Chapter 22: Svenson

Svenson ran until he could barely feel his legs. And he decided to continue until the feeling was completely gone. It was hard to process what had just happened, and he didn't even have the time to do so. All he could focus on was running.

Eventually his legs gave out, and he collapsed into the muddy ground below him. He pushed himself forward and behind a rock. He wasn't sure how many of the monsters were out there, but he knew he wasn't safe if there was even one.

He pulled the bag off his back and looked inside. He had no backup magazines left, but there were a few rations. He wanted to throw up, but there was nothing in his body for him to throw up. He didn't feel like eating anyway. He set the bag aside and checked his pouches. Only three mags left. Shit.

The Elite wasn't there to cover him anymore. Now he would have to make the rest of his shots count. And even one small slip-up would mean a fate worse than death. He would end up like Faraday and the others. That was something he didn't even wish on the aliens that had killed his parents.

Svenson pushed himself against the rock and let out a deep breath. Every time he closed his eyes he saw his squad being turned into those monsters, even every time he blinked. He had to force himself to keep them open.

He had to get off the ring. Get as far away from it as possible. But how? He took another deep breath and pushed himself back onto his feet. He was barely able to stand up, but he had to keep moving. Resting made him a target for anyone that was his enemy. He wondered if the other Covenant would kill him if he came across them, but trying to be friendly and team up with them was not a chance he was willing to take.

Though the feeling in his legs had barely returned, he continued running. He had to get back to Alpha Base, or at least find some other UNSC group to join. With how much they were stretched thin, that wasn't going to be easy. It was entirely possible that he was the only human left on the ring, but that wasn't something he wanted to think about.

The fog began to clear, and the sun started to shine through the trees, making it slightly easier to see. The sun was bright, but the canopy still hid most of the area in shadow. The light made the strange alien trees seem to glow, and the wet green plants glistened. The swamp almost would have been pretty under any other circumstance.

Svenson stopped for another quick break. He leaned forward with his hands on his knees, panting from the effort of running for so long. Drops of sweat began to obscure his vision. He took off a muddy glove and wiped the sweat away with a shaky hand. It didn't help much, but it was the best he could do.

A rustle in the bushes caught his attention, and Svenson sprung into action without a second thought. He grabbed his rifle from his back and aimed it at the bushes in record time. He wasn't in any position to take chances. He squeezed the trigger and fired in the direction of the sound, tearing the bushes apart in a hail of bullets.

The squeal of a creature sounded between the firing of the rifle. Svenson slowly lowered it, and took a few steps toward the thing he had just killed. It was definitely an animal, but not any kind of animal he recognised. It almost looked like a squirrel with the tail of an alligator, definitely a creature native to the ring. But the whole thing looked wrong. Not just from the bullet holes in its side.

The creature's flesh looked like it had been rotting away, its scales were falling off. It had a huge lump of flesh protruding from its back. Upon closer inspection Svenson could see what looked like tentacles coming out of its mouth. The same kind that the monsters in the facility had coming out of their chests.

It was definitely infected. And that definitely meant there were more monsters nearby. Svenson backed away from it. He didn't feel safe even breathing near the thing. He turned and ran again, having barely spent any time catching his breath.

Yeah. I really need to get out of here.

Eventually the trees began to clear out. Svenson took another break at the treeline. He hadn't run into any more of the monsters, but he had a feeling he would run into more before he found another normal human.

All that was left for him to cross was the marsh in front of him, and he would be in the grasslands. He pushed his way through the waterlogged land, dragging his feet along behind him.

As Svenson got further away from the trees and stepped onto flat ground, he began picking signals with his helmet's radio. He almost cheered, but he opted for a smile and a chuckle instead. He turned his helmet's microphone on and broadcasted. He didn't care if the Covenant used it to trace his position.

"This is Private Matthew Svenson," he said as he fell down into the grass. He pushed himself forward and sat down. "From Fireteam Delta," he continued, "to any UNSC forces in the area. Fireteam Charlie and Fireteam Delta are lost. Lost to some… Parasite, infection, I don't know. I'm requesting immediate support from anyone in the area."

Svenson sighed. He hoped he didn't sound too crazed, but he did hope that someone was out there to hear him. And close enough for him to walk to. He then sat in silence. There were definitely more UNSC out there, still fighting against the Covenant and possibly against the monsters as well. He didn't know how far they had already spread yet.

After a few minutes with no response, Svenson began to tune his radio. Maybe they just hadn't heard him, maybe he could pick up on another signal. There were a lot of messages coming in on the emergency channels, the ones reserved for distress calls. That was concerning.

All Svenson could hear was multiple overlapping voices, panicked and screaming for help. Among the few words he could pick out he repeatedly heard the phrase 'not Covenant'. Shit… Those monsters could already be all over the ring. Or maybe they're close by. That would be good.

Svenson selected one distress call and isolated it so he could hear it better and trace it. It was a woman's voice, thick with an accent that he didn't recognise.

"-repeats. This is Corporal Santiago, Fireteam Foxtrot. We are pinned down and taking heavy fire from Covenant forces. There's something else out there, they're not Covenant and they're attacking both sides. We are requesting immediate assistance from any available forces in the area. We've got wounded and we need extraction. Message repeats."

The message continued from the start. Svenson had no idea how long the message had been repeating for, it was possible that Fireteam Foxtrot was already gone. He thought of finding another distress signal, but he decided not to. He wasn't going to give up hope so easily. He stood up and reloaded his rifle before tracing the location of the signal.

The message was coming from pretty close by. It would be a lengthy trek through the hills, but Svenson was certain he could get there before sunset. He started walking, it was better to head out earlier rather than later. And he decided against running so he could give his legs somewhat of a break.

He made it over the hills just as the sun was beginning to set. He heard the sounds of gunfire in the distance, though his view of any fighting was obscured by more hills in front of him. He took the sound of the gunfire as the Marines still being alive, though it could just be the monsters using UNSC weapons.

Come on, have a little faith, he told himself. He took his rifle from his back and began to run. The steep incline of the terrain made it a little difficult, but he was able to get to a vantage point. The fight in the distance soon came into view.

Wrecked Covenant vehicles littered the plains in the distance. There was no fire or smoke coming from them, they had to have been there for a while. There seemed to be little Covenant forces left in the fight, but the monsters seemed to be everywhere.

The monsters swarmed a position in a hill, which he figured was where Fireteam Foxtrot was holed up. Fire from automatic rifles confirmed that. More monsters swarmed the Covenant's positions, tearing through them and infecting the dead bodies that fell. He could even see dead monsters turning and pushing themselves back onto their feet.

If these things don't even die… Then how the hell are we supposed to win? Svenson looked around him. The immediate area was clear, but he would have his hands full trying to get to Fireteam Foxtrot. With the size of the fight in front of him, he wasn't sure he even could make it to them. But dying to a plasma round or a bullet wound couldn't be nearly as bad as getting infected by the monsters. And if he was going to get infected, he would rather be dead when it happens.

Svenson stormed down the side of the hill and towards the fight. One man wasn't going to tip the scales in the UNSC's favour, but he was going to fight his hardest to get them all out alive.