Mama, I write this as they come for me

by joe mother

Hoards of the sick

Author's Note:

TOOK FOREVER. LITERALLY SINCE THE 1ST OF SEPTEMBER I AM SORRY.

*The beginning chapter is a monologue, and I've removed the quotations so I don't have to replace them every time I start a new paragraph. ~~~~~ will denote the shift from monologue to actions and quotations.

~~~~~

Hello. This is Silent Night reporting from the field. I am transmitting via link crystal. Anyone there?

Damn it, static. I'll keep talking in case someone picks up.

I'm approaching the site, and I can already hear the noise. It's grating and damn horrible. It's this moan full of blood and pus, and it just goes straight into your head. I can imagine that a lot of ponies have died from this. Really, I don't know what to think about all of this. I can only see that it's a miracle we've survived this long without the military.

Speaking of the military, I saw a few camped out near our site when I left. They didn't seem to be looking for anypony, but they may find you. Stay on guard.

I've crawled out into the site now. I can see them all the way across the field. They're eating dozens of bodies. Something big happened here, and it looks like they lost. I can see somepony running away.

Holy shit. Two just broke off from the group to chase him. They're fast. Too fast. Being slow was supposed to be their weak point, but there's some outrunning this stallion. He's coming closer to me and I can see that he's in the army.

That means this entire war zone was the army. They all died. Maybe the ones camping out were survivors. You guys should start moving out.

Fuck. They caught the stallion and ripped his limbs off. They didn't even put any effort into it, they just took 'em off. I'm gonna move somewhere else now. I can't risk being spotted by those things. They're eyes are horrible, worse than the normal ones. The sockets are empty and are oozing blood and parts of their brain.

I've gotten at least fifty yards away. I can still hear them crying out from the field, but it's not so bad anymore. I found a patch of dried blood; looked like somepony met an unfortunate fate there. There are flesh pieces scattered near it, but there's a trail of crushed bushes leading to the field.

How are these things even alive? If they're losing all this blood and literally having their brain fall apart, how can they keep moving and eating? Is it a parasite or something? I know we've been told it's a virus, but no virus makes a dead pony walk on after death.

I heard something. It came from behind me.

I've investigated and there was an infected one eating a corpse at the army campout. Now I'm worried. Are you guys there at base? Are you alive? Did you run?

I don't know what to do right now. If you've left, then I have no way to find you, and what will I do? I can't be stuck out here with a bunch of infected!

Alright, I'm coming back to the base. If you're there, please let me know. Please. If there's an apparent issue when I arrive, I'll go.

~~~~~

"Damn it," Silent Night muttered as he rummaged through the supplies. "They left everything behind. What happened?"

The maps and link crystal sat in the same places they had been when he had left, as well as everything else in the room accept for his comrades. No blood or signs or struggle were obvious; the hut was still undamaged. He knew it was pointless to stay, so he packed up his things. He rolled his sleeping bag up and put it in his saddlebag along with food and water, as well as some of the maps. He put the link crystal in at the last second, unsure if he would need it or not. He slipped a pistol into a holster on the saddlebag.

"I'm going," he said, lighting a match. The protocol was to light a fire to attract the infected so he had more time to get away. If his friends came back they'd be devoured if they hadn't already. The thought sent a pang of guilt through his heart. Were they still alive? Did they just walk out somewhere? He dropped the match. He had been trained to only expect the worst. It was a nuance of the job.

Silent Night started off into the forest as the fire picked up pace on the dry wood of the hut. He tightened his lips and let out a deep breath. No turning back now. He had to find a way back home or somewhere safe. It was the only way to protect himself.

The morning sun grew high as he emerged from the forest onto a small plain with a single house surrounded by multiple fences. There were animal skeletons scattered about in the fences, and holes in some where the animals had managed to dig through. The house itself was broken down and decaying. The roof sagged in, and any semblance of color it once had was eroded into oblivion. The soldier marched past and started to smell smoke. Looking back, he saw the pillar of grey rising into the sky.

He turned away, going forward to the town he saw up ahead. The town looked normal, but it seemed to be dead. No sounds were coming from it, and no ponies were moving around. There was the sound of machinery approaching–a train, perhaps–but it was distant. He thought he was heading into a ghost town until he heard the gunshots. One after the other after the other after the other. The ringing echoed across the field, and he heard cries come from the town.

Breaking into a sprint, he ran to the town. He burst into the town square to find a squad of military ponies in disease masks moving dead bodies into a bonfire while the soldiers reloaded their weapons as more ponies were laid down in front of them, bleeding at the mouth and hooves, only a few looking terrified, unable to scream.

Amongst them was a doctor, who was merely writing in a journal of some kind, his blood providing the ink for his madness. The soldiers raised their weapons. There were some whimpers from the sane among them, and the soldiers' eyes were filled with despair and self-loathing. They pulled the triggers and the bodies fell. More let out screams.

Silent Night watched as the doctor fell over, journal still in hoof, the bullet ripping through his skull and splattering his writing with illegible splotches. He ran forward, but one of the soldiers threw a hoof out.

"You can't touch them," he said. "They may be contagious. We've got staff."

"I want that doctor's journal," Silent Night said, pointing at the lab coat-clad stallion who was getting dragged to the fire.

"The journal's burning with him," the soldier replied. "He touched it and infected it. We don't have time to read everypony's mementos."

Silent Night just stepped back as more ponies were brought up. He felt like vomiting. This was the effect of the virus? It was so bad that they had to perform mass murder to exterminate it? His heart suddenly stopped as he saw his friends get brought up with the group. They had sores across their fur, and their eyes leaked blood and fluid. Cuts scored their flanks, rendering their cutie marks unreadable.

"No," he whispered, wanting to move but unable to. He wanted to charge them, but he knew they were infected. He knew it was best for them to die. His eyes filled with tears was the soldiers raised their guns and fired. Their bodies fell, and soon after he watched them be incinerated. All from the same spot.

He couldn't feel anything. He felt like an empty shell. He stood there for twenty minutes, through ten more firing squads, until he moved again, but only because of the screeching coming from the woods. He turned to see the fast infected rushing out of the trees, followed by at least four more.

"Shit!" he yelled, starting to run. The soldiers turned and aimed. "They followed my trail? How?"

The soldiers shot, but the infected dodged with an impossible speed, coming closer to the down at unfathomable speed.

Silent Night ran to the edge of town, where a train was sitting, and ponies were being led off, bloody and dying. The clean ones were watching the town with worry.

"Run!" he told them. "Get somewhere safe on the train and run! They're coming!"

he rushed past them, avoiding the sick, and reached the front of the train. Inside, the driver was tapping his hoof nervously.

"Go," he told him sternly. "We don't have time to waste. There are ones faster than us that are coming. We need to leave before they catch up."

"But the other-" the driver began.

"Fuck them," Silent Night said, hitting the driver. "We're all dead if we don't leave. Either some live or we all die. Your choice."

The driver shook as he started the train up and it began accelerating. There were cries from the workers who were still leading sick off. In acts of desperation, they jumped into the sick holds to ride back.

They picked up speed and left the town behind. Silent Night sighed in relief as they speed away, going back to the city where they would be safer.

Yet, it would only make everything worse.

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