- Sergeant Murph
- |
- Noble Legendary Member
The other Brute, the one that had called for backup, felt his emotions snap. He twisted the handles and whirled the jet ski around, now pointed at the Silver Elite. He pressed the button on the right handle and fired blasts from the machine gun. Reth reacted quickly, gunning the Gator forward. The bullets smacked into the water behind him, drawing closer every second. Executing a fancy spin move, Reth dodged another burst of bullets and then twisted the handles forward again. He was gone from sight in a flash.
Reth was beginning to get used to the vehicle now. Perhaps human technology wasn’t complicated to operate after all. Still, Reth felt a churning in his stomach. This battle was far from over. He could sense it.
And he could hear the scream of a Banshee as well.
Then two Banshees.
Then three.
Now he began to panic. He was up against a psycho Brute and three Banshees. Could he possibly make it to the end of the river in time? What time was it? Where was he? Which was up and down? Reth couldn’t even tell. All he knew was that he had to get away. He couldn’t take on all four of them.
And then he saw the bright red button, hidden under his seat.
Self-Destruct.
He looked behind him abruptly to see a flash of green soaring at him. He narrowly avoided the crash of the Fuel Rod, followed by a volley of plasma fire. He measure the angles between him and the Banshees, then estimated how deep the water would be. The current was heading north of him. It all fit perfectly. He awaited the next Fuel Rod to come. His heart was pounding. For a moment he wondered if he would ever find Solonee’s son; if any of this was even possible. His curiousness was followed by a surge of anger. He was going to find him, and he was going to protect him like he should have done from the beginning.
As another Fuel Rod broke down from the sky, Reth dove into the murky depths, making sure to tap the Self-Destruct button with the tip of his foot as he did. He was underwater when a ball of flame leapt up from the Gator. He stayed underwater; he wanted them to think he was dead.
And then there was the surprise of the idiotic Captain Major crashing into the flame and being thrown off of his own Gator. He landed a few feet from Reth. The Brute turned to see the underwater Sangheili that was still very much alive. It gasped and whipped it’s legs up toward the surface. Reth shouted, but it only came out as his own waste of oxygen underwater. He grabbed at the Brute’s leg at the last moment before it emerged at the surface. Using all his strength, he pulled it down with him, deeper into the dark water. The Brute fought for control, and even being much younger than Reth, he couldn’t seem to find a fighting position on one leg. Reth delivered a slow but painful punch to his jaw, followed by a lethal kick to the stomach. The Brute groaned and fell back, winded. It started to sink, but must have caught his breath for a moment, shooting back toward the surface. Once again, Reth pulled him down. This time he had to end it. Using his free hand, he curled his fingers around the Jiralhanae’s neck. It shook around, then let it’s limbs go limp. It sank to the bottom of the river.
Reth felt his lungs burning. He needed air, but didn’t dare swim up before the Banshees were gone. He waited there, legs tucked up to his chest, arms pushing up to keep him down. When he was sure they were gone, he sprang up to the surface and tasted the sweet air around him. He took it in, then lazily swam to the shore that was only a few yards away. He flopped down on the beach and tried to work his radio.
“Reth!” One of his Elite’s voice cut through him. He didn’t even know which one, he just needed to hear a voice.
“I’m alive,” he gasped, without much enthusiasm. “But not much. I need you to come find me, now.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And…”
“Yes, sir?”
“Don’t cross the river.”
Reth sighed and clicked off the system. He lay alone in the sand. The world had never seemed so quiet.
************************************************************* ************************
I felt the chains cutting into my arms as I yanked on them.
“Help!” I screeched. No answer. There was a throbbing pain in the back of my head. I could taste the blood welling up inside my mouth already. I coughed it out gruesomely. How long had I been here? I couldn’t tell, nor could I tell when the white bomb with the blinking red light would go off. I scanned around the room, hoping to find something that could help me. I found nothing. I would die, bound to a rotten wood wall.
Rotten wood.
Could I break it? I kicked back with my right foot, hoping to crack into the material. I heard a small rustle, but no crack. It would break, but I needed time, and time was definitely not on my side right now. I could already imagine the blast, deafening and defeating…
No. I had to think positive. Again I lashed back with my left foot, then my right. The wood was growing weaker and weaker. If only I knew what time the bomb would go off! I didn’t stop to rest as my legs pounded against the wall behind me. I must have looked like a fool, too. I knew that didn’t matter. I thought of Anderson, of Burns and Kate, of Cholahee and Sikanoy, of Troy, Martin, and Sanchez. I couldn’t let them down now. They needed my help. I remembered sticking my sword through Kovalee; blasting the water at Janerus. I had strived to stay alive my entire life.
And I wouldn’t die now.
One final blow from my heel shattered the wood. I felt the chains on my wrists loosen, but I knew I couldn’t get out of them. I tore off past the bomb, striding as fast as my legs would carry me. The bomb seemed to glare at me as I left the room and slammed the door behind me using my toe.
I found myself in the same room that the Brute had knocked me out in. The crates were still strewn across the floor, the dead bodies still unmoving. My hands were still tied behind my back, forcing me to kick the door open. How much time did I have left? Most of the base looked deserted. I needed to keep moving.
I was confronted by the same Brute that had knocked me out.
He looked surprised to see me. I couldn’t even blame him.
“Why won’t you die?” he whined. Before he could yank the Spiker from his belt, the tip of my toe caught the soft flesh on his face. The Brute twisted and fell backward.
How much time had I wasted now? I was frantic, pushing back through the wood door and into the circular room where I had seen the Master Chief on the screen. I ran back through the narrow hallways and must have made a wrong turn, because this wasn’t the landing bay I had arrived in. Instead, a hangar stretched out in front of me.
And there was a Banshee, waiting for me.
I laughed and ran toward it, throwing myself in even if my hands were tied behind me. Using my chin, I started the Banshee.
Then everything happened at once.
The bomb had gone off. Even just a second later I could feel an intense heat rushing toward me. I whipped the throttle with my head and burst off in the Banshee just as the entire base was vaporized.
But the bomb didn’t stop doing destruction there. The back of my Banshee had sustained massive damage. Both wings were crooked and sparking. There was a sharp pain in my stomach from where part of the Banshee had been destroyed.
But the shock wave of the explosion continued. I gave a small, distant scream as I was swallowed by flame.
The next thing I knew, the Banshee was gone. I was flying by myself, my arms and legs outstretched. The world below me seemed distant and peaceful. For a moment I forgot about everything, hanging above clouds.
I screeched as I began my long descent down.
************************************************************* ************************
The Bubble Shield died out just as the Scarab began its second devastating strike, only this time it was aimed for the base behind them. The blast radiation sent the group soaring in different directions. Anderson had left to get a Pelican at a good time, it seemed. The drop ship had been docked around the back of the base. He now ascended high over the newly shattered wood and metal that had been thrown into the air by the green flash. A ball of flame hung shadowed the world for a moment. If there had been something of extreme importance in that base, it was sure demolished now.
The group covered their heads as splinters of wood rained down. Burns dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the large metal rod that would have nailed him to the earth. Another explosion came from within the base, and the group was swallowed by sand and debris.
Anderson shook his head.
“Where the hell is my squid faced friend when I need him?” he asked himself. Out of the rearview mirror of the ship, what looked like a comet was heading toward them. It was driving down at amazing speed like some kind of mortar. Anderson cursed himself.
“Why did I have to ask?”