The Shadows

A day has passed since the movement to the base. Anon was pacing and on his phone.

"Hello? Emily, if you're getting this, we're at the military base. PLEASE call me back." Anon begged as he hung up.

"Who's Emily?" Crimson asked Sam.

"His step-sister. Maggie's daughter. I think before we were dating, they were in love. Part of me thinks they still are..." He said to her.

Anon was still waiting for his phone to go off.

"What if they are?" Crimson asked Sam.

"...I don't know." He said.

Anon paced back and forth as he hung up. Maggie walked to him.

"Don't worry. I'm going back to get her." She said.

"Well, I'm coming with you!" Anon said.

"Anon..." Maggie said.

"She's my friend. I'm going with you." Anon said.

"Fine. Crimson, you too." Maggie said as she talked to the guard.

"Of course. We'll give you a truck, some backup if you want it." The General said.

"Thank you." Sam said.

"Of course. We all need family here."

After packing up, Crimson did a check for the Changling he saw earlier. He found a form of ooze on the floor before the General called.

"Your friends are--" The General saw the ooze.

"One of them's in here. Maybe more." Crimson said.

"I'll send some patrols. Go help your pals." The General said.

Near the city, Emily was in a hospital with other patients. Some bitten, but restrained. The power was held and Emily noticed her phone calls. She immediately called back.

"Anon, hello? It's me. If you're getting this, it's chaos out there. People are killing each other, it's the freakin' zombie apocalypse! Please, call me back..." Emily said as she hung up.

She looked out the road and saw thousands of zombies and it was getting dark. The lights were turned on and the curfew was in effect. Emily walked to her room, and fell asleep.

Sam and his family were being driven to the most likely place Emily could be: Her house. Sam went in first and called her name. Instead of finding her, he found a note saying

-ANON

IF YOU'RE READING THIS, I'M AT THE HOSPITAL. I LOVE YOU

-EMILY

Sam put the note in his pocket and left the house.

"She's in the hospital. Know anything about it?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. The road there's completely overrun. We'll have to send rescue choppers in." One of the soldiers said.

"No. We go on foot and find our way in." Sam said.

"Suit yourself." The soldier said as he tapped on the car.

The driver opened the door and asked what was the problem.

"We're on foot from here. Get the weapons." The soldier said.

"Sure thing, Adams." The driver said as he grabbed the weapons and ammo.

The crew was walking building to building until they found a building that resembled a hospital. Sam walked up and opened the door.

"Hello? I'm an undercover officer. I'm looking for my step daughter, Emily. If she's here, please come out." Sam said.

They went up a floor and saw bodies everywhere. Anon ran towards them and looked for Emily.

"She's not one of them. She's alive. Maybe on another floor." Anon said.

As he said it, the door opened and over 60 zombies walked out. Adams and the other soldier quickly opened fire as Sam, Crimson, and Adagio joined in. Anon grabbed a pipe and bashed a zombie behind him. The crew was working their way to the next floor in hopes of finding Emily alive. As Anon went up, he saw a figure swing a shovel at him! Anon grabbed the shovel and stared at the figure. To his hope, he saw Emily!

"Emily! Oh, thank God!" Anon said as he dropped his pipe and gave Emily a death hug.

"Nice to see you too..." Emily said.

The moment was ruined when the others came running in and barricading the door with an unused shotgun.

"We gotta GO!" Adams said.

The crew was running when the door broke! Adams was trampled by 20 zombies who proceeded to devour him. The crew knew it was time to run like hell. The only remaining soldier started shooting at the zombies with his AR-15, but there was too many. The crew ran until they found the Humvee and they drove back home.

"What happened?!" Welles asked as the others drove in.

"Adams was attacked. There was nothing we could do..." The soldier said.

"I'm sorry to hear. You can rest for today, Ryan." Welles said as he patted his shoulder.

"Did you find the changeling?" Crimson asked as he stepped up.

"Yes. Quite a few of them, actually." Welles said.

"How many?" Crimson asked.

"20, at least." Welles said as he walked Crimson and Twilight to the compound where the changelings were kept.

"What's going on?" Emily asked.

"It's a long story..." Sam said to her.

"We should go inside." Maggie said.

Anon wasn't far behind, but Sam stopped him.

"Not now." He whispered in his ear.

Adagio and Anon were in the dining area with her practically stuffing her face in canned hash.

"It's been a long time since I had food like this." Adagio said to Anon.

"I can tell..." Anon said quietly eating a sandwich.

Adagio was now calmer due to her stomach getting full. Anon was still scarred by what he witnessed. Anon was halfway done when he asked a question.

"My dad said you were with another man. Who was he?"

"That was Chris. When I first came here, he found me. I told him my problem and he sticked with me since. We were trying to raise enough money for a roof when we saw Sam's mini-mart. I went in first and he was behind ready to get me out. But..." Adagio started.

"I'm sorry. I can't imagine that." Anon said.

"When I met him, he asked me who I was. I told him the truth: My sisters and I were thrown out of our apartment and they abandoned me. You heard of Equestria, right?" Adagio asked.

"Yeah, I heard."

"Well, I found something that could make a portal back. But I decided another option. A way out. Here." Adagio said.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Anon said.

"There's nothing you can do." She said.

"It reminds me of my mom..." Anon said.

"Maggie?" Adagio asked.

"No. She's my step-mother." Anon said.

"So, who's your mother?" Adagio asked.

"Her... her name is Brunette. She was the worst mother imaginable." Anon said.

"What do you mean?"

It took him some time, but he rolled up his sleeve and showed her his scars. Over 30 of small incisions and burn marks on his arm.

"There's more on my back..." Anon said.

"What did she do?" Adagio asked silently.

"When dad was at work, she would beat the crap out of me and slash me. One day, dad came home early and saw her. He arrested her and they divorced soon after. My dad came in the day after and just breaks. I told him that there was nothing he could do. It was done. A few years later, my dad met an old friend of his. We moved in and I met Emily." Anon said.

"Were you dating?" Adagio asked.

"...No. We weren't. We were just good friends. When we learned they were getting married, I lost my mind." Anon said.

"Really?" Adagio asked.

"Yeah. We were excited to be siblings." Anon said as he got up.

Adagio was still there when he realized her food was getting cold.