Missing an old Friend
Megan Parker woke groggly to hear shrill little voices whispering. "Is it alive?"
"What a wierd dream..." She thought before opening her steal gray eyes and blinking furiously, trying to make them clear.
"I think its waking up!" One of the shrill voices said before Megan sat up at saw what she immediatly knew were Grunts.
She stood up quickly and looked down for a minute and saw the blankets made of a strange material on the floor along with a pillow.
"Ahhh!" some of the gunbts yelled, waving their arms in the air.
"Shhh!" She said before ploppping back down and looking at them. "I guess it wasn't a dream...Then i guess my dad really is dead...and I'lll never go home..."
Shhe bit her lip again and tore away the skin, making it bleed as she held back the tears that were fighting to stream down her face.
"What's wrong with it?" One Grunt asked the other before one in Black Co p's armor spotted the tears running down her face.
"It's crying." it said before they all looked at her with what most would qualify as a sympathetic look.
"Daddy." She whispered before Yappity, the Co Ops Grunt, walked slowly forward.
"You're sad why? You ivd! You should be happy!" Yappity said but the girl did say anything.
"What's wrong? You're the firsty human to survive!" Yappity asked looking alittle confused before plopping down while the other Grunts ran away to the brideg, not wanting to be aroound incase the human klled him.
"Easy for you to say...You little Grunt...This is your home." She said before using her fist to wipe some tears from her face.
"So?" He asked, taking a deep breath from his Methane tank.
"So? My dad's dead...and I'll never get to go home..." She said and the Grunt had a sudden idea. He jumped up with such vigor that he was six inches ooff the ground before looking at her. He didn't know if it would work, because he rarely had someone to make laugh.
"Do, do do, do do do DO!" He said said while dancing rather amusingly in circles before stopping, "Ta DA!" He said with his hands above his head.
Megan couldn't help but laugh before saying, "You're a funny little guy...What's your name?"
"Yappity!" He said with what passed as a grin among his people.
"Well...That Elite...Acaadna said we'd talk ttoo some stupid prophet guys and have my name changed..But as far as I know my name is still Megan, Megan Parker."
She saiid smiling before standing and looking around. "Where am I?'
"You're in Commander Acaadna's cabin. We were sent here to lwatch you while he is away." Yappity answered, standing along with her.
"So...Yappity right? When will Commander Four-Face be back?" She asked, making Yappity gasp. "You must be respectful to the Commander!"
"What? He gonna shoot me or somthin'?" She asked careleessly before a voice behind her aid, "Not without a good reason Little One. yappity, where is the rest of your squad?"
Megan Jumped and turned, in a fighting stance towards the tall creature infront of her.
"Sir, they ran away when it woke up." Yappity answered but Megan looked at him. "You know IT has a name!"
"Yes yappity, I do not blame them. She is rather ffierce when enraged." He said to the Grunt.
"Yappity?...You're my friend right?" She asked and Yappity looked at her in shock. "Friend?"
"Yeah...I Friend...someone you can trust and laugh with." She said and yappity nodded slowly, Acaadna still infront of them both.
"The tell me...Is this guy going to hurt me?"
"No." The grunt answered before scurrying out.
The Girl looked at the Elite with a little fear in her eyes. "Y-You're an alien though..."
"As are you little one." He said with a cllick of amusment made by his mandibles.
"Acaadna." She said with difficulty before looking at him. "Why are you here?"
"I came to explain to you about the way you will act and behave. What you will do to perpare yiourself to come before the councel, and why w spared you." He answered..
She looked at him, her long shoulder-length brown hair still tied back in a ponytail as she waited for him to continue.
"You should eat, thenn you may get dressed in the clothes I will leave for you after bathing. You will need to be respectful of the Holy Ones and must understand that you were saved to be cleansed of your own Human blood. We will teach you about the Great Journey soon." He explained before stopping and saying. "We have many diffrent custumes then your people and you will learbnn them all alomng with oour diffrent languages, and, as we are all almost sure of, you will most likly learn the fight and be a warrior."
Mean took a minute to soak this in before asking, "How long are he showers? 2 minutes?"
"As long as you wish." He aid before walking out and turning abck to her. "Follow me little one."
Curiousity got the better of her as she ran out after the Elite. "Dad used to call me something like that."
"hoo?" He asked after she said it and she looke at himm. "My dad...My father." He understood imediatly that she missed her family and said. "So, Little one, do you miss them?"
"Who?" She asked, as if she didn't already know.
"Your own family. Your colonie." He answered and She looked at him. "Yes..But my dad was a soldier on Reach...He died and my mother divced hiim so long ago that he always raised me...after that I always stayed with my grandma on a little colonie...No polution o crowding...But the person I miss the most is my friend John."
"Why?" The Elite asked, stopping to look at the human next to him.
"He was just funny...He alwauyys won, but I was the only one who could beat him. We never played infront of everyone else because if I won, he would be embarressed...The last thing I did before leaving was play King of the hill at school with him eight years ago...haven't heard or seen him since."
"Ah. A battle to see who is strong enough to stay ot the mound?" He asked and she nodded before lookibng into the mess-fhall beside them. It was full of Elites, Grunts, and jackles on one side and big harry Brutes, Ugly Drones, and even uglier Jackles on the other.
"Go in and sit down. Someone will bring you food in a few minutes, I must go." He said before hurrying off, leaving her to face the room of giants by herself.
She walked and looked for a spot to sit. She saw a spot by on a table of brute and walked over, but when she apraoched tthey looked at her and one shoved her away. "No human scum aloud!"
She looked at the Jackles who looked ready to eat her and then at the Dones before turning her steal Grey eyes to the side full of Elite's Hunters, and Grunts. There were mixed asortments of them at eachtable...but no room for her. She walked over to the corner of the room furthest from all the tables and sat down.
An Grunt walked opver and hhanded her a plate oof strange foods taht she put beside her, unaware of what any of it was, and looked at the ground for a minute.
She remembered being at a new school and how John had explained about all the seating and invited her to sit with him with all the boys.
She took out the silver chess piece he had given her when she left from her pocket and sqeezed it tight before looking up.
She picked up the tray of odd looking food and rememebered what John had told her. On one side there's the Mean ones...One side he nice. The nice side has diffrent people siting at diffrent tables...The mean side had certain groups at certain tables.
She walked towards a table with Five Grunts, eight elites, and two hunters at it and tapped the Elite sittingg betweeen the hunters quiely before asking in a small voice, "May I sit at this table?"
The young Elite tuned and looked at Megan before askinng, "A hhuman?'
"Yes...But mayI plwease sit here? The Brutees wnt let me sit on that side." She answered with almost a pleading voice.
"Sure...Make some room guys." He asid turning back to the rest of the table and the Hunters moved slightly along with the Elite so there was enough room for her to sit down between the two.
She sat down and before the Elite looked at herpicking at the long bluish stalks on her plate and said, "You're new..so yoou don't have any idea how to eat this food do you?'
"To be honest...I don't..." she said befoore he explained what to eat and what not to eat, she eeven tasted the blueish-purplish milk in her cup and found it rather sweet.
She got up and asked, "Where are the showers?"
"I'll show you human." The Elite said before walkeing next to her and showing her a room full of little shower faucets. He showed her which room to use and how to lock the door befoore turning and leaving.
She locked the door before lookng att the long silver and black clothes Acaana had left her. She washed in the warm crystall blue water and dressed in the clothes before walking out of the blue room to see Acaadna waiting for her by the doorway.
He made sure the clothes fit her and said as he took some bandages from his pocket. 'We can hide that mark."
"No." She saiid. She had always hated hiding things.
"Very well little one...Do you like the clothes?" He asked and she nodded. The cl9hes were silver wiith ornamented black decorations on them.
he lead her to a diffrent rooom where a young female Elite was waiting. She knew it was femaiil because it was purple clothes similair to hers. The Elite lead her in and Brushed her hair without a word and she felt the Elite doing diffrent things to her before she turned and looking into a pool with water that showed her rflectiion perfectly. The elite had tied up her hair n a tigght bun and placed two sticks in it wiith symbols on the top. She waklked out to AScaadna quickly and he nodded before saying, "Are you ready to see the coouncel?"
She nodded befoore noticing that he had polished his armor to a high sheen and was walking with a proud look about him.
Little did she know that only a few decks above, there was room full of royall Elites and prphets...along with the Truth, Regret and Mercy...and they waited with her future in thier hands.
