PART 2: Charon Don't Make Change

Kidd was breathing heavier than ever before. The sweat dripped down his face and stung his eyes and the wounds on his face and neck. He could hear the guns off in the distance. Getting closer, some already close. It was night already. His face was smeared with black camo-makeup stuff. So was everyone else. He had never been this scared in his life.

"ANDY!"

Zach ran through the door of the building Kidd was kidding in.

It took him a second to respond, he was used to people calling him Kidd, his last name, not Andy, his first.

"Christ, we gotta leave NOW!" Zach yelled

"The fuckers are heading right to this place."

Kidd brought out all the strength he could muster and pulled himself off the ground.

"Stark to Collins, I found Kidd, we're getting the fuck out," Zach's voice was wavering in terror.

Collins muttered something back through the walkie-talkie.

It doesn't matter, Kidd thought as he tried to hear Collins. Just live God Damnit.

Zach and Kidd rushed out the door and met up with McMahon around a corner, he was unloading a clip into 2 men on full automatic. The men fell and he stopped firing.

He cocked his head to the left and the three started running.

Zach was looking around for enemy Snipers. He didn't want to see any right now. Things were just not good.

The three ducked down behind a huge piece of fallen concrete.

McMahon took out a gauss bandage, and re-bandaged a knife wound on his arm.

"Report" said Zach.

"We, we, have the Black Box, now we're getting the team out of here as fast as humanly fucking possible." McMahon winced in pain as he spoke and bandaged at the same time.

"Hit it" McMahon grunted as he got up and started running with Kidd and Zach.

They turned a corner to see an enemy Dropship unloading ammo to some Koslovic soldiers.

Kidd reached into his pack and took out three tubes and an RPG. He screwed the tubes together, loaded the grenade, aimed, pulled the trigger. And watched. The grenade flew into a crate of ammo, igniting all the others instantly. The Dropship was engulfed in flames. Some men were instantly killed. Others ran around in flames until finally coming to a rest.

The three ran up to the ship, guns ready. A man jumped up from behind a pile of rubble, with his hands up, yelling something in Russian. He was only able to get one word out before the three opened up his head on fully automatic.

"Christ! There's nothing left of that!" Zach yelled in horror, but not angry with himself at all for doing it.

They kept moving. Collins was up ahead waving to them.

They stopped beside him, standing, they knew it was risky but they wanted to be able to run ASAP.

"What's the deal?" Kidd asked.

"No good. We're outnumbered even worse than in the jungle, and we can't get a Dropship in to get us out. So we have the rest of the men up a few yards in a building, we found rocket launchers so enemy air strikes won't be a problem, lets go" Collins gave no time for the others to respond."

A rocket tore through a Koslovic Scimitar Bomber, detonating once inside. The marines watched as the ship, twice the size of a Dropship, go down in flames. It slammed into a flat roof a few blocks away, skidded off, and exploded in a cluster of buildings, and soldiers.

Snipers were positioned at the windows. A few men with rocket launchers stood by as well. A heavy machine gun was mounted in a hole in the building, raining hot lead hell down on the Koslovics.

The Koslovics opened up with their Warthog's chain guns. Tearing through the walls of the building, a few UNSC men fell as bullets tore through the wall they were hiding behind.

Kidd pushed a man out of the way and fired a rocket out the window between two warthogs, destroying them.

Collins was on the long distance radio. Again with the concerned look on his face. But this time he was almost white as paper, he clicked the radio off, and called all the men away from the windows and into the center of the building.

"Half an hour ago the Dropship carrying the enemy Tactical Nuke, was shot down. The enemy didn't even know the nuke was on board, but it survived in the armor of the transport vehicle. The enemy is pulling out of the city. Their gonna nuke it."

NOTE:

A Scimitar is the curved sword that Pirates are often seen using. So a Scimitar Bomber is like an early version of the Longsword Bomber used in HALO. The kind at the end of the game. Longsword Bombers can also be seen taking out some kind of plasma artillery in that Gameplay video of HALO 2. "Charon Don't Make Change" is the name of an old Marathon 2: Durandal level, HALO is based on MARATHON, and yes, the Marathon trilogy is from Bungie. Charon is the guy who ferries the souls over the River Styx, in some myth/legend/bible, whatever. Meaning bring exact change.