Chapter 15: Dead By Dawn

“Mwwwaaaaa.. POW!” The first ghoul's head exploded. The corpse fell to the floor now it was going to stay dead this time.

They had all taken up a fortified position behind the counter gunning down the coming hordes.  It wasn't long after Verity announced that the barrier in the back room gave way letting the masses of undead into the main room. Their suspicions were correct, the undead were large in numbers and very pissed at being awoken.

CHING! CHING! “Mwaaeeerrrrrkkzz” The ghouls howled as they mindlessly stepped on the bear traps. It hurt them but they did not stop. That is partly what inspired Artemis's kinemortophobia, how they would just keep coming at you. Artemis's neck felt electric and her mind became light. Fear was attacking from all angles. The ghouls were not firing weapons but she couldn't help but take cover so as not to look at them.

“Do it Artemis, you can do this, protect your friends!” She goaded herself to no avail.

“You got to! For your friends! Do it!” Artemis clenched her eyes and backed out from behind the counter. She raised her famas. Eyes closed she fired blindly.

Ta-da-dat-dat-dat-dat! Her famas rang out accompanied by several pained grunts and groans from the zombies. Artemis opened her eyes only to have a close ghoul grab her gun. Artemis shrieked and started tugging to regain her rifle.

“No! Step off!” Artemis cried.

SCHWING! Verity intervened. With a vertical slash of his blade he cut the pony in two. Artemis fell back with the inertia of wrestling her famas back. The newly halved torso clamored towards Artemis in an ugly flailing of limbs. Artemis screamed, she was paralyzed with fear.

“Hrnh!” Verity grunted as he stomped the ghoul's head in. He extended a hand and helped her to her feet. Without saying anything Verity went back to fighting.

Aroma fired wildly at the zombies. Often hitting the ceiling or undead torso's. Artemis hovered up to the orange mare. She was using Hayseed's BFR, her skill was mediocre.

“Artshemis.” She said with the gun in her mouth. “We can'tsh hold dish poshishon for rong.” Aroma said with worry. She spit the gun out to reload it.

“We can't hold this position for long!” Aroma declared. Artemis knew that as well. This was an uphill battle. They didn't have the firepower or numbers to hold this place all night.

“We just need to hold them off until the storm subsides!” Artemis told her companion.

Click click click- The famas was out of ammo! Artemis checked her stores. Her ballistic vest had four straps to store magazines and all four were empty.

“Bloody hell.” Artemis cursed. She ran across the floor and slid to the weapon bag.

“Shotgun, shotgun, shotgun, crowd control.” She thought to herself as she hastily searched for... Whoa. Artemis picked up a C-4 plastic explosive.

“Holy hell.” she said to herself. “Hayseed, where the hell'd you get this?” Artemis asked from across the chaos.

Hayseed replied bluntly as he wrestled off one rotting foe. “Some group of foals sold it to me a while back, doesn't matter.” He blew the ghoul's head off sending the body backwards.

This gave Artemis an idea. She glanced to the ceiling and found an air duct. It was far to big for her to fit into but not Aroma. Aroma could get in those vents, follow them to the main passageway the ghouls were coming from and use the C4 to close it. It was crazy enough to work, but it did place Aroma in terrible peril.

BAM! The zombie's head turned to pulp from the BFR.

“Aroma, I have a plan.” Artemis began. Aroma turned to hear more. She had to raise her ears to hear over the commotion.

“What is it?!” Aroma yelled. Artemis held out the C4, but Aroma didn't get it.

“I need you to go into that vent and follow it to where ever you think they're coming from. Then you set it to detonate and run like all hell back here!”

“I don't know Artemis explosives aren't really my strong suit.” Aroma noted.

“You're the only one who can fit in there, if I could fit in their I'd already be in there.” Artemis admitted.

Aroma pondered for a second they didn't have. The undead were swarming them and the counter was more than flanked by the walking dead.

“Okay Artemis! For the team!” Aroma took the C-4. Artemis gave Aroma the boost she needed to get into the shaft. She bucked the grate and clamored inside kicking her hind legs a little before sliding in.

Pitch black. Aroma coughed. The noise from down below had become muffled. The sounds inside the vents reverberated about. Rattle, scratches and thumps with the motion down below were the only things you could hear. Aroma wanted to turn around and asked for her pipbuck but she couldn't maneuver to well inside.

She had to press forward. Slowly Aroma crawled into the darkness. Dust assaulted her nostrils, her heart has starting to beat faster. She was scared, it was to quiet.

“Just follow the vents, when you hear noise put the C4 for five minutes and run like H.” Aroma told herself.

She was beginning to itch. The hairs on the back of her head were standing straight up. Her breathing became shallow. The worse part was climbing into darkness but then Aroma found a new worse thing. The vents took a left turn. What could be on the other side of here? An eyeless vent ghoul lying in wait to tear her face off and gouge out her eyes then eat her still living body. She imagined a ghoul eating her face while her back legs flailed helplessly behind her.

Aroma was tempted to set the charge now and turn tail but as much as she hated the idea of going forward she was equally afraid of going back. She made her little prayer in her head that Artemis would tear open the vent and drag her out if there really was company.

Aroma drew her BFR and slowly skirted the corner. It didn't matter even if there was a ghoul she couldn't see it. That was the worse part. Luna dammit this was scary.

“Aww cheesburgers.” Aroma cursed under her breath. She rolled down and continued.

“Keep calm and crawl in the vents. Keep calm and crawl in the vents.” She repeated in her mind.

“Mwwwaaaa!” A ghoul hissed, the hiss was in the vent! Aroma shriek bloody murder. She felt squishy hooves touch her back legs. It was behind her this whole time! Scuttling along behind her just trying to catch her.

Mwwwwaaaaaarrrrr!!!! The ghoul screamed. It bit into Aroma's hind leg with it's rotting jaw. Aroma's blood rose to the surface of her wound. The pain was agonizing. Aroma screamed as loud as she could but she might as well have been on the other side of the world.

The ghoul rocked it's head back and forth trying to dislodged the piece of flesh it grabbed on Aroma until-!

RIIIIP!

Aroma felt tears running down her eyes. The sudden pain and trauma, she felt a warm wetness  on her wound and by her crotch. If she passed out now she knew she'd never wake back up. Using the last bit of her strength she raised the BFR to what she hoped to Celestia was the ghoul's face.

Aroma pulled the trigger! BAM! In a flash she saw the ghoul's wretched face and bloody mouth, then she saw it explode. The BFR echoed all around the ventilation. All you could hear was a ringing sound.

Still ringing. Aroma laid her head down. She couldn't hear anything, she couldn't even hear her own thoughts or breathing. She rolled to her stomach, her leg felt like it was on fire. Shakily she pulled out the C4 and set the timer.

00:00 – program detonation timer.

Aroma looked at the bomb, four red zeros dominated her vision which blurred and focused randomly. She felt lightheaded.

05:00 – start?

Just as she hit “begin” the vent gave out from under her. Silently she fell from the shaft. The ringing wasn't stopping, Aroma had been deafened by the gunshot! She believed she landed with a oof. Aroma was in the station's. This was bad, no EFS, no hearing. Aroma was in a very bad way.  She fell to her haunches to look at her hind leg.

Her orange fur had been stained with a dirty brown coloration. Her jumpsuit had a stain from where she pissed herself. She tore off part of her foreleg jumpsuit and wrapped it around her bite wound. You could clearly make out the teeth marks. Weakly she reached for the C4, if this wasn't the place then it would have to do.

Start- starting. 50-49-48... Aroma had set the clock upside down! She didn't program the bomb for five minutes she programmed it for fifty seconds!

Aroma let out a long and vulgar curse phrase, maybe it's better she didn't hear it. Something about Luna, a garden hose, a private place on Aroma, a tractor, and Citadel Spire.

37-36-35-34... The clock beeped she presumed.

Aroma made a beeline to where ever she thought would take her back to the others. Her vision was severely blurring, pain shot up through her leg. She clung to a wall for support. Luckily the basement was better lit than the other floors. It looked more akin to a bunker than a gas station's basement though.

Bones littered the floor Aroma traversed the basement. Ribcages, legs, and skulls. Far to many bones to have just been a normal fueling station, Aroma noticed this but she was loosing her consciousness and could not think clearly.

“Need....to find... a place...to.. lie down.” she murmured to herself.

She stumbled around the hallways. Becoming more and more scrambled in her thoughts she made her way into the men's bathroom. Remembering to lock the door took as much mental strength as it would to disarm a balefire bomb. Aroma held on to a urinal, but soon she fell over. Her consciousness flickered then died.

“I'm...sorry... Stellar.”

“...”

“...”

BOOM!

“...”

“...”

Aroma flickered to life. Her eyes fluttered open. She felt fatigued and lethargic she had not been unconscious for more than a minute but she felt like she had been asleep for hours maybe even days. Aroma could here nothing, she had severe hearing damage and there was no way to tell if it was permanent. Was Artemis and the others alive? If Aroma had been asleep for hours then there was a good chance the others had left.

Aroma's head swam in emotional pain. She imagined the others holding off the horde as long they could before they eventually had to evacuate. They would have waited as long as they could but this station had become Aroma's tomb.

But in the face of such morbid thoughts Aroma couldn't help but feel a little pleased and prideful. Her sacrifice had enabled her friends to survive and continue living. She imagined her friends were alive, they evacuated the station. Then another thought crawled into her deafened head.

What if they weren't?

What if Artemis, Verity and the others were torn limb from limb and eaten alive and Aroma had done this in vain? The thought echoed her futility. No. No matter how cruel the wasteland was it couldn't have ended like that, it just couldn't have. Aroma would not believe this, she just couldn't. It took more faith not to believe. Then the final scenario came upon her.

What if they were still here and wondering where she was at?

If they were still here and holding out for her then she needed to get to them. Aroma wanted to live, not to die in this decrepit tomb of a gas station especially not in the men's restroom. Drawing on her feeble reserves of strength Aroma threw herself off the urinal. Standing up was out of the question. She crawled slowly but she imagined Stable G, her friends. Her friends, Artemis, Verity, Hans their faces gave Aroma to willpower to put one leg in front of the other and drag herself to the door.

The door moved like a ton of bricks, but moved nonetheless. There right by the door was an elegant silver plate with a flower, a small glass of water and a small bowl of candy. There was a note as well. Aroma opened the note.

Dear Aromatherapy,

These will help, put one and one only in your mouth. Then proceed to swallow it by drinking the water provided. Take the fire escape stair case to your right. The code to the door is 0451. Best of luck.

Love,

G & M

P. S. Hurry.

Aroma dropped the strange letter and stared at the candy. Six candies were in the bowl. While she would usually have been skeptical about eating strange candy. But desperate times called for desperate measures. Following the note's instruction Aroma picked up one candy and put it in her mouth. Seconds later a disgusting sensation filled her mouth. It tasted bitter beyond comprehension. Only when Aroma was able to gag did it finally dissolve. Then everything changed.

The world was bathed in a mellow bronze light. Aroma's limbs and muscles relaxed, her pain disappeared entirely. As a matter of fact all feeling disappeared. The previous befuddlement she was experiencing was replaced with a heightened sense of... well everything. She could think more clearly than ever before.

“Whoa....” This was a euphoria unlike any other.

As if she had never endured any trauma Aroma stood up and brushed herself off. Remembering the note's instructions she walked down the hall to the fire escape staircase.

0 click! 4 click! 5 click! 1 click! The fire escape door unlocked soundlessly or maybe it was because Aroma was still deafened. As she proceeded up the narrow winding circular staircase she realized the full extent of the damage.

She might never hear again. She could never hear her friends, music, or anything. She felt broken, like she was damaged beyond repair.

“I.. I would only be a liability in combat now to.” Aroma thought to herself fighting post traumatic depression.

“I'm useless now! They might as well sell me to Red Rope, I would be her dumb deaf whore. That's all I could be now.” Aroma despaired. Stopping on the stairs to wipe her tears away she noticed light not far above her.

“I.. I don't want to die here. Not like this.” She told herself.

She reached the door but the euphoria brought on by those strange candies was fleeting and Aroma felt weaker with each passing second. Aroma threw herself at the door. Her arms felt like wet noodles trying to move the heavy door.

“For the next day.” Aroma pushed.

“For Stable G.” Aroma strained.

“For my friends!” Aroma pushed with all her meager might. The door's resistance ended and slowly it opened. Her last reserve of willpower exhausted everything became fuzzy and her bedlam state returned. But it didn't matter anymore, she was saved.

“Go! Go! Go!” Verity shouted. They were running for the wagon, the undead had finally stormed their barricade and now was the time for flight.

“We have to go back for Aroma.” Artemis shouted.

“Artemis there's good chance she's gone. We have to leave!” Verity shouted over the waves of chaotic noise.

“Like fucking hell! No one gets left behind!” Artemis countered.

The ghouls began to grab onto the wagon. If the wagon was destroyed then they were as good as dead. Artemis swung her famas like a blunt object trying to clear out the zombies and find Aroma. Hans grabbed her arm mid-swing. His face was solemn his eyes said there was nothing they could do to bring Aroma back. They had to leave.

“Artemis we need to leave...” Hans said softly.

“..... No, Aroma..” Artemis said in despair.

Then in the darkest hour when all hope seemed to be lost. A door opened at the back of the garage. Out of it stumbled a weak and weary Aroma. She looked bedraggled and pained.

“Aroma! Let's go!” Artemis shouted dropping her famas in the wagon.

Immediately the undead horde turned to the easier prey. Everything slowed to a crawl, Artemis and Verity flew over the masses to their friend. Fleshy hooves and jaws rose to try to grasp them but failed. Verity decapitated a ghoul as it tried to sink it's jaws into Aroma. In an arc Artemis dashed and grabbed her friend just as the ghouls nearly had her.

Artemis carried Aroma in her arms. Her friend was haggard up close she was bleeding profusely from her leg and Artemis noticed tiny dried trails of blood coming from her ears. Aroma had been through hell, and now it was their turn to protect her.

Artemis and Verity landed in the wagon. “Get us out of here!” Verity ordered. The wagon's engine rumbled.

“Hold on this is gonna get bumpy!” Hayseed shouted.

CRASH! The wagon rammed through the garage door leaving a gaping hole in the building.

The horde ran outside after them only to be routed by the light of the rising sun on the horizon. They howled as the ghouls scurried back to the depot, it sounded like a choir of angels to Artemis's ears to hear them kicking dirt running back to their hole.

Artemis turned to her friends. The night had been exhausting, no one had gotten out without damage. Everyone was beaten but they survived the night. She looked to Aroma who was beginning to stir.

“Take us as far away from here as you can Hayseed. We can rest when that place is a speck on the horizon.” Artemis said as she gazed back at the hidden necropolis. The rising sun cast a large shadow over it.

Verity walked up to her. No words nothing needed to be said. He placed an arm over her as they looked outward.

“Mmmnn.... Art..emis, am I dead?” Aroma squeaked.

Artemis knelt down by her and gently laid a hand on her. “No, Aroma. You're alive, we all are and we safe.” Artemis told her.

Next Chapter: Chapter 16 - Post Apocalypse Picnic Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 59 Minutes