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Part 1: The Training
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Section 1 : Marine
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Chapter 1: Zack Wilder


As 16-year old Zack Wilder walked home from Portula High, he couldn't help but
feel that something was wrong. He could feel it in his athletic body. His short hair waved
in the breeze as his sharp brown eyes looked around.
Now the Human-Covenant War had been going on for about 450 years but he
doubted it was a Covenant alien. 450 years ago, the Master Chief had been there to stop
the Covenant from destroying Earth. Now, all that stood in the way of the Covenant were
orbital MAC guns, Marines, nukes and destroyers. Every now and then, the Covenant
would break past these barriers, but their attack force was so crippled by then, the ground
troops would eradicate them before serious casualties happened to the civilians.
Battles were getting more and more intense and soldiers were decreasing very
fast. Their only hope was either the Covenant going extinct or a good Spartan. Spartans
were trained every 50 years. The Spartans put up a good fight and brought down many
Covenant, but they weren't invincible.
A bit of movement caught Zack's eye. He spun around to face it, but it was only
leaves fluttering in the wind. He spun around again as heard voices but they were only
some of his neighbors. Staying alert, he continued walking.
Zack had been trained in martial arts with one of his best friends, Ward
Opochekovenik, since 5 years old. He really was not afraid of attacks. He had full
confidence that he could subdue any threat to him as long as the enemy was not wielding
a firearm.
He came onto his house's driveway, still trying to figure out why he was feeling
that something was wrong. From his pocket, he took out his key. As he slid it into the
lock, he felt being watched. He looked into the mirrored doorknob, but saw nothing
except his powerful arm, upside-down. He opened the door into his house and walked in,
kicking his shoes off in the hallway.
"I'm home, Mom!" Zack shouted. "I'll be in my room if you need me!"
He jogged up the stairs to his room. A combo lock held it shut. As he twirled the lock,
Zack felt someone behind him, ready to pounce. He felt his adrenaline run through his
body. Then, it spiked, increasing his ability to fight. He yelled and spun around, foot
lashing out. A bald, strong boy shouted, and dived to the ground.
"It's me! Ward!" the boy screamed. Zack managed to stop in mid-kick.
"How the hell did you manage to get in?" Zack asked. Then he remembered.
Ward always came over after school to study and do homework with Zack.
"How I always get in." Ward muttered, picking himself off the ground. Zack
finished opening the lock on his door and stepped in, throwing his backpack onto his bed.
Ward followed suit and lay down on Zack's bed.
"Here." Zack said, throwing a soda and a bag of chips to Ward. "Let's get to
work."
Ward tore the bag of chips open and crunched one, pulling his history book, a
sheet of paper and his planner from his backpack. Zack opened his backpack and fished a
sheet of paper and a pencil, then sat down at his desk. Ward was already there, sipping
his soda and crunching on more chips.
"We have a test tomorrow in history." Ward said, looking at his planner.
"On what?" Zack asked.
"We have to write an essay on the Covenant aliens." Ward answered "We also
have a paper on Halo and the Master Chief due in a week. By tomorrow we should have
finished reading the section to write a good paper. Personally, I recommend the book,
The Flood."
"Read it." Zack said. "I've already finished the paper. It was easy."
"Zack! Could you go to Pizza Hut and grab a pizza for dinner?" Zack's mother
shouted. Ever since Zack's father had died a year ago in 3001, they had had pizza every
time Ward came over, which was pretty much always.
"Sure Mom!" Zack shouted back. To Ward, he said "Be right back."
Zack ran down the stairs and snatched a 20 dollar bill from his mother's hand and
ran out the door. The strange feeling he had had coming home from school was still
there. He ignored it as best as he could. He started running, but still something was going
to happen. Zack turned into an alley and slowed down.
Suddenly, a group of bullies came out of the shadows. One of them was extra
burly and muscles rippled down his arms. Zack knew him. He was the school bully and
had plenty of supporters. If anyone made a move to bring him down, an eighth of the
school would jump into action and make sure they were crushed. He was Joe.
"I've been watching you the whole day, shrimp." Joe said. "Very cautious, but I
guess not enough to outwit me. Now hand over that 20 dollar bill and no one will get hurt
today."
"Screw you." Zack said.
"What's that??!!" Joe shouted. "Get this bastard!"
10 bullies surrounded Zack and clenched their fists, waiting for Joe's signal. Zack
knew he was hopelessly outnumbered. All he had on his side was his brain and
knowledge of martial arts. He dropped into a fighting stance and got ready. If Ward was
here, this would be a cakewalk. They would be able to cover each other's six. Not this
time though, Zack thought. I need to move quickly and, shit! Here they come!
All ten bullies leapt at Zack and attacked. Zack ran forward and met the first one
head-on, kicking him hard in the stomach. As the boy doubled over clutching his
stomach, Zack threw his knee up, catching him in the face. Two teeth flew out of his
mouth, but Zack wasn't there to see it. He was a blur of motion, moving to the next bully
and giving a powerful punch to the groin. Then, a kick there. The bully's eyes welled up
with tears and pain. As Zack watched this, he realized he had stopped for too long.
He felt three feet kick him in the back, throwing across the alley into a wall. Zack
crumpled to the ground and got up. He leapt into the air, and kicked at a boy running at
him. The kick would have landed firmly in the face, but the boy dodged. Zack's kick still
hit his ear though. With a ripping sound, a scream and a splatter of blood, his ear was
torn off. The boy fell, screaming and clutching the bloody wound.
From behind Zack, a powerful pair of arms held Zack. Two bullies ran at Zack,
determined to do some damage. Using the boy holding whim's strength, Zack lifted his
feet off the ground and kicked one down. This had a double effect. The force of the kick
Zack had done propelled him backward. The boy holding him staggered back and finally
let go of Zack. The other boy running at Zack managed to give Zack a powerful punch in
the face. Stunned, Zack stood there stupidly as the rest of the bullies charged. The one
who had been holding him kicked Zack over to the rest of the bullies.
Zack was kicked hard by one of the charging bullies and got thrown into a wall.
He fought back as he was hit again and again. The pain stung at him. Slowly, he slid
down the wall to the ground.
"Stop." Joe said. "I want to give him some pain."
Zack sat there, moaning. He could only see what was about to happen. Joe raised
his foot above Zack's groin. Joe grinned, then brought it down hard.
* * *
As soon as Zack left the room, Ward jumped onto Zack's bed and lay there,
relaxing. He loved this study session and used it to his advantage. He could do his work
and studying here, while being with his friend. Ward rolled over and picked up his
backpack. He took out his history book and opened it up.
He remembered how once, he had told Zack about how he hated history. Zack
had gone on the Internet and found an article about a 21st century history class.
Compared to that class, the class Ward had was lots more interesting. Instead of studying
about the Constitution and presidents, he was now studying about the Covenant and the
battles that had happened.
Ward jumped off of Zack's bed and went over to a drawer. He pulled it open and
took out a laptop. He flipped it open and clicked the icon for the Internet. Ward quickly
typed in www.haloreenactment.com. The site loaded quickly and a screen popped up,
requesting username and ID. Ward's fingers flew across the keys and typed everything in.
A second later, a game screen opened. As the site's name implied, it was a
reenactment of the battle on Halo. In fact, it was a 21st century game, but very fun
nonetheless. As Ward blew an Elite up with a rocket launcher, Zack's mom called Ward.
"Ward!" She shouted. "Zack's been gone an awful long time. Could you go check
on him for me?"
"Sure!" Ward shouted back down the stairs. He turned back to the game just in
time to see a Banshee blow him to bits with its fuel rod cannon. Ward closed the game
and shut the laptop off. Then, he ran downstairs. He gave a quick wave as he ran out the
door in the direction of Pizza Hut, the place Zack should be.
* * *
Zack yelled as loud as he could. His arms shot forward, and grabbed Joe's leg.
Zack strained to keep it away from his groin. Joe was taken by surprised and did nothing
to stop Zack from flipping Joe onto his back. Zack pushed himself up and received two
powerful kicks in the chest. He fell again, and got stomped on by the bullies. Zack lay
there, struggling to move.
"Hold him." Joe said. Four bullies held Zack's arms and legs. Zack could do
nothing. Joe smiled, then delivered a kick to Zack's chest.
"Yeah." Zack groaned. "You'll be telling this story all over the place. You beat a
kid that held down by your friends. Wow."
"Shut up!!" Joe shouted. He picked Zack up and slammed his head against the
wall. Blood trickled down his head. Zack doubled over as he was punched repeatedly in
the stomach. Joe threw him down and reached for the pocket in which Zack had placed
the 20 dollar bill. Zack covered it with his hand, still trying to protect it.
Joe snarled and slid Zack's hand onto the pavement. He stomped on it and ground
it into the ground. Zack screamed as skin was torn off, leaving his hand bloody. Joe
reached for the money now. Zack kicked upwards, and caught Joe in the head. As he fell,
Zack rolled over and brought his heel down on Joe's back. Joe yelled in pain and rolled
away. A bully picked Zack up and Zack hit him hard with his head. The bully staggered
back. Zack ran forward and kicked him in the stomach, then in the chest. Joe got up and
swung a punch. Zack ducked an realized this was a mistake. Joe's foot swung up and
caught Zack hard in the face. Zack was thrown up into the air by Joe's powerful kick. He
landed hard on his back, but struggled to get up. Joe walked over and kicked Zack in the
chest. Zack felt liquid in his mouth and spat it out. Blood splattered the ground. Joe ran
over, and Zack threw a punch.
Joe easily caught it and pried Zack's hand open. Zack shouted in pain as Joe dug
into his bloody hand and attempted to pull out flesh. Zack pulled his hand away from Joe
and clutched it. Joe leapt up and kicked. The kick connected solidly with Zack's head
and he was staggered into a wall. The world began to fade black. He could still see Joe,
though.. Zack gave in to the darkness and fell down.
* * *
Ward ran on the sidewalk, wanting to find Zack as soon as possible. The sun was
setting and they still had homework. He passed an alley with lots of shouting. It was
probably just another gang fight. He ignored and ran faster. He did not want to get
involved with the fighting.
As he rounded a corner, he saw a teenager coming out of Pizza Hut.
"Zack!" Ward shouted. The boy ignored him. Ward ran closer and grabbed him
by the shoulder. As the boy spun around, Ward could see it wasn't Zack.
"Sorry." Ward said. He ran into Pizza Hut and went over to the counter.
"Excuse me." Ward said. "Have you seen an athletic boy with short hair about
this tall come and buy a pizza?"
The cashier shook his head no. Ward began to start worrying. Could Zack have
been kidnapped? Suddenly, everything clicked. The fight in the alley! Ward took off like
a torpedo and ran across the street, barely being missed by a car. He stopped only to pick
up a fist-sized rock before moving on.
He came to the alley and saw Joe taking the 20 dollar bill from Zack. Ward saw
only one way out of this. With no hesitation, Ward took a running start and jumped,
kicking Joe in the head.
* * *
The last thing Zack saw before he blacked out was Joe, towering over him. Joe
checked to make sure Zack was out, before claiming his reward, the 20 dollar bill.
Suddenly, a boy from out of nowhere flew over, kicking Joe in the head and
knocking him out as well. The boy was Ward. He plucked the 20 dollar bill from Joe's
hand and faced the other bullies. They yelled and ran at Ward. A fist-sized rock Ward
had picked up earlier flew at one bully and brought him down with a good collision to the
head. Ward picked up Joe and threw him into the bullies arms. They staggered under
Joe's weight. Ward scooped up Zack and started running.
A taxi passed and Ward shouted, waving madly at the driver. The taxi slowed and
Ward pulled the door open. He threw Zack in and turned around. A bully had managed to
close the gap between him and Ward. Ward kicked him back and dived into the car with
Zack. The bullies ran at them, cursing and shouting.
"Go!" Ward yelled. The taxi pulled away from the curb as the bullies hurled rocks
at them. They gave chase for a few seconds, then dropped off. Ward breathed a sigh of
relief.
"The hospital." Ward sighed. "And hurry."
The driver punched the accelerator and the taxi screamed toward the hospital.
"Hang on, Zack. Hang on." Ward murmured.

Chapter 2 : Chase


Ward was sitting next to Zack's bed.
"Thanks, Ward." Zack said. "I don't think I would have survived all those hits to
the head if you weren't there to bring me to the hospital."
"No problem." Ward said. "That's what's friends are for, right?"
Zack sat up and reached for a cup of water.
"They say I can leave today." Zack said. "They just need to do a quick checkup
first."
* * *
Ward drove his car over to the front of the hospital. He noticed that Marines were
standing where Zack would be coming out. This was a bad sign. This meant human
troops were lessening and they needed recruits. Joe would be ideal for this.
The thought of Joe brought the knowledge that both him and Zack were still in
danger from Joe. From what he had seen, Zack had managed hurt one of Joe's cronies
quite a bit. Joe would not forget this. The others had only been hurt a little or put in a lot
of pain.
"Hey, Ward!" Zack shouted as he came out of the hospital. Ward nodded and
opened the trunk. Zack tossed his bags into the trunk and walked over to the driver's seat.
"Can I drive?" Zack asked. Zack loved driving Ward's car. It was a great racing
car and did pretty much any trick that Zack could do with a car.
"Sure." Ward said. He opened the door and stepped out. Zack stepped in. He
curled his fingers around the steering wheel. As Ward sat down in the passenger seat,
Zack stomped on the accelerator. A cloud of smoke appeared behind the car as Zack
burned rubber. The car schreeched out onto the street, barely missing a car. The car
honked and hit Ward's car.
"What the hell!" Zack shouted. He stopped the car alongside the other car. A
familiar figure stepped out of the car. Ward grimaced and Zack fiddled with the
stick-shift in nervousness. Joe walked over
" You bastards are gonna pay for what you did last month!!" Joe shouted. He
pulled a hammer from his belt and raised it over Ward's car.
"No!!" Ward shouted. "Don't!!"
Joe smiled, and said something to someone in his car. There was no reason for
him to hurry. If Zack or Ward made any moves, he would crush the hood. Ward was
cracking up. He had saved up for this car since he was 6 years old along with Zack. Each
blow to the car was like a blow to him.
Zack on the other hand looked firm and ready for anything.
"Say g'bye to your car." Joe yelled, bringing the hammer down. Zack went into
action. He slammed the accelerator, roaring into reverse. The downward momentum of
the blow continued and Joe fell to the ground. Zack turned the wheel and pulled up the
handbrake. The car turned 180 degrees while Zack pushed the stick-shift into first gear.
As the car completed the turn, Zack released the handbrake and hit the accelerator. In the
rearview mirror, Zack saw Joe get into his car and start chasing.
Already, Ward's car was up to 50 and speeding up fast. However, Joe had the
newest car in town and was catching up fast. Again, all Zack had on his side was his
brain, his tricks with a car, and his knowledge of Ward's car's limits. So far, there was no
car out there with better turning capabilities. He had to use all the tricks up his sleeve.
Zack swerved as Joe's car pulled alongside Ward's. Joe's friends was leaning out
the window with the hammer. As Joe's car turned to follow, Zack yanked up the
handbrake and turned 90 degrees into a street at 85 mph. Joe was taken by surprise and
didn't catch on until 10 seconds later. Zack had already gone a long way by then, but Joe
knew he would catch Zack. He turned into the street Zack had turned into.
Zack took another turn at high speed, trying to shake Joe off. No such luck. Joe
was right behind him. On straight-aways, Joe's car was much faster than Ward's. Zack
took another turn. As he saw what lay ahead, he turned to Ward.
"Sorry." Zack said. Ward looked confused. Then he saw it. In front of them, was
a large marketplace, with stands strewn everywhere. Zack took a quick look in the
rearview mirror. Joe was not far behind. Zack would be getting the bad end of the
bargain. He would be slowed by the stands as he crashed through them, plowing a way
for Joe. It was too late for regrets now.
Zack slammed his palm into the center of the steering wheel and a sharp honk
sounded. People dived out of the way of the car going at 120 mph. As the car hit the first
stand, and explosion of oranges flew everywhere and their car dropped 20 mph. The
owner of the stand cursed and shouted at Zack. A second later, another car roared past,
crushing the oranges. The owner shouted and threw an orange at Joe's car, but it was
gone already.
Zack crashed through a toy stand, then a vegetable stand. Zack clicked on the
windshield wipers as he exploded through a lemonade stand. The windshield cleared just
in time for Zack to see a raffle table. People ran out of the way. The car crashed into the
table and papers flew everywhere. Joe's car was right behind them.
Zack looked in front of them and saw a flight of stairs. At the bottom, to the right
of the handrail, was a huge flower bed mad of concrete. It would be fatal to crash into it.
Zack gunned the engine and charged. At the last second, he twisted the steering wheel.
The car flew, and cleared the handrails, and landed on the other side.
Joe wasn't so lucky. He turned late. The car flew, but didn't quite clear the
handrail. In fact, it landed on the handrail. The car flipped, and forward momentum made
it flip a few more times. As it stopped, Joe climbed out, dazed, bruised and bleeding.
Suddenly, a head of cabbage hit Joe in the face. There was a shout of anger from
the stand owners and Joe was pelted with fruits and vegetables. Joe shouted and started
running away. The stand owners didn't give up. They chased, arms full of vegetables. Joe
was knocked over as more and more projectiles hit him. Something hit him in the head
and Joe screamed as red liquid flowed down his face. More tomatoes caught him in the
head and Joe tried to crawl away. The stand owners shouted and pounced on him.
Meanwhile, back at Joe's car, Joe's friend peeked out. There were no stand
owners nearby. After seeing what they did to Joe, he didn't want to face any of them. He
started running away from the marketplace, leaving Joe behind.
"NOOOOOOOO!" Joe screamed as he was hit again and again. Fortunately, there
were some Marines around to save him from getting hurt too much.
(Chapter 2 be continued later. Please send in any comments and/or questions to me. I'll be glad to answer them unless they would give away too much of the story.)

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