Miniforce: Sub-Zero

Prologue

The stillness of the night echoed through the vacant streets of the lovely Bluebelle City.

A dark, clouded sky stretched on for miles on end, covering the populated town in a blanket of thick fog. Only the soft, rumbling sounds of the occasional car driving slowly to its destination– presumably going back home – could be heard.

In the darkness of the alleyways, a mischief of rats were scattering through heaps of garbage and rotten food, hoping to find a suitable meal. Dozens upon dozens of rats nested in that alleyways, feasting and gorging themselves on disgusting items before their inevitable fate of being eaten upon by cats in the morning.

One rat searched through the remains of discarded newspapers, common trash, plastics and the sticky fluids that oozed out of the black bags and metal bins. Its paws pitter-pattered over moldy, whitened meats and fruits; over crumbling bread and the irregular, fuzzy, moist texture of once-pristine steaks and quality, prime cuts. Should any sane man even step to peer into these disposed items, surely, they'd leave as soon as they stumbled in.

The rat jumped down from the dump it was inspecting and landed on the dirty, alley floor with a wet thud. It sniffed around for a moment before it caught the odd scent of something else. It turned its head towards the back of the alley, staring into the pitch black abyss. The rat slowly approached the source of the scent. Though a mindless animal, the rat had just enough survival instinct to ensure it stayed quiet and cautious.

There was no movement occurring from what the rat could see, but surely, there was something there. It felt it. The rat took another few steps towards the darkness, and it caught sight of what it was suspicious of. The vermin froze in terror and attempted to run, to run as fast as its little, grubby legs would let it. But it was too slow. It was too small to move across the big plane that was the concrete floor in time.

Before it could even make it past the edge of the alley's shadows, a paw five times the size of the pest, covered in shaggy, white fur, arose from the abyss and slammed down on the critter with incredible force, capturing the miniscule creature as it let loose a final, high-pitched squeal.

A loud crunch that filled the empty silence that the rat's squeal caused.

"Mmm... Fresh meat..."

The creature who the giant paw belonged to stepped out of the darkness, taking in the sight of the city's nightscape.

It was a polar bear. Bulky and big, in a dark, decorated military uniform from the high-ranks. Matted fur; chipped, blackened claws... Monstrous looking thing, really. Its glossy eyes were a little ways too far apart, one higher up in its head; askew in relation to its muzzle.

With a grumbling, low growl, it held what seemed to be a clunky, heavy-duty communicator from its pocket and raised it up to its face.

"Lieutenant, prepare my forces... The enemy lies here..."