It Starts with a Single Step
Prologue
That day, the horrid day where everything we knew about our life. Going to the bakery for rolls, or going to the the market stalls to get some snacks with friends. All of that was just pulled right out from under us. Everything was fine that day, up until ponies started to hear about other ponies being attacked on the street by more or less alive ponies, who were then labeled crazed or delusional in their attacks. Only two hours later did they announce that a few of the people attacked were admitted into hospitals for high fevers and an unusual illness; in other words, something that the doctors had never seen before. They believed it to be a new strain of influenza. They couldn’t have been further from the truth.
It was crazy, honestly. You read and watch horror movies and television shows about shit like this, but you always go back to your beds and comfort zones and say to yourself, “It’ll never happen. There’s no way something like that could happen. It’s not possible.”
We were all so terribly wrong in thinking like that. Not once had the thought crossed any of our minds until it was a second too late.
One hour after the announcement of the patients being brought into the emergency room, these ponies, should I dare refer to them as so, attacked the nurses or doctors in a bloodthirsty rage, killing them and then, by the reports, they ate them. They consumed their flesh. Former friends and acquaintances ate each other without so much as a second thought.
They classified the patients’ bodies as deceased, considering the fact that the fevers had taken the toll on them and caused them to pass away. Once they came shambling down the hallway though, few could barely move. The smell alone from the deceased stank up many of the halls, and when they saw something appetizing, they ran and sank their teeth into their prey. Other patients, doctors, nurses, even ponies that were visiting friends and family that were in the hospital got bitten.
That’s where the problem was though; they got bit. They didn’t get it looked at, they didn’t even question what or why somepony would randomly just run up to them. So, without dwelling on the thought, they just left, wanting to go home and calm down after a traumatic experience.
A few hours later, we had more people dying, the bodies multiplying as they came back to life to join the original few patients in their trek along the streets. Arms outstretched, jaws gaping, and low growls being emitted from their throats. It was like in a movie, except -- it was real.
I still remember the first time I saw one of those ugly fuckers. It was so very vivid that it was burned into my memory, and I couldn’t forget about it, even if I tried my damned hardest to do so.
I was with a few of my friends at the time, and we were just leaving a restaurant when I saw a man, his face all mangled and cut up, chasing after a woman who was screaming bloody murder as she ran away. No more than a few seconds later I watched, along with my friends, the man grab her and immediately sink his teeth into her neck and tear away a chunk of her muscle. People were frozen in fear or shock, maybe even both at the same time. That is until he looked up and started sprinting down the street.
Right towards me.
I have no idea, and to this day, still don’t know how I managed to put him down.
He just ran up to me, and right before he grabbed me, I took his arm and spun around, bringing him with me and I flipped him over and slammed him on the ground. That wasn’t enough to kill him though, because after I slammed him on the ground, he got up immediately and tried to sink his teeth into me still. I didn’t let him of course, and I shoved my foot into his face as hard as I could and I felt the jaw bone shatter from the impact, but the son of a bitch kept on going. He pulled me down and swung his arm at me, hitting me in the face with just enough force to knock me down to the ground with him. My friends were still standing there in shock, that what was happening, was actually happening.
Eventually I managed to beat him off of me and I picked up one of the chairs for the outside tables and swing it down on him, multiple times just to make sure that he wasn’t getting up again.
This all happened in the span of about a minute or so; it sure as hell felt like a lot longer than that. “Son of a bitch!”
The others turned around and looked behind then when I cursed out. I’m sure the wished they hadn’t. Coming down the road were a whole crowd of living dead. All of them bloodthirsty and ready to feast.
“We gotta go. Now!” Was all I yelled before they followed me back to my house in Ponyville in a haste.
┐(ﾟдﾟ┐)
Once we got inside, our friend Dusk Fire made a beeline to the bathroom. Seems like everything finally caught up to her, because when I walked in to make sure she was doing alright, she was vomiting into the toilet. It didn’t help that we had eaten a lot, especially her. She had missed breakfast and decided to stuff her face during lunch. After a good five minutes of waiting around to make sure that no more would come out, we left the bathroom and came back downstairs, where Dusk laid down on the couch, still visibly shaken by what had transpired a few moments ago.
I took it upon myself to close all the windows and make sure that nothing could see inside before I turned on some lights in the living room, but I took care to make it very dimly lit. “So, now what?” I started, my voice relatively shaky as I stood before my friends. “ You all saw what happened out there. I mean, for fucks sake, I was fucking jumped by a walking corpse! I fucking shattered his jaw, smashed his head into the ground, and only when I smashed a chair over his head multiples times, did he finally drop dead. I don’t know about you, but I think the one thing that everyone always says will never happen just. Fucking! Happened!”
I walked over to the wall opposite of the sofa and leaned up against it, crossing my arms, with my head down. My other friends -- Rin, Krypt, Silver Bit, Dusk Fire, Vynx and Sweet Scent -- all found their own spots to settle down in...or at least try to, since everyone was still jumpy.
“We need to get ourselves ready.”
I looked up to see Rin looking right at me from behind the couch, before looking around at everyone else with a defiant look on her face as her brows pushed together.
“We need to get ourselves ready to leave here. We need supplies, weapons, anything we’re gonna’ need if we’re going to be evacuating when the military rolls in. ‘Cause everyone knows, twenty-four hours after a zombie out break, the military comes rolling in, trying to ‘secure the area’ and ‘keep us safe’.” Rin air-quoted most of the parts in her sentence as if she’s been through this a thousand times. “You all know what’s going to happen to all those poor fuckers. They’re gonna’ come riding in, noses so high up in the air they can’t even see you, and, by not knowing what the fuck is going on, they’re gonna get killed faster than most of the people without a gun.” She looked down at the ground, shaking her head firmly as her whiptail swayed angrily behind her. “Every. Last. One of them.” She punctuated every word by looking at a different person in the room.
“Rin’s got a point. We need to get our shit together and pack up supplies for when it’s time to get the hell out of here,” Vynx declared as he leaned forward slightly, running his light beige hand through his faux-hawked raven mane as his deep blue eyes flickered to Rin.
“Why is this happening?” Dusk asked very weakly, looking up at me with a quivering lip and sad eyes.
“I don’t know Dusky, I don’t know.” I sat down and started running my fingers through her mane while she clutched a pillow close to her chest. The mare shook violently as she leaned against me for support, the poor pillow having slight tears in the fabric from her nails.
I was about to say something else, until someone -- or something -- started to bang on the door, and I don’t mean light banging, I mean banging to the point that the door was shaking on its hinges.
Everyone jumped and tensed up, our gazes all fixated on the door. I heard a slight shuffle as Krypt rose from her seat, and immediately moved to Rin’s side in a protective manner. Vynx shifted slightly, squinting his eyes while he watched the door intently.
The banging lasted for about fifteen seconds or so, until we heard gunshots and the sound of a body hitting the door and slumping onto the ground. Dusk clutched onto the pillow harder and cried into my chest, her whimpers tearing my heart in two.
“Let’s get going, guys. We don’t have much time to get our stuff ready. We might have to leave before the military even gets here. It might get way worse before they actually show up and try to help.” I stated in the calmest tone I could muster before looking at Silver Bit, the earth pony stallion giving a brief nod before quickly running up the stairs.
Rin looked around at the group. I could see in her eyes there was something she wasn’t telling me, but I knew she’d do the right thing. Hopefully. “What we really need to do is make sure no one gets split up, regardless of whatever reason you have. Secondly, we stick together, and we change shifts around the dawn and dusk hours when we get someplace we can rest. How’s that sound, Cobolt?” The demon mare looked up at me, a firm and worried look resting on her once smiling face.
I nodded. “Sounds like a good idea. Should we stop at each others houses to grab some personal belongings?” I suggested, only to see a small frown appear on Rin’s lips.
“I don’t think we’ll have enough time to go to everypony’s house, Bolt. I mean, I live right around the corner from here with Krypt, but,” she glanced at Dusk for a moment. “I don’t think any of us have time to venture out towards the outskirts of Ponyville, and then turn back around.”
Dusk looked at Rin as she wiped her eyes. “I can go al--”
“I said no one is splitting up, didn’t I?” The demon stated harshly before inhaling sharply and covering her face with her hand. “We can all go to our houses, but as a group. I refuse to lose friends, and I think we can all agree on that. We’ll make our way towards my house, and grab the weapons I have stashed there--”
“I didn’t know you owned a gun, Rin,” I murmured, looking at the mare with a cocked eyebrow as I hugged Dusk closer to me once I felt a tremor course through her.
“I never thought I’d need them,” she responded coolly before returning to what she was saying. “After that, we’ll make our way to Dusk’s house. Then, start going towards Canterlot or Manehatten. I don’t know where, but someplace that isn’t infested with zombies.” She paused for a moment, moving towards the front-most window before peeking out to see a few zombies shuffle pass.
“Electricity will be shut down soon, maybe. So, charge everything you own, and save your battery. Same goes for water. Get a lot of it and distribute it evenly, and food. Try chips and energy bars, even granola bars. Anything helps. We need to keep a good food and water supply to make it the first few months,” she finished, moving away from the window and back to Krypt’s side.
“If we even live that long,” the demon’s servant seethed, only to earn an unamused glare from the demon herself, the piercing heterochromatic eyes staring deep into Krypt’s. Crossing her arms over her chest, the servant spoke with a matter-of-fact tone. “Look, all I’m saying is, there’s a very slim chance we’re gonna live. We all have luxuries -- food, air conditioning, clean water, electricity, clean clothes, phones, laptops -- and I personally don’t think we’ll last even a few weeks without the things we have now.”
Sweet Scent looked over at Krypt before nodding her head in agreement, pulling out her cell phone to make Krypt’s statement even more true. “See! She can’t even go thirty seconds without checking her messages!”
“Krypt, please, you’re really blowing this out of proportion--”
“Am I really?” Krypt cut Vynx off, glaring daggers at him. “I’m not blowing anything ‘out of proportion’, Vynx. I’m stating obvious facts, and if none of you can see it, I don’t wanna be the one to see you all die because of it.”
“Shut the fuck up.” Dusk muttered. I could feel her tense against me, and I looked at her with concern.
“Excuse me? Do you know who the fuck I am?” Krypt growled lowly as she moved closer to Dusk and I, only to have Rin grab her arm firmly.
Dusk looked up at her, anger seeping into her words. “I said shut up. I don’t need any more reasons to sit here and cry, and think about how all our other friends are holding up. I want to live, and I’m gonna fucking live with or without your help, Krypt. So, shut up with your negativity, and try and keep your pessimistic and hopeless opinions to yourself.”
I looked from Krypt to Dusk several times before nodding. “I agree. If we’re going to make it out of Ponyville alive, we gotta stay positive. Rin, how much time do we got before military troops roll in?”
“Probably about another twenty or so hours, why?” She replied, still holding Krypt’s arm firmly.
I stood up, looking at Vynx. “You, Silver, and myself are gonna do some heavy lifting.”
Vynx nodded, standing up with me, the six foot three inch stallion looming over the rest of the group. “Alright. What are we gonna do first? Rin’s plan, or are we gonna fight tooth and nail??
“Why not both?” Bit’s voice broke in as he held a few backpacks in his hands, tossing them down the stairs along with a bunch of zip ties and sleeping bags. “Cobolt and I have necessities here, but not enough for everyone. We can get the guns from Rin’s place, and buy more if we have to, and get some of the other things Rin suggested. We should all take a shower tonight, and get some rest.” Bit walked down the stairs, looking around at each of us with a smile. “We can do shifts and assign them to each other soon, but we need rest. We can all stay upstairs, and barricade them, and when we leave in the morning, we go by dawn so we can get a lot of ground covered.”
“I agree,” Rin murmured, nodding her head. “He has a good plan, and I don’t think anyone is ready to leave yet. Let’s get ready for bed and take showers, and then we can sleep. Vynx and I can barricade the stairs once everyone’s ready, and from there, we’ll discuss our plans, as a group, for the morning. Good idea?”
“Great idea. Let’s get ready to deal with some shit,” I stated with a grin before the rest of them shuffled upstairs. That’s when I knew that I could lose some friends, also gain some, but I wouldn’t be the same after this.
Chapter 1
We ended sleeping upstairs since no one wanted to stay downstairs for the night, and I really don’t blame them. If I knew that something could be roaming outside and try to get in during the night while I was sleeping, I wouldn’t want to sleep down there either. Dusk and I slept in my bed, mostly because she was still shaken up a bit and needed someone, so I let her stay with me. Silver and Sweets slept in the same room with us, but they slept on the floor with some blankets and some sleeping bags. Rin, Krypt, and Vynx slept in the guest room across the hall from us. I wouldn’t say we slept very well or very long for that matter. I woke up around five-thirty to six o’clock in the morning. The others woke up around six-thirty to seven o’clock.
“Well, that sucked,” said Silver nonchalantly.
“Yeah, my everything hurts, and we went to bed early,” replied Sweet Scent, a weak smile forming on her lips.
I walked passed all of them with an axe slung over my shoulder and some other tools and ‘weapons’ tied up with a piece of twine in my other hand.
“Well, I don’t know anyone who could sleep well knowing that the entire life we know is now in shambles, and there are zombies roaming outside just waiting for us to fuck up and turn us into walking meat snacks.” I said, rolling my eyes. I was right though; the evidence of not-so-good sleep was evident by the bags under my eyes. I didn’t sleep much either. I was waking up almost every hour on the hour, just thinking and worrying about how I was gonna get my friends to the towns evac site.
“And where the heck have you been?” Asked Sweet Scent with her arms crossed over her chest as she eyed me up and down.
“I went outside to get us some things to protect ourselves from those undead maggot bags,” I replied, letting out a low sigh.
Rin walked up to me with a small scowl on her face. “By yourself?” She asked accusatory.
“Yes, Rin. Alone.” I walked past her and put down the various garden tools that would soon become makeshift weapons for us to use. “I wasn’t gonna put you guys in harms way just to get a few things from the shed out back. Besides, I checked to make sure that there weren’t any of those undead fucks around. So, I was fine.”
Rin just looked at me with a concerned expression before she turned on her heel and went to grab a pickaxe from the pile.
“Rin, I know you’re just looking out for me,” I looked back over at her. “and for the rest of us, but I promise I won’t split up like that again, alright?”
“Yeah, you better not, numbnuts,” she mumbled as she punched me playfully in the arm, causing me to rock slightly to the side.
“Alright, everybody get something to eat and then we can head on over to Rin’s hou-” I was cut off as Sweet Scent turned on the T.V. and overheard the anchorman talking.
~Orders from towns guard tell everyone to head over to the north side of town. At the moment they it barricaded off from the south side, as that is the part of town that is currently overrun by the undead. Also...uhh...we have a incoming message from the town’s princess.~
~Thank you sir. This is Princess Twilight Sparkle speaking. This is a message to all who have yet to make it to the north side of town. Try to get here as fast as possible, as the town will be evacuating. Anyone still in the south side of town by tonight...will be stuck there, with no means to make it into the northside. May all of you make it safely...godspeed.~
Sweet Scent turned off the T.V. after that.
“Well, we have our timeframe now. By tonight, if we aren’t in the northside, we’re stuck here for good. On our own.” I looked back at them. “Rin?”
“Yeah, I know. My house first guys. We’re gonna need something more than just gardening tools. Not like we’re gonna make them look pretty and help them grow without weeds,” she said as she walked under the small arc leading to the kitchen, disappearing from my line of sight.
“Yup. Eat. Get your things ready and let’s go meet up with the princess and the other elements.”
“Right, you heard him. Let’s get to it, guys,” Vynx stated from the corner of the room by the front door. His brows were furrowed in confusion, but it went as quickly as it came before he walked passed me and ducked under the arc, following Rin.
┐(ﾟдﾟ┐)
After we ate, we lounged around for a few moments as we went over the plan for the second or third time. Rin was getting anxious, and she was starting to become more distant by the minute. Once we cleared up the plan again, we made our way back to the main room, picking a gardening tool to use as our weapon for the time being.
“Alright, let’s get going.” I walked up to the front door and opened it slowly, the door creaking on its hinges. I poked my head out, scanning the street for a moment. There was a zombie just slowly shuffling across the street. “Okay, there one of the slower ones across the street. Let’s go out slowly and quietly and we can just walk past it without alerting it,” I told the others when I moved back behind the door. They nodded their heads in response, but I saw Krypt tense for a minute before instinctively grabbing Rin’s arm.
Rin looked back at her, the two making eye contact before Krypt nodded her head, and we carefully made it out of the house and walked down the street towards Rin’s house, all the while keeping an eye out for more undead.
We were walking for a few minutes when a slow one walked out of an alleyway. Right in front of us no less.
“Shit!” I cussed under my breath. Just as I was about to swing the axe at the zombie, I took a closer look and lowered my axe.
“What’s the matter? Kill it.” Said Rin, her brow raised in confusion as she looked up at me.
Without another thought, I swung the axe and embedded the blade in her skull.
“Geez man, why’d you stop?” Silver said, looking at me from behind Rin.
I looked down at the dead body as blood started to pool under the lifeless corpse.
“It’s Bon-Bon. This one was Bon-Bon.” I stated as I felt a few tears escape my eyes. I turned towards the group, each of them taking a closer look.
Sweet Scent let out a gasp before she covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh my god.”
“This is fucked guys,” Vynx murmured, looking at the corpse before brushing passed us and squatting down, closing her eyelids to finally let her rest. He stood again, his eyes clouded when he looked at me for a moment.
I wiped away the last few salty tears and stepped over the body. “We have to keep going you guys. We can mourn her death later, but for now, we need to get to Rin’s place and get better armed.” I felt hands wrap around my arm, and I looked down to see Dusk clinging to me. I sighed. I hope you’ll be okay, Dusky.
“Y-yeah. Let’s go guys.” Silver Bit said, interrupting my thoughts.
As as we continued to make our way through the once boasting town, I heard Sweets sniff a few times, and my heart ached for her and everyone else. We had to duck around a few houses every now and then because we ran into bigger groups of zombies, bigger than we could handle ourselves with the weapons we had at the moment.
A few more minutes and we reached Rin’s house.
“I’m gonna’ need some help getting all of the guns out here. Vynx, lend me a hand will ya’.” Rin asked.
“Yeah. I’ll help ya’ out. You guys keep watch and holler if you see any more big groups of those undead,” He stated, opening the front door for Rin, who immediately shuffled inside, followed by Vynx.
“Yeah, will do man.” Silver responded back to him, giving a thumbs-up before the door closed.
The sweet smell of lavender entered my nostrils, and time slowed for a moment before I snapped back to reality once the awful scent of guts and death introduced itself back to my nose holes. I turned to Sweet Scent, who was currently wiping another tear from her eye, and walked over to her and placed my hand on her shoulder. She looked up at me with tired looking eyes and then looked back down at the ground. I could feel her shaking under my hand, but I didn’t dare mention it.
“I know you talked with her a few times, Sweets. It hurt me to have to do that to her, but she was walking around, her body doing things that she would never ever want it to do. She would have done the same thing to us if we were turned like that.”
“I know, Cobolt. It’s just she was always so kind and sweet,” she said sadly, her tone mourning Bon-Bon.
“Like her candies?” I asked with a small smile, trying to get her to smile back
“Yes, like her candies. She didn’t deserve this to happen to her.” The little smile she had on her face went away and was replaced by a small frown. “Do you think,” she looked up at me again before continuing. “Do you think Lyra made it to the North?”
“I can only hope so. I can only hope Sweets.” I let out a deep sigh. “When we get there, we have to tell Lyra what happened to her. If she’s there, that is.”
She nodded her head. It was also at that time that Rin and Vynx came back out with a duffle bag each. I could only assume that one of them had the guns and the other had the ammo and magazines for them.
Time to pick our poison.
“Well, that’s all of the guns and ammo in the house,” Rin stated before dropping her bag on the ground, Vynx following suit.
“Geez, Rin! Were you preparing for a full on war?” Silver asked her, but then blinked twice and face palmed when Rin glared up at him. “Right. Zombie infestation going on at the moment. Stupid question to ask.”
Rin simply rolled her eyes and bent down to grab her gun from the bag. She came back up with a Desert Eagle, and also grabbed the Sawed-Off Shotgun with a gun sling. After that, she removed a combat knife, and wrapped a small holster around her thigh before she shoved the knife into the holster. As she took off her jacket to put the pistols holster around her waist, she spoke. “Alright, get your shit together, and let’s move on to Dusk’s place.”
“Right, get your stuff, and lets go,” Vynx nodded, grabbing the machete and a silenced submachine gun, along with two holsters for each before grabbing ammo and moving aside.
Krypt nodded silently before plucking a double-barreled shotgun from the bag, along with some ammo, but she held onto the baseball bat she’d gotten from my house. I grabbed the submachine gun and held onto my axe, while Dusk went for the P220 Pistol and the Glock, and keeping the golf club on hand. Lastly, Silver got the AK-47 and grabbed the Magnum, holding onto the old crowbar, while Sweet Scent grabbed the M-16 Assault Rifle and held onto the katana she’d picked out at the house.
With that, we made our way to Dusk’s house. The same thing happened going to her house that happened when we were heading towards Rin’s. Ducking behind houses and going through backyards.
“Alright, we’re here. I’ll be right out, I just need to get a few things,” Dusk stated before she ran inside, the door cracked open, just in case.
“Alright, don’t take too long, Dusky!” I called out to her as she ran upstairs to her room.
We stood outside waiting for her, just talking and keeping an eye out at the same time. I could hear Silver bit and Sweet Scent having a small conversation about something, although I couldn’t hear what about. Vynx and Krypt where looking all over the place, and they seemed a bit on edge. Then again, who wouldn’t be on edge right now? Rin and I were next to each other, behind everyone else.
“This seems kinda off, don’tcha think?” Rin murmured, staring off into the distance.
“Hmm? What does?” I replied, looking at her for a moment.
“This infection. Plus, it spread in only one part of the town first,” the she-demon replied, looking up at me we she rested her hand on her deagle.
“What are you trying to say? That this whole thing was set up? That the government actually made this happen? Who would be stupid enough to kill hundreds if not thousands of people for who-knows-what reason!? Come on! That’s pretty fucked up.” I exclaimed, both taken aback by her statement, but also out of curiosity.
“Is it fucked, or are you starting to think that I might be right?” She murmured, cocking a brow as she slouched a bit.
“Just out of curiosity, where the fuck did this idea come from?” I asked her, only to receive a one-shouldered shrug.
While I was talking to Rin, I didn’t notice the slow shambling corpse making his way over to Silver’s back.
“Shit!” I shouted, and without thinking twice, fired my pistol; which wouldn’t have been so bad, if it was silenced, and not a big loud Desert eagle like Rin’s. The blast it made reverberated all throughout the street, which, to our luck, drew out all the lingering undead.
“You fucking moron! You couldn’t just run up to it and hit it!? Nooo, you just had to shoot it with your new toy, huh?” Krypt yelled at me, growling lowly under her breath as she glared deeply at me with her two toned eyes.
Of course, instead of replying to her, I raised my gun and leveled it to her head height. The look on her face when I did that would have been more comical, had there not been a zombie right behind her about to sink their teeth into her tanned neck. She looked back after she watched and hear me pull the trigger one more time with a dead look on my face.
“In a time like this, there is no time to hesitate and think twice. You shoot or you die. Simple as that. Now, if you ladies would please start shooting, that’d be great!” It only took a few seconds for what I said to sink in, and the rest of our group started to shoot at the nearing zombies.
“Dusk! Anytime you want to come out here and help would be much appreciated!” I yelled at the house that Dusk had run into.
Dusk came running out of her house with the Uzi she took from the bag in hand, along with the pistols she grabbed from Rin’s house. “What was with the loud bang I heard? What’s going on?” She paused and took one look and shouted. “Where the fuck did all of them come from?”
“Well, I saw a zombie going to Silver,” I started, shooting various members of the undead. “And, without thinking first, I shot’em, which caused the rest of these undead fucks to appear from where ever they were nappin’.” As I finished, I capped a few more zombies in the head, the rest of the group spread out so no one would get shot.
“Alright, I got what I came for, let’s get the fuck out of here!” Dusk Fire yelled before letting a spray of bullets loose from her Uzi into the now thickening crowd of undead.
“Let’s go, there’s way too many of them. We need to move. Now!” I yelled back, some of us starting to move back.
“Agreed! Let’s go people! Move it, move it, move it!” Vynx shouted before he started to back pedal back the way we came from. The rest of us just followed him as we ran back towards the town square, the massive guy pushing through zombies while smashing their head in with the handle of his machete. All the while, zombies still tailing us back.
“Ugly fuckers never give up, huh?” I asked as I turned around again and shot a few more before continuing our run to the square.
We soon came upon the square where we found more people making there way to the northside.
“If you guys don’t want to become walking meat snacks, then you better start running with us!” I shouted at them, causing them to turn their heads and see the horde of zombies following behind us.
“Holy shit! Guys, you might wanna listen to them!” Yelled the women to the rest of her group.
The rest of her group glanced back and then did a double take as we got closer to them.
“I guess we’re popular even to the dead!” I stupidly joked as we ran passed them. They weren’t too far behind us, since I could hear their footfalls just a few meters behind us.
Don’t really know for how long we ran, since we just kept running towards the safe part of the town. I knew we must have been running for a while now, since my lungs were burning from the constant exertion. That and the fact that I could see the barricades that separated the south part and the north part of town.
“Almost there! Almost there everyone!” I yelled, and I was right. We heard the shouts of the military guarding the barricade, telling us to hurry up. Just as we made it passed the gate, they lowered it and then opened fire on the horde of zombies that were chasing us, completely mowing them down.
Out of breath and really glad to be behind a giant metal reinforced gate, we looked around to see dozens of people coming out of tents to see who came into the encampment. Out of all the people I saw, I noticed Lyra quickly. She looked concerned and she started to walk over to us.
“Hey. Was--did you--was Bon-Bon with you?” She asked while wringing her hands in worry. A small tear making its way down her face.
I looked back at my friends and the other group that ended up with us before looking back at her. “I did.” Though, when I told her, I couldn’t do it while looking her in the eyes.
“You did! Please, please tell me she was with you guys!” She pleaded. More tears springing from her eyes.
“She’s,” I looked back and noticed Sweet Scent and Rin looking at me with sad expressions on their faces. “She’s not with us, not anymore Lyra. I’m sorry.”
“W-what? What do you mea-” She stopped mid sentence, slowly piecing together what I had just said. “No...no...NO...NOOOOOOOOOOOOHOHOHOHOOOOOO!” She cried as fell to her knees and wept into her hands. I couldn’t bare to see her like this, so I kneeled down and, after I put my gun back into its holster, hugged her in an attempt to try and ease her pain of not only losing her best friend, but her girlfriend.
“I’m so sorry Lyra. I’m so so sorry that this happened. I remember seeing her just yesterday; she looked so happy as she walked back to your guys’ house. I never could have imagined something like this happening to her or to anyone at all.” I slowly rubbed her back as her body was wracked with the occasional sob that escaped her throat. “When I ran into her, she wasn’t herself anymore, she was already one of them. I did the only thing that I could do for her.” At this point I myself was tearing up myself as I remembered how my axe embedded itself into her skull. The empty glassy look she gave me with her cold dead eyes still piercing into my soul, and breaking my heart. “The way she looked, I didn’t want her body to do things that Bon-Bon would never forgive herself for doing. So, I put her to rest. For her and for you. I’m so sorry that this happened, Lyra. I wish I could have brought her back and that I never had to do that to her in the first place.”
I heard Lyra sniff one more time before looking up at me as I loosened up on the hug I was giving her. “I-I-It hurts that she’s g-gone, b-b-but, I’m just glad she n-not g-gonna suffer an-n-nymore.” She wiped away the hot tears that escaped her red and puffy eyes, sniffling as she gave a very weak and forced smile. “Thank you for telling me. Thank you for doing what you did.”
“You’re welcome Lyra. I’m just so sorry that this whole thing had to happen. This whole infection thing is already tearing people apart. I promise you that if I can, I will help everyone that needs help. So that something like this never happens again, to anyone else, ever again.” I finished as I pulled away and wiped a few errant tears that dared to leave my manly eyes.
Rin and Sweet Scent were still waiting for me as the others had walked off to go and find other friends and possibly find their family in the encampment.
“That was sweet. Stupid, but sweet,” Sweet Scent commented with half smile.
“Agreed. You can’t save everyone that needs help. There will be times that we can’t do anything at all,” Rin agreed with Sweets, nodding her head as she looked at me.
I walked slightly passed them as they spoke and then stopped and looked at them over my shoulder. “Watch me.” I turned my head forward again. “No one should have to feel the pain of losing a loved one like that. It’s not natural,” I said as I made my way further into the camp.
By my dumb luck I managed to find the Princess and the other elements.
“Are you alright, darling? I saw you come running in with that big group before. Nothing hurt?” Asked Rarity. Always about putting others over herself.
I sigh before running my hand through my two-toned hair. “No. I mean yes, I’m fine, and no, I’m not hurt. Mentally is a whole other thing though.” I sat down on one of the many empty boxes of supplies next to the tent they were standing around.
“Oh dear. Are you sure you’re fine?” Asked Fluttershy. Always the one to drop whatever she’s doing just to help someone else.
Once again I let out a particularly big sigh before speaking again. “No, I’m not fine.”
Fluttershy was about to say something before I cut her off. “I killed Bon-Bon.”
“You what!” Yelled Rainbow Dash. “You’re a fu-”
“She was already a zombie!” I yelled back, cutting her off before she could finish. Granted that wouldn’t have been the first time that someone called me a fucking asshole before. They just stood there with faces varying expressions of sadness and/or surprise, I wasn’t really sure. “I ran into her rather undead self on the way to a friend’s house. I put her down so that her body wouldn’t harm anyone else. I don’t think she’d forgive herself if her body was walking around taking chunks out of her friends.”
Twilight looked like she was about to cry. “This is horrible.” She paused before she gasped, covering her mouth. “Does Lyra know that she’s--?”
“She does Prin--I mean Twilight. She does. I told her everything already.” I looked down at the ground and hung my head. “To be honest, I don’t know who it hit harder. Me, or her. After all, I’m the one who had to crack her skull open with a fire-axe and kill her. As much as you don’t want to think about it, just imagine you have to kill one of your best friends or put them down if they got infected. Once you do that, then come and tell me if you wouldn’t or would hesitate in a situation like that.” I looked back up at them with a tired expression on my face. “I know I did. I had to look into her glassy eyes as the blade sunk into her skull. I had to listen to the sound of bone crunching and the sight of blood spurting from the new hole in her noggin. I’ll never be able to forget that. Most of all, I’ll never be able to forget the cry of sadness and pain that Lyra gave when I told her that I had to kill her girlfriend because she had turned.”
After I finished that little marathon of venting to one of the country’s leaders, I made my way into the tent that was just behind them. As I entered, I knew that I heard correctly, since I saw the other group that had run with us on our way here, inside.
“Yo, you’re that guy from before right? The one from the other group?”
I looked to my right and saw the guy that spoke. It was guy of average height and he had slightly spiky hair that was dyed a two tone of neon green or lime green and blue.
“Yeah,” I gave him a simple reply.
“Imaimashī Kami. I thought we were gonna die out there with that horde of walking dead,” he said as he walked over to a woman with golden blonde hair with a crimson streak through the middle of it. He tapped her shoulder and she looked up; straight at me as it were.
“You. You’re that guy from earlier,” she said coolly as she looked me up and down.
“I’m pretty sure that’s been established by your friend over here,” I said like a smartass, motioning to the guy. Gotta make sure I can still be a wise ass after all.
“Haha, very funny smartass. Yeah, I know.” She turned around fully and I could see her much better now that she wasn’t hunched over a table looking at a map. She had an athletic build to her, much like Rainbow Dash, who I met outside. She was wearing a simple plain gold and red sweater with the forearms cut off, and a pair of faux leather fingerless gloves, along with a pair of faded dark gray jeans and motorcycle boots.
“So, can I know the name of the moron who almost got us killed by a bunch of walking corpses?” She murmured, a soft chuckle escaping her lips as she spoke.
“The name’s Cobolt. Cobolt Soundwave. Yours?”
She walked up to me and put out her hand. “Name’s Crimson Streak, but you can call me Crimson.”
I took her hand in my own and shook it once before she pulled back and folded her arms under her chest. I swear it was her hands I stared at for a bit. Too bad that’s not what she thought.
“You staring at my chest, buddy?” She asked. Before I could retort, she started giggling. “I’m fuckin’ with ya’ man. ‘Course I’m not surprised. I know I look good.”
“Oh brother, Cobolt was bad enough, but know we have a female version of him.”
I spun around and saw that it was Rin who said that. “Where the hell did you come from you silent demon you?” I said, surprised.
“My mother’s pussy,” she stated calmly before she busted out laughing at the disgusted expression on my face. “Kidding. I was checking out the rest of the camp. Vynx went to the makeshift mess hall with Krypt, and Sweet Scent went somewhere with Dusk Fire.” Rin paused, looking at the woman across from me. Before I could say anything, Rin floated past me, smiling curtly as she extended her hand. “Name’s Rin. Pleasure to meet you.”
Crimson laughed slightly, taking Rin’s hand in her own and shaking it once before pulling her hand back. “Sup, Rin. Name’s Crimson Streak, although I doubt you wouldn’t know that already. Cobolt your friend?”
Rin nodded before allowing herself to stand at her full height. Though it may not be much, she sure intimidates a lot of my friends. “He’s pretty great, but you’re both cocky as fuck,” she started, wiping her fingerless leather gloves on her faded blue skinny jeans, unzipping the light jacket she had on and turning to the male. “And you are?”
“Line Pixel, but you can call me Kami,” he extended his hand as he approached Rin, the two shaking hands firmly. “How long have you guys been out?”
“We left this morning around eight or so, so I’d say around an hour or two. What about you?” Rin asked, pulling her hand back. I smiled slightly before I shuffled out of the tent, leaving the three of them.
I felt someone grab my arm. “Hey, hold on.” I turned my head to see Crimson next to me. I stopped in my tracks and eyed her up and down. “I wanted to thank you. My buddy, Kami, he isn’t used to me saying it, so. Thanks for saving our asses. If it wasn’t for you, we probably wouldn’t have made it out alive.”
“No need to thank me, Crimson. It was the least I could do, since I was the one who’d brought a horde of zombies towards your group.” I waved my hand dismissively, running my hand through my hair.
“Still though. Thanks,” she punched my arm then went back into the tent, right when Rin came out.
I nodded at her, and Rin came towards me. “Did you hear what Kami said?” The she-demon murmured, crossing her arms over her chest as she slouched a bit.
“Who?” I asked.
“Line Pixel.”
“Oh. What’d he say?” I knew she was going to tell me, regardless if I’d asked or not, so I waited for her response.
“He said he had about two or three other members in his group. He said their names were Crone, Sitri, Snow, Cord, Lyric, Phantom, and Jinn,” Rin finished, looking up at me with her eyebrow raised.
“I see. Does he know where they are?” I questioned, tilting my head to the side for a moment.
“Obviously not if he was telling me about them.” She scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, he wants us to look around after dark, just in case if they run to the gate late at night.”
I shrugged, looking up at the setting sun. “Do you think the troops will actually go to bed?”
“I doubt it, but I’d still stay awake, just in case the rest of Kami’s group comes running to the gate.”
“Good idea. Want me to tell the others?” I asked her, only to receive an airy chuckle.
“I think they know already,” she motioned to the rest of our group with her hand, who were leaving various tents as we stood at the back of the camp.
The rest of our group nodded in agreement, and we all stood around, waiting for not only supper, but also keeping an eye out on the setting sun, which spread various hues of orange, red, and yellow across the horizon. If only everything could be this beautiful and solemn. I thought to myself, silence captivating me.