Chapter Ten: Of Bad, And Worse
~BlackRoseRaven
Last Call checked the bandages he'd applied to Furor, the Changeling smiling briefly at him before he lowered his head a little in humility, mumbling: “Thanks.”
The stallion only shrugged as he looked for a few moments at Furor: the Changeling had shifted his form back to the shape of the unicorn, and Last Call couldn't help but ask: “Are you sure that you want to...”
“It's more comfortable for me.” Furor half-answered, and Last Call shrugged before he looked over at Silent Wish, who smiled a little at him beneath the oversized ranger's jacket he had dug out for her to hide her wings. She had a small satchel on, too, with a few flares they'd dug up and some medical supplies: bandages and painkillers, mainly.
He checked his own gear: a satchel with some more supplies, a new flashlight with new batteries, a warm jacket to help protect against the elements and another that was his wife's size stashed away in the satchel. He was determined to do everything right: he wasn't going to screw things up this time, no matter what it meant he had to do.
It was a good thing they had stopped here to rest. He was aware that it might mean they wouldn't catch up to Pink and Schmisse immediately, but the rest and supplies would hopefully mean that they would be able to get through the rest of the journey to the summit without any serious difficulties.
Furor wrestled himself into a jacket, then he glanced over at Last Call as he brushed at himself, saying: “I'm ready whenever you are.”
“Alright. Let's get moving, then.” Last Call headed towards the door, turning on the new flashlight and smiling a little: it was hooded so the beam was much narrower, but it was far brighter. With a little luck, it would be easier for them to see where they were going while it would be harder for the monsters in the darkness to hunt them down.
Well, that was probably going a little far. But the narrower, and more concealable light would at least help with when they came across... whoever the hell these ponies were that were holding his wife hostage. Last Call nodded briefly to himself, then he opened the door-
He stared stupidly out at a chubby stallion, who gaped in disbelief back at him. Silent Wish and Furor both blinked and gaped, and Happenstance fell on his knees and nearly broke down into tears, rasping: “Thank God!”
Last Call blinked, then he stepped forward and grasped Happenstance, half-hauling him to his hooves as he blurted out: “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I was chased here!” Happenstance whimpered, looking up at Last Call as his whole body trembled. He was dirty and filthy, Last Call noted, and he seemed even more battered than before, the poor, chubby stallion struggling to hold in his sobs even as tears ran down his face and he blurted out: “I was so terrified! Oh, Last Call, I, I'm so sorry that I ran away, but when those monsters appeared I didn't have any choice? Please please please tell me I'm not insane, t-that you've seen them, that... how did you get here? How did you survive? They're everywhere!”
“Happenstance, hey, calm down, okay? Let's... let's get you inside.” Last Call was loathe to lose more time, but at the same time... poor bastard, look at him. And maybe... “What happened? Can you tell me that?”
Happenstance trembled and shook, but as they helped him inside and sat him down in a chair, he took immediate, clear comfort in the light and the warmth of the ranger station. His breathing slowed, and he scrubbed childishly at his face before he nodded a few times, saying finally: “I'm sorry. I just... it's mad, Last Call! I can't believe what's going on!”
Last Call smiled a little, nodding a bit before he said as gently as possible: “Yeah, I know. It's crazy. But so far, a lot of ponies seem to uh... still be okay.” He decided against mentioning Toadsfall, looking pointedly at Furor before he turned his eyes back to Happenstance. “What happened?”
“Well... after you left, the monsters...” Happenstance shuddered, shaking his head vehemently for a moment before he visibly struggled to regain his composure again as he scrubbed quickly at his face. “Sorry, I'm sorry, I just... I just ran. I don't know what else to say. They chased me all the way into the mountain, and I got lost in all the tunnels... I don't even know how I finally managed to get out! I just kept following one wall, like you're supposed to when you're stuck in a maze.”
“I guess that explains why it took you so long to get out.” Furor said dryly, and Happenstance smiled sheepishly and lowered his head a little.
“I know it wasn't the smartest. I didn't know what else to do, though... I was just lucky that it seemed like the monsters got lost in the tunnels, too.” Happenstance halted, then he shook his head and murmured: “But I thought I heard... screaming. And I... I saw something awful. I thought it was dragging someone away...”
Happenstance trembled, and Furor looked pointedly over at Last Call, but Last Call only nodded and said after a moment: “It's okay now, Happenstance, okay? Look, uh... we were with some friends, but... we got split up by... by monsters. We're heading to the summit. If you come with us, maybe we can find them.”
“The summit? Why are we heading upward?” Happenstance blinked in surprise before he fearfully bit at his hooves, shaking his head helplessly. “I, I don't think that's a good idea at all, we should get out of here as fast as we can, Call! I... unless that's what you plan to do? Yes, that must be it, the cable car at the top of the mountain might still work! I know it's been ages since they've used it, but there's always a chance, isn't-”
“No, I'm looking for my wife, Happenstance.” Last Call said firmly, and Happenstance blinked before the stallion bit his lip and added grudgingly: “But look. I'm not going to drag anyone along who doesn't want to come. If the car really is a way out-”
Happenstance gave an indecisive little noise, and Last Call cocked an eyebrow, the chubby stallion fidgeting fearfully before he mumbled: “Only if it works. Chances are it hasn't been used for quite a few years. And even if it does, the old road is well overgrown. Oh, Toadsfall would know more, I wish he was here.”
“You're the only one who does.” Furor muttered, and Happenstance looked at him curiously before he brightened suddenly.
“Furor!” he blurted out, like he was seeing him for the first time, and then the Changeling winced when Happenstance hugged him firmly. “Furor, my lad! You're okay!”
“That hurts!” Furor wheezed, and Last Call winced as he helped pry the chubby pony off his friend, sighing a little as Furor stumbled backwards before he scowled as he hugged his ribs with one foreleg, asking dryly: “Are we going or not? Look, it doesn't matter what our plans are. It won't be safe here forever, so we have to move forward, and whether we stay or go, the summit sounds like our next stop.”
“Schmisse was right about the cable car, which means he's probably right about them using it to move supplies, too.” Last Call said with as much hope as he could muster: if he sounded like he believed in it enough, maybe they would too. And Horses of Heaven know belief alone has gotten us this far. “You're right, though: no matter what we decide, we have to go.”
Furor grimaced but nodded, while Happenstance chewed apprehensively on his hooves, eyes wide and childish and frightened before he swallowed thickly and nodded. “I'll... I'll do my best, but... I just... I hope that none of those monsters follow us. You'll keep your flashlight on, won't you? I think they're scared of the light...”
“I think they're starting to get used to it.” Furor muttered, before he shook his head and gestured at Last Call, who nodded once.
“I'll keep it on while we move up the mountain, at least. I don't remember the path very well.” Last Call answered, and he gently patted Happenstance on the shoulder before he said quietly: “Just keep it together, okay? And... hey, grab a blanket or something. It's cold outside.”
Happenstance smiled a little, then he grabbed a blanket off the back of the armchair and awkwardly wrapped the fuzzy thing around himself. “Oh, don't worry too much about me, I... I have the extra padding, after all.” Happenstance laughed a little, looking awkwardly, almost shamefully down, and Last Call softened a bit before the stallion said hurriedly: “Let's just go. Before I lose my nerve and beg to stay here. I need to...”
He paused, looked at Silent Wish for a moment, then he smiled in embarrassment as he hurriedly looked away from the filly, mumbling: “I need to grow a little backbone, I suppose. I... I don't think we've been introduced, my name is Happenstance, and I'm-”
“Okay. That's good. Happenstance, this is Silent Wish.” Last Call interrupted, recognizing the beginning of a familiar spiel.
Silent Wish nodded awkwardly, before she blushed a bit when Happenstance thrust a hoof towards her with a smile, and she hesitated for a few moments before nervously reaching up to shake his hoof with one of her little claws. But Happenstance was next to oblivious before he asked curiously: “Aren't you a little short for a Night Guard?”
Silent Wish only scowled a little, and Last Call sighed, but admittedly there was a mix of amusement and relief there, too: if Happenstance hadn't been so oblivious, he might have started screaming 'monster' instead. “Let's go, guys.”
Happenstance nodded, and Last Call led the way out the door, Furor and Silent Wish following, and the chubby stallion dawdling along, last in line. He nervously pulled his blanket tighter around his body as they stepped out into the cool night air, but the snow had stopped, at least, although it had left more than a dusting of white in its wake.
Last Call grimaced a bit as he tromped his way to the path leading up the mountain: it circled around the outside of the cliff, and while electric lanterns flickered here and there along the route, for the most part it was just spaces of sparkling darkness next to a wall of black, above a sea of empty, shifting shadow. The snow both helped and hindered them: the trail glimmered under the starlight, but it could also be hiding any number of slopes, pitfalls, traps, crevices...
Last Call shivered a little, then he turned on his flashlight, and winced a bit at how brightly the snow in front of him lit up with the reflected light. It was almost blinding. He stepped onto the bottom of the path, then bit his lip before saying finally: “Be careful. Stay close to the wall as much as possible.”
The others nodded, and he turned before he began to make his way up, grimacing a bit as his hooves puffed up snow with every step. It was deeper than he'd imagined, and the stallion almost pressed his body to the side of the mountain as they fell into a single-file line.
Last Call stopped at the first island of light formed by a lantern, the stallion glancing at the electric light and studying it for a moment before he muttered: “Someone must have turned these all on recently. I wonder if it's a message from Schmisse.”
“No trail.” Furor pointed out, and Last Call nodded briefly.
“The snow seemed like it started after we got out of the tunnels, right? They might have ignored the cabin and kept heading to the summit. If they moved quickly enough...” Last Call shook his head: they had made their choice, either way. “Let's just keep going for now.”
“Oh dear. I hope they're alright.” Happenstance murmured, shivering a little as he clenched the blanket tighter around his body, looking worriedly up towards the summit. “We... we must have circled the mountain twice by now!”
“Not even once. The trail will move inward soon, though.” Last Call explained, glancing back over his shoulder with a small smile. “Let's keep moving, okay? It's easier if we move.”
Happenstance nodded after a moment even as he shifted worriedly, and Furor and Silent Wish both fell in behind Call. The stallion did his best to focus on what was ahead instead of trying to look behind him, moving a little faster now as he worried what was above, and whether or not Schmisse and Pink were okay.
They began to round a narrow bend, and Last Call grimaced a little as his eyes wandered away from the trail to look out into the endless, starry darkness. Then his eyes widened as he heard a half-cry, looking back over his shoulder in shock to watch as the snow broke away from beneath Silent Wish's hooves as she stumbled at the edge of the path, her eyes going wide with alarm as Happenstance gave a strangled little yell as he grabbed uselessly at her-
Furor turned and stepped forward, managing to grab Silent Wish by one foreleg, and for a moment, Last Call thought everything was going to be okay as Happenstance flopped uselessly down to the ground-
The mountain itself seemed to rumble, and Furor had a moment to look surprised before the powder spilled out from under his hooves, washing him and Silent Wish off the edge of the mountain. They tumbled down as Happenstance squeaked, snow spilling around him and brushing his blanket loose, but his heavy, uncoordinated body refused to be moved by the flood of snow as Last Call stumbled a bit, then shouted desperately down into the darkness.
But they were gone. Gone, fallen off the mountain, already out of sight. Last Call stumbled towards the edge, then winced when Happenstance scrambled forward and grabbed him, nearly throwing him back against the wall as he blurted out: “No!”
Last Call stared at him numbly, and Happenstance trembled violently before he shook his head as he whimpered: “No. No, no, no, please be careful! I... maybe we should try and go down-”
“I...” Last Call bit his lip, looking down the cliff, before he looked uneasily up towards the summit, torn between decisions. And yet he knew that if they had fallen all the way down the mountain... Furor... “No. I want to, but I know we have to head to the summit. I just... I have to do better.”
He looked down silently for a moment, thinking silently about how he always screwed up everything, no matter how hard he tried: maybe if he'd been faster, maybe if he'd been watching where they were going, maybe maybe maybe...
“Last Call, they might still... we can still get out of here. If we're fast enough, we can alert the Royal Guard, and the army can come in and they can drive off these... monsters. Furor's smart and stubborn and I'm sure he'll protect that little filly, I know he has a good heart.” Happenstance said, shaking his head vehemently before he forced a shaky smile. “But we won't get anywhere just... crying here.”
“Yes, you're right.” Last Call said after a moment, before he bit his lip and nodded, muttering: “Stay close.”
The chubby stallion nodded back, hurrying up behind Last Call as they continued along the path, Last Call making sure to test and sweep his leg through the snow with every step now, always staying close to the wall and constantly checking back on Happenstance. It took much longer than he'd expected to reach the summit at the pace he set, but all the same, they made it safely to the turn that led into a gorge.
They were sheltered from the cold wind and the snow in this crevice in the mountain, and while it made Last Call claustrophobic, the fact that they were passing old trail markers that had been nailed here and there into the stone reassured him... at least, as much as he could be reassured at this point.
His heart hurt. He felt like an incredible, miserable failure. How could he have let them fall? How was it that he had walked right past that loose shelf of snow, and they had...
Last Call grimaced a bit and focused back on the present, as much as he could. He focused his flashlight ahead, on a step of natural stone stairs that ramped up out of the gorge: just up these, and they would be on the short trail to the summit. He knew there was an excavation site, the converted ranger station or research facility or whatever it was, and apparently a cable car, all in the shadow of the monolith that had been carved on top of the mountain...
“Last Call.” Happenstance whispered fearfully, and Call frowned a bit, halting on the stairs to glance over his shoulder at Happenstance. The stallion looked up at him miserably, and Call frowned again in confusion before the chubby pony hung his head shamefully and mumbled: “I... I have to go to the bathroom.”
“What?” Call stared blankly for a few moments at Happenstance, and then he asked disbelievingly: “Here? Now? Happenstance, hold it-”
“I have been!” Happenstance whined, but his cheeks were flushed with humiliation, his eyes teary, his whole body shaking as he clutched at his stomach. “W-What do I do?”
“I... just...” Last Call grabbed at his head, then he said tiredly: “Just go to the bathroom. It doesn't even matter. We have... much bigger things to worry about.”
“I can't!” Happenstance squawked, and Last Call winced and gestured violently at him to be quiet. “I can't when someone's around.” Happenstance whispered, lowering his head shamefully before the chubby stallion mumbled: “I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, I haven't... I'm a very regular... I spent all day eating and of course I didn't think that-”
“Okay, enough.” Last Call said, maybe a little forcefully, and Happenstance wilted. Last Call grimaced, then he said after a moment: “Do it here, there's... plenty of nooks for you to. Do it in. I'll go up the stairs and just... don't keep me waiting, okay?”
Happenstance nodded awkwardly, giving a trembling smile as a few tears ran down his cheeks before he scurried away, then he whimpered a little and looked back at Call, asking: “Do you have another flashlight? I... I'm just...”
“Look, just take mine. You can signal me with it when you're done.” Last Call said after a moment, sighing a bit as he reached up and took his flashlight off. Happenstance looked both humiliated and grateful, lowering his head shamefully as Last Call slipped it onto him, before he turned and headed for the stairs: there was still enough light to see by, and if anything happened, he had a few flares in his satchel... although Silent Wish was carrying most of the supplies. Goddammit... “Just... be safe.”
“Yes. Yes, I will, and I'll flash the light up to you when I'm done and you can come get me.” Happenstance said hurriedly, before he turned and scuttled quickly off around a corner, and Last Call rubbed tiredly at his face before he turned and headed up the sloping steps of the gorge.
He grimaced a bit as he emerged onto the trail at the top of the mountain, looking uneasily up it: in the distance, he could see the outline of a building, while to the other side, there was the enormous, strange, carven monolith that stood atop this mountain. He had never really spent much time wandering around up here, thanks mostly to laziness, but he knew that in the summer months, at least, the weird, crushed-in mountaintop drew a lot of visitors.
He tapped his hoof for a few moments, then sighed and finally turned around, hesitantly making his way back down the steps as he called in a low voice: “Happenstance?”
He didn't hear anything.
Last Call frowned uneasily as he descended to the bottom of the gorge, asking uncertainly: “Happenstance?”
Nothi-
A low groan.
Last Call shifted uneasily as a flurry of emotions ran through him. Fear, anger, hope, regret, hesitance. He stepped forwards, grimacing in anticipation of-
Last Call found himself less than a foot away from the stone-masked shape, the floating, rotting thing cocking its head at him almost curiously, the stone surfaces around it shimmering with muck that writhed eagerly in its wake.
His breath instantly halted and his eyes widened, body freezing up for a moment as the thing studied him, and then a single, slimy tentacle reached out and almost playfully stroked across Last Call's face.
It burned.
It burned, like he had just been sprayed with acid, his eye swelling up, his flesh searing.
Last Call screamed as he staggered backwards, then he turned and broke into a sprint. His body bounced painfully off jagged stone as the monster floated slowly behind him, writhing and twisting its way through the gorge after the stallion.
Last Call crashed into the bottom of the natural steps, gasping and clawing at them before he began to stumble quickly up them, swearing violently under his breath before he staggered to his hooves and clambered hurriedly up to the trail. But the floating, wretched thing was closing in behind him, chuckling quietly as it sailed over the rocks and steps that Last Call had to climb, stretching its mire-tentacles out towards him-
Last Call hit the trail and broke into a full gallop, charging blindly through darkness illuminated only by starlight to the end of the path. He tripped over the lip of the vast crater, and then screamed as he went head-over-heels, painfully rolling down a slope of rock until he landed, prone, on a gentle slope.
He struggled to catch his breath for a moment before he shoved himself to his hooves and stumbled onward, looking back over his shoulder fearfully. He couldn't see the awful thing anymore, but he could sense it was still there, still following through the darkness.
Last Call looked out across the crater of the mountaintop, forcing himself into a jagged trot. He breathed hard as he focused on his objective ahead: the research station or the abandoned ranger station or whatever the hell it was, he couldn't even keep it straight in his mind anymore.
The facility stood on stilts at the edge of the crater, shored up against the inward curvature of the mountaintop. There were trails leading to it, but the ground was smooth enough that Last Call was able to ignore them and make his way straight towards the facility, before his eyes widened as he caught a glimmer of light flash through the darkness ahead.
“H-Hey!” he shouted, before he could stop himself. Immediately, the light vanished, but Last Call thought he could vaguely see shapes under the starlight, and he gritted his teeth as he looked fearfully back over his shoulder for any trace of the apparition that had been following him, before he looked quickly back ahead and blurted out: “Hey! I need help!”
The light in the distance flashed on and off, and Last Call figured that was as good a response as he could hope for as he hurried towards it. He looked again over his shoulder, then turned his eyes back towards the shapes beneath the starlight-
A light flashed on in his face, Last Call swearing and covering his eyes with his foreleg, which caused him to stumble and fall on his face. But a moment later, to his great relief, a recognizable voice asked: “And somehow, after all of this, you're still alive?”
“Yeah, Schmisse.” Last Call said, as he felt his relief, his joy, wilt in his chest, and he murmured as he climbed to his hooves without looking at them: “Yeah. Just me.”
There was silence for a few moments, Pink frowning at him as she lowered the flashlight and Schmisse hesitating, before the stallion said finally: “We need to get out of here. Your wife is not here, and we were not able to salvage much from the station. I found this, however.”
Schmisse glanced back at what looked almost like a wool sack he had strung around himself, floating a folder out of it, and Last Call frowned as he took this, opening it even as he muttered: “I don't think this is really the time or place for...”
His eyes widened as he looked down, and even in the ambient light, his eyes immediately locked on the picture of his wife, the stallion mouthing wordlessly to himself for a moment before he whispered: “What is it?”
But he was already processing it: these were personnel summaries, although they were covered with writing and strange symbols he didn't understand. He half-recognized one of the other pictures: Rainy Days, he thought the pegasus was named.
“A list, obviously. The cipher is simple: each of these ponies is...” Schmisse hesitated, then he shook his head and gestured quickly, muttering: “I do not wish to discuss this out in the open. Our luck will not hold forever.”
“Yes. You're right, there was something chasing me. It's slow, but...” Last Call looked back over his shoulder, then he looked almost longingly towards the station before he asked desperately: “Are you sure that-”
“I am sure. We move to the cable car.” Schmisse said firmly, and Last Call knew there was no point in arguing with him, and that any hope he'd had of finding his wife here was gone.
He passed the file back to Schmisse, who tucked it into his sidepack. The trio didn't move yet, however, all three of them feeling the same sense of hesitation before Schmisse turned towards Last Call and asked almost emotionlessly: “Is Todesfall dead?”
“I don't know. Something grabbed him and dragged him off.” Last Call answered, and Schmisse studied him for a few moments before he nodded and gave a faint smile.
“I wish you had killed him. But I know that would be asking too much.” Schmisse said, before he turned and said calmly: “Keep up. It helps to remember that the pain is only a sign you're still alive.”
Pink smiled wryly, and Last Call nodded once, grimacing a little as the unicorn set a brisk pace. But he and the mare both kept up as much as they could, even though Pink's ankle was swollen and she was visibly... well, Last Call didn't know what a good word for it was, but she didn't look very well.
He studied her silently, and Pink glanced up with a frown after a moment. She looked back at him, then maybe softened a little, however grudgingly. “Your uh, friends... I'm sorry.”
“They might still be okay. I hope they're still okay. I just... it's my fault. It's my fault for being stupid.” Last Call murmured, looking down before he shook his head and muttered: “But I know I can't live in the past. I still have to find my wife. I just... I had hoped I could be a better person than I was.”
“There's still time for that. I guess I'm learning that too.” Pink said with a brief shrug, before she turned her eyes back ahead. “Bad things happen to good people. Good things happen to bad people. That doesn't automatically mean we should just give up and stop even trying to be decent to each other. It's not always about where you end up, after all. It's about how you get there. Maybe that part's even more important.”
Last Call looked at Pink, then up at Schmisse as the stallion snorted and asked moodily: “How? Or do you think we can die pleased with ourselves if we fed ourselves to the wolves?”
“You and Toad turned out a lot different, Schmisse.” Last Call said bluntly, and Schmisse stumbled a little, but then he smiled wryly as he looked back over his shoulder, his pace evening out as he rose his head slightly.
“I have always felt it is our actions that determine where we go in life. And since I am acutely aware that we are all dying, it is... easier to keep what I want from this life in mind.” Schmisse shrugged a bit, before he looked ahead again, saying softly: “All I have is this journey. There is no mystery for me, where it ends.”
Last Call lowered his head a little, studying Schmisse quietly as they followed a natural trail to the lip of the crater. The stallion hesitated there for a moment as the unicorn and the mare continued down the slope towards a vaguely-lit hump in the distance, turning his eyes to gaze silently at the ranger station, but from this angle he could see the broken windows, the slumping walls, the lifelessness of the husk of building; there was nothing there for him. Just false hopes.
“Last Call.” Schmisse said firmly, and Last Call glanced up and smiled briefly, nodding silently. There was no point in lingering, he knew that. He had just needed that moment. This was for the best: he imagined if he'd veered towards the excavation site, he would have missed them entirely, and spent who knew how long wandering around this dark mountain, trying to convince himself... she was here.
But she wasn't.
Schmisse turned to walk onward, while Pink lingered for a moment, then turned to follow. Last Call fell in last after a few moments, lowering his head slightly and keeping his eyes on the ground more than anything else.
It only took them a few minutes to reach the cable car station: the small outbuilding was crumbling, but Pink shone her flashlight over several crates that looked very new, and Schmisse fearlessly walked onto the platform, testing a makeshift but recently-repaired railing around the border as he muttered: “Crude, but it has been taken care of. Pink, the tram?”
Pink shone her flashlight over the cable car: it looked rusted and beaten up, but the cables that it slid along were intact, the magical machinery seemed to be in decent condition, and the vehicle itself was whole, even if most of the windows had been covered up. Pink began to lower her light, but Schmisse barked something in his native language, and the mare froze as Last Call looked up with a frown.
Schmisse strode slowly over to entrance of the cable car, drawing a hoof along the warped rim of the doorway before he scowled a little as his eyes settled on a shape half-illuminated just past the entrance. He reached down and grasped this, then grimaced as he slowly hauled it backwards, and Pink flinched as Last Call's eyes widened in horror.
Schmisse grunted as he half-tossed a body bag onto the platform, looking at it intently for a few moments before he glanced down at a hoof. Then he snorted before he leaned over it, even as Pink hissed: “What the hell are you doing?”
“It's not heavy enough to be a body.” Schmisse stated, and Last Call winced but didn't speak even as the unicorn unzipped the bag, then he scowled in disgust, leaning away in revulsion at the reek that gasped out of it. Pink covered her face and Last Call shuddered, but he couldn't look away even as Schmisse pulled the bag open with telekinesis.
It stank like death and rot, but there was no body, as Schmisse had said: instead, the body bag was full of stained cloth and ratty clothing, Schmisse sorting through this carefully with telekinesis before he lifted a shirt and muttered: “These have all been marked and tagged. There do not seem to be any remains... why were they keeping these? Or have they brought this many sacrifices recently?”
Schmisse paused, then he lowered his head in thought before he suddenly glanced back at the satchel on his side, pulling out a booklet with telekinesis and popping it open as he floated a shirt beside him. He murmured thoughtfully under his breath as he shuffled through the pages as Last Call and Pink both apprehensively joined him, the mare shuddering a little as Last Call uneasily looked at the body bag, before Schmisse clicked his tongue and rose his head with a grunt.
“What? Did you figure it out?” Last Call asked dubiously, and Schmisse nodded with a grunt.
“We found this logbook among the other papers. I took it with me because it was marked with this symbol.” Schmisse explained, and Last Call stared blankly as Schmisse showed him the spine of the book: he had no idea what he was looking at. “Dummkopf. Fine, do not worry what it means.
“This book is filled with initials, times, and locations. These initials match the names written on some of these articles of clothing.” Schmisse tossed down a shirt, picking up another sheet as he said quietly: “These are being used as... proof. As receipts. They have been moving corpses.”
“What?” Last Call asked again disbelievingly, and Schmisse only smiled wryly before he tossed the sheet down, turning and heading into the cable car. Last Call and Pink traded looks, then followed, and whatever else the stallion might have wanted to say died in his throat as Pink shone her light down the aisle and lit up the coffin-shaped lockboxes at the back of the transport.
Schmisse unhooked the clamps on one of these before anyone could stop him, opening it with a scowl. Pink immediately turned away with a gasp, but even as her flashlight's glow danced across the walls, in the dim ambience reflected off the metal, Last Call could still see the corpse of a young mare resting peacefully in the metal coffin, wrapped in a sheet and dressed neatly.
“God.” Last Call whispered, and his hooves dragged him closer, the stallion staring down in disbelief as his throat went dry, before he whispered: “Did they kill her? Did... did they kill-”
“No.” Schmisse said, surprising the stallion, and then the unicorn simply dropped the lid on the coffin even as Last Call saw the mare's eyes open-
Last Call wheezed, and Schmisse looked at him oddly before he glanced back at the metal coffin before he shook his head and lifted the log book in front of the pale stallion. “These ponies were already dead. This logbook includes two times, and the locations the ponies come from are always the same: either a funeral parlour or a hospital.”
“Why the hell would they want corpses? What are they doing with them?” asked Last Call weakly, before he blurted out: “The clothing-”
“Receipts. Proof. Both that the corpses have been moved and, I suppose, to prevent anyone from... getting cold hooves, I believe is the saying.” Schmisse answered distastefully, shaking his head shortly. “Perhaps they are ghouls. Perhaps they thought corpses would feed or keep the beasts away. I do not know and I do not care. All I know is that...”
Schmisse hesitated, and Last Call really didn't like it when Schmisse hesitated. “There were no corpses at the station. Perhaps they were moved somewhere else across the mountain, but...”
“But you doubt it. Why?” Last Call asked uncertainly, and Schmisse scowled as he looked at the metal coffins for a moment, then he turned and headed to the front of the cable car, past a miserable-looking Pink.
Schmisse absently tapped at the simple controls for the transport, then he sighed before saying finally: “There were no signs of storage where we were. Nor would you keep dead bodies in place you were perhaps using as a base of sorts.”
“You don't poop where you eat.” Pink muttered, and Schmisse smiled dryly over his shoulder at her before she asked shortly: “So are you saying this cable car isn't going to take us to safety after all? Or what, this mountain is full of hidden dead ponies?”
“I do not know.” Schmisse said moodily. “They would not be able to move corpses, however, through a property as large as this without at least the knowledge of-”
“Toad said something before about the cult paying him, helping them.” Last Call said abruptly, and Schmisse frowned at him. “But... why didn't my wife ever mention this? And what about the other ponies who worked here?”
“Perhaps they were involved.” Schmisse said, and he met Last Call's gaze steadily even as the stallion immediately snarled. “You cannot pretend it has not occurred to-”
“It hasn't. I know my wife.” growled Last Call, before he shook his head vehemently and snapped: “Look, it doesn't matter either way! Are we leaving or not? Even if this thing just takes us wherever they've been taking dead bodies, if it's a step closer to finding her, I'm going there, do you understand me?”
There was silence for a few moments, and then Schmisse nodded once before he said quietly: “There is no running back the way we came. We must move forward.”
“Great. I guess they're just a little ahead of us, anyway.” Pink mumbled glumly, and Schmisse smiled wryly before he gestured at her, and Pink absently unattached her flashlight to toss it in the unicorn's direction.
He caught it with telekinesis, bringing it over so he could study the controls as Last Call looked back at the cold metal coffins, and he bit his lip for a moment before he quickly reached out and sealed the one Schmisse had opened back closed. Pink snorted, and the stallion scowled over his shoulder at her as the mare said dryly: “Hey. If they want to come out, you should let them out. At this point, I feel like I could deal with zombies just fine.”
“You must come from somewhere weird.” Last Call muttered, and Pink snorted.
“Don't worry. Where I come from, they all think I'm crazy, too.” Pink halted, and then she lowered her head and murmured: “Imagine, spending your entire life as someone else. Shoved off in a little corner of your own mind, unable to control your own body, while someone laughs and guffaws and makes nice with every single pony in the world, it seems like. And then all of a sudden you get back in control because that... that spirit or that ghost or that monster or whatever it was moves on, and here you are. No one believes you when you talk about it, and everyone thinks you've gone loony. You can't keep up the smiles or the act she did, though, because you're not her. You're not the friend your former friends all liked and loved and laughed with.”
Pink quieted, and Schmisse snorted before he said without bothering to look back: “If they do not like you unless you are pretending to be somepony else, then they are not your friends, are they?”
“Easy for you to say.” Pink said sourly, glowering at Schmisse.
The unicorn began to respond, but then lights flashed on through the cable car as machinery whirred into life above and around them. The transport vibrated violently, Last Call nearly falling over as Pink winced and flung herself back in one of the bench seats, but Schmisse only smiled to himself before he turned to yank the sliding door closed.
His eyes widened as he saw a horrific thing was standing on the platform beyond, cataract eyes staring back and forth like a surprised animal at the light, frost steaming out of its lipless maw as it panted soundlessly. Its hooves shivered against the earth as its hairless, frostbitten body flexed, the bare muscle across its mutant frame visibly contorting and bulging as it writhed in blind confusion between the blare of light for a moment before it suddenly looked directly at him.
“Schmissy.” it rasped.
Schmisse slammed the door of the cable car shut, then shouted in pain as a hoof slammed through the sliding metal like it was made of cheap plastic, smashing into him with such force that he was knocked backwards in a spray of blood. The monster roared eagerly as it yanked its limb back, grabbing wildly at the door as Pink nearly fell out of her seat and Last Call gaped, until Schmisse howled: “Starte das wagen!”
Pink swore as she leapt to her hooves and hurried down the aisle, flinging herself at the controls and grabbing a lever to yank it back, and the cable car lurched before it began to slide slowly away down the cables. The monster howled in vexation as its hooves scraped against the broken door, pulling it off the rails before ripping thin trails through the metal wall beyond as it stumbled to the end of the platform.
Schmisse gasped as he clutched at his limb, Pink and Last Call both trying to help him, and he hissed at them before shoving them back. Pink winced, then cried out in shock as something crashed down on top of the cable car, and Last Call cursed before he dug quickly in his satchel, pulling out a flare.
Schmisse only examined himself, feeling lightheaded and detached: but he could recognize the symptoms of shock, just as he saw that the wound that had been punched in his breast looked at first glance like it was rotting... no, no, that wasn't rot. Blackened, and ugly, but there was ice in his blood. Frostbite, not rot.
The monster prowled across the roof, rasping hungrily before it screamed suddenly, stumbling, and Schmisse smiled wryly as he muttered, his words eerily calm: “I suppose Todesfall could not resist touching the cables.”
“Todesfall?” Last Call asked disbelievingly, and then he looked up in horror as he heard a twisted laugh above, before wincing as something punched down against the roof of the cable car with enough force to dent it.
“It is bruder, I am sure of it. I am...” Schmisse shivered, then flinched as Pink slapped him, his eyes flickering before he gasped in pain as the mare grasped him and dragged him back down the aisle.
“We need to help him!” she snapped, and Last Call nodded quickly as he pulled off his satchel and tossed it to her.
“Keep an eye on him, and I'll see if there's anything-”
He caught something in the corner of his eye, a moment before one of the windows shattered inward in a hail of glass and sent him stumbling, blackened, frostbitten Todesfall leaning in eagerly towards him with a gurgle of hunger. His jaws gnashed as his hoof stretched towards him, the monster trying to slither in through the broken window as he hissed: “Last Call!”
Last Call swore as a blacked hoof swung at him, nearly catching him before the stallion snapped the top off the flare. It burst into life, and Toadsfall screeched at the intensity of the light, covering his eyes before he screamed in agony when Last Call shoved it forward into his face.
Toadsfall shoved himself away from the cable car, and fell with a scream of frustration and pain into the sea of darkness. Last Call couldn't help but lean out the window, but all he saw were shadows below.
The flare sparked and hissed in his hoof, and Last Call looked at it for a moment before he grimaced and simply flung it down into the darkness below. If the woods caught fire, so be it: may Toadsfall and the whole park burn for all he cared. But the flare seemed to be swallowed up in the shadows they were passing over, and Last Call sighed a little before he frowned uneasily as a strange scent caught his nostrils. Brine, he thought. But they weren't anywhere near the sea.
Last Call shook his head slowly, then he finally pushed himself back inside the cable car, and then he smiled awkwardly at Pink, who was looking at him with an eyebrow cocked.
Schmisse, however, only chuckled quietly before he said tiredly: “I told you that you should have killed him.”
Last Call sighed, and then he shook his head before he looked back out the window, saying quietly: “Something strange is happening. I can't see anything out there. It's like everything around us vanished. Like it's only us.”
“I hope not. I have no problem with ceasing to exist, but... I do not desire to spend my empty eternity stuck with you two for company.” Schmisse said, and Last Call smiled briefly as Pink silently tended to the unicorn's wounds as much as she could. But Last Call could tell from her expression... “Why are you wasting this on me? Leave me to die. It is fine.”
Pink looked at Schmisse for a moment, and then she reached down and squeezed his wound, and Schmisse gasped in pain before the mare said in a low, rough voice: “You aren't dying. Not yet, anyway. Do you understand?”
“Mares. Bruder was only half-right about your kind. You all bring more pain than you do pleasure.” Schmisse retorted, but he nodded ever so slightly as he closed his eyes and murmured: “Give me something to do. One cannot die while there are still things to do. Let us discuss those files.”
Last Call nodded as he walked over to join the two in their huddle at the back of the cable car. But in the back of his mind, he wondered silently if they weren't all going to die with all their business unfinished, as the cable car rolled slowly through the darkness, surrounded only by shadow and eternity.