Live and Let Die

by Dihinner

Sightless and Regret

The heavy snores from the patient kept the nurse from panicking too much. Nearly three days ago he and several other patients were brought in by six mares and what appeared to be a Pegasus in a makeshift straightjacket. According to the straightjacketed Pegasus, some sort off clawed creature had attacked them while searching for a friend.

There were very few details after that except that one of the younger patients brought in was suffering from hearing loss. That pony in particular was also blind, but the Pegasus claimed that he already knew that a while ago.

Said blind pony hadn’t left the hospital in the four days his friends had been there. The pony called himself Hunter and mentioned that he probably had another name, but can’t remember it. Hunter seemed to spend most of his time waiting outside the room which had patient 141009 or, as Hunter insisted on calling him, Smoker.

141009 was in critical condition for the first two days in the hospital with internal bleeding, minor concussion, multiple broken bones and what appears to be a thick black coating inside of his lungs. But, despite the certainty that he would die within the day, Smoker barley held on and shows signs of waking up soon. The doctors found that amazing in itself. Hunter said that he’s never seen Smoker down for long.

Another remarkable recovery was made by patient 151009, or ‘Spitter’. Around the end of the first day of hospitalisation, Spitter had woken up in the middle of the night and looked around groggily before throwing up a bright, acidic substance before promptly losing consciousness again. A similar event happened the second day, except Spitter spoke weakly before falling back asleep. On the third day she had a brief conversation with Hunter, assuring him that everything will be alright before resting again.

Still, Hunter was worried. Not about Spitter and the other hospitalised infected, no, he knew that they’d be alright soon. The thing he worried about was Witch. Ever since she had turned back into a Pegasus, through some sort of Rainbow Wave of Doom, she hadn’t been able to stop shaking. Hunter sighed, only he and Screamer had gotten out of the bee cave without many injuries. Tank was the one with the most injuries, hell; he was still being diagnosed with things right now.

Hunter shook his head, if anyone was going to have survived Witch attacking, it would be Tank. With that thought in mind, Hunter walked over to Spitter’s room to see if she was awake again. When he walked down the hall, he stopped at room 195 and opened the door.

“Hello?”

“’s me,” said Hunter, “You’re awake again.”

“I’ve noticed,” grumbled Spitter. She sighed, “Any word about the others?”

Hunter shook his head, “Nothing is different from yesterday, although Screamer is doing odd jobs for whatever reason.”

“Maybe he’s trying to get money for us?” suggested Spitter.

Hunter shrugged, “Maybe, but I doubt it. If you recall, he’s not particularly happy with us most of the time.”

“Then why doesn’t he leave?”

This made Hunter stop briefly. Yes, Screamer had openly stated that he disliked all of them from time to time, more so with Smoker than anyone else, but Hunter never considered Screamer actually leaving them. Hunter looked back at Spitter, whose eyelids were drooping. Without another word, Hunter left Spitter’s room to let her rest.

Hunter sighed and began to wander the hospital halls, wondering what the future may bring. After a few moments wandering, Hunter accidently bumped into someone.

“Sorry,” Hunter told whoever he bumped into. Suddenly, he stopped and sniffed the air. “Witch? Is that you?”

A quiet whimper came from the pony. ‘Definitely Witch’, Hunter thought.

“What are you doing here?” Hunter asked, “Aren’t you supposed to be staying with Fluttershy?”

Ever since Witch had been back to normal, she’s been an emotional wreak, even more so than normal. During the entire four days she’s been back Hunter had never seen her not shivering. Hunter had been told yesterday, when his hearing fully came back, by Screamer that Witch needed someone to keep an eye on her until Tank got better.

“I want to see Tank,” Witch said quietly.

Hunter shook his head, “He’s still in critical condition. No one is allowed to see him besides the doctors.”

Witch sniffed slightly. Hunter sighed; he didn’t need eyes to tell Witch was crying.

“I’m sorry,” Witch said quietly. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“Witch, it’s not your fault…” Hunter began.

“Yes it is!” yelled Witch angrily, making Hunter jump, “It’s entirely my fault! If I just stopped for a minute none of this would have happened!”

Hunter backed away slightly; all the noise Witch was making allowed him to see the entire hallway with surprising detail through his echolocation. But, he had to calm Witch down.

“Witch, you didn’t know what you were doing, it could have happened to any one of us,” said Hunter.

Hunter could literally feel the conflicting emotions that radiated off of Witch; there was anger, sorrow, worry and most of all: guilt.

“I hurt everyone,” Witch spat bitterly, “Tank and Smoker nearly died because of me. And you have the nerve to say I didn’t know what I was doing?!”

Hunter tried to say something, but his mouth couldn’t form words. ‘She KNEW what she was doing?!’ he thought franticly, ‘She had total control of her actions?!’

Witch sighed angrily, “Go ahead, and say it.”

“Say what?” asked Hunter, not too sure what Witch meant.

“Tell me that you all don’t give a shit about me and to get the hell out of here,” Witch spat out, “After all, who wants a pack murder?”

If Hunter had eyes, he would be staring at Witch in disbelief, “Pack murder? Witch, what are you talking about? You didn’t kill anyone!”

Witch laughed sarcastically, making Hunter’s flesh crawl under his fur, “You call nearly killing Tank, Charger and Smoker not pack killing? If Twilight hadn’t shown up they all would be dead and it would just have been you and Screamer.”

“What do you mean?” Hunter asked slowly.

“When they tried to calm me down, I managed to damage the vitals in everyone except you and Screamer. He managed to get away from me moments before Twilight arrived, leaving Smoker alone. If he hadn’t have escaped with you and Twilight never showed up, I’d be the only one left.”

Hunter was again at a loss for words. It was common knowledge that Screamer mostly only looked out for himself, only staying with the group for protection in numbers. For him to actually risk his life to save Hunter, that was unbelievable. But, it was something Hunter was slowly starting to believe. He knew someone dragged him out of the room, but the dust had clogged up Hunter’s nose so he never found out whom.

“Screamer… saved me?” asked Hunter, half to himself, half to no one, “Why would he do that?”

Witch shrugged, “He might be a complete coward, but he’s a loyal coward. If he has to run, he’ll risk his life to save whoever he can before running away.”

Hunter blinked, despite his lack of eyes and faced towards the ground. He could still hear Witch breathing in front of him, but didn’t acknowledge it until he scratched at the skin under the bandage around his eyes. He turned his head up to Witch.

“I’m taking you back to Fluttershy’s house.”

Witch raised an eyebrow, “Why would you do that? You haven’t left since you got here.”

“Yeah, well, I’m assuming you didn’t tell anyone you were coming here?” asked Hunter.

Witch shrunk back a bit, “No…”

“Exactly, she’s probably worried about you,” said Hunter, “And… I need some fresh air. I’m starting to get sick of the anesthetic smell.”

************************************************************************************

The cool evening air caused Hunter to shiver slightly as he and Witch left the hospital. They continued to travel westward when the moon had fully risen into the sky, covering everything in its silvery white glow. The two had traveled in silence, both almost completely lost in thought but paying just enough attention to know where they were headed.

Witch looked up at the moon and a feeling of nostalgia came over her as she remembered the last time she saw the moon like this.

“It’s pretty,” said Witch quietly, all the anger in her voice gone from earlier.

Hunter nodded, “I bet it is.”

Witch turned to Hunter while still moving forwards, “What’s it like, not being able to see?”

Hunter shrugged, “Well… it’s a little awkward at first, and then you start to notice all of the sounds and smells around you. Although at times I do regret clawing my eyes out, I still would have if I had another chance.”

Witch looked at him, although she hadn’t known him as long as Smoker, Tank, Boomer and she were among the first few people Hunter trusted post-infection. And if she remembered correctly, Hunter was much more naïve three weeks ago. But, here he is, a little more than three weeks later, seemingly without regrets about what they did.

As they neared Fluttershy’s cottage, Witch and Hunter could hear a wolf howling in the distance. Hunter, who indeed had spent a brief time in a wolf pack before, howled back. There was a brief pause before a chorus of howls responded to Hunter, who grinned slightly.

“What did you say?” asked Witch.

“Oh, nothing really. Just told them that death flies with white wings,” said Hunter, still grinning.

Witch glared at him and flicked the back of his head with one of her wings. Hunter flinched in surprise, not expecting it to hurt that much.

“Damn it, Witch. Careful with those things,” Hunter muttered.

Witch rolled her eyes and continued walking. A cool wind began to pick up the closer they got to Fluttershy’s home. When they finally arrived there, they found the building completely upside-down and rotating slowly in the air with various other objects floating nearby.

Hunter’s jaw hung open and Witch stared at it in disbelief. It took each of the about five minutes to say something.

“Am I… hearing this right, or is the house defying the laws of physics?” said Hunter.

“I’m seeing it the same as you and I’m not sure if this is really happening,” said Witch.

The two continued to stare at the building for another four minutes until Hunter managed to say something again.

“Should we wait until tomorrow to say if you’re alright?” suggested Hunter.

Witch shrugged, “Doesn’t matter to me, although her home is probably nicer than those crappy hospital chairs you’ve been sleeping on.”

Hunter chuckled slightly, “You know, I think I liked you better when you were quiet.”

Witch raised an eyebrow and said nothing as she flew up to Fluttershy’s door, which was about four feet off the ground. She turned back at Hunter, who was franticly shaking his head, and knocked on the door.

He sounds of multiple things crashing, and the strange sound of things fixing themselves came out of the cottage as it slowly descended back to the ground. After it landed, there was a sound not unlike Wheatley’s telekinetic hovering and the door opened.

Witch’s eyes widened as she saw the giant figure that opened the door. Just looking at him Witch could tell that he had about a foot on Smoker. It also had multiple bits of other animals all around its body, such as the arms of a lion and eagle, legs similar to a bull or something like it and an oddly green scaled leg. Its head was what wired Witch out the most. It was a goat-like head with two completely different antlers, one deer like and the other was light blue and was like a deformed unicorn horn.

Witch stared in stunned silence at the creature, who was grinning at the confusion.

“Why, what do we have here?” said the creature.

Witch tried to form words, but couldn’t find an appropriate thing to saw in this situation. She was still staring when Hunter walked up to her. He too was facing it in disbelief, but managed to say something.

“You’re tall.”

Witch mentally face palmed, ‘Of course he’d say something like that…’ she thought, annoyed.

“Why, yes, I am indeed rather tall,” said the creature, “Now then, what brings you two here at this time of night?”

“We could be asking you the same question,” said Witch.

The being chuckled, it was a rather disturbing sound, not on Jockey’s level but still slightly unsettling. “I’m visiting a dear friend of mine.”

Witch nodded slowly, “I’m assuming Fluttershy is there?”

The being nodded, “Yes, she is.” He turned his entire head inside while leaving the rest of his body facing Witch, “Fluttershy, you have company!”

“Who is it?” called Fluttershy from inside.

“It’s,” the creature paused, “I don’t believe we’ve introduced each other, have we?”

Hunter shook his head, his mane shifting and allowing the creature to see the bandage covering his eyes.

“Well, I’m Discord, personification of chaos and currently on vacation,” as he said that, a pair of sunglasses appeared on his face and a suitcase in his lion paw.

Witch nodded slowly, “I’m Witch. He’s Hunter.”

Hunter nodded, “Hello.”

“Ah, alright,” Discord again turned his head inside, “It’s Witch and Hunter, you know them?”

“Witch?! Oh, thank goodness you’re alright!” said Fluttershy as she walked towards them and stood slightly behind Discord, “Oh, hello, Hunter. Are your friends doing any better?”

Hunter sighed, “Tank’s still in critical, Smoker got out of critical yesterday, Spitter seems to be doing fine, Jockey seems to be alright, although he hasn’t been talking, Charger is still out and Boomer’s a bit dazed but otherwise alright.”

“Oh, well, I hope they’re doing better than earlier,” said Fluttershy.

Hunter nodded, “Yeah, it’s not often I see Tank so beat up.”

Hunter noticed Witch whimper slightly beside him, all of her previous attitude gone and replaced with her quieter one. Hunter sighed and spoke to her quietly.

“It’s alright; I’m sure none of them hold a grudge on you. They’ll be awake soon and everything will be ok.”

Discord spoke up, “I believe to be missing something, what happened exactly?”

Witch turned away, not wanting to talk about it and Hunter grinned sheepishly.

“I, uh, was temporarily deaf for most of it but, what I gathered was Witch kinda lost it briefly.”

Discord raised an eyebrow. And by raised, it literally was an inch off his face, “She put six of your pals in the hospital?”

Hunter shrugged, “She’s more dangerous than Tank, and he’s a seven foot wall of death.”

“Huh, well, always beware the small ones, then,” said Discord. He then glanced at Hunter, able to see his bandage, “Did she blind you, too?”

Hunter shook his head, “Oh, no. I clawed them out weeks ago.”

No less than a second after Hunter uttered that Witch shoved her hoof into his mouth and leaned close to him.

“Uh, Hunter, what did Smoker say about not telling them anything?!” she whispered harshly.

“Oops,” he said, his voice muffled through her hoof.

Discord raised an eyebrow again and Fluttershy gasped slightly, although she had suspected it a few days ago when he first mentioned his eye removal.

“And you did that because?” asked Discord, hoping Hunter would answer.

Witch sighed, ‘No point in not letting him talk if they already know,’ she thought as Hunter spat her hoof out of his mouth.

Hunter scratched his cut ear with his hind leg, much like a cat and spoke, “Well, let’s just say I wasn’t in the proper in state.”

“What caused that?” asked Fluttershy.

Hunter shrugged, “A bio-hazardous disease that transformed me from an everyday person to a heartless predator with unnaturally sharp claws and teeth.”

Fluttershy and Discord beamed at Hunter, with looks of horror and mild amusement from Fluttershy and Discord respectively. Beside him, Witch groaned slightly.

“What?”

Author's Note:

ok, i know i screwed up on Discord, so don't bother telling me i did. instead, how can improve on him? (note, he won't be here for long, about three-four chapters at most)

also, Witch. I've decicded to make her attitude change randomly from time to time so just a heads up on that because of her... unpredictableness

Comments

[Dihinner]

2256930

Screamer is the cut infected from the first game, and had many abilities that were handed over to the other infected.

images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130215212144/creepypasta/images/7/76/Screamer.jpg

i would explain more, but it's spoilers. I will say that he will play a vital role later

[Roobydoo]

Hunter is best pony