I looked at Tic Tac in desperation. He knew this place better than I. He seemed to know that as well, his shoulders and muzzle scrunched in desperate concentration. I decided that this wasn't the time to disturb him, so I turned around looking for any Cursed.
I had no weapon on hand; most of my stuff was gone...no, wait. Tic Tac had my bag slung over his back. Still didn't help with the weapon situation. As I contemplated our situation, daylight completely faded, leaving the both of us in complete darkness. In the distance, I heard screeches and yowls of the various mutated Cursed that no doubt are now roaming the streets. Luna's moon rose up, a large crack snaking through it. Nopony knew how it came to be; it just rose one night like that.
"Alright, follow me, I know where to go. Don't lag behind." Tic Tac's smooth voice broke through my musings. He shouldered my bag to make sure it would stay on, then started to trot. I followed, hoof for hoof. That trot soon turned into a gallop. We ran on the empty floor of a tall building, before reaching a zipline. One that Tic Tac had no hesitation in grabbing. I quickly grabbed a piece of rebar and zipped it down as well.
The moment I landed, I got pulled into a corner. "Wha...?" Tic Tac shushed me. He motioned that there were some Cursed in front of us. I took a deep breath, letting my other senses take control. I mouthed to Tic Tac that there were at least six. He nodded, seeming impressed.
Before I could ask what we should do, Tic Tac pulled out a tin can with wires sticking out. I stared in utter confusion as the stallion lit one of the wires, hefted the can, leaned backwards, then threw. The tin can landed somewhat far away, between a couch and a potted plant. Then the can exploded, making popping noises. Ah, firecrackers to draw away the Cursed.
Tic Tac counted softly to three, then motioned for me to follow him. We crawled along the floor, getting behind cover when we could. In my haste, I nearly knocked over a painting. Tic Tac and I locked eyes, despite us being veterans, Cursed at night always terrifies. After a tense moment, we continued our shuffling.
Before we started our crawl to the couch, Tic Tac threw another DIY firecracker, then we moved on. While he was working on the firecracker, I quietly rummaged through a bag that just happened to be right next to me. I only found a couple of bits. Our movements became slower as we started to round a corner into another hallway. From what I could tell, this tower seemed to be an office of sorts, and the place we came in from, was the lounge.
Tic Tac shuffled into an office cubby, one of the many that filled the floor. I attempted to follow him, but one of my backhooves got caught on something. When I looked back, attempting to dislodge it, I yelped in horror. A grotesque Cursed, a large crystal embedded in its skull, grabbed my leg and sunk its teeth into it. Pain and panic flooded my senses.
"Shit!" In a mad frenzy, I attempted to stand up, lash out, leap away, and cry at the same time. It resulted in the skull of the Cursed to be bashed in, leaving bits of skull and blood everywhere. However, all of the nearby Cursed immediately zoned in on me. Me and my fucking mouth. I stood up shakily and glanced at Tic Tac. He looked at me, shook his head, sadly, tossed me my bag, then scampered away. That fucking bastard!
One of the Cursed, crazily fast, sprinted towards me, then jumped. Its forehooves almost made contact, but I ducked underneath, letting the Cursed crack its head on a wall. I hastily grabbed my bag and slung it over my back and took off. There were three Cursed the way I chose, and who knows how many else around that corner, but experience taught me to stick with my choices instead of second guessing.
With a little bit of mouth strength, I wrenched a pipe out of the wall, and charged the shambling monsters. With a leap, I cleared over one of the Cursed, and then whacked another over the head. A quick buck, made the one behind me faceplant, and a quick sidestep to the right caused the last Cursed to stumble past me. Not caring if they were dead, which surely they were not, I charged ahead.
The way I chose was a very short hallway, leading up to an elevator. I mashed the open button, and turned my back to it in order to get a look at the Cursed chasing me. The three I knocked down were back up again, plus another five regular shamblers. I gripped my pipe a bit harder because with addition to the seven, I saw two speedy fuckers. I grinned slightly when I noticed one of them had a bloody gash on its head.
A quick glance behind me said that the elevator was still three floors down. Shit. The speedy fuckers, easy to spot because of crystal growth supporting their decaying legs, rushed up towards me with ghastly snarls. I threw my pipe straight at one so hard, that I heard its spine crack, as the pipe ricochet off its head. The other however, nearly got its hooves on me. I did a quick buck to make it stumble away from me, before jumping up and slamming all four hooves on its head.
The stomp caused its head to completely explode, a large blood splatter covering the floor. It was a costly victory, however. The leg that was bitten was throbbing terribly, causing me to limp. I cursed my horrible fortune and that asshole, Tic Tac. He seemed to be the loyal type; now I knew what a shithead he was.
The other speedy fucker got back to its hooves, its head hanging slightly, and yet it still charged. I heard a small ding behind me and I quickly scrambled inside. The Cursed horde was growing bit by bit and getting close by the minute, so I hit any floor, hoping for luck to spare me just this once. The doors didn't close fast enough, as the stupid fast Cursed made its way inside, the doors closing behind it. It growled and I responded in kind. The Cursed leaped forward with reckless abandon, only to be swiftly met with an elevator bar, that lined the sides. I squirmed in disgust as the shattered skull dripped blood, as the body tumbled to the floor.
The elevator started moving, making me sigh in relief. I adjusted my bag's straps so it wouldn't be in any danger of slipping off, then sat down. I made sure the blood of the corpse was nowhere near me, while I rummaged through my bag, making sure everything was there. Once I confirmed everything was still there, I checked on my bite. The fur that surrounded the wound, looked gray and dead, while the bite itself was a nasty shade of red. I groaned, if I didn't get any form of a suppressant, I'm going to turn. That thought made me depressed. I will never figure out what happened to my friend, to Ferny.
Then the elevator stopped. I flinched and looked at the doors, expecting them to open. It didn't. A wire above snapped quite audibly, sending shivers down my spine. Then I experienced a freefall like no other. The elevator plummeted, sending me and the Cursed corpse to the ceiling. I groaned as the bloody bits spattered at me, then my groans turned into shrieks once reality started setting in. Then the elevator went taut, sending the corpse and I to the ground. The good thing about unconsciousness, is that all the worry disappears.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Mommy! Don't leave me!" I sat straight up in my bed, holding out my little hooves towards the green mare that was about to close the door.
"Don't worry, honey. There's nothing to be afraid of." The mare trotted over, her smile, loving, yet nothing in her soulless gray eyes. She gave me a big hug, rival to a bear.
"But what about the changeling in my closet!?" I squealed fearfully as the wind outside made a whooshing sound.
The mare chuckled, "there are no changelings here." She opened the closet, revealing just that. "Your dad personally asked Princess Twilight to enchant the closet so no changelings could get inside. Now go to sleep, silly filly."
"Wait! What about the manticore under my bed!?"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
I got startled awake by the loud bang that shook the entire room. No, not a room, an elevator. I found myself hugging the corpse of a Cursed. I gagged, and shoved it as far away as possible, which wasn't that far. I stood up, shaking myself as best I could, then took a look around my surroundings. The elevator seems to be tilted slightly, explaining why the corpse and I ended up in the same corner.
After gathering my scattered items, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I extended my other senses and 'saw' that the elevator stopped between floors. I groaned, knowing how horrible of a climb this was going to be. I popped open the emergency hatch in the ceiling of the elevator, and took a look around. A single, thick, wire seemed to be holding the elevator, but the elevator itself was caught between two beams. I stood up and stretched, then shrieked when I saw a splattered corpse right next to me.
I reasoned that the Cursed somehow fell and landed heavily, thus waking me up. I calmed myself down, and looked around, trying to figure out how I would escape from this. The Cursed must've fallen from somewhere, so I decided that there must be an opening of sorts. I tightened the straps, once again, and leaped upwards. My hooves scrambled for a purchase, cursing how this wasn't pony-friendly.
I pulled myself up and balanced on a small beam, then leapt to another, and another. I hopped, jumped, and clambered around the various beams and pipes that jutted out of the wall. I slipped on an outstretched rebar, giving me a panic attack. After I climbed to safety, I calmed down a bit. I decided that this would be a perfect moment for a break. Looking up, I saw that the open doorway was still three floors up. Sighing, I rummaged through my bag, looking for any snacks to replenish my strength.
Musing on how my life has went from bad to worse in just a matter of hours, made me really contemplative. As I munched on trail mix, I thought of Ferny, the friend I came here for. If I survived this night, and got some suppressant for the Light, and find out at the end that he's no longer alive; I wouldn't know what to do with myself. He's my light, and if that dies, I would be stumbling around blind.
I shook my head, enough of this cheesy nonsense, time to kick some flank! Specifically Tic Tac's beautifully toned flank! With renewed determination, I sprang and clutched on a beam, hauled myself up, then sprang again. When I finally reached my destination, my coat was drenched with sweat, my forelegs tired from all that hauling.
Before I could get a moments rest, however, a speedy Cursed jumped at me, its mouth glistening with blood. I yelped and took a step backward, then fell backward because my hoof stepped on a loose rock. As I landed on my rump, the Cursed flew over my head, straight into the elevator shaft. I just sat there, surprised that I was still alive. Then I heard shrieking metal, then a clang. I cringed, knowing exactly what was going to happen. The Cursed must've dislodged the elevator, sending it into a freefall, definitely going to crash at the bottom.
After a loud boom, I scrambled up. "Shit." I quickly shifted my bag so it wouldn't hit me while running. When I stood up, I heard shrieks echoing through the building. I took off, carefully weaving between furniture and bags, I wanted to be out of here as fast as possible. I turned a corner, barely bit off a shriek, then dove back the way I came from. It was a Shrieker! Fucking bastards attract more Cursed, swarming ponies and sometimes outposts. The Light added crystals that resonate a lot, in their throats, giving them the ability to scream. They are easy to spot because of their bulky size and crystallized throats.
I huddled underneath a stained table, with what, I didn't want to know, and reviewed my options. I could go back from where I came from, though there will be tons of Cursed there because of the elevator. I could rush the Shrieker by surprise, try to take it out before it can scream, but if I'm not fast enough, Cursed will swarm over me within seconds. Or...
I glanced at my wings, one bandaged and the other tightly securing my bag, and hoped that they would be fine. With a growl of determination, I rushed out of my hiding spot. The Shrieker, as I predicted, called out, nearly shattering my eardrums. I paid no heed and continued my gallop. With no hesitation, I sprang forward, my forelegs spread out in front of me, and crashed through a window.
I prayed and hoped and wished, then spread my wings. "Oh fuck, fuck, fuck! SHIIIIIIIT!" I screamed as my right wing flailed uselessly and painfully. I dropped like a stone, my breaths coming in short gasps, my eyes flicking from one place to the next. Then it was all over. I landed on a pile of trash bags, breaking my fall.
I got up, slowly and creakily, then shook myself from the garbage that was hanging from my coat. Then I froze. This night couldn't get any better! CAN IT? I slowly extracted myself out of the trash and crouched behind a park bench. A fucking Volatile was roaming about, its crystallized head twitching every so often. Everypony knows that Volatiles are the absolute worst Cursed you could chance upon. Crystals have affected everything, strengthening muscles and the sort, even acting like some sort of armor. They are super agile, jumping and climbing, and to make things worse, they can attract others. A single whiff of fresh meat, a Volatile will start chasing. The chase will lure all sorts of Cursed to join the chase. Their only weakness, is enchanted crystals and daylight.
I took a deep breath and 'looked' around me. I could sense that there were in fact two Volatiles, along with 13 other Cursed roaming about. I cursed at my situation, wondering how in Equestria was I going to get out of here. I facehoofed myself, I could call somepony! I rummaged through my bag as silently as possible and pulled out an earpiece that functions like a radio. I turned the volume down to the minimum with multiple swipes with my hoof.
"Mayday, I need help! I'm outside on the streets, surrounded by Cursed. Can anypony help me?" I waited impatiently. I squished myself backwards so I would be a smaller target, looking around constantly using both my eyes and my survivor sense. Buck it, no one is going to answer. I prepared myself for a horrible night just before...
"kssh...Yes, hello? Can you hear me? Is it the right frequency?" A voice broke through my dark thoughts.
"YES! Hello!?" I yelled out as loud as I possibly could. Even then, I frantically looked around, seeing if any Cursed heard me. Nothing, safe, for now.
"Ah, yes, hello. Where are you exactly?" The voice sounded like it had an accent, though I couldn't place my hoof on which one.
"I'm not sure...lemme check." I glanced around, trying to find some landmark of sorts. The only thing I could find was a store sign that said; Blue's Cheese Extravaganza! When I mentioned that to the voice, it hummed for a moment.
"Yes, if you could give me a second, please..." The voice drifted away, leaving me alone. I cursed my fate, knowing that there's no luck for me. Then an explosion rocked the night, leaving me utterly flabbergasted. "Quick! While they're distracted!"
I followed the voice's instructions, running between buildings and broken down cars, avoiding various Cursed. Before long, I made it to a skyscraper that looked exactly like the other ones that dot around the city of Filly. The only distinguishable thing, was the fact that most of the building was cut in half. Looking behind me, I saw a Volatile coming straight for me, screaming horrible noises. I gave no second thought and rushed forwards and slid under a set of broken doors. The Cursed tried following me in, but their rotting brains aren't enough to process the movement of ducking.
"Welcome, my dear, to my humble abode. It's been quite the while since I've had my last guest."