CHAPTER 4

I look at my family's photo and imagine Ben standing beside them- laughing as he always had. 'I see the fire in your eyes. It blinds you. It consumes you.' he told me once, but without this fire I will stay in the dark. Every meaning life had before the war had begun was gone now. If I don't live for vengeance I'll having nothing to live for, and if I had nothing to live for I'd rather be dead. I thought. And then a wind blows the picture from my hand. It rolls away on the ground flying just out of reach. I chase it- I can not lose the last reminder of my family. I will not bear to forget their faces, to forget their smell and their warm touch, the feel of my small baby daughter in my arms, the feel of my wife's soft kiss, my mother's home-baked apple pie, my father's terrible jokes- ones that now make me laugh.

But god seemed to be taunting me. The picture takes a sharp turn to the right and flies into an unlit alley- one I would be wise to avoid. I didn't believe in god, but this was too much of a coincidence- the picture flying out of my hands and making me chase it across the streets as I'm made a fool in front of my squad. If a god exists are we just his entertainment? Does he enjoy watching us suffer? Or is this the devils work?

The picture stops dead on the ground, it's white back-side sitting up just in front of a large green garbage container. I lean down to pick it up, and as I do I notice something strange. Behind the green container, I see the edges of two small pink shoes, held back as if hiding away. I look back and see my squad stayed behind waiting for me, as if I was going through some kind of mental breakdown. I look back at the shoes, but now they aren't there. I smile and put the picture back in my pocket, where it's safe. I crawl lightly towards the container's edge, without making a sound. I had no need for weapons now, I just needed to tread carefully. I hear small, held back breaths.

I turn my external speaker on and let my squad listen. "You can come out now, I won't hurt you." I say, in the most calmed voice I could. There was no reply, and it seemed the child was still trying to hide. "Don't be afraid."

As I said that, a little girl jumped from behind the garbage can and began sprinting away down the alley, crying. "Don't run, I'm here to help you." I say, but she was already disappearing in the darkness. She still appeared as a red dot on my motion sensor. I turn on VISR and pursue her, the alley lighting up and being highlighted by many informative colors. "Girl, I am a human, like you. I work with the army, the UNSC. You must have heard of the UNSC." I say, trying to relax her. She was already out of sight, behind another garbage can, maybe. "Girl, where are you?" I ask, but my smile is quickly washed away. There were now four red dots on my motion sensor, coming from the far left side. If one was the girl, what were the other three? When I found her, she was hiding- what was she hiding from?

"Rob, where are you? What's happening?" the Commander asks over the comms.

"I have to go." I say, and mute them.

With renewed motivation, I sprint faster than I ever had towards those red dots and unhook the Assault Rifle from my belt. At the first junction, I turn left. In front of me were three Covenant troops- a Brute and two Grunts. Here it is. Another fight. Before they even realized I was there, I begin spraying them with bullets. I scream hard as the bullets tear the Grunts apart, spraying hot blue blood across the empty, gray streets- I forgot my speaker was still on, but I guess that only made me feel better.

Both the Grunts fell quickly as the bullets shredded through their exoskeleton, they hardly managed to make the pitiful squeaks they usually made when they died. The Brute still stood when I began shooting at him, mouth gaping wide almost as much as its eyes- revealing a row of teeth as large as a shark's. I laughed as the bullets penetrated its face and tore through the skin around it. The Brute falls back, hitting the ground with a hard smack and beginning to spasm on the ground. I run to him and begin kicking his head into the ground until I hear a loud crack.

I was breathing hard when I was done with them, and the armor at my feet was ankle deep in black Brute blood- but I haven't felt this alive in a long time.

A small red dot on my motion sensor flashed behind me and I do a 180 degree spin, cocking my Assault Rifle up and aiming straight. It was the little girl, and it seemed she wasn't sure if she should thank me or run away. I drop the weapon on the floor and raise my hand, suddenly realizing how much I must have looked like a sadistic psychopath. "They were monsters. I couldn't let them hurt you." I say, slowly approaching her. She still looked afraid, and it seemed my attempts at calming her were a failure.

She begins running again, but this time I catch her and hold on with both hands. She tries to struggle away, squirming between my armed hands. "Calm down, girl. I'm here to help you. You have to trust me." I say, still calm. I grip her harder with one arm, and use the other to remove my helmet. The helmet drops to the ground with a metallic clang. "Stop for a second. Look at me." I say, and she listens, tears still streaming from her eyes. "I'm a human, like you."

I let her go and she takes two steps back. Still crouched low on the floor, I can now see her well- she has long yellow hair and gray eyes, though they may have been green- I couldn't tell in that light. She seemed no older than 3. My daughter would have been 3 if she lived. "I can help you. If you come with me, I will take you to a doctor and she will make sure you are okay. We'll get you back to your family." I say.

She shakes her head, tears drying on her cheeks.

No family. I thought. All of them slaughtered by the Covenant. "What's your name?" I ask.

"Jane." she said, suddenly confident.

"Rob!" I hear the Commander from behind me. I turn to see her and the rest of the squad, all geared up and ready for battle. "What-" she begins, but then- wide eyed- she notices the girl.

"This is Jane." I said.