The Zombie Chronicles: Road to Sanctuary

Blossom sat in silence beside Dexter as they made their way towards the mansion. Behind them was a line of other humvees with more up front.

Dexter frantically tugged at his restraints, but failed to break free.

“Quit moving back there!” The driver shouted, knocking on the glass separating them.

Dexter growled and sat back again.

Blossom simply stared out the windshield.

“Blossom, you have to help me, surely we can break free of these… plastic bindings!” He said, still trying to break free.

“Dex’, what’s in that bag in the trunk?”

Stopping, Dexter turned to face Blossom.

“They’re the Geodes from the Canterlot girls. We must get them either to the girls, or to Kyle-- he can harness their powers. I have seen him do it… and after the fiasco at City Hall, he may be our best shot at stopping Princess.”

Blossom looked at him in confusion, but glanced back towards the trunk and knew that he wasn’t lying.

“Let’s say that I get this to Kyle, is there a way for you to get the girls out? We can meet at my apartment. Kyle and I share the building, he’s more than likely there.”

Dexter slowly nodded.

“Yes… either there, or the manor. I can go for the manor if you could possibly escape and go to the apartment.”

Smiling, Blossom’s eyes faintly glowed red as broke through the zip tie like it was nothing. Dexter’s eyes widened as Blossom burst through the roof, punching through the trunk and securing the bag before taking off.

“Goddamnit!” The driver shouted, seeing this unfold.

Acting fast, he reached for his radio.

“Come in all troops, Blossom Utonium just escaped, repeat-- Blossom Utonium has escaped! All available troops in the city, track her position,” He shouted before cutting off comms and looking back towards Dexter, “Don’t think she’ll make it far.”

Dexter only smiled, knowing that she would in fact make it far.

Blossom took to the skies, hovering over the city as she searched for the apartment building.

As she flew, she noticed that the row of humvees was more massive than she initially believed, running down past City Hall. Accompanying them were soldiers marching beside the vehicles, seemingly on guard duty as they drew their guns on anyone who tried to step towards the convoy.

She continued to search, tracking down the street and spotting the building, noticing that one of the rooms was blown open.

Floating down and entering through the hole left behind, she saw an utter mess. Puddles of blood stained the floors and furniture, chunks of flesh were splattered everywhere, and the stove was still on with a smoky pan. She took a moment to observe the now-charred skin stuck to the pan before shutting the stove off. She noted that the knob was smeared with now-dry blood.

“Fuck…” She cursed, trying not to gag.

On the floor, she saw a small gem, recognizing it as one of the other Geodes. She reached down and picked it up, observing the faint but distinct red glow.

“Okay, Kyle… where are you…?” She asked, listening closely for any signs of Kyle from inside the city.

However, she heard the sounds of Townsville’s gates slowly opening along with the sounds of dozens of footsteps stampeding into the city…

Outside the massive mansion of the Morbucks Estate, countless seemingly ordinary people were being brought in through the gates, with several soldiers constructing impromptu defenses and reinforcements for the steel bar gates surrounding the property. The only road inside was barricaded by several Humvees and golden soldiers aiming their guns in the direction of the city. Floodlights illuminated the inside as well as the incoming road as the darkness of night had fully set in.

The latest to be brought inside was Daisuke, being forced inside by two soldiers holding his arms.

“Let go of me! Where’s my family?!” He asked, trying to break free of their grasp.

They tossed him to the ground alongside the others inside. Daisuke identified only a few of them based on their features. He was met by one who ran towards him to help him to his feet.

“Daisuke! Thank Celest—uh... never mind!” Sunset quickly corrected herself, the other girls meeting up with him.

Rainbow stopped when she saw it was just him and cautiously looked around the field.

“Hey... where’s Scootaloo...?” She asked.

Daisuke growled.

“Those bastards dragged me from the hospital... As far as I know, Scootaloo and my wife are still there.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened as she immediately ran to the entrance, confronting the two soldiers guarding the fence.

“Hey! What the hell’s going on?! There’re still people out there!” She shouted at them.

The soldiers both responded by drawing their guns on her.

“Miss, we need you to stand aside. We need the entrance clear for new arrivals.”

Rainbow immediately held up her hands and scoffed.

“Arrivals? Why are we being brought here?!”

A crowd began to form upon the escalation, and several Enhanced began to take Rainbow’s side.

“Yeah, what the hell are we doing here?!”

“I have family back there; I’m not leaving them!”

“There’s a horde at the gates. We should be out there!”

In moments, a protest began at the gates of the property, with the two soldiers struggling to find a way to de-escalate the situation...

“Look, I don’t know why I’m here, either-- I just have orders!” One of the soldiers said, hoping to garner sympathy.

However, the sound of a radio sparking to life from the soldier’s belt caused him to reach out and answer it.

“Gate crew, talk to me... what’s going on out there?”

The others couldn’t hear the voice on the other side, but they didn’t need to.

“...I’m sorry, repeat?!”

Another moment of silence passed as the voice on the other side continued to speak.

“...Fuck...”

Pocketing the radio, he turned to his partner, slowly removing his helmet.

“The gate’s been breached... the infected are inside Townsville.”

Kyle’s vision faded in and out. One minute, he was in the apartment, being lifted by the mysterious figure. The next, he was inside the hospital, the figure screaming out for help…

Eventually, Kyle’s vision stabilized. He was in a hospital bed, his arm wrapped in heavy bandages and a tube connected to his wrist. He slowly looked around, realizing that he was now wearing a hospital gown. He turned to the side, spotting Riku.

“Wh… where am I?”

Shouting in Japanese, Riku quickly turned to Kyle.

“Oh, thank goodness! We weren’t sure when you’d wake up… You’re in the hospital-- you’re safe now.”

He slowly nodded, looking back to his arm, and the realization that his hand was gone finally started to set in.

“My… my hand… it’s… it…!” He started, his breath beginning to quicken.

Riku quickly stepped towards Kyle, softly putting a hand on his shoulder.

“I know, I know, I know. Take a breath-- it’s going to be alright. Princess won’t get away with this…”

Kyle’s mind began to race as questions immediately flooded his mind.

“Who… saved me?”

“I did.” A voice said from his other side.

Turning his head, Kyle spotted Buttercup covered in blood and bruises.

“Holy shit… you’re alive.”

She chuckled.

“Yeah… guess a horde of flesh-hungry zombies gives you some bitchin’ second wind.”

He smiled, but it quickly faded when he realized the gun was still there.

“The gun… did you get the--”

Buttercup answered his question by holding the injector.

“Yeah. Got the gun. I’m gonna guess this was dear old dad’s brilliant idea?”

He chuckled.

“Yeah. It was either that… or fighting her in a magical suit of armor.”

Buttercup stifled a laugh.

“Yeah, I can see that… honestly, I wanna see that.”

The two shared a brief laugh, but Kyle once again dropped it.

“Where is everyone?”

Riku sighed and shook her head.

“I don’t know. Daisuke was taken. I’m going to guess the others were, as well.”

Kyle thought for a moment before his eyes widened.

“All the cars driving by… she brought them to her mansion.”

Buttercup nodded.

“Yeah. I passed it when I brought you here. It’s loaded with guards and even more people outside. But it gets worse. She had the gates be opened… zombies flooded in.”

Kyle’s eyes widened as he quickly pulled the needle out from his wrist, rising from bed despite Riku’s protests and staggering towards the window.

Sure enough, the streets below were filled with Ragers and a few Rotters, flooding the streets and searching for more food…

“Oh, God. She actually did it…” He said with horror in his voice.

Buttercup sighed and nodded.

“Yeah. We don’t know who else is left, but odds are anyone who’s still alive is staying in buildings like this. There are quite a few people here, as is, so odds are that’s the case everywhere.”

Kyle sighed, trying to think of a solution.

“We need to find your dad. He has the armor, and Princess has the Geodes. Odds are, they’ll all be at the manor.” He tried to move towards the door but stumbled back as Riku helped grab him.

“Kyle, you are in no condition to go anywhere… lay back down and let me bandage that.” She pointed to the drop of blood from Kyle’s wrist flowing down from removing the needle.

He sighed and nodded. Taking a seat back in bed. Grabbing an adhesive bandage, she applied it to Kyle’s wrist.

“There. I’m going to see if I can get you anything and check on Scootaloo. The doctor should be here soon.” She said, getting up and leaving the room.

Kyle laid in silence, wincing as a flow of pain throbbed from his arm.

“Can I… get you anything?” Buttercup asked him.

Kyle thought for a moment as he felt the dryness of his throat.

“Maybe some water…”

She nodded and took a cup, turning on the faucet and letting it fill. After setting it on the small tray by the bed, she glanced over to the door.

“Here. I’m gonna check the barricades at the stairs. Just stay here, okay?” She asked in an uncharacteristically gentle voice.

He nodded, and she got up, as well.

Kyle laid back on the bed, alone and in pain, trying to think. Taking a sip of water, he allowed his mind to wander about what he could’ve done differently. Could he have done it another time? Was he too early? Maybe he could’ve just done it another night.

Of course, she was listening. She would be a fool if she didn’t bug the lab… he should’ve known better.

The door was opened again; this time, a doctor entered, holding something wrapped in foil.

“Mrs. Niwa said you'd be awake. Here, eat these.”

Kyle reached and took the package. Unwrapping it, he saw a small stack of about three cookies.

“Freshly baked from across the street. You need to get your energy back.”

Kyle looked at the cookies and back at the doctor.

“There’s a reason for me to eat cookies?” He dazedly asked, a smile forming on his face.

That earned him a laugh when he took a bite of one of the cookies.

“You did a good job cauterizing your wound, given your circumstances. I checked for internal bleeding, and you’re good on that front. Just take it easy for a few days, and you should be back on your feet. From there, we can discuss prosthetics--”

“A few days?! I need to be out there now. I need to help stop Princess before it’s too late. We need to lead the zombies away. We need to--”

“We’re working on that front. We have several of Morbucks’ soldiers who are also tired of her rule and looking for a chance to make a change. Kyle, you’re one person… you need food, and you need rest. You’ve lost quite a lot of blood, despite how quickly you cauterized.”

Kyle sighed and nodded.

“How many others are here?”

“There’s about 40 of us. A handful of doctors and a majority of patients who are unable to move. We made it to the top floor by some miracle, and we barricaded the two flights of stairs below us. It’s safe, for now, but this won’t work forever…” The doctor sighed, running a hand through her hair.

Kyle nodded, knowing that she was right.

“I need to go, there are other patients who need to be checked on. You get some rest-- the more of us that can move when needed, the better.”

With that, the doctor left. Kyle took another bite of a cookie, but as he did, an idea began to form in his head. An idea so crazy, so stupid, that it just might work…

Humoring the thought, he took the last cookie and the injector. Carefully, he picked out the chocolate chips, smearing them across the inner grooves just out of visibility. He was uncertain how much he would need, so he made sure to apply as much chocolate as he could without risking the injector’s functionality.

As soon as he started mentally laying out the plan, Buttercup opened the door and returned to the room.

“I’m back…,” She started before seeing Kyle with the injector, “Uh, what’re you doing?”

“Buttercup, I need you to do something for me… back in my apartment, Pinkie Pie’s Geode is in there, somewhere. Princess left it behind when she…” He found himself unable to say anything about the amputation, but he didn’t need to.

Buttercup nodded, indicating that she understood.

“Yeah, I saw it there, but I couldn’t grab it. Why? What’re you planning?”

“I’m not entirely sure… But whatever happens next, I’m gonna need it.”

Buttercup immediately gave him a confused look.

“Okay… but we should talk about that. We can’t stay in this hospital forever… There’re soldiers everywhere going door-to-door, and odds are we can take a few of their cars if we’re careful and we can go right through the gates.”

Kyle glanced over at her and shook his head.

“No-- I’m not leaving all these people to die. There has to be something we can do… If there were more of us, we could go to the manor and get the other Enhanced out, take the city back… and deal with Princess.”

Buttercup clicked her tongue.

“That’s a big plan, Kyle-- I have the same powers as her, and I tried that-- I almost died and destroyed half the un-walled city while at it. We can’t fight her-- we just gotta go and hope she doesn’t find us…”

Kyle fell silent for a moment, taking a breath.

“During my first week at Crystal Prep, I was heading to my locker to get my stuff for the day when I saw Sugarcoat-- one of the school’s top athletes--, right in front of it. She told me to meet her out by the stadium after school.”

Buttercup raised a brow, sitting back in her seat.

“Okay… so first week and a popular girl’s hitting on you, nice. What’s your point?”

Kyle nodded and shrugged.

“The thing is, I didn’t even think that she was hitting on me. I just wanted someone to talk to, you know? So, I make my way over, and sure enough, no Sugarcoat. But other guys, they were there. Beat me to a pulp, tore up my new uniform, left me tied to a goal post.”

Buttercup’s eyes widened, and she felt her jaw go slack.

“Well, Jesus, that took a turn… what’d you do after?”

Kyle sighed.

“Nothing. I didn’t do a damn thing. My mom worked late, and my sister was never really home, so no one even knew I was gone. I found out the next day that the whole thing was a hazing ritual for new students. I considered telling someone, but I quickly realized that there was no one to tell. I learned that day that Prep had three categories: The athletes, the smart ones, and everybody else-- and God help you if you’re in that last category… Needless to say, I was.”

Buttercup sighed, figuring that would be the case.

“What happened after that?”

“A few more months of occasional beatings, friskings, and the occasional public embarrassment stunt. It went on and on, no matter how much I tried to keep my head down. it got to the point where…,” Kyle struggled to continue but fought through his stirred emotions, “It got to the point where I’m on the roof with one foot over the edge.”

It took Buttercup a moment, but she understood the implication, quietly gasping. Kyle noticed and chuckled.

“Yeah… Needless to say, that didn’t go over well. I was pulled out early by my mom, and… the world ended the same day. Then I lost my mom. And my sister. I could’ve killed myself. I mean-- I had my mom’s gun, for fuck’s sake! But for some reason, some reason that I can’t even say, I didn’t. I fought back. I pushed through every day when I could’ve just opted out at any time. Do you know what happened because of that? I wound up here. And I am not letting that be for nothing. So, you wanna run? Run. I’m not going anywhere. I’m done watching people like Princess or Abacus Cinch control the world, where only a handful of people matter and the rest...”

Buttercup stayed silent, unable to respond to such a notion.

“If that’s how you feel, why’re you just lying there?” A voice from outside the window asked.

Buttercup quickly turned, and Kyle did his best to look outside the window with her, and together, they both saw a familiar girl floating in the air right outside the hospital, holding a duffel bag...

“Blossom…?”

Blossom smiled, Buttercup frantically opening the window and pulling her sister in an embrace.

“Sis’, you’re… you’re flying!” Buttercup laughed in shock.

“And you’re fucking alive!” Blossom shot back, tightly holding her sister.

Kyle only smiled, happy to see that their chances just improved.

Blossom broke the hug and turned towards Kyle, reaching into her pocket and pulling out Pinkie’s Geode.

“I believe this is yours.” She tossed it toward him, Kyle catching it with his right hand.

“Yeah.” He smiled, clutching the gem closely.

“Good. I overheard that plan of yours, and it could work. Half of the Enhanced in there are fed up with Princess as it is. Odds are that if we can turn them against her somehow, we have the best chance.” Blossom said.

Kyle only smirked and turned over to Buttercup.

“The subway.” He simply said.

Buttercup nodded, immediately knowing what he meant. Blossom, however, had no clue what they were alluding to but decided not to push about it.

“Okay, great. If you can keep her busy with whatever you have up your sleeve, I can start getting people out, starting with your friends and my father.” She said.

Kyle nodded.

“What can I do?”

“For now, stay here. I’d feel a lot safer if people I can trust were here protecting the place. If we need you, I can just come to get you. If the infected get inside, you take whoever you can to the rooftops, seal the entrance, and wait. Use this armor if you have to. Odds are I’ll hear if you're in trouble. Got it?”

Kyle nodded again.

“Yes, ma’am.” He jokingly said.

Blossom smiled and turned to her sister.

“Ready to relive the glory days?” She asked her.

Buttercup smiled ear-to-ear, cracking her knuckles.

“It’ll be my pleasure.”

With that, the two crawled out of the window and flew off, leaving Kyle with the Geode in his hand.

Holding it closely, he began to hum to himself, still feeling woozy from the amount of blood loss.

As he did, a sharp jolt entered his body, and he let out a gasp. In an instant, a strong flow of energy rushed through him as he struggled to grow used to the new sensation. He began to hear the distant shouts and screams of citizens scattered across town as the infected tore their way through the city. Looking out toward the window, Kyle began to see green fog flow into the room, recognizing it as his perception of the magic that has been giving him power this whole time…

At that moment, he felt the terror and anger of those still alive in both the main city and the manor. It all manifested and flowed through him, empowering him. It left a taste in his mouth, almost reminiscent of meat, which he found extremely unsettling, but somehow satiating at the same time.

The moment passed, and Kyle’s singing stopped. As the remaining harvestable fog dissipated, Kyle rose to his feet, feeling more energetic and alive than ever before. Looking down at the Geode, he saw that it was now a bright red, a constant glow remaining as opposed to vanishing like before.

Looking down at his hand, he saw that while it was still gone, he no longer felt the tingling pain he felt before. Cautiously undoing his bandage, he saw that the wound had completely healed.

“Huh.” Was his only response.

Acting quickly, he unzipped the bag, freeing the armor and the other six Geodes. One by one, he unfolded the armor and put it on. Slowly, he set each Geode into its designated location, struggling with some due to having one hand. He resorted to angling them on the side of the bed and pressing them into the armor.

Kyle took a moment as he realized what he was going to do. Was this the right move? What if he ruins the Geodes for the others? His friends? What if they despise him because of this? Would they despise him?

But he knew he didn’t have time to ask these questions. Princess needed to be stopped, now. In his eyes, asking forgiveness would be better than asking for permission.

With all seven gems on him, he hummed yet again… but this time, nothing happened.

“Uh… what the hell?”

He openly sang, this time, but the same response-- nothing.

He tried a few more times, but the only Geode activating was Pinkie’s… Twilight’s flickered, but it still didn’t fully activate for him.

“Shit...” He cursed, shaking his head and taking off the rather heavy armor.

He carefully removed the Geodes, putting them back in the pouch and setting it aside. As soon as he did, he heard the roars of Ragers from near the staircase. Acting quickly, he sprinted out the door, grabbing the gems.

As doctors and patients ran in the opposite direction, Kyle saw the barricades consisting of several couches, hospital beds, and other equipment being torn at by Ragers, some starting to climb over just to be put down by the citizens guarding them.

Quickly glancing at the situation, he sprinted over to the scene, just avoiding a wild swipe of a Rager’s arm.

“Everyone, pack up, we need to move for the roof!” He shouted, desperately holding the already-shuffling or shattering furniture together.

One-by-one, beds were pulled with bedridden patients shuffled past Kyle, going up the staircase leading to the roof. Assisting him with the barricades was Riku, using a fire extinguisher as a bludgeon to beat the Ragers back.

Kyle kept an eye on who was climbing the stairs, making sure that everyone was moving quickly but in an orderly manner.

“We can’t hold on, much longer!” Riku shouted, her extinguisher dented and starting to hiss from the nozzle…

Kyle saw that the last of the citizens were climbing the staircase and turned to Riku.

“At the count of three, move away and fire the extinguisher! We gotta slow them down so we can reach the roof!”

Understanding, Riku nodded.

“Okay… one… two… three!”

At three, they both backed away. Riku undid the pin and sprayed the extinguisher’s contents at the horde as they instantly pushed through the barricades.

Riku managed to climb up, but as Kyle tried to follow, he was grabbed by his gown and pulled back.

“Kyle!” Riku shouted, almost dropping the extinguisher before stopping herself.

Kyle broke free of the zombie’s grasp, but was pulled off the stairs and was trapped as some Ragers broke the pack and lunged at him, forcing him to run.

“Get to the roof! Go!” Kyle shouted, running down the hall and reaching his hospital room.

Slamming the door shut, Kyle grabbed and propped a chair against it as Ragers began pounding and clawing, trying to enter the room.

“Shit…” He cursed, realizing that he was trapped…

Slowly, the amount of zombies at the door increased as Kyle knew that they were giving up their pursuit for Riku and were changing directions towards him.

“Think, Kyle, think!” He thought to himself, desperately trying to find a solution.

The door started to creak as the chair started to wobble. The sheer weight of the infected started to push the door off the hinges.

Kyle quickly opened the pouch, dumping the Geodes on the ground.

“Come on… work!” He said, singing yet again, although a little pitchy due to his desperation.

Once again, Pinkie’s was the only one to glow. While it gave him a small burst of energy, it was nowhere near enough to fight the horde beginning to break through the door.

A lightbulb went off in his head as he quickly bagged the Geodes/injector, flimsily tying the bag to his gown. Opening his window, he looked down at the three-story drop.

Kyle internally laughed as he was once again looking over the ledge. The humor of the moment wasn't lost on him, but at the same time... would it not be a better way to go? Quick and painless versus being torn to pieces by Ragers?

What if this was the way it was always meant to go? Was Kyle only putting off the inevitable when he chose not to jump back at Crystal Prep? Was all of this for nothing?

Or was there a way out of all this that he just wasn't seeing?

The door rattled a bit more, before giving one last crack before the hinges broke off the walls and the door completely gave way.