Industrial Revolution (DEFUNCT)

> "God damnit! That wasn’t even fifteen seconds!"
>
>

## Synopsis

Dax and Baljeet try to steal honey from the Bee people of Elderack. Baljeet stumbles onto an orb containing electrical energy.

## Major Characters

Dax

Baljeet

Bee People of Elderack

## Transcript

The warm forest of Elderack was illuminated by a daytime sky. A critter leaps along the grassy, leaf covered ground. The animal begins to explore the area before stopping to examine a tree. The animal appears to be a small brown rodent. As the rodent slowly approaches the tree to sniff it its tail twitches in reaction to the breeze making its way through the trees and bushes. It sees a dead insect on the ground next to a pile of rocks. The rodent approaches to bug before being suddenly crushed, and killed in a bloody flattening by the foot of a man running by.

The man is named Dax. He was about average height for a male, between five and six feet. He had on dusty green suit pants that were torn at the ankles and held up by a chain tied to the waste. The man’s ankles were met with a pair of dirty, and damaged brown dress shoes. He had no undershirt; however he did have a tattered suit jacket that matched his pants. He was as thin as a twig with only a few patches of stringy hair on his head and covered in burn marks left by a horrible accident in his past, however that is water under the bridge. Dwelling upon that matter would be nothing but a waste of time. Next to him was a small dark skinned boy around four and a half feet with a big cut on his left cheek. His name is Baljeet. He had on a brown long-sleeved shirt, and black pants. He wore sandals and had a full head of black curly hair. He was some sort of backpack he had over his shoulder. These two looked like they were running for their lives.

“How much of it did you get?” Dax asked Baljeet as they were both running through the forest.

“I think I got a whole jar!” Baljeet answered with confidence.

“Shit, really?” Dax started, “No wonder they’re so pissed at us.” Dax said before a sharp arrow whizzed past his head startling him, causing him to duck and shout in surprise. This made Dax turn to see how close they may be to impending doom. The two were being chased by a group of humanoid bee-human hybrids. They had the bug like exoskeleton style bodies, though with the anatomical proportions of a human. They only had two arms and two legs, though they had wings along with black and yellow designs on their shoulders, chest and knees. There were four of them, and they did not look happy. It looked as though they were too heavy to glide for so long, and they had their stingers removed and repurposed into firing arrows.

“Can’t you just shoot them!?” Baljeet cried.

“You think I don’t want to? When was the last time you reloaded a revolver while running, or ever?” Dax argued. “Hold on, I think I got something.” While running Dax reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a little glass bottle. The bottle was sealed tight by a cork. Dax put the bottle in his mouth and bit down on the cork to hold onto it so he could have two free hands. He then pulled out a small metal canister and opened it before placing the lid in his underarm to hold. He then pulled the bottle out of his mouth, also pulling the cork out with his teeth. He poured the small glass bottle’s contents into the canister before throwing the bottle away and spitting the cork out. He then resealed the canister, shook it up, and chucked it behind him. The canister exploded on impact and disintegrated the bee people.

“Alright! Eat shit, bees!” Dax laughed.

“That was nuts.” Baljeet said in a sigh of relief as Dax reloaded his six-shooter.

“Yeah, those are the Bee People of Elderack and they do NOT like having their shit stolen. I’m just glad they didn’t send their whole tribe.” Dax said, “I am not equipped to clash with fifty thousand Bee People, and to be honest I don’t think anybody is. Anyway, so you got the honey?”

“Yeah I got the honey.” Baljeet said pulling out a fist sized jar filled with a bright yellow slime. “Why the hell do you even need this stuff anyway?” He asked.

“Well if you must know, this goop not only tastes like heaven in a bowl, but it also heals wounds rapidly upon any contact with living cells. Funny thing is they don’t even know how powerful it is as a medication, they just eat it. Idiots. Anyway, heads up!” Dax dipped his hand into the jar and pulled it back out before slapping Baljeet right in the face.

“Ow, what the hell was that for!?” Baljeet cried.

“Dumbass, did you not just hear what I said? That wound on your cheek should heal right up in a minute, just don’t touch your face.” Dax warned. “Now come on, if we go this way we can get back home before dark. I wanna get a potion brewing for tomorrow so I can get a jump on the honey.” Dax and Baljeet continued walking down through the forest to get to their horse drawn wagon. They had found a horse a couple weeks prior and have found travel much easier. It was a pretty straightforward walk until they saw that the bridge was collapsed.

“Oh no, the bridge!” Baljeet panicked.

“I mean, it was a pretty old bridge. I personally didn’t expect it to be up for much longer, but this is just a day ruiner.” Dax said before looking around to see any sort of way across. Baljeet trailed off in a different direction as Dax looked over.

“Hey just so we’re clear, I don’t need you getting lost right now, so if you do I can’t promise I’ll look for you.” Dax said.

“I’m not gonna get lost I’m trying to help; now do you want it or not?” Baljeet said to which Dax just groaned and looked away.

“Whatever. I just think you should know; this is a big forest. You, being Baljeet, will most definitely get lost. So, I’m asking for the sake of not completely derailing this quest, don’t get lost. Alright, Baljeet?” Dax asked while spraying acid on a tree trunk base, partially melting the bottom, causing it to fall over forming a bridge across. “Baljeet?” Dax repeated before turning around to see nobody there. “God damnit! That wasn’t even fifteen seconds!” Dax walked over to see that Baljeet had stumbled down a mildly steep hill. Dax walked down the hill and into a cave. The cave looked as if nobody had ever even entered as it was full of gems. Dax looked around. “Eh, the kid might not have screwed up after all.” Dax said eyeing down all the gems.

“OW!” Baljeet’s yell echoed through the cave as Dax followed the sound to investigate.

“What did you- Oh my...” Dax’s outburst was interrupted with his shock upon seeing a massive bright blue glowing orb.

“I saw this giant thing and I poked it with my metal pipe, and it shocked me.” Baljeet said.

“Okay first off, the pipe is mine, learn the definition of borrow. Second, it’s obvious that this orb has some sort of energy contained inside of it so we’re gonna have to remove it carefully and be smart about this.” Dax explained.

“Wait, you wanna try to take this thing?” Baljeet asked.

“Not try, do. And yes. It is unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and it looks like the only one in the cave.” Dax said examining the orb. He looked closely at it. Dax then heard the scurry of a raccoon. Dax quickly leaped at the raccoon, grabbing it by its neck. He then took the raccoon’s hand and placed it on the orb. The raccoon shrieked in agony as it was zapped by the orb.

“Okay, so there’s nothing insolating this energy inside the orb.” Dax explained.

“So let’s go home. I’m hungry, and you ate my rations!” Baljeet said.

“I needed brain food, Baljeet. At least I actually have something to feed up there.” Dax replied pointing to his head. “And besides, we’re not at the end of the road yet, kid.” Dax took a thick leather glove out of his jacket pocket and put it on the raccoon’s tiny paw before once again placing its paw on the orb. This time nothing happened. Dax tossed the raccoon over his shoulder, and put the gloves on himself. He grabbed the orb and put inside a leather carrying case.

“Alright, Baljeet, now we just need to get the hell out of here.” Dax said as the two proceeded back in the direction they were going.

“Not so fast. Give it back!” Said an off-duty bee solider who had been nearby. He was aiming directly at Dax’s chest with a crossbow.

“Oh, God damn it.” Dax exclaimed throwing the leather bag onto the ground angrily, and throwing his hands up.

“That’s right, hand’s up.” The solider said continuing to point the crossbow.

“Wait, is this about the orb, or the honey?” Baljeet asked raising his hands.

“What orb?” The soldier said,

“Are you an idiot?!” Dax yelled towards Baljeet.

“I just heard word of a honey thief, and figured the two non-hybrid’s wandering around in our forests probably have something to do with it.” The bee said.

“‘Non-hybrid?’ Let’s not sugarcoat things, you guys are God damn freaks of nature.” Dax started, “Besides, what the hell are you even doing this far into the woods anyway?”

“I’m out for a walk.” He said.

“In the middle of the dense fucking woods? For Christ’s sake, are you a bear?” Dax snapped.

“Enough!” The solider yelled before signaling with the crossbow to ground the conversation. “You two are gonna come with me, and we’re gonna let the Queen decide what happens to the lot of you.” He took a few steps closer before Dax kicked dirt into his eyes and tackled him to the ground. The struggled on the ground tussling as they fought of the crossbow. In the scuffle the crossbow went off and fired. The two sprung up to see where it shot. The looked over to see a collapsed Baljeet with an arrow in his left leg. He screamed until suddenly his face turned pale, his eyes went bloodshot and he began foaming at the mouth. The solider frantically tried to reload his crossbow before Dax pulled his revolver out of his jacket pocket and shot him in the head, killing him. Dax walked over to Baljeet’s now convulsing body. Baljeet was flailing and kicking.

“Jesus, calm down.” He grunted as he removed the stinger arrow from Baljeet’s leg and examined it. Dax took a bottle of sterilizer out of his jacket and poured it on the leg to which Baljeet roared in pain at the stinging sensation it caused.

“Shut up!” Dax said rummaging through his bag. He grabbed the honey and looked at the jar, then looked at Baljeet, then at the jar, and again at Baljeet. He sighed as he poured a few drops of honey into a syringe and injected it into the same leg that Baljeet was shot in. Baljeet sprung up and gasped loudly as his face returned to its original shade, and his mouth stopped emitting foam.

“Thanks, Dax. You saved me!” Baljeet said.

“Yeah and already used half my jar on you, and I won’t use the other so I wouldn’t get used to it if I were you.” Dax said pulling Baljeet off the ground. “Now come on, we don’t need any more bee people chasing us.” Dax said before three more of the bee soldiers flew down from the trees and put up their crossbows. However, these were actual hired soldiers.

“Fuck!” Dax yelled.

\*\*\*

Instead of facing an immediate execution, Dax and Baljeet were brought to the Queen for a sentencing. The two had all weapons stripped from them in order to stop them from being able to escape. Before approaching the Queen the Bee People played some sort of ceremonial tune with trumpets to which Dax gave an eyeroll. The two were walked down a long hallway into a big throne. They were circled by crossbow wielding soldiers. Dax glanced around the area looking for a means of escape and eyed a vat of steaming honey over a balcony. The room was designed as one giant bridge with a throne on the end of it. There were two balconies on each side, and underneath was the giant vat. Workers worked on the honey and could tend to the Queen at a moment’s notice. As Dax and Baljeet approached the podium the Queen leaned forward and narrowed her eyes at the two. She was not the only female Bee Person; however, she was the only female found in the royal hive. She had bright red eyes, and a crown atop her head.

“So, you intruders think it’s okay to break into my hive, and steal my honey?” The Queen yelled.

“Do you think it’s okay to talk to me like I’m fucking stupid?” Dax responded.

“Dax, don’t!” Baljeet said grabbing Dax’s shoulder before he was swatted away.

“No. Baljeet, this is waste of time for everybody in this room. We all know we’re both kicking the bucket todayl. Do you really think she cares what I say?” Dax began, “Look at her, she’s salivating! She can’t even wait to execute us. You people are worse than me!” Dax yelled darting a finger around the room.

“Silence!” The Queen commanded, wiping her mouth. “You two have committed inexcusable actions.” She stated.

“See, here it comes.” Dax chimed.

“SILENCE!!” She yelled. “As punishment for your crimes,” She started again.

“You’re going to execute us.” Dax chimed in, interrupting the Queen

“Shut the hell up!” The Queen yelled.

“Oh, can you just fucking say it?!” Dax argued.

“I COMMAND SILENCE!!” She yelled.

“Y’know what, how about you eat my cock?” Dax snapped.

“GOD DAMN IT, Kill them both!” The Queen shrieked as she pointed at them angrily.

“Alright, fuck this shit.” Dax said before flipping the podium to throw the soldiers off before grabbing Baljeet by the collar and jumping the balcony into the steaming honey vat.

“Woah, Dax! Stop! No!” Baljeet cried as they both dropped in. The whole room watched as bubbles rose. After a few seconds they had agreed that the two had to had to have burned and disintegrated, as the Bee People were not even aware of their honey’s effects on human tissue. A few more seconds passed, and Dax climbed out of the vat dragging Baljeet with him. The balcony blocked the soldiers from seeing them climb out. They snuck into another room through a maintenance door next to the vat.

“How the hell am I alive, we should be dead. I never agreed to any of this!” Baljeet said.

“Because the honey instantaneously healed our burns as soon as they started developing. How many fucking times do I have to explain this to you?” Dax replied.

“Well maybe give me a little insight on the plan next time?” Baljeet argued.

“It’s not my fault that I’m a quick thinker, maybe keep up, bitch.” Dax said as he rummaged through the maintenance room, finding a spare crossbow with a few arrows. He tucked the arrows into his belt.

“Whatever.” Baljeet began before seeing another door in the corner. “What if we go that way?” He said pointing to it.

“Cross your fingers that my shit’s in there.” Dax said before they both went in. Baljeet kicked down the door to the surprise of two soldiers on break. Dax quickly fired at the neck of the one on the left, impaling their throat causing him to collapse against a table. While that went down Baljeet leaped onto the back of the second and hammered down on the back of his head with his fists. The soldier tried to toss him off, however Baljeet quickly grabbed the arrow and ripped it out of the other now dead soldier and used it to kill the one he was fighting. With both soldiers now down the two collected their thoughts and looked around. There were two different hallways to explore.

“Hey, the honey we stole is in here, but I don’t see your stuff, but this looks like some sort of maintenance facility.” Baljeet inquired.

“Yeah this must be where the Bee People keep the hive up and running. Hold onto that jar, and go look around for a storage room, I’ll go this way.” Dax said tossing the jar to Baljeet, who fumbled for a bit before securely catching the jar.

“Wait we shouldn’t split up, I don’t have a weapon!” Baljeet said, but turned around to see that Dax was already gone. “Oh, Christ.” Baljeet said worriedly. Baljeet kept his head low as he explored the hallways of the hive’s maintenance section and made sure to peek at all the doors. Keeping his head low as he turned every corner. He found one door labeled: ‘Honey Transportation 4F’ and before he could move on he heard guards coming from each direction. Baljeet panicked and entered the room. After opening the door he saw a river of honey. The honey river lined the back wall and flowed into pipes. He scooped some honey into his hands and looked at it.

“I wonder if it tastes as good as Dax said it does.” He thought before he heard the doorknob rattling. He jumped into the river to hide under the honey. Two guards walked in, one with some sort of thermos to drink out of, and the other holding a hot mug.

“How’ve you been, Harry?” asked the guard holding the mug.

“Ahh, it’s been pretty tough if I’m being completely honest.” Harry replied.

“I’m sorry to hear that, man.” The other soldier said.

“Ever since my wife left it’s been hard” Harry rambled. “She took the kids; she took the house.” He continued as the other guard checked the honey. “The worst part about it all is knowing it was all my fault. Sometimes I wonder if coming to work every day is worth it. I mean... I hate every aspect of my life, and if I’m being honest, I have been thinking of killing myself just to escape it all.” Harry said in a low, dejected tone looking to the other guard for some sort of hope, or uplifting comment.

“What’d you say? Sorry, I got distracted.” He responded.

“Oh, uhhh- nothing... It- it was nothing...” Harry said as he hung his head down quietly whimpering. He wiped his tears when all of a sudden Baljeet popped up out of the river and gasped for a breath of oxygen.

“What the hell?!” The other guard said as Baljeet kicked him in the face and jumped on his back. As the solider flailed around trying to get Baljeet off of him, Harry fired his crossbow. He missed due to their erratic movement and killed the other guard. Harry reloaded, and aimed at a now helpless Baljeet. Though, right before he fired the crossbow he was slammed in the back of the head by, Dax.

“Dax?” Baljeet cried.

“C’mon, I found my shit. Let’s move!” Dax said grabbing Baljeet’s arm and running.

“What about that other guard?” Baljeet asked.

“He’s probably dead, kid. I hit him pretty hard.” Dax answered.

“Oh, well he said he wanted to die.” Baljeet mentioned.

“Then I guess he got his wish, it was happening either way.” Dax said. The two ran down the halls sporadically. Dax turned every corner looking for the exit. They approached a stairwell. Dax kicked the door down and the two sprinted up the stairs. After exiting the stairwell they found themselves back in the throne. Dax threw an acid bomb disintegrating a group of guards before killing the others with his six shooter and a well tossed Molotov. The Queen looked in horror while Dax reloaded. He then unloaded the gun into her.

“OH MY GOD, THE QUEEN IS DEAD!!” A soldier whaled.

“DAX!!?” Baljeet yelled confused and horrified by Dax’s actions.

“Come on, let’s get the hell outta here!” Dax said grabbing him by the arm and sprinting out of the throne. As they ran through the halls of the royal hive’s lobby soldiers came out of every direction. They were flying out from every doorway, corner, and window. Dax and Baljeet sped up as the Bee People got closer.

“You know what I said earlier? About fifty thousand Bee People? Well it’s happening.” Dax said. Dax tossed Molotov after Molotov, but there were too many of them

“This is all your fault, Dax!” Baljeet cried as they turned a corner getting closer to the exit.

“My fault?! Are you fucking serious?!’ Dax scoffed. “You’re the one who got lost in the forest, which, if I’m not mistaken, is what lead to us getting caught.”

“So you murder their Queen?” Baljeet argued.

“Hey, what can I say, gotta go out on top.” Dax said.

“The only reason we’re even gonna ‘go out’ at all is because you maliciously killed her! We coulda just snuck out of there!” Baljeet hollered.

“Whatever.” Dax dismissed Baljeet’s argument. “You still got that honey?” He asked. Baljeet handed him the jar. “What the hell happened to the rest of it? Oh God damn it, it’s ‘cause I gave it to you, Baljeet you bitch!” Dax groaned. After a few more seconds of running, Dax managed to lose the Bee People for a split second. In this moment he eyed a closet to hide in and pulled Baljeet in there with him.

“What are we doing in here, Dax?” Baljeet cried.

“Quiet! We only have a finite amount of time until they realize where we are.” Dax said spilling his bag onto a table. Grabbing chemicals, the honey jar, and a blood covered arrow. “I’m gonna use this honey, and this Bee Person blood to make some extra strong bug spray.”

“Wh- how?” Baljeet asked.

“It doesn’t matter, are you the chemist?” Dax yelled. “I need to use the blood to kill the blood if you know what I’m sayin’.” He chuckled.

“No, I guess I don’t. That doesn’t make any sense.” Baljeet said.

“Well neither does our friendship, but I still brought you with me didn’t I?” Dax said while he vigorously mixed a bunch of chemicals together with the honey and blood. He kept working as the Bee People drew closer. Right before the two were discovered, Dax kicked the door open himself and sprayed in every direction he could. The Bee People all began to choke and shrivel as the gas traveled all around reaching each soldier in seconds.

“Well it looks like everything worked out.” Dax said smiling as a collapse Bee Person crawled closer gasping for air as he struggled to breathe.

“This is the worst thing that has ever happened to us! OH MY GOD!! You two are evil!” He screamed as Dax calmly walked away.

“Dax, this is horrible. We slaughtered these people. With this  many deaths we could potentially end an entire generation of Elderack Bee People we just killed. Are we- are we terrorists now?” Baljeet asked.

“Well we certainly aren’t heroes, but who cares? Do you know how much shit I can invent with this orb? This is pure energy, Baljeet. This opens up a whole new worlds of possibilities for me to create all sorts of things.” Dax said gleefully.

“I don’t care about the orb, this is horrible!” Baljeet cried.

“I know, it is horrible. I didn’t even get to take home any honey, I used it all.” Dax said as Baljeet sighed in frustration. “Come on, buddy. I have an industrial revolution to start for myself.”

“Whatever.” Baljeet said as the two walked through the forest back to their horse.