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Hope and Memory by Mythic One
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Hope and Memory
Date: 15 June 2006, 6:51 am
Prologue
Ryan clutched the rifle close to his body, his hands tightening their grip as he shifted his back against the low wall. He closed his eyes and willed himself to wake up from this terrible dream. It had to be a dream, didn't it? Everything that had happened, it was all too fast, too unreal, too much in such a short period of time, it had to be a dream, no, a nightmare. Yet as he opened his eyes again, it was all still there - the flashes of light that cut through the darkness, casting mesmerizing shadows upon the hall's drab gray walls, only to disappear a moment later, and the bullets that thickened the air from the incessant gunfire, etching shards of concrete and debris with each impact as they tore through the air.
Why…? Why is it that we fight, that we fight and kill each other?
His breaths came quick and heavy, he could feel exhaustion start to set in as his heart pounded. He was safe behind the cover that the low wall provided him against the hail of gunfire, but for how long? One against ten didn't seem like a fair fight, but when were things ever fair? He was a marine, trained to fight, even against overwhelming odds, for it was the situation humanity had faced ever since the beginning of the war against an unstoppable enemy, but he was only human.
Why do we kill each other when we should be fighting the Covenant? There is nothing to be gained from this, yet there is so much to lose.
Ryan Matthew McKenzie let out a forlorn sigh as he lowered his Battle Rifle, and glanced at the ammo counter display. 15 rounds left. My final clip and last 15 bullets… things couldn't look any brighter than this… mused McKenzie with a small grin, trying to resist the tightening grip of fear and despair that only got stronger with each passing moment. Time was not on Ryan's side, nor the numbers, nor the circumstances. Nothing seemed to be.
"This is Private McKenzie. I'm pinned down in the mess hall, requesting assistance ASAP." Said Ryan over the commlink on his marine helmet, struggling to keep his words low and composed, grasping desperately on whatever calmness he had left. His jaw tensed as he waited for a response. Only the deadening sound of silence greeted him through the commlink. "Can anyone read me? This is Private McKenzie, I need assistance. I'm pinned down by multiple hostiles in the mess hall," Ryan continued, his voice starting to crack and stammer. Still silence. The pressure, the intensifying gunfire, the fear, the desperation, it was too much too bear, but there was no other choice, bear it he had to.
Unexpectedly, the deafening gunfire began to subside, slowly replacing itself with a drowning silence that flooded the entire room. Beams of light cut through the veil of darkness, dancing fervidly on the room's ceiling and walls, illuminating the many bullet holes that dotted them. Tables and chairs lay overturned in the darkness, a result of the chaos that took place. Ryan clasped his battle rifle, briefly stretching his fingers from the numbness that had begun to creep in. To Ryan, the silence was not a time for respite, it was unnerving. Through the silence, the sounds of hushed whispers and light footsteps could be heard moving around, coming ever closer to Ryan.
"Give up soldier! Let us do what we must to end this war against the Covenant. Let us save Humanity if others would not. Haven't you realized? We can't defeat them in war, let us make peace with them before it is too late! And yet those fools – those UNSC fools still want war! And they send their little pawns to stop us from ending this war!? How much longer before they find us? How much longer before they wipe out all of Humanity?" screamed one of the enemy combatants, his voice filed with rage and contempt.
Ryan wanted to end this war just as much as everybody else, if not more. He had already lost so much. But he knew that the Covenant would not end this war. No, not until they had annihilated every single one of their sworn enemy – Humanity. The only thing that Humanity could do now was hope, hope for a miracle, hope for an end to the suffering and bloodshed, and fight for what little was left.
McKenzie remained silent as he leaned his back on the low wall, the sounds moving closer and closer. Abruptly his commlink began to crackle, giving a faint sound of static.
"Private McKenzie, this is fire team alpha, we're moving to assist. Hang tight, we're coming."
A wave of relief swept through Ryan as he heard those words. But the relief was cut short when suddenly something landed in front of him, impacting the teal carpeting with a metal clink. Something fist sized to be exact. Driven by instinct Ryan dived to his right, landing on his elbows with a hard thump, just moments before what turned out to be a grenade exploded. The realization of what had just came to pass and that he had dived away from the cover of the low wall hit him as he strained his eyes to focus on the blurry image before him, his ears still ringing from the explosion. An enemy combatant stood in front of Ryan, and from what it seemed, he was just as shocked as Ryan was. Yet instinct kicked in and Ryan raised his rifle, took aim, and squeezed the trigger, sending a 3-round volley of bullets ripping through the man's chest, tearing out the back in a spray of blood. The combatant's weapon dropped to the ground as his hand loosened, his breaths became desperate gasp to breathe, blood started to flow from his mouth and wound, his eyes were wide open in shock, casting an empty gaze at Ryan as his body collapsed to the ground.
Damn it! WHY!?
Ryan stared at the body whose life he had just taken away, the life that was snubbed out by his doing. Guilt and anger flooded his mind. I-I had no choice… he would about to do the same to me if I hadn't… Damn it! We should be fighting the Covenant! Quickly McKenzie got up to his feet, casting a brief glance on the position behind the low wall that he had been in moments earlier, which was now scorched black, before sprinting towards a overturned table.
"Where is he!? Where is he!?" began frantic screams from the enemy combatants, their flashlights frenziedly scouring over the shadows in the room, searching for Ryan. McKenzie pushed his back up against the table, the image of the man he had just slain lingering in his mind, and the guilt that came with it. On the edge of his eye, he spotted an enemy combatant vehemently searching for him. Even through the freezing air in the hall, sweat beaded down Ryan's forehead, his palms pressing hard against the smooth steel on his Battle Rifle, which now felt heavier than before. He raised his rifle and centered his sights on the combatant, his fingers tensed, hesitant in pulling the trigger. I can't…
* There you have it, the prologue to Hope and Memory. You might be wondering what exactly is going on here but that's how it's suppose to be for this prologue, so don't fret, you'll get some answers soon enough. And the length, I know, it might seem a little short, but this is just the prologue, the actual chapters should be much longer. And since this is my first time writing a 3rd person perspective story (not counting the other stuff I that I wrote in school) and it's my first Halo story, I think I need some criticism and advice and tips and money would be welcome too lol. So please comment and review. I always appreciate truthful and constructive comments, not crap or other useless flaming or criticism. Thank you, hope you enjoyed it. Come back again!
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