"Iv'e got a really bad feeling about this"
Those were the first words that came out of Tyler as he trotted along with the rest of the cadets into the forest in which they'll be conducting their training exercise in. The woods gave Tyler a very wrong feeling, as if there was something in it that didn't belong, or an imbalance with it.
He could have sworn he was being watched, it wasn't only him either, he could see the officers up head glance around from the river banks to the top of the trees, but he figured they were just being aware of the enemy they could face sooner or later. Tyler's glance swerved all around him, checking his back a lot to make sure his friends were keeping up with the group. Dylan and Jeremy were treating it like an average daily walk, Chris was struggling slightly, just barley straggling at the back, Mitchell was near the back as well, looking like he was about to pass out.
the woods seemed so quiet, but not even the bugs and birds were chirping, which made Tyler uneasy, it made him think of those movies in which the main character is hunting a certain beast, but in actuality IS the hunted.
"That's the last thing i want, especially out here where there are bears and wolves lurking about" Tyler mumbled to himself under his breath. He checked his rifle he was carrying, it was the standard cadet issue L98A2 rifle, based of the L85 the army used, but had the old style green hand-guard and could only fire in semi-auto, only the l96a2 LSW could fire in full-auto, but even then, they were few in numbers amongst the group and they were trained to only fire in short bursts.
Up ahead, Tyler could see the officers carrying M4 Carbines, he thought that it was strange for them to be carrying m4's instead of something else, like a magnum or something.
Several hours had passed since the group of cadets had started their venture into the forest, it was getting late and the cadets were really tired, so were a few of the officers. But at last, the officers stopped in a clearing and announced to the cadets,
"Alright guys, we've arrived at our campsite for the duration of our exercise, find a flat and clear space, and pitch your tents, as soon as you've done that, group round the fire"
All the cadets either gave a nod or a weak "Yes sir" in acknowledgement, the colonel nodding as he went about his own personal task of setting up the officers tents.
Tyler looked at Mitchell and said, "Hey, want to put your tent next to mine?, because i know scared you can get in the dark". Mitchell looked at Tyler and nodded before saying, "Yeah, iv'e never been any good in pitch black".
"Yeah me neither" Tyler mumbled under his breath so Mitchell couldn't hear, last thing he wanted was to let his already scared friend that he felt the same as well. It wasn't like any animals wanted to come near them anyway, with all their guns and large numbers, that would be enough to scare any large predators away. Tyler knelt down to grab his personal tent to set it up, but then, he started to have this feeling scratching at the back of his head. A feeling telling him to turn around. Tyler looked over his shoulder into the black treeline behind him, seeing nothing at first but then quickly catching a glimpse of bright lights staring at him then quickly disappearing behind a tree.
"must've been an animal" Tyler thought before carrying on with his task, but unknown'st to him, those eyes didn't belong to a small animal, but a large stalking creature. This "beast", watched Tyler and the other people with curiosity, wondering how to handle these newcomers, or intruders.
Tyler and his gang were gathered around the campfire setup by the colonel and the officers, along with all the other cadets, munching on their rations while listening to the officers talk about their mission and what to expect in the exercise. They had finished setting up their tents and building up the camp's perimeter, which included setting up alarms that had a laser that would trigger an alarm when something passed it. Most of the teens were confident that nothing was going to get into their camp.
The group were looking over a map of the whole woods, with certain areas being circled in red and black lines to mark enemy positions and encampments, with their camp being marked in green with the areas in which they would be at marked as well. There were blue circles indicating where cadets would stay and keep watch for the enemy team while the others slept, Tyler was picked to be first watch, Tyler thought to himself about how lucky he was.
Afterwards, the cadets were sent to their tents as it was getting late and the young soldiers were going to need plenty of sleep with what they were going to do tomorrow, Tyler was laying in his sleeping bag within his and Mitchell's tent, drawing in his small personal sketchbook, Mitchell rolled over to look at Tyler.
"What are you even drawing, i see you with that thing constantly" Mitchell sleepily murmured.
Tyler just glanced at him in the corner of his eye before muttering, "I just like it, that's all".
He looked back at his book, focusing ever more on his drawing, it was a wolf, in a woodland near a cliff, it wasn't much, but in Tyler's mind, it was good enough. Eventually, he decided he had done enough and tucked his book into his burgeon, get comfortable enough and then closed his eyes into a drift-full sleep.
Unbeknownst to him, the creature from earlier had appeared again, spying on the sleeping cadets. Suddenly, several loud howls echoed throughout the woodland.
The thing's ears lowered when it realised what that noise came from.
"Oh god, i need to get help!".