//------------------------------// // Lost // Story: A Hunt to Remember // by REDMAMBA //------------------------------// You open your eyes slowly and see the dark grey clouds in the sky. After blinking your eyes a couple of times you find the strength to sit up. You scan your surroundings and notice that the snow has begun to fall. After taking a minute to gather your thoughts, and while trying to ignore your pounding head, you grab your rifle and slowly stand up. You look around and try to find your bearings, but since you are down in a ravine you can’t see any familiar land marks. So you decide to climb to the top of the ridge and look for something familiar. After taking a few minutes of slow and painful walking, you finally make it to the top. Once you reach the top you begin to look around, but… nothing seems familiar. You look up the mountains and try to find a familiar peak, but the height and positioning of the peaks are out of alignment. So you decide to look down the mountain and see what looks familiar, but once again… nothing looks the same as when you got here. Deciding to get a better look you walk to the end of the finger ridge and look at the large open valley. In the distance you notice something... a town, not a big one, but a town nonetheless. You decide that that you’re best option is to head to the town and figure out where you are, so you begin to work your way down the ridge. You descend the ridge with a little more caution; you already fell once and you don’t want to do it again. Slowly but surely you make it to the bottom and make your descent down the mountain. After about ten minutes of walking you stumble onto an old road. After taking a minute to look up and down it, you continue on your trek downward. You walk about 100 yards, but your freeze and feel a chill crawl up your spine. In the distance you hear the howl of a wolf. Now, as cool as they creatures are, you’d rather have them stuffed and mounted over your mantel. Once the howling stops your continue toward your destination, but you’re a little more on guard as you walk. You make it 50 more yards and hear yet another howl, but this time it’s a little closer. You look in the direction of the sound and begin to worry. You quicken your pace and do your best not to panic. You make it 50 more yards and hear the howl of the beast. ‘I don’t like this,’ you think to yourself. The howling begins to get closer with each and every step you take. Now the hair on the back of your neck begins to rise, you hold your rifle tight against you shoulder. You flick the safety off with your pointer finger and begin to feather the trigger. ‘If these guys get any closer I’m dropping them where they stand,’ you begin to scan your surroundings, you begin looking for any sign of movement. At the same time, you decide to take a minute to calm your nerves, and move forward, gun at the ready. After about 25 yards the bushes to the right of the trail move, without hesitation you raise your weapon and get ready to fire. But instead of a massive dog leaping out with dripping fangs… you see… a tiny cotton tail. You let out a sigh of relief as you lower your weapon, you glance at the small rabbit and say, “You scared the shit out of me you little son of a bitch.” You watch as the little creature looks at you for a second before scurrying into the nearby bushes. With that heart attack out of the way, you continue forward. As you walk, you notice that the snow has gone away, which is a good thing, because at least now you don’t have to worry about freezing to death in the cold. But your still on edge about the nearby wolf pack, you haven’t heard them in a little while so you assume that they ran off… you thought wrong. The bushes in front of you rustle as a massive wolf leaps right in front of you. Your body seizes up at the sight, the creature was massive, it stood at about four feet at the shoulder and it appeared to be about five feet long, but it was made out of… wood? Quickly, two more jump out behind the massive creature. Startled you scream, “GET OUT OF HERE!” but it didn’t work. You raise your rifle to your shooting position and put a round over their heads. BANG! But it did nothing; the wolves began to advance as you begin to retreat out of fear. Your eyes go wide, you begin to shake at the site, but you know that today is not your day, you’re gonna walk away from this and have one hell of a hunting story when this is all said and done. Next thing you know the first wolf lunges for you. You hold up you rifle and watch as the massive beast chomps down it, taking you to the ground. You begin to struggle with massive creature; the only thing keeping it back is your rifle. With every ounce of strength you have you push at the rifle. As you fight to stay alive the massive beast released the weapon and goes for another bite, but once again, you push the rifle into its massive jaws. You grind your teeth and curse under your breath, ‘I can’t keep this up’ you think to yourself. The massive beast continues its assault, but luck is on your side, when the creature moved it head to the side just a hair, you use the leverage of the rifle and give it a good shove. The wolf releases its grip just long enough to get a shot off. BANG! You fire the rifle right next to its right ear, but all hope you had on scaring the beast off of you fades and it comes back for another attack, but this time instead of sinking its fangs into the wood of your rifle… its grabs your left forearm. “AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” you scream in agony as you feel a sharp fangs sink into your forearm. You let go of the rifle and grab your left wrist with your right hand. Now the only thing between you and death... is your left arm. You continue to struggle with the beast for seem like an eternity. But you are surprised when you see a small rock hit the animal on the right temple. You look to your left and see a silhouette of a person standing there, the shadow rears up like a major league pitcher and throws another rock. The small rock hits the wolf in the left temple yet again, this time it releases its death grip and growls at your savior. “RUN!” screamed the shadow with a heavy southern accent. You give the wolf a shove and kick it in the head; you then grab your rifle and scream, “WITH PLEASURE!” Without looking back you run down the old dirt road. You can hear hissing and growling coming up behind you. Taking a quick peak over you right shoulder, you see that those three wolves hot on your heels. Without hesitation, you quickly widen you step; you run 25 yards and stop on a dime. Spinning 180 degrees you raise your rifle and line up the iron sites. BANG BANG! You crack off two quick shots at the far right wolf. You hear the loud THWACCK! As the two bullets tear into the animal; it falls to pieces shortly afterward. Without hesitation you spin another 180 degrees and begin running yet again. This time you run 50 yards and do the same thing. BANG BANG! The wolf on the far left falls to pieces, now you only have one more to deal with, in a dead sprint you continue down the road, but this time you can see through the trees and into the valley. As you get closer you can pick out buildings, you pace increases as your get closer to safety. The closer you get the bigger the buildings become, and the next thing you know, you come crashing out of the tree line, but you’re not out of danger yet. You spin around one last time and try to line up a shot; the front site of the gun is all over the place. You’re exhausted and bleeding, but you do your best to make these shots count. BANG... BANG, TING! Your now out of ammo, you watch as the beast gets closer, there’s no time to reload. You reach down to your right thigh and unclip the strap holding your sidearm in place. The world begins to slow, as you grab the pistol by the grip and begin to raise it up, you quickly place the rear site on you belt and push down forcefully, causing the weapon to chamber a round. Once you’re done, you bring the weapon up, arm fully extended. You acquire the front site in the rear one and line up the shot. BANG BANG BANG BANG! You let of four shots and watch as the wolf comes to a roaring stop just a mere two feet from you. You sigh in relief as you lower your arm, you flick the safety on your pistol and place it back in its holster. Now that you have a minute you examine your still bleeding arm. You can see the various puncture holes in you sleeve and watch as the blood drops off the tips of your fingers. “Shit,” you mumble as your look at your mangled arm. You place your blood stained rifle on the ground and take your pack off. Holding your arm close to your body, you use your right arm and open the top compartment of your bag, you reach in and grab the scarf you carry for when your neck gets cold. You gingerly begin to wrap the wound with the soft cloth, you know that if you don’t get the bleeding under control, you could possibly die, and death is really bad for your health. Once you have the scarf in place, you can see the blood beginning to soak through the cloth. “That’s not gonna do,” you say as you watch the rag become soaked in your own blood. Without a second thought you undo your belt and begin to slip it through the belt loops. You take your magazine and clip holders and drop them in your backpack. You loop the lose end of the belt through the buckle, and gingerly slip your injured arm through the newly formed hole. Once you have the belt in place just below your elbow, as you begin to tighten it, you grind your teeth and scrunch your face as a sharp stabbing pain shoots its way up your arm and drills itself into your skull. “GAHH… FUCK THAT HURTS,” you bark to yourself. Once the belt is nice and tight, you loop the lost end into the loop you made and you do your best to keep it tight. You stand up, leaving you gear on the ground and watch your wound carefully. You’re so caught up with your arm, that you don’t even notice someone walk up to you. You feel a hand being placed on your shoulder and a voice says, “Are you alright sugercube?” You begin to raise your head and say, “No I could really use a- AHHHHH!” You couldn’t finish your sentence because of the young “woman” that is staring you right in the face. She has the build of a human but with the features of a pony, she’s covered in orange fur, has large emerald eyes, a small muzzle, and her ears are located on the top of her head instead of the side. As you take a step back, you lose your footing and fall to the ground. Out of force of habit you place your arms behind you. But unfortunately you land on your injured arm, you let out a blood curdling scream, as the pain once again drives its way up your left arm. “AHHHHH SON OF A BITCH!” You grab your arm as you lie in the ground, withering in unholy pain. You scrunch your face and grind your teeth once again as your eyes fill with tears. She just stands there in shock as you lie there and bleed on the cold hard ground. You sit up violently and look at your still bleeding arm. You hear a female voice say, “Applejack, are you okay?” You can see five more of the same creatures and a different looking one run up to the orange one. One is lavender in color and has dark purple hair with a lighter purple streak going through the middle, she had violet eyes and a pair of wings coming out of her back and a horn protruding from her head. Behind her is a girl with a snow white fur, dark purple hair, light blue eyes, and she too, has a horn coming out of the top of her head. Behind her was a short girl with yellow fur, long pink hair, and light blue eyes, she happened to have a pair of wings also. Next to her was a very pink girl with pink hair and light blue eyes, but she seemed to be lacking wings or a horn. And flying above them all was a light blue girl; she had what looked like a rainbow for hair, and light pink eyes. And finally you see a purple and green thing with spikes on his back; he was as shocked as you were when he approached. It would appear that they are all bundled up for the cold weather, but you were too scared to even think about what they're wearing. The orange girl spoke up and said, “Ah’m fine Twi, but our friend here needs help,” she pointed towards you. They all look at you in confusion. You just sit there wide eyed and scared. The white girl asks, “Oh my, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.” “I’ve seen more than a ghost,” you say out of shock. “Oh my, your hurt,” said the little yellow girl. You sit there in disbelief, you swear that you’re seeing things; you think that the lack of blood has begun to mess with your head. You sit there in utter silence, that’s when the yellow girl begins to walk toward you. Out of fear you push yourself back little, she stops and watches you with wide and terrified eyes. “This has to be some sort of sick joke,” you say in disbelief. They group watches you in disbelief as you shake and talk to yourself. While you sit there you hear one of them speak up, “Look we need to get you to a hospital.” You look up to them and lock eyes with the little purple girl. “We need to get you to the hospital,” she said while walking up to you. You take a second to gather your thoughts as you look into her soft eyes. Your eyes dart to everyone else, then back to the girl in front of you; you slowly shake your head and whisper, “Okay.” You slowly rise to your feet, while still holding your injured arm. The little purple girl looks at her yellow friend and says, “Fluttershy grab his stuff.” “Okay,” said the yellow girl as she ran over and grabbed your pack and rifle. The purple girl looks back at you and asks, “Can you walk?” You give a nod in response. “Okay follow me,” she said. She begins walking in a rushed pace as you follow close behind. You stumble through the town and see that it is full of these odd, animalistic beings; they range in various different colors, shapes and sizes. But you don’t question it for now; you just want to get the pain in your arm to stop. You drag your sorry carcass through the streets, putting everything you have into your shaking legs. As you get farther into town you can see a large, multistoried building up ahead. Your almost there just hold out a little longer. “There’s the hospital,” said the little purple girl. You can make, you know it, you begin to fasten our pace, but as you do, you step on a patch of ice and lose your footing. Once again you feel yourself falling; you land with a good thud. But as luck would have it, you land on your injured arm yet again. “AHHHHHHHHH FUCK!” You scream out it agony, it feels like someone is trying to rip your arm clean off. You begin to cry once again while you clench your bleeding arm. You begin to shake violently at the pain; you realize that you are starting to go into shock. The purple girl kneels at you side and with worry in her voice she said, “Can you walk?” “NOOOOOO!” you scream with fear in your voice. “Applejack, help him up,” said the little purple girl with haste. “Got it,” replied the orange girl. You feel two pairs of hands grab you, one by your leg, the other by you right arm. Your quickly rise into the air and are soon dropped on the young girls shoulders. You’re a little shocked by her strength, but you ignore it while she begins to walk forward. With you in a fireman’s carry you stare at the ground and hope for the best. After a couple of minutes you hear a door open, the ground goes from dirt to tile. As you're carried inside, the little purple girl screamed, “HELP we need a doctor!” A young girl pokes her head out from a hall way, she disappears for a second and comes back with a stretcher. The orange girl holding you lifts you off of her shoulders and places you down on the bed gently. The new face to the scene, who you presume to be a nurse, wheels you into a medical bay and begins to start looking for something. Your head turns toward the door as you watch the six girls and one boy run into the room. You turn back to the nurse and watch as she begins to get small vials of liquid ready, she sets them on a nearby table and looks at you. You wonder why she isn’t doing anything. “What?” you ask out of confusion. “I haven’t seen your kind before,” she says with a little shock. You sit there and just watch her. “I don’t know your weight, height, or what your metabolism is like,” she said with worry. At this point you think you’re going to die, so in a fit of anger you reach out and grab the nurse by the collar and pull her close to your face. You star into her fear filed eyes and say, “ I’m (insert height) and weigh (insert weight), at this point I don’t care if you hold me down and sew my arm shut with a rusty needle and some fishing wire, just please stop the DAMN bleeding!” You give her a light shove as you release her collar and begin to cry again. The nurse quickly grabs a needle and a vial and begins to fill a syringe. She lifts you sleeve up and cleans a small area with an alcohol swab, once the area is disinfected she slips the needle into one of the many veins in your arm. You lay there and feel the cold liquid pour into your veins. Slowly but surely the pain in your arm begins to nullify as the drug begins to take effect. As you lay there you, give the scared nurse a glance and say, “Thank you.” She shakes her head slightly and runs out of the room. You close your eyes and wait in silence. After a couple of minutes the nurse runs back in with a guy in tow. He has light brown fur and a horm protruding from his head, he was wearing a long white coat and had a stethoscope around his neck. You assume that he’s a doctor by the way he’s dressed. He runs up to the bed and looks at the bloody scarf that’s rapped around your arm. He looks up at the nurse and says, “We need to get him to surgery stat!” The nurse gives a small nod and grabs the bottom of the stretcher and begins to point it towards the door. Once your bed is situated she moves to the top and begins to wheel you down the hall way. You slip through a few sets of double doors and into a room that says “Surgery”. She pushes you up next to another bed and leaves the room. After about ten seconds three guys walk in wearing rubber gloves, eye shields, face masks, and green scrubs. Two walk up to you, one on each side; they look at each other and begin counting. “One,” said the one to your left. “Two,” said the one to your right. “Three,” they say in unison. You are lifted from you stretcher and are placed on the bed. The third doctor walks over to you and says, “Are you allergic to any medication?” You shake your head no in response. “Okay,” he said. He reached over and grabbed a mask and said, “I want you to count to ten okay?” “Okay,” you whisper. He placed the mask over your mouth, you begin to start counting...you made it to woo.