Mapping Manehattan

by The Red Parade

hiding

Lightning and Fiddle hold their breaths. They crouch in the closet, backs pressed against the wall, guns in hooves. Waiting. Hiding.

There’s a sharp, piercing laugh from outside, accompanied by thuds and rustling. From their position they can’t hear specific words, only hints of voices.

Ravagers. That makes Lightning scowl. Supid Ravagers. Fiddle and Lightning had been exploring a hotel when they heard them enter.

It sounds like they’re wandering around the hall now. There’s a loud bang. One of them must have kicked in a door.

Fiddle flinches at that. Lightning reaches out and puts a hoof on her shoulder reassuringly.

There’s another bang, this one closer. The voices in the hall become clearer. Fiddle curses. They’re coming into the room.

Fiddle and Lightning hold their breaths. Another voice laughs. The floor creaks as hoofsteps head towards them. From the crack under the door, they can see a set of hooves.

The first pony passes. Another one follows, whistling a tune to themselves. They stop in front of the closet.

Lightning’s mind kicks into overdrive. She knows there’s one pony somewhere inside the hotel room and another standing in front of the door. Judging by the noises they heard earlier, there are more out in the hall.

She doesn’t know how many there are, and she doesn’t know what weapons they have. The Ravagers typically aren’t amazing fighters, but they do have strength in numbers. On top of that, Lightning and Fiddle don’t have the best position. Their only advantage right now is the element of surprise.

Her heart is beating fast. Lightning Dust loves adrenaline. She loves diving off of buildings and flying at breakneck speeds. But this isn’t the same kind of adrenaline. Mostly because her life isn’t the only one at stake.

Fiddle’s scared. Lightning is too, even if she isn’t showing it. She looks at the rifle sitting in her lap. She hasn’t had to fire it for a long time. Today might change that.

There’s a crash from within the hotel room. The pony standing in front of the closet sighs and moves away from the door. There’s more voices from the hallway, getting closer.

Lightning adjusts the shoulder strap on her rifle and raises it, aiming it at the center of the door.

From within the room there’s a cheer. Sounds like they found something. That draws the attention of the others in the hallway, and several more hooves appear through the crack in the door.

The group chatters excitedly, their voices overlapping with each other. Then, the hoofsteps fade away back into the hallway, followed by the laughter and voices.

They’re not safe yet. Slowly and silently, they start counting. First to five. Then ten. Then thirty. Lightning gets up and gently pushes the closet door open. The room is empty. Lightning goes to the door and puts her ear against it.

She waits ten seconds. Nothing. After another twenty seconds Lightning lowers her gun. They exhale in relief. Safe, for now.

Comments

[The Red Parade]

10191784
There is some backstory but since it's not that central to the story, I'm revealing it in bits and pieces rather than upfront. Thank you for adding it to your shelf, glad you enjoyed it!