Ok so, again, another late update. I'm oh so sorry bout that. Seriously. But working for my degree and running a house by my self and lots of other boring adult stuff takes up time. I try to get'm out for you guys!
I will say, because of some of the detail I have messed up, or not elaborated on: I don't have a whole lot of time to put into this. Maybe an hour a day… I'm also gaining nothing from this but the self satisfaction of putting an idea to text, and entertaining other fanfic lovers out there. So my attention to perfect technical detail was/is/will be lacking. I'm going to mess up some facts, because I just don't have the inclination to go through every fact and piece of information about Halo or Serenity with a fine tooth comb. Don't have the time either. I'm mainly trying to put an idea/story out there that focuses a lot more on characters and their personalities, and interpersonal relationships, rather that technical detail. Just enjoy the story. I would never claim it's perfect. I'd be so far off…. Pluto would seem warm…. Lolz.
Someone said something about the Chiefs family, and not knowing them. I'm aware he was kidnapped. Fall of Reach was one of my favorite books. When I talk about his 'family' I mean his fellow Spartans. :P
Seriously though, I LOVE reviews. If you guys like the story, leave'm for me! They motivate me to get each chapter done faster.
I've also been thinking about music that would be applicable for the different parts of this story. I know some published authors have playlists now that run with their storys, so why don't I do the same?
For the fight scene in this chapter, I was listening to a particular song a lot. For any advent children fans, you'll know it : The tune from the fight scene with Bahamut ( Those Who Fight Further)
Again, I own nothing but the personalities of my OC's. Please don't sue me Bungie or Joss Whedon. I'm horridly broke as it is.
There wasn't a whole lot of foliage on this planet, from what Manning could see. Mostly rocks and desert landscape. The direction in which they were headed had the largest concentration of green. Raines pulled ahead of them on the mongoose, drifting to the right on the turn. The man worked good as a scout, and the sergeant wanted him up front. He had a good set of eyes, and a damn good perception.
The small, dusty looking town was coming into view. Doc Leth picked up the binoculars to see further in. There didn't appear to be any trouble yet. Whatever was supposed to happen, they had beat it there. He told Manning what he saw, and the Sergeant announced over the comm that he wanted the second Hog to stay back for the moment, on the perimeter of the settlement. Raines would stay with them and everyone was ordered to be on high alert.
"Pretend we got cloaking Elites marching towards us people. Eyes and ears open. Use your VISR if the surroundings get muddy on ya. Cooper, keep the lines open."
"Copy that Sarge."
The second Warthog skidded to a stop, while the first one, and the mongoose kept going.
People poked their heads outside, or stopped what they were doing to stare. It was an odd scene indeed, Jennings riding in with his son, followed closely by two strange vehicles, while another one waited a ways back. When he reached near the center of town, he began yelling for his wife, whose name was apparently Elizabeth.
The ODST's pulled up behind him and looked on, remaining still for the moment. The only one inclined to move was Raines, and he turned his helmet covered head, waiting for orders from Manning. He scanned the area with his observant eyes, taking in his surroundings.
He remained crouched over the handles of the mongoose, and noticed the local kids gathering to gawk in awe. What kind of back water archaic planet is this? The tallest structure he could see was the water tower, which could have only stood four stories high. After that it was only the basic two floor homes and businesses. I suppose I could sit in a damn tree. Have these fools no concept of self defense and basic preparation? The homes all looked like something out of an ancient western film. Confusing would be too light of a label.
Slow and cautious foot falls crept up behind him, and Raines slowly rotated his head, so that the visor of the helmet was directly facing one brave, albeit extremely nervous kid. Intense curiosity spattered the young boys face, and his eyes stared wistfully in wonder at the heroic looking armored man sitting on the four wheeler in front of him. The barrel of a large rifle stuck off his back plate, and looked reminiscent of a back sheathed sword.
Other children whispered and pointed at the larger vehicle with identical armored men. Indeed, sitting in front of them was every kid's dream that had ever played with toy soldiers. They didn't look like Alliance, and had appeared out of nowhere from what they could tell.
The adults were less optimistic in their reception of the disturbance. Worried looking mothers began ushering their children away. Men gathered, and studied them with dark expressions. Ross slouched in his turret, and glanced at his environment. One of the local kids had enough guts to walk up to Raines. The older guy turned slowly and stared at the kid, but the young boy didn't give any ground. Ross heard the dusty face youngin ask the sniper something that sounded along the lines of, "Are you from the Alliance?" There was a thick country accent in his voice. Raines helmet shook from side to side.
Ross's skinny, lanky squad mate actually sat up straight though. Of all the people to have a spine and not be scared, it would end up being a child. Full grown, seasoned soldiers had issues approaching Kevin Raines. Figures. The rest of the squad was often asked how they tolerated being around him for so long. Something about the lanky sniper unnerved people.
Jennings had run off into what appeared to be the local law enforcements office, spouting off at the mouth about Reavers, and hiding being necessary. Ross let his eyes fall on the equipment at his feet, and couldn't help but think he should have brought more ammo for it……
There wasn't too much time to ponder that, and come up with a good complaint to throw at his NCO, because the ripple effective was beginning. Someone had heard Jennings say 'Reaver' and it was like kicking over a fire ant mound. What had to be a cop of some sort threw open the door of the building, gun in hand and walked right up to Raines. Other officers started yelling for people to get to the bank. Jennings ran out and jumped back on his horse, never saying a word, but presumably going for his wife.
The man that had walked up to Raines began demanding to know who they were, and unfortunately…….. pointed his gun directly in the ODST's face.
Leth smacked his palm to his faceplate, and Manning muttered ,"Oh shit…" before jumping out of the driver's seat. He moved his booted feet quickly, wanting to diffuse the situation before it escalated.
Ross yelled nice and loud at the officer, "You dumbass."
The Sergeant yelled to the man to drop his weapon, at about the same time Raines told him to get the gun out of his face.
It was to no effect, and the cop demanded to know who they were, and if they had brought the Reavers with them. When the man's eyes left his target for the briefest of moments to look at Manning, Raines acted.
Normal people would drop to the ground to avoid guns, or run from them. Raines lunged at the man, gripping his wrist and twisting it down. The pistol ejected a round into the dirt. The ODST landed a punch to the guys face, and the kicked up with his left foot. He brought his boot under the man's neck, then swung it back down, bringing his opponent along. During all of this, he never left the mongoose seat.
The guy landed face first in the dirt, and his arm was still in the snipers grasp, twisted about, and no doubt causing pain. The guy whimpered.
Ross sniggered a little bit. "I saw that coming."
Raines leaned down towards the man's ear and said plainly, "Don't ever pull a gun on me unless you plan to use it directly."
"Raines, let him go now."
Now the attention of the other lawmen was on them. An older man, with a trimmed beard moved toward them.
"If you could please get yer man to be let'n my deputy go, we've got a situation!" His voice was controlled, but clearly laced with worry. The older man was seasoned, and looked as though he had seen his fair share of fights.
Engines roared in the distance. Raines let the guy up, but never took his eyes off him.
"I don't know who you boys are, but I sure as hell hope you can fight. Might be best if ya run for your lives." Someone came running clumsily towards the gaggle.
"Sherriff!! I waved for help, but no one answered. There's ships floatin, but they're leavin system."
"Then get out of here boy. Go get yer family hid."
Manning shouldered his assault rifle and placed himself right in front of the sheriff.
"Sir, if you're in need of aid we'd be happy to help."
The Sheriff looked the black armored man up and down. "You might be a peck more concerned with stayin alive. Don't know how much armor will do ya 'gainst Reavers. Be that the case, I got something I like to ask ya. When this is over, if we be living. "
There was a scream from the end of the street, and true bedlam erupted. The crowd was running everywhere, screaming. A ship hovered over head, with men dropping down from rip lines. But when you got a better look at them, the dark recess of the mind would shudder in horror at the sight. Mutilated, grotesque bodies and faces, gnashing, sharp cruel teeth all painted a rather vivid picture. Now it was a little more clear why the fear and panic had spread. The point was driven home when the first deformed snarling freak began chewing into a woman's face. Another ripped her throat out, and the screams she was belting turned into sickening gurgles.
"Fuck!", Ross yelled. The turret fired up, and launched bullets at the Reavers, ripping them to shreds. A red spray told him they were dead, but four more promptly took their place.
Manning ran back around the Hog, and fired his assault rifle to take three of them down. The four, and several more from nearby screamed, and shot what looked like darts at him. Ross vaporized the threat. The Sergeant jumped back in the driver's seat. Raines peeled out and disappeared around a corner.
Heavy gunfire told them that the other Warthog was already in action. Cooper came in over the comm.
"Sergeant we've got boogeys engaging. Would you please enlighten me as to what in god's name they are?"
"I'd love to know myself. When you find out let me be acquainted with the definition. Fire at will, protect the civilians as best you can."
The Hog roared through the streets, and Manning jerked the wheel to avoid hitting any of the normal people. He slammed the Reavers down, and felt them go 'bump' under his wheels. Cutting the wheel hard to the right, he spun the vehicle around and hit another. It fell, and Doc Leth aimed with his SMG, ending the abomination that was it's face.
The sound of the turret fire was deafening, but you could still hear Ross yelling, "WWWWOOOOOOOOOO YEAH!!!" over everything. He couldn't understand what kind of people would run willing into a line of fire. Something hit his armor, and he spotted a line of spines sticking into the metal. The turret spun, and he took out the offending shooter. Even grunts knew better than to stick around when the big guns were pulled out.
The battle waged around them like a whirlwind of violence, if it could even be called a battle. The civilians ran in a chaos that was about as productive as kicking a wasps nest, while anyone with a gun seemed to fight back fruitlessly.
The ODST's could feel their adrenaline pumping. This was battle. This was life for them, and no one did it better. Like the pounding of a drum beating out the call of war, they fell into the dangerous waltz whose rhythm called to each of their hearts.
Cooper leaned into the sharp turn as Dawkins careened around a building. His battle rifle's clip emptied into the savage's horrifically decorated chest. He whispered the Lord's prayer under his breath, and slapped in more rounds, never missing a step. The radio buzzed with his voice after he yelled out each tidbit of information. Their position, kill count, and destination were carried over the comm to Manning. They coordinated to give a group of civilians more time to flee, and then to run down three or four Reavers at a time. The constant vibration from Smith's incessant firing traveled down his spine like a graceful staccato. He could hear Ross over the comm yelling and screaming with nothing that could be described as anything other than glee. He shouted tips at the rookie, and remarked on the kid's sloppy handling of the turret. What the kid did not realize at the time, was that Ross was the only man known to the UNSC that had made turret operation of any kind into an art form. It was almost as if he could control each bullet, wasting little to none.
The violent dance went on, and went measure to measure onto a solo few but Raines could perform. Nestled in the safe embrace of the water towers cover, he let the extension of himself named Kate play the role of death dealer.
One, two, five, down for the count. Like dominos in a chain reaction.
Head shot, heart shot, through the neck. For nothing would he slow his trigger finger. The motions flowed like silk as he aimed from target to target. Raines was trained in a new definition of grace that few understood. It melded with energy and flowed in a pattern few could discern. Fatality strayed woven through the blueprint. In his ear he could hear his sensei giving instruction.
"Better to fall down seven times, and pick yourself up eight more. Never let a movement or action go to waste. Make every second count. This is the difference between life and death, meaning and nothingness for most. The sense of self truth will guide your hand if you allow this to be so."
This mantra cycled through his thoughts every time he held his beloved rifle, or performed the physical arts in which he was extensively schooled. Excellence was the only result that could be rendered acceptable. All else was sub-par.
Ross bent his knees and moved with the Warthogs actions, never once losing an iota of control over his turret. Faster and faster the orchestra of brutal pandemonium stirred. A small vehicle roared over head and launched wicked looking projectiles into a building. Reavers manned harpoon guns, and shot them into the crowds, dragging people out by an arm or leg. The skiff fired large crude spikes at the Warthog, and Manning scarcely missed it, swerving just in time.
"Cutting it close Sarge?"
"Still talking incessantly Ross?"
"Only because I luffs you sawwwge."
"Shut your lips and kill that skiff." He slammed the brake hard, and drifted left to dodge another attack. The Reavers were no longer ignoring them. A second skiff appeared over the buildings. A man dangled, bloodied from its nose.
On the other end of the street, Dawkins barreled the second Hog towards them. Ross took a second glance, made some split second calculations, and reached down at his feet. He hoisted the heavy launcher onto his shoulder and whistled a tune while taking aim.
He ignored the craft coming at them from the right, and focused on Cooper, Dawkins and Smiths harassers. The tracking system locked and he fired the rocket. A smoking trail curved through the air, and collided into what looked like the skiffs cockpit.
The ship spiraled out of control above them. The seconds stretched on, and Manning looked on unsurprised at his gunner's genius. No one seemed to give Ross any credit. There was more intelligence there than met the eye. The out of control vessel spun rapidly before colliding with the other. Shrapnel and fire rained down on them like precipitation from hell.
Manning and Dawkins swerved to avoid each other. At the last second, Ross caught something out of the corner of his eye. Every muscle in his body tensed as he tried to turn the turret fast enough.
Two Reavers leapt from the roof tops towards the second Warthog. Gore encrusted blades curved wickedly in their hands. Ross emptied ammunition at the targets, but only caught one Reavers leg. Red spray coated the Hog.
Before the snarling monster could land on Coopers lap, it looked as though an invisible force jerked it's head back, changing the mid-air trajectory.
Raines was out there somewhere.
The second one landed on the hood. It gripped the edges to stay on, and lunged at Cooper over the wind shield.
"Shit-" was all he could say and only just stopped the blade from plunging into his neck. Dawkins fought to keep control of the vehicle. Smith pulled his side arm and fired. The bullet struck the Reaver's shoulder, but the savage acted as though nothing had happened. It still fought to force the blade down into Cooper, but the ODST would have none of it. He smashed his helmet covered head repeatedly into the 'things' face. The mutilated face bled profusely, but the Reaver only grabbed onto the back of Coopers head, and brought its gnashing teeth down onto the visor.
"Ahhh!!! Is he chewing on my face?!? Get off, GET OFF!!"
Cooper pushed with all his might, and pinned the Reaver up against the wind shield, keeping him there with his boot. Smith finished it off and emptied the nine mil's clip into its face. Cooper pushed it from the Hog, and felt the bump as the rear wheels passed over the corpse. Sgt. Manning came over the comm..
"Cooper, What the hell was all the screaming about?"
"It tried to eat me!"
Ross's unmistakable snigger followed. "It thinks you're nummers Coop."
"I think your mom is nummers."
"I think your face is nummers, and apparently so do the cannibals."
The radio buzzed with short laughter.
"That's it, I'm shoving my foot up your ass when this is over Nik. I've been hearing your mouth for years and I've had it. Do you have any idea how aggravating you are?"
More giggling was Ross's response. Sgt. Manning spoke.
"Are you alright Coop?"
"Yeah. Be advised now. These things do bite…. In the face."
Manning cut another corner, and spotted Reavers smashing their way into a building. There had to be people inside. Stomping the gas, the Hog roared into them, splattering the front bumper with blood. Ross swerved around and ended the survivor's lives.
Unfortunately the Sergeant heard a somewhat ominous sound behind him. The turret clicked to the tune of a repeatedly empty round chamber. Ross was out of ammo for now.
The Reavers however didn't stop. The moment Manning stopped the Warthog, they ran at the ODST's. He slid from the driver seat and brought his assault rifle up. Easy burst fire to the head stopped each one.
Before Doc Leth had moved two feet from the vehicle, a Reaver tackled him from the shadows of an alley way. He held it off and couldn't grab his gun while he was prone. The medic placed a foot on the snarling things chest, and kicked with all his might.
The savage launched backwards. The doc might be small, but size was irrelevant when compared to his solid strength. The thing foamed at the mouth, and scrambled back for more.
A solid BANG BANG BANG erupted behind him. The cannibal lay with craters in it's face.
Ross holstered his side arm. He was the only one of them to carry a Desert Eagle, instead of a magnum. It was more of a hand cannon than a gun. Maybe that was why he liked it.
"Help us!!! AHHHH, it's in here!" The chorus of terrified cries was gut renching.
Manning kicked his way inside the building and popped off more bursts, killing the things inside, and leaving the civilians untouched. A woman was clutching a bloodied rag to her chest and face, and two men lay dead. Children were crying in the corner.
"MEDIC! Leth, get yer ass in here!"
The doc bounded inside, followed by Ross. The medical pack was flung to the ground.
Ross turned away. He'd seen a lot of horrible things during the war, but this was enough to churn his gut. What could do something so grotesque?
Doc Leth checked the bodies for any sign of life, before moving to the woman. She was crying and hysterical.
"Ma'am remove your hands please. I need to see how bad it is."
"We're all gonna die!! The Reavers will wipe us out like they did the other towns!!"
"Ma'am please-"
"Who are you?!! Don't touch me!! Bert!!! Where's my husband?!"
"Look lady, I'm medical personnel, and I sure as hell don't have the patience to-"
"LETH" Manning warned. The medic had a mouth when he was annoyed, and no couth to speak of either way.
With a BOOM, an inner door was kicked through, and a local man stood with a shotgun aimed at all them. He stood straight up, his hands up in caution and at the ready. Manning and Ross pulled their weapons up in retaliation.
The shotgun immediately aimed at the medic.
"Get yer hands of ma' wife."
"Sir, put your weapon down. We are trying to help." Manning's voice was cool and even. The woman was still making annoying screeching noises.
"Hogwash!! Gorram Reaver's eat'n the place up? Ain't right and neither is you. Strangers aint welcomed here. You bring trouble!" In an all to perfect moment, one of the retched cannibals jumped on the man's back, and sunk its teeth into his shoulder. He dropped the gun, and to Leth's relief, it didn't eject a round.
Ross's Desert Eagle sang again, and burst the things skull like a melon. Snarls in the back told them there were more. The doc reached down and grabbed the gun. He didn't want to look at any more mutilated faces.
The damn fool of a man had the safety on. The senselessness of it enraged him. In one fluid motion he grabbed the gun, twirled it around his finger to the correct position, flicked the safety off and took a step forward. The deafening BOOM felt as though it shook the home, and left behind to squishy piles of red meat that resembled mutilated humans.
He rounded on the man, and his voice was tinted with rage.
"Bullocks man, you had the godforsaken safety on! What were ya gonna do? CLUB THEM WITH IT? Are you outta yer fecking mind?" The medic's accent got thicker the longer he went on and his tone became more disbelieving.
Ross had to suppress another giggle. Whenever Leth got mad, which was rare, the squad joked that he would revert back to his native language. The pure blooded Irishman could get pretty damn unintelligible after a few minutes. However, he couldn't hold back a smartass remark.
"Hey Doc, calm down. No one wants to try and translate river dance."
Manning turned his head and made his visor transparent. He stared at Ross with a flat expression for several seconds before he couldn't hold it, and burst with laughter. The Sergeant twisted towards Leth.
"You alright there Doc?"
"I cannot stand stupidity, especially when someone can get whacked because of it."
"Ya work hard there, to uh, speak good EngRish?" Ross grinned.
"Blow it out your ear. Damn eejits…."
Doc Leth looked down at the man, and dropped the gun back on the guys chest. He walked over to the woman, crouched down, and said nothing. She looked into the blank reflective visor once and became quiet.
Manning glanced out the door, watching for more Reavers, and Ross threw a bandage at the man on the floor before proceeding to the back. They heard several more shots.
He didn't have enough ammo for every target. The Reavers were swarming like flies on shit. Some of the locals were doing their best to fight them off, but it was almost futile. None of them seemed to have any kind of training except the law enforcement, and that was being nice.
Raines paused when he heard snarling below him. He peaked over the lip of the water tower platform, and saw one of the rabid cannibals making its way up, and more were following it. So, they're smart enough to trace shot trajectory?
He perched on the edge, and pushed off with all the strength his leg muscles could mustered. It launched him forward, and down onto the roof of the building closest to the tower. Raines tucked and rolled, the landing jolting his body. He looked over his shoulder and saw the savages attempting to follow him. Then, the idea hit him.
"Cooper?"
"I hear you Raines, loud and clear."
"I just jumped off the water tower, and I'm going to head towards, what looks like, the general store. Big yellow sign in front of it. It's a dead end down that alley. I'm gonna get as many of them to follow me as possible. At the last minute get your asses there and get Smith to light up the corridor." The roof tops passed under his feet as he headed towards his goal.
"Are you forgetting the fact that you're going to be in the line of fire man?"
"I won't be there."
"Whatever you say." Coopers shrug was almost audible.
As he ran the length of the roof tops, Raines made sure he stomped his feet hard. He wanted to draw attention to himself, and off the civilians stupid enough to still be in the streets. It worked very well. They chased him on the ground, and a few even climbed up onto the buildings. He could hear a ping ping ping and looked around for the source. One of the Reavers had fired what looked like some kind of dart gun. He paid no attention, until the unmistakable rattle of actual bullets sang at his feet. The vibrations went up to his spine.
Kevin Raines swerved on his heel and pulled his magnum. In three well placed shots the Reavers heads jerked back, and they fell off their feet. Re-holstering the hand gun, he leapt across a gap in the roofs. The alley way wasn't far off now. If he could out run them, the only thing he had to worry about was getting shot. Nothing out of the ordinary.
It was coming up to the end of his space to run. He was going to have to hit the ground soon. The grisly faced freaks were beginning to swarm towards him.
"Cooper where are you?"
Raines heard turret fire down the street, followed by a grenade blast.
"Not far Kev."
"I'll be pounding dirt in a moment. Don't let me down. If I get eaten or killed because of you I'll haunt you till the end of your days church boy."
"Did you just admit to believing in god?"
"No. I just admitted my force of will is strong enough to influence and harass long after I'm gone. Just get yer ass here."
"Roger that ,oh stubborn one."
Leth slapped quick bandages on the woman's wounds, and looked over the kids. They'd been hiding behind furniture and went unnoticed by the Reavers. The savages had gone after the obvious targets of the adults. They had kept reasonably calm for as young as they looked.
"Hey Doc, we've got some hungry freaks coming in fast."
The husband spoke up for the first time since he pointed his 12 gauge at Leth.
"If we can get down stairs, there's a cellar door that opens up on the secluded side of the house." He hustled over to a wooden cabinet in the other room. The little boy followed him. When the doors swung open it revealed a well stocked gun stash.
Ross leaned in.
"What the fuck? Are you stock piling for a militia?"
"These here are my personal fire arms."
The medic mumbled something about 'bloody boggers'.
"What was that Doc?"
"I need a drink. Bad."
Glass crashed in, and the burst fire of Manning's assault rifle sounded off. Leth scooped up the little girl, and quite literally tossed her to her father.
A Reaver lunged at him, wielding a curved blade, and snarling with its sharp teeth bared. The medic blocked the blade with the metal armored plate on his forearm, and landed a right hook on the things face. He reached out and scored several more jabs before head butting it. The Reaver stumbled back. The Doc pulled his SMG up at that moment, and sprayed the rounds into its chest.
The man walked up behind him.
"Where'd you learn to hit like that?"
Leth turned calmly around and ejected the empty magazine from the gun." My da taught me to bare knuckle box when I was a teen."
"Well here." He tossed the shotgun at the shorter medic. "You seem like you know what's what with it Puhn Yo"
"What did he just call me?"
"Later Leth. We gotta move people."
Ross yelled from the back, " Eat this assface!!" BANG BANG BANG
The wife pulled a rug out of place and flipped open a hatch in the floor.
"In here." Her voice wasn't much more than a squeak, and for that, Manning was thankful. He didn't like the idea of making it through the war, and surviving multiple explosions with minimal scarring and no permanent hearing loss, only to have it go down the drain from some woman's incessant screeching.
She grabbed her daughter and hurried down the steep steps. The little boy followed after, and Leth ushered in the father. The shorter man followed after retrieving his medical pack. Ross jumped in, and Manning followed to close the door.
He had to find wherever there was mid level between the roof and ground. The alley would be coming up fast. Up ahead and to the left there was a porch cover that seemed promising.
He jumped down on it and pounced again, head first. The ground rushed up at him quick, and he hit on his hands and rolled onto his feet. A Reaver slashed its blade in a greeting. Raines bent his upper body back, never missing a beat. The blade whooshed past his chest. As quick as he could, the sniper heaved his upper body forward again, and used the momentum to land a roundhouse.
He didn't stick around to finish the job though. Within moments more of the cannibals were swarming. Instead Raines bolted, running as fast as he could for the alley. That was pretty damn fast.
Dust kicked up with each pounding stride. The alley was just ahead of him. Another Reaver lunged at him, but he used the butt of his rifle to beat it down, and kept pace. The distraction was working, almost too well. He felt like he was back on the planet Garnet, when he and the rest of platoon had been trapped for over a week, evading a small army of Elites, and almost no ammo to speak of.
Out of the corner of his eye, the saw the Hog coming. Dawkins had good timing. He cut right sharply and ran down the alley finally. Raines could almost feel his heart sink though, because there was nothing for him to jump on or climb over at the end. The disjointed turret fire only made things worse. There was no time. The Reavers were on him like a pack of dogs. Getting eaten by a bunch of soulless freaks wasn't exactly the end I had in mind.
He calculated the width of the corridor quickly, and ran even faster. A good amount of momentum would be needed for this trick.
He summoned all the power in his legs and just as the end was coming up, he jumped at the wall on the left side. His left foot connected and he sprung off the wall, and repeated the action on the right side. In less than 30 seconds, Raines scaled the walls. It was not a moment too soon either.
As if rehearsed the hog skidded to a halt at the end of the alley, and the large caliber bullets shredded the Reavers that were scrambling after the sniper.
It was seconds too late however, that Raines felt the tell tale sensations of foot steps behind him. He rolled forward, practically falling off the roof. Cooper leaned above the Warthog windshield and took the snarling freak out with a burst of fire.
The sniper took a moment to ponder what had just happened. The Reaver had calculated where he was going to be. They're intelligent. They would have to be to pilot ships.
"Dawkins, get moving. Don't stay still for too long."
"This isn't the first time I've driven a Hog."
"Yeah but these things aren't dumb. They're learning our patterns, making counter moves."
"They're like raving lunatics Kevin. I think we've come up against worse." Cooper snorted. The Warthog pulled away, and Raines crouched near a chimney.
"No shit we've met worse. But how did we survive? Savage does not mean stupid. Use your brain bible thumper." He ended the comm transmission and went silent. He wasn't going to hold their hands. Battle hardened soldiers should know better. They're lucky I said anything at all.
The verbal slap was not uncommon from his squad mate, but what he had said struck true. Over confidence killed. Cooper hailed all the comms.
"ODST's be advised, targets learn your patterns. Resort to confusion tactics."
Of course, Ross was the first to respond.
"You think if I show them the luminescence of my uber white ass it'll confuse them?"
"Might scare them…."
Ross grinned because of Coopers comment. He looked over his shoulder, and with the night vision in his helmet watched Sgt. Manning moving silently behind him.
Manning realized they couldn't keep this up for long. The ODST's could protect themselves without a problem, but all of these practically defenseless civilians were another matter. Leaving them behind to be slaughtered wasn't even an option. He'd spent to much of his life protecting humanity to just let lives get snuffed out because of his own need for self preservation. There was a solution to this, just like every other problem. One just had to find the proper way of going about things.
"Sir," the sergeant called ahead," Where is the safest building in this town?"
The man's voice floated back to him.
"That would be the bank I reckon.."
That's right…. The people at the sheriffs office had mentioned it earlier..
"Then that's were we're going." Manning activated the comm. "Raines?"
"Read you loud and clear Sergeant."
"I need a safe route for four civilians to this towns bank." He knew the sniper would have the best information and feel for the areas layout."
"Then you need to get on my level. High ground gives the advantage."
"Copy that."
They were at the entrance to the basement from the outside now. Ross crouched on the stairs and poked a fiber optic camera through the cracks. There were no signs of the Reavers at the moment.
Manning spoke to the man once more. "Your going to listen to me very carefully, and follow everything I tell you to do if you want us to get you out of here."
He nodded, holding his kid tightly. His wife sniffed softly next to him.
"We are going open that door, and find a way onto the roof tops. Then we'll make pace to the bank. Being up there will give us the advantage. My men will cover you. Don't stop, and don't panic. When you panic, you lose. Understand?"
They all nodded hurriedly. On the other side of the basement they could hear the Reavers beating their way through the locked hatch door.
"Leth, I want you to stay with them. Ross and I will be diversions. Put that 12 gauge to good use, got it?"
"Yes sergeant."
Ross looked through the camera again." If we're going, we best be going now."
"Open the door."
The redhead rammed the double doors with his shoulders, and they popped open. He jumped out first, gun raised. He motioned with one hand to proceed silently, and swept the area again with his eyes. Tortured screams echoed through the town. Another skiff soared over head. The father came out first, carrying his daughter and covering her mouth. The mother and son were next, followed by Leth and Manning. The medic had the shotgun shouldered at the ready.
The man whispered that the bank was only a few streets down, and that his name was Bret Williams. Ross pointed to stacked crates around the corner of the next door building. The place must have been some sort of machine shop, judging by the contents listed.
Manning motioned for Leth to climb up first. The medic shouldered the shotgun with it's strap, and started to ascend. Climbing quickly was something he'd always been good at.
Raines buzzed in over the comm.
"I can see were you're coming up. Looks like the Doc."
The civilians came next. Leth told them to roll their feet to prevent to much noise and move as fast as possible.
Manning and Ross slipped back to the front of the house were the Reavers were pouring inside. The Warthog was still there, and had gone ignored by them. With a hand signal to move forward, the two ODST's ran for the vehicle. Ross jumped in the passenger seat, and the sergeant behind the wheel. The gargled scream let them know they had been spotted. The Hog's engine roared to life, and Manning reversed sharply, hitting a few 'speed bumps' along the way. They drove in the opposite direction of the others, and honked the horn loudly. It drew the attention they so craved.
Ross gripped up his sergeants assault rifle, and began popping of rounds at the Reavers, picking of targets one by one.
"Like shooting fish in a barrel Sergeant."
"Only the fish are jumping piranha's." Manning grumbled back.
The vehicle jolted as it hit more 'speed bumps'. An ominous shadow covered them. The skiff was closing in.
Leth's feet were silent as he moved across the roof's surface. Unfortunately the same could not be said for the civilians following him. Try as they might, those people couldn't sneak up on a blind deaf mute. Raines kept in contact with him, guiding them over the elevated geography. A small mirror reflection off the side of a chimney let Leth know where his squad mate was, and were they were heading. The sniper was going to meet up with them and go the rest of the way. Cooper, Dawkins, and Smith were going to meet them at the bank. This was were the stand had to be made. If the ODST's wanted to be successful in protecting most these people, it had to happen. Ross had been enough of a smartass to point out over the comm that it was like they were baby sitting a bunch of defenseless children, and wondered loudly how they had all gotten into this mess.
"A Spartan needed rescuing." Raines muttered. He had never chimed in on as much conversation as he had recently. They all chuckled at the remark.
"Everyone always ends up needing us to rescue them." Dawkins remarked.
Leth came upon a larger gap than they had anticipated. He judged the distance, and knew instantly he could clear it. The people following him how ever…..
There had to be something around them that he could use…….and he spotted it. On the adjacent roof, one of boards was loose. In fact, the entire panel looked easy to pull away. He shouldered the gun again, and told the family to get down out of sight. The Irishman took a few steps back, and sprinted as fast as he could force his legs.
He leapt, and cleared the gap with a few feet to spare. Rolling over, his fingers found the edge of the wood, and he pulled with all his might. The medic might have been short, but he was not weak. After several tugs, the board separated from the nails holding it in place. The next one followed suit. He took each one, and laid them across the gap. Two more were pried up, and laid over top for added strength. It still wasn't sturdy, but it would have to do. Even if the two adults could jump, the kids couldn't. Neither looked older than ten. He pointed a gloved hand at the little girl, and motioned for her to come across. She hesitated for a moment, but after a few encouragements from her father, she dropped to all fours, and shuffled across with surprising ease. Leth waited for her on one knee. When she made it, the little girl gripped his arm tightly, eyes wide with fear.
His heart melted, like it always did with children. A reassuring pat on the head made her smile slightly, and he motioned for the boy next. The kid paused, and sized up the poor excuse for a bridge. He backed up a few steps, and ran straight forward. The mother suppressed another screech, and clutched her hands to her mouth.
Not once did the boy loose his balance, or even come close to falling. When he had passed safely, he jumped into Leths arms, nearly knocking him down.
"Did I do ok?"
He patted the kid's head as well. "You both did great. I gotta help your parents now."
The young ones nodded and moved to the side keeping low. Smart kids……
There was a sharp, almost inaudible crack of gunfire. A body of a Reaver fell from behind the parents. The Doc had never even seen the thing.
Thank god I should never have to face him on opposite sides of the field.
The mother was scared, almost to the point of panic. She started to climb across, but the pace was agonizingly slow. Leth motioned for her to speed up. It didn't work. Her husband even tired to usher her along.
The screams were less wide spread now. There was the continuous drone of a skiff, and the steady pop pop of gunfire coming from the area near the bank. The action had died down in all but one area now. Everyone else was hiding, holed up, or dead.
The woman was about halfway across now, and it was tempting Leth's patience. He had no tolerance to weak women. They were annoying.
A snarl grabbed his attention. One of the freaks was below them. It raised it's gun. Leth pulled his SMG. The Reaver got off several shots at the woman, but missed.
Leth didn't miss. But the mother still screamed bloody murder, and just about lost her balance. She clutched the boards for dear life, more than halfway through.
More Reavers were clambering up on to the opposite roof. The father looked, and decided to take his chances jumping. He made it… barely.
There was a flit flit flit sound, and he groaned loud. Leth watched his yank a dart out of his leg.
"Ruttin hell…" He murmured.
The medic shot down two of the savages, but the last one made it to the end of the little bridge. Unceremoniously, it kicked the boards, causing the whole thing to fall.
She screamed.
At the last possible moment, Leth reached out with his long arms, and grasped her wrist.
Her body slapped hard into the side of the building. The weight was making him slide. He had no anchoring.
She gripped fruitlessly for a hand hold.
"Mommy!, C'mon!" The kids cried.
I can't drop this woman in front of her kids…
The medic braced as best he could, and summoned all the force possible to start pulling her up. By the grace of some god, she found a foot hold, and started to push up.
A second hand gripped her other wrist, and aided in the effort. The father was trying, but looked worse for wear. Leth suspected the dart was poisoned.
Together, with considerable effort, the two men hoisted her up.
There was another crack of a long range rifle.
"You wanna move your ass Doc? I don't have infinite ammunition for this thing." Raines asked softly.
He rose to his feet and told them to follow him. Raines joined up with them. It wasn't long before the group stood across from the bank. As they had suspected, and defenders were hanging out the windows, trying desperately to hold of the threat.
Someone yelled, having spotted them on the roof. The iron fire escape on the side of the brick building could be swiveled to connect to the one next door incase a ground fire threatened the escapes base. The people inside moved it towards them.
Raines pulled his side arm again, and turned to guard as the kids crawled across first.
A Reaver climbed onto the roof, only to fall back with a bullet in the head. Another lost half it's shoulder from the shotgun.
Bret was horribly pale in the face. His wife scrambled across much quicker than before, and yelled for him to follow her. Now it was his turn to slow down. When she had made it inside the window, the men started to pull the escape in, saving Bret the effort of moving any further. As they were finishing, he went completely unconscious.
The four civilians were saved…… but the two ODST's remained on the adjacent roof with Reavers swarming on them.
"Sonofabitch…." Leth trailed off. Raines was silent.
The shotgun splattered another of the savages. The snipers foot connected with a face, and knocked the thing off the building.
"You're welcome arseholes!" The medic yelled over his shoulder. He fired off another round, but was tackled by on of the beasts.
Two rounded on Raines. The first was instantly taken down, the other threw a blade…and appeared to miss. Soon it followed it's companion into death.
Leth wrestled with the Reaver. It drooled onto his helmet, and fought to stab it's prey. He though about the combat knife sheathed in his chest plate. Taking the chance to draw it, the doc jammed it between the things ribs.
It still fought. He repeated the stabs, over and over. Only when it's strength waned slightly, did the medic dare to stab it's eye socket.
With considerable effort, Leth pushed the body off himself. He remained on his back, taking a brief rest. Raines was on one knee. He looked at the sniper, made his visor transparent and grinned.
"Ya know Kevin, this is turnin out to be one hell of a rescue mission. And they wonder why I'm not re-enlisting again."
Raines snorted in amusement.
Cooper piped in over the comm.
"Sergeant. Tatsuo found a way to boost his signal and make contact with us."
Manning gripped the wheel and cut left, hard. Ross was aiming the SPNKR at the skiff.
"What did he have to say?"
"There's ships inbound to our atmo. Couple big ones, and several smaller ones. He's picking up a signal thats awful familiar."
"Familiar how?" He ran over another Reaver.
"He's picking up the frequency of another UNSC smart AI."
"No shit?"
So, hope you guys like it. The next chapter just might have one big happy UNSC reunion in it. :D
I'm really eager to get some ODST personalities mixing with the crew of Serenity. It's interesting in my head, and I'm hoping it's like that in text. Thanks for all your reviews! Tell me if you like it!