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Chapter 4 Pt. 1 - A world in screams

The first two nights greeted the Kig-yar with anxiety, perplexity, and a disparaging feeling about being alive. He found it always to be freezing cold, even after Kvaz kindly retrieved him additional coverlets. Kvaz medicated Xal to suppress the pains, and recover with steroid injections into his rear, which Xal greatly disliked, but obliged. The rustling outside the door was maddening: at times, the scraping and murmurs seemed deliberate, and Xal was in awe at the sheer numbers. Kvaz mentioned something of hundreds being outside the door, often when he spoke of them, his mood darkled.

The dolor of Kvaz troubled Xal and it seemed the Sangheili was in an eternal paranoia: he had a few instances of anger and erratic behavior, but he held to his promise of not acting out so frighteningly, as he did before. His exercise routine became a morning spectacle for that half of the week that Xal observed, and he had to admit that it was entertaining to see.

Travel was through ventilation ducts or Elevator shafts: a tiresome trial of muscle for Xal who remained chronically exhausted. Kvaz offered Xal to stay in the room while he gathered a week's worth of provisions, but Xal was to weary to be left alone, and followed him through the ducts. Kvaz at first objected to this, mentioning that Xal would become crippled by the exertion of strength, but the Kig-yar adamantly refused to be left alone.

"I AM coming with you, Commander. I am not going to be alone in this room--it much too tormenting, to hear the constant muttering." Xal said affirmatively, crossing his arms, "I can walk, and carry my-self."

"Very well, Xal. I am warning you, it will become tiring." Kvaz reminded him, and Xal tasted his first freedom from the musty bedroom, as he was lifted up into the ventilation duct. The immediate exposure was both enthralling and unnerving as they crawled silently in darkness. Xal kept close, making sure he never let the Sangheili out of his site as they traveled.

They spoke sparsely to each other: Kvaz was lost in his own world while Xal struggled, searching in his mind for answers. As they passed through at an endless labyrinth, Kvaz had gone for some time without muttering, and Xal was curious about a few facts about his friend.

"Kvaz," Xal began slowly, croaking under his breath, "Can I ask you something?"

Kvaz looked over his shoulder and put his hand to the roof, reviewing the Kig-yar curiously, but then nodded in the dark. "Of course, Xal--what is it?"

"How-- did you manage to survive being on this ship, and to use the ventilation ducts?"

Kvaz turned over his shoulder and tilted his head, staring quietly at the Kig-yar, and Xal waited, cocking his eyebrow at the Sangheili. Kvaz sit back and then put his hands together. Talking about him-self was not a trait he possessed, even before his isolation, he rarely pontificated about anything he did, or thought, and so now, he began slowly, trying to please his friend.

"Do you know what an Ossoona is?"

"No, I do not." Xal admitted.

Kvaz nodded, "An Ossoona is a stealth operations soldier, employed for infantry, assassinations, reconnaissance, and etcetera. I've spent a lot of time in the past being sub-rosa before I was promoted to commander." Kvaz smiled a little bit as he recalled the experiences with his brothers, "I remember--when I was younger, I used to dump water on trainees in the barracks from the ceiling."

Xal nodded, "It seems your must have been venerated to be promoted so highly. If I may--did you ever have a wife, or a son?"

Kvaz frowned deeply and shook his head, "Never."

"Oh, I see. Commander, how did you not manage to an escape pod?" Xal cautiously approached the subject. "Or were there none aboard this ship?"

"Navigating to them is almost impossible if you spare your-self from cutting down thousands of men. The flood has formed nests all over this place: there is no oxygen in the upper levels. The generators shut down, but these ones seem to still function. That is how you are breathing clean air."

"They are solar powered," Xal chimed in. "I saw the solar panels when we neared the ship, and I imagine that is how this ship is powered." Xal explained.

"Couldn't you have--or, could you reach it now?" Xal continued with a more optimistic tone. "Yes the floors are polluted, however, Oxygen respirators could be located in the labs and we could navigate there."

"The last time I tried, I was nearly devoured. A lovely scar is the reminder that I will die if I try again. I will show it to you some time, if we ever see light, again." Kvaz turned away and briskly made his way through the duct, with low thumps as his bare feet tapped against the metal with each heavy step. Xal thought about that, and then he suddenly remember that when they boarded the Popul Vuh, that their ship had been left behind.

"Our ship should still be intact in the docking bay, I just recalled this." Xal replied, struggling to keep up as he pushed forwards with a groan of pain as a morphine injection from four hours ago was wearing off. "Our--uurgh, our ship is on the lowest floor, we could get down to--"

He stopped speaking with an annoyed grunt as Kvaz dropped out of site below. When he peered outwards, Kvaz grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him down, setting him on the steel floor beside him: it annoyed the Kig-yar to be handled in such a way.

They were now over the main hall of the Refectory, about thirty or so feet in the air. Kvaz sat back and sighed, leaning his head against the steel wall, sipping water from a bottle he kept at his side, and then handed it to Xal. He drank heartily from it, admittedly very hungry and thirsty, which Kvaz promised to amend when they had made their way into the kitchen.

"Commander, you never answered me, about the docking bay." Xal began, "How long would it take us to get to it?"

"The tunnels leading to it are infested with the many that tried to escape. Hundreds of them are there. You'd rather die of starvation, than to see those tunnels."

Kvaz shrugged his shoulders, turning his face away from Xal, knowing well his words were upsetting. Arrrgh--this truth is fiercely antagonizing, to Xal. I must be honest--he will hate it, very much. Oh, I hate it much. However, there is nothing for him to see--do not push me; I do not want to tell him.

Xal frowned and shook his head, angry with the pessimistic Sangheili. "You seem to think I will willingly just let my-self waste away, and refuse to try to escape. We can make it to my ship, I believe, if you know a path."

Kvaz wrest away the bottle and growled loudly, his mandibles quivering whilst his tone turned harsh and fearsome. "Your optimism was like mine, until everyone around me died off, Xal. There is NO escape from this ship, how can I make this any clearer?"

"My_optimism_ will prevent me from falling into a lethal, unproductive depression!" Xal growled at his friend's words, feeling betrayed by them. "I am an engineer, and I can pilot most Covenant spacecraft!"

"Your ship is gone, Xal!" Kvaz interrupted with a growl, slamming his fist into the wall: the sudden outburst made Xal recoil. Kvaz looked at it and then frowned, turning his face away with an apology, and began more calmly.

"I looked for it--your ship no longer exists! The docking bay is abandoned, and if you really want to see it--just look for your-self." You will find nothing but disappointment--why would you bother?

Xal opened up his HUD, filling the duct with a bright red light and quickly slung his fingers across the screen as quickly as he could to prove Kvaz wrong, or at least, see if it were true. The docking bay's log indicated that in the past eight weeks there had been no departure or receiving of any vessel: in fact, it indicated that since the beginning of the Popul Vuh, no ship had ever left it.

"Do you see? Nothing there," Kvaz mumbled, sitting upright, his heart heavy with aggravation as Xal began to breathe quickly, and hiss with equal annoyance.

"This is impossible! The ship is there, this system is just not registering it!"

"Deny it until you feel content," The commander irreverently remarked. "You'll only make it worse if you refuse to believe me. Would I lie? I am unhinged, but I am not a god damn liar!"

Xal said nothing else, in silence he sat there for a moment as his brain tried to accept the fact, until he quietly followed the commander again. They entered through a vertical duct in the kitchen and the smell of old oil and dust greeted Xal. Kvaz did not speak to him, but rummaged around quietly, using a small light on his chest to lead them to a large steel door in the back of the kitchen, by the freeze.

He pressed his hand onto the reader, hopefully: the light flickered red, and beeped, but then went dark. Kvaz did it once more whilst eyeballing the light with intent as his thumb pressed into the pad: the same effect happened once more, and he repeated the process an additional six times before his aggravation escalated. Xal looked onwards and frowned a bit more, realizing the stress Kvaz endured made him feel guilty.

"God dammit, you worthless piece of garbage." Kvaz snarled, extending his arm with a powerful punch to the wall, "Why must you always be so stubborn!"

"Commander please be quiet!" Xal hissed, moving up to the door. "Let me do it."

He opened the console on his breastplate, pulling a wire from the aperture and plugged it into a small drive hidden under a thin strip of metal by the palms scanner. Kvaz cocked his eyebrow and crossed his arms, watching with mild interest.

Text began scrolling across a blue screen and Xal analyzed the settings, running his finger down the screen until he came to the right command lines. Vigorously he began to type with his right hand, and Kvaz, more interested, had leaned down to observe what it was he was doing. The text seemed like gibberish with the arranging of letters and symbols, and Kvaz could not make out any of the meaning behind it, as Xal edited, and replaced various numbers.

He finished just a moment later; snatching away the wire and tucking it back into his breastplate, relieved to know that despite the blast, he could use his suit.

"How did you manage this?"

"Most of these doors have an auxiliary function you can activate in offline mode, if the ship's engine's fail. This will last for only a few hours, however."

"There is a generator--somewhere, I think in the upper most levels of this ship." Kvaz whispered, looking up to the roof. "However--igniting this corpse would make our traversing through it much more difficult."

"Well then, much like a surgeon, we'll just cut off the dead parts to live." Xal snickered with pride at his joke, Hehe, Elsv would have laughed at that.

Kvaz turned his face away with a laugh and quickly walked in while Xal remained outside, standing watch. He began to patrol from behind a counter, his eyes having adjusted to the darkness he could make out the remains of a dining hall that was in complete disarray. He tried not to imagine what must have taken place when the outbreak started, let alone how Kvaz was the sole survivor of the great flood. He ventured from one side of the derelict dining hall to the other side, but something caught his nose, a foul odor, and instincts armed him.

He stepped quietly onto the floor and followed the scent, cautiously approaching it towards a large pair of steel doors, presumably the entrance. He looked at his feet and saw the dark, crusted remnants of an ensuing battle, and though the refectory was deserted, he knew they had lost.

He sniffed at the air and then backed away, and as Anfi had said, if it smells like death then it is probably harmless.

Anfi! My commanders! Dammit, how did I not recall! They could be alive too!

The epiphany revived the Kig-yar and he snapped his widening eyes away, slamming his feet into the ground. He raced over the tables, skidded into the kitchen, and burst into the Pantry room, knocking him-self into a steel rack and caused some objects to fall to the ground. Kvaz spun around in alarm, reaching for a blade sheathed at his side he had taken from the kitchen while Xal stumbled, jumping onto his feet.

"What in the hell is wrong with you, Xal! You do not simply rush in on a man with weapons! Let alone one with my temper!"

"Commander, I just remembered--my other commanders were not in the explosion!" Xal sounded almost cheerful, "We need to check for them! Commander Z ba should be in the system as the new Captain!"

"What?" Kvaz rushed forwards, grabbing Xal by his shoulders excitedly. "You are certain they did not perish!?"

"Yes!" Xal barked out, "I am certain they did not!"

"Well--well this is apropos! Yes, yes, we can leave--with the Captain's codes I could get into the other floors; we could take the elevators, and bypass this bloodstained labyrinth!" Kvaz flung up his hands behind his head, and then dropped his arms, his face turning grim as his eyes moved back to Xal, whose expression of happiness began to dissolve.

"Or we could be stuck here, because there are no other living beings on the ship other than us, and the current captain is marked as deceased."

Kvaz stared at Xal with no emotion, a cold, icy stare, almost in a mocking gesture. Xal had seen this before, when Kvaz's temper began emerging, he became very maudlin, and at times belligerent. Xal had no time for it, and knew well enough how to handle Kvaz.

"Commander Z ba and Commander Anfi are not registered occupants aboard this vessel. I saw them, before the explosion--Commander Z ba nearly killed all of his men entering the computer lab. When I came to meet you, they were gone."

"No! No, they were not present; I saw them leave with Elsv!" Xal objected, "If they are not marked as deceased, then we cannot know if they are dead? As well, Kvaz, Z ba and Anfi are Honor Guards sent by Mercy to command the regiment: they would have the skills to survive, just as you did." Xal crossed his arms defiantly as Kvaz looked away with frustration. "Kvaz, please, there might be hope for us to get off!"

"How can you know? This ways days ago, they could have died within minutes!" Kvaz growled, crossing his arms and scowling down at the reptile, "What makes you think they lived!"

"No one thought you or anyone else lived," Xal retorted with a snort. "And here you are, in a pantry!"

Kvaz opened his mouth to reply when a metallic scrape and howl from outside stymied them into silence.

What sounded like a door forced open was followed with the aggressive pounding of bodies against it, and by this time, Kvaz and Xal were against the wall. Footsteps reverberated outside the hall, paired with the slow, droning whisper of the condemned. Kvaz's heart surged the moment he smelt the rancid, acidic of putrefaction invade the air: slowly the carrion bevy began to near this new source of attention.

Xal's lungs stung and inflated with noisome air that brought him nearly to his knees, had it not been for the Commander supporting him upright. He choked on the breaths that stung like fire, never in his life having smelled something so abominably suffocating, and his eyes began watering. He hunched forwards, lurching and gagging when the commander's hand snatched over his mouth, silencing his regurgitation.

"Do--not--make a--sound." Kvaz warned him in a hushed, guttural whisper. He tensed up and did not release Xal's hand, gripping it tightly as the Kig-yar began vomiting.

The bile cascaded down the fingers and the Kig-yar's face, and his hot tears followed suit, stinging the raw flesh on his cheeks. The Sangheili grimaced down at him as he felt the disgusting fluids run over his hand, and a less insulting odor infect his nostrils.

He finished vomiting moments later, falling back, wiping his face clean, and panting quietly before crawling away from the door. He felt his elbow scrap against a grated surface and he blindly felt over it. Outside, the lurkers sniffed slowly, snarling and turning their faces towards them, growling through the walls. Sweat ran down Kvaz's forehead and neck, and he remained motionless against the wall, flinging his hand at the floor to flick off the clumpy, translucent bile.

"Commander," Xal whispered, tapping the ground with his claws, wheezing slightly. "Over here."

"What is it?"

"A vent, Kvaz."

Kvaz looked down at it, but he was immediately apprehensive. "That one--it leads to an even lower level--I--I do not want to go down there."

"But we must! Getting through the kitchen is impossible!" Xal pleaded, dropping back against the wall, sucking in breath and gasping.

"No!" Kvaz commanded, "I do not want to go down there! I cannot!"

"Why?" Xal demanded, "Why can't you?"

"Because--" Kvaz shuddered, spinning around, backing away from the door. He said nothing, but his eyes remained glued to the entrance, and he was staggered with anxiety.

RRRAAAWR! BLOCK THE DOOR! BLOCK IT! NOW!

HELP ME! SOMEONE, PLEASE, DON'T LET THEM GET ME!

BROTHERS! PLEASE, OPEN THE DOOR! LET ME IN!

"They're here!" Xal cried in alarm, "Commander we have to go this way, now!"

"God dammit, move!"

Kvaz barked, gripping his fist and pushed the Kig-yar aside, promptly snatching open the grille and flung him-self in wards, while Xal followed, securing it behind them quietly. The dead entered with thunderous growls, sibilant voices speaking an unrecognizable vernacular. Xal panted and slung him-self forward on his hands and knees, crawling desperately for the Sangheili as the beings entered the room no more than fifteen feet behind him. They began howling and roaring vociferously, shaking the interior of the metal duct.

Xal coughed and slumped down onto his elbow and knee, glaring upwards with a fury at him-self, and pushed him-self harder to crawl with the Sangheili. Nevertheless, as his body would have its way, the fatigue and exhaustion attenuated his endurance to nothing, and with defeat, he collapsed against the wall, panting.

"Commander--no, I cannot move," Xal shuddered, clenching his chest with a sibilant pule. "Arrrrgh--I can't move! Please, Kvaz, stop!"

Xal closed his eyes and panted harshly, his throat dry and hot. Kvaz turned around and quickly moved down to his companion and waited for a moment, letting him breath, and handed him the water. He drank hungrily from it, then coughed and laid his head back, looking to the commander.

I can't move--I am so exhausted, dammit!

He cursed him-self, clenching his chest again with a hiss of agony as the flesh had begun to tear, and fresh blood dripped down his abdomen. The smell enticed the beasts and their hungry mouths roared aloud while their limbs clawed at the grille, tearing away at the metal. Xal's heart was pounding violently and his lungs seared as he struggled to move, until Kvaz's hands lay on his shoulders. He pulled the Kig-yar away, quickly, giving them a good ten feet more of distance and then spoke softly, calmly to him.

"Do not worry; I will keep watch over you. Keep moving and I will protect you from them, Xal."

"O-ok," Xal nodded, sucking in a deep breath.

His arms and legs trembled as he crawled forwards, away from the nerve-rattling voices of the atrophied abominations. He coughed and sputtered as his flesh began to burn, with improper treatment of the wounds, it crippled his endurance and he felt weak, vulnerable, and frightened than prior to this day. The screaming behind them amplified, as it seemed the beasts knew they were out of reach, but it did not stop them from roaring, and struggling to push their bloated bodies through the grille. Xal ignited all his remaining energy to charge ahead, over the span of two halls, and then slide down a slightly angled duct.

They reached an end at a grille that had before not been opened as evident by the screws and Xal panicked, putting his hands to the steel strips.

"Commander it is sealed!" Xal hissed out, slammed his hand into the wall, and breathed exasperatedly.

Kvaz moved past him, struggling to fit his body against the wall, and harshly growled whilst pushing with all of his might to force open the steel gate. It creaked and groaned, and Xal felt it was a hopeless endeavor, collapsing away as the Sangheili bent forwards onto his knees. Kvaz gritted his teeth and snarled even louder than before: slamming his fist into the bottom of the diamond-patterned wall the metal snapped apart with a relieving ting. The space was tight, too tight for Kvaz, but he ripped off the cover and then forced his legs and hips through, stiffening his hisses as the metal scraped the flesh at his exposed calves.

Kvaz stood up warily, fear in his eyes as they looked over the old walls and doors, over the old floor, and in his mind--the memories associated a churning bode of grief. He twitched and turned his eyes all around him as the hushed chittering and bygones of the night began to call for him: Xal could not hear it, whatever it was that haunted the commander so belligerently. In a slow rhythm and sibilant timber, the halls echoed with omnipresent torment from abysmal, invisible bygone denizens, long sense forgotten.

_What is wrong with him--_Xal asked him-self, seeing the fear and grief in the Sangheili's eyes. He watched Kvaz as they stood silently in the hall, and he felt a sorrow for him as the Sangheili paced slowly in a silent torment. Xal struggled to move up to him, standing beside of him, and got his attention by grabbing him cautiously by the forearm.

"Thank you, Commander," Xal muttered quietly. "I apologize for earlier; I did not mean to insinuate you are a liar. Forgive me, my friend."

Kvaz looked down at the arm and then to Xal, his mind distracted from the ghastly halls for enough time to relieve him of their tremors. "Thank you, Xal. At least, amidst all this, I can protect you from--"

GWAAAAAR!

The sudden roar disrupted them from the silent brooding as from down the hall a beast screamed out, and Kvaz's paranoia escalated into short, panicking breaths. He looked down the hall, his hands shaking and his body quivering.

Please go away--please go away! Don't find me, don't find me. . . his mind pleaded an incessant prayer to not be noticed, and now more visible than ever to Xal was the lurking fear that Kvaz tried to avoid. Kvaz held onto his head and he rocked in place, beginning to pace only a step from where he was, frantically muttering. Xal watched him with alarm, jerking his snout to his left to look down the hall, praying that the commander would calm down.

"Do you--think it heard us?" Xal whispered, "Commander?"

GWAAAAR! MY ARM! GET THEM OFF MY ARMS! OH GOD, SOMEONE HELP ME!

THE FLOOD! THE FLOOD IS LOOSE! RUN! RUN!

COMMANDER! COMMANDER WHERE ARE YOU?!

"RUN! RUN NOW!" Kvaz shrieked at the top of his lungs, "GET OUT OF HERE, NOOOOW! GO GO GO!"

The fracas was unrelenting now: incessant screams and howls followed them rapidly, and the doors to their lefts and rights erupted with the same thunderous mantra of agony. Xal watched behind in horror as the beasts ran at full speed, and he saw now a silhouette, a vision of the decayed, atrophied bodies that hunted them. More horrifying was the open mouths that profusely bled out the screams, begging for help. He did not understand why they did this, and his mind dared not analyze the maddening, diabolic behavior.

While the adrenaline came in a surfeit rush and his legs worked to their breaking point, his breath became short from the dehydration, and soon he was gasping, and wheezing once more. He staggered and lunged forward on his feet, pushing him-self against the wall, but fell onto his knee and lurched, expelling more bile at his knees.

"We cannot stop, not here! You must get up, Xal! You must or we will die!" Kvaz screamed, "Get up!

"I cannot!" Xal cried out with exhaustion, "Help me, please!"

Kvaz spun around and scooped Xal off the ground into his arms and held him as tightly as he could, slamming his feet down with all the might he possessed, navigating to the only safe area he could remember. He turned left, passing the numerous open cabin doors: a sharp turn to his right brought him to the near end of this Sector 7, of the 21st floor. Ahead an old maintenance door was left partially ajar and Kvaz busted through it, minding that he did not harm the occupants in his arms. He slammed his feet down the frail steps, nearly hopping down two or three at a time until he was in a thin tunnel. There was no steam, or electricity, but Sangheili's twisted mind saw it as an echo of the past, and so came with the echo the genesis of his torment in a fog of remorse.

KVAZ! PLEASE, DO NOT LEAVE ME!

COMMANDER STOP! PLEASE, COMMANDEEEEEER!

KVAZ! KVAZ WHERE ARE YOU!? COME BACK!

Kvaz halted in his steps, a cold chill rising from his spine and metastasizing over his muscles and flesh: the screams, they were familiar now. He turned his eyes over his shoulder to see through the steam, but no bodies greeted him, only a distending, pulsating shadow of memory. He looked at them in disbelief however, their shadows moving closer to him, and bringing with them familiar voices of his dead brothers, calling for his help.

They were the harbingers of hell, bringing death and delirium with them. From the vents old voices followed, echoing along the pipes and chasing alongside the Sangheili with a gleeful, shrilling vertiginous laughter. He had resumed his fleeing, tears beginning to spill from his eyes, and he wiped them clear of his mandibles, his heart aching.

"Leave me alone! Leave me! Leave me!" He pleaded, awesome madness culminating into a great cry of desperation, all his fear and terror directed into the unending blackness of the tunnel. "Go away!"

His heavy legs carried him along the dark grated floor until he found an unlocked maintenance room and flung him-self and Xal in, promptly locking the door, and placing a chair against it. He put his back to the door, his eyes frenetically darting around, his chest rising rapidly with shallow, brisk breaths.

KVAZ! COMMANDER! COME BACK FOR US!

PLEASE, COMMANDER! WHY DID YOU LEAVE US?!

WE DIED BECAUSE OF YOU! IT IS YOUR FAULT!

" STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT! PLEASE! IM SORRY!" Kvaz howled a wail of pain, closing his eyes and covering his face as he sobbed while his vision fell into the dark visage of a memory.

He fell to his knees, put his hands to his ears as fulgurant fear consumed him with an unrelenting grasp, and sent tremors through his bones, his muscles, and his brain. Never ending, never receding: until it began to echo and delay in his mind, the volume rising to an ear splitting volume that became unbearable, while he screamed for release! In a trice of desperation, Kvaz reared his head back, slamming it into the wall, a dry chocking at his throat as attempts to cry constricted with constant gasping. He steadied his torso with his arms and slammed his forehead into the steel, repeatedly, sniveling and chocking. Until with the final thrust, his face crashed into the wall hard enough to draw blood, and he fell onto his side, and then dropped down onto his shoulder.

He closed his eyes, a pule escaping his lips as he curled his body into a defensive ball, the trickling of warm blood sliding down his eye and his cheek the last physical stimulus. There was no time now, there was no awareness of anything but the persistent howling that tortured and scraped away at what little sense he had cultivated. Terror garroted him with a vicious vice, forcing him to a deep almost comatose slumber: his dreams, if abominable, horrific visions of death and grief would be dreams, webbed his mind and devoured at vestigial sanity.

Chapter 4 Pt. 2

". . . bizarrely enough, it was where I lost saw the solider," Kvaz replied, disgruntled by the odor and covering his nostrils, "When I approached him, he simply wondered off from me."

"He could have possibly been under the assumption you wanted him back at his post." Tha suggested, looking down at the viscous fluids, crouching down to sniff bravely at the substance before he gagged and stood up, turning away from it. "Urrrgh, it smells like bile! What in the gods name is this?"

"Call one of our Maintenance workers, get him down here so we can quell this problem before it turns makes this whole floor smell like whatever that is on your hands."

Kvaz gave a smirk at Tha who tried to wipe away the fluids, managing to rub it off on the side of his leg. They both shared a quick laugh over the matter, and Tha relaxed, crossing his arms and turned to look at his commander.

"Commander, if I might ask--are you feeling less dejected?"

"Well," Kvaz thought for a moment. "I suppose a disobedient soldier took my mind off everything. We must focus on finding the source of this smell before we have to endure an unnecessary protocol. I _would_like to go to sleep eventually; I seem to never have the time with all these headaches."

Tha nodded and spoke into his receiver as he turned around, documenting the encounter for the sake of protocol.

"The liquid appears bio-organic, producing a foul odor but has no caustic properties and is cool to the touch. Possible ventilation coolant." Tha glanced over his shoulder at the bevy, and raised his brow with uncertainty.

He tapped his commander on the shoulder, "Sir, we have some voyeurs." Tha pointed down the hall. "Words breeds fast, does it not? Or you must have shouted, and alerted the whole floor."

Kvaz looked down the hall and he saw three soldiers standing around each other and all looking at him: imagining they were curious, Kvaz summoned them with his hands. They did not move, causing him to growl with annoyance and he stomped forward and beckoned them with a warning. The three moved forwards a few feet but stopped abruptly in unison: this enraged him, but he took in a deep breath and exhaled, turning his face away.

"I have no business dealing with this at this hour! Tha, send for Vu'zee, tell him we need reprimanding and that I am going to go to bed!"

"Yes sir," Tha complied, typing out a message to Vu'zee on the prompt while watching the men closely.

"What could have them so transfixed on us, Tha?" Kvaz muttered, stepping away from them.

"Commander, something about this is eerily unpleasant, and I believe we should depart, and let the maintenance amend this situation."

"Demand that Vu'zee gets his ass here, then!" Kvaz barked, "And hell, send these boys to our 'doctors' when this is done!"

Tha nodded and groaned under his breath at his commander's temper before speaking into his receiver. "This is Tha; we have some kind of disturbance on the twenty-first floor and a mess. We have a group of men and they are not at their positions. Veeka or Vu'zee, I require that you--"

SCREEEEEEECH! A sudden shrill made both the men jump from where they stood, jerking their hands to their weapons instantly, while Kvaz, whose temper was now at the vertex, screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Arrrgh! What in the great hell was that?! God dammit, dammit! What in the great hell!"

"I do not know, Commander, some kind of bizarre feedback from my receiver!" Tha tried to calm him and rubbed his head at his shoulder, backing away as the Sangheili slammed his fist into the wall. "Please, sir, calm down! You are going to make this much worse than it needs to be!"

Kvaz snarled, but the throbbing pain in his head and the tiredness stifled him: quietly he took a breath and relaxed his hands, closing his eyes. "Make sure it does not happen again, please."

Kvaz looked over at the three men again, sighing in disbelief that they were still present and hollered out to them.

"Are you three lost, or are you just eyeballing us to be a pain in the ass!"

The brothers looked up in unison at once and remained still. Kvaz looked over his shoulder to his brother before turning back to the men and placed his hand on his energy sword's hilt, slowly pulling it to his side, locking in his elbow with a threatening growl.

"Men, I am warning you right now, I am in no mood for this! I mean it! GET BACK TO YOUR POSTS OR SO HELP ME I WILL DRAG YOU THERE BY YOUR NECK!"

At that, the three men moved forward in unison until at the middle of the hall, their heads turned upwards to the roof slightly; their breathing faster than what was regular. Kvaz stepped back and turned his eyes over to Tha for a moment, and then back. There was a window of silence as his eyes adjusted to the site that came into vista, for one of the men hunched over slightly to vomit a clear liquid from his mouth, the site of the Flood became.

Within that instant, a rush of adrenaline sent their legs to work, their feet pounding into the floor while Kvaz reached for his energy sword. The soldiers at the halls cried out a sound so shrilling and unsettling that whoever was around would have awoken, perhaps thinking that a life had ended in a violent confrontation.

"All men, prepare for combat! Floor 21 is compromised! I want this floor evacuated instantly! Now!"

Kvaz slammed his hand onto his cloaking device and he ran forwards, his powerful legs carrying him thunderously down the hall while he panted wildly. The infected soldiers roared out lunged at the Commander and Tha, and both shouted as the battle commenced.

The three men had charged and lunged, but Kvaz was fully prepared for a small battle, and lashed out with his sword, and in just one second had severed open the abdomen of a young Sangheili. The solider gurgled and growled, thrashing on the ground beneath of Kvaz before avulsion sent his head flying a few feet away. Kvaz lifted his foot high and slammed it down on the flood virus as it detached the small red fetters, and with a sickening crack, and squish, he trampled the bulbous creature.

He spun around; blood dripping from his chest as he charged forwards with a fierce howl, cutting down another with a clean cut into his shoulder that severed his arm from his body, and then plunged the sword deep into the sternum. Kvaz slammed him onto his stomach and cut away the virus with a swift slice that dismembered it in two.

Tha, at the end of the hall way had paralyzed one with severe damage to his brain from the blunt end of his carbine, dropping onto one knee, grabbing his head, and ringed the neck so hard it severed the spinal column and protruded to the side. Destroying the virus afterwards, he stood up and quickly joined sides with Kvaz, both of them scanning the perimeter while overhead an alarm sounded, echoing the commands. The floors went dark, emergency red lights flickered on, cloaking the surrounding in a thick vermillion glow, and startled denizens began emerging from the room, while news of the attack spread like wildfire.

"Where did they come from!? Why was there no warning?" Tha shouted, "Where in the great hell did they come from!?"

"The nearest lab is several floors above us!" Kvaz stomped his feet as a maddening rush of adrenaline pumped through his blood. "Dammit, dammit, dammit! NO! Someone report!"

"Vu'zee! Veeka! Report to me now!" Tha roared but all he heard in return was a dissonant burst of white noise with gunfire and shouting: no voice replied, and Tha's face became grim, as did Kvaz. The realization was now that the Flood had taken over, and the entire ship was, in all probability, infected.

"Sir, ahead!" Tha pointed down the hall were a group of men rushed through the awakened residence, and Kvaz ran forward to snatch one of the men by his shoulders, shouting out, " WHAT HAPPENED?!"

"S-sir! On the higher decks, there was an escape! Not many, they claim only ten, but they've infected the ENTIRE mid section of the ship!"

Kvaz released the solider and snarled, slamming his fist into the wall. "Damn! Alert every man, on every floor that they are not to allow ANYONE to leave their rooms. NOW!"

"But sir, why?" The soldier asked, "We can't leave them in their rooms!"

"Yes we can! These doors are reinforced, and there is no entrance but through the ventilation shafts! The flood could not possibly manage to get into the rooms!"

"Yes sir!" They called in unison, and the three spread from each other to follow Kvaz's orders, while the commander looked over his shoulder for Tha, finding he had not returned.

A sound of distress echoed from behind, and Kvaz sent Tha down to secure the opposing corridor while he stormed to an intersection, finding five men on the ground with the Flood burrowing into their bodies. He rushed to sever away the virus, but the men were all ready deceased, writhing on the ground beneath him. A tempest of shrills took hold of his attention at his right, and he turned his eyes to the stairwell leading to the upper hallway. A blanket of pulsating yellow bounded forwards, covering the walls and roof: this was no mere breech, this was a full epidemic, and there was no time left to secure the sector. Kvaz spun around and rushed away from them, reaching frantically to his grenades, and calling out.

"Tha! THA! Tha where are you!? Answer me, god damn you!"

He snatched two grenades from the strap on his chest and threw them behind him as the swarm of yellow begun lunging for him. A great explosion, followed by another, destroyed the back hallway and plunged that section into total darkness: he had hoped to kill the swarm, but as quickly as they died, more followed! He snatched his carbine and backed away while firing rapidly at the many visible heads, but to no avail could he suppress the growing swarm.

The occupants were now hysterical and the present men on the floor forced them into their rooms: there was no communication from upper decks, or lower decks. However, the walls echoed with hysteria, as on every floor, in every sector.

The lights in the hall flickered and then plummeted into total darkness: he stood there silently, hearing the influx of terror consume the ship, which was now devoid of its calming, reassuring engines and electricity. He was now in a world of their screams. Charging through the darkness blindly, pushing all people he felt into their rooms while backing from the hall where the flood emerged, he tried to clear out the most filled hall firstly. He found more occupants still wandering aimlessly, searching for what had happened: he grappled two at a time, forcing them into their rooms.

"My brothers, and sisters, go into your rooms! You must hide from them! Get in your rooms, and do not come out! The flood is free! Do as I say!"

"They came from down the hall, Commander!" One of the occupants shouted, a frail female who pointed blindly towards the staircase as she clutched to the wall. "The floor above us--they came in, and we let them down here! Oh gods, please, save us!"

"Get in your room!" Kvaz ordered her, "All of you! Cover the vents and do not leave! We cannot risk the spread! Soldiers, when this floor is cleared, you follow me and help me lock down all these always, understood?"

"Yes, brother!" They returned loudly amidst the fray. Kvaz nearly screamed into his receiver to alert all the other floor Captains, and then also to reach Tha. However, each signal was either blocked, or filled with static, and this alarmed him with so much dread as he feared the whole ship was now at risk of infection.

God dammit--God damn you Tha, why are you not reporting? That son of a bitch--that son of a bitch! I must get this floor secured, and work to the others!

He felt no time to spend now, and rushed around the corner to the other set of stairs, checking beforehand that he would not be ambushed, and pressed his hand to the scanner. The door slid upwards and a greatly lit hall with numerous occupants greeted his shocked eyes that hurt shortly at the sudden brightness. He quickly ran up the steps and pressed his hand against the wall, looking at his soldier's with confusion.

"What are you doing!? Get into your rooms, did you not hear--"

He held his tongue and stepped away as the Sangheili turned to face him, their faces frozen in a rictus and their bodies, mangled and full of holes, approached him. Several of his soldiers stood at the entrance, their guns rose up while their bodies tilted to the side as the muscle struggled to hold it-self up. Before Kvaz could back away, the clips were unloaded in a purple and green blaze and the burning, erupting pain of flesh torn by the amethyst barbs and carbine rounds blinded him. The force of the rounds hitting him sent him down the stairs and his head slammed into the steel ground with so much force that it dazed him. He groaned in agony, sucking in breath and pressing his hands to the floor, feeling blood now run down his neck.

"Aaaargh! GOD DAMN YOU!" He staggered and put his hand to his chest, ripping away two amethyst barbs that had not erupted, but no time to recover was offered. The beings lunged with great strength for him, and Kvaz reached for his carbine, turning of his shoulder to fire only a few rounds, realizing the other clips were in his bedroom. He flung the rifle down and slammed his hand onto his cloaking device, disappearing into the darkness, while a trail of blood visibly led the way.

GWAAAARGH! RUN! RUN!

WHAT IS GOING ON?! SOMEONE! HELP ME!

HELP! THEY'RE COMING IN FROM ABOVE! SOMEONE STOP THEM!

The Sangheili looked over his shoulder at the cries for help, but saw no living being in distress, only the flood and feared now the occupants had left their rooms. His heart and mind began to fill with panic as he reached for the nearest palm scanner, flinging him-self into a room, and locking the door. The creatures came forth, bounding with rage and madness. They slammed their hands into the door, unrelenting in their hunger for his body: he backed away quickly, looking all around for an escape. He staggered and chocked out a painful breath, feeling the harsh protruding thorn of a needle in his ribs, and hurriedly yanked it out, chocking in pain, falling over slightly.

"You bastards--damn you bastards!" He screamed, " Damn you to hell!"

GRAAAAW! WHAT IS GOING ON?!

HELP ME! GET IT OFF ME! OH GOD, HELP ME PLEASE!

There were calls for help from outside the door from his dead brothers, and the knowing was enough to paralyze his mind. He listened with his eyes closed as he caught his breath, taking only moments to steady his heart rate whilst searching for escape.

Above him was a thick grille that covered the ventilation duct, and hesitantly he accepted it as the only means of fleeing. He tore away the grille and pulled him-self up into the cold shaft, gasping and kicking his legs to pull him-self upwards, whilst his arms trembled from the pain in his ribs. His own head ached immensely from the fall and he could feel his consciousness was beginning to waver, undulating from the swelling that had begun to build above his neck.

As he ascended, he could hear the other beasts rush into the room, screaming out abominably and searching for him. His blood would leave a trail for him to follow, and he clutched his wounds, wincing, gritting his teeth as he crawled. Beneath of him the screaming was so immense it vibrated the steel as he crawled his way over them. He felt weak in his arms, somehow he had bled more than he realized, but he snapped his head up to keep his consciousness, and called into his receiver as he turned to his right, down a well-lit duct.

"This is Commander Kvaz! Someone, report to me now! Why are the halls not closed? Is ANYONE in Command?! Where are the sub commanders?! WHY IS NO ONE RESPONDING!"

He listened for a response but only static greeted his please: he looked over his shoulder to see if he was pursued, but he found him-self alone in a quieter area. Kvaz slammed his hands and knees down across the long path of steel for several minutes on end, struggling to remember the route out of the commons area. He found however that his route to the maintenance bay was blocked, and he descended a vertical duct, slipping repeatedly as blood coated the metal frame.

"Ack!" Kvaz startled as he almost lost his grip, and slammed his feet into the metal frame: his arms shook as he slowly inched him-self towards the next floor. Nevertheless, a sudden shift in his weight caused his boot to slip, and he fell down a roughly twenty-foot drop. He shouted out for help, abruptly silenced by the harsh fall into a small room, not even large enough to stand in that was suspended over the refectory. He fell onto his knees and then rolled onto his side, gripping his legs and arms, howling in pain.

"Arrrgh! G-god dammit--god dammit!" Kvaz pleaded, turning his face to the metal, kissed by the cold steel, which brought a bitter pleasure to his skin. He looked down passed a diamond-pattered grille, seeing below this massive, pulsating cloud: it took him a moment to realize he was looking at hundreds of his siblings, dying at the hands of the burrowing infection. He stared at them, unable to move as slowly consciousness slipped from him, and he fell into a dreamlike state, awareness stripped from the mantel of sanity, and fear infecting every cell in his brain upon awakening.

(end)

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The resonance of insects, it was called by the old sages of Sanghelios to describe a mental state characterized by plaguing nightmares, hallucinations both auditory and visual. The term came into being 400 BCE, four centuries before the council rule would have the mentally unsound executed to preserve the species. While the term fell out of use over the centuries, none forgot the spawn of its lore: when one night, a maddened Sangheili murdered an entire colony in their sleep, and inscribed a message upon stone walls with his claws. When apprehended, having been found with his right arm nearly severed from his body and near death, he explained to them the following testament, before biting off his tongue and suffocating on his blood.

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"The insects are hiding, in here, in my brain! They keep eating, and eating me, eating ME! I had to kill them all, gods be damned, they were next! The insects just want to eat-- you can hear it, in the songs they sing at night! They are crying in hunger!"

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