14-May-2002
He looked from the helo's wreckage to the thicker grove of trees fifteen feet away from the massive oak tree. It was amazing they were alive at all. At first he had thought they could stay near the heat of the smoldering engine, but then he remembered that diesel fuel and other propellants probably weren't the wisest thing to be breathing in for any lengthy amount of time. Cursing softly to himself he faced the inevitable. He had to carry them... again.
The darkness was beginning to cool the temperature of the air and he was fighting off shock himself. It didn't help he no longer had a shirt and was praying that Maxwell had his extra one with him in his pack. If he could find the pack. The sooner he dragged Heero and Duo over to the trees and made a fire, the better it was going to be for all of them.
Screw Oz. It was better to be alive and captured, then dead and... he shrugged... dead.
Resigning himself to the pain he was about to endure, he rolled his shoulders back and tried to relax his weary muscles. Heero first. His bleeding had stopped and he was semi-conscious. At least the external bleeding, he had no idea what was going on inside the battered frame of the Wing pilot. He pulled Heero into a sitting position with a grunt, and was surprised when he got an answering one from said pilot. "Heero... can you sit?"
Heero's eyes snapped open and he gave Wufei an odd look bordering on amusement. With a grunt and a hiss of pain, Heero managed to not only sit up, but to stand. All be it a bit wobbly, but he was on his own two feet. "I can manage."
Wufei glanced to Duo who was lying in a small, black heap on the moss covered ground. He was about to haul Duo up and start dragging the pilot over to the tree cover when he noticed the yellowish colored moss underneath him had turned a nasty shade of crimson. He cursed again and turned to Heero, who was shaky, but still upright. "I don't think it would be wise to move him. He's lost a lot of blood and I have no idea what is going on inside there."
"Better to be alive and injured, than be caught by Oz and tortured." Heero answered grimly. "Or worse... dead."
Wufei bit back another curse. Heero's thoughts echoed his own, only he hadn't thought about getting caught and tortured for information. Death was always a possibility, but he cringed at the thought of what Oz might do to his already battered and bruised body. With a huff he gingerly rolled Duo onto his side and used all his strength to pull him into a sitting position. With a few choice words he hauled him up over his good shoulder, and bit his lip to keep from yelling out as pain lanced through his whole upper body like daggers.
It was the longest fifteen feet he had ever walked. When he got to the grove he almost dropped Duo to the ground. He couldn't make himself bend with that much weight on his arm. When he straightened himself up he was liberally smeared with Duo's blood and had to fight the wave of panic that Duo might actually not make it. He was breathing harshly and his lungs were burning with his attempts to get air into them. His back felt as if he had been drug for a hundred yards over sharp glass and then been salted. To vent his pain he turned to Heero who gave him a bland look of interest. "Why does he insist on doing that?" Wufei growled at Heero, who raised one brow in response. "The thrice damned black clothing! How am I supposed to know where's he's bleeding or not, when I can't see it with all the black he wears?!" If he could he would have thrown his arms up in frustration, but that just wasn't an option right then.
"That's the point. So no-one realizes how much blood he's lost." Heero staggered over and leaned against a small sapling. "It gives him an advantage."
Wufei snorted his disapproval before slowing settling himself to the ground. He let his eyes slide shut and concentrated on breathing for a few moments before trying to get back up to gather wood for a fire. If he could get back up. "Why is it that Maxwell always gets the most injured whenever I happen to be around?"
He plopped himself down in between Wufei and Duo and gave Wufei a small smirk. "Maybe to get a rise out of you."
"He doesn't need to get pitched forty feet out of helicopter without a parachute to get my attention." Wufei grumbled.
"He doesn't need to do a lot of things. Base jumping out of a building three times higher than that tree for one." Heero growled as he looked at Duo's sprawled form on the ground.
Wufei noted the mock agitation for what it was. Respect. Who else but Duo would do something like that for someone he barely even knew? It was just part of what made Duo so unique. His amazing ability to put other peoples' lives before his own. Consequences to himself, be damned. And that won Wufei's allegiance to him and apparently something more from Heero. "The tree was high enough to be flung out of without a chute. I find the thought of what you both did that day... disturbing."
Heero shrugged. "He also has nothing to lose."
Wufei turned to the taciturn pilot. "I disagree." Heero gave him a very intense expression that without words asked him to elaborate on his statement. "I think he has plenty to lose. One thing comes to mind in particular."
Heero looked away at the still steaming wreckage nearby and the twisted metal that used to be a helicopter. "Duo tends to take the most risks." Heero looked over Duo and brushed a few locks of hair away from Duo's face. "I don't take risks. I make choices."
Wufei digested that bit of information. He hadn't thought about it that way. Then he shook his head and tried to get up. If he didn't get some heat, none of them were going to be taking any more risks. His head spun and blackness threatened to creep into his vision. With a growl he collapsed back down to his place on the ground beside Duo.
Heero put a hand on his forearm and pulled him back a bit before Wufei tried again. "Stay put. I'll manage." Heero said quietly before struggling up. "I just need a few hours to rest and then we can move."
"Move where?" Wufei hissed between clenched teeth.
"Back into a tree."
"WHAT?" The few birds that were nearby took off into flight in response to the high pitched yell from Wufei.
"It's the last place Oz will look for us. They will think we headed off for the deeper woods to find shelter or hide. It makes no logical sense to stay anyway near the wreckage of the helo. We'll be safe until Trowa comes."
"That's absurd, Yuy! I didn't spend all that time getting you both down out of the damned tree, just to haul your asses back up there!"
"Not that tree, Wufei. That one over there."
Wufei looked a t the tall tree and wanted to laugh. Sweet Nataku help them. There was no way they were going to get up into the massive pine that Heero had pointed to. And even if they did, how in the hell were they going to stay in it? "Heero. I'm cold, I'm bleeding, and I believe Maxwell has used up the last of our miracles for the day. How do you propose to get into that thing?"
Heero just shrugged and staggered over to search for any of their gear. "I'll get you Duo's other shirt to wear."
Wufei lay back on the rapidly cooling ground and looked up at the expanse of stars above him through the gap in the trees. Then he looked back to Duo's still form and checked his pulse. It was beating strongly and his shoulder seemed to be all right for the moment. He too, brushed a few chestnut colored strands out of Duo's eyes. "What do you think Maxwell? It's a risk." He watched the rise and fall of Duo's chest as he breathed and sighed up at the stars. "That's what I thought you would say."
End Part 3
(:./ebony/bough3)
