Robles
With a company of fresh Marines ready and willing to fight on their side, clearing most of Robles of the undead infestation proved to be a surprisingly easy feat when you possessed mechanized equipment. The creatures meandered blindly along the streets, and it was a simple matter to send in a Warthog, run down a few zombies, and lead the rest into the killzones of ambushing Marines.
Even the few surviving civilians participated in the fight. One of the first tasks D Company performed was to secure the besieged radio station and rescue the few remaining civilian fighters. The squad responsible for securing the area responded to the inquiries of a Sergeant Paccone and Private Carter, but nobody name Collete, or any girl matching her description, was found.
Meanwhile, two platoons of mechanized infantry were scouring the town for three Marines that were listed MIA. A Private Haller discovered, and shot, the remains of one of the missing Marines, Private Siler. No trace of the other two missing Marines, Privates Wellings and Leeds, were found.
It felt nice to actually be on the winning side now, Leo thought as he rode in one of the D Company Warthogs. 30mm guns chattered and gauss cannons whined as more zombies shambled out to meet them. He wasn't, however, worried about the attacking zombies, but more worried about Sam and Kumi. They were still out there. Though all logic was yelling at him that they were most likely dead, Leo seemed to have the feeling, no, the urge, that they were still alive, as if somebody were whispering it into his ear…
"Are you sure that doesn't hurt?" Kumi asked, peering around a corner.
"How many times do I have to tell you, yes!" Sam grumbled. Though it didn't hurt as much as before, the wound in her shoulder still throbbed, and it looked like it was infected or something…
Kumi glanced back and shook her head when we saw Sam's apparent discomfort. Though Sam thought otherwise, anybody could read what she was thinking or feeling as if it were displayed on a giant neon sign. She looked at Sam's arm and was aware of the strange infection that was slowly spreading from the wound. Kumi had thought at first that it was a nasty case of gangrene, and gave Sam some antibiotic shots and adrenaline stimms. They seemed to be keeping the infection at bay for the moment, but they weren't killing it like they were supposed to.
If it spread any further, Kumi was afraid that it could-
"Hey!"
Both Marines looked up, surprised by the sudden and hauntingly familiar voice. They saw Collete waving and running towards them.
"Collete?" Sam sputtered, "How did you get here?"
"Come on!" Collete cried out, not answering Sam's question. "It's coming! We have to hide! This way!"
"Wait!" Kumi hesitated, unsure of whether to follow Collete or not.
"What have we got to lose?" Sam asked.
Kumi bit her lip, grabbed Sam's hand, and followed Collete's lead down the street.
ElsewhereChaos was not happy. Not happy. More of the annoying humans had arrived, complicating his plans further. Worse than that, he had lost track of his weapon. Chaos roared in rage and demolished a nearby brick wall with one swipe of his augmented arm. That human girl was the key. She possessed something the others did not, she was a forerunner to something… spectacular.
But now, Chaos' chances of taking part in that seemed to be slipping from his grasp now. Enraged, he gathered up the remainder of his minions and ordered them to search. Forget those annoying humans. He had to find his precious weapon. She was all that mattered.
Marine ConvoyLeo sat in the front seat of the Warthog, staring blankly out to the abandoned, foggy streets. In the back, he could hear Lt. Wellings and Sarge arguing about something, but he didn't care enough to listen in on what. His mind was on Sam, and whether she was still alive or not. To him, she was all that mattered.
"I can't believe they actually gave you nukes." Karla said. "If they'd read the reports back on Manticore, they would have never let you within a few miles of anything vaguely radioactive."
"I'm sure they were impressed by my personal charm and charisma." Paccone laughed jokingly.
"I'm sure they would if you had any." Karla grumbled. "And what the hell is up with you putting my little sis in your squad?"
"I guess I have a liking for the pretty ladies."
Karla glared at him. "You better not have done that on purpose."
"I'll never tell."
"Screw you."
"Looking forward to it." Paccone grinned.
Williams snorted, trying to hide his amusement at Karla and Paccone's verbal duel. He tried to keep his attention on the road. Oddly enough, the Marine sitting the passenger seat was strangely quiet…
Karla pulled off from her conversation with Paccone, not because of his oh-so-witty statements, but because of a feeling of dread bubbling up inside of her. Sam was somewhere out there, and ever since they both became Marines, hell, since they were both kids, Karla was always there for Sam, in one form or another. People might have argued that she came out here to eliminate the zombie threat, investigate the strange nuclear detonation, or rescue Paccone and his stranded squadmates. Karla would have used all three reasons just hours before, but now that Sam was involved, she revised to finding little sister, the only family she had left. She was all that mattered.
Unknown"The pieces are set, the game is in motion. Nothing can be stopped now."
"You make it sound like a game of chess."
"A bigger board, millions more pieces, and all living."
"That doesn't make it sound much better."
"We have done all we can. Now it is up to the humans to determine our fate."
"You're serious about this."
"Our very existence hangs in the balance. If the Enemy is ever able to access the great potential the humans possess, we may very well be doomed."
"They can do it, I'm sure of it."
Marine Convoy"Hey Williams." Karla called out, "Any idea where Holy went off to?"
"Umm, he said something about having a strange feeling about something and went off on his own."
"Ugh, and just when we needed him the most."
"Does he always do that?" Paccone asked, unaware that Holy was actually an Elite.
"You could say it's a cultural thing." Karla replied.
ElsewhereHoly knew that it wasn't right to leave Karla and the others, but he had an odd feeling, no, more of an urge, that there was something wrong. With his plasma sword and battle rifle, Holy skulked along the dark streets. There was something here that just wasn't right, as if it had no reason to exist in this world-
Suddenly, two mangled corpses lunged out from under a pile of refuse. Holy unloaded half of his battle rifle clip into the first zombie, and severed the second's head off with a combination of a rifle butt and his superhuman strength. Holy ejected his clip to reload until he heard a revolting gurgling sound, like wet paper being sliding across rotten wood. Listening to the odd sound for a few more seconds, he then realized in horror that it was laughter.
"Aaaahhh, so it's you. I have, or rather, this body I inhabit has very vague but powerful memories of you. The great betrayer, the traitor, the heretic. The one who will go down in history as the abomination that slaughtered its own people for what, Humanity? What a misguided fool!"
"Who are you?" Holy growled. "Show yourself!"
Suddenly, a massive beast clad in faded power armor emerged from the shadows. Though it looked like an Elite, it was clear that it was no longer one. The monster was easily twice the size of a normal Elite. Its eyes glowed a hideous red, and the teeth on its mouthparts were larger and much, much sharper.
"You may not be who I'm looking for, Elite, but you will prove to be an wonderful addition to my… collection."
Horrified, Holy fought the urge to vomit and raised his weapons, surprised that his arm was trembling. There were few things out there that could make an Elite afraid, and even fewer that could even startle Holy, but he was terrified of this creature standing in front of them.
"Great Forerunners," he muttered, "why have you forsaken us all?"