"Get out of the elevator!" Pulse yelled over the roar. The workers ran out of the elevator and hid in various places in the room. "Shadow, your Magnum! I'll distract it; you fire at its chest with your Shotgun!" Pulse ordered. Shadow tossed him his Magnum, while putting his helmet back on. Pulse fired 3 rounds at the Brutes power armour, sending it into more of a rage. It jumped, hammer swinging down. Pulse rolled to the side, missing the hammers shockwave by centimetres. It roared at Pulse, its huge gaping jaws showing a row of sharp yellow teeth. Pulse scrambled up and ran towards a desk. He made it just in time as another deafening blow hit the floor which he was just standing on. Cracks appeared on the floor. Pulse looked over the desk, firing more rounds, and froze as the monster launched itself at him. He was blown back by the shockwave, hitting the window. It shattered from the force. Rain and wind poured into the room, dampening the fur of the Brute. It brought its hammer up for the killing strike. It swung down, but stopped halfway as a shotgun shell hit it square in the chest. The power armour in that area shattered, revealing its tough skin underneath. "Hey Bastard" Shadow called out. "Why don't try and fight someone your own size?" The Brute glared at Shadow, accepting the challenge. It got back on its feet and stood ready, waiting for Shadow to attack. Shadow pumped his shotgun, ready for the next shot. "Let's dance". ******************************* Crack awoke inside a small house. He shook his head, feeling the weight that came with a major headache. His armour was in a pile on a chair in the corner. He tried to get up, but a strong hand held him back. "Whoa there, you aren't going anywhere. The state we found you in, you're lucky to be alive" the hand said. Crack looked up, his vision blurry. He could make out a face with some metal around the body. "A..a..Spartan?" Crack asked, remembering that Spartans wore heavy armour. "That's correct. You're at our field camp. We were fighting the Covenant air forces when our Falcon crashed. We found you nearby. You were pretty beaten up" A look of concern crossed the Spartans face. "Don't worry though; you're safe here. You've been out for a few hours, and your condition is pretty serious" The Spartan continued. "What's wrong with me?" "Nothing we can't fix; broken leg, fractured arms, and your spine had a nasty shake when you hit the surface. You'll be alright soon" he finished. Crack thanked the Spartan, and started devising an escape plan. He knew he couldn't trust Spartans. ******************************* Shadow dived out of the way as the Brute lunged. It crashed head first into a desk, which made a woman hiding behind it scream and run away in terror. Seizing the opportunity, Shadow fired at its back, shredding more of the armour away. The Brute roared in pain, and swung backwards. It missed Shadow completely, but managed to hit a computer. The computer exploded, knocking the brute towards the open window. Shadow turned around, seeing Pulse leading the civilians into the elevator. Pulse gestured for Shadow to come into the elevator. Behind him, he heard the brute grunting in the effort to get up. "Go! I'll deal with the Brute" Shadow called over the comm. Pulse, understanding, nodded, and Shadow felt a pang of sadness as the doors slid closed. He turned around, clicking his shotgun. It was empty. "You want me? Well, here I am!" Shadow screamed, charging the Brute. The Brute stood up and roared to the heavens, the wind whipping at its fur. It ran full speed at Shadow. "Let's do this!" Shadow yelled, and they collided, falling out of the window. Shadow punched the brute in the face and pulled out his combat knife. The Brute moaned in pain and tried to claw at him. Shadow's own armour broke in several places from the brutes strong hands. Shadow punched the Brute again, as Flashes of lightning lit up the area. "This is for John!" Shadow bellowed, impaling the flesh in the broken gaps of the armour with his knife. He jumped on top of the Brute and held it down, bracing for Impact. Shadow heard the creature's spine snap as he was flown off the body by the force of the impact. He landed near a destroyed car, flat on his back. His body functions slowed down as his strength disappeared, the adrenaline passing out of his system. His vision started to blur as heavy rain drops hit his helmet. Watching the sky, Shadow saw the Evac Pelican lift off the top of the building and fly away. He knew he wouldn't make it out of the city. Relaxing, he lay down and remembered his life. He passed out somewhere between being 10 and 14. The last thing Shadow remembered seeing was a Phantom dropping down towards the street, its engines glowing blue. ******************************* Crack got out of his bed when he could hear nothing but the low drone of the wind. Tip-toeing, he grabbed his armour and walked out the hut. The campsite was deserted, save for a few Moa that had wandered in. Glancing around Crack noticed an AA Battery had been placed up, A damaged Falcon behind it. Realising this was his only way to escape; He crouched down and slowly approached the cockpit. The hatch was open. I'm in luck, Crack thought happily, remembering the racket Falcon's usually made when someone opened their hatch. He placed his armour in the passenger bays central container and climbed into the cockpit. Activating the Falcons engines, Crack gently raised the Falcon. He managed to get a few metres before the left engine exploded into a shower of bright orange sparks. The Falcon dropped and smashed into the earth. The Falcon wasn't in to bad of a shape; Crack thought as he grabbed his things and tried to run. He ran nothing on his mind but escaping. He heard footsteps behind him, saw lights in the sky. He heard alarms in the background, and ran harder.