Disclaimer: The Rat Patrol is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.

Tidal Wave

By Suzie2b

It happened so fast. The German Spitfire seemed to appear out of nowhere and strafed the two jeeps with machine gun fire before they knew what was happening. Moffitt and Tully took the worst of it as bullets ripped through the jeep's engine compartment.

Tully kept his foot on the gas even as steam and smoke billowed from under the hood. He saw the airplane begin to circle and head back towards them.

In the second jeep, Troy had manned the 50 caliber while Hitch drove. Troy got Hitch's attention and pointed at a rocky outcrop at the end of a sand dune where they could take cover. Hitch nodded as he turned the steering wheel.

Unfortunately, Tully's damaged jeep was quickly losing momentum. Moffitt scrambled into the back to man their 50 caliber as Hitch started to circle back. Just as the jeep sputtered to a halt the Spitfire started another strafing run. Moffitt and Troy let loose with the big machine guns as it flew over and soon saw a smoke trail. Then they saw a parachute open and the aircraft went on until it crashed.

They watched the parachute float down until it was out of sight. Hitch asked, "Think he survived?"

Troy said, "He probably survived, but now he's in the desert with no food or water."

Moffitt said, "We could go and check on him. We're heading in that direction anyway."

"That would put five people in one jeep … and the extra one being a German prisoner."

Tully mentioned, "And we won't get back to base until sometime tomorrow."

Moffitt nodded. "That's true. And he may have been able to radio his position before he jumped."

Troy said, "Okay, let's take the weapons, the ammo, gas, and whatever water you have and get out of here."

#######################

Several hours later, they stopped for the night at a waterhole. There were a few trees and bushes for cover.

As they set up camp, Moffitt noticed dark clouds forming over the mountain tops behind them. "Glad we're heading away from that."

Troy looked at the clouds and frowned. "Yeah. Looks like it's going to be raining up there soon."

The night wore on and Tully walked into camp at the end of his shift on sentry duty. He knelt down and shook Hitch as he whispered, "Hey … you awake?"

Hitch mumbled something through the blanket that indicated that he was.

Tully said, "Come on. The light show's great."

Hitch pushed the blanket off his face. "Light show?"

"That storm in the mountains is a monster."

Hitch stood up and stretched. He turned and saw lightning flashes and heard distant thunder. "Wow … you can smell the rain."

Tully handed him the machine gun. "At least you'll have entertainment while you're on watch."

#######################

Morning came and the mountain storm was over. Moffitt was on a small ridge as the sun came up and he watched as Troy, Hitch, and Tully began to stir. He used binoculars to scan the horizon in every direction one last time before heading down for breakfast. Something caught his eye and he watched for a minute to see what it was.

Suddenly Moffitt realized what he was looking at and he took off running for camp yelling, "Flash flood! Flash flood!"

Troy, Hitch, and Tully knew they wouldn't have much time. They started grabbing their things and throwing them into the jeep. By the time Moffitt reached them the leading edge of the water was flowing into the camp.

The current grew stronger as the water rose. It quickly surrounded the men and began to undermine the jeep. Hitch jumped in and fired up the engine as the others climbed in. The jeep's wheels spun. They were stuck. Troy, Moffitt, and Tully got out to push. After some tense seconds the jeep broke free. Troy jumped into the passenger seat and Moffitt climbed onto the hood. Tully, who had been at the back of the jeep, lost his footing in the water's current and fell as Hitch drove away.

Tully struggled to stand up in the swiftly moving water. He could feel the sand shift under his feet as the water quickly rose up passed his knees.

Hitch stopped the jeep when they were clear.

Troy looked back and realized that one of his men was missing. "Where's Tully?"

Moffitt spotting him fighting to stay on his feet as he tried to make it to dry land. "He's in the water!"

Hitch started to turn the jeep around. "We gotta get him!"

Moffitt grabbed Hitch's arm to stop him. He pointed and said, "It's too late!"

A wall of water hit Tully hard. His feet went out from under him and the current swept him away.

#######################

Miles away, with the dissipation of the flood, Tully washed up onto dry land. A pair of hands rolled him onto his back and checked for a pulse. Satisfied that there was still life in him, the man pushed him onto his side and hit him sharply twice between the shoulder blades. Tully started to cough harshly, spitting out water as he tried to suck in air.

After a few minutes the coughing subsided and Tully was eased onto back again. He opened his eyes and a voice said, "Sie sind alle recht?"

Tully's vision was a bit blurred, but his ears were working just fine. "You're German." He started to sit up and was given a helping hand. "By some chance do you speak English?"

"Kein Englisch."

"I'll take it that means no." Tully looked at the uniform his rescuer wore. "You must be that pilot we shot down."

He gave Tully a confused look.

"Never mind." Tully pushed a hand through his wet hair. "Well, you got a name?"

Another confused look.

Tully sighed. He pointed to himself and said, "I'm Tully." He pointed to the pilot. "You are…?"

A half smile. "Ich bin Barrett."

Tully stuck his hand out. "Nice to meet you, Barrett."

Barrett shook the offered hand. "Ist gut sie zu treffen … Tully."

Tully got unsteadily to his feet. His head hurt … hell, his entire body hurt. His left knee had a gash in it, but at least nothing appeared to be broken.

Barrett pointed to a makeshift lean-to made from his parachute under a lone palm tree. "Kommen. Sie können Rest gibt."

Tully had an idea what Barrett was talking about and, limping, followed him to his camp.

As Tully sat down in the shade, Barrett disappeared around the back of the lean-to. When he returned he held out a strip of parachute silk. He pointed at Tully's cut knee and said, "Verband ihre Knie."

Tully took the silk. "Um … thanks."

#######################

Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch followed the trail of water, which was slowly sinking into the sand, until they came across Tully's helmet. Troy picked it up and poured water out of it.

Moffitt and Hitch scanned the desert for any sign of Tully. They saw nothing.

Moffitt broke the silence. "Just because we don't see him here doesn't mean he won't be further up. We just have to keep looking."

Troy put the helmet into the back of the jeep. "Okay, let's shake it."

#######################

Tully rested against the tree and eventually dozed off. A short time later he was awakened by a very excited Barrett.

The German was saying, "Jemand kommt! Wir sind gerettet!"

Tully looked in the direction he was pointing. Even without binoculars he could see the German halftracks. Cursing under his breath, he got to his feet and started to look for somewhere to hide.

Barrett saw the desperation on Tully's face. He hesitated a moment, then pointed to a group of boulders at the bottom of a sand dune. "Go! Jetzt ausführen, bevor Sie sie!"

Tully nodded his thanks and took off. He made it to the boulders with no time to spare. Watching from his hiding place, Tully saw the two halftracks stop at Barrett's campsite. They must not have seen him, because they simply loaded the pilot and parachute into the vehicles without even looking around. Tully wondered if Barrett would say anything about him, but soon they left the way they'd come … and Barrett only looked back once.

Tully was completely alone now with no water or provisions. He had to make a decision. Should he wait to see if his team would find him, taking the chance that the German's would return if Barrett eventually talked. Or try to hike to the nearest waterhole, which was twenty miles away.

Tully chose the latter. And after tightening the bandage around his bleeding knee, he set off.

#######################

Hitch stopped the jeep when they reached a single palm tree. They got out and looked around.

Moffitt said, "Looks like this is where the flood water stopped."

Hitch asked, "Do you think the water brought Tully this far?"

"Could be."

Troy indicated the tracks in the sand. "Well, someone's been here. And it looks like a couple of halftracks too."

Hitch frowned as he thought about his friend being captured by the enemy.

Moffitt saw something in the sand and went to investigate. After a moment he called out, "Over here. There's more tracks." As Troy and Hitch joined him, Moffitt pointed towards the boulders. "Looks like someone ran off that way."

Hitch said, "If those were German halftracks, it was probably Tully finding a place to hide."

Troy said, "Yeah. Let's find out."

They took the jeep and followed the tracks to the boulders. Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch each went in separate directions to see if they could find anything.

Finally, Hitch found a sign. "Sarge! Over here!" Troy and Moffitt quickly made their way to the private. Hitch was kneeling next to a large rock and said, "Looks like dried blood."

Moffitt stared at the blood and said, "If Tully was here, that means he's injured."

Hitch stood up. "But where'd he go? Wish he would of stayed put."

Troy sighed. "He probably thought it was better to get out of the area when those Germans showed up."

Moffitt nodded. "You know … there's a waterhole some twenty miles east of here. Tully could have started off in that direction."

Troy looked up at the sun. "He's already been out here for hours with no drinking water. We need to find him … and fast."

#######################

Tully trudged on. His head still hurt, his knee made him limp, and he couldn't even find a pebble to suck on. When he heard a familiar voice he stopped. "Sarge?"

Moffitt stood in front of him, smiling. "You're doing fine, Tully. Just keep pushing on."

"I'm doin' the best I can."

"Just keep pushing on."

And then Moffitt disappeared.

Tully blinked, realizing that the sergeant hadn't really been there. "Just keep pushing on." He looked up at the sun to get his bearings, then started walking again. "That's easy for you to say."

Another hour. Tully collapsed. He lay on the hot sand, exhausted and hurting.

Troy's voice said, "Damn it, Tully! Get up! You have to keep moving!"

Tully opened his eyes and saw Troy standing over him. "Can't…"

"Do you want to die out here? If you stop … you won't get up again!"

Tully hesitated, then mumbled, "Okay … I'm gettin' up." He struggled to his feet and slowly moved forward. "I'm pushin' on."

#######################

Hitch pushed the jeep to the limit. Troy and Moffitt continually scanned the desert for any sign of Tully.

Troy was the first to spot a figure in the distance. He pointed off to the left and shouted over the jeep's engine, "There! That's gotta be Tully!"

Hitch rolled to a stop just ahead of Tully. They jumped out as he walked slowly by as if they weren't there.

Hitch fell in step beside him. "Tully … what's going on?"

Tully stopped, swayed slightly, and looked at Hitch, "Oh no. Not you too."

Hitch frowned. "What?"

Tully's dazed eyes went to Troy and Moffitt as they moved to stand with Hitch. "Oh great! Now I've got all three of you at once!" He turned and haltingly started walking again. "Just leave me alone."

Troy, Moffitt, and Hitch looked at each other questioningly. They caught up with Tully and blocked his path.

Tully looked at Troy and growled, "Well, I got up … I haven't stopped. What more do you want from me?" He turned to Moffitt and poked a finger into his chest, saying, "And you…" Tully looked at his finger and hesitantly poked him again.

Moffitt put a hand on Tully's arm.

Tully looked at Moffitt's hand, then back at the man in front of him. He put the palm of his hand on Moffitt's chest and asked softly, "You're real this time?"

Moffitt smiled as he realized what was happening. "Yes, Tully, we're real."

Tully swayed and collapsed.

Moffitt caught him and eased him to the ground. "Take it easy, Tully."

Troy was quickly on his knees, looking at the private worriedly. "Hitch, get some water!"

"Already on it, sarge." Hitch knelt next to them and held a canteen to Tully's lips. "Here … take a drink."

Tully took in a mouthful of water and swallowed. Hitch moved the canteen away and Tully started to reach for it.

Moffitt gently pushed his hand down. "Not too much at once. You'll make yourself sick." He took in Tully's appearance. There was a black eye, bruises, and bloody knee. Moffitt pressed his hand to Tully's forehead. "We'd better get him out of the sun."

#######################

When Tully opened his eyes he was laying in the shade without remembering how he got there. He sat up slowly and groaned as he rubbed the back of his head.

Troy was there to help him lean against a tree. He smiled and said, "Welcome back. How do you feel?"

Tully sighed, "Like I was hit by a tidal wave and dragged through the desert."

Moffitt joined them and handed Tully a canteen. "You took quite a beating in that flash flood. You're lucky you don't have any broken bones."

Tully swallowed some water. "How long have we been here?"

Troy said, "About four hours. We'll spend the night and head in tomorrow. We should get to base by noon."

Tully looked at the fresh bandage on his knee and tried flexing it, which only made him grimace and hiss with the pain.

Moffitt said, "I cleaned it up as best I could, but a doctor will have a look at it tomorrow."

Troy hesitated before he asked, "The bandage you had when we found you. It's parachute silk."

Tully nodded. "That pilot we shot down found me. He gave it to me."

"Then the tracks we saw were German halftracks."

Moffitt nodded, "Apparently he was able to make a call with his position before bailing out."

Troy looked at Tully with a mildly surprised expression. "And he let you go?"

Tully smiled slightly and shrugged. "Well, neither of us had a gun. What was he gonna do? Tell me to sit and stay? I ran as soon as I saw the halftracks coming. Actually, he woke me up and pointed them out to me. He could've left me sleeping and I would have been caught."

"He could have given you away to his friends after you ran, but he didn't did he?"

"No he didn't." Tully shifted to get more comfortable. "I wish I could thank him."

Troy patted the private on the shoulder as he stood. "Yeah, maybe you will someday."

Moffitt stood up and smiled as he said, "Get some rest now. Tomorrow I want to hear all about your hallucinations."

Tully scowled as he tried to remember. "Hallucinations? I don't…"

Troy and Moffitt only chuckled as they walked away.