//------------------------------// // Unknown forest // Story: Death’s employees // by Nighthawk alpha bravo //------------------------------// The helicopter flew over the deserts of Arizona, all that could be seen for miles was sand, little vegetation, and large mountains. Delta looked out the cargo door of the helicopter at the sandy plains of Arizona while humming to herself. The ride was starting to get to her as she used her magnetic levitation from her horn to pull out her phone and immediately got on Facebook. Her horn could do all sorts of things, such as levitation, she could levitate extremely heavy objects, metal or not, as she had the physical strength of an elephant. Her bones were as strong and durable as titanium. She had so many attributes it scared everyone who had ever met her, fearing what she’d do if she were enraged and became violent. Luckily she was a big softy on the inside yet she was a soldier on the outside. While using her phone, she got a text message from her boss’s boss. “Hope you enjoy the vortex to Equestria, my dear.” “love from your mother and creator, queen… I mean, Rick Miller.” Confused at the message, she couldn’t think about it for long as alarms started screaming throughout the chopper. “What is going on up there?” The co-pilot was the first to respond to Jake’s questions as the helicopter began to rattle. “Some kinda translucent vortex is forming in the air, any ideas how this is happening, sir?” Jake told Delta to look for said vortex and her face melted into pure fear as an enormous hole in the sky began to suck up everything close to it. “Get us out of here!” Screamed Delta as the green and black void grew in size. “The helicopter is getting pulled in, brace yourselves for a rough ride!” The alarms in the helicopter intensified to the point Delta and Charlie’s ears started bleeding. Delta looked out the door and saw they were above a large, vast forest with mountains in the distance. The helicopter’s rotors started slowing down and the ground became a lot closer than they all could have imagined. “I’m losing control, I have no control.” The helicopter started spinning due to the loss of the tail rotor.  “Everyone, brace for a hard and unpleasant landing!” Said the pilot as the helicopter bounced a few times on the forest floor, shredding the landing gear clean off along with the blades. After a violent crash landing, the team disembarked and looked around, stretching their bodies due to the intense treatment.  “Where the heck are we, this sure ain’t Kansas nor Arizona,” a man asked, scanning the area with his weapon. Sighing, Jake walked over to the group of men and the two equines. Charlie put her hoof on one of the dead pilot's chest. A green glow engulfed her body and the lime green medical cross on her flanks as the pilot’s wounds healed, unfortunately, the pilot didn’t wake up, Charlie could only hang her head in sorrow. The second pilot had a tree branch sticking out of his chest, blood and entrails stained said branch. All Jake could do was walk over to the group, his gaze was of a man who had seen it all.  “We are doing some recon on the area…” Jake stopped and listened as a twig snapped in the foliage. “Did anyone make that sound?”   The men all shook their heads, the forest becoming dead silent. That’s odd, the critters ain’t making any noise,” said the man with the burnt face. What kinda predators do you think live here? Said another man. Green eyes were seen in the darker parts of the forest, surrounding their position. The first to step out of the bushes was something that the team had never seen Jake’s POV I was not sure what I was seeing. It was a wolf made entirely out of wood, it had glowing enchanted green eyes that pierced my soul. My men took defensive positions, checking each side. Takes more than a bunch of firewood to kill me! Said the scarred man. More of these beasts emerged from the brush as the leader charged. Bringing up my rifle, I blocked the first attack but fell over, the wolf’s jaws inches away from grabbing my face. A high-energy blast hit the wolf in the face, causing the wolf to turn its attention towards Delta, six hundred volts of electricity coursing through her horn. I pulled out my Glock and shot the beast in its rib cage as it gagged and exploded into a pile of splinters. Holstering my gun, I saw that the team had downed all the wolves. Before I could say anything, the sticks from these wolves began to float in the air along with nearby trees, sticks, and roots. After a while of staring in horror, a massive thirty-foot beast stood tall and proud over us. The beast immediately clamped its jaws around a man, his blood-covered spinal cord and inners from the waist down were destroyed. The rest of the men open fire on the massive wooden canine. Me, Delta, Charlie, and the dog decided to get the heck out of dodge as we were now running for our lives.  “Dad, what was that thing?!” Delta yelled to me as we dashed through the seemingly endless forest. “I don’t know, but we don’t have the weapons to fight that beast.” “I’m not losing the only family I have, not now, not ever”. The screaming and gunfire had ceased as we approached a clearing, the forest surrounding it from all sides. It was sunset and I decided to settle here, I placed the radio that I salvaged from the wreckage on the glistening fresh grass, I told the girls to find a good soft place to lay down. Honestly, I have slept in worse places, but I knew nothing could sneak up on us with Blade on guard. Calling blade over, the large dog made his way over to me as we both walked over to the edge of the forest. I gathered everything we would need to make it through the night. Before I could leave, the bushes began to shake. I drew my pistol once again and the same man with the scarred face came forth, clutching his chest as I saw he was bleeding. I immediately got out my first aid kit from my small portable backpack and told the man who was named Matt Burg, to take a seat where the camp was. He declined help saying he could make it there himself. His attitude was very stoic and had a strict demeanor. He made himself comfortable as he treated himself as he was very independent. Saying the only person he could trust was himself, I wonder if it would ever change. “So, how did you get into all this?” I said, gesturing to the emblem of a skull and crossbones on his tactical vest. He unsheathed one of his twin katanas from his back, cutting up a chicken with a lizard tail and leather wings. I’m the Chief of the airbase you were stationed at. He began to roast the chicken, that’s what I assumed it was. Those two horses, are they your friends or something? Burg asked as he took a bite of his meal. I thought hard about his question, I loved both of them and all, but should I tell Matt that they are my adopted daughters? “Well, I’m not sure what species they are exactly, but they are my kids.” Burg looked at me with an unamused face. He seemed to have given up on the idea of me being a parent to two equines. I decided it was time for me to hit the sack. I had a spare sleeping bag in case Burg wanted to sleep. Boss, you wanna sleep? “I’m the head of the base, below the CEO, I’m not in charge of you.” “I’d rather stay awake, make sure nothing tries to get the jump on us.” I didn’t argue any further as I sat my rifle next to my sleeping bag. Night had finally fallen as I tucked myself in, my sidearm still strapped to my hip. Sure it’s sort of uncomfortable but it keeps me safe. Looking over, I saw my daughters sound asleep. Following their example, i laid my head back and found my self embracing sleep.