Chapter 9: Survival Crack woke up bleeding. At first he was frightened, fearing that he was mortally wounded, until he realised it was minor cuts. Crack noticed as he examined his left arm his vision was blurred and hazy. Shaking himself to reality, he glanced around the dim pod and saw the explosive bolts. After releasing them, he dropped down and landed of his stomach. His helmet rolled away to a nearby shrub. A wave of nausea overcame him, and he vomited on the hard ground. He rolled onto his back, and fell unconscious. ******************************* [i]New Alexandria, Reach, 2521 Hours, July 31st (Military Calendar)[/i] "No, no, no you put [i]that[/i] wire into [i]that[/i] socket." Pulses voice crackled over the static. "I sure as hell wish your arm wasn't broken". "Well it is, and now I have to rely on you to do this for me.". Shadow and Pulse bickered over the comm. It had been a rough re-entry, but they had survived. Unfortunately, Pulses Pod door crashed opened on impact, shattering his right arm. Now, Pulse thought, He had to rely on this madman to open a simple security door. "Almost got it... There! Who's the dumbass now?" Shadow gloated as the doors slid slowly open. "Alright, I admit that was good. Now get inside, we need to find out what happened to this place." They walked in, Weapon's ready. The room was dead silent. Pulse turned on his VISR, hoping to get a better look at the room. He wished he hadn't. Pieces of mangled human body parts littered the floor, blood staining the walls. A large fountain in the middle of the room was smashed to pieces, and chrome desks were upturned. A brute lay dead in the corner. "Keep moving Pulse, there's nothing we can do". Shadow moved towards the elevators, Pulse following behind. Shadow hit the button to summon the elevators. As the doors opened, Pulse gasped. "Son of a gun..." ******************************* "What the hell did you do that for?" Flame yelled in my face. I staggered a few steps from the force of it. "Uh, um, I thought you were a Grunt" "Do I look like a Grunt you moron?" He yelled, pulling off his helmet. I stared at his face, hoping he would finish up. He put the helmet back on after a few seconds and said in a normal voice: "Come on, there's two phantoms up there looking for my flesh. Does this tunnel go anywhere?" He finished. "There's a pathway that goes on for quite a bit, but I have no idea what's in it." "Why didn't you use your VISR?" Flame asked his tone deadly. "Uh...Because a woman pushed me down this hole" I said in a low voice. I knew he was going to tell a lot of people about this as he dragged me down the tunnel, my broken helmet reflecting the pale moonlight that drifted into the pit. ******************************* Shadow pulled out his magnum and aimed at the elevator's passengers. They froze. Shadow looked at their pale faces and lowered his magnum. His instinct told him he had to help these people. And he [i]always[/i] trusted his instinct. He gestured for a businessman to rise up. He stood stock-still, cowering behind his suitcase. "Who are you?" Shadow asked, removing his helmet. "We were in this building when the Covenant fires those rays. We took shelter in this elevator. The Brutes came and tried to get in... They managed to drag John away..." Shadow felt a pang of compassion in his heart. "John? Was he a work associate of yours?" "Head of building resources" The man looked down, shaking. He was obviously in shock. The others in the elevator remained quiet. Shadow jumped when he heard Pulse croaking over the comm. "I signalled an evac Pelican. We need to get to the roof pronto" Shadow looked at Pulse, his figure a black ghost against the dim lighting. Through one of the large windows he could see a storm brewing. "Affirmative. Everyone, we are going to get you out of here. We're going to roof to board an Evacuation Pelican. Understood?" When they all nodded, Shadow and Pulse got in and hit the button to the top floor. Shadow watched the numbers go up on top of the door. 39...45...56... When they reach floor 64 the power went out inside the elevator and the doors slowly slid open. A woman screamed as a flash of lighting illuminated the level they had stopped on. A Brute Chieftain wielding a Gravity Hammer Roared at them, and started charging. ******************************* It was early dawn when we emerged onto the surface once again. An early morning mist covered the ground, restricting vision more than a metre away. The ground was littered with Plasma Scorches. We trekked through the fog, feeling our way through the area. Over the comm., I kept hearing Flames muttered curses against my stupidity. Although he appeared to be angry at me, I knew he was worried about the rest of the squad. I was worried too; It felt like a constant pressure on my chest. I didn't enjoy the feeling. We kept walking through the haze, saying a word or two about the events of the past week, but otherwise we remained silent. That was, however, when I saw the Woman trying to open a Falcon's cockpit hatch. I walked up to Flame and nudged him on the shoulder, gesturing towards the Falcon. He nodded, pulling out his Silenced SMG. I kept down low, hoping my black armour wouldn't be too obvious in the white cloud that surrounded us. Flame sent me a message with the small keypad on his arm. The message read: [i]Get behind her. You knock her down and I'll tie her up[/i]. I nodded at him and slowly walked in an arch, so that I was directly behind her. I noticed my Magnum hanging at her side. She was still struggling to open the Falcon when I pounced up and shoved her to her knees. I waited for Flame to show up. I looked at her fiery eyes, my reflection shining back at me. I turned around, and saw the largest man I've ever seen. Flame was lifeless behind him. "Time for you to go to sleep" He said, a wide smile on his face as he brought a towering fist straight onto my head. *******************************