Halo: Heroes Awakening

Prologue

~Rough Seas~

"Cheers to a brisk two years, lads!" Captain Glee announced with a wicked grin as he raised his glass of rum. Everyone joined in, clinging their glasses together in a drunken toast of mirth. Halo's head was already swimming, his throat warmed by his third glass. He poured down another, shaking like a wet dog as he felt it run through him.

A content sigh escaped him. He had never felt so alive.

"I can't wait to see my wife!" Humdrum shouted, making the other sailors cheer collectively. Many were already on the rocks, with only a select few still holding on to their sobriety. "And my dog, Jingles!"

"I can't wait to find a wife," Kanneth added. "I need someone to miss me when I'm gone."

"Bad move, mate," Flod slurred , ever the sceptical one. "Ya' don't want her turnin' to comfort but no one but you."

"You can't even speak properly, why should I listen to you?"

The room started getting really loud, sending Halo's senses into an overload. He let out a loud laugh to quiet down everyone else and got up from their little table, stumbling out toward the deck.

"Oh gosh, they're like animals!" Halo said, shaking his head with a smile. "I'm going to miss it."

He walked out to the railing where he saw an orange head of hair standing by himself. Halo nudged him in the shoulder and flashed a big grin. "Aye, why aren't you back there drinking the night away?"

"Same reason you're out here," Finn said, classically cool like Halo knew him to be. He had only spent a year with the man on the Big Mirth but he already knew, Finn was the coolest man he had ever met.

"They were just getting too crazy. It's going to be hard to get used to the quietness after this," he said, sounding slightly sad. Finn rose an eyebrow at this.

"We're going to your home, right?" He asked.

Halo nodded, his shoulders heavy. "I haven't been home in three years. I don't know if anyone will remember me."

"You're a loud guy. No one's gonna forget you," Finn said, a hint of a smile on his face. "Plus, it hasn't been a decade yet. I doubt a guy with bright green hair is easy to forget."

Halo smiled weakly, knowing that no matter how long he'd been gone, the real problem was that he left in the first place.

Traveling the world as a sailor had freed Halo from all his problems. He had met countless of interesting people. From delirious drunkards to mysterious castaways. With new people, he could be whoever he wanted. Every place was different. His fate was entirely his.

But soon, it would be back to square one.

"Where are you getting off?" Halo asked. "Even after a year you haven't said where you were from."

"I'm not getting off anywhere specific," Finn said, looking out into the ocean. The sun was setting so the water was darkening, the faint indigo glow washing over the waves. "I don't really have anywhere to go. I just go where I want."

Halo remembered that feeling. Of not having a destination. He had met so many people who felt the same. Who just wanted to get away, didn't care where they went. But the feeling was lonely as well.

Freedom came with a price. A price rarely spoken of. Floating aimlessly like a leave in the wind was freeing, but having no place to call home was an entire cage on its own.

He wanted that feeling to end. He hoped that once he went home, things would be different.

Halo was about to open his mouth to speak when Finn pointed out to the sea. In the distance a ship was approaching them. Large and hoisting a black flag. That didn't look passive.

Finn had binoculars hanging around his broad chest and lifted them to his eyes. Halo frowned. They were in Southern waters which were notorious for criminals on the sea.

They'd had their fair luck on avoiding any trouble till now, however the coastal towns they visited were not as fortunate. They were ransacked and unfriendly, having gone through the worst.

Halo gulped as the rugged wooden beaut drifted closer. "You think they're friendly?" He asked Finn.

Finn dropped the binoculars, his golden eyes not leaving the ship for a second. "Get the swords. I'll get Captain."