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A Soul of Steel by The Scribe
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A Soul of Steel: Part 1
Date: 10 September 2003, 11:51 PM
The following story was found on the empty bed of a Private Samuel Wells.
I figured that I may die in combat, so I have decided to write everything that I have encountered and been involved in up to this point. Here we go...
I enlisted as a young 18 year old, a fresh adult with big plans for my life. Ready to take on the world, I decided that the Marine Corps was the way to go. I will now skip everything before boot camp.
I do remember the first day of boot camp. I'll swear to God that I was yelled at more that day than I ever had been in my life. Our drill instructor was one of the strictest men I'd ever met. Always keeping us on the go, he made sure that we woke up sore the next morning. I will say, though, that he was the best teacher I'd ever had. News later reached me that he died on Reach. A shame.
After my training, I was shipped out and was stationed on a small planet called Hydron. Hydron was mostly made of water, so only a few small skirmishes between human and Covenant had occurred there within the five years it was occupied by anyone.
I was posted as a barracks guard just outside the small encampment were most of my fellow Marines stationed at Fort Sterling slept.
That night, I was thinking of home and my girlfriend on Earth, when a fearsome whine roared overhead. I could see pressed against the barely lit sky, a stiff cornered U shape. My stomach dropped and I cocked my assault rifle, knowing that this would be my first time in combat.
As the ship began to lower itself to the ground to drop troops, another one showed up and a few more. They all began to lower, and I hit the alarm. Shouting was heard from inside the barracks and other Marines began to get ready. I ran inside and into a room of panic and confusion.
Since, as I said before, Hydron was a minor planet and not likely to be attacked, they planted a lot of rookies there. I was one of them and we were all not knowing what to expect.
I slammed the barrack door and took cover down behind a bottom bunk. Through the door, muffled Covenant voices could be heard shouting. I tightened my grip on my gun and felt the butterflies in my stomach jolt.
Like I said, none of us knew much about combat, but these damn aliens did. The door blew in and hit one Marine I never knew. I found out later that he died.
The Covenant poured in, Grunts, Jackals, and Elites. Fortunately, most were Grunts, and were quickly mowed down the second they filled the door way. But the Elites were smarter. One of them tossed in a plasma grenade that killed two guys I knew as Nick and Pete. They were funny and would sit up at night and tell us funny stories, but I knew I would never hear another from either of their mouths.
After the deadly grenade blast, Jackals came pouring in, and even under fire, their shields stayed strong. Our bullets bounced off of them, sending the rounds flying back in our direction. Corporal Armstrong, who was firing next to me was hit by a bullet that had apparently bounced. It passed through his chest cavity and he fell back and grunted. I got down on the floor and inched just a little over to him.
"Don't stop shooting, dip shit!" he shouted at me.
I had to take orders from a commanding officer, so I did what he told me.
After only firing a few more bursts, I ran dry. After quickly grabbing a nearby plasma pistol, I aimed and fired. I had charged the blast so it slammed with full force into a nearby Jackal's shield. It quickly extinguished and the Marines' bullets ripped through its body.
"Hey!!" I shouted. "Hey!! Their own guns knock out their shields!!"
Everyone near me began scrambling for the nearest plasma pistol. After every Jackal was down, a few Elites were still standing. They were quickly taken care of when a sergeant told everyone to toss at least one grenade. After the explosions, guts and gore coated the room and the front of the barrack building had been blown off. I stood up along with my comrades and let the awkward silence settle over us.
Everybody just kind of looked around the room in shock. I ran over to Armstrong, but the last breath must have already left his body, because his eyes were glazed and were only white. I closed them with my fingers and stood up.
Sergeant Bent came hustling into our barrack, out of breath.
"They hit our barrack as well, gear up and get out, they're moving us off of Hydron. It seems the UNSC wants some 'better' people down here. Apparently, from what I've been told so far, some of the heaviest combat is occurring on Polaris. We're going there."
A Soul of Steel: Part 2
Date: 14 September 2003, 4:42 AM
It was on a sunny Sunday morning that I stepped from the white, pure sand of Hydron and onto the Tyrant, a small transportation vessel to Polaris. Knowing that this would be my last time probably seeing a foreign planet's ocean, I stood in silence for a few minutes, taking in the sound of the tide and the gentle breeze coming from the sea.
After the last of the equipment and every rookie Marine was loaded onto the Tyrant, the doors slammed shut and it took flight. As it rose, I looked out of one of the ship's windows. The ocean's waves and details became more and more dull and simple until, finally, stars surrounded the ship and Hydron was just a blue ball with a few green islands on it.
A fellow, who I didn't much care for, stepped up to me.
"Hope you can hold your ass together out there, Wells," he said.
"Hey, Kingston, I think I can goddamn remember how to keep it going in combat. Let's not forget who made it to squad leader," I responded, beginning to stand up.
"Cool it, hotheads," Captain Jergen appeared behind Kingston. "Cut the bullshit or I'll be sure you get the stale piece of the pie as far as my personality goes."
Kingston and I both shut up and I sat back down in my seat along with all of the other Marines.
The Tyrant looked more like a Boeing Jet from the Atomic Age about five hundred and fifty six years ago. The seating was how pictures had looked in our text books. There were aisles and there were large rectangular groups of seats put through the ship in an organized manor.
Hundreds of us sat and talked loudly as the Captain approached the front of the ship. Suddenly, static crackled over the loudspeaker. Captain Jergen's voice came loud and strong.
"I've heard that most of you are new to combat, and are just rookies, but I have faith that you will do your best to defend Earth. If you don't, then your name will probably end up in a memorial service. I have fought these Covenant many a time, and let me tell you—mercy and sympathy is the last thing on their minds. So, if this ship should ever come under hostile attack, don't piss your pants and run around like a chicken shit. Fight like you mean it."
I thought about the Captain's words and then drifted off to sleep. Bootcamp memories swam in my head and suddenly...I was there.
"Pick up the pace, pussies!" Drill Instructor Erickson shouted. "You! Wells! Get your amateur ass over here!"
I ran over to the Drill Instructor. The veins on the top of his left hand bulged as he squeezed around the handle of his shock rod. Erickson touched the rod to my quad and it zapped. A sharp stinging sensation went through my leg.
"Run faster, damn it!" he shouted. "Set an example for these boys, squad leader!"
So, I picked up the pace and began to run towards the track to join the rest of my squad members. Sweat soaked my shirt and I could even smell the body odor in my mind.
Then, suddenly, Covenant troops came sprouting from the ground, and began slaughtering recruits. An Elite ran towards me and jabbed an energy sword through my face, and I awoke, sweating a cold moisture.
"What's the problem?" my friend, David Wrangler questioned.
"Nothing," I answered, rubbing my temples. "...Just a nightmare."
David reclined his chair slightly and closed his eyes.
The Tyrant was made for short distance travel and the distance was short. Polaris was a neighboring planet very close to Hydron. I was able to drift back off to sleep and awoke many hours later to find everyone shifting around.
Jergen's voice came over the intercom once again.
"We're about to enter the planet's atmosphere. Fasten you belts and sit tight."
The ride down was a rocky one because of the Tyrant's small size. The ship cleared the white clouds and then the ground came into view. Although we were about thirty thousand feet up, I could see that the ground was a bluish white. I figured that the blue would have to be frozen water and the white was, of course, snow.
After a few more minutes of bumpy riding, the ship then came to slow decent. The Tyrant's belly-jets came to life and the small vessel landed gently and easily. From the window, I could see landing crew scampering here and there, their orange uniforms bright against the white snow.
We all slipped on our F-Jackets (freeze jackets) and stepped down the ramp and onto the snow covered ground. I walked off of the landing pad, and with my backpack full of belongings, made my way to my barrack building.
The inside was warm, and after a few minutes of unpacking, I rushed back outside and got in line with my fellow Marines for a small word from the outpost's Sergeant.
We stood in the frigid air, waiting. Suddenly, the Sergeant showed up and took position in front of all of us. He was an Asian man with stern eyes, and a square face...very military like.
"Hello and welcome to Outpost 7. My name is Sergeant Chang or, preferably, 'sir'. As you may know, Polaris is not in a good position. The Covenant are wanting to take the planet from us and use it as a testing facility for one of their newest weapons. But, fortunately for us, our ground located defense cannons have been causing a problem for their ships and small vessels. When I say that you will not leave here without seeing combat, I mean it. I know that this has been said many a time, but I will say it...most of you will die here."
The words hit me in the chest like a fierce punch. It was all I could do but to hope I wouldn't become one of those people to die. The Sergeant turned his back to us and shot his right hand forward, and pointed his index finger towards what appeared to be steel half-bubbles planted on the ground.
"See that?" he asked. "When we press a special button, those steel bubbles open up and defense cannons shoot out of them. The cannons are then programmed to fire at certain coordinates. That is way you are here. You will defend those three steel half-bubbles with your God-given lives, and our Outpost is a top target for Covenant forces. So, sleep lightly, because when that alarm wails, pull that loaded MAB5 out from under your pillow and get your ass here to this very spot for farther orders, unless the Covenant haven't already breached our defense walls."
After the Sergeant had spoken, silence settled upon the long line of rookies standing in the cold. Only two hours after Sergeant Chang had spoken, it was lights out. I did[ sleep lightly, and did keep a loaded MAB5 under my pillow. As the wonderful feeling of sleep weighted my eyelids, I dozed off. Although I was asleep, my mind sat and waited for that well-known sound...the sound of an emergency alarm.
A Soul of Steel: Part 3
Date: 28 September 2003, 3:20 PM
Note: Sorry about the absence from the Fan Fiction link! Just remember, if you're just now reading the series, don't forget to read part one and two, it will be much easier to understand.
The sound that I had fallen asleep listening for soon pierced my ears. The emergency alarm blared and everyone hopped up, slipping on their F-Jackets. I ran out the door, my MAB5 in hand and immediately met at the area that the Sergeant had said we should meet at.
Next to me, David Wrangler stood, his face that of a terrified man. He stared straight ahead through the exit of the outpost and out into the large, black outside.
"I don't want to die, God," I heard him whisper. "Don't let me die here. Let me get home."
Since it was midnight, it was dark. The bright flood lights of a few guard towers provided just enough light. But the outside was so dark, that the large ice mountains that were visible in the day, couldn't be seen. Past the outpost's exit was nothing but black and that scared me. I knew that whatever we were going to fight would not be visible until it was in the outpost or at least a few feet from it.
A gentle snow began to fall as the large guns that Sergeant Chang had shown us, began to appear as their large steel shields opened up.
Just as this happened, the Sergeant himself stepped up in front of all of us.
"Hello," he said, as if in a small meeting. "Just ten minutes ago, a scout reported that a mass of about forty Covenant troops and three Wraith tanks were moving in this direction. This particular scout was placed five miles away. By guessing on their reported speed, they should be at a maximum of three miles from here."
After the Sergeant had finished I looked up. One of the large guns was positioning itself at a certain angle. It whirred as the gears turned and it rotated. Then, suddenly, with a small bang, it stopped dead. It then fired a large round that lit up my surroundings for only a split second. The thunderous boom echoed out and into silence.
Then, as if in an answer, a small whooshing noise reached our ears. I looked off into the distant sky and saw a large blue ball moving upward with a tail of blue fire spiraling from its back. It came at an arch and then did what I had feared most. It began moving for us. After a few seconds of watching, we figured that the Wraith tank that had fired the round and miscalculated its coordinates. The huge blue comet-like rocket passed right over us and landed behind the back defense wall of the outpost. It illuminated the area in blue for just a short time and then everything went back to dark.
This time, both guns went off with a double WHUMP and a small indigo explosion erupted on the horizon. One of the lookouts from one of the guard towers looked over at us from his telescope.
"It's a hit. Two Wraiths remaining!" he shouted.
A relieved feeling swept over us and then the Sergeant shouted.
"I want troops spread along the tops of these walls. Two snipers in guard tower A and two snipers in B! Now! Let's go!"
We sprang into action by quickly climbing the large ladders up to the tops of the walls. The snipers took their positions and in only a few minutes we were ready for combat. I looked through my gun sight into the pitch black outside. The Covenant continued to fire more and more tank rounds at us. My heart stopped when I noticed that one of large blue missiles was heading for the center of the outpost. The missile moved just a bit before impact and hit a small building shattering it into fragments of metal and wood.
The marine next to me, who went by Palmer, grinned.
"There goes the showers," he chuckled and then, like a robot, went back to glaring through his gun sight.
Suddenly, one of the snipers began to open up. He fired two rounds, one right after the other. The bullet left a small trail of ruffled air behind it that faded away as went further and further into the dark outside.
Then suddenly, an out-of-control yell pierced the air and an Elite, from what I could tell, came running into the floodlights gleam.
"Smear him!" someone shouted and the whole wall of marines opened fire on the Covenant warrior. He dropped to the ground into an already formed puddle of his own blood. His body looked like a huge, raw piece of meat.
Palmer spoke up again, this time, not chuckling.
"He was just a tool," Palmer muttered grimly. "Just a way for the other Covenant to find out if we really mean business.
"Yeah, but at least now they do know that we mean business," I responded.
The huge outpost cannons rattled my bones again as two more rounds went flying somewhere. Another indigo explosion brightened the ground about a quarter-mile off and the quick glow was able to reveal a few Covenant around it. There were a few Grunts, but mostly Elites. I figured that there were Jackals, but they hadn't turned on their shields yet, because that would reveal their location.
The Wraith's explosion had been enough for one of the snipers. He fired and whooped, designating that a kill went to him. The other sniper crouched next to him said something like, "Lucky shot..." or something like that.
A small boom and then a whooshing sound echoed out into the Polaris air and a blue Wraith projectile slammed into the wall right under me. It exploded against the wall and the structure buckled. Palmer shouted and another projectile hit the wall. One of the outpost cannons thundered its call, and the Wraith erupted into a cloud of blue flame. However, it was too late. The wall collapsed down the middle and I fell with it. Luckily, it didn't totally crumble, because that would have killed us all. Instead, it just kind of fell in half, and provided a V-shaped slide for all of us to go down. But, some did die. Palmer had been one of them. When the wall had fell in half, he had been standing on the breaking point and instead of sliding down the slide that the wreckage provided, fell forward and over the railing of the wall. I had heard him let out a terrified scream before a loud crack sliced through the air and he was dead, his backbone in two pieces.
Other marines that had died, had either fallen as well, or been smashed.
After the wall collapsed, there was no time for messing around. I remember actually being able to see the Covenant, now only a few hundred feet away.
It was when Sergeant Chang shouted, "Put them to hell!" that all hell did break loose.
I put my sights on a distant Elite's form and began firing three round bursts. But, we had underestimated the Covenant's numbers. A wall of plasma bolts came sizzling in our direction. They flew through the outpost, hitting walls, people, buildings and lights. I fell to the ground and took cover. By now the Covenant were making their way into the outpost, and to my absolute horror, a plasma grenade planted itself right in front of my face.
A Soul of Steel: Part 4
Date: 24 October 2003, 10:06 PM
Note: So sorry about being gone long. Most of you probably don't even remeber me! Haha. Oh, well. You can find my other series, of The Wrath of Scar, just see a list of my previous stories. Okay, here you go... (Oh, and you should probably read the story before this: A Soul Of Steel: Part 3.
The grenade sat there for a moment, and seemed to stare me in the face. Then, by pure instinct, I jumped to my feet and I ran. I had never ran like that before. I carried myself far and fast. The grenade exploded behind me, throwing an unlucky Marine who was near it up into the air.
"Jesus, Wells!" Sergeant Chang shouted. He was standing next to me, his gun aimed out and into the wall of Covenant troops. "That was damned close. I saw that grenade."
"Yes, sir," I replied dully, still shaken.
The Sergeant ran off for an intercom station nearby. He picked up the mike and said, "All Marines take defensive positions at the entrance!"
Like magic, Chang's words moved everyone. We had gone over a defensive drill in the past for the outpost's entrance gate.
We all began to take form. In the end, one line of Marines stood up behind another line that crouched, who ducked behind another that laid on their bellies. Chang stood next to me in the back line. Our formation was planted directly in front of the gate's mouth, so enemy fire would sporadically pass us, not really ever accurate.
"Okay!" Chang shouted. "You know what to do! Line 1!"
I began to fire in the Covenant's direction along with everyone else in my line. Then after a few seconds, the ducking line opened up. And after a few more seconds, the lying line opened up. The Covenant didn't stand a chance. There was not a single pause in the firing. A constant wave of bullets sped at the hostile attack group. When ever Line 1 ran out of ammo, and would stop to reload, Line 2 would always be about 10 or 20 rounds behind us, so that gave us enough time to reload and then continue to keep on the firing, just as Line 2 ran out.
A few gung ho Elites charged into the Outpost. One began to fire its plasma rifle, which cut down three men in the line ahead of me. They fell to the ground and twitched a little. The Elite suddenly dropped to the ground as our oncoming bullets ripped it apart piece by piece. The other two of its partners were already on the ground.
While the Outpost's entrance was secure, the Snipers who were in the guard towers left their positions and took position on the other wall of the entrance that hadn't collapsed.
By now, most of the Covenant attackers were dead, lying in their own blood, under the Outpost's floodlights. It was when the last Covenant troop, who was a Jackal, was shot down while retreating, that everyone felt relieved. The sun then began to slowly rise, every once in awhile showing more and more dead Covenant troops.
"We've fought well," Chang said. "Pity we didn't get any sleep."
I let out a small grunt at Chang's comment, too tired to really laugh.
Chang cupped his hands to his mouth. "Everyone meet in the center of the outpost for a short announcement. We all scrambled to the center area and took position in a big, long straight line. Chang stepped in front of us, like we were toy soldiers of his.
"Tomorrow Polaris will be something of the past for some of you. A few of you, mainly those with good records stuck to your asses. You'll be heading off to some other planet named 114. It was discovered by the UNSC, so there's not much creativity in the name yet, but I'm sure some artistic bastard'll come up with something. I'm gonna list off the names now, so listen. If your name is called, report to the departure building near the entrance...or at least what used to be the entrance of the outpost."
We all kind of shifted and I swallowed, not sure to be happy if my name was called or not.
"Wells, Bradley, Bradford, Bailey, Damon, Roberts."
When the name "Wells" hit my eardrums, I immediately stepped forward and began walking towards the building. Above the buildings entrance, a sign read: YOU'RE NOW LEAVING THE OUTPOST, GOOD LUCK AND MAY HELL'S PERSUIT OF YOU FALL BEHIND.
I chuckled at the sign and stepped inside. An older man, apparently in his 50s sat at a desk and gave me what seemed to be a smile.
"How are you?" he asked.
"Fine."
"Didn't know if we was gonna' make it last night."
"Yeah, but we did."
"You one of those boys heading off to 114?"
"Yes sir."
"What's your name?"
"Wells."
The older man leaned over and handed me what seemed to be a small microchip device.
"When the guard at the ship asks you who the hell you are, you push the little button on that thing."
I nodded and stepped out. The sound of a ship warming up came over from behind one of the outpost's walls. I walked out of the gates and around to the outer-side of the back wall. There, on a small landing pad, sat a small transport. A portable set of stairs led up to the entrance. At the foot of the steps, stood a sharp looking guard in a jet black uniform, wearing a helmet with a visor that couldn't be seen through.
As I walked up to the ship, I couldn't tell if he was looking at me or not. So, when he asked rather loudly, "Identification", I was a bit startled. I held up the microchip device and pressed its small button. A spout of light shot from the piece and a small holographic image of me appeared. Along side my image was everything you'd ever want to know. He looked at for a minute, switched it off, handed it to me and motioned for me to get on.
On board were some familiar faces, but no one I really ever knew. The who went by Bradford grinned and looked at me. Taking it as a friendly gesture, I walked over and sat down by him.
"So..." I began. "What exactly are we leaving for?"
"I haven't the slightest idea," he answered as he eased back in his seat.
After about a half hour, I got to know Bradford pretty well. His whole name was Gary Harding Bradford. Pretty nice guy, really. I soon got tired of talking and just decided to go to sleep. I leaned back in my seat and dozed off. I had been making up for eight hours of lost rest when the intercom crackled.
"We're about ten minutes from the planet 114. The flight was fast because of it's neighbors with Polaris. Now, get your gear together and be ready to unload," the pilot said.
The ten minutes passed fast. The ship touched down and the doors flew open. The smell of fresh air filled the ship. We all got up and began to come down and step onto 114. It was an odd planet. The sky was a light green with pinkish clouds. We had landed in the center of what I could tell was a small colonist settlement. The dome-shaped homes of the colonists sat evenly spaced in a semicircle, and the streets were deserted.
Someone said, "Where the hell are all the colonists?"
A voice I had never heard before spoke out.
"They've been declared dead. Every woman, man and child."
A disciplined older man stepped in front of us all. He looked like he had seen some serious action. A large scar ran down the right side of his face and the area above his eyes was wrinkled and burnt-looking.
"My name is Captain Edward. You have all been sent here because of some of the seriously wacky shit going on on this planet. The reason there are no colonist here are because of a biological bomb the Covenant dropped on this place. Settlement survelience shows two Seraph fighters flying over the settlement and dropping two six-foot tall canisters. The canisters are still embedded in the ground."
He pointed over to where the canisters had slammed halfway into the ground. Like a can, their tops were popped open.
"When these things hit the ground, the impact knocked the tops open, releasing the gas. The virus released causes one of the worst known symptoms. Once the virus enters the human body, it triggers a mucus depletion. As you may know, mucus is what lines our stomachs. Well, once the mucus had depleted from the colonist's stomachs, the stomach acid rushed out and into their body, eating up organs, muscle and tissue. We estimated that after the acid had eaten its way out from their bodies, they remained alive for about an hour. That is why you are here."
We all just kind of stared silently at the settlement, imagining the screaming and crying that must've gone on.
Captain Edward continued.
"You will be transported to a nearby settlement with a military outpost there."
"Jesus," Bradford muttered. "We just got back from being at an outpost."
Edward closed his eyes as he spoke, "There, a plan will be constructed on how we are going to stop a large convoy that is moving as we speak. Scouts have spotted it. It is estimated to be at our location within two days. However, there is another problem. Coming from the opposite direction are two hundred Covenant soldiers. The convoy and the soldiers are supposed to meet up right at the outpost, but they don't know there is an outpost. So, some of you will lead a large group of Marines to the Covenant troops, and some of you will lead another group to stop the convoy. Now, let's go."
All I could do was swallow.
A Soul of Steel: Part 5
Date: 5 November 2003, 2:15 AM
Note: It's probably a good idea that you read the other Soul of Steel Chapters (1-4). Thanks.
It was very disappointing news when I found out that I would be in the group who would assault the Covenant convoy. My pal Bradford had been assigned as well and that was probably the only good thing about it. Some people in my group were happy that they didn't have to go and fight the enemy's other army of two-hundred soldiers, but I figured that my assigned group would get a little of both action because there were bound to be Covenant troops assigned with the convoy.
I walked up to Captain Edward at dinner that night.
"How exactly are we going to get to this goddamn convoy?" I asked him.
"We don't have any weapon equipped 'Hogs right now, but we do have nine Transport Hogs, which carry eight people each. That should be quite enough to get your group of 23 there."
"Twenty three?" I asked, surprised. "But I thought that only the six of us that came from Polaris were here."
"Oh, no. Four other ships carrying a total of 36 troops will arrive at about midnight tonight. It should be an efficient number of Marines."
"Oh," was all I had to say. I sat back down and ate up, knowing that I probably wouldn't have a lot to eat the next couple of days. The next morning, we were setting out for the convoy.
That night, I slept deep. I woke up for only a couple of minutes when I heard the four ships arrive, carrying our other men with them. The just-arrived Marines had already eaten and immediately reported to bed.
The next morning, I woke up. Everyone began to dress and report outside in the camp's small courtyard. Captain Edwards was there waiting for us. We all formed a straight line in front of him and stood at attention.
"I know that the sun is just rising, and that a man can be groggy at this time, but you better wake the hell up, men, because most of you are going to die today."
The Captain's words hit me like a ton of bricks. He had said most.
"Right now, I want the convoy assault team to listen. These are the drivers: Davis- Hog 1, Clark- Hog 2, Myers- Hog 3, Cruise- 4, Luis- 5, Aarons- 6, Smith- 7, Hart- 8, and Payton- 9. The rest of you, just pick a hog to get in. Now, move out. You're driver's already know the route to take."
I knew the trip should've been easy. After all, 114 was made of nothing but pretty much a few small lakes, green grass and a few hills here and there. I hopped up and into the point hog, the one who would be leading the chain of Warthogs. The driver, Davis, hopped in and my pal, Bradford, hopped into the passenger's seat. I moved over to the seat behind Bradford's, so that I could chat awhile. Seven unfamiliar Marines hopped in next to me and waited.
Captain Edward voice crackled in everyone's helmet radios.
"Everyone ready for go?" he asked.
No one said a word.
"Then go!" Edward shouted.
Davis hit the gas, sending the Hog forward. All of the others behind us followed.
"This is your point man, Jack Davis," Davis radioed. "ETA to convoy: 2 and one half hours."
"God, I love these things," Bradford said, tapping on the Warthog's speedometer. It read 80 mph, which was a nice speed and probably would get us to the convoy. It was still pretty dim outside and chilly.
Lots of chitchat went back and forth over the radio waves.
One of the drivers, Louis, said, "Hey, Captain, how's the other group doing?"
Edward's end crackled, "They're fine so far. ETA for them is about an hour and a half."
Those two hours and that one half seemed to blow by, and there we were, right at the bottom of a large hill, the Warthogs idol.
"They should be here," Davis radioed. "There's not a goddamned thing."
Suddenly, a huge blue ball of energy soared over the top of the hill and plunged into the tail gate of the Hog behind us. The blue ball exploded, throwing limbs and shards of metal everywhere. After the blue energy cleared, nothing was left, but two tires and a big crater, that at the bottom of, rested the rest of the Warthog.
The awful sound of someone screaming pierced my ears and I looked over to see a Marine, burnt beyond recognition, climbing out of the hole. His clothes contained big, gaping holes and his flesh was wrinkled, some of it still melting and dripping from his body, revealing bright pink muscle from underneath.
"Please!" he shouted. "Oh, God! Somebody help meeee!"
Someone in the third 'Hog stood up and aimed his assault rifle at the dying Marine. He fired and the screaming soldier stopped rested his head on the ground, finally in peace.
Another blue energy ball came whistling over.
"Shit!" Davis jumped out of the driver's seat and I leaped over the side of the Warthog. My feet hit the grassy ground and I began to sprint. The Warthog exploded. The loud boom blended in with the screams of some of the other Marines that had been riding with me. The first thing that hit my mind was Bradford. I turned and looked back. Bradford was crawling from the bright fire made by the explosion. He stopped looked down towards his waist and began to scream. It was one of the worst sounds I had ever heard. Bradford began to hit his hands on the ground and scream louder and louder. Suddenly, he threw up a large amount of blood and died, resting his head in the crimson puddle. When I got closer I could tell why Bradford had screamed so much. His left half had been blown off. It had to have been a horrible death.
I looked back towards the big hill to see three Wraith tanks, in a wedge formation come pouring over the top. Four ghosts followed it. The Marines from the other Hogs jumped from their vehicles and began firing. One of the Ghosts' body was filled with holes and exploded, sending its driver flying through the air.
I was pissed. And I did the only thing I thought of doing...I charged.
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