Just wanted to let you guys know that I will be updating this story regularly.

This chapter happened before the Chapter Halo 2: Cairo Station

Chapter 2 Arrival

"Uh…… My head." groaned Zen.

He was on the ground for some unknown reason but then he remembered he became unconscious and he just deducted that his knees buckled and he collapsed on to the ground. He started to pull himself up rubbing his eyes as he was still dazed. He looked at his surrounding and it surprised him.

What in the world. He thought looking around where he was.

He was in a dark room. He was in a room. Last time he checked he was at a parking not near mall. Not necessarily in a parking lot but still. When his eyes adjusted enough he was in some sort of storage room. After looking around he saw a light source coming down from the wall.

Aha a door! He thought happily as he wanted to get out of the dark.

He felt his hand on the wall and then he felt a door knob. He grasped it and opened it slowly. He peeked outside the hallway. What he saw made him repeat what he said earlier. He was in a hallway that was space age looking like what you see on those Hollywood space-sets. There were fluorescent lights on the ceiling that shined brightly. Luckily there was no one at the hallway and he felt somehow relieved at the thought. He started walking down the hallway towards the left. And then he heard something.

He couldn't describe what it was he was hearing. It was like alien talk literally. He could hear two people talking two each other at the corner of the hallway. They were speaking something incoherent, something he couldn't understand. They were talking in a different language. He slowly edged at the corner of the hallway, peeking. And he then saw it. They were tall, very tall. They were 2 of them. One was wearing a blue sort of like armor and the other a red one. They had something strange clipped at their belt. It looked like a sci-fi toy you could buy at a kids shop. Then he noticed their faces. Obviously they were wearing a helmet, but Zen could clearly see that their jaw was split. Split in two; like it was there mandibles.

Zen couldn't believe his eyes; he was seeing something straight out of science fiction. He slowly backed away from the corner of the hallway, but then he bumped into something. He felt his heart suddenly reach turned as calmly as he can; trying not to break into a run. There it was another one of them right in front of him. This one this time was wearing a dress, obviously a female.

"Hello." It said to him in a warm welcoming voice.

Oh no, no, no! Please don't kill me. He thought to himself.

"Are you ok?" asked the alien in front him eyeing him.

Zen couldn't utter a single word since he was practically hyperventilating and filled with fear; He just stared wide eyed at the being in front of him.

The alien stared back curiously.

But at this time Zen cracked. He just couldn't take it anymore. His mind suddenly went in to flight-or-fight response but seeing that he obviously couldn't take them he went with the first option. He quickly turned around and started running as fast as he can. He could vaguely make put what the alien shouted at him as he sprinted down the hallway.

"Hey wait! Come back!" it shouted at him.

Zen was dashing down the hallway, his body pumped with adrenaline. He started passing more of the aliens down the hallway which seemed surprised at his appearance. But then he passed a couple of humans as well with the same expression. He just kept running down the hall hoping that this dream will stop. But deep down he knew it wasn't a dream. His feet were now protesting due to the amount of strain it had been enduring but he knew it would be suicide to stop.

* * * * * * *

Sergeant Major Avery Johnson was walking down the hall heading to his quarters to get some rest. He was pondering about the recent events that had happen. First, there was this elite who joined their cause, actually making himself a heretic. Then there was the Halo incident itself. And now just in a few hours there will be ceremony that will commemorate those who had survived the incident at Halo. He just sighed at the thought of it all. Then out of the blue at the corner of the hallway he heard a loud thud and then someone slid into his view.

* * * * * * *

Zen's knees were now really on the brink of buckling. He had never run this long as far as he can remember. Then to his worst fear, he saw a wet floor sign at the end of the hall. Unfortunately enough he couldn't stop himself quickly enough so it resulted that his right foot slipped and he fell head over heels landing on his head, making him see stars and his eyesight slowing fading. The last thing he could remember was someone kneeling over him asking something if he was alright then he passed out.

Zen woke up in a bed. He could hear the beeping sound of a machine nearby. He recognized the sound immediately as the sound of those hospital machines. He opened his eyes and rubbed it. He was in a small infirmary; there were a couple of beds empty beside him. He could hear a couple of people talking more like arguing over at the sliding door but low enough that he couldn't understand.

To his surprise the sliding door opened and 4 people stepped in. There was another alien approaching him. He felt his heart quicken again. The other 3 were humans to his relief. One guy was in the uniform of what he guessed as a Medic; the other in an army suit and the other in a suit. "Oh great." thought Zen

"Hello, we meet again." said the alien. This time Zen recognized it, it was the same alien that talked to him before he ran.

"Hello." replied Zen weakly.

"Ok kid." said the man in the suit. Zen looked at him.

"My name is Sergeant Major Avery Johnson." said the man in the suit.

"Since no one here knows who you are and even the computer don't recognize you I'm just gonna ask you a simple question. What's your name?" Zen took note of the word 'no one'.

"Zen Black, sir."

"Ok, can you tell us what happened, like why you were running down the hall?"

Zen was about to reply when that alien answered Johnson's question.

"Haven't I told you already, he got scared and ran away." she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Seriously?" asked Johnson.

"Yep." Johnson looked at Zen curiously.

"Hmm… Stahn can you get his ID details loaded into the computer please." said Johnson directing the man in the army suit.

Stahn approached Zen and sat at the bed next to him. He took out a PDA like thing from his pocket and started typing in it. He then looked up.

"Ok, your name please." he asked.

"Zen Black." replied Zen.

"Age?"

"18"

"Parents?"

"Ellen Black and Richard Black." Zen answered.

"Birthday?"

"Um… December 9 1994." Zen replied.

"Ok December-"he punched the data in."19.94..." Stahn trailed his words at pronouncing the year. Even the alien and Johnson stopped talking and looked surprised at Zen.

"Did I hear that right?" asked the medic.

"Yes my birthday is December 9 1994. What's wrong?' asked Zen

"Are you sure your not mistaken?" asked the alien.

"Yes, I know my birthday down to heart thank you very much." said Zen with a

hint of annoyance. He was somehow annoyed at these people fussing over his birthday.

"Zen do you know what year it is?" asked Johnson.

"Yes its 2009."

"Uh… no its 2525." said Johnson.