Halo 3 - Half Flood: The Special Gift

My first Creepypasta attempt. I'm new to this kind of thing so go easy on me. I go all out on the details, I know that it need stripping and more creepy moments.
_______
I'm a Halo 3 glitcher (I've done all sorts of cool glitches, like boarding the Scarab on The Storm with the Anti air Wraith... you could call me a Halo scientist) and I had discovered a glitch that allowed dead enemies and allies to resurrect as the Flood, but retain their original appearance. Since I'm one of those guys who likes to investigate this kind of thing, I tested it more thoroughly. I found that they could wield any weapon that was placed nearby their dead bodies. That they could jump like the Flood combat forms usually did, although these half Flood didn't do it that often. That they could hijack vehicles (even that crazy backflip kick Elites do on guys in Prowler turrets). That if they wielded the sword or hammer, they could assassinate me. I could easily tell that these weren't ordinary Flood. I understood that they were transcendent species. Oh, and they could be assassinated, you know, melee the back, instantly dead. But the problem I was finding was that they had poor health, even on Legendary and that the Elites didn't regain their shield (whereas Elite Flood combat forms can regain their shield).

=Mystery Leads to Doom=

But what really got me interested was an apparent message on their back after I had killed them. Have you ever stopped an Infection Form from infecting a dead body? Ever notice the Flood traces on it's back? That's exactly what I saw on these half Flood. I like to call them bubbles. You might call them back herpes. Harmless and uninteresting nevertheless. They were all over the back and eventually disappeared. But as I gazed intently (I had been doing so for several months), I noted the positioning, the sequence, and even the exact sizes of the bubbles. I eventually decide to step it up a notch. I found that they seemed to spell "DO IT LIVE". At first, I interpreted this to mean Xbox Live. But nothing happened when I was connected. Everything was the same. And then all of a sudden, it came to my mind. The messages must have meant do it on a living enemy or ally. Eerie? I was naive. I thought it was just an inside joke, an easter egg. I didn't find it creepy at all.
So I did some more testing (I started at exactly 12:00 AM, midnight). I even got the strategy down. The strategy basically is: I trap a Carrier Form before going up the elevator to deactivate the third tower, release it after killing all my marine allies, get it to follow me, blow it up with the rocket launcher, get the resulting infection forms to follow me, and manipulate the enemies so they get ambushed, and then I trigger a loading point that removes all the Flood from the level. But this time, when I unleashed the half Flood process on the local War Chieftain (still alive at that time, and also my first test subject), there was something completely different about him. First, his back was clean. No traces of Flood. Second, a headshot on him (despite having his headgear on) proved fatal. Third, killing him left an entirely different message on his back: "NOW TRY ELITE". Another weird message. I had recently developed a morbid interest in reading Creepypasta so this wasn't very surprising. I knew that it was all fake. But something inside kept telling me to heed it.
I immediately realized that I had to do it on my Elite allies, while they were alive. But how could I get them there without them noticing the infection and shooting at it? So I kicked the Warthog gunner out, drove off (but at a slow pace so the gunner could keep up), and when I came to the spot overlooking the Brute encampment (the infection can only happen at this area, which I like to call the snow area since the ground is covered with snow), I noticed a quick texture change on the ground and sky. I shrugged it off as intentional (I had experienced something similar at this part of the level). But then the music (which had been repeatedly playing, one of Bungie's oversights) died down and the ambiance began to sound like a blizzard. In fact, snow began falling. Now this is very weird, as snow fall does not appear on The Covenant. But I dismissed this as a glitch (the game disc I was using was preowned, I got it from Gamestop) and resumed.
When I approached the Brutes, I was expecting a Prowler to come careening into my screen, annoying the hell out of me by giving the Chieftain more time to anticipate my approaching Warthog. Instead, I got nothing. I got out of the Warthog and I walked a little further and saw the passengers and driver (total of 4) stacked neatly on top of each other where the Prower would usually spawn. Also, oddly, the Chieftain and his Brutes weren't even shooting at me, just standing there. It's probable that their AI was removed. But how and why? Who did it? Well, I guess it doesn't really matter. There's a lot of unanswered things in Halo (like the toolbox inside an intangible building on Floogate and a Plasma Rifle in a dark building on Tsavo Highway). So I was just thinking it could be because the game disc had defects or something. Or maybe I just failed to load the loading point that would imbue these enemies with AI.
I decided to take a break (to grab Coco Cola and a burger king take out) so I paused the game and checked my clock. A lot of time had passed (at least 20 minutes mind you). I thought it was peculiar because this glitch usually takes 5 minutes. After retrieving the food, I came back only to find that the pause menu was transparent and the objectives were filled with stuff about half Flood. Was I scared? Yes. So I resumed (I had to do it. I couldn't let a little paranormal shit interfere with my job) and turned around and I saw that the infection forms, surprisingly, had their AI. But they weren't moving normally. They looked kind of glitched, very erratic even. Have you ever seen a silverfish? Their movement is similar to a fish. That's what they looked like. Really, the infection forms looked like deformed popcorn, stretched and thin. I saw one pass through a rock and another through a small tree branch. I know that they are intangible to most things, but going past these kind of scenery? I suspected something was wrong, but I was very anxious to see what a Elite would look like half infected alive. Their behavior intrigued me, because normally they would go for the dead Brutes (I had killed 1 or 2 in preparation). Instead, they went straight for the Hog.
I immediately readied my plasma pistol. I looked at the Elite in the passenger seat. He looked back and said one thing that scared the living shit out of me (hey, it was 2:23 AM when I was doing this part): "How does it feel to be dead? Wait, don't answer that." If I recall correctly, Elites normally said that to enemies (or to players who gave them shitty weapons). Why me? There weren't any active enemies around. I know for a fact that AI don't shoot at inactive enemy AI.
I drained his shield with the plasma pistol, got him out of the hog, and blew it up (to make sure the gunner didn't shoot at the infection forms, although I don't think it was needed, as he was now frozen, looking at the Infection Forms, face grimaced with horror. It was only after I went in Theater that I saw his eyes. They were black and beady, like Halo 1 Elites, although they looked black to the core).

=The Terror Begins=

Then I kept the passenger Elite busy by doing weapon exchange with him (shooting him with a plasma pistol bolt occasionally to stop the shield from recharging) and then when the infection forms got near, I immediately ran for that loading point. I got it and then I heard the most fucking inhuman, blood curling scream possible (and the weird thing is, I didn't have the volume on. I even wear a Peltor ear muff to help me concentrate on the game). All I know is that when I turned back, I saw the Elite with his mouth really open, as if someone had grabbed his jaws and pulled them apart. I also saw this creepy smile but I don't know if it was just me going crazy. But that's not the worst of it, he was frozen, but I could see his eyes moving and I could see his tongue abnormally sticking out (not to mention that it was moving erratically and really fast, like those Anti-air Wraith gunners and when Heavy Grunts throw plasma grenades)! I zoomed in and holy fucking shit it was the most detailed tongue I ever saw. I compared it to mine. That's right, I paused the game, ran to the bathroom, got a small mirror, and compared mine to the Elite's. It looked human. It didn't look Elite at all.
But did I stop? Of course not. I wasn't about to be beaten by a bunch of ghosts or whatever was manipulating my game. I am a ghost for Christ's sake! SLIDING Ghost. I have researched Halo AI for months! So I unpaused it. I now regret doing it because the half Flood process had begun. The Elite was writhing in pain, but I noticed some weird things coming out of his mouth. I zoomed in. Maggots! But that's not the scary part. His head started rotating rapidly, like those scary shit ghosts seen in the One Missed Call trailer (the American version).
But then the animation suddenly changed. He was now looking normal, but he was clutching his head with both hands and walking aimlessly. I actually believed it was in-game animation. And then he dropped dead. And got up. There were no visible signs of Flood on him. The weapons I had given him, the sword and fuel rod gun, were clutched in both of his hands rather than the sword on his side and fuel rod gun on his back. He then turned to face me, saying the usual things he says to an ally, but in a distorted, gruffy voice. Then he started walking towards me. Was I scared at this point? Nope. Like I mentioned before, I had read a lot of Creepypasta. I wasn't going to be scared by a thing that couldn't really hurt me. Suddenly, he leaped at me and killed me with one hit of his sword (this was on Legendary and I had used a modding program to give me invulnerability). At this point, I knew that something was wrong. First, sound playing even though the volume is at 0. Now, a one hit kill by a minor NPC (in Halo 3, the Arbiter, Johnson, Guilty Spark, Keyes, they can all kill you with 1 shot if you turn traitor. Not even Invincibility can help). Then what?
I shouldn't have asked. When the game had reverted, I was facing away from the Brute encampment. I thought it was over and this was like one of those Legendary pokemon encounters. But then I realized I was at the exact same spot where I turned around. The game had somehow given me a checkpoint. I turned around again, out of curiosity to see if it would play out the same again. And what do I find? The half Flood Elite is now holding the hammer (believe it or not, I gave this Elite

4 weapons

. In Halo 3, they can carry up to 4 of them. It's a very simple strategy), but the wrong way so that the sharp edge is facing me. In one hand by the way. His sword was in his other hand, but it gave off a sickly red glow. Looking into it made my stomach churn and I zoomed in and realized it wasn't glow. It was blood! The blood didn't just stream. It moved like waves. Like Lekgolo worms! I brought myself to zoom out and the monstrosity was right in front of me. It's eyes were gray, it's armor was covered in blood (which enhanced the Elite Major armor's color making it more crimson), and it's feet were showing signs of decay.
I immediately jumped back, charged a plasma pistol, and shot it at him. For some reason, it's speed was severely reduced. The Elite swung his hammer into the ground and ripped it open and smoke immediately poured out, obscuring my view, making it difficult for me to tell if the shot landed. I could see a silhouette so I aimed carefully and threw a plasma grenade. I could hear the stick sound. I could hear the explosion. The smoke starting clearing away. The Elite was still standing, still alive! I spammed plasma pistol bolts at him, only to notice the recharging animation occur several times, the same amount of times that I had shot at him! I could tell that the Elite was invincible.
What does a guy do in a horror movie when the killer's invincible? He runs, for a car, means of escape. And that's what I did. I ran back to the Journey's End area. I looked at my motion sensor. That thing was following closely behind. To my glee, the Scorpion tank was still there, and it was operated by a marine. I ran at full speed and the Scorpion began shooting at the thing. I thought that I would be safe if I hopped aboard. Turns out that was a big mistake. The cannon didn't do any damage to the monster and it merely used it to bolster his leaping height. Damn marine AI. He landed on the tank, boarded it, I got out as soon as possible, but the marine wasn't so lucky as the Elite destroyed the tank with the marine within 3 seconds. Last I saw of the marine, he had this horribly disfigured look on his face when he died. His eyes were blinking, his body was distorted in death. But the scariest part was when he said (this is after dying): "Chief, why? Why did you... *face distorts into an Elite's face* why didn't you set me free earlier? I was waiting for you."
I was shocked. I could feel my heart beat like never before. It was going off the charts. I started running. I had no tank. No quick means of escape. Just me and my two legs, and some weapons: energy sword, battle rifle, magnum, and plasma pistol. But even with all these weapons, I didn't feel safe at all. I could hear the thing breathe and I could feel it's hot breath behind me, even though my motion sensor showed it some inches from me. I kept running. I didn't bother looking back. And then it hit me. I forgot that there was a Mongoose right by the Scorpion!!! I could easily outrun the thing if I got in that. I quickly turned around, crouch jumped over the thing's sword, and dropped grenades to delay it. When I saw the Mongoose in sight, I was elated, gleeful, all sorts of happy emotion flooded my mind. I looked up again and the Mongoose was gone! Shit, my only chance to escape.
I turned around and immediately started running but then one of those in-game cutscene style animations started. My weapons disappeared, I could tell I was kneeling, I was forced to look down and I saw that my energy shield was down, my armor punctured, my intestines gushing out, a huge puddle of blood and my I was forced to look at my left hand then my right hand, which were covered in blood, all of this in the most stunning and realistic depiction I have ever seen. And then the camera went to third person. The thing had stabbed with me with the hammer and sword and then slowly pulled both out and I could just feel Chief screaming. I could feel it tingling in my veins and it was literally ringing in my head.

=Was It A Dream?=

Suddenly, the pain disappeared as the game returned to the main menu. I recall seeing it give an unusual message but I can't remember what it said. I looked around the room but I was overwhelmed by dizziness, but I managed to catch the time: 9:30 AM. I passed out. When I woke up, the time was 4:25 PM. Was it a dream I thought? Did I really experience that? The Xbox 360 turned off because I set it to last 6 hours before auto shut down. So I turned it back on and loaded up Halo 3. I went to Theater. And I saw the recent films of game saves I did the other day. Thank God! I scrolled through it for reassurance and so I could save as many films as I could, being elated at the thought of it being a nightmare. But then, oh God, not again, no, it can't be, IT CAN'T FUCKING BE... as I came to the bottom of the recent films. "The Covenant on Legendary, NaN NaN, 2011 00:00:00" and date is listed as: "11/22/2005". Happiness turned into terror as I selected it. I had to watch it again. I had to make sure I wasn't dreaming. I was overwhelmed by this sudden obsession. It coerced me. When it began, I immediately pushed the start button, to see if the pause menu was transparent. It wasn't. I sighed, relieved that it seemed to be fixed. So I held down fast forward, brought up the pause menu (for automatic fast forward), dismissed it, and watched. Nothing unusual. The Prowler was there. The Brutes were active AI. The infection forms looked normal. But when it came to the part where I was going to the loading point, the film suddenly exited to the Theater menu and I got this message:
"Film cannot be retrieved." After that, all my attempts to load the film 100% failed. It stopped around 49%. I even checked the disc for scratches. It was in good condition. So I reinserted it.

=From Bungie?=

And then another message, Bungie Day themed like on their website right now, popped up (could it have been introduced when I installed that latest update for Xbox 360 that did nothing but pave the way for future updates?):
"Dear player,
We hope you enjoyed finding our most kick-ass secret. As a reward for your testing and dedication, take this exclusive Elite armor as a token of our appreciation.
Love [Bungie]..."
The Bungie text was very difficult to discern, very blurry. It seems to actually say from Blunder. Now I've looked up the definition of that word. It means "a careless mistake". If it's the latter, was it intentional, as if to warn me of something? Why me? There's plenty of modders out there that can do shitloads more than I could ever do. How come I experienced this (I am now persuaded that it was something internal, not having to do with the disc)?!
Then the armor customization screen popped up. A few days ago, I had modded my gamerscore so I could get Commando armor and Ascetic shoulders. I wondered what was new and what could beat those badass armor pieces. I looked in the helmets. Nothing. In the shoulders. Nothing. But there it was. In the body... 6 options. I slowly scrolled through and came across another Combat armor. If I selected it, the helmet would change to Combat and the armor color would change to red. But the helmet was unrecognizable. It was adorned with human skulls instead of crowns and it looked like it was just fucking smiling at me, it and it's skulls. The description reads:
"DIE TO LIVE. KILL TO LOVE."
I dared not go into multiplayer or Forge with it. I couldn't change it back after that so I had to use a backup profile that I had transferred to my computer a while ago to restore my armor.
Was I terrified? You bet. I don't what kind of sick twisted psycho puts this shit into a 4 star game, but I know I'll never see Flood the same way again. They are not freaks. They are not monsters. They are not aliens. They are gods. Okay, now I'm really creeped out. I don't know why I said that last bit. I was thinking of something else. Maybe, just maybe, the game had a bigger impact than I imagined?

=Epilogue=

These are film clips I captured on subsequent exploration:
[https://web.archive.org/web/20120824014912/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJFJ8UoDM_o Normal Half Flood Elite with sword and hammer]
It has not been edited at all. The ending was cut off all of a sudden when I was trying to record it. It showed the half Flood Elite being splattered by a Ghost.
Notice the thing's docility and it's obvious Flood AI (inept for combat). This particular half Flood was vulnerable to grenade sticks, which don't kill perfect half Floods. And before anyone suggests, kill it with fire, as you can see, it doesn't work, not even on an imperfect half Flood.
I never had the "thing" happen to me ever since the incident, but I know that I would rather die than see all the horrors revolving around that mysterious glitch.

7/25/2011 Update

Here's a message in my e-mail junk folder that I was planning on deleting. But at the insistence of my conscience, I am releasing it to the public.
The sender was unknown. Here's it's content:
"Post this to the world. All 7 of them. To the 7. Hurry! I've got no... time. But. Maybe you still do.o9k45664e45647y6ejnmh"
And the picture that was attached to it:
Looks like 2 marines fighting the half Flood. What did the sender mean by all this? How did he obtain a copy of the picture? could this mean that other people received the "special gift"?
_______
Half Flood will be a trilogy. The next Creepypasta is planned to be either titled Half Flood: Escape Into Reality or Half Flood: The Cursed ODST. If it's the former, the half Flood Elite operates Freddy Krueger style. If it's the latter, there's an ODST in this game that can ruin your life... and take it.
Stay tuned!