Callsign Amarok Ch. 05

"We'll stay at your camp to rest, then we can travel to Aspen on our own." Lillian informed.

"Tell the alpha or betas that Aurora and Orion sent you." I finished.

"Thank you so much, we owe you our lives." Lily and Lillian clasped their hands together and relaxed.

"You don't owe me anything." I reassured them with a nod, stood back up and made my way towards the serpent.

"Wait, you and your friends are human...Why are you helping us?" Lily asked.

Everyone turned to study me and the rest of my squad.

"Because I asked them too." Idril cut the silence rising in the vicinity. Some elves sitting on the ground looked to her with comprehension while others lowered their heads.

"He helped because he is the Aspen Pack's Saviour. They have been brought to bring stability and silence those who harm peace." She gestured to my squad and Aurora set her starry eyes upon me.

"Our goddess has brought me my true mate, my perfect mate." Most relaxed a bit from the regal and confident lupine's dreamy statement.

Glancing to my squadmates, they responded with a nudge of the shoulder and resumed guarding the area. I softened my posture, giving the laid crowd a sense of calm and waved at them casually. A lot of them couldn't hide their nervous expressions while a number had curved lips for my gesture.

Shaking my head and peeking towards a large snake, I masked my face again and wore my helmet.

My weapon hung from the strap. "What's your story?"

She tried twisting around but her bound figure denied any movement.

"Urgh, I'm a village chief in the mountains bordering the elves' home. I volunteered myself to help escort emissaries to local lupine packs." She tried moving again and failed.

"Can I check if you have any injuries? I will only do what I am allowed to. Is that acceptable?" I offered to check her and she was surprised by my request. The snake women allowed me to get near and I began checking her for any problems.

My helmet light allowed me to search her skin for any blemishes and I peeped at her face. She winced at the white light and looked away. I adjusted the light mode to dim and resumed studying her.

The snake woman had pinkish purple scales along her sides as well as some fading away into human skin near her waist. Belly and upwards was fairly relatable to a person's body: snake hips were wide, breast was fairly large and her face was that of a human's.

A purple tail with a pinkish white underbelly curled around itself behind her, bound by rope. I guessed it would span 3 or 5 meters if stretched out.

Little nubs of her ears were comparable to an elf's but shorter and a little cuter. The tips were very small and had more flesh reaching them. Her orbs were normal with a purple hue while irises shrunk into serpent slits when my light hovered over them. Skin was fairly clean and smooth as if she was a porcelain doll. Dark purple hair flew down her shoulders and she whipped them back adjusting her new sight of me.

"You mentioned escorting them. Were there any men in your group?" Shutting my helm light off and regarding the huddling women.

From my question the lamia shook her head.

"These slavers ambushed us and killed all the males in our party. They wanted to sell us but decided they would have some fun first."

I turned and noticed Eva comforting a cloaked elf.

"Is that true?"

She sent a glance, slowly nodding.

"It's all true, if you had come any later, we would have been..." The rescued girl paused and started sobbing. Eva closed in to hug the elf.

"I believe in the lamia, Orion. She means no harm to any of us still standing." Idril stood up after helping an elf with a nasty cut.

"My name is Nerrisssa, you may call me that." The lamia offered.

Glancing back and catching her shiver, I inched forward and cut the rope binding her abdominal. Avery bolted the collar and it fell to the floor.

"Pac, get your heated blanket out and put it over her snake half." Nerrisa stared at me in question.

"The blanket will preserve your body heat and provide warmth." Pac set her tail free from rope and flapped open a folded blanket as I explained.

Nerissa focused on me a second before switching views to the man who freed her and was covering her lower half. She watched in either fascination or wariness for my call. Eventually settling on a gratuitous tone.

"Thank you. May I call you Orion?" She asked inquisitively.

I watched Pac shoot me a thumbs up and moved back to watch over the elves.

"Sure."

"You have my utmost gratitude, Orion." Touching the blanket over her tail, she flickered the tip of her tail under a warming cloth.

I made a mental note of how many we rescued and there was one more who needed to be identified. So far she was a complete mystery.

Moving over, I caught the kitsune shudder away from me. She was fair skinned, in her early or mid twenties with orange hair. Her tail and ears were colored like a natural fox. Breasts were bigger than average and hips slightly smaller than Aurora's.

My commitment to my lupine mate denied me of further thought and I brought myself out of a stupor.

"Are you the fox from back at the cabin?" Nodding meekly, she moved her tail to her stomach taking it in her arms. I examined the rest of her body and she had wet hair that stunk of alcohol.

"The kitsune was captured earlier, she was trying her hardest to get away. The mages changed that." Nerrisa advised.

"Why would warlocks capture a kitsune?" Avery asked.

"They're naturally gifted in spirit arts and magic. They can shift from human to fox in the blink of an eye. Their kind are also quite mischievous and fond of tricks. She would have been sold for an extremely high price." Idril informed while observing the girl.

"Look I'm not gonna hurt you if you don't give me any reason to. Try to relax." I raised both of my gloved hands in the air and her tail swished, letting chained metal fall to the ground.

My hands reached for the tags and she tried fleeing but failed. Her left leg twisted and she fell back down.

"AH PLEASE. Don't hurt me, I'm sorry for stealing that." Shooting me fearful eyes, I picked up the tags and stayed where I was.

"Calm down, these are just my useless dog tags." My squadmates laughed and the kitsune gave me a muddled look. She took a couple deep breaths and calmed. I looked down at her leg and saw what caused her to fall. Bruised skin and swollen sections showed through her raggedy clothes.

"Do you want me to take a look at your leg?"

She inclined her head and considered her injury before letting me near her to check.

I approached slowly and a growl rumbled from behind me.

"She tried to mark you..." Aurora stalked forwards and Idril blocked her advance.

"Calm yourself! Do you want your mate to view you as weak for attacking an injured kitsune?!" My lupine regarded me and her aunt, then simmered down. Although, glaring at the kitsune in a dangerous manner, almost as if she was prey.

Aurora's glare then settled on me and doubt swam through her eyes. An almost painful whine came from her and she disengaged.

The royal elf gave me an ordering wave and I returned my attention to the injured. I inched to the fox girl and her tail smacked me.

"Sorry, it has a mind of its own." The kitsune retook control of her tail and hugged it.

Aurora restarted a low growl and the fox panicked, leaning her head down in submission.

I thought nothing of it as more than an innocent smack. My hand touched her knee and felt it tender. A first aid kit attached to my hip held a cooling cream and bandages. I retrieved a packet and white cloth, applying and wrapping it around her hurt ligament.

"The cream will lighten the pain, try not to put too much force on it." She nodded and peered into my eyes.

She was beautiful, with orange hair and yellowish eyes. Her face was bruised and dirty but still smooth and exquisite. The perfect description of an Eastern romance novel I'd read about.

Shaking my head and examining the rest of her body, noticing her arm a little out of place.

"I can cut the rope tying your hands together but I need to leave the cuffs on for the time being. Okay?"

She accepted the circumstance in regards to her bonds.

My tanto sliced through and an immediate cry echoed throughout the area.

"Pac!" He raced over and kneeled next to us.

"Dislocated elbow, left side." I notified.

"Got it." He held her other arm and shoulder.

"You have a dislocated elbow, whenever you move, it'll hurt. I need to pop it back into place. This will only sting for a moment, please just bear with it." She focused on Pac and I with wide eyes, cowering from my warning.

I held her arm, angled, then tugged sharply, erupting another shrill. An audible pop appeared and Pac let go of her. She moved slightly and looked to me in surprise. Her tail puffed up and shook lightly.

"I..I.." She closed the distance and hugged me. I patted her on the back and pulled away quickly.

"Thank you, I'm sorry that I stole from you. My name is Eiko and I'm from the Karasu clan. I deserted them, so please." She clasped her hands together and lowered her forehead to the ground.

"Please don't send me back." I scratched my head and tapped her on the arm.

"It's not up to us whether you go back or not. We won't force you to return, it's your decision." Standing back up and regrouping with the rest of my squad.

"Pile the bodies in the tents. Tim, grab that barrel over there and dunk some fluid on 'em." They moved to execute their orders.

I gazed into glowing flames of the flare, proceeding upwards into the sea of stars.

'How much ammo did we use?'

IIIIIIIIIIIIIII

===Chapter 86 Unknown Contact

-Avery's POV-

Tim and I piled the last bodies and he started dousing the mound with liquid. Next he moved onto the outsides, making sure they were soaked.

Orion swung around, staring into the forest with his ACR raised and yelled.

"...SHIT..H..HEY!"

In all my time with him, he had never once warned us of imminent threat with a staggered tone. All of us raised our weapons, pointing them in the direction Orion yelled.

"No thermal sig!" Dan advised while he seeked cover behind a tree.

"There's a-" Orion paused mid sentence and what happened next shocked us.

"ARH-!" He let go of his gun and twitched. In a split second our team leader fell to the ground, convulsing violently and wheezing for air.

"AMAROK!" His girl yelled and ran towards him. I reached out and held her away from his unknown state.

"Don't touch him, keep your distance! Tim, get control of her!" The sniper rushed over and took hold of the poor girl, pulling her behind a crate.

"Unknown contact! Get cover and locate the threat!" Pac and I shined our weapon lights into the dark forest, instantly brightening the vegetation in view.

Suppressive fire came from Dan's muted rifle and Pac joined in on engaging whatever had downed Orion. Expending a number of rounds, the only noise and movement came from our wounded squad lead and elves.

"I can't see shit! Anyone got eyes on what messed him up?!" Idril along with her kind answered in negative and spread out behind us in a defensive formation.

"I'll check on him! Avery, l need some cover!" Pac yelled as he ran over to our teammate, dragging him behind more crates.

Staring into the forest and spying the crevices within, I peeked up into the trees. Dan had stopped firing and silence hung over us.

Our pilot called out to me and I moved to assist him in checking what happened to Orion.

I dropped to my knees next to our Phantom and took off his helmet. He was in bad shape and I tried feeling his body for bullet holes or blood. Pac had a small flashlight, checking Orion's eyes and throat.

A hand grabbed my collar.

"H..gg..he...he..lp...g..grg....GAH!" Blood rushed out of his mouth and ran over his cheeks. I cleared away blood and Orion let go of my collar, his arm going limp against the ground.

"Get that damn vest off!" The blonde and I hurried and took off his pack and combat rig.

"He's not breathing and there's no pulse!" He warned. I slung my rifle around, placing both hands on Orion, administering chest compressions.

"A...Amarok..please!" Aurora cried from behind.

"Hey, what the fuck is wrong with him?!" Tim demanded.

Pac rummaged through Orion's backpack, pulling out a defibrillator and a few shots of adrenaline.

"NO CLUE! IDRIL GET OVER HERE, NOW!" The elf broke her defensive watch, rushed over and kneeled down.

"What do you need?!"

"I need you to take control of doing compressions for me so I can help Pac. Put your hands like mine on his chest and push hard into him, quickly!" Letting her observe for seconds before telling her to take over.

"Pac I've got the IV, just get the defib ready!" I looked for a vein on Orion and quickly inserted the IV needle for adrenaline. Then rolled up his shirt to expose his chest for Pac's assessment.

"Dan, did you fucking find him?!"

He shook his head.

"Negative, I don't see anything out there! Can anyone sense anything?!" Dan called.

"I can't smell anything unusual!" Lillian yelled. Everyone was on high alert when Orion dropped to the ground. I could hear desperate wails from Aurora and Tim trying to hold her still.

The pilot with enhanced first aid training squeezed a packet of jel on a metal pad and rubbed each of them together.

"Defibs charged, need to take off my gloves to feel for a pulse." I hooked up a tube of adrenaline to the IV and backed up from Orion. I pulled Idril away and Pac shocked his body. His facial muscles tightened but he did not move.

"Give him another dose and I'll charge to 200." I advised Idril to resume chest compressions while I administered more adrenaline to our friend.

"CLEAR!" Letting go and yanking the pointy eared woman back.

Pac shocked his body again and a cough brought small trickles of blood along with a heave.

"K..kagh..haugh..F..fuck!" Orion choked and Pac gave a sigh of relief.

Our boy seemed disoriented and barely conscious with his right arm raised like he was reaching for something.

"Aurora..."

I waved for Tim to release her and she bolted over to Orion's head. The lupine took hold of his hand, licking affectionately to earn a response.

"My....beautiful...wolf.." After weakly squeezing her hand, he closed his eyes softly.

"A...Amarok?" The werewolf sniffled.

"He's breathing and has a pulse. Orion's in a weakened state right now, but I think he's stable enough to be moved." Pac suggested.

"Are you sure? He was coughing up blood and shaking like he was having a fucking seizure." Equipping my bullpup, I readied and raised to aim for potential ambush points.

Pac laid his finger on Orion's neck and looked around.

"His pulse is getting stronger and he's not shaking or making unusual movements. We can stay here for a bit to see if anything changes." I turned around and ordered Tim to light up the bodies and tents with the flare.

"Idril, Aurora stay with him. Pac, I'll be right back to help you move him."

I stood up and jogged over to my brother.

"Still got nothing?"

Dan scanned the treeline another time and swore in frustration.

"Nothing. We might've got the bastard that hit Orion but I can't tell. There's too much shit in the way. What's the call?"

I peered over to Tim who was aiming his sniper into the forest. A thermal scope also allowed him to scan for potential targets. He got back behind cover and saw me looking at him.

The sniper shook his head and his elven partner crouched next to him.

"We're exfilling as soon as Orion's ready to be moved. Keep an eye out until then." I tapped my brother on the arm and moved to the tied up elves. Cutting their binds, eventually coming across the fox lady.

"I didn't do anything!" My nerves were confident that she didn't do anything with whatever magic she could have used. I pulled out my bolt cutters and she quivered into a ball with her tail spiked close to her.

I brought the bolt down on each cuff, destroying them.

"Tim, flare those tents and cover with Dan!"

Flames erupted, blazing with a vengeful glow. Our sniper partnered with the marine and watched our surrounding zones.

"What the hell was that?" He asked.

I shook my head.

"I don't know, just keep an eye out." I rummaged through Orion's bag and pulled out a portable stretcher. I tapped Aurora to get up and grab our friend's things. She was reluctant to leave his side and noticed what I was carrying. However she listened and gathered his things quickly. I was doubtful when she held his pack, vest and rifle but she seemed fine with the weight.

I prioritized our Phantom, setting the stretcher next to Orion and cracked a chemlight on my vest, moving it to hang from the back left of my vest. I assisted Pac in placing Orion onto the stretcher and lifted him up.

"We're moving out, if you stray, you'll be left behind!" We continued into the dark forest with everyone following.

'Christ.....'

IIIIIIIIIIIIIII

===Chapter 87 Memory Serves

-Orion's POV-

Black mist formed resembling a wolf and it stalked towards me. Even with the brutalising training I've endured, my body and instincts were telling me to run.

Just then it launched at me, hooking his jaws around my neck.

Everything went black.

I woke up seconds later sensing the humidity of one memorable facility. A shooting range in a military complex somewhere in the Amazon.

"Aye new guy, let's see some shots." Daws; my commander and instructor requested.

"Yes sir." I picked up my M39 and was prone on the grass. Flicking the weapon's bipod down and adjusting the scope.

"C'mon, are you gonna shoot or stare at targets all day?" My finger pulled in periodic succession, expending a full magazine down range. I'd manage to hit all silhouettes with tracers.

"Nicely done. That's some consistency. Keep it up and Ramirez would be shit out of luck on premium bullets." Daws patted me on the back and crouched down.

"Targets were about 750 meters away, try getting more centered hits next time." Handing me a fresh mag, he stood up and crossed his arms.

I reloaded and scoped in to find targets. A dark outline of an animal appeared in my crosshairs, showing us a huge wolf on the field.

"Uh... sir, there's a wolf down range." I peeked behind and Daws wasn't there. Turning back around, the black wolf was right on top of me, glaring into my eyes before opening his maws.

My vision blurred.

I sensed rough and hard rumbles of gear jiggling along a runway. It shook me up and I blinked to the insides of a taxiing C130 Hercules.

Daws swatted me on the arm.

"Welcome to Africa, this ain't Australia but most of the animals will still want to kill you."

The cargo door of the huge plane opened and I grabbed my bags. The rest of the team lined up and Daws took point. We made our way towards the ATC building and checked in to our rooms.

The front receptionist was a beautiful blonde considering Daws and stealing a glance at me.

"Orion, stay here and wait. Pick up the documents we need to travel with. Shelly will hand them to you." Daws gestured for the rest of them to follow.

"And don't try to flirt, I don't want to piss off the only person who knows what they're doing."

I dropped my bags onto the floor and waited at the desk while Shelly dug through some files.

Looking around the room, I felt oddly cold and my eyes glued back to her. She was pretty but orders were orders.

I noticed a Red Cross patch on her uniform and couldn't stop myself from guessing if she was a medic, local doctor or nurse. She handed me an envelope and I left the reception area.

"Hey, wait!" Shelly yelled, making me go back to her desk and she gestured to my bags.

"Forgetting something?"