E 2 Ch 1: Days Gone By

Edited by-Solar_Flicker

THREE MONTHS LATER

Lee skulked quietly through the bushes, being careful not to alert the walker enjoying its meal. He inched closer until he was positioned right behind the creature. Lee stood slowly, and hoisted his axe over his head. He tightened his grip and abruptly dispatched it with a single swing. Lee put his boot to the walker's back and kicked off of it, releasing the weapon from it's skull. With the coast clear, it was now safe for Rainbow Dash and Mark to move up and join him.

Attached to Rainbow's front right hoof was a rather large survival knife. The handle of the knife had been completely removed and replaced with some rope tied into a whipper knot to hold the blade in place. Attached to the rope was a durable plastic band that Twilight had crafted for Dash for safety reasons. Over a few weeks, it had taken some getting used to, but soon Dash was able to easily tighten the band and use the knife as if she were holding it, and loosen it when she needed to take it off. Over the course of three months, she had only needed to use it once.

Mark held his rifle close and frowned at the small morsel the walker had chewed up. "Dammit, what did they get this time?"

"Looks like a rabbit." Lee replied.

"Well, that's another meal lost." Mark added as his stomach growled. Him and Lee pressed forward through the woods while Rainbow took a few seconds to observe the mutilated rabbit; a saddened expression shown on her face. Lee halted and turned around.

"Rainbow, is everything okay?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "just thinking about a good friend back home." Dash trotted to catch up with them.

"I still can't believe we went through all that commissary food in 3 months. It seemed like so much at the time." Mark continued on about the food situation.

"Maybe you shouldn't have opened the door." Lee replied as he kept an eye out for any hunting opportunities.

"Yeah, except then I'd probably be food by now. Trust me, I have no regrets."

"A rabbit's hardly a meal, Mark, but I'd take it. We're all hungry." Lee's stomach growled as well.

"No kidding." Mark agreed.

"Well at least you guys don't have to worry about keeping us fed." Dash referred to her and her friends.

"Yeah, you guys have it good," Mark grinned. "all the grass and leaves you can stomach."

"I guess, but it'd be nice to have a hay sandwich or something different every once in a while, you know."

"I've actually been thinking about something," Lee spoke up. "we're going to be in even deeper trouble when winter comes around. There's going to be no vegetation for you guys, and if we don't find enough food..." He cringed at the thought of everyone starving out.

"Don't worry about that, Lee. Twilight's been working really hard on that machine, remember." Dash hovered in the air, excited by the thought of returning home.

"I hope she can get it working soon, because winter can't be that far off." Lee's gaze traveled over the fallen orange leaves that littered the forest floor.

Mark's face lit up with an idea. "Hey, if Twilight does get that thing working, why don't we all just come with you guys?"

"Um, you might have to talk to Twilight about that; It's not that I think it's a bad idea or anything, it's just that it might take a lot of magic to do what she's trying to do. Like I said, you'll have to talk to her."

"You never know, maybe her machine is our ticket out of here!" Mark looked happily at Lee.

"Maybe, but for now, let's focus on finding something to eat." Lee dropped the subject. The trio kept their eyes out for game while the thought of food crossed Mark's mind once again.

"When I accidentally grabbed for Carley's rations the other night, I thought she was going to take off my hand!"

"We're all on edge, just cut her some slack." Lee defended her.

"And that guy Doug, last night I heard him lying in bed just naming types of pie; it was driving me nuts. I think he's starting to lose it."

"He's not the only one; I mean this lingering hunger hasn't exactly been helping my sleep." Lee added.

"I know how you feel," Rainbow chuckled. "yesterday I didn't really get enough to eat before the sun went down, so I was kind of hungry when I went to sleep, and dreamt that Twilight had wings! Can you imagine?" Dash laughed. Mark and Lee laughed along until Mark got back on topic.

"Still, I wish I knew for sure how much food we have left."

"We'll manage." Lee spoke optimistically.

"Maybe," Mark frowned. "you know some people aren't too happy about the way Lilly is handling rations."

"Lilly knows it's important to keep the adults fed and functioning; sometimes that means someone has to miss a meal."

"But Clementine and Duck get enough to eat, don't they?" Rainbow asked.

"I do my best to make sure they do, but at the end of the day, it's not my call." Lee replied gloomily.

Mark glanced around, trying to scope out any game to hunt. "You think Kenny's having any more luck than we are out here?"

"I sure hope so." Lee looked around as well, but saw no opportunities.

"Yeah, between the lack of food, and Kenny and Lilly fighting all the time, things are getting pretty tense back at the motor inn." Mark added.

The three of them halted once they came to a small clearing where the sun's rays shined past the trees.

"You know, Kenny's been talking about taking off if he can get that RV running." Mark shifted the topic onto Lee's friend.

"He's got a wife and son to look out for."

"And they're safest in a big group, going out on their own will get them all killed." Mark reasoned.

"I don't know," Rainbow chimed. "the motor inn has been doing really well for us, maybe it would be best if Kenny considered staying." She gave her opinion as well.

"Well, Kenny's a good guy, he'll figure it out." Lee concluded.

"Can't blame him for wanting to leave, though; did you hear Larry going off on him last night? What's the old guy's deal anyway," Mark glanced at Lee. "it seems like he has a problem with you in particular."

Just mentioning Larry made Rainbow scowl in anger. She hadn't forgotten the insulting things he had said to her and her friends, not to mention trying to get Lee killed. "Screw that guy!" She spat.

"He thinks I'm a danger to the group, and Clementine."

"You've got to be kidding!" Rainbow's jaw dropped. "After that stunt he pulled back in the drug store, and he thinks you're the dangerous one?!"

"I think he's the one putting us in danger," Mark replied. "the way Lilly worries about his health; I wouldn't be surprised if she's been skimming rations for him. And I know Lilly thinks he's getting weaker, but the guy is all muscle, he's a walking pile driver-I know I wouldn't want to be stuck in a room with him-and didn't he punch you in the face one time?"

"Knocked me flat." Lee grumbled.

Dash scoffed since it almost sounded like Mark was praising Larry. "Whatever, I'm not scared of that meat-head. If he ever tries anything like that again, I won't hesitate to bounce his head off of the ground."

Mark and Lee chuckled at the thought of a 3 and a half foot pony putting the smack down on Larry, and continued on their way. Mark crouched down as a crow perched itself on top of a tree branch. He got into position behind a low rock, and peered through the scope of his gun. Lee and Rainbow mimicked him, and crouched low to the ground. They waited for Mark to steady his aim, and take the shot.

"It's a long shot, I'd hate to waste the bullets." Lee commented.

"Trust me, if I don't think I can hit it, I won't shoot." A few quiet seconds went by as Mark eased his finger onto the trigger. The hammer clicked and a deafening shot echoed through the woods. The startled crow took off; Mark had missed his target. Rainbow was about to make a wise crack, but was interrupted by a man yelling in pain somewhere in the distance. Their heads snapped to the direction of the noise.

"Shit, was that Kenny?!" Mark asked frantically.

Lee stood up, and held his axe tightly. "I don't know, come on!" Lee and Mark ran past the trees trying to find the source of the scream. Rainbow flew next to them, and kept the pace. They stopped and looked around until a second scream could be heard.

"I'll fly up ahead and see what's going on!"

"Okay, but be careful!" Lee called out as Rainbow zoomed around the trees, and through the woods. It didn't take long for her to stumble upon three new survivors. They all wore blue school vests with white sleeves. Two of them appeared to be teenagers while the third was an adult man. The boys were attempting to help the man out of a bear trap that had latched onto his leg. Rainbow set herself down, alerting the boys to her presence.

"Whoa, what the hell!" One of the boys exclaimed upon seeing her. Dash went wide eyed when she spotted the blood from the trap.

"What's happened here?!" She asked. Neither of the boys spoke while their friend whimpered and struggled to free himself from the trap. Lee and Mark finally caught up.

"Rainbow, what's going on?!" Mark called out as they approached the strangers. He soon saw the damage that had been dealt on the man's leg from the trap. "Jesus Christ."

"No, no, please don't kill us," the boy with black hair spoke. "we just want to help our teacher, a-and then we'll leave, I swear!" He pleaded.

"Lee, you guys okay?" Kenny had also shown up on the scene.

Rainbow examined the bear trap. The chain linked from the trap to a thick tree trunk. "This guy's caught in some kind of... trap!" She explained.

"Get it off! Get if off, God dammit, get-get it off me!" The man pleaded as he clutched his leg in agony.

"Travis, maybe they can help!" The other boy with straight brownish hair added.

"These might be the same guys that raided our camp, and we barely got away from that" Travis replied fearfully.

"What guys?" Mark asked.

"Why the fuck is there a bear trap out here?!" Kenny chimed in.

"It's okay, we can help you!" Dash moved in to get a better look at the trap.

"Rainbow's right, we're not going to hurt you!" Lee added.

"Lee, this is fucked up, we've got to help him." Mark insisted.

"Please." The brown hair boy pleaded.

"Ben, shut up," Travis looked angrily at his friend. "my dad was special forces, I know what I'm doing!"

"Just see if you can get him out," Ben asked for their help anyway. "after that you can leave us or whatever, I don't care. Please!"

"Come on, Lee, we have to try." Rainbow looked expectantly at him.

Lee nodded to her. "We've got to get him out of there!"

"Oh God, thank you!" The man's voice was shaky from the pain.

"Fine, but you've got to hurry." Kenny added.

"Hurry, please hurry!" The man pleaded as Mark and Rainbow examined the trap. Mark's heart sank as he discovered the trap had been tampered with.

"Lee, this traps been altered, there's no release latch."

"What does that mean?" Rainbow asked worried.

"It means getting him out is going to take some time."

While her and Mark looked for another way to release him, Travis slowly turned his head to the density of the woods as a familiar sound made his blood run cold. "Oh, no." The snarls and growls of famished walkers appeared from the bushes and trees, no doubt drawn by gunfire, and the man's screaming.

"Shit, walkers! It's now or never, Lee." Kenny warned.

"Please... get me out of this!"

Lee decided he would take Mark's place since him and Kenny would be able to hold off the walkers with their rifles. "Mark, get the boys back! Kenny, keep those walkers off of me!" Lee knelt down and looked over the damage that had been dealt. The trap had dug deep into the man's shin, forming a small pool of blood under his leg. "Oh, fuck, this is bad, really bad."

"Lee, how do we get him out?!" Rainbow caught his attention.

"Lee, do something!" Mark added.

Lee stood and moved over to the chain, he wasted no time in raising his axe and bringing it down on the links. They rattled as the blade struck them, but no visible progress was being made. As Lee kept swinging, Rainbow had started to buck viciously at the tree's trunk. A few leaves fell from her effort, but as solid as the bark was, she wasn't going to be able to do anything else but that.

"All that blood and screaming; we're gonna be surrounded any minute!" Kenny said as he fired his rifle every few seconds.

"This can't be happening!" Ben panicked.

Lee struck the chain a couple more times before Mark stopped him. "Lee, those are the same kind of chains we use to haul heavy equipment at the air force base; you're not cutting through that." With that, Lee gave up on the chain, and returned to the trap. He set down his axe, and grabbed the edges of the trap. Lee attempted to pry them apart, but as he did, the blades only seemed to dig deeper into the man's leg.

"GAAHHH! STOP, STOP!" Lee released the edges and picked up his axe. He placed the head of the axe in between the edges of the trap and pulled, hoping that with enough strength, he could still force it open. Again, the pain became too much for the stranger as he begged Lee to try something else.

"How the fuck do you get these things open?!" Lee started to panic as time was running out.

"We don't know! Ooooh, God!" The man sobbed; his leg felt like it was on fire. Rainbow flew over behind the man, and put her hooves under his arms.

"Just hold on!" She said as she tried to pull him free. She used all of the power in her wings to pull the man from the trap, but her attempts only made the blades scrape along his shin and dig deeper into his leg.

"AAHH! NO, STOP, PLEASE!" Rainbow cringed and gently set him back down.

"Oh, God, those things are getting closer." Ben whimpered as even more walkers had appeared from the forest. Kenny and Mark had held them off for the most part, but it was only a matter of time until they were overrun.

"Lee, what do we do?!" Rainbow cried.

"There's gotta be something!"

"God dammit, Lee, just cut off his fucking leg!" Mark shouted, clearly panicked by the situation.

"What?! We can't do that!" Dash objected.

Lee glanced at his axe, then to the walkers, and finally his gaze stopped on the man's leg. Lee stood up and clutched the axe with both hands. He towered over the stranger and frowned. "I'm gonna have to cut you out."

"No no no!" the man's face went pale. "Try the trap again, anything, please!"

"Lee, what are you..." Rainbow trailed off as Lee raised his weapon behind him. "Oh, no..."

Lee brought the axe down hard onto the man's leg a few inches below his knee. Blood spurted and sprayed from the sudden impact.

"AAAAHHHHHGGG!" The man cried out in agony as a fresh pain shot up through his body. Lee hesitated on the second swing.

"Lee, I can't keep'em back forever!" Kenny shouted. Rainbow hid her face away as Lee swung a second time.

"FFUUUUAAAA! GGAAAHH!" The impact fractured the man's tibia, but had yet to cut all the way through. Several large veins were now completely exposed as blood showered the ground below his leg. Lee could feel his stomach toss, but held back the urge to vomit, since the stranger was not yet free. Rainbow flinched as she heard the third brutal impact.

"OOHHHH GOD! AAAHHH!" Tears streamed down the man's face as his consciousness was fading. The axe had now cut all the way through the bone, but the nerves in his leg twitched, and vessels spurted crimson as only a few more tendons and bits of skin held it together. Lee took aim and swung for the final time. The man's leg rose into the air; now free from the bear trap's clutches. He took one horrified look at his stump of a limb, and fainted.

Travis glanced over Lee's shoulder, and put his hand to his mouth. "Oh God..." He moved away from them to vomit.

Mark looked at the man, and then to Lee. "Shit, is he..."

"He passed out." Lee finished for him.

"If he's alive, grab him and let's go!" Kenny barked. Mark lifted the man up over his shoulder, and made his way back towards the exit of the woods. Kenny and Rainbow followed close behind. Lee looked past Ben to see Travis still composing himself, as walkers were closing in.

"Behind you!" He shouted.

"Travis!" Ben tried to run and save his friend, but Lee held him back, knowing that they would both die if he did.

"Come on, come on, we've gotta move!"

Travis turned to see that a handful of walkers were now almost to him. He backed away in fear and confusion, causing him to stumble on a rock. "No, no! AHH!" He shuffled backwards, but a larger rock stopped him from going any further. Now frozen in fear, all Travis could do was scream for his life until multiple walkers held him down and feasted.

"NO, HEELLP! OH, GOD!" One dug its teeth into his face while others bit his lower body.

"NOOO!" Ben screamed. A walker dug it's hand into Travis' gut, pulling out his intestines and finishing him off with a blood-curdling scream.

Author's Note

...You have no idea how much fun that was to write...