Chapters Prologue: Mission in a Doomed Existence
"It's been like this for a while, now..."
Twilight and her friends stood in front of a familiar mirror as the Royal Sisters were on both sides of it, observing from their own angles what the rift was showing them. Twilight, having known this mirror and its properties for a long while, still didn't really understand the factors that went into its power. It was a bridge between two different realities of her home. The natural Equestria she grew up in, where magic and Ponies thrive, and another, where it seems all of that is condensed into a single school for these... 'humans'.
Her adventures in the proclaimed Human World had her discover a whole basket full of new things, especially about an entirely new species to her and to Equestria. Nevertheless, she prevailed the last time she went through this portal, and now, something about it seemed... wrong.
"What happened to it, Cadence?"
The Princess of Love stood off to the side, shaking her head as she pointed to the mirror.
"I'm not quite sure. I know that the last time we mentioned, or even got a look at this thing, it was related to the matter of your crown being stolen, but... it didn't look like THIS."
Cadence's hoof turned to point directly at the glass this time, visions and mere blinks of the world of humans coming and going seconds at a time. Some, if you were able to catch them, were panicked humans roaming near-destroyed streets and neighborhoods. Some depicted an entire city smoking and burning before their aerial vision. The last few, though, showed the most horrifying of the series. Monsters that resembled humans, all with rotting, decaying greyed-out flesh and glowing purple eyes. They chased down humans, attacking them at the end of one image, and turning them to their ranks in the beginning of the next. These images cycled and looped endlessly, and if that wasn't enough to disturb Twilight, it was the fact that the Cutie Map, several days after her little excursion through time chasing Starlight down, sent her here. From the looks of it, it did the same with the other three rulers of the land. All four of their Cutie Marks were glowing, flashing as if they've reached the jackpot with a metal detector.
There was no denying it. The Cutie Map wanted Twilight, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence to come here; to spread the magic of friendship, acceptance, experience, and love into another reality of their Kingdom altogether.
But what was WRONG with this place? People are attacking other people. Is there a riot or something happening? A skirmish caused by two nations being at odds?
That didn't matter right now. Everypony is at a loss, and from the look on Celestia's face, even the highest power in the room couldn't make heads or tails of this. Twilight, stepping up beside her, continued to stare into the mirror as she questioned her mentor.
"Celestia, have you seen anything like this before?"
"With the exception of your endeavor into the Human World, as you called it, and Sunset Shimmer's disappearance before you, I'm afraid this level of magic and mystery is out of my hooves."
"Really?"
Celestia looked down at Twilight with a soft look, one that reminisced any memories of the past, to find the good times studying with Starswirl the Bearded as her own mentor and the details about this mirror.
"My old mentor from a thousand years ago had logged this mirror and its behavior."
Rainbow, hovering by the mirror, tapped it on the rim.
"Wait, so... He didn't make this thing? I thought all those egghead books Twilight reads said something about this."
Celestia nodded.
"It does, indeed, proclaim Starswirl as the one to discover this unknown paradox of magic, but it is simply that. He discovered it, not created it."
Cadence walked towards the mirror herself, tilting her head as she eyed the various details of the images.
"But still, this mirror is in the Crystal Empire. Did he send it here before Sombra took over?"
Celestia shook her head.
"Unfortunately, that knowledge is beyond me. I have observed Starswirl attempt to make another mirror. However, the one he made based off this design was able to jump to an alternate version of Equestria itself, rather than a separate reality where different beings thrive."
Luna nodded, tapping her hoof against her chin.
"Indeed. I, too, remember this. It was not a fond memory, seeing yet another evil counterpart of myself before Nightmare Moon. But, thankfully, the tides between those realities and ours were broken when Starswirl destroyed the mirror."
She came around to the front of the mirror after being near its back, eyeing the projected images herself in a lace of discomfort.
"Yet that only begs the question of what we see here, and why this 'Cutie Map' wishes for us to venture to this plain."
Celestia frowned as her mind raced with the possibilities. A monster? An evil dominion like the shadows of King Sombra or the Changelings? Could Tirek have escaped into this separate human dimension of Equestria and warped these ape-like creatures to fight one another? She had hoped it wasn't ANY of these possibilities, and that it was merely a civil war over something trivial and silly such as land, or authority. Shaking her head once more, she turned away from the mirror.
"We will not be able to effectively assess the situation if we are not prepared. Come. Let us move away from this chamber for a moment. Collect our bearings and come back with-"
*SWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOO--!!!*
The solar monarch was cut off as her Cutie Mark, as well as the other three Princesses', started exerting a droning magical presence. In mere milliseconds, faster than even Rainbow Dash could catch, four funnels of wind, each colored to the respective Princess, engulfed their targets. That same wind blew by Celestia, Twilight, Cadence, and Luna, then began to pull them as harshly as it pushed, forcing them to inch ever so closer to the mirror. They grunted and groaned as they fought against the current, but as they were being suddenly dragged along, Twilight opened her eyes, widening them when she found the mirror was acting as a vacuum, no longer showing the images, but instead, a zone of magic that was relatively similar to how she entered the Human World previously. It was obvious what was going on. The Cutie Map's mission, and by extension, the Tree of Harmony, wasn't taking 'no' for an answer. If they weren't going through it, it would pull them in. It was either that, or some force on the other side was dragging them into this world for the unspeakable.
What perplexed everypony was that, while the Princesses were being dragged and skidded towards the mirror, everypony else was completely unaffected, as if there were no gust in the room at all. They saw the wind, however, the blades of each torrent pulling their beloved rulers closer and closer to the glass portal. Shining Armor, who was with Cadence at the time of the discovery of the mission, sprung into action. He wrapped his hooves under Cadence and tried to pull her back, keeping her distanced from the mirror as they both were now being dragged, but at a much slower rate. Twilight's friends aided the other three, pulling them away as best they could in vain. As the group was converging towards the mirror, the group pulling the Princesses back slammed against the glass as the monarchs were sucked in, forced through the worm hole as they desperately attempted to use their wings, magic, and hooves to get themselves back to Equestria.
For them, it felt completely different to Twilight's travels to the Human World. Whereas the worm hole between Equestria and Canterlot High was mildly uncomfortable because of the species change between Pony and Human, this rift was tearing away at them magically, leaving them with their Pony bodies, but stripping them of any and all power they had as soon as they crossed the barrier between the two dimensions. Such pain and forced exertion electrocuted their coats, and frazzled them enough for their bodies to go limp. Celestia and Cadence went out like a light, while Luna was still conscious, flailing and trying to to get to her sister as they approached the light ahead of them. Twilight herself was on the brink of dropping, dipping in and out of consciousness herself as they sunk through the light.
And just as they touched it, everything went black.
Earth. A planet amongst the Milky Way galaxy, one that harbors life of all kind. From the smallest insect to the largest animal to the greenest of grass. Wherever you look, you see many creatures interact, eat, drink, sleep, and roam the beautiful land of this planet's many continents. Among those animals and insects are the most intelligent of the creatures, ones advanced and evolved from a species upon them, now able to speak in various languages, and convert the natural energies of this planet into power for their every whim and need.
These creatures, known as Humans, were the greatest minds and, arguably, the most beautiful of the animals that were birthed upon planet Earth. But beauty does not always come in the consequence of peace. In fact, you don't need beauty to call upon disaster, and with Mankind's hands, they've undone their populations, and rendered the whole planet nearly lifeless.
A world on the verge of breaking apart, the cycle of life perverted and shattered as the dead shamble and attack the living. If you had a pulse, you were free game. All across the world, in the settlements and communities built by Humans, it all came crashing down, and as the rotten cannibals run rampant, somewhere within the western continent, four humans run through the halls of a hotel, standing on the top floor, and sprinting towards the maintenance access to the roof.
"Now, people! Now! Floor everything you have!"
Each one of these humans were dressed differently, and had distinctive features to them that defined them, made it easier to see who was who. The one who barked the order to keep going, a man in a black blazer bloodied by the fluids of both the damned and doomed, turned himself to aim a weapon of mankind's making at the dead humans that chased them through the halls. In his hands was a cannon of sorts, one made to be set off by a trigger. Most common authority in the human populace stored these kinds of weapons in the trunks of their automobile inventions, firing shells of gunpowder instead of large cannonballs. The chassis of the weapon was of a black-tinted steel or metal, and along the side, engraved on the underbarrel, was the signature of the weapon: Mossberg 590, or just known as a Riot Shotgun, used by what the Humans call the Police.
A loud crack of gunpowder echoed through the halls as the shell exploded out the barrel, tearing apart the rotten body of walking dead man. Giving chase to the other three humans, who all held mere hand-cannons in their right hands called Glock 22s, they made their way to the emergency exit up onto the roof, the human furthest to the front firing the hand-cannon at the corpse in front of him before knocking it to the floor with a whip of the hammer-like grip of the weapon. Racing past another, the aforementioned human wit the shotgun blew a hole into the last undead human in their path before climbing up after the others.
As they exited the dark and dampened hallways of the hotel, the meek sunlight was able to give light to their appearances. The first to climb out onto the roof was a young human male, no older than about 19-20 years old. He bore a sophisticated style, a white blazer buttoned over a light-blue dress shirt with white dress pants that have a gradient to blue down the pant legs. Two black dress shoes clipped against the roof as he walked further out the door, his naturally-greyed hair flowing to the side with the calm wind while his amber eyes stared out at the city beyond the hotel, the fruits of his labor in science wasted into ruin by this... calamity of society.
Coming after him was another young male, this one bearing attire that conflicted with the first human's own. He had a dark blue hoodie on, zipped up over a black long-sleeved shirt with black cargo pants on his legs. His boots matched the pants in color and style, fitting it all together in conjunction with his occupation as an Engineer, and his hands were gloved with protective leather that was black lined with blue at the fingers. His raven-black hair stretched to the back of his nape, almost touching his shoulders, but never getting in the way of his eyes too much. He bore a bit of scruff on his face, but was not unkempt. His brown eyes followed the gaze of his fellow survivor, watching as the city burned.
After him came a near-identical man to the Engineer. An elder brother, in fact. He wore a red duster coat over a red-black vest and a black t-shirt on his body, a more simple black jeans on his legs. His feet, unlike his brother, were sneakers, and given their state, were clearly used for running and climbing. This made sense, considering he was a Bounty Hunter. Brushing the dirt and grime off his medium-length fully-fledged beard, the elder sibling stepped up beside his sibling, his brown hair brushed back by gloved hands underneath a black bulldogger hat. His own eyes were emerald green, and didn't seem disturbed by the collapsing city. If anything, he expected to find it all in shambles upon reaching the hotel's roof.
The last human to come out, the one who bore the shotgun, was the second-oldest of the bunch. He wore the aforementioned blazer over a white dress shirt with blue jeans clipped onto his legs via a clamped belt. His black boots were dirtied by the adventure he took to climb up the various floors, and his glasses had a few spots of red on them from the splatter of the dead. His hands were worn and slightly bruised, showing that he had been using the weapon he held long enough for it to cause him harm in the recoil of the blasts. Like the Engineer, his hair was also black, but was kept shorter, and his sharp eyes that looked out at the city before him bore a hazel-blue mix of colors, making them unique in the contrast of the four-man group. With his appearance, and his expertise in all kinds of weapons, it was plain as day to anyone that he was one to make his own gadgets instead of acquiring them. Namely, he was an Inventor.
All four boys, who hadn't breached the age of 21, stared out at the smoke, brimstone, and screams of the once-blooming society they were once apart of.
"Dear god..."
The Scientist looked around, seeing buildings explode and people being pinned by the monsters that roam the streets, eaten bit by bit by their relentless hunger. The Engineer shook his head as he placed his hand on the edge of the hotel's roof.
"Fucking hell, this is sweeping through the city like wildfire. How did it get this bad so quickly?"
No one had an answer, for who can explain how the dead came back to life with a ceaseless hunger for Human flesh? At this point, did it even matter? The science behind it isn't what counted. It was the fact that everything fell within hours of the initial outbreak in the city of San Francisco.
"How could everything go so wrong...?"
The Engineer's second question was cut short of an answer as a gunshot shook him, the Inventor, and the Scientist. The Bounty Hunter had fired his weapon at one of the dead sneaking up on them, popping his brains out the back of his head and dropping his body to the ground.
"There'll be time to answer those kinds of questions later."
He peeked over the edge of the roof as the other men trained their weapons on the dead that were either climbing up onto the roof via scaling the building, or roaming out of maintenance storage rooms set up on the roof. As they began killing more of the already-dead humans that charged with a stagger towards them, the Inventor grimaced at their increasingly peril situation.
"I don't like this...!"
The Bounty Hunter scoffed as he reeled back his fist, punching off another undead beast wearing a human face from climbing over the side of the hotel behind them.
"Hey, we got the high ground. We've got an advantage against them."
The Inventor rose an eyebrow as he loaded a shell into the shotgun.
"Really? Cause the rise of numbers flinging themselves over the side of the hotel tells me otherwise."
The four of them backed towards the center of the roof as more and more of the monsters were running towards them, their jaws gnashing and their arms swinging wildly. The Inventor, after reloading a few more shells, began to struggle with taking them out.
"Dammit... This is gonna fucking su-"
*KKKRRRRRZZZTTTT-!!!*
The four boys immediately flinched downwards as a bolt of electricity came down on top of them, barely missing them and zapping a whole row of the undead. As they went back to fighting, more electrical strikes fried the mutant flesh of the monsters, making them drop where they stand whilst a dome of that electrical energy began to bubble in the air. The four of them looked up, eyes narrowed or widened.
"Whaaaaat the hell is that?!"
"Dunno, but it's gonna blow! Take cover!!"
The four ran away, diving for anything to shield them from oncoming blast. Just as the Inventor managed to get behind a metal container attached to the building, a violent pulse of electrical energy shook the roof, and eradicated all other traces of the undead nearby. Keeping himself down for a few moments longer, he perked up upon hearing a... a woman's voice, one laced with concern and fear.
"Sister! Sister, wake up!!"
The Inventor situated the glasses on his face, readjusting it before picking up his shotgun. Loading the rest of the shells into it, he cocked the chamber before standing up, swiftly aiming the weapon forward at the source of the new voice, only to stop and lower the close-quarters rifle the second he witnessed the four alien figures.
The other three boys were now out of their own cover spots, their confusion as blatant and apparent as the Bounty Hunter's as they shared glances. Not one of the four Humans spoke a word, but their shock only flared when the blue alien horse continued to speak in their native tongue.
"Sister, please! Open your eyes! Move your hoof! Do something!!"
She pressed her hoof against the tallest, white-colored horse's barrel, a sigh of relief escaping her fearful tone as her eyes did a double-take when realizing she, her sister, and the other two horses weren't alone. When she locked her gaze with the Inventor, he could only blink in response and open his mouth to slowly utter out.
"What... the fuck...?"
Chapter 1: No Friendship Here
"Nay! Stay away, creatures!!"
Princess Luna kept her elder sister wrapped protectively in her grasp as she glared wearily, and weakly, up at the creatures that stood before her. They were not like anything she'd seen in her return to Equestria, nor in her time before Nightmare Moon. They were animals, she assumed, or at least, successors to a species much like Ponies are to the Horses. The four stared back at her, either in shock or in severe confusion and disarray, their weapons lowering as they took her as non-threatening compared to what they've been through. After a moment, the one with the heaviest-looking weapon shouted.
"What in the actual hell is this?"
The others then questioned further.
"Are those horses?"
"The fuck is up with their colors?"
"Are those crowns? What are they, magical talking horse Princesses?"
Luna fumed at being called a Horse, but kept her tongue sedated of insults. It was of little doubt these apes were confused, and have never seen the likes of her and her sister, but she still protected her sibling with cautious gazes, struggling to ignite her horn to cast defensive spells.
She scooted back as one of them took a slow step forward, getting a better look at her and her elder sibling before turning and glancing at Twilight and Cadence, the former of the two barely able to comprehend and adjust to her new surroundings. She barely looked any more than catatonic, but was able to recuperate and blink herself back to reality. Sitting up, she rubbed her eye with her hoof, blinking again as she brought it back.
"A hoof...? But... we should be..."
She turned her eyes up to the humans that stood before her. They were different than the ones at Canterlot High. In fact, this whole place seemed completely off compared to the altered reality of the Kingdom. The foundation of it all, the way everything seemed more detailed; it certainly wasn't familiar like home. Even the humans that stood before her didn't bear the same aspects as the ones she knew beforehand in her last adventure through the mirror. Gone were the array of skin colors that matched the Pony they were in Equestria. Now, they were tanned, and perhaps a little bit taller than the average adult like Principal Celestia. The added weaponry was also a curious, yet intimidating change.
Groaning as she stood up, she ended up on her haunches as she still gathered her bearings. Rubbing her head as a fleck of embers drifted past her vision, she watched it go, tracing it all the way to a horrific sight.
"Sweet Celestia..."
A burning and collapsing city greeted her as her eyes got their focus back. Screams and sirens echoed from down the streets, and even passing the hotel she appeared on top of.
'Wait a minute...!'
She stood up, ignoring the queasiness in her stomach as she looked around frantically, failing to notice Celestia and Cadence now coming back to the land of the living as well.
"Where's the mirror?!"
Luna's ear flicked as she, too, turned her head to and fro. Their only means of escaping this plain of existence was nowhere in sight, and it made her breath hitch in her throat as an imminent instinct of danger pumped blood through her veins harder and faster from her heart.
In all this time, the four humans had formed up before them, watching with curious eyes as they moved and spoke like... well, them. Sharing several concerned looks with one another, all of them flinched when hearing a sound behind them that made their blood run cold.
*SLAM... BASH... SMASH*
The Inventor swiftly turned around, widening his eyes as he saw the door to the rooftop they entered from shake and tremor from the pounding hands and fists coming up against it. With every hit, it bent and shifted outwards, letting the inhuman screeches of the undead escape through the cracks. Backing up towards the Ponies, Twilight helped Cadence up as Celestia drearily opened her eyes, as if she was coming off an anesthetic after surgery. The Bounty Hunter looked down at the Ponies, eyeing them all before turning to the purple one.
"Can you four get up and run?"
Twilight looked up at him, nodding as Cadence was shaking off the daze. Celestia, however, jolted her long neck up when she saw the monstrous rotting humans reaching through the door at them, howling and roaring out their plea for flesh. Soon, the door gave way on the top hinge, making the rest of it come down on the concrete. The horde spilled through the doorway, falling on one another and shambling back to their feet to rush at the group of eight. Luna, Cadence, and Twilight backed away from these monsters as the Bounty Hunter grabbed Celestia by her neck ornament, yanking her to her hooves.
"Move it, horse lady!!"
He shoved her along as they all booked it without question towards the slope turning into the hotel's parking garage. The Engineer, Inventor, and Bounty Hunter led the group, the Scientist following in the back while the Princesses were in the middle. He turned back and fired at the swarm, putting holes in a few of the once-living humans' heads before rushing back after the others. Split up into pairs, the Princesses stood closely by the humans they escaped the roof with as more of these rotten counterparts were bleeding from every section of the parking garage.
Luna, with the Engineer, shaking stood firm to defend herself, though didn't need to, as with the firearm, the Engineer also had a kitchen knife acquired from the hotel's buffet on the third floor. He gashed a living corpse's face in half before stabbing it into another one's head. Gasping as they were surrounded, he acted quickly to get him and the blue horse thing out of harm's way.
Twilight and Cadence stayed behind the Scientist and the Inventor as the latter shoved one of the damned humans to the ground, wrestling with another till his companion blasted it through the eye. Taking out his own acquired melee, the Inventor cleaved a fire axe through a third necromatic being, leaving it behind as they backed up away from the horde lumbering towards them.
Celestia, still trying to snap herself awake, could do nothing with her experience as the Bounty Hunter was expertly holding back the line that was crawling ever so closer to them, dropping the dead like flies in a bug zapper. When he ran out of ammunition for the Glock 22, he ushered the largest horse Princess of the four towards the doors behind them, where everybody else converged and retreated to.
The Engineer shoved a shellshock Cadence through the entrance as the rest of the Ponies followed after. A rogue undead sprinted around the corner in pursuit, but was blasted to bits by the Inventor before the Scientist slammed the doors shut. Buying them mere seconds, they raced down the hallway, the Princesses all panting and scared beyond what anypony in their world would ever see. They didn't understand what was happening, and the danger and threat of a mortifying death kept them going blindly with these tamer humans, as they seemed to oppose these monsters that wore their faces.
Slowing down as more of these undead creatures were in the hallways, the Scientist strode forward, firing once ahead before turning and doing so again behind them, taking out two of the thinned crowd. The Engineer stabbed his knife through a dead man's skull, losing it as the body dropped. The Bounty Hunter, seeing more coming down the steps, fired at them once he reloaded his weapon, popping their heads like melons. Seeing only one more in their path, the Inventor grabbed another fire axe from its casing, and literally threw it at the last walking corpse. With every obstacle out of the way, the Inventor, putting his hand on Celestia's back, pointed ahead at a room.
"There! Get to the Security Offices, now!!"
Not needing to be told twice, every living soul sprinted for the finish, hopping inside the room and shutting the door just before the horde at the parking garage got in. With their trail masked without sight, the group was finally able to breathe as the horde either split up, or went past the Security Offices. As a just-in-case procedure, however, the Engineer and Bounty Hunter siblings worked together to barricade the door as quietly as possible, using server racks, empty ammunition cabinets, and a trash barrel to block the only way in and out of the offices of security. Once they had the last bit of the barricade set up, they slumped away, exhausted from the run for their life.
The Inventor, leaning against the wall, looked around at everyone.
"We all still got our fingers and toes? Oh, and, erm... hooves?"
As if to answer that question, the Scientist turned his attention to the four Princesses, who were trying to console one another after having escaped from the most horrifying experience of their life. Walking over to them, he didn't care that they reeled and twitched away from them. He needed to make sure.
"Are any of you bitten?"
None of them spoke up, though Celestia was forced to look at him as he put a hand forcefully under her chin.
"Hey, look at me! Are you bitten? Scratched? Anything?"
He checked over Celestia, top to bottom before moving to the others, not caring once again about consent. Once he was sure they were fine, he sighed, looking back at the others.
"They're clean."
"Clean?"
The Bounty Hunter ushered to them.
"What the hell even ARE they? Fucking techno-colored horse-thingies?"
"Excuse you!"
Cadence returned his narrowed stare with her own, frowning at the red-clad human disappointedly.
"We are Ponies, Mr. Tall Red Creature. Please stop calling us the h-word."
The Bounty Hunter rose an eyebrow at the 'Pony' referring to the word: Horse as the 'h-word'. Still fuming and confrontational, Luna spun around to face the four humans.
"Wh-What in EQUESTRIA is GOING ON??!! We come to your land to spread magic and friendship and we are greeted to death and chaos of the worst degree?! Explain yourselves!"
The Engineer walked past them as the Inventor rose up his hand.
"Hey, cool your jets, star-hair. We're not that informed on this, either."
The Bounty Hunter shook his head as he rested his arm on one of the barricade's shelves.
"We were attacked this morning in our respective hotel rooms. We don't know what's going on. It's like the whole hotel had gone insane. We were lucky to find these guns on the officers that have already died in the lower levels by those... things."
The Scientist rolled his eyes.
"You don't have to sugarcoat what they are, Raymond. It's clear to anybody that they are the undead."
The Bounty Hunter scoffed.
"Yeah, but actually saying that they're 'zombies' is ridiculous, Will. This isn't any damn game or movie."
"I wouldn't be too sure, brother."
The Bounty Hunter and Scientist turned to the Engineer as he was staring up at a TV hanging on the wall. On it was the Channel 6 news, and the subtitles were enough to make the Inventor snatch the remote and turn up the volume. The Princesses, seeing their sudden alarm, joined them. At first, they marveled at the advancements they made with simple screen technology, especially Twilight, who had a lab full of the most advanced Equestrian technology of the modern era. Soon, curiosity and wonder turned to horror as they heard, and saw, what was before them.
["-government has started to do something this on-going revolt. However, the politicians--"]
"What the hell? They're calling this a REVOLT?"
The Engineer took the remote, flipping the channel to an Emergency News Coverage channel, where they were outside on the streets a little ways away from the hotel.
["The number of deaths in the northern sector of San Francisco already exceeds 10,000. The prefectural governor has declared a state of emergency-"]
[*BANG*]
Everybody and everypony flinched as the camera moved at the sound of gunshot, focusing on the officers unloading their own handguns into the moving bodies inside body bags.
["That was gunfire! Just now, the police opened gunfire! Jeffery, what are they shooting a-"]
["MRRREEEEAAAAAAHHHH!!!!"]
The camera shook before falling to the ground, the camera guy getting tackled to the ground while the reporter screamed and thrashed as multiple of the undead forced her onto her back, dogpiling on top of her in front of the camera and turning her into a living bundle of meat ripe for the taking.
["NO!!! GET OFF OF ME!!! GET AWAY!!! HEEEEEEELP!!!"]
After the camera was kicked around a few more times, the feed suddenly went to static, then transferred back to the studio, where a shaky news anchor woman was handed another document. Gulping, she steeled her nerve as she turned to the camera.
["T-There's been some sort of problem. F-From now on, we'll be broadcasting from the studio here. As you can tell, the situation outside has become grave. We advise you please stay in your home unless it's absolutely necessary to come outside. Once it's safer outside, we'll bring you more information about the on-going situation."]
The Ponies in the room were frozen stiff at what they saw, and to an extent, so were the four humans, but that didn't stop the Engineer from flipping the channel again.
["This unusual phenomenon has spread rapidly throughout America and has yet to be brought under control. The government authorities have evacuated the White House and will relocate to a command center on-board an aircraft carrier. There are reports that this transfer is in preparation for the possible use of tactical warheads. We have currently lost contact with Moscow. Berlin is in flames, and while France has maintained order, there are reports of lo-o-o-o-o--"]
Static rolled over the screen as the Engineer started flipping channels again, finding each one to be just the same. The other humans were either wide-eyed or blankly staring forward, the realization settling in quickly.
"Jesus Christ... This is happening EVERYWHERE..."
"The whole world had gone to shit in less than four hours..."
The Bounty Hunter took off his hat, putting his hand up on his forehead as he sat down. The Princesses, mortified by what they heard and witnessed, could only share their sympathies and fear with these young human stallions. What they've just experienced is happening in greater ferocity all across this Kingdom and others. Celestia closed her eyes, not wanting to imagine something like this happening back on her soil. Her little Ponies, reduced to monsters by a trivial parasite that may as well be spread through a cough. The Engineer put down the remote, licking his lips as he wanted to vomit. Everything was in shambles, the home he knew was no more, and to top it all off, people were f***in EATING each other!!
"This has got to be some sort of goddamn trick..."
Cadence walked up beside him, her eyes giving a caring aura as they stared up at him.
"S-Surely this won't go on forever. Things would get right back to normal in no ti-"
"No..."
She turned to the Scientist as he was leaning on a desk in front of a window.
"Nothing about this situation gives us the notion that things are going to return to normal. It's a pandemic... No, it's worse than that. It's an apocalypse."
Celestia opened her eyes, looking towards the Scientist as he hung his head.
"A pandemic has begun consuming every ounce of life on this planet, human or otherwise. The same disease that's affected people here is spreading throughout the world, like the Black Death from the 14th Century on steroids."
The Inventor peeked through the window's blinds, seeing the shambling bodies outside in the hallway, the numbers thinned from the earlier onslaught.
"But unlike that disease, this one doesn't kill hosts. It... transforms them, transmitting the disease and perpetuating itself inside the ones it converts. Even if it's only in the hotel, or in the city, there's no doubt the world would suffer, and things would change."
He turned away from the window, ushering to the undead outside.
"Hell, I'm not even sure if these bastards even decompose. Science doesn't work, nor explain why dead are coming back to life and eating people."
Twilight nodded in agreement. She always thought that Zombies were fantasy, a thing of somepony's disturbed mind. Seeing them now, and rationalizing their fundamental existence, the Inventor was 100% correct when he assumed that science wouldn't be on their side. The Bounty Hunter stood back up, putting his hat back on his head.
"I doubt that any of that shit matters now. We need to get out of the hotel. The longer we stay here, the more of those things are gonna come, and we don't have enough ammo or weapons to fight an army."
He glanced towards the Princesses, staring at them before facing them fully.
"So... who are you four? You don't look like you're related to this outbreak. Wanna explain why four horse things came falling outta the sky in a flash of electricity?"
Celestia rose an eyebrow at being called a horse, sighing as she ushered to herself.
"I suppose introductions are, indeed, in order. My name is Princess Celestia. I am one of the two co-rulers of the Kingdom of Equestria. The pony you see beside me is my little sister: Princess Luna. Together, we govern our Kingdom full of Ponies and raise the sun and moon."
The Inventor blinked before turning around.
"Wait, you RAISE and LOWER the sun and moon?"
Luna nodded, facing the side to show her Cutie Mark.
"That is correct. We discovered our talent for doing such feats and earned our Cutie Marks in the process. These marks on our flanks show our special talents. As with mine and my sister's, you can see what the sun and moon emblems represent."
She pointed to Twilight and Cadence as the humans either had risen eyebrows, or deadpan stares.
"The first here is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, also known as Princess Cadence. She governs a branch of Equestria known as the Crystal Empire, and is in charge with managing and spreading the element of love throughout her Empire and our Kingdom. The smallest of us is the newest Princess of Equestria, crowned the Princess of Friendship: Twilight Sparkle. I can assume that you'll guess what her purpose is."
Silence was her only response as the four boys stared back at her. After about five seconds of that quietness, the Inventor looked down, then shifted his attention to his allied neighbors in this hotel.
"So... Um... Did... anyone have anything on them?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, are we sure we're seeing this? Have we checked? Are we sure we all didn't get really fucked up and pass out in the broom closet at the end of our floor?"
That comment actually elicited a giggle from Celestia as she brushed her wing up his back.
"If I were a hallucination, I do not think you could physically touch me, no?"
He stepped away from her as she retracted her wing, closing her eyes and focusing her horn to channel her magic, but something went wrong almost immediately. Not only did her horn fizzle out, but a splitting headache stopped her from the attempt just as fast as she started. Hissing, she rubbed her head as Luna came up to her side.
"Sister? What is wrong?"
"Gh-... My magic... I cannot conjure it..."
Twilight nodded.
"That's to be expected. I saw all of it get ripped from us when we passed the barrier. The same happened to me when I went through the mirror to Canterlot High, though it wasn't that... painful last time."
The Bounty Hunter gave a quizzical look as he heard about them wielding magic. Shrugging, he figured talking horses had to be magical as well.
'It's like every little girl's dream to have one of these things, after all.'
Shaking his head, he put a hand on his hip.
"Well, my name is Raymond. Raymond Seraph. The guy in blue over there's my little brother: Roland."
Roland, the aforementioned Engineer, waved to the four silently as the Inventor stepped up next to Raymond.
"Name's Nate Schmidt. Right now, that's all you need to know. I don't trust anyone who hasn't earned it, so you got a long way to go before you're alright in my eyes."
The Scientist smacked Nate as he came up next him.
"Don't be an ass, you fool."
He turned to the Ponies.
"I'm William Snow, a member of a big family in San Francisco. We run a company just across the bridge outside of the main city. It manufactures our chemistry, biology, and general science to any smaller business wanting to make a contract with us, and give us new projects."
William looked back at the static-rolled TV, then to the girls once more.
"It seems you're stuck here with us for a while. If you wanna come with us, we'll give you safe passage."
Celestia smiled.
"I thank you for the gesture, Mr. Snow, but I'm afraid our adventure leads to more than just surviving. We need to reach the mirror that sent us to this place."
"Mirror?"
She rolled her eyes.
"It's a long and, quite frankly, emotional story that I'd rather not get into right now. In short, it has the power to jump through space and time to alternate dimensions of Equestria, either in the style of your kind or my own."
She ushered a wing to Twilight.
"My former-student: Twilight Sparkle, has a certain map that calls for Ponies to go to specific locations and solve friendship problems. The most recent play it's made is summoning my sister and I, Princess Cadence, and Twilight herself to the mirror we used to come here."
Nate scratched the side of his head.
"So, what? You're here to spread joy and friendship to all who will listen? Sorry to say, priestess, but you ain't finding no friendship here."
He picked up his shotgun, loading it with shells.
"Though it may prove to be very valuable in the next few days..."
Raymond slipped his pistol under his belt as he hummed.
"The mirror..."
"Something on your mind, brother?"
He turned to Roland as he walked up to him, the former in thought before voicing his concerns.
"That mirror could very well be the only way out. If the world is broken and doomed this early after an pandemic hit, we may not survive here forever. Things could get even worse here, and mutations of those walking corpses aren't off the table, either..."
Nate, William, Roland, and Raymond all turned to Celestia, whose ears folded back in concern to what bringing them with do in terms of repercussions. She wanted to help them. She did, but if she recklessly made that decision, she could break Equestria, too, or worse, spread this contagion over to her Kingdom.
'That cannot happen...'
Biting her lip, she locked her gaze with Raymond's, standing her ground as her sister, Cadence, and Twilight were behind her.
"I... wish I could say there was an easy decision, or solution to your dilemma, Mr. Seraph, but as I'm sure you've already assumed in your pondering, if there was even a sliver of a chance that this... viral infestation could travel between interdimensional means, you wouldn't wish it to invade otherworldly Kingdoms, would you not?"
Raymond's eyebrow twitched as he looked into Celestia's eyes, reading what she was conveying in her sugarcoated words. They couldn't come with her. If they did, they risk spreading this... zombie-ism to their Kingdom on the other side. Given that they were Princesses, they may very well govern not only Equestria, but have a foothold in other parts of their world as well, and thus, have to look out for them first before Raymond, his brother, and his other acquaintances.
"..."
Roland put a hand on his older brother's shoulder, giving him a look that said it wouldn't be worth it to travel to this 'Equestria' if it meant wafting off the infection onto its inhabitants. For a moment, Nate questioned whether or not the same sort of situation would apply to the Princesses, but since they were magical or whatever, he doubted it mattered in their cases. He wasn't even sure they could get infected.
Still, he didn't want to chance a bite on any of them. Every last man and woman is needed to survive this, along with a shit load of guns and weapons. Taking a breath, he propped his leg on the corner of a desk as he looked to everyone.
"We can worry about that later. If we really are doomed to die, I might as well die doing something right before kickin' the bucket. You four Ponies know where this mirror is?"
Celestia tried to conjure magic once more, but only got another headache.
"Unfortunately, I cannot cast any spells to track the presence of the mirror. However, all is not lost with that objective."
Twilight nodded in agreement.
"She's right. If this world doesn't have magic, then we could not function properly. However, while our horns cannot generate magic, our bodies still contain some of the magic from our world, which means, like anypony from our world, we can innately sense magic."
Raymond rose an eyebrow.
"You mean like some organic metal detector for magic?"
Cadence laughed at his quip of a question before nodding.
"It doesn't quite work like that, but to avoid any confusion on the more direct details, you could say that."
"So where is the mirror now? Is it inside the city?"
"Well, that depends. Where are we now?"
William pointed up at the security monitors. More specifically, the one that shown the entrance.
"We're in the Geary Parkway Motel in the Inner Richmond District, which is in the northern section of San Francisco."
Luna hummed as she trotted about the room, trying to pick up the direction of which the strongest signal of magic was coming from.
"I do not have any specifics, but if my instincts do not deceive me, I believe the source of any potential magic is due east of this current location."
"East?"
Nate brushed his chin before further questioning.
"How far east?"
"It's not an accurate assumption, like I said, but I can only assume an estimate of about twenty miles."
Roland widened his eyes.
"Twenty? That's further than the shoreline! We'll have to cross the bridge over Yerba Buena Island or use the ferry, and both aren't good options if people are trying to get out of the city."
William pursed his lips, contemplating the locations Luna could be sensing the mirror from.
"The only place I can think of that would be in the twenty-mile range, and be of importance is the University of California in Berkeley. It's either there, or somewhere in Chinatown or Uptown Oakland."
Raymond nodded.
"In either case, we have a big walk ahead of us, unless, of course, someone has a vehicle stored somewhere."
Nate glanced towards the wall, his eyes moving around the security lockers till one of them, halfway opened, had something shiny inside. Walking over to it, he reached in and pulled out a set of car keys. Judging from the fab, it wasn't even security. It was a SWAT truck.
'What was the SWAT doing here...?'
Thinking nothing more of it aside from a stroke of good fortune, he tossed the keys to Raymond.
"Here's your ride, Ray. Dunno where the truck is, but it's something."
"Shit... If the keys are here, that means the assholes who worked in here didn't make it out."
William ushered to the door.
"Wouldn't that mean the truck is back where we came from?"
Roland grimaced, not liking where this was going.
"The Parking Garage... Oh no..."
Nate held his shotgun in both hands firmly as he narrowed his eyes.
"Yeah. Seems like we're gonna have to go back through the thick of it. Wherever we go, though, we need to stick together. Acting on our own is a certified way of getting your face eaten off."
The rest of the humans cocked their pistols, all of which loaded and ready to fire once more.
"Princesses, it's best you stay as close to us as you can at all times. If you can fight back without your 'magic', remember to aim for the head. Anything else will just slow them down, but not kill them."
The four Alicorns nodded back in kind, coming together with them at the door as Raymond placed his hand on the knob. Looking back at the others to make sure they were prepared, he turned the lock and shoved the door open, discarding the barricade and quietly rushing out into the halls. Taking up the fire axe Nate threw before, he chopped the head off of a shambling undead in their path before moving forward, going towards the parking garage. However, it seemed as though Lady Luck was not on their side at the moment. The horde was still on this floor's parking lot, wandering outside and inside area before the garage itself. Ushering everyone to be quiet, he pointed to an outdoor fire escape. Moving along, the group had made their way to the staircases on the other side of the door and descended a few floors to evade the walking dead. Stopping about three floors down, roughly the second or third story, Nate leads the group out, aiming his shotgun down one path while William trains the pistol he has the other way. The Princesses file out after him, and the Seraph brothers take up the rear. As they make their way down the hall towards another entrance to the parking garage, Roland quietly mumbles to the four Alicorns.
"Just to ensure our safety, do not, under any normal circumstances, engage the undead. Refrain from attacking when the opportunity arises, as from our prior experiences show they react only to sound. If you make too much noise, their eyes will glow purple, and will always know where you are. Keep an eye on their eyes, and you will be fine."
Raymond stepped up on their other side, walking carefully around some crumpled papers and tickets.
"This is important, Princesses. On top of their odd shift in senses, the infected are powerful enough to break down a normal door, as you've seen in the parking garage up above. Once you get grabbed, it will be hard to get away, so tread carefully, OK?"
They nodded as the group managed to reenter the parking garage. Staying to the sides, they kept their footsteps and hoofsteps light, hoping that even the faintest echo will not draw any untimely attention from the beasts that lurk above and below.
"KYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!"
""""!!!""""
The four boys immediately grabbed the Princesses, slamming their hands over their muzzles and ducking under the ledge that looked off into the city. The Alicorns struggled for a moment, then heard the screaming outside.
"NO!!! DON'T BITE ME!!!"
Nate, who had Luna, leaned up to peek over towards the commotion, hearing plenty of the screeching of both the people and the damned souls that fell to this contagion. A group of younger folk, some even students, had alerted a fair bit of the horde that initially chased the four boys and the Alicorns. Without guns, or adequate weapons, they didn't stand a chance. A horrendous crunch on a girl's ribcage made Nate close his eyes as Luna's ears folded back. Nate, sitting back down, looked to the others. Twilight and Cadence looked as if they wanted to intervene, and to an extent, so did Luna, but Celestia knew very well they couldn't save them. She, like Raymond, braced for the horrific noises that would assault their ears.
"NO!!! STOP!!! SOMEONE, PLEASE HELP!!!"
*CRUNCH*
"OOOWWWW!!!"
More screaming and howling came before the silence was only met with the dead feasting on their freshly-made corpses. For a time, the group of eight sat there, silent and still. Twilight wanted to scream, to call out and yell at the boys for letting those people die, but she paused. Roland's hand, which was still over her mouth, was shaking. She turned her eyes up to him, seeing a blank expression that didn't even need emotion to tell the anxiety and fear laced in his eyes. The other boys shared similar looks, but some were more nerved than others, and slowly, they let go of the Princesses, standing back up and looking over the rail.
"Jesus..."
"This is getting bad..."
Raymond walked by them, patting Roland's shoulder as he moved along.
"C'mon, let's keep moving..."
Twilight and Cadence didn't budge. At least, not until Luna and Celestia ushered them along with a bit of force. No matter how much they wanted to protest and intervene, they knew the elder Princesses had experience with war, and moreover, sacrifice. They, on the other hand, were still fresh to their roles, and had yet to experience an all-out war. This plague may as well be their first.
Descending down another level, Nate stopped the group as he peeked around a corner.
"We got some of the horde here... No purple eyes, though."
He leaned back and motioned them to lower their noise and their pace.
"Go slow. They may not be able to see you without the purple eyes, but they know when someone's footsteps is off-pattern. Keep yourself paced slow."
They all nodded, moving in a single file behind Nate as he slowly walked out. Keeping their steps spread out and gentle, they quietly approached and melded with the horde, swallowing their voices as several grunts, shrill hisses, and squeaks from the dead unnerved them. The boys had their guns trained on every nearby corpse coming and going, and the Princesses were either tensed up, or shaking like leaves. Twilight almost gave them away when a shambling body brushed past her, but she was quickly silenced when Cadence stuffed a hoof in her mouth.
William cringed. There was no way they'd be able to get to the SWAT truck undetected if they kept going like this. Looking around, he spotted a brick by his foot. Picking it up, he turned himself and threw it to one of the cars off to the side, breaking the side window.
A collective cry came from the small-numbered horde, and they fast-walked towards the noise. They beat on the car limply, still unaware of any Human or Pony presences. Once they all passed them, the group was now able to move freely. Finally getting down to ground level, it seemed as if they had a chance to get through unscathed and without having to fire a single bullet.
*BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP--!!!*
That is, until Celestia's rump hit the side of a car's fender and set off its alarm. The echoing beeping of the alarm made the four humans go pale, especially when they heard the howling of the dead from every direction.
"OoooooOOOOOH SHIIIIT!!!!"
Chapter 2: Nightmare in San Francisco
"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..."
"Go, go, go, GO!!!"
Nate hustled Luna and Cadence down the street as Roland sprinted up behind them, the four turning the corner to Hyde Street just as another spark, this one louder, came from the flaming bus they left behind. Forcing the two down, Nate huddled them together, keeping his arms around them as Roland dove past them.
*KRA-BOOOOM*
A torrent of pressure and flames barely licked around the corner as the bus exploded, making the four flinch as Roland covered his head. It wasn't long before the worst of it past, pieces and bits of the bus flying everywhere around Geary Street near the intersection. To say they made it farther than anyone before that thing blew up was an understatement. Polk and Larkin Street were both littered with building rubble and cars piled up on top of one another on both ends of the street. They should have died, or at least, one of them shouldn't have made it, but they did.
Nate looked back towards the corner, seeing the light of the fire still shining brightly, even though the bus was a few street corners away. Standing up, he motioned the Princesses to stay where they were. Taking a few steps to the corner of the building, he peeked around, only to suddenly reel back as half of the bus door went flying past him via another small series of combustions in the bus's engine compartment.
"Goddamn..."
Nate took a step out, heading towards the center of the street where he could easily dodge incoming debris if he needed to. Aiming his shotgun down the road, he saw the bus in shambles, cooking metal and rubber as the zombies inside were scattered all over the place. Pieces of flesh, bone, entrails; they hung everywhere, on every surface, all boiled or cooked black. The young Inventor grimaced at the sight, but kept his nerve as he turned to go back to Roland, Cadence, and Luna.
*SMACK-!!!*
"GAK-!!!"
Nate hadn't taken so much as a step before he was tackled to the side by one of the dead roaming nearby. Hitting the ground with it on top of him, his shotgun slid out of his reach when it fell from his hands, rendering him defenseless with the corpse on top of him. Holding back its head, he used his elbows to block the zombie's swinging arms. His strength evenly matched the undead nightmare, but he wasn't able to pull it off of him.
*click-click-click*
"SHIT!!!"
Nate glanced over at Roland, seeing him trying to frantically unjam his pistol.
"C'mon, C'MON!!! You piece of shit pistol!! Fuck!!!"
Nate turned back to the zombie as it almost got him by the crook of his neck, pushing back with everything he had. With no way to reach his shotgun, he was cornered on the ground, left to only struggle in vain as he would eventually tire. Luckily, though...
*SPLETCH*
That wouldn't come to be. Luna grunted as she jabbed her horn through the back of its skull, tugging the dead body up into range of Cadence's hoof. Bucking off the creature's head, the girls panted as Nate laid there, doing the same as he came but mere millimeters away from certain death.
"Are you OK...?"
He looked up towards the blue Princess, seeing her giving him a hopeful smile. Noticing her hoof, he grasped it, letting her help him up to a sit.
"Yeah... No bites. I'm fine..."
Roland growled as he smacked his pistol up against the wall, popping out the jammed bullet.
"Damn cheap police crap."
He looked over at Nate as the latter leaned over, picking up his shotgun.
"I'm so sorry. I couldn't-"
"It's fine... You couldn't really do much with a jammed pistol anyway. Not without getting too close."
Nate looked over his weapon, humming as he saw some wear on his shotgun as well.
"These guns have been used way too much without being cleaned. No wonder the pistol jammed..."
He looked back towards the bus, then down the other way.
"We need to get moving, and tread much more carefully. We can't afford to run into a horde, and the noise of the explosion's gonna attract a lot of them."
Luna trotted up next to him, looking around at the shops as the Inventor gave her a side eye.
"Where'd you learn to fight, Luna?"
"Huh...?"
"I've read about Princesses and monarchs through history books and, god forbid, fairy tales. Nonfiction and fiction depictions don't really suit you with the assumed role of a leader with a warrior's heart. Who taught you to buck up and kill when you need to?"
Luna gave another small smile, happy to talk about something that didn't involve their current predicament.
"My father. He knew, as a future ruler, I had to be able to make decisions... HARD decisions, for the betterment of my subjects' safety, alongside Tia."
She walked with him as they scavenged the road a bit.
"It was always like that. My father was a giant teddy bear if you knew him past the regal crown. Mother always called him a big, fluffy pushover, but the greatest of leaders have the longest of fuses, and we all know the greatest anger comes from the most pleasant of creatures."
Nate gave her that. He's seen a few happy-go-lucky individuals go completely ballistic when their buttons were pushed one too many times. Still, he gave Luna a short stare for a hard minute, trying to figure her out. He gave up on it when Cadence grabbed his attention.
"These... 'trucks'...?"
Roland shook his head as he came up next to her.
"These are cars. Same purpose with a different application."
Roland poked his head inside the broken window of the driver seat, frowning at the condition of the dash.
"This place looks deserted, and most of these vehicles have been destroyed one way or another. I don't think we can get a car out here."
Nate shook his head.
"I don't think we can get a car, period. We got lucky with that SWAT truck..."
Roland hummed in thought, looking towards the street signs. Pursing his lips, he perked up when a lightbulb went off in his head.
"Wait... Maybe not."
He pointed down Geary.
"There's car rental just down the road. A place called Hertz just up by Mason Street. If there's nobody there, we can probably find the keys to one of their display cars and use it to get to the museum."
Nate shrugged as he slung the shotgun over his shoulder.
"Better plan than none, Roland. Good thinking. We should be able to reach the dealer by nightfall, though, and I'd wager those cars aren't pumped with gas, so we'll need to find one nearby after we get it."
Roland pointed south as the Princesses looked up at them, these places going completely over their heads, as they've never heard of a car, nor a 'Hertz'.
"The closest one between here and the museum is Shell on Folsom."
"Right. We'll need to move quietly, and fast. No stopping for anyone. We get this done, we regroup either here or across the bridge, and we get the hell out of here. Everyone in agreement?"
Nate got a collective nod from both Roland and the Princesses with him. Despite the attentive posture of the rulers, Cadence couldn't help but feel worry for her older Auntie and her sister-in-law. She was sure they were in good hooves. Raymond and William were more than capable of dealing with the undead, but if the weapons jammed like Roland's did, they had the added risk of being completely defenseless and overrun.
Not to mention, there was no safe place in this city. That much couldn't be any more clear to her now than it did this afternoon.
Celestia only knows if both her and Twilight were safe...
{"It's dangerous outside!"}
Raymond growled as he tried to move forward, only to have another car cut him off. Punching the wheel, he looked to his sides to see if there was a way out of this mess.
'So much for turning down Gough... The entire city is stuffed here!'
All around the SWAT truck was row upon row of cars, all jammed on Market Street trying to find their way onto the bridge. Raymond had pulled the short stick and found himself smack-dab in a traffic jam, unable to get out without doing something illegal.
William had gone back with Celestia and Twilight, staying with them after covering the two with blankets to hide them. The blanket was lifted only by Celestia's neck as she kept Twilight close whilst looking about. She could see the upfront panic of the citizens firsthoof.
{"Don't get out of your car under any circumstances!! I repeat--!"}
Celestia noticed that even the authority figures that governed the people in force was afraid. She'd been alive long enough to see and hear the ticks in the expressions of all kinds of creatures, and these humans were a lot like Minotaurs, in a sense.
She turned her head forward as Raymond slid the window to the front open.
"We're not gonna get anywhere like this, guys. By the time we even get to the Museum, the sun would be coming up."
He pointed out the window towards the setting sun, proving his point on how slow they were going. William frowned as he peeked ahead to see how far it was to the bridge.
"I don't see our progress going any faster if we decide to go over the bridge ourselves instead of regrouping at the Museum. Odds are, there's no way around a night in this truck."
Twilight glanced up at Raymond.
"But, we only have three days to get to the mirror. If we get across before Luna and Cadence do, we would have lost the morning light by the time they arrive."
Celestia shook her head.
"No. We wouldn't just lose the morning. We'd lose the day as well. It would be evening before they would get across, I'm sure."
William nodded.
"She's right, Raymond. Given our current situation, regrouping will burn out a huge chunk of time. We need to think about getting these two to the mirror if we can't wait."
Raymond gave him a long, hard look before turning to the Princesses. Both weren't keen on the idea of leaving Luna and Cadence behind, which was understandable.
"Princess Celestia, how long would we have to wait if we failed to get you, Twilight, and the other two to the portal on time?"
"If we were to fail in reaching the portal, we would have to wait, at least, thirty days."
William rose an incredulous eyebrow.
"A whole MONTH? Given how panicked San Francisco is right now, I wouldn't be surprised if a few crazy bastards picked off everything in the stores for their own cultist communities."
Raymond shook his head as he drove forward, not giving room for someone to cut him off again.
"We can't risk it. We need to get to the mirror in the next three days. If we don't, then I can't guarantee the safety of the Ponies anymore. We're barely making it along on luck and bullets, and my gun's wearing out. It's not gonna last much longer if it isn't cleaned, and we don't have any proper gun oil in this damn tru-"
*SLAM*
The truck suddenly leaned to the side as a person ran into it, piled onto it by the undead that were lingering in the area. With a small horde converging through the left side of the street, Raymond ushered everyone to keep quiet amidst the screaming and panicking. He cringed as he watched the boy in front of him get torn apart, his face ripped open three different ways before the top part of his head was snapped backwards.
"Jesus... I hope Nate and Roland are having better luck than we are."
"Hrrr-"
*SMASH*
"NNNGH-!!!"
Nate's elbow went through the glass of the door as he busted open the window of the entrance to the car rental. Grasping the knob inside, he unlocked the door and forced his way in. Cadence followed him inside, the two looking around for anything of use. All around were cars on display, some fit for long distance travel, but some others based primarily on speed with little sturdiness in their design.
"Check the back offices, Cadence. There's got to be keys for these cars around somewhere."
She nodded, leaving Nate up front to look around and scavenging what she could. As the two continued to search the inside of the rental, Roland and Luna were outside, the latter leaning against the doorway they went in while Roland was looking out at a horde a few miles away.
"..."
"Do you truly believe you will die if we leave you behind?"
Roland looked back at Luna, who had acquired a sullen mood ever since that topic was brought up. In fact, she'd always felt that sorrow in her chest. These four creatures unknown to her, who barely even KNEW her, were putting everything on the line to escort her back home. To hear them say that they will fully accept death knowing they got her, her sister, Twilight, and Cadence back into Equestria... It touched Luna's heart, but rubbed her the wrong way. Roland wanted to lift her spirits, to boost morale so she would focus on getting to where they needed to be, but there was no point in lying. Being real and truthful was more important than lying to keep someone's faith.
"To be honest, Princess, I don't even know."
"You don't... know?"
He looked back at the horde.
"When I was up on the hotel's roof with the others, I remember seeing helicopters flying overhead. They were State Defense Force choppers."
"State Defense...? You mean your Royal Guards?"
"In a sense. They're a special outfit from our military that's split between all fifty states of the country. They operate with emergency management and homeland security missions. Most SDFs are organized as army, but air and naval units also exist. But... there lies a problem in itself."
He motioned out towards the city.
"They COULD be setting up evacuation sites to rescue all the non-infected individuals still trapped within the city, but with everything as it is... No."
He lowered his hand, shaking his head as he gazed back at the zombified crowd.
"There's no way they'd come all the way out to San Francisco unless they had a reason to. They're on a mission, most likely to secure any and everything important to government and the survival of the small percent of us that will get out alive. They don't have time to save us."
Roland pointed towards the left of the converging zombies, seeing a small portion of them suddenly have their eyes turn purple, but not glow. This indicated that they spotted someone that wasn't them. Screaming came from inside a store as a woman was pulled out by five of them.
"They're not even doing anything about that..."
Luna put her hoof up to her muzzle as she watched the poor woman get completely mutilated by the undead, her arm torn clean off as her stomach ripped open and her throat bitten out. Roland closed his eyes as the screams were silenced, reopening them with a darker look in his eye.
"No one can be bothered to help us, and eventually, our luck and skill will wear out, and we will eventually die."
"... And if you do not? If you succeed in getting me and my fellow monarchs home, and not perish by the teeth of these beasts...?"
He stepped away from the street corner, going back towards Hertz.
"Then we adapt, and we keep going."
He stopped by her, his eyes locked onto hers as he gave a deadly serious stare.
"That's the situation we're in, Luna. None of us like it, but we have to accept it. The world is experiencing the same thing we are. There might not even BE a safe place, anymore."
"So then... Where will you go after we are gone?"
"..."
He walked inside, leaving Luna to hang on that question. Roland didn't know the answer himself. If any sort of evac or SDF aid was a fluke, they might as well be screwed. Right now wasn't a good time to think about alternatives. They need to find the others and get to where they need to be. That's ALL that matters right now.
"Nate? How're we doing on a car?"
He came around the counter to one of the display cars, Cadence standing on the outside of the passenger side door as Nate was looking at the engine.
"We found the keys to this 2019 Malibu. It's not much, but it's the best we have right now."
"A Malibu? Does it have a good suspension?"
Nate shut the hood, walking around to the driver-side door and opening it up.
"Dunno. Don't care. We got a car, and that's good enough for me."
Nate took a seat inside the car as Cadence sat herself in the passenger seat. Turning the key, the ignition went up after a few seconds, starting the car up and rumbling the engine loudly. Hearing it purr and roar, the four knew the noise would attract zombies quickly.
"Let's go, people! Double time! We got just enough gas to get us to the Shell off Folsom."
Luna and Roland quickly ran through the rental store, the latter helping Luna in before running around and getting into the back seat beside her. Seconds after they did, Nate slammed his foot on the pedal, putting the car into drive and racing towards one of the windows on the main floor. Smashing through it, the group managed to get back onto the street as the horde turned to them, glowing purple eyes staring in their direction. However, the dead didn't come after them. After they were gone, the light in their eyes died away, and they continued roaming on. Nate noticed this, but didn't bother with it. They had a car, and now, they had a new objective.
And he only prayed they didn't die making this detour.
Chapter 4: From Bad To Worse
The dead of the night was abnormally cold for a late summer evening. It was quiet when it was supposed to be booming with activity. Where people used to crowd, cheer, and laugh together was now a baron wasteland with the occasional wandering corpse on the prowl.
Princess Luna could not feel any more uneasy and repulsed by the dead of the night. There were no stars in the sky, no moon. It was all clouded by the smoke and brimstone of burning buildings and homes. The beauty that once graced the hours after dusk was now ruined by this apocalypse of a deadly disease.
Princess Cadence saw no better. This city had little specs of love floating about like an aftertaste, something that once was. Wherever they were, either in the city, or passing by a neighborhood, it was the same. No one was around, but the love remained in small flakes. As Princess of Love, she couldn't help but shed a few tears for them. So many innocents robbed of their livelihood, of their loved ones, by this... raging pandemic. It showed her that there was no love here, not anymore.
Nate made the turn from Eddy Street onto 5th, heading down towards the only nearby gas station that was on the way towards the Museum. However, along the way, he began to slow. There was an inn three intersections away from the station. That alone didn't catch his eye. What did was the police car rammed into the side of it.
Roland spotted this as well, giving a side look to Nate, as if asking if he was sure. He nodded lightly back, stopping there and taking off the seat belt. Opening the door, he strode towards the police car, noticing that there was gas spilling from it.
'Shit... A risk that might not be worth taking, but...'
He shook his shotgun, feeling it clink in his grip.
'This is next to useless now, and I don't have any shells left...'
Steeling himself, he moved towards the car, opening up the back door and setting the shotgun inside. Looking around, he noticed the officer's body inside had no chance of coming back. His whole forehead was caved in by... something. Definitely something larger than what he could find around here. Picking through his holster, he blinked when he saw a familiar shine of something metallic and black. Taking the uniform away, he sighed in relief when he found the cop still had his Model 27 magnum on him.
'Thank god...'
He took the holster along with the gun as he scavenged the car for all the bullets he could get with it. Once he had all he could reach, which was the weapon, along with enough bullets to reload the gun six times or so, he shut the door, leaving the worn shotgun behind and jogging back to the car. Climbing back in, he grinned as he showed Roland what he found.
"Huh... Nice..."
Nate rolled his eyes at Roland's lackluster reaction, closing the door and continuing onwards towards the gas station known as Shell. Pulling in, he found himself a spot that wasn't occupied by an abandoned car. Getting out again, the others accompanied him this time, wanting to stretch their legs after a moderately long drive.
"Alright... This place seems to have self-service, but hopefully..."
Nate approached the pump, looking it over before hissing in irritation.
"Dammit, I knew it. No good. All these pumps are self-serve only. We won't get any gas unless we put some money into it."
Cadence tilted her head.
"Money?"
Roland hummed as he walked to Nate's side.
"It's currency in our world. It comes in many different forms, but here in America, it's centered around little slips of green paper that have been stamped with certain numbers. Thing is, though..."
He shook his head after finding no alternatives himself.
"The money that we have wouldn't fill the car up to even a quarter. I'd wager that we all left it behind in the hotel."
Nate gritted his teeth as he pulled out his new handgun.
"And I'll be damned if I'm gonna go back there. Stay here, Princesses. Keep yourselves by the car and if there are any of those things shambling nearby, do not make any noise. We'll be back before long."
Nate walked back around the car, leaving them as Roland glanced at the two Ponies, pointing at the gas station itself.
"We'll be right in there if you need anything. If everything goes smoothly, we should be in and out real quick."
The two nodded, leaving Roland to follow after Nate as they began to converse with each other about this world and its many marvels. The gas pump itself was revolutionary, as they've only began to make the basic pumps for extracting such a resource in their world. Even the car filled them with wonder, as it resembled that of a train, but without a set trail to follow. Standing up on her hind legs, Luna peeked at the screen that was showing various messages, her curiosity peaked when it asked about a Shell gift card, or if she were a member.
"Erm, no, silly machine. I am not a member of your establishment."
Cadence rose an eyebrow, watching her Auntie interact with the pump, even poking it a few times.
"Machine? What is this... PIN you speak of?"
The pink Alicorn let out a small giggle as she walked around the car, looking around at the surroundings to see what kinds of shops were nearby.
Little did they know they weren't alone.
As for Nate and Roland, they entered the shop quietly, not even hearing a bell ring upon entry. Keeping their guns trained forward, they moved on towards the counter. Nate, keeping Roland covered, stood in the front as the younger Seraph went around and pressed the button for the drawer to eject. As expected, nothing happened.
"Shit. The power's out."
Nate gave him an incredulous look.
"The fuck you talking about? The lights outside are on."
"There's no electricity going into the register. I can't get it open without a key."
Nate rolled his eyes as he reeled back and hit the back of the register, popping the drawer out as the keypad's buttons went flying into Roland's face. The latter of the two boys flinched back.
"J-Jesus, Nate!"
"Oh, quit your fucking bitching. Just grab the money so we can-"
"GAAAAAHHH!!!"
Both boys perked up at the sound of a feminine cry of alarm. Rushing out before Roland, Nate shoved the door open and ran for the Ponies. Roland lagged behind, grabbing a few twenties from the register before following after them. Nate turned the corner to the pumps, only to stop when he spotted the source of alarm.
"What the HELL is that?!"
Standing before the two Princesses, lumbering slowly towards them, was a taller infected woman. She held every key detail that a normal zombie would have, but her head... her BODY; it all covered in blisters. Surrounding her head was a miss-mash of molded skin hardened by age. It only grew around the head, indicating that this was some sort of mutation meant to conceal it from attacks. Two eye holes allowed the thing to see, though its only purpose was to show the purple eyes. It had no visible mouth, but its blistered body was so big that it could pull anything apart, anyways.
Nate took a step towards it with the Model 27 aimed at its shielded head, but stopped when he noticed the fresh corpse in its grip. It looked as if the body was just recently bitten into, and by recently, he figured literal seconds ago. The blood was fresh, and so was the wound.
Dropping the body as it began to twitch, the large infected continued to slowly storm towards the Princesses as they moved around to the other side of the car. Aiming his pistol at it, Nate fired a shot at its back, getting its attention as the body the thing threw down began to writhe. The behemoth of molded blisters turned around, letting Nate see its front side. The woman's jaw was split open, and forced down towards her chest as the infection that covered her head was coming OUT of her mouth.
'Wait... Is all that mold... vomit?'
"K-Krrrreeee...!!"
Nate looked down at the body the larger infected dropped, seeing it melt and dissolve both skin and clothing. Looking back up at the taller zombie, the thing began gurgling on itself, vomiting out more mold that seemed to push the existing hardened bile towards the back of its head. With the wound being recovered by another blister caused by the vomit, Nate began to realize what's happening.
'Is it... regenerating...? Can that thing REGENERATE?!'
"Hhhhaaaaiiiiuuuk--!!!"
He looked back down at the bitten victim as it now began to sit up, sliding out of its skin as if it were a cocoon. The new 'thing' that stood up between him and the taller infected was now some skinless abomination. It had no arms, and its intestines were splattering onto the concrete around it. Its eyeless face looked around before giving off a sound, as if it were... smelling the air.
'Oh, fuck...'
"KRRRRAAAAAHHH-!!!"
Nate gasped as the skinless zombie dashed for him, moving faster than the normal freakshow wanderer. Lunging through the air with its jaws open, Nate barely had time to react. Luckily, he was saved from protecting himself, as the skinless beast was shot out of the air by Roland, who finally caught up.
"Roland! This thing! It's some kind of regenerating super-zombie!"
"Regenerating?! How are we going to kill it, then?!"
The two of them stepped back as the large zombie took a greater step forward.
"We're NOT! Up against this thing, our pistols are more useless than a broken condom! It'll regenerate the shots too quickly!"
Nate pointed to the gas pump.
"You got the money! I'll keep this thing distracted long enough for you to pump the gas. Hurry up, because those shots were pretty damn loud!"
Roland nodded, running around the tall zombie as it took a swing at him. Nate smacked it upside the arm.
"Hey! Focus on me, vomit head! Over here!"
He ducked back from the lady beast's second swing as Roland jumped and slid his way over the hood. Putting in the money, he punched at the buttons, glancing back at Nate every so often to ensure he was still alive, and keeping that giant undead freak busy.
Nate himself had ducked under the large zombie's swipe forward, something akin to trying to viciously grapple something. Rolling to the side, he aimed the Model 27 at it, firing at its face three times before hearing his gun click.
"Shit!!"
He bent himself to slip past a swinging arm, but gagged as the arm came back around and clobbered him in the side, forcing him to drop his small police magnum. Recklessly charging forward, he slammed into the bigger body, tackling it backwards with enough force to put it on the ground. Holding down the large monster's arm, he punched at the vomit that covered its face, chipping it away and tearing enough of it off to see her face. He reached for his gun and grabbed it just as a hand grabbed his neck, throwing him off the vomit-covered woman.
What Nate found interesting in the midst of this fight was the behavior of this new infected mutation. It wasn't trying to eat him. Sure, it was attempting to kill him, but it wasn't going for bites.
'If it isn't trying to eat me, how did that other guy get bit...?'
He didn't have the time to finish his thoughts, as the same hand that threw him off grabbed his head and tossed him into the side of the station's store.
Grunting, Nate pushed himself up, feeling the bruises under his clothing. Looking up at the dead woman, he spotted Roland putting the pump up. He jumped in the car and started it up just as he got Luna and Cadence inside. Turning the wheel, he aimed the back bumper at Nate and the vomit zombie, hitting the gas and speeding towards them.
Nate had managed to get away in time, if only by mere centimetres. The car they got from Hertz slammed into the tall monstrosity, crushing her up against the brick wall and busting off enough vomit to uncover its head again. Nate, seizing the opportunity, reloaded his pistol and fired all five bullets into the exposed head. Once the fifth and final bullet made its mark, the special infected finally dropped, the glowing purple eyes dying out as the head went limp.
Roland kept his eyes on the zombie, awaiting another move. When it didn't show signs of getting back up, he pulled forward, parking in one of the spots outside the store and getting back out. Raising a hand to let the Princesses know to stay, he eyed the body as he approached it, grimacing at its horrid appearance.
"Dear mother of god..."
"Yeah..."
Nate knelt down in front of it, poking at it with a twig.
"Poor girl... This must've been hell when she first changed."
"Changed? What even IS this?"
Nate circled the vomit casing around the head.
"A mutation, I'm sure. See all this? It was protecting the head. Every time we shot at it, the infected would throw up more, and seal the hole. I'd say a single bullet wound took about ten seconds to heal."
"I see... What caused this mutation? We haven't ever seen something like this."
"Hmm..."
Nate poked at the stomach, pressing on the matted flesh till he reached the stomach and upper intestines.
"It seems like the upper intestines and stomach is where most of this bile is coming from... If I had to take a gamble at it, I'd say this is the result of eating infected masses."
"Masses?"
He stood back, ushering down to the body as he turned to Roland.
"Contaminated food, it seems. This person must have had a meal that was tainted, somehow. That would explain the bile, and if the stomach is bloated, I wouldn't be surprised if that infected mass shifted the organ structure of the body, making it taller and stronger than the others."
Roland looked over at the other body.
"And that one?"
"Can't say. He was definitely bitten, but by what, I'm not sure."
"... Are you saying there are more mutations out there?"
Nate shook his head as he walked around to the driver side door, catching the keys when they were thrown to him.
"I'm saying ANYTHING could be out there, and most of it wants to eat US."
He opened the door, sitting behind the wheel and starting up the car again. Roland got in the passenger seat as Nate finally was able to turn the ignition.
"So you'd best buckle the fuck up, Roland."
Hitting the pedal to the floor, he mowed over some zombies that straggled their way over to the gas station from the noise alone. Getting back out onto the street, he turned northeast on Folsom, running the car to its safest limit down the road.
"Things are about to turn from bad to worse..."
