Corporal Swift galloped across the parapet leading to the watch tower as the torrential rains driven from the maelstrom of thunder and lightning filling the gray skies of Cloudsdale cascaded off of his heavy cloak. Crashing through the door at the foot of the tower he took but one moment to pull the hood from his head before mounting the stairs to the summit of the turret. The force of the wind wrenched the door from his hooves as Swift opened the trap-door to the battlements.
“Captain Allegiant! The weather team had to break off, the winds are too strong and the Colonel has ordered all active duty personnel to find immediate shelter.” Swift yelled at the top of his lungs at the rain drenched Pegasus leaning against the crenelations.
“Captain Allegiant! Can you hear me? We have to get inside now!” Swift called a second time.
A bolt of lightning broke in front of the Captain, turning him into a black specter of himself against the dark skies.
“Do you know what it means when the winds blow from the North, Corporal?” Allegiant replied.
“Sir, I mean no disrespect, but there are more pressing issues at hoof!” Swift shouted back.
“I asked you a question Corporal, and I am not moving an inch until you answer the bucking question!” Swift growled.
“I don’t know Sir!” bewilderedly replied Swift as the force of the winds sent torrents of rain into his eyes. He could just barely make out the outline of the Captain as he turned on point and made his way towards the blinded Corporal. Another lighting bolt snapped across the skies behind Swift; illuminating the chitinous armor adorning Allegiant’s body, the opaque green wings spread towards the skies, and the red orbs burning in his eye sockets.
The creature hissed between it’s crooked yellow fangs as Corporal Swift stumbled backwards in horror and plummeted headlong towards the crags below.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The rustling of fabric became audible as Corporal Swift awoke to darkness and the invasive pungence of commercial strength disinfectants.
“… the guards haven’t released a statement about the patient, and without being able to talk to him ourselves there is no way to contact his family, if he even has one.” Came a disembodied female voice from Swift’s right
Swift attempted to stir but found movement nigh impossible as he felt sheets being drawn from his body. Panic set in as he understood the severity of his plight. Questions formed a maelstrom in his mind as Swift grasped for answers that he could not obtain.
“Where am I and why can’t I move? Where are wife and foal? Are they safe from that thing? Why are the guards withholding information? How do I let them know that…”
Corporal Swift’s attention was apprehended by the entrance of another, slightly husky, female voice. “And the local authorities are holding their tongues as well?”
Swift attempted to stir but found movement nigh impossible as he felt the removal of sheets from his form. Further attempts at announcing his consciousness were equally unsuccessful.
The fabric came to a rest on Swift’s right side.
“Not a damn word, whatever is going on I don’t want any part of it.” Replied the first voice.
“Well I’d hold my tongue if that is your opinion here he comes.”
“It’s bad enough the guards keep us in the dark, but did they really have to assign such a pompous brute to scrutinize every breath we take.”
The sound of heavy hoof-falls slowly permeated the general silence of Swift’s cognizance of his surroundings.
“Yeah, well maybe if you would shut your trap we can get out without excess denigration.” The huskier one remarked.
Sift found a fragment of solace in the nurse’s frustrations with federal investigations that aided to distract him from his torpid plight..
The hoof-falls grew louder as they approached what Swift could only assume was his door. The soft groaning of hinges and the muffled clatter of blinds colliding with glass confirmed his suspicions.
“Still trying to kill my patient I assume?” A boisterous, obviously male voice, echoed through the room. “I got some questions for our mutual friend here and I don’t need any… civilians… getting in my way”
The disgust expressed by the stallion in uttering the word civilian was virtually tangible as he made no attempt to hide it.
A sharp intake of air to his left signaled the frustrations of the husky-voiced nurse before curtly replying “Certainly, investigator. I will spare you the displeasure of interactions with a civilian like myself” The flung the door open with a ruckus of window-blinds and worn-out hinges. “Come along Curette, we needn’t interrupt his work any longer.” The explosion of sound when the door was slammed to it’s hinges was deafening.
“Bucking women always getting’ their tails in a knot whenever they can’t get their way.” The male uttered under his breath as the nurses departed. “Now, my unfortunate amigo, I am Senior Special Agent Cold Case. And you, you, are quite the colt of interest aren’t you? Crawling into an E.R. at two in the morning, covered in blood, and wearing full guard armor. Now, me and my supervisors would really appreciate knowing why disturbing the kind staff at this hospital. So, what’s the word, who are you bub?
“You arrogant bastard, can’t you see I am in capable of movement, let alone speech. Why, if I could get my hooves around your thick neck I…”
Swift’s thought was cut short as an effeminate, crackling, voice assaulted his eardrums. “Glad to see you are actually awake this time. Now, before another one of those little outbursts I need you to listen.”
Swift never heard a second pony enter the room. As he contorted his mind trying to understand how the entity was reading his mind and had gotten in without him hearing the voice spoke again.
“Corporal Swift, Service number 2577410. I know who you are so we can skip the formalities. As I said earlier I am Agent Cold Case and what I need to know is if you give me permission to rouse you from your coma. I warn you though, that this may be the most painful experience of your life, but given what you have been through already, this should be nothing.”
“I don’t see why it is necessary if you can just probe into my mind for all the answer you damn well seek. But if you find it necessary I don’t believe I have the means to resist you anyhow.”
“I will take that as confirmation. One last thing, before I open your eyes I need you to maintain your cool, lest I force you to maintain it yourself.”
“Fire away si… ma’am, I can’t put up a fight anyway.” Swift thought to himself. “Hey, one last thing what happened to your voice?”
An exasperated sigh signaled to Swift that he had asked the wrong question. “As I said, let me wake you up and we can talk.”
Swift heard an electric hum before his body was sent into violent convulsions while every nerve in his body felt as if it were being torn to shreds.