Apocalypse

"HERE THEY COOOOME!!!"

"THEY'RE COMING FROM EVERYWHERE!!! ALL DIRECTIONS!!!"

"SHIT!!!"

The group quickly hurried through the parking garage as Celestia sputtered out several apologies to anyone and everyone. Moving through the open area, they had plenty of room to maneuver to the truck that was located somewhere on this level. The bad news was that every direction had the undead crawling up the walls or pouring out of the crevices of the building. Luna, rushing alongside the boys as they made their way around the corner of the level, barked at her sister.

"Confound you, Tia! This is why I told you to STOP EATING CAKES AND PASTRIES!!!"

"I'M SORRY!!! THEY'RE JUST SO DELICIOUS!!!"

William yipped as he was nabbed by one of the zombies, quickly getting out of its grasp and shoving the barrel of his gun into its mouth. Firing the brains out the back of the head, he threw down the corpse as he glanced back at the sisters.

"Wait, you guys have cakes and shit at your place?! I thought you Ponies only eat hay and whatnot."

Raymond tackled another zombie as Roland curb stomped another without legs. Putting down both undead ghouls, Raymond turned his pistol up and saved Roland from a bite once a hole was made in the dead man running up behind him.

"It's magical Unicorn land, Will! Of course they have cakes and rainbows!"

Nate rolled his eyes as he locked arms with one of the dead, pushing it to the wall and jamming a pipe through its eye. Running along with everyone as they got out into the next lot over, he gave a quizzical look to Celestia, and the size of her rump.

"If that's true, then success and sweets have really gone to your ass, Princess."

"Hey! Stop teasing me! Now is not the time!!"

Nate turned around, firing a shell from his shotgun at the converging horde behind them.

"Considering your ass is the reason we're probably about to die, I'd say it's a perfect time, Sunbutt!"

Raymond roared back as he pistolwhipped another zombie across the cheek, breaking its jaw as he put into the ground.

"Shut the FUCK UP, you two, and RUN!!!"

Roland ran past his brother, bucking himself forward with his foot outstretched. The unfortunate undead soul in his way was mowed over, and, in a surprisingly bold display, Princess Luna of all people- err, Ponies, jumped into the air with her head down, stabbing her horn through the zombie coming at his side. Roland looked down at her as she landed on the ground, ripping out her horn and staring back, a small smirk on her face. Pouting when given no acknowledgement, she let it go due to their current predicament.

Having made it through the bridging section between lots, Raymond pulled out the keys, hitting the unlock button on the fab. His attention drew to the far side of the current lot when a beeping truck blared from the said direction. Quickly going around the cars with the dead still climbing up and over the side of the parking garage, it was evident they were going to be overrun in about a hot minute if they didn't do something, fast.

"Forget fighting them! It'll only slow you down! Keep moving towards the truck. It's just up ahead!!"

The group continued fighting, blasting and pummeling zombies left and right until they eventually made it to their means of escape. Kicking down another infected person, Raymond unlocked the back and opened it, quickly sliding out random equipment they didn't need and ushering in as he and Nate held the line.

"Inside, Princesses! Now!!"

William shoved them along as he made an effective, though sloppy, roundhouse kick on a sprinting dead woman. Bashing his pistol on the one behind her, he lowered himself and threw the zombie over the rail next to him, dropping it out onto the ground level and splattering its head on the pavement. Roland backed up as they heard the doors to the back of the SWAT truck shut.

"They're in, boys! Let's go!!"

Both William and Roland backed up to the back-seat doors, opening them up from behind and jumping in. Rolling down the windows, they fired their remaining shots as Raymond turned the ignition, Nate gritting his teeth as his heart pumped with adreniline.

"Drive! DRIIIIIIIIVE!!!"

The four Ponies yelled out in fright as the truck jerked forward from Raymond slamming his foot on the pedal. Burning out for a split-second, the vehicle raced across the lot, tapping against the cars around them and mowing down the undead horde as they sped along. Turning and heading towards the front side of the hotel, Raymond spotted a gap in the rail from the maintenance team. Seeing it big enough for the truck to pass through, he went for it, making Nate widen his eyes upon realizing their destination.

"Jesus Christ, Raymond! Are you insane!!??"

"FUCK YEAH, I AM!!! HOLD ON!!!"

The three boys pressed their hands against the roof or held onto the safety bars as the truck scraped itself out of the hole in the garage, ramping off the second floor and falling to street level. This time, the Princesses in the back actually DID scream, and kept screaming until they hit the ground. Drifting along the side of the road, Raymond turned them down Geary Boulevard, going east as Nate pointed ahead.

"Find a place to go right somewhere. The quickest way onto the bridge is Central Freeway!"

Roland shook his head.

"Forget the freeway. Too many people will be trying to escape the city! We need to head to the Ferry Plaza."

William pursed his lips as he leaned up between the three.

"Or better yet, go to Pier 33 or Pier 39 and steal a boat. Either option is longshot in our circumstances."

Nate sighed as he leaned to the side, rubbing the blood from his forehead and flicking it away.

"I'm just surprised we made it. That was a nightmare..."

Raymond nodded.

"Yeah. No shit... How're the Pony girls?"

Roland turned to the back of the front cab, leaning over to the tiny door that opens to the back half of the truck. Quietly pulling the cover from the window, he saw the four Ponies sitting, or lying, there, all consoling and calming each other down after their second encounter with the undead, and the revelation of how much this world's decayed. Speaking of which...

"Holy shit..."

William pointed to Roland's window, directing both him and Nate to look out while Raymond only spared glances to keep an eye on the road. Given they were in the middle of the city, he saw plenty of what they did.

"My god... The city..."

The Princesses also witnessed the destruction and ruination this disease had caused. Mere hours, and a single city was reduced to ashes, smoke, and the stench of wandering rotting corpses. Nate turned back forward, then pointed ahead.

"Hey, Ray. Stop here. Up by the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption."

Raymond hit the brakes gently, roaming the truck into the parking lot before the Cathedral. As he did, Nate took a look at a map he found in the glove compartment.

"Alright... We're gonna have to make a choice. From here, we can go to all three places. If we keep driving straight, we'll be heading to the ferry next to the bridge. Turning puts us on Gough Street. We follow that either right or left, we'll be heading to the bridge, or the docks."

"So... What's the plan?"

The four boys stared at each other, looking for someone to step up. After a frustratingly long time, Raymond growled out.

"We don't have time to stop. Each time we do, we risk the dead circling the truck."

William glanced back out the rear of the truck, seeing through the window that a tree one of the dead people was leaning up against was dying.

"It seems as if the trees and plant life can get infected, too... Fascinating..."

Roland hummed as he was looking at the tree as well.

"If the forestry can get infected, who's to say that the water can't get infected as well? Heading to open sea seems like a bad idea. Not only would we be putting our back to the marine life that would also get infected, but there would be nowhere to escape to if we attract the zombies inside the city."

Nate pursed his lips.

"It doesn't seem like there's any place that's safe anymore, Roland. The safest, yet most unpredictably dangerous option is taking this truck across the bridge."

Raymond nodded as he turned right onto Gough Street.

"He's right. With the bridge, we have an advantage as well. With all the people trying to cross, they've most likely abandoned their cars. We can use them as cover if we alert the hordes, and make various choke points along the way. It's the best way to advance to the Princesses' way home, and the best defensible strategy we've got."

He stopped on the corner of the parking lot, looking out both ways.

"Before we go anywhere, though, we need to see where the infected are, where they're all bunched up."

Nate nodded, tapping Roland as he opened the door.

"Roland and I will scout out to the intersection. it'll be quieter than using the truck, but keep the engine running. The girls could use some air, anyway."

Roland stepped out next, aiming his pistol towards the street and around the perimeter of the truck. Nate came around to the back of the truck, opening it and peeking inside.

"We're stopping for a moment. If any of you wanna get some air, do it quietly. Roland and I are scouting the intersection for any undead roaming the streets."

Celestia nodded, looking to her sister and niece as they decided to come out with them. She stayed with Twilight, who was fast asleep next to her. Walking out towards the street, Nate and Roland carefully pressed onto the intersection that separated Geary and Gough, looking down all four ways as Luna and Cadence were with them.

"By the stars... We cannot apologize enough for thy populace and people, Nathan Schmidt."

Cadence chuckled as she nudged the Night Princess.

"Auntie, you're using the old language again."

The two boys rose an eyebrow at them as Luna blushed, tints of red on her dark blue muzzle. Roland scanned the northern path of Gough, humming as he saw a few, but not many, zombies.

"It seems that some of the infected are out towards the north end of town. That's where they said it was bad, right?"

Nate nodded.

"Yeah. Around ten-thousand people died up there, and I guarantee you a large quantity of them turned into those things by now."

"And there are more than eight-hundred thousand people living in this city. With that report broadcated this morning, that number could have easily been squared."

"Which means we can't stay here for long. Let's get back to the truck and-"

*BEEP-BEEEEEEEEEEEP*

""""?!""""

Nate and Roland turned back down the way they came from, Luna and Cadence following their gazes. Raymond, sticking his head out the window, widened his eyes at what he saw.

"HoooooOOOOO, MY GOD!!! BUS!!! BUUUUUSSSS!!!!"

A large, city bus was barreling towards the four at its maximum speed, blood and guts sprayed on the window as the dead were eating those inside. Nate, knowing they couldn't get back to the truck in time, picked up Luna.

"ROLAND, GRAB CADENCE AND RUN!!!"

The younger Seraph took Cadence under his arm and chased after Nate as they ran down the intersection, heading west on Geary and away from the Cathedral. They made it off the four-way traffic stop just as the bus hit a car off-road, tipping it forward and slamming down on its side. Giving its size, it rolled and skidded to the intersection, blocking off Geary, and separating the group into two boys and two Princesses each.

Feeling the shockwave of the bus colliding with the buildings, Roland and Nate fell forward, dropping the Ponies they had in their grasps as they hit the ground. Nate let out a groan as he sat up, looking back at the bus while Roland quickly scrambled to his feet, hearing the infamous cries of the undead from inside. The city-owned vehicle itself was on fire, bits and pieces of it littering the street in front of them. Getting up as well, Nate took a few steps towards it, looking through a window to see the other side. The truck was okay, and by the looks of it, so, too were the others.

Raymond was running towards them, stopping as he heard one of the windows break and the dead shuffle out on top of one another.

"Nate! Roland!! You alive?!"

"Yeah! We're good, but we got trouble here! Lot of undead and I don't know if this bus is gonna--"

Nate turned to the engine when he heard it spark.

"Yup!! It's gonna blow!!"

"Dammit! We have to move separately now! Where are you guys gonna go?!"

Roland looked further up the road.

"It seems as if some other streets are blocked off by cars and debris. Only way is forward for now."

Nate glanced at him, then down at the Princesses with them. Narrowing his eyes, he yelled back at Raymond.

"The museum! Meet us at the San Francisco Museum! It's between the ferry and the bridge!"

"What time do you want us there?!"

"Considering we're on foot for right now, meet us there at 7pm! If not today, then tomorrow at the same time!"

"We only got three days, bud! We can't waste that time regrouping!"

"Then if you can't see or get to us, cross the bridge! We'll try and use the ferry if we can!"

Raymond nodded, sprinting back to the truck as he heard the dead coming from up Gough. Climbing back into the driver side after shutting the back of the truck, he turned and sped off down the road. He knew getting to the museum was gonna be tough, even in a big ass SWAT truck like this, but getting to the bridge is gonna be even tougher due to the entrances being limited.

'5th Street will have cars from the north piled onto it after the people got clogged on the bridge due north, and 8th Street was closed off five days ago.'

He turned the truck onto Turk Street as he grumbled, hating the circumstances they were in, for both them and the Princesses.

'Our only nearest option is the exit on Fremont. There's three ways to get up to the bridge from there, and all of them are meant to get OFF of it.'

Raymond felt his lips dry as he could feel the tension rise in his chest, making him breathe somewhat heavily.

"First the State Defense Force leaves everyone for dead to focus on keeping electricity and power plants alive, then cops start shooting those they THINK are infected."

William looked up at the older Seraph, frowning at him as he looked out the window.

"I know, Raymond... Things are getting bad..."

"Damn right, they are. Even if we HAD backup from the government, who knows how much of it is left standing after this infection hit everywhere. I mean, for shit's sake, the White House was overrun!"

He pushed harder on the pedal, ramming one of the dead and mowing them over.

"We're on our own, Will..."