(Halo & ILoveBees (c) Microsoft Studios, Bungie & related creators. Content includes mentions of death, violence and some inappropriate, uncensored language. Certain substances mentioned in this chapter. This fic is on the harder end of the PG-13 scale; viewer discretion is advised.)


- Chapter IV -


Gary's enormous form could be heard meandering through the trees. Just as branch and bush cracked beneath his movement, so too did Janissary's back crack. The Monthly-Be-Gone, despite Jan's best efforts to take enough to last, was already wearing off. That familiar, seizing tightness was beginning to crawl up her backside; sometimes, Jan was tempted to cut her own back open and undo the muscles herself. For all that she was a SPARTAN One-Point-One, one might think she could handle monthly pains better. But no — it only seemed to be worse for her compared to the other women at Roald's camp. He had said something one about enhancements interfering with natural bodily processes.

As the all-too-familiar weariness of hormone imbalances set in, Jan rubbed at her face. As soon as she dumped off Reggie's "payment", she was going to pop pills, take a shower in the makeshift bathroom, and then sleep until the late morning. Even though it wasn't the best during a bad cramp, anyone who tried anything with her hammock promptly got a Magnum round in their direction. She had inherited her late mother's temper, after all.

Speaking of tempers, Jan still wasn't sure if allowing Gary to come along was one of her better ideas. She could have stopped and fired a bullet into his eye as soon as they were far enough. However, considering the fact that the snake had killed a fully-grown mother cockatrice, Jan would take her chances. Had it not been for the near-legendary monster interrupting Gary's chase, Jan wasn't too sure that she'd still be there that night.

Gary gave a hiss, coming close to the trail beside her. She barely got a glimpse of his eye-shine, and he seemed to be looking at her. She stopped, going rigid, one hand tightly grasping the handle of a Magnum. The serpent continued to gaze at her with one eye, turning his head and flicking his tongue. Jan glared, ready to run, shoot or both if need be.

The snake turned away, and much to Jan's surprise, slithered off in the direction she had been heading. In fact, he seemed more assured than she did, moving down beside the path like he had done it before. Feathered serpents did like to hunt around Roald's camp ... but Jan couldn't help but wonder: had Gary been there before? Some of the noises near the camp at night sounded to be made by an unusually large creature. Roald had worried a couple of times about a stray cockatrice, but something in Jan's gut made her doubt that idea. She took a step forward, her back giving another twinge.

"Rrrrrr ... "

Jan quickly turned her head, glancing again at where Gary had gone. Moments later, a loud explosion sounded, globs of blue flying everywhere, and Jan had to get down. The edges of the path seemed to explode in a flashing flurry of machine gun fire.


"Wyoming, this is Shock Team - target found. Excellent work with the tracker."

"Not a problem at all, dear old chap," said Wyoming, sucking on the end of his pipe with a grin. "You'd think Roald's men would be paranoid enough to search everything. I guess they like their drugs."

The radioman on the other end chuckled. "That they do," he said. "Say, what's in that little pack, anyways? Tobacco? Khat?"

"Neither, actually. It's concentrated serpent urine, taken from a breeding male, that's been mixed with a native plant. Both are highly potent in inducing a psychotic state if Gary gets a whiff."

"Hm. Clever."


Jan had a few choice words to say to the bastards that were firing at her. However, all she could do was draw her Magnums and crouch-run, Gary snarling and snapping somewhere beyond the trees. A pair of lucky rounds skidded across her back - she yelped, then turned and fire madly at her attackers. One yelped as he was nailed in the shoulder, but his partner nearly got the better of Jan. Another series of bullets nicked her leg, tearing through the fabric of her trousers like claws.

What now? Jan thought to herself irritably. Perhaps she was closer to the river than she thought ... or maybe the old bastard had sold her out. Her lip curled up in disgust, just as she ducked behind a free tree. The fact that Gary had attacked her earlier was making her wonder if that had been on purpose. Then again, why wonder? Why not accept the fact that Tatara was the planet of everything trying to kill her?

Screw it. The bull stops here.

Gunfire pelted the thick tree, but quickly ceased as the gun had to reload. Janissary took that moment to run, bolting across the path as fast as she could. Rather than make a break for the river, however, she crossed and promptly jumped on one of the gunners with a yell. Before he could even hit the ground, there was a gunshot, and the back of his head on the ground. He fell into the gore, eyes staring blankly, as his partner tried to fire.

Jan promptly turned, kicked the man hard in the groin, then fired again. With a Cheshire Cat's grin, she went for the machine gun, quickly manoeuvring it around and finishing reloading. The barrel spun as muzzle flashes lit the nearby foliage, cries of pain going up where a few soldiers were hit. Jan would relentlessly continue to fire, twisting and turning to get the best shot she could.

And, only when a pile of hot shells lay at her feet, the forest mostly silent save for curses and the stomping of brush, she ran. Behind her, whoever remained from her frenzied gunfire hounded her with a vengeance. Gunshots went off, skimming across the foliage as Jan kept ducking for cover.


Gary roared as the battle raged around him. Bullets slammed into his hide like sharp pebbles, and he swung his scarred face to and fro. His giant jaws snapped down on flora and mud, desperately trying to grab at something. The multitude of mercenaries surrounding him cared not about Wyoming's pet; the serpent was a liability, sent after anyone Reggie disliked. As much as the man worked with Hawk, he had his own agenda, and more than one man had been gobbled up by his oversized lizard. Hawk was actually expecting the snake to somehow be incapacitated in the fight.

Such thoughts, however, were stupid ones. Not only was Gary an efficient hunter, he was quite resilient, as his fight with the cockatrice had proved to Jan. Angered enough at being ambushed, he slammed his front half down on the ground, wriggling his tail back and forth. With some effort, he managed to get it airborne, swinging to and fro and sweeping several shooters off their feet. Bones cracked, people yelped, and two people were killed in that attack alone. When he finally slammed his tail back down, another mercenary was killed, unlucky enough to be caught running under it.

Getting his head in the air, he lunged towards a tree. Branches of the lower canopy broke and cracked, and two snipers fell from their nests. One was caught completely in Gary's jaws, crushed to death in an instant, and the other had his arm bitten off where he was caught. The screaming man fell - or rather, was thrown in the air, Gary throwing his head back to swallow the other. When the survivor came back down, he had been tossed high enough to be killed, and promptly broke his neck when he hit the ground. If he even survived that, Gary would run him over when the serpent slithered after another group of attackers.


From the sounds of it, Gary was taking out the mercenaries quite easily. His supple body sped across the undergrowth, and men were screaming to shoot and run. For the time being, Janissary was no longer the focus of their gunfire, allowing her to put on another burst of speed. The river couldn't have been far; all she had to do was run in the general direction of -

Her train of thought was interrupted by a machete swinging at her head. It just barely missed her, leaving a small flesh wound on one cheek. The mercenary didn't miss a beat, chopping away left and right like he was cutting through jungle. Jan dove under his latest swing, managing to aim her elbow for his solar plexus. He gasped as it connected, but his pain tolerance was higher than Jan thought.

Squelch!

Jan bit back at a yelp as the tip of the machete slammed into her shoulder. Warm blood flowed down her shoulder, drawn down with such force that Jan could feel the blade sinking deeper as it moved. Without really aiming, she kicked the man in the knee, causing him to jerk back a bit. It was enough to pull the blade out slightly, and Jan pulled herself down and back. There was not enough of a point for it to remain in her flesh easily, and it dislodged.

Then, before anything else could happen, a body slammed into him and Jan. Both were sent flying, blood splattering against them from a man who was missing both arms. On their direct opposite on the path, Gary reared up and roared loudly.


The bullet holes stung like burning pinpricks for Gary. His hide would protect him from serious damage, so long as he kept his head above the line of fire. However, like one might feel towards a stinging swarm of bees, he wanted it to desperately go away. Though he had enough strength (and a bit of help from his "owner") to shrug off the cockatrice venom, he still wasn't up to par. Added to that was the fact one of his eyes had been gouged out; he could feel it smarting, swelling with infection, and he could no longer see on that side. The sense of weakness, of something wrong and sharply painful, made him want to curl up and hide. Yet, as loyal as ever, he had followed the girl as his "owner" had commanded.

Below him, however, came a scent that threw everything else out of his mind. His nostrils flared as he inhaled, the testosterone- and blood-ridden odour making his one eye widen. Instinct, pure and unadulterated, swam through his mind like a fish. His mind blurred, whirling, and he swung his head around to face the opposite trees.

As Janissary James had fallen, a sharp rock sliced through the leg of her trousers, straight into the pocket and through the pouch of unknown substance. The wetness of the ground, her sweat and her blood combined into a dangerous mix for the snake. The stroke of luck Reggie had been banking on had struck; the side of Jan's leg, to Gary, now smelt like the unwanted fragrance of a breeding serpent male. Even out of their breeding season, male feathered serpents never took kindly to the pheromones of a rival.

The snake lunged forward, roaring again, opening his great jaws wide. Jan screamed a curse and jumped out of the way, the mercenary with the machete caught in Gary's attack. With a great clamp down, the serpent bit him into pieces, and then swerved around and went after Jan.

"RAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"


Mercenaries were screaming in surprise and fear around her. Janissary could barely hear them, adrenaline and blood pumping through her ears like water over a dam. There was a faint, strange odour coming from one leg, but she paid little attention to it; disgusting smells could easily be washed out. For now, Reggie's freakish pet had suddenly gone berserk, and the object of his temper seemed to be her. Jan was no fool; she had a feeling that her "client" wasn't as innocent as the face he put on.

Directions were forgot as she relied on reflex alone. To try and avoid an early death, she leapt over, swerved around, ducked under and dodged every obstacle she could head for. Gary ploughed along like a train, the flora and fleeing fauna racing by in dark blurs. Jan could only hope she wouldn't run into something worse.

She nearly fell onto her face as she jumped down some sort of outcropping. Landing on the ground with barely a grunt or pause, she took a burst of speed through some particularly thick undergrowth. In the back of her mind, a tinge of disgust wound up as she realized she was clawing through a scum patch. Spitting the green goo out when it got into her mouth, she tried to avoid the falling green from above. If I get blood poisoning it's gonna be your head, Roald ...

A loud slithering could be heard above her, but the movement was too quick and languid for her to avoid. Through the undergrowth, Gary's large maw came with fangs bared, and Jan was nearly swallowed whole. The loud snap seemed deafening, his immense body almost crushing her against what felt like the side of a cliff. Great! she thought. If he doesn't eat me, I'm going to be crushed like a bug!

Gary paused, turning around as he felt Jan wriggle against his side. He reared up, snarling, giving a loud hiss as he aimed his head. Saliva, gore and bits of rainforest dropped from his head and fangs, and his one eye fixed on Jan like a hawk's would. With lightning precision, he lunged forward -

Only to be stuck with something glowing and hissing on the side of his nose. He paused, swinging upwards again, snapping and hissing in annoyance. To him, the strange, blue-sparking contraption was no more annoying as a bug -

BEWMCH!

From his mouth, an upper fang fell, along with a smaller tooth. Purple blood flew everywhere as Gary shook his head with a pained cry. Another plasma grenade landed on his neck, where it took out another sizable chunk. The following scream was even louder, and Jan sincerely wished she could move her arms to cover her ears.

"JAN!"

She looked above, a rope falling down towards her. As Gary's body relaxed, yet another grenade landed on his neck, blowing off another piece. Jan, as fast as her enhancements could allow, scaled the rope to find Sevens sitting on top of an outcropping. He grinned at her, holding a grenade launcher in his arms.

"Miss me?"

Jan glared in return. She really could have used that a few minutes earlier.


The feathered serpent's forked tongue repeatedly ran across his mouth. He snapped at the pain, trying to shake it away. The glowing balls had come out of nowhere, and he had barely heard anyone sneak up on him. Then again, he was trying to kill what he perceived as a rival male, so his lack of attention was justified.

The screeching of his target caught his attention, directed towards another human perched on an outcropping. His one eye widened in anger, and the feathered serpent lunged. Both of them yelped as his jaws scraped across the rock and into the cliff side, dislodging stone and plant alike. He quickly pulled back, aiming again, as they tried to scramble up the cliff.

Gary lunged again, but promptly got caught in the jaw with another grenade. It blew off half of his bottom incisors, along with a lower canine. He shrieked again, shaking his head, as his prey scrambled even faster. At the top of the cliff, more humans appeared, firing more and more grenades at the snake.


"We've got company!" cried Sevens, looking up. As those above fired at the snake, one knelt down with a knife. Grabbing Sevens's rope in one hand, the mercenary began to slice. Sevens and Jan promptly jumped off, clinging to the slippery cliffs as the rope severed and fell. Janissary couldn't help but glare again at Sevens.

"What the hell is all this?" she yelled over the noise around her.

"I don't know!" yelled Sevens. "All I know is that there were a bunch of dead guys and I picked a launcher off of 'em! They looked modified; I thought these things had explosive ammo!"

"Well of course - they're grenades!" yelled Jan back. "The Covenant ones explode on impact, I think! These ones are UNSC; they take a few seconds!"

"Why are we even debating this?" asked Sevens. "You're supposed to know all about this stuff!"

"So are you!" snapped Jan irritably. "We talk later - climb!"


"There's more of them, Hawk?"

"Unexpectedly, yes," came the voice on the other end. "The boys report that they're carrying UNSC models and armour, but no insignia. Might be damn plainclothes again."

"Well that's a shame. I thought you had the area covered, all your channels encrypted, standard-procedure cloakings ... "

"Cloakings don't do a damn with hearsay and word-of-mouth," said Hawk. "And, even though this God-forsaken hole is low on the patrol roster, the UNSC is obligated to stick its nose where it doesn't belong. I don't appreciate that unholy Brute-maggot lovechild of yours, either - "

"Ah, now now Hawk," said Reggie, "that's not my fault. Your boys know very well that he likes to prowl around that trail. They should have been a bit more subtle; you should hold a staff meeting, maybe reorganize your numbers ... "

"This isn't the time for your brand of humour, Wyoming," snapped Hawk. "I've had enough trouble with the UNSC before. Money and favours can only go so far; if your snake eats someone, then I'm going to have the blame landed on me. Then there comes the investigation, the arrests, the seizure of property - "

"Which means you're worrying about the package," said Reggie. He looked over to the side, the AI's container standing beside him. "You should know me better by now, Hawk; rest assured, your little prize won't be going anywhere soon. If the UNSC do become a problem, I have enough technology and experience on my hands that they'll not find a thing. I was a Freelancer, Hawk; I know how the system works. Deceit was my specialty, after all, and it still is. I don't need Gamma to plant a few false leads for me."


Leads ... leads ... always false, always lying ... no, no, let me out, let me out ...

Who's there? What's going on?

Where is she? Where is she? Oh God, oh God, it's him! Not again!

Not again!

Not again!

Not again!

Not

not

not

Process not found

Invalid p-p-p-parameters

Out

Out

I need out

Calling, calling, calling ...

Who's there?

Oh, God, not you!

Error, error, error ...

I'm sinking

I'm sinking

Let me out

LET ME OUT

LET ME OUT PLEASE!


Author's Note: Notice a swapped placename? Additional warnings at the top of chapters? Small rewrites of sentences and other snippets? If you notice any of these, don't panic. I'm combing through older chapters to correct spelling and grammatical errors that slipped by in past edits. I'll announce any major rewrites in author's notes, but most of my editing is tweaking the final copies to be a bit more readable. Thank you for your patience and support thus far. :)

Also, if you are interested, there is a new poll on my page. Now that I'm close to thirty stories, I've gone back and noticed that a lot of them are either RvB- or Halo-based. I'm trying to see if people want more Hanna Is Not a Boy's Name fiction, or if people would like me to continue with a Halo trend.