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Chapter 5 - Dark Companion

". . . up, please, get up! Get up, Xal! I know you're alive, please respond to me!" The speaker sighed loudly, groaning in desperation. "Please, Commander Xal, wake up!"

For moments, there was silence as an exhausted Xal ignored the voice and pleaded to be able to sleep: but sudden fear reminded him too quickly of the dangers near. Xal shook his head hard as his eyes jolted open, and he threw his body forwards, but groaned and fell back onto his elbows as his skull throbbed. The voice was so loud that he wanted to tell Kvaz to shut up, however, it was not the commander, he noticed, that spoke to him.

"Xal, Xal? I hear you, please answer!" The pleading became fierce, and Xal warily mumbled into the microphone, pressing his snout into his arm weakly. "This is Xal--who are you?"

"This is Elsv! Oh thank the gods you are alive, Xal! Thank the gods!" Elsv cheered out, "Xal, my friend, I am so happy you are alive."

"E-Elsv? You are alive?" Xal opened his eyes and pushed him-self up to his feet with a low groan of pain, his knees bucking inwards and he caught him-self on a flat surface to his right.

"Xal wake up, you are in danger." Elsv commanded him urgently, "Come on, get up!"

"I--I am awake," Xal groaned lowly, placing his hand to his stomach and groaned, "Where are you--Elsv?"

"Floor Fifty-Seven! I tried to access the communications bay and send a distress signal--but the system is rejecting me. Where are you, Xal? My system is malfunctioning and I cannot locate you, or the commanders."

"I don't remember--I think near the twentieth floor." Xal coughed and groaned more, rubbing his claws through the tattered remains of his feather crest. "Oh my head--god it hurts--Hrrrarrrgh, god damn this pain!"

Elsv sighed over the microphone, "Ok--ok, you are safe at least. How did you survive?"

Xal looked to his left tiredly, and then gasped when he saw the motionless body of Commander Kvaz with dark blood by his head, and he immediately feared the worse. He crawled hurriedly to the commander, grabbed his shoulder, and rolled Kvaz onto his back, looking over his face with the small light from his gauntlet, grimacing at the swollen mound over his eyebrow. Xal checked for a pulse and sighed in relief, "He is still alive--what a dexterous bastard."

"Xal, please, what happened?" Elsv asked worriedly, "What is wrong?"

"I--I was saved, by Commander Kvaz," Xal answered calmly, trying to suppress the throbbing agony behind his eyeballs. "He is on the ground unconscious, and he has lost some blood--uurgh, my head."

"The--previous commander? By the gods, he lived!"

"He hid, very well." Xal replied, and leaned back from the commander, putting his hand to his forehead, trying to rub away the persistent somnolence. "God I am so tired--I can barely move. Elsv, are the commanders with you?"

Elsv went quiet and sighed to him-self, and Xal listened, expecting to learn of their demise, but the following statement was more baffling, than acceptable.

"Xal, I suspect we may be in someone's game. I fear one of our commanders betrayed us." Elsv's voice turned bitter with suspicion. "I believe all of this was premeditated: someone tried to assassinate us."

"What!" Xal hissed in alarm, "What do you mean? Explain it!"

"When I followed them out into the hallway while they were arguing, Anfi talked about Ether, and told Z ba that "All hearts have to be tuned: otherwise, we'll never feel spiritual harmony." Z ba shouted at him for this, but then Anfi attacked him! The explosion happened afterwards--when I came to check, you were all dead, and the commanders were gone."

Xal sat back on his knee in disbelief and shook his head. "But this was days ago--how did you survive all the infected?"

"I secured an elevator, and hid inside it." Elsv answered calmly, "Luckily the doors are reinforced, and I found some food in an upper cafeteria."

"Can you come down here? I do not think Kvaz is going to awaken in the near future."

"How much blood did he lose? If he lost too much--you'll have to get him into a lab, or to an oxygen tank."

Xal opened his HUD, kneeled down over the Sangheili, and grimaced at the long streams of dried blue blood that trailed down his head and to the floor. He could not estimate exactly how much had been lost based off the size of the puddle; Kvaz must have lost too much, as his breathing was thin.

"Why do I need an oxygen tank?"

"Sangheili blood is Hemocyannin, and it has difficult carrying Oxygen to our bodies." Elsv elucidated, "If Sangheili bleed too much they can pass out from a lack of Oxygen: Kvaz could die, if the hemorrhage is sever, or if the air filters are not creating enough fresh air."

Xal sighed outwardly and groaned, pressing his hand to his head. "The air is thinner down here--I did not notice until now. All right--I will try to find one, but Elsv, I will need your help to carry it."

"I can try to activate an Elevator, Xal. I promise, I will find our commanders, and learn what is going on here. Check the nearest lab."

Xal sighed and looked to the unconscious commander and reached to touch his head gently, "Kvaz, I will be back soon. Do not die on me. I would not have survived without you."

"S-s-stop." Kvaz muttered weakly, and Xal retracted his hand, fearing he hurt him. ". . .skin. . . my skin. . . s-stop."

Kvaz fidgeted and turned onto his left shoulder; the surging pain in his head brought forth vertigo, and while his eyes had begun opening, his dreams continued. The abominable memories terrorized him, and as if the past had amalgamated with his present, he heard the ship erupt into horror. His eyes opened wide to a great darkness: he thrashed and choked, grabbing his face and rolling up, scraping his feet into the floor as he staggered to his knees. His wail was vociferous, and maddeningly Kvaz flung him-self away from Xal and into the wall: Elsv called out for Xal with alarm, and Xal had backed away to the other side of the room.

"Go--go away! Get away from me! Help me. . . HELP! Make them stop it! The damn whispering! T-they are so loud. . . S-STOP! AAA-AAARGH! HELP ME, PLEASE!"

He gripped his head and screamed raucously in horror, flinging him-self away from Xal and into the wall, fighting off the invisible hands that clawed at his skin. He screamed in terror as his flesh was ripped away by the cold teeth eidolon.

"Kvaz! KVAZ! Stop your screaming!" Xal ran forward to push the Sangheili back, but then he was pushed away by Kvaz with a hard slap to his face. He hissed out in pain and fell backwards, grabbing his snout and growling, "Hrrrarrrgh, god dammit Kvaz!"

"Xal what is happening!" Elsv shouted over the fracas, "Tell me!"

"He is screaming, as should be obvious!" Xal snapped at Elsv as Kvaz reached to snatch the door open, and vanished from the dark room.

"Commander!" Xal shouted at the top of his lungs, "Stop, please!"

Kvaz did not look back as he ran and stuttered out, incoherently muttering frantically with another exclaim of unidentifiable words. Xal neared the Sangheili who stood with his back to the Kig-yar: but he turned to look over his shoulder, wide-eyed, and weeping. The stare was immediately staggering, for Xal had never before seen such a rictus. The Sangheili whimpered and put his hand to his face, dropping to his knees. He cried out now, loudly in deep rolling sobs, his shoulders shaking as the tears streamed down his face: he gripped his head hard with his claws and dug into the skin involuntarily.

"Elsv--help me! I cannot stop him; he is crying, and frantic!"

"I--I don't know! Does he have any sedatives on him?"

"No he has nothing with him!"

"Dammit!"

" GET THEM OFF ME!" Kvaz cried in desperation, bringing his blood stained hands to his face, "My brothers, please, leave me!"

" KVAZ! Stop it, stop this or we are going to be killed by them! Your brothers, the flood!" Xal pulled the Sangheili down by his arm in a hard tryst, and then slammed his fist into the Sangheili's face, sending him onto his knee.

Kvaz's cries died down and he began to stare at the floor in silence whilst the reverberation of his screams decayed into absolute stillness. Xal panted, leaning over onto his knees and took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly, seeing he had calmed down. Suddenly The Sangheili began to stutter and gurgled, his mandibles quivered as a grotesque paroxysm overtook the body with ballistic convulsions. The arteries of his throat began to bloat and distend, and in the darkness, Xal could see the commander's eyes roll upwards to the back of his head.

"What is he doing? Please, tell me, Xal!"

"He--he is shaking, and gasping!" Xal panted and watched in terror, grasping the back of the Sangheili's head, feeling drool run down onto his arm. "His eyes are rolled up--and--and he is convulsing rapidly!"

"Oh god--he is suffering from a seizure!"

"What do I do?!" Xal snapped at Elsv, "Help me!"

"Just--just get him somewhere safe, Xal! That is what you need to do now!"

Xal stared powerlessly at the convulsing body, the monstrous and erratic movement was mind numbing, and he grasped onto Kvaz's shoulder, attempting to steady his body.

After a rough minute of the convulsions, he relaxed and his eyes reappeared, and the Commander rolled onto his side, wheezing as he breathed. Eventually he breathed inwards loudly, his burning lungs now filled, and the Sangheili rose upwards weakly onto his arms, moaning and quivering. Xal struggled to push him up onto his feet, which the Sangheili complied with, and he walked Kvaz back through the halls to their maintenance room. He shut the door, locked it, barricading it while Elsv was quietly breathing on the other side.

"I need to go out there, and get our supplies--" Xal began, leaning into the table with his elbow, tiredly looking at the vent duct. "And after that--I don't know what I will do with the commander."

"If you were closer to a medical bay, you could save him. If he has been suffering these seizures, paired with limited oxygen-- it could cause permanent damage!"

"Wait--how?" Xal asked immediately, "What do you mean! How do you know all of this medical nonsense!"

"Not now, Xal! Get your supplies, and then, find a way to escort Kvaz to the nearest elevator shaft: I do not know if you can find one that works. If not--the stairs. You must go to floor Forty-Three: I will give you instructions there!"

"Dammit--this is brainless! How am I expected to get him there?"

"Think of something, Xal!" Elsv roared at him, "I need to leave, now! There is something outside and I think they are hunting for me."

Xal growled in frustration, but he nodded and gripped his fists, "Ok my friend, be safe and please keep in contact with me."

"I promise, Xal."

Xal closed the prompt and then looked up warily to the duct, finding it unfastened, and searched around for something to unfasten the screws. Kvaz was on his side now against the wall, and Xal leaned down to him and rest his hand on the commander's head. Softly he caressed the Sangheili, with remorse he knew he would have to depart and leave him vulnerable. Xal softly stroked Kvaz's shoulder and looked down at his face, disturbed by his expression, the pure fear and torment so visible that it afflicted him to the core.

"I will be back soon, Commander." Xal's lip twitched and he squeezed the shoulder tightly, "Be safe--until I return. I will take care of you, as you did for me. I promise."

Reluctantly he turned away from Kvaz, climbed on the desk and quietly removed the grille plate, setting it down, and pushed him-self up into the duct. Leaving the trembling commander behind, he slowly crawled, praying he could at least find the refectory, without becoming lost. It was not so easy, guiding him-self without Kvaz, and nervousness began to culminate as the perpetual tunnel creaked with his movements. He turned through a right duct and this would lead him back into the maintenance tunnel he was near, but firstly, he had to pass through a room to the main hall's intersection.

The noises that he had before not noticed in the silence became so noisome to his endurance, as he heard the whispers of the dead, muttering and walking about. It was almost overbearing to realize how prominent they were in the darkness, and his senses were at their vertex, absorbing every bit of the omnipresent unease. His direction towards the staircase that they had entered through was a slow and painful one, as Kvaz had not administered any medicine to him that morning.

The first time he saw one that stepped slowly along the hall beneath him, he held his breath to avoid inhaling the toxic air. The body was so decayed it was baffling it could walk, and with a wretched odor, it stirred his empty stomach for regurgitation. However, this feeling subsided as the atrophied denizen slumped off into the darkness of a hall to his right side. He collapsed onto his elbows and panted, closing his eyes and sucked in deep breaths of cold air, wishing he could stop and wait for Kvaz to wake up: but these weak thoughts disgusted him, and he closed his eyes, chiding him-self.

This is what Kvaz endured, he whispers in his mind, God damn you, Xal, you should not be so selfish! If Kvaz dies then what becomes of you! He cared for you--you must not give in! He shook his head and felt a stronger sense of determination as he continued, gritting his teeth to push him-self.

Xal exited through the stairwell and then through the top door into a desolate hall, bravely walking out into it, and looked around for a duct to climb through. His muscles were hot and his heart beat quickly: with heightened senses, he could see them, far away in the darkness, standing and rocking in the hall. So many of them wandered, and he realized how quickly they could dismember him. Their site was abominable, and he turned from them as his vision blurred from the sheer horror they invoked. He quietly moved forwards to the first set of doors on his right, kneeled down beside one and tugged at the handle, finding it locked, which he half-expected.

"Please input your personal identification access code, or if you are the captain, your clearance code."

Why in the hell does a room require such high security clearance? Xal thought to him-self, kneeling down, and quietly breathed, turning his eyes over his shoulders repeatedly.

"Please enter your personal confirmation number," The chipper voiced recited.

"What was it-- if I wasn't so impatient I could just find it--but I can't risk being out here for too long," he whispered and began to punch in the numbers 1-1-2-3-5-2 into the door's pad, hopeful it was the correct one.

"Access denied." The sensor beeped and Xal cringed as the noise echoed, and he heard a moan from down the hall.

I need to keep these guesses limited--I cannot risk them being startled! He tried once more, with the combination of 1-1-2-3-5-3, and sighed with distress as the sensor beeped again, this time he heard low whispers coming from behind. There was a slow, rolling tap of claws against the floor, the soft thump of feet and the never-ending groan of darkness, as it began to stir from its retarded depths.

Xal sucked in a deep breath and quickly punched in a rapid-fire set of numbers, calling them out under his breath. "One-one-two-three-five-eight."

"Access granted."

? ? ?

Seems they spared me the trouble of finding it all, again, Xal thought to him-self as he kneeled down and scooped up the scattered particles of food from the floor.

As quietly as he could be, he reassembled their provisions, and secured his carbine rifle, which had somehow fallen out of his hands during the initial contact. There were no signs they were ever there, and curiosity compelled him to secure the kitchen, at least, if he could manage. He secured the bag over his shoulders, making sure not to lose it once more. The smell of his vomit was less than pleasing, and he brushed away from it, taking some parcels of food out and eating them near the doorway. He was hungrier than he had ever been, and he engorged him-self on an assimilation of meat and unknown additions.

Following up with a bottled, effervescent drink of particular sweetness, he felt wholly satisfied, and laid his back against the wall. The silence was reassuring of his isolation, and he noticed that the burn in his chest had subsided. While this seemed to cool his mind, Elsv's warning was foreboding, and he quietly assembled a notion of what might have happened. The Kig-yars were not ones to betray their own: money bought alliances, and they had functioned with the Sangheili for generations. However, this did not reassure Xal, as he knew well of the apostasy in the Sangheili culture was causing a galactic civil war, and he wondered if it involved the ship. He lowered his head, thinking of his cousin, frowning at the corners of his mouth and dolefully tapped his hand against the floor.

Seeing his face was the worst part, for Xal had tried to suppress the image of his dead relative: but all attempts met a flood of the horrifying expression. It was bearable for him for he had seen the death of his friends and family in the past: however, the extirpation of Gat brought him harsh realization. All of his bloodline had been killed off now, and he, the only surviving Kig-yar of the Vas clan. Coldness swept over his heart and shoulders, realizing even if he did return home, he would be alone--Gat's presence, he admitted that he took it for granted.

God damn that bastard, Xal cussed in his head with fury, gripping his fist in ire for those responsible. If there are gods, let them condemn that fucking bastard to an eternity of agony!

He took a minute to calm him-self down after allowing his thoughts to wander violently, but it was bittersweet. He disregarded the ire he felt for the moment, and reassembled his bag over his shoulder.

Xal crouched as low as his sore quadriceps would allow him and moved from the steel pantry into the kitchen. He moved along what appeared to be a line of ovens, checking around him for footprints or scents, but little evidence anyone had been in the refectory was found. He moved from the kitchen into the serving station and saw the open doors where the infected had came in. He peered at them, looking over the ground where some remnants of saliva showed a trail, and then cocked his eyebrow.

This place is on a high-security lockdown. How did they manage to get into here? Xal cautiously approached the doors, turning his snout left and right anxiously to maintain a vigilant observation: he detected no enemies, not instinctually at least. The radar on his HUD was damaged, to his great disdain, and he relied on tradition instead.

Examination of the door revealed it had been manually unlocked; the sender's authorization code, which was hidden, baffled the Kig-yar and alerted him.

Who in the hell could have that kind of command? I do not know a backdoor like that.

The logs for his floor revealed almost no activity for a month, safe to say Kvaz avoided using doors in general. He had spoken briefly that his thumb could only open some, others needed codes, and some were locked down in such a way he knew no bypasses.

Xal continued to look through them, his claws dragging against the holographic screen and he dug deeper through the activity logs, personnel files, and other miscellaneous info he could gather without actively engaging the system. There were codes of conduct that he disregarded, and he noticed the messages sent on the ship were marked by hour and floor, but not by day. He did not understand this conduct, and noticed a great deal of messages delivered from Floor 43 had been saved, one such entitled "Update."

"What is this?"He whispered lowly, glancing over the file's history and saw that just three days before the theorized outbreak, this was recorded. This brought Xal's curiosity to a vertex.

"Our chief of security exaggerated the seriousness of the offense: I expect the proper reprimanding will be thrown out for an intimate discipline. Nevertheless, the removal of your security chip is not something easily dismissed as 'accidental'. I wonder what exactly he planned to do by throwing him-self off the radar?

Xal tilted his head, "Security chip--what do they mean?" The Kig-yar searched the ship's index for information about the chip, in regards to security, and came across the ship's public ordinance. It was located in the code of conduct files he had previously disregarded, and he sat back against the wall, reading under his breath.

Code 2, sect. 3: All occupants aboard the Popul Vuh will undergo mandatory implanting of a security chip that grants them access to secured rooms, boarding, and laboratories. This chip is, under no circumstances, to be altered, tampered, damaged, or removed. Violation of this rule can result in punishment to the extent of dismissal from the vessel. . .

. . . when implanted in the skin and can cause minor itching: in some cases, the chip must be soldered onto the Sangheili, to prevent flaking from excessive abrasion.

"So--that is how they monitored the occupants. Hmm-- Z ba nor Anfi had one implanted when we--"

HISSSSSS--Clank!

Xal spun around and darted to the source of the noise, finding the pantry had closed it-self, locking him in the kitchen. The auxiliary battery was dead, and he knew there was no means of opening it now: he could escape, but vertically it was damn near impossible. He groaned aloud in frustration and rests his forehead against the cold door, thinking over the possibility of attempted the auxiliary, but imagined it was going to be a fruitless endeavor.

"Elsv--Elsv, are you there?" Xal leaned his head in to listen hopeful to hear him, and when Elsv replied, it dramatically lowered his stress levels.

"Xal my friend, are you safe?"

"No. I am locked in this damn kitchen: I need a way out!"

"How did you get locked in?"

"The pantry door locked it-self shut: I cannot exit the front, it is infested."

Xal sighed loudly in annoyance, rubbing his face and looked around the dark kitchen for a deliverance of escape: he considered the hall, which would be his only means. Elsv confided in him with worry that the path would be too dangerous, but Xal assured him that he could survive: he could outrun Sangheili, if he needed.

"Also, Elsv--I need to ask you if you knew about the security chips implanted in the Sangheili, here."

"Oh yes. It was a failsafe in case a Sangheili was injured, missing, or if one of us were to become infected."

"I see--it is just curious to me that someone opened the doors here, without a sender ID."

"They did? That is--unusual."

Xal nodded, looking towards the hall, "Also--I believe someone caused an insurgence of infected to chase Kvaz and I away. The door to the dining hall was open, but this whole floor is--"

"Hang on--I need to go, Xal." Elsv whispered, "I think there is something here, sorry."

"But how am I going to get out of here?" Xal growled with sudden frustration.

A soft hiss of white-static indicated Elsv had left, and Xal's eyes wandered over the room, frustrated he could find no means of leaving. The front hall was too dangerous; however, a vertical ascension through the air duct was impossible in his condition. Getting to Kvaz would take longer than Xal wanted it to, and then getting him to a medical ward would be even harder. The Kig-yar relaxed his breath, and with a circumspect circle around the dark dining hall, his mind set to work.

I need to clear out the front hall. I need to figure out a way to--distract them. A round from my rifle would not be prudent--and even so, it would not make enough noise.

Xal looked over his shoulder at the kitchen and wandered into it, catching site of an emergency exit door, with an alarm mounted against it. He instantly knew what he would do, and carefully checked through his HUD console that the door was actually active. He found, to his delight, it was operational and required no rerouting. He reached up and calmly pressed the palm of his hand to the door, and then forced it open, his heart nearly exploding at the vociferous alarm.

WARNING! WARNING! ALL PERSONELL PLEASE EVACUATE THE PREMISES, AND FOLLOW SECURITY TO THE SPECIFIED LOCATION! WARNING! WARNING! ALL PERSONELL . . .

"Yes, I will definitely evacuate, now!" The Kig-yar shouted over the noise of the alarm, stepping away from the door.

Xal spun around as the screams and growls in the hall overpowered the siren, and he snuck across the kitchen, hiding in the small compartment under the counter. In pitch-blackness he saw the legs of more Sangheili than he could count, rushing into the kitchen, and to his ears, attacking the walls. Their vociferous screaming harshly echoed in the compartment and Xal steadied his breath, chuckling in his mind at the success of his plan.

The flood is anything but intelligent,_coolly he remarked under his breath, _whoever you are, you are clever, but you will not outsmart me.

The rush to ignited his body, and he waited until no more rushed inwards, and crawled out, scurrying across the ground and hopping over the counter with strong legs. Carrying his gun and the bag over his shoulder, the Kig-yar sprinted out from the kitchen unnoticed and darted across the hall, turning around to lock the refectory door and nearly slammed his fingers into command prompt. He ran through the dark hall, laughing out of nervousness and skipped over the debris, including articles of furniture. His ingress into the next hall was swift and effortless, and for a moment, he felt more confident, aside with him a renewed fervor at his successful escape.

The door behind him shut with a quickness that alleviated his fear of the flood rushing out. He leaned his back into it and turned his eyes into a great dome-shaped area that seemed like a shopping, or recreational precinct such as a quadrangle.

All the elevator doors left ajar, and Xal could see the grim silhouettes of many dead bodies against walls, or bespattering the stone ground. Now an odor hit him more foully than ever, but he was strong enough bear the overriding odor of organic deterioration. Xal heard roaring from the distance: he felt behind him-self the tremors of stampeding feet, and from unknown sources, even more maelstrom portended the insurgence. This time he was without cover with all doors to his location open, and he gripped his fist as his sojourn now was interrupted.

"God dammit--why are certain doors locked, and not others!" Xal barked out in frustration, sucking in a breath and rushing to the nearest elevator shaft northeast of him. He peered downwards, wondering which one Elsv inhabited. With no time to inquire, he moved onto the elevator, clung to the iron rope and descended half way between two floors, and then clung to the wall as the beasts rushed in.

Rush into this shaft and please do me the favor of falling to your death! Xal angrily cursed them and cocked his eyes upwards at the elevator doors.

He heard them rush in, and Xal calmly shifted to keep the sac secured, and then ascended upwards, peering out from floor level at the vast room. The mob of Sangheili was motionless, standing in place, and from up close Xal took a close look at them. They were malnourished and their skin had become cadaverous and putrefied; they did not breath, but he could see a trembling at their limbs, which unnerved him.

Another detail struck him as odd. Xal had never fought the flood, but he had seen the effect of the virus through recordings. He saw not a single Sangheili infected with the flood, and in fact, none of them was bloated, which he knew happened when the flood infected their hosts.

What in the hell is going on--_he whispered in his head, looking up, _Where did they all--

" WE WILL FIND YOU! YOU CANNOT HIDE FOREVER! WE WILL RIP OUT YOUR ENTRAILS YOU COWARDLY BASTARD!" A voice suddenly screamed a maddening, shrilling, timber that palsied Xal and his arms instinctively clung to the rope with all his might. Like a sledge to his brain, the sudden thunder of screaming was magnificently shocking, literally making him lose some grip. He sucked in his breath and shuddered, stabilizing his brain and shivered, that--that is not normal for them. What are--

" COME OUT! COME OUT GOD DAMN YOU! I--I can hear you--breathing, your heart beat--it is so loud! SILENCE IT! GOD DAMN YOU, SILENCE THAT INCESSANT BEATING! I WILL RIP IT FROM YOUR RIB CAGE!" The voice roared maddeningly in the distance and the screams reverberated beneath Xal's feet. He trembled now, his heart beginning to slam against his sternum.

It was so close to him, he felt it: the being was in the proximity to end his life, if he knew where Xal had obscured him-self from them. He closed his eyes and cleared his mind as the bellowed ranting of this anonymous being threatened his life in cruel passions he had never conceived.

Who in the hell are you, you sick bastard? Xal angrily taunted in his mind as he timidly slid down what seemed like an infinite tunnel of blackness. The screaming faded away as he descended and he did not stop until he felt he had put enough distance between him and his hunter. Now as he stepped down onto a cold cement floor, and looked around, the fear had begun dissolving while the adrenaline remained. He looked around to see the long curved stretch of a possible tram tunnel, but no identification of the floor was near. He stepped lightly and shivered, feeling a great coldness around him that was reminiscent of winter.

"Who was that--that thing!" Xal spoke aloud in confidence of his isolation, "Dammit--dammit, Gat, why aren't you here to calm me down! Damn this labyrinth!" Xal gripped his forehead as a headache began to build and he gripped his fist, "Dammit Elsv, where are you!"

His voice began to tremble in frustration as his anger began to build, and he cursed everyone on the ship, including him-self, and Kvaz even. He hated that the commander was insane, he loathed his crying, and his seizures: in fact, hating them and the weaknesses gave him more energy. Inside however, guilt cloistered his heart and he regretted even thinking as much hatred for the Sangheili as he did.

Why did they ever build such a damn ship--why so far out in space? Kvaz survived for so long, and he's nothing anymore, and my cousin died for nothing! Damn it! DAMN IT! Xal gritted his teeth and slammed his fist into the wall, halting as the pain surged through his arm, but then he did it several more times before dropping down to his knees.

He rested his forehead against the cool steel wall and stayed there for a long time: each time angry thoughts returned he would cringe. So long had passed that he stared blankly at the dark wall, and then rocked backwards, jumping suddenly to his feet.

Still alone--I guess I am lucky this tunnel is not inhabited. Xal thought with a cynical optimism, and began to trudge forwards. He did not know where he was, or where he was going: but anything to him seemed better than going back up the elevator shaft.