Chapter 4: Flames
(flashback)
713 sat in the ruins of a once proud building, holding a sniper rifle. He aimed down on the ground at an elite honor guard. The sights lined up on the head and, with a loud bang. The elite honor guard dropped to the ground. The shell hit the ground with a nice metal ping sound. As the shell hit the ground his cross-hairs were on another elite, who were just now reacting to the death of the honor guard. With one shot another fell, and another. He unloaded all four shot into four different elites. He saw the little grunts running away, but he didn't reload to shoot them, they were a waste of his time. He stood, reloaded and put the rifle on his back and walked out into a burned out hall. He followed it down to a set of stair and climbed down several flights of stairs down to the ground and pulled out his assault rifle. He braced himself against the wall next to a closed door that was for fire exits. He looked out the small window on the door, he saw five brutes sitting around and destroying things to find something or just to mess around, he couldn't tell. He put his finger on the trigger for the plasma shotgun. Then he stormed in and fired. He killed all but one. That one last brute that was on the ground wounded and bleeding from only the few wounds, the others had been cauterized by the blast. 713 pulled out his pistol and walked over to the brute. He put his boot on the face of it and aimed the pistol at its head. The brute was yelling out threats and cuss words in his language. Then 713 paused for what he said next "This world will burn, just like you. You are a disease that must be purged from this world." 713 thought for a moment the spoke back to it "If we are a disease then we are very weak, but we can hold our own against a enemy that attacks for no reason, an enemy that outnumbers us, and an enemy that holds themselves too high." Then he fired a shot into its head, killing it instantly. He walked out of the build putting his pistol away and trading it out for his assault rifle. He crouched and walked over to a fence looked over it. Most of the city was in ruins. This is what was left of Harvest. He saw an alleyway and the sprinted down it. He heard gun fire, and lots of it. He ran to it, to see a huge fire fight going on. He looked up instinctively and noticed a huge covenant cruiser up above his head. He saw marines trading fire with covenant forces. He ducked down behind a wall. He joined a lone marine with a battle rifle.
The marine looked over at him and said "A spartan? I can't believe I'm seeing one in flesh and blood!"
713 braced as a blast exploded near them and said "If you don't keep your head down we won't be seeing you in flesh and blood." 713 got up, aimed and fired at the nearest enemies. Soon the marine followed him. He looked over to the other side of the street, he saw a huge spartan II with a turret firing down the street. Then he saw a blue Spartan III run down the street with a bomb in one hand a pistol in the other. 713 thought nothing of it and laid down fire to help them. A blast from a covenant wraith tank hit almost dead on, sending him flying. He smashed through a window on the second story of a large building. He moved to get up, but every body part screamed out for him to stop, but he didn't. He got up, grabbed his rifle, and jumped down to the street. He saw a pack of elites and grunts, and they saw him. They started firing at him almost immediately. He fired back first taking out the grunts. He ran to get cover, but it wouldn't help, an elite honor guard had started charging with two energy swords. 713 ran into a small alley way, put his rifle away, and stopped. He turned to see the honor guard, who had stopped as well.
The elite spoke so he could understand him "Demon, why do you stop running are you not afraid of the power we, the holy covenant, possess?"
713 looked at him and answered "I am not afraid of your so called holy power, I'm afraid, however, of death." 713 pulled out his swords. They circled each other, then 713 hits a button and the sword comes to live. Around the edge of the blade it looked like light was dancing around it, but it was his version of the energy sword. Then the elite went in for a strike, but 713 blocked his blow with the edge of his sword. 713 went in for a swing, and cut clean through the elites leg. Blood splattered against the wall and the elite screamed out in pain as his leg fell from his body. 713 took one more slash at the elite and slowly the head from the base of the neck fell off, cleanly. He put the swords away and ran on down the alley way. He looked up to see the covenant cruiser above explode in a ball of fire. The cruiser split in half by the explosion. Both pieces seem to be falling slow motion. 713 then realized that on of the pieces was falling down toward him. He ran the other way, as fast as he could. But it wasn't fast enough. Before the front half of the cruiser hit the ground, and started sliding his direction.
713 kept running but the cruiser was going to get him. He stopped, turned around and prepared for it. He put his hands in front of him and then the cruiser hit. 713 slid several feet, but the cruiser kept coming. He kept sliding farther and father. He dug his feet into the ground trying to stop it, but he just started making a trench as the cruiser pushed him further. His arms screamed out in pain to him, but he mustn't stop. Then the cruiser came to a stop. With every inch of his body screaming at him in pain. He slowly stepped out of the now long trench he has made, he walked slowly away. But he didn't make it far before he fell to his knees from the exhaustion taking over him. He breathed heavy, but slowed his breath to nice, deep breathes. A pelican slowly landed near him. Some marines filed out, covering the area. He fell further so he was flat on the ground. His vision began to blur. He then looked up to see a figure in a white coat walking toward him and some medics with a hover stretcher.
As the rose him off the ground he faintly hear a few words from the white figure in a woman's voice he knew long ago "You are stronger then I could have ever dreamed 713, you are the ultimate spartan of your kind." He tried to reach out to her with his hand, but he felt like it weighted more then his armor.
And only a few breathless, hazy words breached his lips, "Vanessa...your..ali..." And he fainted from exhaustion.
