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Unsuspecting Victims
Posted By: Commander Demitri Wolf<evo_343@hotmail.com>
Date: 3 March 2005, 2:04 AM
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A.N. This is basically a scattered recollection of two days in the lives of a group of stranded Marines and an unfortunate pilot, hope you all enjoy it.
We've been here over a day now and the two I sent in before still haven't returned.
As the Commander of this expedition it is my job to ensure the lives of my company aren't compromised, the remaining Marines will form two groups, Alpha and Beta.
Alpha will venture further into the structure and try to find the missing and Beta will attempt contact with our pilot Lester outside.
I will head Alpha group while Lieutenant Wilkins will command Beta, we leave in ten minutes, the log will be updated hourly. ~Commander Mathew Croft
It was the last entry.
Only the sounds of rapid breathing and the soft pitter-patter of blood dripping from the ceiling came from the desolate corridor within the ancient structure.
A flickering light emblazoned the stone wall with writing, and lit up the otherwise dank, shadowy corridor.
The man held the projector with shanking hands, he had found the data pad in an abandoned corridor; the screen was cracked so he ejected the data chip and put it in his personal projection device.
"Jesus," he muttered and a drop of blood hit his nose, it was red, human blood. "Have mercy on their souls."
A squelching sound came from deeper in the structure and the man froze; they're here.
He shoved the device in his pocket and slapped down his helmet's blast visor, the night vision function activated and gave him a clear view of the corridor.
He started running as he drew and cocked his M6D pistol, for the past four hours his life had become a deadly game of Cat and Mouse; one that he ultimately might not survive.
Two Days Earlier / Pelican Dropship Echo 206 / In Flight
The Pelican sped across the ring shaped construct and towards a section of dense jungle with its engines roaring. It occupants were a contingent of eight Marines; they sat relaxed in the hold listening to music.
"This is the life Lester, this, is what I live for." Flight Lieutenant Donald 'Ducky' Chapman spoke to his friend, Commander Jonathan Lester.
"I hear ya Ducky, hey Croft, I'll set her down it that clearing over there?" Lester called out, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder.
"Aye-aye, Lester" The Croft replied and Lester spun his bird around.
The thrusters whined as Echo 206 set down in the clearing, the air from them billowing the dust on the LZ and blowing the grass around.
The company pilled out the back and Croft signalled the all clear to Lester, "Extraction in forty-three hours Croft, be here or stay here." With that he was gone, the Dropship faded into the distance.
"Ok Marines, lets set up a camp, I want two of you to check out the structure, any volunteers?" Croft asked, naturally, all the Marines raised their hands.
"Douglas, McCray," he jerked his head at the structure, "gear up and get in there, I want you back here in half an hour."
Lieutenant McCray grabbed a pack and put two M6D's in her thigh holsters while Lieutenant Douglas slung half a dozen grenades across his shoulder and snatched a MA5B.
The pair headed off into the complex, unknowing that they wouldn't leave the same.
Lieutenant Stephanie McCray scanned the room with her pistol and called to her partner, Lieutenant William 'Ace' Douglas.
"It's all clear, move in." She slipped in and hugged the wall, William followed as her eyes kept scanning the room.
Suddenly out of the corner of her eyes she saw a movement and flung an arm out, holding Will back.
"You see that Ace?" whispered cautiously her gun now held in a two handed grip.
"See what? I think you're just getting paranoid Steph." He said back, not bothering to keep his voice down.
There, she saw it, overby the door.
"I think we got hostiles Ace, get back out into the corridor and radio Croft." A bead of sweat trickled down her forehead and her hard grip on the nickel-plated handle warmed it up quickly.
"What are you on about Steph, look," he said stepping out into the open and raising his arms, "nothing here."
"Ace," Steph repeated, her voice was still a whisper, "Get. Back." She moved slowly back towards the corridor and an odd sound echoed dimly through the room.
Rustling? What the hell is it, oh Jesus.
There was a flash of light and the far door burst open and sent small tentacled creatures flying out. Steph took a rough estimation at how many and thought at least sixty.
Some of them flew towards the two and tried to get to them, but Ace just squished them as the rest rolled out the door.
"Ace!" Steph hollered and grabbed his arm pulling him backwards as they tore down the corridor. Will stole a glance over his shoulder at the small things.
He broke free of McCray and grasped his assault rifle, "I'll take 'em, you go ahead, and get Croft."
Steph turned and made to speak but Will silenced her, "Go!" they locked eyes and she turned and sped down the corridor.
Ace grinned and squeezed the trigger hard; the bullets spat out and pierced the bulbous creatures' tiny bodies.
The front line exploded and blew back the next dozen which popped too, something I can use to my advantage, Ace thought.
He hurled a grenade and laughed as the remaining things burst, he turned his back on them and pounded down the corridor after McCray.
It wasn't until then that the small creature on his back crawled up and plunged a long tentacle into his neck.
He yelled and clawed at the back of his neck but soon knew he was done for. His body hit the ground and kept twitching while the creature took over his body, too easy.
Steph stopped to rest after ten minutes of running. She backed up against the wall and drew the M6D for safety. She didn't know what it was back there but hoped Ace got away.
A soft squelching sound came from down the corridor and Steph's eyes widened, what now.
The sound got closer and became a few squelching sounds, she slung the pack again and ran down the corridor.
Ten seconds later McCray's face exploded with pain, she felt as though her leg had been snapped in half.
Falling to the ground and turning on her back she started crawling backwards, she heard another loud squelch and saw a large thing sailing through the air.
The creature landed on her leg with an assault rifle in its hand. Ace, Steph thought, though when she looked up she was almost sick.
The thing standing before her wasn't human, or at least not anymore, she saw the ravaged face and screamed, it was unmistakably once human; it was once Ace.
She closed her eyes for a second and prayed she was dreaming, when she opened them her face met a boot.
Croft sat on a rucksack and bit his nails-a habit he had when he was stressed-they're dead...they're both dead.
The two had been gone for a day and Croft ordered them back in a half an hour, something had gone wrong, they must be dead.
He keyed the COM line again, "William, Stephanie?"
Static.
He grabbed his data pad and made an entry,
McCray and Douglas are missing, presumed dead. There is nothing I can do at the moment but wait for them.
We've tried to contact both the missing and Lester, but to no avail, all we get is static. I'm trying to keep moral high amongst my company and at least that seems to be working.
Several times we've ventured slightly into the structure, never more than three hundred feet. We have found some interesting things and recorded all finding.
I fear for McCray and Douglas' safety but they are two of my best soldiers, I hope they make it out of there alive. ~Commander Mathew Croft
Five Hours Earlier / Pelican Dropship Echo 206 / In flight
"Any sign of 'em?" Lester asked Ducky who was standing at the back of the hold looking out over the swamp clearing they had dropped the company off at earlier.
"No," he hollered back, "do we leave 'em or go down and take a look?"
"They knew to be here, we'll come back in twenty-four. You wanna go grab a few hours of R & R?" Ducky nodded a yes, the constant work they were doing was tiring.
Ducky grinned tiredly and turned to talk to Lester when something caught his eye, "Lester!" he called, "Get a look at this."
The Pelican did in a midair 180º and declined to give the pilot a better view, "Oh my God, are they Covenant?"
Ducky rushed to the front and got in the co-pilots seat, "No goddamn way, what you gonna do?" Lester grinned and circled his thumbs over the triggers.
He glanced at the gathering of creatures and the chin-gun followed, instantly the smile evaporated from his face and he became all business; he plunged down.
The things below were ripped apart by the bullets and as pieces of rotten flesh fell to the ground the infected beings gave a silent scream of pain.
"They're gone, lets get set down and get the others the hell outta there." Ducky said and Lester agreed, positioning the thrusters downwards he lowered the engine output and the Pelican eased to the ground.
The dropship settled in the clearing and into an ambush.
Two creatures and the four that had been momentarily subdued by gunfire leapt out at the Pelican, one of the larger creatures raised a flailing arm and smashed open the windscreen.
With a terrified scream Ducky was pulled through the glass, shards stuck in him and left the remnants of it smeared in blood.
Lester yelled and gunned the engine, the Pelican lifted off the ground quickly, but not before three creatures had leapt on top of it.
The creatures lashed out with their elongated limbs and left large dents in the sides and roof and progressed towards the cabin.
Lester smashed the joystick violently to the right and sent one of the creatures flying, it landed on another in the clearing and had Ducky been conscious he would have heard the sickening crunch of bones.
The Pelican shot upwards and the remaining two tumbled down; one hit a thruster and was blown downwards, it came to a crash on the ground.
The last creature lifted its flailing whip like arms and lashed out, the windscreen shattered and sprayed Lester with glass, he raised an arm and shielded his eyes from the fragments.
The Pelican went into a series of spasms as Lester lost control, it veered right and then left before plummeting back to Earth.
In the clearing the group of creatures were closing in slowly on Ducky, the unconscious pilot lay in a pool of blood as his arms twitched.
As the Pelican's engines whined and it made its quick decent to Earth, Ducky woke from his unconscious state.
A feeling of pain washed over him but was soon replaced by fear; the Pelican was headed right for him.
Lester blindly clawed at the dashboard in front of him and managed to hit the ejection button.
The pilot shot up, or sideways as the plane was vertical, and flew through the air, the parachute opened up and dragged him upwards.
Ducky felt a sharp pain in his side as one of the creatures lashed out at him, it was a feeling of relief when the Pelican crashed and silenced his screams eternally.
Lester crawled in the mud trying to see until he came to a puddle of water, he cupped his hands and splashed his face.
He squinted as the red water dripped down his face, he yelled and jumped back from the pool of blood.
Lester got up and dried his face with a sleeve before looking around at the chaos.
The Pelican was alight with its nose buried down in the mud, burning the corpses of the creatures and Ducky.
He cried out for help but there was only the soft noise of the drizzling rain, picking up a pistol lying on the ground he did the only thing he could; head inside the structure.
One Minute Earlier / Unknown Structure / Artefact 'Halo'
Three shots and the body slumped quietly to the ground,
That one made it seven, how many were there?
Lester dropped the clip and discharged the last round in the chamber into the creature's head before slapping in a new clip in and stepping over the corpse.
He turned the corner and came upon a blood covered corridor and an abandoned rucksack; he rummaged through the pockets and retrieved something that looked of interest.
A data pad.
Echo 419 flew over the marsh as its pilot and co-pilot scanned the area for the lost Pelican.
"There Boss, see it?." Frye asked, pointing into a clearing below.
"I see it, bringen' her down." Rawley replied and began their decent.
The Pelican lowered down and into the clearing, mud diving away from its thrusters and splattering over the hull.
Frye cursed, "What happened here?" but Rawley could do nothing but look.
The fallen dropship had remained in its awkward position in the mud; the bodies underneath it though had been reduced to ash.
Fire had been contained in the cabin but it now looked as though it was going to take the rest of the craft soon.
Frye turned and made to leave, "There's nothing we can do, looks like a crash and they probably all died on impact."
Rawley's mouth dropped open and she stared at the structure, "No, they didn't."
Lester clutched his bleeding leg as he hobbled out of the structure; the pistol fell from his hand and slipped into a puddle of mud.
Rawley ran forward and grabbed the man as he collapsed, "Where's everyone else."
Dead, they're all dead.
"Gone." He muttered as the pilot helped him over to the Pelican.
With help from Frye she strapped him into a seat in the bay and then slumped into a seat across from him.
She opened her mouth but Lester stopped her with his raspy speech, "Ma'am, I know you wanna get the facts, but right now," he glanced back over at the structure, "would be an excellent time to get the hell outta here."
Rawley gave a silent nod and hopped out the back of the Pelican, Fry stayed with the unconscious
As Echo 419 lifted out of the clearing another being stepped out of the structure, it walked with pain in each step, almost as though it was being forced to move.
Its borrowed eyes surveyed the area and then it turned to slink back into the shadows.
A sudden rumble caught its attention and it stopped dead, turning around it saw a slight movement in its peripheral vision.
Echo 206 groaned as its weight caused it to finally collapse, the thud resonated throughout the clearing and scattered the flying things nesting in the trees.
The creature cocked its head in puzzlement before the fire spread to the fuselage and the dropship exploded in a large fireball.
The explosion tore apart the creature and splattered its body all over the ground, the most noticeable thing left was a section of its tattered clothing on which was one word.
Croft.
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