I pulled the trigger.
A single three-round burst tore through the Grunt's throat, knocking him to the ground. More gunfire came from my left and right as the squad mopped up the Covenant forces.
Al rolled under an extended stretch of plasma from a very angry Elite. "Hey, fish head, why don't you pick on someone your own size?"
A shotgun slug overloaded the alien's shields and sent him to the forest floor. Sarge cocked his weapon. "Actions speak louder than words, soldier."
Al responded by embedding a Jackal's neck with a dozen bullets. "Acknowledged, sir."
I surveyed the area. No more enemies. The adrenaline rush slowly subsided, and I noticed the stiffness in my leg again. Sarge must have seen my limp, because he turned to face me, frowning. "You all right, soldier?"
I was taught from a very early age not to lie. "I'm not a hundred percent, sir, but combat ready." I winced as yet another stab of pain hit my knee. "Good to fight, sir."
Sarge saw right through that, of course. "Don't play with me, private. You need help, and as soon as we get out of here and somewhere safe, I'm going to make you get that leg checked." He shook his head. "I always told you Marines, never roll up your pants."
I nodded, the events of the Pelican ride flashing through my mind. I'd rolled up my left pant leg to show Frankie the bruise I'd gotten back at Mombassa. Then, being somewhat of a perfectionist, I had the right one rolled up to just above my knee too. I had just put down the left one when we got hit.
Though having some cloth in between my skin and a sharp piece of metal probably wouldn't have helped much anyway.
"Hang on, sir." Al backed up to us, gun still held at the ready. "I think we have company."
Something rustled the trees. I moved into my ready stance, eyes watching the forest. Then the trees parted and something rushed past us. It was just a blur; I didn't get a good look at it.
The stampede hit.
Creatures charged past right in front of our eyes, collapsing trees as they passed. They looked like someone's depiction of a Stegosaur, except they ran on two legs, had a beaked mouth, and the spines on its back almost looked more like fingers or tentacles than spikes.
I stared in awe as the animals disappeared into the deep foliage. Sarge shook his head. "Now that isn't something you see everyday." He motioned with his head at the path the creatures had made. "The Covenant must give those things a wide berth, so I think if we follow them we'll be safe. Plus the path's already clear."
I nodded. We headed down the trail of downtrodden flora. Cough kept our six, while Al and me stayed up front with Sarge.
"So, Sarge." Al turned to the shotgun-wielding Marine. "Where's Jess?"
"I don't know. She's still missing, along with Frankie and Ken."
I looked at Al. He sighed. "Actually, sir, Frankie and Ken aren't missing. We found their bodies with the Pelican."
Sarge nodded. "I was afraid they didn't make it. Did you get their tags? How about supplies?"
"Yes on the first question. There wasn't much left in the bird, all the stuff must have been knocked out when we crashed. Does your radio work, sir?"
"Unfortunately, no."
A sudden noise came from the side of the path. I froze. Al glanced back at me. "What's wrong?"
"I heard—" Footsteps interrupted me again. I whirled around. "There's something here."
Sarge held his weapon at the ready. We stood, waiting. Sweat dripped down from my forehead, stinging my eyes.
It happened as soon as I blinked.
I opened my eyes to see a dead Elite lying on the ground. The Sarge stood over it, his shotgun smoking. I whistled. "Wow."
"Those filthy little—they're everywhere around here!" He loaded a fresh bullet into his gun. "Let's move Marines. Double-time."
We set out back down the trail. It finally opened up way away, showing long plains of grass. My leg didn't stiffen as much on the run.
More noises. We kept on going. I glanced up and realized that the sun was already setting. Great. Night.
At last we exited the forest. I gazed at the starry, half-lit sky.
Someone patted me on the shoulder. I turned to see Al, grinning. "Well, I guess we got out of that in one piece, huh?" He looked up. "Praise the Lord; I can actually see the sky."
"Hey, Marines." Sarge pointed at a small outcropping of rocks. "We'll head there for the night."
We passed those same creatures, grazing in the fading red light. I followed Al to a large, brown boulder. He took off his helmet, revealing sweaty dark blond hair, and sighed. "We're not going to get off this ring, are we?"
"Maybe not." I sat down with the rock at my back. "But we still have a chance. That's something Frankie and Ken don't have."
"Yeah." He put his helmet back on. "I'll take first watch, Sarge." He gestured with his shoulder at Cough. "And I'm sure Cough will be very happy to help."
Sarge raised his eyebrows. "You okay with that, Cough?"
The ODST nodded. I propped my battle rifle against the rock and then leaned back. "I'm ready when you need me, Sarge."
I didn't hear his reply. I fell asleep as soon as my eyes closed.
It was supposed to be Hell on Earth.
I exchanged a glance at Al. We'd thought the damage to New Mombassa would be a lot worse than what we were seeing. There weren't any fires or explosions. Barely a sound.
Like a silent takeover.
The Pelican shuddered. I tightened the strap on my seat and then turned to listen to Sarge's instructions.
"Okay, Marines. The Covenant have taken up a position at the City Center. Our job is to take it back. We'll be meeting up with Gold and Silver Companies along the way. Load your weapons." He clutched his shotgun tighter. "This is gonna be one hell of a fight."
I checked my battle rifle again. Not because it needed it, really I did it to keep my eyes of Jess. Well, that didn't work.
I glanced up. She sat in the corner near the cockpit, next to the Sarge. I watched as she slid a hand back to brush her black locks away from her forehead. She looked at me. "I hate bangs. I need to get these cut."
"They're not in your eyes or anything, though."
"Yeah, I just hate them."
"Hey, so do I." I grinned. She returned the smile.
Without warning Al elbowed me in the ribs. Hard. "Hey, buddy, all ready to go?"
I bit back the urge to cuss at him. But now Jess had turned to Frankie and engaged in whispered conversation with him. By the way they kept looking over at me I could guess who the conversation was about.
I sighed. I guessed Al found distress in the fact that with a squad of eight we only had one girl. He'd talked about Jess before, but I always thought he was pulling my leg.
Maybe I assumed wrong.
The Pelican shuddered. I shoved the thoughts of Jess and Al out of my mind. Those aren't going to help against the Covenant.
Clouds of dust stirred on the ground as our dropship set down. Ken, sitting in the pilot seat of the craft, unbuckled and gave us a thumbs-up. "Ready to go, Sarge."
I clicked the safety off my battle rifle and took a deep breath. Time to go.
We hit the ground. Sarge turned to Ralph and Rick, our spotter and sniper, respectively. "Watch for snipers."
Soon as he said his words a purple beam streaked through the air, missing Frankie by inches. I held the scope of my gun up to my eye, but couldn't find the enemy.
Rick's sniper rifle went off. I lowered my rifle.
Sarge furrowed his brow. "Ken, I though you set us down in a low-combat zone."
"Well, Sarge, recon teams said this place wasn't hot."
Another purple beam hit near our position. Rick dropped down to a knee as the rest of us scattered, Ralph beside him. Ralph checked the scope he carried. "He's on the third building, left side. Top level."
"You could just say the roof, you know." Rick fired. A white line led to the bogey's position. Purple gore sprayed up from the roof.
We all dropped into ready stances. I kept my rifle up, assessing the environment as I checked for any enemies. We were in a small square surrounded by tall buildings. And I meant tall. Good for snipers. Bad for everyone else.
Sarge motioned with his hand down the street. We followed his lead, Frankie and Al taking our six. The walkway led to another long path, complete with small tourist gift shops on the sides. Various graffiti covered the walls.
"Heads up!"
The sudden yell made me drop to a knee. A weird-looking ship flew over us. We stayed silent as it passed.
Sarge kept his shotgun at the ready. "Phantoms. There might be more of them. Keep your eyes open."
I nodded. We moved forward again. The path forked ahead of us. Sarge held up a hand. "We'll split up. Rick, Ralph, Ken, you're with me. We're taking the right path. Everyone else on the left. Gold Company will be around here somewhere; radio in if you find them."
I trailed Al and Jess as we entered the left corridor. Frankie brought up the rear. An eerie silence settled over everything, the only sound the scuffling of our boots on the hard pavement. We kept moving through the narrow streets.
This place is almost worse than New York. Not that I'm claustrophobic or anything, but with the tall buildings all around you…They sure didn't design this with a military battle in mind. No way to maneuver around, and like we'd learned, easy vantage points for enemy snipers.
Almost made me wish for that elevator shaft on Tampa Station.
"Down!"
I ducked. Plasma fire streaked through the air where I'd been standing a second ago. I glanced up to see a typical Covenant squad of five Grunts and an Elite. I tried to get a good shot with my battle rifle.
A trio of three-round bursts chorused simultaneously, one of them mine. Two Grunts dropped dead, with a third having a bullet-laced arm. Frankie doused the remaining aliens with his bullet hose (SMG). The Elite roared.
"Fire in the hole!" Al chunked a grenade at the hostiles. I backed away. The explosive went off, sending plumes of smoke and dust into the air.
We held out guns at the ready. The smoke cleared, revealing dead alien bodies. I checked my battle rifle clip. Still 33 rounds left.
Something moved. I kept my finger on the trigger. Jess held up a hand. "Hold your fire!"
Two green-clad Marines approached from the path. One of them yanked his head back towards the next open corridor. "Corporal Jones, Gold Company. LZ's back there. You guys Red Company?"
"Affirmative, corporal." Jess waved at us. "Let's move."
I tagged along behind Al as we followed the soldiers. The path led to a courtyard with makeshift defenses set up on most of the entryways. Marines hunkered down by the barricades, guns ready. Jess took out her radio. "Sir, we've reached Gold Company, over."
"Affirmative. State your position, over."
"Roger that. We're in a large courtyard. Most of the exits are blocked; you should follow the path we took."
"Okay. We'll be there soon. Over and out."
She sheathed the com. "Corporal, who's in charge here?"
"Sergeant Gomez, ma'am." The corporal gestured upward with his SMG. "He's up top."
I glanced up and realized we stood under a large, overhanging building. Stairs led up to the next level. Jess nodded. "Okay. Al, come with me, we're going to up there. Josh, wait for the Sarge."
She left, with Al right behind her. I turned to Jones. "Anywhere you need me?"
"I don't know." He surveyed the square, squinting in the bright sun. "There are four paths leading out, including the one you came through. Just…stay here. I'll go see if Sergeant wants you anywhere."
I watched him leave. "Well, Frankie, how are—"
A sudden explosion cut me off. I wheeled around to see a ramp leading away from our position implode in bright blue clouds of plasma. The crate set there by the Marines shot up into the air. Grunts poured out of the new opening.
I filled their entry point with three-round bursts of lead. Bullets coated the Covenant's break in our lines. The aliens didn't even put up a fight.
They didn't have time to.
As the dust settled I made a hurried head count of our forces. Thirteen Marines including Frankie, so with me that made fourteen. And that still didn't count the Marines on the upper level.
I crouch-walked closer to the blown opening. One of the Marines near it peeked in. A plasma grenade came from the hole, almost sticking the soldier's face. I knelt down and then steadied my weapon as more enemies entered the courtyard.
"Look out!"
A blue streak hit one of our soldiers. He backed up, staring at the explosive with his mouth open.
I turned back to the battle before he exploded.
Two bird-like aliens approached from the hole, carrying shields. I fired at one of them, only to have the bullets dissipate on its hand-held energy barrier. Great. Jackals.
"Fire in the hole!"
A frag grenade bounced onto the feet of the Jackals. They looked down.
Then they blew up.
Frankie ran up beside me. He skidded to a halt, hosing the enemies with his gun. I followed suit. My rifle made the annoying empty click. I flipped the cartridge release switch. The bullet-less clip clinked on the ground as I inserted a fresh magazine.
Two Elites charged into battle, one red, one blue. I drew a grenade, took off its holding pin, and then chunked it. It landed right next to the alien commanders.
The detonation killed one of the Elites and knocked out the other one's shields. Gunfire tore through the remaining alien.
I planted a head shot on the final Grunt's head. Dead bodies littered the square. Exhaustion plagued every muscle of my body. I relaxed as two Marines propped another box over the opening. Frankie slid a new clip into his SMG. "Is that it?"
"Don't ask that." I glanced up at the wall protecting the second level. A Marine with a sergeant cap stood watching the entire courtyard, a sniper rifle in his hands.
"Josh! Frankie!"
I spun around at the shout. Jess hurried over to us. "Sarge is in trouble. He yelled something, but it was all static, I couldn't hear his coordinates. He did say 'contact', so he's definitely facing enemies."
I clutched my rifle tighter. "Will Sergeant Gomez let us leave?"
"I…No. He won't." She sighed. "He wants us here defending this position. He also said more enemies may be in that direction and that it'd be a suicide run. Silver Company is coming though; maybe once they get here we can find the Sarge."
"What difference are four soldiers going to make?" I took a deep breath. Just calm down. Calm down. "Can't we find the Sarge?"
"The way we came in is being covered. Enemies have been spotted coming from that direction."
"So?" Frankie moved his shoulder in the direction of the defending Marines. "They can handle this place. And we can deal with any enemies, we—"
"Frankie. Sergeant Gomez is the commanding officer here, he can tell us to do whatever he wants us to do. And we have to do it. This isn't a democracy here."
He muttered something about "sunny britches." Jess shook her head. "You know, if I hear anymore crap from you Marine, I'll…Oh, never mind. We listen to their sergeant. We're soldiers. If you can't handle it, than you shouldn't have joined in the first place."
I nodded. Frankie followed suit, eyes narrow. "But as soon as we can leave, I'm going after Sarge."
"We all will." She put a hand on his shoulder. "Once we can."
I shut my eyes. Protect the Sarge, God. Please, protect him. I opened my eyes to see Al rushing in our direction.
He joined us. "Hey, Jess, their sergeant wants you on the double."
She went off. Al looked at me and shrugged. "Nothing we can do about it right now. We'll get the Sarge soon enough."
"Yeah, it's just…" I trailed off.
He raised his eyebrows. "Just what?"
"Well, I, you know, I would rather get the Sarge than stay here. But it's an order. Nothing we can do about it."
"Yeah."
We headed over to one of the blockades. I kneeled down with Al on my left and Frankie on my right. "So, Al, what is that sergeant like?"
"He's okay."
I furrowed my brow. "'Okay?'"
"Yeah. Well, of course, to us he's not as good as Sarge; I didn't expect him to be. He's a good leader."
"So why is he just 'okay'?"
The ground shook. I grabbed the barricade to keep my balance.
Then they attacked.
Red plasma scorched the courtyard. I dived away as Phantoms came into view above us. Their turrets burned our position, catching any Marines too unfortunate to get away in time.
Covenant troops fell from the blue holes on the Phantoms' bellies. I whipped my battle rifle around to face them. An Elite caught sight of me and readied his own weapon. I fired and hit the Elite, causing its shields to crackle. Someone else buried the alien in SMG rounds.
But this time the Covenant held the advantage. They had us in numbers and momentum. I picked off as many as I could, but it wasn't enough.
Al launched a grenade at the attackers. He then grabbed me and turned me around. "Come on, we're dead if we stay here!"
I followed him as he rushed to the stairs leading to the main building's second level. We just reached the steps when an explosion rocked the structure. I slipped and fell back to ground level.
Someone caught me before I hit the ground. I glanced back to see Frankie, his teeth gritted. I got solid ground under my feet again and leapt to the top of the stairs. Frankie came right behind me.
Marines stood at the edge of the platform, raining down bullets on the Covenant below. Jess fought with them. I darted over to the short wall. Al joined me, already shooting his battle rifle.
"Hold 'em!" A man with a sergeant cap flung a frag into the fray. It exploded, taking out quite a few enemies as well. I knocked out a pair of Jackals with four pulls of the trigger, and then a couple Grunts with only three. Metal clattered on the ground as I dropped my empty ammo cartridge and inserted a new one in its place.
The Covenant forces thinned. I picked off another Grunt and then watched as the last Elite fell. My finger ached from hitting the trigger.
The Marine sergeant pointed two fingers at the mess. "Segui, Darles, get down there and get the tags." He turned to me, Frankie, and Al. "You three, go with them. Secure any grenades or alien weaponry still serviceable. Stay ready; I doubt those Covenant's friends are far behind."
I tagged along after two female Marines heading down the stairs, Frankie and Al right behind me. We hit the square. The two Marines went off towards the dead bodies. I hunkered down next to some alien corpses. Blue spheres rested next to the lifeless enemies. I scooped some up into my arms, careful not to the touch the orange oval buttons on the grenades.
Wouldn't be a pretty sight if I did.
Al and Frankie joined me; Al, like me, with his hands full of plasma grenades, and Frankie, with a couple plasma pistols, a plasma rifle, and even a needler. Al yanked his head towards the upper level. "Come on, this is all we can get."
I trailed after them as we got back up to the sergeant. I carried the enemy arms to a spot near the rest of the Marines' position and then dropped them on the ground. Al and Frankie did the same.
The sergeant ( whom I now realized was Sergeant Gomez) inspected our recoveries. "Very good, men." He turned to face the courtyard. "Stay ready."
I moved to the second floor's barrier, next to Jess. We exchanged a glance.
My arms felt heavy. "Tough fight."
"Yeah."
I surveyed the square, not really knowing how to start a conversation. An almost eerie silence settled over everything, the only sound the scuffling of the pair of Marines below. I watched as the two soldiers worked systematically, with both of them moving so they both checked a different body at the same time. At last they finished and headed back to our location, their arms full of chain tags.
They handed Sergeant Gomez the identification devices. He took them and placed them in a bag on his belt. Then he strode forward to stand in front of us all.
"Alright, Marines. You may not all know me, or even like me, but that doesn't matter. I've received word that Silver Company will soon be here, but until then, we'll have to defend this position. I want all of you ready and do not go to ground level unless I order you to do so. Darles, Edgar, and you, McKinney, I want you three sorting through the Covenant weapons. Distribute the working grenades, but keep the plasma guns where they are." He nodded at the square beneath us. "Everyone else, on the outer wall. Battle ready."
I watched as Jess and two Marines went over to the pile of Covenant munitions. Al tapped me on the shoulder. "Come on, stay ready, man."
I moved back to the fence. An occasional cloud of exploding plasma broke the clear afternoon sky. I shifted my weight. What are we going to do about the Sarge?
Jess rejoined us. I looked at her and then glanced away. Just keep your mind on the fight. That's where it belongs.
"Contact! Down low!"
I jerked my battle rifle to the enemy position. Grunts poured out of a new hole in the courtyard wall. Plasma fire scorched the ground around our feet. Our retaliation paled in comparison to our attackers' payload; we barely hit anything. One Grunt lay dead, but still others came through the opening.
A Pelican suddenly moved over the square, tearing through the Covenant forces with machine gun fire. It backed up until its open end hovered over our position. Several Marines jumped onto our level.
"Sergeant Gomez!" One of the soldiers pointed at the new stream of alien adversaries. "The Covenant has this whole place surrounded! It's recommended you get your forces out of here!"
"Agreed, Marine." The sergeant crouched low, raining down bullets on our foes. "In the Pelican, double-time!"
Some of our forces got onto the Pelican. I stayed, picking off any Covenant I could. A small group of them ran towards the stairs. I fired at them until they passed out of my vision.
Soon only Sergeant Gomez, I, and another Marine remained outside the Pelican. Gomez waved me on. "Get in there, Marine!"
I moved over to the dropship and leapt in. The other Marine joined me, but Sergeant Gomez still fought. Covenant reached the level. I glanced over my shoulder and realized something.
There wasn't enough room on the Pelican for all of us.
I jumped off. My feet hit the ground next to Sergeant Gomez. "There isn't enough room on the Pelican, sir!" I faced the onslaught, firing away. "We can't all make it!"
I kept pulling the trigger of my gun, knocking any alien that crossed my line of fire to the ground. Then time slowed down.
I thought I heard Sergeant Gomez yell something. I don't know what he said, but suddenly I found myself on the Pelican's floor. I watched in horror as the floor under me began to move, leaving the sergeant stranded with the Covenant.
The dropship churned under us as time sped up again. Someone hauled me up to the bench, squeezing me in among the Marines. I gasped. "We left him! We left him!"
Someone put a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Jess. "But we left him. He's going to…he's going to…"
I glanced around. Many of the Marines seemed to be fighting back tears. I blinked to stop myself from crying.
Jess bent down next to me. "He gave the order. We had to go. We had to go."
I swallowed. The sorrow washed over my body, filling me with guilt. "I should have stayed, I should have…" Then the cold wave of realization hit me. "I jumped onto the Pelican. He didn't push me, I jumped. He…" Suddenly the memory of his shout came to me. "He told me to go, and I obeyed. I could've stayed." I lowered my head. "I could have saved him."
She raised my head up and stared into my eyes. "Listen. You did everything you could. He's gone. You couldn't have done anything to stop that."
"I'm no hero." I took a deep breath, and then exhaled. "I could have stayed."
"You have to let it go. You have to just let it go." She stood. "Pull it together. Sarge is alive."
I stared at her. "He's what?"
"He's alive. And he needs out help."
I nodded. The grief subsided, leaving in its departure fierce determination. I exhaled again. Then I noticed the small bag on the Pelican floor.
I picked it up and opened it to find lots of chain tags. Sergeant Gomez must have thrown it on the Pelican. I closed it and clipped it to my belt.
Better keep those close. I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes. Don't want to lose them.
"Hey, sleepyhead."
I opened my eyes. Al stood over me. "It's time for your shift."
I rose to my feet, feeling the pain in my leg again. Al handed me my battle rifle and then sat down against the rock. "Wake me when the Sarge wants to move."
I moved over to where the Sarge knelt on the grass. He turned to me. "Doing all right, Josh?"
"Yes, sir." I stretched my arms out. A silence filled the night. I absent-mindedly brushed a hand over my belt. And felt nothing.
Panic struck me. The bag, it's—
Then I remembered. I gave it to Sarge. I turned to him. "Um, Sarge, do you remember during Mombassa when I gave you that bag of tags?"
"Hmmm…" He furrowed his brow. "Yes, I remember."
"What did you do with them?"
"Well, I put them in the Pelican when we left, right before we…we…" He trailed off.
I stared at him. "You mean they're still in the Pelican?"
He nodded.
"And the Pelican, it…it…"
"Yes, private. I know what happened to Pelican." He sighed. "And I know what we have to do next."
(Note: I have no idea what in the world the tags the Marines wear in Halo are. I just guessed that they were chain tags like now. I was wrong, I apologize.)
(And I also apologize for the long chapter. I wish I knew how to write shorter chapters. Ah well.)
Over and Out
