The Poncho Chronicles II: South Beach

by BRyeMC

Troublesome Return

Pharlin was the first of the now group of four to wake up. He stood above them all and spoke. “Wake up everyone, it’s time to get moving.” The rest of the group was surprisingly fast to get up, mostly because they wanted to get back to the hotel to make sure things were going well. Also, sleeping in the Super Shop wasn’t too comfortable. After everyone was up and running, they stood at the door.

“Cannon, make sure you have all the supplies we need in the bag. Wahlburn, take a quick look outside to make sure we’re clear to go. And Pharlin, try to get through to Clyde on the walkie talkie. I’m gonna go take a piss.” Patel hurried off to the back corner of the store where the Baños were located.

Everyone did what they told, Cannon had everything needed, Wahlburn gave the all clear, and Pharlin tried to get through to Clyde but was unsuccessful. Patel came back a minute later. “Alright, let’s pack up and get this shit out of here. Pharlin did you get through to Clyde?”

“That’s a negative,” said Pharlin, “I guess we need to get closer to him.”

“How about we find another way back so we don’t have to go through the haze?” suggested Wahlburn.

“I second that notion,” said Cannon.

“Same,” chimed in Pharlin.

Patel sighed. “We can at least try, if you guys want to so badly.” The group set off out of the store and into the dead streets of South Beach, the sun had just risen and the sky was extremely clear. The group set off the way the came and had noticed something had changed.

“Hey, the haze is gone!” cheered Wahlburn.

“Fucking yes, we’ll be back in no time,” said Cannon with excitement in his voice.

“Hold the phone motherfucker,” said Patel stopping them, “I’m gonna go scout ahead. Stay back here and wait for me, if I don’t come back in five minutes, wait longer.” Wahlburn, Cannon and Pharlin looked on as Patel quickly maneuvered through the streets checking every alley and back street for any sign of danger.

“That guy's fucking crazy to go alone,” said Cannon to the others.

“At least we don’t have to,” said Wahlburn with a laugh.

“So, Pharlin,” began Cannon , “how did your first night of the zombie outbreak go?”

“Shit was so cash, just kidding, it sucked ass.”

“Elaborate....”

“Alright,” said Pharlin as he looked at the sky, “So, I was walking to my beachfront condo, like a boss, when I started hearing some freaky shit, like screams and growls. Needless to say, I needed some new pants by the time I got to my condo. So I proceeded into the elevator, hopped off on the top floor, and there it was....”

“What was it?” asked Wahlburn in suspense.

“A damn zombie, what else would it be? So I proceeded to shit myself again, then mashed the elevator call button. The elevator opened up, I scooted in, and went to the lobby. When I got there, everypony were being eaten all over the damn place, so I ran the fuck out of there and tried to make my way to the police station. Without going too deep into the story I ran into some obstacles and I found myself in the Super Shop, then you guys came.” Pharlin posted on the nearest streetlamp.

“Wait,” said Cannon, “how the hell can you afford a beachfront condo?”

Pharlin grinned. “That’s a secret.” There was a moment of silence until Pharlin spoke again. “So what are we gonna do when we get back to the hotel?

“Chill, smoke, sleep, repeat,” said Wahlburn, “pretty much the way of life.”

“And if we run out of supplies?”

“We scavenge, bro. We’re only the best damn team of scavengers in the greater South Beach area,” said Cannon, as he took pride to his statement.

“Said the guys with pans for helmets and kitchen utensils for weapons.” Pharlin laughed.

“Go fuck yourself,” said Wahlburn in disgust.

“Will do, bro.”

Patel returned out of nowhere, and gave the go ahead to move out. “Alright, we have a small group of zombies on the third street on the right, and that’s it, then it should hopefully be a straight shot to the hotel.”

The group set off, jogging steadily on the side of the road, while trying to remain as quiet as possible. When they came close to where the group of zombies were, they slowed to a stealthy walk.

“Alright, to the right there are about ten zombies,” pointed Patel, “just cross in front of the street slowly. I’ll go last and watch the zombies to see if they see us or not.”

“I’ll cross first,” said Cannon. Cannon had no problems crossing in front of the street. Pharlin volunteered to go next, he too crossed without a hitch. Next up was Wahlburn, who seemed uneasy and was shaking uncontrollably.

“Dammit, calm down man,” said Patel, annoyed at his shaky friend.

“I’m trying,” said a nervous Wahlburn. He gulped and began. Just as Wahlburn was about to get clear, his pan ‘helmet’ fell off of his head and made a loud clunking sound as it crashed to the ground. “Oh shit...,” whispered Wahlburn.

The zombies slowly turned their heads and noticed Walburn at the end of the street and Patel’s head peeking from the side of the building.

“Guys fucking run, I’ll distract them!” yelled Patel to the others.

“Good enough for me,” said Cannon.

The group of three sprinted in the direction of the hotel as Patel sprinted toward the zombies. Just as Patel was about to clash with them he veered left onto another street, so he was on a parallel street to the other three, running in the same direction.

Three of the zombies easily caught up with Patel, and he was tackled to the ground hard. He found himself on the bottom of the deadliest pile of cluster fuck you’ll ever see. He managed to deploy his switchblade and struggled to stab them, but eventually he killed all three, barely escaping without any scratches. Though this wasn’t the end of his ordeal as the seven remaining slower zombies had surrounded him in a full circle, and were closing in on him.

Patel attempted to escape by killing one zombie and running through the gap. Unfortunately after killing the zombie, the gap closed and he was dragged down by two zombies. Patel luckily killed one, but his blade got stuck in its’ skull and he couldn’t retrieve it.

The remaining zombie still on him was about to bite, when a hammer flew in from the side and smashed its’ head in. Patel quickly jumped and looked over to his right, he couldn’t believe his eyes. Standing next to Patel was none other than LeBrony James.

“LeBrony? What are you doing-”

“Everybody gets one.”

LeBrony vanished down a nearby alley as Patel stared in awe. He realized there were still five zombies left, and his blade was still stuck in the skull of the zombie on the ground. Patel, with no chance of winning this fight, booked it toward the direction of the hotel. Less than a minute later he arrived at the front of the Hotel, where the two guards let him in.

Patel walked through the doors and into the lobby and noticed the other three scavengers sitting down leaning against the wall, taking a breather and drinking some water. Cannon looked up when he saw the figure walk towards him.

“Holy shit, it’s Patel!”

“Sup, brahs.”

“We thought you got killed,” said Wahlburn as he gave him a bro-clutch.

“I thought I was going to be killed, then....”

“Then what?”

“Strange shit, mate, strange shit. I don’t want to talk about it right now.” Patel took deep breath and exhaled. By this time the group looked like shit, especially Patel and Pharlin, who had their fair share of close calls.They made their way to the elevators and eventually made their way to the top floor. Spike was the first to notice them as he took over Tyrone’s shift.

“Hey! The Silver Team is back!” Spike ran over to them and opened up the hallway door to the stairwell.

“Yeah we are,” said Cannon, acting like a superhero that just saved the world.

“It’s 7 am, you guys left almost 24 hours ago, what took you so long?”

“We found a Super Shop down the street and made sure we had adequate supplies. Pharlin happened to be there, too. It got dark quick so we decided to stay the night. It didn’t help that Patel almost got killed this morning.”

“Fuck this shit,” said Wahlburn dropping his pack, “who wants to smoke up?”

“At 7 in the morning? Fuck, I’m in.” Cannon took his supplies pack off and with Wahlburn’s and his, placed them in the middle of the hallway.

“Me too,” said Pharlin, dropping his pack.

Patel shrugged. “Sure, why not.”

“May I join in?” asked Spike.

“Go out for a whole day and scavenge for supplies, then you can join in,” said Wahlburn in a serious tone.

“Seriously?”

“Nah man, I’m just fuckin' with ya. Just don't tell Twilight.” Spike saluted and they all quietly walked into Patel, Wahlburn, and Spike’s room to avoid waking anyone else up, and smoked some weed, enjoying the fact that no one died on their scavenge.