Nearly all of Earth's population is gone. What's left has settled in a new home.
The Earth has never been so quiet. The effects of the virus known as the Red Plague have been devastating. Over 90% of the human population has been wiped out. Those that are left have been struggling for the past 2 years for survival. Others have most certainly perished from starvation and the hands of their fellow survivors.
Jason White was a lieutenant in the 1st Infantry Division when the virus appeared. Now he is the leader of a group of 250 survivors that have spent the last 2 years since the plague scavenging the east coast for food and supplies. They have already lost so many in their struggle and Jason fears that time may be running out them. But just when all hope seems lost, a new source of light will emerge to lead the last traces of humanity to salvation and end their suffering once and for all.
This is something that has been on my mind after reading a lot of first contact stories. This is my idea if the creatures of Equestria made contact with us after the apocalypse has already occurred. Hope you all enjoy!
No one could've imagined that anything so destructive would befall them that fateful day in July of 2016. No one could see the signs, the dreadful warning signs that it was all about to come crashing down. That fatal summer day, would change life for every human on the face of the Earth for the rest of time.
The first sign was a story that aired on the news. A story of a man from Pakistan who seemed to have contracted a new string of the flu virus. Of course when everyone heard the word "flu" they didn't worry that much. The reassuring statement "I got my flu shot." could be heard coming from every first world citizen's mouth. But then, the stories started appearing on the news more frequently. Cases of the virus began to appear in India, then China, then Africa, then Europe, until at last it reached the shores of the United States of America. It was then that it became apparent that this was no string of the flu. In fact, none of the top scientist around the world could identify what it was at all. They did have a name for it however: The Red Plague.
The Red Plague started off with symptoms similar to the flu. A high fever would engulf the victim and they would suffer from uncontrollable coughing and shortness of breath. Then the virus would attack the internal organs, causing them to break down and break apart. The sign that this was happening to the victim what when they started to cough up their own blood and parts of these internal organs. Doctors describes the scenario a similar to that suffered by gas victims in the First World War. The worst part was that if the victim reached this stage, there was nothing that could be done for them. They would suffer an agonizingly slow and painful death that at the longest observed took at max two weeks. By the end of that final fatal stage, the virus would latch on the the victims brain and send them into uncontrollable seizures that would end with certain death.
Doctors around the world scrambled to find a cure. They sifted through any records that they had to find possible solutions to the crisis, but there was nothing in their files that could help them in any way at all. This was a virus unlike any other seen before. It mutated and adapted almost every day, so it virtually impossible to create a proper vaccine much less a cure. It wasn't a surprise when a lot of the doctors ended up abandoning their posts to be with their families in the time of crisis.
Outside the medical facilities, the chaos only got worse. The body count continued to rise and law and order started to give way. Riots broke out in the major cities around the globe with the only outcome being the continued spread of the virus. Countries began to deploy military forces to maintain the peace, but it was like trying to put out a forest fire with a garden hose. The situation continued to collapse. Government leaders began to go underground, only to succumb to the virus in the closed confines of bunkers. Four months after the virus appeared, the President of the United States of America fell to the Red Plague. Other world leaders suffered the same fate along with other high members of their governments. Soon there was no one left to control the mass panic that gripped to world. The military abandoned their job of trying to contain the virus as individual commanders took it upon themselves to try and evacuated as many non infected from the major cities as possible. By now the world power grid had shut down, along with water, gas, and communication. Nations were cut off from the outside world. Pockets of survivors were now isolated. The world had gone dark. And to top it off, it had been only 5 months since it all began in July of 2016.
Two years passed for the Earth and the Red Plague virus had by now burned itself out a long time ago. But it's destructive effects were forever. All major metropolises around the world lay in ruin, beginning to succumb to mother nature's reclaiming of the land. What was left of humanity was still scattered around the world in the tiny pockets that had formed during the final endgame of civilization. The numbers of the survivors had dwindled still from starvation and clashes with other fellow survivors. No one knows what the future holds for the remnants of humanity. What is clear now, is that it will never be the same.
That much is clear for one of the few survivors of the apocalypse: Jason White. Jason, a 24 year old man from Harrisburg Pennsylvania, had attended Army ROTC at his college and had entered the military right after graduation. Assigned to the 1st Infantry Division. He had seen combat on tour in Afghanistan before the virus had appeared. When he returned to the states, the random cases had started to emerge. When the situation began to fall apart, his unit was deployed to Philadelphia to help maintain order during the crisis. But Jason like many other commanders after the President's bunker fell silent, could see the writing on the wall. He and the rest of his unit began to organize an evacuation of the uninfected from the city while leaving those that had been deemed infected behind to fend for themselves. That had been the hardest part for all them, especially Jason. The sight of some 500 citizens who only a few months ago had been living their ordinary lives happy and content, now afflicted with the deadliest disease known to man since the black plague, watching as their only hope of salvation locked the gates that had been set up surrounding the city, and left them.
Afterwards, the groups began to split. The survivors were divided up into groups of 400. Most of the groups went west to find supplies and link up with any other survivors. Jason was put in charge of a group and told to stay near the east coast in case their was any attempt by other nations to make contact and in case any members of the government were left alive. And like the good soldier he was, Jason followed his orders. Little did he know he would never see most of the other groups ever again.
He and his group moved across the eastern states, searching for food, fuel, medical supplies, and other survivors. They picked up over 50 people on their journey, but this was overshadowed by the number of those that they lost along the way to disease, starvation, and attacks from hostile groups of survivors. After two years of travel, Jason's group was down to less that 250 weary and starving survivors. This is their story and truly the story of humanity's salvation.
Jason rubbed his stubbled face in frustration. He was looking at a map of the surrounding area that his soldiers had scavenged from a local tourist information office a few days ago. It was a map of the state of New York and it had been marked off by his scouts. Two large areas on the map were plainly clear in their description. The bottom half of the state was shaded red and labeled "No Man's Land". The upper third of the state was labeled "Not yet Scouted". And in the center of upstate New York was a small circle labeled "Task Force 5". That had been the designation that had been given to Jason's group when his original unit had split.
Jason could very well read the map and interpret what it meant for him and his survivors. No Man's Land was an area they had deemed unsafe due to it being overrun with Predators. This was the term that was given to human survivors that would hunt down other survivors for their supplies, or even just to assert dominance. The one particular group that Jason and his survivors had run into that were particularly vicious were a group known as Nature's Choice. They preached the idea to their followers that they had survived the plague due to natural selection favoring them over others, and they held the belief that any who did not follow their beliefs were inferior and should be as they put it "selected". Four of Jason's group had fallen victim to these Predators while on a reconnaissance for food. Jason and another patrol had found their bodies later, all lined up in a row along the side of the road leading into the town of Appleton. Their hands were bound and they each had been shot in the back of the head execution style. They had brought the bodies back to their camp to be buried. After that tragedy, Jason forbid any other runs for supplies into No Man's Land.
This was presenting him with a problem though. In fact the word problem didn't describe it accurately. It was more of a crisis. Winter was starting to set in and his group was running low on supplies and food. Fuel however was the most short in amount. The 15 trucks and humvees and various vehicles picked up over the years need gas to make it to the planned location that they were going to hole up in for the winter: Elizabethtown in the Adirondack Mountains. The crisis that Jason faced was that the current amount of fuel that they had left was not enough to get them to Elizabethtown, not without abandoning most of their vehicles and forcing most of the exhausted survivors to make the journey on foot.
Jason scratched at his chin. He needed to find a solution, but right now his brain wasn't clear. So he decided to do what he normally did to clear his mind: take a walk. He grabbed his M4 carbine, wrapped his scarf around his neck and exited the command tent out into the camp. Everywhere he looked as he walked through he saw humans in ragged dirty clothes, carrying boxes of food to the various tents that covered the ground or wrapping blankets around each other to keep themselves warm. In the middle of the camp was the medical tent where the sick and injured were kept for treatment. With them was Anna Carson, who was 5 months pregnant. A lot of the food was brought to her to ensure that the baby would remain healthy. Surrounding the camp were all the military vehicles that they still had after two years of survival. Standing amongst them were the soldiers given to Jason to protect the civilians. None wore helmets, those had been thrown away long ago. Their uniforms were in no better shape than the civilians. Most of the male soldiers had grown beards much like Jason, though his was more of a thick 5 o'clock shadow. There were a few females amongst the ranks, including second lieutenant Kate Parker. Jason was grateful to have her with him as she was essential for maintaining order and calming the civilians, especially after the incident with the Predators. Jason found her talking to a group of civilians and walked over to her. When he approached, she whispered something to them and the civilians left her to talk to Jason in private.
"Afternoon Lieutenant." She said with a scratchy voice. "Been busy."
"Yeah you can say that." Jason replied while rubbing his neck. "Listen. I'm going to go for a walk to try and clear my head, so try to hold down the fort for me okay?"
Kate nodded. "Sure thing boss."
Jason smiled a very tired smile and then began to make his way towards the trees of the the forest that surrounded to camp.
"Hey." He heard Kate call after him and he stopped and turned around. "Be safe okay?" She said.
Jason nodded in reply and continued into the trees.
After an hour of walking, Jason was deep inside the forest. The tall trees had turned the bright shades of orange and red with the fall season. Now they were starting to shed those leaves as a sign that winter was upon them. But Jason wasn't looking at the trees to admire the beauty of nature. He was focusing for any signs of movement so he wouldn't get jumped by any Predators on the prowl. So far he saw nothing until he spotted a break in the continuous mass of orange and red. Ahead him he saw a white building that sat in a clearing amongst the trees. He moved forward cautiously until he saw that it was something that he had not seen in a long time. The building was a church. It was one of the smallest churches he had ever seen. The roof was slightly caved in but the small steeple still stood tall and proud. Vines had started to grow up the white wooden walls and the plank steps had rotted away. The two brown wooden doors still stood in their place although one was open slightly.
Jason approached the doors with his rifle raised. He wasn't sure what was in their, but he wasn't taking any chances. He inched the open door wider with the muzzle of his rifle and took a tentative step inside. Leaves covered the floor as they fell through the caved in roof. Most of the benches still sat where they had been placed long ago. What caught Jason's attention the most was the statue of Jesus Christ hanging from a wooden cross on the far wall of the church. Walking up to the altar, Jason gazed up at what must have been for many during the chaotic months of the plague their only source of hope. Now, however.
It was all too much for Jason, who for the first time after two years, began to feel tears form in his eyes. He dropped the rifle to the floor and stumbled over to one of the pews. He sat down and covered his face with his hand as he began to weep. He wept like he had never wept before. At this moment, all hope was lost for him. He had failed his fellow survivors. He had failed those he loved. He had failed Anna and her unborn child. He was certain that they were all going to die soon and it was all his fault for not performing as the best leader he could be.
Then, through his fingers, he began to see a bright light start to glow from the altar. Lifting his head up he saw that a white orb was floating above the altar and was growing bigger. Jason put up his hand to shield his eyes as the light grew more and more intense, until it finally culminated in one giant flash. When the light died away, Jason turned his head back slowly towards the altar. When he did his eyes locked with something truly out of this world.
Standing before the young army lieutenant was a tall white horse. But it was unlike any horse that Jason had ever seen. First of all, to say it was tall was an understatement. The creature towered over the young man by at least two and a half feet. Spreading wide from it's sides were two large and magnificent wings. Jutting out from the top of it's head was a long slender white horn. It's mane and tail were light shades of blue green and pink and they seemed to be billowing in an unseen breeze. Resting atop the horses head was a large golden tiara with a purple diamond shaped stone in the middle. The creature's hooves were covered by golden shoes. On her flanks were two sun shaped tattoos. But what was most striking about the horse to Jason was it's eyes. The eyes were much larger than Jason's own, not the least larger than a regular horse. And they were filled with an almost motherly expression that spoke of much kindness and love. Jason was mesmerized.
"Why do you weep young man?" The creature spoke with a female voice. But the fact that it spoke at all was what shocked Jason. For a moment he couldn't respond. The question was still being processed in his mind. As he took in those words, he remembered the moments before and fresh tears began to fall from his eyes. Apparently the talking horse saw this, because at that moment, she stepped forward and draped a wing around brought him in to a warm embrace.
"Hush now. Everything will be fine."
"No it won't!" Jason snapped and pushed away from the horse. "It's all over don't you see?! I've lost everything! We have all lost everything! I have failed those that I swore to protect! We are all going to die out here in this God Forsaken world!" He fell to his knees and began to sob openly in front of the horse. He "Please just kill me. Just end it now."
He suddenly felt his chin being touched and lifted up until he was staring at the horse once again. She had a concerned but stern look on her face. "Don't you ever say that again!" She said firmly. "I know that you are not a failure. I have seen it for myself."
Jason was confused. "What do you mean? Wh-who are you? What are you?"
The white horse looked deep into his eyes and smiled. "My name is Celestia. I am the Princess of the Sun in the great land of Equestria on the planet Harmonia. And I have watched your species struggle since it all began."
Jason was astounded. "You've been watching us?"
Celestia nodded. "And do believe me young man, if we could've intervened at the time we would've. But much to our dismay, access to your world was impossible except via a one way portal that allowed us to view the event around the world. Over the last two years we have had our top mages working tirelessly to create a two way portal between our dimensions so that we could contact you."
Jason's brain was having hard time processing all this information. Least of all the concept of inter dimensional travel.
Celestia's expression suddenly changed to one of hope. "And now at last, my former student has been able to create such a connection. This connection allows beings from both of our worlds to travel to the other's dimension which is why I am here."
She looked directly into Jason's eyes. "I have come to offer safe haven to you and your people. All those that wish to are welcome in our kingdom. We cannot in good conscience stand idly by and allow for another sentient race to die out. And so we offer you all a home in Equestria."
Jason's mouth hung open like mailbox door. Was she serious? A home? A real home? No more going hungry? No more running? No more Predators? An actual fresh start?
"I....I...I don't know what to....."
"Jason!!"
Jason snapped his head up and whipped around back towards the door to see that there standing in the doorway was Kate. And she had her rifle pointed at Celestia.
Jason looked at Kate, his trusted second in command, to try to read her face as she pointed her weapon at Celestia. She wasn't angry nor hostile towards him or the creature behind him. She more or less seemed confused and conflicted. He slowly approached her so as not to startle her.
"Kate." He whispered. "It's ok."
Kate looked at Jason with even more confusion on her face.
"It's alright." He continued. "She's not a threat. Lower your weapon. Stand down."
Kate hesitated. She still wasn't believing what she was seeing.
"Kate." Jason put his hand on the barrel of her rifle and looked her right in the eyes. "Put it down please."
Kate stared back for a few moments, then at last, she lowered the rifle. Jason sighed as the crisis was averted. He then turned his attention back towards the tall white alien horse behind him. When he did, he was surprised to see no emotion other than simple understanding on her face. It's like she was expecting this kind of reaction. Jason thought to himself.
"You are quite right young man." Jason did a double take as Celestia seemingly answered his thoughts. She smiled. "Yes I heard you. But don't worry, I won't do it anymore if you are not comfortable with it.
"Jason." Kate moved up to stand next to him. "What the hell is going on? Who is this?"
Celestia stepped slowly forward towards the pair. Kate tensed up and moved for her rifle again. Before she could however, Jason grabbed her arm. "Don't. She won't hurt you."
"He is right young woman." Celestia said calmly. "I am not here to harm you. Quite the opposite in fact."
Kate looked up at the tall pony. "What do you mean? Then why are you here?"
Celestia looked over at Jason and smiled. She then turned back to the young woman and stared at her with obvious sorrow on her face. "As I have told your good friend, I am Princess Celestia, one of the two rulers of the Nation of Equestria on the planet Harmonia. We have had the unfortunate curse of having to watch your species struggle against this deadly plague with no way of intervening to help. And for that I and truly all of us on our world are sorry."
Kate's mouth was hanging open in shock. Not many things caught her off guard anymore, but even with the world falling to pieces around her, the last thing she had expected to see was an alien from another planet.
Celestia then smiled. "But I am happy to say that at last we have found a way to connect our two universes. The nation of Equestria would now like to offer you and the survivors of your race refuge on our world. We wish to offer you a new home, one of peace and prosperity, that we have seen so many of your kind strive to achieve for so long."
Jason looked away from Celestia when she said that "many" of his race. She had undoubtedly seen the other factions of humanity that had arisen as a result of the plague. He thought of the Predators particularly.
Meanwhile Kate was trying to process all the information that had been given to her. She sat down on one of the pews next to her and put her hand on her forehead and rubbed it, trying to calm her now scrambled brain. On one hand she didn't want to believe this alien princess in the fear of getting her hopes up. But something deep in her mind, and her heart, wanted what this pony said to be true. No it needed it to be true! She didn't know if she could handle another false hope.
Celestia seemed to sense this and walked over to the woman and placed her hoof on her shoulder, causing Kate to look up at her. "I know that this is all overwhelming. And I know that you all have been through some of the most horrifying experiences that not even tartarus compares to. But that is why I brought along the pony who has made all of this possible." She turned around back towards the altar and her horn began to glow. All of a sudden a flash of purple light enveloped the room, and after it dissipated, standing in front of the altar was another pony alien. This one was smaller than Celestia and was purple. She had a dark purple mane with a pink and yellow stripe running down the center. She had a horn and wings like Celestia. The last striking feature was the mark on her flanks: a purple star surrounded by five white stars. She walked over to stand by Celestia and looked at the two humans and smiled.
Celestia looked down at the little pony. "Do introduce yourself my faithful student."
"Um Hello." She said nervously. From the sound of her voice, Jason could tell that she was younger than Celestia. "My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I am the head of project Nova Spero. And as I am sure that Princess Celestia has told you, I am here to answer any questions that you may have and to reassure anypony that may have doubts."
Jason and Kate just stood for a few moments, still trying to comprehend all that had just occurred and been told to them. Finally Jason stepped forward.
"What uh.....how will we uh...get to your world?"
Twilight smiled. "We were able to modify the already existing portal between our two universes and expand it. We found that it was unstable to travel it without some sort of transport vehicle to protect us from any harmful effects to the travelers. So we began working on that transport vehicle." Her horn then glowed a magenta color and suddenly in between the two ponies and the two humans appeared a floating purple hologram of what Jason could only assume was some sort of spaceship. It was shaped like the hull of an old 19th century warship but made of metal and the top sloped up towards the back. Four bands of windows surrounded the ship and two large fins stuck out at angles from the back.
"This is the 'Stella'." Twilight continued. "It has a maximum capacity of 2500 passengers not including it's 200 pony crew. It can reach light speed in under five seconds and can make the trip between our universes in just under two hours. Our plan for the transport of your species would be to land in areas clear of forestation and large buildings and as soon as your people are all safely on board, we will travel back to Harmonia and land at the Equestrian capitol of Canterlot.
Celestia then turned back towards the two humans. "There you will be provided with all of the necessities of living a healthy and comfortable life. Clothing, food, shelter and medicine. We will begin the process of settling your species in proper homes. We will work together to ensure that your species stay on our world is one full of peace and friendship."
Jason stood there absolutely speechless. He could not believe that these creatures were offering him and his race a new home. Away from all the devastation. Away from the Predators. Away from the plague. He looked over at Kate and was stunned to see the formations of tears in the corners of her eyes. Kate almost never cried. She had stopped after they had lost the first two survivors of their group to the disease at the start of their journey. But there was no denying that now, looking between Twilight and Celestia, that the hard bitten Kate Parker was crying.
"Is.." She sniffed. "Is this real?"
Celestia extended her wing out in a way that was obviously an invitation for a hug. A hug which was accepted. Kate wrapped her arm around Celestia's long neck while the pony nuzzled the back of her head. "It is indeed real my dear." Celestia whispered. "I can assure you of that." After a few moments the two broke the hug. Celestia now looked at both of the humans. "Now I can understand, after all that you and your people have been through, they may need some convincing as well." She looked down at Twilight. "So that is why that we ask your permission to accompany you back to your encampment so that we may convince your people ourselves."
Jason and Kate stood as still as statues for a few moments. A thousand thoughts a minute ran through each of their heads. Jason in particular was thinking as rapidly as he brain could function. Though there was ultimately nothing in his mind that could fully comprehend the gravity of this situation. After a few more moments, he turned to Kate. "Hey Kate, can we talk for a moment?" He whispered. He then remembered the other two creatures in the room with them and turned to look at them. "Can we talk by ourselves for a moment?" The two ponies nodded, and Jason led Kate closer to the doors of the church.
"What do you think Kate?" He whispered.
"I'm not sure. Part of me is still saying this isn't real but..." Kate paused.
"You want it to be real as well."
Kate looked down at the floor. Traces of tears were still in their eyes. "The possibility of a home? Of a life? When I think about that, my mind wanders to Anna and her baby. The rest of the children. Mr and Mrs Klark. All of them Jason. They deserve a home. And a safe one too. They certainly don't have one now." She looked back up at Jason. "What about you? Are you considering that this is real?"
Jason glanced back at Twilight and Celestia who were still standing by the altar waiting patiently. "I also want...no....I need this to be real. Because if it isn't I don't have any other ideas for our group. If we don't go with them, then I don't believe that we will survive this winter. We need a miracle and this appears to be one." He paused before he concluded. "I think we should bring them back to camp. Let them try to convince our people."
Kate looked down at he wood floor of the church, then looked back to the two ponies. After a few moments she sighed and nodded slightly. "Alright." She looked Jason square in the face. "Lets do it."
Sergeant Thomas "Tommy" McCartney was doing his least favorite thing to do around camp; guard duty. He and Corporal Nancy Harris were guarding the makeshift gate of boxes and oil drums and two of the humvees that served as the entrance to the camp. It was one of the more boring tasks that were available in the camp, but even Tommy had to admit it was necessary. Still, he would've preferred to be out on patrol with Lieutenant Jason. He respected Jason. They had served together in Afghanistan and become firm friends. He admired for his leadership over the survivor group after they had left Philadelphia. He especially admired Jason's ability to read people, especially other survivors. One of which was having a chat with Nancy on the other end of the roadblock.
The man's name was Fergus. That's all he had given them when they had run into him in Harrisburg looking for supplies. He had long frizzled black hair along with a black mustache and goatee that adorned his face. A scar ran under his right eye, which tended to twitch from time to time. They had only learned two other things about him when they had met him. His family was dead, and he was a Vietnam vet. They had found him sobbing uncontrollably inside of an abandoned convenience store. When they had approached him, he pointed the gun he had in his hand at them, but Jason had been able to calm him down. He then was able to convince the paranoid man to come back with them to their group. After much discussion, during which Fergus revealed that he had been about to commit suicide, he agreed to come with them instead. They learned that he was originally from North Carolina, and they deduced that he had been in special forces from the tattoo on his left arm and the patch on the left sleeve of his jacket.
Over the past two years, Fergus had begun to slowly warm up to the other survivors of the group, although he did still prefer to eat and sleep alone. He wasn't a complete recluse however, as was apparent by him making conversation with Corporal Harris. He had made some friends and he was surprisingly good with children. It was believed by the others that he had had children before the plague. This was further solidified whe Tommy had caught sight of a small picture of a little girl and boy in Fergus's tent. He didn't press Fergus about it though, as he didn't think it was any of his business. For the most part, the members of the group took care of him the best way that they could.
Tommy was snapped out of his focus on Fergus and Nancy when he heard a rustling sound coming from the woods in front of the roadblock. He peered into the green mass and saw a flicker of movement amongst the brush.
"Nancy." He whispered over to the soldier and gestured towards the trees. Nancy immediately turned towards the trees and brought her rifle up to the ready position. Fergus ducked down behind the barrels next to them and peaked his head over the brim. Meanwhile Tommy put his thumb on the safety switch of his own rifle and continued to eye the movement in the woods.
"WOLF!!" He called out the first half of the password set up by Jason that day. He waited for the reply: "Hound." All he got was silence. Tommy flicked the safety off of his rifle.
"WOLF!!! Answer or we will fire upon you!!"
"HOUND! Hold your fire Tommy!"
Tommy immediately switched the safety back on his rifle as he recognized the voice of Lieutenant Jason. Soon the good lieutenant stepped out of the brush and made his way towards the roadblock. Behind him came Lieutenant Parker out of the brambles. Tommy jumped over the roadblock and walked up to the pair.
"You find anything out there Lieutenant?" He asked Jason.
Jason looked down at the ground for a few moments before he answered. "Well um yeah we kinda did find something. Or uh rather 'someone'."
Tommy perked up at this information. "Other survivors sir?"
Jason looked back at Kate, who only nodded. He then turned back towards Tommy. "Not quite." He then turned around and took a few steps towards the trees and stopped. "You can come out now."
Tommy was confused. He looked towards the trees that Jason was calling to to see who would come out. What he saw was nothing that he would've expected. He quickly brought his rifle back up when two creatures that appeared to be horses came out of the bushes. He was stopped from doing anything else however when Jason grabbed his rifle barrel and shoved the gun back down.
"Stand down Tommy! They mean us no harm!" He yelled.
By now the commotion had drawn a crowd of survivors to the roadblock. When they saw the two horse creatures they began to whisper and murmur among themselves in fear and confusion. Jason saw this and quickly jumped up onto the hood of one of the humvees.
"Everyone please! Remain calm!" He called out. "These creatures mean us no harm! They have come here to tell you of something of great importance! If you will just let them talk I'm sure that you will understand!"
Everyone in the crowd still looked a little unsure. But they trusted Jason and therefore looked to the creatures to hear what they had to say. The tallest one stepped forward to the front of the crowd and smiled.
*This is Lieutenant Jason White of the United States Army calling out to anyone who can here this. For two years we have struggled to survive against this deadly plague. With our world falling apart at the seams, many of us lost hope. Admittedly I was almost one of them.* Static * But now we have found the hope that we need. I know that this will sound crazy, but in a world like this, what isn't crazy? On a routine patrol we encountered to alien beings who hail from a far away planet called Harmonia. They brought with them an invitation to all survivors of the human race a home on their planet. They have explained that they will soon be arriving with their spaceship to transport survivors back to their home world and then help us begin to live in peace again. Now again I know that this sounds preposterous and could appear to many like another pipe dream. But I promise you that this is real. We need this. And by we I mean us as a species. We need to start over. To rebuild. To at last begin the healing that will lead us back from the brink. They have told us that they will be landing the first ship near the town of Reeseville New York four days from now at first light. There they will collect as many survivors as they can and keep returning for more. If you are near this town, get here as quickly as you can. Me and my group will be waiting. If you cannot make it within four days time, do not worry. They will be back. Again this is Lieutenant Jason White of the United States Army signing off. Good luck.