Extraction

Hunk barreled down another corridor. It was starting to all look the same now to him, just like the Raccoon Police Department did. He was sure it looked decent before all of the chaos, but with every corridor being covered in blood and crawling with zombies, it was quite hard to distinguish one area from the other. At least this place had bright interesting colors. Interesting colors that he couldn't look at, as he was currently running past them, making them all turn into a blur.

Living life as a special agent was one of raw, uncomfortable, and unhappy feelings.

His sprinting pace began to slowly slow down as he began to think about what he was doing. He couldn't keep running away, running blindly into every room. Eventually he would be cornered by the zombies or something else. The place seemed to infinitely expand, a concept that was familiar to him after running down in the N.E.S.T Laboratory, a place that was akin to a maze. He made a mental note of everything that was happening.

1. Zombies are appearing at random locations, at random times, out of thin air, attacking anything they see.

2. Magical spells or something akin to magic was a concept here, and is capable of being lethal.

3. These ponies were also a threat, though probably because of miscommunication. They're not targets.

4. Weapons here were rudimentary. Magic is probably used more than technology.

Lastly, 5. He is the only human he knows of in this place so far that isn't touched by the virus.

Five things. In the training camps this was drilled into each recruit's head, and even the oldest of the special agents knew this concept very well. In any situation, you analyze it in five. Those things are your permanent notes. Run them into your head, never forget them. They will be your key into deciding your next decision. Whether in a social or combat environment.

Hunk looked around himself, analyzing each doorway. There was a very, very big problem however. Staring at the end of the corridor, there was no exit. There were four doorways, but when he ran past them he could see each of them were dead ends. He had caught himself in a corner. He continued to run until he made it at the end, before turning around, shotgun in hand.

There were atleast ten or so ponies who stopped a good fifty feet away, getting into a defensive position. They knew he was at a dead end, they knew he knew that as well, and they also knew that they were the ones with the best advantage. He didn't even raise his shotgun, just kept it at a defensive position, the barrel aiming below chest level.

He raised his left hand up in the air and yelled with an authoritative voice:

"Stop!"

The ponies stayed put, a look of confusion washing over every single one of their faces. They didn't expect him to talk. It almost seemed like Hunk and the group of guards stared at eachother for minutes, but it had only been for a couple seconds. Hunk began to think back everything that he had been trained to do.

Nothing prepared him for this. Hunk was programmed almost to do as he was trained, to do what had always worked. But he had never been caught in a situation where all exits were blocked, where something couldn't be resolved with a few swift pulls of a trigger. He had never been told by his commanding officers how to handle a situation like this. However, what the program that he had been put through did teach him, was a very simple rule.

Do everything you have to in order to get the mission done and survive.

"You've noticed the zombies, haven't you?" He spoke, his voice not changed from earlier, "We are not enemies. Those things appearing out of thin air are our enemies. This is a misunderstanding. We must work together in order to solve this issue."

"Why would we work with somepony that attacked our commander? Former commander, but still-"

"-It was a misunderstanding. Being chased around with spears at my back has caused me to do things that would otherwise be considered acts of terror. You cannot say you haven't played a role in my hostility."

"Perhaps, but-"

"-and if you would like to refute my offering of peace, we can continue with his interaction in a more hostile approach." Hunk raised his shotgun at them, "It's up to you."

Those words that came out of his mouth were something that he had never uttered before. Something that he had never told anyone before. 'Its up to you.' That phrase left all decision making out of Hunks hands, and left him in the dark on its process of being made. He felt powerless, out of control. Something he had never felt before.

Even when facing hundreds of enemies at once, hundreds of times bigger than he was.

Just another thing that was unexpected. The one leading the conversation with Hunk stared at him, obviously thinking about his offer, before nodding his head. The other ponies gave him a weird look, but were forced to agree with what seemed to be their squad-leader. "If you turn on us, you will be put down. We must find the Princess' and ensure their safety. If you want the benefit of the doubt, you'd help us in ensuring their safety."

A bodyguard mission, huh?

Well, atleast that was one thing Hunk was familiar with.