Titan Turn; A TDS Story

Chapter 20

Krampus, Scout and Gravedigger set off after the pack of wolves. At first the older man was unsure if it would be ideal to go chase some wild animals but after enough coaxing from the boys he agreed. They took the ATV through the snowy abandoned village. It was still eerie despite there being light outside.
The wolves quickly stirred off of the main path, heading deeper between the pines, Grave slowed to a stop watching them evenly.

"Why would they want us to follow them there? This was the only human settlement we have seen here for miles!"

Scout thought to himself for a moment, "Well, we did come from the other side... Maybe there are more?"

"Absolutely not. I traversed this place many times.. Even in my Titan form once or twice.. I am sure I would have spotted another village if it was so close by..." disagreed Krampus, shaking his head.

The animal named by Scout, 'Wolfey', turned back to them as if waiting for them to step forward. Scout nodded to Grave, who proceeded with caution. They went through the trees for a little while, the view of the path behind them blurring out into the landscape. Grave cut some branches as they continued along in case they needed some extra fuel.
The sights of the mighty forest were of a spectacular beauty, any nature enjoyer would have been head over heals to explore it, too bad it's sealed behind an old portal. Scout took in a deep breath, their surroundings were calming in a way with the occasional bird chirp. The only thing they could hear was the motor running, wood burning and the wolves' paws against the soft snow.
The few minutes soon turned into half an hour of carefully trudging through the tundra. However, everything soon came to a halt inside a clearing at the base of the mountain. It was covered in an unusual amount of snow, almost deep enough for the boys to sink into all the way up to their thighs.
There were knocked down trees, huge branches and stumps littered everywhere. Krampus stepped off the vehicle, inspecting the chaos around them, the aftermath of a true storm.
He too felt that nature was being unbalanced earlier in the morning and he proved to be correct after the loud noise had woken him up.

"This... This is where the avalanche took place.." he murmured.

Scout tightened his grip on the chair's handle, "You... You don't think there's a wolf trapped in there... Do you?"

Gravedigger stood up as shook his head, "If it was, the wolves wouldn't be so calm.. At least I don't think they would"

Krampus placed a comforting hand on Scout's shoulder, "Grave's right, Scout. Even if there would be one, they wouldn’t have walked all the way after us, they can dig faster. When you are stuck under snow, you have a matter of minutes at best up to an hour before you start to suffocate... Not to mention succumb to the wounds one would have suffered after such an event... Almost guaranteed death... "

Scout let his shoulders down, " B- But then it doesn't make sense, sir... Why bring us here if not to help!?"

Grave jumpped out, making his way to the pile of snow and destruction left by the avalanche, "Maybe they  sensed something?"

Scout took after him and started looking around as well whilst Krampus watched over the boys from afar, until they left his line of vision behind some pines. There was something...wrong.. He could not shake that feeling away.. But what was it exactly?? He could not tell.. His parental insticts kicked in, following the boys at a slower pace, to be there in case anything went south or anyone attacked them.

The children got closer and closer to the mountain, almost enough to see the path leading to the top. They were looking around for...something? Despite neither of them knowing exactly what that was..

A small branch unlike the others caught Scout's attention, it appeared to be an odd silver pole sticking out from beneath the heavy snow. He walked over, pulling it out of the white coat of ice with a little bit of a  struggle. He turned it on all sides, seeing a small hole where a nail was supposed to be in place.

"Hey Grave!" he yelled, keeping his eyes on the mysterious object. It somehow looked familiar as if he had worked with it before.

Grave yelped at the sudden noise across the deadly silence, "Yeah?!"

Scout waved the metal stick in the air for his friend to see, "I found something!"

At hearing the statement, Grave rushed to Scout's side, taking a look for himself at the metal beam. He took it in his own hands, playing with it a little, trying to figure out what it was, ".. What is this thing?"

Scout shrugged, "I am... not sure? Though... It kinda resembles the support beam of a tent..."

Grave squinted trying to make ouy the markings on it but they rusted away from the moisture of the area, "A tent?" he asked. His eyes lit up at the small realization, "That could mean someone lives around here.."

"But... Your uncle said he had never seen anyone in the three years he has been here... In that long of a time you would probably bump into each other at some point.... Right?"

Garve nodded, "Right..But what if-"

Grave hadn't finished the sentence as he hopped on a broken stump nearby, clinging onto the branch on top of a fallen tree with ease. It always impressed Scout just how skilled this boy was at climbing. He made it look easy. Grave shakily stood up on the higher and thinner, branches, keeping his balance, they weren't the steadiest but they will do for now.  Scout watched him as he scanned the huge field. There was an ear ringing silence between them. Grave's face all of a sudden went pale, his eyes staring off onto a point into the distance. The young man noticed the grim expression on his friend's face, he truly looked as if he had seen a ghost with his bare eyes.

Gravedigger swallowed the hard lump in his throat before calling out with a trembling voice.
"... S-Scout?"

".. Yes, Grave?"

He paused, taking a deep breath, before yelling, "...There is a hand sticking out of the snow!"