Convergence Infinites: Halo

Chapter Thirty Eight

"Hustle." John said, and they all ran for it. He and the Arbiter paused at the sides of their Pelican, to allow the Grunts some cover as they boarded.

"Hold on!" the pilot said. "got a-"

There was a pause, as two Banshees flew over the Pelicans at high speed.

"Banshees! Fast and low!" she screamed. Obviously, she was a rookie pressed into service.

They turned around, and they fired a pair of Fuel Rods at the Pelicans. Both hit their dropship, and John jumped to the side to avoid being hit by it as it swerved, out of control. From the corner of his eye, he saw the Arbiter had jumped aside as well.

"I'M HIT! I'M HIT!" she called, as she clipped the other Pelican. John looked in horror, as he saw the Pelican, carrying his Grunts, crashed, clipping a canyon wall before crashing into another, exploding because of the force of impact. The Elite who had been on top of it, however, had jumped off in time, landing on the roof of a storage shed near the substation.

The other pelican, however, carrying Johnson and the others, swerved. Its wing-mate had clipped his engine, and he saw it was also out of control. However, this pilot managed to send it more upstream.

"Get a hold of her! Or I'll take over!" Wilson yelled angrily.

"Negative." the pilot said coolly, ignoring the angry ODST. "We're going down."

He watched, as the Drones flew after it. The pelican flew over the top of a cliff, before crashing. A boom sounded as soon as it was out of view, however, indicating it was the top of it, rather than a drop.

The other Elite appeared again, as well as Reynolds. They all gathered near the edge of the Jungle. "The Banshees will soon return." the Arbiter warned. "Hurry, Back into the Jungle!"

John nodded, and he followed the company, now consisting of three Elites, a Spartan and a Marine.

Sure enough, they soon came into the jungle, and they heard the craft swoop overhead, searching for survivors. Still, due to the cover of the Jungle, they made good way largely undetected.

Soon, to everyone's relief, Johnson called out on a general broadcast, transmitting only. John couldn't respond, but he could listen in.

"Chief! Can you hear me? My bird's dow- half a klick from you- ition. I repeat: do not resp- 's down, about half a- ownriver from your position." static riddled the broadcast, but John could figure out the meaning clear enough: Johnson was warning him away, telling his position as well.

And he'd go to hell before he left Johnson back behind.

"Any large human buildings nearby?" he asked. "Somewhere the Brutes could hold the marines?"

the Arbiter caught on. "This way." he said, taking a different route.

After half a minute of tracking, however, they came to a two-way intersection.

That is, if a tall cliff with only a small passage too big for the Spartan or Elite, and where only Reynolds would fit in.

"I'll take this route." Reynolds said. "Good luck with the climb."