Chapter 18

I could hear the others cries of protest as I bolted down the stairwell. I just couldn't care about that though, only if they're alright and alive. It wasn't long before the pale blue glow of the sword was running up at me. The elites were roaring with anger, and calling out battle cries. They were all in a single file though. I could fight against them if I was fast enough.

The first one swung at me. I jumped on the tile step I stood on in time, the sword flying dangerously below my feet. I brought the butt of the sword on its head, and kicked him in gut after I landed. He stumbled back a bit, his shields showing as the electric gold light flickered around him. I kicked him again, and this time he stepped off the tile, and on the narrow stair steps, and tumbled back into the others.

They all fell down the dark stairs; the swords the only thing illuminating the stairwell. I picked up one of the small, blue/green plasma grenades, ran my thumb across the activator and chucked it at them. They scrambled trying to escape it, but it 'stuck' to one of the elites large decrotive helmets and they all died from the blast.

I was lucky they didn't have much room to manuver, or even enough to face me with mulitple enemies. I twirled the sword and waited, hearing more of the covenant coming. This time it was brutes, and I couldn't spot them. Untill one had its large hands around my helmet. "SHIT!" I muttered and tried to pull my head free, but to no avail.

The brute laughed, and twisted me around, so that my back was to the others in his group. They wanted to make me pay for the death of their comrades, they roared and laughed with vile tones. Their faces curved into furious contortions. They brought their large fists against my back, while the brute who still held my head; making me only be able to see between his large, furry fingers.

I tried hold in a cry of pain after they rammed me against the stone wall and brought the blade on their brute shots against my arm, it digging past the armor between the crevices for mobility. I tried to bite my tounge, not wanting to show weakness, but it bursted out. The brutes laughed and dug it deeper into my arm.

Franticly I kicked out at them, but their torso was just out of reach. So I kicked the brute holding me in the arm, he didn't flinch. I tried my one good arm, my head now hanging there, an amendous amount of pressure on it now. I had dropped the sword when I had been grapped, and now, I spotted it on th floor, perhaps a foot away.

I reached out with my foot to the heel of the sword. The brutes didn't notice my attempts, to busy cutting my arm and beating me. They were still punching my gut. I gasped after one of their brutal poundings, my breath gone. Blood pouring from my cut, the blade getting slowly deeper. At least the others don't have to deal with this...

Desperately I grabbed my knife, and stabbed it into the Brute holding me. It went into his wrist, just below where the armor stopped on his arm. He growled and another brute shot blade went into my arm, making two deep incisions on the same arm. I screamed with pain, but that could bearly be heard over an explosion outside.

Then I couldn't help but wonder if Danny was alright, or if he had recieved more wounds. And what about James? John? Matthew and Becca? Were they alright as well? Then my foot tapped the sword, a light sound made that couldn't be head over the gunshots outside. I slowly slid it across the floor to me, but found no way to bring it up.

There was a metal sound, high pitched and loud as they pulled me from the wall and rammed me into it again. I gasped again, my impact softeners broken. My hand hit something... MY PISTOL! I grabbed hold of it quickly and brought it up to the brute's face. "DIE BASTARD!" I yelled as I pulled the trigger without hesitation. The bullet went straight through his skull, no sound made other then the cries of rage from the others.

I dropped down, landing on my knees without any balance. I shot up at the first one who drew near, the very one who had dug the blades into my arm. The brute shots were still loged in my arm, but now wasn't the time.

I thought I could recall a few brutes heading up stairs.

I kicked his feet out from under him, and shot into his chest. There was four, but I could recall four more as well when I had been pinned. I picked up the sword, my right arm burning while my left was numb and bleeding. I screamed with rage as I jumped up from the tile steps. I slashed the sword through the first one, across the chest.

The second I kicked back and lodged it into its shoulder, pinning it into the wall. It struggled to remove the energy sword while I shot the one of the two other brutes with the pistol, five shots; each one higher up its body. One in the head, three in the chest and the other the stomache. It fell and tumbled down the stairs.

The last one able to fight shot at me, the bullets bouncing off my shields, they had come back online at last. I turned to him with the sword, a hunger for his death clawing at my head. I jabbed it straight through his stomache, his eyes whitened, and blood splattered out of his mouth and onto the wall... and my visor.

I put the barrel of the pistol into the panicing brute's mouth, his eyes grew wide. "Bastard." I sneered and pulled the trigger. I pulled the sword free from his shoulder, and he fell as a heap, his eyes open in shock and mouth twisted with fear and the path of the gunshot.

With all of them dead, I leaned against the wall. Panting hard and fast, to weak to chase the four who had gotten away. If I could have killed those fourn in the end, the others could handle them...

I pulled my helmet off, the cool but blood thickened air washing over me. I numbly pulled out the two brute shots lodged in my left arm. Cringing when they caught on my armor. I tried to move my arm, but lacked the strength to. I leaned my head against the wall and closed my eyes, not even finding the strength to keep them open.

I thought I heard more covenent, but hoped I had imagined it. Black and red dots flickered under my eyelids. My breathing was shallow, and my legs began twitching. I opened my eyes for a few moments and looked over at where my knife was stuck in a brute's arm.

I weakly reached out for it with my right hand, hardly able to touch the handle. I pulled it out, a gross sound made as it was freed from the tough meat.

I slid it into the sheath and then let my arm hang limply like my left. Damn it... get up... Damn it... I cried out inside my head, but I couldn't make my mouth form the words. I felt my heart rate slow from its frantic beating, the pounding in my ears growing less and less. I tried to move my left arm, and found it to painful.

I still had that first aid kit in my pouch. Or had I given that to Becca to use on Danny? Weakly I moved my working hand to my pouch, on my left hip. I could feel the kit in their and let out a sigh of relief. I pulled it out and started opening it the best I could without my other arm. I used my mouth and knees quite a bit.

Using my mouth to hold the end of the gause still, I wrapped the bandaging around my two cuts. My right hand going around and around my wounded arm, which was getting stiff. I grunted slightly and bit off the last of the bandage, and then tucked in the torn gause to the bandage. I had to do this twice.

I didn't realize, until the silence settled, that there was just that. Silence. Did I miss the rest of the battle? A fear settled in my gut. Did they all get captured despite my efforts? Or worse? I tried to scramble to my feet, it was difficult and drain the little power I had left. As I climb up the bloodied stairwell, I grew more and more fearful.

The light was refreshing, no blood reak and it was fresh. I looked around, the others weren't here though. No bodies, so they didn't die. No way could they have been captured then, they would have had to come back down. I limped to the railing.

A hundred maybe covenent bodies littered the base floors. They were all of different kinds, a few hunters even near the bottom of the tower. Glad I didn't have to kill those things... I pushed off it, there was no sign of them. I started to grow worried. Then it hit me, they think I'm dead!

I turned and went as fast as I could down the stairs, using the sword to light my path with its ghostly glow. I looked around, no sign of anything, especially not my squad. I limped out as fast I could go with my sore legs and body. Heading for the gate of the base.

The moment I set foot outside it, there was a gasp and I turned to see what it was. Becca was pointign at me, John had been arguing with James. Probably about me. Matthew was shouldering Danny, helping him stand. Danny's legs were still there, but were really cut up. I could see his hands clapsed together, and his head bowed. Is he praying?

They all stopped what they were doing and looked at me. John relaxed from his tense stance and James waved a hand franticly. Becca sprinted over to me, and gave me a real quick hug. "Shouldn't that place have blown up already?" I joked. She laughed with me.

"John refused to blow anything up if there was a chance you were still in there." Becca explained as she helped me limp to the others.

"How did you guys get out?" I asked, that question was bothering me for a while.

"After that wave of brutes got up, the others were sure you were dead. John didn' t like the thought but we all jumped onto the outer wall from there." Becca explained, we were a couple feet from the others. "After that we fought our way out here to regroup. We also seemed to have killed all the covenent we engaged."

"Nice." I simply said, running out of breath.

"So, what happened to you? Last I saw was you picked up one of those glowing swords and ran down the stairs." Becca asked me.

"I'll give you the details later. But I fought a bunch of elite zealots and brutes... The brutes did this to me." I said and then looked at John. There was somethign about him, that felt so right that it made me happy.

John took a single step, clearing the distance between us. He brought me into a large, gentle but caring hug. I smiled under my helmet, and not caring that the others were there. Even if James was one of them. I pulled off his helemet, unclasping it from behind. My arm rested on his shoulder, my left still hanging limp.

He unclapsed mine, my curled tumbled freely, and the cool air blasted my neck refreshingly. I pulled him into a kiss, longing the taste of his lips. I pulled back after a bit and slipped my helmet back on and looked at the others. Danny was staring at us. James was facing the other way, and Matthew was talking to him, trying to help him out. Becca was laughing.

"Alright, so what are we waiting for? Lets blow this place up and get out of here!" I cheered and the others shared my enthusiasum. Matthew pulled out the charges, a please look on his face and ran inside the base to set them.

He ran out and kept running. "HURRY!" He yeled and we all started sprinting."Its got a timer and remote. If I don't pull the thrigger in ten minutes, it goes boom. Its gonna be a big one!" He yelled.

We were just out of the blast radius, when I heard a sound. The inital explosion. It blasted heat and wind on our backs, making my struggle, lose my balance and fall onto my knees. Having only one arm to realy prop me up. The heat burned against my back even through the armor it was that intense. I could hear Matthew laughing and cheering, turned around to watch the explosion.

John helped me up and he whispered to me so only I could hear. "Crazy Bastard..."