- Wolverfrog
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- Fabled Legendary Member
Part 26: Ambushed
Night had come once again, and one of Harvest's moon's was glowing pale in the sky. Before me, a roaring camp fire was blazing, and we were all sat around it, trying to gather what little warmth we could. Well, all except the Spartans, who had gone out hunting for food.
"Hey, I think Blade's waking up!" Switch called in excitement, and we gathered round the Sergeant's stirring form.
"Whha...where am I?" Blade muttered, trying to lift his head up.
"Oh great, now not only is he a rat bag, he's also delirious..." Rook muttered.
Suddenly, with a sudden burst of energy, Blade sat up.
"I heard that! If I wasn't so tired I'd kick your sorry ass!" We all knew he was joking.
"It's good to have you back Blade." I said, reaching out a hand to pull him up. The squad leader lifted himself up, and dusted himself off. Running a hand through his short, grey hair, he rubbed his unkempt beard in thought.
"What's the status here Farm-Boy?" The old ODST scanned the empty clearing. "This doesn't look like a Covenant ship.."
"We're not on one sir, we escaped." Rook chirped happily. Blade broke out into a smile.
"Aha, so all those hours of training weren't wasted then. Tell me, how did you break free of those Elites?"
Rook gave an awkward cough, and averted his gaze slightly.
"We...um....didn't sir, some others came to help."
Blade's smile began to fade, replaced by a confused frown.
"There were other survivors? Or was it reinforcements? I thought we were the only ODSTs on Harvest right now."
"No other survivors Blade, no ODSTs either."
"Then who?" Blade broke off as Michael, Fin and James walked into the camp carrying a large deer.
"Ah, excellent sir, you've woken up." Michael spoke happily.
Blade's eyes turned frosty, and he gave me, Rook and Switch a look of hatred. I felt guilty.
"Listen Blade, we can explain-" I began, only to be cut off by Blade.
"Silence Corporal, respect a superior officer when you see one." He had named me by rank, a formality usually never used by him.
"Spartans, what is your business here?" Blade asked, walking up to Michael and looking up and him straight in his visor. Perhaps, I thought, he still was delirious.
"We ran into your squad sir, you looked to be in trouble. We decided to help out." Michael had snapped a salute, as had the rest of the Spartans. Blade wasn't impressed.
"You think we needed your help?" He whispered in a deadly voice.
"Um...actually sir, we did." Switch cut in.
"Did I ask you to speak?" Blade bellowed, turning his head around. Switch fell silent.
"Now, if I had a choice," Blade addressed the Spartans, "I'd kick your good-for-nothing worthless asses out of here. As it is, unfortunately, according to the UNSC, you're a marine, so we have to help you. You can walk with us, you can kill with us, you can eat with us, but you hear me now, I will not talk to you unless it is an order, and if my squad knows what's good for them, neither will they." And then, without another word, he turned his back on the stunned Spartans. For the next ten minutes, there was silence, as we watched the venison slowly turn on a spit.
After it had been roasted sufficiently, we cut off chunks of it and slowly began to eat. Even the Spartans did this time, evidently they were hungry. I looked at Blade , he was wearing his poker face, it was impossible to tell hat he was thinking. Suddenly, he stood up, and walked off.
"Um, shouldn't we follow him?" I asked worriedly.
"It would take a braver man than me to do that lad." Switch said, along with an empathetic nod from Rook.
"I'll be back soon." I said, running in the direction of where Blade had gone. After a few minutes off walking through the dense forest, I found Blade staring out sadly at a raging sea, one which had escaped being frozen. Plucking up my courage, I walked up to him.
"Sorry about earlier Farm Boy." Blade spoke in a melancholy tone without even turning around.
"How did you know it was me?" I asked, pausing for a second.
"Because Switch and Rook don't have the guts to speak to me when I'm angry. But you, lad, you are different."
"Thanks sir." I said bluntly, not knowing what else to say.
There was silence for a few minutes, and I walked over to stand beside Blade. We both stared out into the empty space for a few minutes.
"Did Switch tell you why I don't like Spartans lad?" He finally asked, his perception was unnerving.
"He did." I spoke softly.
"Pretty pathetic eh? Holding a grudge after all these years. I don't deserve to lead our squad..."
"Of course you do sir, if a member of my family was killed, I'd hate them too. That's why I fight against the Covenant."
Blade laughed, and cheered up a little bit.
"And a grand job you do too Farm Boy. You know something? You remind me of my son, he was a bit older than you, but you both have the same fighting spirit; he was also as skilled as you with a sniper rifle. I miss him so much, some days I had to fight to keep from being depressed. But not since you joined us lad, because I look at you, and see so much of him. And I know that his spirit lived on."
I felt a little uncomfortable, yet at the same time pleased.
"And I guess, sir, that since my parents died, you're the closest thing I've got to a father."
"That means a lot to me lad. Now, what's say we go back to camp?"
"That would be great Blade, but, listen. Michael, Fin, and James are nice guys. They may not be like you and me, but you should give them a chance."
Silence for a few moments, then.
"I'm sorry Farm Boy, but I don't think I can do that. Not yet." He stated sadly.
I gave out a long sigh.
"Very well. Lets head back to camp then." I turned around, walked forward, and bumped into something. I fell to the ground and gave out a cry of shock. Blade turned, and drew out his knife. Nothing was there. Suddenly, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. A faint shimmering in the air, a heat distortion, perhaps. Then another, and another. With horror, I realised what was happening.
"Blade, we got Invisible Elites all around us!" I shouted. I made to draw out my Sniper Rifle, and realised I had left it at camp.
The Elites, realising they had been uncovered, disengaged their camouflage.
"Do you mind?" Blade asked them in a sarcastic tone. "We're having a precious moment here." Without waiting for an answer, he threw his combat knife at the foremost Elite, only to be dismayed as it bounced off it's shields.
"These guys just don't give up do they?" I said to Blade, backing slowly away from the converging aliens. I stopped as I reached the edge.
"Kill them." The Elite at the front spoke. The two other Elites drew out Energy Swords and moved slowly towards us.
I took a look back at the raging sea, and decided the plan I was formulating was crazy. Then again, crazy was better than death. I looked at Blade, and nodded at him. Luckily, he got the message.
"Oh thank god." He said in mock relief. "He comes the rest of our battalion." He was looking over the Elite's shoulders. Nothing was there. However, the Elites turned around in anticipation, and that was when we acted. Bracing ourselves, we jumped into the water, waves crashing all around us. I could see us being swept away by the current.
"Damn it, now what do we do?" I began to say, only to have my mouth filled with bitter salt water. Blade was likewise thrashing about next to me.
I fought to stay above the surface, but was dragged under time and time again by the raging. Soon, I could feel the world growing black. The last thing I saw before I fell unconscious was Blade grabbing me around the waist, trying to keep me afloat.
Then everything went dark.