Fire Team Echo: Darkest Hours: Chapter II
Posted By: Dark-NiTe
Date: 10 May 2004, 9:16 PM
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Author's note: Before reading this, I want to bring the reader's attention to the fact that this is more of a sidestory than an actual installment of the series. However, it is an important event within the happenings of the series, so I decided to include it. Enjoy.
The Vulcan Column was what the marines of fire teams Alpha, Bravo, Delta, and Echo called HQ. The ship had crash landed on Halo in a brush with Covenant fighters, and was its passengers' campsite on the alien world.
Their last sanction was about to be lost.
Gabriel Jasper ran through the dark corridors of the ship, pleading for his life. Sweat trickled down his brow as he sprinted through the darkness. There had to be a place to hide...
He could hear them coming. The sound made him sick. What were they? Where did they come from? Gabe mind raced as he crouched behind some cargo crates in the storage room, pulling the netting over his head in a desperate attempt to blend in. The red alarm light strobed on and off, painting black lines of shadow over Gabe's face as he hid. The grinding drone of it had been on for a half-hour, but he didn't even notice.
Suddenly, he heard a scream that made his stomach churn. He cried out as something heavy slammed into the crates in front of him. Peering around a metal box, Gabe vaguely saw the dead crewman in the dark, slumped against the crate. And there it was.
Gabe tried to keep quiet as the monstrosity loomed forward. Its distorted figure was outlined by the red light in the shadows. It crept forward with an odd sense of caution, but Gabe felt like it could lash out any minute.
He didn't know it, but this creature was one of the Flood.
It made some kind of sound and leaped forward with astounding distance and tenacity, slamming one of its tenticle ridden hands into the crates with a bang.
Gabe couldn't stand it, he shreiked and pushed the overturned crates out of the way to run, still tangled in the netting. He fought desperately to get the rope netting off of him as he ran, and finally tossed it to the ground and increased his stride.
Get help. Get to the bridge. The bridge.
An explosion tore through a hallway behind him, and he prayed that it killed the beast. He almost felt relieved as he looked back seeing nothing was after him. He ran on for a couple strides, and then felt the strange need to look back once more. He wished he hadn't.
Seemingly impossible, the Flood warrior came bounding out of the flames.
Gabe ran with his soul behind his strides. He was close to the bridge. If he could just call for help... What good would it do though? Right now, he didn't care. At least it was a chance of hope.
He rounded a corner into the bridge seeing a small band of marines fighting off the monsters, their efforts futile. The creature swatted the 3 marines aside with one swipe, killing them all on impact. Their dead bodies slammed into the wall and their weapons clattered to the floor.
Another group rushed in firing as well. The 4 determined soldiers had no will to give up or run from the battle, and Gabe could see it in their eyes. He only wished he was that courageous.
Gabe scrambled over to the panel, fumbling for the intercom. A marine flew into the air behind him, slamming into the ceiling and then down with a thud. A shower of sparks emitted from the point of impact, and a section of the lighting fickered out. He heard a distant explosion. Another marine fell at his feet. Everything seemed to be going to hell.
He stayed focused, firing up the com. He input the destination of the message, and it reached all the ears of the marines in Alpha, Bravo, and Echo. Gabe said the words clearly but in alarm. His thoughts were blurry and fragmented. "This is HQ! We have serious trouble! An anomalous bioform is attacking! Help! We can't take these things alone!" He felt a club-like object hit the back of his head, and before it registered with his brain, he was flying through the air. He lost his vision instantly after the hit, and then died shortly after hitting a wall. Those calls of distress were his last words.
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