Author's Note

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_3_-UrhZH0

As per usual, if characters act a certain way that might seem wrong or unusual, there's most likely a reason. Please understand that questions about things like that will be answered in the upcoming chapters :)

It seems I've completely lost my editor for this story as well, so if there are any spelling mistakes or grammar, please point them out and I will fix them as quickly as I can.

Chapter 11

As the door opened, Twilight jumped to the side and out of sight. She only just made it clear before the outsider had a clear view of the room, and Cooper pointing his rifle at him.

"Woah!" He shouted as he jumped to the side and out of the doorway.

"What is it!?" One of the men called out.

"Don't shoot!" He cried, peeking around the corner at Cooper.

Cooper's finger pressed up against the trigger, and he kept his gaze steady on the man in the doorway. He contemplated shooting as the sounds of boots on snow grew louder, and adrenaline flooded his veins.

"What's going on!?"

"There's a guy in here! He's got a rifle!" The first man responded from the doorway.

"Holy shit!" Another shouted.

As more and more men surrounded the doorway, Cooper felt his nerves twitch. His eyes darted from left to right over and over as he waited, anxiously gripping his rifle so tight his knuckles turned white. Across the room from him, and still out of sight, Twilight watched with her heart thundering in her chest.

"Hey man! We don't want any trouble! We're just scouting for food. Don't shoot!" The first voice called out.

"Then look somewhere else. Just keep moving along and you'll all be fine." Cooper gruffly replied.

There was some hushed chatter at the door before he received a reply.

"Are you alone? We got some food and supplies back at our camp. If you put down the rifle and don't shoot any of us, we can take you back with us. You have my word that we won't hurt you."

Cooper glanced over to Twilight for a brief second before flicking his gaze back to the doorway. For a few tense moments, he pondered what to say, before finally deciding and clearing his throat.

"I'm alone... what kind of camp?" He asked, as he slowly stepped toward her.

"A survivor camp. We're trying to rebuild what's left of humanity and create a society... Being out here by yourself... that's rough, friend. If you just lower the gun, and let us talk to you, we can work something out." The man responded.

"And just how in the fuck can I trust you to not shoot me the second I put my rifle down?!" Cooper shouted back.

"You don't have to put it down. Just... don't aim at us. Listen, we're low on manpower... if you've lasted this long out here by yourself, then you must know a thing or two about surviving. We could use more people like you." The man explained.

Cooper quickly pulled away from the doorway and quietly moved over to Twilight.

"Listen... I know this is going to be a terrible idea... but I need you to trust me. No matter what happens, you stay hidden in here until I leave. Try to follow behind as much as you can. You're gonna have to put that flying practice to good use now. Stay on rooftops and out of sight... if you can't... Take the rest of the supplies and go where ever you can to get away from people." He quietly explained, unslinging his backpack and handing it to Twilight.

"B-but... what about you? You aren't seriously thinking of going with them are you?" She questioned, her eyes going wide.

"It's the only way to keep them from seeing you... Look, if they... if they kill me, just teleport out of here. Try to aim for the route we came through and hopefully they won't spot you." He replied, looking back at the doorway once more.

"You alright in there, friend?" The man called out from outside.

"C-Cooper..." Twilight whimpered.

Before she could say anything else, Cooper quickly wrapped his arms around her in a gentle hug.

"I won't let them hurt you. I promise." He whispered.

Twilight choked back a small sniffle as Cooper pulled away. She tried, in vain, to hold him closer for just a few more seconds, but her hooves slipped off his cloak, and fell to her barrel as she sat on her haunches.

"God... you really do look just like her..." He quietly murmured to himself as he headed for the doorway.

"Hello?" The man called from outside.

"Yeah! I'm here... Just... debating... If you're being honest with me... then step out into the doorway. I won't shoot." Cooper called back as he retook his position aiming at the doorway.

There was more muffled voices from the doorway, before they seemed to come to an agreement.

"How about we make a compromise, friend? You show us that you'll put the rifle down, and I'll walk into the doorway. Deal?" The man asked.

Cooper chewed his cheek for a few moments, leaving a deadly silence in the air and making Twilight's fur stand on edge.

"Alright. I'll keep my gun down, but you tell your buddies to do the same." He replied.

"Okay. That's fair enough."

"Are you insane?!" Another voice whisper-shouted from behind.

"Quiet! Let Adrian talk!" The second man admonished.

"Alright friend, we'll keep our guns down. I'm gonna peek around this corner now. Please don't shoot me." Adrian asked.

"S'long as your friends keep up their end of the deal." Cooper muttered.

Slowly, but surely, a messy head of curly hair peeked around the corner, along with dark skin, and two deep brown eyes. Cooper let out a small breath as he saw that only Adrian would be peeking into the doorway, and slowly lowered his rifle until it was pointing at the floor between them. He tried, in vain, to hide the groan of pain that escaped his lips from his bad shoulder as the weight was somewhat relieved.

"You alright, friend?" Adrian asked.

"I'm fine."

"That shoulder doesn't look fine... What happened?" He pressed, a genuine look of concern creeping onto his face.

"The last people I ran into." Cooper practically spat the words out as a frown formed on his face.

"Yikes... Well, I get why you're not very trusting of us... Makes sense. If you want, we do have something of a doctor back at our camp. She could take a look at your shoulder and make sure it's okay. I know how bad an infected wound can get out here." Adrian offered.

Cooper's eyes quickly darted over to Twilight for the briefest moment before returning back to Adrian.

"What guarantee do I have that you'll actually take me there and not just stab me in the back the second I'm not looking?" He responded harshly.

"Like I said, I get that you don't trust us. That's probably a smart thing to do, all things considered... All I can offer you is the fact that we're in the same boat. What's to stop you from shooting us in the back the second we're not looking?" Adrian replied, after a moment of thought.

"Any chance you just leave me alone?" Cooper asked in a last ditch attempt.

"I'd have to ask you to leave. Boss man Gabe is taking all this territory for the new settlement. He's a lot less friendly than I am. As far as he's concerned, you're either with us, or against us." Adrian explained.

"Gabe? Settlement? What are you talking about?" Cooper pressed, his eyes squinting in scrutiny.

"Gabriel Sanchez. He's our leader. Chief, if you will. Like I said, we're trying to rebuild society here. That starts with a big settlement... It'd be a fresh start for all of us after the world ended." Adrian elaborated, stepping into the doorway more fully.

Cooper's eyes darted over to Twilight one last time before he sighed quietly to himself and took a step forward, much to her despair.

"Alright... Let's just... let's go." He replied.

Cooper slowly walked toward the doorway with his anxiety quickly building. Each step felt like time slowed further and further until he was standing just in front of Adrian. As he walked, Twilight watched from her corner with an ever increasing amount of dread in her stomach that made it hard to keep from hyperventilating.

As Cooper reached the doorway, Adrian stepped to the side to allow him to pass. Behind him, Cooper could just make out the rest of his group as they parted enough for him and Adrian to walk through. There was a total of thirteen other men standing around in the decadent marketplace, all with their eyes trained on him with a mixture of emotions clear on their faces. Some seemed relieved while others seemed relatively annoyed. Curiously however, was the lack of malice on any of their faces.

Cooper finally paused once he was out in the center of the store with all of Adrian's group surrounding him. He clutched his rifle tightly in his hands, but kept the muzzle pointed down. His eyes darted back and forth at the many faces now taking him in as if he was some stray dog, but no one gave him any indication that they meant him any harm.

"There you go. See? No one wants to hurt anybody here." Adrian comforted, offering a small smile.

"If you say so." Cooper replied.

"Well, we came for supplies, and we'll be returning with another mouth to feed, heh." Adrian quipped.

"Better check the rest of the store just to be sure." One of the other men said as he stepped toward the backroom Cooper just left.

Cooper immediately turned and spoke.

"I wouldn't go in there if I was you." He warned.

"Why?" The man replied, his posture tensing some.

"Unless you really want to see a week's worth of my shit piled up on the floor." Cooper shrugged.

"Gross..." The group simultaneously cringed and stepped away from the room.

"Well... I think we can just leave that alone. Food is hard enough to come by these days, and I'd rather not lose any." Adrian admitted, waving his men further away from the room.

"I think that'd probably be for the best." Cooper agreed.

"Right... Well, let's get moving guys. We've got about two hours of light left. I think we can make it back to camp in that time." Adrian announced.

The group quickly gathered together and headed for the large missing segment of the furthest wall in the store. As they walked out with Cooper at the center of their formation, Twilight watched from afar, her heart full of fear as she peaked around the doorway. As she stared after them, she only barely saw Cooper glance back at her for a brief second, before quickly returning his attention to the group of men now walking all around him. Soon enough they were all out of the store, and once more walking through the cold snow.

Twilight quietly followed behind until she reached the hole in the wall and frowned. It was still bright enough for the men to easily see her if she flew even remotely near them, and the weight of her saddlebags, along with Cooper's bag was only going to make flying even more difficult. Slowly, and almost begrudgingly, she unfurled her wings and sought the nearest rooftop.

With a good flap of her wings, she took to the air, and slowly flew over to the snow-covered roof. Strangely enough, the short trek wasn't quite as tiresome as she expected, and upon landing on the rooftop, she gave a small flap of her wings as if to ensure they were still working right.

"Huh? Guess those flights really did pay off. This isn't nearly as tiring as I thought it'd be..." She whispered in thought.

From her new vantage point, Twilight quickly spotted Cooper's group once more. From a quick look, she could tell that none of them had spotted her thus far, prompting a small sigh of relief to leave her lips.

She glanced up from the group to see the potential miles of houses and roads they could potentially still travel and frowned.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Cooper."