They drew closer, as did his death.
Reid Barker fired relentlessly at the coming Covenant, his life seeming to hinder on the placement of every bullet. If the force wouldn't be defeated soon, either they, or the Wraiths, would have it in for him. His fellow soldiers, his friends, were dying all around him. The men he'd known for years and years; the soldiers he trained with and lived with, were being torn away from him forever.
The Jackal twisted, and spiraled to the ground in a plume of blood. Their forces were deminishing, but not nearly fast enough. The defensive wall of the bird-like creatures had almost been eradicated as they closed in 15 feet and still coming...
"Shit! They're here!" Gadrix called in alarm. His eyes glazed over in terror as 2 of the hulking purple behemoths rolled over the shattered city landscape. Their demise now came from both sides.
At that point, Reid just ran. To him, fighting was useless. He was just going to die that way. He clambered up and out of the overpass, his boots kicking up debris as he struggled up the slope. He was hyperventilating.
"No! Reid get back here and help us! Help us dammit!" came a distant and pleading voice as Reid scrambled back onto the New Mombasa streets. Reid didn't care anymore. They weren't his problem. He decided that heroism and nobility could only go so far at the end of the day. When the day was over, he wanted to save his own ass.
Sgt. Brown had ran out of ammo, his weapons completely spent. He dropped the MA5B with a clear sense of defeat. Brown looked up at Reid Barker running away with a stern face then. The sargent knew he would at least die with honor.
The blast came then. The bridge that Reid's company were stationed under exploded in a brilliant blue and white flash. The concrete split apart and was flung into the air, raining over a section of the city. The blast nearly deafened Reid, he just kept running. Ran, and never looked back.
He ran through the streets, seeking a haven or shelter. To his grim realization, that was probably just hopefull thinking. The explosions were all around him, the fire enveloped the city as it would the bowels of hell. Screams were heard everywhere, human and alien alike. In the intersection in front of his path, a blue cloud erupted from around the corner, sending a Warthog and its crew flying through the air.
The Brutes came from that corner.
"Oh hell no. Shit no," were Reid's only words. He threw a grenade and started relentlessy spraying with his AR. His desperation drove him out of his cowardice.
The 2 Brutes absorbed the explosion almost without flinching. It was a well placed grenade but to no avail. The ape like Covenant kept charging on down the street, also seeming to weather the shells easily.
Reid walked backward while firing. Someone get over here... And then he realized he let his company die. He didn't deserve shit. But then what else would he have done? Stood there and died?
Barker threw another grenade at the Brutes. They were phased with the hit, but their progress unhindered. Reid was frankly amazed that he hit moving targets with a frag twice in a row. "Please..."
A Warthog plowed into the Brutes as they were 10 feet from Reid, killing one, and plowing another out of the way.
It was too perfect. He was too lucky. Just run. He did.
20 minutes. He had made a full circle. Reid had discovered Jack Oleander.
And he was dead.
Nothing was left. Jack was dead. Reid's company was dead. Reid had a blank stare of inexpression painted over his face. Inside, he was overwhelemed. He dropped his gun. He dropped his pistol.
After all the people he abandoned, all he had failed, he decided now was the time to stand.
"Wort, wort,"
Reid Barker took Jack Oleander's M6D from his belt. "Come and get me, you bastard," Reid spat his hatred through gritted teeth. And then he started yelling. He stood his ground in a bracing stance, shooting to kill.
The Elite ran forward with unstoppable tenacity, and let its rifle loose. The blue bolts hurdled through the air, leaving sapphire trails of rushing death.
As Reid felt the thick and burning impact of the plasma on his chest, he started praying. His yelling ceased. As he fell back, his vision failing, he hoped that he could be forgiven. The golden twilight faded to black.
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