Titan Turn; A TDS Story

Chapter 15

The boys kept their eyes on the ones gazing at them from the darkness. Suddenly, the injured pup howled, causing the creatures to step out of the shadows. There were many, many other wolves, one more vicious looking than the other. The older one in particular was the first to come closer. Pushing past the boys to soothe the wounded lying on the ground.
The atmosphere was tense, not a sound escaped, afraid to even breathe too loud next to these wild brutes. Scout carefully whispered to Grave, "I think that might be his dad. The one we helped did seem a little too small.."

"Shh!"

The rest of the animals advanced too. Seeing that these humans had not hurt one of their own put them at ease...somewhat. The 'little' wolf got up and followed the older one out of the trees, stopping abruptly and looking back at Scout expectingly.

"What does it want?" asked Grave. Scout thought for a second, watching the pack gather together to leave, "Maybe to follow them?"

"I highly doubt some dogs are that smart" responded Grave.

"Yes, well, why would he be waiting for us?"

"... I don't know!"

"Then lets find out!" and with that, Scout got up, offering a hand to his friend. Grave stared at the pack and then back at Scout, sighing and taking his hand. They walked back to their ATV surrounded by the wolves which was at first a little unnerving but having made no attempt to attack them, soon it was no longer a bother.
They turned on the engine and left, trailing behind their unusual companions, down the path they were following before their initial encounter.

"Y'know it's a bit weird to just...befriend a wolf pack." said Grave, as he held the steering wheel steady.

"Well...when I was small I did have a knack for bringing all sorts of animals home.. It drove my mother mad.. " shrugged Scout,  "Kinda like how lumberjacks are said to be able to talk with trees, I can 'talk' with animals!" he smiled.

Gravedigger blinked, "Excuse me, what?"

"Oh you know! The whole 'one with nature' type thing!... I always wanted to know what trees said..." he sighed.
Garve could barely hold in his laughter, he was serious, this man was actually for real?!

"Well the tree to your right just spoke to me" grinned Grave.

"Really?! What did it say!!?"

"...That you are an idiot!"

Scout gently slapped the top of Gravedigger 's head, laughing out, "Hey!! Rude!". In response he got jokingly punched in the shoulder.
Their laughter echoed through the sleeping forest, waking it up for the first time in a while.
Altough the trip seemed longer their fun stopped unexpectedly, Grave hitting the brakes hard. Scout being launched forward in his seat, groaned, "Hey! What are you-"

He glanced ahead, the pack had stopped. A clearing opened its edges before them, it was filled with small wooden cabins. They seemed old, abandoned even, with rooftops coming off, some nonexistent in the first place, windows missing and walls rotting away covered in snow.
The boys jumped out of the ATV, stepping around the village as if the ground would break under them.
They entered a house which had walls adorned with claw marks, way too big to be that of a simple animal, the inside was destroyed: chairs, tables, bookshelves, beds, everything torn to shreds. A few steps outside made them jump, it was their peculiar companions, they were trudging back to the forest but not before Scout could get in a last few pets to his friend. They departed, leaving the children alone in this deserted place.
Grave examined the marks, tracing them slowly with his hand.

"Scout whatever attacked this village was definitely not a wolf... All of these have five fingers like a human hand.."

"Freaky stuff.." murmured Scout.

They exited the building, making their way deeper into the town. No matter what cabin they explored, there was no sign of life here. Hopefuly the creature that did strike these villagers down wasn’t around for round two either. Scout nervously fidgeted with a piece of string coming out of his jacket's sleeve.

"Grave, do you think these people managed to get away?"

"I think so...or at least for the most part... There were probably a few victims... This creature doesn't seem friendly after all..."

They wandered around some more, a hint of fear did peck away at their hearts as they continued on.
The sky shortly darkened, the first few stars appearing on the soft colours of the sunset. It was almost mesmerizing if everything wasn’t so eeriely quiet.

"Maybe.. We should set up camp here... It's almost night time." whispered Grave, pulling at Scout's arm. He nodded, "Yeah, I agree."

Scout put up the tent whilst Grave was taking out their other supplies and bags, handing them over once their shelter was finished. He closed off the trunk, making his way to Scout who was struggling to start a fire.

"You are gonna need more wood for that!" Grave pointed out.

"You think?"

"Yeah! We need some new logs, those are soaked from the snow. I'll go get some just give me a sec."

He ran back to the ATV, grabbing his axe out of a bag. Venturing out of the clearing to find some trees good to cut. Grave gathered a few logs and right as he was about to crack another in two something glimmered in the corner of his eyes. There was a spark coming from further within the pines. He stood still for a second, debating if he should go back or not but curiosity tugged at him. He crept silently towards it, pushing past some bushes and small branches to reveal another cabin just like the ones in the village. However, this one was in pristine condition, with a warm light seeping through the windows. A figure walked past one of them, Grave ducking down rapidly as to not be seen. He couldn't make out the details of the mysterious stranger but it did seem to be a man. Realizing it was too dangerous to go alone, he hurried back off to Scout, dropping the logs.
He was out of breath by the time he reached thier camp.

"What happened to you? And.. Where is the wood?" asked Scout, a worried expression on his face.

Grave pointed in the distance, "Scout... There is...there is *huff* someone here!"

"WHAT?! What do you mean?!"

"Deep *huff* deep in the woods... Was a cabin just like these *huff* and there was a man in it!" responded Grave as he struggled to catch his breath. "I couldn't see him properly though... "

"Are you sure it's a human?"

"Yea. Yea, it was."

".. W-What should we do?"

"We go pay him a visit, duh!"

Scout paused, ".. That is the worst idea you came up with as of now, man"

"Says the wolf tamer" answered Grave, sticking out his tongue.

"Fine, fine... Let me get my gun... We can't be sure what goes through his mind when he sees us". He went inside the tent pulling out his pistol. A gift from Commander when he joined the military.

Grave lead Scout back to the house. Approaching it quietly, with their weapons at the ready. Hiding under the window, right as the figure passed by again. Scout crawled to the other side of the door, gripping the handle tightly. They nodded, Scout yanking the door open, Grave rushing in followed by him. Scout pointed his pistol at the figure and Grave his axe.
He froze in place as he locked eyes with the man.

"...Uncle Krampus?"