5 days after first infection
5:33pm

Dr. William Branton sat at the nurses station with a bottle of water, enjoying the only five minute break he could get in the past twenty-three hours. The Green Flu that was running rampant across the country was claiming more and more people every minute, and the Hospital was already full to capacity, as people were crammed into hallways, yelling and moaning at the pain the Flu caused them.

"Dr. Branton? Please report to ER room twelve! Dr. Branton, report to ER room twelve!"

William craned his head at the speakers and sighed, downing the rest of his water as he made a dash for the ER. Inside were many, many more sever cases of the Green Flu. Some people were in a crazed frenzy caused by the Flu, tied down to their beds to prevent them from hurting themselves or anyone else. Some Doctors stood by, nursing what appeared to be bite wounds from some of the crazed patients.

William tried his best to ignore it as he rushed into room 12, where he saw a sight that was so appalling, he nearly almost left the room if not for the fact his wife was in there. When Emily saw him, she let out a sigh and quickly pulled him inside.

"Emily! What the hell happened to this woman?!" He asked, going over to the screaming, bloating woman. Her stomach was distended way beyond what he would consider to be the breaking point. Skin was tearing and showing the fat and muscle beneath, and in some spots, intestines poked their way through. Her arms and face were covered in gigantic pustules, some bursting and oozing a foul smelling green liquid.

"I don't know, Bill! We gave her the vaccine, and when we came back, she was just... like this!" Emily explained, holding her husbands arm tightly in fear as he went over to the woman to examine her.

Taking out his small flashlight, he opened her eyes, only to see them hazed over with a thick, white film. "Ma'am? I'm Dr. Branton. Can you tell me your name?" William asked, only to get nothing but gurgling in response. William decided to examine inside her mouth, but when he opened it, he got quite the surprise.

As soon as her mouth opened, a spray of the most foul smelling liquid burst out, accompanied by chunks of whatever she had eaten prior. As this happened, the woman sat up quickly and sprayed the medical staff before her, only to be shoved down on the table by William and the others, who all were quite disgusted.

"Alright! Restrain her and everyone get to decontamination! No telling how contagious this stuff is!" William ordered, strapping the woman down, who thrashed about and snapped her Jaw at William. This Flu was getting worse and worse by the second...

William guided his wife out of the room and led her to the showers down the hall, where the two of them quickly removed their scrubs and hopped under the frigid stream of water.

"What the hell do you think caused that?" Emily asked William from across the way, leaning against the tiled wall. William did the same and shook his head, sighing.

"I don't know... Hopefully we're okay though." He said, leaving the conversation to die as they finished washing the green slime off their bodies.

As the two finished and got into fresh pairs of scrubs, they headed back out into the hospital, only to be met by dozens of armed military personnel, forcing patients into rooms, and guiding Doctors away. Both of them were startled when they heard gunfire echoing across the hospital.

Before the two of them could react, a soldier came running over to them, asking, "Have you two been bitten?" To which they both replied. "No." The soldier nodded. "Alright, we're asking all medical personnel to evacuate the premises. Go home, pack your things, and head to the nearest military outpost. We're going to need all the Doctors we can get to help work on a cure. Every one of you counts. Now, go!" He ordered. William held his wife's had as he went to take her home, but her feet were rooted in place. Turning to here, he could see the determination on her face.

"I'm staying." She said, turning back to the soldier. "I have a duty to these people and our staff. I can't leave them now."

The soldier nodded and went about his business, but William turned Emily back towards him with pleading eyes. "Emily, you can't be serious! After what he just said, you want to stay?"

Emily nodded, smiling. "I do. Now, I want you to go home and pack our things. I'm going to help get everyone out. I'll call you and tell you which outpost their taking us to so you can meet me there." Emily promised, kissing William on the lips tightly. "Now, go. And don't forget the photo album, please?" She teased, walking back into the mass of people, where William lost sight of her.

With a frustrated sigh, William pushed his way back towards the main entrance and headed to the parking lot, where military personnel were setting up barricades with their vehicles and sand bags. This was clearly more than just a simple flu making its rounds across the country. This was on a scale William had never seen or heard of in history.

Once he finally got to his car, William made a quick beeline back into the depths of the city. Encountering little traffic on his way in, but noted that the bridge across the way was jam packed with cars trying to get out. The fear that gripped his heart at the sight made him drive just a bit faster back to his and his wife's apartment.

Once there, William headed to the fifth floor to his apartment. Once inside, he quickly began to pack up his and Emily's belongings. They would need clothing, of course. Some food wouldn't hurt, just in case. Bottled water was good, too. William found himself packing many odd things, but in a situation like he and the rest of the country were now facing, it didn't seem to far fetched to take them.

After packing the photo album in his bag, William remembered the one thing he never thought he'd have to remove from its box. Reaching into his nightstand, he pulled out the small, wooden box in question. Opening it revealed an M1911 handgun, something he had bought a while back for home protection. Racking a round into the chamber, William stuck the weapon in his waistband and proceeded to carry the luggage out to his vehicle.

Once everything was packed up and ready, William pulled his cellphone from his coat pocket and speed dialed Emily's number, hoping that reaching her would yield quicker results as to where to meet up. William listened to the phone ring, and ring, until finally, it went to voicemail. With a frustrated grunt, William tried again, only to get the same result. This wasn't like Emily. She always picked up the phone when he called, no matter what. Had something happened at the hospital?

With ice in his veins, William started the car and peeled out of the hotel driveway as fast as the car would take him. His mind was racing with thoughts of what could have happened, the rational ones like, "Maybe she's just busy helping get people out." or, "Maybe she couldn't hear the ringtone over all the noise."

He hoped that was the case.

Faster and faster, William sped his car through the city streets, avoiding the other cars and people as they, too, were fleeing as best they could, led by soldiers or running off on their own. Bodies were now littering the sidewalks and gutters, painting a scene straight out of what he'd expect to see in a warzone rather than Philly.

As William neared the hospital, who began to notice a smoke cloud billowing in the direction he was headed. He knew it could only be the hospital! What the hell could have happened in the thirty minutes he was gone?!

Pulling into the parking lot, William could see there were indeed fires raging, but not from the building itself. Military jeeps and civilian vehicles were engulfed in flames, some flipped and heavily dented on the sides, while some were flattened from above. There was spent brass everywhere around the entrance from the set up turret emplacements, and the crushed and mangled bodies of soldiers were strewn about, causing William to wretch at the sight. What on Gods green Earth could have done this?!

On the floor, William saw a shotgun in the arms of a soldier. Better safe than sorry, he plucked it up, checked to see that it was fully loaded, and took a few extra shells from the soldier's vest and put them in his jacket pocket, just in case.

Inside the lobby of the hospital revealed another brutal war zone. It was as if a Tank was driven through the building, crushing everything in its path. Walls were knocked down and people were crushed and mutilated on the floor, with blood splattered on every conceivable surface. Even dripping down from the ceiling, patting his jacket with wet thumps.

"E-Emily?!" William called out, only to have his voice echo through the eery building. "Emily? Where are you!" It seemed like a shot in the dark that she was still alive, but he wasn't going to give up until he knew. He needed to find her and bring her out safely.

William ventured further into the depths of the hospital until he once again reached the ER ward, the last place he saw Emily. Seeing all the dead around, William knew it'd be nearly impossible to find her in the mess. But, he remembered he still had his phone! If he just called her, maybe he'd hear hers! Maybe he'd find where she was hiding and she'd come out, knowing it was now safe from whatever happened here.

William flipped his phone open and pressed 1, speed dialing his wife once more. William held the phone down and listened as intently as he could in the eerily quiet building for the jingle of her ring tone.

After not hearing it, he tried again, walking further into the hospital as he did so. She had to be around here somewhere! With a desperate yell, William called out, "Emily?! Where are you?!"

Finally, William began to hear the musical tone down the hall, very faint, but he couldn't mistake it for anything else. William ran as fast as he could until he was outside one of the operating rooms. The window on the door was splattered with blood, causing William to pale as the phone continued to ring on the other side. Was he going to go in there and see his wife dead?

No! She was going to be inside, waiting for him! He knew it in his heart that she couldn't be dead! She was too strong! He'd go inside, she'd be sitting there, waiting for him, and the two would leave together and get out of this place! That would be the end of it!

Then, why was it so hard for him to open the door?

His hand was firmly planted on the handle, but his body refused to comply with the motion of opening it. He sat there for a long time, contemplating what to do, but a sudden roar further down the hallway snapped him out of his fear as he turned in the direction.

Down the hall he heard the thumping of something, almost impossibly large, heading in his direction, followed by deep, animalistic grunting. With new found courage, William quickly opened the door before him and jumped inside, shutting it behind him.

He leaned down against the wall, listening as the earth quaking thumps got closer and closer, until finally, stopping right outside the room he was in. He heard loud, deep sniffing from whatever it was on the other side, followed by a mighty roar as it quickly continued down the hall he once came from. Letting out a sigh of relief, William went to stand back up, but the sight before him caused him to freeze in place.

On the floor were dozens of bodies of Doctors who, unlike the ones in the halls, were slashed open in various manners, from chest, stomach, and even the throat, each person in the room had did in a horrific manner that William didn't want to think about. The horror scene was something straight out of a Jason movie.

William checked over each of the bodies, and confirmed that none of them were Emily. With a sigh, he took out his phone and called her again, waiting to hear exactly where it had come from.

William heard the ringing coming from the corner of the room, practically pitch black with the power out. Pulling out the light he used earlier on the bloated woman, he shined it into the corner, only to get a pair of red eyes snap back up at him.

William let out a shut of surprise as his flashlight hit the floor. The... thing in the corner began to growl menacingly as it slowly began to stand, spreading its arms wide, revealing dagger like nails protruding from its gnarled hands. William saw the face more clearly now, his stomach now feeling like a led weight at the realization that his worst fears had been confirmed.

Emily was infected.

"Emily! It's me, Honey!" He pleaded, placing the shotgun on the ground, hoping it would calm her down. It did not, as she continued to growl louder and louder at him. "Emily? I'm not afraid of you." He said, slowly approaching his deranged wife, only getting a louder growl from her. "I love you..."

But, it was far too late for that. Who Emily used to be was gone, replaced by the screaming nightmare now rushing towards William with incredible speed. William barely missed the swipe at him, it only just knicking into his skin. Even then, it caused an excessive amount of blood to flow from his midsection. Emily continued to scream and lash wildly out at the air as he backpedaled his way to the corner. Grabbing the Shotgun off the floor he aimed it high, and fired.

What was once Emily stumbled forward, now missing her midsection, and fell atop William in a bloody heap. He sat there, trying to register what he had done. The shotgun became heavier and heavier in his hands, until it finally slipped and fell to the floor with a clack. William could feel the blood of his wife pooling on him, warming his frozen body. The ice that had formed in his heart was crippling, making him unable to move from his same, shocked spot.

With tears, William held his head down and wrapped his in a tight embrace, sobbing louder and louder as the reality of the situation crashed down on him like a ton of bricks. He had just shot his wife. He had killed the woman he loved, had vowed in sickness and in health, and death do us part. Everything he had feared had played out before him in a beyond horrifying way. All William could do was sit against the wall and cry.

For hours, he sat in that room; a room full of death and decay, of lives taken too soon. Pain ripped into his heart like a knife twisted, and the thought that he was now alone was tearing through his mind. The world was now in chaos and anarchy. The infection was too much to control, and everyone was going to die. Why he hadn't caught it yet was a mystery that he couldn't quite solve. Why did he have to watch everyone he loved around him catch this monstrous illness? What purpose did he have that he didn't catch it?

With a heavy heart, William placed Emily's body back on the floor, stopping only to take her name tag with him. There was nothing left for him here anymore. This hospital belonged to the infected, and would now be his wife's mausoleum. Fitting, as the hospital was her life. She loved working there everyday, striving to make people better. To help those who needed it. That was one reason why William fell in love with her to begin with. She was so kind, and he would never forget that.

With one final kiss on her cold forehead, William got to his feet and left the room, quietly closing the door behind him. Now, his sadness was being replaced by feelings he rarely ever felt. Anger flooded his mind as he saw a few infected walking by. Revenge slapped him in the face, telling him to make sure every last one of these infected bastards wouldn't take anyone else.

Racking a round into the shotgun caught the attention of the few infected, who turned to William with angry, white eyes. All he did was stare them down through the sight of his weapon, and pulled the trigger.

In two shots, all five infected fell to the floor in bloody heaps. Their deaths filled him with a satisfaction that dissipated all too quickly he wanted more. He would never be satisfied until every single one of these animals was bloody and dead at his feet.

William was about to walk on, but the rapid thumping he heard from earlier rapidly came back down the hall. William stood there, refilling his gun as he waited, his heart rate never going up. He was content with death now, but he wanted to make sure it was busy with his mess first before taking him.

Finally, the thumping was practically on top of him, and when the beast rounded the corner, William was met with another sight that should have filled him with dread. The creature looked like one solid lump of muscle that consumed its body. It's chin was lost in the mass of flesh causing its tongue to dangle from its mouth limply. Grinning, William pumped his weapon and aimed it at the hulking beast as it charged towards him.

"Let's dance, you fucker!"

"William?"

"William, wake up. You're talking in your sleep..."

"William? Are you alright?"

Loner shot up from the mattress, causing Celestia to jump back in surprise. "William! Are you alright? You were talking in your sleep. You... were saying the name Emily a lot..." Celestia said quietly, looking at him with a glance.

Loner's breath was fast, sweat was beading down his face, and the pain of what transpired so long ago felt as fresh as the day it happened. Without a word to Celestia, Loner got up from the bed and walked out the doors to the balcony, his breathing heavy and his body covered in sweat.

The frigid, February air hit Loner's naked body like a freight train. He needed it. He wanted to wake up as much as possible from that horrid memory. A memory that had haunted him since day one of his decent into madness. "That isn't me anymore" he kept telling himself in his mind, over and over again. "You're William Branton... You're not Loner anymore..."

But, no matter how many times he told himself he wasn't Loner, it just made him feel more and more like the sociopathic killing machine that prowled the apocalyptic wastes of the Zombie Apocalypse, killing dozens, hundreds of infected for the sheer fun of it. For the thrill of avenging Emily.

"She's dead! Fucking accept it! She died like everyone else!" He mentally berrated himself, sliding down against the wall behind him as he watched the moon descend lower into the sky.

"William? Are... you alright?" Celestia asked, peaking out the door with the large comforter draped around her slender body. Loner remained silent, but Celestia didn't leave. She joined him on the ground and wrapped some of the large blanket around him, so that the two were now both warm beneath it. After a few minutes of silent star gazing, Celestia finally spoke.

"You never did tell me what made you become the way you did. What happened to Emily?" She asked, turning to face him. Loner didn't meet her look.

"What's there to tell?" He asked roughly, running a hand across his head. "Everyone lost someone they loved in that nightmare. I was no different. It's the past now. Like you said, let's focus on us. Let's just forget about this..."

Celestia tsked and ran a hand through Loner's hair smiling sweetly at him. "You know, when I lost you, I felt the same exact way." She admitted. At this Loner finally turned to Celestia, listening more intently. "I was brutish, and coarse, and horrible to everyone after we came back through without you. I even held a gun to Zoey's head." She admitted, causing Loner to arch a brow, but he remained silent as she went on.

"The Tank that was loose in Equestria... I wanted nothing more than to hunt it down and kill it with every fiber of my being... To make it feel the same why I felt. The lose it left in my heart. The Zombies took you from me, and I just wanted to kill every last one of them..."

Loner smiled and pulled Celestia closer to him, making her let out a sigh of happiness. "Seems like we rubbed off on each other pretty damn well, Tia."

Celestia remained silent, smiling as she leaned against Loner's body, her head raising and lowering against his shoulder with each breath he took. In her ear she could hear the rhythmic thumps of his heart, luxuries she thought she had lost for good. To have him back was a blessing, but knowing he was still in pain over his previous love still hurt her. Not that she was jealous, but because it still caused him such a degree of pain that he did not want burden on another.

"I love you, you know."

Celestia craned her head up as Loner looked down at her. With a smile, Celestia leaned up and planted a kiss oh Loner's cheek.

"I love you, too, William. Come. Why don't you get some rest. It's very nearly dawn and I have my duties to attend to. I think another evening for the two of us in order. There's an Opera I must attend tonight, so, if you're interested, you should come along." Celestia said smiling as she and Loner went back inside and sat on the bed.

"I guess so. I've never actually been to an Opera. Might be fun." Loner said with a shrug as he laid back down. Celestia laughed and leaned down, kissing him tightly on the lips before she threw a robe over her naked body.

"Sorry to say, you're going to be bored as hell! I'll see you later, Love!" She sang as she left the room, blowing a kiss to Loner who smiled and waved as she left. Laying back down in the bed, Loner sighed and shut his eyes, hoping to get a few more hours of sleep without a nightmare.

"That would be something..." He thought as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

Celestia hummed a tune to herself as she walked down the castle halls, passing the staff, who smiled knowingly at their Princess. Everyone knew of her and Loner's relationship, and they knew what had happened last night. Heck, you don't hold an extravagant, private dinner with your coltfriend and not expect it to lead to a bit of the bed sheet tango.

With a skip in her step, Celestia made her way to Luna's tower, passing the Lunar Guards at the bottom of the stairs, who gave her an odd glance as she passed, but said nothing. Not many ponies saw Celestia in human form, but the hair and poise was unmistakable, even in that form.

Once at the top of the stairs, Celestia gave the bedroom door a few quick raps, getting an "Enter." from Luna on the other side. Celestia smiled and opened the door to see Luna standing at her window, her horn aglow as she lowered the moon.

"You know, you almost missed raising the sun... again. I thought I would have to do it this time. Clearly, William causes you to shirk your duties quite often." The younger Alicorn teased as Celestia raised a hand to the sky, replacing the moon with the sun, slowly lighting the vast land in its warm embrace. With a devilish grin, Luna added, "Judging by your attire, you two have finally gone hooves to Faust, as it were?"

Celestia giggled and leaped into her sisters bed, laying down as Luna sat next to her. "Yes, we finally did. Oh, by my name, He made me feel like a woman!" She sighed, getting a giggle from Luna.

"Tis funny, since you are a mare, Sister. I believe this form has gotten the better of your mind. But, tis good to see you so happy. How... is William this morning anyway?" She asked, her words hinting hesitation.

Celestia turned to Luna with a knowing glance. "You went into his dream, didn't you?" She asked, to which Luna nodded with a somber expression. "I shouldn't pry, but he's being so distant about it. I want to know what happened. Fully."

Luna visibly shuddered as she turned away from her elder sister, causing Celestia's own expression to falter. "If I told you the things he did, Tia, you may never look upon him the same way again. I have seen plenty of nightmares, and helped ponies deal with them. Never once has a mortal soul's dreams frightened me, but what I witnessed were things that even chilled my heart to the very core. I do not know if this human can adjust the same way the others have..."

Celestia scoffed. "I have been through much of what he has, Luna. I have fought side by side with him, I have seen him change from cold and ruthless, to kind and gentle. I love him, Luna, and he loves me just as much. The man in those dreams died when he sacrificed himself for me. You know this, right?"

Luna shook her head. "Tia, darkness can consume anyone's heart and mind. It's nearly impossible to dispel it once it takes hold. That is why it took the Elements of Harmony to bring me out of my own. You say the Loner personality is gone, but that will always be a part of who he is. Violence and killing reside in him, and come just as naturally as breathing. What if one day he snaps and hurts, or worse, kills somepony?"

Celestia sat up from the bed, crossing her arms. "Luna, you do not think he's capable of-"

"Oh, but I do." Luna interrupted, silencing her sister. "A monster born in blood is a monster who must bathe in it to survive. That is the way of the beast, is it not? That monster inside him will fester and linger in pain. Suffocating it will only cause it desperation. If it does break loose, Mother forbid it's somepony we care about on the receiving end."

"What will you have me do, Tia? Do you remember what I became after I lost him? I was able to recover from that." She argued, getting nothing but a chuckle in response.

"Tia, you got him back. He will never see his Emily again. I know, and you know, he loves you, but the death of a first love would break anyone. I know, I have been there myself." Luna placed a hoof on Celestia's shoulder. "Tia, I do not know if you can fix him. I warn you as your sister, as family. I do not wish to see this man hurt you or anypony else. Maybe my fears are unfounded, but I felt that I must share them with you. Whatever you decide about it, I will support one-hundred percent. Wiliam makes you happy, and you, too, make him happy. But, if he is to get better, then he must come to terms with what has happened. Get him to open up. Maybe the other survivors can aid you with this, as they have been through much of the same thing."

Celestia nodded and hung her head as she chewed her lip in thought. "You're right, Luna. Your council is the reason I came up here this morning, to be honest. I am worried about him, but I know time can heal even the deepest of wounds. I'll write to the others today and see if they will be willing to help aid William with this." Celestia remained quite for a moment before adding, "Do you truly believe he'd hurt anypony?"

Luna shrugged. "It depends if that pony is a considerable douche and gets on his worst side. Like I said, the beast is smothered, and will take much coaxing to break free. I speak from experience, so maybe just call me a worry wort." She giggled, getting Celestia to giggle back. "Now, it is nearly eight o'clock, and you have your duties to attend to."

"Oh, you're right!" Celestia gasped, snapping her fingers, returning to her alicorn state once again. "If you wish, you may have a talk with him today. It would be good for the two of you to bond. After all, he is going to become your future brother in law!" She said happily, leaving Luna's room.

"Tis a bit early to think about wedding bells!" Luna called out before her door closed. "However, speaking to him is a splendid idea. It is time to dispel this darkness, before it becomes too much for us to deal with."

With that, Luna fluttered down from her window and made her way to her sisters balcony, ready to find out if William was here to stay, or Loner was going to rise up again to take his place...

Author's Note

Okee doke, past 2 in the morning and I'm just writing and writing and writing. Haven't done this in such a damn long time. Kind of feels nice.

Getting in all the backstory and mushy stuff before we get to where the ark of the story comes in. Luna's distrust of William may be well founded, but it may not. I don't know, I just finished Ch. 2. we'll see where the hooha goes. Got some juicy ideas ready to plop themselves on the screen though.

Tis going to be a dark story indeed... ;)

I was going to release this chapter last night, but I really wanted to sit on it and think about the dream and what had happened to his past wife. There were a few iterations, one where she returned home with him and turned into a witch in her sleep, but I felt it was unrealistic the way I portrayed it. It was really hard to get the emotion of it written. When you think about how someone would feel, it's pretty easy, but trying to write it on a page is just... difficult. I hope I could accurately portray it. If I find ways to make it better, I'll update it in the future, but for now, that's the best I can do. There will be more backstory to Loner, and will bring back two people from the previous story. Hope that satisfies a lot of people. :) Now, I have to figure out what Luna will speak with him about, and how he will react to it. Luna is a hold no bars kind of a character, so this conversation might get brutal. ;) (not violent though)

Until next time!