A Marine's Paradise
Posted By: Scott Hull<ShawtyHullstineFilms@gmail.com>
Date: 23 October 2010, 2:24 am
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On the great, vast Alpha Halo there was a little canyon. And in that little canyon there was a large, oddly shaped structure. Its origin is Forerunner. It has been there for thousands of years, left untouched by its creators who perished long ago.
Little cotton ball clouds filled the sky above the canyon. The planet Threshold was sitting still in the sky, which was split in half by the giant Halo. The Halo arced up into space and then came back down on the opposite side. Little pieces of land and ocean filled the Halo.
Suddenly a bird's chip filled the canyon. The echos bounced around the canyon's rocky walls, and then it fell silent again. Far away from the overcrowded planet Earth and her colonies, far away from the hustle and bustle of humanity, it was a lost paradise.
On the canyon's edge there was small little beach, where waves from a vast freshwater ocean lapped against the shore. Fish were swimming happily, and little frogs jumped around in the water.
A marine emerged from the exit of the Forerunner structure. He slowly walked up to the coastline and looked up. Above him, Halo arced up into the blue sky. It made him feel so small, so insignificant.
He bent down and scooped up some water from the ocean with his hand. He tipped his head back and drank it. It was so good, so refreshing. It tasted nothing like the human-made water that he had been drinking since he was born. He sighed and then focused on the quietness of the canyon.
He wasn't used to the quiet. All his life he has heard nothing but the engines of cars, the screams of people, and the humming of factories. Now all the sudden he was in paradise. A place where he could get away from the war and forget all of his worries. He was at peace.
The marine reached into his pocket and drew out a picture. It was a photo of his wife. A tear slid down his face. She has perished on Reach as he retreated from the planet in the Pillar of Autumn.
He thought about the events he has just witnessed. The Covenant attacked the Pillar, and he fled to a lifeboat. The lifeboat soared into Halo's atmosphere and crashed into this tiny canyon. He was the only survivor.
A cool breeze filled the inside of his shirt with air. Some nearby trees rustled with the breeze. He was at peace again.
The marine walked over to one of the trees and sat underneath it. He reached into his backpack and took out a small book. The cover of it said "Holy Bible." He opened the cover and began reading. He read about the creation of man, and about a little garden called Eden. A place the Bible referred to as "paradise."
He shut the book and looked back up at the majestic Halo that curved over his head. He smiled and looked back down at the little Bible. He listened to a bird chirp and then focused in on the splashing sound the waves made when they came upon the shore.
Suddenly a great explosion rocked the tiny canyon. Boulders from the canyon wall came crashing down to the ground, nearly hitting the marine. Alarmed, he looked all around him, trying to find the source of the explosion. He took a look up at the sky and saw a piece of the mighty Halo flying right towards him. What he did not know was that, far away on that very same ring, the Master Chief had just detonated the Pillar of Autumn.
The marine closed his eyes. Silence filled the canyon once more. The breeze stopped blowing, and the birds stopped chirping. He knew that it was his time to die. He spent his last moments looking around the canyon. He savored the moment. Then he thought back to the chapter of the Bible that he had just read. Adam and Eve had their paradise, but all his life he had been searching for his. But now he knew where that paradise was. It was right in this little canyon, on this magnificent Halo. It had been here since the dawn of man, and yet he didn't even know it actually existed.
The marine let out a laugh. For the first time since the war started, he was happy. He was at peace. He had found his paradise.
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