Vacation

ooo000---000ooo

Fuck me, Dee sighed as he sat inside the gas station, eyes locked on the crudely barricaded windows and door as his ears tuned in to the sounds of wailing infected outside.

It had been a rough few hours since both groups of survivors had taken refuge in the station, fleeing from the relentless undead horde out for them all. Once inside they were forced to fight back the monsters from trying to get in—something that was easier said than done due to how many there were pushing up against the entrance.

Thankfully they had all managed to survive the onslaught, in part because they had emptied more store shelves and added them to the barricades which had held up surprisingly well for how many were outside. The majority of their “defense” was comprised of shelves and heavy floor coolers, yet it had proven to be a decent enough protection against the infected.

With nearly everything shoved to the front, the inside was now much more spacious as a result. Even so, it did little to relieve the tension everyone was feeling. Fighting for your life tended to make people a little high-strung, Dee had noted, though it had also forced an uneasy truce between the humans and ponies.

Both groups were keeping to their own respective corners of the gas station. The ponies were huddled up behind the counter at the back left; Dinky and Rainbow were kneeling by Lyra’s side and bandaging up her arm as best they could—apparently, from what he had learned, the green mare had fractured it during a nasty fall when airship crashed. Vinyl was standing guard in front of them with her bloodied pole, still a bit distrustful of the other group after the brief fight in the garage.

The other human survivors were all sitting on the floor near the fridges on the right side, the lifeguard and burly mechanic glaring at the ponies and acting as the guards, armed with their baseball bat and wrench respectively. There were more survivors, but Dee figured they probably didn’t make it to the station in time.

And Dee himself was just sitting in front of the door, smack in the middle of the room and not talking to either side. He was just trying to get his thoughts in order about everything, his mind a hurricane of confusion and curiosity.

I gotta be high as fuck or something. This can’t be real… can it?

He was struggling to grasp the dawning realization of his current reality. That sign he had seen earlier... It was just a welcome sign for people heading into the resort—the Royal Palms Resort of Banoi Island, a world-famous island resort known for its sandy white beaches, lush jungles, and incredibly beautiful sights.

Now, it was a zombie-infested hellhole. One Dee and the others were trapped in for the foreseeable future.

But the zombies weren’t the strangest part. No, the strangest part was that Banoi Island even existed in the first place.

Dee knew for a fact that it was a fictional island in a fictional universe, yet it all felt so real. The wind from the storm, the rainwater that soaked his clothes down to the skin, the injuries that stung throughout his body like pinpricks. It was all so real. So very, very real. But despite what his body was telling him, his mind still couldn’t grasp onto the one simple fact that this was his reality right now.

He was in a damn video game world, one he enjoyed but didn’t exactly want to end up in, trapped on a zombie filled island with anthropomorphic ponies from a cartoon he also enjoyed immensely.

Dee could still see it in his mind, the sign welcoming visitors to Banoi Island’s Royal Palms Resort with a picture of a smiling family on the beach and the words, Royal Palms Resort! Fun in the sun for the whole family!

Goddamn it.

Dee rubbed his face before standing up and stretching stiffly. Moving over to the window, he hesitantly peeked out into the lot. There were a couple of sedans and pickups, most of them in bad shape. Trunks were left open, luggage thrown out, gas cans strewn about. There were also several dozen infected wandering around, twitching, fighting one another in their viral induced rage, some even running off screeching into the tunnel leading to the city of Moresby.

Shit… I don’t see a damn thing that could help us. He knew the location fairly well. The station was near the tunnel in the game, ‘Dead Island’, a zombie game that focused on getting off of the island resort known as Banoi. But there were plenty of subtle differences between “reality” and the one in the game. Not going easy on me, are you? A frown marred his face as he continued to scan the surrounding area. There’s the garage we came from over to the left, the gas station, and… is that the spare parts building? Shit, if only one of these cars was in decent enough condition, we could just plow right through them and get away.

He knew it wouldn’t be nearly that easy, however, given that if enough undead got in their path they’d end up breaking down or getting stuck on top of a pile of writhing bodies.

And eaten alive, of course, can’t forget that.

Dee sighed before turning away from the window, careful not to make any noise that would draw the attention of the infected outside. He began taking stock of their current supplies—chocolate and fruit snacks, energy bars, energy drinks, and various other junk foods like chips and such were scattered across the floor from their haste to block the entrances. The idea to gather up everything and store it into the backroom came to mind and he hastily went about picking up most of it, he figured they should store it instead of leaving it around.

He noticed a few of them watching what he was doing, eyes wide and flickering with suspicion.

It only took a moment for someone to speak up. “What the fuck are you doing?” the lifeguard questioned him, and when Dee glanced over at him, saw the man was frowning deeply.

Picking up a empty shopping bag, Dee started tossing more of the fallen food into it. “We don’t know how long we’re gonna be stuck in here,” he responded briefly before heading towards the door to the back room. He moved past Vinyl Scratch, who only have him a brief glance that thankfully wasn’t hostile, it was more curious than anything.

Dee opened up the door, peering into the room to find that it was decently stocked with boxes of supplies; snack foods and bottles of energy drinks. Not enough for an extended siege but there was enough that it would last them enough time to potentially wait out the infected. “We need to make sure we can survive long enough to figure a way out of this mess,” he told the man as he set the bag down on a shelf. I’m not sure how long this’ll last us, given the numbers.

“We got plenty of food,” the lifeguard told Dee, who turned around to face the man who was glaring straight at him. “So don’t be messin’ with shit you don’t know anything about.”

Dee narrowed his eyes, pinpricks of irritation creeping up his spine. “Look, we need to be careful about how we handle what few supplies we got stuck in here with. There’s a decent amount now, but there’s-” He did a quick head count of how many survivors there were, four ponies, five humans, “-nine of us here inside this cramped ass station. Those numbers plus what little food we have in here don’t add up for the long run.”

The lifeguard’s mouth morphed into a deep frown, eyes glaring into Dee’s own. “Don’t be fuckin’ around with our food, you punk,” he growled, poking Dee’s chest with his bat and causing him to flinch. “I’m in charge here! And I’m telling you t-”

“Says who?” Cut in a voice.

Looking over, Dee saw Rainbow Dash glaring from the doorway and staring straight at the lifeguard.

“Says me you freak! Now shut up before I decide you’re not worth keeping around!” the lifeguard threatened, waving his bat towards her.

“If anything, I should be in charge of this shitshow!” She stood up angrily and tried to move past Vinyl, who had to hold her back from starting another fight with the man. “I’m a Wonderbolt Lieutenant! And what are you? A male lifeguard?! Please!” she spat. “Why don’t you let someone who knows what they’re doing be in charge, eh?”

Eyelids twitching, the lifeguard’s knuckles turned white as the grip on his bat grew tighter. “Wanna repeat that, you bitch?”

“You heard me! You’re just a stallion! I’m a fuckin’ Wonderbolt!” Rainbow shouted and balled up her fists, Vinyl struggling to wrestle her back. “And a mare to boot, punk!”

“Bitch!” The lifeguard looked ready to charge her, face screwing up in anger.

Everyone was silenced when the only human women of the group hissed at them all, “Everyone be quiet! Those things can hear us!” At that declaration, they all turned towards the front and saw a few infected clawing at the windows again, rattling loose metal and knocking glass onto the floor.

Standing tall-despite the lingering pain in his body, Dee took charge during the lull in conversation. “She’s right, we need to be quiet.” Dee hissed as he pushed past the lifeguard, glaring back at him. “And if you want to be the leader here, then you better fuckin’ act like one.” He grabbed another bag and continued picking up the discarded supplies that had been left on the floor to put into the back room, going about organizing most of it.

No one said anything after that… opting instead for silence.

ooo000---000ooo

The gas station had grown incredibly quiet after the group’s minor outburst, everyone agreeing to an angry silent truce so as to not cause so much noise and draw in the finected. They didn’t want to draw in dozens more of the monsters that had chased them into a literal corner.

For now, after some explanation from Dee, he had told them their best bet was to conserve their supplies and remain quiet… and pray the infected horde would eventually wander away after not getting what they wanted.

Dee didn’t know if this would happen or not, but it was something worth hoping for.

The lights inside the station were turned off to try and give off the appearance of no one being inside, shrouding them all in darkness as the street lights outside still flickered and buzzed, bathing the road in golden light. But the station itself was in the dark...

Inside the building, Rainbow Dash was sleeping fitfully next to an equally fitful Lyra. The pegasus’ mind kept turning to her other friends who were on the airship when it crashed, the ones she hadn’t found in time before Lyra cried out that there were monsters coming for them.

Derpy, Dinky, Marble, and Limestone…

What happened to them?

Did they fall out during the storm? Were they crushed after they fell in the jungle somewhere?

Rainbow couldn’t rest well knowing they could still be out there somewhere...

ooo000---000ooo

In a giant, cramped-looking city situated on a sort of large river that separated two sections of the city, Derpy sat huddled under the roof of a balcony as the night time storm raged over the island. The winds had grown too fierce for her gentle spirit to fly in, forcing her to land and take shelter despite her wishes. The rain was coming down harder as well, making her feel cold, wet, and miserable to boot.

This trip was supposed to be something special for her and Dinky, a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Haywaii resort. It was going to be a wonderful time for both of them, sunshine, white sandy beaches, a special birthday gift. For Derpy, it was a welcome escape from dealing with her coworkers’ antics and an early birthday present for her daughter, who was turning eighteen in just a few days. She had saved up all of her bits for this weekend vacation for the two of them, working day after day for two jobs just to get this opportunity.

But for some strange reason, Celestia, Luna, or perhaps both saw fit to punish them for whatever sin they had committed, inflicting this hellish nightmare upon them all.

It started on the airship—some ponies had begun acting strangely, almost savage. Disturbed looking, mumbling insane things as their bodies grew sickly in appearance. They started attacking anyone they saw shortly after—one of them even tried to get Dinky. Derpy yelled for her to hide while she desperately fought him off. He was thrashing and growling fiercely, trying to bite at her like a wild animal with rabies. With the savage pony now focused solely on her, Derpy retreated out of the room, leading him away from Dinky, away from her baby.

She was chased out onto the deck before the pony finally caught up near the edge of the ship. He grabbed her shoulders, once more trying to sink his teeth into her and take a chunk with him. Derpy frantically jerked away, breaking free when she shoved off the railing. The pony instantly lunged again, driving their combined weight into the already-damaged wood. It snapped hard, sending them both tumbling through the air.

The savage pony still clung to Derpy, preventing her from spreading her wings. She thrashed as hard as she could to escape, his hold gradually weakening until she finally slipped out and kicked him away. She managed to get her wings out, slowing her descent while the other pony continued to plummet towards the ground. Derpy didn’t bother with him, her instincts focused entirely on Dinky instead. She turned so she could fly after the airship.

The one she could no longer see.

Dark clouds obscured her view in every direction, thundering and booming. She lost her bearings twisting around in the air, so she didn’t even know which way it had gone. Left with no other choice, Derpy picked a direction and started flying it in the hopes of finding the airship. She had to find it!

She didn’t… and so here she was, hunkered down in some alien city with tears staining her cheeks and blurring her vision. She was cold. She was wet. She was miserable. Her surroundings weren’t helping matters much. The buildings were cramped together, creating tight alleyways and dozens of choke points to get lost in. Trash was strewn everywhere from overturned trash cans and overflowing dumpsters. The air was hazy with smoke from burning garbage piles and strange-looking carriages that had crashed and they were everywhere; the streets choked with them for blocks in every direction. Most of them were crushed and broken down, as if something had tried to tear them apart from the outside to get at whoever was inside.

And worst of all were the creatures wandering around in the streets below.

There were so many of them running through the streets, screaming, bashing down doors, chasing after the few carriages that were still moving. The carriages’ wheels would squeal when they turned sharp corners, some of them not making it and crashing into metal poles that were emitting light, smashing into the walls, or one another. Whenever that happened, sporadic pops and cracks sounded from everywhere. It was a distinct sound that resembled lightning or fireworks, yet it was completely different at the same time.

With teary eyes Derpy peered over the edge once more, one eye managing to focus enough to see clearly at what was happening down below. She focused on the strange monsters, watching as dozens of them sprinted towards a group of creatures that looked nearly identical to them. They were both ape-like, but one group was moving in a sharp, almost animalistic way—just like the ponies from the airship.

Many of the non-wild creatures were quickly chased down and torn into, screaming in fear and pain so loudly that it hurt Derpy’s ears to listen. A part of her wanted to help them, but how could she against these horrifying monsters that tore into whoever they wanted without hesitation!? She was more terrified than she’d ever been; she felt like she was going to have a panic attack if this kept on.

Her eyes—well, her good eye—flicked over to the canal that cut through and divided the city. Across the water, she had a clear view of the buildings on the opposite shore, a single suspension bridge connected the two portions of the city, but it was blocked off at both ends, one side by a few overturned carriages, the other by a pair of larger, bulky ones that looked like they had been purposefully placed. The large ones bore a symbol that Derpy recognized as some kind of law enforcement; it looked very similar to the police back home. There were more creatures over there as well, “normal” ones, trying to hold off the monsters near the bridge with their strange weapons.

Derpy swallowed the thick lump in her throat when another scream reached her ears. Dinky, I hope you’re safe, she silently prayed to the Two Sisters, despite her fears of them having punished them for something. She couldn’t bear the thought of her only child being mauled to death by these things. It was a disturbing thought, a frightening one even, one that brought more tears to her eyes and one that she couldn’t get rid of. She wiped away her tears and quietly sniffled before ducking back into her hiding spot, her heart was unable to take anymore of the chaos down in the streets.

What sort of hell did they end up in?!

I n-need to calm down. Derpy turned and looked at the door that led inside the building. Derpy had snuck a look through the window and found the room inside was rather cramped looking. Two bunk beds filled with clutter, dozens of baskets strewn out on the floor, blankets hung up as makeshift walls, books, magazines, trinkets, personal treasures and so on cluttering the shelves, floor and tables. She couldn’t imagine anyone living in such a state, and yet…

Not wanting to stay outside anymore with the monsters and screams, as well as a desire to just get out of the rain, she stood and went over to the door before opening it up. It creaked slightly—the hinges rusty from years of disrepair. She noted that only a single flimsy screen door was all that stood between the people inside and monsters outside. Derpy couldn’t help but wonder how this would hold up against a dozen of those running monsters.

Thankfully she was up a few floors...

She gulped before moving inside, the fear of something possibly being inside welling up in her heart... it was hard not to be afraid after what she had seen in the streets, the blood and mayhem. Her entire body felt rigid, her legs were shaky and palms sweaty. Her fight or flight instinct was wanting to kick into flight—she knew she couldn’t fight to save her life… Her wings begged her to take flight, to act on her instincts and get away, to find Dinky and hide somewhere away from these monsters.

The inside of the room was just as cramped as it looked from the outside, forcing her to tighten her wings against her back to keep them from snagging on something and knocking it over, potentially alerting someone or something inside to her presence. Derpy still didn’t know if anyone was inside… which made her feel bad for not knocking on the door first, but given the current circumstances she was just going to risk it.

Derpy gulped, timidly wringing her hands together. She tried to focus her eyes to look around, but her other eye decided to go its own route and mess up her vision once more. A shake of her head remedied that before she knocked on the wall of the room a few times, a soft thump against the wood. “...h-hello?” She called out with some hesitation lacing her gentle voice and waited for someone to answer her, perhaps berate her for entering the room without their permission.

A full minute of pure gut wrenching silence later, and no one answered her call.

Tentatively she walked over to the door leading into the hall and slowly peeked out, looking both ways. She saw more baskets sitting around filled with odd little fruits. The door at the end of the hall to her right was hastily barricaded with boards nailed over it and a couch laying up against it for added measure. A look to her left and she saw a couple of doors and a washer/dryer combo with some clothes lying on the floor, discarded before they could be washed and producing a funky scent that hit her nose.

Another constricting swallow and the mare stepped into the hall, hugging herself as her tennis shoes made a slight squeak with each step against the floorboards, aside from the muffled cracks and pops outside and those ghastly screeches from the monsters, it was the only sound inside the room. Derpy needed to find Dinky and get away from this damned island, she needed to get them both away from here as fast as possible.

But where was her precious daughter?

The mailmare reached a cluttered kitchen, ransacked and filled with old empty containers for food and drinks. She saw so much junk and garbage it made the inner housekeeper inside her flinch. Derpy moved past some of it, stepping on empty candy bar wrappers and producing a crinkling noise. “Hello?” Another gentle announcement to whoever may have been inside the apartment, but she heard nothing. If the door was blocked off, then there had to be someone inside.

Right? There wasn’t any other place to get out, unless they had wings and flew off from the balcony...

Turning a corner, the mare checked the dining room which was likewise cramped and small. A small table with three chairs sat around it, an ashtray with cigarettes and playing cards was all that was in the room. She left it alone before moving on to the next room.

The final room was a bedroom that led into a small bathroom with a closed door. The bed was horribly unmade with some bags lying on it packed with a few clothes and cans of food and bottles of water. Golden eyes blinked before shaking her head to get her bad eye to focus on what was in front of her, instead of going off on its own adventure like it did on occasion. The closet nearby appeared to be broken into, the doors smashed down and...

She gasped, hands flying to her mouth and eyes widening in shock.

A trail of blood leading away from the closet to the bathroom. Her body trembled violently and her heart was beating fast. The trail led across the stained carpet right to the closed bathroom door where she noticed the light was on through the gap between the door and the floor, the light must have been broken, as it was flickering on and off...

Swallowing bundle of fear collecting in her throat, the mare walked over to the bathroom door. A few moments passed before three gentle knocks sounded once more. “H-hello?” She called out gently. Maybe she was mistaken! Maybe it wasn’t blood, maybe it was punch!

Yeah… spilled punch, and they wanted to clean themselves up in the bathroom. Kids could be so messy sometimes...

But it didn’t explain why she didn’t hear anything in reply from them despite the repeated attempts to call them.

Another hard swallow and timidly reaching down, she gripped the knob, her entire body shook—fear coursing through her entire body once she turned it. The door slowly creaked open, revealing the light that continued to flicker on and off, bathing the room in brief yellowish/white flashes—it was like something out of a horror movie.

Then she heard the sickening crunches from the floor.

Both of her eyes focused and flicked down. Her eyes grew wider, pupils turning to pinpricks at the horror kneeling on the floor.

She saw one of the strange ape like creatures kneeling on the floor, a young teenage one at the most. But he had his hands buried deep inside the belly of an older male, ripping out brackish flesh and oozy sinew before shoving it into his mouth, barely chewing before shoving more of the chunks in after the rest and down his throat.

Any semblance of speech escaped her, her mind could barely comprehend what she was looking at right now—something inside her snapped as the teen slowly looked up at her, gurgly growls wafting past blood stained lips as red eyes locked onto her golden ones. Flesh fell from his engorged maw and onto his bloodstained pants, his lips tugging back into a torn snarl, jagged broken teeth set in a fine line.

Finally, Derpy found her voice.

“AHHH!” The mare shrieked before grabbing onto the door and slamming it shut mere moments before the monster-child bolted up with an monstrous scream of its own. She held the door shut as the child slammed into the wood, jostling her and almost making her lose her grip on it.

Her heart was furiously pounding away in her ribcage, threatening to burst and kill her! The flight part of her pegasi physiology immediately made itself known and took control—everything else was forgotten in favor of getting the hell out of this building and away from this… this thing!

She quickly moved away from the door and ran out of the hall, making her way back to the balcony door as the monster screeched and tried beating its way out of the bathroom door to get at the mare.

This is all a nightmare! This is all a nightmare! This is all a nightmare! Derpy repeated this mantra as she ran. It didn’t take her very long to find herself back at the door leading outside, bursting through with panicky noises and not looking back as spread her wings. She jumped off the balcony—a reckless move but one she didn’t care much about in the slightest, and soared out and away.

She didn’t care about the wet and cold outside any more, Derpy just wanted to get away from there… away from the monsters...