//------------------------------// // Chapter 35: When the Past Catches Up // Story: Devil's Due // by All American //------------------------------// Author’s note: Now if you’ll excuse me, I have Warhammer models to paint. On another note; does anyone else get a “Lonesome Road” feel from this chapter? Fallout vets will know what I’m talking about. Heh, “The two couriers met under an old world flag at the edge of the world…” - Dash led me back into the house as I quasi-limped behind her with my shotgun and coat in hand. She opened the door and I stumbled inside. I had probably been injured more in the past two days than in an entire year back in Youngstown. My face had been run through the ringer and my body wasn’t faring much better. I almost tripped on the uneven surface of the cloud before Dash flew over and caught me. I was exhausted and I’m sure she could tell. She flew under my arm and walked me to the all-too-familiar couch. I dropped my shotgun and coat at the foot of the couch and slumped onto it. “You sure put your recruits in their place.” Dash said with a smile before flying down the hallway. I didn’t say anything as she left. I just looked down at my bloodied hands. They were almost stained red at this point. They were cut up and bruised from all the fight-bite that I had received. I laid my head back onto the couch and took a little breather. My stomach still ached from where Atlanta had kicked me and my knees throbbed from the fight as well. My hand lay atop my handgun’s grip; an old reflex of mine. I developed this reflex after too many fights turned in my opponent’s favor. Dash flew back into the room with a bottle of liquid and roll of white bandages. The cut on my forehead throbbed in protest as I lifted my head to look at her. “I still got some stuff from when I broke my wing a while back.” She explained as she landed on the couch next to me “Lean your head back, please.” I just nodded in a daze before complying. I placed my head back on the fluffy couch as I got a nice view of the flag that hung above me. My view of it was almost immediately blocked by Dash’s face and hooves. She smiled at me as I tried to do the same. She took the bottle of… something, and cracked it open. It had the overpowering scent of medical alcohol. She poured it onto the cuts on my face. My cuts burned with a righteous fury as I winced and grunted at the sting. “Don’t be such a foal.” Dash said with a laugh before capping the bottle and grabbing the medical tape. She unrolled the medical tape with a combo of hooves and mouth before wrapping it around my forehead. She lifted my head up gingerly as she wrapped my skull in the soothing bandages. Finished, she placed my head back down and flew off into the hallway again. My head was feeling better but that didn’t mean I wasn’t still in skull-shattering pain, just less of it. Dash flew back into the room with my other suit. “Why don’t you go get yourself cleaned up?” She said as she set my extra suit on the end-table next to me. “I’ll try in a minute. I need to wait until my head stops screaming at me.” I said with what I hoped was a half-cocked smile. Dash just rolled her eyes at me before flying over to my coat and shotgun. She grabbed both and set them on the end-table as well. I don’t think I’ve ever been this thankful to have someone in my life since Alex. Dash may have been my girl but Alex was my ‘brother-in-arms’. I still missed that crazy bastard. Dash flew over and landed on the head of the couch next to my head. I could tell she was avoiding bodily contact as much as possible to avoid hurting me even further. She lowered her head and looked into my eyes. She locked her eyes onto my face but couldn’t seem to lock them on my eyes. I guess my ‘thousand-yard-stare’ was getting worse as time went on. “Would you do it if I did this?” she said before bending her head down and locking lips with me. I must say that some of what people say about the healing power of love is true but it is a purely mental thing. I could feel myself warming up and some of my fatigue melted away before she broke away. “You have a way with words.” I said. “I’ll help you up.” Dash said before flying in front of me. Dash hovered above my chest as she held out a hoof to me. I took it with my left hand and used my remaining strength to get up. Dash gritted her teeth as her wings flapped furiously to help me up. I slow ascended until I stood straight up. I wobbled a bit and slowly swayed back and forth as I did so. “Next time I need to excise, I’ll come get you.” Dash said with a smile as she flew back under my arm to help me along. She helped me limp down across the room and into the hallway before stopping at the door. I placed my right hand on the knob and opened the door up to see the bathroom again. Dash flew out from under my arm and back to the front room. I stumbled into the bathroom and used the vanity to hold myself up. I looked in the mirror to see the top of my head wrapped in white bandages with a slight tint of red to them. I looked like I was from one of those pictures from Vietnam. The ones were you see all the injured soldiers after a battle. I ran my hand through my hair before slamming it back down on the sink. I pulled my 1911 from my pocket and set it in the sink as well as my jet black knife. Dash flew in through the open down with all my stuff in hand. “How do you wear all this stuff all day?!” She grunted as she dropped it onto the floor. I looked over my shoulder and said “Skill?” “Sure.” She said sarcastically. Dash took the pistol and knife from the sink and tossed it into the black pile. Dash flew over and I pulled off my tie and threw it on the floor. Dash seemed to take the hint and flew out of the room as I did my thing. She closed the door and I went to work. - I hobbled into the shower now that I was fully undressed and turned on the hottest water that the shower could offer me. Steam and water poured out of the showerhead as memories of the past came back to me. - Five years prior… The school bus rolled along as the dumbass kids screamed and hollered behind me. I sat in the very front seat by myself as I was the very first on and off the big yellow bus. I watched as the familiar vein of anger appeared on the bus driver’s head. The bus driver was a black man by the name of James Black. I was very quick to become friends with him as I found out that being friends with the bus driver meant avoiding his wrath when the dumbasses in the back acted worse than they usually did. We rolled through the shitty ‘burbs of Youngstown as we picked up the usuals. Almost everyone was present today, except for Alex. He had been absent for almost a week on account of the flu that he picked up from some gutter slut he met in history class. We rolled along in the early hours of the day before the same shitty school in the same shitty city came into view. The building was a dark brown color of faded concrete. The city didn’t have any money to create a new school so all the kids were forced to go to this place. The building seemed to surpass the Bronze Age from what I could tell. It was un-air conditioned, barely heated, and had the reputation of being the worst school in the Midwest. It also had the wonderful reputation of being the most violent school in Ohio. The bus came to a stop in front of the building and the hiss of the hydraulic door sounded. I stood up out of my seat and looked over at Mr. Black as he looked like he was about to have an aneurism. I honestly felt bad for the man. He was surprisingly intelligent and loved to talk to me about anything related to philosophy. I gave him a playful punch in the shoulder he looked at me with sad eyes. He was just another lost soul abused by the system. “Don’t worry James. It’ll be over soon.” I said with a faked smile. “That is until two forty-five.” He said in his normal, cynical manner. “With that kind of attitude, you’ll never make it through the day.” I said before turning around and stepping off the bus. “Have a good one Ryan.” He said as the other students followed me off the bus. “You to Mr. Black.” I said with a wave as I walked towards the door to the school building. I led the line as I heard the hiss of the hydraulic doors and the rumble of an engine get distant. I never had to wear a backpack to school. The school couldn’t afford textbooks so I never even had one. All I needed was a book in my pocket and a few pencils. I walked along the cracked cement towards the building in my new Timberlands before I felt a hand on my shoulder. I immediately knew what this meant. I spun around to see two large white kids and their black friend with them. The two white kids were taller than me and had wider shoulders. I was immediately outclassed by them and they friend was just insult to injury. “So, your boyfriend isn’t here today faggot?” one of the white kids said. “Yep, shit stain,” I replied with a smirk “he couldn’t handle your stench anymore.” That was all the prompting he needed. Kid 1 threw a punch at me that I dodged with a deft back step. I threw a kick into his crotch and he fell over. His two friends stepped in behind him and kid 2 threw another punch that connected with the side of my face. I spun wide and fell to the ground on my face. The black kid walked over and landed a kick into my side. I felt my kidney jolt as a wave of pain traveled my body. I curled up as another blow hit my hip. Kicks and insults were being hurled left and right as I retreated into my head in the hopes that it would stop soon. The kicks finally stopped for a moment as I opened my eyes. I saw a shoe coming for my face before I rolled out of its path. I climbed to my feet and saw that a crowd was gathering around the spectacle. They cheered us on as teachers watched from the window. They weren’t coming to my aid. Why would they? I lifted my fists as the bullies collected themselves and locked their predatory eyes on me. Their body language screamed for blood and unfortunately, it was mine. I took a step back before a hand from the crowd pushed me forward. There was no way out. Kid 1 stepped forward and lunged at me wildly. I side-stepped him and let him fall forward as I placed a kick into the side of his knee and heard a meaty snap. The kid fell forward as he clutched his leg and cried out. The black kid stepped forward as I was working on my first target and punched me in the side, right into my ribs. I recoiled before getting pushed by the crowd again and fell to my face. One of the kids jumped onto my back and grabbed onto my hair with a death grip and rammed my face into the concrete over and over again. Blood began to pool on the concrete below me as my face greeted the concrete over and over again. I cried out as I threw an elbow over my back and connected with the side of the attacker’s neck. He yelled out a curse as he fell off of me and I rolled on top of him. I sat on his chest and punched his face in over and over again till I felt a shoe connect with the back of my head. The kick displaced my weight and sent me reeling over my target. I fell back to the concrete once again and slammed my head off of it. I was in a daze as the bullies collected themselves again and walked around me. I heard them say something and then the kicks started flying again. I had lost. I curled up as took my beating and prayed for it to end. - I stepped out of the shower and walked over to the vanity after getting dressed. My muscles were nice and relaxed from the shower, so I wasn’t in too much pain. I was just numb like someone had given me some painkillers. I placed my hands on the vanity and hung my head. I placed my weight on the vanity as I listened to it whine under stress. I lifted my head and took a long look in the mirror at myself. The bandage was still damp on my head and had turned red. I should probably ask Dash to change it since the water made it dark red from mixing with the blood. I didn’t feel like it, so I grabbed my fedora from the ground and placed it on my head. I adjusted it so it hung very low over my eyes and hid most of the bandage. My face was slightly discolored in places but I wasn’t at burn-victim level. I walked over to the pile of my stuff and threw my coat on. The extra layer of clothing made me feel better as the heat from the shower dissipated. I seriously wondered if Dash even heated the place. I pocketed my 1911, sheathed my knife, and grabbed my shotgun. I walked over to the door and opened it. A blast of cold air hit my face and I swear I could feel icicles forming on my beard. I would need to shave soon or else I would start looking like a Viking. I walked over towards the bedroom and stepped inside. Dash wasn’t there but I didn’t care. I knew Celestia would call me out to my new post in the morning and I needed to rest and let my wounds heal. I just climbed onto the bed and clutched my shotgun tight. I knew that when the shit hit the fan, I would at least have it covering my back. - I awoke to hear a banging on the door. I knew it. Dash was asleep on the other side of the bed with what little light peering through the grey sky dancing on her. I still had the shotgun close at hand as I climbed out of bed, already ready to face the day. My body ached as I climbed up to my feet and walked forward. I was tougher than the pain and I knew it. I manned up and powered through the pain as I walked to the door. I walked into the hallway and out into the front room. The door banged again as I walked up to it. I stuffed my shotgun into my coat before I opened the door. I was greeted by a single guard in golden armor. He looked up and saluted me with a hoof. “General Twelve-Gauge, your presence is requested on the north side of town. Dallas and Atlanta have already been moved and the camp has been set up. If our intelligence is correct, the creature should arrive by this evening.” The guard explained. I just lowered my head and said “I will be there in two hours. Lock down the road.” The guard saluted me before he unfurled his wings and took to the skies. I closed my eyes and exhaled again. I closed the door and turned around. I walked back through the house and back into the bedroom. The sun seemed to shine in through the window, if only for a moment as I took a seat on the side of the bed as my side started to throb from a wound. I gritted my teeth and looked over at Dash. She was out like a light like always. She was curled up and had the necklace that I had given her, clutched to her chest. I placed my hand on her shoulder and gently jostled her awake. Dash grunted for a moment before rolling over and rubbing her eyes. I leaned over to her and place my elbow into the bed to keep myself propped up. Her eyes slowly fluttered open before she got a decent look at me. “You look awful.” She said with a smile as she examined all the damage I had received. “I like the morale boost.” I said as she used a hoof to lift the brim of my hat up. Dash didn’t say anything before locking lips with me again. After a few moments, she broke away and gave me a look over again. She seemed to frown for a moment before forcing a smile. I was getting good at picking up on her body language. “You’ve gotta leave again, don’t you?” Dash asked as she tried to hide the necklace from view. “What gave you that idea?” I asked as I placed my hand on top of her hair and ruffled it. Dash pushed my hand aside and said “I know because that it is the only time you wake me up.” “Damn.” I said with a smile “You’re good at this.” “Where have you got to go?” “Not far. I have to head to a camp on the north side of town. We’re expecting a visit from something and we want to cut it off before it gets to town. Basically, I get road-block duty.” “At least you aren’t going back to Youngstown again.” She said with a reassured look. “Don’t jinx it.” I said as I climbed off of the bed and to my feet. I walked out of the room as Dash flew and caught up to me. “When are you going to be back?” She asked as I walked up to the front door. “If all goes well, I’ll be back tonight.” I said “I also made a promise to Vinyl to come see her play at town hall.” I pulled the door open as Dash gave me a bear-hug from behind. I placed my hands around her hooves in front of me in an attempt to return the gesture. “Have some faith. I’ve had it worse.” I said as she let go. “You always say that.” She said as nuzzled the side of my neck. “That’s ‘cause it’s true!” I said with a laugh that made my ribs hurt. Dash didn’t say anything as she let out an annoyed sigh and pushed me out the door. “Love you too.” I said sarcastically as she smiled and closed the door behind me. I readjusted my hat and buttoned up my trench coat with my shotgun safely tucked inside. I walked out to my H2 and noticed that the camp to my right was completely barren except for Youngstown, who sat by his lonesome. I just ignored him and walked over to the H2. I pulled the door open and climbed inside. My muscles were tightening up from the cold and I noticed it. I placed a hand on the wheel and the H2 shot to life. I quickly turned on the heater and directed the vents at me. Warm again, I shifted into drive and started to make my way towards the road. - The drive was uneventful, as always. I pulled through town and out to what I figured was the north side. A small camp with two tents and a fire sat beside the only road leading into town from this end. I made my way over there as the H2 roared in the morning silence. A few guards stepped out of the tents and looked over at me. I pulled into the center of the road side-ways so that the road was blocked. I shifted into park and watched the grey skies for a moment. I figured that all it needed was a few 747s and it would be almost exactly like Youngstown’s at this time of year. I stopped reminiscing and reached over my seat to grab my AR-15. I grabbed it with my left hand by the barrel and hoisted it over my seat. The metal was cool to the touch and it wasn’t particularly comfortable. I took a moment to clear my thoughts before I opened the door and hopped out. My knees protested slightly from the impact and I stumbled a bit before catching myself. “Good morning, General.” A guard said to me. I turned to see a small squad of guards awaiting my commands. They all had on their familiar golden armor. “Morning guys.” I said back to at least try and be friendly “Do we have any updated info?” “Nothing yet, sir, but nothing has crossed the road yet.” One said in a strictly business tone. I nodded at them and turned around to the H2. The guards dispersed around camp as I walked over to the H2’s trunk. I pulled the latch and the door swung open on its own. I placed the AR-15 down on the trunk floor and pulled my shotgun from my jacket and set it down as well. I had an idea in mind that I wanted to try before shit hit the fan because it might help me out of a jam. I sifted through the accessories pile and found a small box of extra picatinny rail. I opened it up and grabbed some of the rail. I remember when I was fitting the silencer to the 1911 that I could adjust my guns in small ways and I wanted to see how far I could push it. I took the piece of picatinny rail and set it on top of the shotgun’s receiver. I held it in place for a moment before a blue light traced where it made contact with the rail. My hand throbbed for a moment but it was more of a muscle spasm than an actual pain. I let go of the rail held the shotgun upside down to see if it worked. I shook the 870 and found that the rail held firm. Pleased, I set the shotgun down again and place one hand over the receiver and another over the foregrip. I closed my eyes and focused whatever bits of willpower I could muster onto the gun. My hand started to hurt slightly like someone was poking my mark with a thumb tack. After the pain subsided, I opened my eyes and removed my hands from the gun. The 870 had lost about 10 inches in barrel length and the grip had disappeared from the gun, leaving only the trigger and trigger guard. I gave a devious little smirk as I grabbed the AR-15 and sat the gun straight up with the stock against the trunk’s floor. I grabbed the shotgun and slid it onto the rifle’s under-barrel picatinny rail. With a click, the shotgun snapped in place and the blue light flashed around where ever the two guns made contact. I know had something I only read about back in Youngstown. I was as giddy as a school girl before prom. I lifted the rifle in my hands and tried to balance the new weight. The gun was front heavy and weight in somewhere around 15 pounds now. It wasn’t the most tactically sound weapon, but it worked for me. I shouldered it and scanned the cabin of the H2 to get used to the thing. Satisfied with the results, I slung the weapon over my shoulder with the shoulder strap that Rarity had made me. With my new weapon system in tow, I spun around and walked towards the closest tent. The tents stood at roughly 7ft tall and were roughly 10 ft by11 ft. Not exactly roomy but then again, we weren’t going to be here long. I pushed the tent’s door flap aside and walked in. There were a few cots lining the walls of the tent and a table sat in the center with a map of the local area on it. I checked the map for a moment to get an idea of what to look for. The guard was right in saying that there was only one road leading into and out of town. I looked over the table to the cots behind and saw that Atlanta was on one of them and Dallas was on the one to the right of him. They were out cold and that was probably for the best. Dallas and Atlanta were both bandaged and bruised to all hell but I figured they would heal fast based on what happened when I first found Remi. I spun around and walked out of the tent. When I stepped outside, four guards were sitting around the fire. I didn’t feel like having a social hour, so I walked back over to the H2. I walked over to the grill of the H2 and placed a foot on the bumper. I hoisted myself up and onto the hood. I scooted up the hood and placed my back against the windshield. I pulled my legs up to my chest and nestled the rifle in my lap so that the barrel pointed straight down the road. I played the waiting game once again. - I sat on the hood on the H2 for something resembling four hours. I had nothing but the howl of the wind, the mist of my breath, and the crosshairs of my AR’s scope to keep me company. I kept my rifle trained on the horizon as I watched the wind blow the trees around in the distance. I could hear the guards talking over in the distance about their home lives and I could pick up on a few details like the fact that one of the guards had a pregnant wife back in Canterlot and another had a son that just finished school. I was somewhat happy to see that someone else’s life was actually going according to plan. I listened as the wind made the fire crackle in the distance and as a set of hoofsteps neared me from behind. I didn’t turn around in hopes that whoever it was, would just leave me alone. “Hey General.” I heard Atlanta say from behind me. I peeled my attention from the road and scope to see Atlanta fly over and onto the hood of the H2. He still had bandages and bruises everywhere but his wings seemed relatively unharmed. He landed next to my left and popped a squat on the hood. I looked back into the scope to avoid awkward eye contact. “’Sup.” I said nonchalantly as I kept my eyes glued to the road. “I just wanted to get out of bed and figured I’d talk to you because the others are getting all nostalgic over by the fire.” He said with a genuine tone. “I can walk to that tune.” I replied “Watching this god-forsaken road for hours-on-end is really fuckin’ boring.” “I can imagine.” Atlanta said as I watched some wind blow a few of the remaining leaves off of a tree “I also thought it would be best to make sure there’s no bad feelings between us. I know Dallas has some.” “One; that’s my line and two; he’ll have to get over himself.” “That’s what I said. I think he’ll get over it when he is finally out of bed.” “I’m glad you think so.” An awkward silence fell over the area as I tightened my fingers around the gun and placed my hands on the grip. I waited for a few moments in hopes that he would leave, but he never did. I was never one to stay in the same room after awkward silences fell. I would always leave in a hurry, retract to a corner, or cause commotion in an attempt to get conversation rolling again. I still remember when I worked in an appliance store and stuck a spoon in a microwave, hit start, and casually walked into another department and waited for panic to erupt. Greatest ‘how I got fired’ story in my arsenal but I doubt that ponies would even know what a microwave even is. “Are you still longing for home?” Atlanta asked after roughly five minutes of silence. “That was out of nowhere.” I said with a smile at an obvious attempt for small talk. “Well, they’re talking about it around the fire and I know almost nothing about you. I figured we could have a ‘bonding moment’.” He said as he comically stretched the words ‘bonding moment’. “If you’re asking about my hometown of Youngstown, I don’t really miss it.” I explained with memories of my favorite places coming to mind. “Sure, I miss some of the people and specific places, but the town as a whole was awful. That isn’t home anymore.” “Then what’s with the flag?” He asked as I removed my attention from the scope and looked at him. “That flag carries more of an ideal for me. I can’t really explain it but it makes me feel like I have a better purpose in life other than simply existing.” “I can understand. I joined the guard for kinda the same reason. I didn’t want to live in New Yoke my entire life.” “That may be but I’m running from more than just boredom. I don’t claim to know your problems and I don’t want to know them. I’ve got darker things following me.” “I won’t pry then.” I just smiled and returned my eye to the scope. “You’re the first not to. Thanks for that.” “Don’t mention it.” Atlanta quieted up as we stared down the road. The wind blew again and my hat’s brim blew in the wind. I peered deep into the scope and saw something slowly make its way into my crosshairs. “I think we have company.” I informed Atlanta. “What are you seeing?” He said in an alerted tone. “I don’t know yet. Alert the rest of the guards.” I commanded. Atlanta opened up his wings and flew over to the camp as I slid off the hood and let my feet connect with the ground. I shouldered the rifle again as I walked towards the unknown object. I looked through my scope again and could see that it was… a human?! I could see that the human wore a green outfit and carried a rifle but he was still too far away for me to see any defining features. “Sir, what is it?” A guard asked as he ran over to my side. I kept the rifle shouldered but looked over at the guard and said “I think I can see… another human.” The guard gave me a confused looked before looking down the road and squinting. “Shall I go and stop the creature?” He asked. “No… I want to talk to him first.” I said as I looked back down my scope to get a more accurate look at the other human. My mind was racing in both joy and fear at the prospect of another human. I was joyful because I finally had someone else that was in my shoes but I was also fearful due to the thought of others of my kind potentially ruining this paradise of a world. I could take down maybe one or two armed people but any more than that would present a problem. I know how violent I am but I at least had some self-control. I could only imagine the problems that would arise if a banger had managed to follow me here. I lowered the rifle as I walked towards the other human. The human raised his hands and waved in an attempt to show that he wasn’t a threat but I could also tell the he was wounded. I peered back into my scope and saw the human limping towards me. It wasn’t so much a wounded limp as much as it was an exhausted one, like he’d been walking for days. I lifted my scope to his face to get a good look at him and I felt the rifle shake in my hands. I lowered the rifle and felt my knees quiver below me. It was a grizzled white guy with a defined jaw, brown hair, and eyes that looked like they had seen too much. It was Alex. I felt my feet stop moving in front of me in a state of shock. I lowered my rifle and stood still. Alex kept moving forward with his rifle swinging in front of him as he limped over to me. I could tell that he was utterly exhausted and probably hadn’t stopped moving for days. “Are you ok General?” Atlanta asked from about 50ft away from me. I didn’t say a word as the winter winds blew through my open coat, chilling my very soul. “General?” “I-I know this man.” I said as I walked forward. Alex continued to move towards me and was at 100ft and closing. I could almost see a smile on his face before he collapsed in the middle of the road. He didn’t even say a word on the way down as his rifle bounced off of the rocky road.