DayZ of Hardship

by Nightwish

Day 5

I saw nothing but darkness, but I could hear the gunshots. They got closer and closer, louder and louder. Then, when they seemed to be going off right next to my ear, they stopped. Then came the weeping, a sound so terrible that it was hard to believe that I had been the one to make it. It filled my ears and refused to stop, driving me insane with the sadness it contained. When I thought it was never going to end, it suddenly ceased, to be replaced by a low whisper. I couldn't make out what it was saying, but I could tell what direction it was coming from.

Still shuddering from the sound of the weeping, I made my way toward the whispering, feeling my way through the darkness with my hands ahead of me. Nothing blocked my way, but I kept my hands in front just in case. The whispering grew louder, becoming more rushed, as if it was trying to warn me. When I didn't slow down, it suddenly stopped.

I stood there, unsure where to go. I blinked a few times, more out of habit than anything, and suddenly I was on a road with my winchester in my hands.

"Ah, there you are David," Dmitri said, stepping toward me from a nearby building. There were corpses between the two of us, and as he walked, I saw one of them twitch.

I tried to call out, to warn him about the zed, but my voice was gone. It grabbed him by the ankle as he passed and sank its teeth into his leg, causing him to scream in pain. As he pulled out his pistol to shoot it, I was thrust back into darkness.

Dmitri's scream echoing in my mind, I ran around blindly, trying desperately to escape the nightmare before it struck again. My legs soon began to burn from exertion, and I could feel the heat of my own blood as my leg wound was reopened.

Defeated, I collapsed to the ground, submitting myself to the power of the darkness.

"Wake up," it said. "David, wake up!"

---

My eyes flashed open and I looked around the room, spotting Vinyl standing next to me with her front hooves on my shoulder.

"Are you alright?" she asked. "You screamed."

"Yeah," I replied, "I just had a bad dream."

"Must have been a pretty bad one," Dmitri said, attracting my attention to the corner he was standing in.

"Was this your house?" Aleksander asked, poking his head in the doorway.

"Yeah," I replied. "I'm surprised it's not destroyed.

"Hasn't been looted much either. There's still food in the cabinets."

"Then what are doing standing around me?" I said, getting up. "Go get some of it!"

Not needing to be told twice, Aleksander and Dmitri both headed downstairs.

"Where's Martin at?" I asked.

"Still asleep," Vinyl replied. "I think you could set off an explosion and he wouldn't wake up."

"Oh, we'll see about that." Making my way downstairs, I grabbed a cup and poured some water into it, then went looking for Martin. I found him sleeping peacefully in a sleeping bag in my living room.

"Lets see if you can sleep through this." Flipping the cup, I let the water splash onto his face.

His eyes shot open and he spluttered, trying to understand what the hell just happened.

Meanwhile, everyone else was laughing (Dmitri was unlucky enough to be drinking something when he started) and I made sure that I was out of Martin's reach when he realized what happened.

"What the fuck was that for!?" he said, glaring at me.

I grinned. "No particular reason."

"You should see the look on your face!" Aleksander gasped, clutching at his sides.

"There's plenty more if you're still not awake," Vinyl said, flashing a smile.

"I'd rather not walk around Chernarus drenched with water, thank you very much."

Vinyl shrugged. "Suit yourself then."

As she turned, there was a flash of what looked like green fire, and a scroll landed in front of her. I jumped at the sight, and by the looks on everyone's faces, none of them had been expecting it either.

Blinking a couple times from surprise, Vinyl lifted it up and opened it.

"What does it say?" Aleksander asked, craning his neck to try and make it out.

"It's from Twilight," Vinyl replied. "It says that she's figured it out and she'll be coming to get me tomorrow. She wants me to wait for her at the spot where I showed up in this place."

"Well," I said, clapping my hands together, "then it looks like we're going back to Berezino."

"We should probably grab some fuel first," Dmitri said.

"There's a gas station nearby I think," Martin replied.

"Alright then. Dmitri, get to the helicopter and get everything ready while we retrieve a few jerry cans of fuel."

"No problem." Hefting his M249 in one hand, he finished off his drink and headed out the door. The rest of us followed, turning in a different direction as we reached the road. We each had a couple of empty jerry cans, and even Vinyl was levitating a couple with her magic. For some reason, we didn't encounter any zeds along the way, but I didn't complain about it seeing as how it just made our lives easier.

When we had filled up the jerry cans with as much fuel as we could, we turned and headed back toward the building where we had set down the helicopter. I could see Dmitri waiting for us outside the door, standing amongst a few dead bodies.

As we got closer, he spotted us and nodded. "There you are David," he said, stepping toward me. "What took you so long?"

"Shouldn't you make sure those things are dead," I replied, ignoring his question and pointing at the bodies.

"If they were still alive, I would know." He chuckled and kept walking. He passed close by one of the supposed corpses, and its hand shot out, latching onto his ankle and providing leverage as it reared its head and bit him.

He screamed and grabbed his pistol, but I put a bullet in the zed's head before he could.

"Mother fucker!" Dmitri cursed, shooting the zed until his pistol clicked.

"Are you okay?" Vinyl asked, taking a cautious step toward him.

"Yes, I'm fine," he said, though I could detect a slight tremor in his voice. "Don't worry about it."

"Are you sure?" Aleksander asked. "I've never heard of anyone surviving from a bite."

"Well I'm not just anyone," Dmitri replied. "Lets go."

Without another word, we headed to the top of the building and fueled up the helicopter.

"Hopefully we can get there before dark," Martin said, climbing into the pilot's seat.

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"It's Winter Solstice. The sun will be setting really early tonight."

I groaned, mentally calling myself an idiot for forgetting that it was still Winter.

"Well we're not going to get anywhere if you don't start flying," Dmitri said, sounding like his normal self.

---

Why is it that I always fall asleep in vehicles unless I'm the one driving? Anyway, I was shaken awake by what sounded like an explosion.

"David, are you seeing this?" Martin asked. Rubbing my eyes to clear the crap out, I looked out the windshield, and was shocked to see a beam of light shooting into the sky.

"Vinyl, didn't Twilight say tomorrow?" I asked, unable to think of any other possible explanation.

"She did," Dmitri said, "but apparently she changed her mind. Martin, get us as close as you can."

He nodded, and was starting to pick up speed when bullets started hitting.

"SHIT!" Aleksander shouted, flinching in response to the gunfire. Cursing under his breath, Martin tried to get higher, but the helicopter refused to obey.

"They must have hit something important," Dmitri remarked, seeming way too calm in the situation.

"YOU DON'T SAY!?" Martin shouted sarcastically, now maneuvering the helicopter so as to minimize damage if they crashed. The gunfire continued, and the helicopter began to drop.

"As soon as we hit ground, I want everyone out!" I said, receiving nods from everyone.

The chopper touched down what appeared to be a few blocks from the beam, which projected from the other side of a building that blocked our view of whatever was causing it. But as soon as I stepped out to make a run for it, Bandits came swarming around the turn behind us. There were at least twenty of them, and all were armed with heavy weapons.

"David, get Vinyl out of here," Dmitri said, lifting his M249.

"Oh no you don't," I replied, knowing what he was thinking. "You're not staying here you crazy bastard."

"He's right," Aleksander said. "The ponies might be able to help you! Please, go with David and Martin. I'll distract them." Without waiting for a reply, he jumped from the helicopter and opened fire, sending some of the bandits running for cover.

"Lets get the fuck out of here!" Martin said, sprinting in the direction of the beam. Vinyl galloped after him, and Dmitri and I followed behind her.

"Fucking idiot is going to get himself killed!" Dmitri hissed, reluctantly jogging along beside me.

"He knows what he's doing," I insisted, limping a little and trying not to think of the darker possibility.

We rounded the corner, and I almost stopped dead in my tracks. Standing in front of us was a creature much larger than Vinyl, and with both wings and a horn. Her mane and tail both appeared to have several different colors, and somehow seemed to float in the air.

"Are these your other friends?" she asked Vinyl, her voice sweet and caring.

"Yeah, but there's one more."

"Well he must make haste if he can, for the portal won't be able to stay open much longer."

Looking past her, I saw Martin standing next to a golden vortex and a purple unicorn that looked at me as if I was the most interesting thing in the world.

"What the fuck are you guys still doing here!?" Aleksander shouted, rounding the corner at a dead run. "GO!"

Martin instantly obeyed, jumping through the portal with the purple unicorn and Vinyl in tow. The large pony hesitated for a moment, but also obeyed. Dmitri and I were the only ones who denied the order.

"Look, you two need to get through that portal," Aleksander wheezed, stopping in front of us.

"We're not leaving without you," Dmitri said, crossing his arms.

"I was afraid you'd say that." Sighing, Aleksander shoved him, hard.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Dmitri snarled, waving his arms to try and keep his balance as he fell backwards into the portal.

"Why aren't you coming?" I asked, stepping back out of his reach.

"This is the only world I know," Aleksander replied, extending his arms. "I wouldn't be able to survive in any other. Fighting for survival is all I know now."

A tear seeped out from his eye, and I saw through the mask that he had worn in our presence, revealing the pain, sadness, and anger that he had done his best to lock away.

"Stay safe you crazy bastard," I said, earning a smile in return. I took one last look at the buildings of Berezino, then jumped through.

Author's Note:

Sorry for the short chapter and the obvious rush, but this story combined with work has taken a big toll on me. Maybe when I can get more used to doing this I'll be able to produce a better and longer story, but until then, I'm sorry for any disappointment.

Comments

[Ponytime]

That was delicious

[GuyFace]

Dis betta be good.

[Haunted Toaster]

what he said ^

[Zephyr]

Zombie plague for all of Equestria! :D

[hungrykiwi]

that was funny, I was listening to the halo 4 soundtrack and an epic fighting music song cam eon just as they started getting shot at.

[Sgt Dash]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZAt4LPzPmY

play this song the minute the helicopter hits the ground :D