A Dark Rising

Prologue

The muffled sounds of gunfire and explosions could be heard all around. At the center of this orchestra of war was a lone soldier who only now began to wake. His body felt numb and sluggish, he tried opening his eyes, but they were so tired. He tried harder and managed to lift himself off the ground keeping his hands beneath his body as support. Everything ached and burned.

After a few moments, his eyes started opening again, this time with success. The ground was of jagged, dark rock coated in thick, near-black mud. "Where am I?" He wondered.

Taking a moment to observe his surroundings, the soldier saw what looked to be an SMG laying a few feet in front of him. As he crawled towards it, he began to hear the sounds of battle growing louder around him. When he reached out to grab it he noticed that it was in the grip of a dead marine.

"What the hell?"

The marine's body was covered in dark burn marks that melted through the soldier's plated armor. The dead Marine's eyes were still open and staring a thousand yards away, so he closed them as a final act of respect. He then grabbed the SMG and scavenged a pair of magazines from the fallen marine.

A booming noise grabbed his attention and he looked up to the sky. What appeared to be a Marathon-class cruiser was going down in flames above him when suddenly, a bright beam of light ripped through the gray, clouded sky, slicing right through the midsection of what was left of the cruiser. The cruiser's core must have detonated since the ship promptly exploded into a massive ball of fire. He was knocked back to the ground by the shockwave and brought his arms up to cover his head as the debris began to fall. The ship's remains landed all around him, but he was spared.

His ears were still muffled but he was beginning to hear the environment around him better than before. He knew he had to get to cover so he began to crawl into a crater in front of him. Bullets whizzed above, and he rolled into the crater hugging the SMG close to his chest, ready to return fire. He began to think he could hear voices again, but he still couldn't determine where they were coming from. He thought he had heard someone yelling the words 'key' and 'ford'-something but couldn't make sense of it. He crawled towards the edge of the crater in a prone position and peered over the ledge towards whatever was beyond the edge. It was at that moment that he felt a hand grab him from behind and attempt to lift him up. He looked to see who or what it was and that's when everything came back.

A weary soldier looked him in the eyes and shouted, "Keep moving forward! We're almost there, just a bit further!" The soldier pointed towards something in the distance. Upon closer inspection, there was some sort of structure dozens of yards in front of him.

"GO! We don't have much time left!" called another, an officer bearing the single star of a Brigadier General. He looked almost familiar with his stoic, and graying face. Like the weary soldier who lifted him up, the General sported a rugged appearance, face unshaven, bags under the eyes, blood, dirt, wear and tear all over.

He was forced out of his thoughts when the General pointedly pulled him along. So, he started running towards the structure, dodging what appeared to be red lasers that seemed to be enemy fire. As he stumbled onward to the structure, he could see a hundred or so other soldiers like him making a mad all-or-nothing dash towards the structure's tall entrance.

A Warthog sped past him only to be engulfed in an explosion and flip over toward him. He attempted to jump out of the way and the flaming husk of the Warthog tumbled and sailed right over him. The Brigadier General was forced to leap away from him and out of sight. He was terrified. He didn't know what was going on or where he was. But he had to continue advancing, so he proceeded to get back up and resumed his charge.

When he finally reached the structure, there was no more than a platoon-sized group of soldiers from mixed branches, including the General, awaiting him. Many of the soldiers wore equipment that he was not familiar with while others wore what looked to be scavenged equipment. He felt so tired, but the General spoke up to him and the others.

"This is it. One final effort, that's all that remains! I know many of you are tired, worn, and depleted, but after all our blood, sweat, and tears we've made it."

"Not all of us, Sir." Spoke a lone marine making present the grief they all shared.

The General sighed with a tightened fist, "No, not all of us." gazing back upon the field they had all just dashed through, the true extent of their loss could be seen. Thousands of bodies littered the kill zone along with the wrecked husks of vehicles and ships.

"But we did!" Said the General with determination, "We few have survived! We've survived not only this trial that we face now but the hundreds of trials that we've faced in the past! Our fellow brothers and sisters have all knowingly sacrificed their lives for this mission. Because they knew that if we failed if we didn't keep pushing forward, it's all over", the General paused briefly to look up towards the sky where a gap in the clouds had formed and for the briefest of moments, the stars could be seen shining.

"We have lost so much," he pondered out loud as he continued to star at the stars. No more were the flashes of the space battle above, no more was the last fleet of Mankind, like those here on the surface they too sacrificed their lives in the slim hope that a final victory could be achieved. Those gathered around him were now all that remained of Mankind's military.

"...but", he began again reaching upwards towards the stars, grasping at them "Can't you see them? Our comrades… our comrades are watching us. They want to know that the final victory that they gave their lives for is meaningful. Because this fight is not yet over!" He exclaimed grasping his fist tighter around the stars and shouting so that even the enemy could hear.

"Comrades! Finish this fight!" Finishing his fiery speech, the General received the last battle cry of mankind from those who remained.

He reached into his chest pocket and pulled out a Cuban cigar then lit it. With a smirk he turned his attention towards the soldier who had until recently been unconscious "We'll hold the bastards off for as long as we can," the General then saluted him "It's been an honor fighting beside you."

Two soldiers behind him grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the General and his men. They then ran into the structure and were enveloped by the blinding light that was the entrance. Almost as if they were entering the gates of Heaven itself. After that, everything went white as a thundering voice boomed through the whiteness.

Updated 3/12/2018

This story is currently under revision and rewrite in some areas. Much of the plot in the current chapters will remain but significant work is being done on making the writing better and more enjoyable to the reader. I am currently also looking for a BETA to help in this process as all my former ones are no longer available.

Reviews are appreciated and so are Favorites and Follows.