20.

The snow was up to his knees now; the frigid landscape drained him of energy, his body trembled with every step. Winter clawed at his feet and tried to pry his hands from the sack he'd slung over his shoulder. The clouds were a mournful grey as they cried out their wintery tears, coating the already snow-laden landscape. His footsteps had begun to slow, every step his pause was just a bit longer, feeling in his thighs was but a distant memory. His face had frozen with salty liquid, a white haze clouded his vision and a furious gale licked the warmth from his lips. He was getting closer to the mountain's peak, the wintery smog clouding his vision.

He could make out the rocky perch, it was only a little higher; he began to climb. He ground his teeth as he dug his hands into the snow, going up the steep incline. He grunted and kept going, staking his hands into the snow, he couldn't find a hold and began to fall causing Kyle to panic. He dug into the snow and swiped his hands across its crust, his foot slipped and he began to slide downward. His body skated down the sharp slope, his boot caught on an invisible object and he began to tumble.

Kyle crashed and fell beneath the snow's surface, he saw the walls cave in, covering his arms and torso, the cold bundling his ears. His body was aroused with chilling pain making him wince and struggle against its hold, with a sigh he let go. Soon, his vision encroached with darkness, his eyes frozen shut.

He walked over the runny mud, boots squishing and squeaking over the mixture of blood and dirt. Night hung over the troops, he could only see by the distant explosions and the moon's gaze. Kyle stood alone; the cool air waxed his skin and dampened his uniform as a breeze brought the ever-present smell of death to his nose. He looked up and down the barren trench line; he brought his gaze back onto the war-torn plain which stood before him.

"No one's at the wires, as usual," he sighed and looked up towards the full moon. Its glow was scattered by the clouds which hovered just below, he could make out its pale shine. He watched as the clouds moved out from under it and made way for its light to shine, the light was enough so that one could see the features of the bland landscape. For a moment, the night was still, then, a scream.

It was feminine, crying out over no-man's land, it kept calling; Kyle pulled the rifle off his shoulder and scanned the horizon. He saw nothing, the screams continued, he scrambled to the ladder and pulled himself up; his head and shoulders were over the trench. His arms trembled and eyes darted in hopes to find the source, he kept looking and the voice continued to echo. He took slow steps down the ladder, still searching the landscape; he stopped, 'Come on Kyle, just go out there, you've done it before, over the top.'

He scurried between barbed wire and mangled corpses, he grimaced at the sight of disfigured bodies. Limbs dangled from flaps of skin and undone tendons, black faces staring, confused about their state, hands still carried burnt lungs. He looked away and followed the voice, it guided him with violet shrieks, he kept moving through the murky landscape. Soon, he made out a figure that was tangled in a string of barbed wire and writhed as it tried to break loose.

"Aidez-moi! Aidez-moi! La bête m'a eu," it cried.

Kyle ran forward and came to her aid; the teeth of the wire dug into the woman's skin and tore through her musky dress. He crept closer to the woman and put his hand out to her, holding his rifle in the other. "Shhhh… I'm here to help, now keep it down."

Her face flashed around and she clawed at him, Kyle fell back and batted away her strikes, she growled and he regained himself. He took a few breaths and slowly approached her. "Sorry about that, I'm just here to help."

Her teeth grimaced as she clenched them tight, he took slow steps forward. "It's ok, it's ok, let's get you untangled."

The woman put up her hands, but let them droop to the ground; Kyle approached and made his way around to where she was caught. She watched as he began to untie her. "Wow, how did you survive out here?"

She looked on and cocked her head, he saw this and nodded. "Oh, you don't know English."

The woman watched as he moved on to wire's teeth which caught in her legs, he noticed her readied fist. "I'm just gonna pull it out, that's all. Ok?"

She was unmoving, he watched for her hand to uncurl; an explosion rattled the earth. It fell ahead of the two, they fell back at the shock; the blast sent the cursed sludge upon him and the woman. He kept down and waited for another strike, 'One, two, three, four- that was a test, they'll be starting soon.'

He shot up and grabbed the woman's entangled leg and the wire. "Come on!"

He ripped the wire from her flesh and she howled in pain, Kyle seized her and dragged her across the barren field; she squirmed and kicked. "Laisse-moi! Vous le regretterez si vous ne le faites pas!"

He kept dragging her, guns began to shatter the heavy air, he moved faster. Kyle tripped over a rotten hand, falling into a swampy hole his eyes noticed the moon dressed in red. He looked down and saw the woman, she'd fallen over too, crying out and clawing her arms. "Aidez moi! Lâchez-moi! La douleur!"

His eyes widened and mouth dropped, Kyle heard the woman's bones crack and reform, their snaps sent tremors down his spine. Her ears shifted their places and gained pointed tips, skin grew fur, she grew and her dress broke with a sickening rip. She turned from human to beast, before he knew it, she was a wolf.

In an instant the black figure was upon him, Kyle plunged into the pit and was immersed into the pool by the beast. He screamed as the wolf sunk her teeth into Kyle's shoulder and tore deep into his flesh, it surged with pain and a power crawled through his veins, seeping into his heart. He thrashed and kicked to no avail, the wolf's red eyes pierced his soul and it became a black void. Then, a sequence of shocks tremored the soil and shook her grasp, she let go and ran through the valley as it was illuminated with gun powder and steel.

He watched as his oppressor left his vision, she faded into the lit darkness; chaotic showers surrounded him. He took short breaths, unnoticing of the crimson paste which polished his uniform; the world was black and bright, it faded in and out. His heartbeat pounded with the rhythm of war drums and was slowly drowned out by reality's rival call; soon, Kyle's cries followed suit.

There was a distant mumbling, it melded in his ears and swirled in his head; Kyle's skull was heavy and his eyes tinged with a slight sting. The sounds distinguished into voices, Kyle's eyes pursed open; above him stood a sheet of leather, he turned his head right.

"Look who's up."

"Oliver? Eric?"

"That's right, you've been out for a while."

The two men sat on stools next to his cot; the make-shift hospital bustled with moans and doctors, despite this, the floor was still the usual mushy slop. The clanking of metal, the cries of amputees, and the casual muddle all overwhelmed his ears. He blinked a few times and adjusted to the light, all of the somber features came into focus.

"Still waken' up?" Eric said.

"Yeah," Kyle winced and turned toward them.

"What happened out there Kyle? You left the trenches, and then you got that injury? The doctor thought you'd been bitten' by a wolf," Oliver began, "but those things are long gone, so what happened?"

Kyle sat upwards and looked at his shoulder, he noticed the cloth which had been wrapped around his shoulder and arm, he looked back. "I think it was… a woman."

"A woman?" Eric asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, something like that...I don't really remember much."

Oliver's brow raised and he scratched his crusty hair. "Women don't have serrated teeth Kyle."

Kyle shrugged. "Maybe it was just that kinda woman."

Eric sighed and shook his head, he stood. "We're getting nowhere; get your stuff together Kyle, we'll be heading out soon."

His head jerked back. "Wait? We're moving out? Where?"

Oliver stood and nodded. "That's right, we're going to Paris for leave!"

"Yep, we'll be able to rest up and get that shoulder of your's healed up. Get ready quick- Abram will be expecting us soon." Eric said. He got up and followed Oliver away from Kyle's cot, Kyle put his overcoat on and buttoned his coat, yet something still tapped his mind, 'What was it that attacked me?'

The old day loomed over the matted field; the misty air wafted into Kyle's nose and shrouded the disfigured trees. An orb in the sky had its light scattered by the barricade of clouds, it cast a thin cover onto the land so that he could see. His legs bristled against the jagged spikes of wheat, scraping the edges against their numerous knives. Kyle knelt to the facedown body of a corpse, his heart picked up and the air flowed unevenly through his nose.

He took a deep breath, he grunted and forced the corpse upright; he saw the man's face and shut his eyes off from the view of another distorted man. He stood quickly and head lurched forward, acidic water trickled down the rim of his mouth. He coughed a few times then brushed the substance from his face. 'Where are you Oliver?'

Kyle walked through the unburied corpses; only a few hours early they'd all been knocked down like dominos. They laid here, as if waiting for someone to set them back up again, Kyle looked for his own piece. "Why did you have to go ahead?"

He moved through the pieces to a tree, whose trunk had been severed and branches burned to ash by the strike of artillery. Kyle slumped against it, next to a corpse whose fate would remain unknown; he pushed his hands into his face. He coarsed them through his hair and looked over the battle-ridden field. "What's the meaning of this?"

He stood and a pain shot through his neck, it rippled down his spine and Kyle cried out. It kept coming and he staggered away into the woods, trying his best to move fast 'I think I've got gas. I have to get back or I'll be a goner.'

He hobbled through the damp forest, feet dragging through the cold mud, Kyle grasped his arm and tumbled over as a cry sounded through the forest. His arm grew stiff and it felt as though his bones were pulling against one another. His breath was heavy and Kyle groveled over the wet earth.

"Halte es genau dort, Teufelshund."

Through the pain he peered upwards, a gun's point was fixed on Kyle's sights, it was no more than a pace away. He saw the skull inscribed on his cap, his mouth dropped and he put his hands up. "I-I surrender, take me."

His torso shook and he struggled to keep his hands up, the soldier who aimed the rifle curled his finger around the trigger. "Wir werden dich nicht als Gefangenen nehmen."

Then, a foreign elixir pulsed through his veins, it surged in his chest as the full moon shone, unveiled from its ghostly shroud; his pants tore and buckles broke with a pop. Fur grew and his face elongated, teeth sharpening and saliva slowly dripped off the ends of his mouth.

Kyle fell onto his knees, putting his arms over his head and gasping at the unruly burn of agony. His fingernails sharpened and dug into his furry neck; for a moment he was still. Then, he rose in front of the officer, eyes narrowed on the young man who stood before him. The man took slow steps backward, hands jostling the rifle as he transformed in front of him. Kyle's eyes flashed, he towered over the man; he brandished his claws and released a thunderous growl, he clenched his paw and released his fury.

Kyle dived at the skull-capped soldier, he fired a shot but was quickly overrun; Kyle tore his chest and savored the taste of his warm flesh. Another came at him, he knocked the gun from his hand, gutting the man's innards and knocking him to the side. More arrived at the scene, men with maxim guns and one on horseback; they charged at Kyle and fired upon him. A shot landed in his thigh, but had little effect. He fought through the horde and disemboweled each of them, fury boiled from within him with every passing moment.

The bullets hit him but had little effect, they went without notice and Kyle only fought harder as the rain continued. He advanced on the horse, the animal reeled back and his rider struggled to hold forth. Kyle grabbed the horse's neck and crushed it, causing the horse to fall and it's horseman with it. He grabbed the rider and flung it towards a German who fired a machine gun, the horseman was killed in the air by friendly fire before toppling the gunner over.

Kyle growled and moved toward a column of fire, behind it stood a man wearing large cylinders against his back. Kyle tore a limb from a tree and hurled it toward the sweltering fire, it was enveloped in flames as it flew and pinned the soldier. A ploom of fire erupted and he watched as the man silently succumbed to the onslaught of heat. His enemies scattered every which way, he watched as an artillery sergeant and the remains of his group fled. Kyle roared at those fleeing; he felt his body drain and began to stumble and fell next to the horse he had ripped apart.

His chest heaved and he looked towards the blackened sky, a similar pain coursed through his body and he winced as the power left his grasp. Kyle's breath grew short and raspy, the sky grew dim and he began to feel the seething pain of his wounds. The night sky became dark.

"Are you ok?"

"What happened here?"

His muscles felt like they'd been stretched out and put back together again, his bones ached and back felt stiff as a pole. A putrid scent waft into Kyle's nose and around he could taste death on the air; there was a tickling sensation in his hand, it left a slimy residue.

"Are you ok?"

His eyes peered open, his vision was set towards the sky; he tensed at the agony flowing through his body. "Yeah, I'm ok."

He winced and shifted upwards against his rest, into his vision he saw a collie, it gawked at him. "Y-y-you, a human, understood me?"

Kyle's mouth dropped and eyes went wide, he stood in haste and they backed away from one another. He tripped over a large carcass and fell onto his back, crying out and cradling his hands around the injury. The dog's floppy ears stood straight and he dashed away, sprinting over the muddy soil. He watched as the collie who wore a white and red vest dashed off, he looked at his hands, observing their dirtied features. 'What am I?'

His head shot up, calls from within the woods, they advanced and were drawing near; his eyes darted despite ailment, Kyle stood and grabbed the horseman's sword. He ran for cover, cold hands feeble on the handle, he gulped and waited for their approach, the rumbling neared. He flashed into the clearing and met the soldiers, swinging at them clumsily, Kyle's blade meeting the earth. The group came to an abrupt halt and aimed their muzzles, one of them stood out. "Wait! Don't shoot! He's one of our own."

He stopped, looking up towards the man, he indeed was a marine; his light green coat barely existed beneath the mud. Kyle dropped the blade and rightened himself, the men lowered their rifles; he swayed, stumbled, and fell.

The cloud's icy tears had ceased, their gray haze shadowed the sky and sealed off the night; a wolf wandered through this scene. Her nose was lowered to the ground, tracking a pair of transparent footsteps. She shivered at the gale and grit her teeth at its ferocity as it cast snow into her pelt. As she went, the trees seemed to be shorter and shorter, so small in fact that old trees were tall as saplings; tears still dripped off the clouds' chin, picked up and carried along the wind.

The gust was relentless, it sprinted over her face and through her pelt; Aleu eyes squinted and nose stung at its insurmountable power. She pushed through and kept following, the wind dazed her nose with a clutter of scents; she sneezed at the influx. 'Tree, bear, wolf, man, squirrel, I'll never find him.'

Then, her mouth dropped and Aleu picked up her head. "Wolf! Man! It's him!"

Following his smell in the air; she pushed through the heavy mountain snow and raced between the sapling's stalks.

Soon, a great peak came into view, her legs burned and chest throbbed, yet his scent was more pungent than ever; it swallowed the wolf's nose and hypnotized her movements. She kept moving; eventually, she could go no farther and collapsed on a small plateau. 'Just a little farther, his scent's so strong.'

She laid there, her head rested on the snow; a whine, followed by a weak howl, there was movement through the snow. Her ears perked, she looked over the landscape, and with a great push she stood; Aleu hobbled towards the noise. The scent was strong; she found a deep hole, trapped between old gray clothes and a sheet of foreboding snow struggled a cursed black wolf.

"Eran!" she said.

The wolf's eyes went wide. "Aleu! Is that you?"

She gasped. "Eran! Are you okay?"

"Go! You shouldn't be here, it's too dangerous," he said.

"No! I'm not leaving you." She began to dig at the hole's edge, snow showered behind her yet she made little progress. The wolf broke out of the clothes he had once worn, yet remained imprisoned within the snowfall. She heaved and pushed against her body's will, her heart raced as the snow sealed his cell. The one from within squirmed and shook, they clawed and scraped the barriers which held him down. Exhausted, she stopped digging and looked toward the wolf. "It's not working! We gotta try something else." He shuffled around in his thought, 'if only we had a stick, then we could-'

"Aleu!" he said. She looked on, he continued, "My stick. I'll get it up to you, you can pull me."

He squirmed frantically in the ice hole, his teeth searching for his sac; he clamped onto something hard. Eran ripped it out and found it to be what he was looking for; he pushed himself in the quicksand of snow, bringing the stick her way. He laid it on the snow and Aleu came within its distance, she walked into the hole just so far as to grip the stick's end. She sank her teeth into the iced wood, he followed suit. "One! Two! Three!"

They pushed and pulled with all their might, the wolf's back legs began to slip free; he felt his legs pull through the wintry drift. Eran found his footing and pushed himself upward, his feet slipped and scraped yet he found a way out of the confinement. They tumbled onto the new snow, chests heaved and they panted faster than the wind itself; after regaining himself, the wolf looked to Aleu. "Thank you for saving me- I'm sorry for everything I've done."

She looked at him and smiled. "Don't worry about it, leave the past in the past."

Eran nodded, he cocked his head. "But why did you come after me? I'm not worth all this trouble."

Aleu stood and walked over to him. "Maybe to others you aren't, but to me you are."

He gulped and his mouth hung. "I am?"

"Yes."

He gawked. "You do?" He froze, then pushed into Aleu's chest with a deep nuzzle, tears flowed from his eyes.

She wrapped her neck around Kyle's and they held each other. "Thank you, for saving me."

They warmed the wintery gale, it turned from a powerful squall to a comforting breeze; for once the night yielded its control, the moon watched over the scene. They stayed in each other's warmth, the alpha pulled closer. "I don't care what the others think, as long as I'm with you."

"Yes, thank you," he sniffled and they pulled apart.

"But what will we do about this? I mean this isn't exactly a common pairing," she said.

He nodded. "Yes, it isn't."

The breeze started again and she said. "Well, we better go back. We won't last long out here."

"Yeah, we should." He picked up the sack in his teeth, they began their trek downwards. From far beyond, something had noticed.

She awoke in a bright blue valley, clouds whiter than Arctic snow drifted around, she scrambled to her feet and awed at the infinite plane. She peered down to her feet, an infinite plane of pearly sea moved beneath the Alpha; she stepped on its waves yet felt nothing of liquid. Voices drifted along the still wind, the orbs carried with them an essence, all of which were different from another. Her eyes darted and head swiveled, she watched the orbs pass by her, 'Where am I?' One of the spheres paused in front of Aleu, it hovered mere feet from the wolf.

"You are in the realm, of which one may not stay," it said.

Her mouth dropped and she paced backward. "How do you know?"

It followed her forward. "You are in our world, and you do not belong yet."

"Yet?" She asked.

"That is not what I am to address," it moved closer.

She hesitated; then nodded. "Why am I here?"

"We have taken notice," it began, "I know of your challenge."

"Yes," she nodded, "are you here to help?" she asked.

"In your eyes, I am." the orb said.

"Per due request, I will bestow a blessing, for the forest has heard your struggle. Such a gift is a rarity, so great responsibility must be taken. When you awake, you will know nothing of this, except for what I have told you, so that when the time is right you may know again."

Her head cocked. "Wait I won't-"

"Hush for the request has been met, go and find the one who shares in your blessing."

The still wind moved and vision turned blurred, her eyes shut and the wind stilled; she saw a cold, placid surface. She stood and swiveled her head around, she smelled the musky stone and ice which lined its walls; she walked out and looked over the field. The day was new and few were about, she walked down the slope and went towards the forest. 'I've been given something, I just don't know what.'

She walked through the forest and ever softening snowdrift, which was still hard crunched beneath her feet. The trees hung low and their branches craned over at the weight of mushy snow, sometimes the light would show and their ligaments would give up what they held. Her muscles ached and from the events of yesterday, she looked for a place to rest. Aleu wandered, finding her way to the only place she might find comfort.

She lay in the field, the sun shone and the winter cushioned her as she rested; another figured emerged and approached her. Aleu's tail beat and she ran to meet him, licking his hand. "You won't believe it Kyle, I had a dream."

"Me too, there was a sea and it was strange," he said.

Her expression blanked. "And there were voices, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah, voices. And they said-"

"That we've been given something," she said.

"Aleu, I've been healed." A smile pasted his lips and he knelt to pet her.

"Healed, from what?"

"This morning when I changed," he sat and continued stroking her back, "it didn't hurt, I felt no pain.

"Aleu, no matter what the future has in store for us, let's never leave each other again," he said.

She nodded, Kyle embraced Aleu and she followed suit; for a moment they were still, they pulled away and she saw Eran in front of her. "You changed!"

She pulled away and looked at the wolf, he observed himself. "I did! I didn't feel anything, and my clothes are gone."

"You didn't, I think we might be able to be together after all." She walked up to him. "If you can be a wolf, they'll accept you."

"You think? I don't know about this…" he looked at himself.

"Don't worry, you said we'd never be apart, come on we'll take care of this." She began to walk toward her pack's territory; she smiled and looked back to Kyle.

He grinned. "You're right, whatever it is, we'll get through it."

Psalm 66:10-11 (I do not own quotes or the Bible)