Resident Halo

Chapter Five

Earth Calendar January 27, 2553.
New Mombassa, Earth.
Metropolitan area.

The three Pelicans of Neo's squad thundered over the thousands of buildings of New Mombassa, engines roaring. The Pelicans hovered down onto one of the many buildings that were under construction, and their landing gears deployed, the rear ramps opened.

The three-dozen men and women of Neo's squad clambered down the ramps. The pilot of Neo's Pelican spoke over the radio. "We'll pick you up when you signal us," the pilot said. The ODSTs cleared away from the Pelicans, and they ascended into the skies.

The ODSTs gathered around Neo as the sand and gravel uplifted from the Pelicans cleared. "We'll split into two teams," said Neo, and he selected half of the ODSTs, and designated them Blue Team. The other ODSTs, including Neo, comprised Red Team.

Reaver, who was Blue Leader, ordered half of his team to scout out the general area. Red Team, and the rest of the Blues, started to set up camp in the building: depositing supplies in well guarded caches, and assembling barricades at each exit, with a sniper at each one.

Five minutes later, the scouts returned. "Nothing, sir," said the scout leader. "No bodies, no signs of humans, alive or otherwise." One of the ODSTs started shouting and pointing. "Sir! UNSC Pelicans inbound, they're droppin' troops, 'Hogs, and supply canisters, sir!"

Neo walked over to the ODST, and activated his suit's binocular vision. True to the man's word, dozens of ODSTs flew over the roads outside the building. Twelve Warthogs were deployed, and dozens of weapon canisters were fired down from the Pelicans. They landed, and a regiment of Marines was outside the building.

Neo motioned for the ODSTs to remain silent. While the Marines were fellow soldiers, and could be of use, they were not part of his orders, and while the commanders weren't exactly people Neo liked and swore too, they were still sensible orders. The Warthogs drove off, deep into the city.

When the Marines were gone, Neo ordered five ODSTs to gather up the weapons that the Pelicans had left behind, and in minutes, they five returned with handfuls of sniper rifles, rocket launchers, SMGs, pistols of various calibers and types, battle rifles, and fragmentation grenades. One of the ODSTs was also carrying a portable turret, and was setting it up at the main entrance.

Neo took a few extra clips for his battle rifle, pocketed two extra Pistols, and gave Reaver two Pistols. One of the ODSTs had a portable communications suite with him, and was tuned in on the UNSC frequencies. He listened intently for a few seconds, and looked up at Neo. "Captain," the ODST said. "I'm receiving multiple requests for assistance all over the city, all of them report thousands of zombies wandering the city."

Neo put a hand to his head and cursed. Those Umbrella bastards must've opened up the Hive, he thought. And now Humanity is going to pay for their stupidity.

Neo didn't say any of his thoughts aloud, but simply turned to Reaver, and said: "Alright. Lieutenant, keep your team here, we'll need you as a fall back. The rest of you, you're with me. We're gonna see if we can save some people."

-

Neo grunted under the heavy weight of his equipment. New Mombassa was a large city, and unless they found some cars, it was going to be a long way to and back to base. They needed to find a car, and fast. Well, truth be told, it was easy to find a car, but a working one was a different story. Dozens of cars lie overturned and on fire on the streets of New Mombassa, with parts missing, blood decorating the frames of the cars.

What worried Neo the most was the fact that not a single person was in sight, dead or alive. The lead snipers of Neo's team took point and rear, keeping an eye on their telescopic sites, and a finger on the trigger. The point man ­ to be exact point woman of the team, Private Carolyn "Pica" Dennings, signaled to Neo that the area ahead of them was clear.

There was a slight amount of caution in her movements, and from what Neo had read of her psychological profile on the way to the city, this meant more than anything that she was nervous, and again from what Neo had read, she was a crack soldier, fearing nothing. Her nervousness made Neo more nervous.

The team passed a deserted bar, that had a car smashed into the window, and on fire, and the local police station, that was equally deserted; but thousands of spent ammo casings littered the entrance. Neo kept his rifle at ready, expecting anything. He didn't have to wait long. A moan, and Neo spun at the source. It was a black man, beard shaven, in New Mombassa Police uniform. His pistol was missing, and the man was missing half of his face.

"Open fire!" shouted Neo, raising his rifle. The team turned, and fired a dozen rounds into the man. Some hit his chest, and he recoiled back, but kept coming. One round, however, penetrated his skull, and he fell to the ground, dead. Neo looked at his rifle, which read 29, and didn't reload it. Neo looked around, waiting for additional zombies. They usually didn't travel alone. Nothing.

Neo's worries became elevated, but he fought them down. "Let's get moving," he said, putting a hand on one of the ODSTs' shoulder: Private Ryan "Ramos" Reader. The man was obviously scared out of his wits, he never saw something like this, and was obviously never saw someone die. Neo felt sorry for him, but he didn't have time to deal with him. "Get moving, soldier."

Neo's voice woke the man up from his daze, and he nodded. The team continued onward. After a short walk, and not encountering anything, the team heard gunfire break the calm of the silence. Neo motioned to Pica, who activated the 10x zoom on her sniper; ahead of the ODSTs, roughly 250 meters away, were the UNSC marines from earlier.

The Marines kept a tight, but sloppy formation, Battle Rifles, SMGs, and even old Assault Rifles crackling at the masses of zombies; Pica peered into her rifle, and couldn't even count the amount of people that were attacking the Marines. She turned to Neo.

"Sir," she said. "The Marines are putting up a fight, but they are enormously outnumbered. I suggest we move on." Neo paused, and considered what she said.

"Negative soldier," Neo said. "Our orders at to save as many people as possible, and they didn't specify if they were military or otherwise. ODSTs, prepare for combat!" The ODSTs loaded up their weapons, set them to maximum zoom, and charged into the fray. Men, women, and children alike dropped to the ground ­dead ­ or they got back up, ignoring the pain, and turned to face their attackers.

Many of the zombies broke away from the Marines, and walked towards the ODSTs. Pica aimed her Sniper Rifle, and fired four shots into four separate heads. They fell to the ground. Neo and the rest of the team opened up, killing dozens. Ramos, being the squads heavy weapons specialist pulled out the Big Kahuna, the M41 SSR MAV/AW Rocket Launcher, aka the SPNKr.

Ramos loaded two rockets into the chamber of the SPNKr, and fired them at the zombies. Limbs, heads, internal organs, bones, and bodies went flying as the rockets connected into a mass of well over a hundred zombies. All of the zombies now turned towards the ODSTs. Neo reloaded his Battle Rifle, and fired a shot into a little girl, who must've been no more than six years old. He yelled into his radio, tuning into the Marines' frequency.

"Now! Here's your chance!" The Marines, baffled, noticed the ODSTs, and let out a wild cheer, and fired at the zombies with renewed strength. In a matter of minutes, all the zombies were dead. Ramos pulled out a pistol, and walked up to an old man, who was trying to get back up on his feet. He stepped on his chest, aimed his pistol at his face, and fired a round.

"Stay," Ramos said, and he walked away to rejoin the other surviving Humans. Neo approached the leader of the Marines, who identified himself as Sergeant Van Hawkins. Hawkins took off his helmet, and saluted to Neo.

"I don't know who y'all are, but I'm just as glad to see you. You wouldn't believe it, we just entered the city, looking for survivors, and next thing you know, our battalion was attacked by these…these things. I thought we were goners. What unit are you guys from?"

Neo nodded, and held up a hand as the man spoke frantically. "We're Special Forces sent by the Umbrella Corporation, and under orders from General Ackerson to retrieve any people left alive in the city. I'm Captain Charles O'Neil, commander of these ODSTs."

Hawkins paused. "Ackerson? The bastard from the war…?" He pronounced the as tha.

Neo grinned inside his helmet. "How many of you are left?"

Hawkins looked around, and tallied up his men. "I'd say a company, sir. We'll be happy to help you on your mission." Neo nodded.

"Alright, our men are more experienced than yours, so keep a perimeter inside our formation, I don't want to have to add more people to that horde out there." Hawkins protested for a second, and then nodded his head. He barked orders to the Marines, and they complied with Neo's instructions.

Neo paused as the humans orientated themselves, and Neo turned to Hawkins. "You wouldn't happen to have any Warthogs?" he asked. Hawkins responded grimly.

"Sir, we had a small contingent of 'Hogs, but the rest of the battalion took them ahead, or they were destroyed, sir." Neo hung his head up in resignation as Hawkins said this, and he ordered the Humans to proceed further into the city. The hundred or so Marines and ODSTs kept their weapons at ready, prepared for anything. They encountered no resistance as they proceeded further into the core of the city, alive or otherwise.

The group arrived at a series of bunkers, were totaled Warthog chassis's, and dozens of spent ammo rounds littered the pavement. Blood was spattered all over these bunkers, and again, there were no bodies. Neo cursed inside, the zombies were here first. A scream penetrated the area, and rifles spun up. A woman with her dress torn came running by the Marines, seeming to not notice them. Behind her, three red dogs came chasing.

The Marines and ODSTs didn't need any orders, and hundreds of rounds flew through the air, and connected into the dogs. Blood, flesh, and innards flew, as the dogs barked one last time, and fell to the ground. Neo told the team XO, Johnson, to stay here, and Neo dashed after the woman. He quickly caught up to her, and grabbed her by the arm.

She turned, slapped Neo, which was blocked by his helmet, and she turned again, trying to run away. "Let go of me, you bastard! I won't be one of you!" she screamed. Neo took his helmet off, and grabbed the lady by the cheeks, and turned her around.

"Listen to me!" Neo shouted. That got her attention. She must've known that zombies couldn't talk. She looked at Neo in the eyes. "I'm not one of them," Neo said. "Look. No bites." She calmed down, but was still visibly agitated. "I'm Captain Charles O'Neil, of the UNSC." He lied of course about what he belonged too, Umbrella Corporation didn't exactly carry a favorable name, and he was kind of telling the truth ­ being a retired UNSC marine -.

"What are you doing here? I thought the UNSC and Umbrella bitches abandoned the city?" Neo sighed; apparently both groups weren't too favorable.

"We didn't. My orders are to bring back any survivors. You look pretty alive to me. Were you bitten?"

The woman shrugged negatively, but blushed. Neo raised an eyebrow. "Were you really bitten? We can save you either way. Tell me the truth." She looked around for a second, and dropped one of the straps of her dress, revealing her left breast, but with a bite mark on it. Neo winced, he had a lover before, and knew how badly that must've hurt.

The woman blushed, and put the dress back over the wound. "How long ago were you bitten?" Neo asked.

"An hour ago," she replied. Neo grimaced. In a few hours, this woman was dead. Neo put his helmet back on, and radioed in his squad. Corporal Hawkins rushed over, rifle at ready. He saluted smartly.

"Corporal," said Neo. "Keep an eye on this woman, see to it she gets treated." The Corporal nodded, and softly grabbed the woman on the arm, and led her back to the group of Humans.

Neo sighed, and radioed Reaver. "Lieutenant, this is Neo. Come in." A pause, and a crackle later, Reaver responded.

"Go ahead, Neo, I read ya loud and clear," came Reaver's voice.

"Lieutenant, we've scouted out a majority of the city, with the exception of a company of Marines from earlier, and one woman, the city is deserted. We're heading back to base. Over."

"Roger, Captain. See ya back at the barn." Reaver clicked off the radio, and Neo did the same. Neo turned towards his unit, and spoke. "Alright, we're moving out." The hundred or so humans nodded, and walked back to the LZ, with the ODSTs leading.

The Humans walked past the wrecked cars, and deserted buildings with blood spattered, keeping their weapons at ready, every once and a while, a group of zombies popped out, and ambushed the humans. The humans quickly fought back the zombies, and more popped out. A Marine was killed, and the humans were forced to retreat.

Half an hour later, the tired out Marines and ODSTs of Neo's team had made it roughly 250 meters away from the LZ. The woman that Neo had saved earlier was turning deathly white, and Neo was concerned she was going to keel over and die any second now.

The Marines dropped behind a row of wrecked civilian model Hogs, their yellow painted chipped away. Neo sighed, and activated his radio. "Reaver, we're roughly 250 meters away from the base, can you see us?"

A pause, and, "Yeah, we see you. Good to have you back, sir." Neo thought he saw someone in the customary black armor of the ODSTs wave at him, and he waved back. Suddenly, an explosion ripped through the air, a few meters behind Neo and his team.

A massive tanker truck had exploded; it's fuel on fire with a deadly orange blaze. Neo caught sight of a red-dog figure, but with a human outline at the same time. In a second it was gone.

One of the Marines yelped a scream out, as his limp was bitten off, and then his chest ripped open. Another second later, the Marine had disappeared, his attacker nowhere in sight. Neo cursed mentally, and lifted his rifle. Must be a Licker.

The customary staccato and rattle of automatic fire sounded from the LZ, and all around Neo, as the humans fired into what seemed like mid-air. A scream, and a Licker dropped. Another scream, and a Marine died. Then, suddenly, all was quiet. Neo looked around, to see dozens of Lickers surround the humans. The Marines, with the exception of two squads' left, and Hawkins himself, were all dead. The woman however, was still in one piece, but had dropped to the pavement.

The Lickers pounced, but suddenly all dropped to the ground, dead, as thousands of gatling rounds filled the air around the Marines. "What the hell was that!" asked Ramos.

"It doesn't matter," said Neo. "Let's just get back to the LZ!" As Neo prepared to turn tale, the woman on the ground leaped up, and jumped on Neo, clawing. Neo pulled her off his body, and kicked her away. She got up, and leapt at Neo. Ramos, rocket launcher in hand, hit the woman with the massive launcher. Her body hit a Hog with an odd thump, her head twisted in a weird angle.

"Was only a matter of time before she bought it," muttered Neo, as he and the rest of the Humans ran back to the LZ.

Neo leapt over the barricade, and activated his radio. "Mayday, mayday, this is ODST Captain O'Neil of the Umbrella Corporation. Requesting immediate evac, we're getting swamped!"

A crackle. "This is Pelican Gamma 018. We read you loud and clear, we're unable to give you back up, the city is too hot, sorry." And the radio cracked dead before Neo could protest.

-

From dozens of miles above the city, Gamma 018 flew over New Mombassa. Corporation Executive Mark McCormick stood over the pilots of the black Umbrella Corporation Pelican. Behind him stood General Ackerson of the UNSC High Council. The cries of help from Neo broke over the radio, and McCormick ordered the pilots not to rescue. The pilot sounded distraught, but obeyed his orders.

Ackerson listened intently, and laughed. "A fitting end for the man," Ackerson said. "Killed by his own accident."

McCormick didn't turn. "We don't know if it was him who released the T-virus."

"Well it was only he, and that other kid. What his name? Reaver? Do you think it could have been anyone else?"

"It doesn't matter who it was," McCormick said. "The point is the virus is all over the city, and we have to sterilize it immediately." McCormick turned to the co-pilot. "Prepare to activate Nemesis prototype. We're going to deal with the virus directly. Have him kill everyone in the city."

Ackerson, who was usually disregarding of Human life, had a look of complete shock on his face. "But my men are still down there. Aren't we going to get them out?"

McCormick turned to Ackerson. "Isn't Neo one of yours? Why the sudden interest in your men now? They are replaceable."

Ackerson was flabbergasted, "Because…" he was cut off. McCormick wiped out an M6E custom pistol, the latest by Umbrella Corporation. The pistol had a larger clip, and fired higher caliber rounds, while have a 5x scope on it. The pistol could also fire high-energy plasma rounds, the type found in a Covenant Carbine.

He pointed it at Ackerson's forehead, "We don't need you anymore, General." He fired; blood and brain matter decorated the back of the Pelican. McCormick lowered the ramp, air gushing inside the Pelican. McCormick held onto a handrail, and Ackerson's body flew out of the Pelican. McCormick raised the ramp and turned to the pilot.

"Launch the Nemesis." From the rear of the Pelican, a massive black box was connected where a Warthog would be kept, and dropped downwards to New Mombassa. The box fired retro thrusters, and a parachute opened up.

The box slowed to a reasonable speed a dozen meters above the city, and the parachute dropped off, and the box crashed, the shockwave knocking nearby cars over. The side panels of the box dropped, and a massive, part human, part monster, wielding a massive Rocket Launcher, a better model than the kind used by the UNSC, and a chain gun that looked like it came from a Warthog in it's hands.

Its single eye on the left side of its face glared a bright red, and it walked off into the city, looking for anything to shoot at.