Two Sides of One Lie

Chapter 2

Darkness...

     He felt a wave of cool air hit him as his eyes snapped open and his reality suddenly came into existence. He gripped his head as his mind was overcome with dizziness, shaking him of thought.

     He gently rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself off the ground, planting his feet onto the stone floor. Though his sense of balance was thrown off greatly he managed to lean against a rock wall until he could make sense of his situation.

     He glanced away from the floor and for the first time, actually took note of his surroundings. He was leaning upon a wall that was made out of blocks of gray stone, stacked together to a hemisphere shaped ceiling which rested nearly twenty feet above him. The walls held metal bars that extended out to carry torches. Though none of them carried any, they only harbored cobwebs and dust now. The walls and floors bared signs of extreme age. Cracks, craters and layers of dust came as proof to this, and at the other end of the room sat a doorway carved into the wall that had no real door to speak of.

     "Where the hell...?" The words barely managed to escape his dry throat. The small effort of speech was enough to induce a fit of coughing that burned his neck to no end, ushering him to retrieve his canteen from it's holster. He undid the cap and began to down the water greedily, as though he'd not seen a drop in days. Though the liquid managed to kill off the burning that had overtaken his throat, he couldn't help but cough a few more times.

     He wiped away what water remained with his jacket's sleeve, and quickly screwed the cap back on and returned the canteen to it's holster, noting he'd nearly emptied the container. He spotted his shotgun laying on the ground and walked over to retrieve it, gracefully slinging it over his shoulder to rest next to his rifle. With that, he turned to face the exit that sat at the other end of the room and cautiously approached it, hoping for relief from his unusual enclosure.

     Before he reached the doorway, it became apparent that everything beyond it was almost pitch black. He reached over to the light mounted on his shoulder and pressed the small button on it's side, suddenly brightening the doorway and revealing a long stone hallway that extended well beyond his light's reach. Glancing back once more to be sure he had no other options, he quietly made his way down the hall.

     The lone tunnel proved itself to be more complex than he'd imagined. Multiple different pathways branched off from the one he was in, braking off and turning at random points. Much to his frustration, without any incentive as of where to go, he simply had to pick a direction at random, and ended up heading down the hall just to his left.

     Though he constantly kept smacking at his hair in an attempt to beat back the cobwebs, he found himself staring at the carvings that scarred the stone wall much the way one might get lost in a book. They held no resemblance to anything he'd ever seen. Though some of the images were recognizable as plants and animals, none of them carried any meaning. There wasn't any pattern or pace to it. Not even any exact lines, it appears to have just been etched in completely random places and orders. It reminded him of the kind of pictures he'd see in a history textbook. Though much less organized.

     Without any clue as to what they meant (if anything), they weren't any more than pretty little carvings. But they did carry with them a number of new questions. How old were they? Who made them? Why are they here? Which gave birth to a new question,

Where was here?

     He figured it was something that would answer itself in time. He cared more about getting out than getting to know it, so he changed his priorities from enjoying the scenery to navigating the labyrinth that held it.

     Although his lack of visible progress made it seem like almost an hour, it had barely been more than fifteen minutes. He'd passed numerous rooms but none of them provided the exit he was praying for. At most all he found was a stone table with an iron tool that looked like a sickle.

     Finally though, his search had paid off when he came across a massive hall that could have easily spanned the length of a bus, the ceiling reaching nearly five times as high. The walls were spaced with massive pillars that spiraled to the top, and at the end of all of it was a throne that sat in front of a decent sized pile of stone rubble.

     Though the construct provided quite the spectacle, he was more interested in the gaping hole in the rock roof that provided a clear exit. The sunlight shone through it, revealing the blue sky and clouds he was desperate for, like a beacon of joy, and around it's edges hung vines that stretched half-way to the ground. It would provide him with the perfect vantage point if he were to get on top, but the obvious problem of height prevented that.

     Though it pained him to leave behind the only potential exit he'd found, he knew he'd have to go back and find something to help him reach it.

     He spun back around to proceed to the door, but was halted when he saw a few faint spots of red on the ground. He kneeled down to get a closer look out of curiosity, but immediately unslung his shotgun when it became obvious that the spots were droplets of blood. It hadn't even begun evaporating yet.

'Still fresh...'

     He drew his gaze up along the floor and spotted a number of other droplets lined across the ground. As if it were a trail, he stood up and warily followed it out into the hall.

     It was immediately obvious that the environment had been disturbed. The lack of cobwebs and dust indicated such. His grip on the shotgun tightened as he proceeded along it's length. His concern laid at the end of the trail, to it's owner. Mutant, Restive, or a simple thug were what he feared to find. Even if it were just another wanderer, you could never know. It was obvious there was more than one being that made the trail. It broke up at certain points and left the dust untouched, and it even split the cobwebs apart.

     As he drew further along the pathway he was startled by a sudden, feminine scream from somewhere further off into the labyrinth. He brought his shotgun up so he was gazing down the length of it's barrel and ahead of himself, the safety switched off. He proceeded around another corner and froze in place when he saw a faint shape far ahead of him, dart from one hall to the next. He held his breath as his listened intently for anything that might of told him where it was, but it remained quite.

     A soft sound of pebbles falling to the floor behind him prompted him to spin around and put pressure on the trigger, but the hall appeared entirely empty excluding himself. For a brief moment, he thought he was in the clear, then he finally aimed his light upward toward the ceiling.

*HISS*

     Hanging from the roof was a large, pale grey figure with a massive mouth and lower jaw coupled by long teeth, with two, small, inky black eyes and four muscular legs. The creature's mouth opening impossibly wide as it hissed sharply at him making it's teeth seem to shine in his light.

     "Son of a bitch!" He pulled the trigger and fired a blast of buckshot at the creature that hung from the ceiling, but missed as it dropped to the floor and landed on it's legs. He pumped his shotgun, expending a smoking shell as he took aim at the creature again. It was a mutant he'd encountered before. Undeublo, they were pack hunting mutants that were well known for their massive mouths and cunning intelligence, and it was clear he'd walked into an ambush, the one he saw further down the hall was just a distraction.

     He fired his shotgun again, scoring a hit right on the mutant's left leg, the force of the buckshot tearing it off and spraying blood across the floor behind it.

     He pumped the shotgun again as he turned around to face another three mutants in mid-charge each one holding their mouth agape, eager to tear their teeth into a new meal. He fired the shotgun and hit the foremost mutant's head, splattering bits of the creature's bone and brain matter over the floor and wall around it. It's body stumbled and rolled into the wall, falling limp just as a rush of blood poured out of the gaping hole in it's head.

     The other two briefly slowed as they witnessed one of their pack members collapse to the floor, but almost immediately sped up, simply trampling over the lifeless corpse. He pumped his shotgun again, ejecting another shell and  loading the next in the chamber, but the second undeublo leapt at him before he could take aim, forcing him to sidestep out of the way.

     The mutant crashed to the ground as the next came pouncing just behind it, too quick for him to react to. It bounded toward him like a spring, slamming into him and sending him hard to the stone ground. His shotgun flew out of his hand as he impacted the cold rock, causing stars to dance across his vision. The abomination that held him down lurched it's head forward to rip into him, but he quickly clasped his hands around it's neck, struggling to keep the much more muscular beast off of him. He managed to work his legs under it, taking the opportunity to press his feet against it's belly and force it off.

     He rolled over to grasp his shotgun out of instinct, reaching up to it as the second undeublo swiped the weapon away with it's paw, knowing well what would happen if he got a hold of it. He jerked his hand back quickly as it snapped at him.

     Getting onto his knees he delivered a solid uppercut to it's jaw, dazing it enough for him to stand all the way up. He kicked the second one back as he proceeded to smash the other's head with his boot, splattering blood across his pant leg. The action only gave the other an opening and it leapt at his back, throwing him to the floor again.

     It bit down onto his shoulder, digging it's teeth into his jacket. He proceeded to punch the side of it's head with his left arm which only ended up encouraging it to tighten it's grip. He quickly grabbed at the holster of his knife on his vest, undoing the strap and pulling it out of it's sheath. With a quick downward thrust, he jammed the blade deep into the creature's spine, causing it to fall completely limp.

     He rose from the ground with a grunt, gripping his shoulder tightly. He grabbed the knife and strongly jerked at it, ripping it from the neck of the mutant. He hastily put it into it's holster and reached for his shotgun, turning and running as fast as he could manage down the hall.

     He quickly turned a corner to another doorway that dropped off rapidly into a circular chamber. He saw three more of the undeublo inside, slowly circling a pair of brightly colored creatures. One of them was a bright pink, and appeared to have been wrapped in a large white cloth that was visibly soaked in blood. It laid on the ground completely unmoving. The other was a bright yellow with pink hair hanging from it's head and neck, and stood defensively over the first, desperately trying to keep the mutants away.

     "What the fu-" For a moment he believed he'd gone crackpot insane, but his confusion and shock was completely buried when he witnessed one of the undeublo snapped onto the being's arm. She (he assumed) screamed loudly and jerked her leg away as the mutant backed off.

     The adrenaline flooded back into his system as he took up aim with his shotgun again, firing another spread of buckshot toward the undeublo. The impacts stirred up dust and tore away bits of rock, immediately getting the attention of the voracious creatures that turned to see him pump his shotgun.

     The nearest one sprinted toward him, jumping up to the ledge and wrapping it's legs over to try and grip the stone. It immediately received a strong kick to the head, falling back down to the chamber's floor. He dropped down from the hall, landing on top of the mutant like a cushion.

     The one to his right wasted no time charging at him and leaping, giving him a vicious hissing that could have given anyone a heart attack. He held his shotgun up sideways in front of him, as the beast's mouth attempted to bite down on he shotgun. He whipped it to the left, striking the mutant's head with the pistol grip of the gun, eliciting a loud crack that he found almost musical.

     "How's that taste, you fucking freak?" He sharply insulted the creature as it shook it's head out of pain. He didn't wait for it to recuperate. looking down the gun's barrel and lining it up with mutant he fired.

     The buckshot tore into the creature like it was made of butter. It's insides quickly shredded in the volley of projectiles that riddled it full of holes. Like machinery, he pumped his shotgun once more.

     He felt his weight fall out from under him as his leg was pulled back. He toppled to the ground and rolled over to point the shotgun at the remaining undeublo which continued to tear at his boot, and pulled the trigger.

*Click*

     He hadn't realized he'd already expended all five rounds in his shotgun, so he hastily dropped it and grabbed his pistol from it's holster. His P226C7 clicked as he flipped the safety off and fired blindly at the mutant.

*CRACK*

*CRACK*

*CRACK*

     The predator writhed on the ground after the powerful .40 caliber bullets ripped into it. Giving it a less-than-swift death. The enclosed cavern continued to echo the ear-shattering shots well after they had been fired, punctuating the fight.

     He stood up and holstered his pistol and grabbed his shotgun, quickly slinging it behind himself and went to approach the creatures that had been attacked.

     They were both obviously unconscious as he drew near them and knelt down. The pink one was of his biggest concerns because of the massive amount of bleeding that was coming from her wound, but he knew there was little he could do without finding a secure location.

     He quickly applied a blood coagulant spray to the yellow one's leg and wrapped a cloth he had around it and packed up to leave before anything else came by to check out the commotion.

     He picked them both up with his arms and put each one over a shoulder, being careful to settle the pink one down out of fear of aggravating it's wound further. He turned to a hall way to the right of the hall he came from and took off without bothering to check his own wounds.

••••••••••

     He sat in front of a small fire as he ran his hand through the soft coat of the yellow being he'd found, the flames bathing everything in an orange glow. He stared at her scrutinizingly as he pondered the nature of the creature.

'Definitely not any mutant'

     It certainly wasn't an animal, it fucking screamed after all, and it wasn't ugly enough to be a mutant. The closest thing he could compare it to was a horse. A horse with wings at that. But it was still far to small and brightly colored to be a horse.

‘What exactly are you?’

     He looked to the bandaging that he'd wrapped around it's leg... Now that he thought about it, it's scream sounded like a girl's. Maybe 'she' was more appropriate? He was contemplating to check, but almost instantly rejected the idea, noting that it would be disgusting as hell. Besides he felt he could safely assume it was a female.

     His stomach grumbled, demanding his attention and making him take his gaze off of her to reach to his backpack and unzip it. He grabbed it with his left hand and dragged it over to himself as he reached in and pulled out a small box that had two latches on it's front which he quickly undid. He flipped open the top and smiled when he saw a fresh loaf of bread, reminding him how long it had been since he'd eaten something, and thinking of time urged him to look up to the small window at the top of his little circular room, letting the smoke from the fire rise off into the night's air.

     It was something that wasn't really important at the moment, but it beckoned for an answer nonetheless. Another question he pushed aside, figuring he'd find out soon enough.

     He sighed as he finally bit down on the bread, chewing it slowly as the small dinner filled both his mind and stomach with satisfaction. It was a small meal, but he was more than grateful to have it. Most of the time he'd go hungry until he managed to scavange something or kill a mutant (the latter of the two usually taking a lot of energy).

     He stared back down at his meal when he briefly caught the fire reflecting off a surface in his pack. He set his dinner down for moment, reaching to the source of the glare and grabbing the edge of the object, pulling it out.

     It was a small, rectangular wooden box, with the wood bearing a very appealing cherry tone. On it's top surface was a silver inlay of various flowers and branches around the name 'McCree' carved in gold. The branches twisted and winded around the letters like snakes in a pack, but never came into contact with it, leaving it to stand out in all it's glory. He stared at it in absolute stillness, letting his eyes wander across it's ornate surface.

     He reached into his carrying pack once more, this time retrieving a brass key that he inserted into the front of the box, gently turning it. He was rewarded with a small 'click'.

     He took the key out and set it aside, then opened the top of the box. He grabbed the edge of a photo and brought it closer to his face. He stared at it with the eyes of someone lost in deep thought. It depicted a small, young boy with short, brown hair and grey eyes, smiling and waving at the camera. Next to him was an older man with darker brown hair and blue eyes, leaning down to match the boy's height, his arm was draped around the other's shoulder, he too was smiling at the camera.

     He sat still for a moment before he flipped over the photo, revealing a long series of scribbles in cursive that covered almost the entire back of the picture. All written in ink. He started at the top and began reading.

Son,

You know I'll always love you. No matter what happens, keep that knowledge in your heart, and that you know I'm always there for you. You're getting older and I figured you were ready for this responsibility, so before I go I wanted to give you this. It's been handed down through our family ever since your great, great, great, great grandfather bought it. Keep it with you, and treat it kindly. It's well over a hundred years old, But it's as good as ever. Take care of it, for me. I'll be back soon. I love you Callahan.

Dad

     He gingerly set the photo down and reached into the box. He grabbed the handle of a revolver and held it into the air, gazing at it as the light from the fire glowed across it's surface. It was a silver-colored Colt Peacemaker with a unique orange-wood handle, carved with a long vine spiraling around the grip and stopping at the top right side, ending with a rose flower and a pair of thorns. At the center of the barrel on both sides was a golden inlay of spiked vines circling around that same name 'McCree'. More golden vines made up the name in cursive as it ran the length of the barrel, punctuated with the frame and cylinder both taking on similar, but less flashy carvings.

     Callahan felt tears stinging at the corners of his eyes as his vision went watery, all while memories of him and his father came rushing into his mind.

     Growing up, his father had done everything for him. His mother died shortly after he was born, which left dad as the only one to care for him. He'd always looked up to his father. He was like an idol to him. Perfect in every way. It was his dad who taught him everything he knew. How to read, to write, to do math, to cook, to drive. They'd always done everything together. Never once had they gotten into an argument or disagreement. He'd taken care of him until he was twelve years old. Then his dad left.

     He didn't know why. Nor did he ever find out. His dad was a scientist, that much he knew. But where he worked or what he did was a mystery to him. He never even said goodbye in person. All he got was this box, the gun and the picture with the letter. He'd kept them ever since then. He'd hoped his dad would return. But it was obvious now that was never going to happen.

     He sniffed, and wiped the tears from his face using his jacket's sleeve. Cmon, that's over now. No use crying about something in the past.

      As he was ready to begin packing back up he felt a sudden, warm pressure on his right side. He looked down to see the little yellow creature he was staring at earlier, leaning against him and staring up at him with her large eyes.

     He felt his throat seize as tears began to flood back into his vision again. He suddenly wanted to cry. To let his sorrow flood out of him.

     He grabbed the creature and pulled her in tightly, letting his tears flow out. The feeling of another comforting him was something he hadn't felt in a very long time, and while he normally he would've thought he'd looked like a wuss, he could've cared less. He simply let his tears flow, though he didn't make any sounds.

     The little creature eventually began saying something in her own language. He didn't pick up on it at first, but he eventually realized she was singing. With the kind of voice that not even an angel could match.

     Though he knew he needed to stay awake, it was too hard to with such a melodious and beautiful voice singing, and he soon found himself drifting to sleep.

••••••••••

     Fluttershy awoke to the smell of smoke and the quiet sounds of a soft crackling fire. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she found her vision overtaken by a large pink form that she assumed was Pinkie Pie. She was in some sort of sleeping bag and had convinced herself that what she saw earlier had to be some kind of a dream, and that she was safe and sound at home right now, having a sleepover with her friends.

     She was startled by the sounds of shuffling behind her and was actually afraid to turn around. Believing it was for the best that she check, she quietly rolled around so she could peek behind her back. She saw the being that she believed was just some nightmare sitting only feet away from her. The one that blew the other creature to pieces. She had to surpress a startled scream. She didn't want it to know she was awake.

     She quietly watched it as it was studying the back of what she assumed was a photograph. It's eyes following something along it. After about a minute, it set the photo aside and reached into an open wooden box layed out infront of it. It pulled out a device similar to the one it carried earlier, but smaller. It used it to kill the creatures, or at least that's what she assumed.

     She only remembered seeing it point the object at one of the things that attacked her, there was an ear deafening bang and it was suddenly shredded. She unconsciously began to shake as she thought about various different scenarios all of which involved the monster infront of her, turning on her in some way.

     She stared at it, with fearful, wide eyes, expecting It to turn around and attack her. It stared at the small metal thing for a few moments. If she looked closer, she thought she could see the reflection of something glistening off it's cheek.

Are those... tears? She didn't know what to think. The creature before her was crying. But why?

     The tear ran down it's cheek, stopping once it had reached it's chin. It hung there for a moment, before it fell off and splashed to the stone, just as another one came running down to take it's place. The creature sniffed and lifted up it's foreleg, using it to wipe away the tears. Then lowered it and put the tool away.

     She suddenly felt the urge to console the sad creature. It let out a quiet sigh as another tear ran down it's face. She watched as it sat, just crying to itself.

     Fluttershy felt a mix of emotions inside of herself. She was terribly afraid of the thing that sat there, but she felt the bad for it, even if she didn't know why it was crying. Maybe it didn't want to hurt the other creatures?

     Quietly she slid out of the sleeping bag and snuck up to the creature's side. She took a quick glance up to it's head to see that it hadn't noticed her. She leaned up against it and stared up at him with the best comforting look she could muster at the time. The creature looked down to her and she could see the redness in it's eyes. It had a smooth, flat face with small, grey eyes and a short, round, pointed nose. It had a short brown mane and ears that were small and rounded off at the top and bottom. It's jaw was wider and less pointed than a pony's, and it had a small amount of short hair growing all around it's mouth and up the side of it's jaw.

     The creature stood still for a moment, then wrapped it's forelegs around her and pulled her in. She let out a squeak from the sudden action, and, at first she thought it was acting hostile. But it just held her... crying softly into her shoulder.

     "There, there. It's gonna be alright." she cooed quietly. She wrapped her hooves around it's back and, with her good hoof began to rub it's back. That's when she noticed something.

     Her hoof that'd been bitten was cleaned and bandaged. She was unconscious and she knew there was nopony else there to help. She immediately realized that the creature didn't want to hurt her at all, it was trying to save her.

     "Shhhh... " Fluttershy whispered as she continued to rub it's back. She could feel it's muscles steadily begin to loosen up and knew it was going to fall asleep, and she had a surefire way to finish the job.

"Hush now, quiet now,

It's time to lay your sleepy head.

Hush now, quiet now,

It's time to go to bed.

Drifting off to sleep,

To leave the day behind you..."

     She continued to sing for about five minutes. The creature slowly began to calm. It's breathing no longer unsteady as before. The flow of it's tears eventually ceased and it's hold on her loosened. She quieted her singing when she was sure she heard a soft snore come from the creature holding her. She stopped completely when she was sure it was asleep.

     She managed to worm her way out of it's forelegs, and left it undisturbed as it slept leaning against the wall. She walked down beside it and layed down next to the creature's outstretched back legs. She laid her head upon one, using it as a sort of pillow. She let her eyes close as a smile came upon her face. She knew she'd made a friend.