 |
About This Site
Daily Musings
News
News Archive
Site Resources
FAQ
Screenshots
Concept Art
Halo 2 Updates
Interviews
Movies
Music
Miscellaneous
Mailbag
HBO PAL
Game Fun
The Halo Story
Tips and Tricks
Fan Creations
Wallpaper
Misc. Art
Fan Fiction
Comics
Logos
Banners
Press Coverage
Halo Reviews
Halo 2 Previews
Press Scans
Community
HBO Forum
Clan HBO Forum
HBO IRC Channel
Links
Admin
Submissions
FTP Uploads
HTTP Uploads
Contact
|
|
|
Into the Fray--Part 3 of Souls of War
Posted By: CJ Champion
Date: 5 April 2003, 6:23 AM
Read/Post Comments
|
The squad headed into the Covenant fortress, stepping over the bloodied corpses of Elites. "Any plans of attack?" Bill asked the Master Chief.
"You all know what you're doing, I know that," the Master Chief answered Bill and the rest of his company. "All I have to say is, if things get hot, get the hell out of there."
"But..."
"That's an order Roeseky," John finalized. They continued cautiously and quietly down the dim corridors of the fort until coming to a staircase. The Master Chief lead them up it, suddenly running into a crew of Grunts who frantically opened fire. Shots echoed through the halls, but it was silenced after a short while. The dead Grunts tumbled down the stairs leaving a path of glowing blue blood.
"Damn," Neil whined. He fell out of the support of Julio and slumped against a wall. The pain was getting in the way of his thought processes now. He knew he was dying.
"Don't leave us now, mang!" Julio said. He watched as Neil winced in agony, his breathing was jagged and short. A small skirmish took so much out of him... Julio realized. He wanted to do something... to reassure him maybe, or make him feel better... but there was nothing. "It's all 'gonna be okay,"
"Leave me, you guys," Neil wheezed. He looked to his bandage on his stomach. It was soaked with blood. "I'll only get in the way." Just then, he started to hack and cough uncontrollably, each one jarring his body. This is how it ends, Neil thought. This is where I die...
"No. You were never 'just in the way' Neil," Bill said. "You won a lot of important battles with us, we couldn't have done it without you." He knelt down and patted Neil on the shoulder.
"Remember that time the 10 of us were trapped in that crashed Pelican, but you single-handedly killed 8 Elites to ensure our safety? That's more than some get in a career," Elsie, the squad's sniper said, stepping forward. "Bill's right Neil, we couldn't have done it without you.
Footsteps were coming. John heard them: they could be 5 minutes away. He kept quiet however. "Thanks guys but..." Neil looked up the rest of the staircase above them with a pause, "I can't move, there's no feeling in my legs," he finished in a tone of grim, calm acceptance. Then they came, the Covenant were here.
The lead Elite took advantage of the marines huddled so close together by batting 2 of them down the staircase, killing them on contact. Their lifeless bodies tumbled down the stairs with a series of thuds. Neil shreiked in raw fear. The marines broke apart, all advancing up the stairs while concentrating on that Elite. It was downed, and fell slumped over a handrail. Jackals now, 3 to be exact. The Master Chief took the quick initiative to take one off its feet while unprotected by its sheild, and it flew down the hall with a spray of blood. Another tackled John head-on, but he threw it aside and shot it in mid-air.
Elsewhere, 4 Grunts teamed up to blast a marine from all sides, and with a scream Kelly Smith was sealed to be put in the record book as KIA. Another marine emptied a clip into the small pests, splattering glowing blue against the dark walls. He let out a frustrated yell of vengance for the fallen soldier, but then he was struck down by a plasma orb. This was getting serious. The Master Chief was sick of all this death, and primed a frag grenade. He tossed it into a solid group of the aliens with a yell, and it accomplished its goal by obliterating all around it: 2 Elites, 3 Jackals, 2 Grunts. No fellow soldiers thank God. Just a fleeing group of cowardly Grunts were left now. The marines chased the sons of bitches down like ravinous dogs and pumped hot lead into the group of 5, downing them all simultaniously. This was the first floor of ten. They would have to avoid battles like this next time if they even wanted to make it to the top.
John looked to Neil just then, and ran to him. "You can make it, come on," the Spartan said offering him a hand. Neil looked behind the Master Chief noticing the air warp behind him. He drew his pistol. The Master Chief waved his hand slightly as if to say, "Come on! Hurry!" as Neil took aim. An energy sabre was raised above the Master Chief. Neil squeezed the trigger.
The bullet pierced the shaft of the Elite's right eye, penetrating bone and cartilage for several centimeters before exploding and fragmenting into more than 1000 shards of shrapnel, blowing out the entire contents of the Elite's skull. The energy sabre was dropped and disintegrated with a hiss and the monster fell dead behind John. Neil gave him a wry smile while dropping his gun with a clink, and that was his last act. "Thanks," John said. "Thanks." he pulled off Neil's dogtags and read them, Neil Sanders: DOB: 10/06/203. He gripped them tightly while the other marines quietly stared. John's hands shook with anger.
|
