Author's Note

I'm really sorry I lost this project. The damn pandemic got my priorities all fucked up. I got to work on my youtube channel and forgot all about this. I'm glad I remembered and got back to work. So enjoy my new chapter in my almost one-year-old story.

Lazurus

The group arrived at the outpost. They parked at the airlock hooks for the rovers and got out, Hayseed staying behind with his injury. The base was vary dark and sparks shot out of the ceiling every now and then.

"Looks like something ravaged through here.", said Dexter as he walks to the sliding door that leads out of the docking zone. He tries to move it, but it doesn't budge. "The door is jammed!" he shouts to Buckshot across the room.

"You see," said Buckshot with a grin on his face. "me and Hayseed used to compete with the earth ponies in apple harvesting, and we weren't allowed to use our magic." Buckshot walks up to the door and pounds it with his hind legs. Sure enough, the door goes and the two are able to walk through. "Apple bucking took a lot of strength.", he says with a smirk. This smile was quickly extinguished when he saw the inside of the outpost.

Fleshy hell growth was everywhere. There was no sign of the ponies that worked there accept the mass amounts of blood on the floor. There was a faint red light coming from deeper in the outpost. As they got closer to it, the first corpse was found. Chanting was heard coming from the direction of the light and Dexter could see Buckshot swiping at his hears as if they were in pain. Buckshot saw flashes of the cave and the armor. He heard screaming and saw a symbol that caused him pain when it appeared. He came out of his fit with Dexter crouched by him.

"I'm okay", he says as he gets up. They walk closer to the light without Buckshot getting any more flashes.

"I feel like we're being watched.", said Dexter with his rifle up. The chanting gets louder as they get further into the outpost. Buckshot hears something scurry behind them and turns to shoot, but nothing was there. He reloads his double barrel with a quiver of fear. They continue slowly to the light and hear more scurrying around them.

Corpse number two was found, but it looked less fresh then the first. As if all the life had been drained from it. Buckshot takes a minute to examine the body. It rises and attacks Buckshot. Dexter quickly puts a bullet in it's skull.

"Zombies?!?!", He shouts. "Why zombies?!?! Why not goblins, or vampires?"

"Not zombies.", responds Buckshot. "Possessed. Corpses with demonic entities controlling them."

"And you know this how?", asks Dexter.

"No fucking clue.", answers Buckshot. He thinks for a moment. "Not much better then zombies I guess.", he says.

"Not at all.", responds shivering Dexter.

They finally arrive at the light, seeming to be deeper in the outpost then the outpost is supposed to go. The light is emitting from the center of a blood pentagram surrounded by more possessed chanting something satanic. In front of the light is a smiling Dr. Batruger.

"You're too late!", he says to Buckshot and Dexter. "I have already opened the first gate to Hell." He is engulfed in argent energy. The energy dissipates to reveal a white human male in his early fifties. He was slightly bald and a little chubby. The chanting gets louder. "YOU CAN'T STOP ME!", he shouts over the noise. "JOHN CANE LET ME ESCAPE, AND SO WILL YOU!!!"

Suddenly, a large hooked spike comes through the light and impales Batruger. Another comes and slices his head in half and he is pulled in. The eyes of the possessed glow red and they turn to look at Buckshot. They walk slowly towards him ignoring Dexter entirely. Buckshot started to see flashes of the Symbol again. He screams in pain as the possessed walk slowly in his direction.

The pain suddenly stops and his eyes also glow red. He bares his teeth in anger. He sprints toward the possessed at full speed and punches the first one so hard, it explodes on impact.

"KAR EN TUK!!!!", he shouts as he rampages through the red mist. Dexter watched in awe as he sees his lifelong friend destroy all the possessed with ease. Two pinkies come through the light, but are quickly attacked by Buckshot. He gets behind one and blasts it's back with his double barrel. He then sees the other one sprinting toward Dexter, who seemed to be in a trance. With even more anger then before, Buckshot runs to the pinkie with supernatural speed and spatters it with his hoof.

The light goes out and Buckshot exits his rage episode. He looks at Dexter who was still staring off into space.

"Dexter!", shouts Buckshot. Dexter does not respond. Lazurus waves rippled through his eyes. Buckshot lightly smacks him with his hoof. "GOD DAMMIT YOU LAZY FUCKING DRAGON!!", he shouts.

"Outpost! Dr. Batruger! Zombies!", Dexter franticly says as he comes out of the Lazurus wave. "Buckshot what happened to me?", he asks.

"You were consumed by the Lazurus waves.", Buckshot responds. "I managed to get you out before you were possessed."

"You mean, I would have become one of those?", asks Dexter pointing to one of the possessed lying dead on the floor.

"Yes.", replies Buckshot. "And we need to get back to the rover to see if Hayseed is okay. And then get back to Utopia Planitia as quickly as possible." They run back to the rover through the door that Buckshot busted down and through the airlock.

"What in the holy fuck happened in there?", asks Hayseed. "There was a massive sensor spike and then the rover powered down. I just about froze to death when I finally got the power back on."

"We need to get back to base right now", says buckshot franticly. "We'll tell you what happened on the way back."