Nightfall - Backstory

Nightfall – Midnight’s backstory

Midnight sat in the hangar again, watching the activity. He didn’t have his helmet on, so anybody walking towards him from the left saw the damage he had taken, but couldn’t say anything about, because he didn’t remember. Because of those scars, they gave him a wide berth. The only two so far that really didn’t give him a wide berth were Thomas “Tom” Spain and Grefor “Blade” Jornille. They were the closest people he knew to friends.

He heard footsteps approaching and didn’t think anything of it, until he heard someone sit next to him. He looked over to see Grefor.

“What’s happening, Midnight?” He asked.

“Nothing much.” Midnight said. “Just watching the hustle… thinking about the past…”

“What do you mean?” Grefor said.

“Nothing.” Midnight said, getting up. “Just ghosts of my own.”

Midnight then started walking away before Grefor could respond.

His mind wandered as he walked, thinking back to his first memory…

~

Thirteen years earlier

~

His eyes sprang open, and he tried to breathe, but couldn’t, because his body was constantly gagging on the tube run down his throat. His body started spasming.

Instantly there were three different nurses and a doctor were by the bed, trying to calm him.

“Alright. You want the tube out?” The first doctor, an older male asked.

Midnight nodded furiously.

The doctor grabbed the tube gently as he put a hand on Midnight’s chest.

“Alright. I’m pulling the tube.” He said as he started pulling the tube out.

The moment the tube was out, Midnight went into a huge coughing fit.

“Alright, alright. You need to lay back and calm down.” The doctor said.

Midnight’s coughing fit ended as he started to lay back. He then noticed that he only had one part of what should be a normal field of vision.

The doctor noticed the realization on his face and was quick to address it.

“Okay, you know that you lack vision from one of your eyes.” The doctor said. “But you don’t know why.”

Midnight looked at them through his one good eye and started to struggle.

“Listen to me.” The doctor said, helping the nurses hold him down. “You’ve been in a coma for roughly eight years.”

“Wha……..wha…..” Midnight struggled to say.

“What?” The Doctor asked, to which Mignight nodded. “You came to us in bad shape, and we’ve been keeping track of you for eight years.”

Midnight’s eyes widened.

“Do you remember anything?” The doctor said.

Midnight shook his head. “No…”

“That’s not uncommon for people that have been in a coma, much less for as long as you have.” The doctor said. “Just take it easy for a while, and you’ll be fine.”

Midnight nodded, although he wasn’t sure what was going on. He just laid his head back and started to try and remember what happened to him.

~

Two weeks from that point…

~

“Alright. We were never given your name when you were admitted, so we’ve been calling you John.” The doctor that was looking after him said. “However, one of the nurses said you looked more like a William than a John.”

“If you say so.” Midnight said. “But I guess William does sound better than John.”

“Now that I see you, I have to agree with the nurse. You do look like a William.” The doctor said. “But William it is. How’re you feeling today?”

“The same as yesterday, just stronger.” Midnight replied. “I might be able to stand here soon.”

“Good to hear.” The doctor said. “We’ll see how things go, however.”

“Yeah.” Midnight said with a slight laugh. “I guess we will.”

~

Three months from then…

~

Midnight was standing in front of the mirror, looking at his visage. This had to have been the twentieth time he had done this in the past month; He was still trying to remember his past, before the coma.

“Still trying to make sense of your life?” The nurse that was looking after him asked as she entered.

“How can I not?” Midnight asked, getting used to the low rasp in his voice.

“Well, from what I’ve learned over my time here as well as my life itself, you can’t dwell in the past.” The nurse said. “Otherwise, you’ll only be able to live in the past.”

“Huh, an interesting outlook on life.” Midnight said. “I might have to adopt that.”

“That’s a good idea.” The nurse said. “But how are we feeling today?”

“Same as yesterday.” Midnight replied, gently feeling at the scars that made up a large amount of his face. “How did I come to look like this?”

“We don’t know.” The nurse answered, writing something on her clipboard. “But based on what we did know, you were a victim of chemical burns. You looked a lot worse when they initially brought you in.”

“I don’t doubt it.” Midnight said. “But I sure won’t be winning any beauty contests anytime soon.”

“I know.” The nurse said, a hint of sadness in her voice. “It’s such a pity. I bet you were a handsome fellow before everything happened to you.”

“Maybe.” Midnight replied, maintaining his vision lock on his reflection. “But I guess we’ll never know.”

~

Two months later

~

“Midnight, you have some visitors.” The nurse said.

“Very well. I have no idea who would be wanting to visit me, though.” Midnight said.

After the nurse left, someone that could only be a soldier walked in. The man was roughly 7’4”, but he had an aura that said he knew combat. He had black hair that was short, and his attire screamed that he was a soldier. Behind them was a female soldier as well. She was a blonde, standing at 6’ even and was very pretty.

“William, I take it?” The man asked.

“Who wants to know?” Midnight asked, somewhat rudely.

“My name is Thomas Spain, and this is my wife May.” The man said, not outwardly affected by Midnight’s tone. “We’re here as messengers from the UNSC.”

“The what?” Midnight said.

“The military. We got word that one of our SPARTANs had come out of an eight year coma.” Thomas said. “However, I never had any knowledge of a SPARTAN named William.”

“A what?” Midnight asked, confused.

“Just come with us. I’ll explain on the way.” Thomas said, motioning for Midnight to walk out the door.

“Why should I trust you?” Midnight asked, now apprehensive of the duo.

“Would you rather stay here, unable to do anything?” May asked, speaking for the first time. “I suggest you come with us.”

“Well, I got to leave here sometime.” Midnight said. “But where would you be taking me?”

“To our ship, the Pillar of Inferno.” Thomas said. “We’ll find things for you to do, but you’re a SPARTAN. I can see the tattoo you have of your number.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Midnight asked.

“Every SPARTAN was given a number.” Thomas said, rolling up his right sleeve, showing the number “176” on his forearm. “You have the same tattoo.”

Midnight looked at his right forearm, showing the number “198” in the same style as Thomas’ tattoo. It baffled him, and his uncertainty showed on his face.

“See? We’re both SPARTANs.” Thomas said. “Come with us, and we’ll help you get back on your feet.”

“Very well.” Midnight said with a shrug. “What have I got to lose?”

“That’s the spirit, William.” Thomas said. “Come on. Daylight’s burning.”