Problems of a Dead World

Chapter 8: Knock-Knock

"What in the hay was that?!" Applejack screamed as the lengthy barrage of bullets from outside ended.

Earl paused for a moment, turning his attention to the door. He knew exactly what the sound had been, but not why it had gone off. A massive number of reasons ran through his head, but none seemed logical. He shook his head for a moment, trying to clear his mind, and stood up from the cold cement floor of the armory. Cautiously, the human began to approach the panel. He was quickly relieved to find that it was still reading "secured" and breathed a sigh of relief.

At least they haven't made an attempt on the door... He thought.

Almost instantly after the thought echoed in Earl's mind, a massive pound was heard against the large metal door of the room. The human instantly jumped backwards and fell onto his back, slowly crawling away from the door. Seconds after the initial impact, another boom was heard against the door, causing Earl to stumble backwards further. Twilight glanced frantically between Earl and the door.

"What are they doing?!" She asked, terrified.

Each of her friends held the same terrified expression as Earl returned to his feet and stared imploringly at the door. Almost in rhythm with the other furious pounds against the cold steel of the door, another boom echoed throughout the walls.

"I... I don't know." Earl said in a distant, confused tone.

"Heave!"

Macintosh paused for a moment .

"Did y'all hear that?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Heave!"

"Y-Yeah, I reckon I did..." Applejack said after nodding to her brother.

Earl continued staring at the door as a rhythmic pounding against it continued echoing throughout the walls of the armory.

"Heave!"

As he held his position, staring at the door before him, realization hit harder than the soldiers pounding the door on the other side.

"Oh shit..." Earl said under his breath.

"What?!" Shining asked, glancing frantically between the door and him.

The rhythmic thumping on the door grew louder.

Earl backed a few steps away from the door to the armory, his eyes going wide. He swallowed nervously, his mouth dry from the terror that was entering his heart.

"S-Shining.... Mac..." He said, his voice more choked than ever.

"What?" Mac and Shining said in near unison.

"G-get the girls... and Get them behind something..." He said in an almost inaudible tone, nodding his head.

The two of them glanced between each other for a moment, processing Earl's request.

"NOW!" Earl shouted, his tone contrasting greatly from the almost inaudible commands previously said.

Macintosh feared Earl not, but the tone in his voice showed how serious the situation was. Without any further question, Macintosh nudged Applejack and pointed to a crate a few feet behind them, next to a shelf. Applejack nodded in return and briskly walked back to the faded-green crate, followed by her blonde-haired brother. Shining did the same with Twilight, taking her behind a stack of boxes on the other side of the isle.

Earl swallowed in terror yet again as he continued backing away from the door, the rhythmic pounding growing even louder. The deep, pounding, booms were now rocking his whole body, along with the fear racing through his mind. With a quick glance to his left, he noticed a few small firearms hanging on one of the many gun-racks lining the halls of the room. Quickly, he reached for the small gun which he could best describe as an Uzi. Pulling away from the gun-rack, he propped the small metallic device into his shoulder and readied himself. With one sharp breath, he pulled the trigger of the weapon, only to be met with a sharp click.

"What the..." He whispered under his breath.

The human pulled the gun from his shoulder and examined it. Almost instantly, he realized the absence of a clip in the weapon and quickly facepalmed before turning back to the gun-rack.

"So stupid..." He continued.

For a moment, he sorted through various clips scattered across the bottom shelf of the gun-rack. He cursed under his breath as he found only empty metal cartridges, and threw the empty clips on the floor. After a few moments however, he found a clip lined to the brim with small bullets, just waiting to be fired. With a quiet cheer of victory, he returned to his normal stance and shoved the clip into the bottom of the Uzi. From what he could remember, the weapon needed to be cocked before it was ready. Examining the gun for a moment, he found a familiar sliding piece of metal atop the device. With little confidence, he pulled the small, protruding metal backwards until it gave a click, signifying that the gun was ready to kill.

As the thumping continued, Earl gave one final examination of the weapon. Making sure the safety was off and that the clip was secured in the handle. With a sigh, he placed it back into his shoulder and dropped down to one knee. The harsh pounding continued, growing more audible by the second, until it was shaking the walls of the room. Earl's nerves were shot at this point, and sweat was pouring down his face and into his wounds yet again. He quickly wiped the beads away with the backside of his right hand.

"I love you Twilight." He said over his shoulder, looking down the sights of the weapon.

"I love you too...?" Twilight said in a confused tone.

Earl had fully readied his weapon, his finger just barely brushing across the finger.

"Heave!"

Thump!

Earl gave a sharp inhale, steadying the sights of his weapon. Too much more force and the door was coming down.

"Heave!"

Thump!

The gun quickly fell from Earl's shoulder as he exhaled nervously. He shook his arms for a moment, trying to regain his composure.

C'mon... It's only like, 20 guys... He thought.

"Heave!"

THUMP!

Earl quickly shook his head, dispelling any thoughts of backing down, and raised the gun into his shoulder again.

"Heave!"

The human behind the weapon raised an eyebrow. It had been several seconds and there was no thumping on the door.

"You're tired?! We don't fucking get tired! Keep going!"

Earl lowered the weapon from the shoulder as the voices outside continued.

"Fine! We'll do it later. GAH!"

A small, almost inaudible thump sounded at the door, followed by a pained scream.

"Sir! are you alright, sir?!"

One, single gunshot sounded from the other side of the door, followed by the sound of a body hitting the floor.

"You've got one hour, then we're at it again!"

Earl paused for a moment, his eyes dancing wildly across the door. The thumps had stopped, and if he had heard the voices on the other side correctly, he had some time. With a loud sigh of relief, the gun fell completely to his side, and he returned to his feet.

"Guys." He said, a relieved tone in his voice.

The four recently humanized ponies came out from behind their cover cautiously. Each of them instantly glanced towards the large metal door keeping them safe and noticed the large amount of lumps protruding inwards. Earl walked to gun-rack and placed the Uzi gently on one of the shelves, a slightly discouraged expression across his face.

"What's wrong?" Shining asked, becoming discouraged as well.

Earl sighed and spun to face his friends.

"I've got about an hour to learn, and teach you guys, how to use some of the most complicated weaponry you've ever seen." He replied.