Sheila's husband stood at the mouth of the garage, his stance clearly seeking to placate the beast before him. If the sounds from earlier weren't clear enough, what Mark, Fluttershy, and Sheila saw confirmed any suspicions: It was a bear, and it didn't seem happy.
Carter was caught off-guard by his wife's scream, turning his head long enough to see the three. "Sheila, get inside!"
His poor wife could do little as she stared the beast down. In the decision between fight, flight, and freeze, her body had chosen poorly.
Mark glanced in horror at the thousand mile stare on the woman's face. He wasn't sure what to do at that moment - grab her and Fluttershy and take them both in? Use the mace he had to try to ward the bear off? What if it only made the animal angrier?
His glance then rested on Fluttershy, who to his surprise looked the calmest of the four. His shock turned to horror as the pegasus gently walked towards the towering creature.
"Fluttershy!" He screamed.
"Now, now," She gently spoke, "I know you're scared right now, but I need you to calm down."
Fluttershy quickly moved between Carter and the bear. "You're lost from home, aren't you?" She asked.
The bear stopped approaching the group and seemed to focus on the mare before him. To everyone's surprise, Mark included, the bear seemed to nod.
"I know what it's like being far from home." Fluttershy continued, "It's dark out, you don't know where you are, there's beings all around you that you've never seen before - is that how you're feeling?"
Again, the bear nodded.
"I'm sure we can find where you walked off-course," Fluttershy continued once more with a comforting smile, "just come with me and I'll help you get home."
The bear glanced around the garage, seemingly considering the offer. It eventually groaned in displeasure.
"We'll find some food for you, too." Fluttershy confirmed.
The bear seemed to smile (as much as that was possible), and proceeded to follow Fluttershy away from the garage and into the nearby woods. Moments passed for the remaining three, with the silence proving they were finally safe. Upon realizing this, Carter turned around, pointing a finger at the direction the two had gone, and voiced his feelings at the recently dropped bombshell:
"What just happened?"
Mark spent the next few minutes explaining to Carter about the pegasus and her abilities with animals. He was expressing his own surprise at the fact these abilities worked in this world when the pegasus of the hour returned, clearly very tired.
"Okay," she stated, "Mr. Bear is taken care of."
"Mister?" Carter asked incredulously.
She nodded. "He's actually quite friendly when you get to know him. He was just scared from being somewhere so foreign to him at such a late time. Poor dear."
Carter shook his head, clearly unable to process everything she had just said.
"Honey," Sheila began, her shock wearing off, "she just saved your life."
Her tone showed that she scarcely believed what had just occurred. Nevertheless, her words had the intended effect, as the husband glanced over at Fluttershy.
Seeking for the right words, he finally gave a simple "Thank you."
Fluttershy nodded, a smile gracing her face.
The four proceeded back into the main room of the cabin, with Carter walking towards the nearby stairway.
"I'm going to…go shower." He stated almost trance-like before climbing the steps.
The remaining three took their familiar positions at the respective couches.
Sheila glanced at the pegasus across from her. "I want to thank you for what you just did, Fluttershy. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been there."
Fluttershy blushed. "I was just doing what came naturally to me." She explained.
Sheila then glanced at Mark, before her face grew concerned. "Are you okay?"
He was sitting back, a subtle sense of fear dotting each of his features. Something Sheila had said was bothering him deeply…and it all had to do with her husband.
"What did you say your husband's name was, again?" He asked.
"Carter," She replied, "why do you ask?"
Mark's mind began pulling together every little thing he knew about the last few days. The name Carter, his job at the bar, the injuries he sustained…
Mark's eyes shot open wide.
He quickly turned to Fluttershy before abruptly standing up. "We need to leave - now."
Sheila was taken aback at her guest's sudden actions. "Is everything okay?" She asked in concern.
Mark shook his head. "Sheila, listen. I think-"
He was cut off by the sounds of footsteps coming down the nearby stairway. The culprit turned out to be none other than Carter.
"Is everything alright down here?" He asked.
The other three glanced at each other, seemingly waiting on the other to speak. It was Mark who took the initiative.
"We were just leaving." He explained, trying to hide the fear in his voice.
Now Carter was the one looking fearful. "Why don't you stay for dinner?" He quickly asked.
"We really need to leave." Mark replied, slightly frustrated.
"I didn't find the stuff for your tire yet." Carter shot back.
Finally, Mark had had enough. His brows lowered into a glare. "What did you do?" He growled.
"What do you mean?" Carter asked, now himself trying to hide both fear and a sense of anger.
"You're trying to keep us here for a reason. Did you call your friends over?" Mark continued, his voice raising, "You decide you can get a nice price for my friend over here? Decide to sell us out?"
"Honey, what's he talking about?" Sheila asked.
The tension in the room had reached a boiling point. Fluttershy was cowering on the couch as Mark stood at her guard. Carter's stare with Mark remained unbroken for several seconds before taking a deep sigh.
Carter focused his attention briefly on his wife. "Remember Makenzie?" He paused to let his wife nod, then continued, "I didn't want to ever have one of our children die because of a situation like that again. So yes, I took on a side-gig to help make a safety fund."
"One for selling off exotic animals." Mark interjected.
"Honey…" Sheila trailed off.
The sound of a car rolling into the outside driveway seemed to spur Carter into action.
"Get upstairs now. I'll talk to them." He quickly stated.
Mark glanced back at Fluttershy, not sure what to make of the situation. The two were frozen in the decision of what to do.
"Go!" Carter yelled.
With the extra push, Mark and Fluttershy both began walking up the stairs, with Sheila joining close behind.
The upstairs was a large room with multiple twin beds and a larger queen size bed set against the walls. At the front of the room was a large glass window looking out over the driveway of the house. The three cautiously walked over, with Mark and Sheila being the only ones brave enough to look outside.
As if to settle what little doubt may have remained, Mark saw the all-too-familiar white truck parked just outside the house. Two men got out, one from each of the driver's and passenger's sides, being greeted by Carter.
An unheard discussion proceeded, with the only thing clear becoming the expressions of the two men. They seemingly became enraged with Carter, one moving forward to grab him by the head and bring him close. The conversation continued for a few moments before the two men nodded, and turned to return to their vehicle.
Mark and Sheila both ducked away, as one had begun looking up near their hiding place. The two sat with their backs pressed against the wall, neither daring to move until they heard the sound of the car pulling away. Soon, there was silence once more, broken by the front door opening.
"They're gone, Sheila. You can all come down now." Carter called.
The three reluctantly walked back downstairs. Carter looked shell shocked from the encounter, in his eyes was a wide stare that only faintly seemed to recognize his wife.
Said wife, on the other hand, seemed unable to decide on being hurt or angry. Her voice sounded with a mixture of both: "Get the stuff for the flat tire. We'll talk when I come back."
Carter nodded, quickly retrieving the substance for punctured tires alongside an automatic air pump and putting them in the back of Sheila's car. He returned and explained the same to her, to which she looked at Mark and Fluttershy, nodded, then began walking outside with the two in tow.
The car soon pulled out of the driveway, leaving Carter alone. He sat down at one of the couches, his head in his hands. He pondered over what he had gotten himself into over the last few years - and more importantly, if there was a way out.
For the first, but certainly not last time that night, tears flowed freely from his eyes.
There was silence as the pump finished filling the tire with air. They had only just put in the tire filler, which would supposedly work for a few days or so many dozen miles, at which point the tire would need to be replaced.
Mark didn't care. At that point, he only wanted to get back home and far away from the events of that evening.
The pump abruptly stopped, signaling that the specified air amount had been reached. Sheila placed it back in her car, turning to Mark, remorse in her eyes.
"I'm sorry for everything that happened, Mark." She whispered, her voice wavering. "I had no idea about…all of that." She cleared her eyes with a hand, "I never meant to cause you any harm."
Mark sighed, shaking his head. "Have a good night, Sheila." He replied weakly before turning back to his car.
After ensuring Fluttershy was safely in the back and covered with the blanket, Mark took his place in the driver's side and pulled away from the preserve parking lot.
Perhaps for the last time, he glanced back at the wooden sign. It had been the entry point for Fluttershy to this world, as well as the entry point to the situation they'd just escaped. That sign had caused so much trouble, Mark never wanted to see it again.
His gaze focused on the road ahead. Barely keeping himself together, he began the drive back home.