Tears of the Forest
Warning: contain graphic violence
"You have a lot of explaining to do human."
Damon knew he was in trouble due to the fact that Winston called him human and not by his name.
The Ghost is sitting on the snow; legs uncurl and stretch to their full extent as he tries to cool his burns. Damon slowly removes his gear as the wolf talks, trying to remain as oblivious as he can to his impending situation. He wouldn't mind talking to Winston, but not this time, they're going to be talking about how he works and what he truly is. To make matters worse, they are sitting in the middle of the clearing, with every wolf, pup and adult, assembled and forming a circle around Damon.
Damon is already enraged and hurting from failing the mission, now he has to take time out to explain himself to the wolves. He supposed he should be held in accord, he told them of how warfare and fellow warriors should be treated, with a chance to surrender and putting them out of their misery quickly. Maybe that was his vision on how warfare should be based on, a style that he can't afford to offer with his life as a Ghost. Damon wouldn't see this impending talk as threating if it wasn't for the glaring wolves.
The Ghost self-consciously glances around at the ring of four legged hunters. He had worked for what felt like months trying to earn the pack's trust and even succeeded in gaining their friendship. Now however, as he gazes into their sullen eyes, he knew he lost all of that in just one hour.
Yet what truly pains him is when he looks at his four wolf companions. Lilly stands next to her father with a confuse look on her face as she looks back and forth between her father and Damon. Kate and Garth also look torn; switching their gaze between the Ghost and the frozen floor as their paws draws circles in the snow. Humphrey is the only one who looks to Damon with sympathy as he keeps a watchful eye on Damon, but he stays among the ordered pack members. Though he knows that he has some support, Damon knew he is on his own on this one.
His eyes shift through the crowd in a vain attempt to see the pups, but he doesn't see them. The pain, hurt, and hatred in their eyes hurt him more than the bullets, burns and beating he had endured. Were they afraid of him now? It certainly looks that way, which seems to be the message Winston is sending him.
Damon finally inhales before looking up and asks, "what don't you understand…sir?"
Before Winston could say anything, Tony walks forward and says, "You told us that you were better than these soldiers, that you were stronger in morale, more merciful and more in control; unless you are an exception, everything we saw you did in the Federation camp contradicts everything that you have ever taught us."
Among the wolves they begin to mutter and nod to each other before returning their eyes to Damon. The Ghost waits for the crowd to settle before beginning his defense.
"True, I am a hypocrite," admits Damon, "But know this, everything I have taught you were aimed at ensuring that you wolves know the way it should be done: quick, merciful and just."
"If that was true," asks Winston, "why did you not follow them yourself?"
Damon breathes as he truthfully answers the wolf, "I am a Ghost Winston, no matter how much I wish to, I cannot, at any time, be allowed to show my enemies mercy in the heat of battle, or during a silent ops, I have to do what is necessary to not only protect myself, but also those I am defending."
"That still does not justify your actions," comments Tony, "if this system of fighting does not suit you, how can it suit us? If we do as you say, and yet you do things in another fashion, what does this mean? Has all the training you have been giving us been nothing but a flaw?"
Damon stands, causing some of the wolves to lower themselves and raise their hackles but Damon ignores them.
"I trained you how it is supposed to be done," Damon says in a strange voice, "so that you won't wake up the next morning, crying your eyes out, as you wonder why you did the things that you did to a fellow living creature."
The wolves lean in a little to better see Damon, and are shock when they see tears of emotion running down his face as he continues in a loud voice.
"I will not deny it, I have done horrible things in my life," Damon says in a loud voice, "nothing I have done has much of an excuse, but I hope to God that one day I will find a reason." He starts to turn in a circle to make sure all the wolves are listening. "Every day as a Ghost, I am forced to do things that may look barbaric, gruesome and plain monstrous, but this is war. Don't any of you understand what it is? Even if you're as brilliant as Eisenhower, or a brutal warrior like Vlad the Impaler, there is nothing, nothing that can give a man total control over war, if there was, then I wouldn't kill the way I did last night or any other nights before. I don't have a death wish, I am willing to die for my country, but I survive, here I survive, to ensure the mission is finished before passing on."
He turns to look Tony and Winston in the eye as he finishes.
"Every day, especially after nights like last night, I wish, I pray, that I could have done things differently, I truly do, and it pains me when I see a Fed leaving an American soldier to die an agonizing death. But to know that I too follow their path…that's enough to keep me up at night."
He takes a shuddering breath before saying, "before you complain about what I do in the field, why don't you walk into a warzone and have people shoot at you. Only then will you know the drive that can make a man do what he has to in order to survive."
There is a moment of silence as the wolves take this in. His four friends are looking at him with compassion and pity in their eyes, but when he looks to the pack leaders, he still see their hard looks.
"Damon," Winston said, "what you just said is heartbreaking…but the fact is you just admitted to us that the skills you have taught us will either make us easy targets because we show compassion to the enemy or it will make us…into something like you."
Damon could only look at the ground and nods before saying, "no matter what I taught you, no matter what I tell you, no one can enter a war without coming out scarred in one way or another."
Winston and Tony looks at each other before Winston returns his gaze to Damon and said, "Human…we have offered you a home and sanctuary so that you may rest and in return you will train and protect us." Winston exhales before continuing, "However, your techniques are ones that may get my wolves kill and you seem to place our pack and my immediate family in danger."
Humphrey made to say something, but Kate leans against him slightly, signaling him to wait while they listen to Winston.
The old wolf looks at the Ghost and says, "Damon…for the safety of the pack and to ensure no trouble will follow because of your actions…I hereby exile you from our pack lands."
For a moment the whole world seems to freeze as the wolves turn to face Damon who is looking at the floor, hands behind the small of his back and silent. The pack knew Damon was in trouble, but they didn't expect Winston to exile him. They have, however, seen his destructive nature and knew that beneath the kind face of this man is a killing machine, which is why many of them brace and makes ready to pounce, for sure that the human is to have a violent outburst.
However, they are once more stun when Damon looks up, eyes dry, and calmly says, "yes sir."
"Winston!" Humphrey comes forward, speaking on Damon's behalf, "you can't be serious!"
"Humphrey," Winston wearily said as he turns, but the young Omega continues.
"He has done so much for us, he advocated for Omegas, kept us and the pups safe and look at him," the grey wolf nods at the human, "he is standing with pride and is fully obedient to your every word, he is ten times more skilled then the average Alpha and he's completely devoted to you."
"Is he?" demands Tony as he steps forward, "Use your head Humphrey, this human has lied to us all, he may stand as peacefully and as friendly as a newly bud flower, but he is as deadly and decisive as poison ivy. He can kill without hesitation or regret, putting us all at stake; he probably doesn't even give a tail for our own safety."
"But he saved the pups, our pups, lives twice," counters Humphrey, "he should be treated as a hero for all he has done."
"And all he has done is spread death and corruption," snaps back Tony, "he has changed our pack laws, brought us into their human war, and exposed our pups to their horrors. Wherever he goes, death follows, his very presence causes trouble, look at what happen with Oliver, he was a good Alpha, but because of Damon he was forced to flee like a criminal."
"Are you listening to yourself?" demands Humphrey, "did you forget what it was that Oliver said in your face?"
Tony opens his maw to speak once more but Damon's voice interrupts him, "Humphrey."
The Omega, as well as every other wolf, turns to the human who is now looking at the grey wolf as he says, "its ok."
"But-" begins Humphrey but Damon just shakes his head once more.
The Omega turns to his family and asks, "Guys?" Kate and Garth looks down once more and Lilly could only look on with an unreadable expression on her face. Humphrey glances at Damon once more and opens his mouth but no words are muttered, the wolf doesn't know what to say.
Damon could only nod at the wolf before looking to Winston and says, "Very well sir…thank you for your hospitality."
The aged Alpha actually looks away from the Ghost, casing Damon to realize that this is a hard decision for him. Tony however steps forward, gives Damon a furious like nod before saying, "Viola, Hutch, escort the human to his den so he can retrieve his belongings, then escort him out of the valley."
Humphrey, Kate, Lilly and Garth all look up at this. The two said Alphas close in on Damon, wearing strange expressions on their faces. The Ghost looks to the two wolves before looking back at the duo of main Alphas at the front. He snaps a quick salute, Winston's care for his family and pack has earn that respect, Tony…wasn't as committed at Winston, but he was still a pack leader.
Damon lowers his hand, softens his stiff posture and bends down to pick up his ruined vest before turning and walks off to his den with his two Alpha guards following from close behind.
The four family members tries to follow but Winston said, "Don't."
The four wolves, especially his children, gives him an odd and pleading gaze before the old Alpha sighs and says, "it's already hard enough, he may not show it," here Winston looks at the human as he walks away, "but he is actually quite close to breaking."
Lilly steps forward and asks, "Can't we just say good bye?"
Winston shakes his head. Garth comes up next to his mate and starts to argue when Tony cuts in, "It's for the best son," he growls lightly, "the sooner he is gone, the faster things will get better."
"We should at least give him food," says Kate, "something to help him along his way."
"No," Tony cuts her off, "we're already low on our own food stocks and winter has only just begun, besides, that killer won't need our help."
Humphrey watches as his friend walks away as a fog begins to move in, obscuring his vision as he says, and "this…this is wrong."
"If he didn't lie to us in the first place he wouldn't be in this situation," responds Tony.
"But he didn't lie!" argues Humphrey, "he told you what he is."
"He did, but he never told us how dangerous he was or that these tactics would be ineffective to the enemy."
"How are they ineffective?" demands Humphrey, "we haven't even-"
"Humphrey," the grey wolf turns to Winston who says, "I'm sorry, but it's over, it's time for him and us to move along."
The group is silent at these words before Winston says, "if you wish to do something, why don't you look around for Meadow, her friends are back, but she is somewhere in the forest, I don't want her out with these humans rushing about."
All four wolves looks to the ground before nodding their heads and the boys mutters, "Yes Winston" while the girls said, "yes father."
The wolves, as well as the rest of the crowd, begin to disperse, all heading to their dens to get some sleep before dawn arrives while the four family membered wolves heads towards the forest. They all stop as one before entering the woods and turn to look at Damon.
They see his upright figure walking towards his den with his Alpha guards by his side before fog rolls in and covers them. Almost as one they sigh before turning and enters the forest, silently calling out Meadow's name.
"Is this really necessary?" Damon asks as the two wolves follow him into his den, "there's no one I can hurt down here you know."
"If that's true why are you being so defensive?" asks a suspicious Viola as she scans the burrow.
"Well wouldn't you be defensive too if two strangers walk into your home away from home?" retorts Damon.
Viola remains silent before turning and walks out of the den, but only to sit and keep watch from outside. Hutch soon follows suit, leaving Damon as the only person inside of the den.
The Ghost sighs slightly as he rubs the back of his head, well that went well. Almost all of his allies have turned against him, his only friends have been forbidden to so much as say good bye to him, he has just been banished, and he is now no doubt being hunted by Estrada as he speaks.
Self-consciously his hand reaches into his pocket and pulls out the piece of paper he has taken off Estrada. His brow furrows slightly as he attempts to once again read the words but couldn't. It has been a long time since he has read anything and the fact that the paper is written with a different alphabet doesn't help either. And it could no doubt be encoded. The Ghost growls lightly as he replaces the paper and resists the urge to throw it away. Despite the numerous headaches the thing has given him, it is the only clue he has to what Estrada is planning, with this he can hopefully formulate a plan to stop him.
Only next time it will work, Damon thought, especially now that he is leaving the wolf pack.
His banishment is a blessing and a curse, he didn't want to leave his new companions, but neither does he want to be with them. The only way the Feds were able to ambush Damon was only if a wolf from the pack had tipped them off, which was the bad thing. Damon had only told the wolves he had absolutely trusted, Humphrey, Lilly, Garth, and Kate.
It couldn't be them, Damon reasons, it just couldn't. Humphrey just proven that night he is willing to put his neck on the line for Damon and he wants the Feds gone to keep his Alpha mate safe. Garth is loyal, he is full of valor and…patriotism he suppose. Kate is strong, but she would never risk the safety of the pack by giving her allegiance to people as deadly as the Feds. And it most certainly can't be lovable Lilly; she hates the idea of killing so she wouldn't be supporting Estrada, the reaper of death, would she?
This only leaves two other prime suspects; Winston and Tony. Winston is wise and strong, he couldn't have been working with the Federation, if he had he would have kicked Damon out by now or turn the pack against him. As for Tony…Damon didn't want to but has to admit, the chances of Tony helping the Feds are just as small. The Alpha seems to hate all humans, American and Federation a like, he is only helping Damon because he has to due to popular vote. Well after the past hour it's quite obvious it is only due to fear and uncertainty that is keeping the age old pack leader from killing him on the spot.
"Damon, are you almost done?" Hutch's voice said as it is carried through the wind.
The human replies with a solemn, "no," as he turns and begins retrieving his gear, or what's left of it.
None of that matters, he thinks to himself, soon I'll be on my own again and it'll become near impossible for the Feds to know my plans, not unless I rat myself out.
Damon squats in the corner of his den and slowly digs out his buried supplies. He knew he was in trouble when he brought them out, it an age old Ghost saying: if you're digging out your emergency supplies, then you're in trouble. Finally he feels purchase and pulls out his bag.
He reaches in and quickly cycles through it. He only has one SA rifle left, one gas mask, one grenade, some shredded clothes, a couple of magazines for the SA, Lynx, and pistol, some MRE's and four bottles of water left. The Ghost knows he isn't going to last long with these supplies alone. He shivers as a gale of wind blows inside, especially with the weather conditions getting this bad.
Knowing he is probably on a time schedule to head out, Damon shoulders the bag, carries the rifle, pockets his spare clips and places his mask back over his head, hoping that it'll keep his face warm. He gives the den a good once over, it may be small, but it's a lot warmer than the place he will be staying. If he can find a place to stay that is.
The Ghost crawls out of his cave and is surprised at what he finds. Hutch and Viola backs away slowly when they see the skull faced human exit the burrow, but his attention is directed at the Lynx rifle on the ground. He bends down and examines the sniper rifle. Sure enough, it appears to be the very same one that he has used earlier during the bear attack.
Hutch nervously clears his throat before saying, "we brought that back along with the bear, but you were already gone so we kept it for you."
"I hope it will help keep you alive," chimes in Viola who truly looks sorry.
Damon is touched by their show of affection and feels guilt beginning to settle in as he realizes he spent little or no time at all with the two wolves. All that Damon could do was just lower himself down once more and picks up the rifle. He pulls back on the bolt and discharges a used brass, but his hand shoots through the air and catches it, not allowing it to fall to the frozen Earth. He flips the safety on, pockets the brass and places the rifle on his back along with the bag.
"Thank you," he says to the Alphas, who only bows their heads in a sadden manor. Remembering he is now banished, Damon sighs slightly before starting to walk to the edge of the clearing. He hears the soft footprints behind him and knew that the wolves are following him. Per orders, they are to ensure that Damon leaves the territory. The Ghost wonders how the duo feels about this, not that they were very close, but still, it's quite a depressing look they are wearing. Did all the pack members feel this way?
His question is answered when he looks back at the clearing and sees the group of scowling wolves with Tony at the front. Winston is there as well, the only one with a stone like expression, neither showing any regretful emotions nor anything else for that matter. Damon nods in their direction. The wolves growl in return, loosening a sound like miniature thunder. Only Winston gives the slightest of nods back as Damon continues to walk.
With each crunching step, Damon grows farther and farther from the wolves. He couldn't help but feel an emotion of shame starting to settle over him, this banishment ordeal is making him feel like has just been court martialed. And in a way, it most certainly seems like it.
Soon he hears the pair of walking wolves cease as soon as Damon enters the woods. He pauses and looks back at the meadow, hoping to see his friends. But Humphrey and the gang weren't there, and neither were Meadow and her small pack of friends either. The thought of their terrified faces is what made Damon turn to face away from the clearing. Not the growling of the wolves, but the sheer force of the memory of the pups. Damon slowly starts walking into the forest…and doesn't look back.
The shivering shadow like figure trudges through the snow as he walks down the familiar path.
With nowhere to go, Damon has decided the best place for him to head to was his old camp. Back to the place where this all started. He is sure the place is pretty much clear, the only time he has been back was when they travelled to the Alpha school, and there were no signs that it has been disturbed in any way. The wolves also doesn't know of its location, save for Humphrey, Garth and Kate, but he is pretty sure that those three wouldn't tell anyone. At least he hopes they won't.
The Ghost wearily shakes his head. What a mess. Ever since he has arrived things have been going south, everything. His entire squadron is dead, he is being injured constantly, he has failed in killing Estrada, and now he has lost the only allies he could gain here. And to make matters worse, Estrada will now be searching for him with a vengeance, if he is to die, then no one will know the truth, resulting with him and his deceased comrades being labeled as terrorists.
The light snow fall and the foggy surroundings matches Damon's situation perfectly. Bleak surroundings, dark clouds overhead, coldness closing in, unsure which direction to go in; that sums up his life at the moment.
He looks down at the ground as he muses what if I lie down and just never get back up again? Will anyone blame me?
Yes, yes they will, a voice seems to respond back. Colonel Walker didn't give you these skills so that you could just give up this easily. He trained you to keep on fighting even when the whole world is against you, if you quit, then you'll be quitting on Gordon's, Swans's and Falkner's memories. If you stop, then no one will remember them, all that they'll remember is that they are traitorous soldiers who became a new terror threat, not the heroes that you know them as.
Damon lets out a puff of mist as he glances upwards. His path is blocked by a huge cloud of fog cover, he's not even sure if he is walking in the right direction anymore, but he decides to just keeping moving.
He walks carefully as he approaches the dense cover, mindful that he doesn't run into a tree or trip over anything. He stops when he hears a faint crunching noise behind him, closing in.
Damon lowers himself to the ground and carefully removes the assault rifle from his back and aims it in the direction of the approaching thing. He pulls back on the hammer, hears the silent click as a round is chambered. He breathes steadily, wondering if it is a Fed, another bear, or if it could possibly be a wolf, tasked with assassinating him. He isn't sure how likely that last possibility was, but the fact that he has been banished and is now seen as a threat could mean anything.
A shadow appears close to the forest floor, scuttling closer and closer to Damon. He tenses when he sees the outline of a large canine and knew it is a wolf, but he keeps the gun trained on the approaching person.
His limb starts to shake as he wonders if he can pull the trigger if he has to when the wolf leaves the veil of the fog and approaches. The Ghost lets out a held in breath at the sight of Meadow as she pads her way towards him.
She pauses when she sees the gun in his hand. Damon lowers the rifle until it is pointing at the ground as he stares at the young she-wolf before asking, "What are you doing here?"
Meadow looks up into his eyes, though he doesn't know much about wolves, Damon is sure he sees the shadows of remorse in her expression before she looks down.
"I don't know," Meadow finally said.
Damon tilts his head a little in confusion before hissing out some air. He looks back to Meadow before asking, "Is there anything else you wish to say to me?"
She is quiet as she looks down at the floor before mumbling, "I don't know."
Damon looks between her and the mist that is slowly enveloping them before saying, "Meadow, why are you here? If you have something to say then say it, we both need to get going before this fog gets worst."
Finally the young wolf takes a shaky breath before looking into Damon's eyes and asks, "Do you regret it?"
She didn't say it, but the Ghost knows what she meant. Does he regret killing.
"No," he can see the fear in Meadow's eyes as she backs away from him before he holds up his hands and continues, "the people I kill means to do harm, to me, my team, and my country. I kill those who have it coming to them, those who wish to kill others."
"So it justifies that you kill the killers before they kill?" demands Meadow seeming to be angry with his response.
Damon gives her a helpless shrug, "That's what I've been trained to do Meadow, just as you have been trained to be a hunter and leader for your pack, I've been trained to hunt the hunters before they do great harm."
"So you don't regret it," analyses Meadow, watching his with weariness now.
The Ghost feels a boiling anger within him as he finally explodes, "Yes I don't regret it!" Meadow shies away from Damon but it doesn't stop him as he rambles on, "these Feds, these monsters, they killed my family, thousands of people, in a single day without a second thought, so why should we be different! This is what I am Meadow, you may hate it, you may fear it, but I, I respect it. Because this monster within me is the only thing keeping people alive, keeping you alive, because these Feds won't hesitate, mass murder doesn't bother them, I do what I do to keep you safe, even if it means fighting the way I do. You can hate me if you want, but remember, it's because of people like me that you are still here, the world is full of monsters, and the only way to protect ourselves is by having monsters of our own."
Damon breathes heavily as if he has just gone on a run, his chest heaving as he does so. He finally releases all of his arguments, the bloodiest ones, to the ears of a young pup. He looks at her and sees that she is on the verge of running away, gazing at him with huge fear filled eyes. The look is tortuous.
He sighs as he looks to the ground and says, "I'm sorry Meadow, but that's how things work. All those lessons I gave you about giving mercy and hesitating to kill…I guess those are the things I wish that I can do, but I can't because of who I am, what I am." He looks up at her as he finishes, "I taught you the things I wished that could be applied to me…I'm the reason why the Feds have yet to move this far north, I'm the reason why they are weary to fight, I' the monster that haunts their sleep." He looks away from her, "as well as my own." He switches his eyes back to hers as he finishes, "I taught you about justifying your kills, so that you won't end up like me, staying awake long into the night wondering why I do what I do. My first weeks as a Ghost tormented me in this way, and I hope that by telling you of how to be merciful will help keep you sane if you ever enter a battlefield. That's how I keep my sanity, by having no regrets…except for not killing as many Feds as I should have."
Meadow stares at him with sad eyes as she finally says, "So you're no better than the solders."
Damon lowers his head in submission, "I'm sorry if I made you think life is fair, that warfare is fair, but it's not, all that anyone can do about it is pray and hope that they won't lose their minds."
Meadow gives him a confused looks before asking, "So who are you really then? Are you the fun loving human we came to know you as or the heartless monster that you are describing?"
Damon gives her a fleeting glance before looking down, "I'm one and the same, I'm that fun loving guy but I'm also that monster as well."
Meadow starts pacing back and forth, trying to understand, "but you can't, you can't be those two things, you can't be one and the same."
"I am Meadow," Damon replies gravely, "I found it hard to believe as well, but I accepted it, there is nothing that can be done to alter it."
Meadow gives a shaky breath before looking him in the eye, "I don't want you to leave Damon, you're one of my friends, but at the same time I-I-"
"Can't stand to be around me," fills in Damon, "I know Meadow, that's how people feel after coming to know a Ghost," he looks down, "you were just lucky to have met me when I was having RR and not when I was at war."
Meadow lapses into silence once more, no longer able to look into Damon's eyes so he has his say, "I am sorry Meadow, I truly am."
He turns to leave but the wolf moves and intercepts him.
"But…you can't leave, we need you," she said.
"I'm not leaving the forest," Damon says, "I'm just going to fight the Feds on my own in a different location is all."
"That's not what I meant," continues Meadow, "you helped give us Omegas a voice, you help the Alphas recognize us as more than comedians-"
"You did that," counters Damon as he looks away into the fog, "all I did was mention it to them."
"All that I know is that it's because of you that I am here now, that Humphrey is now able to make Winston proud and you comfort and protect us far better than any other Alpha before."
"Quiet," Damon said holding his finger to where his lips are as he continues to stare into the fog.
Meadow shakes her head, "No Damon, you need to hear this-"
"Shush," Damon says again before lowering himself to a crouch and motions Meadow to the same. She gives him an inquiring look, but does as he orders. She becomes slightly alarm when Damon unshoulders his SA rifle and points it towards the fog.
Meadow strains her eyes to pierce the mist to see what is spooking Damon but could not see anything of miss. The grey fog obscures their surroundings; she is barely able to make out the outlines of the trees. She wonders what it is that caught the human's attention before she realizes that the wind has stopped and there seems to a deathly calmness about the place now.
Cautiously, Damon takes a half step forward, she couldn't help but marvel at how he seems to be able to move without making a sound. She tries to mimics his movements, but her first step causes a crunch that echoes all around them. The Ghost freezes and so did Meadow.
They are both silent until she hears it; the sound of metal clicking against metal.
Damon suddenly spins around, lunges and shouts "Down!"
He tackles Meadow onto the forest floor, causing Damon to moan slightly as the friction attacks his wounds as Meadow lets out a yelp of protest. Damon has trapped her in a bear hug; she starts to pull away when she hears the cracks, the hissing, and felt something clip by her ear.
Meadow huddles closer to Damon as the wall of bullets passes over them. Meadow buries her head into Damon's chest while the Ghost looks up and shields his eyes with a hand. Bullets whine through, tiny explosions erupt on the nearby trees as the rounds impact. Snow jumps into the air as the tiny projectiles lands into the snow pack ground. Damon looks for the origins and through the fog he sees the muzzle flashes as they emit their barrage of hot lead.
The guns fire nonstop, all seeming to be spraying the land. Damon takes this as a good sign, indicating that their attackers doesn't know where they are. He glances up and counts eight bright yellow flashes, among them he can hear LMGs mixed with AKs.
Finally after a minute of continues fire, the shooting stops. Meadow tries to rise but Damon presses her down to the earth and listens. Within a few minutes he hears the sound of crunching footfalls, objects hitting the floor, the noise of metal thumping into metal once more and men speaking in a foreign tongue. Emerging like spirits from the mist are eight heavily armed men, all of them with their weapons aim from the hip while they speak to each other.
Noting their slow advancement and shifting gazes, Damon clutches the rifle in his hands with a death grip as he whispers into Meadow's ear.
"When I get up, I want you to run, run all the way back to the school and tell Winston that they are coming, do you understand?" He is glad to see Meadow bounce her head in acknowledgment. He feels her body starting to shake so he scratches her neck with a finger as he watches the approaching Feds.
He breathes steadily, loosens his muscles, slowly pushing his body up, which in turn informs Meadow to rise as well. Damon guesses that the Feds don't see them; otherwise they would have shot them up by now.
He flicks the safety off his gun, waits until he has a clear view of the approaching tangos. Soon they exit the mist and he is able to see that they have SA and AK rifles and two guys with LMGs. Discreetly Damon raises his rifle, stares down range and has one of the LMG gunners in his sights. He rises some more, careful not to reveal his spot which is directly in front of the approaching Feds, but he waits until the machine gunner is close to a tree he is approaching.
They are about twenty yards out when Damon squeezes off three expertly aimed shots. One round clips the gunner's throat, the second takes off the upper left side of his head while the third hits the tree on his right, impacting a little ways above the man's head. He hopes the escalation of the bullets and the angle where the tree was hit would make it look like the shots came from their left flank. It works, the remaining Federation forces turn to their left and reopen their barrage of hot metal.
Damon jumps to his feet, takes aim and fires as well. Two Feds stiffen and falls before the others turn and returns the shots.
"Run!" Damon shouts as he lowers himself into a crouch, tucks the rifle under his arm as he fires his own barrage and shoves Meadow forward with his free hand. Meadow takes off in a sprint while Damon slowly follows as he fires his gun in three sixty motion to force the combatants to seek cover. The Ghost slowly walks backwards as he shoots, trying to stay near Meadow to protect her while keeping his distance so that none Feds will notice her. His gun goes silent; almost mechanically the Ghost pops out the spent clip and slaps a new one into the hole before firing once more. Finally they back their way into fog cover, Damon stops firing so the Feds won't be able to pinpoint their location.
The Ghost lets out a weary breath as he goes on a knee behind a nearby pine tree and reloads again. He is already running out of ammunition and the advancing Feds are still coming strong. He ducks his head as a round flies in overhead and buries itself in a tree not far from Damon's position.
He makes ready to shoot again when a flash of brown catches his eye and he glances to his right. He sees Meadow huddle by the base of a tree as she stays close to the ground.
He hears the rushing of feet and people calling out in Hispanic some distance away, but they are closing in.
He turns back to Meadow and shouts, "Meadow, run for it!"
She gives him a look of disbelief when a wave of bullets started up again. Damon lowers himself behind a tree and holds his rifle out and starts firing again. He pauses in his shooting to look back to Meadow and shout, "Move your sorry hide Meadow, run!"
Finally the brown wolf turns and sprints out from cover and runs in the direction of the Alpha school. Satisfied that she is now away from the danger zone; Damon returns his focus to shooting at the enemy.
Minutes begin to go by as Damon sprays hails of bullets into the fog while the advancing soldiers' answers in kind. He can't see their muzzle flashing this time so he is literally shooting blind as he tries to pinpoint the source of the shooting. He guesses from the occasional screams of agony that he hits his mark, but the boom of battle grows denser, alerting the Ghost that enemy forces are now probably coming closer to finding him.
Damon has no idea what to do next. He can try and fall back and try to find a more stable hard point, but as he eject the magazine of his gun and reaches into his pocket, he discovers that he has now wasted all of his munitions. Damon curses as he throws the assault gun away and takes out the Lynx sniper rifle. The bolt action gun won't suffice when it comes to suppressing fire and the scope won't do him any good while he's in the fog. For now he decides to sit, wait and tries not to flinch when a bullet lands not too far from him.
The Ghost has no idea how much time has passed since the first opening shots has been fired, but now the volume of fire power has increased, meaning more Feds must have arrived. Damon has no idea how long he is waiting or what it is he is waiting for, the best answer he can come up with is that he is waiting for a window of opportunity. He silently prays that the wolves have been alerted and will stay out of the area; maybe they can come and help him again like Humphrey did.
He is jerked out of his train of thought when he sees movement in the corner of his eye. Shadowy shapes are approaching and the outline of their guns is revealed as the bullets explode from their muzzles. Finally he has some targets.
He rests the butt of the rifle against his shoulder, raises it to eye level and takes careful aim before letting off a shot. The tiny bullet zigs through the air before impacting against the head of a soldier, causing the back of his head to explode. With quick reflexes, Damon grabs the bolt, pulls it back and returns it to it's original position once more and fires again, this time aiming at the next target's chest. The round hits dead center, forcing the man to his knees before falling face first into the snow. The other figures soon disperse and either drops to the ground or hides behind nearby natural structures for cover.
Content that he won't be overrun any time soon, Damon goes back into his resting position. He falls back to the ground and rests his head against the tree bark when something lands close by his feet. His eyes widen when he sees it's a grenade. He tries kicking it away, but the snow chafes the velocity of the kick, allowing the tiny bomb to roll only a centimeter away. Damon curses as he stands and jumps out of the kill radius right when the frag explodes.
The momentum of the blast throws Damon farther away before he crashes into the ground. He lets out a hiss as he feels new bruises starting to from right over the old ones. He tries to rise to his feet when he hears the sound of rushing footsteps. He tries to stand and run but it's too late. Something hard slams against his skull, disorientating and forcing the Ghost back to the ground. He feels a steel toe kick him in his ribs causing him to gasp as the bone comes close to breaking. He is kicked again, but this time in the jaw which causes him to flip over.
Damon grunts as he looks up into the ski masked covered face of a Federation soldier. He shouts an alien word at the Ghost before kicking him again. Damon groans as he rolls on his side slightly, allowing him to see his new surroundings. He and the Fed are alone, but he can see more soldiers approaching from the mist covered land.
Knowing he is now on a time limit before reinforcements arrive, Damon acts quickly. He feigns trying to get back to his feet, sparking the Fed to aim another kick at his midsection again. This time however, the Ghost is ready, he catches the foot and twists until it's facing the complete opposite direction of where it's supposed to be pointing. The Fed howls and lowers himself to the floor in an attempt to lessen the excruciating pain. This only brought the soldier closer to Damon, leaving the Ghost to be able to strike back. Damon head butts the Fed before grabbing his vest and pulls him over his body before rolling over once more, but as they tumbled Damon reaches out and grabs the pistol in the Fed's holster. When they stop rolling, the soldier tries to get up but the Ghost places the gun against his head and squeezes off a shot. The floor is splattered with fresh blood as Damon comes up in a crouch, sees another soldier coming in and raises his pistol to shoot.
But he knew he was done. The Fed has already raised his rifle and its pointing directly at Damon's head while the pistol has yet to lock onto it's target. Damon only watches in horror as the Fed's finger closes around the trigger when out of nowhere a bright golden colored animal jumps the Fed.
The soldier howls as the thing clamps onto his arm, causing drops of blood to fall to the forest floor. The Fed started hammering at the creature with his free hand when both the Ghost and soldier hear the growl. Damon turns just in time to watch as a darker color attacker rushes forward and bites down…on the area below the belt. The Fed howls in pain as he goes to his knees, the golden animal releases his arm and then latches itself onto the Fed's neck. The guy starts to scream but soon the cries turn into choking until he finally falls to the ground, allowing the two animals to step away from the downed man.
Damon feels his jaws drop as he mutters, "H-Humphrey? K-Kate?"
"Hey Damon, how are you doing?" Humphrey asks, but with a somber face instead of his usual grin. Kate merely nods to Damon, seeming to be in a state of shock as she wipes her mouth with her paw and stares at the wet blood clinging to it.
Before the Ghost could respond, he freezes when he hears the howl. It was a lone strong voice that echoes throughout the forest. Then one by one, additional howls are added in, making it seem as if the entire forest is full of wolves.
The gunfire comes to a lull as the Federation soldiers are no doubt listening too. Without warning, a human screams in pain, it isn't long before more and more soldiers start to shout, scream and open fire once more. Realizing the wolves are facing active and desperate gunmen, Damon runs out from cover and runs into the mist in the direction of the screams.
The firefight restarts, but now the bullets are flying everywhere, hitting trees, stones, the ground, and once Damon saw a tracer bullet flying high into the air. The Ghost goes back into a crouch when he reaches the edge of the fog, rests on a knee and brings his rifle up to his eye.
He can see the outlines of about a dozen Feds, but they are losing numbers at a surprising rate. Using the mist to their advantage, the wolves are staying low to the earth and racing through the trees to confuse and disorientate the soldiers; frightening them out of their wits. Every so often a Fed goes down as one wolf snags his legs and before the soldier could get back to his feet or even let out a call for help, another wolf will rush in and severe the man's throat.
However, the remaining Feds have regrouped and put their backs to each other. They all raise their guns and fire as one at the ground, lighting the night with their bursts of fire. Damon is at a safe distance away from the targeted area, but he becomes horrifeied when he hears a wolf whine in pain.
Please don't let that be someone I know, Damon thinks to himself as he sets the rifle butt against his shoulder, aim, and fires.
The shot once more tore a nearby soldier's head apart. Damon pulls the bolt back and loads another round before firing off another shot. This time the bullet zings forward and hits a Fed in the stomach, causing him to fall. Now with holes in their defenses, the wolves once again rush forward and use their tactics again, but this time with a renewed energy. Foots are twisted, bones are snapped, and the area below the belt are being put through pain that no man should ever feel. Damon allows the wolves to finish the job, but whenever he sees a soldier trying to raise his rifle, the Ghost will stand and finishes the man off, usually with a shot to the head.
The group of soldiers has almost been reduced to nothing. The lone survivor bats away his wolf attacker with the butt of his pistol before turning and attempts to limp away. He doesn't get far when Damon fires another round that catches the Fed in the back, causing him to crash spread eagle like into the snow.
The Ghost lets out a sigh before walking over to the bloodied area. The Feds were wearing white camouflaged uniforms, but now they are covered in so much blood that it looks like they are wearing red suits. Blood covers he earth, along with fallen weapons, rifles, machine guns, knives and a whole lot of spent brass rounds, but the worst scene are the soldier's bodies. Their legs, chests and throats have been mangled, for some it was a quick death with the snap of a neck, but for some it was a slow agonizing death as they were forced to suffocate. Damon finds one soldier like that, desperately trying to wheeze some air into his lungs. Damon could only look the man over in pity before placing the rifle's muzzle against the man's head and gave him a less painful way out.
Some of the wolves tense and glares at Damon, but didn't say nothing. The Ghost continues to stare at the man he has just shot before a voice at his side said, "you should have let him suffer."
Damon turns and isn't surprise to find Tony by his side. The aged Alpha has a tiny stream of blood flowing from his mouth, but doesn't appear to be injured in anyway.
"Why did he deserve to suffer?" Damon asks.
Tony growls in reply "they shot and injured one of our own."
"Now you know what I mean," the Alpha glances at Damon who glances back, "I've lost temamates as well Tony, this is also one of the reasons why I don't show mercy or justness, I didn't think you would understand, but now you do."
The wolf growls but other than that says nothing.
By this time another wolf pads forward and the Ghost is relieved to see it is Winston. The pack leader looks well, aside from the blood on his chin that is.
"Who did we lose?" Damon asks him.
Winston lets out a sigh before saying, "thankfully no one, Ralph was hit in the leg, but he'll live."
Damon nods as his eyes looks over the gathered wolves as they circle and inspect their first human kills, "I told you those tactics would work."
Winston offers a rare smirk as he says, "Yes, but truth be told it was only because of your constant training that it became a reflex so we had no choice but to use your strategies."
The Ghost nods before saying, "So now you know why it is that I do what I do, in the heat of combat you don't get a chance to offer mercy, and at the end you are too filled with pain to offer any, even then…I had hope you guys wouldn't have experience that feeling."
The two pack leaders look to each other, uncertain now in what to say. Damon gives them a careful glance before asking, "Well I have no place to stay tonight and since you guys know what I'm talking about…can I come back to the dens? At the very least until winter is over?"
The two wolves look to each other again before Winston sighs once more, "Well…this is most definitely different than a wolf pack war, and it would be useful to have someone who can use human weapons…I guess you can stay."
"Guess?" Damon asks before thinking it over a bit before he responds, "Sounds fair."
"Hey Damon!" The Ghost turns to whoever it was that called his name. A blood covered Garth pulls his head out of the pile of corpses and holds a strange device in his maw before spitting it on the ground as he asks, "What is this? It's pretty loud."
The Ghost approaches and he hears the sound of people talking frantically. He picks up his speed as he realizes what the thing is and slides to a stop as he picks the thing up. It was what he had expected; a radio and whoever is using the frequency sounded pretty demanding.
He struggles to understand what the person is saying before he freezes at the final words "*Hacerlo ahora, fuego, fuego!"
"Damon?" Humphrey asks as he comes up next to the Ghost, "what did he just say?"
Suddenly there was an explosion to their right that causes everyone to fall to the ground. Damon looks back up just in time to see another plot of land explode as well, raining snow and dirt from above.
The Ghost curses before he jumps to his feet and shouts, "Mortars!" he then hisses in agitation when he remembers that the wolves has no idea what he is talking about so he says, "get to the forest, get out of the open, now, now, now!"
The pack of wolves didn't need to be told twice, they turn on their heels and sprints back into the forest. However the small artillery shells keep on falling and now they are falling within the tree line. Damon curses as the shock waves forces him to the ground, but he gets back up and stays in the open ground to ensure that every wolf makes it into cover.
His heart sinks when he hears a wolf cry in pain not too far from it. He looks to the spot where the most recent motor round had struck and saw a blacked wolf body lying next to the crater. Damon does a quick look around before deciding enough wolves had made it into the woods before racing over to the downed wolf.
He slides next to the wolf, brush off some of the derbies covering its head and curses. He is staring at Winston. Damon quickly looks the pack leader up and down before finding his injury, his lower legs have been burn and parts of his upper body has been pierced by multiple splitters. The wolf is breathing but whines every so often. Before Damon could help in any way he hears a low whistling sound approaching. The Ghost throws his body on top of Winston, causing the old wolf to howl in pain, but the sound is caught off as the next mortar shell impacts a few feet away from them. Damon coughs as the dust settles and he picks himself up. This isn't the place to perform lifesaving miracles, he has to get Winston out of the battlefield then he can worry about patching the wolf up. Damon bends over, and heaves the wolf onto his shoulders, causing the wolf to whine in pain again, but Damon ignores the sound as he runs into the cover of the forest.
The Ghost runs for all he is worth, but it's as if the shells knew he was their targets for it wasn't long before the mortars started falling within a few feet of them. Damon makes quick left and right turns in an effort to make himself a harder target to hit. But a shell landed close to them once more, the force of the blast lifts Damon off his feet and throws him and Winston end over end before crashing onto the frozen ground.
Winston howls again before Damon crawls over to the aging wolf and begins dragging him away, unable to stand on his pained legs. He pauses when he sees the only thing that could be counted as decent cover; a fallen tree trunk over a mortar crater. Hardly believing their luck, Damon drags Winston with renovated strength, making their way to the cover. The wolf growls as the ground inflict irritation on his body, but other than that he doesn't complain. Finally the two makes it to cover; Damon pushes the wolf in first before ducking in after him.
Winston is panting infrequently as Damon comes up next to him and begins looking at the injuries again. The Ghost is unsure what to do, he has never treated a wolf before and he doesn't have proper medical supplies. Damon lowers his bag and digs in it until he pulls out a wad of leaves; the burn weeds that Nana has given him. He stuffs the greeneries into his mouth and chews on it as he carefully looks outside.
The whole world looks like it is celebrating the fourth of July as bright explosions and streaking illuminating shells light the night. He looks around and sees some wolves who have also taken shelter beneath some fallen logs as well while others have dug burrows next to tree stumps. Occasionally one of the shells hits close to their hide, but other than getting sprayed by dirt and snow, Damon and Winston wasn't affected. Damon heard that mortar rounds are just like lighting; they never hit the same place twice, but Damon isn't willing to bet his life on that battlefield myth.
"Just like old times," Damon mutters to himself as he remembers his time patrolling the borders of No Man's Land when he was a Ranger before becoming a Ghost.
Damon scraps some snow together and takes the burn weed out of his mouth as he turns back to Winston and starts spreading the remedies on his burns. Winston growls but remains still, whether he was in too much pain to protest or he is ready to pass out Damon couldn't tell.
Next the Ghost looks up and starts picking pieces of the bark off the log above their heads. He pulls off a small sturdy twig before picking it apart and makes some improvised tweezers. He looks to the wolf with a sympathetic expression before bending down and starts taking the splinters out. Damon winches at the size and how deep the wooden projectiles have buried themselves into the wolf's body, more than once a fountain of blood was started whenever Damon pulls a particularly large one out. Winston could only pant, seeming to have already waste his energy on growling and howling which worries Damon a bit. He isn't as strong as the younger Alphas are, there's no point in denying that Winston is an old man…so to speak.
And yet he's still going, Damon thinks as he grins to himself, a wolf after Colonel Walker's heart.
"Is it…bad?" Winston finally groans.
Damon thinks for a moment before responding, "yeah, but you know what? I know guys who received worse wounds then these, but they survived."
Winston doesn't respond which concerns Damon before the wolf finally asks, "Do you know if the others are safe?"
The Ghost gives a tired sigh before saying, "I don't know Winston, we all scattered after these mortars started hitting."
As if to prove his point, an artillery round crashes closes to them, causing the ground to shake and more derbies to fall into their hole, other than that, no other damages have been undertaken.
Damon works for what feels like hours, pulling away piece after piece of wooden shrapnel until he couldn't see anymore. He sighs before lowering himself to the floor as he says, "that's all I could find, how you feel?"
"It itches," Winston replies, "but it could be worse I suppose...do you have water?"
Damon unscrews a new water bottle and gently places it in the wolf's maw and tips it back carefully so he wouldn't drown him. Winston drank five mighty gulps before nodding, to which Damon pulls the bottle out, recaps it, and sets it aside while Winston says, "thank you."
The Ghost nods before they both lapse into silence once more, with the continuing barrage outside filling in as the background music.
"How much longer will this last," Winston finally demands, "I need to make sure the pack is alright."
Damon shakes his head, "I don't know Winston…I guess it all depends on how badly they want to kill us, sometimes it'll last minutes, and sometimes hours…the longest I ever hid in a foxhole because of mortars was probably a month."
Winston sighs as he places his head on his front paws, "I guess I might as well rest then."
Damon nods in agreement, "I think we both do," he admits now allowing his body to sag and shut down for the first time since the fiasco earlier that night.
Winston closes his eyes, but he opens it again and mutters, "I'm sorry."
The Ghost looks at the wolf in confusion, "for what?"
"For treating you the way I did," Winston says, "I've experience a pack war, but never a human war, I unjustly judge you when I have no idea what it's like to fight in these conditions."
Damon shakes his head, "no, you're probably right about me…and so is Meadow. I try my best to fight honorably but they just don't seem to work out too good. And you know what? You're not the only one to think like that. My own people back in America, the people I'm defending, they don't give a hoot what happens to us soldiers. If we do anything that seems "barbaric," then they won't hesitate to persecute us, I've known a few guys who almost got thrown in under the charge of murder. Can you believe that? We are under siege, civilians now know what it's like to be in a warzone, but they are still trying to be "civilized" in an uncivilized situation. You know what? I think this, the wars are what brings us closer to our ancestors, like for years we fight over the most stupid things, but we still do it. Sometimes I wonder if-" Damon stops' talking when he sees Winston's eyes are close and he is breathing evenly.
The Ghost sighs before saying, "Good talk Winston," before looking out at the obliterating world surrounding them. Slowly he leans against the wall of the crater and continues watching the dazzling explosive array of weaponry before he closes his eyes and the booms lull him to sleep.
*Do it now, fire, fire!
If I'm mistyping or mistranslating the Hispanic words, please let me know so I can try my best and correct them, and, as always, thanks for reading.