A Bit Chilly (Arby, Goody & Fac Closed RP)

[BasedGoody]

Pvt Samson Schawrz
Stay Here

"Okay. Okay," Samson shook his head a couple times, psyching himself up for what was to come. Hunter's getting the helmet. Then we know where to go. Then we get these people out of here. He kept himself braced on the door with his eyes locked on the closet. Samson's only goal now was saving these people, and trying to minimize the damage he's already done. Slowly his vision wandered over to the window, with the snow lightly falling down onto it-

Wait, this room has a window?

Samson leapt from his place by the door and jumped to the window, pressing his face against it. He squinted his eyes, trying to peer through the dark snow-covered landscape. He couldn't make out any figures, unless?

Was that...? The snow was falling onto something. It was piling slightly on top of some invisible mass and slowly sliding off the side. 

Am I going crazy?

[Arbiter124]

Hunter Knight
ODSTs

The skirmisher closed the distance between it and Hunter in less than a second. It leaped at him and collided with incredible force, both clawed hands sinking into his breastplate and holding tight. Hunter slammed up against the wall of the dark room, pinned down. His eyes were wide and his face was contorted and twisted in fear and struggle. The creature's hands began wildly tearing at his sides, searching for a access to his bare flesh with vicious determination. It's jaws clapped in his face and it took all of Hunter's strength to keep the centimeter of distance between them. His armed were tight around it's neck but it was far too strong for him and he was going to give in at any second.

Think.

Don't be afraid.

Hunter shot his leg out between the creature's own legs, landing one blow to it's groin with as much force as he could muster. It worked, and the monster's attack relented for an instant. Hunter released another kick in the same spot with as much force, and this time the creature released it's grip and took one step backward. Hunter's hand shot to the knife on his chest. With his other hand he gripped onto the creature's beak, trying to force his finger's into it's eyes. It's hands went for Hunter's head, and in that moment he shoved his blade deep into it's abdomen. And again. 

The thing wailed by the second hit. It grabbed Hunter and threw him with superhuman strength. He toppled down the stairs, banging his body as he rolled halfway down. Managing to get stabilization was easier than he expected, but he embraced the recovery and turned tail back to the room at full speed.

[BasedGoody]

Pvt Samson Schawrz
Epstein didn't kill himself

Samson ducked behind the windowsill and put his back to the wall, realizing what he just saw. Panicked breaths escaped his mouth before he quickly covered his mouth with his gloved hands. It wasn't some invisible mass, he had been briefed on what these were. Special Operations Covenant, with the capabilities to use cloaking devices. The only reason he noticed it was thanks to the snow falling onto it's body.

Oh shit. Ohhhh shit. Oh lord. That thing is going to wear me as a jacket if I try and fight it. 

Samson very slowly peaked his head out of the window again. His wide eyes were fixated on the invisible mass, he could see the flickering of the cloaking device. Then the mass took a step closer. Samson fell back and scrambled to his feet, lurching towards the closet door. He threw it open and was met with the shocked expressions of the farmer family.

"We have to go," Samson asserted, ushering the group to the door quickly. Readying his shotgun, he swung the door open wide and pointed the weapon outwards, only to find Hunter sprinting towards him.

[Arbiter124]

Hunter Knight
ODSTs

Hunter skid to a stop right in front of Samson, practically barreling into him. They were in cover in the hallway, just to the left of the mass chaos in the other room. Hunter could no longer see his teammates, nor did he have the time to make out any faces. He knew there was less than five minutes left here. Before everybody was dead. They couldn't all run. If they did that they'd be followed the entire time, and they wouldn't make it a mile farther. They had to get these children out of here, and they had to do it now.

Hunter glanced right and saw the back door. The only way. 

He turned back to Sam and screamed over the hellfire, "We need to go. Get these people to the drop zone. You and me."

[BasedGoody]

Pvt Samson Schwarz
TTYL

Samson stared at the back door as the family rushed towards the backdoor with Hunter. The Marine momentarily hesitated. He fully understood what was happening, they were officially leaving the rest of the UNSC for dead. There was no winning this battle, and the only thing they could do was attempt to save these people. Still, something felt off in Samson when he thought about it.

The farm-boy shook his head, attempting to rid it of all those thoughts. They had a new mission now, the time for feeling bad was after the mission was completed. Placing on foot in front of the other, Samson began to jog towards the backdoor.

He cut to the front of the group and took point as he opened it, facing a blast of icy cold wind as he did. The snow immediately attacked him and Samson remembered the feeling of below-zero from earlier. In front of them was an endless sea of snow dunes with sparsely placed forests dotting the landscape.

[Arbiter124]

Hunter Knight
ODSTs

Hunter held the father's hand as he ran with the group to the door. He ducked plasma fire and ordered them to get as low as possible. He reached the fireplace and grabbed his helmet, then the door. Hunter threw it open and glanced back for only one moment, pretending that he saw all three of his teammates still alive and still fighting. He rushed into the snow, instantly ankle deep and almost impossible to trek through.
As he powered through the snow he worked with his helmets calibrations. The HUD flared to life and he saw the waypoint digitalize in front of him. It was two miles from where they were. An elevated area.

"This way." 

Hunter did not look back for Samson. His mind raced a thousand miles a minute. He had to complete his plan. It was the only plan. They were going to die, and if they ran when it was all over it would all be for nothing. This was the way.

"Uuushenkaka."

An invisible vice tightnened around his throat. He made a gurgled sound and instantly raised his rifle, firing on the automatic setting right in front of him. Bright blue lights flashed brilliantly in front of him before they exploded and revealed to him the Shark underneath. It croaked and released Hunter. He fell to his knees, submerging waist deep into the snow. The creature looked down at Hunter and raised its arm with alarming speed towards his face. Purple blood splattered over his helmet, ruining his vision. He heard three more rounds go off and the Shark curse in its alien tongue. Hunter closed his eyes and forced himself to continue to embrace the will to win. He let loose a gladiators scream and ran blindly towards where he thought the creature was. Something kicked him in the side of his arm with enough force to send him in the air, and he went once again fully under the white blanket.

[BasedGoody]

Pvt Samson Schwarz
Lets go gutsy red riot!

Samson was hot on the groups tail, but that was the only thing hot about this entire situation. His fingers were frozen to the shotgun by this point, which was probably best for this moment. He could barely see through the snowstorm as Hunter was kicked into the snow. 

"Hunter!" He yelled out as the ODST disappeared completely into the ground. Samson trudged through the snow, lifting his feet up a huge amount with every single step. He pushed past the family, making hand gestures for them to get low to the ground. As he approached the fight, he raised his shotgun in the direction of where the elite was.

But it wasn't there anymore.

"Wha-" was all that escaped Samson's mouth before he was grabbed from behind and lifted into the air. He began kicking outwards, attempting to escape the Elite's grip. However it was no use, and he was thrown into the snow. The marine was back up immediately, already too cold to feel the sharp pain in his side. He barely aimed the shotgun, firing it from the hip. The Elite dodged the lazy shot easily and grabbed the shotgun by the pump, holding Samson's hand as he did.

The Elite twisted his wrist down, causing Samson to scream out in pain and let go of the pump, now unable to chamber another shell. With this advantage, the Elite pulled the shotgun towards him. Given that Sam's other hand was still gripping the handle, he was pulled into the alien's chest. 

The Elite grabbed around Samson in a bear hug, squeezing harder every second. The air was being crushed out of the farm-boy's lungs as he flailed his limbs to get out. In a move of desperation, the marine whipped his head back and then forward, crushing the two's heads together. 

The strap holding Sam's helmet snapped and flew off as the Elite stumbled backwards, shocked at the attack. Nevertheless, the alien was barely effected as it immediately reached into the snow to grab him again.

Samson slid backwards to avoid the hand, grabbing his holstered magnum and aiming at the Elite's chest. However the three shots he let loose only served to break the alien's shields again, as they had begun to recharge at the same moment.

[Arbiter124]

Hunter Knight
ODSTs

Hunter rose from the snow like a zombified iron corpse. His rush had cooled, but once he came to realize that he instantly searched for it again. Back into the fight. He pivoted frantically, searching for his foe that had vanished into the blizzard. It was an impossible challenge. An unimaginable wall. The end of the line.

Blue shields popped not ten feet in front of him. The massive Shark was suddenly all too visible.

Hunter raised his rifle and used his thumb to flick it into semi automatic firing mode. He pressed on the trigger with a purpose, letting loose two rounds that were aimed with calm percision. He had to move with killing intent and not blind fury right now or he was going to make a mistake that would cost him everything. Both rounds hit the monster in its side, causing it to stumble away from Hunter and begin a sprint to make distance. Hunter followed with five strong paces before stopping and aiming his weapon again, this time dead on the Shark's back. 

A scream from above.

Hunter looked up and froze. A terrible shadow swooped through the air, barely visible. It came from the direction of the house, and landed just passed Hunter. The skirmisher tuck and rolled back to it's feet, long legs pedalling it to a stop. It launched again at Hunter, this time with a much more effective aim on him. He sidestepped and dodged with success, only being caught by one clawed hand. It grazed his unarmored bicep and sent him staggering backward in the snow. He kept his footing. Raised his weapon. 

BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!

[BasedGoody]

Pvt Samson Schawrz
im out

Samson scrambled to his feet and regained his composure before taking in his surroundings. The Elite gripped it's ribs, bleeding purple onto the snow. Samson locked eyes with the alien and neither moved for a millisecond before Samson raised up his Magnum as fast as possible. He didn't even have time to pull the trigger before the Elite cloaked up and began to sprint away. The farm-boy let loose a volley of shots at the area where the snow parted to show the creature's footsteps, but none landed.

BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!

Samson winced at the sound of more gunshots, spinning around to the new battle. Hunter stood with a smoking Battle Rifle aimed at a Skirmisher, who expertly dodged low and reached up in attempt to grapple over the human weapon. Sam flicked his eyes down to the magnum in his hands, the slide was locked back indicating that it was empty. Wasting no time, the farm-boy threw the magnum with his good hand at Hunter's attacker. It clocked off the side of the alien's head, stunning it for less than a second. 

With this second Samson began to charge, pulling his knife out of it's sheath. However the inexperienced marine was too eager, and the Skirmisher responded by grasping the hand with the knife. The alien stretched his arm out, keeping the knife as far away from him as possible. It's other hand fired a right hook into Samson's mouth, immediately filling it with blood as a molar was knocked out. It sent the marine directly back into the snow.

[Arbiter124]

Hunter Knight

Only an instant after Sam went under passed before Hunter was on the Skirmisher. He barreled into it with his shoulder, knocking both of them into the ground. Hunter landed on hands and knees and was up in a flash on the creature. He stood directly over it and aimed his rifle once again, but this time the wiry thing kicked and thrashed with inhuman speed that Hunter could not comprehend. It's legs kicked into the air in every direction like some sort of chaotic propeller. Waves of snow blocked his vision for a moment and in that moment his enemy was back on its feet and leaping into the air. 

This time though, instead of leaping at Hunter it went straight up. So much so that it's crouched legs leveled with Hunter's head perfectly. It kicked out and missed Hunter's head by barely anything at all. Hunter sidestepped for some distance and raised his gun, firing blanks. Empty. He let it fall and hang on the sling, going for his knife. Too slow. The Skirmisher leaped again.

BOOM!

The creature's head bucked and it slowed into a panicked stumble. It cupped its neck twice, and on the second release blood violently started to shoot out from a sizable hole in its throat. Hunter watched in helpless shock as its body convulsed and it dropped to the ground like a bag of meat. He looked to his right to see the family's father, Rufus. He held Hunter's pistol with shaking hands, smoke exhaling slowly from the barrel of the weapon. Hunter swiftly moved to him and pushed him by the shoulder toward the treeline, "Thank you."

"We have to go right fucking now Sam. Let me get a clip."

[BasedGoody]

Pvt Samson Schwarz
geeked

Samson pushed up from the snow to find it covered in splattered-red blood. He felt his mouth to feel his lip split open wide, refusing to stop gushing.

"Yeah, I underthand, let'th get the thuck outta here," he sputtered out, spitting more blood into the snow. Standing up on two feet, the marine turned around and scooped up the shotgun that laid in the snow from the Elite's attack. The group began to move towards the tree line together as Samson reviewed his own wounds.

His ribs were still in splitting pain. Not broken yet, more likely bruised. His hand was still sore, but still usable. His mouth was the most destroyed out of anything, considering he couldn't pronounce most sentences anymore. While lightly touching his lips to gauge it's pain, the father of the family pulled at Samson's sleeve.

"I feel I should mention, less than half a mile down the road we have an ice-fishing hut with snowmobiles there," the man spoke, causing Samson to pause momentarily.

"That could perthectly. How do we get to the road?" The marine responded, turning to him.

"It goes through this forest behind the house," Rufus continued, pointing towards the trees.

"Alright, thlight adjuthtment to the plan," Sam spoke up to Hunter, "Rufuth can get uth to thome thnowmobileth"

[Arbiter124]

Hunter Knight
ODSTs

"What?"

Rufus quickly filled in Hunter, who stayed silent for a moment to assess. The gunfire at the house had slowed. They had probably breached the interior. Everyone was probably dying right now. Time was not on their side and speed was not either. They would absolutely need a boost. If they could actually reach snowmobiles and get them started, then they might truly have a real chance at this.

It was a big 'if', though.

"Lead the way, Rufus." Rufus nodded and brushed passed Hunter, still toward the treeline, "I know the way, let's cut through the woods. It's just down this slope."

[BasedGoody]

Pvt Samson Schwarz
Vice Tool

The snowfall wasn't letting up. In fact, it was getting worse. Samson was only wearing his standard issue uniform, now lacking a helmet. His scarf barely did anything to protect from the wind. 

Both feet were already numb, but that probably made things easier. Now he couldn't feel the icy temperatures licking at his soles. The young boy, Curtis, was being held by his mother looking backwards. Sam saw his eyes begin to tear up and the marine turned around to see the house being slowly taken over by flames. The orange pillars of fire were rising up with smoke from the front, where the main fight was going on. Purple explosions still rang out and gunfire continued to fill his ears, but it was less constant now. 

Samson turned back to the boy.

"Hey, don't look at that," he said, waving his hand in front of Curtis, "Look at me."

The young kid sniffled, shifting his gaze towards Sam.

"We're gonna get you guyth out of thith," the marine started, spitting to the left of him as his mouth filled up with blood again. Every time he spoke, his split lip re-opened. Curtis didn't respond to Samson's reassurance, rather just dug his face into his mother's shoulder.

I shouldn't make promises I don't know if I can keep.

[Faclan]

Cad - Ruuthian Major
Trying to follow the flashes and bodies
Why have they not diedddd yet?!

It was hard to hear the gunfire over the roaring and muffling snow. But the flashes, they could be seen. Bright yellow and orange too, not Covenant blue or green. There were more Humans about. Following them though. That was an entirely different matter. The snow was getting worse and the thinner legs of the Kig-Yar were able to cross the snow fairly well. But the cold bit deeper into their more frail bodies. And while the Unggoy were loving the cold they hated being up to there stomachs in it and having to try and slowly wade through it.

So while some front runners had found the Humans, Cad taking the T'vaoans ID pad and trying to keep going, there were only Alien bodies, not Humans to burn horribly before letting them be buried in this accursed snow.

And!

And, worst of all they were heading toward the Humans fall back point. They would likely have to fall back soon in any case. And Cad was dreading that as each step forward he took would have to be another one backwards back to their base. This was becoming less worth it to chase the Humans every step. But the Ruuthian was angry, and he wanted to kill some Humans, plain and simple. Looking back to make sure his little file wasnt leaving him when he wasnt watching he kept going...they couldn't be too far ahead now. The flashes had been close and the T'vaoan had still been bleeding purple all over the snow.

[Arbiter124]

    Hunter Knight led his rag tag squadron of misfits with a hurried stagger that he couldn't hide. The punishment his body had taken since the drop was immense. It was a miracle that he was still in one piece at all. The cold had become obsolete in his mind as a wave of death approached them all from behind. Who knows how fast they were coming. Skirmishers - no, Turkeys - Turkeys were nightmarishly fast, even given the handicap on movement from this blizzard. The second that they were sighted it was all over. Two marines firing wildly into the darkness before they waste whatever ammunition they have. Hunter could barely move in a straight line and was constantly having to be corrected by Mr. Rufus, who seemed to barely comprehend the situation at hand. He seemed to be far away, somewhere that wasn't here. His eyes were wildly looking for the right direction beside Hunter, but when he wasn't scaring Hunter with a sharp "WRONG WAY THIS WAY" he was rapidly mouthing words to himself, possibly praying or maybe just talking to himself like a madman.

The PFC was eternally grateful that he had met Samson. Whether the choice that he made was right or wrong, deserrting his squadron in favor of rescuing this family, it relieved him to the utmost degree that he didn't have to work his way out of this hole by himself. It was Samson who was tending to the family, not Knight. While the ODST sprinted away from the firefight at full tilt, Samson hung at the back with the slowest ones and covered their backs. The mere fact alone that Samson was able to bring himself to follow Hunter said a lot about the kid. Hunter bet that above all else, Samson found purpose in serving by feeling like he was giving a fighting chance to those in need.

And in that ideology they were identical.

Suddenly Hunter was looking at a squared sillouhette, just to his right and down the slope twenty feet. He did not stop, just screamed "It's here!" and jumped up in the air, changing the position of his feet to a surfing stance. He tounched icy dirt and slid down the small incline, losing slight balance but regaining and continuing his charge. He hit the door at full speed, tucking his shoulder and smashing against it. He felt the lock snap as the door swung open and he stumbled into the shed. Cement garage. On the other side to the left he saw the garage door. Rufus was hot on his tail and flipped a switch upon his entrance. The room lit like a white beam with the most powerful lights Hunter had seen all day. He shot his hand up to cover himself form blinding and then his stomach fell to the floor.

"Shut those lights off."

Rufus practically shattered like glass. His trembling hand shut the light back off and Hunter wildly looked about the room. If they weren't on them now they could have a scent right to them. Samson arrived inside with the rest of the family. Rufus ran back to his kin to regroup and gather hope together.

"Get the ATVs running right now Rufus. We need to go."

Hunter turned to Samson and saw his battered, torn to pieces face. He had not been protected like Hunter from the battle nor the elements. His lip was bust wide open, fat and pulsating. Blood ran down his entire chin. No wonder the kid didn't want to talk to him. The kid shook in agitation and an utter turmoil that Hunter couldn't look at for one second longer. 

"My armor has a heating system under the ballistics. You need my helmet too because, I don't know if you know but you're face can't not take any more damage my man. Switch armor with me. We only have a few minutes."

[BasedGoody]

Pvt Samson Schawrz
Busted and Blue

Samson couldn't stop shaking. He had stopped noticed his body's incessant twitching long ago, but re-acknowledged it when Hunter mentioned a heated armor system. 

That sounds nice, the marine momentarily thought. He did not respond out loud, only nodded. His lip was so cold and cracked that any movement would cause it to break open again, further tinting his face red with blood. Not that it would make a difference, as his nose bled down to his mouth from where Eden had punched him, and his mouth bled down to his neck. Of course, this blood was frozen dry by now.

Maybe it's selfish of me to take his warm armor. He's clearly a better soldier than me, it would be more useful to him anyways. But these were thoughts Samson was having while he was already removing his weak marine armor plating, placing it on a crate next to them. What have I become? Greedy? Envious? Not to mention my Slothful actions that caused all of this in the first place.

Yet none of these self-degrading thoughts stopped him from putting on the ODST's ballistic armor. Immediately Sam noted how heavy it was in comparison. The shoulder pads felt like they slowed down his arm movements, and compromised his mobility.

How do they wear this all the time? However immediately after that thought, the heating feature started to take effect. He slid the helmet down over his head, forcing his semi-long blonde hair to be stuffed against his neck. While the armor plating only heated the areas that were covered, it was more than enough to boost Samson back into reality.

"Uh, the skimobiles are ready," Rufus' voice echoed in the small shack as Samson turned his head to him and nodded. The newly-armored marine stepped back outside to find three vehicles, all with two seats.

"Okay," Samson spoke for the first time in many minutes, "You and your daughter get on this one-" he pointed to the far left skimobile, "Your wife and son on this one, and I'll drive the last. Hunter will be on back of mine and cover us."

The family nodded seemingly in unison, except for the son. Instead the young boy shook terribly, adopting the same freezing twitching that Samson had earlier. The marine tried to give the kid a reassuring look, but it was blocked by his new helmet.

"Let's roll out."

[Faclan]

Cad - Ruuthian Major
In sight of the garage
A trap?

The small building. Wood and not much else. That must have been where they were. The tracks stopped there and there could be nowhere else! Cad relayed that to his file as he turned on his shield and turned to face the building. Thankfully his shaking from the cold hands held a Needler behind his shield, and his badly worsened accuracy from that would not hinder that weapon. The four Unggoy also didn't mind the cold much as they fell behind Cad and the other Ruuthian to be a little plasma filled orange and blue glowing ball in the snow. The Minors and Cads shield forming the defensive line as they waited.

But the last Kig-Yar, their main hope here really, was really struggling. He had not packed as much thick clothing as Cad and so could barely hold the Carbine as he stood and waited. Cad had already told him he would give him his jacket if he made a kill, and so the small Kig-Yar was trying his best to hold steady. So he could actually make it back to the Covenant lines without losing a finger to this damned cold.

[Arbiter124]

"Let's do it."

Hunter Knight nodded to his new friend and walked towards his vehicle. The newly donned armor of his reminded of a time in his life that felt far longer than it truly was. He could still remember the flood filled streets where he almost drowned and the ferocious demon that tried to take his life but lost the battle. He was practically there here and now being in this soaking wet brown armor. It was worth it though. Sam needed the boost and he needed a great deal more protection than Hunter.

He didn't want to lose anybody.

The ODST stuck himself tightly with both feet between the crooks of the back of the snowmobile. He lurched forward to prep himself for the balance he would inevitably need, but ultimately decided he needed both hands available to shoot and spun onto his ass, facing the opposite direction of the driver. While switching gear Hunter briefed his comrade on the workings of the ODST HUD and what radio channel he would need to be on to speak and receive contact from air support and extraction. He had faith in Samson, mostly because he had to so he could focus one hundred percent on killing anything that threatened them. Not something he was as accustomed to as his position would lead one to think.

Hunter readied his weapon to an overbearing degree while he waited, keeping his eyes off of anyone's line of sight save for Samson. He needed to save these people, but he didn't know what to say to them. Not while they could still fail them.

[BasedGoody]

Pvt Samson Schwarz
Bless

Samson threw one leg over the saddle of the snowmobile, resting his feet in a comfortable place. He revved the engine, causing a puff of black smoke to cough out of the tailpipe. 

"Everyone ready?" He yelled out, looking over his shoulder to find the parents of the family nervously nodding. Samson then turned back around, gulping in a large breath of air before releasing the break and easing in on the throttle. The snowmobile sputtered into action, sliding on top of the snow covered ice. According to his newly acquired HUD, their quickest course of action would be to cross the frozen lake. It left them heavily visible, but Samson prayed that the snowfall would obscure the Covenant's line of sight.

As if God is listening to me now, the farm boy shrugged off the thought as the vehicle proceeded to glide across the ice. He shot another glance back to find the father and daughter directly behind him, with the mother and son slacking behind. 

"Skrawww!"

The sound was far away. Sam was barely even able to hear it, but he did. 

They've already found us, huh? The group wasn't even halfway across the lake. Past the lake was a heavy treelike that seemed to dip downwards, out of their sight. 

We've got a lot of ground to cover.

[Arbiter124]

It took a considerable amount of effort for Hunter Knight to maintain balance on the back of the snowmobile without his hands to use as midi gators. Still, he held tight to his weapon and kept the stock pressed under his right armpit. The only way to even see the snowmobiles trailing was through the headlights, really. The rest was just a black blurry splotch etched into the grey of the blizzard. If the covenant came now they'd be fucked-

"Skraw."

"Skraaaaaaw!"

Blood ran cold in the arms of the young man. Still, he raised his weapon. Pressed his eye to the scope. Faced the direction of the terrible screams.

"Get moving, Sam."

Two almost invisible specs to his left appeared and enlarged at an alarming rate. Hunter felt his heart pound the way it did when the cold reality set in. Doesn't matter. He tried to trail his targets but gave up in a second. They were too fast. They followed from the side like black bubbles floating in the current. But they were truly the jaws of death.

"Oh, God."

Practically a whine, it was almost too quiet for him to even hear over the engine and the wind blowing by. Still, he pivoted with his weapon levelled and eye in the scope towards Rufus' snowmobile. Sure enough, the trapezoidal frame of a covenant Ghost speeder closed in from behind, close enough to identify clearly. Hunter's eyes went full and he stood up straight while retaining his footing. He pulled the trigger down once, twice, three times. All with a half a breath of space in between. All nine rounds from his rifle plunged into the hull of the vehicle, sending off sparks but not dealing permanent damage. Hunter grit his teeth tight and fired off two more rounds before a bounce from the ice sent him an inch off of the snowmobile and back on, hard and on his ass. He gripped as tight as he could to the side rail, fighting for his life with all of his might.

[BasedGoody]

Pvt Samson Schwarz
Swervin'

"Ghost!" Samson was late on the call, as Hunter was already deep in combat with the Covenant speeder. The private arched his neck back to peer at the alien vehicle behind them as it moved to gain firing position. It's cannons lit up blue as the creature behind the wheel opened up a volley of plasma at them. The splashes around them sent Sam swerving in an attempt to dodge.

The marine's head shot to the right to find the mother and son veering off as another Ghost approached them.

Two? Samson bit his lips to keep from cursing, spinning in their direction to assist. 

"Hold on!" The private yelled to Hunter, "Protect the civilians!"

Sam pulled out the shotgun from his sling, switching to drive with one hand. He aimed it without precision, focusing more on the ice in front of him. Pulling the trigger, the recoil sent the shotgun high up into the air. It was a clear miss, as the pellets were too far away to have an effect. It did, however, cause the Ghost's attention to switch onto the UNSC soldiers.

[Arbiter124]

Hunter Knight watched the shotgun ascend to the sky and he knew what to do without even thinking. He smacked his hand against the right side of the snowmobile rapidly and screamed out a, "Slow down" to Samson before immediately leaping off of the vehicle. Snow cushioned his fall but he still fell to his side and backwards. Ice cracked beneath him, but it did not deter the ODST from his clear objective. He slid and staggered to the shotgun not more than ten feet from him.

The purr of the ghost increased behind him. 

Hunter slid into a position of balance and held his arms out wide to maintain it. His rifle slung around his side. Plasma suddenly erupted on every side of him as his executioner approached at a rapid pace. He bent down and reached for the shotgun with his knees extended. Miss. Plasma burned at the ice at his heels. He bent down and grabbed hold of the weapon. No time to mess up now, he pumped the weapon and pivoted on one heel to create a minimum amount of weight pressure on the ice beneath him. He spun one hundred-eighty degrees and fired at the ground five feet or so in front of him. The ghost was upon him, ready to run him down as the ice exploded between the two. The vehicle bucked and turned downward, smashing into the ice halfway and submerging its bottom into the ice water underneath. The ghost was stuck. Hunter's eyes darted to the driver, a Shark bearing the same special operator armor as the one before. It yelled something wicked and grabbed hold of the top of its Ghost, hauling itself onto the roof as the speeder sank deeper into the water. It stood far taller than Hunter, eight feet at the very least. A bright beam of blue light burned to life and shaped a blade in its clawed hands. Dried blood stained its armor from two wounds in its side.

Hunter raised his weapon.

[BasedGoody]

Pvt Samson Schawrz
I had to rewrite this cuz my browser crashed lol

"Slow down? Okay, got you-" Samson began, craning his neck back to look at Hunter. However the ODST was already gone, holding his shotgun point blank at an Elite with an Energy Sword. 

Oh. Okay, word. Samson swerved to a momentary stop, sliding and scraping along the ice as he did. He spun his head around in a three-sixty, visualizing the situation. The two snowmobiles holding civilians were continuing on their path towards the tree-line, but they wouldn't last long without the soldier's assistance. That being said, the other still-manned Ghost had since given up on the farmer targets, and instead aimed directly at Sam.

The Elite raised one hand in some form of challenge, yelling something as he did. The marine didn't understand, and could barely even hear it anyways. The alien vehicle immediately boosted forward, blazing it's weapons madly. Sam had since formed a plan, throttling and turning back towards Hunter. The Ghost pursued, managing to plaster the back of the snowmobile with a few bolts of plasma. They melted blue into the seat, forcing Sam into a standing position to avoid the heat.

He quickly approached the ODST and Special Operations Elite, getting thirty feet from them before squeezing on the break with all his grip strength, throwing the handles all the way left. The snowmobile skid, spinning around as it screeched to a halt. Snow was thrown up from the tracks, covering the Sword-holding Elite in a fine coating of it. The alien stumbled back in shock, throwing both hands up to it's face to get the snow away from it's eyes. The Ghost trailing Samson, unprepared for the sudden stop, shot by. The alien vehicle took a moment to adjust to the situation, coming to a stop fifty feet ahead of the group. Samson turned his gaze to Hunter, reaching a gloved hand out to pull him back onto the vehicle.

[Arbiter124]

"Next time let me slow down?"

Samson Schwarz forced a sharp laugh of glee to come from Hunter Knight as he was pulled aboard the back of the vehicle, "Haha! One down? One down!" He shouted the words with the same confidence he had felt when he had made his decision to leave his team. This was indeed, albeit with some luck, somehow maybe achievable. The Shark that lost his ghost had begun pursuit on the snowmobile. However, it could not keep pace and began to lose distance between itself and the soldiers. Hunter grinned wildly before turning back to see where the treeline was. One hundred and fifty feet or so.

He turned back to see the other ghost had righted itself and begun to chase. The other shark had darted off to the side and was boarding what looked like a larger, crimson streamlined ghost. It bobbed awkwardly forward and began to pursue from a farther distance.

Something new? 

Suddenly a booming came from the massive cannon attached to its top. A bright red fireball sailed towards them at a steady speed but only just slow enough that Hunter could process what was about to happen before the occurrence.

"Heads up! Turn left! Left!" Sam was quick to respond to Hunter's orders and darted left. Too late. The sphere of fire made landing to their right and sent them, the snowmobile, and infinite blocks of ice sailing into the air. Hunter twisted in the air and tucked his whole body, again cushioned by the snow. He was lobbed without significant physical force this time, less punishment enabling him a quick recovery. His head was still very much in the place he was, not in the far off land of shock. The sharks pulled up beside him like something out of a movie and both exited the vehicle. They would kill him slow. Two twin blades shimmered to life in front of him. 

He raised his rifle and fired.

Ice once again broke into thousands of shards all around him. The Elites shook with such force that they both fell to their knees, bullets still shredding the space all around them. Hunter glanced up and saw the bright lights of a falcon class helicopter hovering above him. Needles and plasma pinged on the sides and would deal significant damage to it in now time.

How did they find them?

The chopper lowered as its machine gunner covered its descent. Attached to the bay of the aircraft was now doubt, in fact, a transport class warthog.

"Fuck, fuck. Sam!" Hunter howled into the night as he started a sprint towards where he last saw the family. "Get on the radio!" Hunter screamed the words into a sea of darkness behind him as he desperately tried to signal the pilot towards the treeline.

[BasedGoody]

Pvt Samson Schwarz
Timber

Samson could only stare up in awe, mouth agape, at the giant metal bird raining hell down in front of them. He heard Hunter's order, barely understanding what he said. Suddenly he snapped back to reality, throwing both hands up to his helmet.

"Hey! Woah! The tree-line! We have civilians with us!" Samson yelped out into the comms, desperately relaying all the information he could as quickly as possible. The farmer family was still moving towards the tree-line, and were most likely almost there by now.

"Slow down there kid," the female pilot with a Southern accent began, "It's too hot here to drop anyways, we'll move to the treeline. Can you two get there on y'er own?"

"Do we have a choice?" Samson asked, mostly rhetorically. Plasma and needles began to soar in from Covenant reinforcements, forcing the falcon to lift upwards again.

"Not really. Get to the treeline," the woman stated, with no hint of sympathy. Below the marines, the ice quickly broke apart. Water sputtered out from the cracks beneath them, licking their heels with freezing liquid. Spinning around, Samson caught a quick glance of the snowmobile. It rested atop a large chunk of dislocated ice, tilted at twenty degrees upward. Slowly it began to slide down into the black water.

I can make that. Samson thought, matter-of-factly. He got to his feet and broke out into a sprint, yelling out for Hunter to follow. He leapt across cracks in the mini-icebergs, narrowly avoiding the vantablack lake beneath him.

Ten feet away, then five, three...

CRACK!

The ice beneath Samson's feet gave out, sending him plummeting into the lake. Into the darkness. Even with his eyes open, Sam could only see the moon through the surface of the water where he broke through. It was so cold.

[Faclan]

Cad - Ruuthian Major
Watching in defeat.
Welp we tried

A few feeble shots fired after the Human tracked transports as they chured the snow and zipped off into the darkness. Masked by it and the sheets of snow falling. They were gone. On vehicals so the File had no chance to catch up to them now. Cad growling as he shut off his shield and holstered the Needler. They had made a good effort. But it was done now. The file standing still as two ghosts zipped past them with Sangheili on them. Intent on stopping these Humans. But the lesser aliens jobs were done. Managing to get his outer coat off he tossed it to the shivering Kig who quickly strapped it around himself and thanked Cad. But he just grunted and turned.

The file starting the long march back as Cad held his shield emitter to his chest. Trying to pass some of its warmth into him as they walked. At least they hadn't lost anyone else. That was something good. But they had little to show for their efforts besides wasted plasma and needles. And cold and exhausted troops. Eager for food and a rest. The file soon lost into the darkness themselves as they followed their own footprints back toward the main force who had assaulted the Human home.

[Arbiter124]

The small and terrifying chase had evolved into a chaotic mess that did naught to help save the people of the farm. The falcon was forced to pull back up and strafe around once the gunner realized that he had torn to pieces the exit way the survivors were trying to use as a funnel. Suddenly doom became a confirmed and imminent event for Hunter Knight. Not for the first time tonight his feet ran faster than his brain could think as he chased Samson across the rapidly separating ice. The Marine had been doing well keeping speed whilst carrying all that unusual extra weight. He tore across the ice now so fast that Hunter was practically tripping over himself to keep at his back. With one risky glance off of his path he marked a snowmobile making its way under the icy abyss, instantly assessing the makeshift plan that had sprung into his friends head. The vehicles fate was sealed as its engine touched and broke the surface layer of the black lake. 

He can't make that.

And without a warning from god it was as if the metaphorical tendrils of dread in his mind sensed his doubt in this darkest hour and sprung up from hell into reality. The ice under Sam shattered and the darkness underneath ate him up whole. Hunter heard a bloodcurdling scream escape the soldier's lips before the water choked it out with the speed of a video edit. He himself shrieked and fell to his knees, pads scraping ice and sending him sliding like a rock star to a stop just short of the hole. Ice threatened to break underneath him and make him another victim, but Knight had spent all night dealing with doubt and that was all over now until this all was over. He dove headfirst, causing massive damage to the terrain that was left up above. The ice chilling seize that was uninhabitable water swallowed the ODST, but the considerable acceptance of his plunge lead him to collide with his friend almost instantly. He wrapped his arms around Samson in a bear hug, positioning himself below his comrade like an anchor, both upright as they sank. 

Don't breathe.

Knights elbows were forced to hold the lock between them tight, but still he did not allow Samson's frantic struggle for his own life to give him a chance escape their one way ticket to the bottom. His hands were busy inspecting Sam's utilities on his chest and belt. Using his knowledge of his own armor he was able to quickly locate the frag grenades strapped to his right side. He thumbed the small access pad two extra times for insurance and swung his arm awkwardly downward, releasing the explosive directly under where he would be positioned to land. A split second later he felt his feet touch a muddy floor and he clutched Sam with maximum force, locking his arms together tight around his partner's waist. His knees bent and he fired back up to the surface, not very far. A few feet maybe, no more. Hunter kicked like a madman with his feet, desperately trying to make distance and gain even a few precious extra inches.

BOOM!

Hunter's ass and back felt the torrential force of the lake's contents repelled outward. The level of speed that he reached underwater he absolutely had not anticipated. He heard absolutely nothing for one more second before he and Samson erupted from the water like a breaching submarine. Hunter instantly opened his eyes, wild with a terrible desperation. God granted him one more miracle. 

The previously disabled ghost was lodged between a rock pillar and block of ice a foot away from him. With the last of his body's stored emergency strength he shot one hand out and caught the left wing of the ghost. He pulled tight to it's side and did not let go. But he knew the way he shook was not natural. And he knew he felt nothing. 

Nothing at all.

[BasedGoody]

Pvt Samson Schwarz
Hypothermia

Samson had assumed the grip around his body was the warm embrace of death. He figured there was no reasonable way he would escape the ice water that engulfed him, at least until he resurfaced and reality shot back into him like a shotgun. He heaved in huge gulps of air, thrashing about in a panic. Sam felt the grip he previously believed to be death release, and turned to find it was Hunter.

The ODST in marine's armor was shivering like a phone on vibrate, yet still grasped onto the alien vehicle with all his strength.

I should be dead right now. Why would he risk his life for me? What have I done to be worth such a feat?

Once again, Samson was overthinking. He quickly smacked himself on the helmet, knocking all the unneeded thoughts out. Finally, he began to act according to instinct. He flipped around, reaching his hand and placing it on top of Hunter's. The ODST armor Sam had on kept him slightly more warm, not that hypothermia wasn't setting in on the both of them at that exact moment. However Sam had the small amount of warmth needed to complete his next action. He pulled himself up onto the ice, which rocked back and forth as it had separated from the rest of the lake. 

Samson looked down to Hunter, quivering to no end. While the farm-boy was quickly losing feeling in his limbs, the ODST looked to be in far worse shape.

God, I know I was being rude before, but you understand the circumstances, right? Any chance you're in a forgiving mood?

There was no response. Rather, Samson sighed and grabbed Hunter under the arm, attempting to pull him up to his feet. Looking ahead, the tree-line was about 100 yards North. About the length of a football field.

"Hey, buddy, you think you can make it that far?"

[Arbiter124]

Samson had asked him a question, but Hunter Knight did not hear him. He was on his knees just staring at the ground. Breathing was a process and his mind was racing fast to a place where even that would be to complicated for him. He desperately searched in his head for that fighting power once again, but it seemed to be in a far away place, light years from his body where it resided only seconds ago. It seemed like every time he crossed that mental line to fully commit, he's able to only just barely do so before being hit with the next impossible task. They were now unarmed and Hunter had found a way to take a beating more severe than Samson's. 

"Buddy?"

Hunter heard the words this time. He pulled himself back to reality and groaned out a, "Let's go" to Sam. Once he rose to his feet though, that was when the problems that reality came with set in. He felt a strange but immense pain shoot from his leg in massive doses. He screamed in the most high pitch tone he had heard from himself in years, collapsing onto his face. He rolled onto his side, whimpering all the while. In a panic he looked at his leg to see the entire thing coated in a shade of red so dark from the water that it looked black, save for the noticeable amount of blood seeping from the massive gash in his pant leg. He made sounds of agony as he stared at the wound, thoughts too jarred to perform an accurate assessment of the mess in front of him.

"I can't walk." He managed to choke out the soul crushing words that served as self confirmation of the inevitable truth, "Please go find that family and get them on that falcon."

[BasedGoody]

Pvt. Samson Schwarz
End of Days

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Samson shot a disgusted look directly into Hunter's eyes. He wouldn't sugarcoat it, the wound on his leg was bad. Too bad to walk on, without a doubt. Fatal? Most likely not, if the blood loss could be dealt with as soon as possible. The cold would get to him first. 

The two UNSC soldiers had been through nothing short of hell, frozen over, for the past day. It had been nothing but mistake over mistake, unlucky event over unlucky event, and pain over pain. 

But to die here? On this frozen lake? Samson refused to allow it. Once again he grabbed under Hunter's arm and lifted him up. Gingerly, the marine made sure the ODST's bad leg was lifted in front of him.

After saving my life, multiple times, I can't let him die here.

Hunter made clear noises of pain, showing even the slightest movement was nearly impossible. Deeply sighing and sucking in a gust of air, Sam bent over and lifted Hunter onto his shoulders, fireman style.

He's heavier than I expected.

Again, Samson was lucky he couldn't feel his muscles straining to keep Hunter above him. He placed one foot forward, rocking the ice block they stood on.

99 yards to go.