"Up to me to bandage you, I think." Mika said. Hawke smiled as the smoke filled his lunges. Hey thats fine. Keep it tight. he said a smile on his face as he enjoyed the cigar. Son enough he'd be back on his feet. he flet he'd earned his rest for the time been.
Oh, real smooth, aren’t you? Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to comment on a woman’s weight?” she demanded. “That’s just bad form.” Chris looked in to her eyes, "R-relax, I'm only k-kidding, you're v-very att--" He was interrupted by a slap on the ass by Steward, who, for some reason, decided to throw Gask over his shoulder and run like a madman toward the convoy. "LETS HURRY IT UP CHRIS,"MY ASS IS FREEZING, LAST ONE THERE'S A SMELLY ASSED DREKK" Chris didn't imagine Gask was very comfortable. They were almost there, so Chris decided to walk the rest of the way, he didn't know how badly Sadie was hurt, but he knew it wasn't as bad as Gask, so he was fine with Steward winning the race. When they finally arrived, they saw that the truck was total chaos, Doc had already begun work on Gask, while some woman he'd never seen before tended to Hawke on the other side of the cabin. He saw David, still behind the wheel, and Artie posted up on the gun. It warmed him a little to see his friend unharmed. "L-looks like a f-full boat." Chris told Sadie. "Not e-enough r-room for both of us... G-guess our d-date's over."
"You know," Mika said, making the bandage good and snug, "you really should stay off this for a while. In fact, if the doc had the nerve or the time to tell you so, you should lie down with your leg up." She looked at him narrowly as he blew out a contented plume of smoke, a little smile on his face. "You aren't going to do that," she said, already knowing the answer, "are you."
When they got to the truck, Sadie realised there had been more injuries sustained in the attack than she’d realised. Omar was kneeling over Gask, who looked like he was conscious again, and Mika was also there, tending to Hawke, who had a leg injury that looked pretty bad. Sadie noticed with amusement that even now he was still smoking a cigar. “L-looks like a f-full boat.” Sadie looked round at Chris. “Not e-enough r-room for both of us... G-guess our d-date's over.” “What a shame. Just when I was starting to like you,” she grinned, then looked down at the ground pointedly. “Yet I notice you still haven’t put me down. If you do, I’ll give you your coat back.”
"Alright," the doctor said, shining a light into Gask's eyes. Responses were good. "Sounds like you probably have a bit of a concussion, but with all this bleeding I'm not willing to rule out the possibility that your brain is hemorrhaging. So far, your reflexes are pretty good, but if you start to feel numb, or you start seeing weird stuff, it's important you tell me. Do you understand?" As he said this, Omar lifted the man up and put him into a sitting position, keeping his back as straight as possible against the wall of the vehicle in an attempt to elevate the wound. "Mika, darling," he called over. "Keep that tourniquet as tight as you can. Your man's lost a lot of blood!"
"He's stable for now," I yelled back to Omar, "I can have David do this if you need help. I can stitch and do some other basic things. Need help?"
"Alright," the doctor said, shining a light into Gask's eyes. "Sounds like you probably have a bit of a concussion, but with all this bleeding I'm not willing to rule out the possibility that your brain is hemorrhaging. So far, your reflexes are pretty good, but if you start to feel numb, or you start seeing weird stuff, it's important you tell me. Do you understand?" Gask leaned back against the wall and slumped over a bit, rummaging around slowly in his pockets before producing a slightly bloody cigarette and a lighter. He put it to his lips, taking more than a few tries to light it up before it finally worked. He inhaled and exhaled slowly, savoring every moment of the thing. "Yeah...I got you Doc," he muttered. He caught Sadie out of the corner of her eye and gave her a weak smile.
“What a shame. Just when I was starting to like you,” she grinned, then looked down at the ground pointedly. “Yet I notice you still haven’t put me down. If you do, I’ll give you your coat back.” Chris pretended to mull it over for a second, then gently placed her feet into the snow. He waited for her to steady herself, then he began tugging at the coat. "Nothing p-personal, If it were up to m-me I'd hold you all n-night l-l-long, But fact is, it's a little ch-chilly out here" he said, hugging himself for warmth with his free arm. "Next time, hopefully we can meet somewhere with heating?"
"Great... I'd really prefer it if either of you didn't smoke in here. It's been a long day, and it's hard enough to concentrate without this enclosed space being filled with stinking smoke." Omar moved over to Sadie. He could tell in an instant what was wrong. "Ooh, that looks nasty. Alright, one sec." He stepped to the front of the vehicle and grabbed a morphine syringe out of his medical case. Mika was standing nearby. "Need help?" "Ehh yeah, actually. I may be a jackass, but I draw the line at hurting women. Unless she likes it. Heh, anyway, I need you to relocate Sadie's arm. Over here..." The doctor went back to Sadie, pulled the cap off the syringe with his teeth and made sure there weren't any air bubbles. "Okay, I'm gonna give you a shot of painkillers and my lovely assistant here will get that shoulder back in its socket. I can't promise you it wont hurt, but you look like a tough little girl." He wiped some sweat from his brow. What kind of idiots would only assign one medic to an entire task force?
"Great... I'd really prefer it if either of you didn't smoke in here. It's been a long day, and it's hard enough to concentrate without this enclosed space being filled with stinking smoke." Gask rolled his head to one side and looked at Hawke smoking on the cigar and then down at himself smoking on the cigarette, then lastly he looked right at the Doc. "Doc...I like you. I don't want to have to kill you."
I was careful getting around Hawke, not to jostle him too much. He ignored the doc's plea to put the cigar out and I didn't disturb him. "David!" I say with some authority, "I need you to take care of Hawke. Keep pressure on this." I place his hand on the bandage where I'm keeping the pressure on and he nods as I scramble down to Sadie. There seem to be injured people everywhere. Gaston, Gask, Sadie. So much blood, so much agony. Chris is shaking, his lips blue as he clumsily fastens his coat. Sadie's face is white with pain. A dislocation is no joke. Fortunately, the pain also goes away pretty dramatically once it's back in. The trick is to find the right angle. The doc has shot some painkillers into her, that should help her keep from stiffening up against the manipulation I have to do. Good. "I bet you know the drill," I tell her, opening her coat and carefully sliding her arm out. I need to feel the muscles and bones as I do this. I take her wrist in one hand and her elbow in the other. She groans as I move the arm experimentally, getting it mapped exactly in my mind how it must go. "okay, on three," I tell Sadie, looking her in the eye, "One-" and I give the arm a strong pull and push with a twist, feeling the joint go back into its socket.
The space around the first truck was getting a little full. Spencer stepped out away from the group, looking out over the field. The smoke of the cigars had piqued his own appetite, and he withdrew a cigarette and lit up, smoking slowly and thoughtfully. When he finished, he flicked the butt away and turned back to the others. "I'm heading back to my group." He said. "I got room for a passenger, if anyone cares to do the same."
Omar sighed. He already felt he needed a vacation. "I think I'd better stay here. Gask, too. I need to monitor everyone's vitals." He walked up to the front again, approaching Hawke. "I'm back. This might sting a little..." he said, swabbing the cuts and abrasions with a red disinfectant. The doctor noticed Hawke's cigar box. Bugger it, if you can't beat 'em join 'em. "You mind?" he said, taking one of his commanding officer's cigars and lighting it without waiting for a response. "Thanks, cap'n." The smoke was beginning to cloud up the inside of the truck. Omar puffed on the cigar with an ironic smile. He moved back over to Gask, pulled up his shirt, pressed on one of his ribs. "This hurt?"
Injuries were to the left and right of Arthur. He watches as his friend, Chris carries some hottie across the threshold. He smirks at him once they spot each other. The woman seemed to have an arm problem. He smiles at the stunning specimen as she makes her way to the other woman in his truck. It looks as if the injured woman is about to get her shoulder popped back in. The initial pop hurts like hell, good luck, girlie. He shouts over to Chris. "Look at you." he says with a grin and a finger pointed at his buddy. "You tryna be a hero or something?"
"This hurt?" asked the Doc as he pressed his hand against Gask's hurt rib. Before Gask could even force himself to do otherwise, his hand snapped up an gripped the Doc's neck in an almost unbreakable hold. Gask, clearly not in the mood for games anymore, eyed the doctor as levelly as he could. "I've told you where it hurts Doc...just fix it." Gask let his arm fall down as he took another puff of his rapidly dwindling cigarette.
Once Sadie was cared for, her face sheened with sweat in spite of the cold, Mika patted her on the shoulder and then plugged in the machine to make hot drinks. Then she went back to Hawke. David had been keeping the tourniquet tight and Hawke appeared to be dozing, though smoking at the same time. Mika checked the tourniquet, loosening it for a moment to let the blood flow so that the limb wouldn't die and observing any bleeding. She was sure the bleeding that occurred was slower. It seemed that perhaps Hawke would mend after all. Still, she would have to have Omar's okay before she felt good about his chances.
Hawke glanced at Mika and gave her a nod of respect for the work she had done keeping him alive. He blew more smoke across the cockpit as he enjoyed the relaxing feel of the Cigar.
Two days have passed and the convoy has moved on coming to the end of Callis. The snow's stopped falling and the winds are down to a mere whisper. The end of the Dune however is thick with snow. The wounded are feeling better and able bidied again. Group one is now ploughing through mounds of snow while the rest are following in its wake. The sky is a dull grey without a cloud in sight.
As the Team pass off the Callis Dune onto solid land they come to the first of the ruins another truck lays half burried in the snow covered by Ice. The convoy drives slowly passed until they pass a second truck buried in the snow.
Drake who was now feeling good saw two trucks buried under the snow. He asked Helena, "Two trucks burried. Who do these trucks belong to?". He stood and walked to the front of the truck to have a good view. He moved slowly, thanks to the injuries.
Two days with no sign of trouble. The desire to relax was strong. Still Spencer had kept his guard up and remained vigilant. There had been very little conversation between them; and the journey had become a monotony of snow and growling engines. Spencer removed the bandages from his leg. It still looked like hell, but it had done a lot of healing in the past days, and he could certainly walk on it. Drake asked. I took a look out the window. "Probably ours." Spencer said. "They look like supply trucks...chemicals or gas." Just then, he heard the order. Spencer shoved open the door and leaped out onto the snow. At a jog, he made his way up to the front of the convoy.
Hawke starred on at the two stranded and half buried trucks. He recognised their markings they were Orlock trucks. As David drove past Hawke saw the frozen remains of the driver he closed his eyes a moment as the lead truck passed. Hawke was still smoking on a half smoked cigar enjoying the aroma and mused at the Doc helping himself to one. Hawke took out the map and looked intensely at the route through Old France. He looked up. Ahead they could all see the ruins in the distance. “Stop the truck,.” He said looking at David. Hawke picked up the CB radio and checked the all channels. “Gaston you and Spencer on foot a head of the convoy, we’ll have to take it slow here. Have your wits about you.” He said. “Drake Sadie I want you out walking besides the convoy weapons ready. Louie up front here with me. We’re all on foot while the Convoy moves slowly through these ruins. All of you will need you wits about. Whatever happens we must protect this convoy. Also I want someone manning the heavy guns on your vehicles. We’re heading into a dangerous crossing here. Hawke Out.” He said. Hawke took hold of his SA-80A3 checked it was loaded and ready for use. He opened the passenger seat. His leg still hurt. He placed his blue tinted shades over his eyes and checked his thick coat was fastened up and took a black scarf from his bag and wrapped it around his neck covering his mouth and nose. He jumped down patted the truck on the side to move on slowly. He held his gun in both hands and stepped up in front of the Big Behemoth holding his gun in a relaxed yet ready for attack poise. “C’mon.” He called. He winced slightly with his walking movements.
From the distance a warrior dressed in fur looks through his Binoculars. His hair is long, and there’s a scare across his face in a diagonal. Strapped to his back isa long rifle, while a jagged sword hangs from his belt. Around his neck he wears a necklace of fingers. Behind him three others stand there all wearing thick fur from a polar bear or and a brown bear. One female and two males. The males carry large jagged axes across their backs while the woman carries a sub machine gun in a two handed grip.
Two days without anything going wrong. Sadie didn’t like that. The snow stretched out in a unbroken sheet of dazzling white before them, and was somehow more unsettling to Sadie than an army of Van Haars or Reavers marching towards the convoy might have been. She felt deep in her stomach that this silence was the calm before the storm, and the storm, when it broke, would be twice as bad as the skirmishes around the Callis Dunes had been. She watched them pass the half-buried trucks uneasily. In one way it was a relief to see something breaking the endless plain of white – the snow was white, the sky was white, the clouds were white. Sadie was getting very sick of white – but the Orlock trucks had obviously run into some kind of trouble to get stuck that badly. Sadie’s sense of foreboding increased. The CB radio crackled. “Gaston you and Spencer on foot a head of the convoy, we’ll have to take it slow here. Have your wits about you.” Hawke’s voice came over the airwaves. “Drake Sadie I want you out walking besides the convoy weapons ready. Louie up front here with me. We’re all on foot while the Convoy moves slowly through these ruins. All of you will need you wits about. Whatever happens we must protect this convoy. Also I want someone manning the heavy guns on your vehicles. We’re heading into a dangerous crossing here. Hawke Out.” Sadie picked up the radio. “Copy that.” Glad to have something to distract her, and that it wasn’t just her being paranoid, she jumped down from the truck, handgun out and senses alert. She rolled her shoulder in its socket as she trudged through the crisp snow alongside the convoy. After the initial burst of agony when Mika had popped her shoulder back in, the pain had decreased dramatically. Her arm was still a little tender, but useable, and having suffered dislocations before she knew gentle exercise would help build her strength back up quickly. Sadie wanted to be ready if anything happened.
