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Chapter 18 - Welcome Back
Running past the headless hunter, the Elite came to the top of the ramp. Looking to his right, the Elite saw another Hunter sprawled on the ground with a large hole in his side where its arm used to be. To the Elite’s left, he saw another Hunter’s body near an empty Rocket Launcher. Hearing the yell of a Hunter coming from the cave, the Elite activated his sword and charged.
The cave descended in a curve to the right. Just at the bend, the Elite saw the last Hunter hitting the Spartan with the back of its left hand, sending him hard into the cave wall. With a yell, the Elite jumped onto the back of the Hunter and began to attack with his sword.
The Spartan lay on his left side on the ground, deafened by the shield alarm and the pounding of his head. He felt the warmth of blood trickle down his torso and arm. Not moving, he stared at the ground in front of him. Then his eyes closed.
Suddenly, his eyes opened and he took a quick breath as he recognized the wailing of the Elite. Seeing that his shield had already recharged, he realized that he had been unconscious. His eyes focused on left hand on the ground, palm up. “He made it”, the Spartan said as he saw his hand make a fist.
Fighting the pain, the Spartan got up and saw the Elite on the back of the Hunter. The Hunter backed up quickly and slammed the Elite into the wall. Twisting swiftly, the Hunter attempted to sling the Elite off his back with his spines. Purple blood splattered onto the ground. The sharp spines of the Hunter had found their mark.
The Spartan ran to the Hunter and joined the fight. The Hunter now being attacked from both sides, let out a yell and charged the Spartan. As the Spartan rolled out of the way, the Hunter rammed head first into the wall with a crash, knocking rubble onto the cave floor. The Hunter turned to the Spartan and prepared for another charge.
The Elite yelled, “Spartan, take my blade!” and tossed the inactive sword. The Spartan caught the sword and immediately energized the weapon. The Elite took both hands and struggled to pull the armored head of the Hunter back. The strength required to accomplish the task caused the Elite to emit a long yell. The Hunter slowed its charge as its balance was affected by the Elite’s effort. The Spartan jumped toward the behemoth and swung the Energy Sword.
The Hunter made a gurgling noise as it took its final steps. Orange blood and tentacles spewed from the neck of the creature. As the Hunter fell to its knees, the Elite released his grasp and jumped off. The Hunter looked to his right at its slayers. Making a final bubbled murmur, the Hunter fell forward. A river of orange flowed down the cave as the Hunter’s spines slowly lay down along its back.
The Elite and Spartan looked at each other, each leaning forward and breathing heavily. The light of the Energy Sword returned to its hilt and the Spartan tossed it to the Elite. “Nice weapon”, he said breathlessly.
