Spartan Elessar: I am glad you liked it! I (after writing this story) personally don't like Fred anymore either!
Mawata and Sasame 4ever: Thanks! I am glad you liked it! I appreciate your support!
Dachande663: Here ya go, mate! ;)
Halosobsessed1010: More for you, and you, and you, and you! So glad you liked it! (Combined words are just words I make up)
Mr. 125: I didn't think they would get along very well in teen years, either! ;)
1XerO1: Thanks for pointing that out. I (When writing it at first) couldn't remember the date, so I just made one up promising myself I would look it up later. I forgot, as usual. Sorry if I am taking too long on this fighting thing... This was meant to be a short story after all, but oh well. I am going to wrap it up soon. BUT I need your help! DO you think that there should be more aggression between Fred and Alex? If so, just leave a quick review saying that they should fight more. (Sorry this might look weird... Fanfiction is having trouble uploading word docs.
0124 hours, September 20, 2525 (Military Calendar\
Epsilon Eridani system, Maprae Training Field
Upper-Left Quadrant, planet Reach.
THREE DAYS LATER
Spartan-109 fumbled numbly with the zipper on his hydration pack. His cold fingers slowly and silently unzipped the back pocket. Everything was quiet for the moment. Five by one and a half miles was a lot of ground when it needed to be. Alex signaled Grace to cover point while he rooted for his last protein bar.
Alex crouched in the cold, awkwardly tearing open the plastic wrapper. He leaned his back against one of the numerous trees that were providing cover for the moment, and searched the damp, misty terrain for any sign of Linda. She could be hiding anywhere in the marshy forest.
His rifle ammo counter read 45 rounds in the clip. It was covered in grime and the alarming fungus that grew everywhere. Alex hadn't found time yet to clean it or any of his other equipment yet, and it was beginning to show. His boots were caked with mud, and soaked through with water. His armor was stiff with dried mud and grass. His body was getting colder and colder with the dropping temperature and constant moisture. Food was scarce, as well as rest.
And he still hadn't found Fred.
Alex fidgeted. He stood up slowly from his prone position. The distinct THACK-THACK-THACK if darts smacking into trees erupted to the west. He could hear more join in far off as a large battle began. He was about to signal to move forward, when something on his motion tracker flickered. He jerked in that direction, but the red blip disappeared immediately.
Grace looked towards him, alerted. She shrugged her shoulders slightly, signaling no further contact. Alex jerked his head to the northeast as he switched his weapon to full auto. He pointed to Grace, and made a line in the air with his hand laid flat and low. He then pointed to himself, and made a quick arcing motion with his fist.
Grace nodded. She understood. Alex counted off with his fingers.
One.
Two.
Three.
The Spartan dodged forward. He swiftly arced in a jagged circle towards the contact, weapon trained ahead, dashing through thick tangles of dead branches covered in moss. His target rustled in the woods ahead, and opened up on him. Short, precise bursts slashed angrily through the cold air towards him. Alex jerkily leapt forward and down, dodging through the foliage, getting closer.
Grace let off a shot into Spartan-221 from behind just as Alex tackled him. Daniel crashed to the ground with Alex's shoulder rammed against his chest. He coughed as the air was forced out of him, and then went limp, paralyzed and asleep.
Alex flipped to his feet as a dart suddenly came from nowhere and ricocheted off his helmet.
Linda.
"New contact!" The Spartan yelled as he dove behind the safety of a tree, knowing he wouldn't have too many chances like that one. "Spartan-058 at nine o'clock!" He peeked warily around the branch. A dart tore the bark away a centimeter from his neck. He peeked out again, and listened for the sound of the gun. He heard it after another dart whistled past his arm.
Alex knew she must be close if he could actually hear the rifle. He dove diagonally to another tree. Two shots tore through his pants leg, barely missing. And that was when he realized that Linda was merely playing with him. He would be gone right now if she wished it.
He laughed out loud.
The laugh caught the attention of Spartan-008, who happened to be crouching twenty meters away. Alex swore as Li turned towards him. He ran back towards Grace. Linda peppered the ground to his left with darts, keeping him in a tight boundary as she waited for Li to finish the job. Spartan-109 abruptly tripped over a form on the ground, and spin to the ground. He whipped his head back to look, and found Spartan-093 unconscious, one of Linda's darts protruding from the back of her neck. He roughly hauled her body up, and dove down into the foxhole they had made. Alex felt her neck for a pulse. It was steady and strong. Good.
Li was getting closer. Alex didn't relish the thought of getting hit with darts again after the painful experiences he had, but it was unavoidable. -Might as well try to take out Li- Alex thought resignedly.
And so he jumped out of the foxhole, firing four rounds towards Spartan-008. But they were waiting for him. Before any of his shots got close, his chest was pumped with three darts.
Alex rocked backwards, thrown off by the impact. He fell to his knees. The Spartan glowered at Li, and as the world slowly began to slip away, emptied his last five rounds towards the other spartan's general direction. At the same moment, four darts dug viciously into his left side. Spartan-104, Fred, stepped from the shadow of a massive tree with his rifle raised. Alex twisted as he fell for what seemed like an eternity, catching a glimpse of Fred's boot as it flew up to meet his face.
Darkness.
0534 hours, September 20, 2525 (Military Calendar\
Epsilon Eridani system, Maprae Training Field
Upper-Left Quadrant, planet Reach.
Spartan-109 groaned and stirred. The pang of cold mud as he rolled into it woke him up. He coughed and pushed himself up to a squat, wiping mud off his chest plate. The Spartan experimentally clenched his jaw a few times, making sure it was alright. The armor was crunched in where Fred kicked him.
He glanced down in the foxhole to make sure Grace was alright. She was still sleeping fitfully despite her awkward, crumpled up position. Alex grabbed his rifle before jumping down next to her. He reloaded the weapon, and made sure everything was working properly. Next, he gently propped Grace up against the dirt wall so she was no longer cutting off the circulation of her arm and legs.
What to do now? Alex thought as he looked around, noting the new rain as it came down in large sheets. Grace had always had trouble with sickness or medicinal drugs. They had a bad effect on her, and judging from past hits Alex knew that she would be asleep for about five hours. He decided begrudgingly to leave her and keep fighting.
The Spartan lifted himself out of the foxhole and got to his knees just as a gauntleted fist slammed into the side of his helmet, crushing a weak spot that was next to his temple. Alex's flew three meters backwards until he smashed into a dead tree. He growled in pain and desperation as he fell to the ground, and threw himself over as a Spartan dove to the ground where he had been before. He whirled around, grabbing the left wrist of the Spartan as they threw another lightning-fast punch. He twisted it sharply, drawing a small gasp of pain. At the same moment, he pulled the arm down, ducked under it, and drew it across the other Spartan's chest in an attempt to hold them.
"Hello again, Linda." Alex rasped as she spun him around to the left while bracing her foot against his legs. Spartan-109 fell, hoping for a break, but Linda was already down on her back beside him. She slipped her arm around his neck, and jerked his head around, down, and into the mud. Alex braced against the ground with his one free hand and pushed upwards, trying to get a breath of air, but Linda was pinning him under. He suddenly rammed his elbow into the chest plate of her armor, knocking her backwards. At the same time he whipped his foot forward and into the back of her legs.
He jumped up, unlocking and ripping off his beaten helmet. Alex threw it at Linda's head as he gulped down the moist air. She easily dodged it. Spartan-109 stood panting in the clearing, rain dripping off his cracked and beaten armor. Spartan-058 stepped a few blind paces backward, fighting exhaustion.
"Hello Alex." She panted out. "You wouldn't happen to have any spare ammo would ya? I'm out." Linda chuckled as she wiped mud off her visor. Alex glanced down at his weapon laying fifteen meters away, and began circling his friend wearily.
"Sorry, I've just got enough for me. I haven't been at base for three days." He replied hoarsely. Linda circled also, looking him up and down.
"Too bad. Getting tired?" she asked as she quirked her head to one side.
Alex stopped in a defensive fighting stance, waiting. "Nope." He grimaced. "You?"
Linda took out what looked like brass knuckles and put them on her right hand. The tips were coated with paralyzing drug. If any of the four tiny spikes punctured his skin, Alex would go slack for about two minutes as the drug shut down a few muscles here and there.
"Nope." She said with a sigh, and dove towards him.