Chapter 4
“The gate is just up ahead,” Taro informed his traveling companions.
Upon arrival to the door, four guards stood on their post with a small sun signifying the station was owned by the Solar Republic. When they walked up to them, they asked for passports. Pinkie showed hers, and Taro his.
“What about hers?” asked a guard, looking at Rainbow Dash.
“She’s with us,” Taro replied. The guard looked at them suspiciously, but let them through anyway. After clearing the gate, Taro turned to Pinkie. “Find out where you can get Rainbow Dash a passport while I go get some supplies. We need more ammo.”
“Okie dokie lokie,” Pinkie Pie replied, dragging Rainbow Dash by the arm.
Taro walked to the station’s trading center. Merchants shouted information about their wares. “Special offers, discounts, best guns from the forgemasters!” He came to a stop at a gun rack.
“Oh, now that’s what I want,” Taro said, staring at a camouflage gun with an orange clip at the bottom.
“Well with a trade in with a bastard gun, the total would come around to about 37 bullets,” said the merchant.
“Hmm... that would leave me with only 21 left. Oh well, I’m sure Pinkie Pie has at least a few, I’ll take it.” Taro switched out his weapon, took it’s ammo and reloaded into his new kalash machine gun. He then paid the merchant and left for a different table.
“Medkits... filters, er, knives! Everything you need for traveling in dangerous areas!”
“I need two medkits and fifteen filters,” he asked the vendor.
“Geez, plan on living on the surface?” the vendor teased, grabbing two orange packages and a handful of round tins.
“I have two other friends coming with me. I’m sure we’ll find the rest of the filters on the surface,” Taro replied.
“Sure, sure. Forty-eight bullets.”
“Well, I’m not into haggling or anything, but that vendor a little ways down this path was offering special discounts if you buy ten or more items. Now I was thinking of going to him instead, but then I noticed you. You would easily put that guy out of business if you offered something better,” Taro lied.
“Oh, goodness. I need to work harder, you’re right. Special discounts after you purchase SEVEN items!” the salesmen shouted.
“Come on, you can do better than that!”
“FIVE items!”
“Keep going!”
“Everything is half price!”
“That’s the spirit! And since you’re so kind, I’ll give you a gracious tip! My total should be fifteen bullets, but I’ll give 21 instead.”
“What a nice gentlemen, I wish you luck on the surface,” the vendor said as Taro walked away.
“That was much easier than I thought it would be,” Taro smirked, putting his new gear into his rucksack.
“Look what we got! Look what we got!” Pinkie Pie shouted, jumping, quite literally JUMPING in front of Taro. She was still holding Rainbow Dash’s arm, forcing her to be tugged up and down with Pinkie.
“Look what I got,” Taro said, lowering his new gun. “By the way, you two have some money, right?”
“Ooh, shiny!” Pinkie said, ignoring his question.
“Yeah.” Rainbow Dash managed to tug her arm out of Pinkie Pie’s grasp. “I told you, I have ten round with me.”
“And I have three, what do you need them for?” Pinkie asked.
“Well I just spent all of mine getting this gun and scamming a guy for fifteen filters and medkits for you two.” Taro handed them there cases. “Everything you need for survival in a stylish orange case.”
“Cool, so are we leaving soon?” Rainbow Dash asked, putting her medkit in her pocket.
“Yeah, get all of your gear on, it’s going to be a little cold.”
“Didn’t you say you were buying ammo?” Pinkie Pie pointed out, tossing a big coat over her dulled pink sweatshirt.
“I did, but I thought we’ll have plenty of ammo after ten minutes on the surface. All the inexperienced stalkers head up and are eaten alive by mutants and the cold weather,” Taro answered, walking toward the large gate that led to the exit of the station into the surface. “We would like to leave please.”
A guard looked at him and his friends. “I don’t know if I should.”
“Here, have some bullets!” Pinkie Pie said, handing him her three.
He looked down at the bullets in her hand. “Okay, I know I should now.” He pocketed the rounds and turned the wheel on the gate to open it. “Don’t forget your gas masks.”
“Good plan, put them on now,” Taro said, throwing his over his face and putting on an air filter. He twisted a ring around his watch to set a five minute timer. “Let’s go!” he said after everyone elses were on.
The team left the destroyed building into the morning sky, the sun shining slightly as to not blind them too much. “Welcome to Stalliongrad, twenty years after the attack,” Taro said through the radio in their gas masks.
“Wow... it’s...” Rainbow Dash stuttered. She looked up into the sky. “Wow... no roof over my head... Trees... Real trees...”
“I know. Pretty amazing, huh?” Taro asked, putting his arm around her. “A sky that goes on forever, old, dead plantation. Brings a tear to your eye. So busy holding your breath at the beauty of this place, you gain an extra minute on that filter.”
Pinkie Pie looked at him and then took in a deep breath.
“I didn’t actually mean it, you’re switching that filter after five minutes anyway,” Taro said, causing Pinkie to release her big breath.
“Well, let’s get walking, shall we? I want to see more of this place,” Rainbow Dash suggested.
They walked on for a few minutes before Taro started to slow down. Then he stopped all together, as if listening.
“Are you okay, Taro?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“... ... ... Run!” Taro shouted, just as gunfire was heard. A bullet shot straight into the snow where Taro was standing, barely missing him.
“What’s happening?” Rainbow asked.
“Sniper! Don’t know why, just keep running!” Taro shouted.
Another bullet was fired, hitting Taro in the leg. He collapsed. “Taro!” Rainbow Dash shouted.
“Keep going, I’ll meet you guys at Venice!” he shouted back.
“I am NOT leaving you behind!” Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie ran toward Taro. Before she made it, someone dressed in a bulky black outfit grabbed her. She elbowed him in the chest. Seeing an open moment, she pointed her revolver and fired into the stranger’s face. Out of the spur of the moment, she noticed there were others who looked about the same. Rainbow Dash shot one of them, who was trying to grab Taro while Pinkie Pie was dealing with another her own way.
“You’re mine!” one of them said.
“What? I can’t hear you,” replied Pinkie Pie.
“I said ‘you’re mine!’” the stranger repeated.
“It’s hard to hear through that gas mask,” Pinkie said.
Sighing and taking off the mask to repeat himself again, he choked on the radioactive air, causing his own death and Pinkie Pie to point and laugh.
“No! Get off him!” Rainbow Dash shouted, shooting another person.
Someone tackled her to the ground.
“ENOUGH!” shouted someone else. “You all heard the order from Luna. Do NOT kill them. It doesn’t matter how many they killed, we take them as prisoners!”