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Author Topic: Precious Cargo - Chapter 14 - Knock, Knock...  (Read 1849 times)

Offline jokerman

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Precious Cargo - Chapter 14 - Knock, Knock...
« on: November 28, 2009, 06:53:11 PM »
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The following story is copyrighted material and all rights belong solely to the author.  Any reproduction or republication of any or all of this publication without the explicit and expressed written consent from the author is strictly forbidden.
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Chapter 14 - Knock, Knock...


The cave curved up the side of the cliff and opened a little more than three fourths of the way to the top.  The Spartan walked out of the cave and looked down to the battle on his left.  To his right was the sheer cliff side that continued up several meters and almost 15 meters directly in front of the Spartan was an archway that led to a path on the other side.  The Spartan ran to the archway and saw that it also opened to his right and dug into the cliff with a descending ramp making a the entrance a ‘T’ formation.  

Knowing that his Rocket Launcher would not be good in close quarters, the Spartan ran back to the cave and placed the weapon behind a small boulder jutting up from the ground.  As he hid the Rocket Launcher, he thought to himself, ‘Old habits…’.  

Back at the entrance, the Spartan jumped down the ramp quickly to the bottom.  Landing quietly and remaining low, the Spartan turned his head and saw a doorway on the left.  Shifting immediately to the right of the doorway and crouching down with his back to the wall, the Spartan looked over his right shoulder and into the next room.

Straining to look through the door, the Spartan moved slowly and warily.  He dared not move any faster because even though he could not see, he could hear a familiar sound denoting danger.  It was an unmistakable, rhythmic sound.  ‘Clump… clump… clump… clump… clump-clump.  Clump… clump… clump… clump… clump-clump’.  The sound only meant one thing.  Hunters.

Unable to see the entire room, the Spartan checked the left side carefully.  Nothing but pillars and Forerunner devices filled his view.  Rolling across the doorway to the left side, the Spartan began to scan the right side of the room.  There on the far wall the Spartan saw the Elite crouching behind a large Forerunner device out of sight of the Hunters.  The Elite was looking to the center of the back of the room, waiting for his chance to move on.  The Spartan slowly began to rise up to peer in the direction that had the Elite’s attention.  Above the devices, he saw the unmistakable spines swaying with the shuffling of the Hunters as they paced out their guard duty’s path.  The area where they walked was immediately in front of a doorway on the far wall, blocking any access to the Elite’s goal.

The Spartan turned and faced away from the room, still squatting with his back against the wall.  A little over two meters away to his right, the ramp led up and sunlight shone down.  Outside he could hear the battle continue; explosions, gunfire, and yelling echoed down the hallway.  The Spartan weighed the options.

The humans outside were his own people.  Many could die out there.  They could use his help.  But the Elite would not come in here if it were not imperative.  The Spartan contemplated the situation.  

‘Why had the Elite suddenly run from the battle?  He would never run ‘from’ the battle.  He must be running ‘to’ something’, the Spartan finally concluded.  ‘Was he in here for a weapon, could the battle be stopped from something behind that doorway?  Was this the mission they came to do?’, were the thoughts that ran through his mind.  Then other words came to him, ‘Trust…  Never have to look to see if your partner has your back…’.

With his decision made, the Spartan stood up with his back still to the wall.  After taking a quick inventory of his weapons, he turned and stepped into the room.  Taking two swift steps, the Spartan jumped to the nearest Forerunner device that was glowing and clicking in front of him and landed on its flat top.  

Yelling to the Hunters the Spartan said, “Hi there!”  The Hunters stopped and faced the Spartan.  The Spartan knew that Hunters usually traveled in pairs and was prepared for more than one.  But from the vantage point of the device, the Spartan could see that there was not just one pair of Hunters but two.  

‘Something in there was most definitely worth protecting if it needed four Hunters to guard the door’, the Spartan thought.

The Spartan quickly took note of the position of each Hunter and nodded slightly to the Elite.  He then lifted his head high and continued his greeting.  “So, are those spikes wagging on your backs, or are you guys just happy to see me?”


« Last Edit: November 29, 2009, 09:11:32 PM by jokerman »

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