Prologue
Mikey Sanders sat on the bench at the train station. The warm afternoon was swirling around him. He knew that he was right. He knew it. But others did not. His wife hadn't believed him. She had thought he was crazy. He had told her last night, right after dinner. "Hunny. Hunny! Just listen! Please listen to me. "But she hadn't listened. She had just cried and locked herself into her room. He had wanted her to come with him. But she wouldn't. He would go alone.He could do it alone.
The train let out a whistle as it rumbled into the station. He would be right. He knew it. He stepped up into the train, and got into his seat. He knew they would come. It would be only a matter of time. He sat in his seat and remembered the night that had begun this.
He had been sitting on his porch, watching the cold night and its beauty. And then they had showed up. A purple light slowly came into view. He rubbed his eyes and looked once more. It was still there, and getting closer. It stopped midair and hovered, as if wondering if it was safe. It landed after a few moments. Mikey ran to it, feeling as though it were a magnet. He could go nowhere else but toward this mystery.
He ran through the underbrush and between trees. He began to hear a humming. He stepped into a clearing. It was a mind boggling sight .He couldn't believe it. A large purple...what was it? It looked like a squared off U. He hunched down and hid begind the bushes at hand. Large balloon like creatures began to float out of the craft. They moved their tentacles towards eachother, as if speaking in silence. They took out small blue devices and began to do small circles within the clearing, holding the devices above they were silent and efficient, moving as if in a dance. Soon they began to float towards the ship, once more making signs with their many arms.
Mikey sat there, stunned, as he watched the ship take off and dissapear once more into the sky.
His wife hadn't listened, but maybe others might. He must pass the word. That was why he had to leave. To go to New York. To warn the people. To warn the world. It was 1943...
CH.1
Henry Benniger looked down the sight of his scope and saw a gray uniform. He watched as the German drank from his canteen. "Yay, though I walk through the valley of death...". His rifle cracked as the bullet flew through the air and went through the Germans forehead. The canteen dropped helplessly to the ground. Cling. He loaded the next bullet into the chamber. He looked down to see absolute panic. He watched with a mocking grin. Now where is your glorious Hitler? He aimed at an officer, pardon, an SS officer. He looked young. He had the Fuhrer in his eyes. The Officer screamed for order. "I fear not death, nor Satin, but the displeasure of the Lord. ". Henry fired. No matter how important he was, the bullet pierced the officer's skull just as easy as any other. He looked up from his scope. The troops were starting to organize. Time to leave.
He slowly crawled out of his position. One more succesful attack. After about ninety yards of crawling back he jumped up and ran. It was amazing what German search dogs were capable of. He rushed through the brush and trees. Henry started hearing whistles and barking. "Oh ***!"He muttered. He kept running, hoping to get to the-. There it is! The river. He waded through it. "***, this is cold." He got to the other side and got behind a large bush. He heard ferocious barking that made him cringe. Those mean bastards could tear you up. He layed on his stomach, hardly breathing as he heard everything quiet down. An officer started to yell. Henry's German was shotty, but apparently he was upset that the sniper had gotten away. Henry risked a look around the bush.
There were five soldiers, three German shepherds, and one exceptionally red faced officer. He watched them as they started going back when a dog barked and looked toward Henry. Henry ducked back and willed himself into a little ball. The German looked over his shoulder. He looked down at the dog and back up to where Henry lay hidden. He motioned to the other men and pointed to the spot. He slowly took out a grenade and threw it behind the rock. Henry gasped at it as the grenade hurtled through the air. He was done.It fell from the sky and landed next to him. His time had come. But nothing happened. There was no explosion. There was no searing pain of shrapnel. Just silence.
Then gunfire rang out. Rifles and a Tommy gun let loose a torrent of fire. Henry heard dogs yelp and men scream, until silence filled the air once more. Henry looked around him and spotted Hunt and a couple others. Johnny and Michael. Henry got up. He looked to the remains of the Germans and wished he hadn't, they were long dead. Instead, he turned his attention back to his fellow soldiers.
"Was the calvary busy Hunt?"
Hunt grinned and shook his head."What?I'm not good enough to save your ass anymore?"
"Whatever, Hunt. Lets get out of here before more come. "
The three men ran through the French country, smelling victory and earth.
Ch.2
Linda sat in the lacy chair, looking out into the desolate chairs with no one to occupy them. Looking towards the back of the church, she felt her dress, light and frail, float on her, as if afraid of putting pressure upon the bride. She felt tears well in her eyes. Where was he? Why couldn't he have waited? She heard explosions and bullets fly.
"I had to."
Linda awoke to the sound of an incessant beeping. She rubbed her eyes and looked about her. As she remembered this was her home, she began to get out of bed. She looked out the window of her bedroom and saw light begin to filter through... another day in New York City. She walked into the kitchen and began to make coffee. Or what passed for coffee these days.
She sat down in the living room and looked at the wall in front of her. Her eyes eventually rested upon the picture of Henry and her playing on the beach. It was a year old. He hadn't changed much in a year, with brown hair, a light tan and a shimmering gleaming pair of eyes. The tears began to well up in her eyes. He had left her. He had needed to go to war he said. That it was a responsibility to America and so therefore was his obligation. She had taken the news as best she could. It had still been a hard blow. She got up and grabbed a mug and filled it with the chicory laced coffee. It would wake you up, but it'd make you wish for real coffee too.
She looked to her watch, it said five twenty. She had to get going. She pulled on her pants and put on her shirt and jacket. She tied up her long black hair and looked into the mirror. Her hair was long and bright where as her eyes were a dull brown. Her skin was losing the tan she had used to have. She felt tired. But she had to go to the plant, to help bring Henry back safe and sound. She hurriedly made a lunch and walked out the door in haste.
A chilling gust greeted her. She locked the door and wrapped her jacket tighter around her. She walked out to the bus stop and watched around her.... an old man walking with his daughter and a bum asking for money when instead he should have been fighting with the Army. The bus arrived in minutes and she got on, welcoming the slightest trace warmth. She found a newspaper that had been left by a courteous soul. The headlines screamed of a winning war. As she looked through it, she found something new. Mr. Sanders, a short man from Tennessee, he was quoted as saying "A large U shaped craft landed with aliens, "and "That we must make peace with them."What a joke. This was some man who wanted his couple days of fame. This guy probably-.
"21st Street! 21st Street!"
She folded the newspaper and left it for someone else to find. She got off the bus and walked down the street to the factory. The cold was beginning to loosen its grasp on her. She inhaled the air and let it out smoothly, at least it didn't look like rain out today.
She walked into Ralf's Workshop and was greeted by a burst of heat. As she clocked in, Chadwick walked up behind her and at five foot even, Linda looked down at him. He was the floor manager, and a nasty impertinent one at that. He liked his women workforce. If only he had got drafted, then he wouldn't be here bothering her and others. But he had lost an arm so he got to stay. Unlucky for her.
"I think you were a little late, Linda.”He said with an irritating little voice.
"I'm sorry Mr. Chadwick. I slept in late this morning."She lied, she had got up at the same time she always did. She would appease this little tin god or lose a job.
"Well...get workin then. I'll just dock you an hour."
An hour, an hour of her workin in this building for free. She walked to the assembly line in repressed anger, willing herself not kill the little man. As the day slowly moved on, she slowly fell into a rut. Insert the four screws in a square then screw em in, and repeat. She did not notice as Chadwick approached her. His hand brushed up against her backside. She had resolved that when this war ended, she would get Henry to shoot him, or maybe she would because the world would be better off.
"Hello darling. How are you?" That damned hand again.
She stayed silent and worked, waiting for him to walk away and pester some other helpless woman. He did, as was his habit, after a last stroke.
"Why won't he go back to hell?"Samantha spoke.
"Because they don't want him back,” Linda replied.
The lunch whistle screamed.
"Finally, some lunch. What you got Sammy?"
"A chicken sandwich with mayonnaise and a pinch of pepper. What about you?"
"A ham sandwich and a chocolate bar, want some?"
"Sure."They quickly ate their lunch outside, where the weather had become tolerable.
Samantha was around Linda’s age, had brown hair, and was a beauty. She had no husband and would be hard pressed to find one during the war. Linda and Samantha had been friends since they began working together.
The whistle sounded once more. Back to work.
Linda worked until the bell sounded for the last time.
The day was over, now finally she would relax, until the problems began anew.
Ch.3
Nigel watched as his ball rolled down the snow covered street. He ran after it, making sure his sister couldn't get it first. He caught up to it and scooped it up, then he spun to see his older sister waving to him. She was older than she had been moments ago.He saw his family, all staring at him from the street. He was no longer a boy playing ball, but a man going to war. He waved back to his family to say his goodbye.It was still snowing...
Nigel Zelt jerked awake and looked about him. Still night, unfortunately, if he kept waking up, he wouldn't be worth *** in the morning. He rolled over and tried to return to a more comfortable position. Then the dream began to dawn on him. He still missed his family, his town out east… his sister, his father, his mother, all of them. He had been taken away from them a year ago. His father was also in the military. At age forty five, he had been deemed young enough to serve in the Kriegsmarine. Nigel had always disliked the sea, but his father had taken the sea over land. Now Nigel believed the Navy was safer. After serving in the Wehrmacht for a year, he knew nothing could he more dangerous and it didn't matter anymore. He was here for good...
Nigel's eyes opened again to see the bright light of morning, the light drifted in a haze. He looked about him to remember that he was in his tent, in France. As his mind began to awake he slid out of his sleeping bag and went outside. His eyes were assaulted by the bright morning and Nigel began to search in his pack for a MRE (Meal Ready to Eat). Whether it was supposed to be eaten was a topic of hot debate for Nigel. He still hadn't been sick but maybe he was lucky. He took out his bayonet and punctured the can and with a pop the can opened, rewarding Nigel with what was supposedly beef. He ate it quickly and threw away the can, to see one of his favourite things out here. Wolfgang. He was, in his and the units eyes, his dog. Nigel kept him clean and fed him...to a point. Wolfgang was both a mascot and a soldier. He was not gun shy. Nigel loved the dog. "Come here boy!"Wolfgang came obediently and Nigel looked him over for ticks. He wasn't gonna get sick on his watch. A whistle was blown. Time to go.
Nigel slung his Kar 98 rifle and got into the loose formation, Wolfgang in tow. They began marching down the dirt road, marching to the rhythm of the Horst Wessel Lied. Nigel shouted out the words with pride as he marched down the dusty road. It was hard not to feel proud of his Germany. His Fatherland, when it was so strong and grand. It took a few moments for Nigel to notice Wolfgang had strayed over to the left. He was gnawing something… asinine old mutt. He jogged up to it and tried pulling Wolfgang off the poor creature. As Nigel pulled, the dog let go and Nigel got a look at what it was. It was not like anything he had ever seen. It was roughly four feet tall and one and a half feet thick. It had beady black eyes and tanks attached to its back. He looked back to Wolfgang to see he had blue goo on his muzzle. What was this thing? The rest of the eight man squad had by now stopped and Sturbannfuhrer Vochling was becoming annoyed and agitated.
"Zelt...what are you waiting for!?" Nigel looked over to his commanding officer and motioned for him to come closer.
"I think you may want to see this Herr Sturbannfuhrer."
Vochling came closer and then set eyes upon the alien corpse.
"What in God's name is it?" Herr Vochling stared at the corpse in surprise.
"Herr Vochling...I have not a clue."
Nigel looked further into the brush and found something that put him in awe. He was staring at a ship or some strange vehicle. It looked like a U with sharp angles; strewn around it were the remains of other creatures. Tall ones covered in red, blue and squat ones in red and orange. Metallic looking beasts that looked coated in metal and were skinny and frail.
They did not know what they were looking at. Only time would tell as it has told us.
CH.4
Caba tottered through the corridors of the Unyielding Truth, hardly noticing the dimly lit hallways as he found his way to the command platform of the ship. The Shipmaster had summoned him here moments ago. What could he want? Caba just wanted to go back to his quarters and sleep, but his being the Shipmaster made it a good idea to listen to his requests with what seemed like interest.
As Caba entered the bridge, the Shipmaster turned to him and motioned for him to come closer.
"You summoned me Shipmaster?"Caba said in a tired drawn out voice. He really wanted to go back to his sleeping compartment.
"Yes, I did."The Shipmaster said. His face looked worried.
"Sir... What do you wish?"The Shipmaster chuckled for Caba was impatient but he would learn.
"You are a chaplain, is that not so?"
"Yes sir."
"And do you not have a firm following amongst your fellow Unngoy? Do you not feel a comradeship?"
"Yes sir."
"Well then I must ask you one last question. Do you wish to fight?"
Caba's face went blank as he thought of his options. This would most likely be an important assignment thus most likely dangerous. However, in the same thought, he would most likely have to fight these humans eventually.
"I accept, what must I do?"The shipmaster grinned in acknowledgement.
"You, little Unngoy will be leading your fellow Unngoy into battle as it will be an all Unngoy party. You will be leading ten of your own kind.No others.You know who the ten are I believe."
Caba was surprised; this was a new idea to him. An all Unngoy party... No Sangheili... No Kig-yar...Just them. This might be interesting.
"Thank you Shipmaster."The Shipmaster dismissed him with a flamboyant wave. Caba had something new to think about as he walked down the numerous halls of the ship. He would be leading an attack party but not just any attack party though, an Unngoy attack party. He had to think about this because he couldn't make his men look like idiotic fools. He soon found himself in his cabin once more. The ten he had spoken about were all the others that had been transferred to the Unyielding Truth; they were the only ones he’d actually spoken to these previous days. Of course he had to teach the rest of the Journey, but they didn't care. They were animals, stupid insipid little animals. He only associated himself with his friends. He refilled his tank and walked over to where he and his friends hang out. He was greeted by Yip-Yip and Gadu.
"Well...I have some news, my fellow Unngoy, "they looked at him with interest.
"What is it Caba?"Guyo asked in a beseeching tone.
"Put simply... We are gonna fight."The rest of the Unngoy began to quiet down.
"We are going to fight soon and I will be the commander."The Unngoy were now silent.
"But there is one more surprise brothers. We are the cleansing force and only us... the Unngoy."
The Unngoy stayed silent as the thought sank in.
"The offensive will be soon. I want you all to be prepared for this. May the Prophets watch us."A chant rang out as Caba left the room.
"Unngoy!" Mixed with the occasional "Caba!" Caba was wary but he would do what he could to prove his worth, to himself, to the gods and to his fellow Unngoy.
Ch.5
Henry Benniger un-slung his Springfield rifle and sat it in his lap to clean. It was a nice day and he liked to clean his rifle. It gave him silence, and time to think. As he cleaned the Springfield rifle his mind wandered back to home and to Linda… back to the kind eyes and pretty face and all the rest of her body. He made sure to send her letters regularly, so she wouldn't worry, but he was the one who worried about her. He was afraid that she was unsafe living alone although her owning a gun eased his mind... to a point. He re-assembled the rifle and looked up from it to notice a strange eerie silence.
Now what had he missed, he inquired to himself in reproach. He saw everyone looking up towards the sky. He followed their gaze until he saw a blue marble floating down from the sky, becoming larger as seconds passed bye. They had to get to cover.
"What the *** are you people doing?! Get behind something!" Henry yelled to the stunned soldiers. They began grabbing their weapons and running to cover, he hastily followed suit and hid next to a nearby tree. As he looked behind him he was relieved to see no one was out in the open. He checked his rifle and chambered a round then looked up to see what had been a marble become larger and larger all the while growing in size. He could just distinguish the shape of it now.
It was a large...something. He had never seen anything like it. It was U shaped and purple and had an unsettling glow as he continued inspecting it. A turret swivelled around on its undercarriage looking for a target. Henry's palms were sweating. He looked around to make sure everyone was out of sight, fortunately they were still hidden.
The ship began to lower to the ground and slow. It gave off a pulsing wave that went through Henry as he watched the ship descend to five feet above the ground. It was fifty feet in front of him, a second later it's door popped up to reveal it's cargo. Aliens, tall blue aliens that had four mandibles and were covered in armour coupled with little midgets that wore tanks on their back and had hooves. This raced through Henry's mind in moments while Jerry raised his rifle. He heard blast and resounding echo of a rifle shot and his eyes darted to where Jerry was. The turret swivelled with ease and poured fire upon Jerry. His body fell into a steaming heap consisting of the lower half of his body. Henry looked away from the corpse and focused again on the alien ship as the tall aliens began hopping out of the ship along with the little runty looking ones. They grunted and snorted as they looked around where the tall ones stayed together and surveyed the little ones. The ship watched for moments then receded into the sky… it was time to act.
A'angyi looked around himself at the scenic greenery surrounding him and his men. He had a group of ten Unngoy and five Sangheili including himself. He held his Plasma Rifle at the ready as he surveyed the land; he hoped that there would be only the one Human because otherwise his mission would become much more complicated than planned. He motioned to the little Unngoy to search the foliage; he needed to be sure their presence was unknown.
Henry shouldered his rifle and took aim upon the closest alien which happened to be the tall blue one. He waited until the creatures head filled his scope and he fired. The round smashed into the aliens head and deflected as a shimmering layer surrounded it.
A'angyi felt his face burn as the bullet smashed onto the shield. He raised his rifle and began firing at where the sound had come from in a reflexive action from years of training and battle since he was of six years old.
"My brothers we have been seen! Kill them all!" He started running at the position that the shot had come from letting at a roar.
The alien came rushing at Henry with a roar of fury. Henry's hands went cold as he fumbled to chamber the next round. Twenty feet, the round clicked into the rifle. Ten feet and Henry raised the rifle and fired. And then the others fired.
A'angyi's mind was elsewhere. He did not think of others, suddenly a hail of bullets slammed into him as ran towards the Human. His body fell onto the warm grass with a wet squelchy thump. He felt a warm liquid seeping from his body. His vision blurred and then went black. He felt numb and cold… And then he felt nothing.
The rest of the squad opened fire with rifles, pistols, and sub-machinegun fire and in the process making a hell of a racket. The blue alien went down in moments as the wave of lead threw it to the ground. Now to look back to the rest, his eyes widened for four remaining tall aliens ran at the American position, blue flames flying at them. By the time they had gotten within twenty feet three men were KIA and two of them were still running. One ran at Glen and smashed its weapon into his face. It broke into pieces as the monstrosity ran towards a new target. It was killed after destroying what had been the upper half of Johnson. The last enraged alien howled as it landed a crushing blow on Jenkins. The small ones ran up the hill to follow their leader, it was shot and its body fell.
Henry chambered a new round and turned the head of a Midget into a stringy mess and by this point there were only three little ones left from the original force. Henry chambered a new round and let the bullet find its mark in the face of another podgy runt. The last was taken by the remaining three soldiers. By both relief and shock Henry let his rifle fall to the ground as he looked at the blood. The broken bodies of his friends, of his brothers and of the bullet riddled enemy. He sat on the ground and cried. He cried for his brothers in arms and most of all, he cried for himself.
Ch.6
Mikey Sanders walked out of the office in a dispirited and dilapidated state. They had called him insane. They had called him mentally ill. Just like his ex-wife had not long ago. He walked down the cold street as darkness descended upon the world around him. His feet shuffled down the street as his mind swam. What was he to do now? No one believed him.... he would not turn into a wack job sitting on the highway. Was he supposed to merely forget what he saw that night? Why not? It would only make him a happy man and a functioning part of the world. He might even get Bess back. Warm tears welled into his eyes as the world grew colder around him. He missed her. It had hurt to hear her as she screamed for him to leave her alone, to see help; his eyes looked up to the sky that had started this whole incident. The stars twinkled absently, mocking those that could not touch them or be them. Sanders clenched his fists.
"*** every one of you god damned twinkly bastards!" His voice bounced around him on the quiet street. His fists relaxed. The sky was still beautiful.... His mouth gaped when he saw the glow. It was not part of the sky. It was a moving purple circle of light. He felt the camera in his pocket give a comforting weight and his steps quickened until he was sprinting. It was heading to the park. The camera slapped against his leg with each step. His steps echoed throughout the road. The entrance loomed ahead of him. He ran between the marble pillars, his eyes upon the purple glow that was lowering upon the hill. He closed to within twenty feet of the craft. It was unlike what he had seen before for it was sleek with two outcroppings that resembled wings. It came down with a screech and landed upon the soft earth. He took the camera from his pants pocket and began taking pictures. The light reflected off the purple metal. The back of the craft opened to reveal an alien roughly eight foot tall; it stared malevolently at Mikey as he took pictures. It waited a few moments before a beam of light flashed by its side. It flowed and danced at the alien's side as if it had a life of its own. Mikey stared at the sword of energy and back to the alien. It began running at him, the sword grasped firmly in its right claw. This was his time.... If only he had given up. The sword bit into his side.Mikey could felt his insides burn as it flew through him and cleaved him in half. He was not dead.He felt his insides scream for death as he shook with cold.His eyes darted around him in search of some safety.It was a vain attempt.His eyes settled upon his murderer. His prize.Forever out of his reach. Mikey no longer felt cold. His soul and mind had been released from their prison. The two pieces of his body collapsed on the grass as the alien let out a laugh.
"Your world will succumb to our will or it shall burn," and with those words the alien crept back into his ship and hid it deep within the park. He became an invisible entity and walked down the street in silence. The world would burn, wether they succumbed to the Covenant or not.
Ch.7
Linda walked through her front door as the wind behind her whipped into the house. She shut the door and walked into the kitchen to grab a bite to eat. She made a dinner of warmed chicken with bread. Sitting down in Henry's recliner and turning on the radio, a jingle begun floating out of the box telling everyone to buy Randall's Sweet Soap. She turned the knob to be rewarded with a news bulletin.
"Tonight we have some disturbing and sad news. If any children are present it may be appropriate to send them away for the moment." The announcer paused as he gave time for children to leave.
"There have been a ring of deaths as of today. Mayor Wilson Grant was found in his bed this morning by his wife who had been away that night, cut in half horizontally and at this time it is unknown how it was done without an alarm being raised. NYPD Chief McClusky Hawklin was found at the station where he was lying front down on his desk, his head severed and on the floor. He was discovered by Lieutenant James Hannerly when he came in to report this morning. Both men were believed to be killed with the same weapon. It is unknown how this weapon was used and in fact what was even used, upon this Lieutenant James Hannerly was quoted as saying "we have no idea of how this happened.” A one Mikey Sanders was discovered at Johnson Park this morning by a couple going out for a picnic. It is believed he too was killed by the unknown weapon. His body was cut in half horizontally. Upon closer inspection a camera was recovered. The pictures are still being recovered at this time. It is not known who or what did this. An investigation has been launched but what has been uncovered is less than helpful at this point. Good night, and may we all sleep a safe sleep tonight.
The radio went to static as the announcer signed off. Linda stared in front of her, her mind slowly wondering around the deaths. It was a scary thing, that a man, or worse, a group would kill their own country men. She hoped they caught the bastards and locked them up. In the end it didn't matter. She sighed and thought, they’re a handful of lives taken away in the landslide of souls and a bucket of blood in a reddening sea.
Ch.8
Henry sat on the fallen tree deep in contemplation. Only Hunt, Jeff, and he had been left alive after the battle. Henry's brain had had trouble at first accepting what he had seen and he still had trouble accepting it. His entire squad had been wiped clean, leaving only the three of them and after the attack they had gathered up ammo and MREs from their fallen allies and then dragged the bodies under trees so that they wouldn't rot out in the sun. They didn't have time nor the man power to bury them all and with a last look back at the blood soaked ground they had started towards the American lines to describe what they had seen and wait to see what would happen.
Henry looked up to the afternoon sun and squinted his eyes. It was nearing darkness, they would be moving well into the night in hopes of meeting with an advancing squad. Hunt walked up to Henry and sat next to him.
"What do you make of all of this?"
"Well... let’s see here," Henry held up his hand and started to tick off points on his hand.
"Number one, we are fighting something that we know nothing about except they are ruthless..."a finger went down.
"Number two. They have exceptional weaponry and strength as you saw from yesterday," suddenly the image of Glen's smashed face flew through his mind. One more finger fell. Hunt held up a hand.
"I understand.... But...."Jeff walked out of the trees and zipped his fly.
"Can we go now yall? I want to get the hell out of here. Our being alone is making me edgy."Jeff was a tall man at 6 foot and 4 inches and he always kept a cool head. He seemed as was normal with cold blue eyes, dark brown hair, and an unkempt appearance.
"Yeah, grab your *** and we'll go."Henry snatched his rifle deftly and loaded a clip into it. Hunt grabbed the Thompson and Jeff loaded the two pistols he held within his belt. They threw their rucksacks over their shoulders and advanced through the dimming forest. As Henry progressed he began to feel the cold drape upon his body like a layer of dust, touching every inch of his body. The silence around him astounded him. He only heard the footsteps of himself and his men. He regretted even that much noise but it could not be helped. Cautiously they walked through the silent forest, the sky now dark and the stars shining down upon them. They had travelled roughly fifteen miles when the noise of their movements was interrupted. Henry froze to try and hear the sound clearer. The noise stopped a few moments too late. Henry heard as the bush behind them rustled, he slowly and carefully looked behind him, willing the world around him to keep silent. A little alien was behind them, apparently trying to meld itself into the ground. Henry jerked his head at the alien and Hunt caught sight of it. He raised his sub machine gun and fired into the bush. The alien howled in pain as the bullets thudded into its body. The night split open with the horrendous noise that resulted from the small battle.
"Move!"Henry yelled behind to Hunt and Jeff. The three soldiers ran through the dark forest, each one waiting and dreading to be cut down by alien fire. Tree branches smacked them as they continued running in fear that stopping would mean their demise. They continued running until they came upon a clearing and saw tents. Henry's heart soared and he continued running, as the tents neared he began to feel safe. He arrived at the nearest tent and he looked inside to see an empty tent. Henry frowned and looked into the next tent to once more find it empty. He began to panic and looked through each tent. Each empty tent was a fresh defeat. Hunt and Jeff stood in the centre of the camp and watched as Henry ran from tent to tent. Henry ran out of tents to check and it was only then than he saw smoke rising in the cold night sky.
"No way... No way." he repeated over and over as he and the others ran towards the smoke. They weren't beaten. There was no way they were all gone. He ignored the branches biting his face as he ran. He heard a rumbling coming from ahead; he could smell diesel smoke and hear weapons firing. The earth thundered below his feet. He broke through the trees to see a burning carcass of a Sherman tank and other tanks rolled by in front of him, their cannons setting the night aglow as they flung their shells into... Henry’s gaze drifted up as his heart began to race. It stood higher than six stories and its giant eye seemed to ignore him. Its legs shifted under it as it moved closer to the Sherman formation. The machine was assailed as the Shermans fired into its legs and body. Its bright green eye glowed brighter until it opened and let loose a stream of dense and putrid green fire. The stream fell upon a nearby row of tanks that burst into flames as the ammo began to cook off. The rest of the tanks continued firing upon the machine. Its eye began to dim and Henry heard its legs began to buckle from within. The machine began to tilt to the side and fell to the ground with a rending crash. The ground trembled as the Cyclops fell to the earth and laid still. The tanks continued moving towards it; all the while firing their cannons in earnest.
As the tanks closed in to it aliens popped out and fired their weapons. The tanks shrugged off the shots and mowed down the exposed troops. Silence fell as only a roaring fire sounded in the background. Henry felt cold seep into his body while the fire roared around him, his world was burning. Little by little it was burning.
Ch.9
Nigel marched along with his fellow soldiers as the sun began to set upon them. Wolfgang strode along the small column of men as his tell swished side to side. They had been marching since that morning and Nigel felt his feet swelling as the sound of boots impacting on branches echoed through the night and his soles burned. The rifle he held was making his shoulder ache. His face and entire body was soaked in sweat. If only he could stop for a few moments and rest on the ground. Then the sound of boots ended and Nigel ran into the man in front of him.
"Arseloch."the man murmured. Everything sat stock still as everyone wondered what they were waiting for. Wolfgang sat on the ground and chewed at his foot as he waited alongside the men. Nigel's head and body felt like stone but he continued to hold himself up as he awaited an order. He heard whispering draw towards him.
He heard the bits and pieces of each small conversation."Smoke""Rumbling""Americans" the last word made him stand straighter and focus. The rifle on his shoulder pressed with a reassuring weight and the grenades hanging on his belt gave a firm ballast. The men in front began to move. The shuffling turned into stamps as they marched double time, with this Nigel stared up into the sky to see smoke swirling into the air and as he listened, distant booms began to resound. The marching continued as the whispering began to wane. Nigel heard Wolfgang growl as he heard the commotion ahead. The smoke loomed in the sky ahead roughly half a click away alas the booms had stopped and the smoke had begun to dissipate. They reached the area within five minutes and sighted the burnt and destroyed remains of American Shermans and the burnt husks of men. Nigel saw Americans in the trees ahead, staring at the German force. They all stopped. No one moved as the tension built between the forces. And then Vochling moved. He walked to the mid ground between the two enemy's and waited. His face was empty as he awaited something to happen.
What the *** is he doing? flew through Nigel's mind. He then began to take in his surroundings. The world around him was burning and small forest fires burned here and there amongst the burning chassis of the tanks. The ground was charred an ugly black and bleached in some spots with a lambent white, light blue colour. His eyes fell upon the behemoth that lay on its side amongst the foliage, he then began to calculate. He saw several functioning tanks and an unknown amount of soldiers within the brush. He looked to Vochling as the man calmly waited for the Americans. A soldier stepped out from the brush and barked out a command. Vochling turned to his men.
"Lower your weapons! Zelt! Restrain that dog of yours."Nigel heard a wave of sighs flow amongst the men. He heard as weapons were set on the ground. The American barked out another command and Vochling frowned.
"Our war is over men." the American drew closer and held out his hand. Vochling silently took the Luger from its holster and handed it to him. The American grinned ear from ear and took out a cigarette pack and offered Vochling one. Nigel stared hungrily at it in frustration as it had now been two weeks since his last one. The Americans began to exit the cover of the forest and filtered out into the open. They were worn, rugged and beaten. Their faces were fatigued and sombre. They shuffled towards the Germans and began to relieve them of their supplies, as his turn came Wolfgang began to bark and growl as the Americans neared. He grasped Wolfgang’s collar harder and sat his pack down. The Americans nodded to him and took it. Wolfgang looked up to Nigel in a questioning manner. Aren't we supposed to fight these ones? Nigel shook his head and Wolfgang relaxed. Another American walked up to the now empty handed Nigel. He spread his hands to show he had nothing for the American. The American nodded his head in accent then looked down to Wolfgang. The American bent over and scratched the dog's ears.
"Was ist sein Name?" the American voiced with accented German.
"Wolfgang." the American grinned.
"Er ist ein schauender Mittelhund."The American patted the dog on the head and handed Nigel a ration can. He smiled and walked off to meet with the rest of the Germans and help lighten their loads. Nigel would like to find out about this guy... Wolfgang's nose poked at the can.
"My food this time Wolfgang, better luck tomorrow." with that he cracked it open and scarfed the nasty stew within.
Ch.10
Caba laid in his bunk and felt as sleep tugged at his mind, finally releasing it from it's worldly confinement.
He watched as blue winds whipped across a frozen plain.It shrieked in his ears as he stared into the dark blue night.Caba sat in the snow and heard a small sound that grew into a steady hum.A bright white light sliced the dark curtain, the snow sparkling in its deadly beauty as is slashed at Caba's face.Caba heard the thrumming of engines and the muffled crack of snow as it was crushed beneath a massive presence.The light turned to Caba in glee and sped toward him and enveloped him in it's blinding light.He felt the cold fall from his shoulders as heat filled his body.
He had returned from his home planet to his bunk in moments .He looked over to his right side to see Gadu poking at his shoulder,his face still slack from sleep. Caba yawned slightly and glared at him.
"The first thing i get to see when i wake up is your ugly muzzle.I know im gonna have a good day now."Gadu smirked and shoved Caba until he slowly got up and let his feet hit the floor.At least it hadn't been a good dream.He looked about him to find others still sleeping.
"Gadu....I swear to the Prophets if there isn't a good reason I am awake...."Gadu snorted.
"Remember?You are the commandant.Your supposed to wake us all up."Prophets curse him...Caba hobbled from bunk to bunk as he checked the timer integrated into his suit.They would report for battle within the hour.He shoved each Unngoy until they awoke with a murmer.
"Wake up you stupid mongrel."He replied to each protest.
The ten soldiers he commanded were awakened within minutes.He sat upon a bunk as they surrounded him.Caba pondered on what would pass through his lips.He glanced at each and was rewarded a nervous smile from everyone.None held the look of fear.Of having themselves slaughtered and maimed.They each wanted to prove themselves yet they were unsure of their own talent.He spoke with a whisper.
"Within an hour we wil be leaving.We will take what was promised us by the Prophets and the Gods.We are taking it and making it Holy once more.We will scorch their impudent hides with our guns.The will of the Gods will be done by our hands."Their eyes watched each word drop from his mouth.The nervous smiles began to reshape into eager teeth.
He left Gadu in temporary charge as he began his journey to the bridge to reconfirm and be briefed on the site he and his men would attack.The ship echoed as pods were shot off and the intercom sounded periodically.The lights stayed a dull purple until he reached the bridge.The Ship Master sat in his chair, a hologram levitating above its pedistal facing him.The hologram took the shape another of Sangheili.They were in conversation and Caba sat still as he listened.
"-but pests.They eat their weight in food.They are but a thorn in the great covenant heart.They are a parasite.We take them from the cold and they burst through the door.They are but stupid animals we harvest."The other Sangheili grimaced and nodded his head in agreement.He said slowly as the hologram danced in blue shades.
"The Prophets have finally seen it after all these years.I wondered how long it might take.And it is a wonder isn't it?We who follow the word of the gods learn something.from these barbarous life forms."The Shangheili dissapeared and was replaced by a combination of materials.Shacks sat in uniform rows.In the back sat a stout concrete building, smoke wisping from its stack.
Caba walked calmly to the Shipmaster and spoke.The hologram disappeared and the Ship Master looked to Caba with a masked face.
"Sir.My men are prepared to launch sir."The Elite looked at him in a slight look of distaste.
"As well you should be."The hologram once more flickered to life.A forest filled the screen as the Sangheili spoke.
"Your drop pod will fall within that area.You are to search and destroy all enemies.Am i clear?"Caba nodded his head,turned,and left with nothing more said.
Caba turned and walked out the sliding doors, the taste of curiosity tingling in his jaw.Whoever was to get the wrath of the Shangheili, Caba gave them his sympathies.
The Great WarCh.5 is up
Caba's JourneyDone
2