Arise
The Ghost watches the enemy camp from afar, to say it has change drastically since his last visit would be an understatement.
After the fire and caribou stampede, the camp has now become short of a ghost town, so to speak. The fence has all but been torn down; some sections are hanging so low that Damon is sure he can just step right over it. The Northeastern watch tower have been knocked over somehow, it remains is a half gone shell, the Feds are probably now using it as firewood. Some of the tents seem to have caught on fire aw well, leaving their exterior black. The inhabitants of the camp are walking with their weapons, long gone are the slackers, now they are soldiers who looks as if they are on the verge of a major breakdown judging from their jittery states. He also notes that the motor pool is now missing one vehicle, the tank, but it still has one left in reserve. The only thing that hasn't change is the large command center, while the remains of the other stone structure sits in a still smoky heap.
Damon removes the scope from his eye as he looks back up into the night sky. It is approaching midnight, by tomorrow morning the Federation forces will no doubt launch a large hunter killer party in hopes of taking the wolves out when they supposedly retreats back to the dens. However, as Elias Walker would say, they need to beat them to the punch, which means attacking the base head on when they're least expecting an attack.
He checks his newly claim watch; zero dark thirty: twelve thirty am.
The sight of the numbers makes him feel drowsy but he shakes it off. He has been sleeping from dawn to dusk so he can work "vampire hours" as the Special Forces boys called it. Yet this doesn't help his aching body, he has now gone three days without proper rest, routine eating habits and without the special care that his beaten body requires. He rubs his eyes slightly before looking behind him at the wolves.
Half a dozen Alphas are standing behind him, hackles raised and ready for a fight, all except for two; Lilly and her mate Garth who is currently nuzzling her in a reassuring way, pausing every so often to give Damon a glare before returning to soothing her.
Damon didn't blame Garth for the dark looks, if he was in his position he would be scowling at himself as well. All that the Ghost can do is hope and pray that his plan will go smoothly; if not…then that final dance may happen sooner than he thought.
He reaches into his pouch and takes out six C4 charges which he has already molded and primed, all armed by one detonator. His hands slightly shakes as he thinks about what is about to happen next, what he has asked the albino wolf to do.
He takes the charges and holds them in front of Lilly, who looks as nervous as ever. All that Damon could do was give her a reassuring smile behind his mask. She gives him a small grin in return but he can see her nervousness, so he decides to get down to it.
"Just bury them alongside the road," Damon begins but Lilly finishes it, "not too deep and not too far apart," Damon has probably given her the same instructions for the past hour by now.
Garth finally releases a snarl and glares at Damon, "why are you having her do this? Why not you or me, or someone else, anyone else?"
Damon sighs as he explains once again, "She's the only albino wolf we have, she can sneak across the snow and no one will see her."
"Can you promise me she'll come back?" demands Garth.
Damon couldn't force himself to answer. This is highly risky, if the Feds see her than it's a bust for she could and most certainly get shot. Then there's the C4 themselves, if they get too batter too much or for some reason a firing mechanism goes off too early, then it could go off, taking Lilly with it to kingdom come. He wishes he could go himself, but logically speaking Lilly is the one who has the higher chance of succeeding.
Lilly then leans against the Alpha and gives him a kiss, "I'll be alright," she says, but Damon could hear the fear that is lance within her voice. However she doesn't let that show as she walks over to the Ghost and takes the C4 from his hand, holding them all by their edges.
Both Damon and Garth look at her nervously but she nods her head, whether for comfort or to signal that she is ready to go, Damon doesn't have the slightest clue.
He releases a held in breath, stands and leans against a nearby tree. He brings up the Lynx and peers through the scope. The Feds have erected a machine gun nest made of sandbags at the entrance of the camp, manned by two guards. One looks like he is asleep while the other literally twiddles his thumbs, glancing up nervously every so often before looking back down at his dancing fingers.
The Ghost lets out a steady breath as he holds up his hand. He hears the slight sound of crunching snow and knows Lilly is standing next to him. He watches as the soldier scans the area in front of the camp before looking back down. Damon drops his hand, with the signal given, Lilly sprints forward. Out of the corner of his eye, Damon sees Garth restraining himself from rushing alongside her. Now all that the human and wolves can do is sit and watch.
The Ghost looks back through the scope and switches his gaze between Lilly and the sentries.
Lilly drops to the ground and begins to crawl into the open, right in range of the machine gun. Damon wishes he can shoot the Feds, ensuring she'll be safe for a few moments, but that'll raise the alarm, they need the element of surprise if everything goes as he plans tomorrow.
He looks to Lilly and watches as she slowly makes her way towards the road, she is now in full view of the sentries, she needs to be careful or else…he decides if worse comes to worse, he'll shoot the guards and they can think of a new plan, but at the moment he is focusing on one thing, making sure Lilly gets out alive.
He watches as the she-wolf begins the slow process of digging her first hole. Normally such a thing would be a synch for a wolf, but now considering she has to do it in moonlight while staying low to the ground without the guards seeing the upturn dirt? Damon is sure he is hyperventilating as he watches Lilly work; she appears to dig a tiny hole before pushing all the dirt to the side and proceeds to drill deeper.
He looks back at the guards, one still asleep, and thankfully the other looks like he is about to nod off as well.
He glances at Lilly and feels relief as she drops one C4 into the hole and crawls further down the path to get rid of the rest. The Ghost twists his neck to get rid of some of the tension as he waits for Lilly to continue her long dangerous assignment.
An hour has passed and Lilly has successfully buried five of the six explosives, all placed a reasonable space apart from one another. The wolves and Ghost watches as she proceeds farther down the road to set the last charge.
Damon watches Lilly, thinking everything is going to plan.
Suddenly a wolf next to him jumps up and whispers loudly, "Damon!"
The Ghost sees that the wolf is looking at the base and follows his gaze, he curses at what he sees. The sentry that is awake crawls over the machine gun nest and begins heading towards the forest.
"He sees us," hisses an Alpha, the comment is now stirring the other wolves, some looking ready to bolt while others are raising their hackles.
"No," Damon whispers loudly, "he's not walking or looking in our direction."
"So what is he doing," another wolf demands.
The Ghost shrugs before looking back at the soldier. The Fed gives no indication that he knows that the wolves and human are there, but what Damon is concern about is that he may see Lilly. She is still crawling to the final place for the last charge, unaware of the approaching human. Damon curses again as he put the scope of his rifle back to his eye and watches as the Fed walks to a portion of the woods that offers a good angle on Lilly.
Damon can see Garth is about ready to bolt to his mate, but the Ghost bumps him on the shoulder with his knee as he mutters, "wait."
He can see the anxiety of the situation is slowly killing the wolf as he is forced to watch helplessly as a killer walks close to his mate. Damon's own breathing is becoming more labored as he watches in silent horror as the Fed finally comes to a stop close to the tree line.
It is then that Lilly sees him and keeps her body pressed down against the snow, waiting to see what is going to happen next.
Finally the soldier takes his rifle off of his back. Damon's trigger finger tenses, but the soldier merely puts it aside, leaning it against a nearby tree before he fiddles around with his belt and squats.
"Augh," Damon rasps as he looks away, now knowing what is going to happen next, his disgust is partially hidden by his mask.
"What's he doing?" asks a young she-wolf as she tries to stand on her hind legs to see.
The Ghost places his hand over her eyes and turns her head away as he mutters, "you don't want to know."
He returns back to his rifle, only this time aiming towards Lilly. He can see mortification and revulsion on her face as she tries to look away.
Seeing that she is looking in his direction, Damon walks forward carefully and holds out his hand and flicks his fingers it in his direction; signaling for her to rejoin them. She sees him, their eyes make contact and he is sure he sees relief in her eyes. She begins to make her way towards them but stops.
The Ghost stares at her before raising his rifle and checks on the Fed, still doing his business before looking back at the albino wolf and gestures for her to rejoin them, but she remains completely still.
"What's she doing?" questions a worried Garth.
Damon doesn't answer as he gestures more franticly for her to regroup. She remains frozen for a few moments, looking at the ground as if she is in deep thought before finally turning and crawls away.
"What is she doing?" Garth questions again before quickly shutting his mouth as if to keep himself from saying something else.
The Ghost ponders this as well before he realizes what she is planning, "She's going to plant the last charge."
Garth's eyes are huge, "No!" he says, "The soldier will see her!"
The Alpha makes to run but Damon tackles him to the ground. Garth frantically tries to wriggle out of his grasp, but then the Ghost whispers in his ear, ""If you run out there then you will be seen and you'll only put her in greater danger."
"But she is already in danger!"
Before Damon could say anything else, two other wolves are by his side and are holding the struggling Garth down, enabling the Ghost to go into a kneeling position.
He looks through his scope and sees Lilly. She is indeed now burying the final charge. He looks to the Fed who is now returning to his feet, pulling his pants up in the process. Damon looks between the two points of interest and thinks of the odds. The Fed might not be able to see her, but with the baleful bright moon high in the sky and Lilly's lighter fur color against the snow…that's one gamble Damon doesn't want to bet on.
The soldier slings his rifle back onto his back and begins to walk back to the nest.
Now, now, Damon thinks, she needs to come back now while the guy's back is turned.
However that wasn't meant to be. Lilly has just finished drilling the hole, but the earth has already been weakened and the C4 falls roughly into the hole. The Ghost flinches at this; he is expecting the package to blow on impact, but luckily nothing happen. Despite this though, Lilly releases a gasp that is probably no louder than a whisper, but the trolling Fed suddenly turns at the sound and brings back out his rifle.
Damon curses as he loads in a round and watches what happens. Lilly is smart enough to drop to the ground when she notices the Fed becoming alert. The two are a mere thirty feet away, with a road literally leading the soldier closer to the wolf. The Ghost watches helplessly as the soldier begins to walk in the direction of Lilly, with the rifle leveled and at the ready.
Damon doesn't know what to do. He can't kill the Fed; the Lynx fires a silent shot, but the death of a soldier so close to the base will raise the alarm. And he most certainly can't allow Lilly be killed; he can never forgive himself if that happens.
Garth is starting to become even more desperate as the Fed approaches the albino wolf. Damon considers knocking the wolf out, but that could cause a noise that the Fed will hear…
The Ghost wonders if that could work, he hopes so or his only other option will be to kill the sentry. Damon reaches down, scoops up a stone, calculates the distance and hurls it. The tiny rock flew over ten feet before crashing against a tree, causing a mighty crack to be heard.
The Fed twists towards the source of the sound and watches for a while.
Come on, Damon pleads, come on.
Slowly, the soldier begins to make his way towards the tree. Lilly reburies the hole and crawls as fast as she could to the edge of the wood line. Damon keeps her under cover, watching the stalking Fed until Lilly reaches the tree line and jumps back to her feet. No sooner that she was up, Garth leaps on her and pushes her back down, happily kissing and nuzzling her.
The Ghost can understand the reaction, but he taps the couple and says, "That's enough, we can't let the Feds hear us."
Ruefully Garth gets back to his feet but stays very close to Lilly as he glares threatening at Damon.
Damon ignores him as he asks Lilly, "Are you alright?"
Lilly licks her chops before whispering, "Yeah, I think…I hope I planted the…bombs correctly," she says, stumbling over the violent word.
The Ghost sighs as he reaches up in the nearby tree and withdraws his web gear and AK rifle before saying, "We'll find out tomorrow."
The mood among the wolves becomes even more solemn as they realized the truth in Damon's words.
The hate is now gone from Garth's eyes as he looks to the Ghost with slight worry as he asks, "So…follow the plan you gave us?"
The Ghost nods, "I'll be waiting, move after I do," he now looks over the other wolves, "tell everyone this, take the soldiers down fast, don't worry about killing, just disable as many as you possibly can, understood?"
The wolves all nod in silent unison, even the Alphas appears to be unease by the coming prospect.
Damon takes a breather before nodding to Lilly and Garth, just like the way he nodded to Humphrey and Kate. He doesn't believe in long good byes, just a short nod of the head. If they survive, he will speak to them later.
The Ghost turns around preparing to move but pauses, there's one thing he hasn't told the wolves yet.
He looks back at the small pack as they begin to head back into the forest but he calls out, "Garth, Lilly."
Both wolves turn and walk forward. Damon gets into a kneeling position and says, "Just wanted to tell you guys something."
They peer at him curiously before he says, "I just wanted to say thank you, again, for protecting, healing and watching over me, most of the wolves wouldn't," he says in what he hopes to be his most honest voice.
Lilly smile before walking forward and licks his covered cheek, appearing to be unfazed by his gruesome mask before saying, "You're welcome Damon, but it's you we should be thanking, you helped better our lives and now…you're ready to defend us."
The Ghost nods as he remembers what it is being asked of him. He was willing to lay down his life for the safety and defense of his nation, but now he is willing to the same for this wolf pack, and so he will if necessary.
He whispers, "Thank you…and thank the others as well, including Meadow and her friends." Damon prays silently that they'll listen this time and stay away from the fighting. They looked relived when he gave the order, but he saw the sadness on Meadow's face and the anger on Ann's. He hopes that the pack will win, it's the only way to ensure that the pups will grow to have a bright future, or a future at all.
The Ghost looks away as he picks up his gear once more, gives another nod to the wolves before, slipping into the shadows and makes his way to the Federation camp.
Damon rests in the small hollow of a tree deep in the foliage of the forest, fully clothed and combat ready. He was able to catch up on a few hours of sleep, but only a few, now he lies awake as the sun lazily hovers above the forest like its a normal day.
It isn't a normal day though; Damon knows that as a fact.
He lifts himself up by a few inches and looks around his tree at the primary target; the Federation base just thirty yards away. The Federation soldiers are now going to work, loading technicals and jeeps, but they are leaving the remaining tank on base, just as the Ghost expected. The soldiers are loading up weapons and men as they wait for their commanders go ahead to begin their hunt for the American.
As he observes the post, he then sees the four legged creatures within the compound. The Federation K-9 unit is posted near the entrance of the gate, with a black colored wolf walking in front of them. Remembering how heartless the wolf is, Damon vows that if he gets a shot at Oliver, he's going to take it.
The Ghost hunkers down and goes over his equipment once again. Three remaining packs of C4, the AK rifle with a red dot attach and a grenade launcher wedge beneath the barrel. His Lynx rifle he keeps on his back should he needs it later. A pistol holstered on his hip, a Combat knife, a couple of smoke and frag grenades attach to his web gear. He isn't well fitted for a full out combat assault, he would be wearing heavy body armor, helmet, and be outfitted with heavier weapons. Instead he is wearing torn cloths, have light weapons, little or no body armor at all and his only head protection is his Ghost mask, not a lot of good that would do if he gets hit.
He breaths evenly as he reaches within his pocket and withdraws the detonator. He looks over the log again and glances at the road. The holes are partially hidden, he can see the upturn and uneven snow, his only hope is that the Feds have a less trained eye as he has.
He looks back at the soldiers and sees they have prep a truck full of a dozen men, a technical vehicle with a fifty caliber machine gun and a jeep where no doubt the commander of the small expeditionary force is sitting.
The Ghost shoulders his AK and brings out the Lynx rifle. He puts the sight to his eye and peers through it.
The jeep has three passengers, one rider, one person with the rank of a lieutenant on his helmet and another armed soldier who must be the officers' guard. No sign of Estrada, he must be hiding out in the base until the fighting is all over.
He watches as the officer place a radio to his mouth and gives the command. Soon, the three vehicles pull out and trudges forward. The gates are pulled open as they drive through; pass some fellow soldiers cheering their support.
Damon lets go of the rifle with one hand and uses it grab hold of the detonator switch. He breathes as he watches the small convoy make their way along the road.
It's as if the whole world suddenly slows to a crawl, second becomes hours as the vehicles move closer and closer to the targeted area. The jeep passes the first charge, then the second, close to the third, now finally the truck passes the first charge as well. Damon almost pulls the trigger but restrains himself; he needs them in the middle to ensure that all vehicles will be caught in the intended inferno.
Finally the technical passes the middle, the moment he is waiting for; Damon squeezes the trigger.
In that moment, all chaos breaks out. On either side of the road, flames shoot out of the ground, great geysers of fires blow torching each side of the vehicles. The force of the explosions shakes the small convoy while throwing the jeep across the ground and having it slam against a nearby tree. The technical is lifted off the floor before falling back down, smashing the occupants within and throwing those in the back into the blaze. The truck in the back meanwhile is flip onto its side, rolling the soldiers into the fire.
Black smoke and bright orange flames dancing on tree trunks and hanging limbs decorates the scene as the remanding soldiers let out blood chilling screams. Those who can still move attempts to crawl out of the unnatural furnace while those who couldn't burn in the blaze. Damon is forced to look away at this, but when he hears the frantic calls he looks back up.
Just as he predicted, the defenders of the base rushes out while the tank and techincals begins to move, all heading to the aid of their comrades.
Realizing now is the time, the Ghost stands, takes a smoke grenade in both his hands, he hurls both of them towards the raging firestorm. Now he can only hope the wolves will have an easier time then he will.
The wolves couldn't help but look away at the unexpected flambé before them. The smell of smoky wood, burning meat and high pitch screams fills the air as the fire slowly licks away their skins.
Forcing down revulsion, Humphrey looks up and sees the approaching soldiers. He releases a light sigh as he looks at the Alphas around him. Hutch, Cando, Garth and of course Kate are all with him as they take cover in the underbrush that is a few yards away from the improvised road. Kate looks at him and lays her paw on his. They share one last reassuring smile before looking back at the destruction before them, still unable to believe that's this is actually happening.
The grey Omega looks back at the other wolves behind him. The massager did a good job; it looks like the entire pack is here. The only ones that aren't present are the pups and some of the female mothers who will be staying away from the bulk of the fighting.
Everyone was surprised when Lilly wanted to come, but Garth talked her out of it. Humphrey could still see the worried look on his brother-in-law's face as he is no doubt thinking about his mate.
Humphrey knows the feeling as he looks back at Kate. This is why he trained harder than anyone else, he wanted to show he can live up to being Kate's mate, to show that he is the right one for her and is willing to defend her from any and dangers of the world just as a regular male companion is supposed to do.
Kate suddenly leans in close to him and whispers, "No matters what happens, I love you," she ends with a gentle kiss against his nose. Humphrey releases a calm breath as he feels the same thrill he always felt when he and Kate are together.
"I love you," he mutters back to her, "I hope I can show you that I'm worthy to be your mate and that I can become the wolf you deserve."
The she-wolf looks at the Omega in surprise before saying, "You're already the wolf I deserve," before kissing him again.
Humphrey stares at her in shock before saying, "You mean all this time I nearly killed myself more than once when you already liked me as I am?"
Kate laughs at his disbelief when Cando shouts, "there's the signal!"
Sure enough, a large cloud of smoke begins to smolder and rise in two different places, close to the ambush site and the place where the soldiers are closing in.
Tony rises to his feet and shouts, "Wolves of the United Pack! The time has come to defend your dens, defend your mates, and defend your pups! Shows these butchering humans what happens when they cross into our land!"
The wolves all releases a war cry, a howl unlike any other heard before. The soldiers begin to slow their pace at the strange sound and looks wearily towards the forest. That is when one of them begins to shout warnings about the cloud of smoke that is starting to rise to their hips.
"Attack!" Tony finally roars, and with the thundering sound of a stampede, the entire pack of nearly fifty plus wolves sprints forward towards their advisories.
The Federation soldiers all halt when they hear the sound. The crashing of hundreds of charging feet, the clicks of gnashing teeth, and the occasional howl that pierces the early morning air. The humans all raise their weapons and takes aim to the tree line where they calculate the sound is emitting from. They soon sees the furry backs of a low traveling bodies go up and down ion the small cloud of cover, like dolphins in the great sea. Panicking at the unknown attackers, the soldiers, nearly a hundred in all, releases their volley of lead.
Humphrey has lost sight of Kate after they have entered the cloud cover, but soon after, the rattling of guns could be heard and the ground begins to jump as bullets strike the earth. A wolf in front of Humphrey lets out a loud yelp before a strong force throws the poor creature back, showering the grey Omega in crimson blood.
He is shocked as he feels the wet lifeblood on his coat, but that horror turns to fury. The soldiers are attacking his friends, his pack; his family, now he is determined more than ever now to defeat them.
The Omega weaves through as bullets cut across his way before he sees a human leg in front of him. Almost out of instinct, he grabs the leg where the knee is located, turns, twisting the knee all the way until he hears a crack and speeds away just as the human goes down with a wail.
It's a terrifying sight that the Federation soldiers are staring at; their comrades are being brought to the forest floor, screaming all the way before abruptly ending once they are below the smoke screen. One turns and attempts to retreat, but they only got in the way of their fellow soldiers and were killed in the crossfire, adding more confusion to the impeding scene.
The Ghost is impressed by how well the wolves are performing; the soldiers are being stirred up into a crazed mob as they face the unknown. However Damon knows it won't last long, the wolves are on their own when the fog lifts, but then they will be massacred by the remaining technical vehicle and the tank.
With that in mind, he picks up his AK and leaps over the log and sprint towards the base. He jumps over obstacles, avoid trees and slides beneath branches before finally running out into the open.
He is just ten yards away from the base, but in that span of time, a nearby Federation soldier sees him and shouts a warning.
The Ghost raises his rifle hip high and fires single shots at the man; killing him with two wounds to the chest before Damon makes it to the fence.
With the fencing material hanging so low already, Damon runs up it and jumps like an Olympic hurdler over the barrier. He crashes onto the floor on the other side, but wasting no time, comes back to his feet and rushes into the compound.
He races through the small maze of tents, trying to get to the vehicles in time. He doesn't slow down, even when a Fed comes out to confront the Ghost, but Damon shoots him with a single shot before moving forward.
Finally he reaches the main gate just as the technical pulls up with the tank right behind it. Damon had planned on taking out the tank first so he wouldn't lose the element of surprise. But that idea is immediately thrown out the window when he sees a soldier on the back of the truck baring the fifty cal. Machine gun on the mass of smoke before him; willing to kill their own troops if necessary to stop the wolves.
Damon doesn't even blink as he lifts up his rifle and fires a grenade from the launcher from the under barrel attachment. The Ghost is pushed back as if he is kick by a mule, but is met with satisfaction with what he sees next.
The grenade lands within the truck bed and explodes on impact. The soldier is blown out of the back while the truck is swallowed in flames before being forced to jump by a secondary explosion. It lands as a blacken husk before the tank, blocking it from getting to the wolves.
Hoping he isn't too late, the Ghost slips out one of the C4 charges and makes ready to run to the armored war machine. However, he barely takes a step when a searing pain blossoms in his left bicep and hits him with a powerful blow strong enough to turn him around.
Damon barley has a look at his attacker when another pained force hits him in his abdomen, blowing him onto his back. The Ghost could barely whiz in a breath of air, the lack of oxygen keeping him from standing.
He slowly tries to use his elbows to push himself up when a boot kicks him back down. The pain is so intense and with the lack of air the Ghost is only able to let out a pained gasp as he is forced to look up at his assailant.
He doesn't know why, but he isn't surprised when Estrada struts into his view, placing a smoking magnum pistol in a shoulder holster on his right side and looks down at the Ghost with pure hatred in his eyes.
"You," he growls, "why don't you just die?"
Damon laughs in his face, "I did die, I'm a Ghost remember?"
Damon's chuckle turns into a pained yelp when Estrada steps on his chest and applies pressure. The Federation colonel stares down at the American before reaching down and grabs the Ghost. He squeezes his shoulder, blinding Damon with pain before hoisting him up and turns the Ghost to face the main gate. His working arm is pinned behind the small of his back, his legs is kicked out from underneath him so Estrada is holding him up while his other arm is being held tightly by the Federation commander.
Damon tries desperately to breath, but with his damaged chest and the pain he is experiencing, it's a miracle he hasn't passed out yet.
"Look," Estrada whispers into the Ghost ears, "look at what your scheming has done!"
Damon couldn't help but smile as he watches the Federation soldiers fall one by one, both to the teeth of the wolves and to the bullets of their own. The compound is in ruins and the last of the light assault vehicles have been efficiently destroyed.
Estrada tightens his grip on Damon as he whispers, "Now, you will face the consequences."
As if on cue, the tank rumbles forward and without stopping, it runs over the remains of the truck. Damon's gut twists when he hears agonizing screams coming from within the destroyed technical, but after the armored attack vehicle passes over it, the screams cease.
The tank than levels out the gun and aims it at the fighting wolves and soldiers.
Realizing what's going to happen, Damon struggles, but he is already tired; his beaten body has taken on the strain for three days straight and now it's finally met its limit.
His head jerks up when he hears the boom, he sees the smoke leaving the cannon and a millisecond later, a huge lot of land in the middle of the battlefield exploded. Humans and wolves are thrown in the air while the cries of hundreds are heard.
No!
With unknowable strength, Damon jerks his injured arm out of a surprising Estrada's hand and hits him with his elbow. Stung by the smash, Estrada releases Damon, but before he falls to the ground, the Ghost twists around and in that small space of time, his hand shoots forward and takes the magnum from its holster.
Estrada tries to back away but it's too late, Damon squeezes the trigger. Estrada is blown away as a large crimson hole appears on his chest before landing with a thud on the ground.
Damon's attention flickers to the second mighty crash he hears and sees another explosion occur on the plains. He attempts to walk forward but instead falls to the ground. He then tries to crawl towards the tank, but his weaken body can't go any further.
He can't give up, not now, not when the wolves need him the most.
He looks around and finds what he is looking for. A good size piece of scrap metal that has been blown away from the body of the technical; it's no larger than Damon's hand, but it's perfect.
Having dropped the first C4 somewhere, Damon reaches into his pouch and withdraws the second. He sticks it onto the metal piece and secures it just when the third boom is resolved.
Now filled with absolute anger, the Ghost primes the explosive, uplinks the detonator before finally picking up the metal and throws it with all his might at the tank.
It causes a loud clang to be sounded as it lands on the hatch on top of the armored attack vehicle. Maybe…just maybe…
The hatch opens, the engineer obviously thought it was knock and they had no idea that they have been flanked. With the charge right in front of the hatch, Damon clicks the destructive remote.
The tank driver barely has time to release a scream when he is eaten alive by a raging fire. The flames hit the upturn hatch and are channeled into the controlled section of the vehicle. Soon a pair of bodies' enveloped in flames crawl out of the blazing opening and falls to the ground, desperately twirling about in the snow in an attempt to put out the fire.
The Ghost stares daggers at them, but he pulls out the Lynx that is still strap to his back and takes aim with it. He fires two shots, ending the drivers torment.
He looks back behind him and sees the body of Estrada, lying in the cold snow, unmoving.
The Ghost releases a relived sigh before crawling towards the gate and peers out. The smoke is starting to part, but the last three shelling has brought up some more smoke, keeping the wolves hidden for a while longer.
Seeing that there are still some human shaped shadows moving around, Damon brings his rifle to his shoulder, takes aim, and fires before pulling back the bolt for another round.
The pack is losing numbers fast. The downed humans wither away in pain, but only for a while. Some humans who are obviously stronger than the others, begins to fight back. They take out their knives and smaller guns and begin taking the wolves on.
Then, during the confusing attack, a bunch of dogs got in the quarrel, but not ordinary dogs. Theses canines are unafraid of wolves and fought with a ferocity never before seen. Soon the pack realizes that these are the trained dogs that Damon has warned them about.
No sooner did Humphrey think that did a four legged shadow jumps him. The shadow snaps and snarls at the wolf, which Humphrey returns in kind. They circle one another, gnashing at one another before finally completing their circle and they jumped at each other.
They crashed together and begin to tussle in the snow. They claw, bit and kick, tucking into a ball with one another and bounces around, trying to snap their opponent's neck. Humphrey feels cuts and tears appearing on his body, all being caused by the sting of claws and the burn of a bite. These dogs are a whole new different fighting breed entirely, one that Humphrey has never encounter before.
His underbelly is being scratched at by the dog's hide legs, threating to reveal his intestines. Finally in an attempt to ease the pain a little, Humphrey kicks the dog away, hoping to catch a second wind to continue his defense.
The dog gets back to its feet and snaps at the Omega. Humphrey growls and lowers himself and that's when he thought his life ended.
He is blinded by a pure white light, his body is washed in burning hot heat and he feels his body being lifted into the air. He thought he was hit by a bullet and is being taken up to the park in the skies, but suddenly he begins to descend and his vision returns. He is only able to see the ground for a second before landing with a thud.
His vision is blurred as he stares around in confusion. He is unsure what has happen, but he is sure he is lying fifty feet away from where he was originally fighting. It is then notice that the place where the dog has been standing a few moments ago.
Humphrey attempts to stand and rises onto his shaking feet, stumbling a bit as he does so. He looks around, still trying to understand what has happened, has one of Damon's explosives gone off late? Suddenly there is a boom and he is forced back to the floor. He looks up just in time to see another blast, spewing humans and wolves in different directions.
"What's going on!?" A wolf suddenly shouts.
"Those wolves are all dead!" Another voice cries, "We need to get out of here!"
As if to confirm the wolf's words, another explosion resides and he sees another blast happens once more.
"We need to leave, now!" a frantic voice suddenly yells.
Suddenly feeling daring Humphrey shouts, "No! Hold your ground! No retreat! We have to stop them here and now!"
Suddenly the earth shakes, but this time the fire storm is happening in the distance, where the Federation camp is.
Humphrey wonders what has happen when a solid kick strikes him in the side. He is thrown to the floor and looks back to see an almost evil looking soldier staring down at him.
The human shouts gibberish at him before raising his rifle.
Humphrey's eyes widen as he realizes this is his end. He never thought this would be how it would end, he had hope he live long enough to have puppies with Kate and pass into old age, this is clearly not what fate has intended for him. He only hopes that the pack will win and that Kate will be safe.
Good bye Kate, he thinks before closing his eyes, waiting for inevitable.
Suddenly he is covered in something wet and he feels something topples over him. Humphrey gasps as all the air is forced out of him. He squirms beneath the thing before he finally pulls himself free and looks down at what has fallen on top of him.
It's the soldier who was standing and threatening him just a few moments ago, now with a huge rubicund gaping hole in his head.
The Omega is confused by this sudden turn when he hears thumps around him and looks back up. The Federation soldiers…they are all dropping like flies with blood flying from their craniums.
What…Humphrey thinks for a moment when the answer hits him, Damon! He must have taken out the tank! That's it! If we keep pushing then we are-
Suddenly a sharp pain shoots along Damon's back as something clings onto the back of his neck. He yelps as he feels himself being shaken around before being thrown a least five feet through the air and skids along the ground.
The wolf groans as he pushes himself back onto his feet and looks to see what attacked him. His blood ran cold.
Standing in front of him is Oliver, looking as fierce as any wolf could. His black coat is ruffled and stained with blood streaming down from his back and running all the way down to the ground as if he has doused himself in the stuff. His eyes are a flaming red as they gazed at the Omega before him, crimson overflowing his jaw and flowing down his chest. There is something of a dark aura surrounding the Alpha as he stalk forward towards Humphrey.
"An Omega fighting in an Alpha's place," Oliver sneers, "sees how far we fell from grace because of the humans?"
Humphrey's throat is dry, but he gulps before growling, "Says the wolf who swore to protect us, now you're leading the attack against us."
Oliver releases a mighty roar before leaping forward. He jumps into midair, claws outstretch, teeth gnashing, slobber and chucks of blood flying out as he does so. All that Humphrey could do was flinch, sure that this is truly his end when something brown slams against the black Alpha and throws him off course. They mere left of Humphrey, missing him by inches. Seeing he is still alive, the Omega releases a thankful sigh before looking at whatever it was that saved him.
Standing in front of Oliver as he slowly gets back to his feet is Viola, teeth bared, fur standing on end, and growling loud enough to shake the Earth in Humphrey's opinion.
Oliver looks surprised before snarling, "Ah…my beautiful huntress…I should have known you were behind this."
Viola gnashes her teeth at the black Alpha before saying, "You only have yourself to blame for this Oliver, I swear I'm going to tear your gizzard out and feed it to the birds."
Oliver laughs, "You're starting to sound like Eve my dear," he suddenly jumps over the she-wolf, forcing her to turn, jump and snap her jaws, but misses her target my inches. Oliver lands behind her before saying, "If you want me, than catch me," with that, the black wolf takes off deeper into the fog.
Viola rereleases a vengeful howl, "Oliver!" before charging after him.
"Viola waits!" Humphrey shouts, but he could only watch as Viola chases after Oliver, who is heading towards the Federation base.
The Omega turns and shout, "Help! Someone! I need help!"
But the other wolves are fighting their own fights; too focus on their opponent to heed the cries of the Omega.
Humphrey looks uncertainly at the fading shadow that belongs to Viola and looking back at the feuding wolves behind him. He's an Omega, no, he's the Omega, the king of screw-ups, how could he be of any help? He might end up getting himself and Viola killed. But…Viola does need help, whether she knows it or not, she needs support.
Humphrey releases a groan before taking off, sprinting after the disappearing form that is Viola.
Damon slowly places his target in the crosshair and fires. Most of the soldiers are starting to stand in groups which he knows will end up killing scores of wolves. He first takes out the commanders before shooting the small fries with either chest or head shots.
It's as if he felled hundreds of troops by the time he ran out of ammunition for the Lynx.
He sighs before looking back at his time. In a quick haste he digs out a small first-aid kit in his web gear and slap on a large bandage that has been soaked with bacteria killing alcohol. It stops the bleeding, if he's honest he's not sure if he'll live or die, for all he knows the round destroyed a major inner organ.
However that doesn't stop him as he looks around, sniper or no sniper, he's going down there to help the wolves even if it kills-
His eyes suddenly lock onto a patch of snow that has been disturbed. That was where the body of Estrada had laid while he was shooting. Now it's gone, and judging by the uncoordinated footsteps leading away from the site, Estrada is still alive.
The Ghost curses as he realizes his blunder. Stupid, he should have shot the guy in the head for double insurance, but that doesn't matter now. He needs to capture or kill Estrada, if he escapes, than he can rally his troops and they could counter attack their assault.
Damon rises unsteadily onto his feet and takes out his pistol, the only weapon he has on at the moment. Exhaustedly, he stumbles forward, doing his best to keep his balance while moving forward at the same time. His vision is turning red, black and white, his body can't take much more, but he has to keep moving.
He stumbles through the maze of tents, hounding for his prey, but with his staggering around with a loaded weapon it's more likely he'll bring more harm to himself than Estrada.
The Ghost accidently bangs his arm against the pole of a fence and the pain is terrible. He feels the burning sensation starting in his stomaching, lancing all the way up to his throat and to his mouth. Realizing what's coming next, Damon has no choice but to drop to his hands and knees, wretch off his mask and wretch all the bile that rose within.
He gags as the small meal he has consumed earlier makes a comeback before finally wiping away the vomit from his mouth and looks up. He feels his heart beginning to race when he sees Estrada, stumbling around like a drunk, but walking nonetheless in the direction of the lake.
With his target in sight, Damon places his mask back on, rises back to his feet and forces himself to speed walk after the running man. He climbs over the fence that only rose hip high, but it's still tall enough to catch his foot, causing him to trip and fall to the floor.
He gasps at the pain as his vision is transformed and he is now seeing everything blood red. He grits his teeth and pushes himself back up and slowly staggers after Estrada. This is pathetic from an outside point of view, two guys who looks like drunks are attempting to run after one another, but the fact that Damon is waving a gun around takes all the humor out of the situation entirely.
He raises the pistol up to eye level and starts to fire. It would have been an easy shot, but he is pain, bleeding, his vision is now a red and he is staggering around like a blind man. It's of no surprise that almost all of his bullets went wild as he fires after Estrada.
The Federation colonel keeps his head bow and continues to move towards the lake. The Ghost is growing delirious as he considers throwing the gun at Estrada when suddenly the earth shakes once more.
Damon drops to the ground, thinking it was either artillery or maybe even another tank that he has missed. But that is not the case when he looks back up and sees it. The water shoots upwards as a large metal hull penetrates the lake surface and holds there.
Sitting in the lake is a submarine, with the Federation flag painted on its side.