V-472by SimpleWriterChaptersChapter 1 'A Long Night' Sec.1 'Resolutions'Chapter 1 'A Long Night' Sec.2 'The Land of Tones'Chapter 1 'A Long Night' Sec.3 'Crimson Steel'Chapter 1 'A Long Night' Sec.4 'Reunion'Chapter 1 'A Long Night' Sec.5 'The Boomstick'Chapter 1 'A Long Night' Sec. 6 'The Void'Chapter 2 'Purgatory' Sec.1 'Memories of Red'Chapter 1 'A Long Night' Sec.1 'Resolutions'Chapter 1 'A Long Night' Sec.1 'Resolutions' "TEN!" I turn up the T.V volume a little. "NINE!" I put my drink down, and reclined my chair. "EIGHT!" The people in the crowd are getting antsy... "SEVEN!" I sit patiently waiting… "SIX!" "Wait wait! Hold up!" My friend shouted as he stomped over to the couch. "FIVE!!" He sat on the couch, placing a bowl of nachos, a bottle of beer, and a party popper onto the coffee table. "FOUR!!!" The ball is getting closer and closer to the bottom. My friend sticks three fingers into the air, while my hand rests on the lid of my drink. "THREE!!!!" It's about to end. "TWO!!!!" It's about to begin... "ONE!!!!!!" Simultaneously, I pop open my soda, while my friend yanks the string of the party popper hard. A loud pop is quickly covered over by the insane amounts of cheering and screaming through the television. A small cloud of confetti falls to the floor before us. "Happy New Year, mother fucker!!" My friend shouted as he cracked open his beer. "2017!" I cheered, raising my drink into the air. "Cheers!" Large amounts of streamers and confetti rained down upon the enormous crowd of drunk New Yorkers. Cameras would switch to see couples kissing, people hugging, people cheering. Joy for the new year continued as Frank Sinatra's voice sang to the people of Time Square, to all of America, and the world. [youtube=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i-ZUXQuFcnw] "Happy New Year, Oscar." My friend chimed. "Same to you, man! Happy New Year!" I belched, as I was just chugging my drink. We both took a swig of our drinks at the same time. I set my drink on a side table and sat up, taking my phone out of my pocket. I called her up. The phone rang while I watched the TV. There was a brief silence before I was greeted with her wonderful voice in the static. "Hey, Babe!" "Christa, Happy New Year!" I greeted her with much enthusiasm. "Happy New Year!" "How's the party?" I asked her. "You watching the TV?" "Yeah, it's on. But no, sadly I didn't watch as much as I would've liked to." She sighed. "You know how my Nana is. She's nice and all, but she doesn't stop talking! She just went on and ON about all of her problems, and politics. God...at least I got some down time for the moment." "Shit." I chuckled, scratching my chin, watching the T.V. "I know what you mean. Iv'e had a few...chats with her. She seems nice yeah, but she...she just likes to ramble I guess." "Well..." She said. There was a slight pause as I could hear the liquid in a bottle swooshing around, before she let out a quick gasp. "I'm...I'm gonna get hammered tonight. I don't have work tomorrow, so I can spend a good chunk of morning recovering from the hangover. I wish..." She sighed once more. "I wish you could be here with me." "Me too...me too." I could see my friend getting his shoes on in the corner of my eye. "Not having a hangover, of course. But spending some time with you, yeah." "Of course." She agreed. Still watching the T.V, I noticed that the sights of the celebrating crowd disappeared, and it was showing some news anchors reporting at the scene. "Look, we'll make a plan to see each other tomorrow." I said. "We can grab some breakfast if you want. A real expensive, and fancy breakfast. How bout McDonalds?." I could hear her snort under her breath. "I would like that..." Christa cooed soothingly. "Happy New Year, Oscar." "Yeah..." I softly said, about to hang up. "You too." I hung up the phone and put it in my pocket. Behind me, I could hear the fumbling of my friend stuffing his feet into his shoes. I looked behind me. "Going so soon, Dan?" "Yeah!" He said hastily, tying his laces. "Mark and Chester are going to that club a few blocks down. They asked if we wanted to join them. I might meet a girl tonight. Hell, maybe even get laid! You should come, dude!" "Nah." I said with a smirk, turning off the TV. "I don't feel like being the designated driver tonight, especially with all of the drunks running wild out there. Besides, my boss might call in tomorrow. You go ahead man." "But I'm walking there. It isn't far! You-... bahh. Suit yourself." He sighed, already opening the door, stepping out. He turned his head back. "Happy New Year!" He closed the door. I stood there in the dark. Looking at my Coke on the table, I snatched it up, and took a big long sip. Listening to the silence, I could faintly hear the music of the New Year's Celebration. Putting my drink down, I walked over to a fire escape window, and opened it. I could now hear the music more clearly, people cheering, loud fireworks of all kind. "Yeah...Happy New Year." I finished my drink, and took a nice, hot shower. Within five to ten minutes, I stepped out of my little apartment shower, steam clouding my mirror and my sight. Wearing some sweat pants, I took out my tooth brush and some toothpaste. By then, the mirror was slightly clearer. I could see myself, with my black hair matted down, and my brown eyes to match. I turned to the side, looking at my belly. Not completely skinny, but not getting a gut either. My eyes trailed down to my left arm, then to my hand...if it was there. I wrapped my right hand around the stump where my left hand should've been. A stump just above the wrist everything below that...gone. I placed my bum arm on top of the toothbrush, holding it down. With some stability, I simple squeezed some paste on. I gave my teeth a good cleaning, washed out my mouth, and I was just about ready to hit the sack. There was just one more thing I had to do. Navigating the halls to my bed room, I grabbed my phone on my dresser. I pulled up my Dad and I sent him a message. Hey Dad! Happy New Year. Hope you're doing alright tonight. I pushed send, and I almost got a reply instantly. ... Thanks, Oscar. I'm doing good. Rest easy. Happy New Year, son. I plugged in my phone, and set an alarm just in case. I yawned as I climbed into bed. Pulling the covers over me, I grabbed some headphones that were lying on the covers beside me. Putting them on killed anything that could wake me up. No cheering or fireworks could disturb me now. Lying beneath the blankets, all snug in my bed made me fall asleep. I was being swallowed in a comforting darkness of my mind. I fell asleep that night, ending a memorable New Year's Eve. But then I woke up... KA-VOOM!!! Something loud thundered through my arpartment. I shot up starit in my bed as everything shook around me. Vibrations sent items toppling over. I groaned, exhausted. I leaned over the bed to check my phone. The clock read 1:12 am. I've been asleep for a little over and hour. It was probably a firework. Did somebody really light off a mortar in the complex? I jumped out of bed to see what was going on. Right as I left the bedroom, I realized that I could hear people screaming and hollaring like a bunch of drunks in the hall. RAT-A-TATATATAT! Multiple pops could be heard from the hall outside. Very loud pops. "Are you fucking kidding me!?" I groaned "Really?" I stormed over to the front door and yanked it open. The commotion was coming from my right. "WHO THE HELL IS LIGHTING FIRECRA-" I stood in the hall, shirtless, ready to get some answers. I paused when I realized my mistake. I should've never opened that door. I stood before a group of...soldiers. They all wore dark green uniforms with camouflaged patterns. On their chests, knees, and elbows, they wore metallic platings. Everywhere else was covered with thick armor that looked very durable. They were all armed with guns. Rifles that were jet black with flashlights on the ends of them. They looked military grade. "What the hell..." I gasped. I could see that they wore face paint that hid their faces well enough to where you can't describe what they looked like. But I could see one detail that they could never hide. Their eyes. They...glowed. Their eyes glowed with a green hue. And they were all looking at me. More and more of them came storming onto the floor through the staircase at the end of the hall. The door across from me opened. My neighbor, a plump elderly lady named Mary was dressed in grey pajamas and wore the same angered expression that I had. More and more doors opened on the apartment floor. One man futher down the hall opened his door. He wore a blue robe and he was obviously drunk. "Wath a foo issss goon on?!" He helped. People watched the dispute in silence, until the soldier closest to him whipped out a baton, in which they whipped the metal club across his face! The force of the blow sent the poor man crumbling to the floor! "Everyone get out of your rooms and onto the ground!!" They shouted. They shouted it again and again and again! They started kicking down doors and hauling people out into the hall! Mary already slammed her door and locked it. My head darted back down the hall, as I saw more soldiers charging down the hall! Running in my direction! "Oh FUCK!" I slammed the door shut and turned the door lock. I backed away from the door, my heart was beginning to race, but it began to pound once I head the somebody ramming themselves against the door! "OH FUCK!" I immediatly bolted for the fire escape window, yanking it open one handed. Cold air already flooded in, and I I was crawling through, but I paused. Somebody was still kicking at the door, but my eyes shifted to the hallway to the bedroom. As quickly as I could, I ran toward my bedroom where my phone rested on the bedside. Throwing the door open, slamming it against the wall, I grabbed my phone, and yanked it hard as I could; hard enough to pull the charger out of the wall socket to send it flying through the air! CH-KRAK Just as I entered the living room, a loud snapping of wood filled my ears. I looked behind me in horror as the front door came crashing to the floor. Light poured in from the hall. I stood there, seeing the figure enter the room. I trembled, watching whatever creature stood before me. It wasn't human. Something else. It moved on all fours. Each time one of its feet hit the floor, a thump could be heard. I could see armor coating its body, all in black. The only feature that I could see were the two glowing red eyes staring at me. Orbs of burning fire that pierced my soul, right through me. I slowly inched further and further from it. "What the fuck are you..." I mumbled. "Get on the ground...before I use lethal force!! Drop the phone! NOW!!!" It...talked. It talked to me. I couldn't believe my ears. I quivered, panicking, trying to comprehend what I was witnessing with my senses. It's voice was female, rough and scratchy. I couldn't stay!With no hesitation, I spun around and raced for the fire exit! I could hear the rapid thumping on the carpet behind me as the thing gave chase! I drove through the window, slamming into the railing of the fire escape! The creature rammed itself into my back. I could feel two arms wrapping around my neck! It's legs wrapped around my torso, and it's weight prevented me from pushing it off! The grip was so tight. I struggled to breathe, as I spun around, trying to get in off! Trying anything to loosen its grip! SKSSHH! I threw my back up against the window, causing most of the glass to shatter into bits and pieces! "Hrk- ge...get OFF!" "Sub...mit! Stop fighting!" It screamed in my ear, every word made my ear ring. My vision was getting blurry. Hardly any oxygen was being inhaled. My arms flailed in the air, as I began to loose balance. Time began to slow down. I could analyze more details as everything around me spun. I could see the shattered window with such clarity. I looked down, and I could see the ground four stories below me. I couldn't believe what I saw. Just below me, lying on the sidewalk staring back up at me. It...it was a police officer. He lied sprawled out on his back, in a pool of his own blood. His left leg looked like it had been torn off, only leaving strips of flesh to dangle into the winter air. Multiple gashes across his body left his entire uniform a very dark blue. He lied there, on the sidewalk where large chunks of concrete have been blown away around him, forming a web of cracks that stretched in every direction. The creature's force yanked my head back up, allowing me to see the staircase downward for a very brief moment. Stairs...stairs! I knew what I had to do. I clamped my hand and arm down on its arms. Spinning around as quickly as I could, I leaned back and I felt myself loosen from the creature's grip. I could hear it yell in surprise for a brief moment. "Oh FU-" FWAM! I could feel its body slam itself against the top stair underneath me. It let out an angry grunt of pain as it began to roll down, with me on top of it. Gravity pulled me along before I could react! "ARGH!" I yelled as I fell face first into hard metal. I struggled to get up, but the creature's body rolled over me, pushing me against the cold metal before it flew downward to the bottom, hitting every step along the way. I final clang of the metal indicated that the beast hit the end of the staircase. I found myself gasping for air, my left arm warppaed around my chest as I coughed and wheezed. "Shi...shit." I moaned, as I gripped the railing. "Ow...ow...god damn." Pulling myself to my feet, I climbed up the stairs clutching my chest. I looked back down at the thing that lay at the bottom, moaning with pain. "What the...FUCK are you?!" I heaved. I looked down at what appeared to be a bright blue...horse?! A fucking horse?! I was not seeing things. This was real! It lied there, as blood trickled out of this mouth and nose! It's bright blue fur was sprinkled with red. It had rainbow fucking hair. Short hair that was sectioned off into different colors! "Wha...what the hell is this?" I mumbled quietly to myself. *cough cough* I watched it as it spat out a glob of blood and spit. The horse looked around itself, then back up at me. "OH SHIT." I stumbled back. It wiped a hoof across its face, looking at the blood that smeared its brown color. It looked up at me...and it growled. "You...are fucking...dead." I spun around and bolted up the fire escape! My heart pounded in my chest, my lungs burned. Up. Up! UP! I stomped up every stair, still gasping for air! I got to another window a floor up! I stopped in front of it, only to see the silhouette of a soldier pouring a gun at a somebody that I couldn't see. It's glowing eyes dimmly illuminated the room, but the flash of gunfire smothered it. Rat-at-tat! Ping! Pt! I saw glass fly from the window as bullets broke through. I yelped in shock as I fell back, cowering away from the window! "Fuck! FUCK!" I screamed as I scrambled up the stairs, tripping on every stair along the way. I looked back down to see the horse a floor below me! Reached the top! The metal stairs came to end as I came up on the roof! I threw myself forward, tumbling to the floor! I scurried away from the stairs, jumping to my feet! "Get away!" I yelled. "Get awa-" I paused. My gut twisted in fear, infusion, and pain at the sights that I saw. "Oh my god." Anarchy. Total anarchy. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Buildings were ablaze, blown to bits. Multiple smoke clouds stretched into the sky. As my legs turned to jelly, I listened to sirens, gunfire, explosions, and the screams terrified people. I could hear the loud hum from behind me. Looking back, I watched as two military helicopters flew over my head. Their roar was the only sound that I could hear. They soared through the air, and flew further up into the sky. FWUM! I could barely see the blue blur crash right into me, slamming into my chest. The immense pressure sent every ounce air out of my lungs. I was pinned to the ground, pain shot up my back, and I was gasping for air. From the ground, I looked up at the blue horse, that pinned me down with one hoof. It glared at me with its burning coal for eyes that seemed to grow brighter with each moment. I lied there paralyzed, staring up at a pair of humongous wings that were outstretched from its back. Growling at me like a savage beast, it wrapped its arms underneath my armpits, and it hauled me up to my feet with its large, flapping wings. I barely landed on my feet, still wheezing, still woozy. It's wings tucked back behind her. "You fucked up, boy..." I could hear it's raspy voice taunt me, before a solid hoof clocked me right in the jaw. I found myself spinning around before collapsing onto the floor. Facing away from the creature, I lay there on my stomach, whining in agony. Every breath, every moan of pain, sent more pain through my throbbing jaw. A hoof kept me stuck to the ground as it dug itself into my back. "You'll be alright." It hissed. "I hate doing that....but dammit you left me no fuckin choice. You're lucky I only used 40% of my strength on you." She pressed on me harder. I winced. "Don't make me go to 100." I watched the smoke from burning buildings float up into the night sky. Off in the distance, I could hear the destruction of a bulding of what sounded like a large bomb. It went off, and I could see a long lasting orange glow, that faded as quickly as it came into light. With a pounding heart, I heard the alien creature cackle a phrase that stuck with me since then. "Your life is fucked, kid. It's all about to change." Chapter 1 'A Long Night' Sec.2 'The Land of Tones'Chapter 1 'A Long Night' Sec.2 'The Land of Tones' "There we go." The horse teased. "Comfortable?" Two soldiers stepped away from me, finishing their job of bounding me in duct tape. My feet were taped together at the ankles, and my arms were tightly bounded together behind my back. I struggled with my restraints, grunting like an animal every time I jerked an arm or kicked a foot. "Stop." The horse snapped. "Just stop." I looked up at the creature, and it looked down on me. Every time the thing moved its mouth to speak, I couldn't look away. It was like seeing something out of a dream, a vision. I couldn't look away. I just couldn't. "What...what the fuck is going on here?! What are you? !" I shouted. "Shut up!" The creature barked. "Just shut the FUCK up!" It lowered its head forward so she was looking directly into my eyes. "Sorry....I'm just not in the best mood right now. Look." She huffed. "I get it. You were just minding your own business. You were probably sleeping, drinking, or consuming a substance that will make you higher than a kite. You've got questions, I get that. I've got a squad to lead, so I'll make it short and to the point. So pay attention." She leaned in closer. "We are here, this isn't a dream. We are not here to kill you. We are here to...'collect' you. Just do as I say, and I won't kick your teeth in." I moved my head back, my eyes were as wide as saucers at this point. "Wha...what are you?" "I'm your master. And your master says to stay still." She looked at the soldiers. "Bring him inside. I would hate to lose him. And hurry, don't get it by a stray bullet." Wrapping their hands around my shoulders and ankles, the two soldiers lifted me into the air. I watched their feet walk towards the door inside the complex. The door creaked open, and I was being lowered into the darkness, the only light that I could see was the glow of their sockets. One by one, I decended the stair case. "What are you gonna do to me!" I gasped. "I am gonna put you off to the side for now." The horse muttered. We continued to go down, and I kept track of how many steps were took. The horse's hooves tapped loudly against the concrete stairs. She had a rythym to her steps. She never slowed down. She kept a constant speed. 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4 I could feel my body turn with their motions. Not to exit, but to go down further. My feet dipped at an angle, and we continued. 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4 Another floor. I could hear the horse's raspy voice as she grunted, pushing the exit door open. Light from the hall poured in. Already I could see the awful mistreatment that was given to innocent people. People let out muffled screams, lying on the ground like slugs, completely helpless. We began to pass by open doors on either side of us. Tilting my head, I watched with shock as innocent people were bounded. Most of everyone was mostly gagged in someway, from socks to tape...even underwear. People of all ages and sizes were incapacitated like this, we were no different to them. As my head bopped with their footsteps, I saw a little girl in the shadows of one of the rooms. She was no older than six. She was in her pajamas, and she had a sock stuffed in her mouth, tears glistened her cheeks, snot ran from her nose. "In here." I heard the horse command. I was turned to the left, and everything grew dark. I watched both pair of boots walk over a wooden door that was busted down from the outside. Tilting my head to look forward, I could seen my fire escape window, shattered to bits, only leaving little shade to stick out in the winter air. "Home sweet home." The horse mocked. "Drop him." Both pairs of hands let me go simutaniously. I watched the carpet floor rapidly approaching my face before everything went black for a brief moment. My chest was once again, airless. The force of the drop sent my teeth to clamp hard on the tip of my tongue. A sharp stinging pain made me help and my eyes water. I winced in disgust as my tongue could taste a small metallic tang. Coping with the pain, I rolled over so I can see above me. The horse stood over me, he raindow hair hung in front of her face to mask the glowing sockets of red light. "You know, you got some fight in you...I like that. When you slammed me against the window, heh..." She smiled as she heaved her chest, laughing to herself. "That hurt like a bitch. I don't have my mind completely made up on what your job will be buuuut...the gears are turnin'." She looked at one of her men. "Watch him, and make sure he doesn't pull anything." The soldier nodded silently, quickly approaching me. He pulled out a roll of tape, and stripped off a big strand. "No. Wait N-" Before I could plead, my lips were taped shut. The blood was already starting to build up in my mouth. The horse and the other grunt left the room, while my overseer grabbed me by the ankles, and dragged me into the living room. I let out several muffled cries as my belly rubbed against the carpet. I banged my head against the floor, enduring the burning pain on my stomach and chest. The soldier pivoted me around so I could see the T.V. The man, plumped right down on my reclining chair. There was a click of a remote, and the T.V came to life. The first thing that came on was the channel that I left it on, but it was anything but a celebration. I gasped in shock and disbelief. There were people scattered across time square. It...it was a fucking slaughter house. Buildings had humongous holes blown into them. People lied sprawled on the ground, either dead or in massive amounts of pain. Blood...there was so much blood and gore, I fought the strong urge to vomit. Men, women....children. I couldn't hold back the tears. It was a massacre. "We have some...breaking news." A voice broke away the screams and gunfire, and T.V showed the news anchor Brian Williams himself sitting at his news desk. He wore a grey suit and black tie, both ruffled and torn. His face took a beating, with a swollen cheek, and a nose with a tissue sticking out of his nostril. Blood trickled down his lip. "This uh...this is-is a message f-f-from The Angels." Off camera, a clipboard is slipped over to him by a hand. The clipboard has a piece of paper with a message written on it in pen. His trembling hands picked up the board, and he skimmed what is read. "You want me to read this? Word for word?" He asked, looking at somebody...or something off camera. He cleared his throat, and took several deep breaths, trying to make his voice as smooth as possible. "To all who can see or hear me, this is...the first day of change. We are a multidimensional race who has come to spread awareness of our ways. We are not here to hurt you. We are not here to kill you and...and exterminate your kind. We are simply a community who wants to expand and create the authority that your world desperately needs. Authority for your world and many worlds to come. We can be reasonable people, we don't want to kill, but we will kill..." He paused and sighed. "If we have to." The T.V went back to time square to show the massive amounts of bodies on the streets and sidewalks. "This is what happens when you do not comply. You try to stall us, then you will join them." The T.V cut back to Brian, who sat there with a horrified look on his face as he read on. "What you are about to see, is how we assess your traits and what job would fit best for you. This include, intelligence, strength, perception, but also various biological traits, such as bone density, illnesses. First, you and an 'Apostle' will meet." Something hopped onto the desk, just out of the cameras view. It was fairly big, as I could see it's shadow. A few thumps could be heard and what appeared to be a large dog sat right next to Brian. It was big, brown, and it had a long tail. When I watched it crouch to the table surface, I gasped. I couldn't believe my eyes! It was some kind of ape! A creature with large bug eyes that I levee out of its skull! It had a hairless face with a snout that jutted outward. Its mouth revealed two rows of razor sharp teeth! The ears were elongated, stretching out along the sides of its head. The Apostle had apposable fingers that gripped the edge of the desk like a monkey. Brian just looked at the creature with an open mouth. He wanted to run and hide, but he knew he couldn't. "An ap-p-postle...or also known as a Satori, is a creature that grew in the mountains back in our world. They've exsisted for thousands of years, and they have the very special ability, to read..." Brian paused. "To...read minds. *ahem* Just let them do their thing, and you'll be 'sent on your way.' " Brian put the paper down, the clipboard clinked against the table. Brian slowly turns towards the Apostle, and they make eye contact with each other, Then the monkey wrapped its fingers around his head. Brian gasped and began reach for his head but he let out an agonizing, bloodcurdling scream. Brian screamed and screamed and he began to twitch violently. There is a flash of light, and Brian was flung back into is seat. Brian sat in his chair, with his eyes rolling into the back of his skull. His body twitched, and there was a brief moment of silence. The Apostle sat there and stared at the unconscious news anchor. Suddenly, a wet slap could be heard as a piece of bloody, raw meat fell onto the desk. The creature looked at the meat, and it began to gnaw on the hunk of flesh. In the background, as the creature ate the meat, two solders with glowing green eyes, picked up Brian by his back and ankles. Shwoom! A blue swirl appeared onto the wall beside them. The Apostle looked at the swirling hole in the wall, clutched its meat tightly, and it leaped into the portal. The hole rippled and twisted on itself before returning to normal. The two men swung Brian forward and back before hurling him into the portal. Just as the hole began to ripple once more, the T.V cut to bars and tones. I lied on the ground...in absolute silence. My eyes burned from my lack of blinking. I looked up at the soldier in the chair. He wasn't looking at me, just looking strait at the T.V. "Just do what he said." He growled. "And you'll do just fine." I stated stair at the T.V, the tones burned into my mind. That night, the country became, 'The Land of Tones.' Chapter 1 'A Long Night' Sec.3 'Crimson Steel'I used to wonder if there was ever a god or a creator of this earth. I used to wonder if the stories of The Bible or The Quran were true. I don't really think about it now. My grandfather was really strict with my dad, as he was a loyal Catholic. Once he was out of the house and had me, he wanted me to choose what I want to believe in. I didn't really choose, but I did ponder about the idea of a higher power. I wondered if our race serves a purpose, or if we just evolved through time. Are we the only intelligent being in the universe, or are there beings that possess technology centuries more advanced than ours? Now I have an answer, and I wish I never did. We are not alone. Not even close. There is life beyond the stars, I know it, but I never would’ve thought that we would be invaded by people from an alternate world, and alternative reality. I never expected Multiverse theory to be true, but you learn something every day. Looking on religious faiths now, I can safely say that I have come to a conclusion. I might die tonight, I might get tortured, beaten, raped. I don't know. The sky’s the limit. Whatever happens to me, it will be at the hand of life from another dimension. At this point, I don't think there is a God. I have been chased by a talking horse with wings. I've seen the aftermath of a slaughter in Time Square. I am bounded and gagged with a mouth full of blood. Men with guns and mind reading creatures have invaded New York, if not the nation. Why not the world. No, I take it back. This is my final guess. God is dead. God is dead, and therefore I am royally fucked. *click* I heard the T.V abruptly switch channels. "Without us...you have nothing." The T.V flashed to a different program. I looked up in a dazed state of confusion, completely overwhelmed. The screen showed a scene from an episode of Breaking Bad. I recognized Gus's face. He was standing in front of Walter and Jesse with a box cutter in his hand. Walter and Jesse were sitting in chairs, while Mike stood behind them. I looked away from the screen, and panned across the room, seeing if there was anybody else in the room. I don't know why I did. There was little hope of escaping this. I couldn't just roll myself away into the hall. That was when I gazed over to the kitchen. There, sitting on the counter, was a small knife rack. They were all nice and sharp. I knew this because I hardly use them that often. Ssvish... I looked back at the T.V. Gus had just slit someone's throat with the boxcutter. The victim, some Mexican guy; squirmed and grabbed at Gus's face. Blood poured from the gash in his neck, soaking his shirt in red. His gasps and wheezes grew softer and softer, as he grew weaker and weaker. Then, once he fell silent, Gus let his body fall to the floor, right at Walter and Jesse's feet. The look on his face, the lack of emotion, the lack of regret. The two of us watched the T.V in silence. Everything was quiet. And then, as the solider was about to mumble a comment about the show... "OH SHIT!!" RATATATATAT! "Some got out!" I heard a female voice bellow. "They got guns over here! I need help!" Suddenly, a blaze of gunfire erupted in the halls. Screams could be heard. Cries of pain, fear. People were screaming through whatever muffled them. "GO GO GO!!" I heard someone scream. "Free as many as you can!" "What the fuck?!" The soldier in my reclining chair jumped to his feet as his rifle made a click, ready to fire. He stormed across the room. With his rifle in hand, he peeked behind the doorway. Shards of wood were flying from the door frame, bullets were ripping through it! The grunt yelled, and jumped back into the room. I watched in total fucking confusion, my eyes darting back and forth between the grunt and the door! "GET OUT OF HERE!!" Someone from hall screamed at the top of their lungs. Ratatat! The soldier peeked his rifle into the hall, and fired multiple rounds before... "ARRGH!" He stumbled back into the room, clutching his chest. "FUUCK!!! Bleeding! I'm BLEEDING!" More soldiers were charging down the halls, firing their weapons! More and more enraged cries were coming from the hall. A screech of screams and gunfire rang in my ears. The man, still clutching his chest, collapsed to his knees, moaning in agony. Another green eyed solder stumbled into the room, tumbling to the floor. Wherever this one moved, blood streaked the carpet. Just then, a shadow emerged into my apartment. It wore no armor, and its eyes didn't glow any color. Just then I noticed it was carrying something in its hand, BANG! BANG! Pain exploded in my ears. Every sound that I could hear, was immediately drowned out by the high pitched ring. Everything became blurry, but I could still somewhat see. The soldier grabbing his chest, slumped to the floor. The pistol that the shadow carried fell to its side. Its head turned to look at me across the room, and it charged. All I could do was let out a muffled plea. MMFF! "Easy! Easy!" A male voice yelled. I could see a human face with the light from the T.V. An actual human, not one of these sick freaks. It was a man, maybe in his thirties. He was dressed in blue pajamas that were sprinkled with red. His face was fucked up, with a gash in his lip and a swollen right eye. He held me still. His ears were smeared with blood, and it dripped onto the floor. His voice was awkwardly loud and slurred. Every few seconds he would clinch in pain. "I'mmm setting youuu free! Ittsa gonnna be ok!" He spoke like a man who couldn't even hear his own words. He searched frantically through my kitchen to look for something to cut my restraints. Silverware, tongs, spatulas, they all fell to the floor with metallic clangs. He raced over to me, with a large steak knife. Kneeling before down to me, he looked back towards the door. Gunfire was still erupting from the hallway. He placed the blade on the tape covering my ankles; and he began to saw back and forth. "Hoolld stiell!" My feet moved with the motions as he cut through the tape. With a snap, the last of the tape was broken from my legs. Letting out frantic muffled cries, I rolled onto my stomach. The man brought the blade, slipped it underneath my wrists and he began cutting. "Come on, come on, come on...there!" The tape came loose, the man backed away and I ripped the tape away from my arms and feet. Next, I grabbed a corner of the tape covering my mouth, and I yanked it clean off. It stung like hell as hair was ripped strait from my skin, but I couldn’t give two shits. Once the tape was gone, I hurled out the enormous amount of blood that was building up in my mouth. I spat out wads of spit that were colored a sickening shade of red. At my feet was a puddle of blood that was about the same size as my fist. "Fuck!" I gagged in disgust. "Thank you! Thank GOD!" I stumbled, over to the fire escape and I crawled through, trying not to cut myself on the glass. "Warre the helll are eu going?!" I turned back to the man who freed me. He stood there in my living room, pointing the tip of the knife at me. "I'm free!" I snapped. "You're free! We need to get the fuck out here! We need to the the FUCK out of the city!!" "There are innocent peeple in there!" He screamed, pointing the gun towards the door. "Youuu need to com wit me right now! NOW!" I looked at the door out in the hall. The blast of guns, and bloodcurdling screams sent a sickening pain in my stomach. I looked back at the man and I sighed in reluctance, and I began to decend the stairs. "Get back here! Get bac- God damn it!" I could hear his shout and I raced downward. The cold metal against my bare feet stung like fire. The crisp air of winter made my bare chest shudder. The smoke of burning buildings invaded my lungs and I coughed every step of the way. One floor down, two floors down. I am so close. My heart was pounding against the walls of my chest! It was racing so hard, I could've sworn I was gonna break a rib! Just below me, more people were frantically scurrying down the steps, screaming and crying. A man, wearing a grey shirt and jeans was flying down the steps, he was screaming... "Come on! Come on! This way, hurry! Let's go!" More and more people were scattering once they reached the streets below. I'm so close now, I just need to come down one more floor! "Hurry! Hurry! Come o-" RATATATAT!!! A swarm of bullets ripped right through the man below me. I screamed as I slipped and fell back. I gazed on in disbelief. The man was struggling to stay on his feet. Blotches of red were spreading across his torso. Behind the corner of the building, a soldier with glowing green eyes trudged over to him, and he kicked the dying man to the pavement. The grunt could hear my cries and his head turned to look up at me. Giving him no time to raise his rifle, I literally dove through the open window to my right! My shoulder crashed into a chair. It's legs creaked and it fell over. RATAT! Bullets bounced from the steps, ripping right through the glass window! Bits and shards of glass rained down on me like rain, pricking at my skin! I protected my eyes with my hand, and I used the stump to drag myself away! Rising to my feet, I began to bolt for the door to this apartment, but I stopped dead in my tracks. Two bodies, a man and a woman, completely naked were laid up against the door. One, a man, was leaning face first against the door, his head was angled so he was looking up. They didn't move. They didn't speak. They didn't blink. "FUCK! FUCK!" My head snapped over to the window, where I could see a large hand grab ahold of the window frame. Panicking and desperate, I bolted over to a hall on my left. Two rooms were on my left, one on the right. On the right was a bedroom. I entered the bedroom and slammed the door behind me, locking it shut! Heaving and wheezing, I looked for a way to hide or defend myself in any way! I couldn't see shit in the dark! I had to hide! I needed to hide! I fell to the floor and rolled under the bed, trying to be as quiet as possible. Panting heavily, I laid on my stomach, barely watching the door to the hall through a drooped blanket hanging over the side. I held my breath and tried to be as still as possible. My heart was pounding in my chest and my ears. I hoped and prayed that I would get out alive. My mind thought that I was going to die. I couldn't help myself. Memories flashed before my eyes, both the good and the bad. I reflected on the choices I've made, things I've done, how I've changed. I never thought I was a good person in this life. I tried to change who I was, I really did! There was so much more to do! So much to do in order to redeem myself for being the dangerous punk that I was! Now...it might be too late for that. This is it, isn't it? It's over...it's really over. Something metal and cold bumped my knuckle, I looked at my side. My hand had grazed what seemed to be a metal bat. I felt the rubber like grip of the handle. I gasped as I heard the jingling of a door knob. I stared up at the door in horror. RATATATAT!!! I yelped as I clamped onto my ears! My hand covered one ear, I was was pressing my stump against the other as hard as I could! It was loud. So loud. When the gunfire ceased, there was a loud crack of wood and a snapping of hinges. I poked my head up and opened my eyes. The door was still intact and whole. I heard loud footsteps emerging from the wall to my left. Looking at the bat, I grabbed it, and held it tight to my chest. The soldier was checking a different room. If I could just run towards the window, I’d be home free! With this knowledge, I pulled the bat out with me as I crawled. I need to get the fuck out of here, and this was my chance! Once out, I tucked the bat under my right armpit. Quietly as I could, I made my way for the door. Reaching for the handle, I knew that once I opened this door, there was no going back. The door handle shook and juggled before I could grasp it. For several moments, I watched the handle shake and I panicked. He was gonna shoot the door down, wasn't he?! There was a loud thump of boot on wood and I jumped back. It happened again and again, thump after thump! I was desperate! I had to do something! He was going to find me one way or another if I hid! "STOP!!!" There was one final thump...and everything fell silent. I was about to piss myself with shaking legs. Trying to sound as fearless as I could with my trembling voice, I shouted at the door... "Stop! Back the FUCK up!!" I screamed as I hugged my back against the wall by the door. There was no sound coming from the door. There was only darkness around me. Darkness, and the buzzing in my ears. "You need...you need to back off! I swear to god!!! I've got a gun in here!" There was a mocking snort from the other side. I could hear wheezy laughter. "I'm for real!!" I gripped then at tighter. "I will use it! If I hear another sound, I will blow you the fuck way! Do you want to test me!? Do you want...to FUCKING test me!?" No responce. I needed to enforce my message. With a loud WHAM, I swung the bat up against the door hard, with everything I had! "DO YOU WANT TO TEST ME!!?" I panted hard, my lip quivered from the sheer intensity of the standoff. *cha-chick* "Oh fuck..." RATATATATAT!!!! Shards of wood flew everywhere. Flashes of light just kept getting brighter and brighter as bits of the door were blown away. It was so loud. I could've sworn my eardrums had burst from the intensity of each round as they went off. I fell to the floor, curling into a ball while covering my ears. RATATATA-*chik-chik* The sound of metallic clicks made my head pop up from my shell. The door was blown to shreds. Multiple gaping holes stood in the wood, grey smoke emerged from within. I could smell it. A brief paused followed before the sound of metal sliding against metal caught my attention. A small thump could be heard. Now...now was my chance. I grabbed the bat and jumped to my feet. *click...ch-chick* KRACK! A giant boot broke through the door! The whole door swung to the side, allowing the grunt to stomp into the room. The door hit the wall hard enough to put a hole into it. Now he was raising his rifle. The time to strike was now. Right when he laid eyes on me, he couldn't react in time before a bat was swung right into his forehead. His entire head lurched back, before he was struck again across the face. The force of the blow caused his to lean against the door with his shoulder, allowing his head to hang low enough. THUNK! The bat was slammed right up against the back of his head, and the man collapsed to the floor. I stood above the soldier with his head at my feet. My hand was wrapped around the grip of the bat so hard, I felt my hand was getting numb. My legs were so weak and shaken, I struggled to stay on my feet. "STOP!!" I yelled. "Stop right now!!!" The rifle was on the ground a few inches from my left foot. Dropping the bat, I yanked the rifle by the stick and I hauled it across the room, smashing up against the wall before falling behind the side of the bed, out of sight. I looked back down at the man, who was now moaning in pain, mumbling incoherent words. "You stay on the floor! Stay down. If you do anything, anything at all, I will KILL you! I will fucking kill you! I will beat you over the head again and again and I will not stop! Stay DOWN!!!" Just about ready to vomit, I picked up the bat, leaped over the man, and I raced down the hall and for the window! In mid stride, vomit came spewing out from my mouth, splashing against the tile flooring in the apartment's kitchen. I paused and bent over, letting it all out. My stomach was in knots, my beard was thumping against the walls of my torso. I couldn't believe that. I can't believe I've made it this far. After a brief moment of consolidation, a puddle of vomit was at my feet, barely licking at my toes. "RAAAAHH!!!!" Darting my head back, the soldier’s eyes were the first thing that I could see in the darkness. His body emerged to reveal that he held a long, sharp, serrated knife in his hand. He was charging me. I kept to the side and rolled across the floor towards the window! The man flew right by me, and he struggled to stop. As his boots slid across the kitchen floor, he slid right into my puddle of vomit. The motions of him sliding in the bile as well as him trying to charge me once more, caused him to topple over, falling on his side. He was taking no time to waste! He was already staring to get on his hands and knees! THUNK! I screamed as I brought the bat down on his head once again. He crumpled to the floor. He twitched violently as I struck him again. THWUMP! "I...am warning you!" I shouted. The man was getting up. "This is your last-" The man glared up at me with murderous rage. "DON'T-" He prepared to swing the blade! FWHAM! He tumbled to the floor... FWHAM!! There was a loud crack that filled the room. FWHAM!!! I hit him. I struck him again...and again...and again...and again. Swing after swing after swing. I never stopped screaming. I never stopped swinging, for I knew he would kill me if I didn't. The sound of metal bashing against solid skull faded. Now it was starting to sound like I was beating a pile of slush. Each blow sent vibrations and pain up my arm, but I swung over and over. Before I knew it, I was on the floor, nearly on the verge of passing out. My chest heaved in and out as I let out little wheezes of air. I was looking up at the ceiling, everything above me shook with my racing pulse. I struggled to push myself away from the grunt, backing up until I hit a wall. I just sat there for what felt like hours. I just...stared at the soldier. His green eyes were no more, only the sockets remained. I felt sick...disgusted. I coughed as my throat burned. His blood was now begging to seep into the carpet. Details of the horrendous sight will be spared for you. Nobody should've done what I have committed. I couldn't stop staring. The two of us remained there, with snot running down my nose, and blood dripping from my lower lip. I barely even noticed that my pocket was vibrating. Never taking my eyes off of him, I reached into my pocket, answered my call, and raised the phone to my ear. "Oscar!" I heard a voice cry out from the speaker. "D-Da-Dan?" I mumbled. "Where are you!? You need to tell me right now! Are you at the apartment!!?" "Um...I-I-don't...I-...ye-yes..." "We need to get the FUCK out of here!! I'll be over at your complex in three minutes. If you're not out front by then, I'm gone, I'll get out of the city without you! Be there!!!" He hung up. I sat in silence and let my hand go limp, falling to the floor. The blood puddle was getting bigger. What have I done. Oh god...what did I just do?! I got to get out of here. Dan will be here soon. If I'm not out there, I'll be left behind. I need to go. There's no other possible choice. With my phone in my pocket, I forced myself off of the floor, taking the bat up with me. Just was I was about to crawl through the window, there was a bright blue light behind me. KA-CHEW! A loud piercing blast of force sent me flying forward. I would've just fallen face first into the stairs outside, but something hit me in the back hard. It collided with my back, right in the right shoulder. For a second, everything went black. Coming to reality, I groaned. My head pounded with agony. Pushing myself off the ground, I in an unstable daze. "Hey!" A voice from behind me growled. "It's you!!" Turning my head to look back, there were several green eyes staring at me. Several pairs of green...and a single pair of red. "You...stop!" It shouted. With its wings unfurled, it sprang towards me! Its rainbow hair matted against her forehead from the force of the wind! With no other choice than down, I did the only thing that I could do. I gripped the metal bar and hopped over the railing. Screaming all the way down, the sidewalk was rapidly approaching me from below! Just as I was going to land on the ground and possibly break my legs, two arms wrapped themselves under my armpits. Excruciating pain erupted in my shoulder. I kicked and screamed in utter agony, my legs were dangling a yard above the ground. "You're really banged up, ain't ya." The pain was so much. Too much. Once my feet touched the ground, I fell to a kneeling position, small heads of sweat dropped down my face. *clang* The metal bat landed right beside me from above. It bounced in the air, before coming to a stop. For the first time, I could see the bat in its appearance. The bat was a bright blue color. The handle was silver in color, while the rest was blue. However, there was a large blotch of liquid on the surface of the bat. It was crimson, a dark shade of red was dripping along the steel. "What's this?" The horse asked, pointing a hoof at the bat. "Mam? We found Ricen." The horse was silent for a moment. "Is he alright?" "I'm sorry..." Another sighed. "He's...gone. He looks like he got bludgeoned to death. There's nothing that can be done." She was quiet, eerily quiet. If it wasn't for her hooves trembling violently on my back, I would've assumed she froze into a statue. Slowly, he head cocked to look down at me. "Mother.." The horse hissed before bringing a hoof down onto my back. "Fucker!" I moaned in pain for my shoulder. I mumbled multiple pleas for mercy. "You...you killed one of my men. You're coming with me, and yo-" "MAM!!" A green eye called. "Incoming!" Down the street, I could hear the sound of a horn blaring. A white truck with its headlights rapidly flashing was heading my way. I knew that truck. "Hold your fire!" The horse barked. "Let them pass!" The truck was slowing down. The horse chuckled and pulled me in close, until her mouth was right in my ear. I could barely hear Dan's cries as he pulled up close. Her words were more deafening than anything I've heard tonight. "Run." She cooed. "Run along now. Go with them. I'm sure we'll meet sooner or later. Goodbye for now." When her touch left my back, I looked back at her, only to see that nothing was there. I was alone. I was kneeling on the sidewalk by myself. "Get in the truck! Get.in.the TRUCK! In the back!" The truck slowed down enough for me to get in. With my. At now in hand, I raced over the truck, and I practically flew into the bed, diving onto the metal surface. Looking around me, there were sever other people that I recognized as family of Christa's. They were all clinging to each other and to the walls of the truck. They were all laying down. "Everyone hold on!!" I heard Dan bark. "STAY DOWN!" The truck roared as we sped away. I watched the building over was trail away as we moved further and further from the apartment. Now, in the truck, I watched my complex as it faded away, as well as the pair of red eyes staring directly at me. I hope her promise won't come true. Chapter 1 'A Long Night' Sec.4 'Reunion'Chapter 1 'A Long Night' Sec.4 'Reunion' "Keep your head down! It's gonna be ok!" The truck raced down the street, turning left and right. With each direction change, I would slide along with it, before I bumped into somebody. I felt a hand grasp my foot. I found that a women with her blonde hair wrapped in a bun was trying to get my attention. She had to have been in her mid to late twenties. I would've noticed how gorgeous she was if it wasn't for the pain in my shoulder. "It's going to be alright!" She assured. "Stay calm. Now what's your na-" "Please!" I begged. "Can someone please look at my shoulder!? It hurts! It fucking hurts!" "OH MY GOD!" A middle aged women behind me gasped. I looked back to see that she was covering her sons eyes. I recognized her! She's Christa's aunt, Daisy, all the way up from Michigan. "Daisy!" I groaned. "What!? What is it?!" "Heather!" Daisy called out. You better take a look at this!" More and more people gasped and cursed under their breath when they looked at my back. Crawling up to me, Heather, the one who grabbed my foot, was now trying to get a look at my back while I lied on my stomach. "Oh boy...oh boy." She whispered to herself. "WHAT!?" I snapped. "What is it!?" "Ok, sir?" Heather said with a clear tone. "I need you to stay flat on your stomach for me, ok? Good, just stay like that." "What...is wrong with my back!?" "Oscar, you don't want to see. You DON'T. Trust me!" "Let me see! I want to know! Let me see!" "Sir? Yo-" "Show it to me!" I said, cutting Heather off. "Just hold still while I take a picture." Heather said. There was a click of a phone and a flash. "But I need you to stay calm when I show this to you, ok?" Still flat on my stomach, Heather showed me her phone while my face was smudged against the bed of the truck. I looked, and I nearly shit myself. There was a large thorn protruding from my left shoulder. A shard of wood, sticking right out of my back! It was jagged and covered with splinters! It was about the length of a thumb and about as wide as a fucking fingernail. My back was smeared with blood. "OH MY GOD!" I screamed. I instantly tried to reach back and grab it, but Heather pushed me down. Someone that I couldn't see was holding my legs down. "Stay still! Just stay calm! I know it looks bad, but we can't pull it out, not yet!" "I need to go to a HOSPITAL!!" "That can't happen right now!" Heather sternly said. "We're gonna get you help as soon as possible!" How? Just how did a wooden shard get lodged in my shoulder? The door...it was the door. I remember now. I was climbing out the window...and then BANG! Everything got destroyed, the window, door and all. That's was when it hit me in the shoulder! That's when I got hit. Oh god, what else is wrong with me!? The explosion shattered the window for sure! How much glass sliced my back to shreds!? What else is injured!? "Please! Just...just take me to a hospital...please." "Just hold on!" Heather consoled. "We'll end there soon." I felt...faded. Faint. Minuet by minuet, a darkness began to envelop my vision. When the blackness took over, all of the noise faded into the distance. I would be alone in the depths of my mind, thoughtless, unconscious, not myself. From time to time, I would wake up. It was only for moments at a time. I wouldn't see for long. The pain puts me out. However, every time I woke up, I would notice a change. People would change their positions, building overhead were gone, fresh bullet holes in the metal of the truck. Soon enough, there were more trees above me than buildings. "Oscar! Oscar!! Can you hear me!!?" That voice...I know that voice. It was low, rough, gravely. He spoke with a strong British accent. There is only one person that I knew who has that European twang. "D...dad.." "Is there someone with medical training? We need help over here, stat!" "Right here's good!" I heard Heather's voice bark. "Here are the pliers! The alcohol." Dan said, hearing his footsteps rush over to me. I keep blacking out. I can't even tell what is happening anymore. I can't focus. I can't stay awake. "Wher...what's happen-" I groaned. "He's awake. Sean, you're his father. You're gonna want to be the first thing he sees!" Heather ordered. "He's gonna be awake either way! Keep him calm, keep him informed!" I felt a hand lightly tap my cheek. "Oscar? Os'" "Daddd...what the helllll." "Everything is going to be alright. Look at me, ok? Look at me." I forced my eyes open. A blurry but recognizable face came into view. I could see the many wrinkles on his face, the grey bushy beard, his relieved grin. "You're hurt, Oscar." He said as calm as possible. "But it's going to be fixed. No matter what happens, just keep your eyes on me, alright?" "Dad..." I moaned, more awake than ever. "Yor ok.." I felt four pairs of hands press down hard onto my arms and feet. Looking on in confusion, Dad told me over and over to keep my eyes on him, but he slowly pressed his hands over my head, and held me down. "This is going to hurt. I want you to know that, but it will be quick, like ripping off a bandage. Just look at me. That's it." He pressed harder. "That's right look at me. Ready?" His eyes pivoted up to someone behind me. "One..." A sickening churn of my stomach symbolized that I knew what was about to happen. "Tw-" Right there and then, I saw white. A white flash of pain. Utter fucking agony. Something clamped down around the thorn hard, and pulled straight up. There was a loud, wet, pop that filled my ears. I screamed and screamed. My legs and arms kicked and squirmed frantically out of control. My body quivered and my throat was already burning from the screams. It only got worse when I felt a wet stream of blood run along my side, only to pool up against my body. "I got it! It's out!" I heard a muffled cry. "Look at me! Just look at me, son!" "Applying the alcohol." "It's almost over, son. You're almost there." Once the alcohol touchy my skin, that was when it returned at full force. My shoulder erupted in flames. It burned, it stung. My screams returned once more. Everything went white once again. "Don't just stand there, horse!" Dan barked. "DO SOMETHING!" "This is all I can do!" A nasally wheezy voice greeted me as something poked my shoulder. My entire body jolted hard. There was a blue glow from behind me that got brighter and brighter, but the. It instantly died. "It's all I can do, really." The voice wheezed, exhausted. "I can't...I can't do anything about the pain." "Give him this..." Heather said. "It's not much, but it will help tide him over." That was when I blacked out for the final time. When I woke up, I was woozy. I was completely still, but everything just seemed to say from side to side. Everything ha and fuzzy, then clear. Darker, then lighter. With enough strength to push myself up, I did so. I whinced in pain. My shoulder throbbed, but it hurt much, much less than before. I did seem to remember someone saying something about helping the pain. But nonetheless, I was still groggy and groaning. "Ahh...Ow! Ow ow ow...shit." "Oscar!" A gasp came from my left. My father was sitting on a tree stump, ready to embrace me with a hug of relief. I didn't say a word, I didn't care about how I was physically. I pushed myself off the surface I was on, and I wrapped my arms around him. "Easy, easy, easy!" He said, carefully wrapping his arms around me as well. "You're hurt. You need to lie down." "You're ok! You're safe..." I wheezed. "Please, son." He whispered, gently moving back towards where I was laying down. I was surprised to see that I was laying on top of a Dan's truck. There was a blanket underneath and a blanket on top. A pillow was where I was resting my head. "I'll stay with you as long as you like." "How..." I winced clumsily, getting under the blanket. "How long was I out for?" "Well I can't say for sure." He whispered shrugging. "It's almost 3:00 now. It felt like you were out forever, but I would roughly say, well...an hour? Hour and a half? It wasn't easy, but some strangers, and some of Christa's folks helped get that wood out of your back." "Oh thank god, you awake!" Through the crunching of snow, I saw a frantic Christa running at full speed towards me. She wore her favorite black, puffy coat; and she wore a pair of jeans. Her hair was in knots and all over the place. Hey beautiful eyes were now red and puffy from crying so long. But she was ok. I was ok. Everyone's ok, and that's all that matters. "Christa..." She knelt to my side, and she planted her lips on mine. Once she broke away, she rested her forehead against my forehead. "Oscar." She cried. "It's so awful. Everything is awful! I don't know what happened, everything was fine, then...then..." "Shhh. It's ok." I whispered. "It's alright." She nodded, and just plumped right down onto the snow. I could only see her the top of her head. However, once I looked beyond her, I saw nothing but forest. Trees were all around us, branches all covered with snow. "Where...where-" "Hey, man." Looking directly up, I saw Dan poking his head over from the outside of the truck. He greeted me with a soft and forced smile of forced optimism. "Heyyyy." I greeted. "Holy shit, man. Thanks for getting my ass outta there. I owe you one." "Meh...the stick in your back was enough for me." "Ah fuck you. Heh...heh...Dan? Where the hell am I? Where are we?" "Well Oscar, you know how I talk about what would happen if the zombie appocolypse happened, or we were invaded by North Korea or something? I've always pictured that this would be the place to go to. My idea of Fort Knox. It's secluded, it's strong. We'll be safe here." He gestured his hand towards something that I could see lying down. Slugging my way to the edge of the truck and peaking over, I found myself staring what what looked like a gigantic factory! It was huge! The factory was tall, but the three smoke stacks made it look much taller. It was unexpected and cool, but I noticed that the building looked...abandoned. Not only that but I wasn't even completely built. Windows that I could see were either broken, or were covered with plastic filming. Various construction supplies were scattered all around, even tools. "It's an old factory that I've snuck into from time to time. It's illegal to do so, but people still come here all the time to meet up, drink, fuck, and of course...party. It looked secure to me, so I thought we should head here." I could see several cars, vans, and groups of people walking about outside. There were several people inside as well. I could see flashlights shining from the windows. "And..." Dan said. "I guess we weren't the first to think that this place would be safe. It's far from the mayhem of the city. It's quiet out here." "Hey." A women, slightly taller than Dan appeared right beside him. I recognized her. It was Heather. "You're awake. How you feeling?" I rolled my shoulder slightly. "God, it hurts like hell." I complained. "Like a bitch." "Yeah, sorry." She said with sympathy. "None of us had the tools, or the skill to handle this kind of thing. I'm an officer, not a surgeon. But we did the best we could with what we had. We got it out as quickly as we could, and drowned that sucker with disinfectant. You took it like a champ. How are you feeling mobile wise? Can you walk?" "Ummm...yeah, I can a little." "Right." Dan said, acknowledging Heather. "Everyone is moving inside and out of the snow. Christa didn't want to risk your condition getting worse or whatever, so she made us stay here until you were up. I can drive you up to the factory. It's not that warm inside, but it's better than nothing." He began to make his way to the drivers seat. I heard the door open. "They have fires, so that's good." Heather was careful. She climbed up into then bed of the truck, and sat up against the window leading inside. She offered herself to stay with me. Christa was reluctant, but she got into the truck with my dad. And we were off. "We really did do the best we could." Heather spoke over the rumbling of the engine. "We don't know how your shoulder is gonna heal up. We also tried to dress the other cuts and gashes in your back too. You got banged up good. What happened to you." I paused. Memories of what took place in that apartment, they all rushed back into my head. I felt sick to my stomach. I was disgusted with what I've done. "Too much..." There a long moment of silence. Heather just sat there while I lied under the blanket. "It feels...much better." I said, with my partially buried in my pillow. " 'ppreciate it." "Yeah..." Heather sighed. "So...you’re the one that's been seeing my cousin." She cooed. "Yep." I said, whining in pain. "The name's Oscar." "I know." Heather smiled softly. "Christa has told me a lot about you. You seem to be really good to her, and I appreciate that. We keep in touch, Christa and I; even if I come from all the way from Illinois. If we weren't given the cousin title, we would be considered sisters at this point." "Same...same." I sighed. "She important to me too, but maybe we can talk about this a little later? I need some water." "Oh god, yes of course. I'm sorry. It's good to meet you, by the way. Not like this, though. I pictured it a little differently in my head but it's good to finally meet you. Oh, and my name's Heather." "I know." I said with a forced grin. "Good to meet you too." Not a second later, we came to a stop. The doors opened, and my dad appeared to greet me. "Can you really walk?" He asked. "It's my shoulder that's hurt...not my legs." I groaned, forcing myself to sit up. "I can do it. Just uh...just a little woozy still." "We got you." Heather said. I crawled over the edge of the truck and the cold snow nestled against my feet. Already, I was feeling light headed. I was tilting over, but I latched onto the truck. "I got it." I mumbled. "I'm alright. Wha-what the fuck did you give me?" "Just take it easy. Nice and slow." My dad said from behind me. I trudged through the snow until my feet were slapping on concrete. The doors were opened up by someone standing inside by the door. A teenager with a buzz cut. He nodded at me. I couldn't tell if he was saying hi, or he was allowing me to pass. People of all ages and sizes were not walking about the factory halls. Some used flashlights, others used battery lanterns, some were even using candles. We came up on a mess hall, and that was where I saw the rest of Christa's family all gathered up. The tables and benches were moved up to the walls, leaving this giant open space for us and multiple other groups to camp out in. "Hey...Oscar." I saw Daisy, the Aunt from before. "Glad to see that you're alright." "Hi Daisy." I weakly smiled. "Hey...Mr.Morrison" I saw a plump older man approach me, older than my father. He was fairly round in shape and but he could knock me on my ass if he wanted to. He was old enough to have white hair on his head with a blading spot in the center of it all. He had grown a mustache since the last time I saw him. It was pure white and it was starting become a handlebar, as the sides were drooling slightly. However, with the new mustache or not, I recognized him. Mr.Morrison, Christa's father. "Oscar." He nodded, never cracking his poorly hidden glare. "I'll set up your bed here." Dan said, walking past me with the blankets and pillows. He stopped right next to a little fire that was a consistency of paper, and wooden scraps. He stacked one blanket on top of the other, and he placed the one pillow so my head would be next to the fire, but not close enough for me to catch fire of course. "Dan?" I asked, standing there with my shoulder sagging. "Yeah?" "Do...you know anything about what is going on out there? Have you heard anything from the news, the radio?" "When we pulled up here, the last thing I heard on the radio, is that the army and those green eyed freaks were going head to head in the city. And it's not just here. Several other big cities are reporting the same attacks and-" "Like...national." "Global." "Fuck..." I gasped in shock. "Dude, I hope your parents are ok. Do they still live in-" "I can't let myself think about that now." Dan said, instantly cutting me off. "We need to make sure that we're protected long enough until help arrives. It's probably going to take a while, so we needn't to stay here until they do come. Once were all safe, we'll focus on our families. Oscar...there more you need to know." "What? What else is there?" "Hey, everyone." Dan whispered loudly, I'm taking Oscar to see him. We'll be back in a while." "Oscar." Christa whispered approaching us. "You want me to come with you?" I shrugged, still quite confused. "If you want to. I'm not gonna stop you." Dan said. Dan led Christa and I out of the mess hall and down several darkened hallways. With a flashlight to help us, we walked up until we came across an office room, maybe the office of the man who ran this place, or was going to anyway. We entered this office to see two buff guys standing on either side of the office restroom. They greeted us, warned us to be very careful and cautious, and one opened the door. On the other said, two more muscular men stood on either side as well. They were both armed. One had a block, while another looked like he had a pump shotgun. "What the hell is...this." I stopped. There lying before me, was another horse. It was white with blue hair, it looked up at me with sapphire blue eyes that glowed of no light. It was laying down, as if it was about to fall asleep on the floor. It's ears twitched and it's head perked up. It squinted before its eyes widened is surprise. "Oh, its you..." It yawned. I cried out in shock and disbelief! "What the fuck is it doing here!!?" "Here we go again." The creature huffed. "Another freak out. Well, I guess I can't blame him." "Kill it! KILL IT!" I yelled. Dan and Christa were trying to hold me still and calm me down. I pointed at one of the men behind me with the shotgun. "You, shoot it! Kill it!" "OSCAR!" Christa held me still by clamping down into my shoulders and slapped me right across the face. Everything whirled to the left, and my cheek stung like fire. I looked at her in shock. "Chris...Christa.." "Get ahold of yourself! It's ok! Calm-" "No!" I snapped. "You do t know what I've seen! You don't know what I've been through! I've seen these things before! They're EVIL! They help organize raids to take us away to their world! I know because I've seen it!!! They can't be trusted! Why the fuck do you have this thing with us?!! Where our children are sleeping, terrified out of their fucking minds!!? Why in the FUCK is it here!!!" "BECAUSE IT SAVED MY LIFE!!!!" Christa screamed. Christa had this look on her face that I have never seen before. Tears were flowing and her nostrils were flaring. She had this look on her face like she wanted to kick me until I was unconscious. "It saved my life..." Christa whimpered. "When they came...those men with the eyes, they got inside the house. They were screaming, jamming their rifles in our faces. They were gonna shoot me, my nana, my mom! Then out of nowhere, he showed up, and killed each and every one of them." "Damn...shit. Christa, are you ok? Did they hur-" "I am ALIVE because of him. I think it is only fair that we don't hurt him. There is more to this than you think, Oscar. He did help seal that hole in your shoulder." "He...what?" I strained to look back at my own shoulder. Ignoring any pain that I brought myself, I forced myself to look down at my shoulder. I was shocked to find that the wound was sealed with a smooth bright blue substance. It covered it in the same way someone would apply concrete. If glowed too, with a blue aura. "It won't kill you." The creature said. "It's to help prevent infection and blood loss." "Wait..." I gasped, pointing a pinger at him. "You're the nasally voice that I heard earlier! What the fuck did you do to my back?!" "Basic first aid." The horse smirked. "It's all the magic that I could spare for that gash in your shoulder. I don't not have much left now. It's temporary however, you have another four hours before it dissapates away. Hopefully by then, your military will get us out of here. But I can't do anything about any muscle that has been damaged." "Magic." I repeated. "Did you just say...magic?" "Yes, magic." It responded. "But not the mumbo jumbo that you see on stage. I'm not talking about pulling rabbits out of hats, well technically I can do that, but it's not what I'm trained for." "Well what can you do?" I questioned. "What are you? Where did you come from? Why are there people with glowing eyes taking and killing innocent people? Why are they doing this? Where do-" "If you want your answers..." It said, talking to me like a toddler. "Then you'll need to sit down and listen. We could be here for a while. There's no chairs, so you'll either have to sit on the pissy floor, or on a pissy toilet." I sat down on the floor. Christa and Dan did as well. The horse stood up, crack and popped its bones by twisting and stretching in many directions, before laying back down onto the floor. "First off I would like to introduce myself, just so we're not strangers here. I am addressed as Van in the forces, but my actual name is Vaneela. And you are..." "Oscar...um, Oscar Clutch." "The pleasure is mine, Oscar Clutch." Vaneela said with a smirk. "Now, before you ask me questions, I think it would be best if you tell me what you remember. I know it might not be easy for you to say, but it's a better way to get an explanation." "Just tell me all that you know." I offered. "I know it isn't easy, but I think it-" "I know damn well what I saw. Just give me an explanation for it all." "Well suit yourself." Vaneela shrugged. "Here we go. It all started roughly...two to three years ago. I come from a world of not your own. I come from an alternate world that is inhabited by Equine life, and other creatures that you might not have here. We are the main inhabitants of this world. Our race of what we have dubbed 'Equestrians', we are born into three different sub races. There are unicorns, ones who develop a horn on their head, specializing in magical abilities. There are Pegasi, ones who are dorm with wings, complete with feathers and all that is required to fly. And then there are 'Earth ponies'. There are ones who are born with neither, like me. We are more physically fit with our strength, and do a lot of work on the ground." "Jesus." I sighed, facepalming. "Jesus Christ." "Shall I continue?" He asked. "Go ahead." "I grew up in a small mountain town knows as, 'Saddle Creek.' I worked as a courier, but that was when we were attacked, much like how y'all were. The people with glowing eyes stormed my home, enslaved, and killed so many. But they liked to take the strong with them, and convert them into soldiers. Surely you've seen their glowing green eyes, yes? Well that is an effect of the curse that has been casted upon them. Whatever was them before, is gone. They become another monster who pillages and destroys like the others. They come from a world that is similar to your own, very similar. They are humans, with two arms, two legs, fingers, and toes. However, they are all humanoid copies of us. Or we are equinoid copies of them. They possess features of physical appearance, personality, skills that resemble one of our own. Their skin color matches one of our own, their eye color matches one of our own. It's unsettling at times, but that is where they came from. They had weaponry and technology that we couldn't harness, even with our magic." "Weapons? Like they had guns and stuff?" I asked. "Yes, like guns and stuff." He sighed. "They came, and they tore the kingdom apart. Our forces went at it for years, but eventually...everything got quiet. There was no word from the higher powers, the ones who rule the land. Everypony who is alive, assumed that they were dead, we have lost, and now they hold the cards. Since then, we've created our own communities and forces. We gather resources and defend ourselves from the hell that they bring us; showing them that we still have some fight left in us! Then, it was discovered that they have harnessed a connection to another world, your world. Another world to gather resources, weapons, soldiers, and an opportunity to grow their empire. That is why they are here. That is why you are here." "Fuck." I gasped. "My god." "They will try to take over this world. And soon, they’ll find another. And then they'll take over that world too. There are infinite realities, infinite worlds. Even in each world, it is theorized that the space beyond the planet is limitless. Endless planets to conquer. Oscar, with every day that passes, they grow more and more powerful. Soon enough, they will become more than an empire. Because to have access to endless resources, is to have access to all the power you could dream of. They become the law for all. They become the god for all." I felt like I was gonna throw up. My stomach churned, I became lightheaded. All of this information, pressure, and fear; it all came crashing down on me. This was something the human race has never faced before. When those humans invaded this city, that was an act of war. But it is not us against them. We might need every force on the planet to ban together. If what this creature is saying is true, then we need to fight will full force, all as one. America, Russia, China, Japan, The United Kingdom. We are all in the same boat. Christ, this is more than just a war. If this is true, then what comes will make every single battle in human history look like a fucking joke. This is more than a war. This is truly a war of the worlds. The war of all wars. Chapter 1 'A Long Night' Sec.5 'The Boomstick'Have you ever had a moment in your life where something happens, where it all occurs so fast and out of the blue, that you have no rational way of reacting to it? You tense up and freeze like a deer in the headlights, or you mumble incoherent words as you desperately try to find a rational explanation? Have you ever had a moment, where you learn of information that dramatically changes the outcome of your life to the point where you have a mental breakdown? Welcome to my world. I've had a few moments like that in my life. That is how I've been shaped into who I am. That is how I lost my hand. But none of those even compare to the truth that has been given to me. The fact that we are one out of trillions upon trillions upon trillions of the possible worlds. We are at war with an empire with technology that we can't harness. We could be facing our extinction, our demise. I was on my hand and knees, trembling in absolute shock. My skin went pale white, sweat and tears poured down my face. I couldn't stop shaking even if I tried. My head shook from side to side in denial. "Jesus Christ." I mumbled. "I-I-I don't..." "It's a lot to take in." Dan huffed. "But at least we got an explanation. This empire, they call themselves the 'Tri-verse Empire'. Not only do they have guns but they can harness magic. That's how they were able to jump worlds. Who knows what else they can do." "Wait..." I growled. "Hold on. You said that there are infinite universes! Infinite!" I stood on my feet, pointing a finger at the alien horse. "How do we know that you're telling the truth!?! If there are infinite worlds, then that means that another version of this empire can already Jump to other dimensions! How do we know you're telling the truth!? You could be one of them! You could be one of those fucks out there that are murdering innocent people! If they can come into our world, then why can't yours? Where is your army!?" "I can't prove anything to you!" Vaneela exclaimed. "For all you know, I could be lying to your faces or I could be telling the truth. You have to trust me!" "Then EXPLAIN yourself!" "I don't know the answer! For all I know, we could just be one of the alternate versions of the original worlds. But it is theorized that there are three base dimensions. And every alternation from these worlds branches out from them. It is believed that we ARE the base of all of it." "Bullshit." I sneered. "What are the chances of that? Bullshit!" "It's a theory, genius." The horse mocked. "It's never been proven but it is believed that there are three base worlds. My world. Then there is your world, which appears to be way more technologically advanced than ours. Then there is the middle world, the hybrid. It is the world where humans exist but they exist as humanoid versions of my kind. They possess the same skin and hair color, as well as the same personality traits as the equine version. They also have access to weapons and technology like yours." "I still find it difficult to believe that we are the originals." I mumbled. "Like I said, it's a theory. The Empire hasn't been able to gain access to any other worlds other than ours. They jumped with ease between the main three, but it is proving to be extremely difficult to find a way to the alternates, almost as if a barrier of sorts is preventing them from going on. They've had access to your world for quite sometime now, and they would've sent others to the alternates long ago at the rate they were growing, but they haven't then and they aren't now." "And how do you know this?" I asked. "Where are your people? Where is your army? If you're not one of them, then did you get here?" "Equestria, my home." Vaneela fell silent with a thousand yard stare looking straight through us. "Equestria has fallen." I just glared at him, unsure if I could buy his story. I waited for him to continue. "I was...an eavesdropper. An operator, the voice in the earpieces of spies as they infiltrated those monsters. They would collect data while I listened. If they got into trouble, I would tell them what to do or what to say. I documented everything that I heard by writing it down on a note pad. I've learned that they had access to your world for roughly six months at the time I heard them speak about it. And that was roughly over a year ago. They only started to attack now because they wanted to study your world first, learn of your weaknesses and flaws. They could see everything and they wanted to learn where you military bases are, where your deadliest weapons were being held." Van sighed. "Equestria fell one day." He continued. "I got no word from any pony. I never knew what happened. All I knew at the time is that we had fallen, and one of our leaders was executed while the other fled. Never heard a word since then. When we lost...I went into hiding. I only went out to collect food and water by day, but I never left my position. There was still much to be analyzed, so I kept my sleep to a bare minimum. I might not have had any spies at my disposal, but I had radios that were tapped that were still being used. That is how I learned they were prepping their first attack here. I found the base, snuck my way in, and gained access to one of the portals before they could shoot me." "Why?" Christa asked. "Why did you come here? What are you thinking you can do to help?" "I don't know...I just don't." The pony sighed. "Maybe it was nieve hope. Maybe I could meet the leaders of your nations, and organize an attack on the enemy. Now that I think about it, they would've probably killed me on sight or worse. Maybe I was trying to warn you all. These soldiers, this empire, they don't wish to kill. They want to find use for everyone so they can either be a slave or a soldier. They take likely candidates and warp their minds so all they turn into robots who follow orders with no moral thinking." I couldn't believe what I was hearing, I just couldn't. Fighting the pain in my shoulder and everywhere in my body, I forced myself to my feet. I didn't say anything but force myself out of the door. I just walked down the hall, rubbing my torso to stay warm. "Where are you going?" Christa whispered. "Christa, I-...I just need a moment. I need to think." "Let him go." I head Dan whisper. "Let him process it." I just kept on walking. They didn't follow me. Either they let me go, or Christa went to go after me and Dan stopped her. I didn't care. Walking through the dark halls, I was careful not to disturb anyone who was sleeping. People were setting up shop right in the halls. I saw a custodian closet, and a couple was setting up a air mattress in there. Eventually, I did make my way to the mess hall. I could seen my dad. He had a sleeping bag set up, and he was just getting in. "Dad. You got a shirt?" "Hmm? A what?" "Shirt." I whispered louder. "Do you have a shirt? Shoes? Socks? I'm freezing here." Dad quickly crawled back out. He opened up a duffle bag, and tossed me what looked like a flannel shirt. I caught it. Luckily for me, it wasn't a button up. Then, a pair of running shoes rolled to my feet, with a sock stuffed into each one. "I packed as much as I could." He whispered. I began to put on the socks. "When everything happened, I tried calling you. You never picked up. I knew we had to get out, so I grabbed everything that I could fit into these bags and went after you. I was praying that you would be at Dan's for New Years, so I headed there. Jesus, you wouldn’t believe the panic. The decimation of it all.” I managed to slip both of my feet into both socks with one hand. That was when I began to put the shoes on, but dad was already up and over to me. The shoes were on, but then he began to tie them. I looked around, hoping nobody would notice. Then I looked down at my dad who was tying my shoes for me. I sighed knowing that there was no other option. "Dan was there, but you weren't." Dad whispered, already finishing tying one shoe. "Looks like you stayed home while he went out to drink, but he just went home instead. We agreed to stick together and head for you in Dan's truck. We were heading towards you, but Christa began calling on Dan's cell." He said as he finished the other shoe. I began to button up the shirt by pressing the two metal pieces for each button together. They clicked and held in place. "Need a hand?" Dad whispered. "Nah...I got it." I whispered back. "I need a flashlight though. You got one?" "Ummm...yeah sure." He said, this time handing me a large black flashlight. "Where you going?" "Nowhere. Just going to take a look around, take my mind off of things." "Did you talk to th-" "Yes I did. Did you?" "Oh no." Dad said. "It seems alright, but I don't trust it. Don't want to find myself near that thing. Don't even know why I let you talk to it. What did it say?" I stood there, trying to find the words to say. He doesn't know. He really doesn't know. I didn't know what to say. I just couldn't say anything. How could I put news so disturbing into his head. My dad is a very relaxed dude, but I don't want to break it to him. "Nothing too serious." With the shirt on my back buttoned, I clicked on the flashlight, and walked away. "Don't worry about it." "Mind if I join you?" I looked back before I ushered him to come with me with a nod of my head. And he did just that, walking right by my side. I was tired, exhausted. I was trudging through the halls with a flashlight to guide me. At one point over by the main entrance of the building, there was a staircase leading up. Curious, I poked my head inside. It was dark and tight in space. I stepped inside and looked up to see every floor above me. Up it went. Every sound that I made was ten times louder than usual. The walls caused my breathing and mumbling to bounce off the walls and travel all the way to the top. I headed up, and my dad followed behind. "You would expect there to be massive crowds of people running around in the streets." Dad whispered. "You would expect to see looters breaking into stores, utter anarchy, but the streets were so...empty. They became so quiet so fast. Cars were left on roads with the engines running. Some were even ran into buildings. I saw so many...so much...never mind. I'm just glad that you're alright." "Yeah...you too." We climbed up and up. We went higher and higher. We passed people who were sleeping, drinking, or crying along the steps. Some people with their own sources of light would pass by us with a small greeting, or would just shove on by without a word. People were eating beans out of cans like fucking bums. We are all living like bums in this building. There's no power. There is no irrigation system, and there is no heat. This building is safe and secure, but that doesn't mean that we are completely out of the forest. "Looks like we're coming up to the top." Dad whispered. I pointed a light further up and we were intact coming up on a doorway that has yet to have a door installed. Poking our heads through, we saw that nobody was up here. I whispered out to see if anyone could respond, but nobody did. It sure did look like this floor was vacant. It does make sense, I could see several open windows, and several holes in the walls that have yet to be finished being built. With all of these gaps in the structure, cold air was just pouring in through. You could hear this long and drawn out moaning sound. The wind was strong enough to blow through a tight space off somewhere to make such a noise. We ventured through the halls. The wind blew and whistled throughout the building. The darkness along with the cold wind, and drifting of various trash along the floor, it felt like we were exploring a haunted house. We found a gigantic hole in a wall to the outside. Rebar was sticking out from the walls, and tolls were still sitting where their users left them. I looked out and down. The wind blew through my hair and I trembled a little more. With my mouth puckered up, I spat a glob of spit what was still slightly red from my tongue injury in the apartment. I watched it fall all the way down to the ground. It drifted along with the wind like a leaf in Autumn. Once it hit the ground, it was too far away for me to see it anymore. It disappeared. "Oscar?" Dad asked louder, knowing that we were away from the other people. "I know this is a stupid question to ask during this time...but are you alright?" I couldn't stop thinking about the things I've seen, the things I've done. I've never been so afraid, so terrified in my life. The memories just came back and played over and over in my head like a broken record. When you see something so fucked, your brain analyzes everything to the slightest detail. I couldn't shake the sounds the bat made as that soldier's head turned to a sickening pulp of hair, bone, and blood. I wanted to vomit once more, but I wasn't sure if I had anything left to let out. "You know that nothing will be the same anymore." I said, looking back at my father. "With verything that has happened, after everything that will happen...everything will change? This is history right here. We are witnessing history." My dad looked at his feet and nodded his head. "Look son, I don't know what is going on around here. I have an idea, but I don't know the whole story. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I will find out for myself sooner or later. But...Oscar...do you remember our rule?" "We need to stick together." I said, tapping my stump against his shoulder. "That's right." Dad said. "It's not easy to comprehend, I know. But if a desision needs to be made that keeps both of us alive, then that's what we need to do. Family comes first. Family always comes first." "I know." "We need to protect ourselves." Dad whispered, removing something from his shoulder. "That's why I grabbed this." I noticed that he did have something behind his shoulder right as he pulled it out from behind him. He showed it to me. It was a shotgun, a double barrel. It had a dark brown wooden stock, and the two long barrels glimmered with its freshly cleaned metal. I recognized it as the gun that dad kept with him in case of a burglary or any situation similar to that. "You're giving this...to me?" I asked. "Even with-" "I'm giving you this especially because of your hand." Dad said. "It's simple, powerful, and easy to reload. Especially for you. Do you know how to work it?" "Of course." I said, giving dad the light. "I've shot this plenty of times." I took the gun and I held it in my arms. With my hand on the stock, I pushed a little button on the side, and the barrels fell towards the floor. My stump held the gun as the metal wrapped itself around it. The two chambers were empty. "But you haven't shot it in years." "It’s not too hard." I said quietly. "Push this button, it opens. Stuff two shells in there, snap it shut, and you're good to go." "Just checking." Dad said with his arms crossed. "I just want you to have something to keep you safe, just in case. Hell, the army might be here any minute to get us out of here. It's just good to have it around." I nodded, and turned to look out over the tree tops. Dad stood next to me. He breathed that forest air in, and exhaled out of his mouth. "It's so quiet." Dad whispered, the wind carrying his voice. "We still have a few hours till sunrise. Come on, we should get some sleep." Dad turned and made his way towards the stairs. Sleep, yeah right. Who the hell can sleep at a time like this. I stood there and looked at the gun in my hand. I nodded in approval. It was a powerful weapon. Sent me falling to my ass when I first fired it, but that was years ago when I was a kid, when I had two hands. No matter. It doesn't matter if I have one hand or two hands, I'm still unsure if I'll be able to pull the trigger if the time comes. "I'll come with you." I whispered at my dad, starting to follow him. "No..." A raspy voice snarled in my ear. A blue hoof wrapped itself around my neck and spun me around! I let out a chocked cry as I came face to face with the fucking pegasus that burned its red eyes into my soul. I heard dad scream my name and I struggled to scream with its arm around my neck. The pony pushed me back, and I stumbled over towards the window! My heels were dangling over the edge! The horse glared at me with insidious smile of pleasure. Then it spoke to me... "I told you." She turned around, and rammed her hind legs right into my chest. I took one more step, and my foot tripped over the edge and I followed with it. Everything became a blur as I watched the building grow higher and higher. The window grew smaller and smaller. My limbs flailed in the air, desperately trying to grab for anything to hold on to. Everything rushed by me so fast, but I could see the ground quickly approaching me at blinding speeds. "Not so fast!" Two arms tucked themselves underneath my armpits. The rapid flapping of wings and malicious laughter made me scream even louder. My feet dangled in the air, I was completely helpless. "I keep my promises." Two rows of teeth clamped down onto my throbbing shoulder. I moaned and kicked my legs. The pain was too much. The horse shook its head back and forth while gnawing at my skin. Just when I thought that it was going to rip a chunk of flesh from my back, she dove towards the ground. My screams grew louder as I braced for impact, but I could feel the arms slip out from under me. Not a second later, I was flailing in the air with nothing to catch me. I watched the ground slam right into me. I landed on my feet, but the raw force and angle that I landed on, sent my knees ramming into the snow in front of me, before rolling to a stop in the freezing cold. Everything became a flash of white and I uncontrollably moaned in agony. I looked at my legs, to see that they were both in two straight pieces. I shook, I trembled, I quivered with fear for my life. The pegasus landed with ease into the snow, its eyes never left mine. She approached me, and leaned in so we were face to face. "I told we would meet again." "Please! PLEASE! Don't!" "Don't. Don't what?!" Aching all over, I forced myself to my feet, but as soon as I put pressure on my feet, on overbearing wave of pain sent me collapsing to my side. The horse laughed, her cackle turned to howls as they scored her get the trees. "Don't kill you!?" She wheezed. "I just saved you from certain death! That fall would've killed you if it wasn't for me!" With self-discipline, I forced myself to my feet! Both of my legs throbbed with a strong pulse, but I continued to limp further and further away from her. "Run Oscar! RUUN!!!" My dad’s voice sent me limping fast and faster into the trees! The pony just stood there, watching me. A loud bang made me look back to see two men from inside the building! There were armed with rifles with flashlights taped on the barrels and they came to investigate! "Help!" I screamed. "She's gonna kill me! Shoot her! SHOOT HER!!!" K-POW! K-POW! Two shots rang out from the trees! The two men, their heads shook for a split second. I cried out in shock, seeing a gaping hole in each of their heads. I watched them fall. They dropped...they just fucking dropped to the ground. Life isn’t at all like a movie. Not even fucking close. Blood doesn't spray out in every direction, they don't jerk their heads back, or do any fancy flips or falls. They fell like fucking flies. Gone, just like that. Their bodies fell, and I watched the horse turn her head to stare right at me. Her blank expression just looked through me, but then the corners of her mouth began to lift. Pretty soon, she had a sickening smirk plastered on her face. She felt no guilt, no pity. No remorse. There was only pleasure. I ran. I ran as best as I could and didn't dare look back. My dad’s voice followed me, screaming at me to run. Run and keep on running. I had to get help! I needed to get help! I need to find out military and have put them in the fucking dirt! "You might as well just stop, friend!" I heard the pony taunting me from behind. "Either way, you're gonna find out how screwed you are!" I didn't listen to her. I dodged trees left and right. I pushed and forced my way through bushes and low hanging branches. Everything ached. Everything was sore from tonight. No matter how much my body begged for me to stop and rest, I pushed myself to keep going! My chest was on fire, my legs felt like they were about to lock up. My feet would drag to the point that I nearly tripped over themselves! I kept telling myself over and over... "Got to keep going! Got to keep going! I've got to ke-" Just behind a tree up ahead, a dark figure emerged from the behind the trunk. It was military grade armor, and its eyes glowed an emerald green blaze. My heels dug into the ground but it wasn't enough to slow down to avoid the rifle that bashed my face in. The tremendous force sent me falling to my knees, clutching my nose. My palm grew warm and wet. "Alright, let's move in. We got work to do." Looking up, my attacker made a hand signal that made several more soldiers emerge from the trees. They were all armed to the teeth with deadly weaponry. I didn't bother getting up. "Someone take care of the kid, yeah? Carry him back?" The soldier put his fingers to his mouth and let out an ear piercing whistle. It was long and loud. To me, you could hear it for miles around, it was so high pitched. As his hand fell to his side, the snapping of branches made me look straight up into a tree. A furry creature was quietly waiting in the tree. An apostle! It's elongated limbs gripped the branches tightly, while it looked down at me with its very long, very sharp teeth bared. Its teeth were a revolting shade of yellow and red. As it leapt down on top of me, the last thing I could remember seeing before blacking out, were the multiple strands of flesh stuck in its sickening, yellow teeth. ************ "I am warning you! DON'T!" THUNK!! I couldn't see anything, but I could see them clear as day. My memories...my voice. "Who the fuck are you to tell me what to do with my life!!?" What have I done? What am I doing? "Give me the money! Where is the money!!?" Please don't... "I need just one more! Just one more hit!!" I've come so far. I've changed so much. I don't want to be reminded of this. Leave me alone. Please, just leave me alone. "What are you doing? Hey. Hey! Yo man, turn right! TURN RI-" The hellish screeching of tires. The sound of metal Collin ringing with metal, glass shattering, bones snapping, blood gurgling. Every sound, every heart beat, every second was played back with so much detail. Please, just leave me alone... *************** I woke up with a pounding headache. Every pump of my heart sent a pulse to my brain that felt similar to getting bludgeoned with a solid brick. I remembered everything clearly before I got attacked. I wanted to run and check on my friends and family, but I was too tired, too weak. It didn't even matter anyways, seeing that when I woke up, I was sitting in a chair. My arms and legs were once again taped to restrain me in my seat. Fuck. "Morning...Oscar." A pair of red eyes appeared in the darkness ahead of me. It stood there, looking at me, but then a light from above me barely illuminated the small area around me. I could see a small circumference of light at around me. The pair of eyes disappeared. I looked around as best as I could. All I could see was darkness. It was quiet. Really quiet but out from the black abyss, something small and crumpled together hit me! I looked down at me lap! I was taken aback to see that a rag was crumpled in a ball. It was dirty. Black and brown, and red. There was a lot of red, too much. It was dry and had been for hours, the blood crusty in appearance...small bits of meat were stuck to it. I took a long while just staring at this towel. I just stared at it. "You know whose blood that is, right?" I said nothing. "See, we were trying to contain the shit storm that started in that complex. We got word from one of my men, saying that he was going after a one armed twerp that matched our description of you. He said he wanted help." The pony growled, its voice circling me. "But when I got down there, we found him in a puddle of his own blood and piss. His head was bashed into a fucking pulp! You fucking murderer!" I followed the voice until it stopped right in front of me. Her eyes never left mine. I struggled to squirm free. It was no use. "Did you know that an Apostle can smell and locate a puddle of blood from six miles away? They possess a very strong sense of smell obviously, but imagine how well a pack of them will do if they all work together if they have a lead. Well in this case..." The pony approached me. Her head emerged into the light with a metal baseball bat in her mouth. While her fur was blue, specks and blotches of red painted her face and body. She lowered the bat to the floor and rolled it over to my feet. The bat stopped as it hit the chair, exposing the heavy stain of red that lied along that steel. "Oscar Clutch, you are now prosecuted by the Tri-verse Empire for the brutal murder of one of my men. Any act that will interfere with our way of life will be returned with an equally harsh consequence. Anything you say or do that is considered wrongful shall be rewarded with a longer and stronger punishment." As she finished, the rumbling of a generator caused a series of lights to illuminate the darkness. I could now see the vast array of soldiers, armed with weapons that would tear me apart. Men, women, and children were bound and gagged. They were all on the floor at their feet. But worst part about all of this was not that I was on the edge of life and death. It wasn't seeing the helpless people crying in terror. No, the worst of it all...was seeing my father...Dan...Christa....and everyone in her family. They were lined up before me on their knees. They all looked at me with rage with terror...with pain in their eyes. "You murdered one of my men, Oscar. And now...?" The bat began to rise into the air with a red glow at the handle. The same red glow protruded from a circular disc on her chest that appeared to be embedded in the armor she wore. The bat hovered in place over our heads. I trembled as I watched it sway back and forth. "I'm gonna hit you where it fucking hurts." I watched her eyes as they trailed to the back of her head before she turned around and looked right at Christa. I couldn't see her face, but I could see the pony's lips begin to curl into a smile, before she began to swing the bat right down towards the top of her head with blinding speed! I let out a shrilled scream as I watched my girlfriend about to be beaten to death! Chapter 1 'A Long Night' Sec. 6 'The Void'"WAIT WAIT NO!!!" "You did this to yourself, kid!" The pony cackled. The bat hung by itself over Christa's head, ready to be brought down upon her skull! I screamed and fought my restraints as soldiers around me were aroused anticipation! I pulled hard enough to the point I thought I was going to dislocate something, I was breaking skin! "NO! PLEASE! DONT! Don't do this please!!" The bat lowered itself closer to the floor. She looked at me, acting like I said the dumbest thing she had ever heard. The pony turned towards me. She sighed, and brought a hoof to her forehead. "No? Then what am I supposed to do?! Did you forget the fact that you killed one of my men? Did you forget the fact that you took this very same bat, and beat the holy fuck out of him!? I don't know about you, but I take offense to that! Nobody pulls that shit without me personally paying them back! You're getting exactly what you deserve, fucking monster!" Everyone in front of me was trembling, sweating profusely. Some were on the verge to tears, mostly children. Christa was out on the floor. She had passed out from pure terror. Her bright blonde hair masked her face from view. Her father was screaming her name through the tape over his mouth. "Shut up!" The pony barked. "Shut up, you fat, greasy, bastard!" The rainbow pony turned to me. "It seems only fair to pulverize somebody you care about. Somebody who matters to you, just as that soldier meant to me, as they ALL mean to me. Now let me do my work, or I will make you do it myself!" Then bat once more rose over her head. Everyone screamed and looked away. I begged and pleaded for Christa to be spared. Tears poured down my cheeks as I screamed. I kicked and twisted in my chair, but nothing worked. It was no use. Her eyes were closed. Christa looked beautiful, peaceful. I'm glad she wasn't awake to see this. I mumbled her name over and over. The pony smirked, and burned this memory into my mind with only two words... "Goodbye, Christie." WHAM!! The baseball bat swung down so fast, I couldn't see it. I heard the sound and I fucking lost it. I screamed and bawled, gazing upon her hair, turning from blonde to crimson red in a matter of seconds! WHAM!! The bat was brought down on the same exact spot. Her legs lurched, her arms twitched. I screamed her name, trying to dislocate my wrists if it meant that I could get free. Christa's father was dead silent, his eyes were so wide, they were about to roll out of his skull. He tried to say his daughters' name, but nothing came out. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and just went limp; slumping to the side, out of view. I screamed and screamed her name. The pony took pleasure out of all of this, bringing the bat down on her head once more. WHAM!!! And again...and again. WHAM!!! A sickening crack of bone sent me toppling over, falling face first into the floor. Tears quickly pooled underneath me. I cried. I just cried. I watched her helplessly, moaning and sobbing. WHAM!!! Blood...there was so much blood. WHAM!!! Her body twitched as her eyes bulged out of her sockets. She let out sickening gurgles as blood sprayed out into the Winter air. Blood gushed out of nose and mouth. I couldn't say a single word. I cried in total silence. The rainbow pony even refrained from striking her head. The bat lowered itself to the floor, and she stepped back. Christa let out agonized moans mixed with the helpless gurgles and chokes as the blood filled her lungs. She rolled from side to side, spraying blood on the people on either side of her. It landed on her father's unconscious body. Her wide open eyes looked in all directions frantically, before landing on me. She stopped and stared. She just stared. I looked her in with a trembling lip. "C-Christa?" She didn't say anything, she didn't do anything but cough softly. Her wide eyes just blankly stared into mine. "Man..." The pony gasped. "This was unexpected. Jesus..." Her face was entirely red...soaked. It pooled underneath her. Her kicks became weak, her coughs grew faint. It wasn't long...before she ceased to move at all. Motionless...lifeless...painless. No breath entered nor escaped her lungs. I just watched. The pony didn't say a word. She stared at Christa, before letting her head hang on the floor. Without warning, no hint, no glance towards me or anybody, she brought the bat straight down onto the bridge of Christa's nose. I let out a whimper, my lip dribbled with vomit, as I lurched out a puddle that stretched out across the floor. Her face became more and more bent, twisted, and mutilated with every swing. And all I could do was watch and sob to myself. WHAM!!! WHAM!!! WHAM!!! **************************** "Blood! He needs blood! Blood STAT!!!" I could barely comprehend where I was being taken to. Lights above me raced by. A pattern. Ceiling panel...light...ceiling panel...light. Doctors and nurses bolted down what seemed like an endless hallway, hauling me to god knows where. Slack-jawed, I raised my head, barely able to move. I gazed upon my left hand. It was mangled, broken. My entire hand and some of my wrist was swollen and purple. The tip of my pinky finger was ripped off, exposing raw bone. Each finger was broken and bent in unnatural angles. "Lay down sir." A nurse said to me as calmly as she could. "Everything is going to be fine. Stay with me! Listen..toooo..." I didn't wake up for a long time. Most of the time when I did come to, I found myself lying in a hospital bed. I would only be awake for so long, before fatigue or whatever painkiller I was given fought back. The most notable and briefest moment of consciousness was when my eyes slid open to see her beautiful eyes staring at me. Christa sat in a chair by the window. A night sky was all that I could see outside. Tears in her eyes, she saw me staring at her and she nearly burst out crying. Quickly, Christa knelt to the side of the bed. She didn't know what to say. Puffy eyed, she leaned in and gently pecked me on the tip of my nose. I couldn't move. I just blinked at her. I looked into her eyes, and I wanted to sit up and hug her tight; and never let go. I wanted to tell her how sorry I was, how much of a bastard I was. I wanted her to know that it will never happen again. Christa...Christa was one of the few people who showed me love, an actual connection. She was one of the few people in my life who never left me, or became another sorry slob on the streets. I never truly knew what this felt like until I met her. "Shhh..." She whispered. "Rest....please. I'm staying here. I am never leaving you...not until you get better. I love you, Oscar Clutch. I love you so so much." The moment I tried to say something, I blacked out. It only felt like a second, but when my eyes opened again...she was back in her chair... slumped over to the side. The sun was barely peaking over the horizon. I'll tell her how I feel once I stand on my two feet. That is a promise...that I never kept. ****************** I was on the verge fading into the dark, cold depths of my mind. Her skull was smashed into bits. All that was left was a mesh of blood, brain, bone, and hair. The tears stopped flowing. I just stared from the floor. WHAM......WHAM!!!!! Her ponytail was the last thing that was together. Sprinkled with red, the hair trailed closely behind her battered skull. Her family grieved, sobbing profusely, some passed out. My limbs were numb, my heart was shattered into pieces. I was just...numb. "WOOOO!!!" The pony howled, letting the bat fall to the floor. It clanged against the ground, rolling away from me. I watched it roll. I watched the massive dent in its metal roll further and further away from me. The pony sat down, huffing and puffing. Everyone and everything was silent. All expect for the exhausted panting emanating from the pony. "Whoa boy...that uhh...that really took it out of me." She wasn't recognizable anymore. Her beauty was...it was gone. She just kept hitting Christa over and over and over again. There was nothing left but a mass of blood, brain, and bone. Clumps of hair were stuck together with blood, and exposed brain bits clung to the strands. There was a pool of red all around her, even licking at her father's arm as he lied on the floor. I couldn't look away, no matter how much I tried. "Oh man." The pony sighed, catching her breath. "I've always wanted to do that. Always, but I've never got the time to do it. Man...ever since I saw Negan beat the holy fuck out of Glen, I wanted to try it out. Man, no wonder you guys like the comics so much. You couldn't get that shit in Equestria." I glared up at the pony. The murderer. The fucking monster. How dare she. HOW FUCKING DARE SHE!!? I screamed and snarled like an animal, pulling at my restraints. The pony just ignored me like I wasn't even there! How could she?!! How could she do this to her?!! To me!! TO EVERYONE?!! "There are comics?" I heard a soldier ask. The rainbow pony looked at someone out of my view. "Of course there are comics. How else would these people know about it?" I snarled at her, kicking and screaming, never taking my eyes off that bitch! "Well...most people in this universe watch the T.V. show." "Hold on!" The pony gasped. "Hold the fuck up! There's a show!? Like...an actual T.V show?! Why the hell didn't anybody tell me anything?!" "YOU BITCH! YOU FUCKER!!!!" I shouted at her, tears pouring down my face. I twisted and fought against my restraints! I will kill her! I will fucking kill her for what she has done! I pulled, kicked, and punched as hard as I could! I'll kill her! I had to! I need to! I'm going to rip her fucking head off!!! "Why!? WHY!!?" I screamed. The bitch looked at me with an unfazed stare. She didn't say a word. The pony picked up the bat with her mouth, and she swirled the end in the corpse of Christa. She walked over to me, slowly creeping up with each step. She stopped looking at me, and I glared back at her, as she towed over my trembling body. She brushed the bat up against my face. I screamed, shaking my head furiously! Blood and brain matter l covered the left side of my face and clung to my hair! She spat the bat out, it fell to the floor, briefly masking my shrieks with its high pitched ring. "You wipe that off, and I'll personally roll your fucking face in the gore. You can scream, you can cry, but youtalk to me like that again and I will make you EAT IT!" I screamed with rage, with agony, with sorrow. The pony just looked at me like I was a pathetic child. She gave a nod, and two men lifted me into the air, having me staring down at Christa's corpse from above. "Wait. Before you cut him loose, put him down, I know just the thing." The pony commended. The pony approached me and bent forward so we were face to face. "Now, Oscar, what I'm gonna do is I’m gonna numb a good 80% of your nervous system. You're gonna lose most of your bodily functions, and you'll be pretty motionless for roughly the next few hours. You won't feel a thing. Oh, and if you’re worried that this will hurt, don't get too excited, it won't. Now stay still if you please..." A solid red beam of light shot up from her chest. I could barely see it coming before it hit me right between the eyes. My head lurched back as I let out a cry of shock. In the span of a few seconds, my limbs felt weak. My head felt heavy, and it just slumped down against the backrest of the chair. I couldn't feel anything! I couldn’t feel anything below my neck! My jaw was locked in place and all I could do was roll my eyes, and scream through my teeth! I was helpless! "There, that wasn't so bad now wasn't it. Would you like a lolipop?" The pony chuckled. "Toss him in." I watched everything shake, as blades cut through the tape. One by one, my limbs slumped to the floor. The pony looked down at my pants. I could see her smirk out of the corner of my eye. "Man, you had a lot to drink. Heh. Hope you haven't had dinner recently." A bright blue light and gushing winds made me look back to see a large swirling, blue mass! A portal! It was a portal, and I was being carried towards it! "RRAAH! HGGAAH!" I screamed. Spit sprayed out of my locked in place jaw. Dad...Dan...everybody...they watched me get carried away. Dad's eyes were red and puffy. Dan glared in my direction, welling up. Christa remained on the floor, bludgeoned, deformed. Gone forever. "HGGAAHH!!" The two men carrying me out me on my feet, holding me by the shoulder. The rainbow pony stood in front of me back facing the portal. She gleamed at me with her smoldering red eyes. "You twisted my arm here, you know that, right? If you would've gone by the rules, then I wouldn't be in this mess. If you didn't kill one of my guys, my men, my valuables, then we wouldn't be having this conversation, your girlfriend would still be here, still alive and kicking. That's on you. This is ALL on you." I snarled at her, my lower lip and chin was dribbling with spit. "You think that it can't get any worse than this, don't you. You probably have the typical sworn oath that you are going to kill me one day. I'm right, aren't I? I get it. It's understandable. You're grieving and in shock. But let me make something clear. I'm not even going to touch a single hair on their heads as long as you play ball with what I'm gonna throw at you. Do what I say, and they will be fine. That sounds fair, right?" I was leaned further back, the flannel was barely nicking the alien energy behind me. "You may hate my guts right now...but I think you'll learn. Call it a hunch Oscar, but I think you and I are gonna have good things going for us. I know a few ways to straighten out people like yourself. Most of them aren't one armed freaks, but whatever. I will make you stronger in ways you won't even imagine. Yep... I think we'll be very good friends." She placed a hoof on my chest. "Until next time." She pushed me. I watched everything evaporate into a blue light that blinded me. In this blue haze, I cried out in utter shock. Everything got so bright to the point I swore I was going blind! Just as I thought it couldn't get any brighter, the light dimmed down until I could still see the room around me through a blue haze. I was unable to move, but I watched...ME falling! I was hovering in mid air, in a beam of blue light, staring at a still setting of the room I was in before I was pushed. I could see everyone and everything still as a photograph, stuck in time. I was staring at myself in awe. The terror on my face. The streak of gore the pasted the side of my face. I was falling backwards towards the portal behind me. I was so helpless. I wasn't given enough time to study my mistakes, as my view suddenly shifted to the ceiling, and I gently rose up towards it. Like anyone would, I tried to put my hand out in front of me to protect myself, but I was still crippled below the neck. I closed my eyes briefly, bracing for impact, but instead as I didn't feel any pain, I was moving through the concrete ceiling! As my face mushed itself against the solid surface, I sunk into it, emerging out the other end. This wasn't like a hologram, for I moved through this ceiling like I was broken apart and squeezed through! It was as if every bit of me, every shred of clothing that I wore, they were all broken down into trillions of pieces at the atomic level. My head would emerge through each floor of this building, and I would watch pieces of me grow back as particles clumped together to form me once more. I was disassembled and put back together time and time again until I was hovering above the building. Still shrouded in blue light, I looked down at the ground which seemed to be miles below me, I just kept rising up at a steady pace. My feet dangled below me and I couldn't do a thing. The higher I went, the colder I got, but I never froze to death, I never passed out. The blue beam of light prevented me from doing so. I just kept floating up and up into the atmosphere like a balloon. I couldn't see the building anymore. I couldn't even see my city clearly enough, I was too high. I was just staring at a massive cluster of lights. I never stopped rising. It was as if I had become an angel or spirit ascending into heaven. Soon enough...I felt weightless. I felt so loose, my clothes swayed in a gravity free state. Awestricken I was ...looking at Earth as it spun...or as I spun around it. I had drifted up and up through the atmosphere, high enough to lose the strength of gravity. I didn't know how long I floated there in the darkness of space, but I could still breathe perfectly fine. I didn't feel heat nor cold...I felt nothing. Before everything went crazy, I was looking down, not at America anymore, but at a diffwerent continent. A large pale line stretched across a large portion of land that I could see. It dawned on me that I was looking at China. I was looking at The Great Fucking Wall Of China. I was dumbfounded, I was stunned silent. I just looked down at it in awe and disbelief. However, it was as if looking at China was a signal to take me away, because that was when everything disappeared. I watched my legs and feet stretch out to supernatural lengths. They stretched out so far, I had a gut feeling that I would land feet first and briefly walk on The Great Wall, before I was slingshoted into the infinite depths of space. Stars raced past me at supersonic speed. No whiplash broke my neck or tore my body in two. I didn't explode or implode, everything became blurred and fuzzy. I raced through the solar system, faster that the speed of sound, faster than the speed of an electron...faster than light itself. I became so fast, so thin, so stretched out...I couldn't tell where I began or where I ended. Everything so blurry, until a blue streak of light erupted from any direction around me, I couldn't tell. I was consumed by it, swallowed whole by it. When I came out the other side, I was whole again. I could see my feet and body in their natural proportions. I was normal, but where I was...it was far from normal. It was far from natural and supernatural, rational and irrational, reality and fiction. I was flying sideways, I could tell for when I looked to my right, I was looking down at a massive void. It had no shape or color. It was just black. Blacker than anything I've ever seen. This mass, this void, it held the many Earths , the infinite Earths in its grasp. Billions...trillions of versions of the home I knew, it had it. I could see them. Small and big, in a blaze of fire or as an iceball, solid or as a gas. They were all there. I stared at this massive infinite abyss of worlds, and a single tear slid down my cheek. I was overwhelmed with emotion. Terror, awe, sadness, confusion. I just looked at this world. The world of all worlds to exists or will exists. The Multiverse. I'll never truly know if a god exists. I'll never know if there is an afterlife until I find out for myself. But if there is a god, then this would be it. And then gravity reunited with me once more. In the blink of an eye, a flash of light enveloped me before I was staring at a rough dirt surface to my side. I don't need to say much other than it hurt as my body grinded to a halt. Dirt and rock scraped against my skin, contributing to my stop. I couldn't feel much of anything, but my face felt cold. I couldn't move much of anything either, I just kept staring at a cloudy grey sky. Snow floated down onto my face, Pecking softly against my cheeks before sinking into my skin. A face loomed over me. Not a human face. Its eyes glowed the same emerald green just as any of the other grunts. A pony, light blue in color, but lacked any hair. It just looked at me curiously with a confused smirk. Its eyes trailed down to my left arm, and shrugged. "One arm, male!" It announced. "He seems to be awake!" "Just put him over there for now!" I heard gruff voice order. I don't know how, but my entire body managed to lift itself off the ground, leaving me to dangle my head back. I just found myself staring at the pony's chest and a large metallic ring that it wore. I was glowing like the rainbow pony's, however this was glowing a more orange color. Whenever it took a step, I floated forward. Each turn it took, I remained right in front of it. Not even bothering to say anything, I just stared at the metal ring as I was being hauled off to wherever. "Where should I....oh here we go." I heard the pony say. "I'll just lean you against this log, then you can watch the migration." My body was leaned against a fallen tree. The pony made sure that my head was resting upon it, so I was looking straight into a massive valley of ice and snow. The pony didn't say a goodbye, or even a word for that matter. It just dumped onto this log, and left me in the cold. I just lied there for what felt like hours, but in reality, it was mere minuets. I breathed in and out, my chest softly rising and falling. Was this real? Is this really...happening? No, it can't be. This couldn't be. This was impossible. This has to be a dream. I'll soon enough wake up, and it'll be the first morning of 2017. I'll be with my friend, my girlfriend, my dad. I don't care if I work in the morning, I'll take the day off, I don't care. Just wake up. All I gotta go is wake up. I looked up into the sky. The way the sun glowed through the grey clouds was oddly soothing. The valley was beautiful, I'll give it that. I could see it in the sky. I could see her in the sky. Christa. Her warm smile beamed down onto me. She had tears in her eyes. What was she saying? How mouth was moving like she was trying to speak. What is it? Her smile faded out, her face blended into the clouds. And then they came. Large black objects swung down from above. They flew and there was dozens of them. They were all four meters long at the minimum. some had to be over a hundred feet for sure. Their elongated wings soared through the freezing air with such grace. They were nothing like any bird that I have ever seen. As they flew closer towards the ground, I could see the many scales and horns that covered their faces and bodies. Four legs were attached to each creature, slightly bent. Long reptilian tails trailed close behind each one. I couldn't believe my eyes. Then again, I can't believe much of anything anymore. I couldn't believe that I was actually watching this. I was watching a flock of dragons. Creatures of fiction and fantasy, I was looking straight at them. One that had to have been roughly forty meters in length, black as night. It opened it mouth, and let out an ear piercing roar that shook me to the bone. All I could do was just watch and think to myself... "Please be a dream. Please be a dream. Please be a dream." Even if it was completely useless, I kept hoping in desperation that I would wake up. I never did... Chapter 2 'Purgatory' Sec.1 'Memories of Red'I lied on that log for quite some time. Even after the dragons or whatever they were, were long gone. As most of the flock has passed, the few that trailed behind were all that were left. A red one, with white running along its spine was flying at a slower pace. It had big spikes that sprouted from its wings and large eyes with long narrow slits for pupils. I don't know if it saw me as prey or it was just curious, but it looked directly at me. It's head turned to look down at little me as I lied paralyzed on an old log. It didn't seem to give me much of a second thought, as it turned to look forward. And it was gone. No goodbye. No fond farewell. After they left, I couldn't do anything else but just look out into the frozen valley. I remained on that log for a very long time. Maybe they forgot about me, or maybe they just didn't care. Either way, I didn't care neither. I didn't care if they came to get me or left me behind. I didn't care if I was freezing cold. I wouldn't even care if I suffered from Hypothermia and croaked. I just didn't care. But they did get me. After what seemed like hours, they finally got to me. I distinctly remember hearing a gruff male voice announce to anyone within ear shot... "Oh hell! His shoulders' bleeding! Somebody help me with this guy!" It was then, two pairs of hands gripped me by my wrists and ankles and I was lifted into the air, my backside was barely lapping at the ground. As they carried me to wherever, one of them made a comment about my hand, or lack of one. "God damn, I keep needing to readjust my grip! Why does this prick only need to have one hand?" "Just shut up." I heard the soldier at my feet scold. "You know how our superior gets if she hears us complain. Just get him to a doc, yeah?" "Wait." Wrist man paused. "This guy...one arm. Isn't this that dude who had that scuffle with R.D? He's the one who threw her down a stair case right? Stairs on-" "The side of a building, yes, this is the guy." Foot soldier responded. "Damn dude." Hand soldier leaned forward a looked down at me. His glowing eyes burned into mine. "Why'd you do that to yourself?" The soldier asked me. "She's gonna FUCK you...UP. Really bad, dude." "Oh my god, for the love of holy Celestia, shut up!" Foot soldier scolded. "He isn't going to get tortured, not from what I've heard. I hear that he's another addition to 'Purgatory'." "Purgatory...you mean The Boneyard?" "Call it whatever the hell you want, but people are starting to call it that." A ceiling suddenly covered us. A solid wood ceiling. It was dark, but dimmly lit. It could come as a pattern. Ceiling light...panel. Ceiling light...panel...ceiling light...panel...ceiling- "Yeah, I can see why they would call it that." Hand soldier sighed. "I like Boneyard better though." "Whatever. Call it what you want. Hey! Stretcher! Get a stretcher over here!" Far off somewhere, I could hear the loud squeaking of a set of wheels. It got closer and closer fast. Up until the squeaking was right next to me on my right, was when the two soldiers practically tossed me on this old hospital stretcher. They rolled me over, making sure that I was on my belly, exposing my shoulder. "What happened here?" I heard a female ask softly. Her voice was sweet and calm, but something was off. There was something about her voice...an accent. Was it Swedish? No, no, it sounded French. "No idea." Foot soldier responded. "When we got to him, we found that his shoulder was like this. Look at it, it's still gushing!" A tearing of cloth echoed through the supposedly empty hall, as I heard nothing else than this little group. "Pour bien vouloir!" She sighed. "Thank you. Get out there and do your job. I'll take it from here." The pairs of boots stomped away from me, up until I couldn't hear anything anymore. With their absesnse, I was taken away. The woman pushed the stretcher along a long hall. Lying on my stomach with my head turned to the right, I could see multiple wooden doors, all closed. The white paint that was once nice and smooth, was now chipped and broken off in patches. The whole area from what I could see, was decrepit. The nurse would turn a corner and the both of us were traveling down soother hallway. Door after door whizzed on by. Listening past the squeaking of the stretcher wheels, I could hear the moans and whailing of other people just like me. Their pain could be heard behind closed doors. I didn't want to think about it, but looking down at the floor...I could've sworn I saw blood leaking out from underneath one room. I could hear agonized sobbing, and pleads for mercy. "Here we go." The stretcher made an abrupt turn into a white tiled room. From what I could see, small, white, square tiles were plastered everywhere. They covered the floor, the walls, the ceiling. Without a warning, I was lifted into the air without much effort. No hands were clung to me to move me into this hospital bed, only energy. Looking down, I could see that tiles did cover most of the floor, but I mentally shuddered when I saw a small drain in the center of this small room. I was placed lying on my stomach into this hospital bed. A moment passed before the light illuminating this room got brighter, as it was brought closer to my back by this mysterious women. "Do you speak English?" The French voice asked, hearing her tinker with metal tools in the background. I grunted. "You're obviously paralyzed, but you should be able to give me some sort of a responce. English? Do you speak English?" "Ruunngk." I growled. "Is that a yes?" "Hnnng...please....don't..." "I'll take that as a yes." She sighed, her voice not skipping a beat. The woman took her time. Steralizing, readying her tools, reading through papers. "Oscar...C-Clutch?" The woman said puzzled. "That your name, Oscar Clutch?" I remained silent. "Whatever. Let's get this sucker fixed, yes? Let's see...does this hurt? Can you feel this?" "Hgnnn. Hgnnn..." "Well alright! This will be a cake walk." For the next hour, hour and a half, two hours, they were spent with her picking away at the gaping hole in my shoulder. Disinfecting, cleaning the wound, stitching it shut. I didn't feel a thing. I didn't feel anything at that. I believe those soldiers refers to that rainbow pony as 'R.D' What ever "R.D", did to me has numbed me to the point I was one of those quadropaligics. I couldn't talk well, or even to react to much of anything. I didn't know...but it feels like it numbed my emotions too. That, or I was just exhausted. This woman who stitched me shut was quiet most of the time, occasionally asking me a question or humming a tune to herself, oddly calm. She was humming a tune at the time, when there was a quick snip of wire and then she patted me on the lower back. I could hear her slapping against my skin. No, they didn't feel like fingers. "There all done." She cooed. I heard her place the tools on a metal tray behind me. I could see my shadow being casted against the wall. Looking hard enough, I could barely see the metal wire sticking out from my back. I grunted, already imagining the pain once these effects wear off. Who knows when that'll be. I couldn't see her though. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" She asked me. "Would you like a lolipop?" I heard her. I heard her ask me that question. My eyes widened and I wheezed in shock. How could she? How could she ask me that, fucking bitch. My eyes twitched, my neck was shaking. Shaking with so much anger, so much rage. I couldn't stop thinking about Christa, how she was...how she was....how. That fucking horse did this to me, she killed her, she killed me! She killed a part of me! She smashed it to pieces! That horse took one of the few people that I held close to me, and she ruined it! She destroyed it! She ruined me! And all she had to say for herself...was that question! Was that same fucking question!! I heard the woman walk up and stand right beside me. She leaned it close. "Why are you crying? What's wrong with you? Are y-" I wanted to punch her. I wanted to knock her down on her fuckin ass for asking me such a vile question! But then all of the sudden, everything was working again. A surge of pain washed over my body. It was so sudden, so unexpected, I froze and let out a high pitched yelp. My joints locked up, my muscles tensed, the sharp stinging in my shoulder was agonizing, but I found myself angrier than before. I growled, turning my head towards the nurse, but I paused. I was taken aback when I was glaring at another pony. She was pressed against the wall yelling for help. She wore a white labcoat but I can't hold see the black fur that I assumed covered her beneath. She was banging on the wall, still calling for help frantically, never taking her bark blue eyes off mine. Her eyes, which flowed in the same fashion as the soldiers, resembled what reminded me of the dark abyss of the ocean. I reached a leg over the side, and I stood in the center of this operating room on two wobbly legs. "Where is she!!?" I screamed. "Where is that mother fucker!!!" The door bursted open. Two very strong human women stood in the door way. Wearing the armor that I've become accustomed to, one pointed a very large pistol right at my head, yelling for me to freeze, get on the floor. I froze, instantly retracting my hand away from the black pony. While one had a pistol on me, the other charges towards me like a full grown bull! "Careful!" The French pony pleaded. "I just had him sti-" Her shoulder dug itself deep into my gut, briefly lifting me into the air before I tumbled to the ground. I first landed on my feet, but due to the angle and having the wind knocked out of me, I rolled back. My head slammed against the tile floor, and I let out an enraged cry of pain. I counted two snaps of metal wiring, and pain exploded in the shoulder! "GOD DAMMIT STOP!" The French pony thundered. The two soldiers paused, looking at one anothe with their green orbs for eyes, unsure of what to do. They simultaneously nodded, before the bigger one of the two, sent a rock hard fist down upon me. The fist was an uppercut, connecting with the left side of my face which was facing the floor. I groaned, my head feeling upwards to the ceiling. "I have an anesthetic!" The black pony sighed. "Let me-" "Let us do our job!" A soldier barked, as they were both now biting me again and again with their bare knuckles. I don't know how many hits I took, but I just remember being beaten to the point where I passed out, a good chance it was from a concusion. My body gave up, all limbs went loose and I just collapsed onto the tiled floor. The small white squares that covered the surfaces quickly morphing into one, big, black mass. I dreamed for that duration of time. Most of the time when I sleep, I don't remember anything about what my brain manages to mesh together...but this was different. This felt too real, too vivid. This was more of a vision than anything else. I didn't know how I could tell because I couldn't looks down at my own body, but I was walking. Just slowly strolling forward. My eyes were open too, as multiple large spheres appeared on both sides of me. These spheres were large, big enough to allow me to stand at my full height if I were to be placed inside one. Like a crystal ball, they were all projecting images. No, not images, movies. Not even movies, these were memories. Moments from my life from my point of view. These spheres were like of the ones I could see in the void...the void of my mind. The first ball was too my left. Staring at it gave me a very strong sense of sadness, and regret. It filled my heart to the brim with this gloomy feeling of depression, even as I saw Christa's beautiful smile. I could see my arms wrap themselves around her. With her forehead pressed up against mine, she whispered to me... "Stop it, it's not that bad." Her eyes opened. "You'll always be the one for me, and I'll never let you go." Oh...I see. I'm his was after the hospital, wasn't it? After everything I've done, every mistake I made to lead me to that point. How could I have been so stupid...and weak. I just stared at a younger version of me tightly embrace her. Just as I barely spotted a sliver of bandages on my left arm, the orb paused. It just stopped in the same fashion as someone would press the pause button. Confused, I tried to touch it, but my hand would go strait through it. Nothing happened, so I pressed on, letting the ball sit in silence. The next orb, was a turn of my head to the right, and I was no longer feeling this depressing fog in my heart. Instead, I was washed over with...concentration? I could see my own two hands, holding what appeared to me my dad's shotgun, the double barrel. I was younger defiantly. I had to be around twelve at this time. I remember this! This was was time we shot up Dad's old computer! CLI-POW! The sound of the metal trigger and the thrunerous roar of gun powder and buckshot filled me with excitement! Score the force sent me falling onto my ass, I could briefly see the computer screen explode into millions of shards of glass! I laughed maniacally, my younger self. "Awww YEAH!" I cried. "You see that!? You see what I did?!" My voice awkwardly cracked. "I sure did, my boy." My dad said, pulling me off the ground. "Wanna go again?" "For sure!" "Right." Dad said, pointing to the gun. I didn't know if I was smiling, but I remember this opinion about my dad. Every since I was little, I always thought my dad was sophisticated and proper because of his accent. With him being British, he made everything he said sound interesting and intellectual. Even if it was the stupidest shit ever, it sounded smart. It was funny to me. He could be talking about how the Earth was flat, and it would be interesting. "Remember, both shells are going to fly out, so be sure to stay out of the way so they don't possibly hit you in the face." "I will, Dad." I started to move on, not looking back, but I could still hear my dads' voice. "Be aware that this is not a toy. This isn't like one of your video games. you will kill somebody or yourself if you are not responsible! Be careful around this, son." The orb paused, ceased all movement, just like the first. I just stared at a still image of me looking at the shotgun in my two hands. "Yes sir." I whispered. "I will." Number three was one when I was still in Highschool. I was just leaning up against the lockers while people were busslinging by. Me and my group of friends were just minding our own business, talking about random shit, or girls we had a good time with for the past week. I was laughing at the time. Somebody told a joke, but I couldn't remember who said it or what the joke was even about. I just snickered, and turned to look down the hall to my right. And there she was. Leaning on the same side of the hall as me...there she was. My snickering faded as I was taken aback by her beauty. This wasn't just simply my head telling me that she looks like good boning material, this was something else. She just leaned up against a locker, talking to a chubby looking dude who looked the kind of guy who would be jerking his gherkin to hentai in him mom's basement. But she just smiled and continued talking about whatever to him. She didn't notice me staring at her. At the time, I just thought she was pretty as I looked at her, before one and of my friends pulled me out of my trance. Right as my view of that girl was rotated towards my friends, the memory stopped. I didn't expect nothing more than that, but...something strange happened. I didn't notice anything at first, but as I inspected the orb, I noticed that everything was under a minor shade of the color pink. I stood there puzzled, and the more I watched, the darker the color became. From a faint pink, to a light red, then a dark shade of crimson. Everything was painted red. But still, trying to touch the orb, my fingers would just go strait through. I continued forth, looking back occasionally at the...memory, if I could call it that. Soon enough, I couldn't see anything or anyone on that orb, just red. "Alright, I'll be back in a few hours." I heard my dads voice again, it came from the next memory. My head turned quickly towards orb to my left. I was young, very young. Had to be no older that four. I was in a livingroom, sitting on the floor to an apartment that I barely remembered. I just remember that dad and I moved in there for a little bit. One light was on, and that was the T.V behind me. It was playing Blue's Clues. I was playing with some toys. It was storming and outside. Lightning turned night into day for a brief second, before thunder rattled the little apartment. Dad stood in the front of the front door, wearing a over coat with his fancy suit underneath. He had an umbrella in his hand. He waved at me, before talking to somebody behind me. "Thank you so much. I'll pay you extra for being such sort notice." A chirpy female voice said with a happy, "No worries Mr.Clutch. I needed some quiet time to study anyway." "Great...great." Dad sighed. "I'll be back soon. There's some Coke in the fridge if you want some. Fix up a dinner for Oscar and you." "Will do. Bye bye." "Bye!" Dad called as he opened the door. Fat raindrops poured down on his umbrella as he closed the door behind him. Just as the door was closed and locked, monstrous thunder shook over our heads, as I looked up at the ceiling. "Well Oscar." The nice girl quipped. "What do you want to watch? Bob the Builder? Blues Clues?" "Blues Clues!" Little me cried out. Then the memory stopped. I didn't think much of this memory in particular. I stared at it for quite sometime. The longer I stared, the more I got this nervous feeling in my gut. There was also this...itch. Not like a mosquito bite or whatever. This was something in my head. I remember this, but at the same time, I couldn't. I wouldn't. It was on the tip of my tongue on what happend in this, but I couldn't figure it out, not for the life of me. "You did this to yourself, kid..." A voice, I heard a voice. It...it was coming from somewhere off to my right. I looked in that direction, and there was a final orb. The past four were off to the side, as if they were forming a pathway for me to walk along, but this one. This was right in the center of the path, showing the end. It was completely black, it was almost impossible for me to see at first. "Did you forget the fact that you took this very same bat, and beated the holy fuck out of him?" No. No. It can't be. Not now. Not now, not you! The orb lit up to reveal an abandoned construction site. Concrete walls were all around. Innocent men women and children were tied down, gagged, and crying; pleading for their lives. Soldiers with their soulless eyes just watched and giggled like hyenas. I was on the floor, tied into a chair, sobbing myself into exhaustion. Her blonde hair which was once silky smooth, has been violated. WHAM! Her beautiful face...mutilated. WHAM!! Her life....annihilated. WHAM! WHAM!! WHAM!!! The picture twisted in on itself, flashing glimpses of the man I brutally beaten. It would switch from one to the other so fast, frame by frame. It was almost as if I was watching some sick snuff slideshow. Every time the bat struck their heads, they were both in sync with each other. Soon enough, I was just watching an on going loop of Christa's death. I watched the pony beat her, bludgeon her, murder her. Pulverize her until her head was nothing but a putrid pulp of brain, blood, and hair. A sinking feeling in my chest, in my heart, send me into a trembling fit. "You twisted my arm here, you know that, right?" The memory stopped, showing a clear view of Christa's once beautiful face, once was full of life. The voice continued to taunt me. "If you would've gone by the rules, then I wouldn't be in this mess." I felt weak. I felt dizzy. My legs gave in and I fell towards the floor, only there was no floor...just the void. I fell and kept on falling. The orbs grew further and further away. Cold air blew through my hair and whistled in my ears. "If you didn't kill one of my guys, my men, my valuables, then we wouldn't be having this conversation, your girlfriend would still be here, still alive and kicking." I could feel my consciousness slip away. Exhaustion has taken over. "That's on you. This is ALL on you." I continued to fall, my arms flailed above me, there was nothing now. No orbs, no memories. There was just me, the voice, and the void in between. "Until next time." Then I woke up for real. My eyes slowly slid open as everything came into focus. The first thing that I could see was a cell door. A door of metal bars that led into a mysterious hallway, dimmly lit with only one light from the ceiling. With a pounding head ache, I groaned, massaging one temple at a time. I paused and looked down at myself. I was lying on a small bed that was suspended in place by chains in the walls directly to my right. I sighed, I lied my head onto my pillow before I let out a shocked gasp of pain! It felt like somebody dragged a red bot knife right across the nape of my neck! That was when my senses became clear! Questions, so many questions flooded my mind! Where am I? Why am I here? What did they do to me?! I jumped out from the cot, tumbling to the floor before I found myself backing into the bars. I hissed as the sting of my shoulder collided with the bars. "Shit!" A women gasped. I pressed up against the bars, my heart was instantly pounding hard against the walls of my chest. I pointed a finger at the figure laying in the bed above mine! "Who...what...where am I!?" I gasped. "Oscar! Ssshh" The figure hopped down onto the floor and scurried over to me like a creepy fucking demon! Her blonde hair masked her face as she drew nearer and nearer! Before I could protest, a hand clamped down onto my mouth and held my trembling body still! "If you're loud enough, they'll kill us both!" She whispered. With her other hand, she moved the hair back to reveal her face. I recognized her. It was Heather. It had to be Heather of all people. Her lip was swollen and had a cut in it, deep too. Looked like she took a bad beating. Slowly removing her hand from my mouth, she hushed me once more, quietly creeping back to the bunk beds. "Where are we, Heather?! Where!" I hissed softly. "Shut up, and go to bed!" She mouthed. I sat there and watched her in a stunned trance as she climbed back into her bed on top. However, just before she lied down, she looked at me with a worried expression on her face. She whispered something to me, but I couldn't even make out what she said. I was outing words together in my head, staring at the freezing cold floor. Three words, that I couldn't comprehend why she said what she did. "You're....fighting....today."
Chapter 1 'A Long Night' Sec.1 'Resolutions'Chapter 1 'A Long Night' Sec.1 'Resolutions' "TEN!" I turn up the T.V volume a little. "NINE!" I put my drink down, and reclined my chair. "EIGHT!" The people in the crowd are getting antsy... "SEVEN!" I sit patiently waiting… "SIX!" "Wait wait! Hold up!" My friend shouted as he stomped over to the couch. "FIVE!!" He sat on the couch, placing a bowl of nachos, a bottle of beer, and a party popper onto the coffee table. "FOUR!!!" The ball is getting closer and closer to the bottom. My friend sticks three fingers into the air, while my hand rests on the lid of my drink. "THREE!!!!" It's about to end. "TWO!!!!" It's about to begin... "ONE!!!!!!" Simultaneously, I pop open my soda, while my friend yanks the string of the party popper hard. A loud pop is quickly covered over by the insane amounts of cheering and screaming through the television. A small cloud of confetti falls to the floor before us. "Happy New Year, mother fucker!!" My friend shouted as he cracked open his beer. "2017!" I cheered, raising my drink into the air. "Cheers!" Large amounts of streamers and confetti rained down upon the enormous crowd of drunk New Yorkers. Cameras would switch to see couples kissing, people hugging, people cheering. Joy for the new year continued as Frank Sinatra's voice sang to the people of Time Square, to all of America, and the world. [youtube=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i-ZUXQuFcnw] "Happy New Year, Oscar." My friend chimed. "Same to you, man! Happy New Year!" I belched, as I was just chugging my drink. We both took a swig of our drinks at the same time. I set my drink on a side table and sat up, taking my phone out of my pocket. I called her up. The phone rang while I watched the TV. There was a brief silence before I was greeted with her wonderful voice in the static. "Hey, Babe!" "Christa, Happy New Year!" I greeted her with much enthusiasm. "Happy New Year!" "How's the party?" I asked her. "You watching the TV?" "Yeah, it's on. But no, sadly I didn't watch as much as I would've liked to." She sighed. "You know how my Nana is. She's nice and all, but she doesn't stop talking! She just went on and ON about all of her problems, and politics. God...at least I got some down time for the moment." "Shit." I chuckled, scratching my chin, watching the T.V. "I know what you mean. Iv'e had a few...chats with her. She seems nice yeah, but she...she just likes to ramble I guess." "Well..." She said. There was a slight pause as I could hear the liquid in a bottle swooshing around, before she let out a quick gasp. "I'm...I'm gonna get hammered tonight. I don't have work tomorrow, so I can spend a good chunk of morning recovering from the hangover. I wish..." She sighed once more. "I wish you could be here with me." "Me too...me too." I could see my friend getting his shoes on in the corner of my eye. "Not having a hangover, of course. But spending some time with you, yeah." "Of course." She agreed. Still watching the T.V, I noticed that the sights of the celebrating crowd disappeared, and it was showing some news anchors reporting at the scene. "Look, we'll make a plan to see each other tomorrow." I said. "We can grab some breakfast if you want. A real expensive, and fancy breakfast. How bout McDonalds?." I could hear her snort under her breath. "I would like that..." Christa cooed soothingly. "Happy New Year, Oscar." "Yeah..." I softly said, about to hang up. "You too." I hung up the phone and put it in my pocket. Behind me, I could hear the fumbling of my friend stuffing his feet into his shoes. I looked behind me. "Going so soon, Dan?" "Yeah!" He said hastily, tying his laces. "Mark and Chester are going to that club a few blocks down. They asked if we wanted to join them. I might meet a girl tonight. Hell, maybe even get laid! You should come, dude!" "Nah." I said with a smirk, turning off the TV. "I don't feel like being the designated driver tonight, especially with all of the drunks running wild out there. Besides, my boss might call in tomorrow. You go ahead man." "But I'm walking there. It isn't far! You-... bahh. Suit yourself." He sighed, already opening the door, stepping out. He turned his head back. "Happy New Year!" He closed the door. I stood there in the dark. Looking at my Coke on the table, I snatched it up, and took a big long sip. Listening to the silence, I could faintly hear the music of the New Year's Celebration. Putting my drink down, I walked over to a fire escape window, and opened it. I could now hear the music more clearly, people cheering, loud fireworks of all kind. "Yeah...Happy New Year." I finished my drink, and took a nice, hot shower. Within five to ten minutes, I stepped out of my little apartment shower, steam clouding my mirror and my sight. Wearing some sweat pants, I took out my tooth brush and some toothpaste. By then, the mirror was slightly clearer. I could see myself, with my black hair matted down, and my brown eyes to match. I turned to the side, looking at my belly. Not completely skinny, but not getting a gut either. My eyes trailed down to my left arm, then to my hand...if it was there. I wrapped my right hand around the stump where my left hand should've been. A stump just above the wrist everything below that...gone. I placed my bum arm on top of the toothbrush, holding it down. With some stability, I simple squeezed some paste on. I gave my teeth a good cleaning, washed out my mouth, and I was just about ready to hit the sack. There was just one more thing I had to do. Navigating the halls to my bed room, I grabbed my phone on my dresser. I pulled up my Dad and I sent him a message. Hey Dad! Happy New Year. Hope you're doing alright tonight. I pushed send, and I almost got a reply instantly. ... Thanks, Oscar. I'm doing good. Rest easy. Happy New Year, son. I plugged in my phone, and set an alarm just in case. I yawned as I climbed into bed. Pulling the covers over me, I grabbed some headphones that were lying on the covers beside me. Putting them on killed anything that could wake me up. No cheering or fireworks could disturb me now. Lying beneath the blankets, all snug in my bed made me fall asleep. I was being swallowed in a comforting darkness of my mind. I fell asleep that night, ending a memorable New Year's Eve. But then I woke up... KA-VOOM!!! Something loud thundered through my arpartment. I shot up starit in my bed as everything shook around me. Vibrations sent items toppling over. I groaned, exhausted. I leaned over the bed to check my phone. The clock read 1:12 am. I've been asleep for a little over and hour. It was probably a firework. Did somebody really light off a mortar in the complex? I jumped out of bed to see what was going on. Right as I left the bedroom, I realized that I could hear people screaming and hollaring like a bunch of drunks in the hall. RAT-A-TATATATAT! Multiple pops could be heard from the hall outside. Very loud pops. "Are you fucking kidding me!?" I groaned "Really?" I stormed over to the front door and yanked it open. The commotion was coming from my right. "WHO THE HELL IS LIGHTING FIRECRA-" I stood in the hall, shirtless, ready to get some answers. I paused when I realized my mistake. I should've never opened that door. I stood before a group of...soldiers. They all wore dark green uniforms with camouflaged patterns. On their chests, knees, and elbows, they wore metallic platings. Everywhere else was covered with thick armor that looked very durable. They were all armed with guns. Rifles that were jet black with flashlights on the ends of them. They looked military grade. "What the hell..." I gasped. I could see that they wore face paint that hid their faces well enough to where you can't describe what they looked like. But I could see one detail that they could never hide. Their eyes. They...glowed. Their eyes glowed with a green hue. And they were all looking at me. More and more of them came storming onto the floor through the staircase at the end of the hall. The door across from me opened. My neighbor, a plump elderly lady named Mary was dressed in grey pajamas and wore the same angered expression that I had. More and more doors opened on the apartment floor. One man futher down the hall opened his door. He wore a blue robe and he was obviously drunk. "Wath a foo issss goon on?!" He helped. People watched the dispute in silence, until the soldier closest to him whipped out a baton, in which they whipped the metal club across his face! The force of the blow sent the poor man crumbling to the floor! "Everyone get out of your rooms and onto the ground!!" They shouted. They shouted it again and again and again! They started kicking down doors and hauling people out into the hall! Mary already slammed her door and locked it. My head darted back down the hall, as I saw more soldiers charging down the hall! Running in my direction! "Oh FUCK!" I slammed the door shut and turned the door lock. I backed away from the door, my heart was beginning to race, but it began to pound once I head the somebody ramming themselves against the door! "OH FUCK!" I immediatly bolted for the fire escape window, yanking it open one handed. Cold air already flooded in, and I I was crawling through, but I paused. Somebody was still kicking at the door, but my eyes shifted to the hallway to the bedroom. As quickly as I could, I ran toward my bedroom where my phone rested on the bedside. Throwing the door open, slamming it against the wall, I grabbed my phone, and yanked it hard as I could; hard enough to pull the charger out of the wall socket to send it flying through the air! CH-KRAK Just as I entered the living room, a loud snapping of wood filled my ears. I looked behind me in horror as the front door came crashing to the floor. Light poured in from the hall. I stood there, seeing the figure enter the room. I trembled, watching whatever creature stood before me. It wasn't human. Something else. It moved on all fours. Each time one of its feet hit the floor, a thump could be heard. I could see armor coating its body, all in black. The only feature that I could see were the two glowing red eyes staring at me. Orbs of burning fire that pierced my soul, right through me. I slowly inched further and further from it. "What the fuck are you..." I mumbled. "Get on the ground...before I use lethal force!! Drop the phone! NOW!!!" It...talked. It talked to me. I couldn't believe my ears. I quivered, panicking, trying to comprehend what I was witnessing with my senses. It's voice was female, rough and scratchy. I couldn't stay!With no hesitation, I spun around and raced for the fire exit! I could hear the rapid thumping on the carpet behind me as the thing gave chase! I drove through the window, slamming into the railing of the fire escape! The creature rammed itself into my back. I could feel two arms wrapping around my neck! It's legs wrapped around my torso, and it's weight prevented me from pushing it off! The grip was so tight. I struggled to breathe, as I spun around, trying to get in off! Trying anything to loosen its grip! SKSSHH! I threw my back up against the window, causing most of the glass to shatter into bits and pieces! "Hrk- ge...get OFF!" "Sub...mit! Stop fighting!" It screamed in my ear, every word made my ear ring. My vision was getting blurry. Hardly any oxygen was being inhaled. My arms flailed in the air, as I began to loose balance. Time began to slow down. I could analyze more details as everything around me spun. I could see the shattered window with such clarity. I looked down, and I could see the ground four stories below me. I couldn't believe what I saw. Just below me, lying on the sidewalk staring back up at me. It...it was a police officer. He lied sprawled out on his back, in a pool of his own blood. His left leg looked like it had been torn off, only leaving strips of flesh to dangle into the winter air. Multiple gashes across his body left his entire uniform a very dark blue. He lied there, on the sidewalk where large chunks of concrete have been blown away around him, forming a web of cracks that stretched in every direction. The creature's force yanked my head back up, allowing me to see the staircase downward for a very brief moment. Stairs...stairs! I knew what I had to do. I clamped my hand and arm down on its arms. Spinning around as quickly as I could, I leaned back and I felt myself loosen from the creature's grip. I could hear it yell in surprise for a brief moment. "Oh FU-" FWAM! I could feel its body slam itself against the top stair underneath me. It let out an angry grunt of pain as it began to roll down, with me on top of it. Gravity pulled me along before I could react! "ARGH!" I yelled as I fell face first into hard metal. I struggled to get up, but the creature's body rolled over me, pushing me against the cold metal before it flew downward to the bottom, hitting every step along the way. I final clang of the metal indicated that the beast hit the end of the staircase. I found myself gasping for air, my left arm warppaed around my chest as I coughed and wheezed. "Shi...shit." I moaned, as I gripped the railing. "Ow...ow...god damn." Pulling myself to my feet, I climbed up the stairs clutching my chest. I looked back down at the thing that lay at the bottom, moaning with pain. "What the...FUCK are you?!" I heaved. I looked down at what appeared to be a bright blue...horse?! A fucking horse?! I was not seeing things. This was real! It lied there, as blood trickled out of this mouth and nose! It's bright blue fur was sprinkled with red. It had rainbow fucking hair. Short hair that was sectioned off into different colors! "Wha...what the hell is this?" I mumbled quietly to myself. *cough cough* I watched it as it spat out a glob of blood and spit. The horse looked around itself, then back up at me. "OH SHIT." I stumbled back. It wiped a hoof across its face, looking at the blood that smeared its brown color. It looked up at me...and it growled. "You...are fucking...dead." I spun around and bolted up the fire escape! My heart pounded in my chest, my lungs burned. Up. Up! UP! I stomped up every stair, still gasping for air! I got to another window a floor up! I stopped in front of it, only to see the silhouette of a soldier pouring a gun at a somebody that I couldn't see. It's glowing eyes dimmly illuminated the room, but the flash of gunfire smothered it. Rat-at-tat! Ping! Pt! I saw glass fly from the window as bullets broke through. I yelped in shock as I fell back, cowering away from the window! "Fuck! FUCK!" I screamed as I scrambled up the stairs, tripping on every stair along the way. I looked back down to see the horse a floor below me! Reached the top! The metal stairs came to end as I came up on the roof! I threw myself forward, tumbling to the floor! I scurried away from the stairs, jumping to my feet! "Get away!" I yelled. "Get awa-" I paused. My gut twisted in fear, infusion, and pain at the sights that I saw. "Oh my god." Anarchy. Total anarchy. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Buildings were ablaze, blown to bits. Multiple smoke clouds stretched into the sky. As my legs turned to jelly, I listened to sirens, gunfire, explosions, and the screams terrified people. I could hear the loud hum from behind me. Looking back, I watched as two military helicopters flew over my head. Their roar was the only sound that I could hear. They soared through the air, and flew further up into the sky. FWUM! I could barely see the blue blur crash right into me, slamming into my chest. The immense pressure sent every ounce air out of my lungs. I was pinned to the ground, pain shot up my back, and I was gasping for air. From the ground, I looked up at the blue horse, that pinned me down with one hoof. It glared at me with its burning coal for eyes that seemed to grow brighter with each moment. I lied there paralyzed, staring up at a pair of humongous wings that were outstretched from its back. Growling at me like a savage beast, it wrapped its arms underneath my armpits, and it hauled me up to my feet with its large, flapping wings. I barely landed on my feet, still wheezing, still woozy. It's wings tucked back behind her. "You fucked up, boy..." I could hear it's raspy voice taunt me, before a solid hoof clocked me right in the jaw. I found myself spinning around before collapsing onto the floor. Facing away from the creature, I lay there on my stomach, whining in agony. Every breath, every moan of pain, sent more pain through my throbbing jaw. A hoof kept me stuck to the ground as it dug itself into my back. "You'll be alright." It hissed. "I hate doing that....but dammit you left me no fuckin choice. You're lucky I only used 40% of my strength on you." She pressed on me harder. I winced. "Don't make me go to 100." I watched the smoke from burning buildings float up into the night sky. Off in the distance, I could hear the destruction of a bulding of what sounded like a large bomb. It went off, and I could see a long lasting orange glow, that faded as quickly as it came into light. With a pounding heart, I heard the alien creature cackle a phrase that stuck with me since then. "Your life is fucked, kid. It's all about to change."
Chapter 1 'A Long Night' Sec.2 'The Land of Tones'Chapter 1 'A Long Night' Sec.2 'The Land of Tones' "There we go." The horse teased. "Comfortable?" Two soldiers stepped away from me, finishing their job of bounding me in duct tape. My feet were taped together at the ankles, and my arms were tightly bounded together behind my back. I struggled with my restraints, grunting like an animal every time I jerked an arm or kicked a foot. "Stop." The horse snapped. "Just stop." I looked up at the creature, and it looked down on me. Every time the thing moved its mouth to speak, I couldn't look away. It was like seeing something out of a dream, a vision. I couldn't look away. I just couldn't. "What...what the fuck is going on here?! What are you? !" I shouted. "Shut up!" The creature barked. "Just shut the FUCK up!" It lowered its head forward so she was looking directly into my eyes. "Sorry....I'm just not in the best mood right now. Look." She huffed. "I get it. You were just minding your own business. You were probably sleeping, drinking, or consuming a substance that will make you higher than a kite. You've got questions, I get that. I've got a squad to lead, so I'll make it short and to the point. So pay attention." She leaned in closer. "We are here, this isn't a dream. We are not here to kill you. We are here to...'collect' you. Just do as I say, and I won't kick your teeth in." I moved my head back, my eyes were as wide as saucers at this point. "Wha...what are you?" "I'm your master. And your master says to stay still." She looked at the soldiers. "Bring him inside. I would hate to lose him. And hurry, don't get it by a stray bullet." Wrapping their hands around my shoulders and ankles, the two soldiers lifted me into the air. I watched their feet walk towards the door inside the complex. The door creaked open, and I was being lowered into the darkness, the only light that I could see was the glow of their sockets. One by one, I decended the stair case. "What are you gonna do to me!" I gasped. "I am gonna put you off to the side for now." The horse muttered. We continued to go down, and I kept track of how many steps were took. The horse's hooves tapped loudly against the concrete stairs. She had a rythym to her steps. She never slowed down. She kept a constant speed. 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4 I could feel my body turn with their motions. Not to exit, but to go down further. My feet dipped at an angle, and we continued. 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4 Another floor. I could hear the horse's raspy voice as she grunted, pushing the exit door open. Light from the hall poured in. Already I could see the awful mistreatment that was given to innocent people. People let out muffled screams, lying on the ground like slugs, completely helpless. We began to pass by open doors on either side of us. Tilting my head, I watched with shock as innocent people were bounded. Most of everyone was mostly gagged in someway, from socks to tape...even underwear. People of all ages and sizes were incapacitated like this, we were no different to them. As my head bopped with their footsteps, I saw a little girl in the shadows of one of the rooms. She was no older than six. She was in her pajamas, and she had a sock stuffed in her mouth, tears glistened her cheeks, snot ran from her nose. "In here." I heard the horse command. I was turned to the left, and everything grew dark. I watched both pair of boots walk over a wooden door that was busted down from the outside. Tilting my head to look forward, I could seen my fire escape window, shattered to bits, only leaving little shade to stick out in the winter air. "Home sweet home." The horse mocked. "Drop him." Both pairs of hands let me go simutaniously. I watched the carpet floor rapidly approaching my face before everything went black for a brief moment. My chest was once again, airless. The force of the drop sent my teeth to clamp hard on the tip of my tongue. A sharp stinging pain made me help and my eyes water. I winced in disgust as my tongue could taste a small metallic tang. Coping with the pain, I rolled over so I can see above me. The horse stood over me, he raindow hair hung in front of her face to mask the glowing sockets of red light. "You know, you got some fight in you...I like that. When you slammed me against the window, heh..." She smiled as she heaved her chest, laughing to herself. "That hurt like a bitch. I don't have my mind completely made up on what your job will be buuuut...the gears are turnin'." She looked at one of her men. "Watch him, and make sure he doesn't pull anything." The soldier nodded silently, quickly approaching me. He pulled out a roll of tape, and stripped off a big strand. "No. Wait N-" Before I could plead, my lips were taped shut. The blood was already starting to build up in my mouth. The horse and the other grunt left the room, while my overseer grabbed me by the ankles, and dragged me into the living room. I let out several muffled cries as my belly rubbed against the carpet. I banged my head against the floor, enduring the burning pain on my stomach and chest. The soldier pivoted me around so I could see the T.V. The man, plumped right down on my reclining chair. There was a click of a remote, and the T.V came to life. The first thing that came on was the channel that I left it on, but it was anything but a celebration. I gasped in shock and disbelief. There were people scattered across time square. It...it was a fucking slaughter house. Buildings had humongous holes blown into them. People lied sprawled on the ground, either dead or in massive amounts of pain. Blood...there was so much blood and gore, I fought the strong urge to vomit. Men, women....children. I couldn't hold back the tears. It was a massacre. "We have some...breaking news." A voice broke away the screams and gunfire, and T.V showed the news anchor Brian Williams himself sitting at his news desk. He wore a grey suit and black tie, both ruffled and torn. His face took a beating, with a swollen cheek, and a nose with a tissue sticking out of his nostril. Blood trickled down his lip. "This uh...this is-is a message f-f-from The Angels." Off camera, a clipboard is slipped over to him by a hand. The clipboard has a piece of paper with a message written on it in pen. His trembling hands picked up the board, and he skimmed what is read. "You want me to read this? Word for word?" He asked, looking at somebody...or something off camera. He cleared his throat, and took several deep breaths, trying to make his voice as smooth as possible. "To all who can see or hear me, this is...the first day of change. We are a multidimensional race who has come to spread awareness of our ways. We are not here to hurt you. We are not here to kill you and...and exterminate your kind. We are simply a community who wants to expand and create the authority that your world desperately needs. Authority for your world and many worlds to come. We can be reasonable people, we don't want to kill, but we will kill..." He paused and sighed. "If we have to." The T.V went back to time square to show the massive amounts of bodies on the streets and sidewalks. "This is what happens when you do not comply. You try to stall us, then you will join them." The T.V cut back to Brian, who sat there with a horrified look on his face as he read on. "What you are about to see, is how we assess your traits and what job would fit best for you. This include, intelligence, strength, perception, but also various biological traits, such as bone density, illnesses. First, you and an 'Apostle' will meet." Something hopped onto the desk, just out of the cameras view. It was fairly big, as I could see it's shadow. A few thumps could be heard and what appeared to be a large dog sat right next to Brian. It was big, brown, and it had a long tail. When I watched it crouch to the table surface, I gasped. I couldn't believe my eyes! It was some kind of ape! A creature with large bug eyes that I levee out of its skull! It had a hairless face with a snout that jutted outward. Its mouth revealed two rows of razor sharp teeth! The ears were elongated, stretching out along the sides of its head. The Apostle had apposable fingers that gripped the edge of the desk like a monkey. Brian just looked at the creature with an open mouth. He wanted to run and hide, but he knew he couldn't. "An ap-p-postle...or also known as a Satori, is a creature that grew in the mountains back in our world. They've exsisted for thousands of years, and they have the very special ability, to read..." Brian paused. "To...read minds. *ahem* Just let them do their thing, and you'll be 'sent on your way.' " Brian put the paper down, the clipboard clinked against the table. Brian slowly turns towards the Apostle, and they make eye contact with each other, Then the monkey wrapped its fingers around his head. Brian gasped and began reach for his head but he let out an agonizing, bloodcurdling scream. Brian screamed and screamed and he began to twitch violently. There is a flash of light, and Brian was flung back into is seat. Brian sat in his chair, with his eyes rolling into the back of his skull. His body twitched, and there was a brief moment of silence. The Apostle sat there and stared at the unconscious news anchor. Suddenly, a wet slap could be heard as a piece of bloody, raw meat fell onto the desk. The creature looked at the meat, and it began to gnaw on the hunk of flesh. In the background, as the creature ate the meat, two solders with glowing green eyes, picked up Brian by his back and ankles. Shwoom! A blue swirl appeared onto the wall beside them. The Apostle looked at the swirling hole in the wall, clutched its meat tightly, and it leaped into the portal. The hole rippled and twisted on itself before returning to normal. The two men swung Brian forward and back before hurling him into the portal. Just as the hole began to ripple once more, the T.V cut to bars and tones. I lied on the ground...in absolute silence. My eyes burned from my lack of blinking. I looked up at the soldier in the chair. He wasn't looking at me, just looking strait at the T.V. "Just do what he said." He growled. "And you'll do just fine." I stated stair at the T.V, the tones burned into my mind. That night, the country became, 'The Land of Tones.'
Chapter 1 'A Long Night' Sec.3 'Crimson Steel'I used to wonder if there was ever a god or a creator of this earth. I used to wonder if the stories of The Bible or The Quran were true. I don't really think about it now. My grandfather was really strict with my dad, as he was a loyal Catholic. Once he was out of the house and had me, he wanted me to choose what I want to believe in. I didn't really choose, but I did ponder about the idea of a higher power. I wondered if our race serves a purpose, or if we just evolved through time. Are we the only intelligent being in the universe, or are there beings that possess technology centuries more advanced than ours? Now I have an answer, and I wish I never did. We are not alone. Not even close. There is life beyond the stars, I know it, but I never would’ve thought that we would be invaded by people from an alternate world, and alternative reality. I never expected Multiverse theory to be true, but you learn something every day. Looking on religious faiths now, I can safely say that I have come to a conclusion. I might die tonight, I might get tortured, beaten, raped. I don't know. The sky’s the limit. Whatever happens to me, it will be at the hand of life from another dimension. At this point, I don't think there is a God. I have been chased by a talking horse with wings. I've seen the aftermath of a slaughter in Time Square. I am bounded and gagged with a mouth full of blood. Men with guns and mind reading creatures have invaded New York, if not the nation. Why not the world. No, I take it back. This is my final guess. God is dead. God is dead, and therefore I am royally fucked. *click* I heard the T.V abruptly switch channels. "Without us...you have nothing." The T.V flashed to a different program. I looked up in a dazed state of confusion, completely overwhelmed. The screen showed a scene from an episode of Breaking Bad. I recognized Gus's face. He was standing in front of Walter and Jesse with a box cutter in his hand. Walter and Jesse were sitting in chairs, while Mike stood behind them. I looked away from the screen, and panned across the room, seeing if there was anybody else in the room. I don't know why I did. There was little hope of escaping this. I couldn't just roll myself away into the hall. That was when I gazed over to the kitchen. There, sitting on the counter, was a small knife rack. They were all nice and sharp. I knew this because I hardly use them that often. Ssvish... I looked back at the T.V. Gus had just slit someone's throat with the boxcutter. The victim, some Mexican guy; squirmed and grabbed at Gus's face. Blood poured from the gash in his neck, soaking his shirt in red. His gasps and wheezes grew softer and softer, as he grew weaker and weaker. Then, once he fell silent, Gus let his body fall to the floor, right at Walter and Jesse's feet. The look on his face, the lack of emotion, the lack of regret. The two of us watched the T.V in silence. Everything was quiet. And then, as the solider was about to mumble a comment about the show... "OH SHIT!!" RATATATATAT! "Some got out!" I heard a female voice bellow. "They got guns over here! I need help!" Suddenly, a blaze of gunfire erupted in the halls. Screams could be heard. Cries of pain, fear. People were screaming through whatever muffled them. "GO GO GO!!" I heard someone scream. "Free as many as you can!" "What the fuck?!" The soldier in my reclining chair jumped to his feet as his rifle made a click, ready to fire. He stormed across the room. With his rifle in hand, he peeked behind the doorway. Shards of wood were flying from the door frame, bullets were ripping through it! The grunt yelled, and jumped back into the room. I watched in total fucking confusion, my eyes darting back and forth between the grunt and the door! "GET OUT OF HERE!!" Someone from hall screamed at the top of their lungs. Ratatat! The soldier peeked his rifle into the hall, and fired multiple rounds before... "ARRGH!" He stumbled back into the room, clutching his chest. "FUUCK!!! Bleeding! I'm BLEEDING!" More soldiers were charging down the halls, firing their weapons! More and more enraged cries were coming from the hall. A screech of screams and gunfire rang in my ears. The man, still clutching his chest, collapsed to his knees, moaning in agony. Another green eyed solder stumbled into the room, tumbling to the floor. Wherever this one moved, blood streaked the carpet. Just then, a shadow emerged into my apartment. It wore no armor, and its eyes didn't glow any color. Just then I noticed it was carrying something in its hand, BANG! BANG! Pain exploded in my ears. Every sound that I could hear, was immediately drowned out by the high pitched ring. Everything became blurry, but I could still somewhat see. The soldier grabbing his chest, slumped to the floor. The pistol that the shadow carried fell to its side. Its head turned to look at me across the room, and it charged. All I could do was let out a muffled plea. MMFF! "Easy! Easy!" A male voice yelled. I could see a human face with the light from the T.V. An actual human, not one of these sick freaks. It was a man, maybe in his thirties. He was dressed in blue pajamas that were sprinkled with red. His face was fucked up, with a gash in his lip and a swollen right eye. He held me still. His ears were smeared with blood, and it dripped onto the floor. His voice was awkwardly loud and slurred. Every few seconds he would clinch in pain. "I'mmm setting youuu free! Ittsa gonnna be ok!" He spoke like a man who couldn't even hear his own words. He searched frantically through my kitchen to look for something to cut my restraints. Silverware, tongs, spatulas, they all fell to the floor with metallic clangs. He raced over to me, with a large steak knife. Kneeling before down to me, he looked back towards the door. Gunfire was still erupting from the hallway. He placed the blade on the tape covering my ankles; and he began to saw back and forth. "Hoolld stiell!" My feet moved with the motions as he cut through the tape. With a snap, the last of the tape was broken from my legs. Letting out frantic muffled cries, I rolled onto my stomach. The man brought the blade, slipped it underneath my wrists and he began cutting. "Come on, come on, come on...there!" The tape came loose, the man backed away and I ripped the tape away from my arms and feet. Next, I grabbed a corner of the tape covering my mouth, and I yanked it clean off. It stung like hell as hair was ripped strait from my skin, but I couldn’t give two shits. Once the tape was gone, I hurled out the enormous amount of blood that was building up in my mouth. I spat out wads of spit that were colored a sickening shade of red. At my feet was a puddle of blood that was about the same size as my fist. "Fuck!" I gagged in disgust. "Thank you! Thank GOD!" I stumbled, over to the fire escape and I crawled through, trying not to cut myself on the glass. "Warre the helll are eu going?!" I turned back to the man who freed me. He stood there in my living room, pointing the tip of the knife at me. "I'm free!" I snapped. "You're free! We need to get the fuck out here! We need to the the FUCK out of the city!!" "There are innocent peeple in there!" He screamed, pointing the gun towards the door. "Youuu need to com wit me right now! NOW!" I looked at the door out in the hall. The blast of guns, and bloodcurdling screams sent a sickening pain in my stomach. I looked back at the man and I sighed in reluctance, and I began to decend the stairs. "Get back here! Get bac- God damn it!" I could hear his shout and I raced downward. The cold metal against my bare feet stung like fire. The crisp air of winter made my bare chest shudder. The smoke of burning buildings invaded my lungs and I coughed every step of the way. One floor down, two floors down. I am so close. My heart was pounding against the walls of my chest! It was racing so hard, I could've sworn I was gonna break a rib! Just below me, more people were frantically scurrying down the steps, screaming and crying. A man, wearing a grey shirt and jeans was flying down the steps, he was screaming... "Come on! Come on! This way, hurry! Let's go!" More and more people were scattering once they reached the streets below. I'm so close now, I just need to come down one more floor! "Hurry! Hurry! Come o-" RATATATAT!!! A swarm of bullets ripped right through the man below me. I screamed as I slipped and fell back. I gazed on in disbelief. The man was struggling to stay on his feet. Blotches of red were spreading across his torso. Behind the corner of the building, a soldier with glowing green eyes trudged over to him, and he kicked the dying man to the pavement. The grunt could hear my cries and his head turned to look up at me. Giving him no time to raise his rifle, I literally dove through the open window to my right! My shoulder crashed into a chair. It's legs creaked and it fell over. RATAT! Bullets bounced from the steps, ripping right through the glass window! Bits and shards of glass rained down on me like rain, pricking at my skin! I protected my eyes with my hand, and I used the stump to drag myself away! Rising to my feet, I began to bolt for the door to this apartment, but I stopped dead in my tracks. Two bodies, a man and a woman, completely naked were laid up against the door. One, a man, was leaning face first against the door, his head was angled so he was looking up. They didn't move. They didn't speak. They didn't blink. "FUCK! FUCK!" My head snapped over to the window, where I could see a large hand grab ahold of the window frame. Panicking and desperate, I bolted over to a hall on my left. Two rooms were on my left, one on the right. On the right was a bedroom. I entered the bedroom and slammed the door behind me, locking it shut! Heaving and wheezing, I looked for a way to hide or defend myself in any way! I couldn't see shit in the dark! I had to hide! I needed to hide! I fell to the floor and rolled under the bed, trying to be as quiet as possible. Panting heavily, I laid on my stomach, barely watching the door to the hall through a drooped blanket hanging over the side. I held my breath and tried to be as still as possible. My heart was pounding in my chest and my ears. I hoped and prayed that I would get out alive. My mind thought that I was going to die. I couldn't help myself. Memories flashed before my eyes, both the good and the bad. I reflected on the choices I've made, things I've done, how I've changed. I never thought I was a good person in this life. I tried to change who I was, I really did! There was so much more to do! So much to do in order to redeem myself for being the dangerous punk that I was! Now...it might be too late for that. This is it, isn't it? It's over...it's really over. Something metal and cold bumped my knuckle, I looked at my side. My hand had grazed what seemed to be a metal bat. I felt the rubber like grip of the handle. I gasped as I heard the jingling of a door knob. I stared up at the door in horror. RATATATAT!!! I yelped as I clamped onto my ears! My hand covered one ear, I was was pressing my stump against the other as hard as I could! It was loud. So loud. When the gunfire ceased, there was a loud crack of wood and a snapping of hinges. I poked my head up and opened my eyes. The door was still intact and whole. I heard loud footsteps emerging from the wall to my left. Looking at the bat, I grabbed it, and held it tight to my chest. The soldier was checking a different room. If I could just run towards the window, I’d be home free! With this knowledge, I pulled the bat out with me as I crawled. I need to get the fuck out of here, and this was my chance! Once out, I tucked the bat under my right armpit. Quietly as I could, I made my way for the door. Reaching for the handle, I knew that once I opened this door, there was no going back. The door handle shook and juggled before I could grasp it. For several moments, I watched the handle shake and I panicked. He was gonna shoot the door down, wasn't he?! There was a loud thump of boot on wood and I jumped back. It happened again and again, thump after thump! I was desperate! I had to do something! He was going to find me one way or another if I hid! "STOP!!!" There was one final thump...and everything fell silent. I was about to piss myself with shaking legs. Trying to sound as fearless as I could with my trembling voice, I shouted at the door... "Stop! Back the FUCK up!!" I screamed as I hugged my back against the wall by the door. There was no sound coming from the door. There was only darkness around me. Darkness, and the buzzing in my ears. "You need...you need to back off! I swear to god!!! I've got a gun in here!" There was a mocking snort from the other side. I could hear wheezy laughter. "I'm for real!!" I gripped then at tighter. "I will use it! If I hear another sound, I will blow you the fuck way! Do you want to test me!? Do you want...to FUCKING test me!?" No responce. I needed to enforce my message. With a loud WHAM, I swung the bat up against the door hard, with everything I had! "DO YOU WANT TO TEST ME!!?" I panted hard, my lip quivered from the sheer intensity of the standoff. *cha-chick* "Oh fuck..." RATATATATAT!!!! Shards of wood flew everywhere. Flashes of light just kept getting brighter and brighter as bits of the door were blown away. It was so loud. I could've sworn my eardrums had burst from the intensity of each round as they went off. I fell to the floor, curling into a ball while covering my ears. RATATATA-*chik-chik* The sound of metallic clicks made my head pop up from my shell. The door was blown to shreds. Multiple gaping holes stood in the wood, grey smoke emerged from within. I could smell it. A brief paused followed before the sound of metal sliding against metal caught my attention. A small thump could be heard. Now...now was my chance. I grabbed the bat and jumped to my feet. *click...ch-chick* KRACK! A giant boot broke through the door! The whole door swung to the side, allowing the grunt to stomp into the room. The door hit the wall hard enough to put a hole into it. Now he was raising his rifle. The time to strike was now. Right when he laid eyes on me, he couldn't react in time before a bat was swung right into his forehead. His entire head lurched back, before he was struck again across the face. The force of the blow caused his to lean against the door with his shoulder, allowing his head to hang low enough. THUNK! The bat was slammed right up against the back of his head, and the man collapsed to the floor. I stood above the soldier with his head at my feet. My hand was wrapped around the grip of the bat so hard, I felt my hand was getting numb. My legs were so weak and shaken, I struggled to stay on my feet. "STOP!!" I yelled. "Stop right now!!!" The rifle was on the ground a few inches from my left foot. Dropping the bat, I yanked the rifle by the stick and I hauled it across the room, smashing up against the wall before falling behind the side of the bed, out of sight. I looked back down at the man, who was now moaning in pain, mumbling incoherent words. "You stay on the floor! Stay down. If you do anything, anything at all, I will KILL you! I will fucking kill you! I will beat you over the head again and again and I will not stop! Stay DOWN!!!" Just about ready to vomit, I picked up the bat, leaped over the man, and I raced down the hall and for the window! In mid stride, vomit came spewing out from my mouth, splashing against the tile flooring in the apartment's kitchen. I paused and bent over, letting it all out. My stomach was in knots, my beard was thumping against the walls of my torso. I couldn't believe that. I can't believe I've made it this far. After a brief moment of consolidation, a puddle of vomit was at my feet, barely licking at my toes. "RAAAAHH!!!!" Darting my head back, the soldier’s eyes were the first thing that I could see in the darkness. His body emerged to reveal that he held a long, sharp, serrated knife in his hand. He was charging me. I kept to the side and rolled across the floor towards the window! The man flew right by me, and he struggled to stop. As his boots slid across the kitchen floor, he slid right into my puddle of vomit. The motions of him sliding in the bile as well as him trying to charge me once more, caused him to topple over, falling on his side. He was taking no time to waste! He was already staring to get on his hands and knees! THUNK! I screamed as I brought the bat down on his head once again. He crumpled to the floor. He twitched violently as I struck him again. THWUMP! "I...am warning you!" I shouted. The man was getting up. "This is your last-" The man glared up at me with murderous rage. "DON'T-" He prepared to swing the blade! FWHAM! He tumbled to the floor... FWHAM!! There was a loud crack that filled the room. FWHAM!!! I hit him. I struck him again...and again...and again...and again. Swing after swing after swing. I never stopped screaming. I never stopped swinging, for I knew he would kill me if I didn't. The sound of metal bashing against solid skull faded. Now it was starting to sound like I was beating a pile of slush. Each blow sent vibrations and pain up my arm, but I swung over and over. Before I knew it, I was on the floor, nearly on the verge of passing out. My chest heaved in and out as I let out little wheezes of air. I was looking up at the ceiling, everything above me shook with my racing pulse. I struggled to push myself away from the grunt, backing up until I hit a wall. I just sat there for what felt like hours. I just...stared at the soldier. His green eyes were no more, only the sockets remained. I felt sick...disgusted. I coughed as my throat burned. His blood was now begging to seep into the carpet. Details of the horrendous sight will be spared for you. Nobody should've done what I have committed. I couldn't stop staring. The two of us remained there, with snot running down my nose, and blood dripping from my lower lip. I barely even noticed that my pocket was vibrating. Never taking my eyes off of him, I reached into my pocket, answered my call, and raised the phone to my ear. "Oscar!" I heard a voice cry out from the speaker. "D-Da-Dan?" I mumbled. "Where are you!? You need to tell me right now! Are you at the apartment!!?" "Um...I-I-don't...I-...ye-yes..." "We need to get the FUCK out of here!! I'll be over at your complex in three minutes. If you're not out front by then, I'm gone, I'll get out of the city without you! Be there!!!" He hung up. I sat in silence and let my hand go limp, falling to the floor. The blood puddle was getting bigger. What have I done. Oh god...what did I just do?! I got to get out of here. Dan will be here soon. If I'm not out there, I'll be left behind. I need to go. There's no other possible choice. With my phone in my pocket, I forced myself off of the floor, taking the bat up with me. Just was I was about to crawl through the window, there was a bright blue light behind me. KA-CHEW! A loud piercing blast of force sent me flying forward. I would've just fallen face first into the stairs outside, but something hit me in the back hard. It collided with my back, right in the right shoulder. For a second, everything went black. Coming to reality, I groaned. My head pounded with agony. Pushing myself off the ground, I in an unstable daze. "Hey!" A voice from behind me growled. "It's you!!" Turning my head to look back, there were several green eyes staring at me. Several pairs of green...and a single pair of red. "You...stop!" It shouted. With its wings unfurled, it sprang towards me! Its rainbow hair matted against her forehead from the force of the wind! With no other choice than down, I did the only thing that I could do. I gripped the metal bar and hopped over the railing. Screaming all the way down, the sidewalk was rapidly approaching me from below! Just as I was going to land on the ground and possibly break my legs, two arms wrapped themselves under my armpits. Excruciating pain erupted in my shoulder. I kicked and screamed in utter agony, my legs were dangling a yard above the ground. "You're really banged up, ain't ya." The pain was so much. Too much. Once my feet touched the ground, I fell to a kneeling position, small heads of sweat dropped down my face. *clang* The metal bat landed right beside me from above. It bounced in the air, before coming to a stop. For the first time, I could see the bat in its appearance. The bat was a bright blue color. The handle was silver in color, while the rest was blue. However, there was a large blotch of liquid on the surface of the bat. It was crimson, a dark shade of red was dripping along the steel. "What's this?" The horse asked, pointing a hoof at the bat. "Mam? We found Ricen." The horse was silent for a moment. "Is he alright?" "I'm sorry..." Another sighed. "He's...gone. He looks like he got bludgeoned to death. There's nothing that can be done." She was quiet, eerily quiet. If it wasn't for her hooves trembling violently on my back, I would've assumed she froze into a statue. Slowly, he head cocked to look down at me. "Mother.." The horse hissed before bringing a hoof down onto my back. "Fucker!" I moaned in pain for my shoulder. I mumbled multiple pleas for mercy. "You...you killed one of my men. You're coming with me, and yo-" "MAM!!" A green eye called. "Incoming!" Down the street, I could hear the sound of a horn blaring. A white truck with its headlights rapidly flashing was heading my way. I knew that truck. "Hold your fire!" The horse barked. "Let them pass!" The truck was slowing down. The horse chuckled and pulled me in close, until her mouth was right in my ear. I could barely hear Dan's cries as he pulled up close. Her words were more deafening than anything I've heard tonight. "Run." She cooed. "Run along now. Go with them. I'm sure we'll meet sooner or later. Goodbye for now." When her touch left my back, I looked back at her, only to see that nothing was there. I was alone. I was kneeling on the sidewalk by myself. "Get in the truck! Get.in.the TRUCK! In the back!" The truck slowed down enough for me to get in. With my. At now in hand, I raced over the truck, and I practically flew into the bed, diving onto the metal surface. Looking around me, there were sever other people that I recognized as family of Christa's. They were all clinging to each other and to the walls of the truck. They were all laying down. "Everyone hold on!!" I heard Dan bark. "STAY DOWN!" The truck roared as we sped away. I watched the building over was trail away as we moved further and further from the apartment. Now, in the truck, I watched my complex as it faded away, as well as the pair of red eyes staring directly at me. I hope her promise won't come true.
Chapter 1 'A Long Night' Sec.4 'Reunion'Chapter 1 'A Long Night' Sec.4 'Reunion' "Keep your head down! It's gonna be ok!" The truck raced down the street, turning left and right. With each direction change, I would slide along with it, before I bumped into somebody. I felt a hand grasp my foot. I found that a women with her blonde hair wrapped in a bun was trying to get my attention. She had to have been in her mid to late twenties. I would've noticed how gorgeous she was if it wasn't for the pain in my shoulder. "It's going to be alright!" She assured. "Stay calm. Now what's your na-" "Please!" I begged. "Can someone please look at my shoulder!? It hurts! It fucking hurts!" "OH MY GOD!" A middle aged women behind me gasped. I looked back to see that she was covering her sons eyes. I recognized her! She's Christa's aunt, Daisy, all the way up from Michigan. "Daisy!" I groaned. "What!? What is it?!" "Heather!" Daisy called out. You better take a look at this!" More and more people gasped and cursed under their breath when they looked at my back. Crawling up to me, Heather, the one who grabbed my foot, was now trying to get a look at my back while I lied on my stomach. "Oh boy...oh boy." She whispered to herself. "WHAT!?" I snapped. "What is it!?" "Ok, sir?" Heather said with a clear tone. "I need you to stay flat on your stomach for me, ok? Good, just stay like that." "What...is wrong with my back!?" "Oscar, you don't want to see. You DON'T. Trust me!" "Let me see! I want to know! Let me see!" "Sir? Yo-" "Show it to me!" I said, cutting Heather off. "Just hold still while I take a picture." Heather said. There was a click of a phone and a flash. "But I need you to stay calm when I show this to you, ok?" Still flat on my stomach, Heather showed me her phone while my face was smudged against the bed of the truck. I looked, and I nearly shit myself. There was a large thorn protruding from my left shoulder. A shard of wood, sticking right out of my back! It was jagged and covered with splinters! It was about the length of a thumb and about as wide as a fucking fingernail. My back was smeared with blood. "OH MY GOD!" I screamed. I instantly tried to reach back and grab it, but Heather pushed me down. Someone that I couldn't see was holding my legs down. "Stay still! Just stay calm! I know it looks bad, but we can't pull it out, not yet!" "I need to go to a HOSPITAL!!" "That can't happen right now!" Heather sternly said. "We're gonna get you help as soon as possible!" How? Just how did a wooden shard get lodged in my shoulder? The door...it was the door. I remember now. I was climbing out the window...and then BANG! Everything got destroyed, the window, door and all. That's was when it hit me in the shoulder! That's when I got hit. Oh god, what else is wrong with me!? The explosion shattered the window for sure! How much glass sliced my back to shreds!? What else is injured!? "Please! Just...just take me to a hospital...please." "Just hold on!" Heather consoled. "We'll end there soon." I felt...faded. Faint. Minuet by minuet, a darkness began to envelop my vision. When the blackness took over, all of the noise faded into the distance. I would be alone in the depths of my mind, thoughtless, unconscious, not myself. From time to time, I would wake up. It was only for moments at a time. I wouldn't see for long. The pain puts me out. However, every time I woke up, I would notice a change. People would change their positions, building overhead were gone, fresh bullet holes in the metal of the truck. Soon enough, there were more trees above me than buildings. "Oscar! Oscar!! Can you hear me!!?" That voice...I know that voice. It was low, rough, gravely. He spoke with a strong British accent. There is only one person that I knew who has that European twang. "D...dad.." "Is there someone with medical training? We need help over here, stat!" "Right here's good!" I heard Heather's voice bark. "Here are the pliers! The alcohol." Dan said, hearing his footsteps rush over to me. I keep blacking out. I can't even tell what is happening anymore. I can't focus. I can't stay awake. "Wher...what's happen-" I groaned. "He's awake. Sean, you're his father. You're gonna want to be the first thing he sees!" Heather ordered. "He's gonna be awake either way! Keep him calm, keep him informed!" I felt a hand lightly tap my cheek. "Oscar? Os'" "Daddd...what the helllll." "Everything is going to be alright. Look at me, ok? Look at me." I forced my eyes open. A blurry but recognizable face came into view. I could see the many wrinkles on his face, the grey bushy beard, his relieved grin. "You're hurt, Oscar." He said as calm as possible. "But it's going to be fixed. No matter what happens, just keep your eyes on me, alright?" "Dad..." I moaned, more awake than ever. "Yor ok.." I felt four pairs of hands press down hard onto my arms and feet. Looking on in confusion, Dad told me over and over to keep my eyes on him, but he slowly pressed his hands over my head, and held me down. "This is going to hurt. I want you to know that, but it will be quick, like ripping off a bandage. Just look at me. That's it." He pressed harder. "That's right look at me. Ready?" His eyes pivoted up to someone behind me. "One..." A sickening churn of my stomach symbolized that I knew what was about to happen. "Tw-" Right there and then, I saw white. A white flash of pain. Utter fucking agony. Something clamped down around the thorn hard, and pulled straight up. There was a loud, wet, pop that filled my ears. I screamed and screamed. My legs and arms kicked and squirmed frantically out of control. My body quivered and my throat was already burning from the screams. It only got worse when I felt a wet stream of blood run along my side, only to pool up against my body. "I got it! It's out!" I heard a muffled cry. "Look at me! Just look at me, son!" "Applying the alcohol." "It's almost over, son. You're almost there." Once the alcohol touchy my skin, that was when it returned at full force. My shoulder erupted in flames. It burned, it stung. My screams returned once more. Everything went white once again. "Don't just stand there, horse!" Dan barked. "DO SOMETHING!" "This is all I can do!" A nasally wheezy voice greeted me as something poked my shoulder. My entire body jolted hard. There was a blue glow from behind me that got brighter and brighter, but the. It instantly died. "It's all I can do, really." The voice wheezed, exhausted. "I can't...I can't do anything about the pain." "Give him this..." Heather said. "It's not much, but it will help tide him over." That was when I blacked out for the final time. When I woke up, I was woozy. I was completely still, but everything just seemed to say from side to side. Everything ha and fuzzy, then clear. Darker, then lighter. With enough strength to push myself up, I did so. I whinced in pain. My shoulder throbbed, but it hurt much, much less than before. I did seem to remember someone saying something about helping the pain. But nonetheless, I was still groggy and groaning. "Ahh...Ow! Ow ow ow...shit." "Oscar!" A gasp came from my left. My father was sitting on a tree stump, ready to embrace me with a hug of relief. I didn't say a word, I didn't care about how I was physically. I pushed myself off the surface I was on, and I wrapped my arms around him. "Easy, easy, easy!" He said, carefully wrapping his arms around me as well. "You're hurt. You need to lie down." "You're ok! You're safe..." I wheezed. "Please, son." He whispered, gently moving back towards where I was laying down. I was surprised to see that I was laying on top of a Dan's truck. There was a blanket underneath and a blanket on top. A pillow was where I was resting my head. "I'll stay with you as long as you like." "How..." I winced clumsily, getting under the blanket. "How long was I out for?" "Well I can't say for sure." He whispered shrugging. "It's almost 3:00 now. It felt like you were out forever, but I would roughly say, well...an hour? Hour and a half? It wasn't easy, but some strangers, and some of Christa's folks helped get that wood out of your back." "Oh thank god, you awake!" Through the crunching of snow, I saw a frantic Christa running at full speed towards me. She wore her favorite black, puffy coat; and she wore a pair of jeans. Her hair was in knots and all over the place. Hey beautiful eyes were now red and puffy from crying so long. But she was ok. I was ok. Everyone's ok, and that's all that matters. "Christa..." She knelt to my side, and she planted her lips on mine. Once she broke away, she rested her forehead against my forehead. "Oscar." She cried. "It's so awful. Everything is awful! I don't know what happened, everything was fine, then...then..." "Shhh. It's ok." I whispered. "It's alright." She nodded, and just plumped right down onto the snow. I could only see her the top of her head. However, once I looked beyond her, I saw nothing but forest. Trees were all around us, branches all covered with snow. "Where...where-" "Hey, man." Looking directly up, I saw Dan poking his head over from the outside of the truck. He greeted me with a soft and forced smile of forced optimism. "Heyyyy." I greeted. "Holy shit, man. Thanks for getting my ass outta there. I owe you one." "Meh...the stick in your back was enough for me." "Ah fuck you. Heh...heh...Dan? Where the hell am I? Where are we?" "Well Oscar, you know how I talk about what would happen if the zombie appocolypse happened, or we were invaded by North Korea or something? I've always pictured that this would be the place to go to. My idea of Fort Knox. It's secluded, it's strong. We'll be safe here." He gestured his hand towards something that I could see lying down. Slugging my way to the edge of the truck and peaking over, I found myself staring what what looked like a gigantic factory! It was huge! The factory was tall, but the three smoke stacks made it look much taller. It was unexpected and cool, but I noticed that the building looked...abandoned. Not only that but I wasn't even completely built. Windows that I could see were either broken, or were covered with plastic filming. Various construction supplies were scattered all around, even tools. "It's an old factory that I've snuck into from time to time. It's illegal to do so, but people still come here all the time to meet up, drink, fuck, and of course...party. It looked secure to me, so I thought we should head here." I could see several cars, vans, and groups of people walking about outside. There were several people inside as well. I could see flashlights shining from the windows. "And..." Dan said. "I guess we weren't the first to think that this place would be safe. It's far from the mayhem of the city. It's quiet out here." "Hey." A women, slightly taller than Dan appeared right beside him. I recognized her. It was Heather. "You're awake. How you feeling?" I rolled my shoulder slightly. "God, it hurts like hell." I complained. "Like a bitch." "Yeah, sorry." She said with sympathy. "None of us had the tools, or the skill to handle this kind of thing. I'm an officer, not a surgeon. But we did the best we could with what we had. We got it out as quickly as we could, and drowned that sucker with disinfectant. You took it like a champ. How are you feeling mobile wise? Can you walk?" "Ummm...yeah, I can a little." "Right." Dan said, acknowledging Heather. "Everyone is moving inside and out of the snow. Christa didn't want to risk your condition getting worse or whatever, so she made us stay here until you were up. I can drive you up to the factory. It's not that warm inside, but it's better than nothing." He began to make his way to the drivers seat. I heard the door open. "They have fires, so that's good." Heather was careful. She climbed up into then bed of the truck, and sat up against the window leading inside. She offered herself to stay with me. Christa was reluctant, but she got into the truck with my dad. And we were off. "We really did do the best we could." Heather spoke over the rumbling of the engine. "We don't know how your shoulder is gonna heal up. We also tried to dress the other cuts and gashes in your back too. You got banged up good. What happened to you." I paused. Memories of what took place in that apartment, they all rushed back into my head. I felt sick to my stomach. I was disgusted with what I've done. "Too much..." There a long moment of silence. Heather just sat there while I lied under the blanket. "It feels...much better." I said, with my partially buried in my pillow. " 'ppreciate it." "Yeah..." Heather sighed. "So...you’re the one that's been seeing my cousin." She cooed. "Yep." I said, whining in pain. "The name's Oscar." "I know." Heather smiled softly. "Christa has told me a lot about you. You seem to be really good to her, and I appreciate that. We keep in touch, Christa and I; even if I come from all the way from Illinois. If we weren't given the cousin title, we would be considered sisters at this point." "Same...same." I sighed. "She important to me too, but maybe we can talk about this a little later? I need some water." "Oh god, yes of course. I'm sorry. It's good to meet you, by the way. Not like this, though. I pictured it a little differently in my head but it's good to finally meet you. Oh, and my name's Heather." "I know." I said with a forced grin. "Good to meet you too." Not a second later, we came to a stop. The doors opened, and my dad appeared to greet me. "Can you really walk?" He asked. "It's my shoulder that's hurt...not my legs." I groaned, forcing myself to sit up. "I can do it. Just uh...just a little woozy still." "We got you." Heather said. I crawled over the edge of the truck and the cold snow nestled against my feet. Already, I was feeling light headed. I was tilting over, but I latched onto the truck. "I got it." I mumbled. "I'm alright. Wha-what the fuck did you give me?" "Just take it easy. Nice and slow." My dad said from behind me. I trudged through the snow until my feet were slapping on concrete. The doors were opened up by someone standing inside by the door. A teenager with a buzz cut. He nodded at me. I couldn't tell if he was saying hi, or he was allowing me to pass. People of all ages and sizes were not walking about the factory halls. Some used flashlights, others used battery lanterns, some were even using candles. We came up on a mess hall, and that was where I saw the rest of Christa's family all gathered up. The tables and benches were moved up to the walls, leaving this giant open space for us and multiple other groups to camp out in. "Hey...Oscar." I saw Daisy, the Aunt from before. "Glad to see that you're alright." "Hi Daisy." I weakly smiled. "Hey...Mr.Morrison" I saw a plump older man approach me, older than my father. He was fairly round in shape and but he could knock me on my ass if he wanted to. He was old enough to have white hair on his head with a blading spot in the center of it all. He had grown a mustache since the last time I saw him. It was pure white and it was starting become a handlebar, as the sides were drooling slightly. However, with the new mustache or not, I recognized him. Mr.Morrison, Christa's father. "Oscar." He nodded, never cracking his poorly hidden glare. "I'll set up your bed here." Dan said, walking past me with the blankets and pillows. He stopped right next to a little fire that was a consistency of paper, and wooden scraps. He stacked one blanket on top of the other, and he placed the one pillow so my head would be next to the fire, but not close enough for me to catch fire of course. "Dan?" I asked, standing there with my shoulder sagging. "Yeah?" "Do...you know anything about what is going on out there? Have you heard anything from the news, the radio?" "When we pulled up here, the last thing I heard on the radio, is that the army and those green eyed freaks were going head to head in the city. And it's not just here. Several other big cities are reporting the same attacks and-" "Like...national." "Global." "Fuck..." I gasped in shock. "Dude, I hope your parents are ok. Do they still live in-" "I can't let myself think about that now." Dan said, instantly cutting me off. "We need to make sure that we're protected long enough until help arrives. It's probably going to take a while, so we needn't to stay here until they do come. Once were all safe, we'll focus on our families. Oscar...there more you need to know." "What? What else is there?" "Hey, everyone." Dan whispered loudly, I'm taking Oscar to see him. We'll be back in a while." "Oscar." Christa whispered approaching us. "You want me to come with you?" I shrugged, still quite confused. "If you want to. I'm not gonna stop you." Dan said. Dan led Christa and I out of the mess hall and down several darkened hallways. With a flashlight to help us, we walked up until we came across an office room, maybe the office of the man who ran this place, or was going to anyway. We entered this office to see two buff guys standing on either side of the office restroom. They greeted us, warned us to be very careful and cautious, and one opened the door. On the other said, two more muscular men stood on either side as well. They were both armed. One had a block, while another looked like he had a pump shotgun. "What the hell is...this." I stopped. There lying before me, was another horse. It was white with blue hair, it looked up at me with sapphire blue eyes that glowed of no light. It was laying down, as if it was about to fall asleep on the floor. It's ears twitched and it's head perked up. It squinted before its eyes widened is surprise. "Oh, its you..." It yawned. I cried out in shock and disbelief! "What the fuck is it doing here!!?" "Here we go again." The creature huffed. "Another freak out. Well, I guess I can't blame him." "Kill it! KILL IT!" I yelled. Dan and Christa were trying to hold me still and calm me down. I pointed at one of the men behind me with the shotgun. "You, shoot it! Kill it!" "OSCAR!" Christa held me still by clamping down into my shoulders and slapped me right across the face. Everything whirled to the left, and my cheek stung like fire. I looked at her in shock. "Chris...Christa.." "Get ahold of yourself! It's ok! Calm-" "No!" I snapped. "You do t know what I've seen! You don't know what I've been through! I've seen these things before! They're EVIL! They help organize raids to take us away to their world! I know because I've seen it!!! They can't be trusted! Why the fuck do you have this thing with us?!! Where our children are sleeping, terrified out of their fucking minds!!? Why in the FUCK is it here!!!" "BECAUSE IT SAVED MY LIFE!!!!" Christa screamed. Christa had this look on her face that I have never seen before. Tears were flowing and her nostrils were flaring. She had this look on her face like she wanted to kick me until I was unconscious. "It saved my life..." Christa whimpered. "When they came...those men with the eyes, they got inside the house. They were screaming, jamming their rifles in our faces. They were gonna shoot me, my nana, my mom! Then out of nowhere, he showed up, and killed each and every one of them." "Damn...shit. Christa, are you ok? Did they hur-" "I am ALIVE because of him. I think it is only fair that we don't hurt him. There is more to this than you think, Oscar. He did help seal that hole in your shoulder." "He...what?" I strained to look back at my own shoulder. Ignoring any pain that I brought myself, I forced myself to look down at my shoulder. I was shocked to find that the wound was sealed with a smooth bright blue substance. It covered it in the same way someone would apply concrete. If glowed too, with a blue aura. "It won't kill you." The creature said. "It's to help prevent infection and blood loss." "Wait..." I gasped, pointing a pinger at him. "You're the nasally voice that I heard earlier! What the fuck did you do to my back?!" "Basic first aid." The horse smirked. "It's all the magic that I could spare for that gash in your shoulder. I don't not have much left now. It's temporary however, you have another four hours before it dissapates away. Hopefully by then, your military will get us out of here. But I can't do anything about any muscle that has been damaged." "Magic." I repeated. "Did you just say...magic?" "Yes, magic." It responded. "But not the mumbo jumbo that you see on stage. I'm not talking about pulling rabbits out of hats, well technically I can do that, but it's not what I'm trained for." "Well what can you do?" I questioned. "What are you? Where did you come from? Why are there people with glowing eyes taking and killing innocent people? Why are they doing this? Where do-" "If you want your answers..." It said, talking to me like a toddler. "Then you'll need to sit down and listen. We could be here for a while. There's no chairs, so you'll either have to sit on the pissy floor, or on a pissy toilet." I sat down on the floor. Christa and Dan did as well. The horse stood up, crack and popped its bones by twisting and stretching in many directions, before laying back down onto the floor. "First off I would like to introduce myself, just so we're not strangers here. I am addressed as Van in the forces, but my actual name is Vaneela. And you are..." "Oscar...um, Oscar Clutch." "The pleasure is mine, Oscar Clutch." Vaneela said with a smirk. "Now, before you ask me questions, I think it would be best if you tell me what you remember. I know it might not be easy for you to say, but it's a better way to get an explanation." "Just tell me all that you know." I offered. "I know it isn't easy, but I think it-" "I know damn well what I saw. Just give me an explanation for it all." "Well suit yourself." Vaneela shrugged. "Here we go. It all started roughly...two to three years ago. I come from a world of not your own. I come from an alternate world that is inhabited by Equine life, and other creatures that you might not have here. We are the main inhabitants of this world. Our race of what we have dubbed 'Equestrians', we are born into three different sub races. There are unicorns, ones who develop a horn on their head, specializing in magical abilities. There are Pegasi, ones who are dorm with wings, complete with feathers and all that is required to fly. And then there are 'Earth ponies'. There are ones who are born with neither, like me. We are more physically fit with our strength, and do a lot of work on the ground." "Jesus." I sighed, facepalming. "Jesus Christ." "Shall I continue?" He asked. "Go ahead." "I grew up in a small mountain town knows as, 'Saddle Creek.' I worked as a courier, but that was when we were attacked, much like how y'all were. The people with glowing eyes stormed my home, enslaved, and killed so many. But they liked to take the strong with them, and convert them into soldiers. Surely you've seen their glowing green eyes, yes? Well that is an effect of the curse that has been casted upon them. Whatever was them before, is gone. They become another monster who pillages and destroys like the others. They come from a world that is similar to your own, very similar. They are humans, with two arms, two legs, fingers, and toes. However, they are all humanoid copies of us. Or we are equinoid copies of them. They possess features of physical appearance, personality, skills that resemble one of our own. Their skin color matches one of our own, their eye color matches one of our own. It's unsettling at times, but that is where they came from. They had weaponry and technology that we couldn't harness, even with our magic." "Weapons? Like they had guns and stuff?" I asked. "Yes, like guns and stuff." He sighed. "They came, and they tore the kingdom apart. Our forces went at it for years, but eventually...everything got quiet. There was no word from the higher powers, the ones who rule the land. Everypony who is alive, assumed that they were dead, we have lost, and now they hold the cards. Since then, we've created our own communities and forces. We gather resources and defend ourselves from the hell that they bring us; showing them that we still have some fight left in us! Then, it was discovered that they have harnessed a connection to another world, your world. Another world to gather resources, weapons, soldiers, and an opportunity to grow their empire. That is why they are here. That is why you are here." "Fuck." I gasped. "My god." "They will try to take over this world. And soon, they’ll find another. And then they'll take over that world too. There are infinite realities, infinite worlds. Even in each world, it is theorized that the space beyond the planet is limitless. Endless planets to conquer. Oscar, with every day that passes, they grow more and more powerful. Soon enough, they will become more than an empire. Because to have access to endless resources, is to have access to all the power you could dream of. They become the law for all. They become the god for all." I felt like I was gonna throw up. My stomach churned, I became lightheaded. All of this information, pressure, and fear; it all came crashing down on me. This was something the human race has never faced before. When those humans invaded this city, that was an act of war. But it is not us against them. We might need every force on the planet to ban together. If what this creature is saying is true, then we need to fight will full force, all as one. America, Russia, China, Japan, The United Kingdom. We are all in the same boat. Christ, this is more than just a war. If this is true, then what comes will make every single battle in human history look like a fucking joke. This is more than a war. This is truly a war of the worlds. The war of all wars.
Chapter 1 'A Long Night' Sec.5 'The Boomstick'Have you ever had a moment in your life where something happens, where it all occurs so fast and out of the blue, that you have no rational way of reacting to it? You tense up and freeze like a deer in the headlights, or you mumble incoherent words as you desperately try to find a rational explanation? Have you ever had a moment, where you learn of information that dramatically changes the outcome of your life to the point where you have a mental breakdown? Welcome to my world. I've had a few moments like that in my life. That is how I've been shaped into who I am. That is how I lost my hand. But none of those even compare to the truth that has been given to me. The fact that we are one out of trillions upon trillions upon trillions of the possible worlds. We are at war with an empire with technology that we can't harness. We could be facing our extinction, our demise. I was on my hand and knees, trembling in absolute shock. My skin went pale white, sweat and tears poured down my face. I couldn't stop shaking even if I tried. My head shook from side to side in denial. "Jesus Christ." I mumbled. "I-I-I don't..." "It's a lot to take in." Dan huffed. "But at least we got an explanation. This empire, they call themselves the 'Tri-verse Empire'. Not only do they have guns but they can harness magic. That's how they were able to jump worlds. Who knows what else they can do." "Wait..." I growled. "Hold on. You said that there are infinite universes! Infinite!" I stood on my feet, pointing a finger at the alien horse. "How do we know that you're telling the truth!?! If there are infinite worlds, then that means that another version of this empire can already Jump to other dimensions! How do we know you're telling the truth!? You could be one of them! You could be one of those fucks out there that are murdering innocent people! If they can come into our world, then why can't yours? Where is your army!?" "I can't prove anything to you!" Vaneela exclaimed. "For all you know, I could be lying to your faces or I could be telling the truth. You have to trust me!" "Then EXPLAIN yourself!" "I don't know the answer! For all I know, we could just be one of the alternate versions of the original worlds. But it is theorized that there are three base dimensions. And every alternation from these worlds branches out from them. It is believed that we ARE the base of all of it." "Bullshit." I sneered. "What are the chances of that? Bullshit!" "It's a theory, genius." The horse mocked. "It's never been proven but it is believed that there are three base worlds. My world. Then there is your world, which appears to be way more technologically advanced than ours. Then there is the middle world, the hybrid. It is the world where humans exist but they exist as humanoid versions of my kind. They possess the same skin and hair color, as well as the same personality traits as the equine version. They also have access to weapons and technology like yours." "I still find it difficult to believe that we are the originals." I mumbled. "Like I said, it's a theory. The Empire hasn't been able to gain access to any other worlds other than ours. They jumped with ease between the main three, but it is proving to be extremely difficult to find a way to the alternates, almost as if a barrier of sorts is preventing them from going on. They've had access to your world for quite sometime now, and they would've sent others to the alternates long ago at the rate they were growing, but they haven't then and they aren't now." "And how do you know this?" I asked. "Where are your people? Where is your army? If you're not one of them, then did you get here?" "Equestria, my home." Vaneela fell silent with a thousand yard stare looking straight through us. "Equestria has fallen." I just glared at him, unsure if I could buy his story. I waited for him to continue. "I was...an eavesdropper. An operator, the voice in the earpieces of spies as they infiltrated those monsters. They would collect data while I listened. If they got into trouble, I would tell them what to do or what to say. I documented everything that I heard by writing it down on a note pad. I've learned that they had access to your world for roughly six months at the time I heard them speak about it. And that was roughly over a year ago. They only started to attack now because they wanted to study your world first, learn of your weaknesses and flaws. They could see everything and they wanted to learn where you military bases are, where your deadliest weapons were being held." Van sighed. "Equestria fell one day." He continued. "I got no word from any pony. I never knew what happened. All I knew at the time is that we had fallen, and one of our leaders was executed while the other fled. Never heard a word since then. When we lost...I went into hiding. I only went out to collect food and water by day, but I never left my position. There was still much to be analyzed, so I kept my sleep to a bare minimum. I might not have had any spies at my disposal, but I had radios that were tapped that were still being used. That is how I learned they were prepping their first attack here. I found the base, snuck my way in, and gained access to one of the portals before they could shoot me." "Why?" Christa asked. "Why did you come here? What are you thinking you can do to help?" "I don't know...I just don't." The pony sighed. "Maybe it was nieve hope. Maybe I could meet the leaders of your nations, and organize an attack on the enemy. Now that I think about it, they would've probably killed me on sight or worse. Maybe I was trying to warn you all. These soldiers, this empire, they don't wish to kill. They want to find use for everyone so they can either be a slave or a soldier. They take likely candidates and warp their minds so all they turn into robots who follow orders with no moral thinking." I couldn't believe what I was hearing, I just couldn't. Fighting the pain in my shoulder and everywhere in my body, I forced myself to my feet. I didn't say anything but force myself out of the door. I just walked down the hall, rubbing my torso to stay warm. "Where are you going?" Christa whispered. "Christa, I-...I just need a moment. I need to think." "Let him go." I head Dan whisper. "Let him process it." I just kept on walking. They didn't follow me. Either they let me go, or Christa went to go after me and Dan stopped her. I didn't care. Walking through the dark halls, I was careful not to disturb anyone who was sleeping. People were setting up shop right in the halls. I saw a custodian closet, and a couple was setting up a air mattress in there. Eventually, I did make my way to the mess hall. I could seen my dad. He had a sleeping bag set up, and he was just getting in. "Dad. You got a shirt?" "Hmm? A what?" "Shirt." I whispered louder. "Do you have a shirt? Shoes? Socks? I'm freezing here." Dad quickly crawled back out. He opened up a duffle bag, and tossed me what looked like a flannel shirt. I caught it. Luckily for me, it wasn't a button up. Then, a pair of running shoes rolled to my feet, with a sock stuffed into each one. "I packed as much as I could." He whispered. I began to put on the socks. "When everything happened, I tried calling you. You never picked up. I knew we had to get out, so I grabbed everything that I could fit into these bags and went after you. I was praying that you would be at Dan's for New Years, so I headed there. Jesus, you wouldn’t believe the panic. The decimation of it all.” I managed to slip both of my feet into both socks with one hand. That was when I began to put the shoes on, but dad was already up and over to me. The shoes were on, but then he began to tie them. I looked around, hoping nobody would notice. Then I looked down at my dad who was tying my shoes for me. I sighed knowing that there was no other option. "Dan was there, but you weren't." Dad whispered, already finishing tying one shoe. "Looks like you stayed home while he went out to drink, but he just went home instead. We agreed to stick together and head for you in Dan's truck. We were heading towards you, but Christa began calling on Dan's cell." He said as he finished the other shoe. I began to button up the shirt by pressing the two metal pieces for each button together. They clicked and held in place. "Need a hand?" Dad whispered. "Nah...I got it." I whispered back. "I need a flashlight though. You got one?" "Ummm...yeah sure." He said, this time handing me a large black flashlight. "Where you going?" "Nowhere. Just going to take a look around, take my mind off of things." "Did you talk to th-" "Yes I did. Did you?" "Oh no." Dad said. "It seems alright, but I don't trust it. Don't want to find myself near that thing. Don't even know why I let you talk to it. What did it say?" I stood there, trying to find the words to say. He doesn't know. He really doesn't know. I didn't know what to say. I just couldn't say anything. How could I put news so disturbing into his head. My dad is a very relaxed dude, but I don't want to break it to him. "Nothing too serious." With the shirt on my back buttoned, I clicked on the flashlight, and walked away. "Don't worry about it." "Mind if I join you?" I looked back before I ushered him to come with me with a nod of my head. And he did just that, walking right by my side. I was tired, exhausted. I was trudging through the halls with a flashlight to guide me. At one point over by the main entrance of the building, there was a staircase leading up. Curious, I poked my head inside. It was dark and tight in space. I stepped inside and looked up to see every floor above me. Up it went. Every sound that I made was ten times louder than usual. The walls caused my breathing and mumbling to bounce off the walls and travel all the way to the top. I headed up, and my dad followed behind. "You would expect there to be massive crowds of people running around in the streets." Dad whispered. "You would expect to see looters breaking into stores, utter anarchy, but the streets were so...empty. They became so quiet so fast. Cars were left on roads with the engines running. Some were even ran into buildings. I saw so many...so much...never mind. I'm just glad that you're alright." "Yeah...you too." We climbed up and up. We went higher and higher. We passed people who were sleeping, drinking, or crying along the steps. Some people with their own sources of light would pass by us with a small greeting, or would just shove on by without a word. People were eating beans out of cans like fucking bums. We are all living like bums in this building. There's no power. There is no irrigation system, and there is no heat. This building is safe and secure, but that doesn't mean that we are completely out of the forest. "Looks like we're coming up to the top." Dad whispered. I pointed a light further up and we were intact coming up on a doorway that has yet to have a door installed. Poking our heads through, we saw that nobody was up here. I whispered out to see if anyone could respond, but nobody did. It sure did look like this floor was vacant. It does make sense, I could see several open windows, and several holes in the walls that have yet to be finished being built. With all of these gaps in the structure, cold air was just pouring in through. You could hear this long and drawn out moaning sound. The wind was strong enough to blow through a tight space off somewhere to make such a noise. We ventured through the halls. The wind blew and whistled throughout the building. The darkness along with the cold wind, and drifting of various trash along the floor, it felt like we were exploring a haunted house. We found a gigantic hole in a wall to the outside. Rebar was sticking out from the walls, and tolls were still sitting where their users left them. I looked out and down. The wind blew through my hair and I trembled a little more. With my mouth puckered up, I spat a glob of spit what was still slightly red from my tongue injury in the apartment. I watched it fall all the way down to the ground. It drifted along with the wind like a leaf in Autumn. Once it hit the ground, it was too far away for me to see it anymore. It disappeared. "Oscar?" Dad asked louder, knowing that we were away from the other people. "I know this is a stupid question to ask during this time...but are you alright?" I couldn't stop thinking about the things I've seen, the things I've done. I've never been so afraid, so terrified in my life. The memories just came back and played over and over in my head like a broken record. When you see something so fucked, your brain analyzes everything to the slightest detail. I couldn't shake the sounds the bat made as that soldier's head turned to a sickening pulp of hair, bone, and blood. I wanted to vomit once more, but I wasn't sure if I had anything left to let out. "You know that nothing will be the same anymore." I said, looking back at my father. "With verything that has happened, after everything that will happen...everything will change? This is history right here. We are witnessing history." My dad looked at his feet and nodded his head. "Look son, I don't know what is going on around here. I have an idea, but I don't know the whole story. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I will find out for myself sooner or later. But...Oscar...do you remember our rule?" "We need to stick together." I said, tapping my stump against his shoulder. "That's right." Dad said. "It's not easy to comprehend, I know. But if a desision needs to be made that keeps both of us alive, then that's what we need to do. Family comes first. Family always comes first." "I know." "We need to protect ourselves." Dad whispered, removing something from his shoulder. "That's why I grabbed this." I noticed that he did have something behind his shoulder right as he pulled it out from behind him. He showed it to me. It was a shotgun, a double barrel. It had a dark brown wooden stock, and the two long barrels glimmered with its freshly cleaned metal. I recognized it as the gun that dad kept with him in case of a burglary or any situation similar to that. "You're giving this...to me?" I asked. "Even with-" "I'm giving you this especially because of your hand." Dad said. "It's simple, powerful, and easy to reload. Especially for you. Do you know how to work it?" "Of course." I said, giving dad the light. "I've shot this plenty of times." I took the gun and I held it in my arms. With my hand on the stock, I pushed a little button on the side, and the barrels fell towards the floor. My stump held the gun as the metal wrapped itself around it. The two chambers were empty. "But you haven't shot it in years." "It’s not too hard." I said quietly. "Push this button, it opens. Stuff two shells in there, snap it shut, and you're good to go." "Just checking." Dad said with his arms crossed. "I just want you to have something to keep you safe, just in case. Hell, the army might be here any minute to get us out of here. It's just good to have it around." I nodded, and turned to look out over the tree tops. Dad stood next to me. He breathed that forest air in, and exhaled out of his mouth. "It's so quiet." Dad whispered, the wind carrying his voice. "We still have a few hours till sunrise. Come on, we should get some sleep." Dad turned and made his way towards the stairs. Sleep, yeah right. Who the hell can sleep at a time like this. I stood there and looked at the gun in my hand. I nodded in approval. It was a powerful weapon. Sent me falling to my ass when I first fired it, but that was years ago when I was a kid, when I had two hands. No matter. It doesn't matter if I have one hand or two hands, I'm still unsure if I'll be able to pull the trigger if the time comes. "I'll come with you." I whispered at my dad, starting to follow him. "No..." A raspy voice snarled in my ear. A blue hoof wrapped itself around my neck and spun me around! I let out a chocked cry as I came face to face with the fucking pegasus that burned its red eyes into my soul. I heard dad scream my name and I struggled to scream with its arm around my neck. The pony pushed me back, and I stumbled over towards the window! My heels were dangling over the edge! The horse glared at me with insidious smile of pleasure. Then it spoke to me... "I told you." She turned around, and rammed her hind legs right into my chest. I took one more step, and my foot tripped over the edge and I followed with it. Everything became a blur as I watched the building grow higher and higher. The window grew smaller and smaller. My limbs flailed in the air, desperately trying to grab for anything to hold on to. Everything rushed by me so fast, but I could see the ground quickly approaching me at blinding speeds. "Not so fast!" Two arms tucked themselves underneath my armpits. The rapid flapping of wings and malicious laughter made me scream even louder. My feet dangled in the air, I was completely helpless. "I keep my promises." Two rows of teeth clamped down onto my throbbing shoulder. I moaned and kicked my legs. The pain was too much. The horse shook its head back and forth while gnawing at my skin. Just when I thought that it was going to rip a chunk of flesh from my back, she dove towards the ground. My screams grew louder as I braced for impact, but I could feel the arms slip out from under me. Not a second later, I was flailing in the air with nothing to catch me. I watched the ground slam right into me. I landed on my feet, but the raw force and angle that I landed on, sent my knees ramming into the snow in front of me, before rolling to a stop in the freezing cold. Everything became a flash of white and I uncontrollably moaned in agony. I looked at my legs, to see that they were both in two straight pieces. I shook, I trembled, I quivered with fear for my life. The pegasus landed with ease into the snow, its eyes never left mine. She approached me, and leaned in so we were face to face. "I told we would meet again." "Please! PLEASE! Don't!" "Don't. Don't what?!" Aching all over, I forced myself to my feet, but as soon as I put pressure on my feet, on overbearing wave of pain sent me collapsing to my side. The horse laughed, her cackle turned to howls as they scored her get the trees. "Don't kill you!?" She wheezed. "I just saved you from certain death! That fall would've killed you if it wasn't for me!" With self-discipline, I forced myself to my feet! Both of my legs throbbed with a strong pulse, but I continued to limp further and further away from her. "Run Oscar! RUUN!!!" My dad’s voice sent me limping fast and faster into the trees! The pony just stood there, watching me. A loud bang made me look back to see two men from inside the building! There were armed with rifles with flashlights taped on the barrels and they came to investigate! "Help!" I screamed. "She's gonna kill me! Shoot her! SHOOT HER!!!" K-POW! K-POW! Two shots rang out from the trees! The two men, their heads shook for a split second. I cried out in shock, seeing a gaping hole in each of their heads. I watched them fall. They dropped...they just fucking dropped to the ground. Life isn’t at all like a movie. Not even fucking close. Blood doesn't spray out in every direction, they don't jerk their heads back, or do any fancy flips or falls. They fell like fucking flies. Gone, just like that. Their bodies fell, and I watched the horse turn her head to stare right at me. Her blank expression just looked through me, but then the corners of her mouth began to lift. Pretty soon, she had a sickening smirk plastered on her face. She felt no guilt, no pity. No remorse. There was only pleasure. I ran. I ran as best as I could and didn't dare look back. My dad’s voice followed me, screaming at me to run. Run and keep on running. I had to get help! I needed to get help! I need to find out military and have put them in the fucking dirt! "You might as well just stop, friend!" I heard the pony taunting me from behind. "Either way, you're gonna find out how screwed you are!" I didn't listen to her. I dodged trees left and right. I pushed and forced my way through bushes and low hanging branches. Everything ached. Everything was sore from tonight. No matter how much my body begged for me to stop and rest, I pushed myself to keep going! My chest was on fire, my legs felt like they were about to lock up. My feet would drag to the point that I nearly tripped over themselves! I kept telling myself over and over... "Got to keep going! Got to keep going! I've got to ke-" Just behind a tree up ahead, a dark figure emerged from the behind the trunk. It was military grade armor, and its eyes glowed an emerald green blaze. My heels dug into the ground but it wasn't enough to slow down to avoid the rifle that bashed my face in. The tremendous force sent me falling to my knees, clutching my nose. My palm grew warm and wet. "Alright, let's move in. We got work to do." Looking up, my attacker made a hand signal that made several more soldiers emerge from the trees. They were all armed to the teeth with deadly weaponry. I didn't bother getting up. "Someone take care of the kid, yeah? Carry him back?" The soldier put his fingers to his mouth and let out an ear piercing whistle. It was long and loud. To me, you could hear it for miles around, it was so high pitched. As his hand fell to his side, the snapping of branches made me look straight up into a tree. A furry creature was quietly waiting in the tree. An apostle! It's elongated limbs gripped the branches tightly, while it looked down at me with its very long, very sharp teeth bared. Its teeth were a revolting shade of yellow and red. As it leapt down on top of me, the last thing I could remember seeing before blacking out, were the multiple strands of flesh stuck in its sickening, yellow teeth. ************ "I am warning you! DON'T!" THUNK!! I couldn't see anything, but I could see them clear as day. My memories...my voice. "Who the fuck are you to tell me what to do with my life!!?" What have I done? What am I doing? "Give me the money! Where is the money!!?" Please don't... "I need just one more! Just one more hit!!" I've come so far. I've changed so much. I don't want to be reminded of this. Leave me alone. Please, just leave me alone. "What are you doing? Hey. Hey! Yo man, turn right! TURN RI-" The hellish screeching of tires. The sound of metal Collin ringing with metal, glass shattering, bones snapping, blood gurgling. Every sound, every heart beat, every second was played back with so much detail. Please, just leave me alone... *************** I woke up with a pounding headache. Every pump of my heart sent a pulse to my brain that felt similar to getting bludgeoned with a solid brick. I remembered everything clearly before I got attacked. I wanted to run and check on my friends and family, but I was too tired, too weak. It didn't even matter anyways, seeing that when I woke up, I was sitting in a chair. My arms and legs were once again taped to restrain me in my seat. Fuck. "Morning...Oscar." A pair of red eyes appeared in the darkness ahead of me. It stood there, looking at me, but then a light from above me barely illuminated the small area around me. I could see a small circumference of light at around me. The pair of eyes disappeared. I looked around as best as I could. All I could see was darkness. It was quiet. Really quiet but out from the black abyss, something small and crumpled together hit me! I looked down at me lap! I was taken aback to see that a rag was crumpled in a ball. It was dirty. Black and brown, and red. There was a lot of red, too much. It was dry and had been for hours, the blood crusty in appearance...small bits of meat were stuck to it. I took a long while just staring at this towel. I just stared at it. "You know whose blood that is, right?" I said nothing. "See, we were trying to contain the shit storm that started in that complex. We got word from one of my men, saying that he was going after a one armed twerp that matched our description of you. He said he wanted help." The pony growled, its voice circling me. "But when I got down there, we found him in a puddle of his own blood and piss. His head was bashed into a fucking pulp! You fucking murderer!" I followed the voice until it stopped right in front of me. Her eyes never left mine. I struggled to squirm free. It was no use. "Did you know that an Apostle can smell and locate a puddle of blood from six miles away? They possess a very strong sense of smell obviously, but imagine how well a pack of them will do if they all work together if they have a lead. Well in this case..." The pony approached me. Her head emerged into the light with a metal baseball bat in her mouth. While her fur was blue, specks and blotches of red painted her face and body. She lowered the bat to the floor and rolled it over to my feet. The bat stopped as it hit the chair, exposing the heavy stain of red that lied along that steel. "Oscar Clutch, you are now prosecuted by the Tri-verse Empire for the brutal murder of one of my men. Any act that will interfere with our way of life will be returned with an equally harsh consequence. Anything you say or do that is considered wrongful shall be rewarded with a longer and stronger punishment." As she finished, the rumbling of a generator caused a series of lights to illuminate the darkness. I could now see the vast array of soldiers, armed with weapons that would tear me apart. Men, women, and children were bound and gagged. They were all on the floor at their feet. But worst part about all of this was not that I was on the edge of life and death. It wasn't seeing the helpless people crying in terror. No, the worst of it all...was seeing my father...Dan...Christa....and everyone in her family. They were lined up before me on their knees. They all looked at me with rage with terror...with pain in their eyes. "You murdered one of my men, Oscar. And now...?" The bat began to rise into the air with a red glow at the handle. The same red glow protruded from a circular disc on her chest that appeared to be embedded in the armor she wore. The bat hovered in place over our heads. I trembled as I watched it sway back and forth. "I'm gonna hit you where it fucking hurts." I watched her eyes as they trailed to the back of her head before she turned around and looked right at Christa. I couldn't see her face, but I could see the pony's lips begin to curl into a smile, before she began to swing the bat right down towards the top of her head with blinding speed! I let out a shrilled scream as I watched my girlfriend about to be beaten to death!
Chapter 1 'A Long Night' Sec. 6 'The Void'"WAIT WAIT NO!!!" "You did this to yourself, kid!" The pony cackled. The bat hung by itself over Christa's head, ready to be brought down upon her skull! I screamed and fought my restraints as soldiers around me were aroused anticipation! I pulled hard enough to the point I thought I was going to dislocate something, I was breaking skin! "NO! PLEASE! DONT! Don't do this please!!" The bat lowered itself closer to the floor. She looked at me, acting like I said the dumbest thing she had ever heard. The pony turned towards me. She sighed, and brought a hoof to her forehead. "No? Then what am I supposed to do?! Did you forget the fact that you killed one of my men? Did you forget the fact that you took this very same bat, and beat the holy fuck out of him!? I don't know about you, but I take offense to that! Nobody pulls that shit without me personally paying them back! You're getting exactly what you deserve, fucking monster!" Everyone in front of me was trembling, sweating profusely. Some were on the verge to tears, mostly children. Christa was out on the floor. She had passed out from pure terror. Her bright blonde hair masked her face from view. Her father was screaming her name through the tape over his mouth. "Shut up!" The pony barked. "Shut up, you fat, greasy, bastard!" The rainbow pony turned to me. "It seems only fair to pulverize somebody you care about. Somebody who matters to you, just as that soldier meant to me, as they ALL mean to me. Now let me do my work, or I will make you do it myself!" Then bat once more rose over her head. Everyone screamed and looked away. I begged and pleaded for Christa to be spared. Tears poured down my cheeks as I screamed. I kicked and twisted in my chair, but nothing worked. It was no use. Her eyes were closed. Christa looked beautiful, peaceful. I'm glad she wasn't awake to see this. I mumbled her name over and over. The pony smirked, and burned this memory into my mind with only two words... "Goodbye, Christie." WHAM!! The baseball bat swung down so fast, I couldn't see it. I heard the sound and I fucking lost it. I screamed and bawled, gazing upon her hair, turning from blonde to crimson red in a matter of seconds! WHAM!! The bat was brought down on the same exact spot. Her legs lurched, her arms twitched. I screamed her name, trying to dislocate my wrists if it meant that I could get free. Christa's father was dead silent, his eyes were so wide, they were about to roll out of his skull. He tried to say his daughters' name, but nothing came out. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and just went limp; slumping to the side, out of view. I screamed and screamed her name. The pony took pleasure out of all of this, bringing the bat down on her head once more. WHAM!!! And again...and again. WHAM!!! A sickening crack of bone sent me toppling over, falling face first into the floor. Tears quickly pooled underneath me. I cried. I just cried. I watched her helplessly, moaning and sobbing. WHAM!!! Blood...there was so much blood. WHAM!!! Her body twitched as her eyes bulged out of her sockets. She let out sickening gurgles as blood sprayed out into the Winter air. Blood gushed out of nose and mouth. I couldn't say a single word. I cried in total silence. The rainbow pony even refrained from striking her head. The bat lowered itself to the floor, and she stepped back. Christa let out agonized moans mixed with the helpless gurgles and chokes as the blood filled her lungs. She rolled from side to side, spraying blood on the people on either side of her. It landed on her father's unconscious body. Her wide open eyes looked in all directions frantically, before landing on me. She stopped and stared. She just stared. I looked her in with a trembling lip. "C-Christa?" She didn't say anything, she didn't do anything but cough softly. Her wide eyes just blankly stared into mine. "Man..." The pony gasped. "This was unexpected. Jesus..." Her face was entirely red...soaked. It pooled underneath her. Her kicks became weak, her coughs grew faint. It wasn't long...before she ceased to move at all. Motionless...lifeless...painless. No breath entered nor escaped her lungs. I just watched. The pony didn't say a word. She stared at Christa, before letting her head hang on the floor. Without warning, no hint, no glance towards me or anybody, she brought the bat straight down onto the bridge of Christa's nose. I let out a whimper, my lip dribbled with vomit, as I lurched out a puddle that stretched out across the floor. Her face became more and more bent, twisted, and mutilated with every swing. And all I could do was watch and sob to myself. WHAM!!! WHAM!!! WHAM!!! **************************** "Blood! He needs blood! Blood STAT!!!" I could barely comprehend where I was being taken to. Lights above me raced by. A pattern. Ceiling panel...light...ceiling panel...light. Doctors and nurses bolted down what seemed like an endless hallway, hauling me to god knows where. Slack-jawed, I raised my head, barely able to move. I gazed upon my left hand. It was mangled, broken. My entire hand and some of my wrist was swollen and purple. The tip of my pinky finger was ripped off, exposing raw bone. Each finger was broken and bent in unnatural angles. "Lay down sir." A nurse said to me as calmly as she could. "Everything is going to be fine. Stay with me! Listen..toooo..." I didn't wake up for a long time. Most of the time when I did come to, I found myself lying in a hospital bed. I would only be awake for so long, before fatigue or whatever painkiller I was given fought back. The most notable and briefest moment of consciousness was when my eyes slid open to see her beautiful eyes staring at me. Christa sat in a chair by the window. A night sky was all that I could see outside. Tears in her eyes, she saw me staring at her and she nearly burst out crying. Quickly, Christa knelt to the side of the bed. She didn't know what to say. Puffy eyed, she leaned in and gently pecked me on the tip of my nose. I couldn't move. I just blinked at her. I looked into her eyes, and I wanted to sit up and hug her tight; and never let go. I wanted to tell her how sorry I was, how much of a bastard I was. I wanted her to know that it will never happen again. Christa...Christa was one of the few people who showed me love, an actual connection. She was one of the few people in my life who never left me, or became another sorry slob on the streets. I never truly knew what this felt like until I met her. "Shhh..." She whispered. "Rest....please. I'm staying here. I am never leaving you...not until you get better. I love you, Oscar Clutch. I love you so so much." The moment I tried to say something, I blacked out. It only felt like a second, but when my eyes opened again...she was back in her chair... slumped over to the side. The sun was barely peaking over the horizon. I'll tell her how I feel once I stand on my two feet. That is a promise...that I never kept. ****************** I was on the verge fading into the dark, cold depths of my mind. Her skull was smashed into bits. All that was left was a mesh of blood, brain, bone, and hair. The tears stopped flowing. I just stared from the floor. WHAM......WHAM!!!!! Her ponytail was the last thing that was together. Sprinkled with red, the hair trailed closely behind her battered skull. Her family grieved, sobbing profusely, some passed out. My limbs were numb, my heart was shattered into pieces. I was just...numb. "WOOOO!!!" The pony howled, letting the bat fall to the floor. It clanged against the ground, rolling away from me. I watched it roll. I watched the massive dent in its metal roll further and further away from me. The pony sat down, huffing and puffing. Everyone and everything was silent. All expect for the exhausted panting emanating from the pony. "Whoa boy...that uhh...that really took it out of me." She wasn't recognizable anymore. Her beauty was...it was gone. She just kept hitting Christa over and over and over again. There was nothing left but a mass of blood, brain, and bone. Clumps of hair were stuck together with blood, and exposed brain bits clung to the strands. There was a pool of red all around her, even licking at her father's arm as he lied on the floor. I couldn't look away, no matter how much I tried. "Oh man." The pony sighed, catching her breath. "I've always wanted to do that. Always, but I've never got the time to do it. Man...ever since I saw Negan beat the holy fuck out of Glen, I wanted to try it out. Man, no wonder you guys like the comics so much. You couldn't get that shit in Equestria." I glared up at the pony. The murderer. The fucking monster. How dare she. HOW FUCKING DARE SHE!!? I screamed and snarled like an animal, pulling at my restraints. The pony just ignored me like I wasn't even there! How could she?!! How could she do this to her?!! To me!! TO EVERYONE?!! "There are comics?" I heard a soldier ask. The rainbow pony looked at someone out of my view. "Of course there are comics. How else would these people know about it?" I snarled at her, kicking and screaming, never taking my eyes off that bitch! "Well...most people in this universe watch the T.V. show." "Hold on!" The pony gasped. "Hold the fuck up! There's a show!? Like...an actual T.V show?! Why the hell didn't anybody tell me anything?!" "YOU BITCH! YOU FUCKER!!!!" I shouted at her, tears pouring down my face. I twisted and fought against my restraints! I will kill her! I will fucking kill her for what she has done! I pulled, kicked, and punched as hard as I could! I'll kill her! I had to! I need to! I'm going to rip her fucking head off!!! "Why!? WHY!!?" I screamed. The bitch looked at me with an unfazed stare. She didn't say a word. The pony picked up the bat with her mouth, and she swirled the end in the corpse of Christa. She walked over to me, slowly creeping up with each step. She stopped looking at me, and I glared back at her, as she towed over my trembling body. She brushed the bat up against my face. I screamed, shaking my head furiously! Blood and brain matter l covered the left side of my face and clung to my hair! She spat the bat out, it fell to the floor, briefly masking my shrieks with its high pitched ring. "You wipe that off, and I'll personally roll your fucking face in the gore. You can scream, you can cry, but youtalk to me like that again and I will make you EAT IT!" I screamed with rage, with agony, with sorrow. The pony just looked at me like I was a pathetic child. She gave a nod, and two men lifted me into the air, having me staring down at Christa's corpse from above. "Wait. Before you cut him loose, put him down, I know just the thing." The pony commended. The pony approached me and bent forward so we were face to face. "Now, Oscar, what I'm gonna do is I’m gonna numb a good 80% of your nervous system. You're gonna lose most of your bodily functions, and you'll be pretty motionless for roughly the next few hours. You won't feel a thing. Oh, and if you’re worried that this will hurt, don't get too excited, it won't. Now stay still if you please..." A solid red beam of light shot up from her chest. I could barely see it coming before it hit me right between the eyes. My head lurched back as I let out a cry of shock. In the span of a few seconds, my limbs felt weak. My head felt heavy, and it just slumped down against the backrest of the chair. I couldn't feel anything! I couldn’t feel anything below my neck! My jaw was locked in place and all I could do was roll my eyes, and scream through my teeth! I was helpless! "There, that wasn't so bad now wasn't it. Would you like a lolipop?" The pony chuckled. "Toss him in." I watched everything shake, as blades cut through the tape. One by one, my limbs slumped to the floor. The pony looked down at my pants. I could see her smirk out of the corner of my eye. "Man, you had a lot to drink. Heh. Hope you haven't had dinner recently." A bright blue light and gushing winds made me look back to see a large swirling, blue mass! A portal! It was a portal, and I was being carried towards it! "RRAAH! HGGAAH!" I screamed. Spit sprayed out of my locked in place jaw. Dad...Dan...everybody...they watched me get carried away. Dad's eyes were red and puffy. Dan glared in my direction, welling up. Christa remained on the floor, bludgeoned, deformed. Gone forever. "HGGAAHH!!" The two men carrying me out me on my feet, holding me by the shoulder. The rainbow pony stood in front of me back facing the portal. She gleamed at me with her smoldering red eyes. "You twisted my arm here, you know that, right? If you would've gone by the rules, then I wouldn't be in this mess. If you didn't kill one of my guys, my men, my valuables, then we wouldn't be having this conversation, your girlfriend would still be here, still alive and kicking. That's on you. This is ALL on you." I snarled at her, my lower lip and chin was dribbling with spit. "You think that it can't get any worse than this, don't you. You probably have the typical sworn oath that you are going to kill me one day. I'm right, aren't I? I get it. It's understandable. You're grieving and in shock. But let me make something clear. I'm not even going to touch a single hair on their heads as long as you play ball with what I'm gonna throw at you. Do what I say, and they will be fine. That sounds fair, right?" I was leaned further back, the flannel was barely nicking the alien energy behind me. "You may hate my guts right now...but I think you'll learn. Call it a hunch Oscar, but I think you and I are gonna have good things going for us. I know a few ways to straighten out people like yourself. Most of them aren't one armed freaks, but whatever. I will make you stronger in ways you won't even imagine. Yep... I think we'll be very good friends." She placed a hoof on my chest. "Until next time." She pushed me. I watched everything evaporate into a blue light that blinded me. In this blue haze, I cried out in utter shock. Everything got so bright to the point I swore I was going blind! Just as I thought it couldn't get any brighter, the light dimmed down until I could still see the room around me through a blue haze. I was unable to move, but I watched...ME falling! I was hovering in mid air, in a beam of blue light, staring at a still setting of the room I was in before I was pushed. I could see everyone and everything still as a photograph, stuck in time. I was staring at myself in awe. The terror on my face. The streak of gore the pasted the side of my face. I was falling backwards towards the portal behind me. I was so helpless. I wasn't given enough time to study my mistakes, as my view suddenly shifted to the ceiling, and I gently rose up towards it. Like anyone would, I tried to put my hand out in front of me to protect myself, but I was still crippled below the neck. I closed my eyes briefly, bracing for impact, but instead as I didn't feel any pain, I was moving through the concrete ceiling! As my face mushed itself against the solid surface, I sunk into it, emerging out the other end. This wasn't like a hologram, for I moved through this ceiling like I was broken apart and squeezed through! It was as if every bit of me, every shred of clothing that I wore, they were all broken down into trillions of pieces at the atomic level. My head would emerge through each floor of this building, and I would watch pieces of me grow back as particles clumped together to form me once more. I was disassembled and put back together time and time again until I was hovering above the building. Still shrouded in blue light, I looked down at the ground which seemed to be miles below me, I just kept rising up at a steady pace. My feet dangled below me and I couldn't do a thing. The higher I went, the colder I got, but I never froze to death, I never passed out. The blue beam of light prevented me from doing so. I just kept floating up and up into the atmosphere like a balloon. I couldn't see the building anymore. I couldn't even see my city clearly enough, I was too high. I was just staring at a massive cluster of lights. I never stopped rising. It was as if I had become an angel or spirit ascending into heaven. Soon enough...I felt weightless. I felt so loose, my clothes swayed in a gravity free state. Awestricken I was ...looking at Earth as it spun...or as I spun around it. I had drifted up and up through the atmosphere, high enough to lose the strength of gravity. I didn't know how long I floated there in the darkness of space, but I could still breathe perfectly fine. I didn't feel heat nor cold...I felt nothing. Before everything went crazy, I was looking down, not at America anymore, but at a diffwerent continent. A large pale line stretched across a large portion of land that I could see. It dawned on me that I was looking at China. I was looking at The Great Fucking Wall Of China. I was dumbfounded, I was stunned silent. I just looked down at it in awe and disbelief. However, it was as if looking at China was a signal to take me away, because that was when everything disappeared. I watched my legs and feet stretch out to supernatural lengths. They stretched out so far, I had a gut feeling that I would land feet first and briefly walk on The Great Wall, before I was slingshoted into the infinite depths of space. Stars raced past me at supersonic speed. No whiplash broke my neck or tore my body in two. I didn't explode or implode, everything became blurred and fuzzy. I raced through the solar system, faster that the speed of sound, faster than the speed of an electron...faster than light itself. I became so fast, so thin, so stretched out...I couldn't tell where I began or where I ended. Everything so blurry, until a blue streak of light erupted from any direction around me, I couldn't tell. I was consumed by it, swallowed whole by it. When I came out the other side, I was whole again. I could see my feet and body in their natural proportions. I was normal, but where I was...it was far from normal. It was far from natural and supernatural, rational and irrational, reality and fiction. I was flying sideways, I could tell for when I looked to my right, I was looking down at a massive void. It had no shape or color. It was just black. Blacker than anything I've ever seen. This mass, this void, it held the many Earths , the infinite Earths in its grasp. Billions...trillions of versions of the home I knew, it had it. I could see them. Small and big, in a blaze of fire or as an iceball, solid or as a gas. They were all there. I stared at this massive infinite abyss of worlds, and a single tear slid down my cheek. I was overwhelmed with emotion. Terror, awe, sadness, confusion. I just looked at this world. The world of all worlds to exists or will exists. The Multiverse. I'll never truly know if a god exists. I'll never know if there is an afterlife until I find out for myself. But if there is a god, then this would be it. And then gravity reunited with me once more. In the blink of an eye, a flash of light enveloped me before I was staring at a rough dirt surface to my side. I don't need to say much other than it hurt as my body grinded to a halt. Dirt and rock scraped against my skin, contributing to my stop. I couldn't feel much of anything, but my face felt cold. I couldn't move much of anything either, I just kept staring at a cloudy grey sky. Snow floated down onto my face, Pecking softly against my cheeks before sinking into my skin. A face loomed over me. Not a human face. Its eyes glowed the same emerald green just as any of the other grunts. A pony, light blue in color, but lacked any hair. It just looked at me curiously with a confused smirk. Its eyes trailed down to my left arm, and shrugged. "One arm, male!" It announced. "He seems to be awake!" "Just put him over there for now!" I heard gruff voice order. I don't know how, but my entire body managed to lift itself off the ground, leaving me to dangle my head back. I just found myself staring at the pony's chest and a large metallic ring that it wore. I was glowing like the rainbow pony's, however this was glowing a more orange color. Whenever it took a step, I floated forward. Each turn it took, I remained right in front of it. Not even bothering to say anything, I just stared at the metal ring as I was being hauled off to wherever. "Where should I....oh here we go." I heard the pony say. "I'll just lean you against this log, then you can watch the migration." My body was leaned against a fallen tree. The pony made sure that my head was resting upon it, so I was looking straight into a massive valley of ice and snow. The pony didn't say a goodbye, or even a word for that matter. It just dumped onto this log, and left me in the cold. I just lied there for what felt like hours, but in reality, it was mere minuets. I breathed in and out, my chest softly rising and falling. Was this real? Is this really...happening? No, it can't be. This couldn't be. This was impossible. This has to be a dream. I'll soon enough wake up, and it'll be the first morning of 2017. I'll be with my friend, my girlfriend, my dad. I don't care if I work in the morning, I'll take the day off, I don't care. Just wake up. All I gotta go is wake up. I looked up into the sky. The way the sun glowed through the grey clouds was oddly soothing. The valley was beautiful, I'll give it that. I could see it in the sky. I could see her in the sky. Christa. Her warm smile beamed down onto me. She had tears in her eyes. What was she saying? How mouth was moving like she was trying to speak. What is it? Her smile faded out, her face blended into the clouds. And then they came. Large black objects swung down from above. They flew and there was dozens of them. They were all four meters long at the minimum. some had to be over a hundred feet for sure. Their elongated wings soared through the freezing air with such grace. They were nothing like any bird that I have ever seen. As they flew closer towards the ground, I could see the many scales and horns that covered their faces and bodies. Four legs were attached to each creature, slightly bent. Long reptilian tails trailed close behind each one. I couldn't believe my eyes. Then again, I can't believe much of anything anymore. I couldn't believe that I was actually watching this. I was watching a flock of dragons. Creatures of fiction and fantasy, I was looking straight at them. One that had to have been roughly forty meters in length, black as night. It opened it mouth, and let out an ear piercing roar that shook me to the bone. All I could do was just watch and think to myself... "Please be a dream. Please be a dream. Please be a dream." Even if it was completely useless, I kept hoping in desperation that I would wake up. I never did...
Chapter 2 'Purgatory' Sec.1 'Memories of Red'I lied on that log for quite some time. Even after the dragons or whatever they were, were long gone. As most of the flock has passed, the few that trailed behind were all that were left. A red one, with white running along its spine was flying at a slower pace. It had big spikes that sprouted from its wings and large eyes with long narrow slits for pupils. I don't know if it saw me as prey or it was just curious, but it looked directly at me. It's head turned to look down at little me as I lied paralyzed on an old log. It didn't seem to give me much of a second thought, as it turned to look forward. And it was gone. No goodbye. No fond farewell. After they left, I couldn't do anything else but just look out into the frozen valley. I remained on that log for a very long time. Maybe they forgot about me, or maybe they just didn't care. Either way, I didn't care neither. I didn't care if they came to get me or left me behind. I didn't care if I was freezing cold. I wouldn't even care if I suffered from Hypothermia and croaked. I just didn't care. But they did get me. After what seemed like hours, they finally got to me. I distinctly remember hearing a gruff male voice announce to anyone within ear shot... "Oh hell! His shoulders' bleeding! Somebody help me with this guy!" It was then, two pairs of hands gripped me by my wrists and ankles and I was lifted into the air, my backside was barely lapping at the ground. As they carried me to wherever, one of them made a comment about my hand, or lack of one. "God damn, I keep needing to readjust my grip! Why does this prick only need to have one hand?" "Just shut up." I heard the soldier at my feet scold. "You know how our superior gets if she hears us complain. Just get him to a doc, yeah?" "Wait." Wrist man paused. "This guy...one arm. Isn't this that dude who had that scuffle with R.D? He's the one who threw her down a stair case right? Stairs on-" "The side of a building, yes, this is the guy." Foot soldier responded. "Damn dude." Hand soldier leaned forward a looked down at me. His glowing eyes burned into mine. "Why'd you do that to yourself?" The soldier asked me. "She's gonna FUCK you...UP. Really bad, dude." "Oh my god, for the love of holy Celestia, shut up!" Foot soldier scolded. "He isn't going to get tortured, not from what I've heard. I hear that he's another addition to 'Purgatory'." "Purgatory...you mean The Boneyard?" "Call it whatever the hell you want, but people are starting to call it that." A ceiling suddenly covered us. A solid wood ceiling. It was dark, but dimmly lit. It could come as a pattern. Ceiling light...panel. Ceiling light...panel...ceiling light...panel...ceiling- "Yeah, I can see why they would call it that." Hand soldier sighed. "I like Boneyard better though." "Whatever. Call it what you want. Hey! Stretcher! Get a stretcher over here!" Far off somewhere, I could hear the loud squeaking of a set of wheels. It got closer and closer fast. Up until the squeaking was right next to me on my right, was when the two soldiers practically tossed me on this old hospital stretcher. They rolled me over, making sure that I was on my belly, exposing my shoulder. "What happened here?" I heard a female ask softly. Her voice was sweet and calm, but something was off. There was something about her voice...an accent. Was it Swedish? No, no, it sounded French. "No idea." Foot soldier responded. "When we got to him, we found that his shoulder was like this. Look at it, it's still gushing!" A tearing of cloth echoed through the supposedly empty hall, as I heard nothing else than this little group. "Pour bien vouloir!" She sighed. "Thank you. Get out there and do your job. I'll take it from here." The pairs of boots stomped away from me, up until I couldn't hear anything anymore. With their absesnse, I was taken away. The woman pushed the stretcher along a long hall. Lying on my stomach with my head turned to the right, I could see multiple wooden doors, all closed. The white paint that was once nice and smooth, was now chipped and broken off in patches. The whole area from what I could see, was decrepit. The nurse would turn a corner and the both of us were traveling down soother hallway. Door after door whizzed on by. Listening past the squeaking of the stretcher wheels, I could hear the moans and whailing of other people just like me. Their pain could be heard behind closed doors. I didn't want to think about it, but looking down at the floor...I could've sworn I saw blood leaking out from underneath one room. I could hear agonized sobbing, and pleads for mercy. "Here we go." The stretcher made an abrupt turn into a white tiled room. From what I could see, small, white, square tiles were plastered everywhere. They covered the floor, the walls, the ceiling. Without a warning, I was lifted into the air without much effort. No hands were clung to me to move me into this hospital bed, only energy. Looking down, I could see that tiles did cover most of the floor, but I mentally shuddered when I saw a small drain in the center of this small room. I was placed lying on my stomach into this hospital bed. A moment passed before the light illuminating this room got brighter, as it was brought closer to my back by this mysterious women. "Do you speak English?" The French voice asked, hearing her tinker with metal tools in the background. I grunted. "You're obviously paralyzed, but you should be able to give me some sort of a responce. English? Do you speak English?" "Ruunngk." I growled. "Is that a yes?" "Hnnng...please....don't..." "I'll take that as a yes." She sighed, her voice not skipping a beat. The woman took her time. Steralizing, readying her tools, reading through papers. "Oscar...C-Clutch?" The woman said puzzled. "That your name, Oscar Clutch?" I remained silent. "Whatever. Let's get this sucker fixed, yes? Let's see...does this hurt? Can you feel this?" "Hgnnn. Hgnnn..." "Well alright! This will be a cake walk." For the next hour, hour and a half, two hours, they were spent with her picking away at the gaping hole in my shoulder. Disinfecting, cleaning the wound, stitching it shut. I didn't feel a thing. I didn't feel anything at that. I believe those soldiers refers to that rainbow pony as 'R.D' What ever "R.D", did to me has numbed me to the point I was one of those quadropaligics. I couldn't talk well, or even to react to much of anything. I didn't know...but it feels like it numbed my emotions too. That, or I was just exhausted. This woman who stitched me shut was quiet most of the time, occasionally asking me a question or humming a tune to herself, oddly calm. She was humming a tune at the time, when there was a quick snip of wire and then she patted me on the lower back. I could hear her slapping against my skin. No, they didn't feel like fingers. "There all done." She cooed. I heard her place the tools on a metal tray behind me. I could see my shadow being casted against the wall. Looking hard enough, I could barely see the metal wire sticking out from my back. I grunted, already imagining the pain once these effects wear off. Who knows when that'll be. I couldn't see her though. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" She asked me. "Would you like a lolipop?" I heard her. I heard her ask me that question. My eyes widened and I wheezed in shock. How could she? How could she ask me that, fucking bitch. My eyes twitched, my neck was shaking. Shaking with so much anger, so much rage. I couldn't stop thinking about Christa, how she was...how she was....how. That fucking horse did this to me, she killed her, she killed me! She killed a part of me! She smashed it to pieces! That horse took one of the few people that I held close to me, and she ruined it! She destroyed it! She ruined me! And all she had to say for herself...was that question! Was that same fucking question!! I heard the woman walk up and stand right beside me. She leaned it close. "Why are you crying? What's wrong with you? Are y-" I wanted to punch her. I wanted to knock her down on her fuckin ass for asking me such a vile question! But then all of the sudden, everything was working again. A surge of pain washed over my body. It was so sudden, so unexpected, I froze and let out a high pitched yelp. My joints locked up, my muscles tensed, the sharp stinging in my shoulder was agonizing, but I found myself angrier than before. I growled, turning my head towards the nurse, but I paused. I was taken aback when I was glaring at another pony. She was pressed against the wall yelling for help. She wore a white labcoat but I can't hold see the black fur that I assumed covered her beneath. She was banging on the wall, still calling for help frantically, never taking her bark blue eyes off mine. Her eyes, which flowed in the same fashion as the soldiers, resembled what reminded me of the dark abyss of the ocean. I reached a leg over the side, and I stood in the center of this operating room on two wobbly legs. "Where is she!!?" I screamed. "Where is that mother fucker!!!" The door bursted open. Two very strong human women stood in the door way. Wearing the armor that I've become accustomed to, one pointed a very large pistol right at my head, yelling for me to freeze, get on the floor. I froze, instantly retracting my hand away from the black pony. While one had a pistol on me, the other charges towards me like a full grown bull! "Careful!" The French pony pleaded. "I just had him sti-" Her shoulder dug itself deep into my gut, briefly lifting me into the air before I tumbled to the ground. I first landed on my feet, but due to the angle and having the wind knocked out of me, I rolled back. My head slammed against the tile floor, and I let out an enraged cry of pain. I counted two snaps of metal wiring, and pain exploded in the shoulder! "GOD DAMMIT STOP!" The French pony thundered. The two soldiers paused, looking at one anothe with their green orbs for eyes, unsure of what to do. They simultaneously nodded, before the bigger one of the two, sent a rock hard fist down upon me. The fist was an uppercut, connecting with the left side of my face which was facing the floor. I groaned, my head feeling upwards to the ceiling. "I have an anesthetic!" The black pony sighed. "Let me-" "Let us do our job!" A soldier barked, as they were both now biting me again and again with their bare knuckles. I don't know how many hits I took, but I just remember being beaten to the point where I passed out, a good chance it was from a concusion. My body gave up, all limbs went loose and I just collapsed onto the tiled floor. The small white squares that covered the surfaces quickly morphing into one, big, black mass. I dreamed for that duration of time. Most of the time when I sleep, I don't remember anything about what my brain manages to mesh together...but this was different. This felt too real, too vivid. This was more of a vision than anything else. I didn't know how I could tell because I couldn't looks down at my own body, but I was walking. Just slowly strolling forward. My eyes were open too, as multiple large spheres appeared on both sides of me. These spheres were large, big enough to allow me to stand at my full height if I were to be placed inside one. Like a crystal ball, they were all projecting images. No, not images, movies. Not even movies, these were memories. Moments from my life from my point of view. These spheres were like of the ones I could see in the void...the void of my mind. The first ball was too my left. Staring at it gave me a very strong sense of sadness, and regret. It filled my heart to the brim with this gloomy feeling of depression, even as I saw Christa's beautiful smile. I could see my arms wrap themselves around her. With her forehead pressed up against mine, she whispered to me... "Stop it, it's not that bad." Her eyes opened. "You'll always be the one for me, and I'll never let you go." Oh...I see. I'm his was after the hospital, wasn't it? After everything I've done, every mistake I made to lead me to that point. How could I have been so stupid...and weak. I just stared at a younger version of me tightly embrace her. Just as I barely spotted a sliver of bandages on my left arm, the orb paused. It just stopped in the same fashion as someone would press the pause button. Confused, I tried to touch it, but my hand would go strait through it. Nothing happened, so I pressed on, letting the ball sit in silence. The next orb, was a turn of my head to the right, and I was no longer feeling this depressing fog in my heart. Instead, I was washed over with...concentration? I could see my own two hands, holding what appeared to me my dad's shotgun, the double barrel. I was younger defiantly. I had to be around twelve at this time. I remember this! This was was time we shot up Dad's old computer! CLI-POW! The sound of the metal trigger and the thrunerous roar of gun powder and buckshot filled me with excitement! Score the force sent me falling onto my ass, I could briefly see the computer screen explode into millions of shards of glass! I laughed maniacally, my younger self. "Awww YEAH!" I cried. "You see that!? You see what I did?!" My voice awkwardly cracked. "I sure did, my boy." My dad said, pulling me off the ground. "Wanna go again?" "For sure!" "Right." Dad said, pointing to the gun. I didn't know if I was smiling, but I remember this opinion about my dad. Every since I was little, I always thought my dad was sophisticated and proper because of his accent. With him being British, he made everything he said sound interesting and intellectual. Even if it was the stupidest shit ever, it sounded smart. It was funny to me. He could be talking about how the Earth was flat, and it would be interesting. "Remember, both shells are going to fly out, so be sure to stay out of the way so they don't possibly hit you in the face." "I will, Dad." I started to move on, not looking back, but I could still hear my dads' voice. "Be aware that this is not a toy. This isn't like one of your video games. you will kill somebody or yourself if you are not responsible! Be careful around this, son." The orb paused, ceased all movement, just like the first. I just stared at a still image of me looking at the shotgun in my two hands. "Yes sir." I whispered. "I will." Number three was one when I was still in Highschool. I was just leaning up against the lockers while people were busslinging by. Me and my group of friends were just minding our own business, talking about random shit, or girls we had a good time with for the past week. I was laughing at the time. Somebody told a joke, but I couldn't remember who said it or what the joke was even about. I just snickered, and turned to look down the hall to my right. And there she was. Leaning on the same side of the hall as me...there she was. My snickering faded as I was taken aback by her beauty. This wasn't just simply my head telling me that she looks like good boning material, this was something else. She just leaned up against a locker, talking to a chubby looking dude who looked the kind of guy who would be jerking his gherkin to hentai in him mom's basement. But she just smiled and continued talking about whatever to him. She didn't notice me staring at her. At the time, I just thought she was pretty as I looked at her, before one and of my friends pulled me out of my trance. Right as my view of that girl was rotated towards my friends, the memory stopped. I didn't expect nothing more than that, but...something strange happened. I didn't notice anything at first, but as I inspected the orb, I noticed that everything was under a minor shade of the color pink. I stood there puzzled, and the more I watched, the darker the color became. From a faint pink, to a light red, then a dark shade of crimson. Everything was painted red. But still, trying to touch the orb, my fingers would just go strait through. I continued forth, looking back occasionally at the...memory, if I could call it that. Soon enough, I couldn't see anything or anyone on that orb, just red. "Alright, I'll be back in a few hours." I heard my dads voice again, it came from the next memory. My head turned quickly towards orb to my left. I was young, very young. Had to be no older that four. I was in a livingroom, sitting on the floor to an apartment that I barely remembered. I just remember that dad and I moved in there for a little bit. One light was on, and that was the T.V behind me. It was playing Blue's Clues. I was playing with some toys. It was storming and outside. Lightning turned night into day for a brief second, before thunder rattled the little apartment. Dad stood in the front of the front door, wearing a over coat with his fancy suit underneath. He had an umbrella in his hand. He waved at me, before talking to somebody behind me. "Thank you so much. I'll pay you extra for being such sort notice." A chirpy female voice said with a happy, "No worries Mr.Clutch. I needed some quiet time to study anyway." "Great...great." Dad sighed. "I'll be back soon. There's some Coke in the fridge if you want some. Fix up a dinner for Oscar and you." "Will do. Bye bye." "Bye!" Dad called as he opened the door. Fat raindrops poured down on his umbrella as he closed the door behind him. Just as the door was closed and locked, monstrous thunder shook over our heads, as I looked up at the ceiling. "Well Oscar." The nice girl quipped. "What do you want to watch? Bob the Builder? Blues Clues?" "Blues Clues!" Little me cried out. Then the memory stopped. I didn't think much of this memory in particular. I stared at it for quite sometime. The longer I stared, the more I got this nervous feeling in my gut. There was also this...itch. Not like a mosquito bite or whatever. This was something in my head. I remember this, but at the same time, I couldn't. I wouldn't. It was on the tip of my tongue on what happend in this, but I couldn't figure it out, not for the life of me. "You did this to yourself, kid..." A voice, I heard a voice. It...it was coming from somewhere off to my right. I looked in that direction, and there was a final orb. The past four were off to the side, as if they were forming a pathway for me to walk along, but this one. This was right in the center of the path, showing the end. It was completely black, it was almost impossible for me to see at first. "Did you forget the fact that you took this very same bat, and beated the holy fuck out of him?" No. No. It can't be. Not now. Not now, not you! The orb lit up to reveal an abandoned construction site. Concrete walls were all around. Innocent men women and children were tied down, gagged, and crying; pleading for their lives. Soldiers with their soulless eyes just watched and giggled like hyenas. I was on the floor, tied into a chair, sobbing myself into exhaustion. Her blonde hair which was once silky smooth, has been violated. WHAM! Her beautiful face...mutilated. WHAM!! Her life....annihilated. WHAM! WHAM!! WHAM!!! The picture twisted in on itself, flashing glimpses of the man I brutally beaten. It would switch from one to the other so fast, frame by frame. It was almost as if I was watching some sick snuff slideshow. Every time the bat struck their heads, they were both in sync with each other. Soon enough, I was just watching an on going loop of Christa's death. I watched the pony beat her, bludgeon her, murder her. Pulverize her until her head was nothing but a putrid pulp of brain, blood, and hair. A sinking feeling in my chest, in my heart, send me into a trembling fit. "You twisted my arm here, you know that, right?" The memory stopped, showing a clear view of Christa's once beautiful face, once was full of life. The voice continued to taunt me. "If you would've gone by the rules, then I wouldn't be in this mess." I felt weak. I felt dizzy. My legs gave in and I fell towards the floor, only there was no floor...just the void. I fell and kept on falling. The orbs grew further and further away. Cold air blew through my hair and whistled in my ears. "If you didn't kill one of my guys, my men, my valuables, then we wouldn't be having this conversation, your girlfriend would still be here, still alive and kicking." I could feel my consciousness slip away. Exhaustion has taken over. "That's on you. This is ALL on you." I continued to fall, my arms flailed above me, there was nothing now. No orbs, no memories. There was just me, the voice, and the void in between. "Until next time." Then I woke up for real. My eyes slowly slid open as everything came into focus. The first thing that I could see was a cell door. A door of metal bars that led into a mysterious hallway, dimmly lit with only one light from the ceiling. With a pounding head ache, I groaned, massaging one temple at a time. I paused and looked down at myself. I was lying on a small bed that was suspended in place by chains in the walls directly to my right. I sighed, I lied my head onto my pillow before I let out a shocked gasp of pain! It felt like somebody dragged a red bot knife right across the nape of my neck! That was when my senses became clear! Questions, so many questions flooded my mind! Where am I? Why am I here? What did they do to me?! I jumped out from the cot, tumbling to the floor before I found myself backing into the bars. I hissed as the sting of my shoulder collided with the bars. "Shit!" A women gasped. I pressed up against the bars, my heart was instantly pounding hard against the walls of my chest. I pointed a finger at the figure laying in the bed above mine! "Who...what...where am I!?" I gasped. "Oscar! Ssshh" The figure hopped down onto the floor and scurried over to me like a creepy fucking demon! Her blonde hair masked her face as she drew nearer and nearer! Before I could protest, a hand clamped down onto my mouth and held my trembling body still! "If you're loud enough, they'll kill us both!" She whispered. With her other hand, she moved the hair back to reveal her face. I recognized her. It was Heather. It had to be Heather of all people. Her lip was swollen and had a cut in it, deep too. Looked like she took a bad beating. Slowly removing her hand from my mouth, she hushed me once more, quietly creeping back to the bunk beds. "Where are we, Heather?! Where!" I hissed softly. "Shut up, and go to bed!" She mouthed. I sat there and watched her in a stunned trance as she climbed back into her bed on top. However, just before she lied down, she looked at me with a worried expression on her face. She whispered something to me, but I couldn't even make out what she said. I was outing words together in my head, staring at the freezing cold floor. Three words, that I couldn't comprehend why she said what she did. "You're....fighting....today."
