Whole New World
Chapter 19
Chaos

Dano looked at his watch for the hundredth time as he drove. It was becoming a habit when he was bored, and now was one such time. The survivor had been sitting in the driver’s seat of his MULE for the last three hours with only two gas breaks to break up the monotony of driving. Despite saying that the trip would have taken the same amount of time, the GPS neglected to take in the pace at which the convoy was moving. The ATVs carried governors that restricted their top speed to about forty five miles per hour, and the speed limit at some of the roads they cruised down was a healthy fifty five.

Even with the trip taking longer than expected it was a nice change of scenery for Dano despite the ever darkening clouds overhead. He passed through abandoned towns, large valleys with steep hills climbing a hundred feet into the air, massive unattended corn fields, large untamed rivers flowing as they had for years before and many miles of bright orange, red and yellow forests that put the woods Dano used to live in to shame. The pristine beauty of nature was a polar opposite to the men who moved through it. They were covered in the garb and tools of war, and they intended to use them without mercy. Flat, expressionless faces ignored the surrounding splendor as their minds began to ask the same question that the millions of soldiers that had come before had asked themselves.

Will I come home?

Dano looked at his watch again to see that only a minute and a half had passed since he last checked it, and he let out a tired sigh before returning his gaze to the road in front of him. Out of boredom the survivor’s mind began to create a mental check list of his supplies, and he believed they would have enough fuel to get to their destination as well as have enough ammunition for the coming fight. Content that they were as ready as they were going to get Dano shifted a bit in his seat before returning his attention to driving.

The convoy was moving through another forest on the outskirts of a small village when a loud crack echoed over the sound of the three engines. Dano’s heart rate spiked as he quickly decelerated, pulled to the side of the road and shut his ATV off. The survivor quickly hopped out of his MULE, and began to scan the surrounding forest with his rifle half raised. The sudden noise didn’t sound like weapons fire to Dano, but more like the noise that was created when metal was suddenly broken.

Dano turned and looked down the convoy to see black smoke seeping out of the Apple Family’s quad, and the survivor put the noise and smoke together to get one broken four-wheeler. He moved to the back of the convoy, not happy in the slightest.

“Shut that thing off before the smoke gives away our position!”

Soarin and Braeburn had hopped off their broken ride while Big Mac dismounted his with Carrot remaining seated. The Doctor, Dano and Echo approached the defunct vehicle and the group of six found themselves surrounding the quad as more black smoke seeped out from the engine. Braeburn quickly followed orders, and the machine sputtered before it died.

“I don’t need to be a mechanic to know that four-wheeler is dead and gone.”

Soarin said with a sigh.

“Eeyup.”

Big Mac shifted his wheat sprig from one side of his mouth to the other.

Dano was content that the smoke had dissipated, but he was now faced with an unfortunate and slightly annoying predicament.

“Alright. We are humping it from here. Everybody grab as much ammunition you can carry and get ready to move out.”

With that the team moved to the back of the MULE and began to load up with as much ammo as possible. Once done with that Dano organized the team into a line with himself at the front and began to walk to their destination, which the Doctor assured was close.

Another hour had gone by before the Doctor called to Dano.

“GPS says we have reached our destination.”

Dano stopped walking and looked around. The group had moved through the tiniest of villages five minute ago, and the only thing other than the asphalt road under their feet and thick forest around them was a winding dirt path that cut its way through the terrain to the left. Guessing that the trail was their objective the survivor told the Doctor to turn off the GPS before leading the group down the center of the dirt road.

Another half hour passed as the team moved slowly down the trail. The same apprehensive tension that had gripped Dano’s mind as he waited in the Ponyville ambush made a home in the survivor and the men around him. They reacted to the slightest noise or movement with quick eyes and raised rifles, for the feeling of wandering into the lion’s den exponentially grew inside of them all.

Dano began to round a bend in the road, and caught a glimpse of fencing and buildings. Quickly the survivor dropped to a crouch while motioning, with an open palm facing the ground behind him, for his team to follow his lead. The slight ruffling of pant legs entered Dano’s ears, and he knew that the group had followed orders. The survivor then closed his fist, telling his team to stay put before going prone and crawling ever so slowly around the rest of the bend until he could see as much as he could without revealing his position.

Dano shifted his rifle to his left side and he felt slightly uncomfortable as his hands switched their usual positions on the pair of pistol grips. Ignoring the feeling the survivor peered down his scope to see a standard chain link fence that he estimated to be ten feet tall and topped with razor sharp concertina wire about fifty yards down the road. The forest flanking the trail caused the survivor’s window to tunnel, and he could only see a single building with quite a bit of movement moving to the left of it.

With as much information as he could glean from his limited view Dano shimmied across the ground back to his original position where he propped himself back up on his knee, turned and addressed his squad with his voice just above a whisper.

“Braeburn, leave your rifle and climb a tree. I need to see if there is any high ground where we can set up. Don’t get caught.”

With a nod Braeburn handed his rifle to the Doctor behind him and moved into the woods on the right of the road slowly before climbing the closest tree. Dano returned his gaze to the front of the column and scanned the surrounding forest as the sound of the soldier climbing the tree behind him was making more noise than he wanted. Eventually the sounds came to a halt with the thud of boots hitting the dirt hard. Dano turned around again to see Braeburn moving back into formation while the Doctor handed the soldier his rifle.

“So?” Dano asked, his voice just as quiet as before.

“It looks like there is a small rise over there.”

Braeburn pointed to Dano’s right, and the survivor turned his head in the indicated direction.

“Alright. I want a five yard spread in this formation. Keep an eye on the person to your right and watch your spacing.”

The team nodded as they were given their orders, and they quickly crossed the road in a half crouch and melted into the tree line leaving behind nothing to reveal their presence.

Dano and his team moved ever so slowly through the colorful woods in a half crawl. Each step they took was premeditated and placed to provide the least amount of noise. The survivor kept his eyes directed to his right as he scanned the edge of the forest he moved through in order to keep close to the target and not get lost. As he crept through the wood Dano could feel the ground begin to rise, and he guessed they were ascending the hill Braeburn had pointed out.

Eventually the slope leveled, and Dano decided now was as good a place as ever to stop. The survivor quit moving, turned his attention to the skirmish line to his left and snapped his fingers. The sharp but soft noise got the teams attention, and with their gazes on Dano he made a large sweeping motion with his outstretched left arm to signal the formation to pivot on his location and face the tree line. The group got the gist and began to move, and Dano returned his attention to the edge of the forest that sat a good ten yards away. Moving even more cautiously than before the formation pivoted and advanced on the tree line, only stopping about three feet from the edge and going prone to maintain as much of their stealth as possible as they observed their target.

Dano laid his rifle to left as Echo crawled into position on the survivor’s right. Dano reached into his fanny pack and pulled his binoculars out. He knew that his scope would be more focused on the cross hairs while his binoculars would give him a wider view. Dano brought the optic to his eyes, and using the gate as a reference point began to gather as much intelligence as he could from his position.

The fencing around the small camp resembled a large square with four three story metal guard towers in each corner, and Dano made note that they were empty. The gate that was first observed by the survivor rested in the middle of the right face of the square.

Moving to the left of the gate was a building that Dano guessed was the commanding officers quarters. The structure was rather small and sat in the dead center of the camp, and it lacked windows of any sort. Pale yellow stucco protected whatever the office was made of, and a flat roof that was pitched a bit to let rain run off made up the façade of the building. The doorway faced the survivor’s position, and a small white sign rested above the portal. In bold red lettering the sigh read ‘Fort Security’. Below the camp’s name sake in slightly smaller, but no less red lettering read ‘Militia Housing Center’.

Dano dived into his military knowledge, and no matter how much he searched he could never recall a ‘militia housing center’ ever being used under the U.S. government’s domestic doctrine. The survivor chalked it up to the probable attempts the government would use to keep control of their people while a pandemic ravaged the world. Dano sighed before returning to his observations.

To the bottom right of the office sat a stocky cinderblock building that rested between the guard tower that occupied that corner of the square and the gate. Pale yellow paint that matched the office’s finish covered the cinderblock exterior, and small rectangular windows rested high on the walls. Noticing that they were designed to distort someone’s view without blocking sunlight Dano guessed that the short building was the latrine. The survivor couldn’t see the doors, and guessed they were facing the gate as well as the rest of the camp.

Sitting to the left of the latrine in the center of the bottom face of the fence was a small Quonset hut. From Dano’s position he could see a small window embedded in the curved sheet metal facing him. The right side flat end of the building held the doorway, and an armed raider sat in a rickety wooden chair. Dano picked up a vibe from the guard’s presence, and with the windows blacked out with what appeared to be sheets the survivor guessed that there was someone in there that Discord didn’t want leaving.

The last building that made up the bottom third of the square camp was a simple tall structure. Flat pieces of sheet metal were bolted to weather treated wood, and the whole rectangular ensemble faced to the right side of camp. A small shed leaned on the top portion of the structure, and Dano noticed the noses of three vehicles poking out from under their cover. The survivor estimated that there was room for another large truck. After concentrating on the apparent motor pool Dano guessed that one of the front ends belonged to a truck similar to the one the survivor had taken out back in Ponyville, and the other two belonged to smaller troop transports.

Satisfied that he has gleaned as much information as he could Dano moved on from the motor pool, past the officers building and to the four structures that dominated the top third of the camp. The top left was dominated by a Quonset hut that looked much like the one being guarded, but instead of the door way being imbedded the flat ends it was placed in the dead center of the curved half facing to the right side of camp. Small windows rested on both sides of the door and on the fat end facing Dano, and he guessed that there were several more. There weren’t any markings designating the building, so the survivor moved on.

Three more Quonset huts covered the area from the unmarked one to the guard tower in the top right corner of the fence. All three of them were the same size, held the same amount of windows on their curved exteriors and had doorways facing the survivor on their bottom flat end. These huts were marked, and the one on the left held a large red ‘1’ above the door while the one on the right held a large ‘2’ which was also in red. The middle hut sported a large ‘MH’ above its flimsy wooden door, and Dano guessed it was the mess hall.

The survivor pulled the binoculars away from his face so he could take in the enemy’s position as a whole, as well as the surrounding area. The camp was in the center of a large clearing that appeared to be manmade. At no point did the woods surrounding the position come within fifty yards of the fence, and tall green grass dominated the open space except in one area. The side facing Dano was inclined and contained a small creek at the base of the rise. The shallow stream wasn’t much of an obstacle, but in its long life it had cut into the earth quite a bit and a steep three foot wall rose from both sides of the slow moving water. To someone else the stream would just be a stream, but to Dano he saw a staging area and a fall back point all wrapped into one glorious trench.

With the surrounding terrain mapped out in Dano’s brain he moved his un-altered gaze back to the camp, and spent several slow minutes observing the target before returning the binoculars to his face. The camp seemed to be somewhat dead as Discord’s men didn’t stray too far from the mess hall. Occasionally one or two would split off and head to the guarded hut and stay for a while before leaving. This only peaked Dano’s curiosity about the hut, and his mind tried to piece it together as he observed several different raiders closely.

They all seemed to wear the same forest camouflage utility uniforms with slight changes to each to add personalization. Their clothes were mostly unkempt and dirty, and it reinforced the fact that they were not professional soldiers themselves but a group of guys with guns and power. Every raider Dano looked at seemed to have the same hair color, a deep black that had no sheen to it at all, and paler than normal skin. This also struck Dano’s curiosity, but unlike the shed this question was easily answered with the knowledge of Ponyville and its inhabitants. Chaotic magic flowed and twisted the DNA of the raiders much like the magic of harmony did with the townspeople. The information solidified Dano’s resolve to wipe them all out, for they were beyond saving.

Dano sighed and moved the binoculars he was holding away from his face far enough so he could see his watch. The digital face informed the survivor that the time was drawing close to noon, and he had to take the watches word. The sky had only darkened as they day went on, and Dano hoped the coming storm would wait. Waiting for the coming fight in the rain wasn’t part of the plan.

The survivor put his binoculars back into the small fanny pack attached to his belt before snapping his fingers quietly to get his teams attention. Without waiting to see if they had heard Dano began to crawl backward slowly for a few feet before rising to a high crouch, turning and moving into the woods. The small sounds of shifting leaves and light footsteps told the survivor that the team had followed his lead.

After a good couple minutes of moving Dano finally came to a halt. He turned around, and his vision filled with five armed men and a wolf moving through the woods quietly.

“Circle up.”

Dano’s voice was no louder than a whisper.

The group did as they were told, and all took a knee in a tight circle.

“Alright, the plan is as follows. We are going to wait for the sun to set before Soarin, Echo and I move in under the cover of darkness to perform some reconnaissance. One of those huts was giving me bad vibes, and the enemy may have hostages. I speak for everyone when I say we don’t want innocent blood on our hands.”

The group nodded in agreement.

“The rest of you will move into that river bed at the base of the hill while Carrot stays on top of the hill as over watch.”

Dano focused on the marksman of the group.

“If the shit hits the fan you will go loud Carrot and no low shots this time.”

“You got it sir.”

Dano smiled a bit and nodded.

“When you make your way into the steam bed go one at a time, and use the grass as cover. No one follow the same path as the one before them, and stay in your position until I call for you. Even if people start shooting, stay hidden.”

The team excluding Soarin, Echo and Carrot nodded as their orders were given.

“Carrot go back out to the tree line and try and find a good position that looks over the right side of the camp.” Dano ordered as he removed his watch. “In three hours come back and I will take over the watch.”

Dano handed the device to Carrot, and the marksman left without another word.

“The rest of you find a place to sit and be quiet. Take a nap or something, and stay close. The smaller our footprint the better.”

The team nodded before dispersing.

Dano sighed and made his way to a large tree that sat to his immediate left. He nestled himself in between two large roots that jutted from the ground while placing his rifle in his lap, and the survivor felt a bit of comfort as the plant hugged his shoulders tightly. As faithful a friend as ever Echo found a place right next to the survivor on the other side of the large root.

“Keep your ears open buddy.”

Echo gave Dano a look that said ‘like I ever stop’, and they both chuckled quietly before Dano squirmed a bit to settle himself.

With his head and back pressing up against the hard bark of the tree Dano closed his eyes. He took a deep breath as he tried to clear his mind and catch some sleep, but pink hair and deep cyan eyes kept pushing back into his consciousness along with the promise he made.

He could feel Fluttershy hold him as her eyes bored into his.

“Promise you will come back.”

“Cross my heart, hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye.”

Dano shifted to try and get comfortable as the doubts swirled through his brain. They barked and screamed that he was going to break his promise, that he was going to die. The survivor shoved those thoughts away as best he could, but they always seemed to creep back into his consciousness.

Time moved slowly for the survivor, but the physical toll of the previous fight and march guided him on his way to a light slumber. Sleep’s grip was loose, and the turmoil that raged in Dano’s mind continued its battle even as he slept.

Dano found himself in the familiar black miasma of his meetings. He closed his eyes, knowing the procedure, and opened them to the sight of the two women who had guided him to his fate. This meeting was different from the rest, for Celestia and Luna, despite wearing the same cloaks as before, had their hoods down.

Dano drank in the sight of the two women’s faces, and he could never recall seeing any other female with the raw beauty and presence they held. The survivor had seen Luna’s face and hair before, but as she stood in front of him the avatar held a much more regal existence. Her nighttime sky hair shifted in a non-existent breeze, and Dano could have sworn he could see the white dots that resembled stars flicker like they would in real life. Luna’s deep blue eyes spoke of a wisdom gleaned from years upon years of life as well as a slight mysterious feel to them. She embodied the night perfectly, a shroud where threats always seemed to be right behind you while being a soothing presence to a lost soul.

Celestia was the polar opposite to her sister. Her hair also moved as if it was a windy day, but was divided into fourths with pastel green, cobalt, blue and pink sharing the same coiffure. The avatar’s pale magenta eyes were filled with compassion and love, and they seemed to glow like a warm summer sun. Dano could feel the comfort of her presence like the feeling of Sol’s rays beating on his shoulders while doing a hard day’s labor.

The two women held their usual smile and frown as they looked Dano in the eye, and he returned the gaze without falter.

“Now is the time Daniel.” Celestia spoke with her light and slightly bouncy tone.

“You will bring swift justice onto Discord’s head, and free the imprisoned souls he controls.” Luna’s gaze hardened as she laid down her judgment.

“Do not falter in the face of death, for your time in not now.”

Celestia’s smile swelled with confidence.

“Do not yield in the face of chaos, for you have braved it before.”

Luna’s own worried frown grew into a small smile, and the two avatars’ began to speak in unison.

“Let the sun’s rays burn away your doubts, and the moon’s glow sooth your woes. May Mother Earth forever guide you home, and Father Time always be kind. You are a son of the universe, and it will bring you salvation in your darkest hour.”

Celestia and Luna did not send Dano away with a touch, but instead turned before walking away. The survivor watched them fade away into the darkness before it collapsed upon him. Sleep pulled Dano back under, and the war that had blasted its way through his brain had ceased in the wake of the meeting between the survivor and the avatars.

Dano awoke to the sensation of being shaken lightly, and he opened his eyes to see Carrot kneeling in front of him. The survivor rubbed his face with his hands in an attempt to wake himself up quickly, and the feeling of rough stubble on his hands seemed to do the trick. Dano picked his rifle up from out of his lap, and shouldered it as he rose from his napping place. Carrot stood with Dano, and the marksman handed the survivor his watch back.

“How does it look?” Dano asked as he returned the watch to his left wrist.

“I don’t think they know we are here. They haven’t made any attempt to look for us or anything like that.”

Carrot stifled a yawn when he finished his report, obviously tired from the boredom of watching a static position for three hours.

“Get some rest Carrot, you’re going to need all of your energy for tonight.”

Dano chuckled and patted his friend on the shoulder before moving from his spot to let Carrot take it.

The survivor rolled his shoulders to get some of the stiffness out of his body as he looked around the small area his team had taken residence in. The whole group had not spread out more than five yards, and each member rested against their own tree trying to beat the boredom and rising fear of the coming night.

The Doctor was digging through his pack, organizing it to allow the quickest treatment. Big Mac simply held his SAW in his lap while he chewed slowly on his wheat sprig, every once and a while shifting it to a different side of his mouth. Soarin and Braeburn both chatted quietly about anything that came to mind, most of it impersonal things just to distract their brains. Echo had woken when Dano rose from his spot, but soon placed his head back onto his paws and closed his eyes.

Dano sighed before he left the area. He moved quickly and cautiously through the forest toward the tree line where he would continue his observations. It didn’t take the survivor long to reach his destination, and he resumed his prone stance much like before. This time however he did not use his binoculars, but simply rested his head on his arms and watched. He had no need to take in details anymore, just simply observe. With his rifle resting on his back Dano simply waited for the day to end and the night to take its rightful place.

Dano sighed quietly as he absentmindedly rolled his right ankle. The joint would seize every once and a while, a reminder of his injury from his high school football days, and the movement added to the survivor’s attempts to fight of the crushing boredom of waiting.

The world had continued on around the clearing as it had for millions of years despite the gravity of the coming fight. The clouds had darkened with the sky, and a slight drizzle had begun. Dano hoped that the weather would not worsen as the night drew closer, and his wishes were answered. The precipitation had continued on without increasing in volume, but not slowing either.

Night descended slowly, and the anticipation grew with every minute before Dano watched the raider guarding the single Quonset hut be replaced by yet another. The new guard carried with him his rifle in one hand, and a flash light in the other. The survivor realized that the raider was the night guard, and that he would be the first kill of the night. Dano simply gazed at the guard for hours before he could see the boredom of sitting in a chair take its toll. The guard began to nod off, and the survivor decided now was the time to move.

Dano rose quickly before trotting through the woods to his team. They had all risen when the sun had set, and despite the slight rain they all appeared un-phased by the change in weather. The survivor moved into the center of the group and then took a knee.

“Circle up.”

Dano’s voice was quiet, but much higher than a whisper.

The team moved quickly from their place of rest into a circle much like earlier.

“This is it guys. Remember to hold fast once we hit them. No one runs, no one hides. We all go down swinging.”

Dano scanned the faces of the men in front of them, and they all returned the gaze without flinching. They knew what they had to do.

“No mercy. It’s us or them, now let’s move out.”

With that Dano rose to his feet, turned and trotted back the way we came. The sound of movement behind him told the survivor that the team was following, and before long they reached the tree line.

Dano went prone and looked over his shoulder to see his team do the same. The survivor returned his gaze forward, and with a deep breath began to crawl out of the woods into the tall grass. Once his entire body was submerged in the plants Dano rose to his hands and knees so he wouldn’t compress the foliage as much, and moved slowly. The incline of the hill coupled with the slick grass made movement difficult, and the survivor was having a hard time trying not to slide down the hill.

After an unnecessarily long time Dano rolled out of the tall grass and down the small, steep incline created by the stream, and quickly righted himself before he fell into the water. Once back on his hands and knees the survivor crossed the stream without touching it, and climbed the ascending ridge just far enough that he could see over the edge. The tall grass blocked his view, but after shifting some of the thin blades ever so slightly he could make out the top of the fence in the dark.

The target was mostly blacked out except for small incandescent lights that rested to the right of each doorway. The slight drizzle distorted the already lacking light making it impossible to see anything outside of the yellow glow.

Dano let out a disgruntled sigh at the lack of light before rolling over to see Echo move out of the grass. The wolf was short enough to walk through the field normally, and it seemed to fit his predatory fame. The grass where Dano emerged was shifted unnaturally, and if you were looking you could have seen that path he had taken. Echo’s trail on the other hand was non-existent, and coupled with the wolf’s silent movements he could have probably jumped Dano if he wasn’t paying attention.

Echo moved down the slope and then crossed the stream in a quick bound before climbing the opposite ridge to lie down next to Dano. The two friends made eye contact, and Dano could see a mix of fear and determination. The sight unnerved Dano a bit, for Echo had spoken of battles he had participated in against mythological monsters that would make any person run in terror. If fighting against humans could bring fear to the eyes of a being that had faced down creatures far worst, maybe the survivor was in over his head.

Dano was pulled from his thoughts by the emergence of the Doctor from his chosen path through the tall grass. Repeating what Echo and Dano had done before the Doctor moved down the far slope, crossed the stream and ascended the opposite edge. The physician rolled over on his back and rested awkwardly, for his pack propped him up slightly just like Dano. Dano’s and the Doctor’s gazes met, and after a brief moment of silent understanding the physician nodded before returning his eyes to the other side of the stream. The survivor followed suit as he tried his best to calm his mind.

The rest of the team made their way out of the tall grass much like Dano with Soarin behind the Doctor. Big Mac came next then Braeburn. Each of them followed the same procedure as the member before them, and it didn’t take long for the entire assaulting team to find themselves lying on their backs on the edge of a stream. Dano knew Carrot was still at the top of the hill performing his over watch duties, and began the next big movement of the plan.

With a quick snap Dano got everybody’s attention. The survivor then rolled over, and with two fingers extended on his right hand waved them toward the camp. The message was received, and Echo, Dano and Soarin simultaneously moved into the tall grass between the stream and the darkened camp.

Dano’s breathing was shallow as he moved slowly through the last open piece of land between safety and the enemy. The sound of rustling came from both sides as Echo moved to the survivor’s right, and Soarin to his left. It didn’t take long for the group to reach the fence, and Dano nearly ran into it as he pushed through the last blades of grass. Once at their destination the survivor pulled out his knife and jabbed it into the earth a couple inches. He dragged it across the ground cutting the roots until the survivor had outlined a two foot by two foot square with the top face touching the fence.

By now Soarin and Echo had moved to Dano’s sides, and looked at him with questioning looks until it dawned on them. They couldn’t go over the fence, so they were going under. Dano wiped some of the dirt that stuck to his blade on his pant leg before grabbing the grass with both hands and pulling hard. The thick blades held under the strain, and after a few moments of pulling the survivor was in possession of a two square foot chunk of sod. He disposed of it quietly before Echo, without being ordered, began to dig into the slightly wet, soft earth. Dano joined him while Soarin kneeled next to the survivor, his rifle half raised as he kept a look out.

The digging was time consuming, and once the hole had reached the bottom of the fence Echo took over. The wolf burrowed under the obstacle at a decent pace, flinging dirt between his hind legs. The grass rustled when the thrown earth struck it, and Echo occasionally bumped the fence making it shift and give off noise. Dano’s heart rate would spike with each sound, and he had to force himself to breath normally.

Echo eventually forced his way under the fence, but continued to dig so Dano could get through. The survivor, on the other hand, was tired of waiting. Dano removed his pack from his back and un-slung his rifle. He then handed the two items under the fence to a very dirty Echo, who took them in his mouth and set them to the side. Dano rolled over on his back and began to shimmy his way into the hole and under the fence.

The survivor sucked in his breath as he forced his way under the obstacle, and about half way through the fence caught on one of the ammunition pockets on Dano’s vest then released as he moved on unknowingly. The metal vibrated and shifted as it moved back to its regular position, and created a loud enough noise to attract attention. Everybody froze with the sound, and Dano could have sworn his heart beat could be heard for miles as it hammered in his chest.

An eternity went by in silence as the three intruders held their breath and waited to be found, but no one came looking so they continued on. Only Dano’s legs were left to be pulled through, and they slid under the fence easily and quickly. Now on the other side of the obstacle Dano put his pack back on and picked up his rifle as Echo took Soarin’s weapon.

The hole had come up in the middle of the hut Dano wanted to recon, and the blacked out window rested right above the survivor head. Without waiting for Soarin Dano moved toward the doorway while staying close to the curved sheet metal wall. The survivor reached the edge of the hut, and peaked around the edge to find the guard sleeping with his chin resting on his chest and his rifle in his lap. There was no better time to strike, and Dano shouldered his weapon before pulling out his knife.

Dano pealed himself off of the wall, stood and crossed the open area in front of the hut quickly and quietly until he was directly behind the raider. Pausing for only a moment to tighten his grip on his blade the survivor wrapped his left hand around the raiders face, covering his mouth. The enemy awoke with a start at the feeling of a foreign object on his body, but Dano continued his movements none the less. The survivor yanked the raider’s head backward while his right hand drove the tip of his blade into the side of the raider’s neck. The raider barely got his hands up to try and pry Dano’s off before the blade was hilted in his flesh, blood flowing freely around the sharp instrument. Dano forced the blade forward, its sharp edge biting through the enemy’s muscles and skin until it was freed from the raider’s flesh, severing both his blood and oxygen supply. Blood ran in sheets down the enemy’s chest, and Dano held his mouth for a few seconds more until the raider stopped squirming.

The survivor cleaned the blade on the shoulder of the recently deceased raider and sheathed it before turning around to see Soarin and Echo taking cover behind the corner of the hut. Soarin had his rifle pointed toward the rest of the camp while Echo stood behind him.

“Stay here, and stay hidden.”

Dano ordered, his voice not rising above a whisper, and they responded with a nod.

Dano pulled his rifle off of his shoulder, and making sure to keep the barrel facing the hut in front of him the survivor turned on his weapon mounted flashlights as well as shifted his ACOG scope. Two bright white beams shot out of the lamps as Dano closed the small distance from where he was standing and the doorway. He moved his rifle to his left hand while he gripped the door handle with his right, and after a deep, calming breath the survivor quickly pulled the door open and stepped into the dark hut.

The first thing Dano noticed was the smell. The strong scent of urine mixed with feces reached the survivors nostrils, and it took everything he had not to vomit on the spot. The next thing Dano noticed as he scanned the room was the lack of anything. The hut was a good fifteen feet long and ten wide, but the only furniture that the survivor could see was a pair of metal, military style beds jutting out of the far wall. The rest of the area was simply open hard wood floors.

Dano shifted his rifle to his dominant side then moved slowly through the hut, keeping his weapon pointed at the two beds. They both appeared to be occupied, and the survivor wasn’t about to get jumped this early in the mission. Without warning the body in the left bed rose from their cot when Dano was about halfway through the hut, and looked directly at him. The survivor responded by pointing his rifle at the person’s face in order for the two LED flashlights to block their vision. The tactic worked, and the mystery person raised a hand to block the searing light.

“Who’s there?”

The voice was feminine as well as quiet, and it caused Dano’s curiosity to peak.

The survivor kept his rifle pointed at the woman, but pulled his face away from the sights to get a good look at her. Grey-purple hair sat in a messy heap atop the woman’s head, and matching eyes tried their best to see between squinted eyelids and blinding light. When the woman sat up from her bed the thin blankets covering her had fallen to reveal a stained and dirty green t-shirt that looked like something one of the raiders would wear under their utility uniforms.

Dano didn’t lower his rifle, but returned the challenge with as much softness his whisper could hold.

“Tell me yours and I will tell you mine.”

The woman switched the hand blocking the light from her eyes to try and get a better view.

“Berry Punch.”

Dano’s heart jumped for joy, but it was soon quelled by questions. The survivor lowered his rifle until it pointed at the floor, the stock still tucked against his shoulder.

“My name is Daniel, and I’m from Ponyville.”

Berry dropped her hand, and in the dim light cast from the small amount of light that ricochet off of the floor boards Dano could see her eyes widen and tears begin to form.

“Are you here to take us home?”

Dano let a soft smile grow across his face, but he doubt that Berry could see it.

“Yes, but I have some questions.”

Berry sniffled as she tried to contain tears of joy.

“Alright.”

Dano nodded and crossed the rest to the room before taking a knee by the bed.

“How did you get here Berry?”

Berry took a deep breath.

“I was taking a walk on the outside of town one night when I was taken by some men, and they took me here.”

Dano nodded.

“How have they been treating you?”

Berry’s eyes glazed over.

“They… they treat us horribly. We have a bucket for a bathroom, and get barely anything to eat…”

Dano knew Berry wasn’t finished, so he waited patiently for her to finish.

“The men… they…”

Berry began to cry, and Dano placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“They rape us.”

Berry broke down, letting her head fall into her hands.

Dano squeezed the woman’s shoulder lightly as the rage he had been holding back burst forth. The righteous fury that had burned in his brain when Discord had ordered the shootings at Ponyville doubled with the knowledge of the abuse of the woman in front of him.

“The nightmare is over Berry, I’m going to get you out.”

Dano’s words were hard as his anger seeped into his words.

Berry pulled her face out of her hands, and wrapped them around Dano’s neck.

“Thank you.”

Dano could barely understand Berry’s words through her sobs, but before he could comfort her the survivor head the sound of footsteps outside of the hut.

Dano pushed Berry off of him, and raised his hand to his lips to get her to quiet down. The woman tried her best to stop crying, but Dano was unsure if she could. The footsteps grew in volume, and to make matters worse the new enemy began to speak.

“Hey Lucky. Are you asleep?”

The footsteps came to a stop, and Dano could only guess where the raider was.

“You know Sid will have your balls if… What the fuck?”

Dano cursed under his breath. The enemy had discovered the body, he needed to act. As Dano rose from his crouch he began to move to the door, but when he reached the halfway mark things took a turn for the worst.

“Who are you…? OOF!”

Dano dropped the sneaking and bolted out the door to see Soarin grappling with the new raider, his rifle being held by four hands. A trickle of blood made its way down the side of the enemy’s face, and the survivor guessed Soarin got the first blow in. Echo was nowhere to be seen, and Dano guessed he was still hiding.

Dano raised his rifle and pointed it at the raider, but held his fire. No alert had been raised so the mission was still one of stealth, but if Soarin looked like he was going to lose the survivor would go loud.

The two struggling combatants failed to notice the survivor, and continued on as if they were the only two people in the world. Soarin, although being fit, was outclassed by the raider, and was slowly loosing. Dano trained his sights on the enemy’s head, and rested his finger on the trigger. The survivor’s heart was beating out of his chest, but he forced himself to control his breathing.

Soarin was giving it his all, but the raider eventually overpowered him. With a quick tug of his left hand and push with his right the enemy ripped the rifle out of Soarin’s hand, and threw the soldier to the ground. Without any more hesitation Dano pulled the trigger, and his round smashed in the side of the raiders head, killing him instantly. Soarin, who was breathing heavily from his exertion, looked up at Dano, and the survivor returned the gaze as they both realized what just happened.

The sound of the shot echoed through the quiet camp, breaking the silence the soldier and survivor had worked so hard to keep. Dano’s brain snapped into soldier mode, and began to pump out orders.

“Get the fuck up Soarin.”

Dano’s voice was at normal volume, but filled with the force needed to get things moving.

Soarin quickly acknowledged to order, stood and grabbed his rifle while Dano moved toward the section of the fence between the prison hut and the latrine. Soarin began to follow, but Dano head him off.

“Get behind the building and cover me, if you see any one kill them.”

Dano indicated the latrine with his empty left hand, and Soarin moved to his position at a trot.

Dano moved to the fence, and found one of the thin metal poles supporting it. He removed his pack, and rummaged through it until he found a single block of C4, its detonator and a detonation switch. As the survivor removed the explosive Soarin began firing his M4 in five round bursts. Dano didn’t need to look over his shoulder to know that the camp was waking to the gun shot, and Soarin was doing his best to cover the survivor.

With the C4 in hand Dano placed it on the ground at the base of the pole before pushing the two pronged detonator into the hard plastic explosive. The survivor heard a whine to his right, and he saw Echo standing next to him with a worried expression.

“I know what I’m doing.” Dano said with as much confidence as he could muster.

Echo just whined again.

Dano shook his head as he flipped a small switch on the detonator. The survivor then looked at the switch in his hand, and found a similar switch, which he promptly flicked. A small green light appeared in the center of the detonation button, and Dano guessed it was armed. The survivor put his bag back on, stood and ran into the prison hut with Echo in tow before taking a knee once again and calling out.

“FIRE IN THE HOLE!”

Dano watch Soarin abandon his position in favor of the far wall of the latrine where he would be covered from the enemy and the explosion. The survivor, once sure no friendlies were in the blast zone, rolled so his back was pressing on the interior wall of the hut, and he made eye contact with a very scared Berry Punch as he squeezed the switch in his hand.

The world shook at the power of the blast, and the sound of debris hitting the hut’s metal exterior echoed through the building. A bit of Dano wondered how the woman in the other bed was still sleeping, but it was a mere murmur in the back of his head as he pushed himself off of his back and ran out the doorway.

There was a crater where the fence once stood, and a sizable hole had been blasted in the obstacle. Dano ran into the center of the breach, and looked out into the field where his team was hiding.

“MOVE UP YOU FUCKS!!”

In unison three men rose from the ground and began sprinting toward the hole in the fence. Carrot also rose from his overwatch position and began to move down the hill far behind his comrades.

By now the enemy had organized itself, and the sound of rounds whipping around him made Dano flinch and dive behind the prison hut, pressing his back into the exterior wall. The sound of bullets ricocheting off of the ground as well as piercing the thin walls of the hut caused Dano’s already adrenalin filled blood to spike with even more of the hormone. The survivor looked down the fence to see Soarin back in his original position, his back pressed against the wall as rounds bounced off of the structure.

Dano pulled his rifle close to his chest, flipped the selective fire switch on his rifle to full auto and took a quick deep breath to calm his nerves before he pushed himself off of the prison hut, turned and stuck his upper body out from cover.

“COVERING FIRE!”

Dano began firing wildly as he sprayed and prayed. Soarin followed suit, and the enemy’s fire dwindled as they took cover. The raider who had been sleeping lay out in front of the survivor, being knocked out of his seat by fire from his comrades giving Dano a clear view of the right side of camp. A few men seemed to be using the officer’s structure as cover, and Dano finished off his clip in their general direction before returning to his covered position to reload.

The enemy’s fire picked up once Dano had stopped shooting, and it appeared that Soarin was taking a lot of rounds from behind the survivor, and he guessed that the enemy was trying to flank them. Just as Dano began to move to counter their action the Doctor, Braeburn and Big Mac ran through the breach in the fence and took cover behind the prison hut. The survivor didn’t waste any time getting his team into position.

“Big Mac and Braeburn, you two moved to the far end of this hut and see if you can flank the enemy before they flank us! Once you clear that side of the camp move to the motor pool and secure it! You two will be covering our flank, so stay there come hell or high water!”

Big Mac and Braeburn nodded before pushing themselves off of the wall and moving to their position. It didn’t take them long, and before a quarter minute went by Big Mac was unleashing massive bursts onto the flanking enemy while Braeburn kneeled behind his large cousin firing in controlled five round bursts. Dano shifted his concentration to the Doctor once he was sure the two farmers could handle themselves.

“You and me are going to get the hostages out of here! Follow me!”

Dano peeled off of the wall, and rounded the corner of the hut before moving through the doorway with the Doctor in tow.

Once through the threshold Dano didn’t waste any time moving across the room to Berry Pinch who had taken cover under her bed with Echo trying to comfort her as rounds pierced her hut. The survivor took a knee next to the bed and reached his hand out to help the scared woman. She took it, and Dano pulled her to her feet as he rose from his crouch.

“What about Bon Bon?!”

Dano’s mind did a double take at the name, and he was filled with joy as well as fear for the woman who had yet to move from her bed.

“Check her Doctor!” Dano ordered, but the medic was already on his way.

The Doctor took a knee next to the woman, and pulled her covers off. Dano pointed his rifle at Bon Bon to provide light, and the survivor couldn’t believe what he was looking at.

Bon Bon was topless, and her body was covered in massive purple bruises. Dano guessed her face was also just as abused, but the Doctor was blocking his view.

“What happened to her?!” Dano asked over his shoulder to Berry Punch.

“She couldn’t take it anymore, and her mind broke! She refused to let those pigs have their way, so they beat her! That was a few days ago, and she hasn’t woken since yesterday!”

Dano felt a pit form in his stomach at the sight of the beaten woman, her chest slightly rising as she took shallow breaths.

“You think she will make it Doctor?!”

The Doctor turned to look at Dano.

“She has massive internal bleeding! We need to get her out, but moving her would cause more damage!”

Dano didn’t have a choice.

“We need to move Doctor! You will carry her and lead Berry to the stream. Once you drop them off get back here!”

The Doctor nodded as he was given his orders, and Dano turned to leave the medic to his duties. The survivor trotted through the room to the door way, and peaked his head out the thresh hold to only pull it back in as a raider sprayed the front of the hut with rifle fire. Dano cursed under his breath before leaning back out of cover with his rifle and returning fire.

Dano finished his clip before ducking back into cover to see the Doctor carrying Bon Bon fireman style, his rifle held in his right hand. Berry Punch followed right behind the Doctor, and the whole ensemble stopped just short of the door. Dano gave the Doctor a curt nod as he slipped another clip into his weapon.

“COVERING FIRE!!”

Dano leaned of the doorway and began firing at the side of the officer’s structure. The raiders taking cover there hid themselves from the onslaught, and gave the Doctor an opportunity to escape, which he took. Dano felt something belonging to Bon Bon’s body brush against his back as the Doctor moved out of the threshold, across open ground and out of the fence. Just as the medic left Carrot made his way in, and took cover with Soarin behind the latrine while he caught his breath.

Once his magazine went dry Dano pulled himself back into the shed to reload. The survivor flinched as a few rounds blasted through the sheet metal around him, and decided to crouch to shrink his profile. As Dano forced another clip into his weapon he looked across the open area between the prison hut and the latrine to see Soarin firing around the corner while Carrot simply leaned against the building, his chest heaving.

“Nice of you to join us!” Dano yelled over the noise of battle.

Carrot simply gave Dano the bird, and the survivor burst into laughter. Even now the middle aged man copped an attitude.

The battle continued on with Dano peeking out of cover and spraying some rounds. He had no clear target, and he needed to keep them from charging him. They probably didn’t know how many men were attacking, but if they knew that it was only six and a wolf they would definitely rush them. This information was based on the intelligence gathered from the prisoner earlier that day, and Dano had no clue how many of the enemy endured the survivor’s first flanking maneuver.

Dano had drained another clip by the time the Doctor got back. The medic took cover behind the prison hut directly behind Dano. Now that everyone was here the survivor could begin to push, and he set the plan he had just come up with in motion.

“Soarin, Carrot, cover us!”

The two soldiers acknowledged the orders, and they both leaned around cover to begin firing. Soarin fired five round bursts while kneeling, and Carrot fired quick three round bursts while standing over his comrade. Dano, Echo and the Doctor made use of the covering fire to cross the open area to the latrine. Even with the rounds coming at them the raiders peaked out to fire at the exposed soldiers, and the rounds kicked up dust around Dano’s feet as he ran.

The group of three made it across safely, and as Dano pressed his back against the cool cinderblock structure Soarin gave a joyous yelp.

“I go one!” He cried before pulling himself behind cover.

Dano ignored the enthusiastic holler, and began to lay down his on the fly plan.

“Us five are going to flank those ass holes behind the center building! Follow me!”

Dano pushed off of the structure and quickly moved down the corridor made by the fence and latrine. The men and wolf behind him followed their commander as he rounded the corner, only to stop at the edge of another wall. Dano peeked around the corner to see he had a clear shot at two raiders next to a fallen comrade who were firing at the soldier’s old position, one of them was kneeling to allow his comrade to fire over him. Without hesitation the survivor brought his weapon to his shoulder and fired a five round burst into the enemy. The first round impacted on the shoulder of the kneeling raider, and his body twisted from the shot. The next two impacted him in the chest, and the enemy fell into his comrade causing the standing raider to start falling, tripping on the body under his feet. The last two rounds Dano fired were high from their original target, but they did find the standing raider, as he stumbled backwards, in the abdomen.

With the two known threats down Dano moved on.

“DOCTOR, SOARIN, CARROT, MOVE UP!!”

The three soldiers took off at a dead sprint around Dano as he covered them. They made it to the officer’s structure without being hit, and the Doctor moved to the corner to peak around the edge. Dano watched as the Doctor swung his weapon around the corner and fired from the hip at some unknown target before pulling himself behind cover.

As the Doctor reloaded his weapon Dano barked orders from his position behind the latrine.

“Soarin, Carrot, the Doctor is going to cover you two so you can cross the gap and clear that building!”

Dano pointed to the mess hall, and the three soldiers acknowledge with shouts.

The survivor waited for the Doctor to begin his covering fire before Dano made his move. With Echo in tow Dano sprinted from the latrine to the to the large Quonset hut marked with a ‘2’. When he reached the front door Dano didn’t stop, but actually dropped his shoulder and ran through the flimsy wooden door, shattering it to pieces as he moved through the threshold.

Dano raised his rifle and quickly scanned the room in front of him from left to right only to find messy metal cots protruding from the side walls, ten to each side. After a second scan back the survivor found a man, sitting with his legs tucked against his chest and his back against the far wall. Dano and Echo moved into the barracks slowly as they watched the man. Upon closer inspection the survivor could see an M9 pistol on his right hand, and his hair was the usual shade of black the raider’s had. The presence of a weapon made Dano’s brain tell him to fire, to kill his enemy, but the fact that this raider was not fighting made his curiosity get the better of him.

As Dano neared the enemy he could swear he could hear soft crying over the sound of battle taking place outside. Eventually the raider heard the survivor, and picked his head off of his knees to see a rifle pointed at his face, two blinding lights assaulting his eyes and a growling wolf. The enemy slowly brought his pistol to point at Dano, but he held it loosely as if he was only pointing it to keep the survivor back but not shoot.

Dano stopped advancing around five yards from the raider, but didn’t react to the pistol pointed at him. Something was up with this guy, and Dano needed to know why. The two men simply stared at each other, and Dano could see his eyes through squinted eyelids. They were a cyan blue that looked much like the ones the survivor saw every time he closed his eyes.

“You need to kill me.”

The raider spoke through his tears, his voice somehow lacking the emotional strain that crying brought.

“I have done horrible, horrible things, and I won’t be able to hold back much longer before I try and kill you.”

Dano’s jaw dropped slightly and his rifle drooped, for he was looking at a man who was refuting Discord’s control.

“We can get you home buddy.”

Dano spoke with as much confidence he could to try and get the raider to finally break free from his shackles.

“No. I’m too far gone, and I could never look my daughter in the eye.”

The raider’s eyes grew distant at the mention of his family.

“Just tell her I’m sorry, for not coming back.”

Dano went to speak, but just as he opened his mouth the color of the raider’s eyes began to change to a slate grey. The survivor had no choice, and he quickly pointed his weapon at the enemy and pulled the trigger. The single round flew from the muzzle of his EBR, and impacted on the raider’s forehead, knocking his head backwards into the sheet metal wall behind him. The pistol the raider was holding dropped with his arm, and his whole body slumped as his muscles relaxed, a pool of blood beginning to spread around him.

Dano let out a sad sigh before moving to the deceased raider. Something had compelled him to fight against Discord, and he had to find it. After quickly searching the survivor saw something reflective hanging out of the enemy’s left hand. The appendage was between his legs and his chest, and had fallen open as his body lost its strength and slumped. Dano pointed his lights at the shiny material, and his heart stopped.

Resting in the dead man’s hand was a thin gold necklace with a pendant shaped like half of a butterfly, its wing a shade of pink while its abdomen was cyan. It clicked in the survivor’s mind. The cryptic last words, the cyan eyes. The raider lying in his own blood in front of Dano was Fluttershy’s father.

The survivor simply stared at the pendant for what felt like forever before he knelt and picked it up. There were small blotches of blood dotting the pendant, and Dano wiped them off with his thumb. He was lost just staring at the half butterfly in his hand, and showed no signs of coming out. What felt like hours to Dano were actually seconds before Echo decided to nudge his friend to bring him out of his stupor.

Dano blinked as he regained his wits before quickly placing the necklace in the top right breast pocket of his tactical vest. The pendant felt like it weighed a ton as the survivor rose, turned and walked to the doorway. The sounds of war had returned to his ears, along with his rage for the one being that was responsible for all of this chaos.

Once at the door Dano regained his composure in full as he peaked out of the threshold to see a good dozen bodies strewn out across the camp, every one of them a raider. The surviving enemy had holed themselves up in the unknown building, and were firing out of the windows toward the soldiers. Dano was about to call for covering fire when the unknown hut’s doorway was thrown open, and a single raider armed with an AT-4 rocket launcher took three steps out of the threshold before taking a knee and firing.

Time slowed to a standstill as Dano watched the rocket shoot out of the end of the long green tube, and make its way toward the mess hall entrance. Trying to escape the blast Soarin and Carrot began to run out of the threshold, but they wouldn’t make it in time. Choosing to save his comrade Carrot shoved Soarin to the ground just as the rocket collided with the side of the mess hall.

A fireball erupted from the point of contact, and swallowed a good sixth of the mess hall and Carrot’s upper half. The world began to spin normally again as Dano watched the explosion dissipate to reveal a charred black Carrot as he collapsed to the ground next to the prone Soarin. Throwing caution to the wind Dano sprinted from his position to the wounded marksman. Rounds kicked up dirt around the survivor’s feet, but he ignored them as he closed the distance quickly. Soarin, overcome with fear, had remained on the ground as the rounds being fired from the structure ricochet around him.

“GET THE FUCK UP, NOW!” Dano yelled as he tried to grab Carrot’s safety handle on the back of his vest, but the thin synthetic cloth just disintegrated in his hand.

Carrot had gotten over whatever shell shock he had experienced from the blast, and began so make pained noises. They started small, but grew exponentially into a blood curdling cry as more of his nerves registered the burning pain.

Dano switched his hand hold to the top right strap of Carrot’s vest, and began to pull him across the ground, eliciting even more screams of pain. Soarin had risen from his overwhelmed mental state, and grabbed the opposite strap so he could help Dano. The two men pulled their comrade through the dirt as their enemy continued to pour hot lead into the air to try and bring down the two would be saviors, and two rounds got lucky.

As Soarin took a step with his right leg about fifteen yards from safety a round pierced his calf, coming in one side and out the other. Soarin let out a quick scream before he grit his teeth and continued pulling. The two men had crossed most of the open area and were only five yards away from the Doctor when another round hit Soarin, this time in his right forearm. Just like the round that hit the soldier’s calf the bullet went right through the flesh to continue on, and just like before Soarin soldiered on.

Dano and Soarin finally rounded the corner of the officer’s building. Soarin let go of Carrot, and took a few more steps before sitting down with the structure supporting his back while Dano continued to pull the extremely burnt marksman. The survivor rotated his body, sat down so he faced the building’s corner, and pulled Carrot onto his lap. Dano looked up at the Doctor, who had been covering them, to see the medic shake his head as he passed by to help Soarin.

That was it. Carrot’s fate was sealed. Dano turned his gaze to the screaming man, and tried his best to comfort him.

“Deep breaths Carrot, deep breaths.”

Carrot either didn’t listen or couldn’t stop, for he continued to scream in pain.

“Dano…”

Dano looked over his shoulder to see an very serious Doctor as he patched up Soarin’s leg.

“He is going to take a while to die.”

Dano got the gist, and he nodded to the Doctor.

The survivor hands were shaking as he placed his rifle on the ground and removed his pistol.

“I’m sorry Carrot.” Dano whispered as he pointed the firearm at the side of the marksman’s head, and pulled the trigger.

The round did its job, and the screaming stopped. Dano felt the warm wetness of blood cover his legs as the life preserving liquid poured out of the two new holes in Carrot’s head. The survivor felt sick, and he fought back the rising nausea in his gut as he pulled himself out from under the dead marksman, grabbing his rifle as he went. Standing on shaky legs Dano moved to the corner of the officer’s building, and peaked around the cover to see the little stronghold the raiders had set up. Big Mac and Braeburn were holding most of their attention while the rest of the team licked their wounds.

It wasn’t long before Dano heard the Doctor talk to Soarin over the sound of the continuing battle.

“Can you walk?!”

Dano didn’t turn his attention away from the enemy.

“I think so!”

An idea popped into Dano’s mind, and a devious smile spread across the survivor face.

Dano pushed himself off of the wall he was leaning on, turned and took a knee. After taking his pack off and setting his rifle down he rummaged through his pack until he found the rest of his C4, their respective detonators and detonation switches. He removed a single switch and tossed it to Soarin, and the wounded soldier gave Dano a confused look.

“What are we doing?!”

Dano didn’t look up from his pack as he jammed a detonator into a single block of C4.

“Making a satchel charge!”

Soarin and the Doctor blinked in confusion.

“What do you mean ‘making a satchel charge’?!”

Dano armed the detonator.

“I’m going to throw my pack at the enemy, and you will squeeze the button to make it explode!”

The Doctor shook his head.

“We are too far away!”

Dano looked up and smiled.

“Then I will just have to get closer then!”

The Doctor shook his head again, but this time in disbelief as Dano rose to his feet.

“Soarin move to the edge of the building so you can see me! To arm the detonation switch just flip that little black switch on the bottom of it! Do not arm it until the satchel charge leaves my hand, and do not squeeze the trigger until the charge is through one of the windows!”

Soarin nodded, and began to shimmy his way along the wall. Dano rose and took a step back to allow him enough room to sit, and once in position Soarin and Dano met gazes. They each nodded to each other before Soarin turned to see down the open area while Dano closed his eyes and took a breath to steady his nerves.

Dano let the breath out, and before he could stop himself took off through the camp. Big Mac and Braeburn were doing a good job distracting the raiders, but a few saw the survivor coming and began to fire at him. Dano braved the shots as he closed the distance. A single bullet nicked him on the side of his left bicep, but the survivor continued on un-phased by the near miss. It only took Dano seconds to cross the camp at full sprint, and once he believed he had reached a close enough distance the survivor threw his entire pack at the building before tucking into a ball and rolling into the dirt.

The satchel charge flew through the air toward the enemy, and Soarin watched from afar as it gracefully arched through the air. Dano’s aim was spot on, and the pack flew through one of the windows with plenty of room in any direction. As ordered Soarin squeezed the switch in his hand, and the whole charge exploded in one massive thunderous boom.

Dano felt the beginning of the blast wave wash over him, but almost milliseconds after the first detonation secondary’s began to go off inside of the building. The combined force of the explosions tossed the survivor through the air back the way he came. Dano hit the ground a good ten yards from where he had taken cover, and continued to roll for another three yards before coming to a stop on his back.

Dano’s vision faded in and out, and all he could hear was ringing. It wasn’t long before the Doctor flooded the survivor’s vision, all three of him. The medic yelled something that Dano couldn’t hear. The ringing in his ears was blocking out everything. Eventually the ringing dissipated along with the blurry vision, and the survivor began to regain his senses.

Dano pushed himself up to a sitting position, and the movement just made his head feel even worse.

“Are you alright Dano?”

The Doctor’s voice was heard clearly, and the sound of gunfire had suddenly stopped.

Dano looked down the open area to see a flat piece of ground where the enemy was once holed up, little fires burning where there was fuel. The charge was powerful, but not strong enough to level the entire hut. With a mental face palm the survivor realized that the mystery building was, in fact, the armory. The structure was full of explosives, and Dano had set them all off.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Dano said, his voice a little shaky.

The Doctor laughed as he helped Dano to his feet.

“Looks like you got a little more bank for your buck huh.”

Dano returned the chuckle.

“You could say that.”

Dano and the Doctor’s little conversation was cut short by the arrival of Braeburn and Big Mac. As the two men trotted around the corner of the officer’s building the survivor looked them over. They both were still functioning, but each of them carried slight wounds. Big Mac had a thin sheet of blood covering his right cheek. It looked like a round cruised right over the large soldier’s sights, skimmed his cheek and took off his right earlobe. Braeburn on the other hand had three holes in his body armor with small streams of blood creeping out of each. The rounds he took were slowed by the vest he wore, but they still had enough momentum to push through his skin.

Dano quickly ordered Big Mac and Braeburn to search the last barracks, and the survivor watched as the two Apples stopped, turned and advanced on the building. Braeburn kicked the door down, and they both filed in before exiting a few seconds later. The coast was clear.

The entire camp had been pacified, except for the officer’s building. Dano had a sneaking suspicion that his quarry was there, and he quickly rounded up his team. Echo had appeared from the second barracks after the explosion, and trotted behind Dano as he walked to the siting Soarin. The survivor picked the rifle he had left before throwing his charge, lifted Soarin to his feet, threw the wounded man’s left arm over his shoulder and carried him around to the front of the structure where he leaned him against the wall to the left of the doorway.

The rest of the team stacked up on the right side of the doorway as Dano moved in front of the threshold. The survivor took a quick breath to calm himself before he looked at his team. Every member of the group gave Dano a curt nod when their gazes met, and the survivor knew that his team was ready to finish the fight. With all of his strength Dano lifted his foot and kicked the door down.

I FINALLY DID IT!!
did what?
i finally got a huge cliffhanger in this fic
you feel so proud don't you
yes, yes i do
well you shouldn't
why not?
because it is mean to mess with people Gaius
its just a little joke
i find it quite funny
thank you twilight, and by the way thanks for the Molestia visit
you enjoyed that?
yeah, once i got over the whole 'horn going places it shouldn't' that night was a blast
you are a very strange man
you know it

take that you ruffians
and stop abusing me with your words
lulz
jk
i love you all
and happy B-Day Belarion Greydeath, i got the chapter out a good 15 minutes before four hours
so take my present and be happy
but no re-gifting
and have fun
don't forget to rate and comment
that is all
kthanxbai