The nearest wolf lunged.
It exploded from the darkness.
One moment it was standing twenty meters away.
The next, it was charging uphill like a black missile.
Its massive paws tore through leaves and dirt while its jaws opened wide enough to crush a man's head.
"Contact front!" Tomas shouted.
The silence of the forest shattered.
Every Atlas soldier snapped into action.
M4 carbines rose.
Safety selectors clicked.
And then—
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Muzzle flashes erupted across the ridge.
The first burst of 5.56×45 mm rounds slammed into the charging wolf.
The creature stumbled.
But it didn't stop.
More rounds struck.
One hit the shoulder.
Another tore into its neck.
A third impacted its chest.
Only then did the beast collapse, tumbling forward until its body rolled to a stop barely ten meters from the observation post.
Silence lasted less than a second.
Because the other wolves reacted immediately.
A chorus of snarls erupted throughout the forest.
Then they charged.
