Book: LATE NIGHT
Chapter 1
One hell of a place
"Emergency detach initiated," whined the electronic voice as the pod started to squealed from the pressure building up inside the pods hydraulic door.
As it shot out over the ledge and onto the street it made an ungodly noise that sounded like nails on a chalk board as it skidded down the tarmac towards an over turned school bus. "Finally, the damn thing opened," Jim sighed, as he started to stand up he look over the edge.
He noticed that he landed on top of a small balcony of a building, as he surveyed the area to get his bearings he rotated his body behind him and saw the destroyed letters which spelled, *Foreside Hotel*, "Looks like one hell of a place." Jim whispered jokingly to himself.
He than grab his M6S magnum and his AR5CQ which is shorter than a AR5 and has a shorter clip, after finally freeing his AR5CQ with a forceful tug, he began to walk behind his pod, as he dragged his hand across he felt the ceramic coating chewed away from the descent which made the ODST quiver.
This was his first mission where he went into a hot zone, and the pod was literally burning inside as he descended onto the earth.
He was the youngest in his platoon and his squad to have experience the worst-case scenario of the pod almost becoming fatally hot.
As he ran his forefinger down the scorch marks on his pod, he started to thinking back to his days at boot camp when they were showed the videos of the problems that happen when the ceramic coating was gone by there DI (drill instructor). It was almost as bad as having to go in the gas chamber.
He silently laughed to himself as he remembered his friend Zach puking his guts in the gas chamber, Zach didn't really fair well in the chamber or boot camp for that matter he was more of a tech guy loved games and wanted figure out why things worked.
He began to shake off these thoughts as they were starting to distract him; he needed to be level head if he was going to find his team. After the slip space rupture that the capital ship made the entire city a wreck, marines and ODST's were scattered all over the place confused and when the comms died they were alone. There were small battles during the time of the slip space but now it very quite and it was unnerving.
As he walked away from his pod that he was examining for two minutes too long, he found the door to the hotel.
As he grabbed the handle to only find out it was locked.
"Damn, why is it always me having to break down doors," Jim groaned while placing his shoulder on the door and began to push into it.
On his third try he busted through and went head first onto the floor, " Really need to keep my balance next time…." He whispered, as he got up off the floor brushing off dust.
It was pitch black even though it was only 6:40pm and as he flicked his visors NV it started to outline objects in a bright yellow color while he walked, he could see cabinets dented over the floor next to rooms and a small common room with a couch and a T.V. "Not much of a home but its better than sleeping in the garbage," he thought with a smirk.
As he walked down towards the vast darkness, he noticed two bodies, their lifeless carcasses stuck with metal spikes protruding out of their chest. He was disappointed that they were marines that were caught off guard and slaughtered by the Covenant. As he knelt down by the body he said his own quick prayer for his fellow Devil Dogs, an after doing this he began checking there bodies for IFF tags to identified them.
As he finished finding there tags he notice one was a recruit only nineteen years old just like him, he cursed that a young soldier was killed, and stuffed the tags under his breastplate into his pocket while he walked down the stairs to the lobby floor wanting to get some Covenant blood.
He found the door towards the street and peered outside and towards the sky, he groaned as he noticed it was starting to get cloudy, he hated it when it was cloudy because with clouds came rain and with the rain it became harder to see.
As he walked out onto the street past the destroyed UNSC hogs and Covenant ghosts, towards the Numbouy-apartments he saw more bodies.
"Must have been a hell of a battle here," Jim said as walked carefully over the tangled bodies of Humans and strangely just Unggoy (grunts), Kig-Yar (jackals), and Jiralhanae (brutes) but no Sangheili (elites) he was puzzled that the Brutes seem to be leading the squads of Covenant. "Usually the elites lead them, why are the brutes leading?" Jim thought to himself, just then his train of thought was broking by a shot that rang out in the distance he twitch as he drop down into cover behind a destroyed NMPD patrol car, he thought that there might be a soldier nearby judging by the sound of the shot, he hoped that the marine was alive because he sure as hell could use some help in New Mombasa.
As he walked to the relative location of the shot, it stated to rain, "This doesn't help," Jim cursed to himself as he strained his eyes to see his way to the location. Once he made his hour-long journey to the spot, he saw a small street filled with garbage and vehicles thrown about leading down to the Numbouy-apartments.
As he scanned the area for any signs of the marine he notice a body, it wasn't human but Sangheili.
As he approached the body he knelt down next to the head of the alien, " Nice, right between the eyes, " Jim whispered silently admiring the shot, as he examined the entrance of the small hole, he than notice the casing next to the body, as he picked the shell up to his face he turned it slowly.
He soon saw the etching on the side * M61.2* he instantly knew an ODST trooper was nearby due to the standard issue magnum casing, but as he craned his head up he only saw a deserted street.
As he started to get up off the wet tarmac nearly slipping in the process, thinking that if he could find him or her for that matter he might have a better chance at finding his squad, but as he searched from his spot he couldn't see any silhouette of anyone, "Can I catch a break man!" he yelled quietly staring up to the heavens as the rain started to fall harder.
He decided it was unwise to search for anyone now that the sun was beginning it descent to the end of the skyline. He checked his visor tac map and looked at the upper right hand Corner seeing that it was 7:54pm.
He didn't even dare to walk towards Numbouy hotel as he saw phantoms floating off, "If that troopers out that way I hope to hell he makes it," he said quietly staring down the street.
As he walked back he decided to keep frosty knowing a trooper just got into a fight with an elite and he didn't want any unwanted attention today, as he retrace his steps three clicks back to the foreside hotel past the small street battle he saw two drop pods, "Why are their more troopers coming down?" as he squinted watching the pods descended, the rain was starting to clear up just enough to noticed there were longer and sleeker than human drop pods, "Looks like I will have to fight today." Jim said smiling.