The Shadows

by ZombieBrony22

Rating: teen
Tags: Alternate Universe, Human, Dark, Romance, Adventure
Length: 6521

A random stick-up turns into a fight for survival as the world plunges into a plauge of shadows...

When the outbreaks hit, a very specific person was robbing a very specific convenience store. As the world plunges, the robber, assisted by a kind, caring family of three, must find a place of safety.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2015-10-07 23:29:22 UTC

Detection

2 HOURS BEFORE FIRST INFECTION

Luna was sleeping as peacefully as she could, until something showed her danger. She woke up in the middle of the day and sensed the worst. Someone she hoped was either dead or so deformed, he could never rise to power again: Sombra. She ran to her sister who was performing duties.

"Celestia! I sensed... HIM." She said to the princess.

Celestia quickly rose and prepared to contact Twilight.

Twilight was sorting books in her castle's library when Celestia materialized from thin air.

"Celestia! What is it?" The lavender princess asked.

"We need to talk privately." Was all the princess said.

2 1/2 HOURS AFTER FIRST INFECTION

Sam was driving Adagio to his family's home. He looked around for zipties or handcuffs to restrain her with. He finally found some wire from the trunk. He then found another problem; finding a way to carry her inside and to his guest bed before she wakes up. He found a wheelchair in the back.

He grabbed it and placed her on it.  He then had to use a wooden pallet as a makeshift ramp to bring her up. He found the guest bed and restrained her. To be careful, he covered her with the blanket.

Anon's class was dismissed and Maggie brought him to the car. Before they could drive, Sam called.

"Maggie? Are you there?" Sam asked.

"Yeah? What's wrong?" Maggie asked.

"Something happened. I think it's zombies." Sam said.

"What do you mean?" Maggie asked.

"Some getaway driver got his face eaten off." Sam said.

"You were ROBBED?!" Maggie asked.

"Look, just... just keep Anon out of the guest room for now." Sam said before he hung up.

"What's going on?" Anon asked.

"We need to get home." Maggie said as she put her keys in the car.

Before they could drive, some kind of creature sunk its teeth to a running student's shoulder. The student was pinned to the ground and the creature proceeded to tear the student open and... devour him.

"Oh, my God..." Anon said witnessing the scene.

With no words, Maggie started driving as fast as she could down the empty road.

Sam sat in the guest room with Adagio restrained and unconsious. He then saw her eyes twitching and placed his hand on his .45.

"Who... Where... Chris! Where's Chris?" Adagio asked trying to move her arms.

"Listen, your friend was bitten. He turned and tried to kill me. I had no choice, I'm sorry." Sam said.

Adagio stood in shock.

"Where am I?" Adagio asked with her voice cracking.

"You're in my house. My name is Sam Anderson. I'm an off-duty cop, you seem very lucky. You avoided being arrested and prosecuted and here you are. My family might want to meet you, I know that. I just have a few rules for you to follow: One, stay away from my son. Two, you seem to be good with a gun; make sure you don't have it on you. And three, if any above rule is broken, consider yourself gone. Understand?" Sam said.

"Understood." Adagio said.

Their talk was interrupted by knocking on the door. Sam went up and saw his wife and son on the other side. He opened the door and told them about the robber.

"We'll be careful. If she's staying here, I think we should meet her." Maggie said.

"Maggie..." Sam said.

"I get it. You're worried about Anon, but we need to see her. I need to." Maggie said.

1 HOUR BEFORE FIRST INFECTION

Twilight was ready to leap through that portal.

"He's not in CHS. He's in another world, another Earth. In this Earth, it is crueler, and harsher that the one you've seen. I think we should send someone else with you through the portal as a guide." Celestia said.

"But who?" Twilight asked.

"Someone I've known as long as I've known you. My adopted son, Crimson Bolt."

As she said it, the doors opened and a guard in armor walked in. He lacked the cold expression the others had. He seemed... shyer.

"What is it, mo-- I- I mean Your Majesty?" The guard asked.

"You need to take Twilight to your home. Earth." The princess said.

"What?! Whoa, whoa, whoa, I was only there for 3 years. I don't remember anything about it." Crimson said.

"But you have more experience than any of us. Will you go?" Celestia asked.

"Fine. When do we go?" Crimson asked.

"As soon as we prepare something to send you." Celestia said.

3 HOURS AFTER FIRST INFECTION

Maggie and Anon walked in and saw Adagio restrained.

"Who are you?" Adagio asked.

"I'm Maggie, this is Anon." Maggie said.

Unlike Sam predicted, Anon wasn't too attracted to Adagio as he thought he would be. He actually felt unconfortable around her.

"What are you gonna do?" Adagio asked.

"Nothing. We just wanna talk. Or at least I do." Maggie said.

"Okay, talk." Adagio said.

"Forgive Sam, he's just scared. Now more than ever. He'll let your robbery go eventually. Anyway, who are you?" Maggie asked.

"I'm Adagio. Adagio Dazzle."

Sam was listening to the chat in the dinner room. He was worried about Anon and the girl. He knew Anon, but he still was worried she'd manipulate him and rip his heart out.

"Sam said you had a getaway driver, what was his name?" Maggie asked.

"Chris... His name was Chris. He was the only guy who gave me a chance in a long time. He was homeless like me; he ran away from his family when they were abusing him. Sam said he was bitten by one of those things..." Adagio said.

"I'm sorry." Anon said.

"Me too. I can't imagine losing someone like that." Maggie said.

"So now what? Are you going to kill me?" Adagio asked.

"No." Maggie pulled out scissors and snipped her zipties off her arms and legs.

"We're having dinner when you're ready to move." Maggie said.

Night

Adagio found a seat on the table with Sam and his family.

"You never said where you were from. Your parents must be worried sick." Sam said.

"I don't have any parents. I've been an orphan as long as I could remember." Adagio lied.

'I think It's best if I don't tell them about Equestria...' Adagio said to herself.

"How about you? I didn't expect you to be a cop." Adagio said.

"Well, I was placed undercover, and I needed another pay, so for my job, I run my store searching for criminals. Much like yourself." Sam said.

Adagio slightly looked down in sadness, but otherwise let the harsh comment slide. Maggie turned on the news when a suden flicker accured.

"--And remember, keep as much light after dark as possible! At night, these creatures are capable of lightning fast speeds, enhanced strength, and are said to morph into the shadows, rise out, and attack an unexpecting survivor. As for the overall virus, the eastern hemisphere is nearly overrun with these shadow zombies. Soldiers sent to exterminiate the virus have lost contact with us a few--" The T.V turned to static.

"What was that?" Anon asked.

Sam peeked through the windows and saw a form of a person looking dead at him. It looked... different; it's skin was dark green, it's eyes had a light green tint, some areas of the skin had dark crystals, and the mouth was slightly dripping blood. Sam quickly closed the blinds and told his family to turn off the outdoor lights.

They did so and they saw as over 20 of those creatures were standing in an ape-like pose in front of their house. They only stopped when loud gunfire and explosions were heard nearby.

"What were those things?" Maggie asked.

"They were like shadows..." Adagio said.

"Shadows, not a bad name." Sam said.

"How about the ones in the day?" Anon asked.

"Let's worry about getting some sleep right now. We need light, enough to keep those Shadows away." Sam said.

Twilight was standing at the portal which was being worked on, and Crimson was looking for weapons and medicine to bring to Earth.

"So, he's your son?" Twilight asked.

"Adopted. I was visiting Earth and we saw his mother place him on a doorstep. No-one was home at that time, so knowing better, I took him back to Equestria. I raised him for as long as I could. He decided to become a guard over becoming a prince." Celestia said.

"But why not my brother?" Twilight asked.

"Actually, we tried him, but he was too busy. He actually sent Crimson here himself."

"What?!" Twilight whispered.

"Yes. He personally sent Crimson to the castle as soon as he could." The princess said.

Before Twilight could ask more, Crimson came back with a bag of Equestrian medicine and a few spears.

"Are we ready to go?" Crimson asked.

"Yes. Good luck." Celestia said.

The portal was activated and the portal formed a new, red void. Twilight was the first to travel through, then Crimson. The two traveled through a manhole and climbed out. Twilight had experience with a human body, so she was able to climb out, but as for Crimson, he was limping due to a lack of experience of walking on two feet.

"Are you okay?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah. I'm just trying to get used to it." Crimson said.

The two were soon walking down a highway with a sign saying

WELCOME TO NYC

Sam woke up after a long night. He went downstairs and saw Maggie and Adagio checking the windows for Shadows.

"You know it's morning, right?" Anon asked walking down the stairs.

"Better safe than sorry." Maggie said.

Sam started making breakfast, when he noticed the stove wasn't working. Or any of the lights.

"When did this happen?" Sam asked alerted.

"We don't know. We woke up and the power was out." Adagio said.

"So we could've spent the entire night with no lights?" Sam asked.

"No, we had our candles I set up." Adagio said.

San stood in shock and relief.

"Thank you." Sam said.

"You're welcome. You saved my life, so I saved yours." Adagio said.

Sam made a campfire out back and cooked some eggs and hash. The family ate in peace while Adagio was troubled.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"It's just what happened. When Chris found me, he should've kept walking. He was like a brother to me, something I didn't have in a long time." Adagio said.

"I'm sorry. I saw him go, I seemed like it wasn't real..." Sam said.

"We should head out soon." Anon said.

"What? You saw those Shadows. If we're out there and with no shelter--" Maggie was interrupted by a pounding sound at the door.

Sam peeked through and saw 4 zombies trying to get in.

"Get back." Sam said to Adagio and Anon.

Sam pulled out his .45 and aimed at the door.

The door opened and the creatures limped towards him. BLAM! One creature crumbles to the ground. BLAM! Another falls; inched away from Sam. BLAM! The third one was near Sam's face. The last one pinned him to the ground, his gun was flown across the room. The creature was snapping at Sam and his arm was pushing its neck. Before the creature took a bite, BLAM! Sam looks and sees Adagio with the gun pointed at the corpse. She quickly handed it to Sam.

"Sorry." Adagio said.

"For what? Thank you." Sam said partially confused.

"But... you're welcome." Adagio said.

Crimson and Twilight found a building, where they stayed for a while. Twilight looked out the window and saw over 70 creatures limping towards their building. They quickly got up and looked for a back exit. They escaped, but they were trapped in a dark tunnel. Crimson, being new to Earth, tried to use his horn for light. But he forgot it was gone.

"I got it." Twilight found a flare.

She tried to light the flare, and after a minute, she lit it and heard a screech behind her. She turned around and saw a creature glowing red and running into the dark.

"What was that?!" Crimson asked.

"An... Infected!" Twilight said.

"A what?" Crimson asked.

"Back in the Dark Ages, the changlings used their magic to turn ponies into vicious, murderous creatures with the purpose to infect all of Equestria and let Queen Chrysalis rule all of Equestria and beyond. It must have happened here..." Twilight said.

"Okay, now we REALLY need to find what caused this, or where the cause is." Crimson said.

"But something's wrong. That one was... darker. It seemed to be dark magic." Twilight said.

"We need to find out what's going on here." Crimson said.

Guardian Angel

Twilight and Crimson were walking down a highway when they found a building saying GUN STORE on the top.

"G... U... N?" Crimson said trying to read.

"Yep. I read about these. I mean, I never shot one, but there should be a shooting range in here." Twilight said finding a flashlight.

The two walked in and found 2 rifles and 1 handgun. Twilight grabbed the handgun and found the shooting range. Twilight found a target and aimed the gun. she slowly pulled the trigger... click.

"What the-- Why isn't it..." Twilight looked for a button or something to find the source of the problem.

Before she could do anything, a creature came out of the wall and grabbed her! Crimson quickly aimed at it and pulled the trigger. BANG! The creature was dead and Twilight heard a loud ringing in her ears.

"You okay?" Crimson asked.

"Yeah, just give me a second..." Twilight said.

After a minute of Twilight sitting on a chair, Twilight got up and saw a green dot on the gun. She looked at Crimson's rifle and noticed the dot was red. She pushed the dot on her gun and she saw red on the other side. She aimed at a target and squeezed the trigger. BANG! After a quick "eek!" from Twilight, she looked and saw she nailed the target in the chest.

"Nice shot. Not bad for your first bullet." Crimson said remarkably.

"Yeah. Not bad..." Twilight agreed.

After coming to terms witht he situation, Sam wanted to talk to Adagio about where she was from and who her family is. He found her in the guest room a few minutes later.

"Adagio?" Sam called.

"I'm here." Adagio said.

Sam took a seat and held up a bottle of water.

"Want one?" He asked.

"Sure." Adagio said taking a seat.

"So... where are you from?" Sam asked awkwardly.

"Nowhere..." Adagio said.

"Well, who are your parents?" Sam asked.

"I don't have any parents. Me and my sisters were my family. But then they abandoned me..." Adagio said with her voice cracking.

"Oh... I'm sorry for bringing it up." Sam said.

"No. It's okay; I wanna talk about it. Afterwords, I found Chris. He ran away when his parents abused him. I met him when I was getting attacked by a gangster. Chris came out of nowhere and knocked him out. We stayed together ever since. He was with me on robbing you, we needed a home and we had no money. Then... the things got him... Thank you for putting him down." Adagio said.

"Of course. We, uh... need more food and there's a food market nearby. I think you should come with me, be my backup." Sam said.

"W- what?" Adagio asked.

"You know how to use a gun, and I need more eyes on this run. If you don't want to, that's fine." Sam said.

"I'll come. Just give me a minute." Adagio said grabbing her gun and putting the safety on.

"Let's go." She said soon after.

Twilight and Crimson kept walking when they saw a food market in the distance.

"Let's go." Crimson said as he walked towards it.

The two walked to the store and went through the back.

Sam and Adagio were driving  down the road until they saw the food market. Sam could've sworn he saw 2 figures walk through the back...

"Keep an eye out. We might not be alone." Sam said as he loaded his .45.

The two walked in and saw the place was filled by sunlight so they didn't have to worry about the Shadows. Adagio looked down the left side and Sam took the right. They found several items of food, including 20 cans of corned beef, canned corn, and other little things. They were about to leave when a loud click sound came from the back.

"Stay close." Sam said walking toward the sound.

The two came across the door and prepared to aim. He kicked the door and aimed seconds after. Who they saw next was unexpected and changed their fate in the world...

Twilight and Crimson heard the door opened and raised their guns at the 2 strangers. Twilight's face quickly turned pale when she realized who had a gun on her head. She expected her to pull the trigger, but instead she just stood in shock.

"Twilight?" Adagio asked.

"You know her?" Crimson asked Twilight.

"Yeah." Twilight said slowly lowering her gun.

"Are they good?" The other man asked.

"...Yeah." Adagio said lowering her gun.

"Alright. Then my name is Sam. What's your's?" Sam asked.

"My name's Twilight. This is Crimson." Twilight said.

"Strange names... Are you two alone?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. Why?" Crimson asked lowering his gun.

"We have more people back home. Not a lot, but enough." Sam said.

"Alright. It's not like we have anyone else to find." Crimson accepted.

The four soon walked out and saw that the sun was now high and shining.

"What time is it?" Twilight asked.

Sam then checked his watch.

"1am. The others should be worried." Sam said as he started walking to the car.

As they drove home, Twilight noticed the buildings and the road, all uneven and rocky. But most of all, one building was covered in crystals-- dark crystals and forms of pods.

"What is that?" Adagio asked.

"Sombra..." Crimson said.

"Who?" Sam asked.

"No-one, for now..." Twilight said.

Sam was confused, but had no time to understand as they pulled up to the house.

"Here we are." Sam said.

"Wait, do you have room for two more people?" Adagio asked.

"We have the cots and the couch. They should be comfortable for you two." Sam said.

"Thank you. How about those things at night?" Twilight asked.

"The Shadows? We keep candles near us at night. They hate the light." Sam said.

The four headed inside the house.

Maggie and Anon were sitting on the couch trying to see the news, but nothing showed up. Then the door opened and Sam called out.

Maggie got up and went to see him. Anon was up second and walked out.

"Thank God." Maggie said hugging Sam.

"How are things?" Sam asked.

"Fine. But Sam, things are getting worse here. The news is quiet and we saw a few Walkers." Maggie said.

"Wait, who are they?" Anon asked.

"This is Twilight and Crimson. They're with us for now." Sam said.

"I'll go grab some cots." Maggie said.

"But first, we need to talk." Sam said to Anon.

The two went upstairs, out of everyone else's hearing, and sat down in Anon's room.

"What is it?" Anon asked.

"It's about Adagio." Sam said.

"Dad, I know what you're worried about. I'm not falling for a criminal." Anon said.

"I know, but that might change. And by then, she might too, but right now, you need to watch your own skin." Sam said to him.

"I know, Dad." Anon said.

"Okay, just making sure." Sam said walking out.

Anon then rolled his eyes and layed down.

Escape

Sam and Adagio were talking about having gun practice when someone knocked on the door-- hard.

"Stay back." Sam said as he grabbed his gun and walked towards the door.

When he swung the door open, there stood 2 military soldiers with their guns drawn.

"Who are you?" The first soldier asked.

"My name is Sam Anderson. Who are you?" Sam asked in return.

"My name is Sgt. Welles. This is Private Williams." Welles said.

"Why are you here?" Maggie asked.

"We're here to take you all somewhere else. We've set up a military base nearby. The walls keep the Day Ones out and the UV lights keep the Night Ones out." Williams said.

They took some time to consider this.

"What's at this 'base'?" Sam asked.

"Food, water, shelter. We teach everyone gun practice and survival tactics. Please, come with us." Welles said.

"We should go." Adagio said.

"I hate to say this, but she's right." Twilight said.

Sam stood there, completely unsure what to do. After looking down the street and in the house, he looked back.

"Alright. We'll come with you." Sam said to them.

"Alright, everyone pack up!" Welles said.

Anon walked down.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"Pack up, we're leaving." Sam said to him.

The group was now in the Humvee and driving down the road.

"So, what's the catch to this place?" Adagio asked.

"What do you mean?" Williams asked.

"What do we have to do to get in?" Adagio asked again.

"No catch, ma'am, You just walk in." Welles said.

"Alright..." Adagio said.

"So, you must be Twilight Sparkle." Williams said to Twilight.

"Yes, that's-- how do you know my name?" She asked.

"Stop the car, Welles." Williams said.

Welles listened and pushed the brakes.

"Twilight, walk out." Williams said.

Sam slowly reached for his .45 and stayed.

"Williams? What the hell are you doin'? We're wasting daylight." Welles said.

Williams responded by flashing green and slightly floating.

"Sam?!" Crimson called.

"Let me out." Sam said.

"Go." Welles said grabbing his AK-47.

When the flashing stopped, Williams walked out with dark skin, tears all the way through his arms, and green eyes.

"What is that thing?!" Welles asked.

"Take it down!" Sam said firing at the creature.

Instead of it dying, it stood, taking all of the bullets. Some went through his skeleton and should've killed him. Instead, he walked slowly towards Twilight.

"We're back, Princess. This time, we will take over..." The creature said.

Sam ran out of ammo and Welles saw about 6 Walkers getting closer. Before Sam could reload, the engine revved and the Humvee rammed the creature. Sam looked and saw Adagio on the wheel and Anon riding shotgun-- with a shotgun. The creature then got up with its elbow sticking out, but it just kept coming.

BAM!

Anon shot the creature dead in the head, but it got up with a missing jaw and one eye.

BAM!

Anon shot again and the creature got up with no face. It walked closer and started limping.

"Drive!" Anon said.

Adagio rammed it again with the Humvee. The creature was completely mangled and its brain was an inch away from the skull. Twilight turned away and looked like she was going to hurl. Anon handed Crimson his shotgun and he walked closer. He poked it with the barrel to make sure it was alive.

It wasn't.

"What was that?!" Welles panicked.

"A changling. Why are they here?" Twilight asked.

"Wait-- what are you talking about?!" Sam asked.

"If one of them was here, that could mean more are here too." Adagio said stepping out.

"What are Changlings?!" Welles asked.

"Short version: They're alien freaks that can morph into anyone and anything. Like Adagio said, if there's one, there's a hive. Stay alert, Welles. He could be one of a hundred in your camp." Crimson said.

"Tell us everything you know when we get back." Welles said.

Once the group got back, Welles asked for Crimson, Adagio, and Twilight to talk to him.

"What happened there?" Maggie asked.

"You don't wanna know." Sam said grimly.

After an hour of waiting for their ID cards, the group walked into the second gate and saw a large military base with cabins surrounding it.

"Nice setup." Anon said.

"Yeah? Well, let's hope it stays that way." Welles said.

"I'm sorry about your comrade. I know what it's like losing soldiers..." Crimson said.

"You military?" Welles asked.

"I guess you could say that..." Crimson said.

The group found a cabin to stay in for the night. They easily fell asleep that night behind safe, sturdy walls and good lighting outside... All but Crimson and Twilight. They both saw what the Changelings were capable of and now they were more powerful than before. Crimson's only question was: How? How did they become so powerful in a world without magic?

What he didn't know is that answer will come to him soon enough...

The next day, they were sent to a meeting where what seems like a soldier was on top of a military vehicle.

"For those of you who are new here, this is our goal: Take back the world. Whatever this is must be stopped. Yesterday, five people were picked up on the road and one of our own transformed into a nearly indestructible monster. All we can do now is fight back to whatever this is. So to all of you, we need to fight!" The soldier called.

People cheered and the day went on. Then, at the corner of Crimson's eye, he saw a form of a creature staring at him.

Search

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.

The Beginning

The city of New York was as bustling as ever with its people wandering about, to work, home, or school. As for the Anderson family, it was as normal as ever. Mrs. Anderson, Maggie, was up and ready for work: his son's social class. As she was getting ready, Mr. Anderson, Sam, was ready for HIS work, an undercover cop at the Anderson's Mini-Mart.

"Good luck at work, honey." Maggie said to her husband.

As Sam walked out the door, Maggie was ready to wake up their son, Anon, who was sleeping in as usual.

"Anon, sweetie! Time for school!" Maggie called out to him.

"Do I have to get up?" Anon muttered.

She knew it was a rhetorical question and put her name tag on.

Anon was ready for another boring day of school. He had decent friends and good grades, but he just hated it overall. Also, since the... accident near his school, he had an early dismissal today.

As Sam drove for work, the radio flickered to life.

"Good morning, New York City! Following the events of the strange explosion from last week, all citizens are told to remain calm until further investigation is under way. In other news, the factory cameras show 2 unknown persons escaping via a broken wall. It is unknown who--" Sam changed the channel.

Sam was sick of the conspiracies surrounding the explosion in the weapons factory a few miles away.

The school bell rang loudly as Anon pulled in. He was late for class as usual, but he didn't care. He went to his first class-- his social class.

Maggie was walking down when the principal came through.

"Good morning Mrs. Anderson. Lots of people calling sick today." Mr. Davis said.

"Not me. We had our flu shot last week." Maggie joked.

As Anon's class started, Maggie was talking about a news story surrounding the explosion of the factory.

"--rumors of the accident surrounded black magic, a holy power, or a new cult. As we learn more on the accident, we will be listening to every new development."

Some kids groaned in anger. But not Anon.

'What's with these kids? This was big and close. We should at least learn about it.' Anon thought to himself.

"As for the project, we will be experimenting one theory in chemistry today. The theory is that special chemicals mixed together we're what caused the explosion." Mr. Davis said walking in.

Anon raised his hand for a question.

"Yes, Mr. Anderson." Mr. Davis said.

"How about those two people escaping the building? There's no way they weren't killed seeming how close they were to the explosion."

The class was stunned and Mr. Davis was stuck in awe.

"Well... Another theory says that the explosion was an alien attack. With developing events underway, the mystery WILL be solved. Thank you, Mr. Anderson." The principal said.

The alleyways were empty in Manhatten. As Sam was doing business as usual, a stranger in a hoodie came in.

"Hello, how can I help--" Sam was interrupted by a gun pulled at his head.

"I want everything in the register. All of it." The stranger said.

Sam was stunned. He slowly started opening the register. Unknown to the robber, in the register was Sam's police radio and Taser.

"And what's your name?" Sam asked.

"Like I'm going to tell. Just open the regis--" The robber was tased and subdued.

Sam then quickly placed handcuffs on the robber and pulled the hoodie and mask off. What he saw was an 18-year old girl with large orange hair and pink fingerless gloves.

Then, another kid came running down the sidewalk with blood on his shirt. Sam thought he hurt someone, so he quickly subdued him as well.

"FREEZE! GET ON THE GROUND!" Sam screamed.

The kid quickly listened and stayed on the ground.

"What's with the blood?" Sam asked sternly.

"Up ahead... Everyone was dead..." The kid said clearly shaken.

"Are you with her?" Sam asked pointing at the robber.

"Adagio... What did you do?" The kid asked.

"Nothing. She'll be fine. You're under arrest for Association. If you do not have a lawyer, one will be provided for you. Do you u derstand what I said?" Sam asked.

The kid didn't awnser and he had stopped breathing.

"Kid? Kid?!" Sam placed him on the ground and checked his pulse.

Nothing. He was dead.

Sam pulled out his radio and said he had a citizen down.

"Was he bit?" His chief asked.

Sam pulled the kid's shirt and saw a bite wound deep in his rib cage.

"Yes." Sam said.

"BACK AWAY FROM IT. He'll turn." His chief said.

"What?" Sam asked.

Before he could awnser, the kid rose up and his eyes opened red. He turned slowly at Sam and snarled.

Sam quickly shot him with his Taser, but nothing happened. He quickly ran and closed his store door. He then saw over 20 of those things walk towards him. He was about to leave, but he saw the robber.

'I can't leave her to die.' Sam thought to himself.

He lifted her and ran for his police car in the back for no-one to see. He placed her in the back of the car and drove away. He parked far away from the store. He rose his radio and spoke to his police crew.

"Attention all officers. This is Sam Anderson saying I have an armed robber who I need to bring to the station, over." Sam said.

"Sorry, Sam. You need to bring them home." The chief said.

"But you don't understand. She's... She's my son's age." Sam whispered.

"That could be a problem, but I can't help you. I'm sorry." The chief said.

"Fine. Call my wife and--" Sam was interrupted by screams and gunfire.

"Chief Travis? Travis?!" Sam asked.

"GO! SAVE YOUR FAMIL- ARGHHAAAHH!" The chief screamed.

The radio fizzed to static.