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P.24
Terry woke up to the ring of the telephone. His eyes fluttered open, and he squinted at the beam of light shining through the window. Particles of dust swayed back and forth in the light like feathers slowly floating to the ground. He was on his side, one arm tucked under his pillow, and the other around Saline. He had slept late, but was still tired from just waking up. Rolling to his side, he reached towards the nightstand, and picked up the phone.
"Hello?" Terry answered wearily as he sat up on the edge of the bed.
Hello Terry.
Terry recognized the voice as Mike's mother, who he had met when the two were on leave. She was a nice woman, who, beside from her distraught tone at the moment, always seemed cheery. "Hello Mrs. Sanden."
I have, there's, The woman burst into tears, sobbing over the phone.
"Ma'am, are you alright?" Terry asked, worried.
They found M-Mike in a hotel. H-he's dead.
"What?" Terry questioned unbelievingly.
He shot himself Terry, The mother stopped a moment as she collected herself from a wave of intense sobs, I didn't know who else to call. She was a widow, and didn't have any brothers or sisters. Ultimately, Mike was all she had.
Terry didn't know what to say. Consoling people wasn't something he knew how to do. The only consoling he ever did was pulling soldiers away from the dead bodies of their friends. He was silent over the phone, not knowing what to say. "I'll call you back." He said, hanging up.
Terry brought his hands up to his face, and let out a long exhale. "Damn it." He got up, and walked into the kitchen, and started to make coffee. He was pouring the powder in when he dropped the package, and slumped down against the kitchen counter. Why couldn't everything just be right?
With effort, Terry got up, and slipped back into bed with Saline. She was on her chest now, so he leaned on his side, and massaged her bare back. Saline smiled, and let out a, "Mmmhmmhmm."
"How ya feeling honey?" Terry asked softly.
"Good." She sighed as Terry's hands moved higher up her back.
"We might have a funeral to attend to soon." Terry said blandly.
"What?" Saline immediately sat up, holding part of the comforter to her chest, and looking at Terry with dismay, "Who died?"
Terry rubbed his brown and gray stubble, looking down at the white sheets. "Mike."
"Oh god Terry," Saline moved forward, and placed her hands on her partner's shoulders, "I'm so sorry."
Terry was softened by Saline's touch, and he began to cry. "I should have kept a close watch on him," He pressed on his eyes, wheezing, "I should have known this would happen."
Saline didn't have to ask how Mike died. It was as obvious as the sun. "There was nothing you could have done."
"Everything is so fucI<ed up!" Terry cried.
Saline held Terry close, and hushing him and stroking his head. "It's okay terr bear, it's okay. Everything's going to be alright."
"None of the captured Spartans remember a thing sir." Commander Bayard said.
Lord Hood let out a long breath. "So the medical examinations showed that they had been dissected?"
"Cut open in multiple areas actually. They had been taking samples from the Spartans, then stitching them back up to keep everything fresh."
"Did any of them die as a result of this?"
Bayard nodded, "E4, he was practically butchered."
Hood tapped his fingers on the armrests of the orbital HQ conference room's head chair. He knew very well what the insurgents were trying to do, and it was making him very, very nervous. "I can only hope we stopped them before they got a sufficient amount of data."
"The convoy was most likely leading to a more secure and advanced station," Bayard stated, "So wherever they were obviously wasn't sufficing."
Lord Hood brought his hand up, and rubbed his eyes, "Let's hope so."
"Do you think they'll ever let us go?" Dante asked.
Sarah shifted her head up on Dante's chest so that she was looking at his chin. "You mean, after the war?"
"Yeah."
"I don't think so. We're property of the UNSC," Dante slid his hand up and down Sarah's back as they lay on the bed of his private quarters, "We could run away."
"They'd never stop searching for us." Sarah replied, upset.
"But even if they find us, they won't have an easy time catching us."
"Unless they send the others."
Dante let out a long breath. She was right. The chances of them being free were slim to nil. "I guess we'll have to enjoy our time together as much as we can before they stick us in cryo until another war breaks out.
Sarah grabbed Dante's shirt, and buried her face in it. "You better not die on me."
"I won't," Dante moved his head down, and kissed the top of Sarah's, "Now when they come to glass Reach, the UNSC will find some way to use us. Whatever that is, it's going to be one hell of a fight. Please, be careful."
"I will." Sarah confirmed.
"Promise?"
Sarah smiled. "Promise."
Lieutenant Silvers sat in a diner with his three closest friends. Even though he had severe injuries, his prior place in Red Team had given him many benefits, one of them being top of the line medical care. "So," Tom started, "How's it feel to be back from the war bro?"
"Great," Nick lied, "great."
Jane smiled, "Well, it's good to see you again."
Nick looked at the diner's menu, confusion in his eyes. "This stuff is uh, intricate."
"Dude," Adam laughed, "It's a diner, the food's pretty basic."
Jane kicked Adam under the table, and peered at the menu. "Yeah, it is pretty complex. We could just go with eggs and bacon though."
Tom took a sip of his water, and let his glass fall heavily on the table. It made a "Clack!" and Nick hit the floor, his hands over his head. The diner went silent, everyone staring at the soldier. Nick slowly stood up, looking around at the spectators. He was obviously nervous.
Adam narrowed his eyes from the booth. "Bro, what the hell are you doing?" He ended his sentence with a laugh.
Nick sat back down at the booth without a word. The diner went back to normal, and a waiter came over and took the table's orders. "So how many people have you capped out there man?" Tom asked, leaning forward.
Nick made an uncomfortable smile, and stared down at the table. Jane folded her hands. "Do you guys wanna go see a movie later?"
"Come on, give the guy a chance to answer my question."
The soldier cleared his throat nervously. "It's uh, I..."
Tom leaned back in the booth spreading his arms out in the air. "Come on man, you're a Ranger. You must have killed like, two hundred people."
"More than that." Adam stated.
"Tom, Adam, can I talk to you two outside?" Jane asked kindly.
"Why?"
"Just, just for a minute."
Tom narrowed his eyes. "Uhm, okay."
Nick moved out of the way to let Adam out of the booth, and sat back down as the three left the diner. He watched them through the large glass windows, wondering why she would pull them away. He was confused when he saw Jane begin to yell at the two. He couldn't hear what she was saying, but her face was bright red, and she was making furious gestures. She calmed herself down, fixed her hair, and walked back into the diner, Adam and Tom close behind.
They sat back down just as the food arrived. Jane and Nick thanked the waiter, and everyone began to eat in silence. Half way through their meal, Tom looked up from his food at Nick. He narrowed his eyes at an odd scar on Nick's bicep. "Hey dude, what's that on your arm?"
Adam turned his head, and examined it. "Is that a bullet wound?!"
Jane stood up, pulled Adam out of his seat, and took Nick by the hand. Leaning him away from the table, she turned back to Tom and Adam. "You two are fucI<ing idiots." She then turned to Nick, tucking her lips into her mouth, and releasing them. "Come on Nick, let's go home."
[Edited on 05.09.2010 7:55 AM PDT]