The Wild Howler

White. The only color Fenrir saw around him fell from the sky and impacted the ground and onto him. He wanted to shake off the snow dust on his body but chose to ignore it as he pressed on with his lonesome journey. From a distance, he could hear the battles of cry raging closer and closer towards him. His last encounter with the Germans nearly cost him his freedom and didn't want to go through such bloodshed once more.

He noticed that the terrain looked the same earlier ago. Had he traveled in a circle? Were his eyes betraying him? He doubted himself for a moment and was unsure what to ponder next, but shook it off and continued. He looked around as he rammed through the trees that occluded his pathway and noticed a cave the could shelter him for a while. He approached it with caution, not knowing what might be sprung from the quiet trees around him.

His ears twitched, nose scented around his environment for any unusual smell. Nothing so far, precaution and stealth was his only way of surviving these grounds, which has kept him from capture or quick execution by the Germans since. He took a closer look at the cave and noticed his entire body could fit in. However, it seemed his body was also perfect for keeping him invincible from outsiders. He entered and made himself comfortable. Rest was what he needed since he couldn't remember the last time he slept nor found a home to rest.

These dark times made him a ferocity beast in the wilderness, but a little empathy for these humans who became slaughters with one another on the battlefield. Why must they kill each other for such petty aggression? Fenrir always asks himself that but never found a solution to his hungry curiosity. His praying question was almost fulfilled by a young girl named Sofia, a bright girl he met with weeks prior. Howbeit, their bond was severed by a group of soldiers, not the Germans, no. Someone opposed to them. They took her away from him, and he has never seen her since.
He didn't want to think about the unfortunate demise of what could have happened to her, but he doesn't want to face the fact that she may have fallen victim to these dark times. He shook his head and laid against a wall. His body was weak; rest was indeed needed. His vision slowly blurred as he watched the white cast turn to black and listened to his breathes as he succumbed to a sleep state.

When did it become this quiet? The Colonel thought to himself as he continued to journey and scout with his men. He was used to the sounds of gunfire and artillery shells bombarded around him, but that feeling of calmness made his unease. War was like an addiction for him; the stress and adrenaline was a pleasuring feeling that he loved. Snow began to settle once more, with the wind following suit.

Garner walked beside the Colonel, continuing to look around with his rifle pointed down. He glanced at him a few times before he had the nerve to open his mouth in the quiet wilderness.

"Sir?" Garner said after he cleared his throat.

"Captain?"

"What's so special about this 'thing' that Headquarters wants us to retrieve precisely?"

"Dunno. We had sources that the Reich were trying to capture something and utilize it for their deeds."

The Colonel grasped his hand on his pistol tightly. His eyes were in presence, focusing his breaths in the cold atmosphere. He thought back to a conversation he had with a colleague named Allen back at Normandy. Allen was a full-bird Colonel like him before he was sent back to the front lines. The Colonel never saw Allen since and feared he met his demise, which he may follow. Still, the Colonel's task is to explore the war's bizarre parts that may be worse than Allen's obscure fate.

"They trying to catch a witch or something?" Said someone following them as they caught up behind the Colonel and Garner.

"Knock it off with your superstitious beliefs, lieutenant." Garner said as he shook his head.

"Relax, sirs, I'm only mucking about."

The Colonel looked behind him and noticed his gorget had covered his mouth as well.

"What's your name, son?"

"Second Lieutenant Daniels, sir. I recently got my commissions and became 23 last month."

The words that came out from Daniels reflected like a death sentence to the Colonel's ears. He felt pity for him as a man who believed in servitude. Still, as his commanding officer, he sees him as a necessary pawn to the war's grim casualty. Snow began to fall on top of them once more. The cold winds blew from all sides but enough to knock them down. They quickly quickened their pace to their destination.

Seconds spun into minutes. They were now rooted in the forest, no life on sight. One of Garner's men discerned a cave not far from them, though Daniels seemed skeptical about that cave. The Colonel shared his doubt with his but decided to trust his gut and investigate it. They slowly approached the cave. Their eyes peeled out for any potential ambush in their midst.

Daniels took point, drew closer to the cave with everyone else behind him. His hands gripped tightly on his weapon as he pointed it with a tremble. There was something odd about it; sunlight didn't appear to penetrate in the deep corners of the cave's interior. He looked around frozen, his eyes peering the inside for something.

"Looks empty."

Said Garner as he crept up beside Daniels, nearly spooked him into oblivion.

"I don't think so. You feel that hot air?"

Daniels noticed that the air was warmer than it was colder. Caves are usually more frigid than they were, but this cave didn't seem vibrant in the cold, snow weather. Daniels called out to one of his guys to take out their flashlights and lit up the cave.

A minute passed, a corporal handed over his flashlight to Daniels. He gave the flashlight a quick wiggle before flashing it at the cave. The flashlight flickered a bit as he moved the flashlight around, scanning the interiors. Out of the bloom, the flashlight momentarily stopped before Daniels could give it another wiggle. A loud groan suddenly was heard; Daniels looked at the direction of the noise with the flashlight. Two large eyes appeared from the darkness, the flashlight dilating the pupils. Daniels and Garner then made a 360-degree turn and ran as Fenrir sprang behind them.

The battalion pointed their weapons at Fenrir as it appeared under the sunlight. The Colonel was calling out his men to pull back and not shoot at it. He was stunned; he didn't expect the creature to be larger than a two-story building. Fenrir stood aloof from the battalion, growling and waiting for a battle against these soldiers. He exhaled loudly through his nose as he became with the cold temperatures.

The battalion made a distance from it. Their weapons steadied and waited for their Colonel to give the word. The growl slowly softened as Fenrir stared at the Colonel will ill-temper.

"Who in the Hel are you people?" Fenrir snarled as he proceeded to stare at the Colonel.

Fenrir followed silence. The battalion did not know what to say to the creature that spoke to them. The Colonel eased his weapon away, trusting his gut, and decided to do approach it. Garner whispered loudly at the Colonel to not do it, but he was ignored.

"These are my men."

The Colonel said, his right hand in the air at his men to settle down their weapons and give Fenrir more space. They followed his orders as they kept their finger on the trigger. Fenrir squinted and looked down at the Colonel. His jaws close to him, waiting for him to do something irrational.

"Then, who are you?"

"I'm a Colonel of the United States Army. We're here on simple good terms to communicate with you."

Fenrir retched at the Colonel. He felt disgusted for this man's sense of compassion to negotiate with something that could quickly devour and kill all of his men within a flash. He decided to hear out what he had to offer; otherwise, he'd be his next dinner's lunch.

"Go on," Fenrir said with hesitation.

"I have orders to transport you to a safe refuge. A location that's uninhabited and protected by my government."

Safe refuge? Fenrir couldn't believe what the Colonel had just said. A place where he can live and be free. A place he can call home. However, there was something doubtful about the Colonel's intention to ship him somewhere far from this haze of a wasteland. Perhaps he, this Colonel, won't say it's a place where he'll be scrutinized and studied. Something Fenrir was trying to avoid with the Germans.

Fenrir exhaled in front of the Colonel as he sat down and tilted his head at him. The Colonel and his men looked different from that of the Germans; they wore olive and tan clothes. Like the Germans, they were armed and tried to use their weapons against him by any means. It gave Fenrir a sense of anxiety but in an irritative manner. He couldn't stop looking at the soldier's weapons. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to slaughter them and run away.

Fenrir slowly growled at the Colonel and leaned towards him.

"Tell your men to drop their weapons. It's giving me a migraine."

"Okay, but let's talk about-"

The Colonel was then interrupted by a loud, furious growl stemmed from Fenrir himself.

"Now!"

"Alright, alright. Everyone, your weapons down!" The Colonel said as he ordered the battalion to put down their weapons. Garner initially hesitated to follow the Colonel's orders but quickly gave in as Fenrir stared intimidatingly at him. "Do you trust me now?"

"No. I don't even dare to trust you." Fenrir said in a lack of sincerity.

"Then come with us where we'll provide you shelter and food. I promise you. There will be no cage or any kind waiting for you."

The Colonel said as he tried to be reasoning with Fenrir. He didn't want to resort to violence and potentially lose it to the Germans, or worse, be hostile to any American forces during this war. Fenrir once more glanced at the battalion, his lifeless eyes locked onto their eyes in a tense, quiet atmosphere. He knew from their eyes that they were scared of him and didn't want to die. He just wanted to find peace and be left alone, but it seems this is the only way to see that peace.

Fenrir looked down at the Colonel once more with an aggressive expression. The Colonel felt something between him and Fenrir. A feeling that he previously experienced before at the D-Day landings, the sense of death. He thought that this was it as Fenrir gave him that aggressive look. Suddenly, he felt a rush of hot air on him as Fenrir exhaled towards him.
"For your sake, I hope you don't deceive me when we get there."

There were more of them now beautiful. Fenrir thought to himself sarcastically. He went along with the Colonel back to their 'base' but didn't expect to be gazed at continuously. It annoyed him at first glance, but he quickly ignored them as he was taken to a quiet spot of the base. He sat and watched the camp continue with its activities. Some soldiers ate while some played with a leather ball in their hands.

Fenrir imagined this is what mostly populated areas are. However, he doesn't like going into large areas crowded by humans. As he sat and watch, he would get visited by a few soldiers who tried to talk to him or mock at him, all of which ended up being growled at and scared off. Fenrir did like being feared by people as a pleasantry when he once was a pup at Asgard.

A few Shermans passed by Fenrir and thought they were after him, but promptly discerned they were passing by.

These humans are a pain. When am I being sent from this insufferable site? Fenrir said to himself as he saw the Colonel from a distance.
On the other side of the camp, the Colonel and Garner passed on their report to the technical officer, who was in charge of giving all related information to Headquarters. They had just finished what they needed to let Headquarters know as they made their way out of the tent. From there, Garner could see Fenrir from the other side, staring at both of them.

"Holy cow, that thing is larger than a Panzer tank," Garner said as he looked at Fenrir.

"Leave the thing alone." The Colonel said as he strolled out with Garner, making their way to Fenrir.

Garner paused for a moment before he laid his eyes on the Colonel. His hands tightly gripped on his weapon strap behind his back. "You knew from the beginning, did you?"

The Colonel blankly stared at Garner for a moment without a word. "That's classified." He said with a soundless sneer.

Garner and the Colonel walked towards Fenrir without making eye contact. His battalion was already there with Fenrir, sharing a few laughs while also talking to him. Fenrir ignored them as a war photographer approached the Colonel.

"So, you want a 3mm shot with this … Uh," He paused for a moment as he stared at Fenrir. "… Wolf?"

"Yes, you've got a problem with that private?" The Colonel said as he judged the private's array of expressions.

"No, sir. I-I'll get the camera going." The private said as he walked up towards the camera that he already set up.

"What's your name, son?"

"Private Paisley, sir!"

The Colonel watched Paisley as he took a few paces back. He caught a distance between the huddled men, including the Colonel, and from himself as he slowly glimpsed the camera at them. Paisley adjusted the settings on his camera before he could photograph them.

"We all set?" Paisley shouted as he readied his aim at them.

"Yeah!" Everyone exclaimed as they smiled and stared at the camera. Paisley looked at the group and bit upward to notice Fenrir behind the battalion. They peered at it and laughed as they glanced back at the camera. With one click, the camera flashed at the company and Fenrir.

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