Preparations
Winston grinds his teeth together as he looks out of the cave while Tony glares at Damon and asks, "Do you have to do that now?"
Damon groans a bit before answering, "Would you want a piece of metal stuck in you all day?" He lets out a gasp as his newly claimed knife pushes the bullet out of his shoulder.
"Finally!" he exasperates before looking up at the wolves and ask, "you were saying?"
Winston shakes his head before replying, "I was saying, what you claim can't be true."
"Right," Damon says sarcastically, "so what really happened is that I imagine seeing Federation soldiers, I happen to find a gun in the middle of the forest, destroy an acre of it on my own and shot myself in the shoulder on purpose, that makes so much more sense than my earlier claim doesn't it?"
Winston rolls his eyes before saying, "I believe the tale of the battle Damon, what I can't believe is that Ann's brother, Seth, would lead human soldiers to our dens."
Damon hardens his look and points out of the cave and said, "Well if you don't believe me, why don't you ask them, they are the ones that saw it, not me."
The two wolves looks to where Damon is pointing and saw the five pups he was playing with earlier huddle with their families trying to find comfort with them. All the while curious wolves try to ask them questions of what had happen earlier, but aside from a few mutter words they remain silent.
Winston shakes his head and says, "Just tell us, one more time, what happen?"
Damon replies with, "I don't know exactly what happen, I was hiding in a tree at the time-"
"You were hiding while our pups were being attacked by soldiers?" Tony suddenly asks in a venomous voice.
Damon looks to the wolf and lets out a growl of his own, "We were playing hide and seek, if I knew the Feds were on the move, I would never have taken them out there."
"Damon," Winston said, getting the man's attention, "to clarify, you were playing with the pups, then the soldiers arrive and you…killed them all?"
Damon only nods his head, remembering the startle looks on the wolves' faces when he told them the story the first time around.
"After that I ran back to find the pups," picks up Damon, "that was when I first saw Seth's body, after which I shepherd the pups all the way back here and Meadow was the one who told me the story."
"Which is?" asks Tony.
"That they were wrestling with each other when they fell into a clump of bushes," recounts Damon "Before they emerge they saw the Federation soldiers, talking to Seth, but they didn't notice the pups, thank God for that."
"What was it that they were saying?" Winston asks looking at the Ghost with interest.
Damon shrugs, "I don't know, the kids were too far away to hear, but they saw their lips moving and the occasional nod"
"Then what happen?" Winston asks again.
"Apparently they had a falling out or something," continues Damon, "they started shouting at each other, before Seth finally jerks his head towards the location of the dens," Damon sighs as he finishes, "right after that the Fed closest to Seth grabs him and slices his neck."
Damon remembers the expressions the pups had when he found them, especially Ann. They were horrified at what they have witness, never before being present when somebody died, save for a few caribou and squirrels. His blood boils at the thought of Ann's painful whimpers and the look of sheer terror in the young wolves' eyes, a sight which he is sure he'll never forget.
"Why would they kill Seth though," asks Tony, for once without the sarcasm or the coldness present in his voice as he takes the information seriously, "if they were allies and if he truly showed them the location of the dens, why kill him?"
Damon gets to his feet and begins to pace the room, as if he needs the energy to get his mind to work, "the best thing that I can think of is this, for some reason Seth was helping the Feds, he might not have known they were looking for the dens though. The pups said that they were arguing…it could be possible that the soldiers started the argument so that Seth would lose patience and unintentionally reveal the location of the pack."
Damon looks up at this, "That must be why they killed him, if he knew where they were going or figure out that they meant the pack harm, Seth might have had a change of heart, something that the Feds didn't want to happen," Damon pauses as another idea pops into his head, "possibly because he knew information that the Feds didn't want him telling us."
The two Alphas are silent before, surprisingly, Tony who speaks first, "that is a good theory," he says in a genuine voice, "but you don't know for sure."
Damon sighs and shakes his head, "no, unless the pups heard some words or can be a little more descriptive, then there's no way we can be sure of what happen."
Winston shakes his head, "a wolf turning on his own pack," he says to no one in particular, "and an Alpha at that, if the protectors can turn, then how can the pack be truly safe?" both Damon and Tony looks down and helplessly shakes their heads, acknowledging the truth behind those words.
Winston looks up and asks, "Why would the fool even do it in the first place, I warned him," he looks to Damon, "you warned him, why didn't he listen?"
Damon was about to use Alpha Pride for the answer but decides against it and instead tells his second thought, "I have an idea about that as well, you two knew Seth more than I, right?"
The two Alphas look to each other before Tony says, "more or less."
"Do you know if he was friends with Oliver?" he saw the two leader's eyes widen as they realize what the Ghost was saying, it makes perfect sense. Oust from the pack and humiliated, Oliver would no doubt what revenge, but is he really desperate enough to go to the Feds for help? And are his friends in the pack foolish enough to help him?
Winston then says, "If Oliver is behind it, why did he not show the Feds the location of the dens himself?"
"I don't know," admits Damon, "maybe he knew the Feds are willing to kill so he sent his friend to tell them instead of him."
"Oliver wouldn't be that cold blooded," Tony said.
Damon shrugs again, "Revenge can have strange effect on a man, um, I mean person."
Winston growls and says, "We have more questions than answers at the moment, winter is fast approaching, the soldiers are becoming hostile and now we have to worry about possible infractions among the pack."
The three of them look down as they thought through the problems at hand until Damon speaks, "The best thing we can do is to shadow all of Oliver's former friends, see if they are making contact with him or not."
"Can't you do that?" asks Tony, "you're the Ghost here," he says in his familiar sarcastic voice.
Damon shakes his head and says "It won't be long for the Feds to notice they are missing soldiers, I may need to get moving to stop them from retaliating."
The two wolves look up to him and Winston asks, "You're leaving?"
Damon nods, "I need to make the next move before the Feds do, a First Strike."
"So now you're confident that you can defeat these soldiers?" questions Tony.
Damon shakes his head, "Probably not, but I need to do something."
"Where are you planning of going?" asks Winston.
"To the valley where the Feds are set up in, I'll do some recon, formulate a plan and maybe I can take them all out with one blow," the chances of this aren't very high, but Damon is willing to try.
The two Alphas look to each other before looking back at him, and he is surprise to see Winston smile, "perhaps we will meet you there, not far from the valley is a small forest area where we train our pups."
Damon tilts his head and says, "Alpha school," to make sure he understood.
The two wolves nods to Damon, "We are to leave tomorrow, I was considering to cancel the trip after what you just told us, but now I suppose we can all go together, you can continue teaching us how to fight humans and we can help you in whatever way we can as you prepare to attack the soldiers."
Damon nods, "sounds like plan, when do we leave?"
"Tomorrow; possibly at noon if we're ready by then," answers Tony.
Damon nods before saying, "I'm going to need to do something first, do you mind if I borrow some of your wolves?"
"Which ones?" ask Winston, "Alphas or Omegas?"
"I didn't say Alphas," Damon answers, "Or Omegas, I said wolves."
Damon inspects the small wooden area he is in. It's at least five miles from the dens and some yards away from the last burial site. The trees offers cover and the small plot of earth will look insignificant compared to the other likely places where Damon could have done the job.
"This will do," Damon says to the wolves as they come up from behind him, carrying the body of the Diablo Commando. The Federation soldier has been stripped of his kit, weapons ad uniform; things that Damon is sure he'll need in the future.
The wolves lowers the soldier to the floor, just as they have done earlier and start to dig up the dirt. Damon carefully checks his SA rifle and continues to scan the area; the setting sun caused shadows over the land, making the Ghost slightly jumpy as he gaze around. The day is over, darkness is coming, the Feds should know they are missing a squad by now, he's unsure if they'll launch a search party at night, but Damon wishes to get this done as soon as possible and head back to the den before trouble finds them.
A few minutes pass before the six exhausted wolves' steps away from their handy work, the four Alphas seem alright but the two Omegas continue gasping for air, unprepared for such hard work.
"Why couldn't we," Humphrey's words are interrupted by a gasp before he continues, "just dig one great big hole in one place and shove them in?" the other wolves nod their agreement in that plan.
Damon shakes his head before listing his reasons, "because I want it to be difficult for them to find the bodies of their soldiers, if they find them all in one place then they'll assume we are in that area. We've spread their remains out so it'll be difficult for them to figure out where it is that we are station," Damon says as he uses his foot and pushes the body of the Fe into the grave.
The wolves nod their understanding as they begin the easy part of their job, sweeping the dirt back into the hole, burying the remains of the human. Damon stares at the face of the Fed as it slowly disappears, slightly pitting the man, for dying in the forest and not receiving a proper burial, but this as respectful as Damon can become for the sake of his enemies; it's better than nothing in Damon's opinion.
Once the dirt has been replaced the wolves step back as Damon takes over in hiding the newly made grave. First, Damon takes a tree branch with needles at the end of it and begins to sweep away any evidence of footprints, both his and the wolves. Once he is certain all evidence of their presence has been eliminated, he then grabs one tree and starts shaking it. Pine needles and pine cones falls to the floor, covering the grave site, making it harder for it to stand out. Damon steps back a bit, inspects their work, and crouches down as he spread out the fallen pine needles, trying not to make it look strange that only one area of the forest has fallen pine, hopefully this will further help hide the grave.
Satisfy with the work, Damon stands up and stares at the hidden grave. Is this how it all ends for us special forces guys, he wonders, to be killed without anyone knowing we even pass, and being buried in an unmarked grave, making it unlikely for people to ever discover our bodies? Hundreds of years from now, erosion or someone digging for an unknown reason will discover the body and only Damon and a couple of wolves will know who the person was and how he died. Damon shivers at his deep thinking and mentally pulls himself back into reality.
Unsure what else to do, Damon simply says the Lord's Prayer, unsure if it's for his benefit or the newly decease man.
One of the wolves, Viola, walks up and asks, "So, are we done?"
To the wolves' relief, Damon nods his head, unshoulders his rifle and begins walking back to the dens area, with the wolves following close behind. As he walks, the Ghost notices the wolves are keeping a weary distance between themselves and Damon; was it because of the story they have heard of how he disposed of the Feds or is it because he has a loaded weapon in his hand?
He is relived however as Humphrey walks forward and asks, "So how are you doing?"
The question caught Damon off guard; he gives the wolf a quizzical look, to which Humphrey says, "You haven't said much as we…uh, worked, so I was wondering if you are alright, the soldiers didn't hurt you did they?"
Damon thinks for a moment before replying, "I was shot twice, but the one my abdomen is only a flesh wound and a bullet got stuck in my shoulder, but I pulled it out."
Humphrey flinches at these words and Damon couldn't help but smile as he remembers how he needed the wolves help to pull out bullets from the first time he arrived and how it was Humphrey who feinted at the sight of it.
"Ok, well aside from that, did anything else happen? You've been quiet lately," the wolf ask.
Damon shakes his head, "Well I just have been worried about some things."
"Is that why you've been wearing your mask all this time?" Humphrey's question startles Damon who reaches up and touch his head, sure enough his mask is right there. He has been so consume in the day's events that he totally forgot he was wearing it.
Damon smiles wearily as he says, "Yes and no I guess, sometimes I forget I'm even wearing the thing," he lets out a heavy breath as his voice suddenly becomes cold, "I was just thinking about the pups, they're so young…and they had to witness something as violent as that…I just not sure what to think of it."
Humphrey nods, unsure what to say next when Damon speaks again, "and as we bury the Feds…I couldn't help but wonder, did they bury the bodies of my teammates, or did they just left them in the open to rot?" noticing the anger in his voice, Humphrey doesn't say anything, unsure how Damon will react if the wolf tells him that rotting is the way of nature, that's what the wolf has been taught as he grew up.
The Ghost thought for a bit before saying in a calmer voice, "Another thing that has me wired up is just thinking of the future, wondering what I'm to do," he glances at the Omega, "have you ever been in a situation when you don't know that you are going to do but you feel like you'll go insane if you don't do anything?"
The human is caught off guard when Humphrey laughs, "Yup, I know that feeling all too well," seeing Damon's questioning look, the wolf elaborates, "It happen when I fell in love with Kate. I love her so much that it hurts sometimes," here he sighs, "but she was betroth to Garth at the time." He looks up at the Ghost, "I wasn't sure what I should do, I couldn't stand the idea of her being with anyone but me, I actually thought about running away, jump on a train and just travel to another forest." Now the wolf seems to grin, "but instead I decided to go back for her, and I made it just in time to hear her say it: she is in love with an Omega." The glee in Humphrey's voice was so full of happiness that Damon feels himself smile as well.
"So…I guess the moral of the story is to not to worry" Humphrey said, "Things will work out in the end I suppose."
Damon sighs at this, "but that's what I'm worried about."
"What," questions Humphrey, "that it won't work out in the end?"
Damon shakes his head, "no," he looks at the wolf, "I'm worried that there won't be an end."
Once they return to the dens, they part ways, the wolves all exhausted from carrying and burying the Federation soldiers in different locations and Damon's wounds are starting to flare up again.
The Ghost returns to his own den, but instead of falling asleep he decides to have a look at his new gear.
After returning the pups to the safety of the dens, Damon returns to the scene of the battle and recovered some proper weapons and equipment. He has five combat vests, seven working gas masks, piles of grenades, eight SA rifles, one Ameli LMG, one Lynx sniper rifle, one SC-2010 submachine gun and a dozen hand guns, P226s, and another week supply of MREs. Though it disgusted him, Damon also took some clothes off some Diablos that looks like it can fit him, they are weighed down a but by built in bullet proof vests and bulkier than his usual wear, but they are still black; a Ghost primary work color.
He begins inspecting and testing the firing mechanism of the weapons to make sure they are in working condition. He then counts the ammunition clips that he also recovered and finds he has at least three hundred rounds all together for each gun. He then checks the grenades, most of them are regular explosive devices, but he also has three nerve gas agents, two smoke grenades and two incinerating grenades. The odds are slowly improving.
He checks the gas masks as well, these ones have no cracks or other fractures but unless he pops one of the smoke grenades there's no way he can tell if they work or not.
Finally he picks up one of the combat suits of the Federation and slowly puts it on. He couldn't help but shiver thinking there was a dead man wearing it before he has taken it. The suit fits pretty smugly, but just as he guessed its heavier and bulkier then what he is usually use to. He looks down at his arm and using his knife, he tears away the patches of the Diablo division and the Federation flag. He wishes he has his old patches to put on, but they have been torn away during the ambush.
Damon thought about that. How long has he been there? Almost a few months now? It seems unbelievable but then again he's living with a bunch of talking wolves so who was he to criticizes anymore?
He becomes alert when he hears someone gasp behind him and whirls around.
Standing in the cave entrance is Lilly, who looks utterly terrified until she looks into Damon's remaining eye and relax, "Oh," she said sounding embarrass, "sorry, I…didn't know it was you."
Damon didn't know what to say so he just nods his head.
They are both silent until Lilly finally say, "My dad thought it would be a good idea for you to move to a vacant den closer to the hill."
Damon stares at her for a bit before asking, "are you sure?" he thought of the wolves who still gives him dirty looks whenever he's near and all the insults he has heard.
Lilly grins at him and says, "The pups you rescued have been spreading the story around all day, making you look like a hero."
Damon couldn't help but chuckle at this, "I'm no hero, I just did what any other Ghost would have done."
"Really?" she asks in a dubious voice.
"Yeah," Damon said, not realizing how somber his voice suddenly became, "Falkner, Gordon, and Swans would have done it."
Lilly lowers her head and says, "Sorry, I didn't mean to, I mean, if I have met them I would have known better."
Damon sighs and quietly said, "Sorry," he smiles reassuringly before saying, "I had a long day."
"That's all right Damon," she said looking perked up, "I'll be waiting outside while you get your stuff together" she turns to exit but stop and says over her shoulder, "and maybe you should consider changing your clothes too."
Damon nods in agreement. He waits until Lilly left to start taking the suit off. He is in the midst of changing back to his regular shorts and t-shirt but stops when chills begin to crawl throughout his body. He soon realizes it's the weather; he needs to get some warmer clothes soon before winter comes. Damon grabs another Federation uniform, takes knife and begins to modify it. He cuts off the body armor and separates the lower section of the suit from the upper, making improvise black pants and long sleeve t-shirt. As Damon removes the ammo satchels he hopes that without the body armor and the web gear his new clothes won't spook the wolves. He looks himself over and decides he looks ordinary enough; he still has two black suits he can use for when he does any future Ghost mission.
Now Damon faces the rest of his new gear, after a while of thinking he decides to take six weapons, the Lynx, the submachine gun, two SA rifle and two pistols. The other seven rifles and the LMG he'll leave here, he slightly buries them in the corner, along with the remaining vests, ammunition magazines, masks, some MREs and a couple of grenades.
He then tries to fit everything into his duffel bag, in the end he leaves behind some "summer" clothes and shoulders the three rifles on his back, carry his duffle bag in one hand and a rifle in the other. He walks out of the cave to meet Lilly.
The white wolf is standing by the den sniffing at some flowers when Damon emergences.
She glances at him, her eyes widen a bit as she asks, "where did you get those?"
Damon assumes she's talking about his clothes and simply said, "Made it out of what I had."
Lilly nods her head before saying, "Um, maybe it would be a good idea if you take your mask off."
Damon couldn't help but face palm himself, he forgot he was still wearing it again. He takes the mask off, looks at it and couldn't help but flinch. No wonder the wolves are freaking out over it, the skull image, the three diagonal scars, and now fresh blood covers the fabric. This takes horrifying sights to an all new level.
He stuffs the mask into his pocket and gestures for Lilly to lead the way.
Together they walk back to the hill; all the while Damon couldn't help but wonder if what Lilly said is true. When he thought about it, it does seem likely the young wolves fantasize him being a hero, especially considering that they weren't present when all the action took place.
No sooner did they enter the area of the hill did Damon hear the wolves talking. He feels utterly shock at what he was hearing.
"Did you hear how the human jump over all twelve soldiers with one leap?" one wolf said.
"I heard there were fifty of them and he killed them all with his bare hands," another said.
"Then he tore the soldier apart using his teeth," a voice floats from a nearby cave.
"If he can truly breathe fire, then I'm glad he's on our side," another wolf said.
Lilly starts to giggle when she looks up at Damon's stun face as he tries to register what he's hearing.
They stop at a cave built into the hill and she says, "This is it, I hope it's alright."
Damon looks inside before answering. It looks the same as his old den, except that there's a whole lot more head room, so Damon can stand up straight without having to bend over or crawl like he had to in his old den.
"It's great," he replies as he drops the bag and looks to Lilly, "tell your dad thanks for me."
She grins in pleasure and said, "He also requested that I, Garth, Kate and Humphrey comes with you to Alpha school in case you still need some help with some things."
Damon nods in thanks and said, "Well I guess I'll just get some shut eye then," he pauses as he thought of something and asks, "does your father have patrols going around the territory?"
Lilly nods with sadness evident on her face, "the first patrol will be heading out soon, all the Omegas will remain here…like before."
Damon didn't know what to say to that. Is she actually sad that she isn't patrolling, out of all the wolves he has seen trained; she seems reluctant when it comes to violence or any military action of the kind.
She's probably just worried about Garth, he reasons.
"Well I'm sure we won't get any trouble tonight, especially if the Feds have no idea where we are," he says with a reassuring smile to which Lilly responds in kind.
"Good night Damon," she simply says before turning and leaves the cave.
"Night," he calls after her before setting the weapons down. He takes out his clothes, rolls them together and makes an improvise pillow again, just like before, but what's different about tonight is that he's sleeping next to a loaded weapon again.
A small sign that his vacation time is over; it's time to return to the life of a Ghost.
Damon lets out a small moan as he wakes to the bright sun light filtering into his den.
Talk about a wakeup call, he thought bitterly but he actually sees the sunlight as a problem, if he's ever attack in the early morning hour, then the light will blind him to any adversary
Slowly, Damon gets off of his make shift pillow and begins going through his bag again.
Like his last den, he decides to leave one rifle, one mask, and one grenade in the cave, he also forgoes his spare clothes, with winter coming, there's no need for shorts and t-shirts. He did keep one shirt though in case he needs to tear it into shreds for medical purposes like before.
Now his bag only possesses ammo magazines, grenades, combat vests, gas masks, MREs and now there's enough room for him to push the submachine gun into the fold. He shoulders his bag and walks out into the morning sun. They won't leave for another couple of hours, which is hard on Damon who believes in the sooner the better.
He spends his morning sitting on a nearby stump and entertains himself by disassembling and reassembling his weapons, wiping and cleaning them whenever necessary. Soon however a crowd of wolves begins to gather, all watching him with curious eyes. Damon tries to ignore them but the feeling of having hundreds of eyeballs watching his every move is an unnerving thing.
Finally one of the wolves steps forward and ask, "Um, Damon…err, could you tell us what happen yesterday?"
The Ghost looks up at them and sees their curious faces. Of course, he thought, he should have seen this coming.
Damon thought for a while before placing his gun on the forest floor and says, "Alright, but before I start, I would like to emphasis that no, I did not jump over a thousand feet, I did not kill a hundred soldiers with my bare hands, and no; I did not breathe fire…at all."
Some of the wolves looks down and lets out disappointed sighs. Don't tell me they actually believed in those fantasies, Damon thought before giving his account on what happen that day.
Soon however, the wolves' interests are caught as they listen to Damon's summery. He tells of how he played with the cubs, how they seek and hid from one another until they were separated by the Feds. The wolves couldn't help but let out gasps as Damon tries to detail his taking out the Feds without making it sound too gruesome. He finishes with him returning the pups' home, but he excludes the part of Ann's brother's demise, it is her family's right to release such details.
When he is finish telling them the story he goes back to cleaning his weapon, but the crowd of wolves remains; all still staring at him. The awkwardness returns to the point where Damon actually feels his limbs shake as he asks, "Uh, you want to hear another story?"
Almost all the wolves nod their heads as they all sit or lie down, getting more comfortable.
Great, Damon has no idea what to tell them, except for his life story. He carefully eyes the wolves, will they understand, will they like hearing how an innocent loafer of a boy turn into a veteran warfighter?
He lets out a sigh, aside from his brothers in arms; he never talks about his life with anyone, especially to a crowd of total strangers.
He shifts from side to side, breaths again, and decides to start at the beginning of his violent life:
"I lived in a place called Los Angeles, it was one of the biggest, uh, territories for our pack, over a thousand people lived there," Damon could see the astonishment of his audience as their jaws drop at the significant size of Damon's old home. Deciding he's doing a good job story telling he continues, "I lived with my parents as I grew from a boy to a man, during my final year as a youth…that was when things change."
Damon lapse into silence a she remembers that day, the earth shakes, the falling projectiles, the screams of hundreds, and the billowing of smoke begins to plague his mind. He shakes his head, he started the story, and he needed to finish it.
"One day, while my parents were out doing their…pack business, I stayed by myself in my den, falling asleep in the process. When I awoke…I awoke to a nightmare." Here he closes his eyes, now fully visualizing the carnage, "The cave begins to shake, the floor begins to tilt and I fell out the back door, the uh, back entrance of our den," he knows this confuses the wolves but he continues, "I was falling, falling nonstop until I grabbed a…large piece of wood," he figures wood is more understandable than the plastic of a patio set. "I climbed back up to my den, and when I look outside…I saw the fire falling from the skies." Indeed he did, and now, with his eyes still close, he relives that moment, standing within his lopsided house as he watches large blue balls of destruction hurling towards the Earth, destroying his life along with Los Angles. "I left my ruin den; I was homeless, along with the few hundred people who survived as well" here he sighs, "After that day…I never saw my parents again." The Ghost didn't realize it, but a tear escapes his closed eye lids, causing the wolves to whimper in condolences.
He involuntarily wipes the tear away, when he opens his eyes, the wolves are surprise to see the hardness within them as he starts the next part of his life. "We didn't realize it, but that was only the beginning. I spent the new day walking through what remained of the territory, looking for my parents, but that was when they came." His hands curl into fists as he remembers. "I heard the planes," he said, his head so full of anger he no longer cares if the wolves understand or not, "I heard them, but I thought they were ours, brining aid, but instead, jumping out of the aircrafts were Federation paratroopers." Now he feels his anger turn on himself, "I ran on that day, ran all the way across what was left of Los Angles, I collapsed just when our own soldiers came, the National Guard." Soon his eyes glaze over as he drifts back into his memories, "Nobody slept that night as the full impact of the situation hit us; we were being invaded."
The wolves listen in horrid fascination, unsure if they want to hear anymore yet wanting to at the same time.
Damon continues, "For days, they fought, blasting away at one another until we finally created a border. I remember the coming month well, that was when I joined the recently formed militia, a fighting class below the regular soldiers," now that Damon thinks about it, it's likely that the militia was formed illegally, but back then the U.S wasn't complaining. "We didn't fight much, we often patrolled the border, but it was when I was with the militia I had my first battle. It was a regular patrol, but we surprised a group of Feds trying to sneak in, the battle…was grueling."
Damon remembers perfectly well what happens; he can just see it in his mind's eyes. His ten guy group, made up of mostly veteran police officers and young guys like him, faced off against a three men Federation squad. He remembers shivering with fear under a piece of ruble until the shooting cease, thinking it was over he looks up and made eye contact with a Fed. They both went for their weapons, but Damon won the draw because of fear and luck. While the Fed was taking aim, Damon fires his gun, a Honey Badger submachine gun, he wasn't ready for the recoil, which ironically enough saved his life, the rounds went crazy and out of the thirty bullets, one ended up in the soldier's head. He remembers standing there with fearful tears staining his face as he made a promise then and there that'll he'll never be weak again.
Realizing he has been silent for minutes on end, Damon skips forward a bit, "A month later, I was drafted and officially joined the fight. I wanted to help push back the Federation so I joined the 75th Ranger Regiment, I thought they would be the ones pushing them back but instead we just patrolled the border like what I used to do with the militia." Damon thinks for a bit before speaking again, "The only major operation I took part of was Operation American Fury," here he smiles, "it was one of the coolest things I ever saw, hundreds of tanks, ships, planes and thousands of soldiers, prepared to pushed the Fed out of our country." The light dims in the Ghost's eyes at the thought of the aftermath, "I lost seven buddies that day, our forces lost nearly half our resources, and all that the operation did was push the Feds back a few miles, creating a large span of land called no man's land, belonging to no one, acting as the temporarily border from then to now."
Damon figures he's wrapping it up as he recounts the last portion of the past decade, "After serving with the Rangers for four years, I caught the attention of a Ghost, and he assessed me and set me up for Ghost training. Damon starts to grin as he finishes, "I passed the test, earn my mask within the year, served for two before being promoted to a leader; four years a Ghost, four years of the best service I could give for my country."
He lapses into silence now, signaling the end of the story, but Damon frowns when the crowd of wolves remains.
Finally a wolf towards the back ask, "How, how did you come to be here exactly? And why are you alone?"
Damon suddenly realizes aside from Kate Garth and Humphrey (who no doubt exaggerated the story a bit) nobody knew how he got there.
And nobody knows about the gruesome demise of Ghost Team Comanche.
Feeling suddenly uncomfortable, Damon makes ready to leave. He didn't want to relive that part of his memories; not the one that haunts him in his dreams, that follows him in the back of his mind daily, the one where he stood by and watch the death of his second family.
He is making ready to leave when he stops. If he didn't tell, then nobody will know of the Ghost team's sacrifice. He can't tell anyone back home, the mission is confidential, and not even his team's family will know what has happened. Nobody except Damon will know…unless he tells his story, Ghost Team Comanche's legacy, here and now. If their own people cannot hear the tale, then at least these wolves should.
Damon sighs as he sits down again, feeling a deep sadness taking over. He runs a hand through his hair as he starts from a new beginning, one that'll confuse the wolves but necessary in order for them to have their full understanding.
"Nelson Falkner, Jed Gordon and Eric Swans…they were the greatest guys a person could have ever known. Falkner…me and him, we went through Ghost training together, one day we were running through an obstacle course when I slipped and twisted my ankle, I didn't stop, but I slowed down, to the point where I thought I would be pulled from the program, but Falkner…he came back for me, we were competing against one another for a Ghost position yet he came back and helped me finish strong. The drill instructor didn't say anything, just looked us over, nod, then sent us back to our barracks. That was when the first member…of my second family, made himself known."
"Jed Gordon…we met before, I was still a Ranger, and he was a tank driver, he saved my unit's life once during Operation American Fury, but we were in the midst of the fight and couldn't thank one another. We met again after I became a Ghost, we worked together in a joint team effort, Team Ninja and Team Spartan, we were both station together, ordered to watch the flank as we infiltrate and destroy a Fed facility. As we watch the factory go up in smoke, he commented that it reminds him of American Fury, I made a comment about that, we exchanged stories, and that was when we came to the conclusion," Damon sadly chuckles, "we laughed the night away that night."
"Eric Swans…I never met him until he was assign to my Ghost Team, that was about the same time I met up with Gordon again. Swans was always faithful, always cool, never letting his guard down, always watching out for us. He loves talking about his wife, his family…when he's in a talking mood of course. The guy was a machine, always working, never sleeping, and only taking breaks when he absolutely had to…good men, all of them."
Damon already feels the tears forming and he hasn't even started speaking about the mission that cost his them their lives. He sighs as he begins talking about the dreaded subject.
"We were told that the Feds were going to try and sneak an army through here, through Canada. The Canadians, the humans who live here, they don't know about it, and even if we told them, we weren't sure how they'll react of we told them there was an American traitor helping them," at this point Damon is too emotional to think about the hatred for Archangel, he just continues on. "Hoping to quell any Federation invasion force, we were sent in, Gordon, Swans, Falkner, and me."
"We arrived a few months ago, can't remember when exactly. We moved in set up camp and dug in. Everything was going well…until the next day."
Damon then becomes silent for minutes as he tries to marshal his thoughts, this is the first time he talks about the Ghost Team's doomed mission.
"We watched the enemy, the Feds, for most of the day, until we saw him, Estrada, leader of the Feds, get inside his private vehicle and speeds off. We figure we can end the mission and score a major victory if we caught and killed Estrada." Damon lowers his head, "it didn't work out."
"We followed at a good pace, keeping watch of Estrada while trying to get in a good position to take a shot. It was when we were moving around did I bump into Kate, Garth and Humphrey," Damon smiles a bit, "so far…they were the only good things of that day. We went past them determine to catch Estrada, but instead we were lead to our demise."
"He led us to a canyon, we should have gone around, but we didn't want to lose him so we followed him. We were near the end when the ambush was sprung."
Damon could just see it, hear it and feel it. The soft warmness the sun rays were offering, the clear blue skies they were working under and the calls of local birds. All that was shattered in a few minutes.
"Falkner…he has a wife and child…he was the first one to get hit, the attackers were shooting from the top of the canyon, raining hot lead right on top of us. I ran forward, ready to carry him out, but instead he demands I just help him back on his feet, once he had his footing gain, he returns fire...he was the toughest son of a gun I ever known."
"Soon the entire side of the canyon lit up, guys with guns were lined up taking shots at us, we were right in the open, with no cover we had to sprint all the way back to the end of the canyon to find a hard point, a place we can dig in and return fire. As we ran, all of us got shot at least once, there was so many of them, we must have shot ten Feds every minute but there would always be someone behind them waiting to take their place. We ran and fired all along the length of the canyon, we were trained marksmen, supposedly we could hit anything, but it was midday, the sun was in our eyes and the enemy had the advantage in numbers and firepower."
"Finally we made it to an isolated clump of trees, Falkner, Gordon and me took cover while faithful Swans…Swans…God bless his soul…he stood out in the open, knowing it could probably get him killed as we fell back. He turns to follow us…but, someone with a…large gun open fired and…it was pretty bad, Swans fell to the ground, he was literally mincemeat."
"I remember shooting and calling out his name, shouting, begging, him to move. Finally, inch by inch, little by little, he crawls towards us until we could grab and pull him into safety. He was all torn up, bullets practically cut him to pieces, his legs, his chest…all of it looks ready to fall off. We stood around him, crying, and you know what? He started getting after us, demanding we continue to fight…he knew he was dying but he told us to keep fighting…towards the end. I turned to heal Gordon who was shot right in the chest when Swans asked me to…deliver his wife, his mate, a message, then he took my pistol and help put fire on the enemy position. I was almost done healing Gordon when the pistol stopped firing…and I'm sure there were still some rounds left…
"Our cover was being torn to pieces, we were forced to move. We covered Swans body the best we could, then it was Falkner's turn to provide cover as I help Gordon run to cover. I ran with all my might, carrying Gordon with me all the while, I was planning on turning around and giving cover fire so Falkner can follow us, but the Feds had other plans."
"The two of us made it into cover just in time for me to hear the blast. I heard the whistles; I look back and felt my blood chilled. Coming towards us was a dozen RPGs, bullets that could explode. I push Gordon down and shielded him with my body. The ground shook, smoke billows and all became silent. When I looked up I didn't see or hear any more Feds…but I also didn't see Falkner…just his gun, blood stained and alone out where the RPGs had landed."
"I was already feeling defeated, but the Feds didn't stop there. We were just picking ourselves back up when they came rolling in on their armored cars. We turn and ran into the forest, trying to get away when I got hit in the leg…Gordon slowed down, he stopped for me. He…held out his hand to me, I just barley took it when…when…when he was shot right in front me, his blood splattered my face as he fell backwards, letting go of my hand in the process. I forced myself up and tried to help him, but it was too late…shot in the chest, no doubt passing through a lung or his heart, either way he was gone…and I was alone."
Damon lets out a painful wheeze as he finishes, "My brothers…all gone…you know sometimes I wonder if there's something meaningful about my scars." The wolves looks at Damon nervously, thinking he lost his mind as he continue, "On that day…I lost three brothers…on that day, I got three scars on my face, is that a painful coincidence or something else?"
The wolves dint say anything as Damon hangs his head, allowing the tears to freely fall from his face. The wolves look on as well, feeling sympathy and sorrow rise within them. All their lives they have been taught that humans are monsters, always wanting to kill everything in their path. Now they just heard the story of how three men gave their lives so their love ones can live. And Damon sits before them, crying as well…no, these men weren't the monsters they were warned about, these men, are a certain breed of humans, willing to give it their all so others may live.
A young wolf however didn't feel that very emotional as he asks, "so what happens next?"
Some of his peers stared at him in aghast but before anyone could sat anything a new voice spoke up, "then we saved him."
Everybody, including Damon, looks up and sees Garth walking forward, "we saved him and as you know, he saved our pups and maybe our very lives as well yesterday."
The audience nods their approval at his words before Garth turns to Damon with sadness in his eyes, "I'm sorry to hear that Damon, but we need to go, we're about ready to move out."
Damon wipes his eyes and stands; he turns to the wolves and said, "I hope that was enough."
"More than enough" someone in the crowd said as they slowly dispersing, heading towards the main den to see the pubs and their adult guardians before they head off to the so called Alpha School.
Damon looks to Garth who gestures with his head to follow him. Damon was walking after him when a rather elderly looking grey wolf came up to him and offers him something that's sticking out of its mouth. Damon kneels and picks the thing out of the wolf's mouth and sees its some sort of plant.
"I call that burn weed," the old wolf said in what sounds like a feminine tone, "If your wounds start to hurt, chew on it and hold it against the injury, it should help along with the healing process."
Damon nods his head as he puts the plant in his pocket, "thank you, uh…"
"My name is Nana, and don't thank me for it, think of it as…an apology," she says in a whispery voice.
Damon cocks his head to the side, "an apology for what?"
The wolf looks down, "I'm the pack healer, but when you first came to us I didn't attend to you as I was supposed to, I thought you were like other humans and meant us harm, so, aside from some advice I gave to Winston's child, I didn't help you, I practically left you to die."
Damon stares at the wolf before reaching out and runs his hand through her coat, "It's alright, most people, even humans, and are reluctant to help Ghosts."
Nana looks up at him and gives a wolf smile before Humphrey appears at Damon's side again and said, "Damon, come on, we're almost ready."
Damon rises to follow, but as he went he looks over his shoulder and says, "Thanks Nana," to which the old wolf just grins again.
When the duo arrives in front of Winston's den, he is taken aback by the sheer size of pups present. He knew there were more than the five pups he usually spends time with, but there seems to be almost thirty of them, all running in circles and full of energy while a few adult wolves stand watch over them, grinning at their antics.
Damon sets his bag down and sits on the ground. As he waits he checks his wound which is growing agitated again, he is about to apply some burn weed when he notices something. Standing far from the den entrance are the five pups, all talking in low voices. He knew this is unnatural; usually they would be worked into a frenzy by midmorning, but now they mill around and look downcast.
Knowing that there is something definitely wrong, Damon forgoes the pain for now and walks over to the five pups. They turn to him as he nears, and he is happy to see they are looking better despite yesterday's excitement, all except for Ann, who remains silent with a haunting look about her.
"How you guys doing?" he asks trying to sound casual, "ready for the trip?"
At this the pups looks down as Meadow speaks, "I'm not going," she says in a sad voice.
Damon feels his eyes widen at this as he asks, "why? You'll be a great Alpha, I can just tell."
She still doesn't meet his eye as she says, "But I'm not an Alpha, I'm an Omega, remember?"
Damon feels a boiling sensation take over and this time it wasn't because of his injuries.
"Wait here," here simply said, startling the wolves with the sound of sheer determination in his voice as he turns and walks away.
"Winston!" the Ghost calls, "I need to talk to you."
Winston and Tony were speaking to one another within the main den, but they both look at the human when they hear the force in his voice.
"Is there something wrong Damon?" asks a genuine confuse Winston.
"Yes, there is," Damon said as he comes to a halt in front of them and asks, "why is it that only Alphas are going? Why not Omegas?"
Both wolves look at each other before looking back and Winston said, "What do you mean? I'm letting Humphrey and Lilly come along to help you if you need-"
"I'm not talking about them," Damon interrupts, "I'm talking about Meadow."
"Who?" questions Tony.
"One of the pups, an Omega," Damon said.
Tony rolls his eyes, "she's not going to Alpha school because she's an Omega, simple logic."
"If it's so simple, mind me asking why you're not taking her?" demands Damon, "Have you even seen her? She's excellent at tracking; wrestling and I bet you anything that she'll be a good hunter as well."
"Impossible," argues Tony, "she's an Omega."
"So you're telling me you already knew she would be terrible even before she was born?" before Tony could defend himself, Damon turns to Winston, "she's good, really, really good, at least let her come with us and she'll show you-"
"Show us how easy it is to get killed?" asks Tony.
Damon feels like yanking out his hair, but considering it's still growing he considers pulling out Tony's, however he resorts back to talking, "she's probably the first Omega to not trip over herself, or cause noise, or be anything but a burden."
He looks to Winston again, "I was trained to keep my eyes open for any potential recruit for the Ghost Program, I was train to see a good soldier when I see one, and Meadow isn't good, she's excellent."
Winston is silent, causing Tony to explode, "Are you actually considering this! She may get killed! She isn't meant to be an Alpha-"
"Why!?" explodes Damon, a code has been invoke that was created centuries ago on the fields of battle; the code of watching out for your buddies. "Give her a couple months and I bet when she's fully grown, you" he gestures at Tony, "will be depending on her to bring you your meal as you get old and frail."
Tony is starting to growl when Winston finally says; "enough!" silence both of them. He turns to Damon, "we are taking a risk here Damon, are you truly confident in her abilities?"
Tony looks scandalous but Damon nods, "Sir, she'll work harder than any other pup there, I can guarantee it."
"Now wait a minute!" snarls Tony, "we are in a state of emergency! We can't lower Alpha standards now of all times!"
"Yes, you do," Damon says, gaining their attention, "remember what we discussed yesterday? If an Alpha can turn, how can the pack be protected from the protectors?"
Winston nods his head so Damon finishes with a grin, "well sir, Meadow isn't an Alpha is she?"
"You can't be-" Winston lightly growls at Tony, silencing him as the main Alpha looks to Damon, "Fine, she can come."
Damon grins in victory and caught up in the moment he says, "thank you sir," like he is speaking to a human general before turning and running out the den, almost as giddy as the pups outside.
Tony snarls, "He's changing our way of life."
"You just now notice?" Winston asks as he turns away and walks to find Eve so they can say good bye before departing.
"Are you joking?" asks a wide eyed Meadow, "you are joking aren't you?"
Damon only laughs as he says, "since when did I joke about something like this?"
The five young pups lets out a cheer, even Ann looks happy at the thought of having another friend with her in the journey. The wolves' leaps at Damon, he wasn't ready for the show of affection and is push to the ground. The pups' starts to run, leap and skip all around Damon as he laughs at their playful actions.
Meadow jumps in top of Damon's chest and starts to nuzzle him, "Thank you! Thank You! Thank You!" she keeps repeating.
Damon laughs again as he lightly picks Meadow up and set her down, "I think you better tell you parent about this Meadow" he says.
Her eyes widen again as she says, "Oh! Right!" with that, she turns and takes off like a speeding bullet, causing Damon and the remaining pups to laugh.
As he rises back to his feet, he sees the wolves getting to move out. Damon finds his bag and lifts it up; shoulder his SA rifle but keeping the Lynx sniper rifle in his hands. He notice the wolves weary looks at the sight of him wielding a gun close to the pups but they didn't say anything.
Humphrey, Kate, Garth and Lilly walks towards the back of the group and met him.
"Ready?" Kate asks.
"Not yet," replies Damon.
The four wolves look to one another but before they said anything else, Meadow bounds back into the clearing, almost flying through the air as she rejoins her friends. Damon looks over his shoulder and sees Meadow's parents, looking shock, worried, but happy all at the same time.
Damon smiles as he looks back at Kate and says, "Alright, I'm ready."
The pack also notices Meadow's place among the small party of travelers, but before anyone said anything, Winston walks out with Eve and Tony following close behind. Meadow suddenly freezes and lowers her tail as Winston goes by. She starts to shiver when Winston looks at her but he merely nods to her, startling every wolf in the pack.
Taking their place at the head of the party, Winston and Tony looks back, makes sure everyone is present before shouting, "move out!"
With that, paws strike the ground as the wolves' walks out of the clearing and away from the den area. Family members walk after them for a bit, calling out final good byes to their young before falling back to their homes.
As they crest a hill, Damon looks back to the hill and for some reason feel sentimental. When he arrived in Canada, he was fighting for merely the U.S and her citizens. Now, he is ready to fight for this pack of wolves and defend them if necessary. One way or another, he is going to return their kind hospitality.
He turns away from the wolves' territory, what had been his home for months now and walks after the excited party of wolves, walking off into unknown parts of the forest.