A/N Hey guys, this is going to be my first Love Death & Robots story but one thing you need to know is that I have two more planned, though that won't happen for a while so let's hope things go well with this one first.
Well, without further ado, let's begin.
It was another hot day in Afghanistan as I was walking beside a moving humvee with a bunch of fellow marines while I kept my eyes open for any potential ambush, holding my M4A1 rifle as my eyes calmly looked around the huts as my eyes were covered by my sunglasses.
Up ahead, my good friend Decker was in the lead while he was barefoot and wearing only camo pants, olive green shirt, and a tan vest with a radio as he was in the front for a reason since he wasn't exactly human and his enhanced senses would detect any danger if there was any so I always thought it was handy, and Decker once showed amusement when I expressed how envious I was about what he was when we first met.
As for what Decker was, he was a werewolf and I thought the once mythical creature was one of my favorites when I was a kid, so imagine my surprise when actual living breathing werewolves revealed themselves to the world and wanted to negotiate for a good relationship between humans and werewolves.
Naturally, because of humanity's fear of the unknown, people freaked out and were terrified that the once mythical race existed among us in secret while the stigma and fiction portraying werewolves in a negative light made negotiations pretty difficult, though governments and werewolves around the world managed to come to an understanding and the supernatural beings now live among society without hiding what they are.
Sadly, there are people who took exception to this and human supremacist groups formed while expressing hatred and spreading fear to try and turn humanity against the supernatural race of humanoid wolves in human disguise, and I always found myself disappointed in them and a little peeved since there was always going to be a bunch of assholes that'll judge people for being different and werewolves were no exception in this case.
Still, I had no problems with werewolves either way with the exception of ones that enjoy killing humans and stirring up more hatred and fear but I was currently focused on my surroundings at the moment since it wouldn't be a good idea to get lost in thought out here where the Taliban could be anywhere just as Sobieski started chatting to Decker.
"I had that dream about your sister again last night. Oh, it was me and her in the scrub behind the mess hall and she was biting my neck. I swear to god, we are going at it like fucking animals, bro," Sobieski joked before letting out grunting noises and the other marines looked annoyed at hearing the other werewolf acting obnoxious on an open channel when I reached for the mike connected to my radio.
"Kind of a bit too much information there and try to maintain radio discipline, we are on an open channel since I'm sure the others probably don't want to hear about you banging Decker's supposed sister in a dream," I responded with a smirk before Sobieski chuckled.
"You're just jealous that you're not getting any, Sgt," Sobieski remarked and I snorted.
"Yeah, I'm sure that's the reason," I countered sarcastically just as Decker decided to join in the conversation.
"For your information, I don't even have a sister," Decker said with an unamused tone.
"Then why do you get so mad when I dream about fucking her?" Sobieski questioned humorously, though I saw Decker coming to a stop and reaching for his radio.
"Hold up a sec," Decker said, ending my good mood and I became serious as another marine held up his fist to signal all of us to stop while I started looking at the huts around us.
I started aiming at one of the huts at our left while the other marines aimed their weapons at the other huts, though I didn't have eyes on anything while the air became tense and we waited for Decker to inform us what he picked up.
"Decker? Talk to me, bro," Sobieski said as he sounded more serious now, and before Decker could say anything, a gunshot rang out in the distance and he was struck in the leg before falling to the ground on his side.
"Contact, contact!" I shouted before we all quickly ducked behind the humvee to take cover and got down on one knee until we aimed at the huts near us, just as I saw Decker roll onto a feral stance while I knew he was searching for the sniper.
"Decker, you got eyes on the fucker?" Sobieski questioned just as the enemy sniper fired again and Decker got hit in the arm, only he ignored it as he looked straight ahead when the sniper fired a third time and Decker rolled out of the way so that he wouldn't get his head blown off when he reached for the mike on his radio.
"Three-four five degrees, one five zero yards, small structure, white side," Decker notified us on the radio, prompting the marine manning the fifty cal on the humvee to aim and fire at the hut up ahead of us.
The large machine gun ripped the hut apart, rendering it into rubble with the sniper possibly getting torn to pieces in the process by the large rounds when the marine stopped firing the M2 Browning and there was nothing but silence after that as I saw Decker standing up with his injuries pretty much healed up when I reached for the mike on my radio.
"You okay, Decker?" I asked as I stood up, my fellow marines doing the same as we left cover and kept aiming around just in case there were more threats.
"Yeah, fucker almost shot my dick off," Decker replied and I smirked as Sobieski joined into the conversation.
"Well, if he can hit a target that tiny, we should sign him up on our side," Sobieski remarked and I chuckled at that.
"Yeah, I doubt he'd be up for that since he was pretty much shot to pieces by Jones," I commented before we all continued our patrol after that.
An hour later, our patrol was finished and we headed back to the FOB before having the quartermaster put our weapons and equipment away, then I went with Decker and Sobieski to the mess hall while plenty of other marines were doing the same when we got our meals and headed to a table to sit down, causing a few marines there to start looking uncomfortable while one glared at Decker and Sobieski.
"You can't sit here," Miller said, and I rolled my eyes at that while ignoring him.
"I don't see any reserved signs," Decker replied, not looking bothered by the disrespect that was thrown at him and Sobieski when Miller pursed his lips to restrain his temper.
"I said, you can't sit here," Miller empathized and I sighed before I sent him a fake surprised look.
"Really? I don't see anyone's names on them so I guess they're free to sit here anytime they want," I remarked with a smirk, causing the marine to glare at me for my smartass comment.
"I didn't ask for your goddamn opinion, Daniels," Miller retorted and that irritated me as he returned his attention to Decker and Sobieski before adding, "The corps turned to shit when they started letting you animals wear the uniform."
"Look, my buddy took a bullet for you guys today so...back off," Sobieski warned when Miller narrowed his eyes at him.
"Yeah, see, and I don't trust anything that bleeds that much and then walks away, so unnatural is what you are," Miller spat out hatefully and Decker scoffed.
"Unnatural? I can stalk my prey by scent alone, run for miles while you need to ride in a stinking humvee all day, and see clearly on a moonless night while you cling to your flashlight as soon as the sun goes down.
If you ask me, there's not much natural in that," Decker countered cooly while I chuckled.
"Honestly, I think he's just jealous because who wouldn't want those kinds of perks? In my opinion, it's a win-win in my book," I commented with a smirk before Miller started looking pissed.
"Why the hell are you standing up for these fucking dog soldiers? You are a disgrace to your own kind and the world would be a lot better off without someone like you," Miller retorted and that's when I started losing my temper as I sent him a nasty glare and was about to let him know how I felt about that when Sobieski cut in by clearing his throat loudly.
"No disrespect, Sergeant...but if you call us dog soldiers again or insult my pack brother one more time, I'll rip your arm off and beat you to death with it," Sobieski threatened, causing Miller and his friends to quickly get out of their seats and stare at Sobieski with fear in their eyes.
"Oh shit, here we go," I muttered while marines sitting at other tables turned to look at the commotion that was happening.
"You wanna try it?" Miller dared and I looked at him like he was nuts as Sobieski started growling before I stood up from my seat.
"Hey, how about you quit provoking him or he just might tear you to shreds, so take your buddies and go sit somewhere else or I might do us all a favor and plant my boot up your ass," I warned irritably with a hard look.
It was tense as Sobieski was still growing while a stare-down occurred while Decker was still eating his meal nonchalantly, appearing unphased by the fight that was going to break out any minute when the coffee cup on the table fell off and broke as it hit the floor and ended the stand-off with as Miller scoffed.
"Come on, smells like dog shit in here," Miller told his friends with a look of disgust before they walked away from the table and left the three of us alone, but not before Miller spat at us while he walked away until I sat down with a sigh as Sobieski stopped growling.
"Dickhead," I mumbled with a sour expression as I continued eating my meal.
"You do know that they're not going to forget about that anytime soon, right?" Decker questioned as he looked at me and I huffed.
"Fuck 'em, I don't give a shit what those bigoted assholes think," I stated and Sobieski playfully hit me in the shoulder.
"You certainly got big brass ones, that's for sure," Sobieski commented and I chuckled.
We soon finished our meals and left the mess hall before Sobieski had the idea of lifting weights to blow off some steam, now I was rolling tires over to Decker and Sobieski when they took them and used the heavy objects as weights for the metal bar.
"You know what I think it is?" Sobieski questioned and I grinned as Sobieski went to lay down with Decker and I spotting for him.
"Yep, the same thing I said before, jealousy," I replied before Sobieski grabbed the bar and hummed in agreement.
"Right you are because those guys know that if the brass cuts me and Decker loose, we'd have this shit cleaned up in three weeks," Sobieski stated and I chuckled.
"Yeah, I'd pay to see you guys tear shit up against those Taliban bastards since I'd doubt they would expect two werewolves wiping them out," I agreed while Decker rolled his eyes.
"Actually, I think it's more complicated than that," Decker spoke up as Sobieski started his reps.
"No, you're right since they're fucking terrified of us, too," Sobieski grunted as he let out a chuckle and added, "Claws and blood, baby."
"They don't understand us any more than they do with this fucking war, which is why we don't belong here," Decker pointed out cynically before I sent him a smirk.
"What, and leave me all alone with those assholes? Let's be honest, you guys would probably miss me if you left," I remarked and Decker sent me a dry look.
"Smartass," Decker said just as Sobieski was finished with his workout and stood up.
"Look, I don't like every asshole that calls himself an American, but it's still my fucking country so you hear me, boy? Do you hear me, cadet?" Sobieski grunted, pretending to be a drill sergeant while Decker rolled his eyes and smiled.
"Hell yeah, you heard the man so are you a pansy or a marine, Lt? We are here for duty, honor and country, momma and apple pie," I growled playfully as I joined in and Decker arched a brow.
"I'm just here to make sure you dumbasses don't get killed," Decker remarked.
"You're the dumbass," Sobieski countered good-naturedly and I laughed at that.
"I think you're both here because dogs need to hunt," a familiar voice spoke up, ruining my good mood as my smile went away while the three of us turned to stand at attention when Commander Reyner entered the room.
"Sir!" the three of us exclaimed as we stood at parade rest.
"At ease, we're rotating squads at the forward operating base so, Sobieski, you're with the outgoing squad," Commander Reyner said before he left, just as the wooden workout bench broke and the bar fell to the ground with a loud thump as I looked back with a confused expression.
"Um, that was random," I commented as I stared at the remains of the workout bench before the others chuckled in response.
"Well, I better get ready to move out so I'll see you guys later," Sobieski said before he soon left and I sighed.
"Come on Chris, let's clean this up and we'll go meet up with Sobieski," Decker suggested as he went over to the bar and started removing the tires from it as I went over to help.
"Kind of wish he would help us out with this, but what the hell," I replied as I started moving the tires back to their proper place while Decker went to pick up the remains of the workout bench.
Pretty soon, we were done and left the tent to meet up with Sobieski, who was waiting for us as he had his rucksack slung on one shoulder before he held his hand up in greeting and we started walking with him to the front gate, chatting and joking together when we approached the open gate.
"Try not to piss off any of the regulars while you're up there," Decker said and I smirked.
"Knowing him, he's probably going to do that," I commented when Sobieski sent me a mock wounded expression.
"Why Sgt. Christopher Daniels, I am simply hurt you think so little of me," Sobieski gasped dramatically and I rolled my eyes.
"Alright smartass, no need for that and I'm sure that if they're smart, they'll be the ones trying hard not to piss you off," I said dryly and Decker smiled.
"Is that right?" Decker questioned before Sobieski nodded.
"Uh-huh, now remember honey, if you or Chris need anything...I'll be right at the top of that hill," Sobieski told us while resting his hand on Decker's shoulder and pretending to sound tearful when I scoffed.
"You know what, you're so full of shit," I replied and Sobieski grinned.
"Yeah, and you're an idiot," Sobieski countered before he bumped heads with Decker and then proceeded to fist-bump me until he started jogging after the humvee that was leaving as he held up a fist.
"Claws and blood, baby!" Sobieski shouted cheerfully while he was leaving until he was gone and I chuckled.
"Yeah, he's gonna be bored out of his mind up there without us," I remarked before Decker smiled.
"Come on, let's play some b-ball while we're off duty," Decker offered before we started walking away from the front gate.
"As long as we don't try wrestling again since the last time we did that, you pinned my ass to the ground in ten seconds and Sobieski wouldn't let me hear the end of it for weeks," I replied as we made our way to where the small basketball court was at.
We spent the rest of the day relaxing, doing tasks around the base, having dinner in the mess hall, and it eventually ended with us going to bed and I felt bad for Decker and Sobieski since their cots are set up away from the rest of the humans, but there wasn't anything I could do about it so I went to my cot after removing my boots and got some sleep for an unknown amount of time until I was startled awake from someone kicking me in the side.
"Get up, Sgt!" a marine yelled urgently, prompting me to quickly get out of my cot and slip my boots on.
"What's the situation?" I questioned as I looked serious.
"The firebase up on the hill is under attack so get geared up and get ready to move out," the marine informed me as he quickly left, then my blood ran cold at the thought of Sobieski and the other marines being in danger when I hurried out of the tent.
I ran over to the armory to get geared up by the quartermaster and ran over to the convoy that was getting ready to move out as I saw Decker conversing with Captain Monroe when I hurried over and saluted him.
"Sgt. Daniels, good to see you so mount up," Cpt. Monroe ordered before I looked at Decker.
"What about Lt. Decker, sir?" I inquired.
"Lt. Decker here has kindly volunteered to go up there on his own without support," Cpt. Monroe said irritably and I looked thoughtful before an idea came to me.
"Cpt, requesting permission to lead a QRF up to the firebase and support Lt. Decker," I offered and Decker looked surprised to hear that when the captain nodded.
"Permission granted, now make it fast since those marines need our help and understand that if we see anything come down that hill on four legs, Lt. Decker or otherwise, we're plugging it," Cpt. Monroe warned before I nodded.
"Understood, moving out now," I said before I hurried over to get into a humvee with four marines and signaled them to move out.
Seeing that we were ready to go, Decker started running out of the base and the driver of the humvee hit the gas, causing the vehicle to speed out of the base after Decker as he moved fast while the humvee struggled to catch up to him.
Still, Decker sometimes waited for us up ahead during our trip up to the firebase and would go on ahead whenever we caught up to him as I held my rifle and felt tense, not knowing what would be waiting for us up there and the fact that I heard it was a couple of intruders that breached the perimeter of the firebase made me think that they must've been scouts for a larger group that had been lying in wait to ambush the firebase.
Either way, we soon arrived at the firebase and I noticed that there were no longer any sounds of gunfire coming from it and that told me that whatever happened had ended, though I had a bad feeling as the humvee came to a stop and we all got out before meeting up with Decker who was waiting for us at the front gate.
"Okay Lt, see if you can get over to the other side of the gate and open it for us," I instructed, then Decker nodded and turned to face the front gate while one of the marines radioed in that we were at the firebase.
Decker looked up at the top of the gate and leaped up at it, clearing it completely and going over the side when the QRF and I quickly got ready as we flicked the safeties off on our rifles and waited when the front gate opened with Decker on the other side and he nodded at me to let me know that it was clear.
I signaled my temporary unit to move up and we entered the firebase, then I scrunched my face up at the powerful smell of blood as Decker cautiously moved over to someone who was laying on the ground, the werewolf grabbing the marine's shoulder and turning him over when one of the marines gagged when he saw the guy's face and chest.
I felt sick when I saw that the guy was dead with his chest torn open from what appeared to be claws and his face wasn't any better as his right eye was missing while his face was frozen in a mixture of terror and agony, telling me that he had been taken by surprise when he was killed.
It looked like he was supposedly killed by some kind of animal but I knew better, a werewolf was responsible for this and I tensed up since Sobieski might've managed to kill the attackers and that's why there were no more sounds of fighting in here but there was also a good chance he could've been killed and the ones responsible for attacking the firebase could still be in here searching for survivors.
Since an unknown werewolf was in here, I knew that we had to be extremely careful since Decker and Sobieski taught me about how deadly their kind was in a fight so I hope that what they taught me would help us gain an advantage against whoever was in here as Decker continued forward with me and my unit right behind him.
As we moved through the firebase in search of survivors or the ones responsible for this, I could see that it was a massacre with dead marines everywhere and the way a few of them were killed was fucked up as one was impaled by his rifle and pinned to the wall so that showed me the killers were sadistic and enjoyed what they did as we kept moving when Decker turned around the next corner and froze up.
"Goddamit, Sobieski," Decker gasped in pure horror as he darted out of view and hearing that made me move faster with my unit right behind me when we followed Decker and I stopped when I saw what had Decker distressed.
I saw what was left of Sobieski, his face mutilated and his abdomen ripped open as Decker was kneeling in front of him and gently touching his head with his, the werewolf quietly sobbing from his pack brother's death and I couldn't move or breathe, feeling like I was about to break down at the loss of my close friend when I was tapped on the shoulder and it snapped me out of it.
"Sgt, snap out of it because we need you here," one of the marines hissed urgently and I let out a quiet shaky breath.
"Understood, let's keep searching for survivors," I ordered in a quiet tone of voice.
The marine looked like he wanted to ask me something, but he dropped it and we continued searching the firebase for any survivors and only found more dead bodies, not finding a single survivor in the firebase and there were also no signs of the ones responsible for this so I had the Cpl next to me call it in as I started to make my way to Decker to check up on him.
The rest of the support convoy showed up an hour later and helped take care of the remains of Sobieski and the other fallen marines, bringing them back to the FOB while Decker was quiet the entire time and so was I when we eventually arrived at the FOB as the sun came up.
I stared down at the body bags that were in a line while simply wearing my boots, desert camo pants, and olive t-shirt while I held an emotionless expression as I was mostly focused on the body bag that had Sobieski in it.
I was numb, not feeling anything or paying attention to whatever the other marines were saying about me as I was still struggling to comprehend that a good friend was dead as I started clenching my fists, thinking about the sick fuckers that did this and wanted to personally kill them myself with my bare hands since a bullet would be too good for them.
I raised my head and looked at where Decker and Sobieski's tent was before I began to make my way towards it, ignoring the other marines watching me warily since I had a certain darkness in my eyes that showed I wasn't the same person I was before as I made it to the tent and opened the door.
I could see Decker sitting on his cot, staring at Sobieski's cot with a dark expression on his face and I knew that he wanted payback just as much as I do as I walked over to him and sat down next to him, the werewolf not even reacting to my presence as I also started staring at Sobieski's cot with the two of us not saying anything to each other for a short while.
"Hey, you want to play some b-ball? I figure it would take your mind off of it," I offered quietly, only Decker didn't respond and I sighed before scratching the back of my head and was about to say something else when I was cut off.
"I want to kill them, rip those bastards to pieces," Decker said darkly as his eyes were cold and filled with hate, which rendered me silent for a short time until my eyes narrowed at that.
"Yeah, you're not the only one who wants payback against those pricks," I agreed just as I heard someone approaching the tent and looked to see who it is, only my bad mood worsened when I saw that it was Commander Reyner.
"Eleven dead, torn to shred so the Taliban's not supposed to have werewolves and how the fuck did it get past your pal, Lt?" Commander Reyner questioned Decker, who was still staring at Sobieski's cot.
"He took out Sobieski first, then moved on to the others, sir," Decker replied as I was picturing what I was going to do once I got my hands on the coward that killed Sobieski, just before Commander Reyner scoffed.
"What use are you people if you can't even sniff out your own kind?" Commander Reyner huffed callously and a cold rage flared up in me at what he said and I was about to let him know how I thought about that when Decker cut in.
"I've got his scent now so I can track him," Decker replied coldly.
"Good, I want him alive," Commander Reyner said until he left and I sent a dark glare at him.
"I'm going to beat the hell out of that old bastard if he doesn't keep his fucking bigotry to himself," I growled lividly as my eyes were narrowed in an expression of rage.
"He's not worth it and besides, I can find the one responsible for killing Sobieski," Decker told me and I looked at him.
"If you're going after him, then I want in because I want to kill the fucker with my bare hands," I stated with a look of vengeance on my face, then Decker stared at me for a short while until he nodded and we started planning our revenge on Sobieski's killer.
After a while, the two of us and several other marines were briefed by Commander Reyner about how a werewolf was responsible for the firebase being wiped out, causing the others to glare at Decker with looks of disgust and hate before I ended it with an expression that promised pain if they didn't stop.
Commander Reyner continued the briefing about how Decker would use his sense of smell to track the bastard responsible for the massacre and that a unit that comprised of me, a few other marines, and the commander himself would accompany Decker to take the Taliban werewolf into custody once the Lt. located him.
The briefing ended shortly after that and we all got geared up for the mission, but Decker and I had no intention of letting Sobieski's killer live as we all left the FOB and started traveling to a nearby village when we soon arrived and started walking through it.
I kept my eyes and ears open while Decker was in front of the group, looking around and subtly sniffing each person's scent as we passed them while I was looking at every person Decker checks when he suddenly stopped and looked back, making me turn my attention to what he saw and I spotted an elderly man who was sitting in a chair and calmly sipping from a cup while a young man was standing next to him as Decker sent me a subtle nod to notify me that the old man was Sobieski's killer.
'We got you now, you son of a bitch,' I thought darkly while the old man smiled as Decker continued walking and Commander Reyner looked back at him.
"You getting anything?" Commander Reyner asked before Decker shook his head.
"Nothing, he isn't here," Decker lied as he and I sent each other subtle looks.
"Shit," Commander Reyner muttered in frustration before he went to speak to the village's leader and I looked back at where the old man was, seeing that he and the younger man were gone before I narrowed my eyes.
'Yeah, we're on to you so you better run, asshole,' I thought as I focused on continuing our patrol while knowing that we were going to kill the bastard who slaughtered Sobieski.
Once our patrol ended, Decker and I spent the rest of the day planning on how to confront Sobieski's killer when we decided on it happening at night while most of the base's personnel were asleep, then we came to an agreement and waited for the sun to go down with most of everyone going to bed when I strapped my father's k-bar to my belt and snuck out of my tent.
I avoided the marines that were patrolling around and eventually found Decker, who wasn't wearing anything and I knew that meant he was going to change into his beast form once we confronted Sobieski's killer.
I could see Decker's eyes glowing a pale silver as he nodded at me and we waited for two marines to pass by as they were patrolling and quietly chatting about things I wasn't interested in hearing about, then they were gone and that prompted me and Decker to quickly move to a humvee that was parked next to a wall.
Decker hopped onto the hood and cupped his hands, then I climbed up on the hood and placed my foot on Decker's hands when he launched me into the air and I went over the wall, bending my knees until I landed into a roll to soften the landing.
Decker landed next to me and we took off into the desert, the werewolf stopping a few times to let me catch up when Decker climbed onto a boulder and started sniffing around while he was crouched in a feral posture until he quickly looked left and gestured for me to follow him before he bolted and I followed him as we continued running through the desert.
Pretty soon, Decker came to a stop and started sniffing around when his posture started looking agitated and that's when I knew Sobieski's killer was very close as I pulled out my father's k-bar and got ready to use it when Decker looked up at a cliff.
I did the same and saw the old man coming into view, only he was fully nude as well as he smiled down at us maliciously and held out his right hand, opening it and revealing a pair of dog tags that he threw down to the ground in front of us.
I knew it was Sobieski's tags and I glared up at the old werewolf coldly as I was itching to use my father's k-bar on the murdering bastard when he growled and started changing, his skin peeling open to reveal a more lupine form underneath as his nails sharpened into claws, white fur burst from his body, his feet stretched into paws, his legs shifted into a digitigrade stance, and his face pushed out into a muzzle while he used his claws to peel off the remaining skin that was still on him.
The old werewolf roared at us and Decker started grunting as he begin shifting into his beast form with his face starting to push out into a muzzle and his ears started stretching while I held up my knife in a combat stance when I saw movement to my right and spotted a second werewolf already in his beast form as he lunged at us.
Using what Decker and Sobieski taught me, I reacted accordingly by pushing Decker out of danger and I dove out of the way before slashing the younger werewolf in the side as he passed me, creating a nasty gash that started healing as he yelped in pain and crashed to the ground, rolling to a stop.
Decker hopped up to the cliff behind us and I followed him to get a safe distance from the enemy werewolves as I climbed up and found myself standing next to Decker and studied our newest threat, seeing that he was younger than the old werewolf with his fur as black as night as the older one helped him up until the younger werewolf looked up at me with a snarl while I sneered down at him in response.
Decker continued changing as he grew larger with his flesh tearing off and his lupine traits fully appearing with brown fur sprouting until he used his claws to remove the remaining skin from his lupine head and proceeded to roar at the two werewolves.
In response, the two enemy werewolves started running up the cliff on all fours before I backed up and the old werewolf lunged at Decker, tackling him down to the ground as they clawed and bit each other while the younger werewolf focused his attention on me with a feral growl.
We circled each other as I held up my knife and heard the other two werewolves fighting viciously with loud snarls, but I didn't look to see what was going on since that would be a mistake that would be fatal as I studied my enemy for any weaknesses and the younger werewolf got down on all fours as his fur bristled to make him look bigger and more intimidating.
"Come on, I got something for you, bitch," I goaded with a dark grin when the younger werewolf growled ferally at the insult and lunged at me.
I quickly dodged the attack and slashed the werewolf's side again, making him yelp in pain as his wound healed up before he growled angrily at being injured a second time and rose up on his footpaws until he attacked me again.
The werewolf tried to decapitate me with a nasty swipe and I ducked under the lethal attack, slashing his torso twice with my knife as I passed him and he snarled in pain as he instinctively clutched at his abdomen, the werewolf glaring at me with his glowing eyes as he swiped at me again.
I ducked and stabbed the werewolf in the stomach while I wrapped my arm around his torso, making him roar in agony as he grabbed my hand holding the knife and I kicked him in the leg to make him let go before I quickly jumped back so that I wouldn't get ripped to pieces.
The werewolf snarled with pure hate in his eyes and he went to swipe at me as I got ready to defend myself, only he faked it at the last minute and that took me completely off guard as I widened my eyes when he lunged at me instead.
I couldn't dodge in time and the werewolf slammed into me in a nasty tackle, knocking the breath out of me as we flew into the air and collided into the ground with the werewolf on top of me and my knife being sent to my right.
The werewolf snarled and went to rip my throat out when I raised my arm against his neck and let out a groan of exertion as I tried to prevent him from killing me, but his supernatural strength made him too strong as his muzzle got closer and closer to my neck while his hot breath blew right into my face.
Desperately, I looked around for anything that can be used to save my life when I spotted my knife laying nearby on my right and I started reaching out for it as my survival instincts kicked in while I let out a strained groan, frantically trying to grab the knife as my arm started burning and getting tired when I managed to grab the handle of the knife and sent a look of rage up at the werewolf.
"Fuck you!" I roared as I went to stab the werewolf in the side.
The supernatural being growled in pain as he recoiled from the sudden attack, then I took advantage of that and started sending the blade deep into the werewolf more than once as I yelled in pure rage and hatred, the werewolf roaring in agony as I kept stabbing him with his blood splattering onto my olive green shirt and desert camo pants until he threw himself out of harm's way and started stumbling away from me while letting out weak whimpers.
I wasn't going to let that bastard escape so I got up while breathing heavily, going after the werewolf that helped kill my friend and quickly kicked his leg to send him down onto both hands and knees until I pinned him down with my foot on his back, grabbed his head and yanked it back, exposing his neck.
I put the blade against his neck and sliced right through it, causing blood to spurt out and the werewolf started choking and gurgling while weakly wiggling around in a desperate attempt to escape but I wasn't letting him go as his loud noises made me scowl.
"Shut the fuck up!" I snarled before I sent my knife into his head, the blade piercing his brain and he stopped moving while going silent as he went limp in my arms and I removed the knife from his skull before letting go of him.
The dead werewolf hit the ground and just laid there as the dead body started changing back until he was human again, then I recognized him as the young man who was with the older werewolf and felt nothing but contempt for the bastard that helped kill my friend.
"Burn in hell, you son of a bitch," I said coldly as I went to look at how Decker was doing when I saw that he and the old werewolf were down below.
Decker's abdomen was being slashed open by the old werewolf and was tackled to the ground before they started struggling, then Decker managed to gain the upper hand and rolled the old werewolf onto his stomach before grabbing his arm and breaking it with his knee.
The old werewolf roared in pain as he was flipped onto his back and Decker grabbed his muzzle, attempting to bite him when the old werewolf raised his arm against his neck to try and stop him but rage and hatred fueled his strength further and he started getting closer while letting go of the old werewolf's muzzle and grabbing his neck to pin his head down.
I simply watched with dark satisfaction as the old werewolf struggled while Decker opened his mouth and forcibly shoved the old werewolf's face inside until he bit down with his sharp teeth piercing the bastard's brain, killing him instantly and the old werewolf went limp.
Decker opened his mouth and pulled his head back, just as I climbed down from the cliff and stumbled over tiredly as I saw Decker was looking worse for wear as he got up and looked at me, half of his face torn off, most of his right ear missing, his left arm barely attached and hanging limply as I was shocked by the state of him while the body of the dead werewolf reverted back to its human form.
Decker let out a lupine grunt when he saw me before throwing his head back and letting out a victorious howl, making my jaw drop open as I was reminded right then and there why werewolves were one of my favorites since they were just so majestic, yet deadly at the same time as I held an expression of astonishment on my face.
Then I saw Decker changing back to his human form as his pained whimpers turned into groans, then he was fully human again as he swayed slightly and looked like he was about to pass out when I started approaching him.
"Hey, you need some help?" I asked and Decker held up a hand, which told me that he would be okay before he started stumbling in the direction of where the FOB was.
I knew it would be a long walk back to the base so we spent most of the night traveling through the wilderness to get back before anyone notices we were missing, though it took longer than I thought as the bruises that appeared on me started to ache painfully with nothing but exhaustion hitting me hard.
By the time we made it back to the base, the sun was rising and everyone was awake as Miller was lowering the American flag to half-mast when Decker and I entered the base, Decker's injuries and the blood on me catching everyone's attention.
Everyone was staring at us in shock while we were limping past them as Decker looked to be in pain and I simply appeared exhausted as we went to the field hospital to get ourselves checked out, the two of us groaning or grunting from time to time while we arrived at the field hospital and went inside.
After the corpsman checked us out, I was told my ribs were bruised and I would be sore for a while but I should be fine in a few days while Decker was told that he would be fine because of his enhanced healing as the werewolf's injuries started regenerating until he was mostly back to his old self with the injuries completely gone as he was given a fresh uniform to put on while I had to replace mine since it was covered in blood.
Pretty soon, we were free to go and we left the field hospital with fresh clothes on while heading to where the body bags were being taken out of the very place we just left, passing two of the bodies until we came to a stop at the last one with the tag having Sobieski's name on it, then Decker kneeled down and unzipped the body enough to show Sobieski's messed up face while I looked away out of respect as Decker went to close Sobieski's eyes.
"Just what the hell are you doing?" Commander Reyner questioned in disgust and I turned to look at him while Decker did the same as the commander added, "You're not a marine, just a fucking animal."
Witnessing the clear disrespect he was showing caused something in me to snap and I marched over to him before sending my fist into his face, sending Commander Reyner to the ground as a couple of marines hurried over to restrain me as I struggled to break free.
"Let me go, I'm fine!" I exclaimed as Commander Reyner stood up and felt his jaw.
"Stand down, he's good," Commander Reyner ordered and the marines let me go while I held my hands up in surrender and the commander approached me with a glare.
"Out of respect for your family, I will let that slide but if you ever strike a commanding officer again, you will be thrown in the brig so do you understand?" Commander Reyner warned and I sent him a nasty glare.
"Fuck you, Decker and Sobieski gave everything for you people and you don't even care that they're outstanding marines that would never be the monsters you claim they are but that isn't only what has me sick of you people.
What also has me sick of you people is that Sobieski was killed in a gruesome manner and none of you care, just treating him like he's nothing even after he's dead so I've had enough of the fucking bigotry and callous disrespect you assholes are displaying!" I shouted lividly while the other marines were looking shocked to see me openly losing my temper in front of a commanding officer.
"Sgt. Daniels, you are out of line so stand down or there will be consequences!" Commander Reyner yelled irritably before I shook my head.
"The hell with the consequences because enough is enough...my family fought and bled for our country while witnessing truly fucked up shit so that the generations after them would live on with the knowledge that their sacrifices meant something.
If this is what they fought for, then I don't want any part of it," I declared bitterly as I reached for my dog tags and yanked them off my neck before dropping them in front of Commander Reyner as an act of defiance while everyone looked stunned by what I did.
"Sgt. Daniels, think about what you're doing because you'll be sacrificing your career, your family legacy, all for a dog!" Commander Reyner exclaimed in disbelief and I sent him a look of no regret.
"No...for my friend," I stated firmly as Decker snapped out of it and looked more determined as he stood up and faced the commander with a steely glare.
"Yeah, I may be an animal, but I'm done wearing your leash and Sgt. Daniels is ten times the marine you'll ever be," Decker agreed as he also removed his dog tags and dropped them in front of Commander Reyner before he went to zip up the body bag fully.
Decker picked up the body bag that had Sobieski inside and we started walking to the front gate while everyone just stared at us in shock, the two of us approaching the front gate before coming to a stop as Miller moved out of the way.
He stared at us and we sent him hard looks until he looked at the two marines in front of the gate and sent them a slight nod, prompting them to open the gate until Decker and I started walking out into the wilderness without looking back.
We kept walking, not stopping for anything as we went deep into the wilderness to find a place to bury Sobieski as the day went on until we eventually found a place and proceeded to bury our close friend, just as the sun was about to set and Decker placed Sobieski's dog tags on top of his grave while we were kneeling in front of it.
"See you in the wild, my friend," Decker said quietly with a somber smile as I rested my hand on the grave.
"Semper Fi, brother," I added as we stood up before Decker turned to look at me.
"Chris, you gave up everything for me so why would you do that?" Decker questioned with a look of surprise.
"I may be human, but I'm still your pack brother and a pack always sticks together, no matter what," I replied firmly and Decker smiles at that.
"Words to live by," Decker told me, and with that said, we turned away from the grave and started walking away from it with no regrets, Decker eventually changing into his beast form and we took off into the dark once the sun set as Decker let out a howl and I did my version of one while we ran forward into the unknown.
A/N Hey guys, finally done with this chapter so I hope you like it since I had fun writing down Chris' interactions with Decker and Sobieski, but the story isn't over yet since it'll have a season's worth of chapters so 30 or more at best.
Well, let me know what you think and stay tuned.
