HALO: VANGUARD

There he lay, alone in the darkness.

The ground felt so comfortable... The downpour that fell gently upon his visor produced a pleasing beat. It was as though, for just a moment, time had stopped and he took a moment to think... A breather after many days of hardship. It was, to him, a miracle like no other. Perhaps he could fall asleep where he lay, never to awaken.

Yet the rain's pleasant pitter-patter would fade into a violent hiss; The dirt below him that had, moments ago, felt so warm and welcoming would begin to feel cold and damp as the world around him, that had only just been a distant echo, would force its way in.

"AMBUSH!"

A man would cry from the tree line, the violent downpour muffling the voice while a sudden and unbearable burning dominated all his other senses.

He looked around from his position in the dirt, disoriented and confused, desperately trying to collect the thoughts that raced through his head while the adrenaline in his system began to act. His heartbeat sped up, his breathing accelerated and all the while he lay on the floor, unable to gather the strength to pull himself up.

What sounded like a thunderstorm erupted around him and the darkness that had once been so dominant would be replaced by the sight of crackling lights. Not long after, the blurred silhouette of what seemed to be a man entered his vision. The man spoke yet his voice was drowned out by an ear piercing ring.

His head would become clouded, the blur in his eyes became more dominant and, just as another person seemed to enter his view, it would all fade to black...

...

A few hours would pass before he would begin to awake.

As his eyes opened he would be briefly stunned by the bright floral lighting that surrounded him, taking a few seconds for his eyes to adjust before finally being able to inspect his new surroundings... Although, there wasn't really much to look at besides the bland steel walls that entombed him.

As he looked down he would feel the soft, white, sterile sheets that covered the lower half of his body... It was a strange feeling, to be sure. After so long sleeping in the same barracks, with the same awful bed, he found it almost uncomfortable to be laying on a mattress nearly as high quality as this...

As he continued to scan the room, he noticed that it was eerily silent... Besides a few other patients who were quietly resting in their beds there seemed to be no one about.

And for a while the room would remain in silence, leaving him to his own thoughts. But, finally, after what seemed like hours had passed he would hear footsteps off to his right side, rapidly approaching him. Looking over he would see a woman, dressed in their typical BDU. It would take him a minute to register who it was...

"Ha! You finally woke up!"

But once her chipper voice broke the silence it wasn't long before he put a name to the face. It was Ayla, a young and pale woman, possibly the youngest on board, and certainly the smallest person in the unit but, when the going got tough, she was usually the one to raise the team's spirits. And, well, she was a damn good corpsman as well...

"Yeah, I was enjoying the silence before you decided to barge in."

He chuckled at his remarks.

"So, what'd I do this time? Forget to change my socks? Didn't drink enough water?"

While he could make a couple guesses he wasn't really certain. His memory of what got him locked away in the medical bay was... Well... Hazy at best. The only thing he was absolutely sure of? It must've been one hell of a hit if he couldn't even remember it. Yet, Ayla seemed almost shocked at his lack of remembrance.

"You don't remember?... Damn..."

He would look towards Ayla with raised eyebrows, waiting for a response.

"Oh, right, well... We got intel that insurrectionists were camping out a couple clicks west of New Ravenscraig. Using an old warehouse or something as an outpost.

So, they send us in to deal with them.

Well, either the intel was faulty or sabotaged because we ended up walking straight into a minefield... Literally... And, well, you got a little taste of kaboom. Guess it was too spicy for you because here you are."

There would be a brief silence as he compartmentalised what he had just been told... He stepped on a landmine?... That would explain the burning pain that he felt in his legs. Well, now he supposed he was lucky to be feeling anything at all. Guess that new battle armour was doing it's job well if he was still breathing...

"Shit..."

He murmured to himself.

"Hey, at least you can still play the violin right? Plus, you got off pretty lucky, didn't even break a bone!

Guess we just got to be glad the insurrectionists are using decades old junk..."

Just as she finished speaking, a brief crackling noise could be heard from the corner of the room before a loud voice bounced off of the steel walls.

"Medical staff to deck eight! Medical staff to deck eight! Medical Staff to deck eight! This is an immediate priority!"

And, just like that, he would watch as Ayla bolted out of the room before anything else could be said. Although he suspected she'd soon be back... Albeit not for the right reasons. He simply hoped that, whatever incident had just occurred, wasn't too serious as he leaned back into his bed, once more getting accustomed to the silence that filled the air....

Until his thoughts were once more interrupted...