The moon was no more than a glint behind the clouds of the starry surface that made the sky. A lone figure trudged through the snow, a M82 slung over their shoulder, slowing them down even more. They stopped atop a small ravine, overlooking a long forgotten farm house, no lights from inside, nor smoke from its two chimneys.
"No warm welcome here," the figure said to herself "But at least it's somewhere to keep warm for the night," she shivered as a cold wind blew behind her, chilling her through her thick leather jacket. A young white wolf-pup scrambled through the snow behind her and stopped by her side, it curling it-self around her leg to keep warm. The pup glanced up as she stroked its soft, cold head. She didn't know why the cub had followed her this far, maybe it was lost? Maybe it was abandoned by its mother? Whatever the reason, she would take care of it now.
She sat down on the edge of the ravine, then slowly slid down to the gully below. She sat there for a moment, waiting for the wolf pup to follow. It jumped and landed into a small pile of snow, hidden by its white fur. The wanderer smiled and stood, picking up the young, playful wolf and tucked it in her jacket before pushing through the snow towards the farm house.
She knocked on the door when she reached the house, the sound echoed through the small yet empty home. She tried the handle, but the weather froze the lock shut. She tried pushing on it, to no avail. She took a step back, holding the cub close to her before kicking the heavy wooden door in. It shattered as it crashed to the floor.
The top of the door frame fell, before the wanderer stepped inside the dusty building, a few bats awoke and scattered out the broken window. The pup shrieked and hid its head in her jacket
"Shh," the wanderer said softly, stroking its back. The pup poked its head back out as she sat on the ground near the fireplace, removing her jacket and laying it out for the pup.
"I'll be back in just a moment," the pup yelped to agree with her; she smiled one again as she stood up and walked back to the destroyed door. She hauled up the large chunks and propped them against what was left of the door frame, in an attempt to stave off the wind.
She gathered up the splinters and chunks, then walked back into the room, finding the cub already curled up and asleep on her toasty jacket. The wanderer piled the wood in the fireplace, splinters first, then the larger chunks, as she was always taught. The wolf pup poked its head up then stumbled over to her, but was distracted by the wanderers tail swaying back and forth behind her. The pup jumped and tried to catch it, but over shot and landed on the other side of the room. The wanderer looked back and watched the young club play with her tail, continuously trying to catch it.
She let the young wolf play as she tried to light the fire, it proved difficult as the wood had become soaked right through from the frost outside, there was no paper or dry wood around to use. The wanderer rummaged through her jean pockets, pulling out an old notebook, before ripping out a few blank pages and shoving them, balled up under the splinters of the door.
The wolf pup grabbed her tail and pinned it to the floor, the wanderer peaked again, watching as the pup gently nibbled her tail, it having no strength at its young age, so she let it be. She smiled before lighting another match and quickly shoved it into the secured paper, the fire was slow to start, but soon she had it to a small flicker. She tugged her tail from the cub, laying on her side in front of the fire, using her tail as a pillow. The wolf pup curled up in front of her, the wanderer laying her jacket over them both as a blanket. The pup began to doze in the glow of the flames, the wanderer gently stroked its side as she drifted to sleep herself, her silvery blue eyes becoming heavy.
"Good night...my little friend," she whispered in the pup's ear before finally passing out.
The early morning sunlight twinkled over the frozen wasteland. The wanderer and her pup are still asleep in the abandoned home, the fire just embers glowing beneath its ash. The wanderer held the young pup close, both still feeling the little warmth of the low glow of the sun.
"Steel?...Steel?" a male voice on an earpiece called to her, waking her with a grumble. Steel tapped two fingers on the back of the earpiece, accepting the call.
"Yeah?" Steel said sleepily, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, bending to stretch her tense back out, it was a rough night sleeping on the floor, the cold weather didn't help either.
"You're awake, good, it's Texas," the ear place replied.
"Morning, Tex," she said through a yawn, stretching again "what's up?"
"Just checking in on you, where are you?" There was a bit of conserved lingering in Tex's voice as he asked her.
"I'm..." she yawned "...about 2 clicks out; it won't take me more than an hour or two to get there,"
"Okay," he paused "Remind me again why you went on this mission by yourself again," Texas was Steel's leader, but he was also her cousin, which made him worry more when she was alone, so he checked in regularly to her annoyance.
"Cause you're easy to talk into things, remember?" she smiles cheekily, once she talked Tex into walking into a female's strip bar, that she paid for that in training hours, 45 hours to be exact. She rarely tricks him now, but that time she was lucky.
"Don't remind me, just give me a sec," sounds of rummages paperwork echoed into the speaker "Okay, best get a move on, exvil is already on its way"
"Yes, I got that, Tex," the wolf pup with her stirred, it feeling the cold out of Steel's embrace. She quickly picked up the freezing pup and held it close to her; it whimpered, but soon settled in its warm spot.
"What was that?" Texas sounded worried again, he was a soft sort of person that became easily considered about another person, whether he knew them well or not.
"It was just a wolf pup," she put her jacket back on and did it up, the pup tucked inside
"I found him on my way back, he's young, but strong and looks under fed, he was just cold,” she peered down her shirt, being sure not to crush or smother the little thing.
"You worry too much,"
"So, colour me worried then...," someone called to Texas in the background, he calling back to confirm he heard them "You best be moving, Steel,"
"Okay, I'm leaving now, Steel...out," she tapped the ear piece again, the pup looked up at her with its one blue, one browned eyes, it pulled itself out of her jacket and started licking her chin happily. Steel put her hand up, but he kept licking "Okay, Okay, boy," she giggled "we're going," the wolf pup stopped, Steel grabbed her rifle as she walked back out to the destroyed door. She swung the strap onto her shoulder as she walked around the side of the house, covering her eyes against the bright rising sun. The wolf pup squinted, Steel covered its head with her other hand, the pup looked up, they looked at each other for a moment.
Steel looked out over the waste of snow that stood before them "Ready for another day my friend?" the pup yelped and Steel smiled as she trekked on through the snow at their feet towards the horizon.
Comments (0)
See all