Ok heres the chap...Oh yes...someone dies in this chapter *cry cry*
The Battle of Reach
Chapter 3: A Hero Falls
At 'Mark', Elise let a rocket fly at the heart of the Grunt encampment. All that followed were the high-pitched screams of the little pigs. Then, there was a few minutes pure silence. One could here a pin drop. A few Grunts hobbled over to where the decimation took place, but in this case, curiosity killed the alien. Once the small bipeds had settled, Sam let a rocket loose aimed right in the middle of them, killing no less than 8 of the creatures. That was when the unexpected happened. The Grunts started discharging plasma rifles and pistols in all directions. John hadn't counted on that. He pictured a group of worthless Covenant running scared in all directions while his master plan took effect. He thought that the Spartans would have no trouble reducing their numbers from 800 to 0 in minutes. John imagined sheer and utter chaos, but that wasn't the case. Instead of scattering like brainless beasts, the Grunts quickly made their way to the armory, running in a serpentine motion trying to avoid the snipers. All the cybernetic soldiers could do was to try to stick to the plan and wipe the cretins out.
But the Grunts finally got to the armory. Then the plan went to Hell. The only sounds for miles around were the echo of frantic sniper rifle shots and the faint whisper of plasma pistols' cooling units activating. However, the Spartans had the upper hand. Then, they got overconfident. Feeling imminent victory, Sam started to walk out of the grove he was in. "Ha ha! I got the little monsters now," he shouted firing two rockets vaporizing one Grunt while flinging three others into the air.
Then, the Chief slowly crept from his hiding place as Nick and Elise stood to get a better view, all of them unaware of how important those spots would be. The com link was filled with joyous victory cries from the different Spartans. Then, John burst through a cave opening at full speed, letting out a shrill war cry that puzzled his teammates. However, they quickly found that the 'war cry' was a scream. "Everyone, clear out! They've won this battle!"
At first, they all thought that he'd become psychotic. However, no one exactly wanted to question the genius and everyone scrambled to a safe spot. That is, everyone except Nick. "Yeah, right. And I'm an admiral in disguise," was his cocky response.
"You little brat! Get your ass out of here!"
At that moment, the odds got a LOT better for the Grunts. Eight drop ships appeared over the cave that John was just in, but they weren't alone. In the distance, there was a loud, ear-piercing, screeching noise. Make that 'loud, ear-piercing, screeching noises'. The drop ships were guarded by no less than twenty squealing banshees. The entire crew had seen this, except Nick, who was trying to target a fleeing grunt. Elise, the Chief, and Sam scuttled to find cover. As John began to turn the M12LRV around, he happened to glance at the ships. He was surprised. Instead of dropping to give immediate reinforcements to the encampment, they seemed to be flying to a predetermined destination. The blue Spartan looked into the distance. He noticed that the Covenant were heading toward a lone figure on a cliff. 'Oh no,' he thought, 'Nick.' "NICK, GET OUT OF THERE!" John shouted half angrily and half scared.
Nick looked up. Nick then ran. John gazed at the sight, and then he took off in great haste. Nick was scared. He was just plain scared. His adrenal glands were working at 200% capacity as he desperately tried to find a hiding place. He looked off to his right at a small cavern. However, the pilots noticed this, too. Just as he made a break for it, the leader of the banshees blasted the potential shelter to bits. 'Okay, no dice,' he thought as he raced to find another spot. Then, he heard the drop ships race ahead of him, no doubt attempting to ambush him. However, Nick wasn't a complete idiot. He realized that they were setting a trap, so he made a sharp cut to the right as charged plasma cannon blasts obliterated the area a meter ahead of him.
Nick looked ahead and saw a deep riverbed in front of him. He could easily hide there until it was safe. He really didn't have a choice. "I'm going for it," he muttered to himself. Thirty meters, 'Almost there,' twenty meters, 'Just a little farther,' ten meters, 'I'm gonna' make it!'
Just as Nick leaped into the air to dive into the river of freedom, a plasma cannon blast landed half a meter in front of him and threw him back at least five meters. The black Spartan laid there for a few seconds in a complete stupor. He then slowly pulled himself into a sitting position just in time to see the eight drop ships land and unload their lethal cargo. "Oh, God, I'm done. Game over."
As he whispered his last prayers, Nick looked up and got his first clear look at his killers, ten Elites and fourteen Grunts. The Grunts slowly moved in as the Elites let out their war cries. Nick gave up hope. With no hopes of survival or strength to fight on, Nick rolled over and awaited death openly. As he awaited his demise, the youngster's thoughts began to wander. He pictured himself on a beautiful beach with a clear, blue sky, walking on white sand that spanned for miles. What he found most striking was the sound of the rumbling waves crashing upon the shore. Yes he could definitely hear the rumbling...but then he realized something. It wasn't water. Suddenly, John burst onto the scene mowing over three Elites and two Grunts who had been caught off guard. Wasting no time, John jumped into the gunner seat and started firing the chain gun with no intent of stopping anytime soon. "Nick get out of here!" he shouted.
"But-"
"I'm NOT telling you again. I'll meet up with you later."
Nick knew he was lying. "Thank you, John. I'll never forget this," was all the boy could muster as he attempted to roll into the river, with tears in his eyes. As his near-lifeless body crashed into the stream, he heard the banshees soaring overhead, no doubt preparing for a bombing run. Next, he heard random explosions, a scream, and then...nothing. Complete silence. Nick could do nothing but cry. Of all the things he had trained for, nothing had prepared him for the death of a friend. But it didn't make sense to Nick. He wasn't supposed to be afraid or confused. Nick was elite. He was one of the best. He was a Spartan, and that made the pain feel so much worse. With what little energy he possessed, Nick climbed a little ways downstream and fell into a cold, dreamless sleep.
"It's been eight hours," Elise said nervously, looking around the designated rendezvous point. "It's getting late. Do you think they're all right?"
"I'm sure they're fine," Sam muttered.
Just then, a zombie-like being limped its way toward the three soldiers. "Who goes there?" Master Chief shouted into the darkness.
"Uuuh-eerrg," was all that the figure groaned back.
Slowly it made its way nearer and nearer to the Spartans, who quickly raised their weapons, ready to annihilate the strange creature. It got to within three feet of Sam before it finally collapsed in front of him. The three warriors peered down. "What is it?" Sam asked while prodding it with his sniper rifle.
Elise bent over and turned on her flashlight, "Oh my God," she gasped. "Nick?"
Hehehehehehehehe...cliffy? Not really. Poor John........... WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!?!!?!?!?!!?!??!?!?!?!??? Oh well.
The Battle of Reach
Chapter 3: A Hero Falls
At 'Mark', Elise let a rocket fly at the heart of the Grunt encampment. All that followed were the high-pitched screams of the little pigs. Then, there was a few minutes pure silence. One could here a pin drop. A few Grunts hobbled over to where the decimation took place, but in this case, curiosity killed the alien. Once the small bipeds had settled, Sam let a rocket loose aimed right in the middle of them, killing no less than 8 of the creatures. That was when the unexpected happened. The Grunts started discharging plasma rifles and pistols in all directions. John hadn't counted on that. He pictured a group of worthless Covenant running scared in all directions while his master plan took effect. He thought that the Spartans would have no trouble reducing their numbers from 800 to 0 in minutes. John imagined sheer and utter chaos, but that wasn't the case. Instead of scattering like brainless beasts, the Grunts quickly made their way to the armory, running in a serpentine motion trying to avoid the snipers. All the cybernetic soldiers could do was to try to stick to the plan and wipe the cretins out.
But the Grunts finally got to the armory. Then the plan went to Hell. The only sounds for miles around were the echo of frantic sniper rifle shots and the faint whisper of plasma pistols' cooling units activating. However, the Spartans had the upper hand. Then, they got overconfident. Feeling imminent victory, Sam started to walk out of the grove he was in. "Ha ha! I got the little monsters now," he shouted firing two rockets vaporizing one Grunt while flinging three others into the air.
Then, the Chief slowly crept from his hiding place as Nick and Elise stood to get a better view, all of them unaware of how important those spots would be. The com link was filled with joyous victory cries from the different Spartans. Then, John burst through a cave opening at full speed, letting out a shrill war cry that puzzled his teammates. However, they quickly found that the 'war cry' was a scream. "Everyone, clear out! They've won this battle!"
At first, they all thought that he'd become psychotic. However, no one exactly wanted to question the genius and everyone scrambled to a safe spot. That is, everyone except Nick. "Yeah, right. And I'm an admiral in disguise," was his cocky response.
"You little brat! Get your ass out of here!"
At that moment, the odds got a LOT better for the Grunts. Eight drop ships appeared over the cave that John was just in, but they weren't alone. In the distance, there was a loud, ear-piercing, screeching noise. Make that 'loud, ear-piercing, screeching noises'. The drop ships were guarded by no less than twenty squealing banshees. The entire crew had seen this, except Nick, who was trying to target a fleeing grunt. Elise, the Chief, and Sam scuttled to find cover. As John began to turn the M12LRV around, he happened to glance at the ships. He was surprised. Instead of dropping to give immediate reinforcements to the encampment, they seemed to be flying to a predetermined destination. The blue Spartan looked into the distance. He noticed that the Covenant were heading toward a lone figure on a cliff. 'Oh no,' he thought, 'Nick.' "NICK, GET OUT OF THERE!" John shouted half angrily and half scared.
Nick looked up. Nick then ran. John gazed at the sight, and then he took off in great haste. Nick was scared. He was just plain scared. His adrenal glands were working at 200% capacity as he desperately tried to find a hiding place. He looked off to his right at a small cavern. However, the pilots noticed this, too. Just as he made a break for it, the leader of the banshees blasted the potential shelter to bits. 'Okay, no dice,' he thought as he raced to find another spot. Then, he heard the drop ships race ahead of him, no doubt attempting to ambush him. However, Nick wasn't a complete idiot. He realized that they were setting a trap, so he made a sharp cut to the right as charged plasma cannon blasts obliterated the area a meter ahead of him.
Nick looked ahead and saw a deep riverbed in front of him. He could easily hide there until it was safe. He really didn't have a choice. "I'm going for it," he muttered to himself. Thirty meters, 'Almost there,' twenty meters, 'Just a little farther,' ten meters, 'I'm gonna' make it!'
Just as Nick leaped into the air to dive into the river of freedom, a plasma cannon blast landed half a meter in front of him and threw him back at least five meters. The black Spartan laid there for a few seconds in a complete stupor. He then slowly pulled himself into a sitting position just in time to see the eight drop ships land and unload their lethal cargo. "Oh, God, I'm done. Game over."
As he whispered his last prayers, Nick looked up and got his first clear look at his killers, ten Elites and fourteen Grunts. The Grunts slowly moved in as the Elites let out their war cries. Nick gave up hope. With no hopes of survival or strength to fight on, Nick rolled over and awaited death openly. As he awaited his demise, the youngster's thoughts began to wander. He pictured himself on a beautiful beach with a clear, blue sky, walking on white sand that spanned for miles. What he found most striking was the sound of the rumbling waves crashing upon the shore. Yes he could definitely hear the rumbling...but then he realized something. It wasn't water. Suddenly, John burst onto the scene mowing over three Elites and two Grunts who had been caught off guard. Wasting no time, John jumped into the gunner seat and started firing the chain gun with no intent of stopping anytime soon. "Nick get out of here!" he shouted.
"But-"
"I'm NOT telling you again. I'll meet up with you later."
Nick knew he was lying. "Thank you, John. I'll never forget this," was all the boy could muster as he attempted to roll into the river, with tears in his eyes. As his near-lifeless body crashed into the stream, he heard the banshees soaring overhead, no doubt preparing for a bombing run. Next, he heard random explosions, a scream, and then...nothing. Complete silence. Nick could do nothing but cry. Of all the things he had trained for, nothing had prepared him for the death of a friend. But it didn't make sense to Nick. He wasn't supposed to be afraid or confused. Nick was elite. He was one of the best. He was a Spartan, and that made the pain feel so much worse. With what little energy he possessed, Nick climbed a little ways downstream and fell into a cold, dreamless sleep.
"It's been eight hours," Elise said nervously, looking around the designated rendezvous point. "It's getting late. Do you think they're all right?"
"I'm sure they're fine," Sam muttered.
Just then, a zombie-like being limped its way toward the three soldiers. "Who goes there?" Master Chief shouted into the darkness.
"Uuuh-eerrg," was all that the figure groaned back.
Slowly it made its way nearer and nearer to the Spartans, who quickly raised their weapons, ready to annihilate the strange creature. It got to within three feet of Sam before it finally collapsed in front of him. The three warriors peered down. "What is it?" Sam asked while prodding it with his sniper rifle.
Elise bent over and turned on her flashlight, "Oh my God," she gasped. "Nick?"
Hehehehehehehehe...cliffy? Not really. Poor John........... WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!?!!?!?!?!!?!??!?!?!?!??? Oh well.