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Jackson arrived back at the camp, and saw Kayla fixing up some MRE's while Thompson was treating Fluttershys' wounds and trying to get her to relax.
Kayla looked up and walked to Jackson "Hey, is Marcus and...uh...what was her name again?" she whispered the last part.
"R-Rainbow Dash.. *sniff*" Fluttershy said as she hid behind her mane and quietly sobbed.
Kayla was suprised she hard her, but responded anyway "Oh, umm...thanks." She smiled sheepishly and turned back to Jackson "...yeah, Rainbow Dash. They okay?"
Jackson nodded "Yeh, they should be here in a sec, but Marcus had a deep ass cut in his right arm, and he told me that Dash got too close to the Manticore when he-" He whispered the last part so only Kayla would hear "-shot it."
Kayla raised an eyebrow "Why'd you whisper?"
Jackson pointed at Fluttershy who, fortunatley, wasn't paying attention "Cause I think she has a thing for animals. Like a vet or somethin' like that."
Kayla nodded "Ooh, I see, but what do you mean by 'too close'? Did she get hit by shrapnel or something?"
Jackson shrugged "Dunno, Marcus said he was gonna tell us all about it when they get back."
Kayla nodded again and walked to her rucksack " In the meantime, I need you to get some wood to start a fire. I got my lighter, so just get some sticks. We'll use the cave to sleep in, but someone's gonna guard the entrance."
Jackson was already picking up sticks and twings when he replied "Don't Marcus still got his Claymores with him? From the looks of it, he had all his gear like us. Even his rucksack! He could place the Claymores in the entrance if anything tried to have us for a midnight snack."
Kayla thought about it for a second "Yeah, but we should tell the ponies about the mines first. Smart thinking, Jack."
Jackson chuckled " 'Improvise, Adapt,and Overcome'. Ain't that one of our mottos?"
Kayla smiled "Yeah, I think think we got more mottos than the Army, Oorah?"
"Oorah." Jackson replied proudly, dropping the sticks and grabbing Kaylas' lighter.
7 minutes later...
The squad including Fluttershy were sitting around the campfire, eating their flavorless pieces of cardboard and mush until Fluttershy spoke up.
"Um..what's this called again? I-if you don't mind me asking..."She said quietly
Thompson couldn't help but mentally d'aww at one of her signature phrases "It's supposedly macaroni and cheese. With 'peas'.." He answered.
Before Fluttershy could respond, they heard rustling and footsteps behind them. Jackson put his food down and raised his M1014, loaded with "bean bag" rounds. He turned on the flashlight and aimed until he heard a familiar voice
"Jackson! Stand down dude, it's just us! Get that damn flashlight out of my face!"
Then he heard a raspy feminine voice, which sounded annoyed
"Yeah dude! I'm gonna go blind thanks to you and your fancy lamp thing...whatever, just turn it OFF!"
Jackson lowered his weapon and turned off the flashlight, seeing Marcus and Rainbow walk out of the treeline, wiping their eyes
"Marcus! Dash! Thank God, you scared the hell outta me.." He said.
Marcus then opened his eyes and chuckled "Really? I wasn't even trying that time. Should've used flares instead of fireworks on you."
Jackson looked confused and looked at Rainbow, who returned the look with her own, as if saying "Oh yeah, he told me".
He cocked his head to the side until he put two and two together, then his eyes widened "Oh no..you didn't tell her about-"
Jackson was cut off when Rainbow bursted out on the ground, laughing hysterically. Marcus just gave Jackson a shit-eating grin before saying "Oh yeah I did..and then some."
Kayla looked at Marcus "What did you tell her?"
Marcus' grin grew wider " Remember 4th of July? Camp Leatherneck?"
It was Kayla's turn to laugh " Oh my GOD!" She laughed "I remember now!"
Jackson was trying his best to not laugh, but it was too contagious. He started chuckling, then laughing. Soon everyone was in full blown laughter, even Thompson and Fluttershy were laughing.
After a couple of minutes, everyone/pony calmed down and got ready to sleep.
Jackson walked up to Marcus and told him his idea "Hey, place some of your Claymores infront of the cave in case something tries to eat us in our sleep."
Marcus gave him a look "But what if one of the girls trip them?.."
"Hey!" Kayla shouted from the cave "I heard that!"
Marcus shouted back "Not you, Kayla!"
Jackson then came up with an idea "Just give 'em a short 'n sweet explination."
Marcus nodded as he walked towards his backpack, bringing out 2 M18A1 Claymores. He walked to the cave entrance but stopped when Rainbow Dash asked him a question
"Uh, Hunter..what's THAT?.." She pointed her hoof to the remains of a half-eaten MRE.
Marcus chuckled and said "That, my friend, is the most tasteless food you can eat. An MRE, Meal Ready to Eat. Looks like mac 'n cheese.. with..wasabi? Or are those peas?..."
Rainbow spoke up "So I shouldn't eat it?.."
Marcus nodded "But it's filling. Wanna try one?"
Rainbow looked back at the 'food' "I think I'll pass. I can hold off 'till tomorrow morning and take us to Sweet Apples Acres."
Marcus thought for a second "Apples, huh? Alright I'm in."
He walked to the cave entrance and started placing the Claymores, until Rainbow asked another question.
"What are those, and what're you doing with 'em?" She asked
Marcus looked up and said "Can you bring Fluttershy over here?"
Rainbow nodded and went into the cave to bring her. After a couple seconds, she returned with Fluttershy alongside her.
"So, you gonna tell us?" Rainbow said impaciently.
Marcus nodded as he placed the device down. He then pushed a button ontop and 2 short red beams shot out to the sides from the top front.
"Ok.." He said "Listen up. What these thing are not to be played with. See the red beams?" They both nodded "Do not, I repeat, do NOT walk or move infront of those. I'm putting them here incase something tries to sneak up on us as we sleep. I'll turn them off in the morning. Let's get some sleep."
They nodded again and went to sleep.
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It didn't take long for Marcus to fall asleep. It was dreamless bliss until he heard a familiar voice in the darkness.
"The cryptids...they're everywhere...
"Samantha Cross?..What the-"
A series of flashbacks played infront of Marcus' eyes. From his squad's first mission in Alaska, to their final moments at the Exodus Launch Facility. Then a 3-D holographic image of Earth showed up, with hundreds of red, pulsing dots scattered across the globe
He heard Samantha's voice again.
"...right beneath your feet!" She said, having it echo all around.
Another image played. Marcus expected an underground colony, but was shown a cave system with diamons and jewles sticking out of the floor, the walls, the ceiling, and in the middle of it was a minecart on some rails.
"They're gonna kill you all.." Samantha said
Another image flashed, with Marcus deep underground, shooting frantically at hundreds of cryptids.
"Unless you find and kill them, first.."She said.
Marcus was then in first person, trying to get ahold of the situation.
In reality, he felt something soft brush against him
But in his dream, he turned around and saw a Rhino cryptid charge him at full speed.
He closed his eyes and waited for his inevitable fate.
He felt a hard shove, then woke up.