"I'm tiiiiiiired! Can't we stop for a while? We've been running for hours!" Harry felt Laura tugging on his arm, trying to slow him down.
"No, not yet. We're almost there, okay? We can stop once we're safe."
Laura reluctantly pressed onwards as branches, twigs and leaves brushed against her and torn her clothes as she went, leaving her envious of Harry's armor despite it's flimsiness. Obstacles were utterly unavoidable as it was bearely possible to see anything in the darkness.
"Agggh! I thought uncle Douglas was going to bring us a skycar?" Laura said indignantly after a branch ripped a cut into her shoulder.
Harry grimaced and almost stopped running for a moment as he remembered what happened, watching the Reaper effortlessly destroy the car with a devastating red beam. He'd seen it so many times before, that instant obliteration, the immense heat, glorious buildings brought down to piles of rubble in seconds, large powerful armies and the strongest of armored vehicles reduced to a metallic/fleshy pulp on the floor. But this was different to all that somehow, Harry had lost so many friends and family already that he realized in that moment he couldn't afford to lose Laura. People had sacrificed so much to protect their loved ones and it was all worthless, they all failed. Millions across the Earth all failed, no matter the plans, the strength, the resources... Nobody had escape the Reapers undamaged. He had to protect her, had to protect something successfully, somebody had to.
"Douglas is... Let's just say we won't see him for a while okay? Think of this as exercise." Harry tried to keep his voice upbeat. He failed. Laura had already seen too much. So much death and destruction over months of hiding in fear. It was too much for even her young mind to simply dismiss. There was silence again for a while as they pressed on until Laura's pains made her speak up again.
"I don't get why we have to go to the woods anyway. I don't see how that's safe." Harry wondered how to reply, she was right really. Nowhere was safe.
"The Reapers focus on areas with high populations. Like cities. There's a small house here in the middle of nowhere. The Reapers should leave it alone and some friends will take care of you once you're there."
Laura couldn't help but pick up on the last sentence.
"You're not staying with me!" Laura said with surprise and alarm. Harry sighed heavily and for the first time in hours stopped running so he could look at Laura directly eye to eye.
"I can't. Listen to me. A lot is happening back in London. That's why you had to leave. The reapers are in force and almost the entire resistance has converged to fight them. It's happening right now. I need to get back to them."
Laura couldn't believe her ears and couldn't help but shout "Who cares! What difference does one human make anyway! And you've already left them! You've been running away from your post all day!" the noise echoed around the empty woods like it was taunting them. Harry sighed deeply again, feeling conflicted but determined.
"Yes I did. To make sure you were safe. Not because I was afraid. The Reapers have to be defeated and we all will have to pitch in to do it every single one of us. For me that means I have to fight. For you that means you have to survive." Harry tried to state his words with purpose but they weren't working on Laura who just became increasingly angry and scared. "But they don't need you! You can ju-"
Harry interrupted his sister by raising his hand, then pointing up to the sky. "Look up." Laura looked away from her brother for the first time all day and gazed into space, through the gaps in the trees. There were ships everywhere of all shapes and sizes from all races, Reapers, Geth, Quarians, Humans, Asari, Turians, Vorcha. Ships she'd only seen in pictures from far off worlds. All battling at immense speeds. Mutli-colored explosions lighting up the nightsky like grotesque fireworks. Laura felt amazed and ashamed that she hadn't noticed them until now. Harry noticed Laura's shock and anger begin to dissipate slightly.
"All these races. The largest fleet in history and the bulk of the Reaper forces. Nearly half a billion people up there. Despite their differences, despite their flaws and hatreds and race. They've come together and are working together as one powerful force of many varieties. They're dying together. Dying so that the Reapers can be defeated and so people like you can survive. I can't leave them to it and just run away. One day you'll understand that. Now come on."
Laura wanted to argue but knew Harry wouldn't let her. He grabbed her by the arm again and continued to pull her through the woods. Eventually after what felt like another hour of running through the harsh terrain in the dark, they reached their destination. A small wooden shack, barely distinguishable from the trees in the darkness. A stark contrast to the amazing technologies Harry grew up with when London was standing in glory. But something was amiss, the shack was devoid of life, not movement or light was coming from within. Nobody came out to greet them as they approached.
"Something's wrong." Harry said as he quickly equipped his Kessler II with his right hand and held out his left arm to block Laura's advance. "Stay here." Harry instructed Larua as he carefully approached the shack. Using only the torch at the end of his Kessler II for light he entered the shack and explored... Soon wishing he hadn't. The shack was full of corpses. Eight bodies, six of whom were friends he recognized. Horribly and gruesomely slaughtered like cattle, blood was everywhere and several severed body parts were scattered. Then he saw it, a husk idly staring blankly at one of the bodies... Just standing still with blood dripping from it's hands... It had literally ripped the defenseless men and women to pieces and then just stopped, awaiting instructions maybe? It looked just looked so blankly peaceful.
Then that fleeting moment passed, the husk saw Harry's light and charged at him wildly like an animal. Harry was more than prepared and fired several rounds directly into the husk's skull, perhaps a few too many as it fell to the ground easily enough. Landing with a disturbing squelch on the wet bloody corpse of a dead woman, one of the two he did not know. Harry felt the smallest of comforts in realizing that at least he prevented Laura from seeing this sight. But that husk wouldn't be alone however and they needed to get out of here. He quickly left the shack to tell Laura they needed to run, only to see a Banshee materialize to his horror out of no where right behind her.
"NO!" Harry screamed out in desperation as he frantically reached for his Kessler II and fired wildly. But it was too late. The Banshee impaled Laura through the chest with it's long knife-like hand. Only one of the panicked Kessler shots connected, hitting the Banshee in the leg with minimal effect. Larua gasped bitterly in an attempt to scream in pain, coughing up blood from her mouth as she bleed profusely from her chest. Slowly bleeding out in agony. The Banshee turned her attention to Harry while still holding Laura in her hand like a living puppet and shrieked out a wave of biotic force that sent Harry plummeting into the Shack's wall with intense velocity, cracking his armor in several places and doing incredible internal damage to his organs.
Harry cursed himself as he realized his attack just provoked the Banshee, causing Laura's death to be slow and painful instead of quick. He scrambled with his Kessler II trying to reload it and get back to his feet but he stumbled from pain and fell back down to floor. He knew there was nothing more he could do and closed his eyes so he didn't have to watch the Banshee finish off his sister. This was another mistake, even with his eyes closed he could hear Laura's muffled attempts at screaming in pain and pleading for help. Even over her coughing blood and the Banshee's awful shrieks. Then it was over, the screaming stopped and he heard a soft thud as Laura's body was dropped to the mud. He still couldn't bare to look and guided only by the Banshee's continuing shrieks fired a barrage of shots from his Kessler II. They all connected directly in the head and chest causing the Banshee to fall with one final ear-piercing shriek. But it hardly felt like a victory.
Harry had failed. There was no safety, he couldn't protect Laura, more Reaper forces are surely lurking mere meters away and he could never make it back to London in his current condition. He wondered if it was worth shooting himself right there. At least it would be over, and painlessly. He couldn't think of anything useful he could do for anyone anymore in his condition and location.
Harry stood still, leaning against the shack wall. He didn't know for how long. He couldn't focus on anything and stared blankly into nothing until suddenly he felt the ground tremble before him. Trees began to fall down from every direction and he heard the sickeningly familiar sound of indistinguishable metallic Reaper noises. Then he saw it. Almost like a giant red floating eye in the darkness, a reaper stood before him in the distance. Harry laughed bitterly, his own personal Reaper executioner was approaching... It didn't even seem scary anymore. Just amusing and grand. Like some kind of joke with an unknowable punchline.
The reaper could see Harry now. He was sure of it and wondered why it did not just blast him to oblivion from a distance. But it didn't, it continued to approach. It almost looked elegant in the darkness.
"I hate you..." Harry didn't realize he said it, it seemed so juvenile and obvious. The Reapers had killed billions, turned billions more into mindlessly slaves, destroyed his planet, his home, his family, his friends. Everything was in ruins thanks to their evil... But yet it felt good to say. Harry raised his Kessler II against the oncoming Reaper like it actually meant something.
"I hate you! And everything you've done! Someone will make you pay for this... Someone has to, you will not take Earth!" The last part wasn't anger, it was a plea and a prayer.
Harry expected to die in that moment. Engulfed in a disintegrating red beam. But it didn't happen. To his surprise the Reaper paused. Was it examining him? Taunting him? Curious? He could not tell, just a big red eye directly above him. And it seemed focused. Then to his shock it spoke
"Human, you are shortsighted. Your world will become our laboratories. We are unstoppable." the Reaper spoke with a booming eletronic voice that sent a chill down Harry's spine, but Harry had nothing left to lose. He was not afraid and did not even care why the Reaper choose to speak to him.
"Then I guess the fighting in the sky is just a Reaper Firework display then? And not the galaxy showing you whatwe're really made of!" And with that Harry fired an entire clip from his Kessler II at the Reaper, point blank directly into it's red eye. The attack had absolutely no effect of any kind and Harry realized it was the last thermal clip he had.
Reaper forces began to emerge from the shadows. Mostly Husks with some Marauders and another Banshee. They all stopped in a semi-circle around the Reaper. Completely surrounding Harry. "Pitiful. You are vermin, flumbling in arrogance. Y-" Harry threw the Kessler II itself at the Reaper's big red eye.
"Oh shut up! Just die or kill me but shut the ****up!"
The Reaper made one of it's almost trademark metallic growling noises and Harry felt some heat begin to gather. But then before anything could happen the ground vibrated as if the entire Earth was shaking. There was a powerfully immense dazzling beam bursting through the sky! Brightening it up until it was almost like daylight. Harry looked up and noticed that all the Victory fleet had gone or was retreating. Even the Reaper itself became distracted for a moment at the spectacle. Then there was a second enormous explosion, different to the first. This one was like a bubble and it was growing, heading towards the Earth and engulfing the sky it's wake.
Now Harry really did feel afraid. But there was nothing he could do. The beam approached and then within seconds passed through him and the reaper along with it's forces... Harry felt his body change, his insides were moving, he was thinking...or was it processing... His vision was clearer, like there were things he could see that he couldn't before such as the temperature of an object. He suddenly remembered childhood memories he had long since forgotten as crystal clear as if they had happened moments ago and he noticed strange features on his arms... But it did not bother him, he felt... Happy.
Then the biggest change of all. He looked upon the Reaper in front of him and the Reaper looked back. He no longer felt angry. Somehow all the destruction and death felt unimportant. He finally understood the Reaper and he knew the Reaper understood him. The Reaper spoke first "We need to rebuild." Well obviously! Harry thought to himself.
Harry suddenly realized his internal organs weren't hurting anymore and sprung back into action like he was truly born again "Come on! There's power-cells and food supplies in the shack. They'd be been stockpiling it for a while so they could hide! Let's get it to London!" the husks and marauders stepped to it. Entering the shack and trying to gather the blood stained supplies stacked all over the place.
"Bah!" one of the husks exclaimed as he awkwardly stumbled over the corpses of the dead husk and unknown woman "These bodies are really getting in the way!" Harry shrugged.
"Don't worry, there's a big firewood canister outside. We can use it as dumpster for the bodies." Harry picked up a severed hand and tossed it through the open door into the canister to demonstrate, which wasn't even a challenge thanks to his new eyes.
"That's a good idea!" proclaimed one of the Marauders as he trampled over some corpses to pick up blood-stained power-cell. So working as a team, Harry and the Husks pulled all pieces of the 9 bodies out of the shack and hurled them into the canister while the Marauders collected the supplies and loaded them into the Reaper.
Then Harry noticed Laura's brutalized corpse lying on the ground for the first time. "Hey wait a moment! There's one thing I have to go before we go!" Harry walked over to the body and carefully picked her up, examining her closely and rummaging through her pockets. "Nope, nothing valuable." Harry then casually dropped the body back down face-first into the mud. "Okay let's get back to London!"
As the Reaper took off into the sky, Harry became bored with the silence and began to sing.
"Show me the way to go home! I'm tired and I want to go to bed! Come on everybody!" The husks hesitated.
"Ermm... We don't know that song."
Harry laughed "Don't worry I'll tell you the words."
One of the Marauders grinned at Harry and raised his fleshy/metallic arm "Tell us? You don't have to tell us anymore!"
Harry looked at his arm and thoughts flashed through his mind, a message from the Marauder
[We can uplink information and share it together digitally now.]
[Hey this is pretty cool! Okay here are the words!]
And then they sang together! The Reaper itself included!
"Show me the way to go home! I'm tired and I want to go to bed! I had a little drink about an hour ago! And it went right to my head! Where ever I may roam."
[Just the women!]
The Banshee rose to her feet and in her screeching voice "On land or sea or foam! You will always hear me singing this song!"
[All together now!]
"Show me the way to go home!"
And so Harry, the Husks, Marauders and Banshee flew back home to London inside the Reaper, where they met with their fellow friends and began to rebuild what they once lost in a new found unity of understanding between all races! And they all lived happily ever after.
The end.