The rain hadn't softened since we had left the P.G. building. The pain I was in was unbearable. I had beaten nearly to a pulp, I thought my ribs were poking holes in my sides, the pain making it hard to breathe. We ran through the abandoned school yard. My breathing was fast, visible from the cold and warm. My muscles in my fore and hind legs were on fire, but I felt like if I stopped, I wouldn't get back up. Behind me, Summer was quiet . She hadn't said a single word since we ran for the abandoned school, about what happend or otherwise. At certain points, I looked back just to see if she was still there. She was, and looked back at me each time.
The elementary school of Downtown Manehattan was falling to pieces. Windows were broken or even absent, small curtains flowed in the wind from the storm above. The small brick wall that surrounded the building was worn and covered with vines and moss. I finally stopped at the entrance, taking the time to catch my breath and look at the towering elementary school. Its' worn walls were altered with taggings from passing hoodlums, something he had grown accustom to seeing.
Summer walked up beside him, staring up at the place. "Cozy."
I grunted, turning my head to the side in an attempt to crack it. "Shitty."
Summer approached the rusted door, reaching for the handle. The second it made contact, the handle along with the door fell over inside the building. She stood there in the doorway, looking around the room. "Looks to be completely deserted. I don't sense a single pony in here."
"How would you know?" I asked, my throat was on fire and my voice was scratchy. "Or is that just another one of your talents?"
Summer chuckled. "Just something I picked up while traveling." We entered the school. The air was cold and held a terrible smell. Mold and moss covered the cracked and crumbling walls. "How old do you think this place is?"
I glanced around the room, broken desks and chairs were scattered about the room. "Not too old. I read somewhere that this school closed after the attack at the Dead Zone." Out of boredom, I kicked around a piece of a desk. "The word was that a couple of ponies died in here."
"Really?" She asked, walking out of the room through an open doorway. "Looks like a bucking tornado ran through in here." I followed her out of the room, into a hallway. It was soaked with the filthy rain water seeping though the cracks in the ceiling, and the floor was coated with ruble, wall, and soggy wood. "You would think for a place that ponies died in, you'd see signs of them."
"Like what?" I wondered.
Summer shrugged. "I'm just sayin'. If bodies were just left here, it would smell like there were some."
We walked down the long hallway, passing doors leading into caved in classrooms. Near the end of the hall, there was an opened doorway. A red cross was painted on the side. The nurse's office, I assumed. As I turned the corner into the room, I froze at the horrifying display. The room was empty, all except for two beds, a cabinet, and a counter. On this counter, several dirty syringes and scalpels covered it's surface. The surrounding walls were a faded white, dirty from its' aging.
My heart beat quickened from the scene, I shrank away from the scene, backing into Summer. She stopped me and looked around at the surroundings. "Well, this is comforting." She looked down at me, a small smile on her lips. "Huh?"
Before I could say anything, Summer pulled into the room by my hoof against my will. Avoiding eye contact with the filthy tools on the counter, she helped me onto one of the beds.
"Does this place creep you out?" She asked.
Yes. "Of course not." My voice shook as the words fell from my mouth. I laid back on the old bed, its matress was cold. I felt Summer rest a hoof on my side. When I looked at her, she was giving me a concerned look.
"Are you sure you're alright?" She asked, her voice was soft now. I turned over. "You were in pretty bad shape when I showed up. I thought you would be..." She looked away, her eyes closing. I couldn't believe it, she was actually worried about me.
My hoof found it's way onto hers, gettin her attention "I'm fine."
"Really?" She asked again. "You're looking really pale..."
And the moment ended. I didn't answer and simply stared back at her, realizing The terrible, terrible joke she had just said. "Ha-ha, you're funny. Now, who were those ponies? And what was with that unicorn?"
Summer sighed. She stood up and sat next to me on the bed, leaning her head back against the wall. "Dove...I haven't really been telling you the truth."
I snorted, making her laugh. "Yeah, guess I didn't make that hard to figure out..." Her eyes closed, her hoof laid across her fore head. "They work for an organization called Project Grenade, that big building they kept you in is their hideout."
My vision began to blur, a darkness smoked over the edges of my vision. Suddenly, Summer poked me in my chest. "Ah! What?"
She sighed. "You know what? We need to get you some help."
"What? Why?" I asked.
Summer hopped off the bed. "Because you're starting to blank out on me." She said, getting off the bed. "And knowing Knives was there...Just stay here, okay?"
"To me it sounds like you're trying to avoid telling me what's going on." I protested. There was no way in hell I was gonna let her get out of explaining what was going on. I leaned back when she came close to me, nuzzling my fore head.
"I'll tell you when I get back, I promise." She smiled. As she made way for the door, I watched her. Summer looked back one last time. "Don't move~." And she turned the corner and into the hall, leaving me staring into the empty doorway.
So she leaves me in this place, great. I leaned back against the aged wall, my head hitting it with a light thud. Thoughts buzzed around in my mind, traveling from topic to topic. Thoughts like has my mom been told of my disappearance yet, if anyone had even realized it. Or if Summer is really the threat here, if she's the key to something bigger than I truly realized. Those ponies nearly killed me just to get to her, especially that unicorn. But what really bothered me, was the chilling words of the Director. ...the gene was to be used as planned, injected into the blood stream and straight to the brain. Its' job was to give a great power to the ones who didn't have it...
That gene, whatever it was, is flowing through Summer's veins. Her powers...But something had grabbed my attention. Only hours before, I saw first hoof of what she is capable of. Only, she was in full control then, she didn't come to and not know where she was. Or stay in that state.
A tired sigh escaped my lips, a chill traveled under my skin. I tried to find the brighter side of the situation, or at least a way to connect the dots. I scanned the semi-dark room, its' eeriness no longer bothering me. Not that is really did before. Outside, I could hear the sounds of the heavy rain drops hit the rooftop. Sounding of rocks, it was hailing. Funny, I couldn't help but laugh at the coincidence.
Well she isn't going to be back for awhile... I thought, feeling my eyelids grow heavy and my breathing steadying. I might as well try to sleep...
I let my head slump sideways from the wall and hit the old pillow with a light thud. All of my thinking slowed, and I soon let myself fall asleep.
~*~\~^~/~*~
Tell me your fantasies,
I'll make you believe,
That I really care,
I'll look into your eyes,
And tell you all my lies,
As I take you slow...
The speakers blasted through out the Thorn residence. The windows were shaking from the bass and the rooms echoed from screeching lyrics. One room of this house was the source of the sound. Inside it, a two young mares reside. One was laid out on her maroon covered bed, her fore hooves spread out on either side. Her hind legs dangled off the edge, kicking away at nothing. The Lime eyes of the mare stared emptily at the ceiling, barely blink or moving. The other was leaning up against the wall, a cigarette resting between her lips.
"You're dating a killer." One said. "You know that, Rose?"
Rose blinked slowly, her mouth forming a grimace. "You're stupid, you know that?"
The other mare laughed. "You know, he's probably, like, not even going to get a trial." She said. "And with that kid missing, he's gonna be put away for a long, long time."
"He didn't kill anyone." Rose said, rolling over to face away from the mare.
"Didn't he say last night that he and his friends, who are DEAD, tried to gang up on that kid?"
Rose stared at the ceiling, ignoring the other mare.
"Didn't you use to be friends with him?"
This made Rose sit up. "No! Twig?"
"That's not what you called him in middle school." The mare raised an eyebrow.
"Shut up, Locus." Rose hissed, getting off the bed and walking towards the window.
Locus grinned. "Aw, I hit a nerve. Look, Darkstar isn't getting out of this." She walked over to the bed and sat down, taking a puff from her cigarette. "I wish you would just break it off now, before this all gets out of control and something bad happens."
"Please." The red maned mare said, facing out the opened window. "You just want him all to yourself, ho."
"Oh trust me, sis. I made that mistake once already." She said. "Not making it again. Come on, you know he's just gonna dump you as soon as the next piece of trash walks past him, someone who's actually willing to open her legs."
Rose turned from the window to look at her sister. "What? Just because I won't put out, he'll dump me?"
Locus laughed. "Well. duh! He's a stallion, Rosie! Not some little colt like...what's his name?"
Rose looked away.
"Come on! I know you know his name." Locus teased, standing up from the bed and walking towards the bedroom door. "Just please, for me and dad, drop Darkstar."
With that, Locus left the room, shutting the door and leaving Rose to her thoughts. She glanced out the window once again, it faced a large building. Black letters rested at the top of it, reading Manehattan Holding Facility. That is where her coltfriend, Darkstar, was being held after being arrested that morning. He is being held accountable for two accounts of theft and one for assault. But as it turns out, he was being charged with the disappearance of a student from her school and held responsible for his friends' deaths.
The police have been searching the city since early that morning after apprehending Darkstar. Rose placed a hoof against the fogged glass, longing for her coltfriend's false embrace. 'No.' She thought, taking her hoof away. 'He doesn't love me, he never shows it. Not anymore...' She slumped down to her bedroom floor, her gaze moving up to the ceiling. Was her sister right? Darkstar never truly showed the true affection she wanted. Only towards her looks did it really show, not her personality.
She got up from the floor and moved back to her bed. She laid her head onto her dark red pillow and sighed. Maybe after her she'll discuss this with her father...
~*~\~^~/~*~
"Hey, sleepy head."
My eyes jerked open. I was still in the school, Summer sat across from me on one of the beds. "Oh, right." She turned around, and pulled out a backpack. "The nurse said you left it at the hospital."
I sighed, seeing my backpack brought back memories of school. "Great. Now, I can do homework." It would have passed the time.
Summer shook her head. "Glad to see you were sleeping after all that. I was worried that when I got back, you'd be either gone or lying in a fetal position in the corner."
I raised an eyebrow. Really, how pathetic did she think I was? "Well, I still think this is all crazy...maybe I'm just still in shock." I fell back, resting my head on the old pillow once again.
"Don't get too comfortable." Summer hummed, going through the other small bag she brought.
"Why?" I asked. My eyes grew in horror and my heart fell down to my stomach as Summer took out a syringe from the bag. "Oh, no! NO! You're not putting that in me!"
"Relax, you big foal!" She said, filling the syringe. "It'll only hurt for a second, I promise."
I squirmed away, pressing up against the wall behind me as much as he could. Despite me not having Trypanophobia, needles freaked me out. They were pretty much tiny knives, so thin you couldn't see their razor sharp edge. When I was young, my dad would have to cover my eyes and ask the doctor to tell me it was just a spider bite. How dumb was I? "W-What is it?"
Summer placed the syringe on one of the dirty trays in the room. "A little something I got from the hospital. It's to numb your wound. I'm gonna restitch it. And clean your other wounds." She lowered her stare. "It's this, or having to feel everything."
I looked to the bag, then to the syringe, then finally, Summer. She sat on the bed, staring back at me with her bright yellow eyes looking into mine. I found myself calming down the longer I stared. "O..okay."
Summer smiled. She reached over and grabbed my arm, bringing me closer. "Alright. First..." She reached down and began to unravel the gauze around my waist. My cheeks burned as I felt her breath move down his stomach and a bit lower. I thanked any higher power I could think of off the top of my head that I didn't get too worked up, though part of me kinda felt like she was that kind of mare. Soon afterwards, she sat back up and grabbed the syringe in her mouth. She then balanced it on her hoof. "Want something to distract you from the shot? It's going straight into the gash."
"S-sure" Hail said. "What's the distr-"
I stopped, feeling the instant pain from Summer's hoof kissing the side of my head. My ears rung, the pain was diffidently distracting. Shortly after, there was a lot of pressure hitting my abdomen, possibably from the syringe entering my gash and the medicine being injected.
"Ow..." I groaned, rubbing the sore spot on my head.
"Feel better?" Summer asked. At least I think, my head started to grow heavy and I felt myself slipping.
"...hate you..." I mumbled, slumping down beside her.