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My life as a Marine. by Danny



My life as a Marine: Michael A. Mendez
Date: 11 July 2004, 4:19 PM

Chapter one:
Fallen'

The grassy plains had an extreme smell of burning grass and metal. Four Warthogs left the battle site; one of them had significant damage to the engine. At times it would stall, spin out of control, or just not stop at all. A war had just happed and there was a lot of destruction. Smoke and heat smothered plant life about fifteen yards from the battle field. You could see the smoke from over a mile away. There were plenty of casualties both Covenant and UNSC Forces in that battle. Tanks and Warthogs looked like someone picked them up, and smashed them to the ground. Dead bodies were lying on the ground every where. And fifty foot deep divots were embedded into the ground from vehicular explosions, grenades, and missiles from tanks and/or aerial attacks. Covenant vehicles were completely totaled and some of the Banshees had crashed into cliff sides.

The Warthogs were on their way to the UNSC base code named 'Fallen'. The damaged Warthog stalled, and the other three continued to the Base. Their was three men on that Warthog, one was severely injured, and the other two weren't injured at all. Their names are: Martin, Joe, and Mendez. Mendez was driving the damaged Warthog, so he tried to start the engine. He turned the key, but it didn't start. He tried again, but it still didn't start. Mendez wasn't getting very happy, he was madder the he ever was before. "Hold on Joe, stay with me!" Yelled Mendez. He turned the key again, it started, and they were off. Mendez put the peddle to the metal; he could hear that the engine was struggling and was going to stall at any moment. The Warthog was going over ninety miles per hour, and zooming over grassy plains, and sandy deserts. They were sixteen minutes away from the Base and Mendez knew that the Warthog was not going to make it. The engine was starting to smoke, and it was starting to heat up and grind on other parts of itself.

Out of know where, two banshee started to attack. "Oh crap!" Screamed Martin as he mounted the chain gun. He started to fire; the bullets were so slow that it was easy for the Banshees to dodge. Both of the Banshees started to shoot their plasma fire hitting the Warthog. Four of the shots hit Martin, he held back the pain so the other two don't get more worried then they already are. The banshees got closer to the Warthog so their shots would be more accurate. But it also made the chain guns bullets more accurate. Martin pulled the trigger sending hundreds of bullets at a banshee. The bullets were tearing the banshee into hundreds of pieces. It then exploded in air severely injuring the Elite that was piloting it. The drop from where the Elite is and the ground was almost one hundred feet. So it probably died, and if it didn't, it would eventually die from its injuries. Only one Banshee left, he pulled the trigger sending hundreds more bullets at other Banshee tearing it into hundreds of pieces. But this time the explosion killed the Elite.

They were getting closer to Base; they were about six minutes away. But the Warthog didn't agree with the distance. "Come on Warthog, stay with me!" Yelled Mendez. Joe looked at Mendez, with a look of 'what about me?' On his face. "You stay with too." Said Mendez in a somewhat nervous tone. "Crap! I forgot about this hill!" Said Mendez. They approached a fifty degree angled hill, and stopped.

"Well, over the hill is the Base. So I guess we'll have to try to make it over." Said Mendez. He put the petal to the metal and the Warthog started up the hill. About half way up, the Warthog stalled and Mendez put on the E-Brake. He didn't want to have to drive the Warthog back up the hill. The brakes must have been damaged in the battle too because the vehicle was slowly rolling backwards. Mendez turned the key, but nothing happened. The engine didn't even try to turn. "What the h..." Suddenly, the engine of the Warthog exploded, sending the vehicle tumbling down the hill.

After a couple of moments the Warthog finally came to a stop at the bottom of the hill. Martin was thrown from the vehicle and Joe's leg was pinned under the Warthog. Mendez had fallen out of the Warthog when the engine first exploded. He rolled to the bottom of the hill and was knocked out cold. Mendez had torn the skin of his forehead and was bleeding really bad. The roll down the hill had torn most of his armor off too.

Martin got up; the explosion blew some of his armor off and burned most his of his skin. He also had a broken right arm. He looked at the Warthog, and saw Joe pinned underneath it. He walked up to the vehicle and tried to flip it over. It was really hard to flip a one-thousand pound vehicle with your left arm only.

"Aaahhhh!" Screamed Joe as the Warthog inched off the ground. "Oh my... Oh God! That freaking hurts!" screamed Joe, the Warthog was getting higher off his leg. Mendez heard the scream and ran to the Warthog, tripping and stumbling over his feet.

"Gaahhh! Mendez! I need your help!" Screamed Martin trying to keep the Warthog off the ground. Mendez got to the Warthog and flipped it over so that Joe could get out. "Hold the warthog up, and pull Joe out!" Said Martin as he let go of the Warthog. Mendez was having a hard time holding up the Warthog, and his arms were about give out and he would drop the vehicle. Martin pulled Joe out of underneath of the Warthog and Mendez dropped what was left of the Warthog. Joe's leg was bleeding and there was no doubt that it wasn't broken. "Oh crap... For crying' out loud! My freaking leg is killing me!" Yelled Joe, he was holding his leg, trying to stop the bleeding.

"We should get going! Only God knows how many Covenant heard that explosion! Mendez, you need to carry Joe, I would but my arm is broken and I can't carry anything." Said Martin, holding his arm. "Okay, I'll carry him." Replied Mendez. Mendez bent down and put Joe on his shoulders, and they started up the hill. They finally got to the top of the hill, and looked down. The base was heavily guarded and completely amazing! "Wow, they have changed the base sense the last time I've seen it!" said Mendez amazed. "Your right, it has." Replied Martin. "Cool, it has. Can we please get going! I'm going to die here!" Barked Joe. "All right, let's go!" Replied Mendez. They ran to the base.
Once they got up to the base, a couple of Marines were guarding it. One of the Marines put his Assault Rifle into Mendez's face and said, "Halt! Who goes there?!" "Michael A, Mendez, we're from the base South, South, East of this one, Sir. Its Code name is: Death Tree. Covenant Infantry and Assault vehicles were destroying the base. Captain, Harrison ordered all Infantry to lead the Covenant away from it! Unfortunately by the time that everyone left the base, it was completely demolished. But even at that we still led them away from the base, although the base was already destroyed. We killed all the Covenant, and totaled all the vehicles. Only us, and three other Warthogs full of Marines made it. By the way, did three Warthogs arrive at all today?" The Marine lowered his weapon and then responded, "No. No Warthogs have arrived. Sorry." Right when he said that, three Warthogs came over the hill. "Well I guess they made it after all." Said Mendez in relief. The Warthogs pulled into the repair shop for a repair.

(To be Continued)...



Better and revised additon of My life as a Marine
Date: 20 August 2004, 3:31 AM

Chapter one:
Fallen'


The grassy plains had an extreme smell of burning grass and metal. Four Warthogs left a battle site; one of them had significant damage to the engine. At times it would stall, spin out of control or just not stop at all. A war had just happed and there was a lot of destruction. Smoke and heat smothered plant life about fifteen yards from the battle field. You could see the smoke from over a mile away.

There were plenty of casualties both Covenant and UNSC Forces in that battle. Tanks and Warthogs looked like someone picked them up, and smashed them to the ground. Dead bodies were lying on the ground and cliffs everywhere. Fifty foot deep divots were embedded into the ground from vehicular explosions, grenades, and missiles from tanks and/or aerial attacks. Covenant vehicles were completely totaled and most of the Banshees had crashed into cliff sides. The Warthogs were on their way to the UNSC base code named 'Fallen'.

The damaged Warthog lost control, sputtered and stalled. The three other Warthogs slammed on the brakes and turned around and headed back to the Warthog. One of the Marines told the other three Warthogs to continue on, and they'll meat up with them later, and the other three continued to the Base.

There were three men on that Warthog, one was severely injured, and the other two weren't injured at all. Their names are: Martin, Joe, and Mendez. Mendez was driving the damaged Warthog, Martin was the Gunner, and Joe was sitting in the passenger seat.

Mendez tried to start the engine, but nothing happened. He turned the key again, but it still didn't start. Mendez was madder the he ever was before. He was also panicked because his friend was sitting next to him bleeding to death.

"Hold on Joe, stay with me!" Yelled Mendez.

He turned the key again, and finally it started. Mendez pressed the gas, but the Warthog didn't budge. He pressed the gas again, and the vehicle sped up for a half a second and stopped, and sped up again.

The vehicle drove off; Mendez was pushing the vehicle to its limits. You could hear that the engine was struggling and was going to stall at any moment. The Warthog was going over ninety miles per hour, and the engine started to sputter again. Mendez let off the gas, and the vehicle slowly slowed down. Mendez sped up the vehicle a little bit, and decided not to go as fast as he was. The vehicle drove through a small canyon, and the grinding of the engine echoed through it. The sound echoed for miles, and who knows how many Covenant could hear it. And if they did, a smoking Warthog would be really hard to hide. The Warthog made it out of the canyon and headed to a grassy plain, and a small, hot, sandy desert.

Time went by and the Warthog was still running. It almost stalled a couple of times, but it kept going. They drove a little more and were about sixteen minutes away from the Base. The engine sparked and caught fire, and smoldering smoke practically blinded Mendez. He leaned his head out side of the Warthog to try see where he was going.

"Oh crap!" Yelled Martin as he mounted the chain gun.

Two Banshees appeared out of nowhere and started to attack. He started to fire; the bullets were slow enough that the Banshees could dodge them. Both of the Banshees started to shoot their Plasma guns hitting the Warthog. Four of the shots hit Martin, he held back the scream so the other two don't get more worried then they already were. The banshees got closer to the Warthog so their shots would be more accurate. But it also made the chain guns bullets more accurate. Martin pulled the trigger again sending hundreds of bullets at a Banshee. The bullets were tearing the Banshee into hundreds of pieces. It then exploded in air severely injuring the Elite that was piloting it. It was a far drop to the ground, about one hundred feet. So it probably died, and if it didn't, it would eventually die from its injuries. Only one Banshee left, he pulled the trigger sending hundreds more bullets at other Banshee tearing it into hundreds of pieces. But this time the explosion killed the Elite.

They were getting closer to Base; they were about six minutes away. But the Warthog didn't agree with the distance.

"Come on Warthog, stay with me!" Yelled Mendez.

Joe looked at Mendez, with a look of 'what about me?' On his face.

"You stay with me too." Said Mendez in a somewhat nervous tone. "Crap! I forgot about this hill!" Said Mendez.

They approached a fifty degree angled hill, and stopped.

"Well, over the hill is the Base. So I guess we'll have to try to make it over." Said Mendez.

He put the petal to the metal and the Warthog started up the hill. About half way up, the Warthog stalled and Mendez put on the E-Brake. He didn't want to have to drive the Warthog back up the hill. The brakes must have been damaged in the battle too because the vehicle was slowly rolling backwards. Mendez turned the key, but nothing happened. The engine didn't even try to turn.

"What the h..."

Suddenly, the engine of the Warthog exploded, sending the vehicle tumbling down the hill.

After a couple of moments the Warthog finally came to a stop at the bottom of the hill. Martin was thrown from the vehicle and Joe's leg was pinned under the Warthog. Mendez had fallen out of the Warthog when the engine first exploded. He rolled to the bottom of the hill and was knocked out cold. Mendez had torn the skin of his forehead and was bleeding very badly. The roll down the hill had torn most of his armor off too.

Martin got up; the explosion blew some of his armor off and burned some his of his skin. He also had a broken right arm. He looked at the Warthog, and saw Joe pinned underneath it. He ran up to the vehicle and tried to flip it over. It was really hard to flip a one-thousand pound vehicle with your left arm only.

"Aaahhhh!" Screamed Joe as the Warthog inched off the ground. "Oh my... Oh God! That freaking hurts!" screamed Joe, the Warthog was getting higher off his leg.

Mendez heard the scream and ran to the Warthog, tripping and stumbling over his feet.

"Gaahhh! Mendez! I need your help!" Screamed Martin trying to keep the Warthog off the ground. Mendez got to the Warthog and held it up so that Joe could get out. "Hold the Warthog up, and pull Joe out!" Said Martin as he let go of the Warthog.

Mendez was having a hard time holding up the Warthog, and his arms were about give out and he would drop the vehicle. Martin pulled Joe out of underneath of the Warthog and Mendez dropped what was left of the Warthog. Joe's leg was bleeding and there was no doubt that it wasn't broken. Joe was holding his leg, trying to stop the bleeding.

"We should get going! Only God knows how many Covenant heard that explosion! Mendez, you need to carry Joe, I would but my arm is broken and I can't carry anything." Said Martin, holding his arm.

"Okay, I'll carry him." Replied Mendez.

Mendez bent down and put Joe on his shoulders, and they started up the hill. They finally got to the top of the hill, and looked down. The base was heavily guarded and completely amazing!

"Wow, they have changed the base sense the last time I've seen it!" said Mendez amazed.

"Your right, it has." Replied Martin.

"Cool, it has. Can we please get going! I'm going to die here!" Joe barked.

"Ok, sorry, let's go!" Mendez replied.

They ran to the base. Once they got up to the base, a couple of Marines were guarding it.
One of the Marines put his Assault Rifle into Mendez's face and said,

"Halt! Who goes there?!"

"Michael A, Mendez, we're from the base South, South, East of this one, Sir. Its Code name is 'Death Tree.' Covenant Infantry and Assault vehicles were destroying the base. Captain, Harrison ordered all Infantry to lead the Covenant away from it! Unfortunately by the time that everyone left the base, it was completely demolished. But even at that we still led them away from the base. We killed all the Covenant, and totaled all the vehicles. Only us, and three other Warthogs full of Marines made it. By the way, did three Warthogs arrive at all today?"

The Marine lowered his weapon and then responded, "No. No Warthogs have arrived. Sorry."

Right when he said that, three Warthogs came over the hill. 'Well I guess they made it after all.' thought Mendez in relief. The Warthogs pulled into the repair shop for a repair.

The Marine looked back at Mendez, and said "It looks as though you guys are hurt, you should fallow me to the: Emergency Room."

They ran down the halls, running through corridors and passing some Marines. Mendez had lost so much blood that he was getting lightheaded and Joe had already passed out.

"Come on men, were almost there!" Said the Marine. They ran a little farther, and then said "By the way, my name is Mathew, but you can call me Matt."

They opened the emergency rooms doors and were assisted immediately. Joe took a blood test so they knew what blood he needed. Joe hated needles more then guns, though he didn't feel anything because he had past out. A couple of minutes past before they added a couple of bags of blood to Joe, and after that that started surgery on his leg. They opened up his leg and began surgery. They tried to put the bone back together in his leg but it was broken in so many pieces that they couldn't fix it. It was almost a guarantee that Joe would lose his leg. But it was sure that after a couple of months and he gets his fake leg on, he would be able to fight again.

Meanwhile Martin was having surgery on his arm. Luckily, his arm was only broken in two, so it would be easy to fix. But he would not be able to fight. And that's one less Marine on the battle field.

And Mendez got his head stitched up. He would be able to fight though it would hurt really bad wearing a helmet. He would also probably need one size bigger helmet.

Mendez was lying in the hospital bed, with nothing to do. He was trying to remember why he even became a Marine. He remembered when he was eighteen, and he got a letter from the Marines saying:


Dear Michael,

The Marines need a lot of people to enter The Marines or we might have to Draft. The Covenant have destroyed the planet that we've been trying to make a Space Base on and are heading to the planet Reach. We estimate that they will arrive in a couple of months only because they don't know what their doing. Please call us and become a Marine today!!! Thank you!!!


I think that letter is what made his mind. And now he is 22 years old. This is his life as a Marine, this is his story!




Chapter two:
The War

June 22nd, early in the morning at the break of down, the birds sang, the wind whistled across branches and buildings, and the peaceful sound of gunfire in the background. Most of the Marines were up and about at close near six o'clock in the morning. Mendez slept in; he woke up at around 7:17a.m. He looked up, and stared at the ceiling. He looked around, saw his clothes and started to get out of bed. As he slowly got out of bed, he actually jumped to his feet when he heard the sound of a Frag-Grenande. It startled him, and he doesn't know why. He looked at the clock, it was almost 7:30 a.m. He got on his sweatshirt and sweatpants, and walked up to the window. Outside, he could see a group of Marines, all in a single file line running as fast as they can. Sweat was poring from their face. Mendez chuckled as he said to himself "I remember going through the training. And for crying out loud it's a real pain; in the neck, back, and legs." His stomach growled in hunger, so he decided to go get something to eat at the cafeteria. He looked at the selection, and what a small selection. He could either have: bran Flakes, corn flakes, or a bowl of cinnamon & sugared Oatmeal. He decided to eat Oatmeal; so he grabbed a bowl of it. And now for a drink. Another small selection. He could either have: Orange juice, a cup of milk, or 'Sergeant Johnson's Energy Drink'. And there was no way he was having 'Sergeant Johnson's Energy Drink', that is the worst tasting drink in the whole universe. He decided to go with a cup of orange juice. He ate his food and drank his juice, and he was off to the hospital part of the Base.

On his way he ran into Mathew. "I'm guessing you're on your way to check on Joe and Martin?" Said Mathew. "Ya, I just ate breakfast!" replied Mendez. "I just left there, Joe's still asleep, but Martin's watching T.V." Said Mathew. "Thanks for he information! I'll talk to you later. Bye." He walked through a couple of doors and hallways, and through a couple of corridors. He walked through the hospital doors and asked the nurse what room Martin and Joe were in. He walked to room 101 and said hello to Martin. "How's your arm?" "Hurts like crazy, but its getting better." Replied Martin. "How's your head?" "Getting better, but it still hurts." Replied Mendez. Mendez looked at the T.V. and said "Do you need anything?" Martin looked at Mendez and replied "ya, on your way out can you tell the Nurse that I'm hungry?" "Sure. Well I'm going to go check on Joe, I'll talk to you later."

Mendez walked out the door and headed to room 109. Joe had just woken up and was groaning. Mendez walked up to Joe and said "How are you doing?" "Guess," replied Joe sarcastically. "How's your head?" said Joe "Getting better, but it still hurts." Replied Mendez. "Hey, do you want me to get you a book or something?" "Actually, can you give me that notepad and pen? I want to send a letter to my wife." Replied Joe. "Sure!" said Mendez. He gave him the stuff and walked out the door. He thought to himself, I got to send a letter to my wife too. One thing I don't get is how teleportation works. How can they make one thing go to another place in a matter of seconds? It's so weird.

He stepped outside to get some fresh air; he could hear the birds singing in the trees. He looked around the Base; he could see all of the other shelters holding: Ammo, vehicles, etc. He looked at the cliff sides; the Base was built in a bowl like crater with a small opening on one side for vehicles and infantry to get inside and leave the Base. He also noticed a huge horn with a red light on top of it.

He looked around trying to see if he could see Mathew anywhere. But he wasn't there. He turned around and went back in the Base. He was rather board there; there was nothing to do but eat and sleep. He walked up to the Marine that was guarding the Base earlier and asked him if he knew what room the Matt lived in, and the number he got was room 53. He walked down a couple of halls and doors and finally made it to room 53. He knocked on the door, waited a couple of seconds and knocked again. Matt opened the door and said "Hi Michael, how have you been?"

"Pretty good. I've been pretty board, and because I'm the guest, I have nothing to do."
Replied Michael.
"I know what you mean. Well hey; I got to get ready for Marine practice. Yeah, that's right, Marine practice. As Sargent Johnson would say 'With practice come serenity, and with serenity comes... Well you'll find out when you get it. So practice!' So I'll talk to you later." Replied Matt.

"Hey, can I go with you? Its not like I've got anything better to do!" Said Michael.

"Sure," replied Matt. "Meet me outside at 10:20 a.m." "O.k. I'll see you there!" Replied Michael.

Michael ran to his room and got on his Marine-Suit. He ran through the halls and exited the Base. He saw Matt and approached him. All of the sudden a siren started up, and a voice on the intercom said

"All Marines, Suit up! The Covenant are headed to the Base! May I repeat? All Marines, Suit up! The Covenant are headed to the Base!"

The voice on the intercom echoed throughout the base. Michael looked at Matt, a slight sign of terror on his face. Matt looked at the horn, and then looked back at Michael.

"Fallow me! I'll show you where you can get your guns and other weapons!" said Matt, he had tried to change his voice to they way that Sgt. Johnson had taught him. It wasn't for sure but it was a major possibility.

There was couple of buildings that were lined across the edge of the crater. First there is an Extra-Marine building where the other Marines that couldn't fit in the Base, lived. Next to it was the Armory. And the building next to the Armory was the Vehicle Garage, filled with Scorpion Tanks, Warthog Jeeps, and ATVs.

(To be continued)





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