//------------------------------// // Chapter 18: A Fluttering Heart // Story: A New World, a New Terror // by TroWolf15 //------------------------------// Author's Note: Surprise! Another chapter! :D Well this will certainly be my last chapter until I get out of classes December 17th. Enjoy the chapter, and please rate and comment! And let others know! :D P.S. I want to thank the following people for always commenting and talking about this, I really appreciate it. Dbanksischillin, EvilTavo7655, Zach9127, Baglesman, and now Mordecaiser! Now onward to the story! “EVERYONE HURRY THE HELL UP!” I barked as everyone was getting their stuff. I was up on the deck that stretched out from my room from the second story. Bullets flew all around me. My room was getting destroyed from the baptism by fire. We were all gonna get baptized by fire. Pancho was sitting in a corner, still hungover. He could barely sit up straight. Really sucks, could use him. He’s a hell of a shot with his AK. Xoch came running in, armor and all, armed with her sniper rifle. Shit, she only brings that bad boy out in major emergencies. Guess she sees this as a dire situation. I probably should too, but for some reason I don’t. “Ok well you’re the first one here, congrats. You get a cookie once we’re all done here. Let’s clean up the street” I say with a sly voice. She gives me a smirk and runs away. Probably a good hiding spot to snipe these guys. Hope she’s smart and doesn’t get spotted. There were easily 10 of them out there. This was not going to be easy by any means. Goddammit Mig. Why you gotta be hurt? Goddammit Pancho. Why you gotta be drunk? I wonder how AJ and Dash are doin. “Heya Matt!” I heard a southern voice call out to me. Speak of the devil. “AJ! Dash! Great to see you two are doin better.” Talking about their hangovers. “Yeah, well, we gotta do our part in ‘dis here rangle, right pardner?” She said with a smile. “Great to hear. Well, be smart. Get downstairs with Beans and Shadow. Where’s Pinkie? I need her up here with me.” And as if she was waiting for me she ran into the room with full soldier gear. We don’t have soldier uniforms….. “Fuck it. Pinkie, shoot.” I said deadpanned. She saluted me and started shooting at them. Mainly at the cars. At the cars “THAT’S IT.” I had my eureka moment. “What’s it?” Dashie asked me before her and AJ went downstairs. “Grab all the grenades you find. And have Beans make some molotovs if we can. Tell him we will blow their rides. But go for one at a time. Not spread out. Maybe the shock of one exploding on them can stun them a bit where we can make a push.” I said confidently. I actually liked this plan, but couldn’t pause to congratulate myself. I had to get back to work. I just shot my AK at them, hoping to hit a couple guys. At the least get them to rethink charging us. Suddenly, one by one, they just dropped. I’d see them drop to the ground, dropping their weapons, and falling dead. What the hell is going on? Well, I’m not really complaining but DAMN. “You see that Pinkie?” I ask her, to make sure I’m not losing my mind. “Yeah, but I’m not doing it! I don’t know who or what or where is doing it but WOOW it is so cool how they are just…” she just kept on rambling. Well at least I’m not insane. “Pinkie, stay up here and watch for anymore. Shoot at em if you see any more. And watch over Pancho” I told her. I was gonna head out myself and check at their level. I first ran to the other room upstairs and checked up on Fluttershy. “Oh! Matthew! What’s going on? I hear a lot of noise and yelling out there and-“ “It’s ok Fluttershy. Just a couple bullies showed up. We are gonna talk to them. Just stay here, and lock the door ok? I will come when it’s all safe.” I told her, trying not to cause her concern. “Oh, ok Matthew. Be careful!” she softly told me. “I will Fluttershy, you too, ok? I don’t know what we would do without you” I said smiling at her, causing her to blush a little and look away. I chuckled and left the room. I ran downstairs and saw everyone was just as confused as I was. But Xoch wasn’t with them. “Hey where’s Xoch?” I ask, curious where our curly-haired badass went. “I don’t know! I haven’t seen her at all!” Dashie said. “Ok, well let’s scout it out outside. Beans, you’re joining me. Shadow, stay here. Watch our backs, and make sure no one gets in any other way.” I told him as he just nodded in silence. His face looked as serious as I’ve ever seen it. Insane, he was always the happy go lucky, always smiling and goofy kid before all this. Now he’s hardened, battle tested, and it seems like that old child-like innocence he once had is gone. Damn these zombies. Just ruined everything. Beans and I made our way out the door, both crouched and guns at eye level. We were ready to duck and pull the trigger at any second. But the reason I wanted him out here is cause we are nearly brothers. We operate on the same wavelength almost all the time, that’s invaluable in a time like this. As we were carefully scanning the street I heard a footstep. “Beans, hush” I whispered as I froze in place, my gaze focused on the source of the footstep. I felt nervous. Really nervous, to be honest. Haven’t had a confrontation like this in a long time, and I was afraid I wouldn’t be up to my old self, plus I was still light-headed from last night’s extravaganza. “MATT FUCKIN MOVE” I was shoved to the ground as bullets flew right over me. I saw Beans shoot at one of the guys, presumably the one who shot at me. But it suddenly stopped. Beans was fine, and he helped me up. “I got ‘em, don’t worry” Beans said as he tried to comfort me. “Thanks bro, I don’t know what I’d do without ya” I said with a smile, breathing a heavy sigh of relief. “I don’t know either, man. I’m just too important to you.” He joked, nudging me and smiling. Ah, like old times. “Ha.Ha. You’re hilarious, Beans. Well now that these guys are done, let’s check out what’s in these vans-“ “HEEEELLLLLPPPPP” “Shit what the hell?” Beans cursed in shock. “That came from upstairs…” I recognized that scream. “HOLY SHIT THAT’S FLUTTERSHY” I yell. “BEANS LET’S MOVE” I commanded as we ran as fast as we could upstairs. I led the way over to the room where she was nursing Mig and Rarity. I felt my heart sink to my stomach once I saw what was happening in there. It was one of those bastards who attacked. He was holding Fluttershy hostage. But it wasn’t just like he ran in and held a gun – he had beaten her, bad. Both eyes were swollen, she was bleeding from her left arm, and it looked like she could barely put any weight on her right leg. She was crying from pain and fear, and it just tore me apart. “You bastard LET HER GO NOW” I yelled at the man. “And why should I? You killed every single one of my friends. And all we wanted was some food. Just some fucking food. And you murder all of us.” He responded. His voice sounded hoarse, and full of hate. He has been through a lot, you could tell. His grimy, dirty look along with his tattered black skinny jeans and leather jack further proved these were men on the road. “FOOD? If you had just asked for some we could have fucking spared you a little. But you’re ‘ambassador’ held me hostage, just like you’re doing with our friend. And he threatened to kill me, and take over our home. So correct me if I’m wrong but that isn’t asking for a bite to eat.” I snapped back. Either this man is completely delusional and a total dick, or his friend could’ve gone rogue. Either way, I assumed the first, we just can’t take chances. “BULLSHIT! DON’T FUCKING LIE! YOU LIE AND YOUR FRIEND HERE FEELS THE CONSEQUENCES” he snapped, holding the barrely of his pistol against Flutter’s temple. I could see the fear in Fluttershy’s eyes. She was staring straight at me. She was begging me on the inside to save her, to get her from this insane man. And it killed me that I couldn’t right away. “Don’t! Please! Not Fluttershy! Please!” said a raspy voice behind me. It was Dashie. “Dash, get downstairs. We can handle this” I tried to tell her. She didn’t listen. “You can’t do anything to her! She did nothing to you guys! It was us! Kill one of us! Not her!” RD pleaded. She sounded nothing like herself, she was scared and confused. Not the confident, arrogant mare that she normally is. “Dash I told you get downstairs! Please!” I said a little more sternly. I didn’t want her dealing with this. “Oh? She’s the innocent one, is she?” The man said, smiling, looking down at Fluttershy. “Well, so was ours. He was the little brother in the group. So I guess this makes us even.” My heart stopped once he said that. *BANG* Her body went limp, and slowly fell to the ground. “NO YOU BASTARD” I yelled, tears falling down my face as Beans and I light him up. He quickly fell to the ground, bullet holes filled his body. Rainbow ran to Fluttershy’s now still body as Beans and I dealt with the monster. “Noooononononononono Fluttershy… No…” she choked out, knelt over her body, holding her blood soaked hand. A clean hole straight through the side of her head. “You can’t die Fluttershy. You just can’t. We need you. I need you…” whispered Rainbow Dash. She weeped at her womb; I don’t think any of us could hold back our tears. “Oh god…” Beans whispered. “Close and lock the door Beans. No one needs to see this right now.” I told him, looking down at RD and Fluttershy’s body. “But don’t you think-“ “JUST DO IT.” I snapped, causing him to flinch. “I’m sorry, just, please. We need an easy way to break this to the group. Well, an easier way. No easy way to tell them the purest of us all has been shot in cold blood.” He nodded and proceeded to close and lock the door. I could hear footsteps coming up the stairs. “Hey what’s goin on in there!?” Shadow yelled, banging on the door. “Shadow just go downstairs and keep everyone there! We’ll be down in a bit!” I yelled back. He was quiet, but I heard footsteps go back downstairs. Good. “Ok, Beans, grab those sheets over there. We need to wrap her up.” I reluctantly said. Dash looked at me in shock. “Why are we doing that?” she asked me, confused. “Dash, it’s how we do it here. We bury the dead. Though not many do it now, I’d prefer to for someone I care about.” I told her, trying to sound as calm as possible, holding back as many tears as I could. But I was failing, I could feel some tears roll down my cheeks. “Oh, ok.” She just said, looking back at Fluttershy. “Wait, will she…” “No, she won’t. She was shot in the brain. There is no coming back once that happens. Don’t worry, she’s resting forever now.” I said as I wrapped up Fluttershy. I was shaking as I did it, and I could barely hold her. I was just, scared. With as much death that was going on, I could barely hold a dead body. Maybe cause it was someone I knew and cared about. Either way, it was hard to wrap her up. We all were just there in dead silence as I wrapped up Fluttershy. Rainbow still sobbing. Beans was stone solid. I looked to him when I was done, and he looked to a Mig that was laying in bed, still out cold from that shot from Curtis. “How is he going to take this?” Beans asked me, worried. “I don’t know. Him and Rarity. Both are just going to be….” I couldn’t even think about what they would think, or do. Especially Mig. “… I don’t want to think about it.” “Well you’re gonna have to at some point” Beans replied. “Yeah well not at this point I don’t.” I told him as I stood up. “Well, time to tell everyone else.”