The snow crunched underneath the feet of the younger brother, who was following his older brother. Earlier, they had decided that this bandit camp could be a point of interest. So the two decided to go back to the ambush spot, and see where the survivors could have gone. After only a few minutes of searching, they had found a blood trail amongst the white snow.

Lucas bent down to inspect the spot where the ambush began. Since it was pitch black he aimed his flashlight at the body. The one that Lucas stabbed in the neck was gone. But the old man was smart- naturally the neck released a lot of blood, so it would give them an easy trail to follow. At least, up until they could find solid tracks of footsteps. “Brett, get your trigger finger ready. We’ve a trail to follow.” he said as he stood back up, and began to closely follow the blood north.

“My trigger finger’s always ready. Lead the way.” Brett said. With that, he followed Lucas as he tracked down the injured bandit. Brett had told his brother that the bandit camp could be full of supplies they could use. But the real reason was because he knew they could have prisoners, and he didn’t want any innocents to be harmed. Of course, by the way they had attacked, he knew that probably wasn’t true. They didn’t seem to want to take him and Lucas as prisoners, so the possibility of that was slim to none.

“We need a plan of attack. This time one that’s fool-proof so you don’t get shot again. I swear you whined and cried for hours. It’s just a hole in your hand, suck it up.” Lucas began to ramble on his train of thought. He’d been itching for a proper revenge- last time he tried to get revenge, it didn’t go so well.

“Screw you too. That hurt a lot, I’ll have you know. When’s the last time you got shot, hmmm?” Brett asked, getting angry. Why couldn’t he just let that go?

“When you have three fingers cut off and nothing to reattach them with but a dirty needle and a spool of thread, then you have the right to scream and cry. Especially if you have to do it yourself.” Lucas said, bringing up the time where he actually did get his fingers cut off. It took months for them to heal back to full strength. He noticed the blood trail was getting harder to follow, so they must’ve been on the right trail.

“Let’s just keep our minds set on the task at hand. You’re going against your own survivalist rule. Stay vigilant.” Brett said, indicating he wanted to end the conversation. He looked off to the side, hoping they weren’t being watched- by humans or other things. He was actually pretty surprised that they had not spotted any of the infected yet. He was also wary of the fact that anyone could see their flashlights from this distance.

“I’m always vigilant. If I ever let my guard down, you and me would’ve died long ago. Like that time we were sleeping and an infected invaded our camp. Stabbed it in the back just before it got to ya’, because you were too busy dreaming about sheep and love.” Lucas was getting a bit annoyed at his brother since he hated nagging. But he made sure not to make eye contact, that’d make it worse. He’d already thought of choking Brett numerous times.

“Let’s just let it go. Remember, I wasn’t the one who started this. And now I’m ending it.” Brett said, his teeth barely grinding against each other. Sometimes, his brother got carried away with scolding him. He’d probably regret that thought later, but he just didn’t want to live in this world. Of course, suicide wasn’t an option either.

“Good... wait, do you see that?” he said, before turning his flashlight off quickly and pointing in the distance. A faint glow could be seen by both of them signaling that the bandit camp was near. “Alright, I want you to do some scouting for any patrols and their leader since it’s your turn. I’m gonna see about finding a way to break their defense.”

“Will do.” The younger of the two said. With that, he veered off to the side, hoping to get a good vantage point. He looked around for a bit until he found a suitable tree. He placed his foot in a small hole that the tree had, and heaved himself upward. Before long, he had climbed up the tall tree. With the old binoculars he pulled out of his rucksack, he could see everything that the bandits were doing. They constructed wooden beams as a wall around three log cabins. There were two bandits on some very small watch towers, with rifles in hand. What caught his attention the most was a glimpse of bright orange and purple disappearing into the biggest of the three cabins, which were accompanied by four bandits. That couldn’t have been what he thought it was… could it?

Meanwhile, Lucas made his way to a little road that must’ve been made for the bandits. He spotted a couple of headlights coming his way, so he hid behind a tree and waited for his opportunity. Luckily, it was going slow enough for it to be to his advantage. Just as it passed by, he sprinted out and rolled under the jeep, grabbing a hold of the bottom of the vehicle. It dragged him a good fifteen feet before he could get his body off the ground. “Damn it...” he whispered to himself.

Brett looked around the camp with his trusty binoculars, hoping for a glance of whatever he had spotted before. He shrugged it off, deciding that it was just a figment of his imagination. The bandits seemed to be on high alert as well. But that was to be expected, due to their ambush party being crashed. He kept on looking at the third cabin, regardless of his mind telling him to take in all of the camp.

Lucas waited for the jeep to come to a stop. He saw two sets of legs and feet hop out and make their way farther in to the camp. To his left, he saw the walls of one of the cabins, so he rolled out towards them. Just after he got up, he opened the cap to the gas tank so it was wide open. ‘Best use this as either a distraction if I need to get the hell out of here, or a tool to mass-kill anyone in the area...’ the old man thought, before propping up against the wooden wall. A guard passed right by, although luckily he didn’t notice him. So he quietly made his way to the window, and removed the machete from the sheath on his leg.

Through the binoculars, Brett could see his brother inside the camp, who was stalking a lone guard. Apparently, his guard partner had gone off to the opposite side of the first cabin to urinate. He watched as his older brother sliced the unsuspecting guard’s throat open and drag him under the cabin. Brett was confused at first, but then noticed that the cabins appeared to be built on small beams, which left an area below unused. But more importantly, unsupervised. “Good job...” he said to himself, allowing himself a smile of satisfaction.

Lucas raised his hand so Brett could see, and pointed at one of the lookouts who was preventing him from getting inside the cabin. He wanted him to be taken out, more importantly to gather attention around that area, and not the one he was in.

Unslinging his rifle, Bret took aim at the guard near the front gate. With deadly accuracy, he took one clean shot through the head of the oblivious guard. As soon as it happened, a dozen bandits came pouring out of the cabins to investigate. “Now it’s your turn…” He said, lowering the rifle.

The older brother reached into his backpack and pulled a match from it. He hopped in the jeep and put it into neutral so it wouldn’t have much trouble moving. Afterward, he’d go to the back of the jeep and light the match, placing it gently on the edge of the entrance to the fuel tank so one little bump would make it fall in. He made his way to the back of the jeep and pushed. ‘That should do the trick...’ Lucas thought to himself as the jeep rolled further into the camp.

Brett watched all of this develop in the span of a few minutes. He saw his brother run to the side of the third cabin, and take cover. One of the bandits saw the vehicle moving and was about to alert the rest of guards, but he was cut short by the sudden explosion. All of the bandits dropped to the ground to cover themselves, giving Lucas a chance to run inside the cabin. Afterwards, they all got up and inspected the vehicle, steering clear from any flames.

He took this chance, but instead went for the window. Bracing himself, the old man ran and leapt into it, shielding himself from most of the damage with his jacketed arms and jeaned legs. He landed directly on top of one of the bandits and stabbed him directly through the mouth with his machete so it would go through to the brain. He’d quickly pull it out, and swipe a knife from the dead body. He threw it toward one of the other bandits in the room, and immediately lunged to grab the dying body. With a pivot, the body was used as a meat shield against the oncoming fire from a handgun. Lucas shoved the body forward as a distraction, and took a glass bottle from an end table with his left hand. Nearly seconds later, the last of the three bandits were on the ground. Only one was left alive, albeit with a severe concussion.

A fourth bandit watched with perverse pleasure as the older brother took down three of his comrades. He took out a machete that was strapped to his back while he removed a combat knife from his thigh. The bandit got down low, and creeped his way closer to Lucas.

“You have three seconds to scram and not piss me off.” Lucas said while he gripped his machete tighter. “One...” he warned, but the bandit kept moving closer. “Two...” still persisting. “Three!” Lucas said as the bandit approached him. He deflected a slash from the machete of the bandit with his own blade, and juked backwards away from the knife. Looking around quickly, Lucas spotted a drinking glass. He swiped it, and smashed it into the head of the oncoming bandit to keep him from attacking. Afterward, Lucas kicked him in the gut to knock him back into the wooden counter behind him.

The bandit grunted, and dodged a downward slash from Lucas, then kicked him in the side of the knee. Immediately afterward, he sent his knife directly toward the old man’s neck.

Lucas had to think fast, it was do or die. So he dropped his machete and caught the wrist of the bandit that was holding the knife. Pivoting to get his feet under him, he twisted and sent his elbow back into the bandit’s chin. The knife and machete of the bandit clanked on the floor after a short fall. The old man took a moment to get used to the pain in his knee before the bandit made another move.

Outside Brett could see that bandits were still busy trying to put out the burning inferno that his brother had created. There was something going on in the cabin, and whoever was messing with Lucas, he was clearly holding his own. To pass the time by, he started shooting at the dozens of bandits below, taking two out in quick succession. Right as he thought he could take at least three more out, his gun jammed. He looked down and cursed, hoping that they had not pinpointed his general area from the muzzle flash or the noise from the rifle.

Meanwhile, inside the cabin Lucas took numerous punches to the face in partially rapid succession. Just before the bandit hit him with one last punch, he grabbed the shoulder of the arm that was holding him and pushed down to make the bandit bend over. So Lucas pushed forward and sent the bandit’s head directly into the glass door of a cabinet. Though before he could do anything else, the bandit’s foot hit him in the stomach, followed by a massive uppercut to his chin that sent him barreling over a table behind him.

The bandit then ran towards Lucas at full sprint, his eyes no longer holding amusement, but pure hatred.

The old man got up and looked around quickly. There, he saw his way out of the situation. He ducked down and knocked the table over to smash the foot of the bandit. After the bandit yelped, he deflected a fist to his face and kicked the table to knock the bandit over. He quickly shoved the table out of the way and grabbed the bandit by the jacket. He pulled the man up and began to run, dragging the dazed bandit with him. He proceeded to throw his opponent through the other window in the cabin.

The bandit soared through the window and through the other behind it that lead to the other cabin right next to the one they were in. Immediately the men outside were alerted to Lucas’s presence.

The old man went and grabbed his machete, took some R&R for his bleeding face and dove through the broken window and into the other cabin where he met three more bandits plus his rival. “Son of a-...” he groaned before dodging a knife aimed at his gut. With a smooth spin he planted his blade into the thigh of the lunging thug and slid it across, causing the leg to split right open and bleed without end.

The other two were easy, with a spin Lucas’s machete met the neck of one of them and the back of the other. Lucas and fighting was like chocolate and peanut butter- a perfect combination.

Brett fumbled with the rifle, finally unjamming it after what seemed like forever. He took aim and shot at a couple of bandits who were trying to get into the cabin Lucas was in. He took down three of the bandits, making the others back off, obviously getting the clue that the cabin was off limits. He fumbled with his ammo pack, and accidently dropping it down the tree, making it roll down the hill and into some foliage. He jumped down and withdrew his pistol with the homemade suppressor attached to it. He knew there was no finding the ammo in all of those bushes, so he started running towards the camp, under the cover of the trees. Before long, he was at the wall. Now the fun could begin.

Back in the cabin, Lucas sent a fist forward only for it to have it taken and twisted. He yelped in pain as it clearly became strained more and more. Before it could go any farther, Lucas pulled back to make the bandit lean forward. To which he kneed his opponent as hard in the face as he could, just so he could grab the arm that was twisting his wrist and lock it. His enemy’s face was now presented, the same with his torso. With a vicious torrent of blows from his left hand, the bandit’s face quickly got more and more disfigured.

But as he beat the face of his opponent, something snapped in Lucas’s mind. His hand almost got broken. So now, he just followed his instincts. He pushed forward, and put his body weight on the bandit, rolling over the bandit’s back to completely dislocate the arm and have it follow him. They both landed on the floor, and Lucas swung his body around to lock the arm between his legs. With a single twist, the arm broke in three places. It was evident from the three snaps that sounded through the cabin. Lucas wished he had his machete in his hands, but it was across the room. So instead he put his foot on the face of the bandit and began to pull.

The bandit couldn’t even scream because of the foot on his face, but the pain was already insane. It quickly became evident his final moments were right then and there. All he could do was let out a little whine.

Lucas pushed with his foot and pulled with his hands as hard as he could. Until finally the skin around the shoulder of the bandit began to tear, it was already dislocated. The old man yelled as he pulled as hard as he could. Lucas could feel the muscle of the arm tearing between his legs until both the neck of the bandit broke and the arm had nothing connecting to the body except for maybe some tendons and remaining flesh.

Brett snuck around the edge of the first cabin and made his way to the third, hoping they wouldn’t guess he was an outsider. He ran to the cabin like he had purpose being there. The bandits around paid no attention to him, obviously thinking that he was one of them. He busted through the door, slammed it shut, and pointed his handgun at the door, expecting people to come through. Just like he had anticipated, the remaining bandits came rushing in, thinking it was safe to enter. They ran in, but didn’t see the younger brother off to the side. He picked the remaining five off in with five quick and silent shots. He looked out the window, but did not see anymore bandits around. He then ran to Lucas’s side to see if he was okay. He looked up for a short moment and what he saw shocked him beyond any belief. Inside a makeshift jail cell were two technicolor ponies with even greater expressions of horror and shock. “What in the hell…?!” He exclaimed, his eyes wide.

“Ungh...” Lucas moaned through his exhaustion. Seemed like every time he stopped thinking and just started acting, he got more and more sore. Nearly tearing the arm off that bandit took almost all the strength that he had. “What... ngh, is it?” he asked while slowly rolling over to attempt to get back up.

“T-that…” Was all Brett ‘said’ as he pointed at the frightened ponies. Or rather mumbled.

The old man sighed and managed to sit up. He saw what Brett was looking at and shook his head. “I must be seein’ things, that bandit hit really hard.” Lucas said while groggily staring at the colored... animals, whatever they were.

“No… I see it too...” Brett said.

The purple one stepped forward to the front of the cage and spoke. It actually spoke...

“H… h-he-help...” It said while trembling violently. It was obviously terrified, but then something clicked. It was a she, due to its feminine appearance and voice.

“What the...” Brett said before going into shocked silence. His attention snapped to the window of the cabin, which had melted from fire that had spread from the exploded jeep.

“We need to get out of here, Brett. Forget em’ and let’s go!” Lucas exclaimed before rushing to his feet and grabbing his machete from the other side of the cabin. He was still exhausted, but had to push just a little bit more. He ran over to Brett and put his hand on his shoulder to try and start pulling him toward the door.

The younger brother slipped out of Lucas’s grip and grabbed the key ring from one of the fallen guards. Before his brother could protest, he fumbled through the keys, slid in the right one, and unlocked the cage the little horses were locked in. “Follow us if you want to live! NOW!” He yelled. The orange one snapped out of her state of shock and followed Brett. Soon after, the purple one followed behind.

Together, the two humans and two ponies ran out of the cabin before it was completely enveloped in flames.

“Dammit, Brett!” Lucas yelled out while running through the camp. He noted the two ponies struggling to keep up, so he just went and picked them up under his arms. “I swear I’m gonna’ to choke that little bastard when we make camp!” the old man exclaimed angrily.

Brett heard yet ignored Lucas as he made his threat to himself. The younger brother looked back to see the ponies gripped in the old man’s arms. He looked forward and kept his mind set on escaping the area. He didn’t know why he had ran to the ponies’ aid, but in that moment of confusion, he also had a moment of clarity. He was tired of leaving innocent people behind for the sake of survival. He just couldn’t do it anymore. He wouldn’t.

After they had gotten to a safe distance away from the camp, Lucas set the two... things, down and made his way over to Brett. He shoved him directly into a tree and sternly said, “What the hell do you think you were doin’?!”

“The right thing. Yell at me all you want but they ARE coming with us. I don’t want to leave you out here but if I have to, I will.” Brett said, his eyes showing the anger, coldness, and mixed feelings he had capped-up all of his life in one glare. His eyes gave out that kind of look that said ‘Try somethin’, I dare you’.

“I dare you to try. See how you do takin’ care of some stupid animals all by yourself! At the expense of your own brother! I don’t need you, and I never have!” Lucas furiously yelled at his younger brother. Afterward he’d grab Brett and throw him to the ground, he was extremely close to just beating him relentlessly. But he remembered it was family, though it was hard to cope with that fact.

“All my life, I’ve stuck with you, no matter what horrible choices you’ve made. No more. I CAN’T do this anymore! If that’s the way it has to be, then so be it.” Brett yelled as he withdrew his pistol, pointed it at his brother, and slowly sidestepped him. His eyes said that he would pull the trigger if it came to that. He walked towards the confused ponies and offered them a look of sympathy, which calmed them down.

“Pulling a gun on me now?!” He said while he walked over to Brett, he grabbed the gun and put it right to his forehead. “Go on then, shoot me! It’s been a long time comin’!” he yelled, staring his brother directly in the eye. Showing that he meant it.

“You know I couldn’t kill my own brother. But I’m not too sure about you. I’ve seen that look in your eyes. You hate me. You’ve always hated me. The only reason you stuck with me was because you made a promise to mom. I’m leaving with them and I’m leaving you. I won’t be your problem anymore.” Brett said, his eyes cold and full of sudden realization.

“GOOD! I HOPE YOU GET INFECTED JUST SO I HAVE A REASON TO SHOOT YOU IN THE FACE!” Lucas yelled directly in his brother’s face and swatted the gun away. After that, he adjusted his backpack and stormed off to go back to the truck. That’s right, he was leaving them with no way of transportation.

Brett’s face softened into immense hurt. He felt a trickle go down his cheek as he watched his only friend he’d ever had disappear. He had promised himself that he would no longer cry when mom died. But Lucas was the only family he had left. He felt a hoof from one of the ponies on his shoulder, and could feel a bit of pity from them both. He dared not look at either of them, though.

“Come on… we have to go.” He said, shrugging his rucksack on, and walking off. Soon, the ponies followed, exchanging looks of partial confusion but mostly empathy. He had nothing left.

All he had now, was a couple of ponies, a rifle, and no reason left to live.

Author's Note

Well here it is, the 2 chapter amazing intro of Victims of Circumstance. There will be more soon, so be ready for that.