Six Degrees of Suffering

Chapters

The First Degree of Suffering, Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three

The First Degree of Suffering, Prologue

“Death isn't an event in life: we do not live for us the experience death.”
- Ludwig Wittgenstein

(Warning! Slightly detailed scenes of cannibalism, torture, abuse and mention of suicide and rape is present in this chapter. It is unavoidable, and will be present every step of the way. If you don't like the aforementioned scenes, please don't read the chapter. It's that simple.)

o~o~o~o~o~o~o

Six weeks ago, the country where I lived was attacked. Women were raped. Children were abducted, and able bodied males aged above fifteen years old were forced into work camps. I, myself, was working in those hellish camps. Working for an organization that calls themselves as the Resistance, they claimed to 'rid of the monsters that control humanity itself'.

I scoffed at that. They aim to rid humanity of the monsters, yet not knowing that they were the monsters themselves.

Today, I and a large group of workers, varying from sixteen to sixty in years of age, were tasked to carry newly mined minerals back to their factories. There, they purify said minerals, and sell them for profit, which in turn powers their workforce.

I grunted heavily as I carried the bag of assorted ores and metal above my head. I was sweating heavily, and my arms were ready to give away, due to fatigue. It was unbearably hot, mostly because of the smoke coming out of the ground. We were directly on the side of a volcano, and the hot steam it produced was shooting out from the cracks on the surface. The air was almost unbreathable, it was too smoky to even inhale deeply.

"Move your lazy ass, kid!" The person watching us shouted in anger. I looked up and felt fear. Thinking it was me that did something wrong, I awaited my judgement, and closed my eyes. I kept going, however. I went faster than my usual pace, trying not to trip over the hot, igneous rocks that the volcano was made out of.

A minute passed, and nothing happened. I slowly opened my eyes, and looked around. I let out a sigh of relief, knowing it wasn't me that angered our guards. But that meant that someone else was enraging the guards.

I looked to my left, and saw a young boy, possibly the age of sixteen, which was slowing down his pace due to exhaustion. He was struggling to keep the bag over his head, his body was shaking violently, and he had tears running down his face. He was literally wearing a sack for clothing, and was bare footed.

Well, we all were.

Parts of his body was blackened due to ashes and burns, and wounds were scattered all over his body. Bruises from beatings can also be seen, from behind the black ashes. Surely, this kid has been abused repeatedly by the guards. They even called him Runty, due to his height. He was 4"9, and very thin. He coughed heavily due to the smoke, and was moving at a snails pace, taking one step at a time.

Our guards did not accept of his speed, however. Did not care for his well-being, too. One guard started to mock him, and after that, two more joined in. The kid, however, ignored the howls of the officers and continued to move.

"Hey, Runty!" I heard a voice from my right. I turned my head to the direction from where the voice came, and saw an officer with a rock on his hand. He tossed the rock a few times, before shouting, "Catch!" He shouted, throwing the rock as hard as he could towards the poor child.

The rock hit his head hardly, causing him to fall down to the ground, dropping all the ores he was carrying and making them scatter all across the ground. The guards were all laughing heartily at the child, which stayed limp, lying on the ground. He wept silently, and apparently, it was too much for me. The others stopped, and stared at the poor child. Apparently, they could no nothing. Anyone who would even do so much as go to the kid would get beaten up.

Well, I wasn't afraid anyways.

"Hey, assholes!" I shouted, causing most of the officers' attention to go to me. I dropped my bag, and grabbed a handful of fist-sized ore. "Stop harassing that poor kid!" I shouted, before throwing a piece of metal at a guard, standing beside the pitiful child.

The guards immediately took cover from my missiles, and avoided the incoming ore. "Get that idiot!" A guard shouted, before ordering everyone back to work.

Continuing my assault, I bent down to grab more ore to throw, but I was then tackled by a guard before I could even touch one piece. I grabbed an ore, and slammed it on the head of the officer. He immediately went limp on top of me, enabling me to push him off me. Before I could even stand up, a group of guards went around me, and started to kick me continuously.

I grunted, and winced in pain. Secretly, I hid the piece of ore on a pocket sewn into my rags.

One officer then kicked me hard on my stomach, making me cough in pain. I became weak, and never bothered to stop them. Pain seared from everywhere in my body, and they still continued to kick the shit out of me.

Of course, no one bothered to help me. They would get the same fate, if they interfered. All they could do is watch, and pass by.

After a few minutes of continuous kicking, a single hard kick to my face ended the torture, leaving me disoriented and in pain. I rolled to my side, resting on my left shoulder as I moved my hand to my face, checking to see if there was any broken bones, open wounds, or any bruises. A pool of warm liquid caught my attention, it was forming just below my face. I swiped my index and my middle finger on the pool, before moving my fingers just in front of my face.

'Hm, blood.' I thought, remembering a memory I had experienced not too long ago.

I stared at my bloody fingers for an unknown amount of time, before coughing heavily. More blood sputtered out of my mouth, spraying them to the rock in front of me. I then lied on my back, blood was running down my face, originating from my nose.

My vision then blurred, and another pain shot from my stomach.

"This is what we do to who would even dare to betray the Resistance!" The officer said, walking around me, flaring his arms out, as if he is trying to impress others. "If anyone wants to join this idiot," he said, before placing a boot on my head. "This, low-life," he hissed, stepping harder into the side of my face. I then grunted, and screamed, unable to take the pain he was giving me. He then removed his boot, and stepped back from me. "Then be my guest!"

He ran forward, raised his left foot backwards like he was trying to kick a ball, and smiled. Kicking as hard as he could, I felt no pain at all as the boot collided with my face.

All I knew next, was that I blacked out. Sweet relieve entered my mine as darkness finally consumed me, giving me a slight reprieve from the hellish world I call home.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o

"Agh!" I yelled, my body quickly jolting upwards as I awoke from my slumber. My eyes opened almost immediately after I sat upright, causing the bright sunlight to immediately harass my unadjusted eyes. By reflex, I raised a hand to cover my eyes as it tried to adjust itself to the light, and after a few minutes, it was able to tolerate the light again.

'Damn, I must've been out for a long time.' I thought.

I held my head, pain still wreaking from my cranium. I then shook it off, and decided to scan the environment around me, because I'm sure as hell that this ain't the volcano anymore. Even with my vision still blurry, I can still make out faint outlines of the objects around me.

It seemed like the guards tossed me out and left me to die in a forest all alone. Apparently, it was a dark forest, no light could be seen penetrating the thick foliage above me...well, except for the little hole that gave me the stray ray of light. Other than that, the forest was completely dark, illuminated only by a faint green light, the only light strong enough to pass through the dense cover.

It seemed that I had ended in a small clearing, with not one path in sight. I sighed, and decided to walk in a straight line. I ignored the ripped, squalid sack that I call my clothing as it snagged into branches. I kept walking.

And walking..

And walking...

An hour later, and I began to feel the effects of thirst and fatigue. Well, not just thirst. It was dehydration. Back in those labour camps, they only gave us half a bottle of water and a plateful of slop they call 'food'...if you're lucky.

In some(most) cases, they don't even bother to stand up and do their jobs, like feeding the prisoners. They just sit in their comfortable seats, sometimes even sleep. Those lazy asses never cared for us. They showed no mercy, no pity, and no remorse.

If you'd ask for food, you would get beaten up.

If you complained, you would get beaten up.

If you would even sit for a single second, you would get beaten up.

Those who refused to do their bidding would get knocked out, and brought into the torture chamber.

They'd sap a man of his strength, until all what's left of him was a sad, empty husk. A carcass devoid of feeling and happiness. A man that had lost hope, who's only real goal in life is to end their suffering.

Yes, many people tried to end their lives inside those prison camps. Some tried to hang themselves. Some preferred to cut their neck, or their wrists. But, the most preferable one is to drive a knife, or any pointy object through their own skull. It's silent, and it's painless.

The only challenge is: if you had the will to do it.

Now, in those camps, we would know if someone had successfully killed themselves. Because everytime someone ends their own life, the guards would mock us. They would place one of his own body parts sitting right next to your own food.

Sometimes, they would take a random prisoner in front of them, and force him to eat whatever remained on his fellow prisoner.

It was simple. Eat the entire carcass, from flesh to muscle, and you get out, unscathed. Refusing to eat it, or not finishing it, however, will get you beaten up, or sometimes shot dead, for the next prisoner to feed on.

It was sick, and the officers loved it.

They'd bet on it, guffawing their hearts out as they would watch a human being consume another.

I shuddered at the thought; an old memory surfaced just as I remembered those times. Two months ago, I was chosen for the sick ritual.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o

I was lead out of my cell, and was brought into an area filled with chairs and tables, covered by camouflage netting. The small space was illuminated by small amounts of light passing through the netting, and there was a foul stench in the air.

A large green mat stained with hardened blood was placed in front of those chairs. I was then made to sit down on that match, and await orders. I was still fresh that time, not knowing what I would do that day, I waited anxiously.

Minutes later, they'd drag a dead body then throw it on the mat, in front of me. Officers and guards would then sit on those chairs in front of me, and they would cheer and holler.

"Come on, Johnson!" "Eat it!" "Come on, eat it!" "I betted twenty helmes in this, eat or I will personally make your life hell!"

The cacophony of yells from the officers filled my ears, as they encouraged me to eat the dead child lying in front of me. The body was still fresh, apparently. Blood could seen be seen gushing out from his small wounds. I flinched, as the new, much more fouler smell immediately found its way into my nostrils.

"Come on, we don't have all day!" One of the officers shouted in impatience, before taking a swig from his beer.

"Yeah, I'll give you ten seconds before I blast your tiny head off from your neck!" An officer shouted, before taking a pistol from his holster.

"One..."

I looked down at the corpse, and immediately gagged. I couldn't even eat undercooked meat, let alone a raw carcass from a young man.

"Two..."

Tears began to slowly form at the side of my eyes, and I knelt down on one knee, then on two. I took deep breaths, and looked at the body. It was getting pale, and the bottom was getting blue. "Come on! Your meal's getting cold!" An officer cackled, holding his stomach as he laughed.

"Eight..."

I blinked, and looked at the officer with the gun. He was already standing, and pointing at the weapon toward me. That bastard, he skipped a few numbers just to intimidate me.

"Nine..."

"He's not gonna do it, I tell you," I heard an officer speak. "Might as well give me that twenty helmes." He said, persuading his fellow guard to give him the money.

Surely, he wasn't going to do it...right?

The officer pulled down the hammer of the pistol, and placed his finger on the trigger. "Ten--"

I immediately bit into the man's hand, tears running down my cheeks as I took rubbery, bitter flesh from his finger.

The officers cheered, and laughed at my torture. They kept encouraging me, some even placed a beer bottle beside be, so I could swallow down the flesh. I refused.

Piece by piece, bit by bit, I began to eat. The flesh was hard, and cold. My face was bloody, it looked like I was some sort of zombie if you could see me.

During the entire time, I wept. Ignoring the taste, I kept eating, and telling myself that it was going to be alright. After I've eaten the entire right arm, I moved to the left.

Biting on the finger once again, I slowly made my way through the arm, before moving to the leg.

The officers cheered at the grotesque and horrifying scene. They counted their helmes, which was the currency in my country, and drank their beer. Some even took pictures of me. They kept offering me beer, I kept refusing.

I began to move to the lower abdomen. I began to bite in the waist, but to no avail. It was extremely hard.

"Awh, can't take a bite?" The officers said, before standing up, and taking a knife.

I looked at him fearfully. 'This is it,' I told myself. 'I'm going to die, and that last thing I had done was eat a person.' More tears then fell down my bloodied cheeks. 'Like a cannibal.'

I expected him to raise his knife and end my life, and call another prisoner to feed on my remains. I then looked at the body, feeling his chest, which had ribs sticking out. 'Like me and him.'

But, I then saw the handle of the knife being handed out to me. "Come on, just a little something to help you eat." He smiled widely, like a sick murderer taking pleasure from his kill. Well, they were already like that.

Sick murderers that would even smile as they would torture a young child, calling for his mother, pleading for help as he endured the pain they wreaked upon him. They didn't do it for information, and they don't do it because of orders.

They would do it for their own amusement.

I hesitantly took the knife, and decided if I should charge at the officers with the knife. I then looked at them, and saw that they had their weapons taken out. It seems that they had already thought of the contingency.

I drove the knife through the stomach, and took out a large, square piece of flesh. I stared at the piece, the cheers of encouragement from the officers drowning my thoughts.

I couldn't take it any longer.

I stood up, and threw the piece of flesh at the officers. With a loud cry, I took the knife, and charged towards the guard.

I lunged forward, my knife headed directly to a nearby officer's neck. I tackled him, and drove him to the ground. I raised my knife, and smiled at the officer.

Before I could even hit him, however, I was suddenly disarmed by another guard from behind me, and I was then knocked out.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o

I shivered, the air around me was getting colder. I rubbed on my shoulders, trying to heat them as much as possible. I exhaled, a jet of blue mist coming out of my mouth.

I began to move slower and slower. Huffing, I panted heavily. I was becoming disorientated and weak. Hunger, starvation and abuse took it's toll on my body. Taking my last few steps, I reached out a hand forward, like I was trying to reach an imaginary goal.

I fell down to the ground, and slowly lost my strength. I let out a light chuckle, which turned into a fit of coughs. I let out a relieved exhale, finally, I was free.

The last thing I saw was a black silhouette of a small horse, bending down to look me in the eyes before I fully lost consciousness.

Chapter One

I only saw pitch black.

I tried to move, yet, I was chained to a chair. My wrists and legs were shackled, and I could tell that I was blindfolded.

...

Wait, I've been here before.

After realizing where I was, I started to panic and tried to pull my hands off my shackles. I began to breath heavily, and sweat profusely. A small shock to my wrists then alerted me to what was to come.

Not even a few seconds had passed, before a massive jolt of electricity surged across my body. I screamed, my limbs shaking violently as I endured the electric chair.

A few minutes had passed, before the current stopped. I huffed, and huffed. My heart was beating wildly, and cold sweat was running down my face.

Another short shock, then a long shock followed.

"Gyaaaah!" I shouted in pain, my back arching as I tried to resist the pain once more, yet, it was futile. I went limp, unable to endure the large amounts of electricity being pumped to my body.

After another few minutes later, it stopped, and I felt weak. I had cold sweat, and I was light headed.

A sharp pain suddenly surface in my right cheek, and with a massive jolt sent to my body...

I woke up.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o

Pain suddenly attacked me from every part of my body, especially on my chest.

My eyes quickly shot wide open, and I shortly felt winded. I quickly sat upright, my lungs burning with pain everytime I coughed.

Slamming a fist to my bare chest quickly relieved some of the pain, and made me breath in relief. Quickly taking large gulps of air, the burning sensation in my lungs quickly subsided.

I then blinked twice, trying to clear the fog clouding my vision. I rubbed my eyes, and blinked once again. It seems that I have been taken into a small cave, filled with jars and various objects. A large cauldron on top of a large, burning fire sat on the middle of the cave, the liquid inside was bubbling loudly. On the farthest side, however is...

The pain suddenly shot from my stomach, quickly reminding me how hungry I was. I was also definitely parched, and that basket of fruits and water did not help me alleviate my cravings. Quickly moving, I immediately went to the basket as filled my stomach with every morsel I could get, and quench my thirst with every drop of water I could have. With my ravenous appetite, I quickly emptied the basket, but it did not satisfy me completely.

Wiping my mouth with my own arm, I began to scan the cave I landed inside again. 'Did I land in the middle of some witch cave or something?' I asked myself, looking around. There was nobody here, giving me an opening for escape.

Now, I was met with a decision that may decide if I should either live, or die. Should I escape while I still have the chance, or stay here and hope for the best?

My eyes moved to the exit of the cave. It was obviously night, and I could even hear the pitter-patter of rain outside the cave.

I then turned to the cauldron. It has a thick bubbling yellow liquid inside which glowed brightly in unison with the candlelight in the cave, making me curious. I took two small flasks and filled them with the liquid in the cauldron. I then took a small container and placed it on my pocket, along with the two flasks. The soft glow was masked by my clothing, making me sigh in relief. Oh, thank fuck that I don't have to worry about the flasks revealing my cover.

Who knows, maybe this liquid might be useful. It could be poison, or a healing potion.

Not wanting to wait any longer, I dashed out the cave as fast as I could, and continued on a straight line. Due to the rain, I could barely see. It didn't help that it was night, too.

Thunder struck around me. The rain was getting stronger and stronger.

I passed tree after tree after tree, never stopping. I nearly tripped once or twice, but I still continued my way. Turning left, then right, then left again. I was desperate to escape this forest, which was already playing tricks on my eyes.

Sometimes, trees would move around. Branches would twist. The feeling where someone is currently watching you. It was maddening.

I was then met with a large river. I quickly tried to stop, trying to halt before I get thrown into the water. My feet sliding across the muddy floor, I braced myself as I expected to go down to the water. My feet gradually slowing down, I stopped as I reached the edge of the riverbank. I let out a sigh of relief, before backing away slowly.

"A goddamned river," I said in annoyance. "Why the hell does it have to be a goddamned river?!"

Admittedly, I never knew how to swim. I never actually swam, because of the fact that I always sink downwards like an anchor whenever I do.

I screamed in frustration, and threw a rock on the river in front of me. I began to walk along the riverbank, hoping that I may find a bridge, or something like that.

Suddenly, in the midst of light rain, I heard a twig snap behind me. I looked back, trying to make sure I wasn't followed, before continuing my way.

I then came across a large carcass, half of its body lying down on the river bank. The stench was revolting, but the sight was even more gruesome. It looked like a sea serpent, but...larger. It's meat was rotting, and maggots inhabited what was left inside. Large, bubbles made out of meat and gas filled the insides of the body. Beside it's skull, a few strands of brown and purple hair rested on the ground, slowly getting washed away by the mud and rain.

Using this as a bridge crossed my mind, but I quickly brushed the thought aside. It's a fucking carcass. Stepping on that will just make the skeleton collapse, and lead to my demise.

I could somehow hold on to that body as I move across the river, though. Assuming that it's long enough to reach the other side.

I only then noticed that it already has stopped raining. I looked around, the visibility still poor. Turning my attention back to the carcass, I went to the skull of the body, and grabbed hold of the eye sockets.

Ignoring the stench, I pulled. Grunting in irritation, I never could seem to budge the body, let alone move it. Giving it another try, I pulled as hard as I could. Thankfully it had slightly budged, vines and other things that may have locked the carcass to the ground had snapped, allowing me to freely move the body.

I had then just realized, that the bubbles, were the ones that locked the body to the ground. After I moved the body, the bubbles popped, releasing putrid red gas all around the carcass. I fanned the front of my face, coughing as I inhaled the foul smelling gas.

It smelled like shit! I ran away, waiting for the gas to subside before I could continue working on the carcass. I began to sit down beside one of the trees, the smell still stuck in my nostrils.

As I sat down, I felt a rock poke my unprotected posterior, and made me stand in reflex. I looked down from where I sat, and one, placed just underneath where I sat. I removed the rock, and sat down once again. And again, I felt the exact same thing. Quickly realising the objects in my pocket, I began to reach for the ore that I sneakily took in the camps.

I grabbed hold of the ore, and fished it out of my pocket. I took a closer look at the clump of rock and soil, and asked myself, 'Why the hell does the Resistance want us to mine this?' I turned the rock, and looked at it on its other side. 'It looks like a normal rock.'

Suddenly, the rock began to glow. Small green faults began to appear on the ore, glowing softly as I held it. 'What the?' I mouthed, rather confused and amazed by the display this rock showed.

I then heard a neigh behind me. I quickly pocketed the rock, and hid. I peeked from behind the tree, and saw a zebra, two horses, and a...unicorn?

I raised a brow. 'A fucking unicorn?' I quickly pulled back, and hid. 'Am I still even on Xinlieu?' I asked myself. I only then noticed, that the ore on my pocket glowed even more brighter and brighter.

Shit..shit..shit! What the hell should I do?

I looked around, trying to find an object that could help me. I found the rock. I reached for the rock, and threw it as hard as I could into the forest. I don't know what the rock hit, or who, because I heard a branch snap after I threw the rock, and a grunt sounded after.

The group suddenly faced the direction where I threw the rock, and ran towards the fallen branch. The rock's glow then petered out, as the group gradually increased their distance from me.

As the rock completely lost its glow, I hastily began to grab it from my pocket. I eyed the rock closely, trying to find where the green lines were. Nothing.

I then realized, if I'm not on Xinlieu anymore, then I finally got out! My eyes began to well with tears. Finally, I had escaped those gruesome work camps! I would never endure such torture no more!

I jumped in joy, and went giddy with excitement.

It was then that I had noticed, I was still holding the ore in my hands. 'I wonder if I could remove the dirt stuck around the ore..' I thought, before turning towards the river.

I then went to the river, and knelt down, and washed the rock. I tried to remove the dirt and impurities encasing it, but to little avail. Only a few grains of rock washed away. Cursing in frustration, I washed the rock once again, albeit more vigorously. With better luck, I continued to wash the rock, until I saw a small pointed tip protruding from the bottom of the rock.

"Yes!" I cheered, having seen the first glimpse of the ore.

Or, it wasn't an ore at all.

After a few more washes, I finally removed the lower half of the clumped up dirt. It looked like a crystal, and an irregular one at that.

While I was submerging the rock underwater, it began to glow. Pulling it back up, the crystal softly glowed in my hands. I was mesmerized. I stood up, and stared at the crystal in all its glory.

Wait, if the crystal glowed, then...

I quickly broke off from my trance, and looked back. A flash of light soon appeared from the forest, pointing at the gassy carcass, followed by a small explosion. The crystal glowed much brighter, until...

Three unicorns dressed in white robes suddenly appeared from the forest, neighing to each other. They looked nervous, looking around wildly like there was someone hunting them.

The ground shook violently, and a massive ball of fire erupted just behind the unicorns. They jumped in fright, and ran towards me. I quickly went to the river, holding on to the riverbank so as to not drown myself. The unicorns fired their own bolts of light from their horns, trying to repel whoever was attacking them.

Another ball of fire flared up, dangerously close to one of the unicorns. The left unicorn was thrown away, chunks of flesh and bone flung out from it's body. It landed near where I hid, and rolled until it was barely holding on the the riverbank. It's front left hoof was limp, touching the flowing water as blood slowly ran across it's light blue coat. It was lifeless, it's tongue stuck out from it's jaw, and it's eyes were as white as ash. It's right ear was ripped clean off, and it's chest had a large gaping hole, where it's organs slowly pooled out into the muddy ground. Detached parts of his flesh soon followed, most landing on the river, getting washed away.

Staring at the lifeless body, I began to remember the days I was tortured inside the camp. I shuddered, and had a chill run up my spine.

It was February 24th, 2175.

The Resistance had successfully captured our planet, to exploit it of its natural resources. Oil, water, wood, metal.

We had a massive force, not to mention the added forces and vehicles that some space-faring civilizations had generously given us. Heck, even an organization called the 'Hexagon', had built a forward operating base in our planet, promising protection in exchange for their mining privileges. We were an unstoppable force that time, in our star system, I meant.

But hell, I was damned wrong.

The Resistance had came, and with the help of two other organizations, attacked the planet with such brute force, it literally shook the planet. Of course, we retaliated with immense firepower.

But then, with unknown reasons, the Hexagon quickly departed, leaving us to die. We tried to hold our ground, but, they instantly defeated us, as quickly as they arrived.

Using our population, they built work camps for their pleasure, and for our torture. Like I had said earlier, Men were forced to work; able-bodied, sickly, and the elderly alike. Women were taken and became honorary slaves and sex dolls. The pregnant were taken care of, until they had given birth, however. Then they would become slaves again.

The only people that were given proper care were children, which in turn, they manipulated into working for them. Child soldiers were abundant in the planet of Xinlieu.

Resistance members would take children out, and let them torture, and possibly kill their own parents. Indoctrination was the key to their obedience.

I was then shaken out of my thoughts as another explosion erupted, this time it was just in front of me. I gripped tightly on the bank, trying not to fall in the deep river.

"Leave, you mad horses." I spoke under my breath, through gritted teeth.

A couple of terrified neighs sounded shortly afterwards. I peeked at the horses in front of me, and saw that they were on the tip of their hooves, clattering their teeth. The left unicorn neighed, before being engulfed in a bright flash of light, before completely disappearing from sight. The other unicorn followed, disappearing as well in a flash of light.

Just seconds later, one lone horse appeared from the forest. It was wearing some kind of armor, possibly leather. It was also wearing a black metal helmet with covered it's eyes, with three vertical slits that glowed yellow located at the front. It had numerous black, spherical objects which were strapped on its sides, and it looked like it was holding one in its mouth.

Scratch that. It was actually holding a sphere with its mouth. Looking at the spheres, one could say that those were fused grenades. It hooked the sphere back to it's side, and went back into the forest, taking one last look behind him before he disappeared in the dense forest.

I could've sworn it looked at my direction, before it went away. I waited for a few minutes, if there were more horses coming my way. There were none.

"Oh, thank God."

I started to climb up back to solid ground, checking the objects in my pocket just to be sure. Not wasting any more time, I began to pull the giant carcass from the river, only to my annoyance to find out that it was cut in half, serving no purpose to me whatsoever.

Hm, I feel weird in my left leg.

Grunting in disappointment, I kicked the giant carcass. I then exhaled in defeat, and began to seek another path. This world was dangerous; it didn't take a genius to figure that out.

Daylight was breaking in, and I need to find a hiding place fast, lest they might find me wandering about, and possibly capture me.

A thought struck in my mind, and made me go back to where the unicorn corpse was. Taking a few strands of its tail, I fashioned an amulet with the crystal, digging a small hole in the dirt half of the gemstone, and wearing it around my neck. Now, I would know if someone was sneaking up behind me. I smiled at my crude accessory, and went back to the trail I was supposed to go to.

I began to walk much more quicker, turning around and back into the forest. It wasn't a smart idea actually, but it's better than being out there in the open.

I felt weak below my left knee, forcing me to rely on my right leg. I shrugged it off as an effect of fatigue, and continued my way.

I looked around the sights I saw all around me, the lush green leaves, the tall and sturdy trees, and the heavenly rays of light, piercing through the thick foliage of the forest. I then took notice of some flowers, and picked one from its stem.

'Ah, if only Xinlieu were this beautiful before the war,' I thought, before throwing the blight blue flower back to the patch where I saw it grow.

I went in deeper into the forest, feeling chills run through by body as I continued to move deeper, feet by feet.

I repeatedly rubbed my hands and blew on them, a mist of blue fog quickly jetting out of my mouth. I sighed, and rubbed my shoulders instead, shivering my ass off. Even though it was morning, and the sun was currently sitting on its highest peak right now, it was surprisingly cold...well, I think it could be just me. I looked around, some of the small fauna such as squirrels and rat are living perfectly fine, skittering along the branches of the dense thick forest.

"F-fuck, wh-what t-the hell is-s h-happening to m-me?" I asked myself, placing one foot after the other forward, albeit in a slow, unsteady pace. My left leg began to feel numb, and unresponsive. I began to depend on my right leg, and limped my way through the path.

Taking each step seemed to be getting more difficult, every foot I go. It continued like this, until I collapsed for the third time in a row.

Damn, this has got to be some sort of new record.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o

I slowly regained consciousness, yet once again.

Thankfully, it seemed that I hadn't been moved from where I passed out. I could safely assume that no one saw me...yet. I quickly lifted myself off of the ground, spitting out mud from my mouth, which possibly got in while I slept. I wiped the excess mud from my face, and flicked them off of my hand. I looked up, and saw that the sun had moved from its original position. From what I could tell, I think I passed out for about four or five hours. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I began to stand up, and continue my path.

Another hour later, my condition is worsening and worsening. Hunger and thirst struck me hard.

I reflexively clutched my stomach as it began to growl loudly, causing me to lose my balance. I landed on my right knee, and felt weak all over my body. I looked at my left leg; covered in sores, boils, and wounds that I had never noticed until now.

And suddenly, like a switch suddenly turning on, the sight of my left leg suddenly alarmed my brain, activating the pain receptors on my entire left leg. The feeling in my leg was magically restored, which in turn, made me scream in agonizing pain.

Blabbering like a crying baby, I began to mutter incomprehensible words under my breath, holding my legs before I began to scream again. Looking closer at the boils, I began to see tiny worms wriggling out of my wounds.

A disturbing sight to behold.

Blood instantly drooled out from the holes from where the maggots had emerged. I continued to scream in pain, holding my left leg. I quickly realized, that I had vials of a strange liquid, taken from the cave earlier. I quickly took the flask, and poured a small amount of liquid into the container.

If this is poison, it might as well end my suffering.

I drank the strange brew, the liquid quickly gushing down my throat. It had a sweet taste, and a nice smell, which reminded me of strawberries.

I waited for the potion to take effect. Still clutching my leg in pain, I began to feel lesser pain than before. Delighted, I started to crawl toward a tree, so that I could rest my back. But, as I began to move, the pain quickly increased.

I howled in pain once again, my hands quickly moving to my left leg, causing me to lose balance, causing me to fall to my left...

Which agitated my leg even more.

I began to sweat uncontrollably. I looked back at my leg, and even more worms came out of my leg, falling down the mud after they emerged. They crawled under my skin, which gave me unbearable pain.

"Holy Celestia!" I heard a male voice not far away from me, coming to my right. "Come look at this!"

I could barely move, the pain locked my body, effectively paralyzing me. I heard heavy footsteps coming towards me, which gave me a mix of fear and ease.

I saw a white horse, walking in front of me, looking at my leg. "What the buck?" Listening to the horse's voice baffled me. I thought horses can't talk? It...he immediately heaved behind him, after seeing the gruesome sight. He immediately shouted, "It's got Everfree Parasitic Worms!"

I know, you idiot.

One more horse came to my view, his face suddenly appearing on top of my vision. "Don't worry." According to it's voice, it was a she. She was a unicorn, too. She uttered shushing sounds, while rubbing the side of my neck. "It's all going to be fine."

I struggled, but eventually succeeded to glare at her. 'I'm not some dumb animal, and you're not supposed to be talking!' I shouted mentally.

"I'm going to do something to help you deal with the pain, alright?" She said, lowering her horn, as it glowed brightly between my eyes.

I began to scream mentally once more, praying that she might be able to hear me. She was a unicorn with magical powers, after all. What's to say that she can't read minds as well? 'I ain't going to trust you with your magic horn doohickey there, get me to a damned hospital!--' I began to feel dizzy, and numb.

My vision blurred, and the world began to spin around me.

"Everything's going to be alriiightt~"

The last word was stretched, and the voice became deeper and deeper, until I finally lost consciousness for the fourth time in a row.

I wish that my continuous unconsciousness would have no effect on my brain, though.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o

Point of View: ?

"My queen, I am but a humble servant standing before ye, to give you this message." I knelt down, excited to tell my queen this extraordinary news.

"Rise." The queen responded selflessly. "What is your message, grenadier?"

The air was tense, everyone in the court room was waiting for me to give the news. I smiled widely, before facing the queen directly eye to eye. Sure, they were expecting someone like me to report something like 'the unicorns have lost their ground', or 'we have successfully captured Fort Hoof.' No, I shall give them news that they would never expect.

"I saw a large, creature strolling in the Everfree, staring at me in fear while I dealt with those Imperials."

"Could you give a much more detailed explanation for this...creature?" The queen asked in bewilderment.

"I'm pretty sure it was a human, your majesty."

Chapter Two

"--at is that thing?"

"I...I don't know. They said that they found it lying in the Everfree, infected with worms."

"Nasty creatures, am I right?"

"Shh! I think it's waking up!"

I groaned, and went upright, still sitting on the comfy cushion I was lying on. I yawned, stretching my arms. My vision was blurry, and I wasn't fully awake yet. I rubbed my eyes to clear my vision, and cracked my knuckles. 'Wait...cushion?' I thought, before opening my eyes.

I found myself in some sort of green tent, with a small amount of light penetrating through the thin fabric. I was sitting on a white bed with a metal frame, and two horses wearing labcoats were standing right in front of me, slowly covering their eyes with their clipboards.

"H-hello?" The left one spoke, trying to communicate with me. From the voice, I could tell it was female. She had a light blue coat, and a turquoise mane. She was a pegasus, you know, horses with wings. I stared at the horse for a short amount of time, before turning to the other one beside her. It was a regular horse, no wings or horns. It had a brown coat, and a black mane.

It stayed silent.

"Can you understand me, uh...sir?" The pegasus asked, still looking at me with fear.

"I..." I spoke, causing both of them to jump back in surprise. "I can."

Both horses looked at each other in surprise. The pegasus whispered to the other, before leaving the tent.

The tent became eerily silent all of a sudden.

It was hellishly awkward.

We kept looking all around the tent, but never at each other.

"Uh...so." The horse spoke first, nervously running his hoof on the soil. "What are you?"

"I'm a human. What are you?"

"A human...never saw one in the Everfree before," he said, before answering my question back. "I'm what you call an earth pony."

"Gallant, come out here!" We heard an intimidating female voice call from outside the tent.

He groaned, before exiting the tent.

I was alone once again.

I then pulled out my cover, and saw my naked self, and immediately covered my shame back. I then focused my attention on my legs...well, leg. I found my left leg amputated, a bandage covering the stump at the end of my limb. Slowly pulling away the blanket that covered me, I saw my entire lower body, covered in bandages.

"Aaaaagh!" I screamed on the top of my lungs, staring at my cut off leg.

Soon, four guards – Gallant, the earth pony earlier included – charged in the tent, weapons held in their hooves. My screaming immediately diminished, my attention turning to the guardsmen in front of me.

I chuckled awkwardly, looking at the guards as they glared at me. They noticed my exposed leg, and decided to pull back their spears. "What the hell is this?!" I shouted, gesturing at the bandaged stump that was once my leg.

The guards looked at each other, before one stepped forward. "Your leg was seriously damaged beyond repair. We could not save it, and to minimize risk of infection, we amputated it."

"How the hell am I supposed to walk with this?!"

The guards ignored me, and started to whisper with each other. They slowly walked away, never breaking sight of me. They all left the tent, causing me to release an annoyed sigh.

Well, it looks like I'm stuck here, whether I like it or not.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o

"Psst!"

"Agh! What the?!" I quickly jolted upwards, instantly awoken from my sleep. I looked around me, the one side of my face was covered in sticky saliva.

I must've drooled when I was asleep.

I looked at my right, and saw an earth pony – if I heard Gallant correctly – holding a tray of food beside me. It had a white coat of fur, and it had a nurse's cap. ,I don't actually know what gender he or she is, it's actually very hard to distinguish.

"Heresh your food." Judging from the voice, I could tell she was a female. She placed the tray on my lap, and smiled nervously.

I looked at the food she gave me. Oats, grass and hay...and that weird cube thing. I don't know what that is, actually. I took the spoon, and poked it. It wiggled in place, before stopping after a few seconds. "What is this?"

"That's jelly."

I looked at the cube again, then turned to the mishmash of various plants. "I can't eat this." I said, pushing the tray slightly farther away from me.

"You need to eat, otherwise you won't heal." She said, in a caring voice.

"No, I didn't mean it by that. I can't ea--" I was interrupted by a petite, feminine yelp, and a clamor of falling metal. Both I and the white horse looked at the direction of the noise.

"Sorry!" A voice shouted apologetically from outside.

"As I was saying, I couldn't eat grass and hay. My stomach isn't fit for this." I said, much to the her confusion.

"Then...what do you eat?"

"I eat meat, vegetables, fruit and grain."

She is taking this so calmly. I would've thought that the mention of meat would've made her scram.

Another horse came in the tent. It was a pegasus, one with cyan fur and a gray mane. "Hey, Goldie. What's taking so long?" He was a male, judging by his voice.

"It doesn't eat grass." The nurse stated.

"Well, force it. The sooner it gets better, the sooner it leaves the camp. It looks like Discord for some reason." He then glared at me for a short time, before turning back to the nurse. "I don't trust him."

"Actually, I prefer to eat meat." I said, causing him to look at me. He scrunched his face in disgust, before slowly stepping back to the tent's exit.

"A meat-eater?" He said, before hovering. "You brought a carnivore here?!" He said, before hastily flying out.

I then turned to the nurse. "Don't worry," the nurse said, "At first, Grand Lance is always skeptical at others, but when you hang out with him, you'll know that he's a nice guy inside--"

The pegasus, Grand Lance, suddenly came in, spear at hoof. Diving towards me, the nurse quickly gave me the metal tray.

Thinking fast, I took the bowl filled with the grass and hay mixture at the tree it at the pegasus, before using the tray to shield myself from the attack. I looked away, and closed my eyes. Seconds later, I felt a strong push on the tray, and I resisted the push as best as I could. A loud clang was then heard beside me. I could hear the nurse gasp, and quickly run out of the tent.

Opening my eyes, I saw the spearhead just mere centimeters away from my face. Grand, however, plunged face first into the bed's metal frame.

Throwing the tray and the spear on the ground, I turned to Grand Lance. "Are...are you alright?"

He replied with a groan, before comically pulling his head out of the dented metal frame. He got a broken nose...or muzzle, if that's what it's called, and a black eye. I could even tell that he lost some teeth in the process.

After he pulled himself out of that problem, the nurse came back with another horse...a unicorn, decorated with medals and ribbons. It also had a light green coat, and an orange mane. It was wearing a green uniform, and gazed at Grand angrily. "Corporal Lance!" Oh, so it's a she. "What the hell are you doing, charging towards this creature with a spear?"

"B-but, ma'am! It's a carnivore!" He said, pointing his right front hoof at me.

"I don't see him eating you, do I?" The officer said, raising a brow.

"N-no--"

"No!" The officer said, repeating the Corporal's answer. "This is the second time, Lance! If I see you attack strangers again, I will have you demoted to Private, again!"

"Y-yes...sir."

"I can't hear you!" The officer said, glaring at the poor Corporal.

"YES SIR!"

"Good! Now, get the hell out of this tent, or else I'll have you demoted, right here, right now!"

Lance quickly fled, not even bothering to take his spear with him.

The female horse walked towards me, and slightly bowed. "Greetings, I'm Green Apple. I have to apologize for Gallant, he doesn't fare well with strangers."

That's weird, every letter of their first name starts with G. Must be a horsey thing, like gallop. I don't know, I never knew much about horses.

"Hey, you already traumatized or something?" Green asked, making me snap back into reality.

"Oh, I..sorry," I said, sheepishly. "I was just thinking about something."

"Well, y--"

A loud siren suddenly sounded, nearly deafening my ears. The two horses left the tent, probably to check what was going on. I, however, was bedbound. I looked around, and saw the spear of Grand Lance lying down on the floor.

Slowly forming a smile on my face, my mind quickly formulated an idea on how to finally get me out of this confine.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o

I limped out of the tent, using the spear as a cane to support me.

I saw before me a group of large tents, with some sort of dome covering the entire area. Horses ran around me, much more than I had anticipated.

Slowly inching farther and farther, I tried to reach Green Apple, which was ordering horses around her. It took me minutes to go a few feet, before finally reaching her.

She quickly noticed me, and went near me. "What the hell are you doing?!" She said, her voice quaking with fear.

"I just thought I'd see what's happening..." I replied in a whiny, playful voice.

She immediately planted her face on her hoof. "You naïve son of a bitch, we're in war here!"

I paused, the small grin slowly disappearing from my face. "Wait...what?"

Green quickly turned around, and shouted, "Gears, try to save as many valuables as you can!"

"Grass, tell your platoon to start arming themselves!"

"And Grease, tell everyone to prepare themselves, 'cause here they come!" She said, pointing at the sky.

Quickly turning around, I saw three large balloon airships, slowly heading toward us. They looked like hot air balloons, but with elongated balloons, propellers at the back, and a large basket-like thing at the bottom. "What the hell are those?"

Green moved beside me, and said, "Those are zeppelin, created by the Earth Pony faction, Earth's Leviathan."

"Heavily armored and self-sufficient, not to mention heavily armed, they can cause great destruction and chaos if not dealt with immediately." She said, before turning around. "Grasp, tell the pegasi to arm themselves, see if they can disable the crews on board!" The pegasi, Grasp, nodded before heading towards the far side of the camp.

Green Apple tugged at my shirt, making me turn to her. "Get to cover! We don't know when they'll start dropping bom--"

We both grunted as an explosion erupted just above us, thankfully stopped by the dome.

I looked up once again, and saw one of the zeppelins drop another bomb. It shook the ground once more, as it impacted the dome.

Now focusing on getting to cover, like Green Apple said, I quickly limped as fast as I could, away from the center of the camp. Pegasi, armed with blades on the side of their hooves, flew past me, and through the dome, heading towards the airships. Horse after horse after horse, it seemed like there was no stopping. It seems that the camp is desperate to rid of these airships, after all.

Slowly nearing the edge of the camp I saw a lone tent with a sign on top of it saying, "Storage". Quickly heading towards the tent, I was suddenly stopped, due to another explosion, which almost made me stumble and fall.

"Dome is down!"

I heard the horses yell to eachother, before witnessing the dome slowly dissipate. The camp now unprotected, the airships started to commence their focused attacks. The pegasi sent by the camp were of no use, and fell down back on the ground. One landed in front of me, gasping for air. She had a wound on her neck, one of a gunshot. I raised a brow at the sight.

"These horses have already created guns?!"

I began to limp again towards the storage, and went inside the tent. I found my belongings, the two flasks of potion, the small container, and the ore. Looking around, I saw a saddlebag, some food, and water. Spears, too.

Using one spear, I cut the spearhead off from one spear, and took it. Now, using the spearhead as a makeshift knife, I cut the saddlebags, and turned it into a crude fanny pack. Placing the knife inside one of the pockets, I began to fill the fanny pack with all the food and water I could bring, as well as a piece of flint and a piece of iron. I also took a few small gold coins, about fifty of them.

Now, using the spear with the cut out spearhead as my new staff, I began to walk away from the tent, and started to leave the camp, which was surrounded by trees. I guess that I never felt the forest, after all.

Horses back at the camp yell their war cry, "For the Solar Dominion! Nam dea Solis!", as they try to prolong their demises.

Ignoring their cries, I began to enter the forest once again, this time, with an amputated leg.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o

Fuck, walking around this forest is harder with only one leg.

After traversing a few kilometres away from the camp, I quickly sat down and leant on a tree, and took a rest. Opening one pouch and taking a small bottle of water, I drank about half of the water's container, before placing it back in my makeshift fanny.

Suddenly, I heard a loud rustling in the bushes just behind the tree I rested on. Hugging my staff closer, I tried to stay still, trying not to alert whoever was there behind me.

"Go! Find that human!" I heard a male voice shout from behind me. "And take no prisone--" I immediately felt a headache, and dizziness.

Shaking my head to relieve some of the pain, I quickly corrected myself, and hugged my staff once again. Unfortunately, I couldn't hear any voices anymore, just neighing. 'What the hell?' I mouthed, confused. I peeked at the horses, and saw three of them. None of them had horns, nor wings. They wore camouflage uniforms, and had crude rifles, not unlike those wooden muskets we use before our technological boom, strapped at their backs. Two of them were brown, and one was gray. The gray one neighed and shouted at the other two, before slowly moving his head towards my direction.

I quickly pulled back, and hid. They made one last whinny, before moving out, creating a soft symphony of clip clops as they left.

How was I able to understand them earlier?

Noticing that I was alone once again, I quickly limped away, hoping that no more interruptions might surface during my escape.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o

A half hour passed, and so did a bunch of airships.

Seriously, a group of ten or twenty heavily armored airships came from the west, heading towards north.

God, after seeing their capabilities earlier, I don't see any reason on why one would deploy more than five. Keeping low under the cover, I kept silent. These horses are a force to me reckoned with, I must say.

After crouching slightly to go under a branch blocking my path, I heard my stomach rumble loudly. 'Fuck, I forgot to eat.'

I mean, who the hell does that anyway? Who the hell "forgets to eat?

Sitting down for a second time, I opened my fanny pack, and took out an unmarked metal can. Fishing out my makeshift knife next, I began to slowly cut the top of the can, and using the spearhead as a lever, pushed it outward.

Looking inside the can, I found a mush of yellow goop, with a few corn kernels floating on top. Smelling it instantly made me want to throw up. I was about to pour it on the ground, but my rumbling stomach made me think otherwise.

"Maybe the taste won't be so bad..." I assured myself.

Pouring some of the creamed corn on my hand, I stared at the thick, cold goop before taking it all in my mouth.

My gag reflex quickly activated, the second the corn came in contact with my mouth. Fighting the urge to vomit, I forcibly swallowed the corn down my throat. I then looked at the remaining corn in the can. "Why the hell do I even..." I said, before pouring a bit more on my hand.

After repeating the same process five or seven times, I emptied the can, but without getting lightheaded in the process. Placing the can back in the fanny pack, I took a few deep breaths, before getting a slight shiver in my spine.

I straightened myself, before continuing my way.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o

Another two and a half hours later, I came across a clearing in the middle of the forest...and a ruin of what seems to be a wooden hut. I slowly approached the debris, but my focus suddenly switched to the large explosion that happened not far away from me. I turned around, and saw a large tower of black smoke rising up into the air.

I hope that Gallant Shield, Golden Heart, and Green Apple were okay.

Turning back to the debris in front of me, I began to search for any items or weapons that can aid me. Putting my only knee on the ground, and using my staff to balance me, I rummaged through rubble and wood.

Nothing.

Standing up, I suddenly heard a light flapping of wings. Quickly limping to the cover of the trees, I began to search the skies for any sign of pegasi.

And there they were.

Five...seven...ten...thirty...nay, fifty pegasi flew above me, unwary of my presence at all. All of which are headed to the direction I was going to. However, the pegasi I met at the camp wore silver and gold armor, and wielded spears. These wore blue armor, and were armed with knives and crossbows attached to their hooves.

After waiting for the last pegasi to pass, as well as waiting for a few more minutes to make sure that no one else followed shortly, I limped as fast as I could toward their direction of travel.

Pushing away leaves, and ducking under branches, I traversed my way through the forest...until seeing a pathway. I stared at the path, thinking I might be able to use that. I soon disagreed with that idea, I could be easily seen passing there. Plus, I might encounter patrols if I go through that pathway.

Sticking by the trees, but following the pathway, I began to see a bright light in front of me. 'Could it be?' I asked myself. Did I finally find the edge of the forsaken forest?

Ignoring my exhaustion, I began to limp faster and faster, until I finally emerged on the other side. I saw a small town, not occupied by any one, or any horse. It was a ghost town.

The building nearest to me was...a small hut, built just fifty meters away from the forest. It looked untouched for months, or even years.

I limped towards the lone hut, hoping that it was empty so I could rest, even for a little bit. If not...well, I hope that it's inhabitants won't be so hostile.

I got a pretty bad feeling about this.

Chapter Three

"Hello?"

I called from outside the small hut. I didn't go near it though, I kept my distance away from the building. After receiving no answer, I began to come closer. As I took a few steps forward, I had just then noticed that a large area of bare dirt could be seen beside the small hut. Also, the hut itself looked newly made, it was just created with moldy, weak wood. Who would make a house with such old objects?

"Hello!" I yelled again.

...

No response.

Were the horses planning an ambush inside that house? Maybe they saw me back at the camp, after all, I was about two feet taller than the tallest horse I saw back there.

I started to feel more nervous about the situation. As I began to slowly advance towards the abandoned hut, I occasionally took a glimpse of the crystalline ore pendant wrapped around my neck, to know if there was any more of those ponies hiding.

I lightly stepped forward, feeling a few debris colliding with my bare foot. Hm. Now that I've thought of it, was the hut just a replacement? Was the original building destroyed, and the salvaged parts just reused again? That would explain the bare spot nearby.

As I entered the hut's vicinity, I began to notice small houses and birdcages, covering almost every inch of the house. Inside those, rotting remains of what seemed to be dead birds, dogs, squirrels, and other small animals. Brownish red splotches all around the cages seemed like dried blood when looked close by.

Instantly smelling the decaying stench of the dead bodies, I started to move more quicker. I covered my nose with my right hand, the stench becoming more and more unbearable.

Stepping in front of the door, I pressed my ear lightly on the wooden structure, listening for anyone that may still be inside.

...

Nothing.

Maybe the smell won't be so bad inside, I could always cover my nose as I rest, or sleep. Slowly opening the door, it revealed that the inside to be the same as the outside: filled with decaying corpses of pets.

"Fuck," I cursed, "I can't stay in here!" I thought out loud, quickly turning around. I coughed, trying to get the burning stench out of my lungs.

Maybe I could find some useful items in here. I went in, and searched the cupboards, drawers, cabinets. All I found was some bottles of water, most of which were almost empty. I still took them, though, water is still water.

All the food here are either rotten, or half-eaten. I looked around for anything other than basic needs. A proper weapon such as a real knife, or an axe might be useful.

While looking for a weapon, I was suddenly alarmed as a cooking pot fell down to the ground, creating a very loud clang. I faced backwards, and looked around. "Who's...who's there?" I said, before succumbing to fit of coughing. I then looked around, before turned back to the drawers. I then continued to scavenge still finding nothing but papers, half-eaten carrots, and empty bottles of water. Then, soft footsteps suddenly sounded from behind me. "Hm?"

Turning around, I saw a small white rabbit. Judging from its size, I'm guessing it could be classified as a bunny? I don't know how these terms work. It was also wearing a small gas mask, fitting his face tightly. That lucky some of a bitch. It looked at me, I don't know what it's feeling, it's an animal for fuck's sake.

I knelt down – which was exceedingly hard with one leg – and looked at the bunny in front of me. "Hey there, little guy?" I said, before coughing lightly.

God, that stench is poison.

It crossed its arms and tapped the floor with its right foot. Woah, it seemed cross at me. It then pointed at the open door, and looked at me next. I stared at the open door for a few seconds, before looking back.

"What- oh! I'm definitely sorry that I busted in your house." I was speaking to a rabbit. This is a new low for me. "I was just looking for a place to rest," I smiled, trying to make myself more friendly to the small rabbit.

It then shoo'd me away, before crossing it's arms again. "Alright fine," I said, before turning around. "Geez."

"Wasn't even going to stay anyway," I mumbled.

I mean, who would want to sleep in a rickety, hazardous hut, filled with cages of rotting animals and unbearable stench? I mean, even the guards back at Xinlieu couldn't even bear to stay in there for even a few minutes. I could use company, though. It could be very boring traveling alone...

"Hey, rabbit!" I said, turning around one last time, "Would you like to join me on my travels?" I asked, kneeling once again. "I could feed you, take care of you, and keep each other company. Heck, if life goes out way, I could even return you back to your own caretaker!" 'If he or she is even alive, after all,' I thought.

"What do you say?"

The rabbit looked up, as if it was thinking to itself. It lightly tapped the ground with it's right foot as it decided. "Just look behind you, you're living in a hut filled with your dead animal companions. Surely, that can't be healthy for you." I said, before standing up. I looked at me for a few seconds, before accepting my offer. I don't know why it chose to follow me, maybe it had nowhere else to go, or maybe the offer of seeing it's caretaker again persuaded it.

I bent down, and smiled with glee. I offered my hand to the rabbit, which stared at it confusingly. "Name's Matthew. Matthe-- Ow!"

That fucking bitch slapped me!

Rubbing my bruised left cheek, I stood up and said in a disgruntled voice, "Fine, let's just go." That little bastard can hit hard.

I turned around, and started following the road. I turned left, which led to the town not far away. I looked back, and saw the rabbit remove it's mask, and threw it to the ground. We continued to walk down the path, not talking to each other, nor even looking at each other's directions. I was the first one to break the ice.

"So...hungry?" I asked. The rabbit nodded furiously, whilst licking it's lips. I took a can of corn from my fanny pack, and showed it to the rabbit. "You like this?" I asked, lightly shaking it in front of the bunny.

It knocked it out of my hands, and glared at me.

Taking the canned corn from the ground, I brushed off the dirt that stuck to it, before I placed it back to my fanny pack. "Fine, fine." I said, turning back around, and marched towards the town. "Picky little demon," I muttered under my breath. "Starve, I don't care."

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o

Both of us treaded closer to the village.

I was walking calmly, while the rabbit was jumpy, it seemed like it knew something that I didn't. I took a step forward, accidentally stepping on a dry twig, creating a loud snap which startled the rabbit, making it jump towards me, then hugging my leg tightly. The action was done so quick, that I only saw a blur.

It shivered, and it's teeth were clattering in fear. I looked down sheepishly, which in turn, made the rabbit glare at me. "Sorry," I said, before taking another step forward.

Before I could even take two steps forward, the earth shook, and a strong gust of wind, followed by an extreme blast of heat shot towards us. I almost fell down to the ground, but I quickly regained my balance, thanks to my staff.

I first thought that it was a stray bomb, but after broken wooden planks flung towards me, I became more curious. I turned around, and saw a giant airship, which crash landed just behind us. It was still on fire, and the horses on board were dead. Most had huge gashes down their throats, and some died from the crash itself, flung off the ship. At the aft of the airship, a hatch was present. Someone inside was trying to get out, yet, it was locked.

I heard yelling, yet, I couldn't understand a single thing. What caused the sudden temporary apprehension of their language, earlier? But, before I could even think, I hear the horse scream, before what seems to be a cry of pain, and a single slashing noise. The horse died, it's voice replaced by a sick, gurgling noise. Suddenly, a much stronger one hit the hatch, almost destroying the lock.

I quickly told the rabbit to run, and retreated back to a ditch. We watched with prying eyes, monitoring the hatch as it was launched open. A single pegasus came out, wearing blue armor. It then flew, and headed towards the direction of the town. We began to climb out, before another group of pegasi passed by, making us lower back into the ditch again. We waited...and waited.

I then climbed out of the ditch, again, and brushed off the dirt and grass stuck on my sack shirt.

Following the road towards the town, I only then noticed that a cluster of stumps covered the area surrounding the dirt road, it seems that the trees here were cut down. Possibly for the 'Earth's Leviathan's' gain, if Green Apple said it correctly.

Also, I am a bit curious why those who were at the camp all had 'G's' for first letters of their names. It seemed like the apart--

I suddenly fell down with a loud thud, face first to the ground. "Ow," I said, before pushing myself up. I looked back, and saw a protruding root sticking out of the ground. Must've tripped on it while I was thinking.

Pushing myself back upright with my staff, I then looked at the rabbit, which was silently laughing it's ass off. I sighed, and continued my way. "Let's go."

Continuing the path towards the town, I started to lose myself in my thoughts once again.

Heh, it turns out that 'bad feeling' turned out to be fine, after all.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o

After passing by a derelict barn, a field filled with trenches and craters, and a dried up lake, I became certainly more curious about this planet.

What happened here?

I know for a fact that a war is currently going on, but what started it? Surely, there must've been a reason why this sort of conflict surfaced. From what I know, there are currently two sides in this war: The Solar Dominion, which owned the camp where I was taken care of earlier; and the Earth's Leviathan, which built the airships that bombarded said camp...

But what of the unicorns that wore robes, and the pegasi that had blue armor? I'm pretty sure that there are more than two sides in this war.

As we went nearer to the village, I quickly heard sounds of fighting not far from where we stood. Screaming, grunting, and clashing of metal and metal sounded from afar.

Thinking that it came from the other side of the forest, I continued to walk forward, the bunny following. As we passed the large building, we immediately saw a battlefield in front of us. The blue armored pegasi, armed with blades attached to their hooves, fought unicorns and fellow pegasi, wearing dark gray armor. The others that were armed with small crossbows fought far away from the initial battle, picking off lone horses that strayed away from their group.

We immediately halted, and looked at each other. I placed my index finger on my mouth, and made a 'shh' sound. I then pointed to my left, to the nearby houses. 'Follow me,' I mouthed.

Silently limping towards the houses, we tried not to alert the fighting soldiers to us. Running quickly, I didn't notice that there was a small rock protruding from the ground. I tripped, and almost stumbled to the ground. I regained my balance, though, and continued my advance.

Turning left, I headed for one of the houses. Hopefully, the sounds of the battle would drown all the sound away. Using my staff, I used it as a wedge and attempted to pry the door open. The lock outside quickly broke off, and the door flung open.

"Come on, go!" I told the rabbit, which quickly hopped inside the house. I limped inside the house myself, and quickly closed the door the second I got in.

I then put my back on the closed door, and took deep breaths. I slowly slid down the door, before sitting down. I took deep breaths, and waited for someone to follow us.

...

I sighed in relief.

It seemed like nobody's noticed us. I then looked around, taking notice of my surroundings. Hm, it seems that it house is empty. Literally, completely empty. There was even no furniture, only windows, and other rooms.

I then heard my stomach growl, and so as the rabbit's.

I glanced at the rabbit questionably, and raised a brow. The rabbit noticed my look and gave me the cold shoulder, turning to the side and crossing it's arms, all while closing it's eyes, and raising it's nose into the air. "You know, you should really eat," I said, before taking another can from my bag.

Corn.

I placed the can beside me, and search for any other food in the bag. I checked the first pouch, then the second, then the third... None. Only cans of corn kernels, submerged in what seems to be a cream colored slush.

I sighed, and took two bottles of water. One full one, and one that I had drunk earlier. I opened the two bottles, and gave the untouched one to the rabbit. It opened it's eyes as it heard the soft thud of the water bottle. I then pointed at the plastic bottle. "Drink," I said.

I then drunk the half-empty bottle of water, before throwing the plastic away. Taking the canned corn beside me, I took out my knife, and carved open the can. After opening the metal container, I placed the knife back in my bag, and looked at the can of corn. I then ate half of it, and placed the can beside the rabbit. "Eat," I said.

I then leaned my back on the door, and closed my eyes, my fingers in a steepled position. I slightly opened my eyes, monitoring the rabbit as it moved. It waved it's paw in front of my face, to check if I was still watching. I didn't move, making it think I was truly asleep. It smiled, before ravenously finishing the corn. It put a small smile on my face, before I truly went to sleep.

My slumber was short-lived, though.

I was suddenly awoken by a loud noise. I opened my eyes, and saw two black silhouettes of what seems to be pegasi, breaking through the windows.

Without wasting another second, one charged at me with extreme speed, and stuck it's hoof to my neck. I felt a small prick, and seconds later, I felt drowsy.

I felt sleepy, and I was unable to keep my eyes open. The pegasus that did this to me leant closer, and neighed at my right ear. I tried to fight the chemical they gave me, but it was seeping out my strength. I couldn't move.

"No..." I said, before going limp at it's hooves.

o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o

I was asleep for an unknown amount of time.

Here I was, floating around a dark void of my own consciousness. I was unsure if this was an effect of the drug given to me by the pegasi, or some other reason.

If this was a dream, however, it meant I had complete control of this domain. I closed my eyes, and thought that I was back in the peaceful era of Xinlieu.

A gentle breeze and soft tweeting of small birds reminded me of home. I open my eyes, and saw a lush, green landscape around me. I smiled, and felt a warm feeling around me. I looked down, and I had my leg back!

I laughed in excitement and in joy, and ran around.

If this was a dream...I don't want to wake up.

Suddenly, I felt a weird feeling, like someone was digging inside my mind. I looked around, and shook my head, trying to shake the feeling off. I only then noticed that they sky had turned night. I cringed, and looked around once again.

The green hills were replaced by a flat plain of gray stone.

I then knelt down, and felt the stone with my hands. "Weird," I said, before the ground shook. Pillars suddenly grew from the ground, and walls soon followed. I was confused, and walked around the forming structure.

From what I could tell, this was going to be a large building.

The pillars then supported the roof, which was just newly formed. A staircase for what seems to be ten or twenty steps formed in front of me, leading up to a large throne, before a purple carpet rolled from the said throne, and spanned the entire room. Banners of what seemed to be moon markings were neatly hung around me.

The building was now finished. It was a very huge throne room, furnished with banners and carpets. A large stone throne sat at the top of the pyramidal staircase, and the entire thing was illuminated by bright, white torches.

"What the hell?" I said, before unwillingly kneeling down, bowing my head to some unknown figure. I couldn't even bend my finger, let alone move.

"I am not worthy for you to enter my dream, my ever giving queen." I said, not able to control my body.

"Arise, my faithful subject."

I then unwillingly stood up, and looked at the one doing all of this.

A tall figure sat on the throne. It was a horse, but taller than the others I had seen earlier. It also had wings and a horn with makes it a pegasus...and a unicorn? A pegacorn? I don't think that's right. A unisus? That's even worse. She Looked at my with her blue eyes, before trotting down the stairs, looking at me face to face. "You are a strange creature," She said, eyeing my closely.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked, weakly.

She then looked at me with a raised brow. She then flared her wings intimidatingly, and shouted, "I am Queen Luna! Ruler of the night, and keeper of dreams!"

"Well, Luna," I said, with anger present in my voice. She raised her brow at my lack of formality. "It was nice meeting you, but I ask you to get the hell out of my dream."

Her right eye twitched.

"That is no way to speak to your queen!" She said, before blasting me with her horn.

I was engulfed in a bright light, and my body felt like it was burning all over. My body writhed in pain, and I cried out a loud, high-pitched shriek.

My body twisted and contorted in inhuman poses. My bones cracked as I was forced to endure those sick, horrid poses.

I then felt I was falling, the sky around me changing from red, to orange, then white, then blue, then yellow, then red again.

My left leg suddenly ached, and soon after, small white worms emerged. My body contorted again, before my leg slowly withered away, turning into dust as I fell.

Soon, more worms emerged from all of my pores. No part of me was free from the alien worms. The maggots emerged from every single pore I had. The worst was when they came out of my tear ducts. It felt like I had the worst eye-itch, before the actual worm came out. I screamed from the pain, before my vocal cords failed.

My body writhed in pain, again, I convulsed, screaming a silent cry as I fell down the abyss. My body bent outwards, all while the worms emerged one by one.

Slowly, my body began to wither. It started from my fingertips, then to my arms, then to my torso, and slowly it came to my neck.

All that's left were my eyes themselves. After all, how could I see without them? Flashes of a familiar, yet alien landscape suddenly flashed before me. The lush green hills became covered with red liquid. The trees' trunks were made from human arms, holding themselves together. The leaves were organs: Lungs, stomachs, and others. Intestinal organs hanged from the organs themselves, resembling vines. The clouds were blood red, and the sun was a cluster of eyes, looking at me.

Strong winds attacked the land, and the clouds rained blood down the meadow. The flowers were body parts as well. The stem was a long finger, with a large circular tumour at the finger tip. Ears were attached on the rumours from all sides, creating a shape of a flower.

Skinless, disfigured humans shambled around the meadows. Groaning and yelling in distorted, high-pitched voices. They all looked at me, and charged towards me.

I tried to run, yet I had no legs. I tried to fight, yet I had no arms. I tried to think, yet I had no mind. I tried to wake up, yet I had no consciousness.

I could only see through my eyes, or what seems to be through the eyes of another.

They assaulted me. Screamed inhuman noises at me. They crawled all over me. Even though I had no body, or maybe I just couldn't see it, I felt pain all over me. They clawed my invisible body, and ripped it to shreds. They pulled out my bones from their joints and sockets, one by one.

I tried to scream, yet I had no mouth.