Rifle

Chapter Nine

She awoke to cold, against her cheek. Her fingers stretched and curled in and out- unaware of what they were searching for. Her eyes fluttered open, revealing white all around her- her hair blurred with the vision- quite an array of color.
The floor.
She was on the floor.

Her eyes focused more to see the definition between her hair and the tiles.
Blue. She wondered how long it's been blue. She was the old her again for a second- afraid of everything- unaware of everything- alone. Reality hit her hard and fast- her hair had been that way for at least a year-and-a-half. She had Bant and Aron and Kyle. Friends.

She craned her head around. She couldn't fathom, at first, how she ended up there. She looked around a little as she raised herself with her arms from the white tiles- her old bag was sideways- its contents scattered on the floor. Loose copper change shined with the dull lights above- her wallet halfway escaped- and some gum fell out, too. She reached and gathered everything. Her eyes trailed the room, she saw Bant asleep in the hospital bed- he had always been a heavy sleeper. She smiled.

She saw the chairs behind her and concluded that that was originally where she was sleeping. She must have gone down and taken her purse with her.

Her stomach started to rumble. She hadn't eaten in quite awhile- and it wasn't healthy with some one who spent their energy so much the day or so before.
She rummaged around in her purse- trying to find once again those copper coins- sure a vending machine or cafeteria of sorts was present in the building…If there was anyone to restock and/or serve at such Job anymore- with the evacuation and such.

Her bag seemed quite a bit lighter than usual, but she was too hungry to question it.
My gun's missing…that's odd…no…I forgot it at home…now I remember.
She found the copper coins and stepped from the room.
After trudging the hallways for what seemed to be forever, she stumbled across a waiting room.
Haza was there, sitting in a chair. He looked sad- maybe depressed. His bright green eyes just fixed on the carpet while he frowned.

She sat down across from him, ignoring her hunger.
"Sup?" She tilted her head and smiled at him. Usually Elizah would be afraid of talking to people. She wasn't all that bright and people usually didn't like her. She was usually really quiet around men, too, because she was a little afraid of them in general. For one, though, she couldn't resist trying to brighten someone's day- she liked miracles- the miracle of a smile was one that she believed in.

He shrugged and shook his head, sighing. Something really ate at him… what was it?
"I'm scared."

She was surprised- a man admitting fear- a Spartan admitting fear was something she had not seen but once or twice in her entire career. Most of the times, it was Bant- some missions scared them both. Only a few times was he able to admit it.

She frowned. "Why?"

He brought his head up and looked her in the eyes. She could see the fear this time- it resonated and reflected that emotion- but that single emotion. Elizah was frozen in place- awaiting his answer- she could barely blink when staring into eyes like that. She felt a pang in her chest; jealousy- she wanted eyes like that- bright and reflective of emotion. His eyes were like gemstones and she was able to feel, when looking into them, a sense of spells and magic.
Omygosh, he's the prettiest man I've ever seen.

"I found something out…that scares me…"

She stayed silent, listening intently and still just as frozen.

"I need to talk to you and Bant." He breathed heavily. He was nervous and wiped his palms on his jeans. It had to be bad. "Is he awake yet?" he looked away for a second then straight back at her. It froze her again, his eyes. What was he looking at?

She stood out of her chair- pulling away from his pretty and mystic gaze. It was difficult for her- she loved eyes- especially pretty ones. Her stomach started to call out to her, though, and she had better things to do than stare into the eyes of a stranger all day.

Haza stood as well. He hoped Bant was awake so he could tell them something. Something important.

"He's not awake, and I need something to eat." She finally informed him of the current situation before trotting off towards whatever vending machine was nearest.

"How long have you been here?" she asked him, turning her head back, almost to catch a view of him.

"All night. Campbell's been here all night, too."

"Should I get Aron, too?"

"We'll tell her later, Bant first- we probably wont be able to get them both in the same room with their injuries anyways."

"I did some research." He kept his green eyes once again to the floor, his bleach hair falling over his eyes- still as shaken-up as earlier.

"And?" they both waited- anticipated-what he was going to tell us. It seemed to stress him out quite a bit- of course that only aroused their curiosities.

"It's about the first mission you went to that cave." The first mission; the cave with flood; the first mission itself being mentioned was a lot to take in. It was where it all had begun- the flood- the hurt- and maybe even the Pry. They waited in silence, still for what was about to be given to them. Satisfaction? Or guilt? Which was to be obtained from these bits and pieces of information?

"The artifact is made of a substance commonly referred to as Hypothrinium. It attracts Flood. According to our research, we have a new artifact sealed off somewhere that's even stronger- the artifact that was supposed to be placed in the cave. Somewhere, we think, it was lost in translation that we needed to place the new artifact and you were only told to remove the old one." He seemed to be shooting at words- every one sure hit them like bullets. Another mistake in the government- another mistake that cost many lives. He gazed up at them and saw the full-blown impact of his sentences.

"So why don't we place this new artifact in its rightful place?" It made sense to her- why hasn't it been put there already? What is wrong with these people?

"It went missing at the time of the evacuation." He looked down again; His grassy eyes returning to that peaceful sorrow, his thumbs seemed to wrestle with each other in a choppy anxiety. There was silence before anyone dared to ask him anything- the answers were too much to fear. Elizah gulped and leaned back further in her chair, eyeing the textures upon the ceiling.

"Could we get more?" Someone finally voiced. The fact didn't matter whom, though, it was Elizah herself, but the fact that mattered is that someone worded that question in words- the question that was on everyone's minds.

"Hypothrinium is actually not present on this planet… and traces back to the Halos." Haza hesitated on that last part- the Halos.

"The Halos?" Bant raised an eyebrow, the most he had known about the Halos is what he was told- the covenant tried to destroy the universes with it and the flood may or may have not existed at that time. He wondered why it was even relevant, the Halos, as to how they were to rid themselves of the Flood and the Pry.

"The government has kept quite a lot from us… It's been around since before the flood- but it was first found on the Halos a long time ago- scientists have no idea how it got there." It seemed to make some sort of sense to Haza, but almost no sense to Bant or Elizah. They were almost clueless as to what it meant at the time. Still, Bant questioned the relevancy of the Halos in it all.

"What are we supposed to do?" Bant asked. It was the only question either of them could ask- with the jumbles about the Halos and the government and such. They had both been smart, but they never learned more about the Halos than a few simple things in history books. Had the government really kept that much from them?

Another mystery means another answer that can't be found within it. Why are we even trying anymore if it's hopeless?

"Smkavinuislin." He blurted out the word. The strangest word any of them had ever heard.

"Gesundheit" Bant mistook it for a sneeze, which made Elizah giggle a little. It quite lightened that barren and glum mood to something at least a tad upbeat. It didn't last, though, the good.

"No…it's the reverse material. It…repels Flood like a similar magnet, but it's not parasitic."

"And where do we obtain some of that?"

"Not on Lacid."

"Of course." Bant rolled his eyes. He wasn't happy with that one- it was one of those there's no hope statements- something he himself had tried to avoid letting Elizah hear. He wanted her to have hope more than anything else. Heck, he wanted hope himself. Where would he be without hope?

"There was a second artifact, though." Haza looked up, biting his lip, he seemed to almost enjoy this tidbit of news. There it was. Hope. The hope hid behind the answer; stood there in its shadow.

"It went missing, too." His eyes looked away at the wall. Maybe he didn't enjoy the news after all, but bracing himself for the next set of words; the next sentence of expected hopelessness.

As soon as hope in them raised, it was shot down. She could believe it, though; she had many hopes that were readily destroyed by others…and even her self. Once again, a hush fell over the party, they all casted their eyes down in silence.

"I have reason to believe where it is, though." This time, his eyes did show a pleasure of sorts. It was as bright as his eyes. She caught herself staring into them again. That look he held was majestic and once more reminded her of a fey.

At that, they saw her eyes light up. They both saw it. Theirs lighted up, too- but hers reacted the quickest, clasping onto that hope like she waited for it all her life. She did wait a long time-it had been months.
She wanted to tell Aron…she had to tell Aron and Kyle. It was the best thing ever- they could return to their normal…sort of. They could return to being Spartans on missions- they could return to living lives. She had to tell Aron.

"Also…please don't tell Campbell I told you any of this…" he looked around nervously- his gypsy eyes dancing from side to side. Strange seriousness filled the room, but she halfway ignored it.

First, before telling Aron, though, she had to get weaponry- just incase. She sometimes just felt that- the need to have arms with her at all times- insecurity. She had to get a gun.

"Hey, I'm gunna run to my apartment real quick and get some ammunition." She got up from the chair she sat in and stretched. She had been so scrunched up in that chair all night and all day- it hadn't occurred to her why she didn't think to stretch when she woke up. She should've brought her gun with her.
It must still be on the coffee table.
She couldn't think of a reason why she wouldn't have grabbed it…but she was in a hurry the day before and she considered the fact that she forgets to get things in a rush. She decided that she just forgot. That had to be it, right?

She was halfway to the door, thinking her thoughts, before Haza's voice rung clear in her ears from his chair by the wall.

"You can't, there's Flood in the streets."