Where Evil Sleeps

by Nanrite

Chapter 2: The Sheriff

The rain had finally died down sometime that morning. Remy stepped off the train, being the last one of her team to exit. Captain Swift Hoof was already chatting with somepony who appeared to be the sheriff—an older stallion about the age of Swift himself, though a bit heavier. This town obviously didn’t see much action up until now.

Remy was still half asleep but her ears perked up when she heard the sheriff mention "Seventeen." Something clicked in her head and she knew, another one had gone missing since they had been dispatched. Sky must’ve heard it too as she had already started to trot over to the two stallions.

“A filly named Crystal Sip… poor thing. Only 8 years old,” the old sheriff stated to Captain Swift.

Captain Swift Hoof took a moment to process this new information, then nodded before beginning.

“Anything new to add that may help us find these-”

“I saw something out there,” the sheriff said coldly.

Swift looked at him, to Remy and Sky, then back to the sheriff. The old stallion put a hoof to his head, as if he had a sudden headache.

“Been patrollin’ these woods since I was a colt. Been playin’ in ‘em even longer,” he began. “I was out there last night, after I got the call that another one of ‘em had gone missin’. Was raining somethin’ fierce so I don’t…”

“Whatever you saw could help us Mr. Quick Draw,” Captain Swift interjected.

“I saw somethin’ out there, somethin’ big. And it saw me too. It was some kinda animal,” Quick Draw started. He gulped and swore under his breath before continuing.

“It was on four legs at… at first. I thought it was a pony so I called out to it. The thing snapped its head at me so fast I nearly pissed myself. Then it… it rose up, like a bear does, but it was different. When it got to the peak of its height, it just looked at me. No twitchin’, no breathin’, it just stayed like that… I think it was waitin’ for me. I can’t explain it, but in that moment I almost wanted to… I almost wanted to go to it.” The sheriff, a tough old stallion that probably hadn’t cried in decades, burst into tears then.

Captain Swift put a hoof on the sheriff’s shoulder and turned to Sky and Remy again. “Go see if Lucky and Bow need a hoof.”

They both nodded silently and turned, trotting to the other two stallions near the train.

“Hey Sky, Ruh-ruh-” Bow began but Lance quickly cut him off.

“Golden Remedy, he means to say,” Lance said with a smile to the young mare. Remy smiled at Bow but he tried to hide behind Lance.

“Captain Swift got anything for us from that sheriff?” Lance asked.

“He might… the sheriff had a wild story,” Remy answered. Sky glared at her.

“Tuh-Tuh-Tell us!” Bow demanded, though it was more of an ask than anything.

“Look,” Sky began. “All we know for sure is that there was a seventeenth, the Captain will fill us in if there is anything else we need to know.”

“What did he say Remy?” Lance asked.

Remy blushed, looking at her three superiors like her next words would decide her fate.

“I um… Sky is right,”

“Celestia, such a stick in the mud, both of you.” Lance sighed with a dramatic hoof roll.

Their chat with one another was abruptly ended when Captain Swift yelled for them. If something in the plan had changed, he would have told them, but he and the sheriff were already walking away, which meant they were on the way to the Colt Scout cabin near the edge of the woods. The 2 mile hike was silent, except for the chatting about “the good ‘ol days” Sheriff Quick Draw was having with Captain Swift at the front of the group; it was as if the Sheriff had already forgotten about the story he told, the story that occurred right here in the very same woods he was heading towards now.

“Here we be!” the old Sheriff declared. In front of them stood a small but sturdy cabin. The sheriff reached into his belt and produced a key ring which he used on the door. It had only been abandoned for the last few months due to the disappearances, so everything inside was in tip-top shape: a coffee maker, a small TV, bunk beds, pull out beds, a fridge, and even a bathroom.

“This good enough for you Bow?” Captain Swift asked.

“Oh yeah!” Bow said. “Puh-Place should do fine fuh-for a cuh-cuh-communications center!”

“Good, set up right away and dole out any equipment we need. Walkie talkies, flares.” Swift began. “Same goes for you Remy. I want one herb patch for all five of us.”

Remy nodded as she took her saddle bag from her back. Herb patches were thick patches of cloth infused with healing herbs. Applying them to a decent size cut or gash would heal the wound within the day. She passed one out to each of them, finally feeling like a real part of the team.

“Alright Lance,” Swift said in almost an orderly tone. Lance nodded and shifted the large bag off his back. Swift turned to Remy and looked at her as if the next words out of his mouth would be the best advice she would get.

“Pick a weapon,” Swift began. “We leave for Chomplane in 10 minutes.”

Comments

[Chapter 13]

Weird, but sure.

[Gryme42]

Ho ho ho-lee shit, I am getting some SERIOUS Resident Evil vibes from this. Also, not gonna lie, the part about the bear-like creature in the woods made me shudder a little. Lol this story is great, definitely finish it

[rikithemonk]

I will give it a whirl and add it to my reading list. I should get to it in the next day or three. I always thought we needed more Sci Fi snd horror on this site.

The Monk
Her hands were still bound with rope, she debated an escape before all the stupidity gave her an aneurysm. -Scarheart

[rikithemonk]

Its a good start,

Im looking forward to more.

The Monk
“Puberty was a curse for those inflicted with it, and boundless amusement for others who survived the process.” -Scarheart

[Moosetasm]

“Oh yeah!” Bow said. “Puh-Place should do fine fuh-for a cuh-cuh-communications center!”

Placing the guy with a stutter as the radio operator seems like planning for failure.

I want one herb patch for all five of us.

There’s a marijuana joke to be made here, e’rey day.

Sheriff Quick Draw is a ham-hoofed name, but so are all pony names, really.

This story is fun and well written so far.

[Nanrite]

9734878
I'm glad someone noticed that the guy in charge of communication has a stutter, it was a fun little joke~

Thanks for the compliments too! I'm really enjoying writing this and I hope you continue to enjoy reading!

[Nanrite]

9711710
I'm a big RE fan! Had to do a story kinda geared towards Resident Evil at some point! Going to try and keep this updated somewhat regularly so I hope you continue to enjoy it ^^

[Nanrite]

9712425
Thank you, I hope you continue to enjoy it!