Chapters Not With A Bang, But A Whimper
“The virus has completely devastated over 150 of Equestria’s major regions and is spreading rapidly. At this point in time we know of only one method of killing the creatures: destroy the brain. Be on guard for any loved ones who may have recently been in any sort of contact with the infected, and if you find yourself in a threatening position, please- do not hesitate to act. Again, this is not a test, this is not a joke. We as a species are overwhelmed- we are outnumbered. This message will re-“ the radio suddenly clicked off as a hoof turned the dial.
“…Damn crap’s been playing for the last month… still nothing new…” A voice said as its owner leaned back in his rocker, his shotgun at his side as he puffed on a cigarette. “…Unicorns working that station’re probably long dead…” He took one last drag from the cig and tossed it aside. The butt landed on the ground, rolling up next to the corpse of a freshly killed infected, rotten blood gently oozing out of the massive cavity where its brain once sat. “…Whoever’s responsible for this shit, I hope they’re happy…” he said as he stared out into the distance, watching as more of the undead wandered aimlessly, snarling and gnashing their teeth hungrily, the only instinct remaining within their maggot-ridden brains being to eat. That’s all they ever did- eat. It was a small wonder that their stomachs didn’t explode.
Actually, that did happen once… Not something I wanna relive… The stallion then stood up from his rocker, shaking back strands of his deep blue mane as he cracked his neck. He shut the door to his hut, bringing his shotgun along with him. He let out a deep sigh as he made his way over to the mirror, a pair of silver eyes staring back at him as he examined his jaw-line. “Hmm… Do I really need a shave?" he asked himself. "I’ve only got a couple razors left… Eh, I’ll save it for tomorrow." He then washed his face of the blood that had sprayed across his face when he made his most recent kill. This was nothing new to him. For the last month, this was the life he grew accustomed to.
“…A pretty shitty existence for Lucky Draw, the ‘greatest quick-draw artist this side of Appleloosa,’” he muttered to no-pony in particular, his tail flicking past the twin pistols that sat on his flank. “Whatever, I’m still alive- that’s what counts.” He dried himself off, and made his way back into the living area of the hut he had commandeered. It was fairly tiny- only enough for two ponies at the most to live in, but more than enough for Lucky. He sat down on the stool he found laying outside, and began to reshuffle his deck of cards. He laid them out in seven rows, flipping over only the card at the bottom of each row.
“Looks like it’s Solitaire again…” he muttered to himself. He was about to set down the first card when he heard it- a loud droning noise, one that was all too familiar to Lucky. "Oh, shit… they must’ve heard me kill that other one… DAMMIT!" He immediately forgot about the cards and lunged for his shotgun, loading several shells into the chamber and pulling back the slide. He began to gather whatever personal effects he could still use into his saddlebags, and slung them over his back. He kicked open the door, his shotgun raised. His eyes widened- he wasn’t sure where to aim first. It seemed like there were hundreds of them. “Okay… okay Lucky, just keep calm… just head around the back and make a break for it…” he said to himself.
He would have had a follow-up thought if the infected nearest to him hadn’t leaped forward using what little remained of its rear legs. A blast of buckshot caught it square in the jaw, ripping away flesh and muscle, brown blood splattering the ground and Lucky. The corpse collapsed in a broken heap, but was soon replaced by another… and another, and another. Lucky pumped a few more shots into the crowd, and used a small hole in the group as an opportunity to escape. He quickly made his way around the side, jumping at the opening. He felt his coat stand on end as he narrowly avoided an infected that lunged at him. It collided with the wall of the hut, its neck breaking from the impact.
He galloped away at full speed, his heart pounding in his chest. He made his way down a long dirt road, and after a solid five minutes at full-tilt, felt somewhat relieved that none were following him. “…Holy shit that was close…” Lucky said with a sigh as he shook his head, clearing the image of the pony that lunged at him from his mind. “…What I wouldn’t give for a pair of wings…” he chuckled half-heartedly to himself.
He then stopped short when his eyes caught sight of something that nopony should ever see- the sight of a small foal, half-eaten, lying on the side of the road. The foal’s two forelegs had been chewed away, small bloody stumps of muscle and bone left as a reminder, the lower half of its body missing as what remained of entrails lay behind it, flies buzzing around it as they collected their meal. Its face had been horribly mutilated, one eye missing and muscle being the only thing holding the jaw in place.
“...Sweet Celestia…” Lucky said softly as he neared the corpse. When it noticed Lucky, it began to snap its jaw at him weakly, making a futile attempt at obtaining a fresh meal. Lucky looked on at the foal with pity, feeling his heart break at the sight. He took a deep breath, and pulled the slide back on his shotgun, ejecting the most recently spent casing. He set the shotgun down a few feet away, keeping it within eye-sight. He made his way over to the foal, and made his decision.
“…I can only hope you find peace…” He steeled himself as best he could; hoping that what he was doing would help the poor soul. He raised his right foreleg, and brought his hoof down on the foal’s head, crushing it instantly. A sickening, wet crack filled the air, echoing a bit of a ways out. He felt his stomach turn as blood spattered his foreleg, bits of brain clinging to his hoof and his fetlock, the deed done. Lucky eyed his work, and moved away from the corpse, his face stoic. “…Fuck whoever made me do this again…” He scraped his hoof on the dirt, trying to get whatever he could off of it. He continued down the trail, unsure of where he was going.
For now, he didn’t care.
Not With A Bang, But A Whimper
With the altercation with the thief as well as the shambling dead behind them, Lucky Draw and Star Shimmer made their way through the forest at a break-neck pace, eager to get to a more open area.
"C'mon kid, try to keep up," Lucky beckoned, pushing both the filly and himself to move faster. His head was still pounding from the hard hit he took when fighting the thief, but he ignored it- the alternative was far worse. Star nodded, galloping as fast as her legs would take her. Thunder rumbled in the not so far-off distance, causing Lucky to curse under his breath. "We need to find cover, and quick," he said. After a few solid minutes of straight galloping, they eventually reached a break in the forest. The two ponies stopped to catch their breath.
"That... that was crazy," Star said, shaking her head, her chest heaving.
"You ain't seen anything, kid," Lucky said, taking a seat on the ground. "We'll stick here for a few minutes then keep moving."
"Where are we going?" Star asked.
"There," Lucky said, pointing ahead of them. Star turned to look, and saw what appeared to be a small town that was rustic in appearance. It was plain to see that the town had either been bombed out or burned out, as several buildings looked like hollowed-out husks. Tiny specks in the distance appeared to move about the streets of the town, alerting Lucky to the good chance that that town wasn't empty.
"Are- are you sure that's where we should go?" Star asked, concerned.
"You got any better ideas?" Lucky asked. When Star fell silent, he nodded. "Just stick close to me and you'll be fine," he said.
"Right..." she murmured.
"Let's get a move on, the rain could start any minute."
The two ponies quickly and quietly made their way to the mouth of the town, avoiding whatever undead they could and killing the ones they couldn't. Lucky quickly found that he had probably made the right choice in deciding to bring Star with him when he watched her sneak up on an infected and taking out one of its legs, causing it to topple over. She quickly disposed of it by inserting her knife into its temple, the creature twitching for a few moments then falling still.
"That's actually pretty smart, kid," Lucky said.
"I've survived this long for a reason," Star said, drawing a hankie from her bag and cleaning the rotten blood off the blade.
"No kidding," Lucky said with a small smile. He then heard movement not far from them. "Stay close," he warned. They silently made their way towards a burned-out building further in the town, approaching an open door in the back. Lucky entered first, his shotgun raised. After checking the first few rooms on the bottom floor and finding nothing but old blood stains and burnt furniture, he signaled for Star to follow. They took the time to barricade the doors and windows as well as locking and barricading the door they came in through behind them. They decided to take a minute and rest.
"Alright, we can stay here for now, it seems secure enough. We need to check the upstairs, though," Lucky said, nodding in the direction of the staircase.
"Right..." Star said, swallowing hard as she peered into the darkness of the upstairs. Lucky could see the anxiety in the filly's eyes.
"Don't worry, I'll take the lead," Lucky reassured. "You just gotta watch my back."
"Yeah, I can do that," Star said, feeling a little better. The two slowly made their way up the stairs, careful not to attract any unwanted attention. They rounded the right corner at the top of the stairs, seeing two doors, both shut. Lucky tentatively pushed open the nearest door, finding it to be the upstairs bathroom. He gave a small sigh of relief, shutting the door again. He then signaled to Star that he was going to open the other door, raising a hoof. He gently nudged the door open, the barrel of his shotgun raised. The door slowly opened, and the sight that lay within was something Lucky was not prepared for. The bed that sat in the center of the room had two occupants, both long dead, massive blood spatters on the wall behind them giving Lucky an idea what had occurred here. As they approached the bed, he saw the gun that had come to rest between them. Star felt a strange sadness run through her.
"At least they went together and on their own terms," Lucky said. Star simply nodded, unable to find the right words. He leaned over the bed, grabbing the pistol and checking to see if it was loaded. He ejected the spent casings and forced the chamber back in place. "Still got three rounds left," he said. He then turned the gun over. "Take it."
"You... you want me to have it?" Star asked, a little shocked.
"You need to have something to defend yourself. Your knife is good, but this'll save you in case you can't get to it," Lucky said. "Only use it in extreme cases, though. We don't need the extra noise."
"Okay... I don't know how to use it, though," Star said. She took the gun from Lucky's hoof, almost dropping it.
"Careful! If you drop it like that it could go off!" Lucky chided.
"Sorry! I didn't know!" she apologized. "I didn't think it'd be so heavy ," Star said.
"Hold on, I'll look around and see if we can find some more ammo for it, maybe get you a holster," Lucky said. He began to rummage through the dead pony's belongings, finding a box with four more rounds as well as a small belt. "Four shots," he said. He slipped the rounds into the belt and trotted over to Star. "Okay, hold still," he said. He swung the belt around her waist, adjusting it until it fit snugly. He then took the pistol and slipped it into the small holster. "Better?"
"Yeah, I guess-" Star began to say, but was suddenly cut off when they heard the sound of screaming coming from outside. Lucky instinctively raised his gun, pointing it towards the door. The two quickly made their way downstairs, watching the scene unfold through cracks in a boarded window.
"Get away from me! Somepony, help me, please !" a stallion begged, hobbling away from a few infected. He was clutching a profusely bleeding foreleg, a good section of flesh and tissue having been ripped away from a bite.
"Should we help him?" Star asked.
"Better we stay here... he looks like he's hurt already, and Celestia knows we don't need the trouble..." Lucky said. He would soon come to find out that his decision would be one that he'd have to carry with him forever.
The infected were bearing down on him, almost at his ankles. The stallion found himself in a bad spot, surrounded by wreckage on one end and the infected on the other. Without warning, an infected that had been hiding underneath some of the wreckage crawled out towards him It latched itself to his rear leg and bit down with unearthly strength, ripping out a chunk of flesh, blood spraying from the new wound. The stallion screamed in agony, collapsing to the ground.
Within moments the other infected bore down on the poor stallion. One infected immediately went to work on its new meal, digging into the stallions gut and tearing it open, rivers of hot sticky blood shooting from the massive wound. The infected then began to tear out the stallion's organs, chewing into one of the many dark red coils of his intestines. The stallion, still alive, screamed as hard as his now-exposed lungs would allow, begging for mercy.
"Goddess..." Lucky whispered, the image burned into his memory.
The infected then began to effectively disembowel the stallion, digging into his stomach and rib-cage. Lucky watched in horror as he forced Star to look away, who was now in tears. He grabbed her and held her tightly, the sound of screaming mixed with flesh tearing and bones breaking filling the air- at least, until the stallion suddenly stopped screaming, as the infected that had bitten his ankle made its way up to the stallion and bit down on his throat, ripping out his vocal cords. The stallion could only gurgle in vain as blood filled his lungs and his mouth, now unable to speak. Death took the stallion in mere minutes, though for the stallion it would seem like an eternity. The thick, pungent scent of fresh blood filled Lucky's nostrils, turning his stomach.
Lucky turned away from the horrid sight, unable to shake what he had seen. His decision cost that stallion his life. Could I have saved him? He was already bitten, he had to have been! he thought, desperately trying to justify his choice. He then turned his attention to the filly, who was trembling violently and unable to stop crying. He was certain that if by this point she hadn't been traumatized by the horrors of the world around her, she definitely was now. "It's okay, it's okay, just relax... I'm right here," he soothed, holding her tightly. "I know it was scary, but don't worry, I'm not gonna let that happen," he said. Star then looked up at him.
"Y-You can't promise that," she choked, trying to keep her voice as low as possible.
Lucky sighed. She had him there. He couldn't promise that she wouldn't meet the same fate. "As long as I'm still kicking, I'll keep you safe, okay?"
"You promise?" Star asked.
"I promise..." Lucky said. "We're partners after all," he said with a small smirk. Star nodded, and hugged Lucky again, desperately trying to forget the nightmarish scene that had unfolded mere yards from them. Thunder rumbled overhead, rain beginning to fall and mixing the dirt with the blood of the now-dead stallion.
Looks like we're getting comfortable...
Not With A Bang, But A Whimper
Chapter One - Escape
Lucky sighed, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He felt like he had been walking for an eternity and the sun felt like it was sending all of its heat directly at him. His hooves hurt, his joints ached, and he hadn't eaten in quite some time. The stallion had been on the run from the living dead for a few hours, having narrowly escaped a horde of a decent-enough size to make anypony quiver in their horseshoes. Once he felt he had moved far enough away, he decided that it was time to stop for a while and eat.
"I'm not hearing the droning sound anymore, so I think I can eat in peace now..." he said.
He moved off the side of the road into the thick brush, finally taking a moment to sit in the shade, out of the burning gaze of the sun and in quiet silence. He reached into his pack and retrieved a can of baked beans he had managed to steal off of a deserted grocery cart a couple of towns back. The owners wouldn't miss it.
Hell, the owners are probably long dead if the blood all over the cart was any indication... he thought to himself. He reached into his pack to find his can opener, and gave an irritated groan when he couldn't find it.
"I must've left it back in that crappy old hut... dammit all..." he cursed under his breath.
At this point, it was all about finding a sharp enough rock to punch a hole in the can. He dug through the dirt, finding nothing but pebbles and twigs under his hooves. After searching for what seemed like an hour, he gave up, reaching for his canteen of water. He finished what little water he had left, and suddenly a new sense of urgency filled his mind.
I need water...
He then frantically began to dig at the ground, hoping to find any form of moisture he could that would give away the presence of a nearby water source. He then stopped.
Wait now, Lucky... just take a moment and listen... if there's a river nearby, you'll hear it if you're quiet enough... he thought, calming himself down. He closed his eyes and kept himself perfectly still, trying to listen to even the tiniest hint of flowing water. Suddenly, he heard a loud splash not too far from where he was standing.
Perfect!
He then quickly but quietly made his way towards the source of the noise, finding a rather large stream of water, as well as what had caused the noise. An undead mare had slipped and fallen in the water, and with no sense of balance, could not get backed up. It flailed its legs wildly, trying to stabilize itself, but the current of the water kept pushing it back off balance. Lucky would have laughed at its comical flailing if it had not struck him as pathetically sad first.
He decided then that before he would take some water, he'd take care of the undead stuck in the river first. He looked around for any kind of blunt object he could find, eventually spying a heavy looking rock he could use. He heaved it up, and made his way into the water. He got as close to the undead as he felt comfortable, watching the creature carefully. He summoned his strength, and threw the rock as hard as he could, the heavy object coming down straight on the creature's head, creating a loud splash and a sickening crack , signalling its skull had been crushed. Bits of bone fragments flew out from underneath the stone on impact, blood and brain matter spilling out into the surrounding water, tainting it dark red. Lucky felt his stomach turn, but the creature moved no more, the deed done. He removed the rock, and gently pushed the lifeless body aside, the current of the stream taking the body away. He reached to his side to grab his canteen, having waited for the contaminated water to be washed away, and felt cold steel touch the back of his neck.
"Do as I say or I'll use you to paint the forest," a voice said from behind him.
Shit, he thought to himself.
"Turn around," the voice said again. Lucky slowly turned around, not expecting a heavy, wooden object to collide with the side of his head and knock him unconscious.
Lucky's head throbbed. Just breathing hurt- all he could smell and taste was blood.
Fuck, I think my muzzle's broken... he thought to himself. Every part of his body was sore, but his head was what caused him the most pain. He slowly opened his eyes, seeing the pony that had gotten the jump on him was rummaging through his pack.
"Shit... this asshole's got nothing on him..." the stallion muttered as he up-ended the bag, sending all its contents to the ground, beginning to sift through it all for anything useful
Lucky tried to move his hooves, only to find that his forelegs had been bound together. He shifted slightly, and found that the bindings were loose. He carefully and quietly slipped out of the bindings, making sure not to alert the thief before him. He looked around to see if there was some sort of weapon or object he could use to free himself, then take on his attacker. He saw his shotgun a couple of feet away, the light brown buttstock stained with blood.
I can't believe I let him get the jump on me with my own weapon... Lucky thought, chastising himself for making such a dumb mistake. He then slowly began to inch towards the shotgun, trying his best not to make any noise, when he accidentally snapped a twig underneath his rump. The stallion immediately heard it, wheeling around immediately.
"The fu- hey! " he yelled, immediately lunging at Lucky. Lucky threw his weight towards his gun, but the stallion landed ontop of him first, punching him in the face with what felt like every ounce of strength in his body.
"Get off of me!" Lucky coughed, spitting blood out of his mouth as he tried to struggle.
"Fuck you, asshole! I'm gonna kill you and take all of your shit! I shoulda killed you back at the river!" he yelled, throwing punch after punch at Lucky. When he felt himself tire, he climbed up off of Lucky and went for the gun. He picked it up, and pointed the barrel right at Lucky's temple. "Night night, motherfu-" the stallion then yelled as a small blade swung over his shoulder and tucked itself in right at his collarbone, causing him to drop the gun. Lucky stared in shock as what appeared to be a unicorn filly continued her attack, driving her blade into the stallion's shoulder repeatedly as he struggled to throw her off.
"Leave him alone! He didn't do anything to you!" she yelled.
"Fuck you, you little bitch! I'll kill you too!" he yelled, trying to get her off his back.
With the stallion distracted, Lucky grabbed the gun and used it to get to his hooves. The filly screamed as he finally threw her off, knocking away her weapon. She backed away from the stallion, who was now bleeding profusely.
"You think you can get the jump on me!? You think you can kill me that easily!? I'll fucking kill you !" he yelled, moving in to take her down. Suddenly, he felt cold steel press against the base of his skull. When the stallion turned his head, he saw Lucky aiming down the sights.
"Night night, motherfucker," Lucky said as he pulled the trigger. The stallion's head exploded as the twelve-gauge buck ripped through it, a loud bang signalling a violent end to the situation. Blood fountained out of the now gaping wound where the stallion's head once sat, the corpse twitching violently then falling still. The filly stared in shock at the body before her, Lucky taking a few steps back and sitting on his rump.
"That was reckless, little missy... reckless, but necessary... thank you," Lucky said. The filly nodded her head, still staring at the lifeless corpse of the stallion. Lucky stood back up, and the filly backed away. "Relax, I'm not gonna hurt you," he reassured, extending a hoof to the filly. She gingerly took it, and stood up. He took a moment to look her over- she was young and had a blank flank, keying Lucky in to the idea that she was maybe the age of an elementary school foal, with a purple coat and a deep blue mane, cut short and pulled back tightly. Her eyes were ice blue, complimenting her mane.
"What's your name?"
"Star... Star Shimmer..."
"Nice to meet you, Star. I'm Lucky," he said. It was then that the familiar droning noise filled Lucky's ears once more. "We need to leave... the gunshot caught their attention. Let's be quick and quiet, okay?"
"Okay..." Star said nervously. The two quickly picked up Lucky's things and hurried off deeper into the brush.
