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Part 1: Survival Is A Bitch
Posted By: Torr<corey_waterman@hotmail.com>
Date: 12 October 2005, 2:56 am
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Sergeant Cochran paused and slowly, began to move backwards. He kept walking until his back hit the wall of the concrete bunker, and he brought up his shotgun, ready for anything. Four dead Marines lay not far away, their bodies scorched from the plasma barrage that had hit them.
First came a single grunt, which he made quick work of, blasting the small alien's innards on the far wall of the closed in bunker. Next came three grunts, he fired twice and they were added to the ugly painting he was working on.
Content with the death of four grunts, the Covenant bastards finally tossed in a few grenades, just as he knew they would. Cochran was already halfway up the ladder leading to the middle level of the bunker. He traded glances with Private Ellington, who was crouched nearby, and quickly began to shove some more shells into his shotgun, which had been decorated with some blue colored grunt blood, paying homage to the fellows he had killed just seconds ago.
Ellington adjusted the stock of his SMG and crawled forward towards the ladder shaft that went downwards. He peeked over the edge of the hole and saw that a few more grunts had been sent in. Cochran had a look as well, then began firing randomly down into the hole. High-pitched screams were heard, and then, silence.
Cochran was struggling to pull a grenade from his belt when he saw Pvt. Ellington going for another look. Before he had time to shout, Ellington had stuck his head over the hole. Hundreds of blue plasma bolts hit Ellington's face in a matter of seconds, then Cochran heard the familiar sound of several plasma rifle's overheating. He grabbed his fellow marine and pulled his limp body away from the ladder.
Ellington's face had been literally melted off. Parts of his brain were exposed and Cochran dropped him instantly, feeling the warm vomit as it came up through his esophagus. He puked on Ellington's corpse and then crawled backward, far away from the ladder. The disgusting after-taste filled his mouth and his eyes got watery.
"Fuckin greenhorn." He muttered, glancing over at the private's vomit and blood covered corpse.
Cochran remembered Ellington and how he had laughed only an hour ago as they were mowing down grunts. They had both been laughing, hell, the whole platoon had been laughing. That was before they encountered the scarab and the waves of Covenant that came shortly after, and before everyone had make a break for it, leaving them in small, separated groups.
He was a seasoned veteran amongst scared greeners. He had seen men die and been so close to death before that even now, defending Earth, he was prepared for death. His family had been glassed long ago on a planet whose name he had nearly forgotten. Most of his friends were dead, the few who were still alive, Harland, Parker, and Jones, two of whom were scattered somewhere else in Mombosa, fighting.
He now clutched his grenade with both hands and looked towards the hole. He gathered himself and pushed those memories aside, and tossed the grenade down the shaft. Then he brought his shotgun up, ready for the next alien bastard he had to kill. Suddenly he heard Corporal Pacelli over the comm.
"Elli? Sarge? You guys still alive?" Pacelli asked, his voice shaking.
"I am." Cochran replied.
"SARGE! Thank God, I thought I was all alone. Did Ellington get tagged?" the corporal asked.
"Yeah, he's dead. Just us. How is it going up there?" Cochran asked.
"I've got one rocket left and three rifle bullets. Two BR clips. How about yourself?" he replied.
"I'm fine on ammo. Any dropships come in?"
"No sir, no Covies at all have moved in, just the ones surrounding the bunker. A couple snipers tried to hide, but I got them." Pacelli said.
"Good. We need to start thinking about our escape. This bunker is getting overwhelmed and even if we do hold them off for a while longer, eventually they will just call in some tanks or dropships and blow this bunker up." Cochran told him.
"Damn, you're right." Pacelli said quietly.
Suddenly, several plasma grenades flew up from the shaft and Cochran was on his feet and moved toward a small barricade for cover from the blasts. Seconds later, two elites were up the ladder and blasting randomly at everything in the small room.
Cochran reached for a grenade, but he was out. He remained quiet, risking only a quick glance over the top of thin barricade. One blue armored elite and one red. Both of them had plasma rifles but the red armored one had a laser carbine slung on his back. One of the elites moved towards the barricade, identifying it as the only place in the small room where a human could hide.
The blue-armored elite leapt over the top of the barricade and began to fire. Cochran greeted him with a shotgun blast and then followed up quickly with a melee attack with the butt of his shotgun. The elite screamed as he died and the alien's corpse impacted against the wall.
Cochran smirked. Even the elite's energy shields couldn't take a shotgun blast at point blank range. Cochran heard the next elite as it began to move towards him. The elite was clearly angry and it flanked the left side of the barricade, firing its plasma rifle in bursts. Cochran picked up the small barricade and shoved it against the elite, pinning it against the wall for a few seconds, then he grabbed his shotgun up from the ground, its barrel scratching on the concrete floor.
The elite had pushed the barricade away by now, but it was too late and Cochran shoved the barrel of his shotgun into the elite's face and blasted its brains everywhere. He ran back to the shaft and heard an elite coming up the ladder. He hung his shotgun over the shaft and fired twice, hearing another elite and a grunt or two die.
"Pacelli, get down here now. This is our chance to get out of this bunker."
"Yessir." Pacelli said into the radio and Cochran heard him throw the rocket launcher down the ladder leading to the third floor of the bunker. He picked it up and then watched Pacelli hop down with the sniper rifle on his back and his battle rifle in his right hand.
"Lets do this." Pacelli said sternly.
Cochran smiled, swooped up Ellington's SMG from the floor, tucked it in his belt, and then slung the rocket launcher over his shoulder and brought the shotgun up to bear.
Out of all the Marines in his new platoon, Cochran had liked Pacelli and Parker the best. Pacelli was a greener, a new Marine. Parker on the other hand, was a veteran, like him.
Without another word, Pacelli had tossed a grenade down the ladder and only seconds after the explosion they were both back down in the first level of the bunker, finishing off the stunned survivors of the blast. They quickly took positions inside the bunker and fought off the forces stationed outside who had little cover except for a few energy shields that had been quickly thrown down.
After they had cleared a good number of them they rushed out of the bunker, back to back, shooting everything in sight. Cochran saw a grunt hop in a parked ghost vehicle and dropped his shotgun, brought up the rocket launcher, and sent a rocket into the ghost before it had even turned to face them. Dropping to the ground, he grabbed his shotgun and killed a lone grunt survivor that had charged them.
Pacelli meanwhile, was taking careful aim at three grunts that were running from the bunker. With three shots they were all downed and the two Marines surveyed the area, making sure no Covenant were hiding, and began to move quickly towards cover. The bunker had been located on a beach and they moved quickly toward the city of Old Mombosa in an attempt to find cover.
"That went rather well." Pacelli said enthusiastically.
"What, you expected us to die? The last thing they were prepared for was an attack; Covenant bastards didn't realize they were dealing with true Marines. They figured we would hide in that bunker until they came in there and cleaned us out, like rats." Cochran said.
They reached a building and rested there. It had been some kind of clothing store with a large curving glass window in front and some fancy couches, where they both laid down. The glass was shattered and clothes were strewn about the floor. Several civilian corpses lay nearby, and one Covenant grunt.
"Some civs decided not to evacuate, damn fools…" Cpl. Pacelli muttered.
Cochran tried to reach someone on the radio, and he eventually did. Parker was still alive, and so were four Marines that were with him. Apparently they had been chased through the streets and finally forced to hide in some half-destroyed building. Cochran said he sort-of knew where they were and would contact him again in a few minutes and he tried to reach HQ.
The channel was a mess; apparently the MAC stations were being destroyed one by one by suicide boarders. The Covenant forces had concentrated their landing in Mombosa and nearby. Some said they were clearing a ground base. What Cochran did find out, however, was that this wasn't even close to being the full invasion. That sunk in, and he could only shake his head at Pacelli.
"We need to get moving soon. If we can link up with Parker and the others we may be able to get out of here. There are various other companies of Marines operating throughout the city, from what I heard they are fighting that same scarab right now. It's heading for New Mombosa, and we should do the same." Cochran said quickly.
"Yes sir. I just hope the two of us can make it through the city to Parker and the boys." Pacelli said.
"We will have to rely on stealth and speed. There are undoubtedly a bunch of Covenant patrols and scout groups scattered throughout the city, what we need to do is avoid them. Hopefully there is a pelican able to pick us up, cuz it's a long ways to New Mombosa, and from what I hear, the streets there are flowing with Covenant." Cochran replied.
"Fine with me, I'd rather run than…" Pacelli was interrupted.
All of the sudden, a loud noise made Cochran and Pacelli dive to the floor. Cochran peeked up above the leather couch he had been sitting on and saw two large shadows on the ground, the shadows were moving towards them and the enemies began to come into view.
Hunters.
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