Shadows in the dark

Chapter 30

Have you ever wondered what death is like?"

Nurse Hale suddenly dropped what she was doing and snapped her head over to Flash Sentry, who was busy looking out the window by his bed. "W-what?" she asked. Having never heard him talk like this.

The brilliant gamboge colored pegasus shrugged. Acting as though nothing is wrong with his question. "When I look back to what happened, I remembered seeing my comrades die before my very eyes. At night, I can sometimes hear them scream..."

"Flash Sentry..."

"Wind Breaker and Storm. Those were their names, yes? I keep seeing them in my dreams. They look all torn up and bloody looking. They also look sad. So. Very. Sad..."

The cream colored unicorn tensed slightly before slowly turning back to her work. Which is cleaning up medical tools on a daily basis. It's important that her med-bay is sanitized and clean. For the past month and a half, Flash Sentry has been her only patient. He had told Wind Dance everything he had seen before blacking out. Although skeptical, the disappearance of his platoon was enough to convince their Commander to send a much larger squad of ponies out to the mountains. They haven't been heard from as of late, and the others were beginning to get a little anxious.

That wasn't all. Since his reawakening, Nurse Hale has been noticing small changes in Flash Sentry's behavior. She was beginning to think that the blow to his head had done much more damage than she originally thought. And it was beginning to creep her out slightly.

Flash Sentry ran his hoof down window glass slightly as he stared at his faint reflection with a small smile and half-lidded gaze. "They're not coming back, you know." he said.

"Pardon?"

"The platoon Wind Dancer sent. They're not coming back. There's no way they can come out of those mountains alive. Look at what happened to my platoon. They've been missing for almost four months now. They're not coming back. None of them are."

"Flash Sentry, do you want to go outside?" Nurse Hale asked with a nervous smile. Trying to sound as calm as possible. The pegasus looked over to her with a smile and nodded.

"I would like that, Nurse Hale, thank you."

Nurse Hale helped the pegasus out of bed and brought him outside. From there she guided him to a part of the empire that was always guarded, and the soldiers are fully aware of Flash Sentry's change in behavior. It wasn't like him to talk this way. He was always a positive sort of stallion. Always looking towards the brighter side of things.

"Keep an eye on him." Hale whispered to one of the guards on duty. "Be sure he is back in the med-bay by dusk. He won't have a problem obeying orders. But if anything, make sure to give him this." Hale then handed the Earth Pony a sedative. "It doesn't work right away, but it packs quite a punch."

"I will. Thanks." the guard replied before taking the needle.

Hale nodded. "Good luck." The cream colored unicorn was about to turn and leave before Flash Sentry suddenly called out to her.

"Nurse Hale! Come watch the sunset with me." he called from one of the benches that was facing the horizon.

Nurse Hale seemed hesitant, but she knew the guard would be watching in case anything happened. Flash Sentry hasn't harmed or killed anypony yet, but that didn't keep her from staying on high alert. She trotted casually over to the bench before taking a seat beside him. Pressing herself closely on the other end and away from the pegasus, who was simply gazing at the sunset with a smile on his face.

...

"His name was Voar."

"What?" Applejack asked.