Chapter 1: The Girl In Blue
The survivors of one of the many compounds located in the Riverside North district of Union City were catching up on much needed resting time, after a very unsuccessful day of scavenging for supplies. All in all, it had been an extremely poor run, the battle-weary group only managing to find a few broken weapons after searching several warehouses, the hospital and the police station, and they hadn’t the resources to repair them. They’d instead opted to have them taken apart, but all in all, they only found a few barely functioning pieces.
“Hey! HEY, WAKE UP! WE HAVE INCOMING!” A voice yelled, rousing the members of the small compound from their less-than restful slumber and into action-stations. The voice in question came from a young man looking through the detachable scope of his recently acquired HERC-A1 rifle, just wishing something, anything would happen that would allow him to relieve the unrelenting boredom of watch duty. He was about to get his wish in an unexpected way...
“Probably just another rotten one boss.” A tall, dark figure said while straightening his stetson and the pale violet bandana over his neck. His dark blue shirt was completely covered in grime, as was the pale green checkered shirt under it. His baggy beige pants and leather carrying bag were caked in dry mud, most likely from his repeated trips into abandoned campsites for food and water. The stetson, remarkably, was the only item intact.
“Jordan, if this is another waste of time, I swear, I’m gonn-”
“It’s a kid!” ‘Jordan’ yelled back, stunning the speaker into silence.
“A... A kid? In this mess?” A blonde man with a pair of goggles asked, trying to find his binoculars in a pile of rubble. His construction worker’s outfit, lifted from a previously overrun construction site, looked like crap... which isn’t surprising, given how most of what covered it was indeed crap.
“Are you sure?” Chris asked cautiously. “It’s not just your mind playing tricks on you?”
“Not a hope in hell. She doesn’t look like a normal kid, but I can see her, clear as day.” Jordan exclaimed jumping down from the roof of the overly large shed that made up the barracks.
“Look Jordan, you haven’t eaten in a day or two, maybe you should---” The tall figure said, being interrupted by the commanding voice of the ‘leader’. Despite his young age, this man had a commanding air about him, one that screamed ‘Do as I say or you revoke your right to live’. It helped that his brown hunting jacket, dark grey cargo pants and black marching boots were caked in dried blood, as were his gardening gloves. Most would expect such an addition to make them seem weak, but the spatters of red liquid, as well as the flaming skulls embroidered on them, put that thought six feet under pretty quickly.
“Stow it. I wanna hear what he has to say. So, what does ‘she’ look like?”
“4 ft 3 in, I think. Black tank top, dark blue jeans, pale skin, like she hasn’t seen the sun in weeks. Weirdest thing though, her hair, it’s pale blue.”
“Blue? Like she dyed it or something?” Chris asked skeptically.
“I dunno. Couldn’t tell.” Jordan said with a shrug, strapping his rifle to his body.
“Oh, are we going in?” The man from before, Richard, asked, tying his binoculars to his belt.
“I sure hope not. If ‘she’ is alive, we don’t have the supplies to keep her well fed and rested. I say leave her.” Chris said.
“If we don’t try, are we any better than the rotten ones?” Jordan shot back angrily.
“SHUT UP!” A high-pitched voice yelled from inside the compound. The four figures turned to see a tall girl with shoulder-length blonde hair, a sky-blue tracksuit top, and a medic’s bag over her shoulder, walking towards them with murder in her eyes. “Now, if you’re done acting like idiots, are you ready to go help?” She asked angrily.
Now, Meadhbh was the youngest of the group at 17, but even Chris was terrified of her, for the simple reason that not long they met, she had made quite an impression by diving into a horde of infected and beheading them all in the span of 12 seconds.
“Meadhbh, you didn’t see the horde going after her. We’d be walking into a slaughter.” Chris tried to argue.
“Fuck that. How did we survive this long?” The leader asked irritatedly. When no one answered, he continued, “Because we stuck together, and we didn’t leave anyone behind. A my old man used to say, ‘If you don’t try to save one life, you’ll never save any’. We’re helping her, and that’s that.”
The tall figure growled at the leader, and said, “Fine, but if we’re going to do it, we need a plan, otherwise we’re just gonna get our faces chewed up.”
“The plan is simple.” A new voice said from behind the group as a man with a shaved head and dark-green military fatigues, modified with what appeared to be body-armour made from scrap-metal, stepped forward.
Damian Huffman was normally the strong, silent type, only speaking on rare occasions where he actually had something to say. The exact reason for which was only known to two other people in the compound, and they weren’t talking.
“We go in, kill the infected, and save the girl. You want details, Stephen’s the strategist, though not much of one.”
“Shut it, Damian.” The leader growled as Damian chuckled. “Ok, here’s the plan. Jordan and I will get onto the roof and pick them off from a distance. Meanwhile, Damian and Richard will be acting as support by providing covering fire for Meadbh and Chris while they go in and get the kid out.”
“Yes, send the engineer onto the front lines. Always the best choice.” Richard said in a tone that was couldn’t quite be called disapproval.
“Stow it. You’re the only one we’ve got who knows how to use those improvised weapons without blowing your goddamn hands off, so you’re going with Damian. And that’s that.”
“Put a sock in it Rich, I’m the one who has to collect the girl, with... The MEDIC...” The one called Chris growled while straightening his stetson.
“Sucks to be you.” He said with a grin.
“You all seem to forget,” Stephen said sternly, “That the ‘medic’, as you call her, happens to be my sister, and she has a higher kill count than all of us here with those two swords of hers.” Meadhbh chuckled at her brother’s overly dramatic words.
“Awww, that’s sweet Stephen.” She said jokingly as she ran back inside, stepping swiftly around and over the beds, work-tables and various items strewn about the floor and grabbed four items. A katana, a wakizashi, an SMG the group had ‘liberated’ from an abandoned HERC complex, and a pistol. “Now, are the rest of you gonna lock and load, or are you gonna STAND THERE LIKE PUSSIES?!” She yelled as she rummaged through the gun lockers for the spare ammunition.
“Sugarcube, quit yappin’ and get my guitar.” Chris said jokingly, earning a collective groan from all but Damian, who settled with rolling his eyes.
Chris had been a fan of a show called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic before the end of Union City. Apparently the bright-eyed, colourful characters, and the ‘engaging’ plots were part of a small list of things that brought him true joy, like his guitar, ‘Clementine’, which had a special place under his bed.
“Get it yourself Chris. And don’t forget the shotgun. You’ll need the firepower.” Stephen said with a small grin as he and the rest of the group trudged around the various beds, storage units and bins where they kept their various resources, opening their respective gun-lockers, and grabbing their equipment. Stephen grabbed a scoped M24 rifle, a PPM-9 pistol, and his trusty Combat Knife. Richard slung a rifle over his back, and grabbed an improvised SMG and a short sword in each of his hands.
“Bringing the Bloodluster? You really are taking this seriously.”
“Nah, it’s just been awhile since I last cut one open.” He said whilst stretching.
Jordan grabbed his M9 and his hunting knife, as well as several extra clips for the pistol and loose rounds for his rifle. “Ok, see you on the roof.” He said with a lazy salute as he ran outside and climbed on top of the group’s only mode of transportation, the Deathmobile, and from there, over the fence, on top of the nearby boxes and onto the roof.
Damian requisitioned his AR 556-SEMI assault rifle, which he slung over his shoulder, his G17 Pistol, and a machete, grinning like a madman as he gave his blade a few test swings.
Damian took one look at the massive crowd of flesh-eating once-humans, raised his machete, and charged
“Idiot...” Richard muttered under his breath, before following silently, letting Damian draw all the attention of the dead.
Chris turned around to his bed, grabbing his guitar, ‘Clementine’, his M1911 and his shotgun, before turning around to Stephen, “Restrain Jordan, and let’s get this over with, we’re wasting valuable time here.”
“Jordan’s fine, you and I both know that Chris. He’s just been...shaken, since whatever happened to him.” Stephen said with a frown, before exiting and heading for the roof as well.
“Fine.” He muttered to noone in particular. “Meadhbh, come on, we’re burning daylight here.” Chris said, again straightening his stetson.
“Yeah, if we waste too much time, we won’t save her, I know.” Meadhbh said sternly, adjusting the two sheathed blades attached to the back of her medical bag and making sure the sights on her SMG were aligned, before following Chris outside, where he suddenly decided it was worth wasting time talking to Stephen.
“Oh, Stephen, check this out. I modified ‘Clementine’ yesterday, added some high-power amps to her. Should be useful.” Chris told Stephen, seemingly oblivious to the two stragglers that were shambling towards them.
“Yeah, when this is all over, we can have a benefit, maybe buy a plane for everyone to get somewhere uninhabited, and then we’ll spend the rest of our days sipping milk from coconuts under the palm-trees.” Stephen said, his voice dripping sarcasm like a leaky faucet.
“You don’t get it do you? Why don’t I just demonstrate it?” Chris said, suddenly turning to the undead duo and setting the guitar and the modified portable speaker attached to it to max volume. After pulling the first few strings, the guitar began emitting a high-pitched sound,and the two zombie’s heads burst.
“See?” Chris asked, “And that’s just the beginning, just wait ‘till I get to play some real songs on this!”
“Save it for when we’re not trying to save a little girl and GET THE FUCK IN THERE!” Stephen yelled, pointing to where Meadhbh had already rushed in, scoring several headshots in rapid succession against nearby zombies and beheading any when she couldn’t reload fast enough to take them out with her SMG.
“Oh no, you’re not gonna get all the kills this time!” Chris rushed in, jumping and stroking the wires of his guitar, forcing a few zombie’s heads to explode and Meadhbh to cover her ears while she gritted her teeth in pain. During that time, Chris strapped his guitar to his back, pulled out his shotgun, and began blasting zombie after zombie, splattering blood, bone and brains on the roadside. Upon approaching the girl, who was already being tended to by Meadhbh for what seemed to be exhaustion, he put a latch on her, and strapped her to his back, adjusting the guitar to avoid poking her with it.
“Hold on kid, we’re going for a ride!” Chris yelled out, “Richard! Right flank you moron!”
“On it, asshole!” Richard shouted back, only for the offending zombie’s head to explode as an FMJ round hit it between the eyes, bits of blood, bone and brains hitting the ground and splattering against Richard, staining his already blood-spattered fluorescent jacket with another crimson splotch.
“YOU’RE WELCOME!” Jordan yelled as he continued to take out zombie after zombie in rapid succession, aiming only for a moment before pulling the trigger, each time scoring a perfect headshot and nodding in satisfaction as the target’s head exploded like a watermelon filled with pressurized air.
“Oh fuck it all!” Richard shouted, before throwing a grenade into the horde, and taking cover behind a wall of zombie bodies as the resulting explosion sent shrapnel ripping through the horde, tearing those unfortunate enough to be in front to shreds, and crippling others. Unfortunately, he hadn’t taken the time to watch where he was aiming.
Chris screamed as a piece of shrapnel hit his lower thigh and foot, forcing him onto one knee, in the middle of the street, both himself and Meadhbh surrounded by the infected. “You asswipe! Ask first! Agh! Meadhbh, take the kid and run, I’ll catch up!” Chris shouted.
“Screw that, no-one left behind, remember!” Meadhbh argued, hefting Chris up with one of his arms over her shoulder, her own arm only gently placed over his back, so as not to harm the kid, who was miraculously unharmed by the blast. “RICHARD! IF I HAVE TO PULL SHRAPNEL OUT OF HIS ASS I’M GONNA CASTRATE YOU!” She yelled as she slowly advanced towards the compound, inwardly cursing the engineer’s recklessness.
“THANKS FOR THE WARNING!” He shouted, gunning down the dead that tried to get to them, painting the roadside with their blood and guts.
“Jordan, get your head out of your ass and come down here!” Chris yelled out to Jordan, who seemed to be only looking at the street which connected the compound with the rest of the street.
“On it.” Jordan said lazily as he took a running leap off the roof, tossing his rifle into the air and landing with an over-the-shoulder roll, his gun landing on a small pile of cloth nearby. “Heh, perfect aim.” He mused as he retrieved his gun and began his run-and-gun routine, expertly picking off several zombies with one shot each, slinging it back over his shoulder and switching to his pistol when he ran out of ammunition. When he ran out of ammo for that, he just threw it at the first undead he saw, dazing it, and started severing their spinal cords with his knife.
“Meadhbh, take the kid! Stephen, grab a guitar, and a few amps, I got an idea!” Chris yelled over to Stephen. Meadhbh begrudgingly let go of Chris and moved to remove the child from his back when Stephen spoke up.
“Dude, your guitar is the only one we have!” Stephen yelled from the roof, still taking aim at one of the sprinters. “Dammit...Chris, Meadhbh, you’ve got a HERC Sprinter on your heels!” He shouted in horror, forgetting about taking time to aim and just firing wildly at the lone zombie, his rounds just bouncing off its armour harmlessly as it closed the gap between itself and the three survivors. He cursed as he heard the dry click of an empty magazine, and he frantically went through his pockets for another, desperately praying that he could find one in time.
His worries were pointless as, at the precise moment he stopped firing, they both turned around quickly, and took aim; Chris with his shotgun and Meadhbh with her SMG in one hand and the girl, still unconscious, in the other. The both opened fire on the HERC’s visor, until it finally cracked, allowing his deformed face to be seen clearly, and with Meadhbh taking the final shot, right between the eyes, he dropped to the ground, his skull making a sickening crack as it hit the pavement.
“Stephen, look under my bed! Should be another guitar there! Hurry!” Chris yelled.
“SERIOUSLY?! ONE ISN’T ENOUGH?!” He screamed, shaking his head as he jumped down and ducked inside, flipping over Chris’ bed, among other things, and finding a pristine guitar with the name ‘Suzy’ written under it.
“OK I’VE GOT IT! NOW WHAT?!” Stephen yelled at Chris.
“I told you freak, get an amp!” He yelled back, while fighting off sprinters with his shotgun.
“CHRIS! CALL HIM A FREAK AGAIN AND YOU’LL BE JOINING RICHARD ON THE OPERATING TABLE!” Meadhbh screamed in his ear as she carefully removed the girl from her arm, placing her on a bed, and tossed Chris unceremoniously onto the floor, his head banging against the wall of the compound with a sickening thud.
“Jesus you crazy chick! Just get those amps over here if you don’t wanna be chewed!” Chris screamed.
Stephen opened his mouth to argue, but Meadhbh shook her head slowly, and he held his tongue, opting to grab an amp and drop it in Chris’ lap.
“There we go... Plug your guitar in, and place the amp to the horde.” Chris said.
Stephen did so, plugging in ‘Suzy’ to the amp.
“You ready to rock, buddy?!” Chris said manically.
“Do I have a choice?” Stephen asked flatly.
“Well... No!” Chris replied flatly.
“Well then, let’s just get this over with.”
Stephen and Chris both pulled their strings slowly, loud noises coming from the amplifiers, which triggered the traps that they planted around the compound. Mostly smaller ding-dongs were activated, but it was enough for the horde to dwindle in numbers. The horde soon fell only to two zombies, who fell easy with the expert shots of Damian and Jordan’s guns.
“There, that wasn’t so hard?”
“Guess not...Never again though.” Stephen said, shaking his head as he walked back into the compound, muttering to himself.
“Ah come on! You gotta admit that was pretty awesome!” Chris yelled to him, but to no avail, because he didn’t turn around. Chris soon kneeled over from the pain and shouted, “Hey, Meadhbh, can I get some medical assistance.... Please?” Chris asked.
“Fine.” Meadhbh huffed, placing her swords onto the floor before moving to tend to Chris’ wounds. “Seriously, Richard is so dead. We all told him not to mess around with improvised explosives anymore, but does he listen? Nooooooooooooooo, he decides to be a big man and make a damn grenade...” She muttered angrily as she finished tightening the bandages around Chris’ now shrapnel-free wounds.
“Yep, he’s like that...” Chris said pulling out a small flask, “Sip?”
“No thanks. I don’t drink, remember?” Meadhbh joked as she helped Chris limp over to his bed, flipping it the right way up again and laying him on it with strict orders for him to stay in it, under threat of...bad things...if he left before she gave the ok. “So, lots of them this time...it’s almost like they’re getting organised or something...”
“Yeah. Y’know... Before all this started, I was on my way to Sibir... Got hired as a mercenary for the Israeli army. If I had gone on the plane a bit earlier, I might have avoided all of this...” Chris said with a frown.
“... Stephen and I came here after our parents died in a car accident back home. We wanted to get away from the memories, y’know. Of course, it wasn’t long after we came here that all this happened. We both got separated in the chaos, and we both assumed the other died. Then one day, I’m in the hospital, and I hear gunshots, and who do I see being swarmed but him. So, I took these swords off some random corpse, and I saved his ass, slicing and dicing the infected and turning them into swiss cheese. That was only a few days before we found you...You were hired as a soldier, and you’re an expert scavenger.” Meadhbh said, chuckling a little. Huh, first time any of us have ever actually talked about this stuff... at least in detail.
“Heh, all part of the training...” Chris smirked a little, “Nice talking to you... Could I get some rest now?”
“Sure. Doctor’s orders anyway.” She said, taking off her surgical mask to reveal the bright smile underneath. “The girl should be waking up soon. Stephen’s gonna talk to her when she does. Thought you should know, since you almost died saving her.”
Chris dunked his head into the pillow, slowly falling to sleep.
“Pff, baby...” Meadhbh mumbled as she went to put everything back the way it was before Stephen’s frantic search.
Meanwhile, Richard and Damian were busy picking through the bodies for anything useful, while Jordan searched for his dropped weapon.
“Well this is something.” Jordan muttered, picking up some sort of radio off one of the HERC zombies. “Helloooooooooooo, anyone listening?”
“Doesn’t work, probably only good for parts.” Damian stated.
*BZZZZT-BEEP*
“You were saying?” Jordan asked smugly.
“...ut there....otocol...urvivors...ecuted...” The radio’s intermittent
“Ugh, COME ON!” Jordan yelled, smacking the malfunctioning radio a few times.
“Give it, I can probably tune it.” Damian said, holding out his hand.
Jordan offered him the radio, and Damian grabbed it and replaced a few copper wires with ones he had kept in a back-pocket on his pants.
“Try now.” Damian said, handing the radio to Jordan.
“If there is anyone out there...” The voice from the radio said.
“Nice...Were you a radio operator or something before this happened?”
Damian simply shook his head ‘no’.
“Shut up, he’s still talking.” Richard said irritatedly.
“The HERC has returned and initiated Union City’s Hunter Protocol. Any and all survivors within Union City are in danger. Several compound’s survivors have already been executed....” The trio’s eyes widened in horror.
“What the..... Executed?” Richard asked, horrified.
“...I knew they were experimenting on people who had been infected... but executing survivors...” Jordan whispered, his voice and body shaking.
“Listen!” Damian said, pointing to the radio, which was still receiving something.
“If there are still any survivors out there, they are making their way to the Riverside District. Leave the area immediately! They-*CRACK* *Bzzzt*”
“Fuck...we’ve gotta warn the others.” Jordan said, already running back towards the compound.
*
Chris suddenly woke up screaming inside the compound.
“Jesus! Fuck! Ah! What the fuck?!” Chris shouted around himself, “That dream... Sheesh...”
He suddenly noticed Jordan walking in the compound looking all sweaty from the running.
“Dammit...” he muttered, turning to head back, before realising Chris was awake, and rushing towards him.
“Chris, we’ve got a fucking problem.” He said.
“Then get the fucking leader!” Chris replied angrily.
“Get me for what?” Stephen asked, appearing between them out of nowhere. “The girl isn’t waking up anytime soon, so I decided to see what all the fuss with you two is about.”
“Stephen, we received a radio message that the HERC are executing any survivors they find! They’re heading here right now! SHIT I’VE GOTTA GET MY GUNS!” He yelled, before running back to the battleground.
Chris slowly rubbed his eyes, and looked over to Stephen.
“Should we...?” Chris asked, quietly.
Stephen nodded silently. “I’ll get Richard to start repairing the damaged defenses, and I’ll have him set up extra traps too. In the meantime, get some sleep.”
“Can’t ever catch a break. Seems like every time one trouble is over, another one arrives... Call me when it’s action time..” Chris said, putting his stetson over his eyes.
“Sure...” Stephen whispered, before turning back to his own bed, where the girl was still sleeping peacefully. The occasional toss and turn was the only disturbance she made. The young man chuckled when she suddenly started snoring, before placing his weapons back in one of the gun lockers and walking out to search the corpses with Damian and Richard, Jordan having lost interest after recovering his own equipment and returning it to its locker. Richard, on the other hand, was still sifting through the bodies, taking every piece of tech he could find among the re-dead.
“HEY! RICHARD!” Stephen yelled as he approached the corpse-covered road. “I’m gonna need you to set up some more traps. And I think Jordan is still pissed off about the lack of a watchtower and his constant need to climb onto the roof. We got enough to build one?”
“Close, but no, we have enough for one or the other, and honestly, I’d rather have the traps.” He said, pulling a rather large hunting knife off of one of the bodies.
“Alright then...see if you can set up some W.O.M. traps at the entrances, just inside the barriers. I don’t want any surprises if those HERC bastards get through the barriers.
“I’ll get right on it in a few. Just let me finish searching these bastards.”
“Too bad Chris isn’t in any condition for this huh? Of course, that wouldn’t be the case is SOMEONE didn’t break our, ‘no hand-held explosives’ rule...” Stephen growled while glaring daggers at Richard, who grinned sheepishly.
“It wasn’t that bad!” He said, “It’s only a little shrapnel.”
“YOU BROKE THE GODDAMN RULE, AND YOU COULD’VE KILLED CHRIS! I DON’T KNOW IF YOU’VE NOTICED, BUT THIS ISN’T THE KIND OF WORLD WHERE WE CAN TAKE STUPID RISKS AND ENDANGER OUR FRIENDS!” Stephen took a deep breath, and spoke in a much lower, but no-less commanding voice. “I don’t want you to even think about making another grenade. The next time, I won’t hesitate to knock some sense into you.” And with that, Stephen turned and walked over to search a random corpse.
“Ooh, smoke capsules!” I heard Richard shout. “It’s amazing how much luck I’ve had in today’s loot!”
“Seriously? You just got berated for recklessness, and you just shrug it off? You are insane...” Damian muttered.
“What’s your point?” He asked, shifting the junk he found into a bag.
“I’m saying you’ve been here the shortest. Stephen doesn’t let us risk each other’s lives. In other words, you fucked up, and you almost got Chris, Meadhbh, and that kid killed.”
“But I didn’t, that’s what matters.”
“No. What matters is that you put three people at risk with your little stunt. What if they hadn’t managed to kill that runner? OR what if the remainder of the horde had suddenly changed direction and gone after them instead, following the sound of the grenade exploding? The fact of the matter is, you fucked up, and you’re on thin ice with Stephen now. Next time, I wouldn’t be surprised if he deemed you too much of a danger and decided to either kick you out, or put a bullet in your head.” Damian retorted, stomping off angrily with what little supplies he had scrounged from the various bodies he had searched.
“We’re all going to die soon enough. I don’t mind if mine comes a few days sooner than yours.”
“You don’t understand him at all, do you. Not surprised, he doesn’t talk about what happened before he found this place and brought this group together. Not much anyway.” A voice said from behind Richard, startling him enough for him to jump away while turning around, only to slip over a corpse and stumbled a bit, nearly falling over.
“Dumbass.” Jordan said with a flat stare. “You do realise that your actions earlier do not co-align with the main objective of a survivor group, right? The job is in the name. We survive, and we can only do that if we stick together, and if we don’t risk each other’s lives.”
“Whatever.” He said, “I’m going to go fix up those traps now.” He gave a slight wave as he wandered back to the base.
*
“Chris. Wake up.” A voice called, rousing the ex-Merc from his slumber. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, only to see a shadowy blur.
“What the?!” Chris quickly retorted, pulled out his knife, and went for the head, with Stephen quickly blocking it. “Oh crap! Sorry man! I thought...!”
“Don’t... worry about it. The kid’s awake. She freaked when she first saw me and thought I was gonna kill her. Took me a few minutes to calm her down enough to get more than just threats and thrown objects from her. Anyway, she wants to talk to you. But, just so you know, she’s a little... strange.” Stephen whispered.
“Why does she want to talk to me?” Chris asked, looking over to the little girl who was sitting on her bed.
“You’re the one that carried her back here and nearly got killed because of it.”
“I see.... You wanna come with me? I’ve never been good talkin’ to kids. One time, I made a kid cry, just because I lost MY ball in his yard...” Chris replied.
Stephen nodded slowly and started walking towards the door, Chris following closely. “Sure. But like I said, she’s kinda strange. Keeps going on about some place called Equestria and how she’s some sort of princess. The only usable information I got out of her was a name, Luna. Everything else, it seems, unbelievable.”
“... Luna? You sure? Hmm, probably just a coincidence or something...” He muttered as they walked. When they arrived at where the ‘little girl’ was sitting, Chris took a knee and looked at her.
“Hi... Err... Stephen, here, says you wanted to... Speak to me. Um, Luna, was it?” Chris asked.
The girl turned to face him and gave him an inquisitive look, as if trying to learn everything about him with a glance. “Yes. We wish to thank thee for aiding us when we were accosted by those, creatures. You have our eternal gratitude.”
Stephen leaned towards Chris and whispered, “Oh, forgot to mention, she speaks with a Ye Olde English dialect.”
Chris pushed Stephen out of the way, and returned to the girl.
“So..Where are your parents? How did you get out here?” Chris asked the girl. He instantly regretted it as the girl turned away, sniffling.
“... We do not want to talk about it.” She muttered, refusing to look at Chris.
“Well.... Would you be willing to at least tell me how old you are?” Chris said, leaning his head a little to the right and giving a little smile.
“A proper gentlestallion does not ask a mare her age.” She huffed, shooting Chris a dirty look as Stephen chuckled in the background. Stephen ignored her ‘interesting’ pony-related terms, simply assuming they were some sort of strange quirk she had acquired, though Chris grew more suspicious with each passing second.
“My apologies, dear lady. Would thou be kind enough to give us thy lunar age?” Chris replied, with Stephen looking at him like he’d gone nuts.
“Art thou making fun of our way of speaking? We shall have thee know that the princess of the night doth not appreciate mockery.” She said coldly. That clinched it, he was sure something about her was ringing alarm bells, or at least ‘YOU FUCKING KNOW HER FROM SOMEWHERE DUMBASS!’ bells.
“Not at all milady! Why, we have been trained in the ‘Royal We’ for three years in the mountains of China!” Chris responded, “Now, tell me, milady, how didst thou end up here, in this place?”
“Doth thou promise not to make fun of us, or call us a liar. Thine friend claimed that our story was, ‘difficult’, to believe, though he was kind enough to offer us a place here, in your, ‘family’, as he called it.” She said.
“Of course! We are not anything if not ‘open minded’! Go on!” Chris replied, making a note to ask Stephen about the family thing later.
“Very well. We are from a country called Equestria, which is, as far as we can discern, on another world, separate to thine own. We were practicing a new form of magic which was meant to allow us to protect our subjects from any further evils that may attempt to make their home there. However, we made a miscalculation, and instead of creating a protection spell, we created a portal, which took us to this world, where we became what we are now. I believe your friend called this species ‘human’?”
Chris simply looked at the little girl in awe. He was almost certain now of who she was, but he still had one more thing to ask.
“Well... That’s a.. Most interesting story. If I may ask.. What kind of danger were your...’subjects’ in?” Chris asked.
“That is just it. We do not know what the danger was. Our sister received a threat on our fair city of Canterlot while preparations were being made for our niece’s wedding. We were hoping to find a spell that would allow the Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor, to rest as the day of the wedding draws near. As it is, we have been here for several days, long enough to get over our, ‘surprise’, at our new form and to learn how to move again, and we have probably missed the ceremony. Though it does not seem to matter, as this place seems most determined to take our life.”
“Canterlot? Holy sh--I mean, horse dung, that’s it!” Chris quickly ran over to Stephen and tackled him on the ground.
“DUDE! WHAT THE FUCK?!” Stephen yelled, making the girl jump slightly.
“You’re not gonna believe this! I think we should... Talk in private?” Chris said to Stephen, who quickly nodded. Chris then gave a piece of candy to the girl, who huffed in irritation at being treated like a child, and proceeded outside the gate with Stephen.
“You, are so, so, so, so not gonna believe this!” Chris exclaimed.
“What are you on about?” Stephen asked suspiciously.
“Do you.. By any chance... Happen to know of a show... Called ‘My Little Pony?’” Chris asked, taking a dramatic pause between each sentence. Stephen gave him a quizzical look, but nodded regardless.
“I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never seen anything to do with it other than the merchandise. Why?” Stephen inquired.
“This girl... You said her name was Luna? Well.. Luna is a character in the show... And above all else, she’s a PRINCESS. The show is set in the land of EQUESTRIA! Ring any bells?” Chris asked Stephen, and looked over to the little girl, then back at Stephen, who stared at him as if he was insane.
“Wait, what? You’re seriously saying that this girl, this kid, is actually a princess from another world? And what she said about being turned into a human... you’re saying she is, or was, a pony?” Stephen asked skeptically.
“Bro, I’ve seen weirder shit, and this is nothing compared to what I’ve seen. But, that must mean that the multiverse theory is correct...If only....”
“Wait, if what you’re saying is true... Oh, fuck me!” Stephen muttered.
“What?! What?!” Chris asked nervously.
“Well, you know how she avoided the question about her parents? I asked her the same thing when she woke up, and when she tried to dodge it, I assumed they’d died, and I...kinda may have offered to, um...” Stephen trailed off, and Chris’ eyes went wide as realization flashed across them.
“You....Adopted.....Princess Luna? You... I don’t even.... WHAT?!” Chris said, slightly more angrily than he’d intended.
“Why did I get the feeling this was how you’d react?” Stephen asked, more to himself than anything else as he took a cautious step away from Chris.
“Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m not mad, I’m just fucking confused! I just thought that we should move her somewhere safer than here!” Chris said.
“I agree, but there is nowhere else we can go here. If what she’s saying is true, and I’m still highly skeptical on that by the way, the only safe place is her own world, and I have no idea how to get her there.”
“Well, maybe we should---” Chris was interrupted as several HERC vans were driving up their street, and stopping near their compound.
“Dammit. I thought we’d have more time. Chris, get her inside, and no matter what happens, do not, let her leave the building.” Stephen said in a stern tone, running back inside and grabbing his weapons from the gun-locker.
“But, I want to help repel the attack! Come on man!” Chris replied.
Stephen turned to him, fixing him with a glare that made him freeze, any arguments being lost as he tried in vain to break eye-contact. “Chris, I am trusting you to protect her. As long as she’s here, she’s in danger. I need you to keep her safe. Please, Chris.” His tone softened at the end, his hard glare being replaced with an almost pleading look.
“Fine... But, if you’re going alone, take this..” Chris handed an earpiece over to Stephen, “If they want to negotiate, let me do the talking.”
“I don’t think they are here to negotiate. I assume you know the Hunter Protocol was initiated? They’re most likely here to execute us.”
“Tell Jordan to get up on the roof. While he sets up his sniper, just keep them talking!” Chris said, “Now go outside! We’ll be safe, I promise!”
“Alright.” Stephen shot Chris a salute, before turning and running to a small sandbag barricade, where Jordan was cleaning his rifle. “Jordan, get to the roof and get ready to open fire on my signal. You’ll know what to do when I start running like hell.”
He walked towards the vans, which were pouring out HERC soldiers in a seemingly endless wave. A single soldier, wearing a red beret instead of the usual gas mask and balaclava, stepped forward, his assault rifle slung over his shoulder. Several soldiers trained their weapons on Stephen as he continued to walk towards them, only lowering them when the Beret-wearing troop held up his hand.
“My name is Stephen Cleary, and I’m giving you one chance to leave.” Stephen said in a commanding voice, causing the soldiers to raise their guns again.
“Negative, the Hunter Protocol is at it’s peak. You have to be destroyed.” the HERC agent said.
“May I at least ask why?” Stephen asked calmly, his eyes fixed on the officer’s.
“Negative. The Hunter Protocol is top secret and it cannot be shared with the likes of you. Even during an apocalypse. Echo team, Gamma team, commence protocol ten.”
“Dude! Tell him that you have supplies, and you’re willing to trade for freedom!” Chris said over the earpiece.
“No point. You heard them. Just make sure Damian, Richard and Meadhbh are ready to move. If worst comes to worst, get out through the back door and take Luna with you. No matter what happens, do not let anything happen to her.”
“I got that much, just keep them stalled for a few more seconds. I gave Jordan the ‘special’ weapon. He’s having trouble putting ammo in, so give him just a few more seconds!” Chris replied.
“Got it.” Stephen muttered, locking eyes with the officer again. “Alright, I’ll make you a deal. We’ve got plenty of supplies, and if you leave, you can take as much as you want. Nobody has to die here.”
The HERC officer seemed to consider for a moment, and suddenly punched Stephen in the jaw, knocking him to the ground.
“We do not trade! Do not think of HERC for some company run by idiots! We do not trade, socialize or rescue barbarians such as yourself! You think all the other ‘survivors’ are friendly?! WRONG! For now, I’m counting they killed twenty-three of my friends! So you and your pathetic little gang of MORONS, can all go to hell!” The HERC officer yelled.
As soon as the officer was done talking, at the speed of sound, a rocket came flying towards one of the HERC vans, exploding and hitting two other vehicles. Stephen quickly took out his pistol and shot the HERC officer in the kneecap, ignoring his pained screams and wiping off the blood from his pants as best he could as he got back on his feet.
“So that’s what this is for!” Jordan yelled out.
“TOOK YA LONG ENOUGH JORDAN!” Stephen yelled back, grabbing the officer by the collar of his shirt and dragging him towards the gate while the few surviving troops fled, only to be picked off by expertly placed headshots, courtesy of Jordan and his rifle. “NICE! Now, what to do with you...” Stephen asked, glaring at the Officer.
“Fuck....You!” The officer replied, spitting out blood onto Stephen’s face.
“Sorry, don’t swing that way.” Stephen joked, tossing the officer into the gate, smiling as the officer grunted in pain when one of the wooden spikes dug into one of his shoulders.
“Ahhh! Bastard! The HERC will get you! Just watch out.... Ahgh...” The officer grunted.
“CHRIS!” Stephen yelled, hitting a switch and opening the gate. “WE’VE GOT A PRISONER. I WANT YOU TO INTERROGATE HIM! FIND OUT WHAT THE HUNTER PROTOCOL IS ALL ABOUT!”
“Kid.... Stay here, I’ll be right back, just gotta take care of some business.” Chris said to Luna, walking out the door to find the officer impaled on a huge spike, “Well, that’ll do..” Chris grinned.
He walked up to him, giving him a quick punch in the face, “What’s Hunter Protocol?!”
“Go... Fuck... Yourself..” The officer spat.
“As you can see, he’s not very cooperative. If conventional methods won’t work, you have the authority to take drastic measures. In the meantime, I’m gonna go make sure our ammo supplies are enough to fend off another attack.” Stephen said, walking off with a lazy salute.
“I’m not gonna ask again.” Chris said to the officer.
“And I’m not gonna say it again.. Fuck you!” The officer spat again.
“Shit.. Rich, give me your saw...” Chris replied with a devilish grin.
“Go nuts, just be sure to leave enough of him to answer the questions.” Richard said, handing him a saw that had just reached the first stages of rusting over. “Oh, also, we need a grindstone or something.”
“Perfect... So listen up asswipe, you can tell me everything you know. If you don’t, I’ll have to begin from your feet. Cutting off every little toe you have, ultimately cutting off your foot. Next I will move up to your crotch. Oh yes, I’ll cut it up into bite-size pieces and then feed them to the Zombies! Sound good? Of course not!” Chris said with a grim voice, quickly pulling up his hand and striking right next to him, causing the officer to piss his pants.
“Crap! Crap you homicidal maniac! I’ll tell you everything!” The officer said in a panicked voice.
“There, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Chris said, giving the saw back to Richard, “Here, not a blood spat on it.”
“Hunter Protocol is basically tracking down all survivors in the city, and either executing them or putting them up as test subjects in Project Overlord, which is designed to study the zombies and find a way to control them using the apparent immunity some survivors have shown to possess. You’re the last survivors in the city, all the rest have already been either captured, killed, or scattered.” The officer explained.
“Thank you kindly.” Chris responded, taking his guitar and smashing into his face, ignoring his cries of agony, repeatedly hitting him until he was nothing more than a bloody corpse with a smashed-in skull.
“Aww... Did you have to kill him so quickly?” Richard said with a bit of a pout.
“Shut it, and get rid of the body.” Chris said, wiping the blood off his face.
Richard sighed, “Fine, I’ll just put it with the rest outside.” He said, and took the corpse over his shoulder, hauling the body outside.
While Richard was disposing of the corpse, Stephen walked over to the gate, Luna following close behind. “Well, what did you find out?” He asked.
“To cut it short, HERC is gunning for us, want to use us to find out how to control zombies or something. We’re also the last survivors in the city, apparently.” Chris said bluntly.
“So everyone else is already gone? Fuck... And how exactly do they plan to use our immunity?”
“Well, I don’t know, but I think they plan to feed us to them until our faces are turned to mush. Or something...” Chris replied.
“WHAT?!” Luna yelled in a voice that actually blew the three back a bit. “These... HERC ponies plan to kill thou and thine friends or feed thee to those... creatures? Why?”
“Science.” Richard spat, wiping the blood from his hands as he walked in, “At least, that’s how they see it.”
“Nay, ‘tis not science. Science is for the betterment of others. What you describe is nothing short of butchery.” She said angrily.
“Now, let’s calm down eh? Come on Luna, I’ll show you this slide that I built!” Chris said, while dragging Luna off so Stephen and Rich were left alone.
“WE ARE NOT A CHILD! THOU AND THINE FRIENDS MAY SEE US AS SUCH BUT WE ARE NOT!” She protested, “WE ARE THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT!”
“I got candy....” Chris replied.
“We shall not be bribed, Chris, was it?”
“I have caramel....” Chris replied.
“Chris,we shall not accept bribery as we are only interested in finding a way back to Equestria, though after what we have seen, heard, and experienced, we are somewhat loathe to leave thee to fend for thyself.”
“Well.... Sure, I got some ideas, now let’s leave Stephen to... Think, I suppose.” Chris replied.
“Very well... though, we have a question. Thine friend offered to take us in, to make us part of his ‘family’ as he called thou and the others. Why? He refused to answer us when we asked directly.”
Chris leaned in to Luna and whispered in her ear, “Stephen lost his family, except his sister before all this happened. He likes to think of us as his ‘backup’ family as we have to take care of each other in this world gone to... err.... Tartarus! That’s it!”
“He sees thou as, a back-up family? What doth thou mean by this term, back-up?”
“Replacement.” Chris replied bluntly.
“So, he only sees thou as substitutes for those he hath lost? Does that mean that he doth not care about thee?” She asked, almost spitting the words as if they were poison.
“Well, he sees me.. as a brother I guess. We’re all brothers in arms, during this time.” He responded.
“What about when this horrific ordeal ends? Will he still care about thee? Or will he abandon thee and thine friends?” Luna asked, a hint of anger in her voice.
“Of course he’ll still care. Why after this is all over we’ll be more friendlier than two peas in a pod!” Chris responded jokingly, “Now, you still want to see that swing?”
Luna shot him a look, then sighed. “Very well. We shall accompany thee to this swing.”
*
“So, what’s the plan? Got enough traps set up?” Stephen asked, sitting on his bed, cleaning his rifle.
“I hope so. Wish we had a bit more to work with, honestly, but it’ll do... I hope.” Richard replied as he replaced the broken pipe that made up his improvised rifle’s barrel.
“Well, I would go through the vans if they hadn’t been blown up, but it was a necessary sacrifice. I probably would have been shot in the face by that officer before anything else happened.”
“Yeah, thank god for Jordan and his RPG.” Richard said quietly, returning to his traps, “Hey... Do you... Think I’m a bad person because of what happened with the grenade?”
“No, I think you’re an eejit, and slightly insane, but who here isn’t? You just need to be more careful.”
Richard simply looked at the floor with utter silence, and changed the subject, “What do we do if more HERC show up? Our RPG ammo is limited...”
“We do what we’ve always done. We survive. If they want us, they’re gonna have to climb a mountain of corpses to get us.”
“Sounds nice enough....” Richard responded.
“Yeah yeah. Still not enough supplies to build a watchtower, huh?”
“We just need some more metal, and it’ll be finished. Why are you so eager to build it anyway?” Richard asked.
“Why do you think? Jordan’s been bitching and moaning non-stop about the lack of a watchtower and his constant ‘risk of injury’ having to climb onto the roof.”
“Risk of injury my butt. That watchtower will only attract more attention to the safehouse. Some jackass with a sniper decides to play ‘hunt the survivors’ and we’re screwed.”
“I didn’t think you’d be so against it, given your past decisions, like the Ding-Dongs that almost blew us all sky-high...”
“It was necessary! You really wanted that horde of HERC soldier zombies getting through the barricades?”
“No, but you didn’t need to turn them into mini-nukes!”
“Come on, mini-nukes are fun, even you have to admit it, Mr. Boring-pants!” Richard chuckled. “God, for a kid you are a real fuddy-duddy.”
“Alright enough. I assume you already heard about our guest’s ‘unique’, situation.”
“You mean her, being a pony princess? Yeah, when you try to converse in private, you should really work on making sure no one's listening in. Anyway, it seems kinda hard to believe, but in this world gone to hell, what’s not to believe?” Richard retorted.
“Well, the priority is getting her home. When her safety’s no longer an issue, we’ll deal with the HERC.”
Chris walked in Richard and Stephen with Luna, looking at both of them.
“Guys, it’s getting late, and Luna’s getting tired. We should wrap-up, turn off the lights so we can stay below the radar.” Chris said, holding Luna’s hand.
“We are not tired! We just need to rest our eyes!” She grumbled.
“See? Should I get working on it?” Chris asked, smirking a little at Luna when she yawned.
“Sure, she can take my bed. I’m gonna be pulling night-duty anyway.” Stephen said with a weak smile, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Hell no, man, let me take this one, you deserve some sleep. I’ll even heat you up some warm milk if you want, haha!” Chris chuckled.
“It’s not a discussion Chris.” Stephen said sternly.
“And I’m not discussing, I’m telling. Get some sleep, I got this one.” Chris said, his tone deepening a bit.
“Enough. Both of you take the night-watch so we can get some goddamn peace!” Damian yelled from inside.
“How about this then? I’ll take the first half, you take the second?” Chris asked.
“Fine with me.” Stephen shrugged, getting up and walking towards the gate.
“Alrighty Luna, get some.... Eye rest..” Chris said while expelling a big yawn, and sitting on his lawn chair.
The night was calm. You could hear a cricket here and there making his music. The air was fairly still, with only a breeze or two flying by. Sometimes you could even hear a bird chirping. Night was the calmest part of the whole day. Not always the case, though. Sometimes you could hear the cries of lone survivors about to be eaten. You can’t do anything, but sit in your chair, and just....listen. The moon was full this night, and as it slowly sailed through the sky, it’s light growing brighter and brighter.
*
“Stephen... Time’s up, come on...” Chris said weakly, while shaking Stephen lightly.
“Don’t wanna go to school mom... Liam Downey’s a bastard... zzz”
“Dude...!” Chris said, slightly annoyed. Seeing as there was no hope for waking him up, he took his water bottle, and splashed some over Stephen’s face.
*insert splutter noises here* “FUCK! What’s happening?! All guns out! Man the roof!” Stephen exclaimed, looking around wildly for assailants, his eyes still dulled from just waking up.
“Dude! Relax! Oh great, you woke Luna up!” Chris retorted as the complaints of the girl made their way outside, “It’s your turn to take the shift!”
“Oh... sorry.” Stephen said with a sheepish grin, trying to cover for one of his many moments of ‘weakness’ as he put it. “Get to bed, Chris. I’m pretty sure I’m gonna be awake for the rest of the night after almost drowning...”
“Alright... Maybe you should talk to Luna? She seems a bit distressed.” Chris said, ducking his head into the pillow. “Have a good one!”
“Sure...” Stephen said, turning to face Luna, who was staring at him with a slight frown tugging at her face. “Uh... sorry, about waking you, I mean.”
“It is alright. We are meant to be awake during the night, anyway. It is, after all, our duty to guard it, and all it represents.” She said, still frowning.
“Ok, then, why are you, however you’re feeling?”
“Chris told us why you offered us a place here. About your family, and how you see these, people, as a back-up family.”
“Goddammit Chris, why do you always describe it that way...” Stephen muttered. “Listen, Luna, I don’t see them as a back-up family. I see them as just family, no ‘back-up’ or ‘extended’ or any of those other terms. After all, to me, family isn’t about being a blood relation, it’s about having the will to put yourself at risk to protect them. It’s about being able to say you’d die for them if necessary, and having absolute faith that they’d do the same for you. As it is, I can call us a family because I honestly believe there’s not one person here who wouldn’t be willing to die for the person standing next to them.”
“Thou makes it sound somewhat different to the way Chris described it.” She said with a raised eyebrow. “Slightly more, noble.”
“Chris tends to be, a little, less-than graceful, with some conversation topics. And when he does have to talk about said topics, his views tend to be... difficult to interpret.” Stephen explained with a shrug.
“We see...” Luna said thoughtfully. “So, thou doth care for the others?”
“I think we established that when I said I was willing to die for them, didn’t we? Anyway, it’s not much, and I know you’ve probably got peo-er, ponies, waiting for you at home, but as long as you’re here, as I said before, you’re part of the family, if you want to be.”
“We.... I... accept your offer...” Luna said, giving Stephen a slight smile, then returning to look at the moon. “We have a question... You had a choice... You could save us, which ye did. Or you could have let us be.... eaten, we suppose... Why did you save us?”
“We live by a motto in this compound. Every life is worth saving, and if you don’t try to save one life, you’ll never save any. Even though Jordan was the one who saw them attacking though, it was my sister who got our rears in gear. We probably wouldn’t have made it in time otherwise. So if there’s anyone you owe thanks to, it’s her. I may be the leader, but she’s the master of inspirational speeches.” Stephen said, chuckling a little.
Luna giggled as well, but something growled inside her, and she grasped her stomach.
“We..... Are hungry!” Luna exclaimed.
“No worries, we’ve got some spare food around here somewhere. I can make some vegetable soup if you want?” Stephen offered.
“We would like that very much! Lead on.” Luna said to Stephen in an almost excited tone. He simply chuckled and led her, by way of a piggyback ride, to the storage containers where they kept their food, rummaging around and tossing things to the side as he searched for the elusive soup. Eventually, a ‘quiet’ cry of triumph escaped his lips as he found a single can, his grin growing slightly as he walked over to the kitchen and began to heat it up.
“So, ready for some ‘gourmet’ soup?” He joked as he grabbed a small bowl and poured the soup in, making a small show of it for no particular reason, tossing the empty can into the air and then straight into the metal storage bin after successfully catching it on the third try, the first two simply resulting in the clang of metal on concrete when he missed, eliciting a few chuckles from the young girl.
Luna tried a bit, and her face expression turned a bit sour.
“Dost thou... Have salt?” Luna asked.
“Just a minute...” Stephen said, searching through the drawers again, “...come on, stupid-Got it!” He grinned, holding up a small shaker of the white crystalline substance, as if it were the Holy Grail, before handing it to her. “Here ya go.”
Luna released a small ‘squee’ as she took the white shaker and began pouring salt crystals into the soup. After giving it another taste, she smiled, and continued eating..
“Thy taste is delectable!” Luna said, still munching on the carrot pieces in the soup.
“Glad you like it.” Stephen replied, before frowning a little. “Hey, Luna?”
“Yes?” She responded, looking up at Stephen.
“When we get you home, do me a favor? Don’t forget about us, alright?” He asked, wiping at his ‘forehead’ with his arm.
“Of course....” She responded, returning to her soup, with a frown on her face.
“What’s up now?” He asked worriedly.
“IF we ever get back home...” She said, munching on the little pieces of the carrots.
“We will get you home. I swear on my life. I won’t stop until I find a way to get you back, pinkie swear,” He replied with conviction, holding out his little finger, only to be met with a look of confusion. “It’s a Pinkie Promise. Take your smallest finger, and wrap it around mine.” He explained.
“Oh yes, we are familiar with this ritual! Our friend Twilight Sparkle showed it to us!” Luna said, while she wrapped her pinkie finger around his and recited: “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”
Their faces swapped expressions; Luna was smiling, while Stephen now bore the confused look. “Uh, what was that? I’ve never heard of a Pinkie Promise like that before...”
Somewhere in the back, the crackling of a bed could be heard, when a figure stood up and said: “Dude, you’re ruining the moment!” Before dunking his head back into the pillow.
“Uh... seriously... anyway, guess it’s my turn, huh?” Stephen asked. “Ok, Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”
“Yay! Thy hath done it correctly! The fun has been doubled!” Luna yelled, smiling and jumping.
“Damn, you sound like I did when I was a kid, back before I became a lazy SOB, which is how I remained until this whole outbreak occurred.” Stephen said with a laugh, his heart melting upon seeing the mirth she displayed, his smile quickly being replaced as a sudden shiver went up his spine. “... Luna, stay here.” he commanded, getting up and inching towards the east gate, only looking through it for an instant before running back and quietly rousing everyone else. “Everyone get your asses up! We have to go, now!”
“What the?! HERCeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” Chris yelled out across the whole compound, instantly waking Damian, Richard and Jordan, while Meadhbh was still sound asleep. “Wake up! Jeeez! Stephen, what can wake up your sister?!”
“Meadhbh! The HERC are here!” He whisper-yelled into her ear, contemplating screaming as she refused to wake.
“....zzzz....” Nothing but snoring rewarded him for his efforts.
“Dammit. Well, she’s no help.” Stephen said, trying his best to keep his composure while he rapidly went through possible plans, dismissing them almost as soon as he thought of them for a few minutes, too long in everyone else’s opinion as he turned to a small desk overflowing with maps and various charts, blueprints, etc. “Ok, got something. It’s the only option I think we have; Full evac of the compound.”
“You’re crazy, what about all we built?!” Chris asked Stephen, who seemed too distracted looking at his maps.
“It’s either the compound, or our lives. Which would you rather lose?” He asked without looking up. “There’s a hospital nearby, it’s the same one Meadhbh and I ‘regrouped’ in. I don’t know if it’s cleared of...victims...but it’s your best shot for now. I’m gonna make sure these bastards don’t have an easy time of finding you.”
Chris sighed, looking away he quietly said: “I’ll go prep the Deathmobile....”
“Ok. And Chris,” Stephen turned his head from the maps and gave his friend a weak smile, “Take care of Luna. Get her home.”
“I will.... Get back in one piece, alright?” Chris said, before he left for the car.
“...no promises, Chris. No promises.”
Jordan came running up to Stephen, all huffed up.
“Dude.....We gotta go...” Jordan said, trying to catch his breath.
“You gotta go, I’m holding them o-.” Stephen suddenly spun around and hit the dirt, a mix of shock and surprise on his face as blood suddenly splattering Jordan, a gaping wound in his torso.
“What the fuck?! Jesus! Damian, Meadhbh! HELP!” Jordan yelled at the top of his throat, with both of them running to him, pressing Stephen’s wound.
*cough* “... fuck... Feels like... I just got... shot...”
“It’s gonna be alright! Just... Don’t TALK!” Meadhbh yelled out, grabbing a towel and suppressing the wound.
“Hey... Meadhbhy... when’d you... wake up?” Stephen asked with a weak grin.
“Shut up brother! Jesus! He’s losing too much blood!”
“No worries... if I die, I die... that’s...” His eyes fluttered weakly, then closed, and his breathing slowed until it couldn’t be felt anymore.
“Fuck! FUCK! FUUCK!” Meadhbh went into a fit of rage, grabbed her swords and started slashing her way through HERC officers. One by one they went down, blood painting the ground as she was covered in more blood with every kill. After killing several of them, she fell down to her knees, HERC surrounding her. One walked towards her with the air of a cat who knew their ‘prey’ was too weak to resist any further, and drew a pistol, pressing it against her skull, a shark’s grin hidden beneath his mask.
“Fuck....You...” She spat.
“Sorry, scum like you aren’t my type.” He replied, his voice carrying a smug tone mixed with contempt as he began to pull the trigger. If his face had been visible, one would have been able to see the shock and awe in his eyes as his gun was enveloped in a strange light and ripped away from him so forcibly it broke several fingers, and tore off the index completely. He screamed as he looked to where his gun had gone, only to see it being crushed in a dark blue aura, the same one surrounding the hands of the young girl facing them with absolute rage plastered on her face.
“Thou....Does not... Mess with OUR FRIENDS!” Luna yelled, while the strange light enveloped the officer’s arm, twisting it, and nearly tearing it off.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR! OPEN FIRE!” He screamed, trying desperately to free his arm from whatever invisible force was gripping it, only succeeding in making it tighter and more agonisingly painful.
As the HERC opened fire, their bullets suddenly stopped in mid-air, only to drop to the ground.
“...The fuck...” Meadhbh muttered, unmoving, simply taking in the sight of the HERC soldiers as they began to shuffle nervously amongst themselves as they reloaded while others kept up the futile barrage of bullets.
Luna didn’t take any notice of the less-than-useless projectiles, her barrier serving its purpose and stopping them before they made it halfway to her. “You have saved us when we needed help, you provided us shelter, you kept us fed, and safe. You risked your life to save ours. So now you shall no longer have to suffer the fate of this world! I am going to take you away from this place! Away from all this madness!” And with that, Luna’s eyes began to glow, and her hands glowed even brighter than before.
“Luna... what... what is this?” Meadhbh asked, staring at her with a mix of confusion, fear, and awe.
Suddenly a large beam covered them, and everything vanished in an endless sea of white.