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The New Generation by Zack Wilder
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Halo: The New Generation (Part 1 - Section1)
Date: 5 September 2004, 4:01 AM
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Part 1: The Training
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Section 1 : Marine
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Chapter 1: Zack Wilder
As 16-year old Zack Wilder walked home from Portula High, he couldn't help but
feel that something was wrong. He could feel it in his athletic body. His short hair waved
in the breeze as his sharp brown eyes looked around.
Now the Human-Covenant War had been going on for about 450 years but he
doubted it was a Covenant alien. 450 years ago, the Master Chief had been there to stop
the Covenant from destroying Earth. Now, all that stood in the way of the Covenant were
orbital MAC guns, Marines, nukes and destroyers. Every now and then, the Covenant
would break past these barriers, but their attack force was so crippled by then, the ground
troops would eradicate them before serious casualties happened to the civilians.
Battles were getting more and more intense and soldiers were decreasing very
fast. Their only hope was either the Covenant going extinct or a good Spartan. Spartans
were trained every 50 years. The Spartans put up a good fight and brought down many
Covenant, but they weren't invincible.
A bit of movement caught Zack's eye. He spun around to face it, but it was only
leaves fluttering in the wind. He spun around again as heard voices but they were only
some of his neighbors. Staying alert, he continued walking.
Zack had been trained in martial arts with one of his best friends, Ward
Opochekovenik, since 5 years old. He really was not afraid of attacks. He had full
confidence that he could subdue any threat to him as long as the enemy was not wielding
a firearm.
He came onto his house's driveway, still trying to figure out why he was feeling
that something was wrong. From his pocket, he took out his key. As he slid it into the
lock, he felt being watched. He looked into the mirrored doorknob, but saw nothing
except his powerful arm, upside-down. He opened the door into his house and walked in,
kicking his shoes off in the hallway.
"I'm home, Mom!" Zack shouted. "I'll be in my room if you need me!"
He jogged up the stairs to his room. A combo lock held it shut. As he twirled the lock,
Zack felt someone behind him, ready to pounce. He felt his adrenaline run through his
body. Then, it spiked, increasing his ability to fight. He yelled and spun around, foot
lashing out. A bald, strong boy shouted, and dived to the ground.
"It's me! Ward!" the boy screamed. Zack managed to stop in mid-kick.
"How the hell did you manage to get in?" Zack asked. Then he remembered.
Ward always came over after school to study and do homework with Zack.
"How I always get in." Ward muttered, picking himself off the ground. Zack
finished opening the lock on his door and stepped in, throwing his backpack onto his bed.
Ward followed suit and lay down on Zack's bed.
"Here." Zack said, throwing a soda and a bag of chips to Ward. "Let's get to
work."
Ward tore the bag of chips open and crunched one, pulling his history book, a
sheet of paper and his planner from his backpack. Zack opened his backpack and fished a
sheet of paper and a pencil, then sat down at his desk. Ward was already there, sipping
his soda and crunching on more chips.
"We have a test tomorrow in history." Ward said, looking at his planner.
"On what?" Zack asked.
"We have to write an essay on the Covenant aliens." Ward answered "We also
have a paper on Halo and the Master Chief due in a week. By tomorrow we should have
finished reading the section to write a good paper. Personally, I recommend the book,
The Flood."
"Read it." Zack said. "I've already finished the paper. It was easy."
"Zack! Could you go to Pizza Hut and grab a pizza for dinner?" Zack's mother
shouted. Ever since Zack's father had died a year ago in 3001, they had had pizza every
time Ward came over, which was pretty much always.
"Sure Mom!" Zack shouted back. To Ward, he said "Be right back."
Zack ran down the stairs and snatched a 20 dollar bill from his mother's hand and
ran out the door. The strange feeling he had had coming home from school was still
there. He ignored it as best as he could. He started running, but still something was going
to happen. Zack turned into an alley and slowed down.
Suddenly, a group of bullies came out of the shadows. One of them was extra
burly and muscles rippled down his arms. Zack knew him. He was the school bully and
had plenty of supporters. If anyone made a move to bring him down, an eighth of the
school would jump into action and make sure they were crushed. He was Joe.
"I've been watching you the whole day, shrimp." Joe said. "Very cautious, but I
guess not enough to outwit me. Now hand over that 20 dollar bill and no one will get hurt
today."
"Screw you." Zack said.
"What's that??!!" Joe shouted. "Get this bastard!"
10 bullies surrounded Zack and clenched their fists, waiting for Joe's signal. Zack
knew he was hopelessly outnumbered. All he had on his side was his brain and
knowledge of martial arts. He dropped into a fighting stance and got ready. If Ward was
here, this would be a cakewalk. They would be able to cover each other's six. Not this
time though, Zack thought. I need to move quickly and, shit! Here they come!
All ten bullies leapt at Zack and attacked. Zack ran forward and met the first one
head-on, kicking him hard in the stomach. As the boy doubled over clutching his
stomach, Zack threw his knee up, catching him in the face. Two teeth flew out of his
mouth, but Zack wasn't there to see it. He was a blur of motion, moving to the next bully
and giving a powerful punch to the groin. Then, a kick there. The bully's eyes welled up
with tears and pain. As Zack watched this, he realized he had stopped for too long.
He felt three feet kick him in the back, throwing across the alley into a wall. Zack
crumpled to the ground and got up. He leapt into the air, and kicked at a boy running at
him. The kick would have landed firmly in the face, but the boy dodged. Zack's kick still
hit his ear though. With a ripping sound, a scream and a splatter of blood, his ear was
torn off. The boy fell, screaming and clutching the bloody wound.
From behind Zack, a powerful pair of arms held Zack. Two bullies ran at Zack,
determined to do some damage. Using the boy holding whim's strength, Zack lifted his
feet off the ground and kicked one down. This had a double effect. The force of the kick
Zack had done propelled him backward. The boy holding him staggered back and finally
let go of Zack. The other boy running at Zack managed to give Zack a powerful punch in
the face. Stunned, Zack stood there stupidly as the rest of the bullies charged. The one
who had been holding him kicked Zack over to the rest of the bullies.
Zack was kicked hard by one of the charging bullies and got thrown into a wall.
He fought back as he was hit again and again. The pain stung at him. Slowly, he slid
down the wall to the ground.
"Stop." Joe said. "I want to give him some pain."
Zack sat there, moaning. He could only see what was about to happen. Joe raised
his foot above Zack's groin. Joe grinned, then brought it down hard.
* * *
As soon as Zack left the room, Ward jumped onto Zack's bed and lay there,
relaxing. He loved this study session and used it to his advantage. He could do his work
and studying here, while being with his friend. Ward rolled over and picked up his
backpack. He took out his history book and opened it up.
He remembered how once, he had told Zack about how he hated history. Zack
had gone on the Internet and found an article about a 21st century history class.
Compared to that class, the class Ward had was lots more interesting. Instead of studying
about the Constitution and presidents, he was now studying about the Covenant and the
battles that had happened.
Ward jumped off of Zack's bed and went over to a drawer. He pulled it open and
took out a laptop. He flipped it open and clicked the icon for the Internet. Ward quickly
typed in www.haloreenactment.com. The site loaded quickly and a screen popped up,
requesting username and ID. Ward's fingers flew across the keys and typed everything in.
A second later, a game screen opened. As the site's name implied, it was a
reenactment of the battle on Halo. In fact, it was a 21st century game, but very fun
nonetheless. As Ward blew an Elite up with a rocket launcher, Zack's mom called Ward.
"Ward!" She shouted. "Zack's been gone an awful long time. Could you go check
on him for me?"
"Sure!" Ward shouted back down the stairs. He turned back to the game just in
time to see a Banshee blow him to bits with its fuel rod cannon. Ward closed the game
and shut the laptop off. Then, he ran downstairs. He gave a quick wave as he ran out the
door in the direction of Pizza Hut, the place Zack should be.
* * *
Zack yelled as loud as he could. His arms shot forward, and grabbed Joe's leg.
Zack strained to keep it away from his groin. Joe was taken by surprised and did nothing
to stop Zack from flipping Joe onto his back. Zack pushed himself up and received two
powerful kicks in the chest. He fell again, and got stomped on by the bullies. Zack lay
there, struggling to move.
"Hold him." Joe said. Four bullies held Zack's arms and legs. Zack could do
nothing. Joe smiled, then delivered a kick to Zack's chest.
"Yeah." Zack groaned. "You'll be telling this story all over the place. You beat a
kid that held down by your friends. Wow."
"Shut up!!" Joe shouted. He picked Zack up and slammed his head against the
wall. Blood trickled down his head. Zack doubled over as he was punched repeatedly in
the stomach. Joe threw him down and reached for the pocket in which Zack had placed
the 20 dollar bill. Zack covered it with his hand, still trying to protect it.
Joe snarled and slid Zack's hand onto the pavement. He stomped on it and ground
it into the ground. Zack screamed as skin was torn off, leaving his hand bloody. Joe
reached for the money now. Zack kicked upwards, and caught Joe in the head. As he fell,
Zack rolled over and brought his heel down on Joe's back. Joe yelled in pain and rolled
away. A bully picked Zack up and Zack hit him hard with his head. The bully staggered
back. Zack ran forward and kicked him in the stomach, then in the chest. Joe got up and
swung a punch. Zack ducked an realized this was a mistake. Joe's foot swung up and
caught Zack hard in the face. Zack was thrown up into the air by Joe's powerful kick. He
landed hard on his back, but struggled to get up. Joe walked over and kicked Zack in the
chest. Zack felt liquid in his mouth and spat it out. Blood splattered the ground. Joe ran
over, and Zack threw a punch.
Joe easily caught it and pried Zack's hand open. Zack shouted in pain as Joe dug
into his bloody hand and attempted to pull out flesh. Zack pulled his hand away from Joe
and clutched it. Joe leapt up and kicked. The kick connected solidly with Zack's head
and he was staggered into a wall. The world began to fade black. He could still see Joe,
though.. Zack gave in to the darkness and fell down.
* * *
Ward ran on the sidewalk, wanting to find Zack as soon as possible. The sun was
setting and they still had homework. He passed an alley with lots of shouting. It was
probably just another gang fight. He ignored and ran faster. He did not want to get
involved with the fighting.
As he rounded a corner, he saw a teenager coming out of Pizza Hut.
"Zack!" Ward shouted. The boy ignored him. Ward ran closer and grabbed him
by the shoulder. As the boy spun around, Ward could see it wasn't Zack.
"Sorry." Ward said. He ran into Pizza Hut and went over to the counter.
"Excuse me." Ward said. "Have you seen an athletic boy with short hair about
this tall come and buy a pizza?"
The cashier shook his head no. Ward began to start worrying. Could Zack have
been kidnapped? Suddenly, everything clicked. The fight in the alley! Ward took off like
a torpedo and ran across the street, barely being missed by a car. He stopped only to pick
up a fist-sized rock before moving on.
He came to the alley and saw Joe taking the 20 dollar bill from Zack. Ward saw
only one way out of this. With no hesitation, Ward took a running start and jumped,
kicking Joe in the head.
* * *
The last thing Zack saw before he blacked out was Joe, towering over him. Joe
checked to make sure Zack was out, before claiming his reward, the 20 dollar bill.
Suddenly, a boy from out of nowhere flew over, kicking Joe in the head and
knocking him out as well. The boy was Ward. He plucked the 20 dollar bill from Joe's
hand and faced the other bullies. They yelled and ran at Ward. A fist-sized rock Ward
had picked up earlier flew at one bully and brought him down with a good collision to the
head. Ward picked up Joe and threw him into the bullies arms. They staggered under
Joe's weight. Ward scooped up Zack and started running.
A taxi passed and Ward shouted, waving madly at the driver. The taxi slowed and
Ward pulled the door open. He threw Zack in and turned around. A bully had managed to
close the gap between him and Ward. Ward kicked him back and dived into the car with
Zack. The bullies ran at them, cursing and shouting.
"Go!" Ward yelled. The taxi pulled away from the curb as the bullies hurled rocks
at them. They gave chase for a few seconds, then dropped off. Ward breathed a sigh of
relief.
"The hospital." Ward sighed. "And hurry."
The driver punched the accelerator and the taxi screamed toward the hospital.
"Hang on, Zack. Hang on." Ward murmured.
Chapter 2 : Chase
Ward was sitting next to Zack's bed.
"Thanks, Ward." Zack said. "I don't think I would have survived all those hits to
the head if you weren't there to bring me to the hospital."
"No problem." Ward said. "That's what's friends are for, right?"
Zack sat up and reached for a cup of water.
"They say I can leave today." Zack said. "They just need to do a quick checkup
first."
* * *
Ward drove his car over to the front of the hospital. He noticed that Marines were
standing where Zack would be coming out. This was a bad sign. This meant human
troops were lessening and they needed recruits. Joe would be ideal for this.
The thought of Joe brought the knowledge that both him and Zack were still in
danger from Joe. From what he had seen, Zack had managed hurt one of Joe's cronies
quite a bit. Joe would not forget this. The others had only been hurt a little or put in a lot
of pain.
"Hey, Ward!" Zack shouted as he came out of the hospital. Ward nodded and
opened the trunk. Zack tossed his bags into the trunk and walked over to the driver's seat.
"Can I drive?" Zack asked. Zack loved driving Ward's car. It was a great racing
car and did pretty much any trick that Zack could do with a car.
"Sure." Ward said. He opened the door and stepped out. Zack stepped in. He
curled his fingers around the steering wheel. As Ward sat down in the passenger seat,
Zack stomped on the accelerator. A cloud of smoke appeared behind the car as Zack
burned rubber. The car schreeched out onto the street, barely missing a car. The car
honked and hit Ward's car.
"What the hell!" Zack shouted. He stopped the car alongside the other car. A
familiar figure stepped out of the car. Ward grimaced and Zack fiddled with the
stick-shift in nervousness. Joe walked over
" You bastards are gonna pay for what you did last month!!" Joe shouted. He
pulled a hammer from his belt and raised it over Ward's car.
"No!!" Ward shouted. "Don't!!"
Joe smiled, and said something to someone in his car. There was no reason for
him to hurry. If Zack or Ward made any moves, he would crush the hood. Ward was
cracking up. He had saved up for this car since he was 6 years old along with Zack. Each
blow to the car was like a blow to him.
Zack on the other hand looked firm and ready for anything.
"Say g'bye to your car." Joe yelled, bringing the hammer down. Zack went into
action. He slammed the accelerator, roaring into reverse. The downward momentum of
the blow continued and Joe fell to the ground. Zack turned the wheel and pulled up the
handbrake. The car turned 180 degrees while Zack pushed the stick-shift into first gear.
As the car completed the turn, Zack released the handbrake and hit the accelerator. In the
rearview mirror, Zack saw Joe get into his car and start chasing.
Already, Ward's car was up to 50 and speeding up fast. However, Joe had the
newest car in town and was catching up fast. Again, all Zack had on his side was his
brain, his tricks with a car, and his knowledge of Ward's car's limits. So far, there was no
car out there with better turning capabilities. He had to use all the tricks up his sleeve.
Zack swerved as Joe's car pulled alongside Ward's. Joe's friends was leaning out
the window with the hammer. As Joe's car turned to follow, Zack yanked up the
handbrake and turned 90 degrees into a street at 85 mph. Joe was taken by surprise and
didn't catch on until 10 seconds later. Zack had already gone a long way by then, but Joe
knew he would catch Zack. He turned into the street Zack had turned into.
Zack took another turn at high speed, trying to shake Joe off. No such luck. Joe
was right behind him. On straight-aways, Joe's car was much faster than Ward's. Zack
took another turn. As he saw what lay ahead, he turned to Ward.
"Sorry." Zack said. Ward looked confused. Then he saw it. In front of them, was
a large marketplace, with stands strewn everywhere. Zack took a quick look in the
rearview mirror. Joe was not far behind. Zack would be getting the bad end of the
bargain. He would be slowed by the stands as he crashed through them, plowing a way
for Joe. It was too late for regrets now.
Zack slammed his palm into the center of the steering wheel and a sharp honk
sounded. People dived out of the way of the car going at 120 mph. As the car hit the first
stand, and explosion of oranges flew everywhere and their car dropped 20 mph. The
owner of the stand cursed and shouted at Zack. A second later, another car roared past,
crushing the oranges. The owner shouted and threw an orange at Joe's car, but it was
gone already.
Zack crashed through a toy stand, then a vegetable stand. Zack clicked on the
windshield wipers as he exploded through a lemonade stand. The windshield cleared just
in time for Zack to see a raffle table. People ran out of the way. The car crashed into the
table and papers flew everywhere. Joe's car was right behind them.
Zack looked in front of them and saw a flight of stairs. At the bottom, to the right
of the handrail, was a huge flower bed mad of concrete. It would be fatal to crash into it.
Zack gunned the engine and charged. At the last second, he twisted the steering wheel.
The car flew, and cleared the handrails, and landed on the other side.
Joe wasn't so lucky. He turned late. The car flew, but didn't quite clear the
handrail. In fact, it landed on the handrail. The car flipped, and forward momentum made
it flip a few more times. As it stopped, Joe climbed out, dazed, bruised and bleeding.
Suddenly, a head of cabbage hit Joe in the face. There was a shout of anger from
the stand owners and Joe was pelted with fruits and vegetables. Joe shouted and started
running away. The stand owners didn't give up. They chased, arms full of vegetables. Joe
was knocked over as more and more projectiles hit him. Something hit him in the head
and Joe screamed as red liquid flowed down his face. More tomatoes caught him in the
head and Joe tried to crawl away. The stand owners shouted and pounced on him.
Meanwhile, back at Joe's car, Joe's friend peeked out. There were no stand
owners nearby. After seeing what they did to Joe, he didn't want to face any of them. He
started running away from the marketplace, leaving Joe behind.
"NOOOOOOOO!" Joe screamed as he was hit again and again. Fortunately, there
were some Marines around to save him from getting hurt too much.
(Chapter 2 be continued later. Please send in any comments and/or questions to me. I'll be glad to answer them unless they would give away too much of the story.)
The New Generation (Part1- Section2)
Date: 8 September 2004, 12:59 AM
Zack looked back and saw Joe attempt what he had just done. Joe failed miserably and
cost him the chase. Zack slowed the car down and breathed a sigh of relief. They had
managed to escape with minimal damage to the car. Zack drove the car back to his
house.
"That was close." Ward said. He stepped out of the car and walked alongside
Zack who was inspecting the car.
"It's not that bad." Zack said. "Just a some dents from crashing into stands
headfirst."
Ward ran a finger over the dents, then looked up. Zack was already heading inside
the house. He quickly followed Zack and took one last look at his car before entering the
house. Zack was heading upstairs and entering his room.
As Ward entered, Zack opened a bag of chips.
"Something tells me Joe isn't through with us." Ward said.
"Eh," Zack said. "Don't worry about it."
He lay down on his bed.
"I'll be leaving now." Ward said. He headed out of Zack's room. Just then, the
phone rang. Zack reached for it and picked it up.
"Hello?" Zack said. His eyes widened as he heard who was on the other side of
the line.
"Zack, you bastard." Joe said in a low voice. "Come to the junkyard. We'll have a
one-on-one duel. If you win, I'll leave you alone. If you lose, I kill you."
Then, he hung up. Zack ran down the stairs full tilt and caught Ward as he was
leaving.
"Joe just called. He wants us to go to the junkyard and fight him." Zack said.
"He's on." Ward said.
"I don't think he's gonna play by the rules." Zack said. "For safety, I'm gonna
bring my stun gun."
Zack ran up to his room and slid under his bed. Attached to one of the legs of the
bed, was a tiny locker. Zack pulled it loose from the tape and twirled the tiny combo
lock. He opened it and took out a key. Then, he pried one of the floorboards and pulled
up a larger locker. He opened the lock and took out a pistol. He reached in again and took
out a battery. He locked everything up and slid the battery into the pistol..
Zack ran down the stairs and met up with Ward at the bottom.
"Let's go." Zack said.
* * *
"Here's the junkyard." Ward said as he steered the car in closer. He looked
around and saw two unconscious Marines and one was missing his pistol. Not a good
sign. Ward stopped the car and together, they stepped out. Zack kept his stun pistol out
and walked slowly over to a pile of junk. He peered around it and saw Joe.
Joe had a friend and his friend was armed with a pistol.
"If you don't play fair, then I don't play fair." Zack whispered. He took aim with
his stun pistol and pulled the trigger several times. Bolts of electricity and Ward flew at
Joe's friend. Joe's friend collapsed and his pistol fell to the ground. Ward kicked the
dropped pistol away. Joe pulled a knife from inside his shirt and ran at Ward.
Zack took aim with his stun pistol. Ward backpedaled, trying to keep away from
the threat. Joe hurled the knife at Zack and continued running at Ward. Zack recoiled, but
he wasn't fast enough. The knife hit solidly.
Zack stood there, stunned, holding the stun pistol which the knife had pierced
into. Zack came to his senses and tossed the useless stun pistol into a pile of junk. Then,
he ran to help Ward.
Joe pulled another knife from his shirt and ran at Ward. Ward backpedaled, but
Joe was gaining. His knife was aimed right at Ward's heart. Joe snarled, he was close to
his prey.
Suddenly, something with the force of a train plowed into him. Zack yelled a
battle whoop as he slammed into Joe. Both of them crashed into the ground. Zack was
stunned after hitting the ground hard. Joe had recovered fast and raised his knife. Zack
recovered, but couldn't do anything. Joe brought the knife down at Zack's heart. Zack
closed his eyes and waited for the end.
It never came. Ward dived to Joe and grabbed Joe's hand and pulled him away
from Zack. Joe punched Ward and tried to pull his knife away from Ward. Ward
wouldn't give in this easily. He returned the favor with a kick in Joe's chest. Joe punched
Ward's arm and Ward let go of Joe's hand. Ward realized this could cost Zack his life.
Joe kicked Ward squarely in the chest and sent him reeling backward. Ward tried
to catch himself, to help Zack, but he fell on his butt and could only watch Joe. Zack saw
Joe coming. I have to do this correctly, he thought. Joe jumped up and got ready to stab
Zack to death. Zack rolled to the side into push-up position and pushed himself into
standing position. Joe couldn't stop himself in mid-air and stabbed the knife into the
ground. Zack kicked the knife as hard as he could, snapping in half at the handle.
Joe, no longer unarmed, presented no threat to anyone who engaged him in battle
so Ward and Zack moved in, fists ready to attack Joe. Joe looked at Ward, then at Zack.
He calculated the losses that each had caused him. Zack had done serious damage to his
boys and got him in trouble with the law. Ward on the other hand had saved Zack two
times, giving Zack the chance to do more damage. Joe ran at Ward, ready to punch him
to death. Zack, whose life had been saved two times by Ward, leapt forward and kicked
Joe down onto the ground in front of Ward. Ward leapt up and kicked Joe across the
chest, then face, throwing Joe far from him. Joe flew through the air and sprawled on the
ground. His hands swept the gravel and tried to get up. Then, he stopped. Joe smiled. He
had found just what he needed. He had found the pistol Ward had kicked away.
"Eat this, bastards!" Joe yelled. He snapped the pistol up and fired a shot. The
bullet went in completely the opposite direction of Ward and Zack. Joe had been so
unoriented after landing that it took him a few seconds to realize this. By that time, Ward
and Zack were already running for their lives. Joe began to heat up with anger and he
spun around, firing six shots. None of them hit. In fact, none of them came within 20 feet
of them. Joe was so blinded by anger that he just stood there trying to get a good shot at
them.
You have to calm down! Joe thought. He took a few deep breaths and got up. He
ran after Ward and Zack. Ward opened the car door and leapt in. Zack jumped onto the
car and slid over on the hood. He opened the driver's seat and ignited the car. He hit the
accelerator, but he heard a gunshot. The bullet hit the car's engine and smoke started to
spew out of the car.
Joe took aim at Ward and fired. Zack dived over from the driver's seat and
covered Ward. Glass showered the two as the bullet smashed the car's window. Zack
selected a sharp piece of glass and gave it to Ward. He whispered instructions to Ward
and stayed down. As Joe came closer and closer, Ward tensened. Zack tapped Ward on
the shoulder. That was the signal to go into action. Ward came up and stabbed Joe with
the glass. Joe screamed and suddenly, Zack found the barrel of the gun pointed right at
him. Zack opened the door, and it hit the piece of glass, wedging it in further. Joe
staggered back, gasping and clutching his wound. His hand was covered in blood when
he drew it away.
"Hey!" A voice shouted. "What are you doing?"
Zack looked over. It was a Marine. He had seen everything. Ward looked around
for some way out of this, but couldn't. Joe fell and pointed at Zack.
"He's the one who did this." he rasped. His breaths were getting shorter. The
Marine ran over and looked at Joe. He quickly called for help on his radio.
"Okay." the Marine said as he turned to Zack and Ward. "Both of you are coming
with me."
A second later, an ambulance roared into the junkyard and even before it stopped,
medics leapt out with a stretcher and heaved Joe on. They loaded him in and roared off
again, all in less than 30 seconds.
As the ambulance left, a pair of LRV's or Warthogs, came into view. In the back
of one was one Marine. The other was empty. Zack assumed that space was for this
Marine.
"You each get into one Warthog." the Marine said. Ward got into one and the
Marine made sure his gun was trained on him. The Marine guarding Zack did the same
and the pair of Warthogs roared off the police station.
Chapter 3: Dimner
"There's no way you're getting out of this one, young man." a police officer said
to Zack. "We've got a witness and everything. Might as well confess. If you do, we can
give you the option of joining the Marines. Otherwise, its jail."
Zack looked at Ward. Zack knew that whether it was jail or going to war, it would
be hard to get a good job later in life. Going to war would give him something to do
instead of staying in prison all day. He nodded.
"Okay." Ward said. "We'll join the Marines."
"Good, today was the last day for registration. The plane is leaving soon." The
officer said.
"Can we go visit our families one last time before leaving?" Zack asked.
"Nope." he said. "As I said, the plane is leaving in ten minutes."
* * *
With a mighty roar, the plane with Zack and Ward inside, took off.
"Do you really think that was a good idea?" Ward asked Zack.
"Better than the alternative." Zack replied. He was trying to get some sleep.
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure that if we had stayed, we would have gone to jail for sure.
"But there's a chance that--" Ward was cut off by a loud snore from Zack.
"Amazing." Ward muttered. "You can fall asleep when our life has pretty much been
ruined."
* * *
Zack awoke with a start, as the plane landed. He looked around. Everywhere,
there were lush green trees. Off in the distance, was a tall mountain peak. Hidden very
well by trees, was a building. Zack assumed this was where they would be sleeping.
"Okay! Ladies and germs!" A man shouted. "As you leave this plane, you will
receive a slip of paper with your cabin name, squad name, and commander name. You
will proceed directly to your cabin afterwards."
For the first time since being caught by the Marine, Zack was a little nervous.
Ward was in front of him and took a slip. Zack reached forward about to grab a slip, but
the he twitched, and Zack took the one right next to the one he had in mind.
Zack flipped it over and read: Omega Cabin, Dragon Squad, Derek Dimner.
Quickly, he ran over to Ward and read over his shoulder: Omega Cabin, Dragon
Squad, Derek Dimner.
"You're in my squad!" Zack said excitedly. Together, they walked over to the
cabin with the bold letters, OMEGA CABIN. Zack and Ward ran over and knocked on the
door. The door swung open almost instantly.
"Hello, there!" the boy who had opened the door shouted. "Who are you?"
"We're in your squad." Zack said.
"Zack Wilder and Ward Opochekovenik?" he asked. "I was expecting you. I
haven't heard of you though. What squad were you in before?"
"Um," Ward said "We landed about a minute ago."
The boy's face fell.
"Ah," he said. "Firsties. I'm Derek Dimner, your commander. You can call me
Deke or Dimner if you want. At all times, you will obey my orders. My orders may only
be countered by the Lieutenant on campus. Yada yada yada. Now, Firsties get the beds
way in the back."
Deke moved and Zack got his first look at the interior of the cabin. There were
many beds all over the place. A quick count showed that there were 16. Three of them
were empty and Zack assumed two of them were for him and Ward.
A boy from one of the beds came over.
"Don't worry." he said. "Dimner's always like that when he gets Firsties, but he's
a damn good teacher. He'll turn you into a grade-A soldier in no time. My name's Alex
Zicon. What's yours?"
"Zack and Ward." Ward said.
"Okay." Alex said. "Here, let me introduce you to everyone." Alex pointed down
the rows of beds and said their names.
"William Nork, Wayne Hoskey, Michael Blake, Daniel Kyle, Jamie Lee, Miranda
Yip, Jonathan Sinip, Ben Ku, Anthony Zim, Chris Bonj and Aaron Karn. Then, there's
you guys, me, Deke, and one empty bed."
"Did you guys have your battle yet?" Zack asked. Alex shook his head no.
"We knew we were getting you guys and someone else, so our battle was
postponed. The last guy should be getting here soon."
As he said this, a sharp knock sounded at the door. Dimner had it open in a flash.
At the door stood a man and a teenage girl. She had her hair tied in a ponytail and had
brilliantly blue eyes.
"Good afternoon, sir!" Everyone shouted and saluted.
"That's Lieutenant Hackerson." Alex whispered to Zack and Ward.
"Dimner!" Lieutenant Hackerson shouted.
"Sir!" Dimner saluted.
"Here's your missing man! Or in this, woman."
"Thank you, sir!" Dimner shouted.
"Your battle with Flame Squad is in half an hour." Hackerson said. With that, he
began to leave.
"Good-bye, sir!" everyone shouted. Dimner closed the door and shouted
"You heard Hackerson! Battle in half an hour. Pistols out and suits on!"
He went over to the new girl.
"What's your name? Is it Joyce Shaw?" Dimner asked. The girl nodded.
"Another Firstie?" Dimner muttered to himself. "Are you new here?"
Again, Joyce nodded. Dimner pointed to Miranda.
"Tell her all about this place."
"Zack!" Dimner shouted. "Suits on!"
"What do we do now?" Zack asked Alex.
"We change into our suits and--" He reached under Zack's pillow. "Get our
pistols ready for battle."
"Whoa!" Ward shouted. "Is that thing real?"
Alex laughed.
"No. Now hurry up and get into your suits." He pulled two suits from under the
bed covers and tossed one to Ward and the other to Zack.
"Wait." Ward said. "How do you fight here and what else should we know?"
"Okay. This pistol," Alex said. "fires bolts. On contact, they freeze the target in
the place which was hit. If the shot hits in the head or chest, the whole body is frozen.
Damaged is the term for someone who can still fight, but is unable to move certain parts.
For full freezes, you receive one point. Anyone with 0 points is a Firstie. 1-100 is a
Fourth. 101-500 is a Third. 501-1000 is a Second. 1000+ is a First.
There's no one in this camp except for Dimner who is a First. Most of Dragon
Squad is a Second, except for you guys and me. I'm only a Third. I heard that Dimner
was given the chance to go to Spartan training, but he didn't want to. Anyway, you get
the chance to go to Spartan training if you are exceptionally good, like Dimner. Now go
change."
Alex went over to his bed and pulled a suit from his bed. He started stripping and
putting on the parts of the suit.
Zack looked around and saw everyone doing the same, even the girls. Only him,
Ward and Joyce were standing there like fools. He turned around to face the wall and
started to change. At any second, he expected someone to point and laugh at Zack, but no
one did. The suit fit him perfectly.
"Okay!" Dimner shouted. "We get a 15 minute practice! Triple time it out that
door!"
Zack quickly finished slipping into the top part of the suit. He looked over at
Ward. He had only just finished putting the top of the suit on. Ward tried to tug the pants
part of the suit up quickly.
"What did I say?!" Dimner shouted at Ward. "I don't care if you're still naked.
Get the hell out of the cabin before I get mad!!"
Zack ran out, covering Ward as he hopped around, trying to pull the suit on. Joyce
came a second later, yanking the suit down over as much skin as she could get it to cover.
Dimner had no mercy.
"Move it, or I'll call all the cabins out here to see this." Dimner growled. "I'm
sure there are plenty of Marines here that want to see this."
He led the way to the practice room and took out a key. He slid it into the lock
and pulled the door open. Ward and Joyce took this pause to quickly finish putting their
suits on.
"We are playing CTF today." Dimner shouted. "Each team's objective is to
collect all of the enemy's flags. You may freeze the other team, but the team that gets all
the enemy's flags wins. Winning team gets eight minute shower after the game. Losing
team gets only a two minute shower after the game. Team Delta is Hoskey, Blake, Sinip,
Kyle, Lee, Bonj and I. Team Gamma is Yip, Ku, Zicon, Wilder, Ward, Karn, Shaw,
Nork, and Zim. Gamma gets more people cause they have the Firsties."
The teams separated and moved into the practice room. Inside were blocks of
stone and metal about five feet tall. they seemed randomly placed with no pattern at all.
Ward assumed these were for cover.
"Gamma Team." Alex shouted. "Follow me."
As they walked, he gave orders.
"Yip, you're Green Leader, Ku Green-001, I'm Red Leader, Wilder Red-001,
Ward Red-002, Shaw Red-003, Karn Red-004, Nork Green-002, and Zim Green-003.
Green Team, you're on offense. Call for help as needed. Red Team, we're on defense of
the flags. Any questions?"
Everyone shook their heads no. A sharp whistle sounded. Green Team moved
forward, pistols at the ready. Soon, Green Team had vanished, after taking a few turns.
Alex paced nervously. No one was coming to take their flag.
Zack was worried too. Were they all concentrating on Green Team or just
positioning their troops to attack? Surely, if they were coming, Red Team would have
seen them by now. Something clicked into place. Silently, Zack ran over to a block. He
pulled himself up and looked around. On a block about 100 feet away from him, was a
group of people on top of blocks. Even though they were that far away, Zack could
clearly see that Dimner was leading the group. He clicked on his COM.
"Alex, come in, this is Zack. I see Dimner 95 feet away and closing in fast."
Alex, Ward and Karn were up with him in a second. They took aim and fired. Red
bolts streaked at Dimner's team.
"Enemy contacts! Enemy contacts!" Dimner shouted and returned fire. A green
bolt splashed across Ward's chest and he froze there. Zack took Ward's pistol and strafed
to the left, firing with two weapons. Alex and Karn got up and moved to the right, still
firing, but Dimner had chosen all the good shots for him. Kyle and Blake froze Alex and
Karn before any more damage was done. Zack dropped down to the position where Joyce
was.
"Green Leader." Zack said over the COM. "Red Team has been crippled by
Dimner. I need you back here."
"Negative!" Yip shouted back. "My team's down. Green-001 and I are all that's
left. We only need to get one more flag, but it's too closely guarded."
Then, the COM went dead. Zack and Joyce could stay here and hold off Dimner
and pray that Yip could get the last flag. Or ....
"Joyce, follow me." Zack said. He started running.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"You'll see." He said. It was a race against time. If Dimner got to their flags, he
would have no resistance and be able to get the flags in less than a blink of an eye. As he
neared a wall, he heard shouting and shooting.
"Just shoot them." Zack whispered to Joyce. They popped out of their hiding
place and pulled the trigger of the pistol. Nothing happened.
"Team Delta wins. Three flag captures. Team Gamma loses. Two flag captures."
A metallic voice boomed. Alex ran over to Zack.
"He chose all the good soldiers for himself." Alex said "It's a miracle that we got
two flag captures." "Dragon Squad." The metallic voice droned. "Report immediately to
Battle Arena 5. Flame Squad is ready and waiting for you."
"Okay! Again, we will be playing CTF." Dimner said. "Kyle! You're Green Team
Leader. Blake! You're Red Team Leader. I'm Blue Team Leader. Wilder! Let's see how
you do. You impressed me earlier. Let's hope it happens again. You're Black Team
Leader.
Nork, Green-001. Hoskey, Green-002. Lee, Green-003.
Yip, Red-001. Sinip, Red-002. Ku, Red-003.
Zim, Blue-001. Karn, Blue-002. Bonj, Blue-003
Zicon, Black-001. Shaw, Black-002. Ward, Black-003.
Green and Red Team. You're on flag defense. Blue Team. We're going to shoot
anything that isn't in Dragon Squad. Black Team, you guys are on offense. Any
questions?"
Hell, yeah! Zack thought. Why are you making the Firsties do the toughest job?
"No, sir!" Zack shouted. He looked at his team. Alex was squirming. Three
Firsties on one team. This couldn't any less fair. With Dimner leading, they jogged to
Battle Arena 5.
"Dragon Squad has entered the Battle Arena." the voice droned. "Battles begin
in 5 seconds. 4. 3. 2. 1. Initiate combat."
"Move it!" Dimner shouted. Green and Red Team moved quickly to the flag and
formed a protective barrier. Blake and Kyle, the best shots in the squad stood behind the
barrier and swept their weapons from side to side, searching for a target.
"Black-001," Zack said. "You have the most experience here. You take point.
Ward and Shaw, you stay in the middle and fire at anything that moves and isn't on our
squad. I'll bring up the rear."
Black Team quickly moved into the assigned formation.
"Blue Team." Zack said. "We could use your help, ya know."
"Too bad." Dimner said. "I don't change orders once I give 'em. We kill, you get
the flag."
Zack gritted his teeth. He was going up against odds that were not in his favor.
Suddenly, a bolt flew at them. Alex managed to duck in time and return fire. Ward
wasn't so lucky. His left arm got frozen. Joyce quickly took aim and fired, but missed by
a mile. Zack rolled to the side and took aim carefully and froze the one that had fired.
About three more from the Flame Squad ran into range and fired.
"Take cover." Zack said. He hid behind a block and watched Alex, Joyce and
Ward run for a block. More bolts flew their way from the attackers. Ward took aim and
fired. Zack couldn't tell whether he hit or not, but at least they were safe.
Zack had thought too soon. A bolt splashed across Ward's legs, causing him to
fall in midstride. Then, another bolt froze him completely as it hit him in the chest. Alex
and Joyce were still running for cover and were being shot at, although they weren't hit.
"Cover us." Alex said over the COM. Zack peered around the corner and sent a
few bolts in the direction of the attackers.
"Roger." he said as he did so. He noted with satisfaction that he had managed to
hit one of them. Alex and Joyce used the time in which the last guy was distracted to
make it safely to cover.
"Damage report." Zack said.
"Ward's gone. I got my legs frozen and Shaw had to drag me to a block. She's
totally fine." Alex told Zack.
It wasn't too bad of an exchange. One for three. However, Zack's only
experienced man could only fight from a fixed position. Joyce, was totally fine, but Zack
doubted that she had the guts to go out there and make a difference.
"Enemy contacts!" A voice floated in over COM. Then, a few seconds passed.
"Neutralized." the same voice said with glee.
"Zack!" Joyce shouted. "Watch out!"
Zack had been so intent on listening to the voice that he had forgotten that there
was still one more attacker left. He spun around to face the attacker and fired. The
attacker managed to squeeze off a shot as well and hit Zack dead on. Zack was glad that
he had managed to take down two guys on his first battle. Black Team was not
completely neutralized yet and they had taken down five Flame Squad men.
Zack felt his suit going stiff as the enemy's bolt hit him and the neck part choked
him. Although he could still breathe easily, Zack could not talk. He could still the hear
the pounding of feet from far off. He knew it wasn't anyone from Dragon Squad. His
squad was all about stealth, speed and aggressiveness.
Sure enough, five men from the Flame Squad appeared. Zack tried to yell, but he
couldn't do anything. They crept over to Alex's and Joyce's hiding place and started
firing. Alex yelled and Joyce screamed. Then, it was silent. Zack knew they had been
frozen, but he hoped they had managed to take some down with them.
Score another two for Black Team. Zack thought. Only three Flame Squad men
walked away from the battle. A second later, they were all frozen. Dimner and his team
dropped down and inspected Black Team. Then, Dimner walked over to Zack.
"You failed." he whispered. Then, Dimner signaled the rest of his team and they
moved off to the flags. About three minutes later, there were cheers and finally, Zack
could move.
"Dragon Squad wins. Three flag captures." the metallic voice droned. "Flame
Squad loses. Zero flag captures."
"Dragon Squad!" Dimner shouted. "Back to cabin!"
Zack walked along with the rest of the squad. Best teacher my ass! he thought. He
hates me! We'll see tomorrow if he really lives up to the name best teacher!
(Chapter 4 coming soon. Send comments and/or questions)
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