Devil's Due the flip side of the coin

Author's note: Eww he thought about fucking the seven herbs and spices out of Gilda... 'shudders'... gross.

Trying to get it all to line up for the confrontation.

Back on with the show.

With the rain still steadily falling around me, I made it back to my rifle and Golden Heart. The ground had the consistency of wet shit. I knelt down next to the log hid her in and asked.

“You ok?” In the calmest voice I could muster.

“Yes, can we please get out of here how?” Golden Heart said while leaving the log.

I grabbed my rifle she so carelessly left behind. I slung her and my rifle onto my back. I covered her with any cloth the rags I could find in my bag to keep the rain off her. We set off leaving only boot-shaped puddles. I left our griffon pursuers in a big hurt. I shouldn’t hear from them for a while. I just hope Gilda does not recover quickly. In this state I think she would have an easy time taking me down.

***

After about three hours of trekking through what the map called The Forsaken Forest? ‘Wow that’s dark, even for Candy Land.’ I reached an area of flatlands approximately ten kilometers from Germaneigh. I was tired, wet and my back hurt from carrying this pony all the way here. She fell asleep about an hour ago. At least the rain had died down as the day slowly grew to become night.

I did not want to go any further nor did I have the strength to. I searched for a place to make camp. I found a nice spot with several trees for cover and some dead wood. I attempted to lay her down gently but stumbled and almost dropped her. I set her down next to a tree and fell backwards. I could have slipped away into to sleep but I knew I needed to warm myself and her up. I grudgingly got up and began to collect sticks to make a fire.

Every time I knelt to pick one up or just walk my body reacted with a painful “No. Fuck you.” My muscles ached, my body was soaked and my face was still bleeding a little from my last encounter with Chicken wing. I had finally finished making the fire as its embers warmed me. I could’ve sworn I heard them calling and inviting me to sit and rest. I took off the ghillie and placed it over the dreaming Golden Heart. She looked to be having a good dream. She was smiling and squiggling under the suit I had laid atop her. I sat down beside the fire I made in a small but dense stand of trees. The flames danced hypnotically as I sat poking the sticks around to keep the fire going. I slowly found myself growing ever more tired. My eyes closed. I jerked forward a little as I forced them open again. Then after about ten more minutes, I fell fast asleep. I began to remember ever-haunting past before long.

*************************************************************************************

As I charged in, I saw two insurgents wearing civilian clothes armed with AK-47s standing around a large flipped over table. My face was covered by a large cloth wrap so the muzzle flashes got lost in its array of strange red hues. I fired a storm of silenced gunfire taking out two insurgents as I entered. I saw John still in Air Force uniform and tied down to a chair in the middle of the room. Scott entered right behind me firing covering my flank taking one out on the right, plastering him against the wall leaving it soaked in his blood. I dove onto John knocking him to the ground in a single, fluid motion. I shielded him with my body while waiting to be fired at. I covered him with my back so I could try to shoot first if need be.

An insurgent wearing dark woodland fatigues and his face covered popped out from behind the over-turned table firing. Scott took four rounds to the chest and one to the right arm falling in a spray of blood and a yell of horrendous pain. I opened up on the insurgent firing rounds without a single shred of mercy. Even as he fell behind the table I didn’t let up I kept up the fire until clicking was all that was heard from my weapon.

I rose up to my feet dropping the empty MP7 and switching to my side arm. The M9 shook in my hands as I looked around franticly from any other hostiles. I saw nothing but the gray inside of the room. I then ran over to John. He was still alive. His face and body showed signs of being beaten badly by his captors. I heard a cough as I freed John from his chair prison by cutting the rope restraining him. I got up and ran over to Scott who was bleeding badly with several gaping wounds in his chest. His vest did not do much to stop any of the insurgents’ gunfire.

“*Cough* you still got that grenade?” He said as he lied there in a slowly spreading pool of blood.

“Yes.” I said removing it from my bag as John rose up off the floor and took an AK-47 from one of the dead insurgents.

“Give it here. *cough*” he said snatching it form my hand.

The sound of the door down stairs smashing against the wall as people stormed in. I looked at Scott who crawled over leaving a trail of blood closed the door to the room and posted up in front of it with his M4 drawn.

“Always leave one for yourself.” He said in a cold voice.

I nodded and yelled to John, “We’re leaving.”

John replied back as I opened the window letting in the howling wind and sand, “Who are you?”

“Ghosts.” I replied while pushing him towards the window.

The sound of people running up the stairs broke through the bellowing wind. The sand began to engulf the room leaving nothing untouched.

I jumped out the window falling only a few meters to the ground below. I hit the dirt with a small cloud of sand being kicked up. The sandstorm still raged like a daemon wishing to strip the flesh from your bones using the sand as its blades. John jumped next and fell beside me making an audible crack when he fell. The sound of the door being smashed in followed by a torrent of gunfire and an exploding grenade was all we heard as we ran from the farmhouse.

We ran like men possessed, as though ‘fatigue’ was a word that was alien to us. I lead the way as John ran just behind me with a limp. I could barely see a damn thing as the sand just washes over the land like a sea of brown.

Then we heard the noise of engines roaring in the distance slowly getting louder behind us…

*************************************************************************************

I winched from the feeling of someone touching my head. I almost swung for the first thing I saw but my body was unresponsive. I looked to see what had touched me. I saw Golden Heart her face was kind and she spoke in an almost motherly tone.

“You’re burning up. I can’t believe you didn’t catch your death of cold last night.” She said as she riffled through my bag.

Normally I would have been happy to get a little motherly bedside manner but this only made me miss the cute human nurses. I felt very tired with my warm ghillie suit draped over me like a child’s blanket.

She took a metal can from my bag and opened it with her mouth. She then walked back to me and spoke again.

“Here, eat something.” She said in a sweet voice.

My stomach rumbled, “Eww. That was in your mouth.” I said with a sneeze.

She seemed pissed, “Why do you have to be so rude!” She said putting the can down out of reach.

My stomach rumbled again. This time much louder as if yelling to me ‘suck it up’.

“I do it because ever since I came to this

hellhole

I have been fighting to stay alive.” I said as I reached for the can of food. “Also I could use a drink and a smoke.” I said with a I don’t care tone.

She pushed the yellow labeled metal can over to me. I began to scarf down the food as if it was the last in the world. It was some canned pineapple stuff but still tasted as sweet as if it was picked today. It must have been from the stuff I took from her home. I finished the food and began to get up from the makeshift bed roll.

She pushed me down with a hoof. “Rest, you’re still sick.”

I protested angrily, “No, I can make it.”

She tried to hold me down but I still proved stronger even if I was sick. I began to gather my things but choosing not to put on the suit for this one. I was going to an urban area no point looking like grass with no grass around. I ached but I did not want to stop now I needed to get her along safe and find Ryan. I grabbed a pack of smokes from my bag and took out a single cigarette. I lit it and enjoyed it like it was going to be my last. I had been trying to quit for a while but shit like this always rejuvenates me.

“Can you walk now?” I asked Golden Heart impatiently tapping my foot as I sneezed again.

“Yes, but I am more worried about…” she said in a kind voice.

I interrupted her, “Well don’t be. I am

going

to get you to Germaneigh and then I am leaving.” I said as if I did not care. I just want her to get home to clear my conscience.

I stumbled a bit as I began to lead the way but I gained my composure to walk normally again. We walked through the open flatlands. The sun was out now. With the rain stopped the world was once again a vibrant green. The sun shown its light down upon me wearing my black uniform I normally wore under my ghillie. The sun and sky held the world in their arms like a child holds their favorite toy. For the first time since I got here I have truly felt safe, maybe even happy.

Yet some thoughts could not escape my mind for long. I kept finding myself thinking back to my fight with Gilda. I looked over every detail of her stance, weapons she used, and her…

My mind personified my thoughts with an image. She stood their arms crossed as if waiting for something. She had her slick black armor as if she was some kind of spec-ops member. A belt of knives ran across her shoulder. The background just a blur and her feathers were unruffled. Looking like a statue, enticing to the eyes like an angel of war.

‘I wonder if she thought that way about me too.’

I shake my head of those thoughts. ‘Damn, maybe I should’ve laid down awhile longer. Or at least played some good music and had a few drinks in me before I even considered that… Eww! How would that even… Ugh I need a fucking break.’

As we came to a great gray wall of stone I wiped the sweat from my brow. I sneezed again. ’Damn it! I don’t have time for this crap.’ There were many terraces, old looking buildings and castle-like fortifications all made from a dark gray stone. It felt as if I had gone back to the Middle Ages, and as much as I wanted to, I could not stand by gawking. She explained that her people call themselves ponies. She even told me of the pegasi and unicorns.

‘Great, more flying ones and ones that use the force. This is getting better all the time. Hehe, still no a match for a decent firearm.’ I thought as I checked my SVD’s mag.

**

We walked into the town of Flankfurt. ‘God the puns are going to kill me before the griffons can.’ I was met with stares and doors closing. I gripped my rifle tightly in my hands. I had too many bad days start like that before. They all seemed to stare at me and my SVD as if afraid or anxious. We made it to the town square. The streets were deserted. The once very loud town now seemed dead or abandoned like Youngstown. Golden Heart’s voice broke the silence.

“There! My son lives right there!” She said happily as she trotted over to the door.

I began to walk away sneezing again. She turned around at the sound and asked in a sad voice.

“You’re not coming in?”

“No I have to find my family now.” I said as left.

While walking away I shouted, “Just remember gifts and money are to be sent to ‘Alex Litivnova’!”

She grabbed something from inside the home and trotted out to hand me it with her mouth.

“Eww, gross! Why the ‘mouth thing’ again, really?” I said sarcastically as she dropped several gold coins into my hand.

“They’re called ‘bits’, that’s the currency of Equestria. You can use them to take the train to get yourself closer to home.”

She said happily as she told me where to go to find the train station.

‘Even in Candy Land money exists.’

“Thank you! It’s not beer, but it will do.” I said as I walked away with a renewed sneeze and another trophy.

**

I walked along the gray cobble stone streets for ten minutes until I finally found the train station. A pony sat at the desk of the ticket counter reading the newspaper floating in front of himself with his horn glowing and sticking out from behind the paper. ‘Do the Jedi feel the Force in this one?’ I thought as I smirked then inspected the paper hovering before me. The paper’s headline read: Human appointed Lieutenant General of Celestia’s guard.

‘Damn you’ve been busy Ryan. Where the hell is my medal? I saved some damsels too!’ I shrugged. ‘Who’s this

Celestia

character anyway?’

I coughed then spoke to the pony sitting at the desk.

“I’d like a ticket to Equestria please.”

“The train only runs to…” He lowered the paper and stopped staring at me.

“Where does it stop?” I asked in a peaceful manner sneezing once more at the end.

“It s-s-stops at T-Trottingham.” He said as if he was afraid of my non-existent authority.

“Good. Thank you. When does the train set off at?”

“In three minutes.” He said handing me a ticket.

“How much will that run me?” I said pulling some of the gold coins from my pocket.

“Nothing for you. Do hurry, the train will leave soon.” His voice seemed nervous.

I took the ticket and walked my tired and broken body over to the train. The white pony conductor dressed in a blue hat and coat shouted “Last call!” and I rushed over to enter the train. I handed the now very quiet conductor the ticket. I sat at the back of a pretty much empty train car save for a few ponies in some of the seats in front of me.

The train’s interior was very relaxing its seats all a velvet red and very comfy. I took up two seats of my row. I looked around for anything to read or entertain myself for the long ride ahead. ‘How long is this going to take?’

A sea green female pony dressed in a similar kind of uniform was walking by when I stopped her.

“How long does the ride take?” I asked the pony trying to convey he I don’t shoot you on sight.

“About a day.” She said in a cheery voice. ‘Well at least someone is happy to see me for once.’

“Can I have a newspaper to read?” I asked with a sneeze.

“Sure let me just get one from the back and a tissue.” She trotted off happily.

I looked out the window the sun has not ever shone this bright since I have been here. ‘Perhaps my luck is changing?’ I thought as I waited for the train to get moving and for my paper. She came back with a paper and a tissue. I said my ‘thank you’ and went to reading. ‘Winter starts in about a week, more headlines about Ryan ‘generally’ being a badass. Ryan used to be just another face in the crowd back in Youngstown.’ I smirked ‘Well at least he found something good here.’

The train slowly began to move forward as I lost myself in the paper…