-CHAPTER 4-
The jeep rumbled down the road, kicking up dust with its cleat-like tires. Sam hadn't moved from his position. He was sure his appendix was going to burst. Whether he got to where Wallings was taking him or the 4077 found him, his appendix was going to make things very uncomfortable.
He dug his heels into his seat to try to stop bouncing around but it was about as helpful as a light jacket in a blizzard. Wallings hadn't said a word since they had pulled away from the unit. Sam had been too busy trying to stay breathing correctly. The scenery was passing by swiftly, a muddle of greys, whites, browns and the occasional green. It was almost making him nauseous. The jeep was bouncing up and down passed rock and crevice.
"Just wait until my superiors learn that I caught an enemy. I'll get a medal for sure." Wallings yelled over the noise. Sam opened his eyes and the sun pierced through him.
"Do you realize what you've done? You just terrorized a MASH unit and taken one of their own. We HAVE no enemies there!" Sam gasped, gripping his side tighter.
Wallings turned a corner sharply and glanced at Sam.
"You shut up. I know that your MASH treats the enemy more...nicely...than the others. You must be conspiring with them. My superiors will get the answers from you." he said.
Sam was mostly quiet, leaning his head back against the seat. Muffled groans slipped through his lips. The cold wind blew through his hair, shocking his brain into asking more questions.
"So who was Bennett?" he asked, keeping his eyes closed. It took too much energy to attempt to keep them open.
"I thought he was on my side. But then I saw him talking to those Koreans. I had to stop him from informing the enemy of the plans. I needed him to tell the superiors what he had done." Wallings explained.
Sam was beginning to sweat. A fever was setting in. His body fought for both temperatures. At first he felt like he was sweltering. The next second all the sweat coating his body felt like subzero ice.
"You were the sniper on the MASH grounds. You shot the Korean." he said, finally realizing things.
"He was going to warn his associates. I couldn't let that happen." Wallings said.
There was a haunted look in his eyes. Sam had the foreboding feeling that Wallings believed everything he said. He took a deep breath and sat up straight.
"Look Wallings. If you want me to be able to tell your superiors anything, I have to be alive. I need a doctor." he tried to explain.
Wallings didn't respond. He instead pulled the jeep over to the side of the abandoned road.
-4077-
"We should have checked your head! You're driving crazy!" BJ yelled over the sound of the jeep, gripping the door as Hawkeye took another hairpin turn.
The two of them were squinting in the cold morning air, making their eyes water. The wind was blowing as harshly as it had the night before. Hawk's numbing fingers were quickly taking the focus over his concussion force headache. He couldn't even feel the steering wheel anymore.
"You know as well as I do that if his appendix bursts, he could get peritonitis, get an infection, things can get serious!" Hawkeye yelled over the rush of air around him. He didn't even want to start thinking about the weather. The clouds overhead were beginning to puff and gray, yielding to the threat of oncoming snow. They knew it was going to snow. After being in Korea for so long, it was easy to predict when weather was coming. They knew the signs. There were almost up to the ability of Radar.
"There's faint tracks up to the right." Hawkeye heard BJ call out.
He squinted out to the middle of the road. Sure enough, there were slight tracks veering off the road and out of sight.
Slowing the jeep and pulling it to the side, the two of them hopped out and began following the tracks. There were a few spots that had ice on them and it was obvious that the jeep had skid over it. It was that fact that made Hawkeye begin to worry more. He was beginning to have horrible thoughts about if the jeep had skid off the road or overturned on one of the many jagged rocks around.
Looking at BJ, he could tell he was thinking the same thing.
"Keep an eye out for any skid marks." Hawkeye hollered slightly over the increasing winds. BJ nodded.
The terrain gave room for anyone to hide. For all the two of them knew, there could have been a couple of snipers looking down their scopes at them. As the wind blew, the past snow sprinkled off the tree branches, some of it landing on the two of theirs shoulders.
"I'm starting to think I should have grabbed a heavier coat." BJ mumbled to himself.
Hawkeye wasn't on the same level. He was just concentrating on remaining upright. His head was still throbbing and the bumps along the way in the jeep hadn't done any good. There were a few black spots clouding his vision and he blinked repeatedly to remove them. It had worked a few times but now the little buggers were coming back full force. He rolled his eyes upwards and visibly winced at the pain it caused.
Unfortunately, BJ noticed. He stopped walking and didn't hesitate to grab Hawkeye's arm to stop him. Hawkeye jerked in his grip and turned to look at BJ expectantly.
"Your head is still bothering you. Wait here. I'll go and look around." BJ said.
Hawkeye's eyes widened.
"No! BJ, Sam could be bleeding or dead by now. Plus Wallings has a gun. If he sees you, it could be lights out for all 3 of us." he justified. He tried to glare at BJ but his eyesight wavered.
"But if you'd stay here for just a few minutes, I can come and get you before he even sees me." BJ argued.
Hawkeye frowned.
"I'm just going to follow you anyways so you might as well give up." he said, pulling his arm from BJ's grip. BJ growled but watched Hawkeye stride forward. They struggled up a small hill, still following the deep tracks. With the ice, the two didn't think Wallings was stupid enough to try to drive the jeep down an icy hill.
They found their assumption to be correct when BJ made out the back of the 4077's jeep off to the edge of the abandoned roadside. It was empty so the captains moved on, looking for the missing occupants.
As they moved, the sounds of conversation drifted through their ears. One of the voices sounded in pain and the deep one was obviously Wallings.
-4077-
Sam leaned against the closest rock, a fine sheen of sweat across his forehead. His breathing was laboured and he was sure his vision was blurry. Any deep breaths shot pain to his side. His brain was going into a complete panic. The pain in his side had intensified and he couldn't even sit up straight. His eyes followed Wallings as he paced the clearing, the gun twitching in his grasp.
"Wallings. I'm gonna die anyway. It's just one less enemy. You can go back to your superiors and tell them you succeeded." Sam groaned. He honestly felt like death warmed over. In all honesty, he wanted to just die in peace.
"No, no you have to be alive to be questioned." Wallings growled, stopping his pacing and wiping snow off his shoulders.
It was only then that Sam noticed he was shivering. His chest felt as if his heart was baout to burst out of his chest. He could feel his bones shaking inside his skin.
"What can I do to keep you alive?" Wallings mumbled to himself. He seemed at war with himself.
Sam let him stew and began looking around for a way to change the status quo. The snow was beginning to coat everything. He could see a few loose rocks that were just within reach. He glanced back at Wallings, eying him as he paced back and forth, running his hands through his hair.
Sam slowly lifted his arm, careful not to let any leaves or twigs crackle as they fell to the ground, losing their grip on his jacket. Although the howling wind would probably blow the noise away and to the other side of Korea.
The rock was cold in his hand, completely frozen. He was tempted to drop the rock and pull his hand back to his body, to warm it against his chilled torso. But he ignored the tempting thought and clenched his teeth. Wallings seemed to be in his own world. He wrung his hands and mumbled to himself about something or another. Now Sam knew that Wallings wasn't all there.
He pulled the rock to his side and covered it with his hand. He wished Hawkeye and BJ were there. They always knew what to do. At least he would have had some comfort as he died.
"What can I do?!" Wallings yelled, startling Sam out of his thoughts.
"Take me back to the 4077. My appendix needs to come out. They can remove it and I'll be well enough to travel." he groaned, placing his free hand protectively over his pained side.
"No! The MPs will be waiting. If it just needs to come out, then I'll do it." Wallings decided.
He had an unusual glint in his eyes as he stared at Sam and then began fumbling through his pockets for something. Sam tried to back up, sliding his body back but his muscles began to freeze up, making it extremely difficult to move at all. His head fell back against the frozen ground with a small thump. His eyes fluttered shut against the blowing snow when he unexpectedly heard an 'aha' from Wallings. His eyes opened sluggishly and rolled down to see what Wallings was doing. The big man was holding something in his hand but Sam didn't have the strength to lean up to see what it was. He released a groan.
"Yes sir. I'll fix it myself." Wallings mumbled to himself.
Sam felt the intruding cold impale his abdomen. His hand was shoved to the side and the corner of his shirt was shoved out of the way. The first thought in his mind was that the wind felt marvelous on his heated, fever ridden skin. But the pressure of someone holding him down by his chest caused his brain to go into overdrive. His limbs weakly struggled to push the offending force off but all movement froze as an agonizing slice of pain radiated throughout his side. He glanced down to see Wallings gripping the handle of a deadly looking knife whose blade was currently buried deep in his side. A scream was his delayed reaction. It seemed to sear his throat with its intensity. As the knife began to slide downwards, Sam suddenly remembered the frozen rock in his hand.
Swinging with all his might, Sam cracked the rock across the side of Wallings' head.
-TBC-
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