//------------------------------// // Hit Hard // Story: My little Dayz: Zombies Aren't Magic // by Colgate1211 //------------------------------// They walked. Obsidian wondered how far this town Colgate mentioned was from where they were. How long had they been walking? Some tens of miles, Obsidian thought to himself. And through the entire trip, he kept thinking he saw something moving in the shadows, but never saw a single thing. He pushed it aside, not giving any clear thought on what it could be. "Okay, seriously... How much farther is the town you said we'd come across?" Obsidian whimpered. His hooves and legs were burning, screaming for a break. His stomach screamed for some food, but he knew they had to ration all they had. "Well, if we've walked..." Colgate's voice winded down to muttering to herself. Obsidian studied the look on her face, wondering why it was taking so long for an answer. "Two and a half!" She blurted out. "Miles?" He asked her, a wave of disappointment crashing over him. But he didn't have a choice but to be disappointed. He knew that it would be longer than he wanted to walk. "Well, can we stop for just five min-" He broke off the end of his sentence and darted his gaze to a tree over to his right. Colgate gave him an awkward stare. "Is everything alright? Like... in your head?" She asked, giving him a joking grin. Obsidian gave his head a fitful shake and looked at his hooves. "Ive been seeing things in the corner of my eye, and they're never there when I look. So I'm ever-so-slightly paranoid that there IS something and it's hiding every time i-" He darts his eyes to the right. "-look at it..." Colgate gave him a chuckle and a pat on the shoulder. "Let's... Okay, umm..." She wandered off, staring at something behind him. "What? Zeds?" he asked, looking up at her. "No. Definitely not. I don't think.... I HOPE not." She said confusedly. "Could be bandits. Keep an eye out." Obsidian tossed the warning over his shoulder. He took out his tattered map. As the days drug on, his trusty map was getting harder and harder to use. Could be the moths eating it, could be the extensive daily use, could be the-RAT-AT-AT-AT-AT! Gunfire shattered the air. Obsidian hit dirt, scrambling for something, ANYTHING to hide behind. Automatic weapons fire marks the end of many an unaware or unprepared pony. A large oak tree appeared to be his only option at this exact moment. He raced towards it, tripping over his own hooves in a frenzy for protection. He slammed against the sturdy wood with a thud, bracing himself for splinters and bullets to start raining down upon him. But the bullets weren't following him. Visions of that pale blue mare went through his head, she was probably totally blindsided by the attack. He peeked from behind the tree, and met a pair of dark brown eyes. 'Brown eyes? That can't be right..' he thought, before the reality of the situation hit him. WHACK! The butt of the rifle knocked him to the ground in a daze. The grass was far greener from down here... "Hah! Look'a dis poor bastard! How much fun ya figure we can get outta 'im before he dies?" The larger earth pony said, with an accent so thick a well-sharpened machete couldn't cut through it. Obsidian heaved a rough sigh, his head pounding. 'Where the hay had Colgate ran off to? I knew she wouldn't stick up in an ambush.' He thought, a bitter mix of regret and despair slowly engulfing him. He writhed around, trying to formulate some kind of breaking-out-of-capture like you saw in the movies. Nothing lept to mind at this exact moment, unfortunately. TAKKA-TAKKA-TAKKA! More gunfire. This time, the bullets were pretty close to obsidian. Even closer to the would-be bandits, much to the joy of Obsidian. A red mist fell upon the ground, splattering the thick green canvas with red, and he heard somepony trotting nearer to him. He held his breath. "You okay there, Obsidian? You weren't hit, were you?" A voice called to him. He exhaled with great relief. "Yeah, I'm all good. Kinda dizzy, but fine otherwise. You?" he asked back. He slowly worked his way back onto his hooves, in a tight battle with his current lack of balance. "That dude hit ya pretty hard, huh?" She asked him, smirking just enough for Obsidian to notice it, but not enough to be blatantly rude. "No worries, we can camp out here for the night. It's getting kinda dark anyways." She said, and started towards a partially destroyed rock wall. Obsidian watched her, the way she moved, her AK-74u bouncing off her legs... And she had some good aim with that thing, too! "Hey!" He called out to her. She turned around, one eyebrow raised in attentiveness. "Thanks for taking ca-" He started to lean to far to one side, and clumsily corrected himself, looking like a foal just learning how to stand. "Thanks for taking care of those bandits back there." He said, giving a smile. "Of course! Make sure you'd do the same for me if I ever need a hoof like that." She said, giving a small giggle. "Now come lie down before you fall and hurt yourself even more." Obsidian laughed at that. Not a forced laugh. like those towards a cheesy joke told by one of those half-educated traders trying to make friends. No, this was a genuine laugh. The kind of laugh you have around friends, good company, and family. He stumbled over to the bedroll like a drunk and got comfortable.