//------------------------------// // The Dream // Story: Devil's Regret // by All American //------------------------------// Author’s note: Alright. After numerous requests, I have picked this back up. I’m not going to deal with the petty Dallas arguments and whatnot. Just read and get over it. - I looked over the notebook for a moment, taking time to examine every defect and mark on it. I was feeling almost sentimental. I swallowed the sting of pain I was feeling before sliding the notebook under my bandolier and stood up. I checked my handgun for a moment before walking out of the bedroom and back into the main room of the apartment. Nothing had changed since I read the logs, but the door wasn’t being bashed in anymore. I walked towards it for a second before stopping. Was I a fucking idiot? That thing was going to be waiting for me out there. I took a few steps back and stepped over towards a window. The window was a standard 2x3ft covered by a black-out curtain. I reached and pulled the curtain aside and looked out the window. From what it looked like, Equestria was still outside. I honestly wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing at this point. I holstered the 1911 under my shoulder, opposite to the Model 29, and pulled the window open. I punched out the screen and watched it tumble three stories down, landing on the hood of the H2 and bouncing off to the side. I looked to both sides, adjusting the rifle on my back with my free hand. A small ledge ran along the bottom of the window and across the building, ending at a drain pipe. I gave a little nod to myself, not sure if I was steeling my nerves or cheering myself up before climbing out onto the ledge. I wobbled for a moment on the ledge, almost falling off before standing up and pressing flat against the wall. “And for my next trick.” I snickered as I started shuffling across the ledge. The moon hung over head, a constant reminder to me of my past. I don’t know why but it feels like it is connected to what is going on. I just assumed that it’s me being paranoid. I kept shuffling along the ledge, passing a window before reaching the drain pipe. I didn’t trust half the structure inside and I wasn’t about to now. I grabbed the pipe with my hand before shaking it. I just had to get out of here, get to the Hummer and drive like hell. The pipe wasn’t exactly sturdy, one of the bolts kept giving a metal grind every shake, but it was better than jumping down two stories or facing whatever fucking nightmare was waiting for me inside the halls. I spun around on the ledge and grabbed ahold of the drain with both hands. I tried to remember the times Alex had told me about his rappel training and such, but I was mostly drawing a blank. I braced my right foot on the ledge before leaning back with a grip on the pipe and lowered my left foot. I didn’t feel anything below it that was sturdy enough to hold me so I was just going to have to hope the traction on my boot was enough. I braced my left foot on the brick exterior of the building before letting my right foot lower. I felt the pipe jerk, one of the bolts holding it up broke off and fell down past me. I slid my hands down the pipe, slicing both of them deeply on the jagged rust before catching a grip on a satellite dish next to me. “Jesus fuck!” I called out to myself in a panic as I grabbed ahold of the pipe, pressing off of the satellite dish for support. My hands screamed in pain as I praise my stars for having gotten a Tetanus shot all those years back. Just had to hope it would work. I looked down over my shoulder and saw the ledge for the second floor was within stepping distance. I stepped down onto it, steeling my footing on the ledge, next to a window. I spun around, letting my back press against the wall. I took the moment to decompress and let my heart slow down. I was only 26 but I felt like I was in my 40s. I looked down to the H2 and estimated my chances of just jumping for it. The small clearing around the building I was on looked as though it had changed seasons while I was inside. The leaves were changing colors and the grass was taking on a brownish color, as if there had been a drought. I buttoned the top button of my trench coat before looking towards the drain. “Ryan!” I heard a voice call out like I was about to be railed at in anger. I stopped for a moment and looked straight ahead. Who was that? The voice sounded familiar but I wasn’t sure. It sounded female, I knew that. I shrugged it off before checking my hands. I had three gashes on my left palm and two on my right. All of them were bleeding pretty badly from the looks of it. I locked them into fists, breathing deep to try and numb the pain. “Ryan!” I heard again from my left, away from the building. The voice sounded like it was getting closer. Blood leaked out from my hands and fell down before I took out my gloves from my pocket and slipped them on. I ignored the voice again as the gloves agitated my cuts, making me grimace. I reached in my coat and set my left hand over one of the 226s that sat in holsters on each side of my hips. I looked over to the source of the voice and saw… Luna? No way. How could she have possibly found me? She stood at the bottom of the building near the H2. I stared at her for a moment, adjusting my hat with my right hand out of bewilderment. I was about to jerk my gun free before I felt something grab my ankle. I felt my ankle being yanked out from under me and pulled into the window. I fell forward, my face smacking off of the brick as I was pulled back into the building. I heard Luna shout something else but I was too dazed to make it out. I could tell my nose was broken and one of my ribs was bruised at the least. Blood ran down my face as the world slowly came back to me. I was laying on the carpet in another living room of an apartment. My ankle felt like it had been chewed on in a way. I looked up, using my hands to push up on my back and saw the creature again. It stood near the back end of the apartment, staring at me with malicious intent. “Christ!” I shouted as I reached down for one of the Sigs. The creature reacted quicker than I did. It shot forward and wrapped a claw around my neck. Its strength was something to be marveled at. I let out a few strangled gasps as it lifted me up off of the ground. I panicked and grabbed ahold of the creature’s forearms. The creature was cold to the touch, like it was circulating refrigerator coolant rather than blood. It stared into my eyes as it pulled one claw back, still holding me there. Its eyes were a deeper shade of red that I originally saw. They still permeated hatred. I watched as the creature pulled its claws back as if it were going to strike. I reached down and pulled out one of the Sigs before jamming it into the creature’s chest and firing a volley of quick shots. The creature stumbled back, dropping me. I fell to my knees and coughed, my lungs burning from the strain. My ears were now ringing from the gunshots, effectively making me deaf for the time being. I looked up at the creature with the Sig still in my hands to see it looming over me. I went to raise the Sig but received a backhand from the creature. I flew backwards and felt my back connect with the window and shatter it. I fell out the window backwards, watching the sky as my hand still gripped the gun. I watched as the glass glittered around me and the creature ran to the window and stopped. The world seemed to stop for a moment before I landed on the hood of the H2 and bounced off. I landed face-first on the ground, my face leaving an imprint on the dirt. I groaned for a moment and tried to push myself up but failed. My body was now on shutdown mode and trying to keep me out of shock. I felt something walk over to my side before I blacked out. - I jolted upwards in a panic, reaching for my guns and not finding them there. I looked around and noticed I was sitting against a tree with my equipment off to the side of me. I looked up and saw what looked like a dinosaur’s tail disappear behind a tree. I looked down at my hands and saw there were no gashes on them like I remembered. I took a glance down at my watch and saw it had only been an hour since I split off from Dallas and Atlanta. I cracked my neck and tried to think back. All of that felt so real… but it wasn’t? All the pain was so real as were the emotions. I never had a dream like that one before. Hell, I never dream at all! I took a moment to compose myself before standing up. The bruised rib from what I’m hoping was a dream was gone, as was my broken nose. It was like the entire thing didn’t even happen. I knelt down over my bandolier and slipped it back on, adjusting my holsters before noticing the notes I found while I was in the ‘dream’ were not there. I picked up my tattered trench coat and threw it on before seeing that the notebook fell out. This just raised further questions. I picked it up and flipped through it, seeing all the same notes, maps, and statistics from before. I snapped the book closed and slid it back under my bandolier before grabbing the SVD from the ground and held it firmly in my hands. I cracked my neck once more before looking back towards where the H2 may be at the best of my memory. - I stepped out of the woods and over to the SUV. Dallas sat on the passenger seat and Atlanta sat on the roof per usual. Dallas noticed my presence and looked over to me. “Where have you been?” He asked with a weary tone of relief, “We were looking for almost an hour before we came back here.” “Don’t worry about it, mother.” I played off as I climbed into the driver’s seat and set the Dragunov on the back seat. Dallas shrugged, “Sorry to worry then. Ready to go?” “Yeah, come on, let’s get out of this dang jungle.” Atlanta called from the roof as he banged on it with a hoof, “Bugs are relentless.” “Don’t tempt me to make you wait even longer.” I threatened as I started the engine with a tap of the wheel. Atlanta gave an annoyed grunt, knowing it was pointless to argue with me. I lightly pressed on the gas and started down the long and never ending trail. The trail led on for another couple of hours before cart tracks appeared in the mud. Dallas hung out of the H2 and looked down at them as we rolled along. He sat back up and looked over at me. “They’re fresh.” He said with a nod before turning the radio on out of habit. A song played off of a Poison CD as the end of the trail came along and we breached an open field with a single dirt trail cutting it in half. I pulled off of the road and stopped, throwing the H2 into park. I took in a deep breath. The air seemed crisp, fresh, and the sun was a nice addition as well. The air was free of the mugginess of the jungle as well. I stepped out of the truck and stretched for a moment reaching out with my hands. Driving every day was getting old and slightly painful on my joints. Here I am thinking like an old man again. At least I had a big old Hummer compared to a dinky Smart Car that was parked next to the H2 when I stole it. Dallas stepped out and walked over, checking the tires as I looked up and saw Atlanta span his wings out and take to the sky. It wouldn’t be long before a much needed vacation in zebra country. Dallas finished looking over the SUV before grabbing the map from the cab and opened it up. He walked over to me and opened it up on the ground. I knelt down next to him and looked over it. It seemed we were going to rim the northern Equestrian border with the Griffon Kingdom and roll right into Zebra reservations without trouble. I pointed down at the map and traced our route to show Dallas and he gave a nod before rolling the map up and walked away. I liked being so in tune with Atlanta and Dallas; cuts down on a lot of unnecessary riff-raff. I walked around to the front of the Hummer and popped the hood up. I lifted the support into place and took a peek over the engine. It is amazing that this beast has lasted this long. I guess my ‘talents’ made this thing quite reliable. I often thought about using my ‘talents’ to repair the entirety of the vehicle, but I figured it was unnecessary to be put out of commission for a day as long as the thing still ran. I wiped off the logo on the engine cover before closing the hood. I turned around and was greeted by Atlanta landing in front of me. “There is a roadblock about a mile forward cutting off a mountain pass.” He said in a rather formal tone. “Then we go through it.” I said like he should know as I crossed my arms and leaned against the grill of the H2. “You don’t understand.” He said before flying past my head and onto the hood of the SUV, “This one is different. Big metal walls. You honestly didn’t think this through did you?” “You are assuming I plan any of what I do?” I remarked with snarky tone as I turned around to him. “And we just had to come this close to the border.” He said with annoyance as he stepped up onto the roof, “I was looking forward to sleeping for this trip.” “How about you grow a foot taller so you can drive, eh?” I called out to him as I walked over to the cab and grabbed the map. Dallas jumped back out and walked over to the hood as I joined him and set the map down on it. I opened up the map as he climbed up and used the bumper as a step stool. “We could take a southern route down through Equestria.” Dallas pointed out as he traced a hoof over a route that would lead us straight up through Ponyville and Canterlot and around the mountain passes. “But the Royals will be swarming us before we leave Canterlot.” I said, trying to divert attention from Ponyville. “But the griffons are more of a threat.” He said, calling me out, “Griffons have the pass cut off. Only mountains on one side and a cliff on the other. We sure as hell can’t outrun them there.” “Then we can out gun them.” I tried, “That works.” “We can’t afford to get surrounded again.” He pointed out, getting angry with me,“Remember what happened to Alex?” “Don’t you bring him into this…” Atlanta looked down with a sneer, “How about you two stop arguing like mares?” “No.” Dallas and I replied in unison. Dallas and I exchanged a few awkward glances before I turned back to map, “Fine. We’ll cut down into Equestrian territory but we will avoid the towns.” Dallas rolled his eyes and walked back over to the passenger side and climbed in, “You can’t keep running from Ponyville forever.” “Watch me.” I challenged as I rolled the map up and walked over to the driver’s side and climbed in.