Game of Circumstances

Chapter three: for a bunch of strings…

I stood up just before the town’s limits. I had requested a map and the coordinates of the music shop just before to the ‘scrap supplies’ owner. I didn’t take anything else, because he was pretty creepy, cleaning his 9.MM while crying.

I was wearing my new armor. It was pretty comfy, surprisingly, and it fitted perfectly my new body. And, as always, I had this ol’ bag of mine on my back, containing all my ammunitions, my –still very limited- weaponry, and, of course, my map and my provisions. I think I was ready to kick some flank.

‘’ Let’s go!’’ I said, and passed a hoof over the town’s limits.

Back again in the Ashes! I could have run away, and never come back, never paid the medic, never did the job for Gibbs, but, I don’t really know why, I felt that I had to make it. And, of course, that was better to be in good terms with everypony who’s not trying to kill you when they saw you. Yeah, that helps to survive. You can’t, all alone down there.

So I was walking quietly, as I am usually, to my target of the day. According to the New Hope’s inhabitants, it lied three kilometers to the west of New Hope. No too far, you’ll accept. After all, I spent all my childhood walking maybe twenty kilometers a day. The bad news is that the recent attacks on the town came by the west, so they supposed that the raiders’ basement was located near to the shop where I was supposed to find the strings that Gibbs needed. Hmmm… maybe the things I had ‘purchased’ would be useful, finally.

I passed the whole time looking for something interesting or reflating the presence of raiders while I was on my way to the shop. And all I saw was ashes, ruins, and grey. Grey. I hate this color. I spent my whole life in a fuckin’ grey world. The only thing I hate more than grey is a bastard colored in grey that lie in ambush for me. And I swear that happened more than one time. Some of them had even dyed their fur and mane for that.

Bitches.

What? Oh yeah… the story. Where was I again? Ah! Yes, when I reached the shop, or, basically, the barrier that prevented everypony from entering. Annnnnd guess what was written on it? No? Not any idea?

Well, on it was written: ‘Black Eyes property. Nopony enters without authorization.’ With blood, of course. ‘’ Shit’’ I said. If I could, I would have charged right on them and killed them all, but I wasn’t equipped to fight a whole package of sons of bitches. Seemed and still seems impossible to do alone. But I am not the kind of pony who gives up the first time they encounter a complication.

So I took some time to think about what I could do. Rush at them? Nope, that was silly. Make everything explode? I didn’t have the explosives. So I had one more idea. Let’s play a little sneaking game with them! Without the same objectives, of course. Here, you’re not the one who count when you’re first spotted. I made quickly the turn of the barrier, looking for an entry. I stopped when I saw the principal entry. It was protected by five or six of these ‘Meany pants’, like one of my friends would say. Luckily, they weren’t making a very good job, speaking, joking and using some drugs that could stop a mutant like they were drinking water. I took my chance, and crept through them, silently thanking the fact that they weren’t attending somepony and totally dreaming with the drugs, and, of course, that we were still in an eternal dark world.

But one of them saw me.

I swore silently, but, instead of pounding me with his submachine-gun, he said happily: ‘’ Oohh… Why… is the ground colored and moving?’’ And he fell on the ground. Hope it was an overdose, bastard! Hmm… note to self: if I ever have guards, thinking about checking that they’re doing their job and not killing themselves with pre-apocalyptic medicines.

But who am I to complain about it? I didn’t care, seeing that I could pass. The rest of the raiders were obviously in the big building that was the music shop. And what a shop! For me, it looked more like a commercial center, but specialized in music and instruments. It’s here that something came in my mind. It would take me hours to find where the strings were located, and hours in something filled with psychotic killers are rarely good time to pass.

At least, they weren’t outside, so I could pass by the backdoor without being seen. I opened the door, whimpered, and said: ‘’ let’s go sneaking…’’, pulling my knife out of my bag. It was much more discreet than a pistol, and I am quite skilled with it.

I closed slowly the door. Of course, it didn’t change anything about the light in the room, because this wasn’t much lighter outside, and everypony was used to live in the dark. So I could see perfectly how the room was arranged, even if I couldn’t see all in the details. I couldn’t give me the luxury of lighting a lamp or even a match. Plus, I hadn’t brought matches with me.

I remained silent as I walked the less soundly possible through the room, which was obviously not used by the inhabitants of this basement. It was plenty of dust everywhere, and there were cobwebs on the roof and between the pieces of furniture that were still standing on the floor.  I put them out of my way, happy to not have to deal with their creators. According to the webs’ size, they were pretty big. And I don’t want to know how they looked like.

I finally reached the door on the other side of the room and silently opened it. I took a slow, controlled breath and stepped in the other room. It seemed to be more used, although it was still pretty dusty. I looked for the next door to use. There were two of them. One wasn’t so dusty, reflecting that it was obviously more used by the raiders. I choose to continue by this one.  After all, what was the worst that could happen to me?

Be spotted. Yeah, you’re right.

I passed the door, and arrived right in what I think is a shop. Uh? What was in sale? I heck don’t know! Do I look like I play music? It looked like a guitar, but was big, and it was something looking like a bow with them… Eh? Cello? If you say so…

Whatever were these ‘cello’, it was a pretty big shop, with dozen of departments full of the same thing with different looks and colors. Of course, Raiders aren’t known to be music-lovers, so they had just changed them into training targets.

I looked to the left. There was a counter, changed into an alcohol reserve, visibly.

I looked to the right. There were all the departments; the entry of the shop was at the bottom, and something was moving.

Wait… Something was moving? ‘’ Shhhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiii…’’ I swore as I dove behind one of the departments, next to an old cello that has been used like a target for shotguns. The hoof steps. I had to focus on the hoof steps. I stopped moving. They were getting closer. I grabbed nervously my knife that I had dropped on the crackled tiles of the shop while I hid me.

He/she was close to me now. I took a deep breath and hold it. He/she was maybe a three meters.

I took a very little time to think about how I was going to neutralize the raider before he/she even had the time to scream for help or in pain. Two meters.

One meter. I started counting in my head. Three, two, one…

He appeared. I got up, jumped on the raider and stabbed him right in the throat. Blood sprout everywhere, I stabbed again. More blood jumped out of his shattered neck. He looked at me surprised, and went flaccid in my hooves. I was recovered in his blood now. At least, he didn’t have the time to give out a noise or take his gun.

Well, that was still one less bastard to deal with. I bend down to him and turned off his flashlight. I waited some more time, but nopony showed up his muzzle. I decided that it was secure and continued my silent walk. My current objective was to find some fuckin’ map of the place. Could be useful.

In the meantime, I would be wandering randomly.  It was rather not helping me to find these strings. The sooner I would get them, the better it’ll be. I entered another shop, which was next to the cello shop. There was… it was lyres, I think. And then, I noticed my mistake.

I had not checked the ground. Something clicked, and one second later, I was hanging above the ground in a net. I was

trapped.

Fuck.

________

Author’s notes:

This one was pretty quick to make because I had an idea for it since I was writing the chapter two.

Thanks to everypony who read it and (maybe) likes it. Of course, if you find an error or anything that bother you, I won’t mind being assaulted about my grammar or my syntax, or even on how the story is written.

Thanks again, Sinrar