Crackle.. Bang..
The world slowly came to life around me. Opening my eyes slowly, the black smoke and orange flames fill my view, although my vision is blurred. A loud ringing is piercing my eardrums that slowly builds to a headache.
"Urghhh.." I moan. I go to lift my right arm up to rub my head, but I can't. My hand wont move.
"Wha.." Looking down, a chunk of metal is stuck into my hand, which is impaling it into the ground.
"What th..the fuck.." I stammer as a wave of nausea flows around my.
Hel..cat.. you hear.. please respon- Hellcat do yo-- opie over!
I glance over to what is left of the cockpit. A mangle heap of metal. The radio is there spewing out sparks. I reach out to the microphone and pick it up just as an enormous amount of pain flairs out of my leg.
"ARGHH FUCK!" I shout out, unaware that I pressed the 'on' button for the microphone. Looking down my leg, I wish I didn't. Blood, a lot of it and where my knee should be, it is just hanging off. The half below the knee is hanging off by some bits of skin and a tendon.
"ARGH WHAT THE FUCK! OH JESUS HELP!" I shout as I try and pull back away from the horror, I also scrape my good leg across a sharp bit of metal which cuts deep into my thigh.
"FUUCK!" I scream as the metal digs into me. "That better not have been an artery.. oh please lord I hope that's not an artery!"
Hellca..you OK? An emerganc-- out for you. Please reso-- The radio flairs out.
Stchhhhhhhh The sound of static fills the wreckage
BANG!
An eruption of flames enter through a small hole in the cockpit and fill the room.
"Fuck!" I shout as the flames rise inside the mangled heap of twisted metal.
"I need to get out of here! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die!" I scream as I start to hyperventilate.
I look around and spot a small gap behind me, just the right size to get me through. I go to drag myself back again, and remember about my hand. Looking down at it, the only way to get it out is by tearing it out.
"Ohh boy this is going to be fun!" I grimace as I grasp the piece of metal with my left hand and pull. A white hot pain shoots out from my hand and up into my spine. The world around me turns dark as I almost pass out.
"Ahahah" I moan as I start to cry. I look down at my hand. No metal, but a pool of blood. Summoning all the strength, I flip my body over onto my stomach and with a ton of pain I pull myself to the hole and yank myself out.
I land on the floor with a thud and pain just engulfs my entire body. I look around. Flames and debris scattered around.
"S-Sergeant.." A weak voice calls from debris ahead of me.
"Are yo-you all right!?" I ask weakly.
"No.." Is the reply which I was not hoping for.
A few minutes of scanning the area I see him. Lying on his back. I slowly crawl over to him.
"Holy shit.." I mutter under my breath.
His legs, folder over the top of each other, were lying about 1 meter away from his actual body. His were guts sprawled about over the crimson sand and his face was coated in blood.
"S-S-S-Segeant.. I n-never got to g-get y-" He stops momentarily to cough up more blood. "Your n-name.." He turned to look at me. His face a pale white, with blood all around his lips. He looked like a zombie that had freshly eaten someone.
"M-my name is Bradley." I replied, tears in my eyes.
"Good l-luck Bradley..T-tell my fa-family I love th-" And he stopped. His eyes rolled back into his head head and he stopped breathing. I just sat there and didn't know what to do. But in the end, I cried. And that Is when I passed out.
When I woke up, I expected to be in the desert. But instead I woke in a hospital bed.
"What the.." I muttered. "Am I in Heaven?"
"No, you're not in Heaven. You're in Canterlot Hospital." A voice says from my left.
Looking to my left, a tall, white pony stands over me.
"D-d-did you just t-talk.." I mutter, staring at the pony beside me.
"Yes, I did. Let me introduce myself, my name is Celestia. What's your name?" Celestia asks.
"M-my name is Br-Bradley.." I say before darkness takes hold of my vision and I pass out.
Clip..clop...clip...clop..
The sound of hooves slowly stirs me out of my slumber.. wait.. hooves!?
I stood straight up in my bed only to fall back down because of the pain that shot out of my knee.
"Argh fuck!" I moan as I reach down to my knee.
"Well, I guess that means you're awake now" A feminine voice mentions from the end of my bed.
Looking down, I see a tall, white pony standing there. A wave of Déjà vu flows over me, and I remember her from yesterday before I pass out.
"Y-your Celestia, aren't you?" I ask.
"Yes I am, Bradley. I've just come to see how you are. You are very lucky to have survived that crash." Celestia replied.
A moment of silence filled the room. Then something clicked in my head.. I'm talking to a pony!
"I'm dreaming.. or I'm in a coma.." I mutter to myself. "You're not real. You cant be real! You're a talking pony!"
"I can assure you that I am real." She said.
"Ha! A talking pony! Wow I'm going insane!" I laughed.
Celestia huffed, "I thought that you were going to say something like that, so I brought you this." Her horn lit up and a box appeared in front of me.
"Huh, what is it? Fairy dust?" I joked as I opened it up. My heart sank as I saw the contents. It was a charred picture of my entire family together. My Mum, Dad, Wife and Son all sitting on the beach smiling.
"W-why?" I chocked.
"I found it in the wreckage of the.. contraption that you crashed." Celestia explained. "I thought you might like it, along with this." Her horn lit up again and my Colt M1911 fell onto me. I picked it up and ran my fingers across 2 engravings on the barrel: Daisy and Tom. My wife and son.
The world seemed to slow down. Have they been told that my helicopter crashed? Is Mum and Dad OK? What about Daisy and Tom? How will they all cope with the news?
My mind was battling over two scenarios: Right now I'm living in a coma, or this is real. And if this is real life life and I'm stuck in this weird place.. How do I get back?
"Wait- where am I if this is all real?" I questioned.
"You're in Canterlot, Equestria." She answered.
"Isn't Equestria something to do with horses?" I say dumbfound.
"Uh.. well, not here, but from your planet most likely by the sound of things. I've been meaning to ask- What are you? And where are you from?"
"What am I?" I ask, cocking my head sideways.
"Like.. how do I put this? Species?" She chuckled.
"Well.. I'm a Human from Earth." I stated.
Celestia's ears perked up when I mentioned 'Human'.
"You're a Human? Twilight is going to be so happy once she finds out that we've.. 'found' a Human!" Celestia chimed.
"Uh, who's 'Twilight'? I ask.
"Twilight is my beloved student. She has recently started doing research on the projects that Starswirl the bearded did not complete. She has recently told me that Starswirl discovered a 'Human' on Equestria." Celestia explained, "Twilight has been up for weeks trying to find out where Humans come from."
"Okaay... Just wondering, how long have I been here?" I ask
"Three days." She said bluntly.
"What! Three days!" I shouted.
"Yes. You've been unconscious for a while." Celestia said.
"Fine. If this is all real, how did I get here." I spat.
"Well, that's what we've been trying to figure out. Our best answer is a wormhole opened up and dragged you through the universe to our planet."
"Pfft! Do you have any evidence?" I retorted.
"Well, on the day that you arrived, there was a massive magical disturbance throughout the land." Celestia mentioned.
"Magical disturbance? It's like I'm out of a cartoon!" I spat, "Magic isn't real!"
"Ha, shows how much you've been paying attention.." Celestia retorted, "How'd I give you that picture? How'd I give you your weapon?"
I stared at her for a while, then looked down at the photo and pistol laying on my lap.
"Well shit.." I muttered, "Fine! Use your 'magic' to give me something, anything you like!"
"Sure." Celestia's horn lit up once more and a plate full of food landed on top of my photo and pistol.
"You must be hungry. You haven't eaten in three days. Eat up." Celestia ordered.
The mention of food made my stomach rumble.
"Heh.. I guess I am hungry.." I said as I picked up a.. piece of hay?! "What the fuck is this?"
Celestia's tone darkened, "Enough of your potty mouth! I have tried to put up with your cussing and I just can't stand it! I will not have you swearing in my kingdom!" But then, as if nothing happened, her tone lightened up, "But that is hay.. Ah, I take it you don't eat hay from where your from? No worries!" Her horn lit up and the plate disappeared then reappeared. "Is that any better? A burger and chips?"
"That'll do." I said as I dove straight into the burger and chips, devouring it within seconds. "Wow, I guess I really was hungry.."
Celestia, for the first time that I've seen, smiled. "Well, how about you stand up and try to walk? You need to practice walking again. You're lucky, you know? If twilight hadn't been reading those books about humans, there would've been know way that I would've been able to sew your leg back together."
"I'll try standing." I said through gritted teeth as I swung my bad leg around. Pain flared up the moment I moved it. "Argh fu-" I stopped myself before I swore. Glancing over at Celestia, she had a smile on her face.
"Can I have some crutches or something? There is no way I can support myself." I asked.
"Yeah, I didn't think that you'd need them but here you go." And with that, I had crutches held in a magical golden aura hovering in front of me. I reached out and grabbed them, and noticed that my right hand had a zagged scar in it. Grabbing the crutches, I pulled myself up onto one leg, and slowly put my foot on the ground, ignoring the blazing pain spreading throughout my leg. Fighting back tears, I put weight on it. And I wish I didn't.
"Arghhh!" I screamed through clenched teeth. The world seemed to fade around me and I start to fall to the ground, but I get stopped half-fall by Celestia.
"You all right?" Celestia asks.
"Does it look like I'm all right?" I mock.
"Well.. no" She replies.
"Just put my down on the bed. I'll rest up some more.." I say, fighting back tears from the ongoing pain. She levitates me back to my bed and sets me down.
"I'll get you some ice, that might help" Celestia spawns some ice and puts it on my knee. "I'll leave you to rest. Just call the nurse if you need anything." She said as she starts to walk out the room.
"Wait! If this is real.. How do I get back to Earth..?" I ask.
"Well.. I'm not actually to sure.." Celestia though hard about it. "I'll try and find a solution overnight, and I will tell you what I think tomorrow." And with that she walks out the room, leaving me to my thoughts.
"Maybe I'm not in a coma.. maybe this is real. How do I get back home? Will I ever get back home?" I question myself. "This is going to be one hell of an adventure if it isn't a coma.." I say as I close my eyes and drift off to dream about home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm looking down onto Daisy ironing clothes with Tom sitting in front of the TV.
Daisy looks over to tom, "Tom, don't sit too close to the TV, you'll get square eyes."
"Really?!" Tom said shocked and scuttled away from the TV as fast as he could.
Daisy looked at him with a smile. "Yeah, really! That's why I do my ironing over here, so I don't get square eyes when I'm looking at th-"
Knock Knock Knock
"Oh, who's that? I'll be right back Tom. Don't touch the iron, OK? It's hot!" Daisy warned as she went into the hallway. She got to the door and twisted the door knob and pulled the door open. Standing in front of her, was a tall guy in army uniform.
"Ma'am.. I'm sorry... But your Husband is missing in action. His helicopter has been reported to have crashed, yet there are no bodies. I'm sorry." The soldier said as Daisy broke down in and cried on his shoulder.
"H-how..?" Daisy spoke through sobs.
"Helicopter malfunction." The soldier replied.
"Mum! Mum! Come here!" Tom calls from the front room.
Daisy looked back into the house and her stomach turned to water. "H-how do I t-tell him..?"
"Calmly.." The soldier said looking down at the floor.
"Th-thank you.." Daisy turned around and walked inside, closing the door quietly. She walked into the room and saw Tom playing with some toys.
"T-Tom, darling.. Can you please come here..?" Daisy asked, trying not to break down in tears.
Tom rushed up and leaped onto the sofa, "What is it Mum?"
"W-well I just had a chat w-with a nice gentleman.. a-and he said t-that Dad is.. m-missing in action.." She looked at Tom who had tears welling in his eyes. "Do y-you know what t-that means..?" And for her response was Tom bursting in tears and clutching Daisy as tight as he could. Daisy couldn't hold her tears back and started crying as well.
"Daisy.." I whispered. "Why? Why did the sandstorm have to come then!?" I raised my voice. "I've left Tom. He's going to be fatherless!" I look down onto Tom, but the scene has changed. We're at a funeral. My funeral. The coffin is closed and I can see Daisy holding Tom tightly. He is crying.
"Why..." I moan. The crying gets louder, and louder. Soon it echoes around me, haunting me.
"Daddy! Why did you have to leave me! Why!" Toms voice booms around me. "Why did you have to go and DIE!
Fire erupts around me and Toms face appears in front of me, his eyes a pale white. Daisy's face appears next to his.
"Why did you have to make Tom grow up fatherless? He's going to grow up without you! Without a father!" Daisy roars, "That's it! I'm getting a divorce! We're OVER!"
"NO! DAISY! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!" I scream and fall to my knees, tears streaming down my face, "IT WASN'T MY FAULT!"
"Lies! You only done it so you could get away from me and To-" A blue beam shoots from behind me and hits Daisy in between the eyes, making her disappear. Another beam comes hurtling from behind me and hits Tom in the face. The flames subdue and I'm left in a black room.
"You're safe now." A voice calls from behind. I turn around and see a blue pony walking up to me.
"Don't worry, they won't hurt you now." The pony told me. "It was just a nightmare, Bradley."
"How'd you k-know my name?" I ask.
"My sister, Celestia, told my about you. My name is Luna." Luna smiled.
"W-where am I?" I say, trembling.
"You were in a nightmare, but now you're in a dream." Luna explains.
"So you're just part of my nightmare/dream?" I say, puzzled.
"No. I am Princess of the night, and it is my duty to roam the land of dreams and free ponies from nightmares, hence why I am here." Luna replied.
"So, I'm still dreaming?" I ask.
"Right now, yes this is a dream, but you can do whatever you like in this dream. Your mind is still asleep. Your body is still asleep. But your consciousness is what is awake, making you what you are now, a.. fragment of your dream. Think about something, anything you like and it will appear." Luna explained.
"How do I wake up? Because right now, I feel perfectly awake." I questioned.
"Just wait for nature to wake you up." Luna smiled as a door appeared in front of her. Using her magic, she opened it up and a blinding white light shone out of it. She walked through and the door closed behind her and vanished.
"'Think about anything and it will appear, eh? This might be interesting.. if it is true" I talk to myself. I close my eyes and think about something. When I open them, a Pagani Zonda R is in front of me, keys in the ignition and the engine purring.
"Holy. Shit. Best dream ever!" I run towards the car, but as soon as I open the door, I wake up.
RATATATATATATAT! The M230 Chaingun roars down onto the Taliban. Shot after shot the ground is churned up, along with the people.
SHHHHWOOOOOOOOOSHHHH! The hellfire is launched. 100lb's of pure devastation heading towards the Talbian scum.
BOOOM! Nothing left of those ass-holes.
"Wooohooo!!" I shout down the microphone as the hellfire missile lands directly on the Taliban compound, destroying everything and everyone in a fiery inferno and sending debris everywhere.
"Nice shootin'," I tell the gunner. "You sure know how and where to aim with that thing!"
"I do it all the time. What'd they say when your younger? 'Practice makes perfect'." The gunner replied, and the way he said it I was sure that he was smiling.
I pull back on the Cyclic and make a tight left-hand turn back towards base.
"This is Hellcat, the compound has be destroyed and we're heading back now. I repeat, the compound has been destroyed." I say down the radio to our base.
"Roger that Hellcat, the runway will be cleared for your arrival." The ATC says down the radio.
Edging the nose forward, the Apache speeds down the sandy desert of Afghanistan. Behind us, the blazing fire of the Taliban base, still burning, slowly goes out of sight.
"Urhm, Sergeant?" The gunner says down the coms.
"What is it lass?" I reply.
"I.. I think that there is a sand storm to our left..." He ask hesitantly.
Looking to my left, sure enough, a massive dust cloud is hurtling itself towards us.
"What? That's not due till tomorrow!" I spit, "Just brace yourself kid, the impact is gonna be quite strong. By the look of it, its going about 20-25mph.
"Sir, yes sir!" He replies and then shuts up.
"This is Hellcat, we're going to experience a slight delay. A sandstorms is heading in our direction." I tell the ATC.
"Okay Hellcat." The ATC replies.
Looking to my left, the sandstorm is mere meters away. And closing in, fast.
"Three.. Two.. One... Brace yourse-" I'm cut of by the sheer force of it. The entire helicopter is hauled to the side, throwing us around. My leg is thrown into the Cyclic and the helicopter lurches steeply to the right. Regaining control, I hear a sound that I never want to hear:
Beep..Beep..Beep..Beep
"Ah shit!" I shout as I look at the red symbol lit up on the controls. It reads:
Tail rotor
"Shit we've lost power to the tail rotor! We're gonna start spinnin-" Once again I've been cut of by a sudden movement. The helicopter starts spinning the the left as the power dies from the tail rotor.
"You OK down there?" I ask my gunner.
"Yeah sir I'm good.." He says shakily. I can tell in his voice that he's scared.
"Don't worry, we're gonna be good!" I reassure him.. and myself.
A couple minutes later and I start getting dizzy.
"Argh I'm gonna be si-" Too late as I puke all over the controls.
"Argh Serg, that's gross! You could've warned me." The gunner jokes.
"I was never a fan of spinning things..." I reply, queasy.
Moments pass and we're still falling out of the sky, but a sudden updraft causes the helicopter to flip.
"Woah shit!" I scream as we're flipped around, along with the vomit.
Pushing forward on the Cyclic to counter-act the flipping, another symbol lights up on the control panel, this time it reads,
M rotor: Fire
"AH FUCK!" I shout.
"What is it?" The gunner, sounding sick.
"Nothing.." I mutter.
"This is Hellcat, the fuckin' sandstorm has messed up our helicopter and we are going down, I repeat we are going down! We're spinning and flipping around, I can't control it as the main rotor is gone, along with the tail! We're a falling fireball right now!" I shout to the ATC. "Our altitude is 10,000 and descending fast, too fuckin' fast!"
My eyes were now glued to the altitude gauge. 9500ft.. 9000ft... 8500ft..
I zone out of the horror and think of my family. My Mum, my Dad, my wife... my..son. I hold back tears. The crackling sound of the fire echoes around my day dream. I see pictures of my son, smiling. The times we've had abroad in Australia. My wife, my wedding. My son's first words. All happy times. Now gone in just a couple of minutes.
"Heh.." I mutter to myself, "I guess your life does flash before you're eyes when you're about to die.
Then I zone back into reality. The noise is unbearable: the loud sirens blaring out warnings; the rumbling sound of an engine trying to move when it's jammed; the now screaming and weeping Co-pilot. The fire intensifies and I can now feel it on the back of my neck. A loud BANG shakes the helicopter and an intense wave of heat flows over me. The helicopter is engulfed in flames as the fuel tank catches fire.
Low altitude, Pull up. Pull up. The system tells me as we go below 1500ft altitude mark.
"No shit Sherlock..." I reply to the system.
Looking out the window, I can see flames licking the side of the glass, and the rapidly approaching desert.
"Goodbye.." I say to the ATC "Tell our families that we love them.."
Then, the raging ball of fire that was once a helicopter, slams into the ground.
