There's Something In The Mountains

Chapter II

(Photo of Wolf for tax!)

Date Posted: 1/10/22

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Half Hour Later

New Forest National Park
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Sam! Come help me with this stupid thing!" Wolf called out, running a hand through his black hair in frustration. The tent he took as his just refused to listen and kept collapsing in on itself try after try. It was completely infuriating.

.... And extremely humiliating.

Snake gave a small put upon sigh as he came over and managed to pitch up Wolf's tent in record time. The unit leader refused to look ashamed and simply gave a nod of thanks. Sam took it for what it was and went about his business finishing up last minute things around the camp that the "kids" had forgotten to do. The other three had already pitched up their own respective tents and built a fire pit a short distance away in the middle (a fresh pile of scavenged wood included.) They were currently constructing the wood into a proper pyramid in the fire pit so it would burn correctly. Alex and Nick were both giggling like school boys over something Ben had said. Most likely making fun of Wolf for his lack of tent pitching skills no doubt. He couldn't help but smile at them bonding. The medic grabbed the forest green tag they'd been given after check in with their site number on it, and went to go secure their own shower/bathroom villa not too far from camp. 

"James. where're the hot dogs?" Eagle asked shortly after Sam's departure, rummaging around in one of the cooler packs coming up empty handed. 

"How am I supposed to know?" The leader grouched, still sore from his earlier experience. Wolf finished rolling out his sleeping bag before replying. He popped his head out of his tent to be heard better, a frown marring his tanned features. "I thought you were in charge of the supplies?"

"I was!" His copper haired comrade cried as he dug around in some other bags. "I don't get it. I had them sitting here in this bag..."  

"Found them!" Alex announced, holding up the desired item that was their dinner. Nick looked completely perplexed, hazel eyes narrowed. He could've sworn those things were in the other cooler bag. How the hell did they end up in with their drinks? 

He voiced his question to his team. 

"You probably just got distracted and weren't paying attention." Ben told him dismissively. "You know how you get when you're all hyped up about something." 

Although true... Nick knew he wouldn't just do something like that. Contrary to popular belief, he was actually quite an organized individual when it came down to it. He had to be for a sniper.

Shrugging, he put the odd occurrence on the back burner. At least they wouldn't be going hungry their first night out. That would just be unacceptable.  

As the night wore on, the unit sat around the glowing camp fire telling cheesy ghost stories and laughing at random jokes. Eventually a bag of jumbo marshmallows and assorted candy joined the party. Snake got into a food fight with Eagle after his beautifully cooked, golden brown marshmallow suspiciously went missing when he left to go retrieve his bottled water. Nick's eyes held a look of pure innocence when the sharp shooter denied taking it, though the white goo decorating his previously clean fingers said otherwise. Sam lived up to his code name's sake in that moment, narrowing his eyes and swiftly striking out to half heartedly tackle the younger unit member to the ground. Their chairs and respective shares of candy toppled, but was ignored. Fox rooted them on while Wolf shared a 'What-the-fuck-am-I-going-to-do-with-these-fools' look to the real child of the team. Cub could only chuckle and shake his head. 

{ * AR * }

Alex awoke to hear a small scratching noise outside his tent. He blearily sat up, senses becoming more and more awakened as the noises progressed. There was no glow of a flashlight, so it couldn't have been one of the guys. Alex checked his watch. 3:14 AM. He'd only been asleep for a little over an hour and a half. He along with the rest of the unit had finally gone to bed after the marshmallow incident (and after helping James babysit the two men while they walked down to the showers to wash off all the dirt and sticky marshmallow residue.) 

Something dumped over outside his tent, startling the teen. A tall, human-like shadow moved across outside, illuminated by the bright moonlight. Oddly, no foot steps could be heard. 

Alex sat up and reached for his small hunting knife he'd brought with him. The teen didn't think he'd ever need to break it out, considering he was camping with shifters. But it was obvious no one else was hearing what he was, and Cub wasn't about to spook whatever it was just yet by calling out. Knife in hand, Alex's other softly gripped the zipper and slowly started undoing it just enough to peek out. 

His heart froze. 

There was no one there. 

Deciding to be brave, Alex undid the zipper more until it was about half way. It had only been a few seconds, so there's no way someone could've taken off successfully in that time without being heard. He glanced around, half expecting one of the guys to be hiding in the shadows so they could freak the shit out of him. 

... Not that it would work out in their favor. Most likely they'd end up having to cut their trip short to go stitch up someone's gut. 

Alex winced at the thought and proceeded to stuff the knife back in it's safe place before cautiously exiting his tent. Everything was as is when they went to bed. Nothing was out of place. Not even the half burnt pieces of wood in the ashy fire pit. 

Alex frowned as he gazed around the camp. All the other tents were zipped up tight. He was even able to hear some of them snoring. 

So then... who the hell was lurking around? Because there was clearly something here just moments before. He wasn't crazy. 

... Or maybe he was just hearing things? Seeing things because his brain was still adjusting to the endless quiet? 

The teen bit back a groan. Not for the first time wishing he had the same abilities as his unit. 

Since there was no use staying up about it, Alex turned to go back into his tent when a soft rustling of bushes immediately caught his attention. Whipping back around, Alex waited for something to show, heart beating fast. He didn't have to wait long before a shadowy figure lurked out of the darkness and made it's way towards him. Coming into the inner circle of the moonlit camp. 

Alex released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. 

It was only Wolf. 

/What are you doing up?/ James asked, the massive black wolf's head tilting curiously, ears flicking. Cinnamon brown eyes stared intently into his own. 

Caught off guard, Alex fumbled for a response. He didn't understand why, but he felt like he shouldn't tell him what was the real cause. "Oh, I... just wanted some fresh air is all." 

The unit leader's eyes narrowed a bit, clearly not buying it fully. The wolf then shrugged a little, dismissing the obvious lie as he moved passed the teen. /I don't believe that to be the case. But if that's what you want to go with then, alright./ Just before entering his tent, James turned his eyes to the teen once more. His gaze was steady and his voice held something akin to comfort in it. /Try to go back to sleep, Cub. No one's going to hurt you here./ And slipped inside. 

Strangely enough, Wolf's words seem to do just the trick and within minutes after returning to his tent, the teen was fast asleep again.