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Urchins
Posted By: Monarch Rat<mr_fang@hotmail.com>
Date: 22 October 2003, 2:03 AM
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It has been three months since the main occupying force of the Covenant first appeared in our solar system, and two-and-a-half since I became the leader of this orphan-exclusive resistance group. Unfortunately, it is less a resistance group as a survival group. After the ships had sent single manned pods screaming down onto our town, deliberately spiraling into and through any houses that might have been inhabited, a militia formed to beat back the threat. My parents lead them to their first victory, and their first defeat. Unfortunately, you only get one shot at things like that.
"Be quiet!" I hissed at four of the children who had rapidly become my family. "We only get one shot at this." They nodded in acknowledgement, afterwards doubly careful of downed light bulbs.
The Giga Mall had become a desolate waste, with litter and burnt or burning bodies covering the formerly immaculate tile floor. Covenant inhabited the local Ikea Barn, thinking it was a religious center to all the wealthy humans searched for their own personal enlightenment. At least, that's what I told my group. No one is really sure what the Covenant mentality is truly like.
Fortunately for us, they failed to see weapons sold in regular stores to be any significant threat. During the months after my parents died, we had the good fortune to meet up with several resistance fighters, who told us of their oversight.
Kenny, who I had designated scout, nodded towards us, signaling clear road ahead. We skittered across the floor to a gutted McDonalds, and swung behind the counter. Thankful to be off the main concourse, I motioned for Kenny to tell me what he saw.
"Well Jack," he replied with his lisp, "according to the mall map, the gun shop ith jutht a little ways patht the Gap." He looked expectantly up at my face. I went through in my mind how many times I'd gone to this mall as a kid, taking the Rail from our sleepy suburb to the main city, and exactly how long it had taken to get from the McDonalds to the Gap.
"Listen," I said, catching the four in my gaze. "I'm not going to lie to you. This is our first real attempt to become a serious threat to the Covenant, and we might not all make it out of here. So, remember what I taught you, OK?"
"Never get caught," they chanted quietly, "and never surrender."
I nodded in approval.
After about ten minutes of painstaking dashes from one hiding place to another, we found the prize we had been searching for. We filed in noiselessly, while taking in the sight. On the walls, behind the counter, were large rifles of various sizes and shapes, each looking more deadly than the last. I had never been an expert when it came to weapons (I never thought I'd need to be), but these ones looked pretty self explanatory.
Mike ducked under the Employees Only hinged counter, and proceeded to take down some handguns from the display case. I unslung my backpack, and motioned for him to fill it up. We were going to need all the firepower we could get our hands on. I leapt over the counter, and found holsters for all the smaller weapons. Kenny took them from me, and distributed some to the group, while putting the rest in the pack. After receiving a sidearm, one of the two others ran out to the concourse, looked both ways, and gave the thumbs up sign to his comrade. The display case shattered with one hit from the rock he had lugged from outside.
We gathered the shells and clips from the glass, thanking our lucky stars this place didn't have an active alarm. The five of us loaded up, grabbed a few of the nastier looking rifles each, and set about planning our escape from this place. As we were about to implement our plan, Kenny ran from his lookout point between two potted plants. He stopped breathlessly in front of me. "We've got a problem."
Immediately after that, multitudes of Covenant, all of the varying species, ran past our enclave like a flood. Mike was about to scream as I clamped my hand over his mouth. "Quiet!" I hissed. "Look. They don't see us."
All were headed for the center of the Giga, which was shaped like a giant plus sign and held a small courtyard. Grunts, Elites, Jackals, Hunters, and a few I couldn't name thundered down stairs and over rails in a desperate fury to the center. They were so intent that they didn't even notice five orphans huddled in what we considered to be a virtual armory.
After the last few stragglers made it past our position, I motioned for my team to stay put. "If I'm not back in five minutes, get out of here any way you can. Mike," he sat up straight, "start the clock. You're in charge until I get back or until you get back to the others. Clear?" They saluted, and I ran out to find what the hell was going on in this mall.
The path was obvious enough, what with the overwhelming smell of the Brutes to lead me. I rounded the corner, being careful to stick to the inside wall. Then I saw it. What must have been one thousand of the invaders all gathered in a circle reminiscent of a rock concert, all chanting something that sounded vaguely like Flooshen, or something like that. I started to turn back when I noticed a blue beam come through the shattered glass high above me, to the center of this mob. There it was.
Floating as gently as a feather was one of the ugliest Covenants I had ever seen. It sat in a chair with no legs or wheels, and had no armor. In its place were highly ornamental robes, from what I could see, that really had no purpose. As the being neared the ground, the Covenant all stopped their chanting, and bowed down in their various ways.
The being, upon reaching the ground, raised its hand and began saying something in a low, guttural language to the Covenant still averting their eyes from its 'face'. I realized this creature must be one of the Prophets! I checked my watch, which revealed I had close to one and a half minutes left, and I silently made my way back to the shop. When I reached it, all my team were brandishing their weapons, aiming at the only opening available. Mike waved me in.
"What did you find out?" he demanded.
"I just came to tell you all to get out now. I'm going to do something completely stupid." I grinned wildly. "There's a Prophet in this mall."
To say that their eyes bulged would have been an understatement. "HERE? Why? How?" Kenny exclaimed.
I shrugged. "Since this place is so spacious and devoid of humans, I guess they set up base here. The Prophet must be some sort of motivational speaker."
Mike looked at me in awe. "What are you going to do?"
"Give me one of the longer shells," I demanded. Mike silently complied. Upon receiving it, I unslung my rifle, and jammed the shell in. I was locked and loaded. "I'm going to kill a Prophet."
They collectively held in a gasp, instead viewing me with a new respect. "I with you could use our help, but I gueth we can always get the netht one." Kenny smiled at me.
Mike shook his head. "You heard the man. Let's get out of here." They all saluted, and headed for the nearest exit.
I crept back to my previous position, making sure I had adequate cover in case the inspirational speech was finished. It wasn't. All of the various fighters still had their heads bowed, taking in all that the Prophet said. I checked the scope, turning on the targeting reticule, and took aim. The being now had its arms up, in what was looking increasingly like a minister's pose, not aware of the small red dot painted exactly on its forehead. A loud crack broke the relative silence, and the Prophet slumped, with a slight trickle of dark green down its face.
The elites snapped into a standing position, looking intently around while the other creatures roared in rage. By the time the roaring had started, I was already running as fast and as silently as physically possible back the way I had come. I gathered from the sound that various energy blasts were thundering into walls and the few remaining potted plants. I hastened a look back to see just how close they were, but saw no pursuit. As the exit door flew open and I took to the streets, I realized the Covenant were still in a state of chaos as I had made my getaway.
While I was making my way back to the orphan's hideout, it hit me. We could now become what we had set out to become from the beginning: a legitimate threat to the Covenant. I stopped for a breather, and thought things over. When I got back, I would make an historic announcement to my group, my family. We would no longer be just the orphans. We would be a force for justice. The Avenging Urchins. I smiled at that, and continued my long trek back.
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