• Published 22nd Oct 2013
  • 3,389 Views, 147 Comments

From a Dying World to New Lands - Electrician



When a portal spell goes off without a hitch, Eddy, Mike, Edgar and Jonathon find themselves yanked from an Infection-overrun planet into a entirely new world. What happens now? Are these ponies friends or foes? Will they be able to return home?

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Chapter 6: Exploration and Discovery

Chapter 6: Exploration and Discovery

Perspective: Edgar Worthington
Location:???
Date:???

So…the good news is that we’re still alive! No amount of brainstorming on anyone’s part could possibly come up with an answer for this strange change of location, but it did save our asses. The bad news is we’re stuck here, and we don’t even know where ‘here’ is!

“So guys, uh…what now?” I asked.

“Well, first we should probably try and get the house secured,” replied Jonathon. “Not sure we can do much about the doors/windows/furniture right now, but if someone could check in the workshop there might be some scrap wood and nails left. Also, we could at least try and restore power, and definitely clean this place up.”

“After that, we should definitely find out where we are,” added Mike.

“Alright then, let’s start from the top,” I said. “Jon, you’re obviously on generator repair duty; you’re the only one who can fix it anyways. Mike, raise the wind turbines. Eddy, rotate the solar panels, and then help Mike. I’ll see if we’ve got any repair materials left, and board up the windows if we do. If not, I’ll help hoist the turbines as well.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Eddy. “Also, Mike and Jon, remember to disconnect your generators from the grid until they’ve built up speed, then set the regulators to ‘Smart Power Distribution’. Other than that, let’s get to it!” Everyone split, each going for a different task.

30 minutes later

Three sets of hammer strikes resonated in the distance as Mike, Eddy and I hammered in our boards. Turns out we had some scrap wood after all, though not enough for the eight broken windows. The turbines went up with no problems, as did the panels, but Jon was still in the generator shed, only having returned for a brief moment to grab something before heading back. The characteristic hum of the generator couldn’t be heard yet, wonder what’s taking him so long.

10 minutes later

“He’s still not back?” I thought aloud. Eddy, Mike, and I were sweeping the floor already, but Jon still hasn’t returned! As if summoned by my statement, Jonathon popped in from the front door. Finally! ‘You would show up after the work is done…

“So?” Mike inquired. “Will it live doc?”

“Eventually, but the damage is worse than I had hoped. It’s going to be a while before it’s running again.”

Great…

“Care to explain?” I asked


Perspective: Jonathon Burley
Location:??? (In the Generator Shed)
Date:???

The engine was a 0.8 liter, inline three-cylinder diesel. Usually reliable, but did rarely have problems. A quick visual inspection of all the hoses, belts, and other exterior parts revealed nothing wrong…well, almost nothing. One wire from the Mass Airflow Sensor was chewed out completely; Eddy will have to solder it back. But something more obvious stood out. There was a tail hanging out of the intake.

“What the hell?” I said to no one in particular. Poking the tail and receiving nothing, I assumed the…whatever it is…was dead. I pulled out the intake tube, and using a pair of pliers, emptied it out.

“FUCK!” I yelled as the deceased animal fell out, making me drop the whole assembly in the process. It was disfigured significantly as the engine crushed it when trying to suck it in. It was dirty, both from the grime on the floor and from the blood. All in all, the…I think it’s a rodent, or was anyway…was in horrifying condition, startling me as I pulled it out. Picking it gingerly off the floor and quickly throwing it into the trash, I continued deeper into the engine. The air filter was replaced because it had a few -ahem- ‘missing bits’ from the rodent. Concerned something made it past the filter, I checked the combustion chambers via the glow plug hole and discovered a ‘nice’ surprise.

Soot. So much soot. The engine was old after all, having previously been used the drive a 2012 Smart cdi. But I guess its age finally caught up with it; if this carbon buildup isn’t cleaned, it could prematurely wear out the engine. I’ll need to take the head off to clean it though, which is going to take a lot of time…a lot. Figuring I wasn’t going to have it running anytime soon, I decided to head upstairs to inform the others.


Perspective: Eddy Culivin
Location:???
Date:???

“Alright, we’ve done what we can to clean and repair the place, and two out of three power sources are running,” I said. “Not bad, so let’s move on. Anyone have ideas on how to go about exploring?”

“We could explore like we did in the city, from a car,” suggested Jon.

“Nope. We’re trying to save the fuel we have left, and the Model X is out of power,” countered Mike.

“Hey, did anyone catch a glimpse of the town past the hills?” Asked Edgar. He suddenly found three sets of eyes boring holes into his face.

“There’s a town here? Damnit Edgar, why didn’t you say anything?” I asked.

“You never asked,” he replied nonchalantly. I face-palmed.

“Alright, let’s go outside and see this town,” I said. We exited the house. Judging by the position of the sun, I’d say it was late morning/early afternoon. The air smelled crisp and clean, free of any smog or other contaminants. Everything was bright and colorful; a stark contrast to our place of origin.

Sure enough in the distance, a set of artificial looking blots of color contrasted against the natural landscape. Something else contrasted with the natural landscape, and it was hanging over our heads.

“Whoa! Guys, what do you make of that?” I asked. A ring made of white puffy clouds hung over our house. The strange part though, was that the cloud appeared to contain a slowly pulsing glow, faintly visible even in the sunlight. The entire ring was also spinning, though at its current speed it’s more like lethargically floating in a circle. Yet the ring was abnormally perfect, with no breaks and never straying from the top of our house despite the breeze.

“I’m not sure, and honestly I don’t like it,” said Mike. “But it seems harmless, and there’s not much we can do about it right now anyways, so let’s focus back to the task at hand. It seems redundant to send four people into town, so let’s split into groups. Two of us will go into town, the other two will…hmm, let’s see…will go into that forest.”

“I call forest!” said Jonathon.

“I call forest too!” I said quickly, not really wanting to walk that far a distance to get to the town.

“I ca-damn!” exclaimed Edgar. He then turned to Mike. “Guess it’s you and me buddy.”

“Actually, now that I think about it, if we all leave, who watches the house?” Mike pointed out. “I suggest two of us watch the house, and seeing as you two were so eager to enter the forest, Edgar and I will stay back.” The tables have turned; seems like we actually got the short end of the stick! I have a vague feeling he did that on purpose, the little cheater.

“Wha…that’s not…crap. Ugh fine, we’ll go! Just get us some stupid Walkie-Talkies and we’ll be on our way,” said Jon.

15 minutes later

“Have a nice trip you two *snicker*,” said Edgar as he closed the front door. Before leaving, Mike had suggested a few items for protection. Things like jeans and long-sleeve shirts instead of shorts and T-shirts so the plants don’t scratch us. After all, we don’t know if the wildlife is poisonous. Speaking of the wildlife, we had no idea what inhabited the forest, so we brought our pneumatic guns and backups, the pneumatics getting a fresh air tank installed on them. Well, with our equipment in place, I guess it was time to go.

“Damnit, me and my big mouth,” Jonathon muttered.

“Yea tell me about it,” I said. “Let’s just get this over with. Come on.”

With that we set out for what was going to be a boring ‘exploration’ of the forest. I just hope we don’t get lost…


Perspective: Jonathon Burley
Location:???
Date:???
25 minutes later

I had initially thought this would be an uneventful walk, but surprisingly enough, I was wrong. You see, it wasn’t just uneventful, it was difficult as well. There was so much undergrowth that Eddy and I kept tripping and had to watch our step. The forest canopy layer was very thick; not much light made it deep into the forest. I couldn’t recognize most of the plants here; neither could Eddy apparently, so we kept our distance from as much plant-life as we could. Not wanting to get lost, and not feeling the need to explore much further than the forest close to our house, we carefully trekked around inside, keeping the tree-line visible at all times. Needless to say, the going was slow.

“Ok, I’ve had enough of this stupid forest!” I complained as my feet were almost swept from under me once again. We were about 200 feet from the tree-line, and it was obvious after our ‘exploring’ that nobody lived nearby and that there weren’t any apparent major threats. In fact, there was nothing of interest in here at all!

“Alright, calm down. We’re leaving,” said Eddy. Finally, we were getting out of this miserable place, and I was eager to never return. Sadly, fate had other plans in store for us.

Out to my left, somewhere deeper into the forest, a high pitched scream bellowed out, followed by the sound of rustled bushes. The scream was easily recognizable; it sounded like a little kid screaming. Immediately, Eddy and I looked at each other, before setting off in the direction of the cry for help.

We made it just in time to catch a random snippet of conversation. “…belle, you hafta get up,” said a little girl’s voice with a southern accent. The bushes covered the child (or children; we couldn’t see how many) that cried for help, but her (or their) assailants were easily visible.

Have you ever seen something so bizarre that it blows your mind? Well the sight in front of me did more than that; it shattered my perspective on reality. You see, though most of my mind said it was improbable given the circumstances, some part of my mind had hoped we were still on Earth. At least then we’d have a way to get back. But Earth doesn’t have teleporters, and now the…bipedal aliens –for lack of a better term- confirmed my worst fears; we’re a loooong way from home.

There were three of them, with identical grey fur and…dog collars? That’s what they looked like. Sticking with dog analogies, one appeared to have a bulldog face, another had a terrier face, and the third…well I can’t quite place it. They all had paw-like feet but human-like hands, along with dog ears and tails. This whole thing was so confusing.

Still, I didn’t let that affect me for too long; someone needed our help. Just as I was about to charge in there though, an invisible force pulled me back.

“Are you crazy!?” Eddy whispered harshly, his hand on my shoulder. “We don’t know what those things are!”

“Well we have to do something,” I whispered back. “The kid needs our help!”

“It’s not a ‘kid’, it’s an alien! This could be a trap Jonathon, think! Let’s stay here and observe, at least for a little bit.”
While I really want to help the ki- uh, alien out, Eddy’s right. This could be a trap, and I was just about to walk straight into it! I need some work on the whole ‘think before you act’ thing.

“Fine.” We found a spot and watched. It wasn’t an ideal spot; we couldn’t see the aliens in trouble. It would do for now though.

The three dog-creatures approached the bushes, bulldog armed with a hefty stick, terrier with a knife, and leader (I guess that’s what I’ll call him) with…strange. I don’t see a weapon on him.

“We have you now,” said an irritatingly scratchy voice. ‘Was that their leader’s voice? God, what must having to hear that all day be like, those poor dog-aliens.’ “We will have our revenge against those ponies that made fools out of us!”

“You won’t git away with this. Mah sister n’ her friends’ll find you, then you’ll be sorry!” said the southern alien kid.

“Silence pony! They won’t find you here in the Everfree. Enough talk, seize them!”

The pack lackeys began to close in on the cornered kid-aliens, weapons drawn. ‘Think observation time is over now.

“If we’re gonna to do something, we better do it now,” I whispered to Eddy.

“…Alright fine, let’s save them. Try not to use deadly force unless absolutely necessary, the little ones are watching. Go, I’ll be the surprise attack should you need it.”

Needing no further motivation, I stepped out, pneumatic ball-shooter in hand. Time to save some aliens…uh, good aliens, you know…never mind.

“HEY!” I wasn’t smart enough to come up with a wittier saying, but it got the job done. Suddenly, two pairs of yellow eyes and one pair of green eyes found interest in the being that rudely interrupted their kidnapping.

“Boss look,” said bulldog in a stereotypical low-octave idiot’s voice. “Another one.”

“No, this one’s different,” said leader. “Speak, what are you, hairless ape creature?”

Ape creature!? You little…!’

“Name’s Jon, and I am a human. Now you answer one of my questions; will you let the young ones go? Please agree, I’d like to think the first aliens we met had some morals.”

“No, they are essential to our plan! Nothing will stop us, not even you. Now you know too much though; we take you too!”

Well, negotiations fell through, so much for that. Then again, I didn’t really offer a reason to let them go, so it wasn’t much of a compromise anyways…whatever. Alright, how to handle this without killing them?’ I noticed that the lackeys were now coming towards me. Both were brandishing their weapons, so I decided to use mine. The red glow illuminating part of my left palm switched to a soft green as I changed the regulator setting. ‘Fingers are pretty fragile, right?

*PSST!* A crack sounded from bulldog as the bearing smashed into the hand holding the makeshift club, or more specifically his fingers. With a pained yell, he dropped the club and backed away, fingers trickling blood. It seems that none of the three assailants enjoyed the effects of the projectile’s ‘handshake’, as the other two froze immediately. My left thumb flicked a switch, a red glow from the LED now coloring part of my hand.

“Sorry to say, but you just brought a knife to a gunfight,” I spat out angrily. “Now let me tell you how this’ll pan out. You leave now, and you won’t get turned into a pile of corpses on the ground. Otherwise…” To emphasize my point, I aimed low and shot right in front of them. The three jumped away as a tiny spray of dirt was kicked up in front of them.

“Th-this isn’t over!” leader said as they…they tunneled into the dirt!? ‘Damn, these things are like moles!’ Remembering there were more aliens around, I carefully rounded the bushes.

There were three of them. They were humanoid in shape; complete with hands, arms, and legs (at least, they appeared to be built as bi-pedals). Hell, they all even had clothes. However, they also had fur coats, tails, large eyes, and a muzzle, like a horse…sorta. All of them sported horse-like ears as well. One had a light yellow coat, with red hair (mane?) and tail and bright orange eyes. Something that instantly stood out was a massive bow colored after its mane. Another had an orange coat, with a magenta mane and tail and dull purple eyes. A small set of what appeared to be wings extended out past its shirt. ‘Interesting. Those wings look too small; I wonder if it can fly?’ The final creature had a pristine white coat, with a swirling pink and purple mane and tail, and dull green eyes. It sported a protrusion from its forehead which kind of looked like a horn. Unlike the others though, this one had a weird red line running down its leg and random red stains, not to mention some purple discoloration of its fur in……wait.

Oh man, it’s injured! How did I miss that!?’ Suddenly, the light of realization was turned on, and I noticed they were all somewhat injured. The yellow and orange aliens only had small cuts and bruises, but the white one had a particularly nasty gash on its left leg, a gash that was still oozing blood.

With urgency and without thinking, I moved to better examine the injured one. The other two immediately did their best to make sure I knew they didn’t trust me. The way they stood in front of their injured kin in the face of the ‘enemy’ showed their undying loyalty for one another, but their trembling and darting eyes betrayed their fear. Backing up a bit, I kneeled down and try to communicate with them. Who knows, maybe they’re like the dogs?

“I didn’t mean to frighten you. I just wanted to assess the injuries,” I spoke as gently as I could muster. Let’s just say I haven’t used my ‘gentle’ voice in a long time, but at least they didn’t run. In fact, their eyes, as if they weren’t big enough already, widened.

“Whoa!...you talk?” asked the orange one.

“What…what are you?” asked the white one. ‘Well, assuming the southern accent came from the yellow one, all three appear to be female, though I’m basing this on voice pitch alone.’ I really wanted to tend to the white one now and answer all their questions later, but all three were looking at me with curiosity, something normal for kids. Besides, if I want to help, I’ll need to gain their trust first. I guess I’ll answer this one question.

“My name is Jon, and as I’ve mentioned to those…whatever they were before, I am a human,” I answered. I then pointed behind them, to the injured kid. “Listen, I would love to answer all your questions right now, but we need to get those wounds looked at first. May I approach to get a better look?”

They looked at each other briefly, sharing a look of concern which was completely understandable, before looking back at me, trepidation still present.

“Listen, I just want to help, and it’s clear she needs it. I promise; I’ll make sure nothing bad happens to you and that you all make it home safe, alright?”

They shot each other another look, and began whispering to each other. I caught brief snippets of their conversation, but most of it went unheard by my ears.

“…did just save us…”

“…don’t trust it…”

“…you have a better idea?...”

Finally, they began to sidestep unhurriedly to allow passage. Ever so slowly, I made my way over, being very closely watched on both sides.

“Can you stand?” I asked the little one, offering her my hand. She hesitated at first, but eventually gingerly took my hand. Gripping hers tightly, I slowly started pulling her to her feet. She planted the bottom of her her feet on the ground to stand. All of a sudden, there was a yelp and something tugged at my hand. Looking down, I saw the little one had fallen once again.

“My leg hurts,” she sniffled. “I don’t think I can use it.” Shouldering my weapon and kneeling down to her level, I scooped one arm behind her back just below the shoulders and the other under her knees, carrying her princess style. With little effort, I was back to my feet again. The other two tensed visibly, but allowed me to continue. I turned back to them.

“Are you two well enough to walk?” I asked. They nodded. “Good, please follow me. At the very least, we can get some disinfectant on that cut before taking you girls to get proper medical attention.”

“Where are we going?” said the orange one.

“We’re stopping by our house, and then we’re taking you girls to a town we spotted not too far from here.” I replied. “Is that ok with you two?”

Once again, they hesitated as they contemplated going to a stranger’s house.

“Just a quick stop to at least wrap her leg up, then we’ll go wherever you want, ok?” I assured.

“…Alright,” they responded. Satisfied with that answer, I directed my attention to an inconspicuous, harmless-looking bush, which I knew was anything but.

“Eddy we’re leaving, let’s go.” For several seconds nothing happened. ‘I could have sworn this was where he was hid-ah, there he is!’ Eddy emerged from the bush, eying the new party members as they eyed him; with uncertainty and suspicion.

“And you’re sure this is a good idea?” he asked.

“Would you have left them to fend for themselves?”

“…*sigh* let’s just go.” We started walking, me leading, girls following, Eddy bringing up the rear. The business end of his rifle was safely pointed down and to the side, but his finger never came off the trigger. I cocked my head over my shoulder to address him.

“Eddy, radio the guys back home. We’re having guests over.”


Perspective: Mike Britowski
Location:???
Date:???

“So what you’re saying is, we’re having extraterrestrial sentient beings over,” I rephrased somewhat skeptically over the Walkie-Talkie. “And you’re sure neither of you touched some weird plant or something?”

Yes for the hundredth time, we’re not high. Look, I know it’s hard to believe, but just go with it,” came the reply from the handheld radio.

“Ok, assuming I believe you, why are they coming over?”

Because Jon over here wants to play the role of Mr. Alien Hero Man and tend to their injuries, that’s why. Speaking of which, pull out our First-Aid stuff.

“He…does realize that none of us are even competent in First-Aid, right? I’ve cleaned and wrapped wounds, and didn’t do a very good job of it either. That’s it.”

That’s more than any of us have done, which is why you’re treating them.

“WHAT!?”

Yep, good luck.

“Eddy, wait no…Eddy!...damnit.”

Edgar, who had been listening in, placed an arm around my shoulder. “Aw man, that sucks,” he said. “But look on the bright side.” He flashed a devilish grin. “At least I don’t have to do anything.”

“Shut up man,” I said, shoving him off in mock-anger, which elicited a chuckle from him. “Go make yourself useful and move the weapons to my room.”

“Yea, you would move them into your room,” he replied laughing. I grinned. It was moments like these that almost took my mind off the constant stress of survival. They were the small respites from the grimness of our lives that I enjoyed. Edgar began grabbing all the weapons and ammo and moving them into my room on the first floor. I directed my focus back to the table in front of me and sighed.

Why do I always get roped into doing these crazy things?’ From the sound of it, Eddy was none too happy about the new arrivals, though I couldn’t imagine why. Think about it; real aliens! At least Jonathon shared my excitement, but something was also wrong with that as well. They were complete strangers, yet Jonathon immediately trusts them. ‘I’m not saying they mean any ill intent, but why was Jon so quick to extend a helping hand?

Well, I’d find out soon enough anyway. Clearing the table of miscellaneous items, I set down a large, worn down white bag. Stitched on either side was a patch which contained the famous Red Cross emblem. With that set up, I walked up to one of the windows and searched for our expected company.

It didn’t take long. The yellow, orange and white beings were a stark contrast to the natural browns and greens of the forest. The yellow and orange ones were standing next to Jonathon, while he carried the white one in his arms. All four appeared to be engaged in conversation. All except Eddy, who was behind the group. As they approached, I picked up on the conversation.

“…an’ that’s how the Appaloosians and the buffalo learned to get along!” said the yellow alien.

“You don’t say,” Jon replied, chuckling. “That’s quite the story. Never a dull moment for you girls, huh?”

I stood at the window, exchanging a look with Edgar, who was also by the window. He wore a sad smile on his face, as I’m sure I did as well. Suddenly everything clicked; why Jonathon helped them so quickly, why he was so trusting of them. I’m not sure if Eddy knew, considering he stayed while Edgar, Jon and I moved north, but Edgar and I did.

Jonathon always wanted to be a father. He was good with children, and had a soft spot for them too. Hell, he almost got his wish; had a lovely wife with a child on the way. But four years ago……on his birthday of all days…


NOTE:Non-essential Flashback, can skip if desired.

Perspective: Jonathon Burley
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Date: December 20, 2021

“Honey, guess who’s home!” I called from the door. I had just gotten home from work. We were let out early on account of some very disturbing news of infections and quarantines. Admittedly, this did put a damper on the day, considering it was my birthday, but now that I was home, I was looking forward to spending the rest of the day with my beautiful wife Sarah. Speaking of whom, where is she?

“Honey?” No answer. “Sarah, is everything alright?” Silence. Sudden thoughts of the strange infection they had talked about on the news filled my mind. ‘What if something happened to them?’ Working hard to swallow the rising fear, I began to look around. “Sarah? Sarah, where are you? Please answer. Sarah.” I walked into the living room and froze. Instead of finding my wife, I found shattered glass from the large set of windows and a trail of smeared blood that led to the master bedroom.

“Sarah!!” I ran for the master suite, fearing the worst. The worst is what I got.

“Sar- OH GOD!!” More blood and smashed glass covered the floor and bed sheets. On said bed, my wife laid…my beautiful wife, missing an arm and twitching violently on the bed, further staining the sheets. Her head tilted at me, and her mouth convulsed, trying to speak to me. But something else, something even more disturbing, had my attention.

Her stomach was torn open, flaps spread open revealing the empty cavity beneath…empty? ‘Oh nonono, where’s the baby!?’ An umbilical cord jutted through the tear, disappearing off the side of the bed.

“Run…” My head snapped back to Sarah, who had stopped twitching. She laid there staring at me, before her head hung forward, unmoving, mouth hung open. I made to approach her when the tinkling sound of shifting glass fragments stopped me where I was. I small, slimy and bloodied hand grasped the edge of the bed. With painful slowness, something pulled itself up onto the bed. My son…no, not anymore.

The infection had forced his undeveloped body to mutate enough that it could survive outside, though the umbilical cord was still attached to that… mound of flesh. The heavily disfigured body pulled itself over to my now convulsing wife who was growing her missing arm back! I stared into its pupil-less eyes, and it into mine before it screamed in a high-pitched distorted voice and lunged at me. I screamed myself and stumbled back, tripping and falling on my ass. The thing was fortunately reined in by the cord, unable to reach me…yet. Right before my eyes, Sarah got back on her feet. I was overjoyed for a second, believing she was alive. That hope was quickly and cruelly dashed when I beheld her mismatch-length arms and legs, the red tears on her ashy grey skin, and of course the gaping hole in her stomach. I scrambled to my feet and ran, the pair giving chase moments after.

Fumbling with the lock in the office, I quickly looked around. Up against the wall was a display case for showcasing rifles. At the moment, only one gun was on the shelf, an old Remington 870. I ran to it and smashed the glass, not bothering with the lock on the case and completely ignoring the crimson trails now running down my arms. I reached for a box of shells, but a loud thump on the door made me drop the box. I tried to catch a few rounds, but my damn fingers only caught one. I just managed to load it when the door flung open.

Survival instincts took over and before I knew it, the mutated being that used to be my wife was missing a head. She dropped, stopping the small monster that was attached to her from reaching me. I could only stare helplessly at what used to be my son, struggling to reach me. Did I do something wrong? Did I deserve this? Why!? I failed to protect him. He wasn’t even born yet and I already failed him.

He began tugging on the cord harder and harder. Suddenly, a fleshly ripping sound was heard as the umbilical separated and I realized he was coming for me once again. I aimed at him, only to remember I loaded one shot. It was too late to load more, so I did the only thing I could do, as much as it pained me to do so.

“Remember, daddy loves you son. He always will.” Grabbing the barrel, I swung at the creature, the impact deforming his undeveloped head as he flew back towards the other corpse. They lay unmoving. A clanging sound rang in the empty office, weapon no longer in my hand. I walked over.

“H-hey little guy…why aren’t ya moving…come on…S-Sarah, come here…I think something’s wrong with junior…Sarah…don’t ignore me too…don’t leave me…”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

The ground was cold, the corner was cold. Legs tucked in, arms around legs. Head resting on corner wall. Wall hard. Sobbing.

“Happy birthday…to me…h-happy birthday…to me…”