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ERIC NYLUND
111
The Hunter reeled as fire washed across its armor. It moved in
slow, confused circles. Fred could see the bright orange smears
of the Hunter's blood staining the rocks.
Kelly landed on her feet next to Fred. She readied a captured
plasma grenade and hurled it straight toward the second
Hunter's huge gun.
It lodged in the barrel of the weapon and detonated. Tendrils
of energy covered the Hunter. The gun crackled and belched
smoke.
Fred got to his feet. "Run!"
They weren't going to engage a Hunter in hand-to-hand com-
bat. They might lose—they might win, but in the meantime the
rest of the Covenant ground forces would catch up to them.
They sprinted toward a tiny patch of forest ahead, perhaps the
last trees standing on Reach. The Hunter, confused with its de-
stroyed weapon—and its flame-wreathed partner—hesitated,
not sure what to do.
"Didn't you see while we were airborne?" Kelly said, concern
tightening her voice. "There's about half the entire Covenant as-
sault force just ahead."
"Ground troops?" Fred said, boosting his speed to a full
sprint. "How far?"
"Haifa klick."
That didn't make sense, either. Why have forces groundside
when you were destroying the planet from orbit? "Something's
not right," he told her. "Let's see what they're up to."
Kelly's acknowledgment light winked red.
"They're between us and the fallback point," Fred told her.
"We have to."
They entered the stand of trees, paused, and looked back. The
Hunter shambled after them, but it was a futile pursuit. Despite
their occasional bursts of speed, the Hunters were too slow.
They were caught between Covenant forces on the ground
and those in the air, and neither Fred nor Kelly voiced the one
question foremost on their minds: Was there even a fallback po-
sition left? Or had the Covenant between them and the rest of
their team found and destroyed them?
The COM crackled."—is Gamma Team, Alpha. Come in."
Fred replied, "Gamma, this is Alpha. Go ahead."