Against All Odds

Legend has it that thousands of years ago, a mysterious lake appeared in the center of a deadly forest, now known as the Everfree. Supposedly it works as a portal to another world, a world very different than that of Equestria.

The legend states that every fifty years the portal opens for one night on the summer solstice and closes at midnight that same day. The same rules apply to the other end of the portal, located on a planet called Earth. Where is the other end of the link? Well, nobody really knows as nobody has even actually gone to the other side.

Now, in present times, the legend has become nothing more than, well, a legend told to the children to entertain their growing minds. But sometimes legends are told for a reason, because they are far from fiction.

*Kansas, June 20, 2014*

I pick up my phone as it starts to ring in the passenger's seat next to me. I smile slightly as I pick it up and see that the call is coming from my mother, bless her heart. She's always been so protective of me, and seems to call every ten minutes when I'm out by myself.

I answer the call and hold the device up to my ear, keeping one hand on the steering wheel and my eyes on the slippery road ahead of me which is drowned out in darkness of the night.

"Hello mother." I say sarcastically with a smile.

"Sam, how are you doing honey?" She asks in her kind, motherly voice that I've come to love over the years.

"I'm great actually. How's dad? You been taking care of him?" I say with a small laugh.

"Oh yes, he's still as lazy as ever, never helping with the chores around the house."

"Sounds like him... and me." I respond.

"Yes, you've always been just a miniature version of your father, which may or may not be a good thing."

"Yeah, that's true."

"So, how was your grandmother?" She asks curiously.

"She was great! Getting better every day. She did wish that you could have been there though."

"Oh I wish I could've been there too, but you know how it is."

"Yeah, work's a bitch huh?"

"Sam, language."

"Sorry mom." I say with a chuckle. "Force of habit. Blame dad for that one."

"I already do. When did you say you'd be home exactly?"

"Around midnight mom, chill out." I reply with a chuckle over the phone.

"Sorry honey, I'm just worried about you out there in that awful storm. Please, drive safe Sam."

"I will mom, don't worry. Love you." I say as I stuff my phone back into my pocket. I chuckle to myself as I listen to the rain pouring down on the metal roof above me. "She worries too much." I mumble to myself with a smile.

I'm coming back from my grandmother's house after visiting her for the weekend. My folks really wanted to come along, but work had held them back at home. It was a shame, really, because it's been nearly a year since they've even talked to her, much less seen her in person. I'd had a really fun weekend, and even wanted to stay longer, but my grandmother insisted I try to make it home before the storm. Looks like I should have left a little earlier if I wanted to do that.

The world around me consists of nothing but darkness, save for my headlights and the taillights of some car a bit ahead of me.

"Shouldn't be driving at night in a hurricane." I mumble to myself as I turn on my radio, tuning in to the news station.

"Heavy rains to be expected in central Kansas this weak, better stay off the roads until this storm clears up." A woman's voice says calmly, helping to distract me from the noise outside.

"Now ya tell me." I say to the radio as I smile a bit. I reach over to turn the volume up on the radio, only to be stopped in my tracks by the sound of tires screeching on pavement ahead of me. I quickly dart my eyes back to the road ahead of me to see the other car swerving uncontrollably. I slam on the breaks and watch in horror as the car spins off the road, collides with a tree head-on, and sliding into the lake just off the side of the road.

"Holy shit." I say frantically to myself. I shut off my engine and open the door and find myself instantly soaked from head to toe. I pull my hood over my head and break into a sprint towards where the car had vanished into the lake. I pass by the tree which fell over from the impact, silently swearing under my breath.

I approach the lake just in time to see the back of the car vanishing beneath the surface of the lake. Running purely on adrenaline, I run up to the lake and jump in, only being able to see where I'm going thanks to the bright full moon shining through the storm. I open my eyes once I'm underwater, and frantically look around for the car that had wrecked.

My heart rate increases as I look around, unable to find the car that I had just seen seconds ago. Feeling my lungs start to burn, I begin pushing my way back to the surface. As I try to swim upwards, it only seems that I'm getting farther and farther away from the surface, as if I was swimming downwards. I look down to see not the floor of the lake like I expected, but instead what is practically a bottomless pit that leads into nothing.

I grab my throat as I start kicking the water, and involuntarily open my mouth, taking in a ton of water. I feel my eyes burning and squeeze them shut as I start to feel all of my senses start to go numb. I let out one last scream of desperation into the water before letting go and drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

I awaken with a large gasp of air, my lungs filling up with sweet oxygen. I cough out water as I support myself up on my elbows. I feel my stomach empty out onto the sand below me. I roll over onto my back, staring up at the night sky.

"Am I... dead?" I think to myself as I raise my hands in front of my face. I breathe heavily, trying to get the last of the water out of my system. My body shakes with adrenaline as I try to calm myself down, which seems impossible right about now. I slap my hands down over my eyes, trying to figure out what happened, when suddenly a shrill cry rings through the air around me.

I shoot up into a sitting position and begin looking around like a madman. I spot the car that had wrecked sitting on the shore about thirty feet to my left. I slowly get up and hobble over to the car which is in much better condition than I thought it would be.

"Hey! You guys okay?" I call out, my voice sounding rough and scratchy from all the coughing I had been doing. "Hey!" I yell again when I don't get an answer. I lean against the trunk of the sedan and look into the car from the back window. I spot two adults in the front seats, and slowly make my way to the front.

"Hello? Are you-" I start to say when I reach the front. I stop myself when I see the shattered window with shards of glass covered in a crimson blood. "Oh God no..." I whisper to myself as I nervously look into the driver's side window. I see two dead adults, one man and one woman. I quickly pull out my phone and dial 911, and hold my phone up to my ear. I get nothing but feedback and a beeping sound. I look down at the screen in confusion and notice I have no signal. "Great..."

Another shrill cry fills the quiet night air, and I look into the back seat where I see a baby strapped into seat. I quickly try to open the back door, but the thing is locked. I reach around through the broken driver's window and open the door from the inside. I reach in and slowly unbuckle the baby from its seat. The fact that the baby was strapped in so tightly probably saved it's life.

"Hey, hey. Everything's alright." I say calmly. I try to calm the baby down and stop it's crying, but fail miserably. "Come on, lets get you out of here." I quickly take the baby out of it's seat, and cradle it against my chest. Taking a look behind me, I notice the rain still pouring down. I take a ragged jacket that had been thrown into the back seat and wrap it around the baby, only leaving it's face exposed. I hold it tightly against my chest as I look around for a path back to the road.

I search around the edge of the lake looking for any sign of the road, but with no luck. Deciding I need to find a hospital or the police, or something, I decide to run into the forest in a random direction.

"Where the hell did the road go?" I mumble to myself as I come to a stop about ten minutes later. The lake is no longer in sight, and the only thing allowing me to see is the moonlight high above me. Deciding to stop for now, I sit down under a canopy of trees where the ground is still pretty dry.

The baby starts screaming again, causing me to try to shush it so it doesn't attract any animals that might be lurking around. Never know what might be walking around in rural Kansas. I sit down, still holding the baby to my chest. I throw a couple of close by twigs and branches into a pile in front of me, and pull a pack of matches out of my pocket.

"Of course..." I mumble in an annoyed tone when I feel that they're soaked beyond belief. Good thing my phone has a waterproof case. God knows how expensive those little bastards can be. At least is it summer so it isn't too chilly out here.

"Please stop..." I say quietly, feeling a couple of tears forming in my eyes. "I just want to get the hell home."

The baby stops crying and looks up at me with large curious eyes, almost as if it knows how I feel.

"I'm sorry... about your parents and all." I whisper. Out of pure instinct, I start softly signing a lullaby that my mother would always sing to me as a kid. My voice shakes as I do so, trying not to cry. I'm not much of a crier, not by a long shot, but this was all just too much for me, and the song bringing back old memories just pushes me over the edge.

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound..." I sing slowly, bobbing the baby up and down in my arms. It quickly and peacefully drifts off to sleep, leaving me with a small smile on my face. It isn't long before I follow in suit, drifting off into a peaceful slumber.

The sun shining through the leaves above me is the first thing I notice as I slowly open my eyes. I groan as I stretch my legs out in front of me as I crack my back and neck. I look down at the baby which is still sleeping in my arms up against my chest.

"At least one of us was comfortable." I mumble quietly. I yawn and close my eyes again, but shoot up to my feet once I remember just exactly what it was that I was doing last night. Once I'm up and stretched out, I start slowly walking north, hoping to find the road or at least some kind of civilization. It doesn't help that I don't have a signal, and nobody knows where I am.

Using one arm and my shoulder to support the baby, I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone. I can't reach my earbuds as their in my back pocket, so instead I settle for listening to music straight from the speaker. I choose some smooth jazz, even though I'd prefer something a little faster, but of course that would probably only lead to the baby screaming over the music itself.

The weather seems to have drastically improved from the hot summer air I was used to, not to mention it wasn't nearly as humid as I thought it would be after the storm. It almost feels like I'm in an entirely different state, but hey, I'm not complaining.

I must have been walking for an hour or two before the trees finally begin to thin out, which means I must be getting near the edge of this forest. Usually there are highways or some kind of road on the edge of the forests around here, so I must be close to finally getting some help. The faster the police can get back to that car and get this baby, the better.

I start to transition my pace into a slow jog as I get closer to the edge, excited to finally be out of that godforsaken place. The sunlight becomes brighter and brighter as the trees thin out, and the warmth of their rays feels fantastic on my skin, and helps to dry my damp clothes. The wind whips through my hair as I increase my speed a little bit more, while still trying to keep the baby calm. While it may not be asleep anymore, I definitely don't want it to start crying again. I reach into my pocket to pull out my phone, but drop it as I try to bring it up to my face. I turn around and pick it up, wiping the dirt off of it in the process. I stop the music from playing as I begin walking again, listening to the sounds of nature instead.

"This is it, finally I-" I say excitedly as I pass the final trees on the edge of the forest. I stop myself when I spot nothing but open plains and the roofs of some small town off in the distance. Now, I've lived in Kansas since I was a kid, but I've never seen a place like this. "Also, since when is there a mountain that big in the middle of Kansas!?" I think to myself as I spot a giant mountain off in the distance to my right.

"Little dude... We definitely ain't in Kansas anymore."

About ten minutes later and I've finally arrived at some small town out in the middle of nowhere. I approach tiredly, still worn out from my mourning trek through the forest of hell.

"Hey! Someone, I need help!" I yell as I walk into the town. I look around for any people, though I can't seem to find anyone, anywhere. "Hello?" I yell again as I notice a window on a building close on the top floor. Somebody must be up there, maybe they know where the hospital or police station is.

I approach the front door which is slightly ajar, only for it to be slammed in my face as I get close. I stumble back a bit in shock that someone would lock me out even when I'm screaming for help.

"Jesus, what's with these people?" I whisper to myself as I begin walking down the main street of the town. I look around at every building, looking for any sign of anything living. It seems that every building is closed or abandoned, which doesn't make any sense as I know this isn't a ghost town.

I start to yell again, only to be cut off as I feel a sharp pain in the back of my head. From the feel of it, I've been smacked senseless with some kind of blunt object. As my vision starts to turn black at the edges, I angle myself so I'll fall on my back and don't crush the baby.

I land on my back, hard, and all of the air escapes from my lungs in less that a second. I gasp sharply as my vision starts to fill in with black.

"Twi, what should I do with it?" I hear a voice say as I groan in pain, feeling my senses starting to numb for the second time in less than twenty-four hours.

"Bring... library... others." I hear a few key words between heart beats as the only sound I can hear is my own blood pulsing through my ears. The last thing I feel is the baby being pulled from my arms, then my body being lifted off the ground. Then everything's black.