- Sergeant Murph
- |
- Noble Legendary Member
I jumped back into action, startled by the interruption. My eyes danced stupidly around the area, taking in the narrow alleyway and the entrance to the city center beckoning us forward in the near distance.
"Yes," I lied. "I'm ready."
I was definitely not ready.
The three of us crouched low and took a few steps forward and to the right so that we could get a narrow glimpse of the enemy, spread out around the complex, controlling both air and ground. I saw the doorway into the large atrium and considered suggesting we make a break for it, then noticed the Kig-Yar snipers pacing angrily upon the balconies, waiting to take out a human or Sangheili at first sight.
We waited in absolute silence for several minutes before we heard Burns' voice echoing around the entire complex.
"C'mon, men! We outnumber 'em! Take 'em all down, one by one!"
A quick fireball spat out of the earth as Burn's grenade detonated. Three unlucky Brutes were swallowed by the smoke and lay still when it disappeared.
Burns' distraction had been perfect. He'd sounded convincing enough that the Covenant would think they were under attack by waves of troops.
Anderson pumped his fist in the air as the Wraiths departed as well, swinging around the side of the building to join the commotion.
The Jackals took one last curious look around before turning and hobbling away around the balcony that ran around the perimeter of the building.
"Quickly, before they return!" Reth hissed, leaping forward into a sprint. Anderson and I nodded and followed, drawing closer and closer to the glass doors and the living hell that was lying in wait for me inside them.
************************************************************* ************************
Five Brutes stood frozen on the spot, too puzzled to move. Their enemy had purposely thrown himself into the darkness below. But why? His chances of victory had been higher than ever after he'd slain their Captain and two others.
"Is he dead?" one asked dumbly.
Another was about to answer when a strange grinding sound filled the cavern.
"What is that?" a Major cried, although he was muffled by the intense screech.
"It's coming from below!"
"Bring it down! Make sure the human doesn't make it."
It was too late. Within the blink of an eye a large rig made of rusted brown metal shot upward at ridiculous speed, throwing the Brutes aside with a whoosh of power. Standing in the center was a tall, broad man with a grizzled beard and the nose of a rifle pointed threateningly ahead.
The boulder had been weighing down the rig to keep it lower in the depths of the pit. When Hunter had snapped the rope, the rig had flown upward, free of weight.
"Can't get rid of me that easily," Hunter jeered the dazed Brutes.
"Kill him! Do not let him out of this cavern!" one squawked, struggling to regain himself. Several others grunted threats and rasped nasty words, but Hunter never heard them. By the time they'd recovered from the force of the blow, the Lieutenant had already used the rig as a makeshift bridge to the sewage pipe. His feet slapped in the dirty water, and he had to keep one hand on the slimy cave wall to find his way through the black tunnels.
When he was sure he'd lost the unwanted guests, Hunter propped himself up against the wall and slowly sank down into the sewage water. He closed his eyes and moaned silently. This wasn't going as planned. They'd come down here to investigate, not lose companions and become the hunted rather than the hunters. Splitting up had been a mistake. He needed to regroup with the others. All of the others. Something bad was going on beneath the city.
He sighed and clicked the earpiece Reth had given him. He waited for a moment for Anderson's voice to pour through, but there was only static. Stupid, mocking, useless static. Nobody was coming to help him.
Back in the cavern, the sharp crackling of the fire was coming to an end. Barely any Brutes remained, and it was apparent that none could chase down the human on foot.
It was only when the leader of the entire pack, the War Chieftain, came striding through the entrance did a final gasp of hope to stop the human from foiling their plot.
"Turn the water on," the highest ranked Brute present sneered, not even greeting his companions. "He'll be dead before he see's light again."
It took a moment for the evil words to set in, but one snickered in amusement and crept toward the bronze wheel on the wall.
Without thinking twice, he twisted the long-idle wheel as hard as he could, then yanked it out of the wall and cast it aside, falling to the floor with a sickening screech.
Soon the pipes would be alive.
And a certain Lieutenant Hunter would not be.
************************************************************* ************************
The run to that doorway seemed like ages. With each stress of my legs; each powerful stride, I felt the door was getting smaller and smaller. Without even looking, I knew Reth and Anderson were on either side of me, eyes whipping around for signs of danger.
It was all going so well. Everything always starts out well. And then, as sudden as it gets, all hell broke loose.
I heard the hiss of a fuel rod before anyone else. I easily recognized it from our run in with the Banshees when I'd first met Anderson and Burns.
On sheer instinct, my right and left hands whipped out and snagged both of my allies. I then reeled backward just as the deafening sound of the explosion met our ears. Chunks of earth spat in all directions; smoke and debris waved furiously around us.
"Cover!" Anderson commanded. He didn't have to tell us twice.
Another Banshee swept down at us with its nose dipped low. The three of us had to crouch in unison to keep our heads. Brutes roared from the opposite side of the building, realizing that they had been tricked and were already pouring back over to our side.
Anderson rolled behind the cover of a short concrete wall and motioned for us to follow. Reth and I quickly followed him and crouched low, breathing hard.
"We have...to call for evac," Anderson muttered.
"No!" Reth answered immediately. "Those turrets will rip your cavalry to bits. This is our fight. Let's make something of it."
"You're insane!" Anderson shouted, his jaw tightening. "We won't make it into the complex! Not with all those Brutes"
I thought hard for another route into the atrium, but none struck me. The main entrance was our only hope, and now that was demolished.
I shook my head and sighed gently as the human and Sangheili were in heated argument in front of me. "We'll fight."
Both of them stopped and turned to me, eyebrows raised. "Fight?" they said together.
I nodded slowly. "We have no choice."
"We'll die! We won't last a second!" Reth argued. Anderson nodded in agreement.
"Then we die," I said calmly. "We die on our feet with honor. We fight to our last breath and rest in peace afterward."
They thought for a moment, then Reth nodded darkly and Anderson grunted in approval.
"So be it," Reth murmured. "We fight our way into the city center."
We started to get up, all looking grim with our new plan in mind, when a Brute appeared in front of us. His eyes lit up and he immediately raised his Carbine to fire. He would have given us away if Reth hadn't been as steady and agile as he was. I watched him twist around and swat the Brute in the forehead with his stave; kick him square in the chest and stab him through the back before the savage warrior could even cry out.
"Move!" I yelled, sprinting over the lifeless body and back into the heat of the battle.
I'd never seen so many Brutes in one place my entire life. They stoodthey breathedas one. Each shared the same anger and hatred for us. It was an everlasting flow of madness in their eyes.
They didn't notice us at first, nor did anyone else for that matter. All eyes were fixed on our previous location when it should have been our current.
"Do not let them in!" someone shouted. Eleven Brutes hustled over to the entrance and stood guard. I turned to Anderson and Reth.
"Any ideas?"
"We could try stealth again," Anderson suggested.
"Because that worked cheeringly last time," Reth snorted.
"Well then, why don't you come up with something?" Anderson hissed. "Why am I always the idea department?"
Reth held up his hands for Anderson to calm down. We were all edgier than usual, and not just because two hundred Brutes were thirty feet away from us and hot on our trail.
"What weapons do we have handy?" Reth inquired.
I drew the black handle up from my belt and held it in front of me. "My Battle Blade."
"Shotgun," Anderson grunted. "Magnum and a frag."