Chapter Sixteen – Jump

0743 Hours, August 30, 2552 (Military Calendar) /

Epsilon Eridani system, forest near Facility A-331

Reach

Daniel spread his arms and legs out, stabilizing his tumult.

Squinting through the screaming wind, he activated his suit's shield generator and boosted the yield to maximum strength, stressing the fusion core to critical. He felt his body tighten against the pressure as he pumped his hydrostatic gel layer to full. The smoldering treetops rose to catch him forty meters below.

Daniel shifted his limbs to angle his trajectory towards the clearing, where a hundred Covenant soldiers cried out in alien tongues, a MJOLNIR encased figure raised in their clutches. A snow-white armored Elite lifted an energy sword to stab the helpless Spartan held aloft, when it noticed the god-like figure descending for them from the skies. Daniel waited until he could see the orange fires flickering within the Elite's eyes before tucking himself into a shimmering, shielded ball for impact.

He felt himself grind into the Elite's chest and slam against the mud, sliding and tumbling to a stop amongst the other aliens. As he opened his eyes to strike, however, a great, thunderous roar erupted from the generator complex beyond the woods.

Daniel shook away the ring of his blaring shield indicator and he leapt to his feet, shoving his way past a Grunt and grabbing a hold of Alex's limp form. In the same motion, Daniel pulled his fellow Spartan close to his chest and dove face-first into the mud as the wave of the explosion rumbled closer, uplifting the trees in a wall of hellish debris.

There was a moment in which Daniel felt himself carried off the ground by what felt like a great tidal wave. He could only hold Alex tightly to his body as the sensation of swirling through thick water overtook him; a numbing pressure threatening to crush him. Daniel felt a powerful slam against his back as he crunched through what must have been a tree. He had only time to open his eyes and feel the searing heat of flames before the back of his exposed head smacked something and he saw no more.

o o o

It was dark.

Daniel struggled to open his eyes, but his vision remained black. He sat up halfway before a spasm of pain lashed about his body and mind and he collapsed back into the mud. He listened to the soft quiver of his own breathing for several minutes before trying again. The pain returned in full force and he fell back against the ground, infuriated. He blinked again, and still the world was shapeless and dark.

Daniel lay there for a while, steadying his heartbeat and listening for the sound of Covenant soldiers.

Silence.

Not a whisper or breath of wind stirred the ruins of the explosion. It was eerie to know that the forest was dead, that the wildlife had been scorched or crushed out of existence. Daniel sighed with exhaustion and drew in the smoky air. He could smell the smoking bits of shattered wood about him, feel the misty aftermath of the storm dampen his mud-caked face.

His face.

A cindering fire radiated from his eyes and clawed at the rest of his skin. Daniel writhed in the pain, no longer held at bay by the fading trickle of adrenaline. He instinctively raised a gloved hand to feel his cheek, and a layer of skin peeled away at his touch. Still blind, he tasted the bloodied mud on his fingertips and shivered with a morbid fear. He swept his bald, scarred head; not a trace of his black hair remained.

Daniel slammed his fist into the ground by his side, splashing himself in mud.

He heard a gurgled cough nearby.

Daniel rolled over, facing the sound, clenched fists ready for a fight. He couldn't see, but he could still lay low an opponent with a well-placed, MJOLNIR-enhanced punch. But then another thought spliced his mind.

"Alex?" Daniel called out hoarsely.

The creature made another sickly, liquid-filled noise.

Daniel carefully crawled forward on his elbows, knowing that whatever lay near him was obviously injured. But still, it might very well be an Elite, just waiting for him to stray close enough before launching a surprise attack.

He approached the noise, a fist raised, until he felt the stump of a human leg bump against him.

"Alex!" Daniel choked, running his hands over the Spartan's armor, searching for the wound. There. At the base of Alex's neck a deep, charred gash opened his throat to the dusty air. Daniel ran his fingers over Alex's helmet, satisfied it was secure. He hoped Alex was otherwise unharmed and just coming to from the explosion. Perhaps his body would respond soon, just like Daniel's had. He had to know if Alex was conscious, and so Daniel took his hand and spoke to him.

"Alex. If you can hear me, try to move your fingers."

No response.

Daniel searched with his hands and found Alex's other arm. He tried the other hand.

"Move this hand, then."

Three of the five fingers twitched.

"Again."

They did.

Daniel sighed with relief, then fought back a wave of panic and grief as their situation fully dawned on him. He had submerged the reality of his ruined eyesight until this moment, and only now did it truly sink in.

He appreciated and missed all the more the beautiful canvas that painted the world as he knew it. But deeper than this sadness there growled a frustration so deep Daniel found himself gripping Alex's hand tighter than necessary.

He would never again fight anymore. He would never be the reliable Spartan he had always been to the others. The feeling of shameful helplessness was overwhelming, and he wanted nothing more than to take hold of an Elite or Jackal and strangle it, prove to the Covenant that he was still a soldier to fear. The thought of being left behind, useless, drove him insane. He now knew the bitter jealously that had filled the Spartans deemed unfit for duty after their bio-augmentation process.

Alex choked quietly, and Daniel was shaken from his internal torment, loosening his vice lock on Alex's hand.

I chose to jump, Daniel told himself. I chose to be right here, right now, to save Alex. And I'll finish what I started, crippled or not.

There. It was settled. He wasn't going to waste his time grieving over his new disability. He was going to do something about their situation. He had to.

Alex gurgled again in what might have been self-pity.

And Alex, Daniel thought. He can't talk, and I can't see. Alex was already suffering from his previous severe wounds. Missing leg. Paralyzed. Open neck wound. If he wasn't brought to a hospital soon, he was surely dead. Whether from internal bleeding, blood loss, or bits of shattered bone carving into his organs…Alex's time in this world was short if Daniel didn't do something.

And what about me? I can't even stand.

Still. He had to try. The Covenant would finish glassing the planet soon. And then there would be nowhere left to hide. There was only one other option, one other place left to go. Perhaps Red Team…

Daniel placed a hand on Alex's chest.

"Don't worry, Alex. I'll get us out of here. If you can see, move your fingers when I'm pointing your hand at the sun. Ready?"

His fingers wiggled.

Daniel circled his arm slowly through the air like a communication dish antenna, making sure to double back and start again in case he missed a spot. Finally Alex's fingers gave the signal, and Daniel checked again.

"Are you sure?"

He was.

Daniel aligned his arm with Alex's, gathering a sense of direction.

"Okay. Then CASTLE base should be…"

Alex gurgled a warning.

An energy sword activated nearby.

Daniel growled in rage and fear and lashed out with his fist towards the sound, hoping to knock back the Elite, if anything. But as his fist swung and caught nothing but the air, Daniel knew he was powerless to stop the Covenant warrior.

A loud, harsh crack of a sniper rifle round tore past Daniel's ear and punctured armor. The Elite groaned and slumped to the ground. Alex fidgeted excitedly and choked nearby.

Daniel propped himself with his elbows and reached a hand out towards their invisible savior, trying to signal to cease fire. Perhaps some marines had arrived on the scene? Why weren't they evacuating like everyone else?

Daniel instinctively tensed in fear as someone slurched heavily through the mud and stopped just before him. An armored glove gripped Daniel's lifted hand and pulled him to his feet. A spasm of pain shook Daniel down his spine, but he felt himself braced against the plated being. Daniel reached up and touched the stranger's faceplate.

A voice broke out from the man's external speakers, and Daniel nearly fell when he recognized the rough, confident voice.

"Miss me?"

Daniel tried to formulate words with his tongue despite the shock and relief. Finally he was able to whisper.

"Logan?"

There was a pause in which Daniel thought he heard a grim chuckle.

"Yes. It's me."

"But...how? I thought you left with the others."

"It's a long story. I'll explain later. But right now I need you to come with me."

Daniel swayed from vertigo.

"Where?"

"A ship. My ship."

Daniel opened his mouth, mind swirling, trying not to drown in the vortex of confusion and questions he had. But he decided that whatever Logan was planning he could trust him. Perhaps they still had time to rescue Red Team.

"What about Alex? We can't just leave him here. He needs help."

"Of course."

Daniel knelt to steady himself as Logan let go and moved to where Alex lay, groaning softly. Daniel heard a sharp intake of air and the sound of Alex thrashing wildly in the mud. Logan's voice reached Daniel's ears.

"Just hang in there, Alex! You'll be fine. Look at me! Just breathe..."

Ten seconds went by in which Daniel cringed at the sound of Alex dying.

"Don't give up on me now, Alex," Logan's voice grunted.

Twenty seconds.

The splashes in the mud became softer.

Thirty seconds.

There was one last, choking gurgle.

Silence.

After another minute Daniel heard Logan rise and return to support him. Daniel shivered when Logan clamped his shoulder tightly and urged him forward firmly. Daniel whispered softly.

"Alex...is he-?"

"Dead."

Daniel shuddered at Logan's finality in the statement. Logan placed Alex's helmet gently in Daniel's arms. After a brief moment of remorse, Daniel placed it over his head and clicked it into place. Ready, he followed the quiet splashes of Logan's footsteps as he led the way. He heard Logan speak up from the front.

"Don't worry, Daniel. The Surrogate Victor is just a mile from here."

Daniel nodded, searching the dark world before him for something, but he couldn't tell what. His gut churned nervously in the same way it did during every battle, every moment when the enemy lurked nearby and danger clawed at his heels. He told himself he was safe, that he should be glad Logan had come to save him.

But all he could see, all his black and sightless vision could conjure was Alex's cold, dead face. And an image he knew he hadn't seen. Something he couldn't have seen, without his eyes. Something he knew he had imagined out of fear and grief when he had heard Alex's last, dying breath. And yet at the same time, he had felt it, had known it was there all along.

Logan grinning.