OutLive

by Lyraah

Chapter 6: Veering Course

Our inorganic world, skeletal skycrapers and the truth, entwined in forgotten hopes of salvation.

“We’re almost out of fuel.” Flitter’s voice jolted me out of my drowsy state.

“Huh? Oh, you’re awake.” I looked at the fuel meter and back to Flitter.” Yeah, we should be- Ahem…” A splitting pain in my head cut me off mid-sentence. I shook my face, trying to shake off the pang.

“…You don’t look too good.” Flitter frowned and started to search through her bags, “Ah could be sure Eye’ve sum pain-pills somewhere…” Pain-pills. Or painkillers. I liked how she said that. I also have no idea how I managed not to crash horribly all this time. It was dark, and extra creepy, passing through the forest. I felt as if something lurking in the woods was spying on us.

“…Eye’m sorry, I coo’den find any…” She gave up searching and looked at me worriedly.” …Eye could take over.” She suggested.

I let out a soft grunt,” It’s okay, we’re close…” “You know how to drive a car?”

She pulled a not-amused face at me for a second and flapped a wing,” actually, no…” She admitted.

“…But, it doesn’t look hard! It should be easy, right?”

“Not really as easy as you-”

“It sure does look easy to me.” Flitter pouted her lips and folded her hooves. What a cute little expression. I can’t help but giggle a little. Flitter joined in and soon we were giggling like a bunch of fillies, my head hurts from the tittering but my brain wanted me to continue giggling. I didn’t know what to feel anymore.

---

We rolled into the town of Auvergne; the first obvious structure on the left was a motel, part of it had collapsed and the letters were dangling off the sign. The town was a different sight than the city, it was more… compact. If that’s the appropriate word for it.

“We’ll find a place to stay for the night. We can search for fuel at the gas station tomorrow.” I pressed a hoof on my forehead; my vision was getting blurry and my eyes tired. I need rest.

“Okay, you need sum rest Eve.”

Yeah, I do.

---

I drove the jeep into an open garage of a small house at the end of the strip. It would suck if somepony stole it, and I wanted to keep it locked down until we get more fuel.

“C’mon, we can sleep in the basement, if there’s nothing nasty in there.” I pulled the garage shutters down and gently hitched it.

“Hey! I could build a sound trap!” Flitter fluttered to the corner of the garage, grabbing a pail and other small nails, bolts and gears.

“Clever.” I remarked and trotted to the basement door, which was accessible via the garage. I could ignore the main house completely; the door leading into the house was locked anyway.

*Click* *Click*

Damn. The basement’s locked as well.

I turned to Flitter, who was setting down the trap; she set the bucket of junk precariously on the edge of the stool, with a piece of string attached to the pail and the shutters. One small push and the pail will fall, alerting the whole neighborhood.

“Eye’m guessing… You need help with the lock.” She stared at me, fluffing her wings. I smiled bashfully, acknowledging the fact I need help.

“It’s definitely easier with the Telekinetic Aid.” She leaned close to the door and hovered out a pick and tension wrench. Fancy. I leaned on the wall beside her, trying to force the ache in my head away.

“Taadaa~ there we go.” She swung the door open and did a little twirl.

“Where did you learn how to pick a lock? That’s neat.” I walked down the stairs with Flitter, locking the door behind us.

“It’s a useful skill to have, donchathink?”

“Yeah, didn’t think about that one…”

“I can teach ch’you.” Flitter offered.

“That sounds good.”

The basement was dark. Well, duh. The lights were not working, I could make out the wooden ceiling and pillars that held the basement. There were tools and huge containers on one corner of the room. Materials like wooden boards and glass panels leaned against the stone walls. There was a small rubber sheet/carpet on the floor, to prevent slipping, I would guess. The basement was quite clean, no signs of bodies and disgusting monstrosities.

There was a small mattress on the left corner of the room, with a small pillow and blanket. I can’t wait to just throw everything aside and fall into a deep sleep. I took off my coat and unbuckled my holsters; I had three, even though I had only one pistol with me now.

“Here, you should keep this for your pistol.” I tossed Flitter a holster as I plopped my head on the pillow. I kept my Five-Seven under the pillow just in case.

My head felt heavy and laying it on a pillow didn’t help. The pain throbs and pulses in my skull, like a dull pounding with a hammer over and over and over again. My brain feels like it’s on overdrive, I can’t process any thoughts at all. Images and ideas and plans run through my head, chasing each other round and round. My mind can’t seem to catch a single one, but rather being pounded with all of them at once as they ricochet and slam into the walls of my head.

“Eve… You’re sweating…” Flitter leaned on my body and put a hoof on my head. The heat surging from my body made me sweat more.” You can’t go on like this…” Flitter looked into my eyes anxiously.

“Eye’ll go find something for you…”

Flitter got up but I held her hoof,” No… Please don’t leave…”

“But you need medication…” Her tone of voice presents much anxiety and haste.

“I’ll just… sleep it out. Just… just don’t leave…” Flitter looked at me, uneasiness creeping on her face as she let out a little sigh. She laid down on me and caressed my cheek gently. That didn’t help the fact my temperature was shooting up.

Flitter leaned in and gave me a little kiss on my cheek,” If you need anything, I’ll be right here…” She fell beside me, hugging my forearm as she closed her eyes, trying to get some sleep of her own. I glanced up at the ceiling, the hotness from my cheek fading ever-so-slightly. I tried to get some shuteye. I looked at my little friend, who was grasping my hoof possessively.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

That’s all I hear, all I feel. Each pound inside my head sends agony running through my skull. All I want is silence and to be left alone, but the voices in my head surround me. They yell and shout at me… Knowing I will never get away from this hell, I pushed away the pain and tried to ignore it screaming inside.

Sometime in the middle of the night, I could have sworn Flitter left at some point, but I didn’t have the strength to find out, my eyes were too painful and heavy to even open. Gosh I was pathetic.

*** ***

Consciousness came back to me. I was fuzzy, but feeling a little better. My muscles ached and I was tired, but I was able to sit upright. I grabbed my coat and snuggled with it, cold sweat was dripping from my forehead, I shivered. Flitter was gone, I scanned the basement. It was still quite dark; my eyes were adjusting to the darkness when I heard the door opening. Light poured into the dark room as hoof-steps clopped down the stairs.

“Hai, you feeling better?” Flitter chimed in. Another pony appeared beside her, her coat was white and her mane was a pale pink. She had saddlebags strapped onto her torso. She gave me a little hoof-wave.

“Flitter, come here.” I pulled my pistol out from under the pillow and raised it up slightly.

“Eve. Put that down…” Flitter restrained my gun-wielding hoof.

The white earth-pony looked at us sweetly,” That’s cute, looking out for your daughter like that.” I think she’s talking to me.

Flitter gave me a ‘do-I-look-that-old?’ face,” She’s not my daughter; we’re about the same age actually.”

“Oh, apologies. I’m Candice. You alright?” I nodded slightly and waved.

“Sorry… Eye sneaked out late in the night to try find medicine for you… And eye got into sum trouble, and Candice kinda saved me…”

“Yeah. Flitter told me that you’re sick, I gave her some medicine.”

“Thank you…” I laid back on the soft pillow.

“Here… eye bought you some beta-blockers.“ Flitter got out a bottle of what seemed to be pills.

“Beta what?”

“Oh… Sorry. Um… Ibuprofen! Yeah, that.” Flitter rolled her eyes upwards for a second and placed two pills on my hoof. “Hang on…” She started digging in her bag.

“So… I saw that jeep of yours. Flitter told me you need fuel, right?” Candice began.

“Yeah…” Flitter got out a bottle of water and handed it to me. “That sewer water?” I quipped.

“…No! It hasn’t been opened yet.”

I quickly downed the pills and water.

“We’ve got a settlement to the north of the town. You could trade with us… for fuel and… other stuff.” Sounds good.

“Alright, Lemme get my stuff.” I pushed myself off the floor and grabbed my holsters. I strapped them on and slotted my pistol inside.

“Aah-chu~” Flitter sneezed.

“You'll need the coat.” I went over and put my coat on Flitter.

“Ah’m sorry. It was cold in the night.” She smiled meekly.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

---

Flitter removed the sound trap,” These may still be useful.” She showed Candice the contents of the pail and she nodded. I lifted the shutters, embracing the warm sunlight from the outside. I really missed the sun.

I got in the jeep and waited for Flitter and Candice to get in.” So… north of the town?”

“Yeah, we have barbed fences around the perimeter, you can’t miss it.” Candice got in the back seat and leaned forwards.

We drove out of the garage and onto the road. I took a left, back down the road where we first entered the town. I took a clearer look at the buildings; I turned the corner, the motel sliding past on the left.

“Go towards the fire station, we use that as a watch tower.”

“How many survivors are there in the settlement?” I casually asked.

“Hmm… Less than a hundred. But we got everything running fine.”

I continued down the streets, the fire station towering in plain sight. It was the tallest building in the vicinity. Most of the small houses and buildings were leveled, leaving the grid a scrappy skeletal mess of bricks and debris. Vehicles littered the roads, covered in rust and overgrowth. Vast mountains transcended beyond the horizon and grey clouds rolled by swiftly.

“Eye really miss mai ice cream.” Flitter glanced at a wrecked ice cream truck, which had burrowed itself in a supermarket.

“I can make some for you, if I had the right stuff.”

“Oh yeah. You’re a unicorn. You can freeze stuff.” Flitter rolled up her eyes, pointing out.

”Candice, so how’s your settlement doing in terms of… Y’know, infected… bandits… Um… Defense wise?” I turned to the white pony.

“The place’s not mine.” She chuckled. “My dad runs the place, and we have watch towers all around the perimeter. So I’ll say it’s pretty good. We’ve been staying there about half a month now.”

Candice put both her hooves on the shoulder of the front seats,” You could come live with us, I mean, we could use more friends and allies.”

“I’d love to, but… We er… Have some business somewhere else.” I stared at Flitter and she stared back.

“It’s okay.” Her tone showed signs of disappointment, but she remained pretty chill.

---

We stopped at a steel gate, a guard pony on the reinforced watch tower looked over at us through his sunglasses; he huffed and pulled a lever.

The steel gate slid to the side with an electrical hiss, revealing a small plaza filled with ponies going about their daily routines.

That’s awfully close to the outside.

I stopped the jeep in a parking lot; the markings on the ground were faded and or covered with foliage. I parked it in the middle of two other vehicles. We got out of the jeep and immediately afterwards, two fillies and a colt ran up to Candice and hugged her hoof. I stared at Flitter, who was pulling the sleeve of the coat up. She looked at her hooves and turned to me.

“Wat?” She sniffed and looked at Candice, who was trying to get the kids to go back to their parents. I gazed at the busy plaza; there was a bakery, general stores and couple of vendors selling a variety of items.

“What do we use to buy stuff?” I just realized we have no money, back in the Districts; we used ration cards and old money to purchase items.

“Anything. You could trade items with items… Or ration cards and coins and anything valuable really.” I knew it. I shouldn’t have left my cards behind.

“Eye has a few of those cards.” Flitter hovered out a stack of ration cards, rubber banded together.

A few.

“That’s a lot. How did you get them?” My eyes went wide at the sight of the stack. Talk about a fortune.

“Eye… kinda took most of them…” Flitter held the stack of cards on her hoof.”…But it’s not like ‘they’ needed it anymore…”

I got it.

“Feel free to buy anything. Meet me in the offices when you’re done.” Candice pointed to the gun store further down the plaza. Flitter nudged me on the shoulder and trotted towards the general store, the stack of ration cards held between her teeth. I followed her inside and took a glance around the shelves.

“Good mornin’, little filly, take a look around If you will.” The shopkeeper waved at Flitter, who froze on the spot, trembling with rage.

“EYE’M. NOT. A FILLY!” She spat out the cards and shook her hoof. I pulled her away and lifted the stack of cards up before she tries to punch the shopkeeper’s face in. I’m kinda glad I didn’t tell her how I mistook her for a filly when I first met her. Luckily there wasn’t anypony else in the store.

“Don’t worry! She’s just a little jumpy today!” I called out to the shopkeeper as I dragged Flitter to the corner of the shop. He shot us a comical look and went back with his business.

“Do eye really look like a filly?” She sat on the floor as I pushed the cards in her hoof.

“Yes… Wait, I mean no.” I covered my mouth. I totally screwed that up.

“Eye’m nineteen…” Flitter whispered in dismay. “Candice said eye looked like your daughter…”

“She’s just joking! C’mon, I’m nineteen too. Let’s see what we can purchase.”

“Oh! That’s good.” Flitter rolled her eyes up again. Such a cute little expression, gets me every time.

---

There were many useful items to be sold; among some are nails, pipes, and other tools. Nothing interested me in any way. Flitter hopped up beside me, with a cute little switch knife hovering beside her. Wait. Did I just call the knife cute? That was weird.

“Eye feels this might be better than the golf club.” She gave me a cheerful look.” Eye’m gonna sell the club.”

Wait, wait, wait.

“You’re gonna sell that… that branded golf club?” I asked in shock.

“It’s not like it’s mine anyway.” Flitter said sheepishly.” It’s too big and bulky for me.” Well, big and bulky isn’t really an excuse as pose to smashing a raider with thousands of bits of expensive gold goodness to their skull.

Flitter jumped up to the counter with the knife and gold club. She stared at the shopkeeper for the entirety of the transaction as he calculated the amount.

“I can charge you for less nice lady!” He had a terrified look on his face and was frantically pushing some ration cards on the counter.

“Thank you, random pony.” Flitter said flatly as she took the knife and her change. I couldn’t control myself anymore; I cracked up and trotted out of the entrance. Oh dear Celestia. Kill me.

“What a peculiar couple.” I could hear the shopkeeper mutter. I cracked up even more. Must've been the effects of the pills I took. Oh Celestia. Make it stop.

“Y’okay?” Flitter waved at my face. Tears were streaming down my face, I rolled on the ground. Oh crap, now everypony’s gonna think I’m insane.

Flitter rolled her eyes.” Did ch’you overdose on Nitrous Oxide or something?”

“Nitrous. Vroom Vroom!” Oh dear. I’ve really gone mad.

Flitter facehoofed.

“Alri- Alright… I’ll stop.” I got up on my wobbly hooves and pushed Flitter along,” let’s go… see Candice at the office.” My eyes were blurry with tears but I wiped them off swiftly.

---

“Hey! It’s good to see you two again.” Candice waved as she trotted over to a stallion sitting behind a desk.” This is my dad, he runs this place.”

I glanced around the office and back to the brown coated stallion,” Hello, Candice’s dad!” Flitter greeted. I glared at her.

“My daughter told me about you two. I really admire your companionship.” What did I do now?

“… Please make yourselves at home! This place is always welcomed for you.” He said jovially.” I ‘erd you need fuel for your trip down the region. Candice, show them in the armory. You’ll find useful supplies that’ll help you.”

Hell yeah.

Candice led us through a metal door into a room with ‘Armory’ labeled on the wall beside it. There were weapon racks filled with rifles and shotguns on the side of the room, workbenches and tool boxes on the other. There were crates filled with small firearms and ammunition all over the place.

“Restock on your ammunition here… I’ll meet you out back.” She waved at us before bouncing out of the back door.

I opened a green crate marked ammunition on the side. I flipped the lid, there was indeed ammunition in there.” Here, take these.” I tossed some magazines at Flitter as one got lodged within her flowing mane. She cocked her head to one side, trying to shake it off.

“Really?” Flitter muffled as her pale-opal mane fell on her face. She blew it up but it only managed to stay for a second before flopping down on her face again.

“I’d leave you to it.” I giggled, grabbing not more than twenty cartridges for my rifle off the compartments. I also reloaded the Five-seven with a fresh magazine.

“Let’s go see Candice out back.” I pulled Flitter out of the armory. We were in a small courtyard, I could see Candice hauling back
two jerry cans, full of petrol, I assume.

“Here is your fuel. Be sure to visit us when you have time.” Candice lowered the jerry cans, both strapped on a harness.

“That free?” I stared at her.

“No… of course not…” Aw… Nothing comes free these days, right?

“…I can give you a discount cos’ I like you both.” She lowered her head for a moment before looking back to us,” two cards? Yeah, that sounds good.”

Not a problem.

---

“You gotta… trim that long mane of yours… It’s not… very safe.” I told Flitter as she strolled beside me while I lugged the two heavy canisters to our vehicle.

“It’ll be fine.” She dusted off my words and got in the passenger seat. I sighed.

I took a few minutes to refill the tank while Flitter played with her knife; I was contemplating on where to head next on our road trip, hopefully someplace nice like this.

“Where are we headed?” Flitter sighed softly and looked towards me.

“We could um… probably cut through Ponyville… Through the White-Tail Woods, then we’ll be there.”

“Ponyville isn’t exactly close.”

“We’ll get there, hang tight.” I started the engine and stepped on the pedal.

---

We drove out of the outpost.

It was a nice, civilized place, unlike the places we’ve been. I think I’ll miss it.

I set a path for the highway.

Flitter got out a map from her bags. That’s really useful. Way to go. It will seem that she had all sorts of things in her bags.

“Three hundred miles to Raneigh…” She muttered, staring intently at the map.

“Wait, the map tells you that?” I looked at Flitter, her face half-buried behind the map.

With her face still behind the map, Flitter stretched a hoof in the air and said in an annoyed tone,” You went past a road-sign.” Oh, I guess I wasn’t paying attention.

“It’s going to be awhile then.”

“Yeah,” Flitter put down the map and stared blankly at the woods passing by us.

Then back at me,” Y’know what, I’m kinda bored.”

“Have a little read then,” I pulled out the piece of paper I’d torn from the Manehatten Labs and gave it to Flitter.” Tell me more about the parasite; I’d like to hear from an expert.”

“You don’t have to give me this if you want to hear from me.” Flitter stuffed the paper back in my bags.

“Basically…” Flitter began. Yay, story time.” Eye has no idea-“ Wait what?

“Just kidding,” She beamed at me.

“Dafuq. Look, I’m not a chemist like you, but I've always wanted to learn about these kinds of stuff.”

“Bio-chemist you mean? And eye don’t expect ch’you to understand most of what eye’m saying.” Flitter gave me a whimsical look. Great, I’m in a car with a science freak, a cute little science freak. I should have known better.

“Please continue.”

“Dis pathogen is a parasitic fungi, which had mutated due to excessive exposure to something… eye’m not so sure about what it is, but it is something…” Those things, especially the nests, do look like mushroom farms; I guess that’s a thing.

“…The parasite attacks the host’s brain, ponies infected show signs of hyper-aggression and they can spread the parasite through bites…” Well no shit.

Flitter looked down on her hooves, silent.

“It’s scary. It’s like we lose control of our body, but we know it… it’s just… frightening.” I remarked.

“Yeah, it is…” Flitter whispered.

“Try to get some sleep; you’ve been staying up all night.”

“But eye’m not even tired.” She whined, leaning on her hoof and glancing out in the distance. “Why don’t ch’you tell me more about yourself? We haven’t really… Y’know…”

I let out a sigh,” There’s nothing special about me, I’m just like you, trying to survive and do something good as much as we could.”

“No, eye mean like… before this, how did you get this far?” Flitter put the seat down and laid back, facing me.

“I um… I’ve actually been outside for about a year and a half since the outbreak… then I decided to take it easy. A friend brought me into the QZ in Vanhoover and I’ve been doing little supply runs. I thought we were safe… with four high walls around us and heavy military protection. But that’s not how it went, many ponies snuck out and many got infected… There were public executions almost every day.”

“So you decided to run away?”

“Yeah… something like that.” I nudged Flitter,” how about you?”

“It’s best we don’t talk about it.” She uttered with utmost finality.

“It can’t be that bad…”

Flitter’s eyes were full of despair and frustration,” …Everypony that eye’ve met had either died or turned into one of those things. Everypony – everypony except for you!”

My eyes went wide, startled.” I…”

“…Eye don’t want to be a burden to you, to be honest, eye have no idea how eye’d manage to survive all this time-“She paused.

“I’m sorry for your losses, but- I believe everything happens for a reason-”

“…Eye try… not to get too attached with anypony eye travel with, because eye know… eye know that it won’t last long- But ah can’t help it with you because the truth is eye’ll just get more scared… Eye feel… safer with you, you’re different, I just know it…”

“I’m not like them. Trust me, I promise I’ll look after myself… and you.” Flitter looked at me and gave me a warm smile, tears trickling down her face. “Please don’t cry… You’ll make me sappy and then I’ll cry and we’ll both be a crying wet mess.”

“Thank you Eve. Eye’m sorry I had to be that sensitive.” Flitter leaned forwards, wiping off her tears on her hoof.

“It’s okay, don’t think too much, and get some sleep okay? I’ll wake you when we’re there.”

*** ***

It was a long journey to Raleigh. About two hundred miles in, the forest slowly faded into lush and arid wastelands, and back to alpine forests once more, we passed by occasional abandoned vehicles. It was peaceful out here; no bandits, no infected, just the cool breeze and the serenity of the forest. Flitter had fallen asleep and was lying on her hoof, her fringe covering her face slightly. She looks so innocent, bless her.

---

Oh shit. I slammed my hooves on the brakes and softly pushed the accelerator.

“Huh? Whoa, easy-” Flitter rubbed her eyes and looked ahead. There was a checkpoint with guards up ahead and they were looking right at us, guns lifted slightly. It was fenced off completely with a sliding steel gate our only way through. The sign on the fence said ‘Camarillo Up Ahead’ in big white letters.

“Take it easy…” I muttered to myself as I slowly drove on.

“Wait… that logo. It belongs to the Orient.” Flitter pointed at emblem on one of the armored vans. Great. We can’t back off, that’ll sure to raise suspicion.

“Eye has an idea.” Flitter rummaged through her bag and pulled out an- ID? “They’ll let us through if they know eye’m a scientist.”

She gave me a little wink.

“What about me?”

“You can be mai bodyguard.” Flitter denoted. That’s actually a great idea. I got out my job ID card.

“CSFV? You are a bodyguard?” Flitter sounded almost surprised and she stared at me. I knew she was thinking what I was thinking. Perhaps it was meant to be.

Perhaps.

“Halt! Identification please.” The guard donning a armored barding ordered. At least he said please. We gave him our IDs and he went over to his friend, looking intently at them. He glanced at us every once in a while, checking if our faces match, probably.

“Do you have business here?”

“No, we’re just passing through.” I answered.

“Well, anyhow. Dr. Flitter, right? You know the drill; get out of the vehicle, both of you.” He returned our IDs and beckoned us out.

“I prefer professor, smart face.” I heard Flitter whisper.

We stood beside each other as the guard pushed a scanner to my neck.

“Hold still.” He grunted. I froze, cold sweat dripping down my forehead.

“Clear.” He proceeded to Flitter.

“Eh?” The guard had a hard look on his face. I looked at Flitter, who was staring at me with an I-don’t-know-anything-about-this face.

Oh no, I thought to myself.

“Sorry. Scanner’s out of batts.” He went over to his colleague, laughing slightly. I wanted to punch him so hard.

He returned with a brand new scanner and scanned Flitter.

“Alright, it’s fine. Go on through.” He signaled for the gate to open.

We drove on into the town of Camarillo. And into Orient territory. The looming Mt. Kinsky on the right overshadowed the small town. Right as we entered the town, two armored Humvees rolled past us, the gunners gave us admonishing looks as I tried to avoid eye contact. There was an absurd amount of guards patrolling both the streets and rooftops. A convoy of jeeps and a military truck was just leaving a bus depot; several LAVs were parked alongside some jeeps similar to the one we are in. This is more of a military stronghold than anything else. There was one building more heavily guarded than any other, a conventional radio tower had been installed on the roof, flickering lights dotted the tower.

“Hold on!” I heard a commanding voice call out to us. I stopped the vehicle to let a semi-truck with a massive container attached to its back pass through the street.

“Hey.” A pale white Pegasus leaned on my side of the door. “You look familiar…” She stared at me intently, pondering deeply. I stared back, going a little cross-eyed as I did.

“Sorry, I don’t recognize you.”

“Sure you don’t.” She smirked. “I know who you are…” That’s really creepy.

“… Alright! Go on through.” The random white pegasus yelled out. Flitter was giving me a comical look as I drove on.

“Who’s that? Your secret admirer?” Flitter whispered in my ear.

“Wha- No! I don’t even know her!” I felt my face flushing with hotness. “Maybe I do, but…”

“…Hmm?” Flitter leaned closer to me, anticipating my answer.

“Nothing.”

“Wha-“Flitter jumped back, sounding shocked beyond her words. “-That’s it? What’s wrong with you!?” She cried.

“I don’t know her!” I insisted.

“That’s sad… She must feel… so depressed knowing that her crush doesn’t even recognize her…” Flitter cried shamly. I rolled my eyes, hooves trembling with the urge to punch myself. I smiled widely at Flitter and put up my hoof inches from her face as I steered with the other.

“Okay. Okay, Eye’ll stop.” I think she got my message. I put down my hoof, still grinning at her like a madpony. Flitter wiped off the bead of sweat on her forehead and laid back with a relieving sigh. It was about a ten minutes’ drive out of Camarillo, I purposely took my time to get a good portrayal of the layout of the place should that come in useful later.

Flitter yawned and searched her bags for something,” Hey, you should have this.” She pushed a vivid-blue colored scarf in my hoof.

“My sister gave it to me, but eye think it suits you better.”

“Thank you, but it’s a gift from your sister. I shouldn’t take it.” I pushed the scarf back.

“Come oooon-“ Flitter whinnied, wrapping the scarf around my neck.

“Hey! I’m driving here!”

*** ***

“It really suits you.” Flitter stuck out her tongue, giving me a cute face. I can’t lie, it really does.

“But it’s spring, I wouldn’t need a scarf.”

“Ugh… Jussst weeeaar it…” Flitter groaned.

“You look really adorable when you’re frustrated.” I blurted.

“Really? You really think so…?” Flitter blushed, staring at me charmingly.” …Wait- You’re doing that on purpose?!” Her face immediately became cold. Oops, I think I’m done for.

---

BLEM! FWIP!

I heard several gunshots impacting the back of the jeep. I swerved to the left; my eyes sparkling as I glanced at the side-mirror, the reflection glaring right into my retina as I caught sight of a pick-up truck turning from the forest and onto the road. I had to do something fast.

“Take the wheel!” I pulled Flitter over to the driver’s side as I clambered out of the windowless door, swinging myself to the back seats. There were only doors on the front side of the jeep, so swiveling myself to the back was a piece of cake.

“B…But eye don’t know how!” Flitter grabbed the wheel with both her forehooves and stared blankly at the dashboard.

“Just keep your hooves on the accelerator and you’re good!” I yelled, unslinging my hunting rifle from my back. A few shots rang out, clattering on the steel frames and one puncturing the back seat.

“Eye got this. Eye got this…” Flitter leaned to the front, eyes flaring with determination as she took control of the vehicle.

I lifted the rifle and fired a shot. The bullet smashed right through the windscreen, leaving an obvious hole in the corner. My hooves shook from the recoil. Damn! First time firing the rifle and I already love it, it was powerful. I quickly pulled the bolt and stuffed another round into the chamber.

BLEM!

I fired another round, this time punching through the bonnet. The shooter popped his head out from the back of the truck and fired two shots at us. One of the shots managed to pierce through the windscreen, cracking it.

“Eve! Eye can’t see!” Flitter screamed, leaning her head out of the jeep.

“Punch out the glass!” Flitter nodded and lunged forward, the vehicle shook and jerked violently as I tried to regain my footing.

“Eye can’t!” Flitter bopped the windscreen, the glass remained intact.

“Shoot it!” I ducked as a bullet whizzed past my head.

BAM! BAM! BAM! CLANK!

Flitter fired three shots on the windscreen and it collapsed immediately into a million pieces, filling the dashboard and the seat with shattered glass. I switched my focus on the attacking truck.

Putting down the rifle, I switched to my smaller pistol. I reckon quantity over quality in this case was the best. I aimed for the driver.

“Eve! Sharp turn coming!” Flitter shrieked.

The warning came later than I could react.

“Turn where-?” My voice was lost in the wind as the jeep suddenly swerved to the right, throwing me to the left of the vehicle. Half of my body was hanging out of the vehicle as I stretched my hoof to grab the pistol which had fallen into the seats somewhere while holding on to the metal frame with my other hoof. Doors would have been helpful at this point.

“Cowards! Come face us if you dare!” I could hear laughter from the truck. If they want a fight, I’ll give them a fight.
I finally got hold of the pistol and took aim once more. I focused all my magic on the trigger and spammed the trigger.

BAMBAMBAMBAMBAM-!

I lost count of bullets I’d fired.

Most of the rounds punched through the bonnet, some splintering on the frame of the vehicle. The truck sputtered, smoke seeping through the numerous holes in the bonnet. The tires in the front punctured shortly after and the truck skidded sideways before smashing an ice-cream truck on the side of the road. That truck won’t be getting back on the road anytime soon.

I climbed onto the passenger seat through the middle of the jeep, plopping myself on the glass-laden seat with a crunch.

“That’s sounds painful.” Flitter cringed.

“Huh?” I lifted myself from the seat, pieces of glass sticking onto my flank and fur. “Oh shi-“

---

I swept the glass from the seat and dashboard.

“Ah~ what a delightful afternoon.” I put my hooves behind my head and closed my eyes, letting the warmth of the sunlight soak in.

Flitter was not amused.” You’re lettin’ me drive?”

“Yeah, it’s not as hard as it looks? Right?” I smirked.

“It’s gonna be hard when eye crash.” Flitter smiled lewdly.

“Something else is gonna be hard if you crash.” I put my hoof up to her face, an evil smile creeping up mine.

“What’s that?” Flitter looked at me, totally oblivious.

“My hoof.”

“Oh.”

Well that wasn’t the response I’m expecting. But at least I got to rest for a while.

“Y’know what? This isn’t that bad, cruising down the highway, just the two of us, ruling the world…” Flitter blabbered.

“I’m not so sure about the last bit.”

“Maybe not, but that’s Raneigh up ahead.” Flitter pointed to the distance. I stood up on the seat, holding on to the metal frames of the jeep. My mane blew in the wind, flapping on my face. Raneigh was a maze of skeletal buildings lying amongst towering mountains that surround the boundaries. Nature had taken over the artificial landmarks that were once a teeming with ponies. The small city stood in a hue of green and rusted metal, desolated and dead.

*** ***

Capitol Beltline expressway.

Flitter pulled up on the overpass expressway, part of the roads had collapsed, leaving tons of asphalt on the road below and a massive gaping hole. Miles upon miles of wrecked vehicles lay on the freeway and boulevard. We can’t turn down the freeway nor go ahead, we had to back up.

I stood up and looked back where we came from. It was barren except for the overgrowth creeping slowly from the side of the concrete barriers. The distant buildings were covered in mild fog from the intense heat of the sun. We had to cut through the main square in order to get back on the other side of the beltline, which would lead us out of the city and onto the highway once more. Going through the main square means direct contact with the infected crowd or possibly more raiders, but we haven’t had much of a choice.

“Back up.”

Flitter nodded and pulled the hoofbrake, putting the vehicle in reverse. She spun the jeep around and gave me a little smile before shifting the gear, flooring the pedal as she did. The jeep did a sudden lurch and we were on our way, again.

---

We turned from an underpass and into a boulevard.

Flitter stopped the jeep about a hundred or so meters from a three-way street, her ears perked up.

“Why’d you stop-?”

“Shhh-“Flitter held up. I could hear muffled gunshots and shouts evidently coming closer towards us. Sure enough, several ponies were running from what seemed to be the infected, firing and yelling as they did.

“Let’s wait for them to pass.”

“Exactly what eye’m doing, mam’.” Flitter did a little salute, brushing her fringe aside.

BOOM!

An explosion rang out, blasting out a chunk of a shophouse in the corner of the street and spilling bricks and debris onto the road. The blast sent a gentle shockwave through the ground. A few ponies sprung out from the shophouse and began shooting across the street.

“Floor it, now!” I poked Flitter on her wing, eyes still fixated at the firefight ahead. The jeep reared up and hurtled forward, wheels screeching and sliding on the cracked road. We were bolting right towards an apartment building. Uh oh.

Flitter let out a silent groan and yanked the wheel to the right, smashing a hoof on the brakes. The jeep skidded on all four wheels and veered to the right, clipping on some debris left by the explosion and just barely making the turn. Raiders were dodging left and right, diving out of the way of an oncoming vehicle.

“Straggler!” A voice followed by gunshots rang out.

“Oh shit! Watch out!” I yelled, the jeep sideswiped onto the side of a bus, throwing me off balance for a moment, but it kept on the road.

“The wheels are jammed!” Flitter frantically jerked the steering wheel, the jeep still skidding perilously.

“Get down!” I shielded Flitter with my body as the jeep smashed into the entrance of a shophouse, wedging itself between the counter and some shelves.

I blacked-out for a second before Flitter jolted me back into consciousness.

“Get out, quick…” I clumsily pushed myself out of the door. Gunshots were still echoing throughout the block, firing at us and the infected that got attracted to all the commotion. I caught sight of a raider with a pipe galloping towards Flitter. I pulled out my gun and fired two shots at him, one piercing through his flank and the other missing him completely. He fell on the floor, screaming in pain.

I aimed down the sights and squeezed the trigger again but alas, I felt a hard metal pipe across my face, I stumbled and dropped my pistol, that hurt more than I thought it would, my head pounded and my vision blurred.

I felt a strong tug and the next thing I knew, a raider was dragging me across the floor, throwing me onto a window sill and pinning me down with her hooves, trying to strangulate me. I was struggling to stay conscious, staring into my attacker’s eyes; I kicked her in the groin and slued to the right, regaining my footing as I pushed her onto the sill. I punched her in the face and slammed the window sash on her throat. She lay there, grabbing her neck and sputtering. I shook my head, trying to bring clarity to my vision.

“Eve, help!” Flitter screamed.

I quickly rushed to her aid, swooping the pistol from the floor in haste.

BANG! BANG!

My pistol was sharp and shrill, punching straight through an infected pony, shredding its head, blood and gore splattered on the counter. I could see both infected and raiders scurrying towards us, the raiders were shooting at both the infected and us. I quickly pulled Flitter onto her hooves and pushed her out of the back door, into a half flooded street.

“Go, go!” I hopped onto a half-sunken truck, Flitter fluttering in the air.

“Boost me.” I set my sights on a huge broken window with golden carvings on the sills and borders. It must belong to a fancy place. It was about a five meter jump. I wouldn’t want to fall into the green, moldy and filthy waters that have been there for years.
I took a running start and leapt from the edge. Flitter swooped down and caught my hooves mid-air, flinging me towards the window almost immediately.

CLANK!

I crashed through the fragile grids and rolled into a lobby of some sort. The soft carpet softened my landing. Flitter flew in after me, a cautious look on her face.

“Teamwork!” Flitter held up a hoof, landing beside me.

“Nice job.” I completed her high-hoof.

I glanced around the lobby. The layout was terribly similar to the hotel back in New Saddle; same joint maybe? No, it’s not. The faded engravings on the reception counter spelled: Cheraton Hotel. It sounded like a famous hotel, with its fancy decorations and paintings on the walls, all torn apart and vandalized with spray paint and blood. It was in utter disrepair. Vines and ferns dangled from the skylight, climbers and weeds grew on the walls and through the cracks on the smooth marble flooring, beneath the carpet. There was a pillar completely torn off its foundations and the grand staircase had caved in in several parts.

“Eye could imagine this place filled with ponies, happy ponies. Well… that was like a thing of the past now, isn’t it...?” Flitter spoke in a deep silent tone. I took off the scarf and stuffed it in my bags, I don’t want it to get stained.

“I’m sure there’s someplace nice like this once used to be, ponies are always adapting. We’ll get there.” I wiped the blood stain off of Flitter’s mane, which had congealed a little.

“Nice drivin’ back there. Y’sure know how to drift, do you?” I casually asked.

“Eye’ve seen it in movies, but that wasn’t exactly the best drift…” Flitter cringed as I tried to pull the coagulated blood from her hair.

“You did your best, now…” I put a hoof on her shoulder and turned towards the grand staircase.” …We could cut through the city and walk to Cantersboro, then I… uh… ‘unno.” I shrugged. We’re really out of plans, especially without a vehicle.

“Alright… eye'll be right behind you.” Flitter flew up, scanning the area. I put a hoof up the steps of the grand stairs, it creaked and dust poured from the cracks. The path to the second lobby level had collapsed.

“You think you could lift me up there?” I turned to Flitter, who was staring at a painting of a skyline of a city.

“Yeah, sure.” She slowly grabbed my forehooves and I found myself floating in the air. Holy crap. With a heave, Flitter plopped me down onto the second level; I felt my hooves quivering before giving way as I fell face first onto the carpet. Flitter winced a little before giggling.

“Need a little help?” She offered.

“Nrrgh uh.” I spat, scurrying to my hooves.

There was a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, rusted and scratched. It looked pretty out of place amongst all the broken debris. There was a flight of stairs, presumably leading up to the hotel level. The wall in the corner had its concrete blown away, exposing the steel supports that has twisted and rusted over the years. I treaded carefully on the wooden steps and up to the second floor. We reached a lift lobby. The wallpaper on the walls had been torn off, the paint fading from age. There was a window to the right, which had been boarded up with planks. A potted plant in the corner had grown out of proportion, tangling with the walls and the window, trying to reach the sunlight. I turned into the hallway to the left, clambering over a few toppled drawers lying in the path. There were pieces of trash all over the floor. Plastic bottles and paper were strewn all over. The lamp shade had come off the wall; mold had invaded the sofa backed up on the wall.

“Hey, you heard that? Looked like patrol five had some trouble with infected back in Forth Street.” A gruff voice called out from the central hallway.

“Oh shit- Get down.” I ducked under an overturned sofa sticking out of a doorway.

“Huh, that’s not our problem. Chief had already sent half of us to deal with that shit. We’re to remain here and forage for supplies.” I heard another raider blurt.

“Look on the bright side, Razor. At least it’s not like that crappy museum the last time, fucking infected all over the place.”
This place is filled with raiders, or hunters, would be a more appropriate term. This city is full of them. I slowly trotted down the hallway, keeping myself as close to the wall as possible. I pulled out my gun as I saw a raider appearing from the corner.

BAM!

I felt a bullet as it grazed my shoulder, the wound burnt from the abrasion but it didn’t pierce flesh. I fired two rounds into the central hallway.

“She’s got a gun!” A raider took one look at me and ran down the corridor.

I felt my horn emanating with light as an aura of blue enveloped a wardrobe, toppling it as a cover. Two more shots rang out, cluttering off the wardrobe as I dove behind it. Flitter followed. That was an excellent call.

The raider shouting earlier jumped behind a sofa, he doesn’t have a gun apparently, but his friend does. I crept up from my cover at took two pot-shots at him. One bullet punctured the sofa while the other missed completely, hitting the wall behind him. The raider panicked and tried to run into the hotel room on my far right.

I fired two more shots. This time I didn’t miss, he fell face first onto the floor clumsily. At the same time, another raider was running into the room, she had a pipe between her teeth. I took aim and focused on the moving target.

BAM!

A stray bullet splintered the wardrobe before I could pull the trigger. I stumbled and made a break for a room in my immediate right. I pulled Flitter to the side and pressed my back against a closet, wary of the shooter in the hallway. I took a quick breath.

There was a small television in the middle of the room, sitting atop a dresser beside the doorway leading into the next room. The door was wide open. I cautiously trot through the doorway.

“Careful…” Flitter whispered.

To be honest, I expected that.

The raider with the pipe jumped out of the corner and swung the weapon at me, I dodged to the right, the pipe smashing onto the drawer. She was quick. Recovering swiftly, she swung the pipe back. I dropped into a combat defensive stance, effectively ducking under the metal pipe. I sidestepped to the right, punching my attacker in her gut. She faltered and I pulled the pipe from her hooves, striking her on the side of her face with it. I threw the pipe aside and grabbed her in the neck, pushing her out into the central hallway. My gun pressed against her head.

“You let her go! Drop it!” The shooter emerged from his cover, his gun pointing at his friend, whom I was shielding myself with. Flitter hid behind the doorway.

Screw it. I swiveled the gun and fired a shot at him. My captive jerked and my aim was compromised, the bullet missing horribly.

“Stay- still!” I hissed, my grip around my hostage’s neck tightened. Her friend popped his head out.

BAM!

I got him this time. His head burst, soaking the wallpaper behind him in crimson.

Clank! CLANK!

I knocked out my hostage with the butt of the pistol and dropped her on the floor. She didn’t need to die, however horrible these ponies might be, I haven’t turned into that kind of killer.

BLAM!

Another shot roared through the hallway. I suppressed myself under an overturned dresser. Flitter scooted under an upturned vending machine just beside my cover. ‘Fizzy Cloud Poppers’ the label read. I loved that drink, how I wish I could taste one again. Mmm…

Eve! There are raiders trying to kill you and you’re thinking about soda!?

I got up.

Click!

I felt the trigger going, but it wasn’t firing. Crap, what a horrible time to run out.

“Haha, I got you now! You think you’re smart? Oh so smart.” My shooter heard the click and stood up, feeling confident all of the sudden. He trotted slowly towards me, gun hovering beside him. I quickly looked around, searching for a weapon, but all there was were paper and pieces of broken concrete.

BAM! BAM!

Flitter fired two shots at him, one punching through the side of his torso and the other right in the side of his face. He’s not getting up ever again.

“Thank you… Flitter.” I stepped over his corpse, turning back to wait for Flitter, who was watching her step from the blood and debris on the floor.

“You can have the gun if you like.” Flitter floated the gun beside me.

“Wait. Shh…” I perked up my ears upon hearing shuffling from down the central wing of the floor.” You can keep it.”

I quickly pulled Flitter into a hotel room on the left. She backed herself onto the wall and pulled out her gun.

“Now what?” Flitter looked into my eyes, panting. I held out my hoof, signaling her to hold on. My eyes shot around the room. There was a dresser beside a bed, a few torn books and a broken lamp sat atop. The door into the next room was open.

“Down here, there’re two of them! Keep on your guard!” A voice boomed from the hallway.

“Eye see two of them…” Flitter whispered, leaning slightly out into the hallway.

“Stay back.” I pulled her back into the room.

I slowly crawled through the door into the next room when I heard the door leading from the corridor to said room coming down. Crap! I dived backwards and scurried behind the television cabinet. Hoofsteps were getting closer and closer. I shifted my sights to Flitter, still backing on a wall. I gave a silent countdown: one, two, three…

I jumped out of cover and grabbed whatever the pony was holding in his hooves, pushing him into the next room. I realized that it was a shotgun! It went off with a loud bang, splintering the hinges of the door, my ears ringing incessantly. We struggled for the weapon, twisting and trying to pull the gun from each other.

“She’s in here!” The raider turned his head out of the door, calling to his friend. I took the chance and pushed the shotgun away with my left hoof from my imminent demise and punched his face with my right. I spun around, tripping him with my left leg. He fell on the floor and lost grip of the shotgun as I snatched it from him.

I was about to shoot him when I heard Flitter yell,” Eve! Watch out!” From the corner of my eye, another raider charged at me with a metal pipe, a sharp shiv attached to the end glowing menacingly in the sunlight.

He raised the pipe and struck down at me. Instinctively, I swung the shotgun upwards, clipping the shiv attachment with the barrel of my shotgun and quickly sliding under the shaft of the pipe, I spun myself full length and yanked the shotgun to the left. The raider stumbled as I swung the stock of the shotgun, smashing him in the side of his face and knocking him out.

I turned to the previous raider.

“No, please! I don’t wanna die!” He pleaded. I coldcocked him. No need to waste ammo.

“Whoa, you weren’t lying when you said you were a trained bodyguard.” Flitter stepped over their bodies, sounding quite dazzled. I slid the pipe between the straps of my saddlebags.

“Work IDs don’t lie, Flitter. C’mon, let’s go before more of them show up.” I holstered the shotgun and trotted out into the hallway. There was a luggage cart to the right, filled with luggage and bags of all sizes. Cardboard boxes and suitcases littered the hallway. The floor was rugged with torn carpets and pieces of detritus. There was a barrel at the end of the hallway, which split into two different paths. The path on the right was barricaded with luggage carts and wardrobes, the doors had been boarded up and blocked with furniture. ‘Rooms 15-30’ the faded sign on the wall indicated.

There was a lift lobby to the left. There were a couple of vending machines backed on the wall: Sparkly Raspberry and Apple Cola. There were several empty water-cooler type containers lying in front of the machines. The window ahead was broken and the blinds hung from its strings, dangling in the wind.

Flitter went over to the Apple Cola soda machine and tapped on the button.

“Nothing works these days. That would’ve been too easy…” Flitter sighed. I let out a little grunt and walked over to the lifts on the left. One had been blocked by a sofa, the lift door tilted in an awkward angle. The other had been taped off with police tape. That’s there for a reason, I’d reckon.

“C’mon, we’ll cut through from upstairs.” I beckoned Flitter up the stairs on the right. There were cardboard boxes on the steps; a fridge had somehow lodged itself between the stairs leading down.

We reached the third floor and into another lift lobby. It was a similar layout to the previous one, except the vending machines were gone. The hallway into the hotel rooms were blocked off. There was a metal bed frame stacked with sofas and wooden furniture. The ceiling had caved in several sections, making it inaccessible. The gap at the top was too small for Flitter to squeeze through.

“Up the stairs then- Oh.” Flitter took one look at the flight of stairs leading up and covered her mouth. There was a huge cloth draped over the stairs, two closets were backed up against it. It was blocked on purpose, it seems.

“Holy shit, come take a look at this!” A voice shouted from the floor below. Oh no, we had to move now! We can’t go back down either, I ran over to the blockaded hallway and lifted the metal frame with all the strength I could muster.

“Flitter, through here… quick!” I focused all my magical energy and shoved the blockade upwards. Flitter quickly slid through the gap beneath.

Oh fuck! I felt the ceiling giving way, I fell back onto my flank and covered my face as dust and splintered wood crashed onto the blockage.

“Eve! Oh no…” Flitter tried to pull bits of metal from the wrecked mess.

“I heard something upstairs!” Oh crap.

I quickly looked around for a way out. I can’t jump out of window, that’s for sure. Maybe I could go through the elevator.

“Go; meet me on the other side! Go now!” I pulled out the pipe and went over the lift door on the right. Flitter took one last look at me before disappearing down the corridor. I latched the shiv onto the door and twisted the pipe; the door opened slightly as the shiv broke. Luckily I could fit the width of the pipe into the hole. I forcefully yanked the pipe and pushed the door open before squeezing myself through.

“There she is, in the lift!” They were bent on killing me. Several shots impacted the steel door as I dropped the pipe and fell about a two meter drop onto a jammed elevator. The elevator wobbled and shook violently as I hurried myself to my hooves. The police tape was there to probably indicate that the elevator was out of order.

I made a split second choice and jumped into the dark shaft below. I closed my eyes and braced for impact. A three floor jump won’t kill me, right?

Splash!

I landed in deep cold icy water. I trembled as coldness flooded through my coat, piercing my skin with a million needles. I frantically glanced around the dark shaft. The only light there were was from the small opening on a door. I blinked, trying to force my eyes to adjust to the darkness.

“Down there! Shoot the cables!” A raider ordered.

A loud cacophony of gunfire roared throughout the shaft.

CRAAAANK! FLIP!

The lift snapped its cables and flew down the shaft in extreme speed. I thrusted myself backwards, away from the heavy metal lift that would crush me should it fall on me.

SPLASH!

The lift sank swiftly into the water. I held on to the side of the elevator shaft as the raiders peered into the dark abyss.

“Y’think she’s dead?”

“Can’t take the chance, we’ll head down and check.” They disappeared back into the lobby.

I was shivering; cold water dripped from my wet mane and my coat was soaked and heavy. I focused my magic and illuminated the dark with my horn, it faltered slightly as the cold sent chills up my spine.

I caught sight of a maintenance shaft to the side of the shaft. That would be my way out, but it was dark and there could be infected lurking in the shadows. I felt scared and lonely for the first time.

I swam towards the doorway, there was a metal cable blocking the path but I ducked under it and swam into the maintenance room. I felt my hooves touching the surface as I rebalanced my footing. I looked around. There were lockers all over the flipping place and the ventilation ducts had given way. Ferns were growing from the cracks on the ceiling, hanging down like vines. There were a couple of metal shelves on the side of the wall, carrying wooden boxes and crates.

The sign on the top of a doorway further down the room indicated an exit. I paddled towards it. Grabbing the doorway with my hoof, I pushed myself through and into a stairwell. Great, now I could get myself out of this filthy water. I held on to the railing and propelled myself onto the steps, plopping myself on metal stairs, I took a little rest and dried my coat. I panted softly as water dripped from my torso, leaving a puddle where I sat.

“Oh no, Flitter… I have to move.” I pressed myself and achingly shoved myself onto my hooves once more. It looked like I fell pretty far, the label on the wall read: Basement One. Which was upstairs apparently. My hooves made a clanking sound as I trotted up the stairs.

The door up ahead was wide open and spores were leaking into the stairwell. Infected, it can’t be any worse, right? I shook off the water from my gas mask and put it on, poking my head cautiously into the corridor. It was dead silent, except for the eerie ringing in my ears. I squinted down the hallway; there was a metal container and a portable light tower in the middle. I kept myself close to the ground and slowly crawled to the left hallway. There was a double door with an ‘exit’ labeled on top. I slowly stuck my head around the corner of the doorway.

Oh holy shi-

The hallway was filled with hardened fungi and rotten body parts, hanging from the ceiling and walls. Spores were spewing from the long dead corpses that stuck to the walls. The floor was sticky from congealed blood and other disgusting fluids. I had to stop myself from throwing up. There were long tentacle-like cordyceps protruding from the nest. I felt like one of them will reach out and grab me. They wriggle and spores poured from the tips.

I hurried down the corridor and reached the door at the end. I took a long look back and pushed the handle.

Click!

Huh? I turned back, hooves on the handle. I could only see darkness among the sickening nest. I pushed the door, POMF! It was not locked, but stuck on something. I shoved it a couple of times.

“Oh come-“I froze and looked back down the hallway.

CLACK! GRAAW!

Infected. Just great. I hovered out the shotgun and kept it at the ready by my side. I smashed my shoulder against the door but it didn’t budge. I chambered a round in the shotgun and aimed at the lock.

BLAM!

I recoiled as sparks flew in my face. I shouldn’t have shot it point blank, that was pretty dumb. The door burst open and an infected barged through, taking me by surprise and pinning me on the wall. I resisted, blocking her face with my hoof as she bore her teeth, drool and blood dripping everywhere.

“Get off!” I shoved her back, and levitated the shotgun between us. The infected pony wasn’t happy; she screeched and growled at me.

BLAM!

The shell punched through her body, shredding it and splattering blood on my gas mask, tinting it with pale crimson. She flopped onto the floor, dead. I holstered the gun and swiftly galloped through the door before more of them show up.

Thank Celestia there was a stairwell leading upstairs.

I took off the gas mask. The air was clearing up and no signs of spores. Walking through what seemed to be a storage area, I scavenged quickly for any ammunition. I had a crap load for my rifle, but a smaller weapon would suffice for close quarters. There were boxes filled with glass bottles and rotten apples, amongst other vegetables. Kitchen storage, that’s where I am. I picked up a bottle and put it in my bag, I have a feeling it might come in useful.

BAMBAM!!

I fixed on the spot upon hearing shots from the next room. I crept up the door and pressed my ear on it.

“Hey, nicely done.” A voice resounded on the other side.

“Come on, spread out. Let’s not miss any of ‘em, like the last time.”

“What about that tourist from earlier?”

“Keep your eyes open; we’re not lettin’ ‘er escape.” They’re still looking for me. I levitated a bottle on the floor and slowly pushed the door open. There was a huge oven shielding me from their vision, I promptly hid behind it and observed the raiders and the kitchen surroundings. There were boxes all over the floor, stoves and kitchen equipment on one side of the kitchen and shelves holding kitchen utensils and bowls, plates etc. on the other.

I saw a chance to break and scatter them. I unholstered both my rifle and shotgun and softly plopped them on the floor. Grabbing the bottle in my hoof, I focused my magic on a huge metal fridge and a tray.

Crash!

The fridge toppled, almost crushing a raider. I flicked the tray across the kitchen and hurled the bottle in their general direction. They were alarmed, eyes darting around the room searching for their perpetrator.

I swung up the rifle and took aim.

BLEM!

I fired a shot, hitting a raider through his head. Blood showered the metal counters.

“There she is!” A unicorn raider spotted me and quickly pulled out her gun.

BAM!

My shotgun went off, pelting her in the torso, crippling her. I quickly cocked the shotgun and slid a round into my rifle simultaneously. Another pony charged at me with a baseball bat. I fired the shotgun and his body exploded into a pool of blood. I cringed and chambered another round into the shotgun.

“Over here! There she is!” Two more raiders shot into view, hiding behind turned over tables in a dining area. I moved up to the counters with my shotgun hovering over it. I fired the shotgun as he popped his head out of cover. The impact sent him flying across the room, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

I switched to my rifle and took aim. I peered into the scope and waited for my target to expose himself.
“Come out!” I incited, my tail wagging impatiently. The raider let of a roar of fury and stood up, gun pointing at me. Too slow.

BLEM!

The bullet perforated him in the neck as he fell lifeless onto the ground. I slung my rifle and went out into the dining area, shotgun floating beside me. I promptly searched the bodies.

All of them had ammo for a nine millimeter; I collected them and the pistol it was for. I pulled the slide and holstered the gun.

The door in the dining burst open as my eyes met with a raider donned in armored barding. He took one look at the bodies on the floor and glared at me.

“You fucking monster!” He yelled, pulling out a sharp machete and raising it high, ready to stab the shit out of me. I aimed the shotgun at him and his eyes went wide at the sight of the muzzle. The raider dodged to the right, hitting himself on a table as I pulled the trigger.

Clack!

Oh shit! The raider heard that and a smile crept up on his face, rearing up and charging me full speed. I did not have time to pull out my other gun. He swung the machete down at me. I raised the shotgun and blocked his machete-wielding hoof with the barrel; I reeled to the left as I swung the shotgun to the right, his hoof going with it. He lost grip with the machete and it slid into the corner, tripping over his own hoof in the process and stumbling. I pulled the shotgun upwards and smashed him in the chin. He sputtered as I knocked him out with the stock.

I flipped the shotgun over and put it in between the straps of my bag. I should look for ammo for it too; I really liked it, although I’m using it more as a staff than an actual gun. I turned to where the previous raider came from and went through the doors. There’s nothing else here.

I found myself in another lobby; this was a grand looking area. There was a fountain in the middle of the large foyer, made of marble and engraved in gold. This must the main entrance receiving area, which means I’m on the other side of the hotel.

I leaned on the back of a sofa, catching my breath. That’s when I felt a gun pressing on my neck. Just gimme a damn break! I was feeling more frustrated than scared. My restrainer pushed my face onto the hard sofa back, searching through my bags.

“You do know what you’ve fucking done, do you?” A soft feminine voice spoke,” you’ve killed a lot, a lot of my friends.”

“You know what? I could kill you right now… But no, I’ll keep you for myself.” She whispered in my ear. I shivered. Was she going to rape me? What the fuck.

BAM!

I felt a shot whizz past my head. It surely wasn’t from my captor. She looked over at the origin of the shot, also as surprised as I was.

I swung my elbow backwards, knocking her gun-wielding hoof away from my head. The pistol went off, inches from my dome with a loud bang. I turned around and punched her in the face. While she was dazed, I quickly pulled the gun away from her and smacked her across the face with it.

BAM!

I put a bullet in her head.

“Eve? Eye’m so sorry eye missed!” Flitter cried, fluttering towards me. She hugged me tight, trembling.

“It’s okay, hey! Look on the bright side, you made it out. You sorta saved me anyway.” I pulled her in closer.

“What happened? Eye heard like gunshots and a loud bang! And… and…” Flitter blabbered with a terrified look in her eyes.

“I’m okay! C’mon, let’s move. It’s getting’ dark, we ought to find someplace to rest.” I pulled Flitter out of her embrace and set her on the ground, making my way out of the entrance.

“Oh shi-“I caught sight of a watchtower alongside a gantry just in front of us, it read; Raneigh Military Checkpoint: Screening of all citizens is mandatory! In big white letters on a green background. I ducked behind a shell of a car, Flitter huddled close to me.

“It looks pretty abandoned.” Flitter pointed out. Yeah, this city has been overrun by raiders for a long time. I zigzagged along the path of wrecked vehicles and reached the checkpoint gates. It looks pretty clear to me. The gates had been bent in and one had fallen off the huge metal hinges. A huge truck lay in the pathway. It was evident the truck was used to barge through the checkpoint at some point.

The sky turned into a deep blue hue, faint specks of silver decorated the sky. Night is falling soon, we must keep on moving.
We trotted right into the fence-off zone. Most of the booths and dividers had been overrun by thorns and weeds. The checkpoint dividers had collapsed, leaving a maze of metal and barbed wire in our path. A sign had been nailed on the fence: REM; Admissions wait until called to booth.

“It’s strange seeing a checkpoint with no military presence…” Flitter followed me through the winding checkpoint fences.
“There’s more like this, they abandon the zones when they can’t hold it anymore.” I explained, pushing through a gate on the other side. It creaked with the most obnoxious screech ever.

“We can’t rely on the military these days…” Flitter continued, cantering up to me.

“Yeah, we can’t.”

We entered an area which looked like a barracks. There were tents all over the place; there was one with a medical cross on the top and another open tent with beds. That must be the infirmary section.

“Should we search the place?” Flitter tugged on my hoof.

“Hmm? We’ll go through those tents to the front and search them in the meantime.” I pointed ahead, through an open chain-link fence. There were shells of vehicles with their parts removed laying beside the buildings the checkpoint was built around. What a waste, that could’ve been our way out.

I pulled the tent cloth aside and poked my head through. I felt Flitter’s wing brush against my side as I shuddered, feeling a little rustled. She looked at me and smiled sweetly. I looked away. Well, that was awkward.

There were several crates in the corner of the tent, of which one caught my sights. It was a black suitcase-like crate; it felt smooth under my hooves. It was locked, whelp. But that means nopony else had managed to get hold of its contents.

“Flitter, could you help me with this?” I pouted my lips, trying to sound polite.

“What do eye get in return?” She stuck out her tongue playfully, swishing her tail from side to side.

“You can have whatever’s in this crate.”

“Okai.” Flitter pulled out her lockpicking tools and began working on the lock.

Click!

“There you go~” Flitter pushed the crate to me.

“You can have it.” I pushed it back. Flitter looked opened the crate, her eyes staring inside. She pulled out a sleek black automatic rifle and a magazine. I blinked.

“…K two seven four… never heard of it. But it sounds really cool.” She stuck her hoof through the trigger guard and lifted the rifle,”…and light too.”

“It suits your size too.” I casually commented.

“Alright, now where to?” Flitter slung the rifle between her bags and got up.

“This place looks clear; we’ll head up and lodge for the night.” I peeked out of the other side of the tent, glancing up a staircase leading up into the second level. I clambered up the stairs and into a library. There were bookshelves all over the place, some were overturned and others were all piled up in one corner.

“That’s a whole load of books wasted.” Flitter flew over to a shelf and started flipping through the books. I walked over to a café in the side of the huge library. Rain was pelting on the skylight, making a soft ‘tap tap’ sound.

“Hey, so this is like some sort of lounge, right? Looks like a nice place.” Flitter hovered beside me, reading a book she collected from a shelf.

“Fifty shades of- You read that kind of books?” I gave Flitter a disgusted look as I saw what she was reading.

“‘Unno, eye hasn’t got a chance to read it yet. It has some interesting content, eye heard.” She kept it in her bag,” eye’ll save it for later.”

I stared at her, my face shuddering from the dirty thoughts that flooded my mind.

“Okay… let’s head on to the apartments and find a room.” I cantered out of the lounge, trying not to daydream about these lewd fantasies. Flitter doesn’t look the innocent kind, now that I think of it.

We entered an apartment at the end of the corridor and I shut the door after Flitter, shoving a drawer to block it. The downpour escalated, shrouding the window with droplets of rain like a small river. I patted a large sofa, dusting off the filthy lint. I took off my bags and holsters and hopped onto the sofa, laying on it sleepily.

“Er… what about me?” Flitter trotted over, glancing out of the window and back at me.

I looked at her with listless eyes and waved,” C’mon, you can lie beside me.”

“I…”

“Don’t be shy, C’mere.”

Flitter smiled and took off her bags, along with the coat, placing them beside mine. She climbed onto the sofa and snuggled beside me. She buried her face in my chest as my heart palpitated rapidly. I held her close and caressed her wing, pulling it gently like a blanket over my body.

“Eve… I…” Flitter whispered mildly and returned the embrace, huddling tight.

“…Goodnight…”

“Goodnight Flitter…” I drifted off into a deep peaceful slumber.