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The Flood Onslaught - Chapter Seven
Posted By: The Grenadier<smaytothej044@yahoo.com>
Date: 6 October 2005, 12:58 am
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Hey all, it's been awhile. Sorry I haven't written a new chapter for a few months, but I've been pretty busy.
I noticed the last Chapter I posted, not many people commented or saw it. If you didn't see it, or you're just interested in the history behind this story, you can click on something, such as previous work, or other chapters, etc. Something like that. Now, onto the story...
Chapter 7 - Haunting Memories
There was a scream.
Running. Darting. Lurking in the shadows. A young human girl stuck her head out an opening in the crude shelter.
More running. Another scream. The girl was dead. He could see blood on his grotesque hands. He felt anguish as he helplessly watched the body being taken over.
He heard several other piercing screams ring out through the night and knew what was happening. This was a fate worse than death. This was...
Jenkins woke up in a cold sweat.
After he, Andrew, and Lauren re-took the city, he had undergone several surgeries to make him feel more like a human once again. Sweat glands, hair... he was almost back to normal. Jenkins looked like a normal human on the outside, but on the inside, the Flood tissue remained. It was needed for him to keep using the MJOLNIR Armor System.
He had been having these nightmares for weeks now. They were haunting memories of a past life. How could he redeem all of the blood he spilled?
No. It had not been him - it was the other presence that had once resided inside of him. But hadn't it been his body it was using? Jenkins put aside the thought. He would think about this later.
He sat up in bed and stode over to the sink. He splashed crisp, cold water on his face. It had been so long since he had felt refreshed, renewed... something he hadn't felt in one-hundred years.
Walking over to the window, his gaze fell upon the brilliant night sky. The Flood was still out there, and he would do everything he could to stop them.
A slender hand touched his shoulder. It was Lauren. Her short brown hair was pulled back tight, all except for two strands of hair, which fell down to either side of her face.
"Did you have the dream again?"
Jenkins nodded. She frowned and walked towards the door, but turned her head back.
"Andrew and I were going to head down to the cafeteria. Do you want to come?" Lauren asked. He glanced at his watch: 3:27 AM. He shrugged and followed her down the dimly lit hall.
They were on Reach. It had been almost completely glassed over by the Covenant in 2552, except for a small area around Menachite Mountain. But after Humanity and the split Covenant defeated Truth, artificial land and bodies of water were built over the bits of smoldering, broken glass that remained of the planet.
This was a top-level retreat, similar to Camp Hathcock. The three Spartans were granted a week of rest here after their heroic efforts to drive the Flood back through the galaxy. No one was there, though - they had the place to themselves.
They reached the mess hall. Andrew was already there, drinking a bottle of water at a table. As if provoked by some inner voice, Jenkins said, "I don't think I'm hungry right now. I'll see you guys later." He continued down the hall.
As he ambled, he thought about the past. Reach had been his home since he was a mere child. He was at a very young age when he arrived. All he knew about his past was that his mother and father abandoned him - he had been an orphan all of his life.
When he was 16 in 2543, he volunteered to be in the military. The Covenant was getting perilously close to the Inner Colonies - the UNSC needed every soldier they could get.
Jenkins was reluctantly accepted - he wasn't of age yet, and he had yet to finish school. But eventually, he got in. His first CO was Sergeant Avery Johnson. He drove his men hard, that was for sure - but he was a good man and taught you how to come out ahead. Jenkins managed to stay assigned to Johnson's platoon after they were shipped out to fight the Covenant.
In 2545, he graduated. Their first assignment was actually not fighting the Covenant - the UNSC was having trouble with rebel group on a Martian moon.
That was were he found his mother and father - they were the rebel leaders. Jenkins and a few other men surrounded them and forced them into a surrender... they were taken back to Reach and eventually setenced to the death penalty for killing so many UNSC Soldiers. They were responsible for hundreds of casualties throughout the last decade.
Jenkins was so shaken up from the incident, he had to be given a clean bill of health before he could fight again. Severe depression kept him bed-ridden for weeks. Finally, he got out and returned to his squad.
In August of 2552, he and his platoon were assigned to go aboard a station called the Circumference, locate a NAV Database, and then destroy it, as per the Cole Protocol. But they were delayed quite a bit - dozens of Jackals swarmed them. All but four of them were killed - he, Johnson, and two others survived.
That was when Spartan 117 and his team came aboard the station to finish the job. He told them over the COM that the database had been destroyed, and that they'd be getting out soon. They returned to the Pillar of Autumn.
Jenkins thought he was going back to the surface to fight, but then the ground situation turned sour. The {i]Autumn made a blind jump into Slipspace.
That was when they discovered the Halo. He, Captain Keyes, and Sergeant Johnson traveled to a distant swamp to recover a "weapon cache". But it had been anything but that. The Flood overwhelmed them, and he was taken over.
A few days later, he was taken prisoner by McKay and Silva onto the Truth and Reconciliation. The ship did a nose dive, and killed every last thing on board - except for him.
For the next 100 years, his life was a living hell. He killed tens of thousands of people... and there was nothing he could do about it.
Andrew finally captured him and managed to turn him back and give him control over his own body and thoughts again. He was put into MJOLNIR Armor, became a Spartan, and fought a few battles against the Flood.
And here he was now.
Was that all his life had been? A big scar? Perhaps. But maybe, just maybe, he could make up for it by saving lives again, by fighting against and defeating the Flood, once and for all.
Jenkins found himself at the cafeteria again. He looked up from his feet and saw Lauren and Andrew seated at a table. He smiled and joined them.
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