why thank you, And here is the final chapter to this story. [b]Chapter 7: The End[/b] After waiting for 20 minutes just to be sure it was all clear, Clark and Travis climbed out of their hole. Dirt covered the two ODSTs. Clark looked at Travis and chuckled at his appearance. His laugh sounded tired, as if the laughter of the sergeant had died a little after their escape. Travis did not even smile. He seemed to be too shocked to talk. The 20 minutes of silence that Clark and Travis sat through while hiding in their hole had given them both time to think about what had just happened to them. Realization was starting to set it. Kyle was dead, so was Jason. Travis and Clark had just barely escaped with their lives, and they had ended others lives while fleeing for their own. Killing was something Clark had gotten used to after a while, but this seemed different. The way it happened. The way it was so sudden, friends lost without the chance to say goodbye. Clark and Travis looked down as they walked back towards the desert. Both of the soldiers knew the mission was lost. Two under equipped men could not infiltrate an enemy base and manage to get out alive. Hell, they probably would not be able to get [b]in[/b] alive. Clark had already sent a request for a pick up Pelican on the outskirts of the desert. Command had acknowledged and the Pelican was on its way. "How did Kyle go?" It was Travis, speaking for the first time in nearly half an hour. "Well.." Clark said, not sure how to explain what had happened. "He tried to get rid of a grenade. Save the both of us. But he didnt get rid of it soon enough." "Oh," Travis said softly. Clark sighed, "Travis, people die. Its a part of life. The fact that Kyle had to go early just means that God wanted him sooner." Travis smiled weakly. Both of them knew that they couldnt have done anything for Kyle or Jason. But that did not help the feeling of guilt. Clark and Travis stopped as they reached the tree line. The Pelican could be seen coming in the distance. Travis grunted and fell. Clark almost did not notice what had happened. Travis lay in a heap at his feet, and a man dressed in camo fatigues stood from the bushes holding a silenced pistol at Clark. His face was covered by an ODST helmet. He looked trained and ready to kill. "Drop the BR." Clark obeyed, moving slowly to make sure the man did not shoot him too. "Sergeant Clark, your coming with me." The camo clad man said coolly. "Who are you?" Clark asked "Who do you think?" Clark looked at him puzzled, he trully did not know who this man was. Reaching up with one hand, the man shed the ODST helmet. The helmet dropped to the ground revealing the man Clark wanted least to see. Arnold Zakahov was back. "Guess your buddies helped you out of the desert back there." Arnold sneered. "Too bad they couldnt stop 50 Black Hand members in the night" "You to-" Clark started to exclaim. Zakahov interrupted. "Yea, i told them where you were. But who do you think made sure not a single bullet touched you?" "But why?" Clark asked "So i could finish you myself of course!" Zakahov said with a grin. "And here i am to finish the job." Clark thought fast, he would have to do something fast in order to save his own skin. He looked towards the sky to where the Pelican still seemed ages away. "Oh that Pelican wont be here anytime soon dont worry. It got a false message saying to hold off the pickup for another 10 minutes while you did one last thing. Too bad that one last thing will be dying." Zakahov pointed the pistol at Clark. A bang and a flash erupted. Zakahov doubled over with a grunt. His hands were clasped to his stomach. Blood poured out between his fingers. With a groan, Zakahov slowly sank to his knees and then he dropped. Clark, astounded looked over to Travis. He lay on the ground. In his dead hands lay his pistol, barrel smoking still. Clark took a knee by his body. Tears dropped from Clark's eyes. "Thank you, Travis. I wish you could have lived to see another day." The Pelican roared into the pickup zone. Clark stood and walked slowly to the Pelican. He did not look back. [quote] That was my final chapter in this story. I hope you enjoyed it as it went along. Thank you for reading.[/quote]

Woah! This is really really cool! I love the desert setting. Very misterious :D

Thanks, and dont worry, i know. And here is Chapter 7 for ya. [b]Chapter 7[/b] Clark awoke to a bang and a scream. Muzzle flashes flickered in the trees. Gunshots sounded only feet from Clark. Dirt rained down as grenades threw it into the air. Screams sounded inhuman. Fire burned around him, smoke choking his lungs. Trying to find out what was happening among the chaos Clark crawled with his Br away from fire. The woods looked like they were lit by a yellow strobe light. Guns firing all around. A grenade went off by a tree. With a crackle, the tree fell landing with a thud only inches from Clark. More screams echoed in the cold woods as another grenade went off. This one was near Clark. Clark's vision blurred and his ears rang. More firing went on with the never ending crackling of rifles and automatic weapons. "CLARK! Get over here now!" Clark, head still spinning from the grenade that went off near him, looked over towards where the voice was coming from. Kyle was standing near a clump of bushes and a short and stubby tree. His helmet was off and his head was shining with blood. A body lay at his feet motionless. Kyle cried out as a grenade detonated near him. He stumbled but regained himself and resumed firing into the dark. Clark scrambled over to Kyle. "What is happening?!?" Clark screamed still half deaf from the grenade. "I dont know! An ambush! They hit us while i was on watch! I cant find Travis either!" Clark ducked as a bullet cracked over his head. Raising his Br he fired 4 bursts into the darkness where the muzzle flashes flashed on and off like fireflies in the night. More bullets hit around Kyle and Clark. "We gotta retreat Sarge!" Kyle screamed as he started back further into the woods. Clark followed him stumbling as he went. "Go go go!" Clark shouted as they moved away from the fire. Kyle started to run and Clark struggled to keep up. His head still spun and his ears still rang. Kyle turned back to help him keep moving. A grenade landed near Kyle. Kyle picked it up and started to throw it back. There was a deafening boom and a flash brighter than Clark had though possible. The blast threw Clark to the ground. Clark groaned as he tried to get up. When he did, he looked over to Kyle. An arm lay where Kyle had just been standing. Clark felt sick, this couldnt be happening. Sergeant Clark ran deeper into the woods. As he ran, his foot caught a branch and he fell. He landed next to what looked like an old fox hole. He rolled into it and pulled a broken pine branch over top of him. Still the shooting went on. A shout and an SMG burst sounded like it was near Clark. Gripping his BR, Clark peered out of his hole. Standing in the open was Travis. His SMG growled as it spat out a deadly spray of bullets. "Travis!" Clark shouted "Down here! Get in!" Travis looked over and spotted Clark. He sprinted over and dove into the hole. Clark reached up and pulled over the branches once again. Travis looked like he had just fought through hell and back. Blood soaked his chest and it was splattered across his face. His armor had scrapes and holes where bullets had hit the Kevlar plating. His black sleeves were ripped apart. One arm was cut up and bleeding. Travis caught Clark looking at him. "Dont worry, not all the blood is mine" He said with a grin. "Right..." Clark quieted down as he heard footsteps outside. The firing had stopped, Clark had failed to even notice that. Clark motioned for Travis to be quiet as well, and Travis responded with a brisk nod. "Where are the other 2?" A voice growled from above "We dont know sir." Another answered. "What do you mean you dont know! Thats your job corporal!" The first spat back. "We saw the first go down sir, the other two seem to have disappeared into thin air. We dont know where they went." "More like we saw the first disintegrate" a third said. "Still corporal, it seems you have failed me." The first said. "No Captain pleas-" The plea was cut off as a shot cracked out. There was a thud as Clark and Travis heard a body crumple to the ground. "Lance!" The first said briskly "Sir!" The third voice responded. "You just earned yourself a promotion... Corporal." "Yes sir.." "Now get that body out of here. We have some searching to do." "Yes sir!" There was a sliding noise as the body was dragged away. Footsteps came closer to the hole. Clark and Travis crouched down deeper as they peered up in between the branches. Standing above them was a pale looking man. His scarred face seemed to carry authority. In his hand was a magnum still smoking from its recent murder. The man turned away from the hole. "Get scouts out to look for the two that are left. Im headed back to base." Footsteps sounded as the men scrambled to obey their commander. After a slight pause, the commander left. Clark sighed. That was closer than he wanted.

I <3 this story. Just make sure you know when to stop swapping quality for quantity...

[b][u]Chapter 6[/u][/b] Corporal Kyle Scott saw Sergeant Clark and Private Travis before they saw him. Still on the dunes, Kyle stumbled as he tried to pick up his pace in order to meet up with the two other ODSTs. When he caught up, he exclaimed "Man am i glad to see you two" Clark turned and grinned. Kyle could not see it with the helmet on so Clark took it off. "Good to see you too soldier" Clark said still grinning. "Its good to have the squad back together" Kyle frowned, "But theres only 3 of us. Where is Jason?" Clarks grin turned to a grim look. Travis spoke up before Clark could. "Hes KIA" Kyle looked at Clark, as if to confirm what the Private had just said. Clark gave a stiff nod. Kyle paused. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but closed it again. There was a pause where the three remaining squad members stood in silence. Finally Kyle spoke up. "Well, i guess he gave the ultimate sacrifice. Like we are all willing to do." No one spoke. The silence lingered on for a few more seconds. "Well we better get moving." Travis said, trying to lighten the mood. Both of the other ODSTs nodded, and started walking towards the forest again. They continued on for a good five more minutes in silence. None of them wanting to speak up and break the silence. Clark looked up to scan the tree line ahead of him. He saw something move. A sniper barrel poked out of the tree line. "DOWN!" Clark screamed. With a crack, Travis spun and hit the sand. Kyle and Clark leaped behind separate dunes. "Im hit! Im HIT!" Travis screamed. "Listen to me Travis, you gotta stay quite!" Clark whispered urgently. He motioned to Kyle to get out his Sniper rifle. Kyle looked at him puzzled, and then nodded. He had almost forgot he had it dissembled in his bag. Travis spoke up again, this time sounding weaker. "Guys, you gotta do something! Dont leave me here!" Clark looked at him again. "Just stay where you are! Stay still!" He whispered frantically. Clark looked over to where Kyle was. Kyle had the sniper assembled and was crawling to the lip of the dune. Kyle slowly reached up and dug away a small pocket at the tip of the dune. There he rested the rifle. Travis at this point had stopped talking, he was breathing heavily with slow rasping breaths. Kyle meanwhile, was taking aim. "Gotcha" he murmered. The rifle kicked in his hands and there was another crack. Clark heard branches break. He imagined the enemy sniper dropping from the tree, breaking branches on the way down. "Clear!" Kyle told Clark. Clark got up and hurried over to Travis. Stripping off Travis's chest plate, he assessed the wound. The bullet had gone into Travis's left shoulder. Right in the gap between his armor. Luckily, the bullet had gone all the way through. "Stay still" Taking the leftover biofoam from his bag, Clark filled the wound. Travis tried to get up, but he dropped back, swearing profusely. Clark put an arm under Travis and lifted him up. "We got you dont worry." Clark said. He motioned for Kyle to move ahead of them and scout out the area ahead. [quote][/quote] 10 minutes later the three arrived at the forest's edge. Clark helped Travis into the shade and propped him up against a tree. Travis was looking better already with the morphine Kyle had given him. Clark sat down next to Travis. "Good thing we didnt lose you." Clark said. "Yea, good thing indeed." Travis said with a chuckle "I know i didnt want to die." He smiled, knowing that the chances of that were very high for ODST's. Clark looked up as Kyle trotted up to them. "What have you got?" Clark asked "Theres a path running through the forest. We would have to cross it to get to the mountain ranges where that Black Fist base should be." "Ok, that shouldnt be a problem" Travis spoke up. "Yea it wouldnt be, except they got about 50 guys spread out along that path with fortifications. From the looks of it, they've been setting it up for days now." "That aint too good." Clark said. "What have we got weapon wise?" "Well, we all have just about full BR's right?" Clark and Travis nodded. "Alright, then besides that, ive got a 23 shots in my Sniper, 2 grenades, one Incinerary and one frag." "And ive got 2 frags and my SMG." Clark added. "And ive got a frag and that SMG you gave me." Travis said to Kyle. "Alright then, its not much, but i think we can punch through that line." Kyle said. "We attack tonight." Clark said "At night?" Travis grumbled "Yea at night, that way we will catch them by surprise. And we will win this." with that, Clark got up and headed over to a separate tree. "Kyle, you got first watch. Switch after 3 hours. Right now, were gonna rest up and catch some sleep. God knows if we will get any tonight." The other 2 nodded. Clark drifted off into sleep, nervous about the coming attack.....

[b][u]Chapter 5[/u][/b] Private Jason sprinted through the small forest that rested below the sprawling mountain range. Shots sounded from behind. Bullets cracked through the branches, whizzing by Jasons head. After leaving his pod, Jason had been ambushed by members of the Black Fist. As far as he knew, he was the only one of Sergeant Clark's squad that had landed where it was supposed to. That ambush could have had them all on the run. But as he was the only one, the only thing he could do was run. Standing and fighting would mean instant death. He was outnumbered 20 to 1. More bullets cracked through the air above his head. [i]At least their aim suck..[/i] Jason thought. Though he had to do something to get them off his back... Fumbling with his gear, he managed to unpin a grenade from his belt. This will slow them down, he thought as he chucked it over his head. A deafening explosion went off only yards behind him. Jason flew through the air. He crashed to the ground with a grunt and a thud. Screams sounded behind him. They sounded inhuman and deformed. The grenade had done its work for some of them at least. Jason stood to start to run again. At that very moment he heard a smack and his leg felt as if it had exploded. He looked down, it seemed that it almost had. A bullet had entered the back of his calf and shattered his shin on the exit. Jason dropped to the ground with a scream. He clawed across the dirt, dragging his mangled leg behind him. He set his eyes on the thick gnarled tree trunk ahead of him. Unslinging his SMG he propped himself up against the tree. He took a ragged and painful breath. Nothing made any noise besides the chirping of a cricket and the rustle of the leaves. Jason listened harder, bushes rustled and voices sounded. "Gotcha" Jason murmured as he aimed and squeezed the trigger. The SMG growled and kicked. At first there was nothing, only the silence of the forest. Then, slowly at first, a moan sounded from the bush. Moments later, a man staggered out. Jason once again pulled the trigger. Bullets sprayed out of the barrel. The man's chest became filled with small neat holes. With another groan, he dropped. Blood seeped out from his wounds. Silenced filled the air around Jason once again. The ODST readjusted himself on the tree. Propping his SMG up his knee, Jason reloaded and once again got ready for more. He heard a grunt from the area ahead of him. A small round object dropped onto his lap. Recognizing the live grenade he scrambled for it and heaved it back into the brush. The brush exploded and with it the 2 men it concealed went flying through the air. Dirt rained down onto Jason and his SMG. The silence that ensued was interrupted by the crack of a rifle. Jason grunted as a bullet smacked him in the chest. The SMG dropped from his hands and clattered into the dirt. There was a moment as Jason put a hand to his chest. The gloved black hand came away red. Jason realized he had nearly reached his end. Moments later, with a rustle, five men emerged from the brush. Jason recognized one of the Black Fist commandos he was after, Joseph Ruben. Joseph's scarred and pale face looked Jason into his eyes as he lowered the pistol he was carrying. The barrel gleamed in the sunlight that streaked down from the canopy. "Any last words?" Joseph asked with a grin. With his last ounce of strength, Jason weakly smiled and revealed what he was holding. "Go to hell" The grenade went off in a cloud of fire. The six men were engulfed in its flame. Only a mile from the forest, Sergeant Clark and Travis were trudging through the sand. They heard the crack of the sniper rifle, and soon after, the deep thud of a grenade going off. Clark checked his com signal. Jason's signal winked out. Clark sighed, and Travis did as well. They both knew what had just happened, and neither one liked it at all.

[b][u]Chapter 3[/b][/u] Clark squeezed his eyes shut as the trigger was pulled. A metallic click sounded. Zakahov pulled the trigger again. Yet another click. Zakahov muttered something beneath his breath and he stood up. "You lucked out Clark" He growled, clearly angry that the pistol had jammed. Clark sighed. The chances of that happening were so slim, he could not even imagine the odds. Still, he was bleeding alot, and time would kill him even if a new bullet did not. Zakahov threw the pistol to the sand. "Looks like you took the long way out Sarge. Hope it hurts" With that, he turned and headed to his mongoose. The engine sputtered to life and Zakahov left Clark bleeding in the sand. Clark watched as Zakahov grew smaller and smaller into the horizon. The cloud of sand his Mongoose kicked up slowly settling back down. Clark groaned. The pain was beginning to become unbearable. He lied down, accepting the fact that he could not make it out. Clark looked straight up into the sky. Vultures had already started to circle him. His eyelids became heavy and dreary. He drifted off into unconsciousness. What seemed like hours later Clark opened his eyes. He was still lying in the sand. Yet he was alive. Something was not right. He put a hand to his wound. It felt... Unnatural. He realized what he was feeling. Biofoam. He started to get up. "Hey, stay where you are" A voice said from behind him. A man dressed in the all black of an ODST came up and squatted next to him. Clark recognized him as private Travis Burlingame. He was one of the more veteran members of his current squad. Travis stood about 5'11 and was lean and strong. He was only 23. His helmet was off revealing his hazel green eyes and his short brown hair. "Found you when I spotted the smoke from that warthog you destroyed." He said casually "I was hopping to find more than one of our squad." He chuckled, "of course all i find is our passed out Sergeant lying in the sand." Clark smiled weakly. "A little soup and you should be pretty much back to normal Sarge." Travis said as he went back behind Clark. There he had a stove and a pot boiling water. Clark sighed. At least someone had picked him up. He would have to tell Travis about Zakahov. At least, what had just happened between them. When Travis came over with the soup Clark explained exactly what had happened. When he had finished, Travis's eyes were wide with amazement. "You sure got lucky with that misfire" Travis said quietly. "Il say" mumbled Clark. "Well then we'll just have to keep an eye out for him now wont we?" "More like two eyes, an ear and a nose. That guys sneaky" Clark replied. "What about the other ear?" Travis said jokingly. Clark chuckled in response. Travis always looked at the lighter side of a situation. Something Clark wished he could do more often. "Well, i got some morphine in that soup, so your shoulder shouldnt bug you for a long while" Travis said with a grin. "Joy" Clark said. Though he was truly greatfull for what Travis had done. Without him, he would still in the desert. Most likely being picked apart by some Vultures. "Whatever happened to our missioin?" Travis asked "and did you find the rest of our squad?" Clark replied, "Our mission is still top priority, and no, i didnt find the other 2." Travis nodded grimly. Both ODST's wished they would find their scattered squad alive and well. "Best be headed out now Sarge. If were to catch our target we gotta be moving." "Yea, i guess" Clark and Travis started off towards the mountain range. The range which still seemed to get no closer. [quote][/quote] [b][u]Chapter 4[/b][/u] Corporal Kyle Scott's HEV landed with a crash into the sand. Kyle groaned. That one had hurt. Still, after the separation during the drop, he had to get regrouped. The explosive bolts hissed. With a loud bang the hatch launched off. Dry heat washed into the pod. Kyle stepped out, his heavy boots sinking into the sand. He looked up, watching the heavy air battle going on in the sky. UNSC fighters streaked by chasing the equally nimble Insurrectionist ships. Upon looking up, Kyle saw a fighter get hit. It began to drop and was spiraling straight towards Kyle. Kyle reached into his pod, grabbed his gear, and dove out of the way. A thunderous crash sounded as the flaming ship crashed into where the ODST had just been standing. Kyle sighed. That was close, he turned back towards the wrecked ship. It was one of the Insurrectionist's ships. A black fist was painted onto the wing. The rebels called themselves the Blackfist. It was named after a ancient terrorist group named the Black Hand. That organization had started a world war. This one started an intergalactic war. Entire Planets had gone with the Rebels. It was the UNSC's job to get them back. And to stop the rebellion. Kyle trotted over to the fighter. It was belching smoke. Kyle drew his pistol, just to be safe. He approached the cockpit and peered inside. The pilot was dead. That much was good, he thought as he put away his pistol. He quick searched the pilot to see if there was anything usefull. Some spare clips, not much else. Kyle turned to leave. As he did he noticed warthogs kicking up a plume of smoke on the horizon. They were rapidly getting closer. They must have seen the fighter crash. Kyle quickly dove behind the fighter and kept a hand on his SMG. The warthog stopped. Two men got out, a third stayed on the turret. "Dead" one said as he checked the cockpit. "Then blow the ship. We dont want them to get any coordinates." The second one said. "Roger" Kyle heard a bag get unzipped. He must be setting the charges. Kyle had to do something. He stepped out gernade in hand and SMG in the other. He threw the grenade underneath the warthog and pulled the trigger of the SMG. The two men setting the charges dropped under the spray of the SMG. The third dove off the Hog right before the grenade went off. With a thud and a crash the grenade did its work. The Hog flipped over Kyles head. Bullets whizzed by Kyles head and smacked into the metal plates of the Fighters armor. Kyle dove and brought up his SMG firing all at the same time. The third member of the Black Hand group fell back. Kyle stepped up to his body and put a round in his head to be sure he was dead. Kyle knew there was something important in that fighter. He just had to find it. Drawing his combat knife, he approached the cockpit yet again. The hard-drive to the fighter was on the dashboard. Prying the knife into a crack, he popped it out. [i]This could come in handy[/i] Kyle thought. Having what he needed, he set off at a trot towards the mountain range.

[b]Chapter 2[/b] As Sergeant Clark stared down the barrel of a M6G magnum. He wondered what it was like to die. Would it be painless? would he feel himself float up towards heaven, watching as his lifeless body crumpled to the ground at the feet of Arnold Zakahov? "Drop the Rifle" Zakahov instructed. Clark knew it would be useless to argue. Or for that matter even try to bring up the rifle and shoot. Zakahov was known for being quick at pulling the trigger. The BR dropped to the ground with a soft thud. Clark slowly raised his hands to the air. "You got me." He said quietly. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to find you?" Zakahov growled. Clark shook his head. For all he had known, Arnold Zakahov had given up in his search. "And these Damn Insurrectionists never give you any information. Always killing themselves before saying anything usefull. As you can see," Arnold said as he gestured towards the bodies. "They are quite easy to kill." Clark nodded. He glanced towards the figure still on the horizon. [i]Not so easy to catch though[/i] he thought. "What are you looking at" Zakahov demanded as he shoved the magnum in Clark's face. "My mission" Clark replied cooly. "Well you no longer have to worry about him." Zakahov sneered. "Your gonna die." Clark leaped forward, hoping to catch his ex squad mate off guard. The magnum barked a short and loud bang. Clark reeled off to the side clutching his shoulder. He fell to his knees, stunned. Clark's shoulder was bleeding bad, it might have hit an artery. The chances of his survival were not looking good. Zakahov laughed. "You really think you could catch me off guard?" He said as he sat down a yard from Clark. "Why do you think i survived the war?" He paused, waiting for an answer. When Clark gave him none he went on. "Because i was always ready. Ready for whatever those Covenant bastards could throw at me." He paused while he took out a Cigar. His Zippo made the familiar clink as it opened up. Soon enough, Zakahov was puffing away on a fresh cigar. Clark's vision blurred. He was loosing too much blood. He would pass out soon enough. "Take off your helmet Sarge. id like to see your face one last time." Clark obliged. Clark looked up with his deep blue eyes. They seemed penetrate into whoever looked into them. Zakahov looked away. "Well then, i think im going to leave you to die." Zakahov started to stand, but thought better of it. "You know what? why leave things to chance?" He lowered the pistol towards Clark's head. He squeezed the trigger. [quote]Thus ends Chapter 2. Stay tuned for Chapter 3 coming soon! =][/quote]

The Hobbit appoves

Very nice story you got going here. Type of story that keeps you wanting more. And thats exactly what you need to have a successful story!