Chapters Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep
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[Sullivan Handley]
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*garbled* “-nd the casing?”
“Sealed, sir.”
“What about the detonators?”
“Primary and secondary detonators primed. Blue Pluto content stable.”
“Excellent, where is Dayton?”
“The far east si-” *garbled* “-ould be ready at any time.”
*silence*
“Dayton, have the charges been set?”
*Faintly* “Affirmative. The east side is locked down and Adam has finished preparations on the north and western ends. We’re he-“ *too faint to be heard* “-ndezvous at the complex. Whenever you’re ready Jamie.”
*silence*
“Do it.”
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3 Days Earlier…
“Daddy?”
“Yes?”
“Where is mommy?”
“Do you remember what I told you?”
“That she’s in Heaven where all the good people go?”
“That’s right.”
“Oh, okay. What about the man that hurt her? Is he in the place for bad people?”
“He will be, sweetheart.”
“Okay…”
“Did you brush your teeth and say your prayers?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Okay, lights off sweetheart. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Mkay, I love you daddy.”
“I love you too.”
The man lowered his hands, reached over, and planted a kiss on his beloved daughter’s forehead. Her wavy dirty blonde hair swept to one side has she removed the hearing aid from her ear and set it on the nightstand. She rolled back over and allowed her father to wrap the covers around her. She closed her eyes and let the warmth of her bed lull her into the deep recesses of sleep.
Her father quietly stood up and exited the room, taking care not to shut the door too loudly on his way out. He paced his way through the halls of his suburban home over to his bedroom and gave the door a light push. Nothing was out of place, nothing ever was. His daughter didn’t enter his room without his permission and no one else lived in the house. He set himself down on the edge of his bed and picked up the cut out section of newspaper clipping that was pinned to his wall. The thin paper held a picture of a beautiful woman with short brown on the front next to a short paragraph explaining her untimely demise.
Rebecca Dufraisne, 38, found dead in boxing warehouse. (1974-2012)
Rebecca Dufraisne was found dead in the Chicago industrial boxing warehouse on the east side of the city. She was discovered when one of the warehouse’s employees was tasked with investigating the cargo crate in which she was held when the box registered 140lbs. heavier than a previous measurement. Police authorities indicated that Rebecca was brought to the location post-mortem and had been killed off site from multiple stab wounds. As of now, no trace as been found to the killer or killers involved in her murder. She is survived by her husband and daughter.
The man on the bed buried his hands in his short brown hair and let out a shaky sigh. It had been almost 6 months since Rebecca had been killed and the days hadn’t been getting much easier. He envied his daughter in being able to continue her life so easily, but deep down he knew this wasn’t true. Why would she ask him about her every other week if she didn’t care?
Many men would have allowed themselves to fall into a drunken stupor upon losing their loved one. Perhaps they would end up with the wrong crowd and get involved with criminals, eventually leaving them to rot in a prison cell while their daughters were raised by some scum of a human being that was in all reality probably no better than the father himself. But he hadn’t aloud himself to stoop to those levels. Most of the insurance money collected after Rebecca’s death had been put toward his daughter, buying batteries for her hearing aid and other necessities. She had been partially deaf since birth and most of the time she communicated with sign language considering that, even with her hearing aid, the world was mostly muffled. Without it, she could barely, if at all, hear. This made him all the more aware of why he needed to stick by her side. He convinced himself that he had no time to grieve, that the job of being a full time father was more important.
He set his head down on his pillow and buried his face deep within the folds. He wasn’t tired, but he didn’t have the energy to do much else. Looking over at the bag next to him, he set down the obituary clipping that had never left his hand and unzipped it. Folders and various papers were neatly arranged for easy access. He pulled out a folder and removed the sheet labeled “Budget”.
Glancing over it he saw nothing of particular interest which, in this case, was a good thing. He hadn’t been over zealous with his spending, and the majority of his funds went to either payments on the house, groceries, or his daughter. In truth, the budget idea had been Rebecca’s; he found no need for it until her death. She had been the organized one, and had restricted him from making highly unnecessary purchases. Without her to watch over him, he had to learn to limit his excess spending, in favor of dealing with the more important tasks first.
“Daddy!”
The man discarded the paper and quickly made his way to his daughter’s room.
Probably another nightmare.
He threw the door open to find his daughter standing in front of the window, her figure obscured by the curtain. Feeling the weight of his heavy footsteps on the ground, she twirled around and faced her father.
“Something’s going on outside; hurry, come look!”
The father made his way over to the window and lightly moved his daughter aside. He filled her spot, gazing onto a peaceful suburbia turned into a field of horrors. Two story houses crumbled into debris and ash as seemingly randomized explosions engulfed cars, land, and human beings. The man retreated from the windows and turned to the frightened girl.
“I felt the shaking.” she signed to him.
He ran his hand across his sweating form, trying to collect his thoughts. Why was this happening? Had he not been wishing his beautiful daughter good night not moments ago? Was this the world’s way of telling them that there is no such thing as a good night? Was this his punishment for cradling her as she awoke from nightmare after nightmare and told her that “everything is going to be ok” when he hardly believed it himself? It didn’t matter. He had no time to contemplate any further; he needed to bring his daughter to safety.
“Put some clothes in your bag.” he signaled.
She nodded and proceeded to follow her father’s orders. The man bolted from his room and grabbed the bag containing the folders and papers, carelessly dumping it out. He filled it with two full sets of comfortable clothes as well as a jacket for the weather, not that the neighborhood wasn’t warm enough with flames dancing in the streets.
He opened the top drawer of his dresser and retrieved a sealed black box from within. With the nimbleness of a man fearing for his life, he fumbled with the combination until the box clicked open. Within rested a single nine millimeter pistol, loaded, but with the safety engaged. Inscribed on the inside cover, the words “Property of Felix Dufraisne” could be faintly seen. The gun had been purchased a few years ago from a firing range in the northern part of the city. He was no soldier, but he had enough sense of how to properly clean and maintain his weapon. He had seen the movies where mass catastrophes lead people to do dangerous things to others, and he wasn’t about to let a soul touch his daughter.
Felix put the pistol in a separate pouch in the bag and threw the entire pack over his shoulder. His daughter rushed in the room and tugged relentlessly at his arm, indicating the urgency of leaving. On the side of her face he could see that she had also made sure to grab her hearing aid. He scooped her up in his arms and made his way down the staircase as quickly as he could. A nearby explosion nearly threw him off his feet and made the child in his arms release a squeal in terror. He regained his foot and quickly ran out of the front door. The miasma of ash and burnt flesh flooded his nostrils in one fell swoop, causing his lungs to seize up and send him into a coughing fit. His daughter buried her face into his shoulder in an attempt to stop herself from doing the same.
Quickly deciding to head toward the city, Felix took off in a quick run, the smoke from nearby buildings preventing it from being an all out sprint. He stayed away from the burning homes, but didn’t carelessly throw himself out in the street to be hit by a burning car either. He navigated the burning remains of the street, being mindful of the young one in his arms. The extra weight forced him to slow down a couple of times to catch his breath. All around him, the remnants of his community fell to the ground in pieces of the structures that they once were. To his left he caught a glimpse of a house still standing amongst the rubble of its brethren. It wasn’t until the house suddenly erupted into a giant, gaseous ball of fire that he wished he had ran faster. The explosion swept him off his feet, prying the little girl from his arms and sending them both tumbling on the sidewalk, dazed, disoriented, and making his best effort to dodge the falling debris, he attempted to make his way over to his daughter, who was in no better shape than he was. She stumbled back and forth, unable to hold herself up long enough to get her bearings and locate her father.
“I’m over here sweetheart!”
She didn’t turn to him, his voice drowned out by her lack of hearing even with the aid due to the ensuing chaos in the streets. He had begun to inch his way over when a large chunk of debris landed between the two, separating them behind a wall of grisly flames. Felix desperately made his way around the fire, trying to locate his daughter through the thick cloud of smoke.
“Maxine! Max, where are you sweetheart?” he choked out. He could feel the heat dance around him, threatening to set him ablaze at any given moment. He crawled around relentlessly across the lawn, pawing at the ground for any sign of Maxine. With each breath he could feel the poisonous chemicals slowing pulling out the life from within his lungs. His eyes began to tear up, trying to rid themselves of the deathly fog and restore his sight once more. Even the taste of the disintegration of the world around him lingered in the back of his throat, reminding him that had no control over wretched filth and death that had begun to collect in the streets.
He clenched the grass in his fists and hoisted himself up to his knees continuing his search. Through the thick, accumulating haze that had begun to tie its noose around Felix’s neck, he spotted a small figure lying down in the grass. Mustering up whatever strength he could, he slowly began to drag himself over to the form. Around him he could still hear pieces of the house collapsing on the ground, sending hazardous chucks of wood and wall crashing in a fury of red rain. Looking up, he could see one of the artificial fireballs streaking its way through the smoke, its designated land spot being where Felix currently knelt. In one last desperate act, he lunged himself at Maxine. He clasped onto his daughter’s jacket, clinging toward what he believed be his only salvation as the fiery wreckage consumed the two forms.
Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep
I implore you to fabricate your mind in the flames from which it was born. A puppet walks amongst the men of everyday life, his hollow heart and mind set to replicate those whom he is so modeled after. Man has advantage over the puppet; the puppet’s strings need only to be severed for his body to fall limp upon the ground; for the man only falls to the dust when no other offers aid in his desperate hour.
Felix awoke from the inner recesses of his mind with a thunderous pulse to his heart. Air flooded the vacant space in his lungs, eager to perform its job within his body. The taste of the charred remains of his life and those that had been around him lined his tongue and cheeks, prompting him to release spastic coughs from the back of his throat. The heat that had encompassed his body had faded, the light breeze of his surroundings wrapping him in a cool blanket of wind.
Reluctantly, he opened his eyes. His face was protected from a violent array of sunlit bursts by the canopy of trees that swayed over his head. Patches of sunlight crept through the openings, reflecting off of his light skin. A comfortable layer of grass was flattened upon where his form rested. He sat up, feeling the tug of his bag that still remained on his bag. With stiff joints, he raised his body from its grassy bed, further taking in the drastic change in surroundings. The burning suburbs of Chicago no longer crumbled around him. Toxic clouds of smoke were replaced by fresh plumes of clear air with the scent of fruit lingering in them.
We didn’t make it. Felix and Maxine Dufraisne are dead.
He felt himself choke down a sob. He had failed the only remaining family he had left. He had failed his place as a father, a protector of his kin.
His eyes scanned lazily across the lively forest. At the very least, he would find his daughter in the afterlife and apologize for not being the adequate father she deserved. But as his eyes scanned the area around him, he saw no sign of Maxine. Was she still alive? Had she been left to succumb to the wraith of the mighty flames without his guidance? He slowly paced around, shifting piles of leaves to and fro with his hands hoping to catch a glimpse of her. His movements progressively got more aggressive, fear building up at the thought of being separated from her. By a stroke of luck, his hand brushed against an abnormal texture. Upon removing the leaves that covered it, he discovered it to be a shoe. He gradually reclaimed more and more of the figure from beneath the leaves until Max’s entire body was visible. Felix collapsed next to her and wrapped his arms around her, clutching the child against his chest. He rocked back and forth, ever grateful to be reunited with his flesh and blood.
The girl shifted closer to her father and embraced the warmth he brought her. Max opened her eyes and looked sleepily at Felix. She smiled at him and stretched before taking notice of the change in scenery, causing her smile to turn into a frown of confusion.
“Daddy, are we dead?”
“I-I don’t know.” he replied. In truth he didn’t, and he didn’t plan to lie to her on that matter. The serenity of the forest would make one believe that they were, but the pain he still felt in parts of his body was convincing him otherwise. He decided that the best way to confirm his slender hope of them being among the living was to attempt to find others.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m fine.”
“Turn off your aid for now and save the battery, okay?”
She nodded and removed the device from her ear before turning it off and depositing it in her bag. Felix scanned the forest and looked for any indications of civilization. He wasn’t an outdoors survival expert, trained to survive in the wilderness. He lived in the suburbs of Chicago, the need for outdoorsman-ship only extending to the adventurous vacations that where few and far in between. Money wasn’t the issue; he worked for one of the most influential pharmaceutical companies in the world, but being a single father with a deaf daughter had certainly outlined his priorities to a greater degree.
Wrinkling his brow, he stared intently at a section of the forest that had appeared to resemble a faint trail. Dirt had been seemingly brought to the surface, contrasting the vibrantly green grass that made up most of the forest floor. With few other alternatives, he motioned for Max to take his hand and follow him down the trail.
Dusk had begun to rapidly overtake the sky, turning the formerly bright blue atmosphere into a lavish mix of purple and orange. The party of two had been walking for close to three hours without a single sign of another person. Fearing he would loose the trail in the onset of darkness, he decided to make camp by a small rock formation that ran along the path. An onslaught of hunger and thirst swept over the two, quickly sapping the little energy they had left. Max tugged on her father’s jacket until he looked down at her. She made a “W” with her index, middle, and ring finger on her right hand and quickly tapped her mouth twice, indicating that she needed water. He nodded and mouthed the words “me too” back to her. He stood up and surveyed the area for a source of fresh water. By a stroke of luck, a small running stream was tucked neatly behind their rock campsite. He smile and waved Max over, but didn’t hesitate in taking a long refreshing drink while she approached. The water cleansed his throat of the soot that had been residing there for the better part of the day while Max knelt beside him and set her head in as well, removing the small black smudges that remained on her face.
When they were satisfied, they returned to the niche in the rock and bundled close together. The night had set in and the temperature and dropped considerably. Max retrieved her favorite scarf from her bag and gave it a twirl around her neck. Felix couldn’t help but chuckle. She never went anywhere without that scarf. It had been a gift to her from her parents two Christmas’s ago, and since her mother’s passing, it became a symbol that she was still with her.
Felix began to make himself more comfortable when he picked up a faint noise in the distance. Rather than the ambient noises of the forest that he had been listening to previously, these sounded like the noises of cheering and conversing. Sure enough with the lack of sunlight, Felix could see a glow originating from where it seemed that the trail began. He turned to Maxine and held out both of his index fingers and moved them in a circle as if pedaling a bicycle, the sign for “people”. She quickly sat up and together, they both began moving at a brisk pace through the wilderness, determined to find out were they truly were.
Within a few minutes they reached the end of the forest which overlooked a nearby village of sorts. Max began to walk out of the tree line but was pulled back by her father.
“Not yet.” he mouthed.
She nodded and crouched down by Felix. Slowly, they made their way through the tree line to get a better look at the town. Banners with the words "Running of the Leaves” had been strung up between buildings. In the very center of town, Felix could detect movement from multiple people interacting with each other, but upon closer examination, he found these not to be people but animals, small horses to be exact. They wondered around the town freely, with no sign of human beings present. He continued to watch intently, waiting for an owner to make an appearance, but none made themselves known. It wasn’t until Felix stepped out of the tree line himself that he picked up the sound of voices. More disturbingly, they appeared to be coming from the animals.
With the cover of night obscuring any fine details, they socialized, laughed and entered and exited the buildings with astonishing ease. Felix was fascinated by the display yet slightly terrified at the same time. He felt himself drawing closer, almost eager to see what else the town had in store for him, that was, until one of the equine beings stared in his direction, causing him to freeze on the spot. For what seemed like an eternity, neither of them moved. Instead they waited patiently for the other to make the first move. Suddenly, the equine shot into the air, hovering several feet above the roofs of the houses. Felix felt his heart rate and breathing spike. His pupils dilated, widening his field of view. With his fight or flight system activated, he turned tail and sprinted into the woods as fast as his legs could carry him. Without thinking, he scooped Maxine into his arms and dove into the safety of the dark woods. A quick glance over his shoulder showed that the equine had gained considerable ground; it was a mere ten or so feet from the tree line. He wove between trees and ducked under branches, anything to confuse what ever it was that was following him. He considered retrieving the pistol from his bag, but by the time he would be able to get it, the flying creature would be right on top of them. Instead he quickly slid himself and Maxine into a small ditch and pressed as hard as he could against its wall.
Within seconds the speeding equine passed over them, allowing Felix to get a momentary glance at their pursuer. He could see a blur of cyan mixed with a fusion of several other colors, but the rest of the figure was blended and distorted looking.
Several minutes had passed before Felix felt it was okay to breathe in with full breaths again. He slowly raised his head his head out of the ditch and was relieved to find no sign of the pursuer, but he wasn’t convinced they were entirely safe either. He decided that they would spend the night in the ditch and investigate the town from a safer distance when the sun rose. After all, they had the cover of the forest to their advantage.
“What was that, daddy?” Max inquired with a mixture of fear and concern imprinted on her face. Felix could only shake his head. He allowed her to rest her head against him while he positioned himself in the tiny ditch to be more comfortable. The raw fear and adrenaline he had felt when being chased proved to him above all else that they were still alive, but the strange land they had arrived in still remained a terrifying mystery. He could only hope that he could seek out the answers when the sun rose again.
Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep
“Warning. Warning. Pressure locks released. You are not authorized access to this zone. Security personnel have been notified. Warning. Warning. Pressure locks released. You are not authorized access to this zone. Security personnel have been notified. Warn—”
“I lost it over here!”
The nearby voice brought Felix out of his slumber. He and Maxine were still concealed in the same ditch they had hidden in the night before, although they were now in an uncomfortable mismatch of tangled limbs. He shook his head and wiped away the sleep that had accumulated in his eyes. From the position of the sun, it had to be between the late morning and early afternoon.
“What is it exactly that we’re lookin’ for?” a voice thick with a country accent spoke out.
“I wish I knew! That’s why I brought you guys here in the first place! I was hoping Twilight could figure out what it was.”
The sudden inclusion of another voice made Felix’s heart sink. He had heard two voices, but it had been implied that his pursuer had brought more friends. He was once again shocked yet captivated that they not only spoke, but spoke plain English. It was almost enough for him to pop out of his hiding place and ambush the group with a barrage of questions. Almost.
“Well, if it came out of the Everfree Forest it surely can’t be anything good.” said yet another voice, this one possessing an air of regality.
“Hey now you can’t go on and say that, can ya? What about Zecora?”
Felix had counted 3 separate voices so far; he and Maxine were already outnumbered. His daughter still laid peacefully on his stomach, oblivious to the approaching equines. He gently shook her until she stirred. When she sat up and gazed wearily at him, he put his finger to his mouth, expressing the need for silence. She nodded and dropped her head back down.
“I suppose. Still, Everfree is dangerous. We need to tread with caution.”
“Ah here ya sister. This place gives me the heebie jeebies.”
Felix knew that his welcome wagon would be arriving at his little hideaway at any given moment. His options were dropping by the second. He could try and reach the pistol in his bag, but he would have to sit up to get it, leaving him exposed for a lengthy amount of time. He could stay and hope to remain invisible in his ditch, but the voices seemed to be heading straight toward him with no intention of stopping. His final option was simple, run. He didn’t know how far he could get and he knew that at least one of them had the potential to catch up to him. He would just have to take his chances.
In one calculated and swift motion, he clasped onto Maxine and hoisted himself out of the ditch. Multiple gasps sounded off behind him as he took off in the opposite direction. The shock of seeing him gave Felix a moment of reprieve.
“Wait! Stop!” one of them called out.
But his body was already in motion, acting on its own accord. Max held her arms around Felix’s neck while he placed one arm under her to support her and the other across her back to keep her from wiggling around too much.
“Rainbow wait! It thinks your going after its baby!” shouted a faint, weak voice that had been nearly drowned out by the crunching of leaves on the forest floor.
Whatever the creatures were, they were the dominant species and it was he who was the wild animal, running from a threat to protect his only little kit. It took a moment of conscious thought for Felix to realize that he was more in the light of things than they were. Despite this being their homeland, they didn’t know who or what he was or what he was capable of. He at the very least knew that some of them possessed the ability to fly. They still, however, possessed quite an advantage. They had speed, knowledge of the terrain, and numbers. Felix had his smarts.
The variation in the speed of hoofsteps he heard behind him prompted him to look over his shoulder. The sight he took in was one he would expect to see in one of Maxine’s bedtime story books. A quick look behind him revealed five multicolored equines with ridiculously childish appearances. Their large eyes encompassed a good portion of their faces, all of which held looks of concern, save for the one flying after him whom he assumed to be Rainbow. Its face was one of sheer determination.
This only prompted him to pick up the pace. He had always kept as fit as he could; regularly taking jogs throughout the Chicago suburb and being conscious of the food he was putting into his body. But his efforts were in vein as Rainbow quickly closed the gap between them. He quickly banked left, leaving the polychromatic pursuer to continue on a straight path. He needed to find a den or a hole in the ground, anywhere that would allow him a moment to rest. He looked over his shoulder to see that the cyan creature had corrected its flight path and was once again beaming straight for him, when suddenly; it slammed into a thin purple film. It slowly expanded until the film became a dome, isolating Felix and Maxine from the rest of the forest. He backed away from where Rainbow had stopped and made his way to the opposite side. His mind refused to believed what was happening; everything both nonsensical and mind boggling twisted new knots in an already warped form of his perception on this new reality. He shouldered the shield repeatedly hoping to make a quick escape, each time producing the same failed result.
In a final act of desperation he set Max down and reached into his bag. He pulled out the sleek black pistol and gripped in his hand. His right thumb toggled the safety while his left hand pulled the slide and chambered the first round. He stood back, ushered Max behind him and took aim. The trigger inched its way back until the deafening crackle of the gun resonated within the dome.
16 out of 17 shots remaining.
He flinched as the bullet ricocheted off of the purple wall and embedded itself in the ground nearby. The shield itself flickered and then hummed quietly as the ripple from the bullet’s impact was absorbed and distributed throughout the length of the film. Only then was it painfully true that he and Max were captured, bound to the mercy of the captors themselves like the caged rats they were. He held on to her tightly, unsure of what to expect.
“Have you seen anything like it?”
“Quite frankly, no. It’s bipedal, like Spike, but I never seen anything like this…”
The bookworm of a pony slowly drew closer to the magical barrier she had constructed. Inside, the being was attacking the shield relentlessly when suddenly; it set down what Fluttershy had previously identified to be its offspring. From what Twilight could see, it was huddled around a section of the ground, almost as if was searching for something. Its kit sat quietly nearby.
“Hey Twilight, can ya warn me before you just throw a shield in my fa—“
“Shhh!” Twilight interrupted. “I’m trying to see what it’s doing.”
The bipedal being was holding something, a black “L” shaped object. After fiddling with it for a few seconds, it held the object out in front of itself. A bright flash followed by a loud pop that could be heard even through the walls of the magical barrier caused the girls to jumped slightly. After this failed attempt at escape it protectively placed itself between its offspring and the girls.
“Twilight they’re scared,” said the timid pegasus, a hint of defensiveness snuck into her voice. “They’ve been chased twice now and now we’ve captured them.”
“I know Fluttershy,” she said reassuringly. “I’m going to try to go talk with it.”
“M-maybe you should let me handle that.” she countered.
Twilight gave it some thought. Fluttershy was indeed their animal expert; if there was any hope of figuring out what these things were, she was undoubtedly the best suited candidate for the task.
“You sure you’re up to this?”
“Don’t worry Twi, I’ll be fine.” she smiled.
“Alright. I’ll lower part of the shield and let you in.”
Twilight took a step forward and raised her horn into the sky. In a brilliant display of lavender light, a pony sized portion of the barrier dissipated and dissolved away. Fluttershy took slow, apprehensive steps forward until she was entirely in the dome. The rift behind her sealed shut, leaving her alone with the creatures, whom had been admiring the extraordinary show of magic.
“He-hello there. My name is Fluttershy.” she said sweetly.
Felix stayed frozen in place.
The one who had announced herself as Fluttershy stood awkwardly at the other end of the barrier. In all honesty, she was absolutely adorable. Felix could feel an overwhelming sense of calmness flood his body. His grip became less possessive and he began to slowly release Maxine, although he still stood between her and Fluttershy.
“Daddy, I don’t think it wants to hurt us.” Maxine whispered to her father.
Felix found himself slightly torn at this statement. While it was true that no physical harm had come to him or his daughter, he had been chased twice and was now trapped inside a bubble made of something that he couldn’t even begin to speculate on. He wasn’t about to throw caution to the wind, but he didn’t want to attack Fluttershy and give them a legitimate reason to be hostile toward them. Right now, they seemed just as curious as he was, if not, more so.
“I won’t hurt you, I promise little one.”
Felix found Fluttershy’s statement rather ironic. Standing at around 5’11, Felix was much larger than the equine in front of him. Maxine on the other hand was roughly the same height she was. He decided to give in a little; there wasn’t much else he could do at that point.
“What are you?”
Fluttershy seemed slightly taken back by his sudden speech, but regained her composure soon after.
“W-we’re ponies,” she stumbled. “May I ask what you are? I’ve never seen anything like you.”
Felix glanced behind Fluttershy to see the other ponies observing the scene intently, ready to come her their friend’s aid if necessary. He turned his attention back to Fluttershy.
“We’re Homo-Sapiens. Humans.” he replied.
“You aren’t- here to hurt us, are you?”
Felix shook his head lightly. “Not unless you give me a reason to.” came his reply.
“I won’t. I promise.” she nodded her head confidently. “Where do you come from?” she asked as she tilted her head innocently to the side; a rather adorable gesture.
“Chicago, Illinois. What is this place? How did we get here?” It took a bit of self control to prevent himself from showering Fluttershy with a hailstorm of questions. He decided to get the most important ones out of the way first.
“This is Equestria!” she replied giddily. “But,” her face suddenly became more somber, “We’re in the Everfree Forest. This really isn’t the safest of places. You should come with us, back to Ponyville. You and your little one will be much much safer there.”
Ponyville must be the nearby village. I don’t think my appearance is going to go over well with the locals. Especially after all of-
“-me?”
“What?”
“Oh, I’m sorry…” she shuffled her hooves around loosely across the dirt. “I was just saying that I never did get your names…”
“Felix. Felix Dufraisne. And this is Maxine,” he pointed to his daughter. “Max for short.”
The butter colored pony looked down and smiled sweetly at the little girl. “Well hi there Max.”
“She can’t hear you.”
Fluttershy looked back up to the tall male figure, slightly confused. Noting this, Felix continued,
“She’s partially deaf.”
Fluttershy looked back down at the girl, this time with pity.
“I’m going to talk to the other girls. You two just stay right here.”
With that she turned around and headed back toward her end of the dome, which parted ways to let her through. From the inside of the dome he could see them discussing the matter at hand, but he was otherwise left in the dark.
“Daddy, I’m getting really hungry.”
He looked down and smiled tiredly at Maxine, scratching the top of her head lightly.
“Me too, honey. Me too.”
From behind them Felix could hear a faint thumping coming from outside the dome. He turned around to find nothing of interest, just the tranquility of the forest as it shed leaves in preparation for the fall season.
That tranquility was shattered when a massive creature leapt from its concealed position in the trees and attacked the dome, causing Max and Felix to scream in fear. Even the otherworldly barrier cowered behind the monster’s strength, flickering madly before shattering all together under a maelstrom of blows. The screams of the ponies and the humans combined into one grand masterful symphony of terror. Felix and Max took off toward the ponies and tried to put as much distance between them and the beast as possible, but in one great leap, it was on their heels again.
Felix had to slow the beast down. They would never outrun it, and unlike his encounter with the ponies, a failed escape from the beast spelled imminent death. He pushed his daughter along and pointed for her to run as fast as she could to the ponies. She nodded and sprinted across the field until she reached Fluttershy. The two, having only known each other for a few minutes, embraced each other like long lost siblings. The remaining human turned to the fearsome beast, and once again drew the pistol that had hung idly in his hand. He concentrated the best he possibly could under the threat of being eaten alive, took aim, and squeezed the trigger back until a thunderous boom left the barrel of the handgun.
15 out of 17 shots remaining.
Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep
“Multiple eyewitnesses state seeing several large explosions flowed by a rash of unexplained sicknesses within the area. This has lead investigators to believe that the attack was indeed biological. The Chicago suburb as well as a large portion of the city has been quarantined for the safety of the surrounding populace. National Guard forces have also been deployed to assist with the quarantine and the organization of survivors. Currently, no groups or individuals have claimed responsibility for this heinous act of terrorism. Our hearts continue to go out to all those who are affected by this disaster.”
The bullet screeched by the monster’s head, tearing a large gash along the left side of its mouth. It howled in pained and recoiled, taking several awkward steps back while it tried to clutch its wound in pain. Now that the creature was momentarily still, its features became more visible. From what Felix could tell, it was composed of the various parts of three different animals: the body and head of a lion, the ears and wings of a bat, and the tail of a scorpion. It looked like it had been pulled straight out of a Greek mythology book; an unfathomable amalgamation that laughed in the face of human understanding of the unnatural world.
Felix spun on his heels, quickly secured the pistol to his waist with his belt, and prepared to make the best out of the faint amount of time that had been given to him. Upon turning around, however, he could see that the girls were no longer visible.
They must have fled to Ponyville. If I run there now, I’ll just draw him to them; I need to lure him away.
Felix put his body to the test. One after the other, his footsteps created a stride dedicated to the preservation of the young man’s life. He started off running in the same direction the girls had before slowly veering off to the right, which would hopefully allow him to easily find his way back to Ponyville, but lose the monster in the process.
By now the monster had regained stability and was dead set on removing Felix from his current plane of existence. With unsuppressed fury, it bulldozed its way through the clearing and into the thicket of trees. Felix found himself ducking and maneuvering around, below, and through the clustered assortment of shrubbery and wildlife in a rather impressive display of athleticism.
The hybrid swung its head low and took a snap at the human which missed him by mere inches. Tree trunk after tree trunk placed itself in Felix’s path, forcing him to become more evasive than he ever thought he could be. Behind him, the monster was jabbing its poison filled tail in quick thrusts that Felix was barely able to avoid. His dilated pupils increased his peripheral vision and allowed him to identify other possible routes of escape. In an attempt to change his course, Felix veered right, only to tumble over a fallen log and lose his momentum. The monster seized the advantage and zeroed in on his location, knocking him over and pinning him to the ground. Felix went wide eyed as it raised its stinger, ready to enact its revenge.
Suddenly, the beast was struck in the neck with a large arrow. It yelped in pain and stepped back, releasing the man trapped underneath. He clutched his chest in a coughing fit as oxygen re-inflated his lungs. After a few gasps, he looked back up at his attacker.
The hybrid’s yelps had melted down into whimpers and gurgles as it pawed unsuccessfully at the arrow in its neck. It was able to break the end piece off, but the head of the arrow remained embedded in its neck. It fell to the ground, and continued to whimper in pain. Felix couldn’t help but look down at animalistic conglomeration with pity. Its wide eyes were no longer fierce, but frightened. The human retrieved the handgun from his waist and closed in a bit of distance between him and the creature. He gently pulled the hammer back and aligned the weapon with its head. In an act of mercy he allowed the pistol to release its dreadful bark, and put the hybrid out of its misery.
14 out of 17 shots remaining.
What wildlife remained scattered at the loud, unnatural sound of the handgun. Felix turned and investigated his surroundings, desperate to know where the arrow that had saved his life had come from. No figure stood out to any real degree which left him thankful, confused, and curious.
“Looks like you got yourself in a spot of trouble there huh?”
Felix whirled around multiple times. Despite the feminine voice sounding close by, he was unsuccessful in pinpointing its exact location.
“You aren’t gonna find me, doll.”
Felix finally stopped turning. “Who are you then?”
“Hmm,” she started, “You can just call me ‘The-Gracious-Little-Angel-Who-Saved-Your-Hide.’”
“Okay, ‘Gracious-Little-Angel-Who-Saved-My-Hide’, what’s your real name?”
There was a short silence before she spoke again.
“’Friad I can’t tell you that.”
“Oh? And why ever not?” he inquired.
Felix could practically hear the shrug in her voice, “’Cause I don’t wanna.”
“Well that’s not a good reason.” he scoffed.
“Good a reason as any.” she countered.
“Alright then, tell me why you saved me.”
There was another pause, a longer one, before she spoke.
“You’re kind of a coward.”
“Oh, lovely.” he rolled his eyes.
“Hey now, I don’t blame you for running away from a manticore, that’s one thing, but from what I’ve seen, you do a whole lot of running and not enough fighting. Like with that pegasus? Come on now, she’s quick but you’re at least twice her size.”
“Well I had someone else to think about.”
“Right right, your daughter.”
“And how do you know about my daughter?” his voice became slightly more harsh.
“Geez, calm down. I’m not trying to date her or something; you can chill with the overprotective daddy thing now. Look to your left.”
Felix hesitantly complied.
“That direction will take you back to Ponyville. You spent a good amount of time running, both yesterday and today, so you’re more off course than you might think. It’s gonna take you roughly an hour and a half to two hours to reach the village again.”
Felix sighed; he wasn’t looking forward to the trek back.
“Will you be around?” he found himself asking.
“Eh, I’ll be around again sometime. I’ve got…prior engagements.” she weighed her words carefully.
“Is that so?
“That is so. I’ll catch ya later.” He could hear bushes being rustled about.
“Wait!”
The movement halted.
“What’s your name? Your real name?”
“Sorry, tiger. Maybe some other time.”
The movement picked back up again, not stopping until its distance rendered it inaudible. Felix reengaged the safety on his pistol and placed it back into his bag. Following the mysterious figure’s advice, he set out, only to be stopped minutes later by a deep pain in his abdomen. He hadn’t eaten in almost two days and thirst was creeping back up on him. He scrounged through the bushes, eventually coming across a small one that offered what appeared to be blueberries. He took a small handful and tossed them in his mouth. For a good part of his younger life and leading all the way up to his career, he was taught to observe things. He was taught to develop predictions and inferences based on his observations, yet here he was eating a handful of potentially poisonous berries. What did he do to console this thought? He proceeded to eat yet another cluster of the delicious treats. After satisfying a portion of his hunger, he trekked on with only the stranger’s words to guide him. He came across several opportunities to hunt small game, but had neither the knowledge of proper hunting nor the ammunition to waste to partake in such a stunt.
The chilly autumn wind served to remind Felix of just how unprepared he was to be out in the wilderness. He was still in his white button up shirt and khaki slacks that he had been in since work nearly two days ago. On the left breast pocket of his shirt, a red and white symbol in the form of an umbrella was stitched into the fabric; the words “Parasol Corporation” had been sewn underneath.
The work boots that he was required to wear in the labs of the Chicago facility still adorned his feet. They were made out of a highly durable material that would give the wearer enough time to remove the boot incase there was a spill of some sort. Luckily enough, it provided comfortable protection from Equestria’s autumn chill.
Felix sat down on a small mound of dirt and hoisted the backpack off of his shoulders. He searched through the bag to get a final conformation on what he did and did not have. As far as clothes he had another Parasol work shirt, a simple white t-shirt, a pair of jeans, and two sets of undergarments. He took the opportunity to switch out of his slacks and into the jeans which, while not the best attire, was certainly better than his work pants. He moved his handgun to its own individual pocket on the right side of the backpack for easy access and to prevent it from being lost in the clutter of the main pocket. Upon searching through a different section of the bag, he discovered a binder that he had failed to remove in his panic back at the house. The outside had been labeled, “Predecessor VRS Project Data Works” . Felix hesitantly placed the binder back into his bag and zipped it up. If he ever got back home, if things ever went back to normal, Parasol would wrangle his neck for losing that information.
The feeling of thirst had returned with a vengeance. Felix picked himself up and continued to march the in the direction that had been specified. He didn’t know the forest well enough to make any major detours, even in search of water. He had been on foot for a little over an hour now. Even if water wasn’t an immediate resource, he would hopefully be coming across the village shortly.
As he moved along, the crunching of the leaves beneath his bipedal footsteps entangled itself in the sounds of the wildlife that hadn’t fled at the sight of the human. His mind wondered to thoughts of Maxine. He had left her in the care of the ponies which, at the time, seemed like the only logical course of action. He may have been unsure as to whether or not the ponies were a threat, but the manticore had been a very obvious danger. He allowed himself to have the benefit of the doubt and assume that she was safe. If she wasn’t, he would be dealing with the ponies personally.
After a scrutinizing trek through the dangerous Equestrian wilderness, Felix once again found himself at the tree line over looking the small town of Ponyville. In the broad light of day, he could see refined details in the ponies that were making their way to and fro through the residences or the skies. The stranger had used the term “pegasus” to describe the ones that flew which obviously included Rainbow and, judging by the wings he had noted on her sides, Fluttershy as well.
Another noticeable variation in the ponies were the ones with a singular horn on the center of their forehead. Seeing as how they highly resembled the fabled unicorns of his world, that was what he would identify them as. If his eyesight had served him right, these ponies were capable of baffling mystical feats beyond that of human understanding. Everything in his mind screamed at him to take photographic evidence of said feats, but he had no device with which to do so.
The last set of ponies did not appear to have any specifically interesting qualities. They lacked both the wings of the pegasi and the horns of the unicorns. Despite these genetic differences, they intermingled with the other races without complication or complaint.
Felix decided that a trip through the center of town was out of the question. It had become very obvious that the ponies were not familiar with his kind, and showing up unannounced could cause panic to ensue. He opted to stick to the edge of town, which allowed him to avoid the public eye of those within the village itself as well as stay shielded from the pegasi. He scanned the town, looking for any signs of his daughter. Cafés and restaurants were primed with business and customers, but none resembled the five ponies he had seen. He moved along the edge of the tree line until he spotted a large oak tree adorned with balconies and windows, making it look like the home of a fairy tale character. It wasn’t the odd building itself that distracted him, however, but rather, the comforting sight he saw in front of it. The ponies that he had encountered in the forest, as well as an unidentified sixth pink pony, were huddled around something while simultaneously shifting their way to the door. It wasn’t until he was able to see a set of human legs through a gap in their phalanx like formation that he determined it to be his daughter.
They’re shielding her from the other ponies. Seems like they want to avoid a panic as much as I do.
Without daring to waste any more time, Felix crept his way through the outer workings of the town, careful to avoid the eyes of those above him. He was dead set on getting inside the tree-like structure, retrieving his daughter, and getting some answers.