I sat in the passenger side seat with my arms crossed, leaning against the window. Jess drives cautiously, which is code name for slow. If it were me we would be at the strip club by now. But she actually obeys the traffic signals and gives people the right of way. It’s so submissive.
“Take a right at the light,” I mumbled.
“What?” Jess asked me.
“I said take a right!” I said louder because obviously she didn’t hear me the first time.
“Alright, jeez!” Jess came to an abrupt stop at the intersection, causing everyone to lurch forward for a second. I felt bad for snapping at her. But I also feel bad for roping her into this whole situation. This is clearly my fault. I should have known she would want to come along. I know she cares for us and wants to see us safe. But I didn’t consider that.
“Jess,” I murmured.
“Yeah Jim,” Jess said as she closely watched the traffic light.
“I’m sorry for all of this,” I said. “I know how much of a burden I’ve been on you and everyone at the shelter.”
“Are you kidding me?” Jess laughed never taking her eyes off the road. “You’ve had your slip ups but you make up for it. Because of you I’ve had more time on my hands than ever before. You actually treat the shelter like it’s your home, cleaning up after yourself and others. Not a lot of the others do that.”
“Yeah but I’m doing this,” I debated, suggesting the deed we were doing. “This is big.”
“Sure but,” Jess paused for a second. “You’re not really hurting anyone. I mean not anyone important at least.”
“Yeah kind of, I guess,” I grinned. “Besides I figure there must be some pretty nasty people that hang around a place like that.”
“Exactly,” Jess glanced at me quickly and then back to the road.
We were on the street that would inevitably lead past Erik’s place of work and to the entrance of the strip club. It was close, very close. We remained silent for the rest of the ride, until we were about a few hundred feet to the entrance.
“Alright,” Jess held out her hand to me. “Give me a gun.”
“Huh,” I grunted, staring at her hand blankly.
“You heard me,” Jess flicked her wrist. “Give me a gun,” she repeated.
I didn’t know how to respond. “Um ,uh,” I garbled. “Why?”
“Because I want something to defend myself with in there,” she explained. “I have the experience if you’re wondering. I used to go to the gun range with my dad all the time.”
“I don’t have a gun to give,” I told her. I gently hid my uzi behind me leg. I had placed it down there for the trip.
“Take mine!” Drake came out of nowhere and held his glock to Jess. “I’ll just use my machete.”
“Thank you, Drake,” Jess smiled at him and took the glock. She spun it around on her finger a few times before placing it down. I on the other hand was still trying to figure out what was going on so I could understand the gravity of the situation.
“Drake, why’d you do that?” I asked him.
“Jones told me to,” Drake smiled happily. I shrugged in response. I decided that Jess could do what she wanted and Jones could do what he wanted.
I decided to try that spinning thing Jess did with my uzi, but I stopped. I looked out the window for a second. “Jess,” I said slowly. “You just drove by the place.”
“I did?” Jess said bewildered. “Shit I have to turn around. Nice going.” She hit my arm.
“What did I do?” I whined, rubbing my arm.
“You’re supposed to be giving me directions,” she said. We pulled into a parking lot and turned around.
“I thought the big neon sign would be a dead give away,” I retorted, a bit annoyed.
“Communication, Jim,” Jess said. “We need to communicate so things like this don’t happen.”
“Exactly,” Jones pointed at her from the back of the van. “Communication is key to this operation.”
“Oh god, now you got him started,” Derek murmured. He was pressed against Rodney and Pete, looking like he was having the best time ever.
“Hey,” Jones snapped at Derek. “It’s true. There is a lot of room for error. Our ability to hear each other is going to be hindered by the shooting, music, and screaming. If someone could turn off the music before things get out of hand, that would help a lot.”
“I’ll do it,” I volunteered. “Just got to smash the sound equipment, right?”
“Or just unplug it,” Jones suggested. I nodded, happy I have another job to do.
There was a violent turn to the right and we began heading up a hill. I knew exactly where we were and Jess pulled into the parking lot of the Magic Mist. Immediately I grabbed my gun that was sitting underneath me. I noticed everyone else grabbed theirs too.
“Jess, pull around to the back,” Erik whispered. Jess did and we found ourselves near that metal door. It was so lonely there in the darkness. I mean the door not me.
“Well, what now?” I asked after there was a prolonged silence.
“Equipment check!” Erik suddenly announced.
“Good thinking,” Jones grinned. He put on these yellow dishwashing gloves. “Everyone got your gloves?” he asked. Everyone put theirs on but me. I completely forgot about them.
“Actually guys I,” A pair of gloves hit my face. “Thanks Jones,” I muttered.
“What about you Jess?” Erik asked.
“Brought my own,” Jess wiggled her fingers, showing off her black wool gloves.
“Good,” Jones put on his wool hat. “Masks on,” he ordered. I of course forgot that too.
“Guys I,” I didn’t have time to finish because Jones had once again thrown my stuff in my face. “Thanks,” I grimaced. I followed suit and put the hat and mask on along with everyone else. They even had an extra pair for Jess. What did they plan this?
I examined the van again. Everyone had their disguises on and we looked ridiculous. We looked like masked janitors, me more than them because of the jumpsuit. Actually it’s kind of a look I like. Nobody is going to expect a cleaning crew to pull out guns.
“Alright, let’s go over the plan again,” Jones turned to the group. “Drake here is going to get us in there when the door opens. After that… well.”
“I still got this,” Drake waved the machete. “I’ll be careful and stay out of the way.”
“Cool, and once we’re in,” Jones continued. “Rod and Derek are gunna go to the main room. You’ll recognize it by the size. Also there will be a bar and a stage. You can’t miss it.”
“Cool beans,” Rodney replied.
“Black people don’t say that,” Derek sneered hitting Rodney.
“Then,” Jones continued but glared at Derek. “Pete will go to the security room and disable the cameras.” He looked at Pete. “Understand?” he asked.
“Y-yes, of course,” Pete replied.
“Alright, and Erik and I will be outside to keep you guys covered.” He looked around. “Any questions?” I put everything together in my head and realized that I do have a question. I raised my hand.
“What do I do?” I asked. Jones looked at me and shrugged.
“Whatever you want,” he said.
“Huh?” I looked at him.
“It’s you call,” Jones said. “We have everything covered and so it’s more of a matter of where you think you’ll be best fitted. Word of advice though,” he pointed at my uzi. “Leave it on semi.”
“But I want to go full auto!” I whined like a child.
“No!” Jones snapped at me. “You need to be precise so you can conserve your ammo. That goes for everyone. Each shot should hit someone. If we play this right we’re really gunna do some damage.” He glanced at Jess. “Are you coming?”
“Well duh,” Jess flicked her head. “Why else would I wear this ridiculous disguise?” She motioned to the mask.
“Cool then,” Jones shrugged again. “Do what you want too.”
“I will,” Jess nodded. She took a clip out of the bag of ammo Drake had left her. She loaded the gun and upon seeing that everyone followed suit. There was all this clicking and snapping going on, it sounded like a factory. I saw that Erik took Pete’s pistol and pulled it back after loading it. I did the same with my uzi. Something seemed to move inside it. It was weird.
“Alright, everyone fingers off your triggers,” Jones ordered. I guiltily moved my index away from where it originally was. “When we go in be sure to make sure who you’re shooting at. If you see those yellow rubber gloves, it’s a friendly. And don’t even think about”
“Shhhh, shhhh!” Erik shushed Jones. He had opened the van’s back door a bit and was looking through the small opening. Apparently he must have spotted something because he was motioning for Drake.
Drake moved like a snake over to back door, stepping over everyone and not making a single noise as he did so. He peaked out the door and then nodded to Erik. Slowly he opened the back door and slipped out.
I instantly wanted to see what he was going to do. So I climbed out of my seat and got onto my stomach. Then I began crawling on my stomach to the back of the van.
“Jim, what the fuck are you” Derek sneered but he couldn’t finish his sentence. Jones had placed his hand onto Derek’s mouth like there was a vacuum that dragged his hand there.
I continued to crawl until I was in front of the back door. I was right under Erik and he moved a bit to give me a better look outside. He’s nice like that. So I was given a good view of what was happening.
It took me a while to spot Drake. I was able to find him after I began looking for the yellow gloves. He was crouching behind this dumpster and had his machete draw to his side. I began following where his head was pointing and I saw what he saw. There was this man, human, walking towards the metal door. He was a shorter guy with balding white hair but a fine white beard. He was moving to open the door.
It was like watching a predator attack their prey on an animal show. Drake moved like a spider, or a snake, and lunged at the man right as he had opened the door. The machete hit him in the shoulder and, from what I could tell; it created a huge ugly gash. The man tried to scream but Drake punched him to make him stop.
I noticed the door was swinging shut but at the last moment Drake propped his foot in front of it. The door didn’t close because Drake’s foot was wedged in but it looked like it hurt. What happened next was Drake pushed the man into the door and the man grabbed him. They both ended up falling to the ground and then the door closed so I couldn’t see them anymore.
Everyone got really nervous after that. Well, everyone that could see which was me, Erik, and Jones. Everyone else got worried at our expressions. That was when Erik started to slowly leave the van.
“Stay here,” he ordered in a quiet yet stern tone of voice. He motioned for Jones to follow and they both stepped out of the van.
It was scary because I had no idea what was going to happen. Jones and Erik were aiming their guns everywhere and were slowly moving towards the metal door. They were slowly approaching the door with their rifles pointing at it, when it suddenly opened. They both jumped back and froze but calmed down when they saw who it was, and I did too.
Drake had splatters of blood on him but it wasn’t that bad. More importantly he stood over the man he had tackled through the door. The poor guy looked like a mangled mess. I watched the three kind of joke around and then they hoisted the body into the dumpster that Drake had previously hid behind.
Poor guy but I guess he was at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Erik motioned for us to leave the car. I was the first to slither out of the van, followed by Rodney and Derek, then Pete, and finally Jess. We moved over to the door.
“Did he have anything good on him?” Rodney asked.
“Didn’t check,” Drake replied and shrugged.
“Alright you two,” Jones grabbed Rodney and Derek. “You are our killing force. Head in there and be ready for anything. Is that clear?”
“Sure whatever,” Derek mumbled and walked in. He was followed by Rodney and a reluctant Pete. I decided I should head in too and I was followed by Drake and Jess.
It was like going inside a beast. There was this red light which was how we could see where we were going. This was the back entrance and it was eerie. Up ahead was a short stair case which led to another door. Rodney and Derek were already about to head into it when I showed up.
“You take the left, I’ll take the right,” Rodney muttered. Before I could ask them what they meant, it was too late to ask.
Rodney forced the door open and dived into the room, followed by Derek. I followed them in but found myself in a state of shock. Before I could do anything, even think, there were two loud booms in close proximity with each other. I raised my gun to be prepared but I soon found there was nothing I could do.
When my eyes adjusted I found a dead human and a dead pony. They both had wounds like something tore through them. I quickly noticed the shotgun shells on the ground and I put together what happened. Then I noticed that Derek was rifling through the dead human’s pockets.
“Nothing!” he snapped. “Five fucking dollars.” He angrily threw a wallet on the floor with an aggravated look on his face.
“Hey!” Rodney knelt down and picked up the wallet. “That’s five dollars we don’t have.” He picked up the wallet and took the money out. Then he too threw the wallet to the floor. So I picked it up and opened it up.
His name was James W. West. He was thirty two and his birthday was only a month away. He came from Washington D.C. and was five feet nine inches. There wasn’t anything wrong with him as far as I could tell. He didn’t even look like a brony. I guess he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time, like the other guy.
The dead pony on the other hand can go to hell. It was dead and seated in its swivel chair, with a shotgun wound in its ribcage. It kind of made me angry.
“Um guys?” I heard Pete squeak. “Shouldn’t we, you know, respect the bodies?” He was met with a short silence.
“No,” Derek finally answered.
“Why bother?” Rodney said. “They’re dead. There’s nothing much we can do to them now.”
“That’s the point,” Pete said. “Shouldn’t we be showing respect? What about you, Jim?”
“Uuuh,” I groaned as I pushed the pony’s body off the chair. It hit the floor with a lame thump. Truthfully I really haven’t thought about what Pete is babbling about. It seems dumb to me.
“Don’t worry, Pete,” Drake said coming from nowhere and placing a hand on Pete’s shoulder. I haven’t noticed him until now. It freaked me out.
“You’re getting blood on me,” Pete murmured, pushing Drake’s hand on his shoulder.
“The point I’m trying to make,” Drake spun his machete around. It dripped blood everywhere. “Is we can’t think about this. Just go through it. No bullshit. I want this to be enjoyable. I’ve had too many experiences where something went wrong.”
“Yeah,” I nodded my head in agreement. “We just need to aim straight and shit. Speaking of,” I looked at Rodney and Derek. “How’d you two manage to do land two perfect shots without training?”
Derek answered first. “Because I fuck like a champion,” he snickered a bit.
“Well that,” Rodney smirked at Derek’s comment. “And Jones and Erik showed us some shit. You know the basics, how to reload our guns and how to hold them. But damn do these things hurt your shoulders.”
“What?” I asked in disbelief. “I missed that? That would have been useful.”
“Well you shouldn’t have left to go do whatever you do,” Derek scowled. “Now we have to pull the weight for you.”
“But, but,” I stammered.
“No buts,” Drake snapped, slapping me on my butt. “You need to get your head in the game.”
“Yeah let’s get this over with,” Derek snarled. “I want my paper.” He opened a closed door. “Come on Rod,” he trotted out the door. Rodney followed after him. Drake gave me a tap on the shoulder and smiled before followed them, he swung his machete like it was a picnic basket the whole time.
But before he left, Drake turned to Pete and I. “Be sure to get rid of those cameras.”
“Right,” Pete said and sat in the chair where the pony had previously been. He pulled it up to a monitor sitting in front of a bunch of TVs.
I watched the TV setup. The whole thing is kind of what I’d expect a stereotypical security room to look like. There were a bunch of monitors showing what was happening around the club. They showed everything that was currently happening. I looked closely at the main room’s camera screen.
The camera showed the scene from a bird’s eye view. Strippers were dancing on poles and everyone was watching the show. So when Rodney and Derek burst through the double doors, not everyone knew they were there.
The crowd looked ignorant. I mean they were mostly ponies that were mesmerized by the show going on. The humans really stood out because of the height difference. They were like shepherds in the middle of legions of sheep. Easy targets if you look at it in a different way.
Before the crowd could really react, the carnage began. I think it was Rodney who shot first. I can’t tell from the angle and the fact that they’re wearing masks. But I could tell that what they were doing was working.
If I could describe the scene I would say it looked like a bunch of trees being chopped down simultaneously. Or maybe it’s watching fire burn something. After every shot from the shotguns, the crowd receded a bit. And each time it receded, Rod and Derek were there to move closer. It was actually a pretty slow process but that wasn’t the point. I was seeing progress in the form of bodies. Both pony and human forms were lying on the ground.
I saw Drake jump behind the bar that was located to the side of the room. I’m guessing he did that to get out of the way. After that I didn’t see him on the monitors. I hope he’s okay.
“God damn it!” Pete exclaimed and slammed his fists down. He was angrily looking at the computer monitor he was in front of.
“Don’t use the lord’s name in vain,” I growled at him. I took a moment to look at the monitor with him. “What’s the problem?” I asked. From what I can tell the computer works.
“The fucking thing is admin locked,” Pete put his head down.
“What does that mean?” I said. The computer was telling him to input a password.
“It means that I can’t do anything if I don’t have the password,” Pete explained and turned to me. “I’m stuck. There’s nothing I can do,” He put his head down in shame. “I feel worthless.”
A short and normally unnoticeable pang of understanding hit my heart. I think it was empathy. “Me too, buddy,” I patted his head.
The actual computer was a tower computer. I haven’t seen one of these in a while. People mostly just used laptops. But I guess this had to do the job. Actually it looks fairly modern. Damn ponies get all the cool stuff nowadays. I would love to have this to play games on it like I did way back when. Still I think the problem must have a simple fix.
“Hey Pete,” I knelt next to the tower computer. “How does the security system work again? You called it something.”
“What?” Pete looked at me. “The closed circuit system? It’s just a surveillance system that projects what the cameras see to a fixed place.” He slumped down a bit. “It’s simple really. Cameras see something and it goes to a place. In this case it’s the monitors here,” he motioned at the TVs.
“Yeah and it also goes to the computer that controls the whole thing,” I pointed out. “So if we get rid of the computer then we get rid of the cameras and their feed, right?”
“It’s not that simple,” Pete paused and then threw his face into his hands. “Oh my God, it is! Why didn’t I think of that sooner?”
“You did,” I removed the side panel of the computer, revealing it’s inside components. “You had this whole thing under control.”
“No I didn’t,” Pete stood up. “I just assumed everything would be easy. I thought I would fit in.”
“So did I,” I nodded my head. “But I guess we’re all good for at least one thing.” I took a step back. “Bring your gun over here,” I told Pete. He walked over. “Think you can hit the hard drive?” I pointed to the hard drive inside. It was easy to spot because of its size in comparison to the other parts.
“I guess,” Pete pointed his pistol into the machine. It took a while for him to squeeze the trigger. When he did we both jumped at the sudden sound. And when we looked inside, the hard drive was no longer in working condition to say the least.
“Good job,” I patted Pete’s shoulder. “You just protected our identities.”
“Yeah but you showed me how,” Pete objected.
“Doesn’t matter,” I shook my head. “You did it all basically.” I opened the door that led out of the security room and to the main room. “We should get going,” I said.
“Yeah,” Pete huffed out a lungful of air. “Can’t believe I’m doing this.”
“It’s for a good cause,” I reminded him.
Pete looked at me and nodded. I couldn’t tell if he agreed with me because his face is covered. But I think he and I have some sort of understanding. So he walked out of the security room and down the hall until he arrived at the double doors that led to the main room. With confidence, I should note, he opened the doors and readied his pistol.
I didn’t follow him out the security room. I just stayed there and put my own gun down on the table. Then I took off my mask and looked around.
There was nothing fun to do now. With the computer destroyed the monitors were off. All that was left were the bodies of the pony and the man. I take comfort in knowing they’re here but I don’t know why.
I picked up my uzi and pointed it at my head. I squeezed the trigger but quickly discovered the safety was still on. I turned it off.
Someone was coming towards me from the outside entrance. I turned around to see who it was and to get ready to fight. But I quickly saw that the individual was human and masked so it was one of my friends. Upon closer examination I saw that it was Jess.
“Hey Jim, whoa!” she ran over to me. The first thing she did was pull the uzi away from my head and eventually out of my hand. “Are you crazy?” she spat. “What was that about?”
“I had an itch,” I lied on habit.
“Mhm, sure.” Jess crossed her arms.
“Where were you, by the way?” I asked. I noticed she was gone when Rod and Derek killed in the security room.
“Oh, Jones and Erik wanted me to drive the van somewhere else,” Jess kind of laughed. “They’re lying under it with their guns sticking out. Said something about giving them a well hidden spot, I think they look ridiculous.”
“That does sound funny,” I agreed halfheartedly.
“Why don’t you have your mask on?” Jess suddenly said. She picked it up from where I had placed it and went about putting it back over my face. “Did Pete disable the cameras yet?” she finished my disguise for me.
“Yep,” I replied. “The cameras are dead. See?” I motioned to the black TVs that once showed the camera feeds.
“Hey,” Jess put her arm around me. “Let’s talk.” She began walking me over to the chair where the pony once was. “How about you tell me why you aren’t down there with the rest of the gang?” She sat me down. “Take your time. From the sound, I think they’ll be plenty of fun left.” Jess walked over to the dead human that was still sitting in his chair.
“His name was James.” I said.
“What?” Jess looked at me.
“That dead guy,” I pointed. “His name was James West.”
“Oh,” Jess put her hand on James’ shoulder. “Excuse me Mr. West.” With that she pushed the body off the chair and sat down. “Now,” she crossed her legs. “What’s up?”
I thought for a moment before answering. “I’m just pissed.” I said.
“About what?” Jess asked. “Is it about how ponies are oppressing the human race?”
“No,” I grunted, although that would make sense. “This isn’t how it was supposed to be. I’m supposed to do this alone.”
“I thought you were happy to have help,” Jess stated. “You were so happy to know that we were with you. What changed?”
I breathed in. “I think it was when Jones only offered me a pistol. That was insulting. He insults me all the time and I hate that.”
“I agree,” Jess nodded. “Everyone does pick on you but I have to admit, I admire how you take it. I don’t think I could handle the torment you take from the group. I’ll tell them to lighten up, how does that sound?”
“It ain’t the bullying,” I grumbled. Damn I haven’t used that b-word in a while. “I feel that I’m seen as only a burden. That they would be fine without me, but I want to contribute.”
“So why are you here?” Jess asked the obvious question. I was about to answer but she held up her hand and beat me to it. “Don’t tell me you’re feeling guilty?”
“Hell no,” I grimaced.
“Nervous, scared, don’t tell me you’re backing out?”
“Of course not,” I replied. “I’ll go in there but I wanted it to be different.”
“How?” Jess asked.
“I don’t want to walk out of there,” I explained. “I wanted this to be my last moment.”
“You’re still on about that?” Jess groaned. “We’re all getting out of this alive.” She stood up. “Come on,” she stood me up too. “We’re going.”
“Huh?” I grunted as she pushed me to the door.
“Pick up your gun,” Jess ordered. I did so but I’m still confused as to what she wants. “Start moving,” she jabbed me in the ribs with her fingers.
“Ow!” I grabbed my side but she continued on. I moved away from her but she followed. And she continued poking me until we were at the doors to the main room.
Jess put her hand on the door. “You ready?” she asked. Seeing that I had no choice I nodded, and she began opening the door, but then she stopped. There was this look in her eyes I didn’t like.
I twitched my head a bit. “What?”
I didn’t have any more time to ponder it because she pushed me against the wall with one arm and drew her gun with the other. “Look out!” she yelled and fired a few shots right in front of my face.
The fucking flashes. I wasn’t prepared for that or the noise. It was so close that the shells hit me when they ejected. But at least it was quick. Still it fucked with me because my heart started beating and my ears started ringing. My vision was also spotty.
“Holy shit,” I collapsed to my knees and rubbed my eyes. “What was that for?” I looked down the hall and discovered I didn’t need an answer. I think Jess just killed the bouncer but I’m not sure. A big dude was on the ground though and I’m certain he’s not getting up.
“Get up,” Jess grabbed my arm and helped me back onto my feet.
I stared at her but I couldn’t get a read on what she was feeling like because of the mask. Her reaction was so quick I doubt she is thinking much. I want to be like that.
“That was a close one,” I said now with a slower heartbeat.
“Yeah,” Jess paused. She put her hand on the door to the main room. “Let’s go.” With that she pushed the door open and we stepped in.
The scene I saw could probably have been out of hell. It was dark, which was the first think I noticed. Sure I could see things. I could see how the lights were all different shades of colors that I expected to strobe in a club. They still worked, so occasionally I could get a better look at the carnage.
The sound was incredible. The music was still playing and it was damn loud. Some really bass heavy song was playing. I could feel it in my chest, it was so loud. And there was the gun fire going off. Oddly that wasn’t the most distracting element of the sound. Sure Rodney and Derek were just letting the shots fire, and occasionally Pete would fire a bit. But the other sounds were much more terrifying. The screams could be heard more than anything. I won’t bother explain how loud and numerous they were. It’s too difficult to describe all the different tones and pitches. But the screaming was what was most seared into my head.
I cautiously made my way forward, pressing into the dark violent area. Common sense told me to not get too close to Rodney and Derek. They were paving the way and at the same time getting all the action. Common sense still told me to stay away but logic was telling me if I didn’t get close I would miss all the fun.
Bravery isn’t what I would call it but it felt like it. Under all the pressure I got as close to the action as I could without being in Rodney and Derek’s way. I was up top at the V.I.P area, I think. It was a slightly raised area that looked like it would be for higher paying customers. There were a couple of bodies up here with me. One of them was still alive but was shot, he was a pony. I watched him for a second before it became obvious that he would die soon, so I left him alone.
I looked out over the scene from this heightened perspective. From here I could see the crowd that was cowering in the farthest corner of the room. Jones and Erik were right about there being nowhere to run. Those ponies and humans are trapped.
I aimed my gun at the crowd with the safety off so all I had to do was pull the trigger. The crowd looked like a single mass. With every shot that was fired, it seemed to chip away and become smaller. Why don’t they fight back? It’s weird. If it were me I would take my chances and fight back somehow, or die trying.
I shook my head and in doing so I saw something interesting. To my left was the stage. More importantly there was another crowd there. A crowd of whores. The strippers here must think they are safe in the other corner of the room. But they are wrong. I pointed my sights on them.
With one eye closed focused on the group, I took arim. There must be around eight to ten of them, all ponies but there was a human with them. They all huddled up close to one another. This will make them easier to kill. I pulled the trigger with no thought other than to focus on my target.
Nothing could prepare me for the kick back. It wasn’t bad, I guess, but I’ve never fired a gun before. The gun pointed to the ceiling before I brought it back to the crowd. A smile grew on my face behind the mask.
One of the whores was down and the others were crowding around her. I was quick to take advantage of their bunching up. I fired a couple more shots at them. This time I got to see the effect of the bullets. Three more of the pony whores were down and writhing about on the ground. Their four legs just wiggling around. But there was a problem now. Now they were dispersed.
I groaned and aimed at the human girl. Something in the back of my mind wondered for a bit. Can I really kill another human? I mean she’s hardly innocent because she’s protecting ponies so there is no denying her allegiance. But can I, myself, do it. A pony is different I think.
I fired a shot in the direct of the human whore. It missed and she got startled. I fired a few more and she felt down. With that my question was answer. I can kill humans. I wonder why.
Actually if I think about it, I’ve thought about killing all my life. I continued to fire at the strippers while I thought. It started in high school I believe, my want to kill. This whole place reminds me of the first and only dance I attended at my high school. The lights and loud music matched the memory perfectly.
My bullets continued to hit the strippers but I haven’t got them all. Some of them are running and I can’t let that happen. So I kind of herded them back into that corner and let them have it. Well until I ran out of my first clip of ammo.
Anyways this dance was before the whole face incident so I kind of went there with my friends. I made the mistake of going stag which meant I didn’t get to dance with anyone. So I was mostly alone and had to lie against the wall the whole time. I watched everyone, including my friends, dancing. It was too bad too because it looked like fun. The dances were unregulated so it was nasty. Club dancing, grinding. No class.
When I finally got the second clip in the gun, I had five of the strippers on the ground. But I think only two were actually dead. One was trying to run away from the corner I put her in. I aimed for her and shot the pony right in the flank. She fell and I finished her off with a couple more shots. Where did she think she would run too? Rodney and Derek are blocking the only exit. It’s hopeless to resist. They should just accept their fate and take it like men. But being ponies that would be impossible.
The high school dance really depressed me, which is why I never went back. To think that people were so happy with other people. Before that I thought that I could go through school, even life, without someone else. I learned that night that I need people in my life. I just need them.
Any of the remaining strippers fell to the ground when I shot them. But I knew they were still alive. Maybe they’ll die later but I want them dead now. So I emptied the rest of the magazine into the ponies on the ground. Some of them were alive and some weren’t. The ones that were alive, jerked around the most. The ones that were already dead just twitched a bit. With that all the strippers were dead.
I think after the dance I started to hang out with Darius more. I wanted something, to be closer with people I think. I believe Darius did too. So I hung around with him a lot more, and if not him then I was with my school friends. Everything actually looked good for a while. Then ponies came and ruined it.
I ejected the spent magazine and put it back into the baggie on my hip. Then I loaded the last one. With twenty more bullets to go it was clear I should make them count. So I took aim at the crowd. It was dwindling by the second and I made sure my sights never went astray.
Being forced to change from two extremes is hard. One day I was looking for friendship wherever it may hide and the next I’m an outcast. At one point I was going towards a promising military career and next I’m homeless. My best friend was sitting next to me and now he’s gone. Yeah, change is tough. At least the ones responsible are finally paying for their actions.
Before I took the first shot of the new clip, I paused. I looked at the auto function. Jones told me not to go full auto but something feels right about it. If I die tonight I want to at least experience what it’s like. It’s not being selfish, it’s just curiosity.
So I flipped the auto mode on and held on tight. Aiming right at the crowd, more specifically at this short little blue pony, I opened fire. The gun shook in my hands and tugged upward like a dog tugging on a leash; a big dog. And the sound was like nothing I ever heard before. I can’t even describe it other than it sounds awesome.
But as awesome as it was, it only lasted a couple seconds. In a couple seconds I had emptied the twenty rounds into the crowd. Sure the effect was a considerable new number of bodies on the ground, but I felt the pressure of no more ammo. It felt underwhelming.
I saw Derek looked towards me. “Woooooooh!” he screamed. He ran up to the V.I.P area and joined me up here. “That was crazy man!” he slapped me on the back before he aimed again at the crowd. I saw Rodney was still where he always had been, knelt down over a dead pony next to the bar, also firing but more calm and orderly. Pete was in the corner of the room and occasionally fired. However I have no idea where Jess and Drake are. They seemed to have disappeared.
My mind began racing. What do I do now? Should I leave? No. Should I stay? Probably. Can I talk to anyone? Maybe Pete to get him to do more but I don’t think he could hear me well. Should I find Jess and Drake? Seems like it would be hard. Is there something we’re missing?
Then it dawned on me. Rodney and Derek wanted to loot the place. But how can they if they’re busy shooting? Since I have nothing to do, I guess the job falls onto me.
Immediately I fell to my knees. A sense of duty, I would call it, overwhelmed me. Rod and Derek are counting on me to get their loot now. I will not fail them. Quickly, I lunged towards the closest body I could find. This is the V.I.P area so there has to be something good.
My first body was that of a human. A wealthy looking man by the way he was dressed. On his neck was a chain which I snatched and on his wrist was a watch which I took also. I stored them in the baggie on my hip that contained the spent magazines. I searched the man again to find a wedding ring and about fifty dollars of cash. I think this was a good one.
The next bodies I searched in the area were also good. There were a couple ponies that had few valuables but lots of currency. There was also a stripper that had three hundreds in her thong. Other than that the loot was mostly jewelry. And I must say that looting has to be the most fun ever. It’s like going to a store but everything is free to take. Best feeling in the world.
Now on my stomach, I crawled out of the V.I.P area. I don’t want to get shot so I kept my head low. I found myself going from body to body now, checking for that precious cargo. Most of the bodies were ponies and didn’t have much on them. Even the humans had little I wanted. Still it added up fast. The baggie looked like it could belong in a pirate’s treasure chest.
I found myself inching towards the bar, body by body, wallet by wallet. Eventually I was under a bar stool. I got to my knees and slowly peered over the bar, daring to see what could be over there. When I finally got my eyes to see over the side and into the open area, I was horrified.
I counted seven bodies. Seven disfigured bodies most were without limbs and two were without heads. They were humans too, which is why it is so horrifying. Mostly women too. I looked around for the culprit although I knew who it was already.
Suddenly there was this kind of squishy sound that ended with a thud. It was like someone cut through a watermelon but at the end hit something they couldn’t cut through. That’s when I saw Drake with some girl’s severed head in his clutches. That makes eight dead.
“What’s up?” Drake said when he noticed me looking at him. His sleeves were covered in blood and his knees were soaking in a puddle of it. I gagged a bit.
“Hey, you having fun?” I feel like it was a rhetorical question to ask.
“What?” he put his hand to his ear. He must not be able to hear me over the music. I just waved my hand and looked away.
I went back to looting. It was easier. I don’t think I like the sight of the decapitation. It’s easier to see bullet holes and blood. I don’t know why though.
I was in the middle of going through this lady’s belongings. She wore this red dress and had carried a huge purse. I found a lot makeup in there, along with cash and condoms. I actual took the condoms. I’ll use them for a joke later. It’ll be hilarious.
As soon as I was done with the lady I heard yelling coming from the entrance. I turned to see that Jones and Erik were standing in the door way. What are they doing here? They should be watching our backs.
I stood up and walked over to them.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“We need to leave right fucking now.” Jones said.
“We just got here though,” I replied.
Erik grabbed me. “We’re fucking going,” he sneered at me. I got the point after that.
Drake slithered his way out of the bar and joined us. Jones looked him up and down for about five seconds.
“What the fuck!” he exclaimed.
“What?” Drake held up his arms, showing off the blood.
“You are not tracking that into the shelter,” Jess said again materializing out of nowhere.
“Fuck!” I jumped when she came into my view. “Stop doing that.”
“Where’s the rest?” Erik asked looking around. I looked around too, wondering where Rodney, Derek, and Pete are.
We found Rodney and Derek still shooting it out. The thing is the crowd dispersed out a lot now so their shots weren’t having the same effect. Also some of the ponies were crouching on the ground so there were harder to spot. Cowards all of them.
However, Pete was nowhere to be found. Jones and Erik went to get Rodney and Derek while I took it upon myself to find Pete. It turned out to not be so hard because all I had to do was check in the farthest corner from the carnage. Pete was sitting against the wall with the pistol in his hand. He looked up at me.
“Is it over?” he asked.
“No,” I grinned sadly. “No, but we are leaving.” I looked at his pistol. “You been shooting that thing?”
“Yes!” he answered in a funny way. Pretty much blurted it out. “But something went wrong?”
“What?” I asked kneeling down and taking it out of his hands.
“It stopped firing,” he said with a hint of shame in his voice. “I think I broke it.”
“How come?” I continued questioning him as I looked over his gun.
“I banged it pretty hard against the bar by accident,” he explained. “I think the internals are broke or something.”
“Or,” I ejected the magazine. “You ran out of ammo.” I showed him how it was empty. The look in his eyes was priceless.
“Shit,” he said softly. “Shit, shit, shit.” He kept repeating himself. I see where this will eventually go.
“Hey man, calm down,” I placed my hand on his shoulder. “You did good bud. You did exactly what we asked of you.”
Before Pete could reply there were a series of loud cracks behind us. I turned briskly to see what was going on. I watched as Jones and Erik fired at the last club patrons. Jones and Erik seemed to have an order that I hadn’t seen from Rodney and Derek. These two took targets on opposite sides of the room and accurately hit their target instead of aiming roughly where they were. Those two sure are marksmen.
When the last pony fell over everyone turned away. I took a quick peek at the carnage but it wasn’t enough to get a good picture. Jones looked at me and motioned for us to go. I handed Pete back his gun and grabbed his arm. I dragged him out, never letting go.
We out the main room and then back to the security room. Then we all exploded outside into the darkness. For a second I forgot where to go but I followed the group. We all piled inside the van. I took shotgun for a reason I don’t know while everyone else just piled on top of one another in the back.
Jess started the van up and Jones moved so he could see out of front window. He started giving directions to Jess.
“Alright go out the way we came,” he started and the van moved into motion. We headed down a hill towards an intersection. “Now take a left at this intersection,” Jones said.
“Why? The shelter is the other direction,” Jess argued.
“Just do it!” Jones growled in an urgent tone. “I’ll explain in a moment.” Jess rolled her eyes but turned on her left blinker. When the light turned green we rolled through the intersection. “Thanks,” Jones said. “Sorry for the change of plans. But Erik and I decided we shouldn’t head straight back to the shelter. We want to see if anyone follows us.”
“Good thinking,” Jess said. “Just tell me where to go.”
“Head through the residential,” Jones pointed to a road veering off to the right. “We should avoid anywhere that gets a lot of traffic.”
“Right,” Jess nodded and followed the road.
Jones gave directions for a while until we arrived in a part of town I’ve never seen before. The place was almost industrial looking. Weird because I’ve never known Equestria to be industrious. Mainly they rely on other nations to produce their goods. God damn consumers, so reliant on others.
The ride was silent other than for occasionally grunts and people snapping at each other. Most chatter was silenced with a hush and bark from either Jess or Jones. I was one of the better ones that kept his mouth shut. But that just hid how nervous I was. The others were too but some were just more vocal. We’re not in the clear yet and we all know it.
Eventually we parked next to a building and turned off the car. The lights went out and we sat in silence and darkness. And we did this for a while. It was so quiet I could hear my heartbeat and of those around me. Also there was little eye contact. I had looked at Jess for a sec before looking elsewhere. Nobody dared make a sound.
It seemed it was going to go on forever until Erik suddenly removed his mask. When nobody objected everyone else followed. And when the mask was removed it felt like I had removed a boulder from my chest. A great weight just left my body and I felt so alive at that moment.
Jess turned the car back on and we headed back home.
When we arrived at the shelter and stepped through the door, sleepiness hit me hard. There was no talking, or none that I could remember, when I fell into bed. Hell I don’t remember half of what happened after the club. All I remember is we hit those ponies good.
And I also know that I had the best sleep of my life.