Wolf's Weakness

Chapter 8

Leon could feel the cold seeping into his reptilian skin and he lay buried, curled up underneath a mound of snow with his belongings still strewn about in the open. The lights in the Cornerian military base had all snapped on without warning, the bright flood lamps overpowering the dark night of the icy planet. Emergency alarms sounded off as soldiers scattered to and fro, equipping themselves and manning their positions to prepare for a potential threat. Those that took post in the watch towers scanned the surrounding area with their search lamps and, unfortunately, one had spotted Leon's little camp. No doubt that the word of Star Wolf's presence had already been relayed back.

"Leon-" Boss's voice called his name but the chameleon was too far away to respond. In his desperate scrambling he'd left everything topside, including his communicator. It was still tucked away in his coat pocket, too far to reach from his hiding place. Boss continued to speak and from what he could gather it sounded like the mission was being called off, it was far too late to go anywhere now. They'd already gotten a bead on him and any further movement could give away his concealment.

The tonal change in the Cornerian outpost was so sudden that Leon didn't have much time to react. While he was preparing to reposition the spotlight panned over his footsteps and tracked them to his belongings, forcing him into a snap decision. He chose to hide himself away by diving into a nearby mound of snow, gambling on the chance that they might just leave him be or possibly wouldn't notice. Cold, desperate and running out of time, he wracked his brain for secondary escape plans. Leon gripped his combat knife tight in his three-fingered mitt as he waited for the inevitable scout team to approach. The longer he waited the lower his body temperature got; already out of his element the reptile knew he couldn't stay there for very long.

"Behind me! Stick close!" The shouting of a squadron rang out from the bottom of the hill as they exited their guard tower. Alongside them Leon could hear more of Wolf's increasingly worried voice transmitting through the communicator. He'd considered making a break for it but the ship was too far away and the gear he'd have to leave behind was too valuable. If the Cornerians got ahold of the communicator they might be able to decipher Star Wolf's private communication's channel, or worse- find their location. Boss would never forgive him then. No- he had to stay and hope that everything blew over. That was the only way out of this mess.

"Marcus, when we get up there I want you to secure that rifle. Dale, wrap around the other side." The sound of the squad's footsteps crunching in the snow was rapidly growing louder as they approached his position. Leon could feel his heart rate accelerating. Just seconds of waiting felt like hours before they came into view, heads peeking over the crest of the hill. It was a trio of K-9s, all equipped with full body armor/helmets and wielding standard-issue Cornerian Assault Rifles. They moved with purpose, scanning the area with their weapons raised to be alert in the event of a threat.

As they came upon the camp two of them quickly got to work looking over the items on the ground; one pushed the jacket aside with the barrel of his firearm to investigate the communicator while the other grabbed the sniper rifle and slung the strap over his back. He clearly struggled with the weight of it for a moment, something that made Leon have to suppress a chuckle. The third soldier looked like he was higher up in the chain of command. He stepped away from the others and headed directly towards the hidden chameleon's mound of snow, looking at it curiously. Leon's chilled muscles tensed with anxiety.

"Hey, boys. There's a kicked up pile over here. I think whoever was here buried something."

"You gunna check it out?"

"Yeah, watch my back."

As he spoke he slowly started to advance on Leon's position, not knowing that his rifle was aimed directly at a member of Star Wolf. Leon squeezed the leather grip of his upside-down knife in his right hand as he prepared for a possible fight, it was the only weapon he had in his possession so he had to use it well. He played out possible scenarios in his head and not many of them ended in Leon's favor; the others had the advantage of distance and with their assault rifles versus Leon's single knife, the writing was on the wall. That said, he knew he couldn't go down without a fight. One way or another, fear had no place here. The chameleon's tongue ran over his lips in anticipation. It had been a while since he'd had a good brawl.