Bright Flames

Prologue

Dark blue washed over the sky like a glass full of water dirty due to the leftover paint from the brushes. It stained the yellow and orange canvas, signaling the night to come. No matter how bright the horizon seemed to be, the darkness would always overpower it at some in the endless cycle of the universe. It was clear for the darkening proud trees that stood tall in the forest. Animals retreated to their nests, burrows and caves, for they knew that the most dangerous predators came with the hollow gloominess of the later hours of the day. Merciless beasts who fought for their own survival at the cost of their preys' lives. Ones who feasted upon the defenseless to keep the sustenance to their progressively sluggish bodies and their increasingly twisted minds.

At the outskirts of the woods, the small village lit up their houses to enjoy the final moments of the day before retiring to bed. Merchants locked their stores. Matriarchs cooked while the kids played or helped set up the dinner table previous to the patriarch's arrival at home. Older couples ate quietly before finally retiring to their beds. Every single one of them was unaware of the commotion being formed outside.

After the night fell, a large group of shadowy figures carefully navigated through the murky nature in the remaining hour of that very day. If there was any light still available, besides the one that was weakly provided by the pale moon that stood high upon the hills here and there, one would be able to see the group's neat pasty looks. There were a total of around 30 men, a few dressed in pristine military uniforms, signaling their leadership and superiority over all the rest that stood in combat gear and looked like they craved for a long needed rest. Shiny medals proudly polished were a constant reminder to the troops that if any action took place on the mission, those men were to be guarded with their own lives if necessary. Failure was not an option now. Securing what they so desperately looked for would help to change the war's course.

And how right they were for thinking like that.

"Major Hoffman, we are approaching the site. If the cadets Jäger and Holzer are nowhere near the countryside lunatics the whole unit thinks, the Führer might finally give us some recognition."- Frenetically doing his best to check the compass under the dim moonlight, the pale blonde corporal brought his superiors' attention to the base of the nearest hill. Every bit of a horror bedtime story for naughty children, the troop's surroundings became almost unbearable as they ventured deeper in the woods. The low songs of owls and some light scritches here and there contributed heavily to the growing anxiety engulfing everyone.

"Understood Corporal Klein." - Of course no one in there would admit it even under torture, but all soldiers found themselves terrified of the forest. Those lands were the epicenter of all the gruesome stories their parents would tell them at night time to get them to be good boys, or the spine-chilling narratives shared between friends as a prank while they sat around bonfires when camping.

"I say we go back to the base and forget about this nonsense. It is well known that Holzer likes to tell stupid tales that he heard from his fat mother to everyone around the base. And Jäger takes great joy in fancying himself as a glorious hunter, so his stories of Woipertingers and the Lindworm stalking victims in the forest is nothing but shit." - As foul mouthed as ever, cadet Weber spoke loudly, waking all those around him of the grimm trance.

"Quiet soldier! I will not have this mission compromised by your indiscipline and loud mouth."- Captain Böhm raised his voice by one octave with sweat glittering his forehead and bald complex. Pitch black woods were frightening, yes, but the punishment endured by those who disobeyed direct orders from the high command was meant to be Hell on Earth. His unit and his peer's unit would not be the group to defy the Führer's plans, even if it was a waste of time.- "If I hear one more complaint coming from anyone in this detachment, the individual will be responsible for cleaning the base all day and patrolling the area at night. Do I make myself clear?"