//------------------------------//
// Chapter 29: Rough trip back 
// Story: New Beginnings 
// by Black Alicorn 
//------------------------------//

Wolf followed the Pegasus back to a chariot pulled by another pair of Pegasi. This one carried a group of Unicorn Royal Guards, meant to help secure a perimeter and get the wreckage on to another chariot to be carried back to Canterlot. Some of the Unicorns came out of the forest and stepped into the chariot.
"That was fast." The Pegasus asked.
"We're going back to requisition some more Guards out here. They might come back." The head Unicorn replied.
Wolf spoke up as he entered the chariot. The Pegasus followed.
"If they do you'll know about it. Sam's Hunter is still in the air. Anything comes out of that forest, she'll know about it. Anything too suspicious, she puts a missile right through it."
As soon as he finished, the chariot took off. Wolf looked out from his side into the forest below. A few fires had started from the explosions. Smoke still filled the air. 
- - - - - -
Wolf jumped into the chopper just as it was taking off. It was leaving while it still could, the forest was lost. Smoke billowed up from the burning trees and smoldering craters from artillery shells, missiles and other explosives.
"Hostiles in the tree line, open fire!" The pilots voice blared from the intercom.
Within a second, the machine gunner to Wolf's left opened fire on the treeline. Wolf follwed with a few short bursts from his rifle, sending a few drones to their deaths. The chopper climbed further and further and further, climbing out of range for the bug rifles.
"We're clear!"
Wolf sighed as the chopper continued to climb. They had escaped. All of a sudden, a flash from somewhere inside the forest.
"What that missile fire?"
A loud beep followed the pilots voice.
"Shit, incoming!"
"Spark the flares, flares, flares!" the copilot shouted.
The missile followed the flares and exploded in a brilliant display of destructive force, missing the chopper by a few dozen feet.
"Damn that was close..."
Another loud beep rang in the chopper.
"Oh shit, here comes another one!
Wolf looked out the side of the chopper to see a small trail of smoke rising from the forest, and heading straight for them.
- - - - -
A voice rang in the air.
"What the hell are you doing in here? You can fly, why are you back there?!"
"More weight for you guys to carry." The Pegasus replied, laughing.
"When we get on the ground, you won't be laughing much longer..."
Wolf ignored them. He just continued to look to the forest below. A small flash of light follwed by an all too familliar noise paralyzed him. The light was moving towards them, followed by a trail of smoke. He turned around to the others in the chariot.
"Get out, NOW!"
He didn't give them time to react. He just pushed anyone in the reach of his arms over the side. They screamed as they fell into the forest below, looking up to the chariot. They stopped as a long metal object crashed into the chariot, causing it to explode. As if he wasn't falling fast enough already, the explosion only served to accelerate him even further. He could only watch as the seemingly distant trees grew closer and closer. He prepared himself for the landing. It wouldn't be the first time he had jumped out of an aircraft, but he was usually in full armor when he did jump...
He crashed through the trees. He desperately tried to grab onto a branch to slow himself down. But they always broke. He landed on a tree limb with his back, then fell to the ground.
"Son of a..."
He winced as the pain finally hit him. After a few grueling minutes he was able to get up again. He knew he had to leave. FAST. No doubt that whoever fired that missile would send out a patrol to eliminate any possible survivors. But he wasn't going to leave any of those possible survivors behind. He took out the mag of his pistol. He sighed as he glimpsed the three rounds that were left. So, all he had to do was find the other survivors, evade enemy patrols and find a way to safety, with only three bullets. Piece of cake right?
He limped off to his left, remembering that he saw some of the Unicorns fall in that direction. He stopped for a moment, something was wrong. All of a sudden, a large piece of debris fell not more than 6 inches in front of him. If he would have taken another step, he would be dead. So, all he had to do was find the other survivors, evade enemy patrols and find a way to safety, with only three bullets and flaming debris falling from the sky. Overall it's been a bad day for Wolf...
A Unicorn lay on the ground in front of him. He checked his vital signs, hoping that he was alive. But he was dead. Hopefully it had been quick. Rustling in the nearby bushes sent him jumping into the bushes. Put his hand on his pistol. He hoped he wouldn't have to use it. Any gunfire would attract a lot of attention. He sighed as a panting Unicorn crawled out from the bushes, a trail of blood following him. He moved to get out, but two more approaching silhouetes caused him to stay hidden. In full combat gear, three Griffons came out. AK-47's, frag grenades, flashbangs, the works. They followed the Unicorn. It's panting intensified as they approached. One of the Griffons stomped on it's leg, causing it to yell in pain. The Griffon pointed it's rifle at the Unicorn's head.
"Wai-"
He was cut off by a gunshot. Wolf sighed without making noise. He instinctively moved to grab his pistol.
"You didn't have to kill him man..."
"You think I'd miss an easy shot like that?"
"Stay sharp." A third Griffon emerged from the bushes, his AK on his back. It was obviously their leader.
"Boss wants the boy dead. He doesn't care about the others. And if you'd recognize what this boy's done in the past, you'd know better than to waste ammo on injured Unicorns!"
"Copy that Sarge..."
"Now get your asses in gear. We've got a lot of ground to cover."
"Yes sir..."
The patrol marched off into the distance, searching for more survivors. Wolf waited a few seconds, then left the bushes. He passed by the fresh bleeding corpse without reacting. He was used to things like that. As he walked off into the distance, more gunshots could be heard. He knew anyone who survived the rough landing would have been executed by now. He continued to weave through the bushes like a snake, leaving no trace of his passing. He intended to get out of that forest alive.
"Don't move."
He closed his eyes tightly. He had been spotted.
"Hands in the air."
He did as he was told.
"Guess this is my lucky day..."
"Why? What's so lucky about having to go through a muddy, insect ridden, monster infested forest just to find me?"
"Boss promised whoever kills you a position as a Count after he's finished with his plan. I suppose I should thank you for getting me this position..."
"Maybe..."
"So I'll thank you by making this quick..."
Wolf shut his eyes even tighter as he heard the rifle rising up to his head and the Griffons talon ready to squeeze the trigger. A loud roar followed by a scream rang in his ear as gunfire lit up the forest behind him. He turned around to see a giant wolf-like creature, on top of the Griffon and snarling as it ripped him to shreds. Blood painted the forest ground red amidst the gurgling screams of the dying Griffon. The wolf ripped out a large piece of meat, walked away from the carcass and turned around. As it walked into the moonlight, Wolf could see that it was made entirely of...wood. Even so, it's yellow eyes reflecting in the moonlight and the fresh blood dripping from it's teeth were enough to send a shiver down his spine, something he hadn't felt in a long time. Two more leaped out of the shadows and began to circle him, snarling and growling as they tightened the noose areound his neck. Wolf knew he couldn't fin this fight. Outnumbered and surrounded, he shut his eyes yet again, waiting for the inevitable. The ensuing silence was sickening. Seconds seemed like hours to him as his breathing intensified. He felt a cold, prickly paw on his shoulder and winced. But nothing more...He peeked open one of his eyes, to be met with the sight of the wolf that had just made the kill staring right at him, his front right paw out on his shoulder. After a few moments of silence, they took off, dragging the kill with them. Why did they just leave him alive? He was even more vulnerable than the Griffon. The Griffon was well armed, and was ready to kill him. Why would those things kill the Griffon and leave him without a scratch? A thought came to him, but it made no sense...Wolves supposedly took care of their pack members...If that was true, maybe these ones regarded as one of their own.
"I'm losing it in this damn forest..."
He almost walked away. But before he could think about it twice, he picked up the AK that was dropped on the ground. He took the magazine out to reveal that it had fourteen rounds left.
"Better than just three..."
He continued to limp off into the forest. A few minutes later he stopped to listen. Rustling in the leaves behind him. Slowly but surely, he reached for his knife. In the blink of an eye, he swung his kinfe around him, cutting off the head of the snake hanging from the branch, ready to deliver a lethal bite.
"Close, but not close enough."
He turned back around and walked away. After a few seconds walk, he was right smack dab in the middle of a clearing. 
"I need to get out of here now..."
"Too late."
Wolf turned around to see another two Griffons aiming at him.
"Drop it."
"Buddy...you're better off pointing a gun at yourself then pointing a gun at me..."
"I said drop it!"
"Fine..."
He threw his AK to the ground. He smiled a bit.
"Before you kill me...Can I ask you one question?"
"Shoot."
"Who gets the reward?"
"What?"
"So who gets the reward for killing me? There's only one reward...and there are two of you."
"Of course I'm gonna get the reward." One of them spoke up.
"Like hell you are!" The other replied, enraged at his squadmates outburst.
"Hey guys, might I suggest a compromise?" Wolf said.
"Go ahead."
"Neither of you get the reward and I stay alive."'
One of the Griffons turned around to face Wolf.
"What the hell kind o-"
He was cut short as the bullet ripped through his head faster than the speed of sound, sending him to the ground. The other turned to fire, but wasn't fast enough as two more bullets hit him, killing him instantly.
"I told you you'd regret pointing a gun at me..."
He heard rustling in the distance.
"No time to hide the bodies..."
He just grabbed one of the AK's and as much ammo as he could. He began running away when a white light flashed behind him.
"I see him, he's over there!"
Following the voice was a hail of gunshots. They ripped through the dense folisge like tissue paper, missing Wolf by mere millimeters. He moved as fast as he could on one injured leg, but they were still gaining on him. He looked behind him and fired a short burst. He had cleared the treeline. He must have been out of the forest. As he turned back around to see where he was going he stopped immediately at the sight of a huge canyon in front of him. It must have been a couple thousand feet down, and a few hundred wide. He was trapped, and he knew it. The Griffons emerged from the treeline and surrounded him, their AK's having a clear shot at his head.
"It's over, Wolf! We've got you now. You gave us a pretty good chase there, I'll give you that. But you never stood a chance. If you drop the gun and turn around, we'll make this as painless as we possibly can."
A flicker of motion caught his eye. He looked to his right to see the approaching aircraft. It was flying fast and low. Wolf turned back around to face the Griffon commander, now full of confidence.
"As much as I enjoyed this little game of hide and seek, I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave."
The commander chuckeled.
"And how are you going to leave? We've got you surrounded. The only way out is..."
Then it hit him. He noticed the smile on Wolfs face.
"Shoot him! Shoot him now!"
As the Griffons were still squeezing their triggers, Wolf turned around and jumped off the cliff, hands straight in the air, ready to catch something. The Hunter came right on time as Wolf grabbed onto to it's tail and using his own weight, swung around the tail structure to land straight up on it. He looked behind the tail to see the Griffons still firing at him. He could still see the Griffon commander, almost ready to blow up. with a flick of his hand, Wolf gave him a mocking salute.
He quickly ducked back behind the tail as a few sparks flew from where the AK round had hit it. He gave a sigh of relief as he left the forest, hopefully this would be the last time he went in it. It had been a rough night. Then he remembered that he still had to give an explanation to Twilight. The smile quickly dissapeared from his face. The worst part of tonight had yet to come...

End chapter 29.