//------------------------------// // Chapter Two: One Month // Story: DARWIN Guardian of the Sun & Moon // by akklessens //------------------------------// CHAPTER TWO: ONE MONTH Darkness. That was all I saw. It wasn’t the present, but a memory from my past twenty years ago. I was part of an Archeology expedition in an old ruin in the deep part of England. “You know my studies are in quantum physics, right?” I asked skeptically to the young lady in front of me. “I don’t know anything about ancient history, unless it’s current.” “Well, maybe, but you owe me, remember?” chuckled the lady, with her short cut brown hair. Mary was her name. I had known her since we both met in a university class, and even graduated together in time. She was a year younger than me, but it never bothered me. I always focused on her personality, wits, and intelligence. What really got me thought it was her deep ocean eyes. “Now if you’re done bugging me, I need you to listen.” she said, standing in front of a crumbly stone wall. She knew me just as well as I knew her. “If my calculations are correct, which they are, the tomb should be on the other side.” I soon step up to the wall, preparing to break it open, “I got this.” “Wait, there could be something important written on the other side of the wall,” she tried to stop me, but without considering it, my foot broke through the thin wall like it was styrofoam. “Now it’s a door,” I commented with a small laugh. When we both stepped into the tomb, we could barely see a thing, as the room was dark as Hell. Mary and I pulled out our flashlights from our backpacks, and turned them on. The beams of light landed on a large, stone round table. “Maybe we uncovered King Arthur’s Round Table?” She joked with a smile. I smiled back, understanding what she meant. I glanced around with my flashlight to see the remains of some corpses on the table. What was strange was the corpses were perfectly intake; there was no decomposition at all. “I can’t believe it,” she whispered in awe, approaching the table. “Over two thousands year and their bodies are still untouched by time.” I was surprised as well. Then again, this room must have been sealed off from the outside, cutting out the oxygen. It could also have been the cause for their deaths. Or poison, seeing as goblets were littered around the room. The light from my flashlight looked over the bodies, not finding anything extraordinary, except the body that had interesting, faded colors that were different from the rest. “I’m guessing that’s the host,” I assumed, pointing to the body as Mary looked at what I was indicating. I walked to the body to get a closer look, and saw that the corpse’s hand was clutching something. “Hey, I think he’s holding something.” “Well, be careful not to damage the body,” Mary requested. Giving a grunt of confirmation, I carefully lifted the hand off the table as I tried to see what he was trying to cover. It revealed itself to be a beautiful amulet. It gold colored with six gems on it. One big amethyst in the center and five smaller ones surrounding it: a ruby, citrine, emerald, sapphire and a pink diamond. “He was holding this,” I explained, showing her the amulet with astonishment, “It must cost a fortune.” “You may be right,” she whispered, staring at the object in wonder. It was at that we heard someone approaching from where we had entered. “Quick!” she ordered, hastily covering the amulet with her hands as she faced the entrance. “Put it in your bag. They won’t expect someone like you to have it.” I was surprised from her remarks, “Wha- what are you talking about?” “It’s not like that,” she added abruptly, obviously on edge. She took one last glance at the entrance before facing me with a frown. “I what to study it and see what history it holds. If anyone else finds it, they’d just take it and sell it to some rich, tycoonist, who’ll just give it to his trophy wife.” I knew she was right. This amulet did have history, and the people that funded her expedition would definitely take this away before she had the chance to look over it. I placed amulet in my bag under some clothing, hiding it from view. Marry smiled at me and whispered, “Thank you.” “Of course,” I chuckled, “I’d do anything for my wife.” *** Returning to the present, as I stepped through the portal with my eye’s closed, I felt the environment change from room temperature to a nice warm breeze. I could tell that I was no longer in Baltimore, Hell, I knew I wasn’t on Earth or even my universe. After taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes. Beauty. That what the first thing I saw. Pure, untouched beauty. There was pure green grass on the ground, tall trees that weren’t in a preservative dome or in some rich guy’s backyard, and a clear beautiful sky with clouds that looked like they were painted. I was trapped in the world’s scenery, and it made me happy. My old and corrupted world that I came to hate was on the other side of the portal, but at that moment, all I cared about was admiring the view. “Hey,” the female leader said, snapping me back into reality, “Move your ass already and get your tent up.” Looking around, I could see everyone already busy setting up camp. As I walked away from the portal, I glanced behind it, watching it shrink smaller and smaller, and before I knew it, it vanished. “Two weeks,” I mumbled to myself, “Two weeks until they reopen the portal.” Turning back, I saw the mercenaries putting up their tents and unpacking their guns. Dodge, as I recall was his name, looks at me with a smirk as he reloaded his scattergun. Grass Snake was on top of one of the many trees surrounded us, keeping lookout. Matt and Data were arguing over something, but Brick quick broke them up by picking them both up by their shirts. Turning my attention towards my own team, I saw Kyle talking with Amanda, making sure she was alright. I wondered if they were seeing each other. May had finished her tent rather quickly as she liked to keep to herself. Finally, I saw Mark pitching a tent next to another. “Hey, Darwin,” he called, gesturing to the tent, “I was just setting this up for you tent. I think you would want to look around first.” God, he was helpful. “Mark, you don’t have to do that,” I said, feeling bad that he was doing it just for me. “I’ll finish what’s left. Why don’t you go see if there the foods ready.” “Got it, man,” Mark replied with a mock salute, heading over to the others. After finishing up my tent, I entered inside and started unpacking, going through my books, clothing, emergency food, first aid - in case we need it - and then the locked boxes. It reminded me what had happened that morning, when I was packing as much as I could. I was going through my sock drawer when I had come across the box sitting in the corner. I had almost forgotten all about it, or at least I tried to. It reminded me of Mary, which nearly made me cry, but I had suppressed the tears and packed the box. Since it was a lock box, I brought along the key that was attached to a string like a necklace. I had placed it around my neck, zipped up my bag, put on my over coat, and locked the door. And before I left, I had given a spare key to an old lady who had promised to water my plants while I was gone. Coming out of my memory, I pulled the key off my neck, and took a deep breath, knowing that what lay inside the box would only remind me about her. Hesitantly, I unlocked the box, and opened it up, showing the twelve hundred year old amulet from the old ruins. “She never got the chance to figure out what you were,” I whispered to the amulet, my resolve hardening, “But I will soon enough. I’ll find out why you’re so important.” *** Loading audio recordings. Sixteen found. Four corrupted; unable to play. Twelve available. Playing now. Day One: It has now been twenty-four hours since we arrived in this new alien world. No problems have been found so far. We had rumors going around, but nothing really big. There was one fight, but it was just between Matt and Data, who I learned were biological twins. Two brothers hired for war. That’s kind of funny. Still haven’t found out what the female leader’s name was. I asked her today, but she told me to... well, I’m not gonna say it, but I think you can figure out what she said. From the exploration the other mercenaries had done today, they found miles of trees and woods. This forest must be massive if all they could see was trees, but in the distance, they saw mountains with snow caps. There might be snow heading our way soon. If we do get snow, this trip is going to suck. On a personal note, the amulet is unknown to everyone else. As far as I could remember, this amulet was a relic to an old cult. But I couldn’t remember if the gems were as bright as they were the last time I looked at them. Well, that’s it for this log. I’ll record any information that comes up. This is Darwin, signing off. Day Two: Nothing happened today, but during the night, I swore I heard a whisper, but I didn’t think too much of it. It would be any number of things: A conversation, someone talking in their sleep, or just the wind. To be honest, that’s all I really have to report. Unless you want to hear Mark’s story about the time his date had a bondage fetish, but I think that not really an appropriate topic for this recording. I don’t even know why I brought it up. Darwin, signing off. Day Four: (chuckling in the voice) Brittany. Today, I found out that the leader’s name was Brittany. That is the trashiest name I have ever heard. When she told me, I tried really hard not to laugh out loud, but I knew I couldn’t hold it in so I ran to my tent instead. On the way, I ran into Doug, and for some reason, he knew about that moment with Brittany. He had said to me, “The last person who laughed at her name ended up fired and a face worse than guy who hired us, so I hope you’re good in bed.” After that I couldn’t stop laughing. Trashy name and a slut. God, I don’t know what to think about that. Wait… Why do I have a feeling that she’s in my tent. Well, she was just there, but now she’s gone. I hope I didn’t piss her off too much. This is Darwin, signing off. Day Five: Nothing really happened today, except that May was coughing and having trouble breathing, but that could just be her asthma. She never brings her inhaler to work, it’s like she doesn’t want anyone to know. One time, her friend came by and told me about her asthma, and she had left an inhaler for her at the lab just in case. Thank god we brought one with us so she could get better. Right now, she’s in the med tent, where Matt is apparently the medic. Hope she gets better tomorrow. Darwin, over and out. Day Six: Dear God, something horrible happened today. Matt was attacked by May. I don’t have all the details, but May had broken both his arms and tried to scratch him to death. I know that couldn’t have happened. She doesn’t really work out, or even have the muscle to break both of a mercenary’s arms, let alone one. But damn was I wrong. Both his arms were broken so bad that his broken bones had protruded through his skin. But what was worse was his face. Dammit. Amanda even puked after just looking at it. Right now, he’s in the medical tent. It’s a good thing Kyle has some medical training. He told Britney his arms would be back to normal in a few days with some help with bone regenerating pills, or BRP for short, but his face is beyond fixing, even with reconstruction. Brittany was not happy with me. She said to me, “I don’t know what’s wrong with her, and I don’t give a damn, but if she attacks another one of my men, I will kill her.” I went to the newly built holding tent, where May had been restrained on a table resting with five milligrams of haloperidol. Mark told me he tried using phenobarbital, but it wouldn’t work He was surprised that he needed to use that much haloperidol just to knock out one girl who was just an intern. I went inside to see her, and she looked fine, quite better than she was before. I couldn’t even imagine someone like her going crazy like that, but then I noticed something. Something horrible. I looked at her fingers, and there were no nails or even skin. It was just bones. She had scratched him so much to the point where her skin and muscles peeled off, even her bone where chipped. God dammit, what the hell is happening here? It hasn’t even been a week and already someone is injured and another is under surveillance! This is Darwin, going to Bed. Day Seven: It has been a week since we came to this world. So far, one is still in the medical tent and another is now under quarantine. It used to just be a holding cell, but Brittany told everyone that no one is allowed to go into the tent without a hazard suit, a guard, and her permission. If someone disobeyed her rules, that person would be stuck there until the portal opens up again. Data was checking his brother in the med tent to see if he was alright. I think he was taking his brother attack quite well, considering. Though, he tried to charge into the quarantine tent, screaming “Let me in. I’m going to kill that bitch for what he done! She deserves to die!” Britney had punched Data in the face, which actually calmed him down. “Go back to your post, Data.” she had said to him, “Do you think Matt would like to hear that his brother had killed his attacker in a fit of rage?” And I think Data said something along the lines of, “No, you're right, sorry ma’am.” After that mess was fixed, Brittany ordered me to meet her at her tent again at twenty-one hundred hours, which was ten pm, if I remembered correctly. Mark had overheard the conversation, and said to me, “Well, looks like you found a new friend.” I said it was probably nothing, though I might be wrong. Well, it’s almost ten, we’ll see what’s so important. Darwin, over and out. Day Eight: Last night, Brittany asked me if May had any medical history. I told her about her asthma, but explained that nothing really could have leaded her to this. Brittany thought it may have been the planet, a sickness unknown to us, or maybe an even bigger problem. Then, she told me to head off to my tent and that was it. For the rest of the day, nothing happened. But later that night, the gems on the amulet, which I had tucked away safely, were glowing, and I thought they were whispering to me slowly. “Run”. That’s what they were saying before the glowing died and the voices were silent. This may be an alternate universe, but this couldn’t really be physically possible. Maybe it was an anomaly, one of Mark’s pranks, or it was just the wind. I decided to look on it later. Well, that’s all I have to report, I wonder if I’m going crazy too. (Laughter) Dear God, I hope not. Darwin, signing off. Day Ten: You know what? The time I had been here, I have had no idea what my team was even doing. So today, I decided to check on everyone. Amanda and Kyle were working on how this world’s vegetation affects the world. So far, it has been normal, all the vegetation had been fine, just like in our world. May was attempting to send a probe into the air to get a better view of the world before she... well, you know. I’m guessing she wanted to see if stars were similar to ours, but with her current condition, we will never know. Mark said he’s been trying to find any wild life besides the insects see we saw earlier. Mark told me that he saw a rabbit once, a white rabbit to be exact. He tried to catch it, but failed. Before I could leave, he asked, “Hey Darwin, what are you working on?” I didn’t want to tell him about the amulet, he thinks I got rid of it a long time ago, so I lied. I can’t believe I lied to my best friend, the very person who brought me from the brink of death and got my life back in order. I would tell him about the truth, but he’ll think this is about her, but the amulet is for her. I … I’m done. Bye. Day Eleven: Something happened today. Brick is now in the quarantine tent. Grass Snake said Brink was just banging his head on one of the trees. He thought Brick was just being himself, but then he saw him bleeding. He tried to stop him, but when he got closer, Brick started hitting his head harder and harder, and Grass Snake was forced to knock him out. He dragged him to Brittany, and she told him to put Brick in quarantine. Dammit, another incident. At least no one was hurt. Three more days. Three more days and we’ll all be able to go home. Day Thirteen: Tomorrow, the portal will open, finally. With one person still recovering and two in quarantine, I’m glad this mess is over. I needed to talk to someone, and I wanted to see Mark, but he was busy. Then, I saw Brittany sitting by the fire, so I asked if I could join her. We started talking, and I think she’s comfortable around me now. I asked her what she’s going to do when she got back to Earth, and she said, “When I get payed, the first thing I’m going to do is get drunk, and screw a few guys, maybe even a girl.” Wow, she’s a slut. Thank god I didn’t say that out loud, or I would be dead. I asked how she meets these people in her team. Wait... she’s not here, good. Anyway I asked her how she met her team. “It’s a long story, trust me,” she had told me, then I asked her why she became a mercenary. “Because I’m a born killer.” Then, out of nowhere she asked, “What about you? Are you a killer?” It took me some time to answer, but I replied to her with this response, “I only killed during my service in the war, never again.” She followed up by asking me, “So you were a soldier? I thought so, I could tell by just looking in your eyes. Well, turning away from that life would be harder than it looks. So tell me, is there a woman in your life?”. I was wondering why she asked me that is until she said, “Just joking. You aren’t, right?” “Was, not anymore, but that was a long time ago.” I said, and she had given me a sympathetic look, asking, “Didn’t work out?” I didn’t want to answer, so I told her I should get some sleep for the return trip the next day. I was about to leave until she looked around in confusion, saying, “Wait, where’s Charlie? I haven’t seen him in this whole trip” I agreed with her, and said I would look for him tomorrow. You’ll be happy to hear that I went straight to my tent. Now, I’m off to bed. Good night and good riddance. Day Fourteen: Well, this isn’t good, not one bit. Everyone was waiting for hours and the portal didn’t appear. “Okay, Darwin why the hell is the portal not open yet?” Brittany asked me harshly as the other soldiers look at me as well. “I really don’t know,” I answered, “This is the right date, so the portal should be open. I have no idea what’s going on.” That was when Charlie whipped out this radio, asking if anyone was on our planet. “Wait just a god damn moment,” Brittany barked angrily, “You had a radio that can access home the whole time?” That had really set Charlie off, “Yes, it can, and Darwin, no, I will not tell you how it’s possible because they told me not to tell you. Now everyone shut up so I can see if there’s an answer.” He fiddled with the radio a bit more before, giving a deep sigh, “Dammit, the message is delayed, the computer won’t have the message possessed for another two days.” Brittany rounded on him, yelling, “We don’t have enough supplies for two days!” Which Charlie calmed replied, “Well, this is a forest, find something to eat.” I hate Charlie, he’s a dick. We’ll have to wait two days before the message would get through. Who knows, maybe the portal will open by then. Day Fifteen: Doug is dead. I honestly never expected him, of everyone in Britney’s group, to actually die. Grass Snake brought him to back to camp while they were hunting for food, and... well, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but what Grass Snake described that attacked him was a Manticore. I thought it was crazy, but Grass Snake had video footage. My God, I saw Doug shooting that thing but nothing seemed to work. And before we knew it, it killed him, but Grass Snake said Doug tried had tried to kill it with a headshot, but the Manticore was too quick and dodge his shots. Doug got some shots in it, but it shook it off like it was nothing. Eventually, Doug ran out of ammo, and the Manticore took the kill. Brittany wasn’t happy, and for the first time, she was crying, though she tried to hide it. Data told me that Doug and Brittany had been friends since they formed their team. I can’t help but feel sorry for her. Back to the Manticore, I did some research from an old book I packed and found it. A lion’s body, bat wings and a scorpion tail. I know this is a different dimension but… damn. That portal better be open tomorrow. Day Sixteen: It’s gone. My world is gone. Our world is gone. I checked on Charlie, wondering what that bastard was doing. I saw his tent completely destroyed from the inside. I thought Britney might have been responsible, but I remembered that she hadn’t been in his tent, let alone, seen him all day. When I entered his tent, I saw him on his knees, looking at the floor. I asked him what he was doing. All he said was, “It’s gone.” I asked him what was gone... Everything. The Chinese bastards finally did it. They finally dropped the bomb on American soil, and we retaliated. Oh sweet merciful god, what have we done? We had a long talk with lots of curses coming from him, but eventually he ordered me to leave. While I was leaving, I heard him whisper “I’m sorry” and then a gunshot. I re-entered the tent to find him dead. Brittany came rushing in, asking what happened, so I told her he committed suicide. “Why?” she asked hesitantly, so I told her how Earth had been... destroyed by the TQO, a weapon that makes the atomic look like a firecracker. Brittany hesitated trying to hide her emotions, and told me she would tell the others. I thanked her because… I don’t think I could have done it myself. Earth is really gone. What the hell are we going to do no? Day Seventeen: Understandably, no one was happy with the news. Amanda was balling like a newborn, and Kyle was trying to help her as much as he could. Everyone else was taking it well, but I knew they were angry. What I didn’t expect was Mark. I ask him if he was alright. “Why?” he said, glaring at me, “Why didn’t you tell me?! I’m your friend! Why the hell didn’t you tell me first!?” I explained that it was too much for me to handle, but it only made him angrier. “Too much?” he said in disbelief, raising his voice, “Too much?! My family is dead, my friends are dead, hell, even the girl I actually liked doesn’t even have a body any more, and you give me some bullshit excuse like it was too much!” Mark was acting way out of character, and I asked what was wrong with him, which he shot back that I was his problem. He continued on from that, shouting, “Okay, I’m sick of fixing your mistakes, and helping your pathetic ass!” I still can’t believe he would say anything like that to me. But then I noticed his eyes. They were bleeding. Before I could say or do anything, Mark fell to the ground. Grass Snake had knocked him out, telling Brittany he had found another one. We have a patient in the med tent, one dead, and now three in the quarantine tent. (Silence) For god’s sake, why the hell am I even recording this? The only ones who will ever hear this is everyone in camp, unless the manticore would like to hear my audio logs. Well, I’m out. Day Nineteen: DATA CORRUPTED Day Twenty Two: DATA CORRUPTED Day Twenty Six: DATA CORRUPTED Day Twenty Nine: DATA CORRUPTED End of audio recordings. Attempting to restore Day Nineteen, Twenty Two, Twenty Six and Twenty Nine. Process one percent. *** It was the middle of the night after our first month in this world, knowing that Earth was gone. And that was when I smelt something from inside my tent. “Smoke…? FIRE!” I shouted, quickly exiting my bed and heading outside. Everything in our camp was on fire. Not only that, but… Grass Snake. He was on the ground. I walked over to him to see if he was okay, but... “No,” I whispered, turning away from him. His body… his body had no head. It looked like it was torn off completely. “Can it be…? I need to get to the med tent.” I told myself, rushing over to my destination. As I hurried along, I hoped I would run into any survivors in this inferno camp. Unfortunately, I found Kyle on the ground. “Kyle are you-?” I started before seeing his head. There was a hole it; he was dead as well. “What’s happening? What going on?” I whispered to myself, my anxiety growing immensely. Giving my respects, I crouched down and closed Kyle’s eyes before I left for the med tent. Continuing to my objective, I decided to move more quietly, hoping I didn't run the thing that had attacked our camp. That was when I heard a noise. I went to investigate, keeping silent as I hoped it was survivors. “Oh… oh god,” I said quietly, my eyes wide. I saw Matt, with blood in his eyes, smashing Data’s head into a rock, and Data was dead for some time, as there was barely anything left of his head. “Dear God, why? Why? Why would he do this to his own brother?” I whispered shaking my head in distraught. I snuck past Matt, moving forward when I noticed May. She was smashing her head against a tree while on fire. “This can’t be happening. Please be a dream,” I said, my breathing and heartbeat increasing. I knew it wasn’t a dream, it was real, and at that moment, I was in Hell. I was getting closer to the med tent when I noticed a body that was still moving. A survivor. Squinting, I saw who it was: It was Brittany. I ran over to her to see if she hadn’t lost her mind like Matt or May. “Hey,” she said hoarsely, coughing heavily afterwards, “Darwin, right?” I was a little mad that she forgot my name even though we had a mouth to know either other, but I shook it off and nodded. “Damn, I got to know you for a month, and I still wasn’t sure about your name. God, I’m terrible, and I was thinking of sleeping with you.” She coughed some more after that, causing my heart to wrench. “Don’t say another word,” I said, patting her shoulder, “I-I’ll get help.” “No, don’t bother,” she told me, taking deep breathes, “Look… it was that friend of yours, Mark. He started this fire, he released the quarantine, and somehow infected Matt, even though he could have been infected from the beginning.” “But how?” I asked, puzzled how Mark had escaped from the quarantine tent. “The blonde girl, he used her.” “Amanda,” I muttered to myself, knowing she was the only blonde here. “He’s… he’s holding her hostage,” she explained, “He thinks I’m waiting to strike, even though he knows he got me. I think he’s just being paranoid. That, or he’s just crazy. Darwin, you need to stop him.” She reached for something from her back and brought it in front of herself, it was a handgun. “Here, take my gun. I don’t know how many bullets are left. You need to stop him, if you don’t, he’ll kill her and what’s left of my team.” “Sorry to say,” I said to her, taking the gun in my hands, “But Data and Green Sneak are dead.” She smirked at me, “Well, we survived hunger, deserts, hell, we even survived the war, but every member of my team died on an alien world, and we still don’t know why.” “I know... it sucks,” I replied, trying terribly to lighten the mood.. She chuckled none the less, and then she gave a long exhale. She was dead, “Shit”. With the gun in my hands, I opened the clip to find two bullets left. I snapped the clip back in and decided it was time to confront Mark. As soon as I stepped away from Brittany, Mark came into view, looking around frantically. He was holding a knife in one hand and was dragging Amanda in the other. She was still alive, but she was Mark’s hostage. “Mark, listen,” I called softly, taking a few steps forward. He whipped his head towards me, his eyes wide with paranoia as he brought Amanda up, putting the knife under her neck. “Come any closer and all cut her throat!” he threatened, bringing the knife closer to Amanda’s neck, causing her to whimper. “Help me,” she pleaded quietly. “Shut up, you stupid bitch!” Mark screamed at her. “Please listen,” I said, putting my hands up in a gesture of peace. I had to contain the situation. “Everyone’s dead; were all that’s left. We can make it out.” “No, God Dammit, we won’t,” Mark growled, “The earth is gone, our families are gone, and this world is trying to kill use.” I had to calm him down, but I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to, “Look, we’re human. We’ll adapt and survive.” “With what!?” Mark questioned, visibly shaking, “You think we can repopulate our species!? You think we impregnate this whore and make our children inbreed with each other!?” “NO! Not like that!” I shouted, growing frustrated and angry. “You're Goddamn right, not like that,” he said, a crazy smile on his face, “Have you seen it yet? Our species was meant to die. What we did to our planet - global warming, stripping our natural resources, overpopulation, corrupted government. Death is our punishment! Earth was destroyed with the TQO, and everything with it. What was left of our race came here, and we were either infected or killed by that monster. We weren't supposed to even exist! We’re all going to die tonight, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let this world take me. You and her are going out first.” I tried to rush over to stop him, but I was too late. Mark sliced Amanda throat open, blood gushing out. Mark released her as she fell to her knees, gasping for air, before falling to the floor dead. “Now it just you and me,” Mark announced, pulling out a pistol from his back pocket. “First you, then me.” He aimed the gun at me, and I froze with fear, unable to use the gun that I was given. “I’ll see you in Hell, old friend,” he whispered, but I heard the gun jam as he pulled the trigger. He looked at the gun trying make it fire. Shaking out of my stupor, I knew it was my chance. I brought the gun up to bear and aimed at Mark’s head. “Mary... forgive me,” I muttered to myself. Mark faced me with his crazed eyes, before discharged the gun, putting a bullet in the center of his fore head. He fell to the ground, his body completely lifeless as he slumped to the ground, his eyes still wide open. Before I could grieve, I heard a loud noise coming from the forest. Knowing I didn’t want to meet it, I quickly turned to my tent, which hadn’t been touch by the fire yet. Entering, I hastily grabbed my bag filling it with anything I could get my hands on. With the bag full, I made to leave, but then I saw amulet at the corner of my eye.. “I must be crazy,” I told myself, grabbing the amulet, putting it around my neck. After which, I made my way back outside, heading out of the boundaries of the camp. I heard more roars coming from the behind me as I ran. Looking back at the camp, I could see the flames getting smaller every second I continued forward. As I ran, I was reminded that once again I was running for my life. What was different was that this time, I felt a drop of water on my head. “Rain. Perfect,” I said to no one as the rain fall soon turned from a light drizzle to a heavy downpour. I knew I had to stop to rest, but I just couldn’t. I was literally running for my life. I glanced back again, and noticed that the flames getting farther away and the roaring was growing quiet, then silence. I started to slow down, knowing I was probably at a safe distance. “I need somewhere to rest,” I sighed. Thankfully, I found a big hollow tree a few feet away from me, with a hole big enough for me to fit. I rushed into the tree, wanting to escape the downpour quickly, even though I was already drenched. I threw my bag to the ground as I sat down, leaning against the insides of the tree, and for some reason, I was crying. But why? Oh… now I remember. Earth was no more, the team that I called my friends were all dead, but the worst part is that I just shot my best friend. Eventually, before I knew it, I was crying. I knew then that everything was gone. There was nothing left in my life worth living for. That was when I remembered that I still had the gun. Slipping it out, I checked the clip. One bullet left. “One bullet... that’s all I need,” I whispered with a deep frown. I knew that there was only one way out. Taking a deep breath, I raised the gun to the side of my head and closed my eyes. Soon, I’d pull the trigger, and end my suffering. But then I heard something. “Quick, sister, in this tree!” a young feminine voice said. A voice? I heard a voice! And crying? I blinked; was I dreaming? There couldn’t be another intelligent life form. I saw two beings slip into tree, about as wet as I would expect from the rain outside. “Th-This can’t be real?” I whispered, my eyes looking down at who had entered. Horses, I saw two very small horses. I must have been imagining it, there was no way those two horses could talk. “Where…Where’s mommy?” said a different feminine voice, though much younger than the other. “I... my God. They can really talk,” I said so quietly that they didn’t hear me. I knew this was an alternate dimension, but I still couldn’t believe it. “Luna,” the first voice spoke, shaking her head sadly. “Mother, she’s….” However, before she could finish her sentence, she looked up and noticed me. A white coated foal with a pink mane holding close was a smaller foal with a dark blue coat and bright blue hair. The white coated foal’s eyes shrunk in shock as she gasped, clutching the other foal tightly. The other foal turned her gaze to me too, shying away slightly in fright. I would have reacted the same way to them, if I didn’t remember that the gun was still to my head. I knew I couldn’t do it in front of them, so I hastily brought the gun down, taking deep breathes from nearly killing myself, and put it in my front pocket. Looking at the young blue coated foal, I couldn’t help but feel sad seeing her upset and shivering, I can also see the other one in the same state. I took my coat off and throw it near them so they can use it as a blanket. The white one broke away from the other and, without breaking eye contact with me, pulled the coat closer, and covered herself and the young foal. As they lied down, getting comfortable, the white one looked to the other, and began to sing a nice song. I didn’t remember the lyrics, but I felt like I was in a trance, and when I rested against the tree, I soon fell asleep. Little did I know that those two would forever change my life, starting with that one act of charity.