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Hitting Home: Mocking Bird (Chapter 3)
Posted By: Shifty<cherry_bomb2000@hotmail.com>
Date: 5 July 2004, 3:18 AM
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...My eyes widened as my mind began to settle and focus. I shook my head and grabbed for another magazine from my webbing. As I reloaded I noted that only a few muzzle flashes scattered loosely throughout the street indicated the surviving Marines. The few surviving Covenant of the crashed Creep were nonexistent, along with the flipped Creep that was closest to my position. A wicked smile played across my face and for a brief moment I thought we had won... I was wrong.
My hopes of victory were destroyed as I had realized that another Creep had reinforced the position. It, unlike its predecessors, was fully operational and it had dispatched all of its troops, every one of them driven by revenge and each of them craving for blood. The turret atop it rained fire on a group of reg force Marines. The men pinned by the hot plasma, hid behind a hastily melting cement barrier just 70 feet away from where Helljumpers and myself were hiding, the Covenant separating our forces.
I fired a full magazine into the turret, though it wasn't till the last half dozen bullets that I managed to vacant the vehicle. Blood outlined my success as it ran down the side of the turret. I glanced toward the Marines behind the barrier as they waved a short thanks, before diving back into combat against a dispatched team of Elites.
A few Grunts began to fire towards me, catching my attention. I dropped behind cover, and killed two of the Grunts as I descended, my aim increasing with every shot. I shot the remaining Grunt in the methane tank as the small creature grasped and clawed at its machine, as it bubbled and leaked out of the sealed tank. The Grunt fell to his knees, its eyes wide in its tiny head. I smiled grimly at the sight when a feeling grasped me that had never touched me before... sorrow. The thought haunting me I aimed at the suffering Grunt's chest and tightened my trigger finger. The bullet hit its mark, phosphorescent blood responding to the sudden impact, putting the creature out of its misery.
A spine chilling scream came from my left as I spotted a lone Brute standing over a fallen ODST, the ape-like creature hefting a large weapon with a sharp blade, curving outward from the underbelly of the weapon. I noticed red blood staining the silver blade as the Brute growled at the dead Marine. I wasted no time with the dreadful creature and brought my rifle to bear toward the foul beast. I peered through the scope and sighted the large animal's head. Its beady black eyes locked with mine, barely visible under his helmet. The Brute growled and began to lift his weapon toward me; I didn't give him the chance to fire. My finger locked on the trigger as bullets plunged into his touch skull. Dark purple blood sprayed the cement wall behind him as the large creature collapsed in a heap, blood soaking the ground around him.
I cursed as I noticed the dead Helljumper lying on the ground his red blood staining his armor, a deep gash in his lower back. I looked at him and gave a silent prayer for the man before I pressed my back up against a metal beam and cranked my head around, to look at the lay in wait further down the street. Tens of Covenant and human bodies alike littered the street, painting a grotesque and horrifying rainbow of blood on the cement. I finally caught a glimpse of movement, as a small force of three Elites pressed their attack on the group of Marines I had "saved" not a few minutes before.
I swiveled my body and appeared from my cover to face the three Elites, their backs to me. I wasted no time and squeezed the trigger as the hot pieces of metal leapt from my barrel and peppered their shields. The nearest of the creatures turned and fired his weapon as the heated blue plasma streaked toward me. I retreated back behind the warped metal beam as I felt the hot bolts of plasma vibrate through my cover slowly heating the metal conductor.
I stood again and leveled my rifle toward the Elite that had fired. I noted that one of the three Elites were already dead, but that didn't concern me. I looked through the scope that had ceased to shake like so many times before, as I took a quick breath and squeezed off six shots. I heard the shots echo in my ears and the growl of the doomed Elite as his shields flared and went dead.
The rest of the Helljumpers around me broke from their cover as well to unload their anger, and revenge on the Elite warrior. The bullets ripped through him, gore filling the air as he crumpled in a bloody mess on the cracked pavement... but we didn't cease the gruesome attack. Some reloaded their empty rifles and started the onslaught on the mangled pile of blood and bone that was once the Elite. I ceased the attack as my brain remembered the sole remaining Elite. My eyes widened as I quickly shifted my attention from the grotesque heap and leveled my rifle toward the last of the Covenant soldiers. The last alien growled and faced me. I lined up my sights with the foul creature's head and squeezed the trigger twice. Two bullets instantly left my rifle and impacted with the Elites faceplate, penetrating it's weak shields. The first bullet entered its gaping jaw, blood and bits of bone exploding from the exit wound at the back of his neck. I couldn't look away from the horrifying, yet satisfying sight as the second bullet ripped through his faceplate, stopping as it slammed into the back of its helmet, tearing through his skull. I continued to watch the creature with both fear and entertainment as more bullet holes ripped through its chest, blood bursting from the impacts. The Elite jolted and fell backwards onto a fallen Creep. Its head propped against the base of the wrecked machine. Blood from the dead Elite ran down the side of the alien vehicle, courtesy of the several holes that now filled him.
There was a deafening silence as the fierce battle came to sudden stop. I slowly walked down the street, having to ovoid stepping on both Covenant and human bodies alike. I closely followed two of the Drop Shocks as they slowly walked up to the dead Covenant kicking them or putting a single slug in each of their heads to be sure that the job was done.
The sound of moving grabbed my attention as I moved toward the source, behind a Creep. I held my rifle close as I moved forward, crouched and ready for the enemy. I moved around the vehicle and finally came to a mangled Elite, half of its body pinned underneath the fallen Creep. It tried to growl when I had appeared but was only rewarded with a slight gurgle and mouthful of blood. The dying Elite coughed up its own blood, spraying its blue armor.
At first I laughed at the sight of the squirming alien, like a bug under my thumb. Suddenly the distant feeling of sorrow reached out to me again as I saw liquid form in its black eyes. Fear played its face as it started to whimper. The struggling Covenant reminded me of a stray dog that was hit by a car. I sighed slowly and watched the liquid from its eyes run down its faceplate. I knelt down by the creature an rested my hand on its large forehead, it's faceplate cold to the touch.
"Hush little baby don't say a word," I sang lightly to the dying warrior "I'm gunna' buy you a mocking bird."
The Elite began to squirm as I sang to it. I don't know why I did, I knew that they would never do it for us but something compelled me to comfort him.
"Now, if that mocking bird don't sing," I continued locking eyes the alien, as he started to settle. "I'm going to buy you a diamond ring." I gently rubbed its helmet as I saw the life slowly slipping away from his body.
"If that diamond ring turns brass," said softy, his eyes gently closing, "I'm going to buy you a looking glass..." I gently trailed off and stood up from the alien as death took him.
I smiled, not really knowing why I had just sung to a dying enemy. I knew he didn't understand me and I knew that he had killed many humans probably just like myself before, but the sight of the suffering creature overwhelmed me and caused pity to take hold of me.
I turned away and returned to the street, following the Marines, checking the Covenant bodies as I went. After they had checked and rechecked nearly one hundred bodies, they looked back and gave the "all clear" signal.
Some hurtled their helmets, rejoicing. Others simply yelled thanks to the sky; thanking god for their victory. I simply grinned, at the fact that I killed the enemy and had even saved human lives, and had comforted a Covenant life. With good memories however, bad memories soon follow as the memory of the two Marines in makeshift bunker that I had let die, rushed into my mind. The sound of the Creep hitting the Marine skull echoed through my mind, and the picture of the Brute standing over the dead ODST with the blood soaked blade haunted my eyes. I winced at the thoughts but quickly dismissed them, concentrating on the lives saved rather than the lives lost. The thought however lurked in the dark corner of my mind itching its way to the surface causing tears to from in my eyes.
I shook my head and looked up to the sky, the sun bathing me, warming me from my insides. I closed my eyes and pushed away all thoughts as I breathed the cool air, smelling the stench of burnt flesh. I gagged at the foul odor but my smile held still, the sun piercing my eyelids, and the thought of victory still filled the air... it was golden.
I worked on uniforming the bodies of my fallen companions, and collected the dog tags.
Hush little baby don't say a word... I thought to myself as I turned on my heels to face the battleground. I walked toward the rest of the unit. I met up with the fatigued men and began to gather up my supplies and ammo and readied to move out.
I'm gunna' buy you a mocking bird... I continued, humming the soft tune quietly as the last of us started to walk down the war-torn street.
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