Halo: Xenomorphs Rising

Chapter 10 - Things Get Worse

Quinn and Relu scrambled to their feet. The ODST ejected her spent clip and tried to reload, but a sickly yellow blur crashed into her. Her throat was torn open, spraying blood everywhere.

“The parasite!” Relu roared. The Flood Combat Form stared up at her, the ODST’s body bursting forth new, distorted limbs. Quinn held down the trigger of his Assault Rifle as more Flood poured out of the corridor.

“Let’s get out –” Quinn was cut off as the infected body of the red Elite collided with him. Green blood poured out of the Sangheili’s wound, announcing his infection to all. Quinn slammed his weapon into its face and activated Relu’s energy sword, slicing the thing in two. He pulled the red Elite onto his feet and supported him as they evacuated the structure. Relu covered their escape with precise shots of her Carbine. They ran deeper into the forest. Relu took the weight of the injured Sangheili as Quinn pulled the Covenant communication device out of his pocket.

“Ra’zac!” he shouted.

“What is it Corporal? You’re vocal pitch is alarming me!”

“Tell the Evac Bird to go to these co-ordinates. Zulu, Tango, seventeen, one hundred and four! Got it?”

“Consider it done, Corporal.” Quinn shoved the device back into his pocket and continued running. They ran right through the battle, which had relocated to the forest. They did their best to defend themselves against the cross-fire they were caught in, but the injured Sangheili got his other foot shot. He was now unable to support his own weight. Relu swung him up and carried him, much like she had carried Quinn two weeks ago. Sentinels whizzed around to counter the awakening of the flood, and turned on everyone as they got shot at. It was now a giant war between the survivors, the Xenomorphs, the Ancestors, the Sentinels and the Flood. The result: complete and utter chaos everywhere. An infected Ancestor jumped on Quinn and spread its mandibles wide in a roar, green blood leaking from a head wound.

“Quinn!” Relu cried, too far away to do anything. Quinn was pinned down, no one to save him. He shut his eyes and waited for the pain.

“Bad Monster!” was what he heard instead. The voice was high, squeaky and familiar. The Grunt came out of nowhere holding a Spartan Laser. Where he had gotten it from was beyond Quinn’s wildest imagination. A small red dot appeared on the Flood’s head.

“Shit!” Quinn cried, covering his eyes as the heat singed his face. He would have a nice tan when this was over. He pushed the decapitated body off him and picked up the incredibly light Grunt, sprinting after Relu. He caught up to them, having to carry a quarter of what Relu was. They passed Quinn’s crashed Pelican, making Quinn laugh for some reason. He stopped suddenly. “Wait!” he shouted to Relu in excitement. He ran over to a fallen tree beside his Pelican, a curious and unbelieving Relu trailing behind him.

“Quinn, I don’t think this is the time!” she protested. There was a loud grumble. Relu had heard that somewhere before...

A Warthog flew over her head and landed mere metres away from her. The Grunt was sitting in the passenger seat, and Quinn was driving. Relu shoved the injured Sangheili next to the Grunt and jumped up onto the turret. The Warthog sped towards the arranged pickup zone. Relu fired he turret non-stop at anything that moved. The Grunt yelped in pleasure and surprise every time they hit a bump or sped through a clearing at top speed. Quinn was wrestling with the steering wheel, narrowly avoiding trees and lakes. A Flood landed on the bonnet. Quinn cried out and fired his Assault Rifle through the windscreen, breaking it in the process, and into the thing’s stomach. It squealed and fell off, getting crushed under the tyre seconds afterwards. The edge of the forest was in sight, as was a cliff. Hovering above the deadly drop was a Pelican. Human and Sangheili soldiers beckoned at them urgently in between bursts of fire at the enemies around them. Quinn slammed his foot on the break, but the vehicle was going too fast.

“Everyone out!” Quinn commanded. He grabbed the grunt and tossed him into the Pelican, metres away now. He himself jumped and managed to grab the edge of the loading ramp. Several hands offered their assistance instantly. Relu, from her raised vantage point, easily leapt into the passenger bay with her injured comrade in her arms. The ramp lifted up and sealed the Pelican shut as it sped into space. Quinn allowed himself to relax, holding Relu’s hand in his. Relu grinned goofily at him, then rested her head on his shoulder. Quinn desperately wanted to tell her how he felt, but was discouraged by hoe public it would be. Instead he asked one of the human marines a question.

“Why...” he rephrased it. “The UNSC and the Covenant are allies now?” The marine shook her head.

“Nah. Just the Elites.”

“We were betrayed by the Brutes,” one of the Sangheili on board put in. “Sergeant Johnson and the Arbiter formed an alliance on the Delta Halo.” Quinn nodded, pretending to know what an ‘Arbiter’ was. He looked at Relu, who was surprisingly asleep now. Quinn shifted slightly, careful not to wake her, and decided to do the same. It had been a long day, and he had a long life ahead of him. His feelings could wait. The Pelican silently landed in Dark Saviour’s hangar, but Quinn was dreaming long before then.