Authors Note- Here is my fifth chapter. Yeah, I know, it took seven thousand years to write. But like I've said, I'm amazing at procrastinating. I'm sorry to all my peeps that actually read and enjoy my story. Anyways, I'd just like to bring up something...
SCHOOL! Oh god it's coming way too quickly. It's gonna be my first year of highschool, so sorry if my chapters take a while to get written. God knows I hate school. But enough of this chatter, so, without further ado, Enjoy!
P.S. Review :D!
The Chief crept into the clearing, his gaze sweeping across it's length. Nothing moved, save for the hypnotic swaying of the grass. The sun stood proudly in the sky, its artificial rays casting long shadows. Insects happily buzzed around flowers, going about their daily lives. Yet out of everything that could be wrong here, it just had to be the marines didn't it. 'Typical..' John thought, stepping out into the field. Starting in the center and slowly spiraling outwards, he checked the ground and the tall grasses for bodies, coming up empty handed. Slowly spreading out into the woods, he barely noticed the large black lump until he stumbled on it.
Reaching down and picking it up, it turned out to be an ODST helmet. The white line running down the center was faded, and a thin crack spread through the visor. Plasma burns darkened the side, the telltale sign of an engagement with the Covies. Inspecting the ground around his feet, he could just make out small, birdlike tracks leading away and deeper into the darkness of the trees. 'Jackals, huh? I can handle those.' Slowly creeping forward, the Spartan started slowly following the tracks, making less noise than the swaying trees.
By now the sun was setting, gold and orange light shining through the treetops, casting long shadows. The forest stood quiet, its inhabitants settling down for a warm night. He had no worry if losing the tracks. The MJOLNIR armor was a wonder, doing much more than just protect the Chief. It made a neural link with him, and the moment the Chief thought about those tracks, the armor analyzed the pattern, saving it. Whenever it made out the same pattern and The Chief needed to find it, they were automatically marked with a waypoint on his visor. Nor was his night vision completely necessary, his eyes more accurate than a normal humans, his pupils adjusting faster.
Slowly following the tracks, the hours passed, casting him in complete darkness. His night vision flickered on, allowing him to scan his surroundings. Not a single Covenant in sight. It was starting to bother him. Jackals were frail creatures. They couldn't have carried fourteen marines very far. Finally, a small light came into existence, peering through the trees and plants. Stopping, he activated the zoom on his visor. His vision blurred for a second, then everything came into focus. A small fire flickered, jackals lingering around its warmth. Behind the fire lay three marines, hog tied. Looking around, everything else was hidden from sight by the thick trunks.
Stepping over a fallen tree, John slowly crept towards the fire, using the darkness as cover. Raising his DMR, he brought the scope to his eye, aligning the sight with the nearest Jackals head. A loud crack rung out, the gun kicking against the Chiefs shoulder. The Jackal dropped , his weapon clattering against the ground. The other alien turned around, having enough time to see the body before a 7.62 mm round tore his brain apart. Stepping into the light of the camp fire, the marines eyes lit up, there exclamations muffled from the cloth in their mouths.
Kneeling down, John pulled the gag out of their mouths.
"Do you know where the rest of your squad is?" He asked, eyebrows raised behind his visor.
"No mate. All I know is they just took 'em further in."
"Probably have a bigger camp," he mused to himself, quickly untying the marines.
"Grab weapons. We're going to get the rest of your squad." The marines muttered a silent Ooh-Rah, gathering whatever supplies they could. It was times like this when he wish he had support. 'Even a simple topographic map would help. Cortana could just-' John stopped himself, shaking his head to clear his darkening thoughts.
Once the trio was properly equipped, and the Spartan was confident they could handle themselves in a firefight, they headed out into the woods. The trek took considerably longer than it should've, due to the marines inevitable stumbling. Just as the Chief was about to lose his patience, he held his hand up, motioning for the marines to stop. All movement ceased, casting the three in complete silence. Nothing ahead of the trio moved, but The Chief persisted, and finally he was rewarded. He just barely made out the heavy breathing of a grunt nearby. It's breathing was slow and calm, the poor bastard probably asleep. Creeping forward, his suspicions were confirmed when a hunched over grunt caught his eye. Nice and steady, he paced his footsteps until he was a few inches behind the creature. Staining his knife with its blood, the Master Chief signaled for the marines to follow.
The encampment was easily found from there, its lights illuminating the outer edges of the forest. It was the same idea as the other camp, but roughly three or four times larger. This time, three Covenant cruisers hung in the air, the quiet hum of their gravity lifts filling John's ears. At least a few thousand troops milled about outside, chattering. A closer look revealed that most carried no weapons. He guessed that most, if not all, of the remaining marines were being kept in the center of the camp, posing a problem. Somehow, they were going to have to sneak past hundreds of Covie's, free eleven marines, then sneak back out. The Chief only grimaced when the marines voiced his thoughts.
"Well, 'ave you got a plan or something?" one of them asked, stepping forward. "I mean, this isn't exactly going to be a walk in the park or something. Do you even think we can pull it off?"
Staring off, John's mind raced for a solution. Suddenly, it came to him. A stupidly dangerous plan that might actually succeed.
"Alright, so this is how it's going to happen," The Chief said, turning to face his compatriots.
Yes yes. Wickedly short chapter. I plan to counteract this with a super long chapter. I promise. Kinda been caught up in school. Just started freshman year, so it's quite a lot to take in. Sorry about the horrifically long wait. Anyway, I'm gonna start writing my next chapter now, get a head start and all c:. Any concerns or questions, just email me at doctorwhowoohoo . Or leave a review. Peace!