Left4Dead Meets Halo

         “I need a status report on Base Alpha, Biotech Lab Bravo, ASAP!” bellowed Captain Joanne D. Karlumn of the Pillar of Eclipse.
         “Ma’am,” replied Lieutenant Bram Maughl into his helmet COM. “Several people whom we rescued are in bad shape. Bio-Team Echo is still examining Lab Bravo. The anomaly is probably the Flood, but we are still a little skeptical. There aren't any spores on the victims and there's no green fog.”
         “Hm. I'll have to have a look at that myself. Anything else, Lieutenant Maughl?” asked the Captain expectantly. She put them on a private line.
Maughl covered the part of his helmet that hid his mouth so his teammates could not hear.          “I know that it’s our anniversary, Jo, but this is almost as important as our relationship. This is the lives of your men we’re talking about. Not only that but, I command them. I care about them, too.”
         “Oh, Bram,” said Joanne, theatrically clutching her chest. "That was so touching. You put the lives of your men above our relationship. That shows how caring you are, which is why I married you . OK. We can postpone our anniversary. You better make it worth my while, though."
         "I will. I promise. Over and out."
         "Oh! does that man make me all emotional," said Joanne, returning it to a public line, then switching off the COM system. "I love him so much, you know?"
         "Yes. In fact, I do," said Cortana as she appeared on the holodeck. “I also know how you feel.” The A.I. construct bowed her pixelated  head in dismay and reminiscence.
         A few years ago, John-117, aka Master Chief died on a mission on Earth. How he died is unknown, and Cortana was too traumatized to tell the UNSC (United Nations Space Command) rescue team that was sent what happened. Even after she calmed down, her memory was fried by the excess trauma. When Joanne told her that he was dead, she shut down for three months, leaving the Pillar’s hands to drive and defend the Pillar of Eclipse manually.
         “I’m sorry, Tana.” Tana is Joanne’s nickname for Cortana.
         “I-it’s OK, ma’am. It was my fault that I couldn’t tell you what happened. I... came to love him, and trying to imagine the one you love, who was that good, dead just... was too hard.”
         “I know. I’d feel the same if Bram died.”
         “The thing is, he was so good, it seemed as though he’d never die. The same goes for--”
         “Rescue team Echo to Observation Deck! Come in Observation Deck!” screamed Lieutenant Maughl.
         "This is Observation Deck." replied Cortana. "What's the problem?"
         "The anomaly is most definitely not the flood! The infected turn too fast and with no apparent warning. Plus -- Die, Godammit! -- it takes way more shots to kill them! Some of my crew is infected. The anomaly’s diet seems to consist of flesh and those they bite or scratch becomes infected.”
         “So, the swapping of DNA seems to spread the disease?”
         “Yes, ma’am! And -- Aaaaugh!!”
         “Maughl! Report! Report!”
         “I’ve been bit! Shit, it hurts!” Maughl was sobbing in pain.
         “Lieutenant Maughl?”
         “Oh, my God! My blood! It’s turning black! Help! Help! Aaaaaaaah!”
         After that, all that was audible was the sounds of gunshots in the distance. Finally, they heard a snarling, sniffing sound followed by chewing. Then, the signal was lost.
         “No....” said Joanne. She fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands, sobbing violently.
         “Ma’am, calm down. It’s gonna be --”
         “No!” as she punched the floor of the Observation Deck. “He can’t be dead! He promised me he wouldn’t die before our anniversary! He promised!”
         “Joanne! Calm the Hell down! You need to handle this like the man you’re not! Now send two more rescue teams down there. I’d prefer Alpha or Bravo, but, since you’re the captain, it’s really your choice.”
         “You’re right. You’re right. You’re so very right.” Joanne got, took a deep breath, and motivated herself to reactivate the COM system. Once fully motivated, she pressed the transmit button.
         “I need rescue teams Spartan Alpha and Spartan Bravo for this mission. I want you all to gather your equipment and report to Transport Pod 4-Delta. I will be there to meet you shortly.”
         “Ma’am?” asked Cortana, concerned.
         “You said to handle this like a man, Tana, so I’m going into the field. Wish me luck!”

         Master Chief woke up in a cave that smelled disgustingly of death and regurgitation. He reached up and turned on his helmet light.
         What he saw nearly made him sick, which would only add to the already putrid aroma of the cave.
         In front of him lay corpses that have been dead for what seemed like weeks. To his dismay, he found that the corpses, when looked at closer, were not entirely dead. In the middle of the cave, there were three corpses. Two were sitting up. One was female (Chief was not entirely sure, though), the left half was deprived of skin revealing muscles from the face down, making her seem like a grotesque, feminine version of Two Face.
         She was not near the other two. She was secluded, huddled up in a corner. Apparently, she was crying, because her shoulders were rising and falling. She had beautiful blonde hair on one half of her head. Of course she's crying, thought Chief. Having to live the rest of her life like that would make me cry, too. He was beginning to feel sorry for her when a closer examination revealed that her hands were... not hands at all! Instead, they were claws! Black, sharp, bloody claws. Chief quickly turned his gaze to the other two. He regretted ever turning on the light. The second was on top of the third corpse, feasting on its flesh, emitting loud slurping noises. As soon as the light hit it, the living corpse turned, fixed its red eyes on him, disregarded its meal, and pounced. Master Chief reached for his magnum, thrust out his left hand, and caught the creature by the neck.
         It emitted a deafening cry that split the disgusting air of the cave. Chief lifted up his magnum and put it to the creature's head.
         "Any last word?" he asked.
         The creature answered by throwing up a black liquid on chief's helmet.
         He said, "Disgusting," and pulled the trigger, splattering the creature’s brains alll over the cave walls.