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Remnants of Reach: Chapter 3: Adversaries of Annihilation
Posted By: Shinai Purugganan<hybrid_phoenix2k2@hotmail.com>
Date: 5 August 2003, 7:56 PM
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Remnants of Reach: Chapter 3: Adversaries of Annihilation
Jason Ducati slammed on the brakes of the vehicle and banked right to avoid the recent renovation of rubble blacking the highway. "What kind of car is this?" he barked and then stepped on the gas.
"They call it a "Warthog" and I think that explains just enough about it. It's the only thing we have so work with it," Corporal Porter explained to the civilian while trying to hold tight to the gun handle. "You do know where the hospital is right?" he asked. Matt glanced at the passengers seat.
"I never use the low-roads, but trust me. I know where it is," he assured the marine gunner behind him. Jason slowed down and turned the vehicle around the next corner.
"Well, I hope you're right. I've got a bad feeling and I'm never wrong about it," Porter nervously responded.
Jason decelerated the warthog to a full stop. "Don't worry," he paused and leaned back, grinning at Matt. " I think that huge red symbol seals the deal."
The both sent blithe hoots concurrently. Dead silence answered their call. Just as many other streets they had encountered, this one reeked with the stench of corpses.
"You know that bad feeling? I'm getting that vibe right now…" Porter whispered as he placed his finger on the trigger.
"Maybe we should leave the warthog and sneak in," Jason suggested.
"And you think you can carry the Spartan that far?" Matt replied.
"So you propose that we just roll in like an ambulance?" the worried driver joked. He heard a click ping from behind him.
"Locked and loaded," the gunner cockily replied as he leveled the chamber.
"Well, here goes nothing," Jason remarked and then tapped the gas pedal. The Warthog slowly rolled closer to the hospital entrance. He noticed the front had been barricaded and some marines attempted to stall the invaders from reacting the interior. Surprisingly, the barricade held and the aliens only phased a small portion of the eclectic wall. There was hope that people were still alive; however, bodies lay sprawled across the defenses, marines and hospital personnel alike. "We're here, so now what? I suppose we should knock," he implied.
"Heh, grab Steven's rifle, then give me a hand with our passenger," the Corporal said. He hopped out of the rear and grabbed an assault rifle.
Jason acquired Stevens' rifle while he turned off the engine. He rushed around the vehicle and helped Porter lift the armored soldier. They each grasped one of the body's sides and approached the sealed entrance. A sheet of scorched metal bent backwards into the doorway, revealing a portion of the inside. No one appeared to be inside the lobby. They both nodded to each other and walked up to the weakened barrier. The two men dispatched swift kicks into the alloy, bending it enough to squeeze through. Porter sidestepped through first, followed by the Spartan and Jason. The entire lobby was silent and dim. The hospital seemed abandoned. "I don't think anyone's here. Let's get out of here. This place is creeping me out," Jason pointed out.
"No, there's got to be a doctor or a cryo-tube in her somewhere," Peter suggested. A rattling noise clamored from down the left wing corridor. The Corporal raised his assault rifle in the direction of the din. "I'm not getting a Friend or Foe signal, must be a civilian or something," Matt whispered. The two men inched toward the noise with their weapons leveled. They discovered a drying machine rattling in a clinic laundry facility.
"Well, we found those doctors. At least, their uniforms," Jason joked. He turned his head and shook it. "I'm telling you there's no one here. They all probably tried to escape. Who wouldn't?" he insinuated.
"Great, all right. Well let's-" Matt began to turn until an object struck him in the tactical readout of his helmet. "Arrgh, jeez! What the hell?" he screamed as he dropped his rifle, trying to remove his helmet with his hand. Another blow knocked Porter out cold.
"Matt!" Jason yelled while he swung the rifle's flashlight to expose a figure. He made out a shadow and tried to press the trigger, but another object impaired him from behind. He blacked out and the Spartan's and his bodies fell to the floor.
"Good job, you idiot!" a man yelled, "That was a damn Marine! You could at least not destroy the motion sensor!" he scolded the man beside him.
"Yeah, yeah. How should I know? It was your idea to ambush anything, and what if they were aliens?" the other attempted to excuse himself.
"Whatever, let's just get them to the doc," he responded. The two figures dragged the bodies of the Spartan, Jason, and Matt to an elevator concealed from the rest of the lobby. They removed the metal plating, carefully placed to disguise the elevator as a utility door. One of them pressed the button on the disclosed panel also previously hidden from anyone's sight. The Spartan's body armor scrapped across the floor along with the bumping of Porter's outfit. "You're making too much noise you idiot!" the man harshly whispered. The lift opened.
"Stop calling me an idiot! These guys are heavy!" the other explained. They compacted everyone into the elevator and closed the doors. The man activated the lift, sending them a few levels underground. The doors opened again, exposing them to a room congested with medical and military equipment.
A handful of men and women had aggregated inside the lower wing of the hospital; however, very few certified medical personnel survived. The few who did worked around the clock to keep their patients alive, regardless if the Covenant were still at large. Cryogenic chambers lined the walls behind operating beds, many of which were either inoperable or already serviced. A young woman strived to maintain the consistency of the medical staff while slowly pacing about.
"Doc! Hey Doc!" the man yelled across the hallway.
"I'm busy!" she shouted in reply. "Hurry up and stitch that wound. We've got another one here who's more serious." The lady told the nurse next to her.
"Ugh, great. Well, we might as well lay them down somewhere." The other said and then dragged the bodies beside an elderly woman. She wore professional attire, yet she lay on a medical bed herself. The two men sighed and shook their heads, and then they approached the woman in charge and followed her orders, leaving the men they discovered behind.
The incapacitated woman awoke and leaned over to the side. She surveyed the room that they had placed her in and eyed a few bodies lying next to her. She gasped in shocked and scurried to put her glasses on and nearly fumbled them. The surprised nearly overwhelmed her, yet she managed to cry out. "Somebody help me up!"
A nurse rushed over and placidly told her to settle down. "Please, you're in a hospital. Everything will be all right, just calm yourself."
"Look, if you help me, we might just have a chance here," the woman attempted to cajole the nurse.
"Ma'am, please listen to me. Relax and-" the nurse offered to calm her but was abruptly interrupted. She laid her hands on the deranged woman's shoulders. The lady brushed them aside and managed to pull herself to sit upright.
"I need some help here Marisa!" the doctor requested. The nurse deemed the crazed patient hopeless and rushed over to aid the doctor.
The woman crouched beside the abandoned armored body and felt for the mechanism to release the helmet. She discovered it, but something hindered her from unlatching it. About to call out for help, she remembered that everyone was occupied and obviously not willing to help her in this seemingly mad endeavor; therefore, the woman searched for another candidate. She decided to knock on the helmet of an unconscious marine lying beside her. After a couple knocks, he groaned and he jolted his head around with his fists raised.
"All right, I'll take you all on!" he bellowed.
"You aren't fighting anyone yet, marine. You know what this is?" she asked pointing to the armored heap.
"I'm not sure you'd understand ma'am," he replied, shaking his head and glancing over at Jason.
"Look. I would know any one of my Spartans with my eyes closed. Now, just forget it and help me get her helmet off," she demanded.
"This isn't what I thought hell would be like; they must be torturing me a whole lot extra with a task like this, did you say her?" he joked, looking confused and chuckling at the same time. He leaned over and forced free a shrapnel wedge lodged into the helmet latch. The woman unlocked the helmet and revealed a female behind the armor of the Spartan. "Nah, I'm in some twisted version of heaven. Wait, just how did you know?" Porter asked, dazed.
The lady answered with a smirk on her face, "I told you. They're my Spartans. My name is Doctor Halsey."
To be continued…
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