He hardly heard the voice of his commanding officer behind him, but he didn't need to. He knew exactly where the plane was going, where they were going. Murdock yelped in surprise as he watched the missile make contact with the wing. He saw the metal melt in the inferno and the engine exploding. The plane twisted viciously as it began descending towards the forest beneath them.
He swore he could hear the plane screaming as it spun wildly in the sky. It howled as it spat out sparks and engulfed the air in its intoxicating smoke. Its darkness covering up ever ounce of vision they had left.
He balled his shaking hands into fists and began pulling back on the yoke even though he knew it was futile. Sweat burning his eyes was not helping the situation any better.
He crushed his face into his shoulder attempting to fix his eyesight. The screech of the plane moved harshly into the Captain's ears, vibrating in the core of his eardrum. The commotion behind him was enough to wrack enough havoc on his nerves to drive a therapist to insanity. But then again, he was already insane. Pressure on his shoulder made him take his gaze off of the nearing ground and into the wide blue eyes of the lieutenant. He noticed the complete fear welling up inside the younger man...
"Were going to die..." Templeton whispered.
He looked back at the earth and his heart leaped into his throat. Without thinking he removed himself from his seat and tackled the other man to the ground just as he could feel the nose of the plane contacting with the rough surface of the earth, and when he could hear the crumbling sound of metal being mixed with rock and soil. The scream of the metal against hard solid rock sent stars into his vision. He groaned and covered his ears.
A whisk of a fire grew in the corner of his eye and he looked up to see that the plane was ripped in two. The last sound his deafening ears were able to find was the scream of the man who lay under him...
The enormous shock of the explosion brought the lieutenant to full senses. He knew they were being followed, but fired upon? He quickly removed himself from his chair as the adrenaline rushed through his veins. The pulsing in his head reminding him of just that. His feet seemed to glide over the floor as he moved sharply to the closest window, almost breaking his nose against the glass.
He's seen a lot of fire's before. While walking threw the grimy areas of Vietnam, the weight on his back was enough to twist it out of place for life, but he pursued on. If he didn't he knew it would be the last breath he took. You couldn't even attempt to dare someone into stopping. Around him grunts and cries of men calling out to him, to save them; to end their pain, but he still couldn't stop. It was like all of man kind knocking on the doorway of Noah's ark. What he would give not to be Noah. Now he could feel it, the fires. The heat driving his breath from him. The whistling sounds they made as the wind fed them. The screams of the men burning. The rotting flesh cooking in the ashes...
"Face!" He turned and looked around the forest. His back stung with the force of the heat. "Hannibal?" He whispered. He felt a hard grasp on his shoulder. The forest melted from his vision and he found himself back on the plane. "Kid, were falling outta the sky! This is definitely not the time to day dream!" Daydream...? Face only nodded as he blank away the sounds of screaming from his mind. He took another glance out of the window. The engine was about to...
"Hit the deck!" Hannibal shouted as he roughly grabbed hold of the lieutenant's shoulders and pushed forward, sending the young man sprawling to the floor. Face winced as he heard the explosion, digging his fingers into the soft carpeted floor of the plane. "Shoulda got the military plane..." He muttered into the carpet. Pushing himself forward he felt the cold surface of the cockpit, and heard the cursing and rapid movement coming from their mental patient pilot. He watched as Murdock looked out the window, his eyes widening and beaming with more seriousness the young lieutenant ever saw come from them.
Face stood and gasped as he looked out the window. The earth was moving uncomfortably close. Face grasped Murdock's shoulder, "Were going to die..." He noticed the Captain looking at him, but he still couldn't tear his eyes away from the nearing earth. Suddenly he felt himself being thrown to the ground and another body pushing him against the floor. Blinking away white dots he felt a burning sensation in his feet. He gasped in surprised and tried to get up, but strong arms held him down. Fire was all around them, he could smell burning flesh. He screamed as he felt his leg being torn at by the flames, soon enough, his mind slowed until finally it became darkness.
There were about six men that Hannibal could count; two were currently engaging themselves in a heated argument. That or they were smacking each other because it was fun. Hannibal turned his head over to the forest, listening as the night air released cricket chirps and owl "who's". His eyebrows furrowed, sweat tickling his forehead. Finally a separate sound. Hannibal's heart almost stopped beating. It was unique, unlike the other animalistic sounds. Maybe it was a cough, a whisper? There was no way of telling for certain. Whatever it was, it was coming towards him. Hannibal reared his gun; twirling it until he was satisfied it was safe in his other hand. He pulled back on the hammer, and carefully aimed the barrel.
Sparkling eye's and blonde hair made Hannibal roll his own eyes in disbelief. He motioned his hand and the man silently hid himself next to him.
"What was it exactly, a cough or a whisper?" Hannibal grunted. The man next to him, known as Templeton peck, loaded his weapon. "A sneeze actually. I think I'm getting a cold." Hannibal had to grin at the comment. Lieutenants, he thought, can't live with'em, can't live without'em. Templeton looked up at the men, around this time B.A Baracus would be sneaking his way to the other exit, while Murdock became the decoy. Annoying the guards with his animal sounds. It was the perfect plan; of course it had to be with Hannibal. Otherwise, he wouldn't be the leader. Murdock was the next highest rank, and if he was the leader things would be very interesting. Yes, indeed. Face aimed carefully with his sniper. The small cross beamed over a barrel of flammable liquid. A quick skilled pull on the trigger and half of the enemy camp was engulfed in a fiery inferno. Quickly, Hannibal jumped to his feet and yelled, signaling B.A to begin his part.
B.A jumped into the van and slammed his foot onto the gas pedal. His engine roared as the van propelled itself forward, onto enemy lines. Faceman and Hannibal made their way threw camp, dodging bullets and fire. Face pulled Hannibal's arm judging the way threw the tents. Finally they reached where they were heading. Face sighed, "All this trouble, for treasure?" He picked up the chest and held his breath as the weight of it almost crushed his lungs. "Help..." He let out a hoarse cry, finding himself stumbling backwards off balance. Hannibal moved in, grabbing the other edge of the chest. Face coughed and sighed with relief that he could fill his lungs again. Hannibal chuckled, grinning toothily with that smug look his jazzed up features could perform even in such conditions as they were in. "People have killed for less."
Face groaned and hurried along with Hannibal as they made their way to the approaching van.
Now it was time to get into the plane. Face looked at B.A who was not too thrilled with the idea. Great. How are we going to...? B.A dropped to the ground before Face could finish his thought. He looked up at a grinning Hannibal holding a small block of wood. Face just shook his head and pulled B.A onto the plane.
He sits. He sits and watches the body in his arms writhe in pain. His contorted expression changes quickly, eyebrows furrowed. His lips part, and out comes a terrible cry of pain. Murdock's helpless; he has to watch his friend struggle to take a breath in.
Face's hands reach up, his fingers convulsing in the air as they try to seize the wind. Murdock moves his hands gently. Caressing the cheek of the man. The skin pulls away at his touch.
Murdock can't let himself look, he knows the injuries are bad, and something might be removed, but he can't look. That something, at least for the moment was still attached to his best friend, who is still in pain, and who still needs him to help him.
Murdock almost yelps when the writhing hands jab threw the air and clutch onto his arm. The young man's eyes open, and recoil back into his head as he lets out an agonizing scream of torment.
"Murdock," he begs, "please stop it." He swallows the blood that gathered in his throat. "Please stop the pain." He fidgets again, and warm tears slide down his cheeks. His hand groping for something to relieve his pain.
A flood of tears gushed down Murdock's pale cheeks as he called out in a broken voice, "Hannibal! Hannibal!" He could hear Face's coughs as he choked on the clustering blood in his throat. "Oh god... Hannibal! Please hurry!"
Hannibal quickly shoves his hand on B.A's shoulder, stopping his movement. He cocks his head to the side and listens. A moment passes and his ears perk up like a dog, and he scatters, flying through the sharp trees and bushes to find where the sound has come from.
When he smells the gasoline in the air he knows he close, and he moves faster. Fighting the numb sensation in his legs he darts past broken trees and dangerous animals. He jumps over the last set of shrubs and gasps at what he sees.
"Hannibal, come here I don't know what to do!" Murdock cries, his voice shaking. He looks down at the young man beneath him and his tears flow more consistently. B.A looks over Hannibal's shoulder and his heart stops beating.
The smoke and dirt in the air can almost hide his face but its plain to see what his expression is. His eyebrows are knitted and twitching; his mouth would open with a cry of pain, and then quickly close upon him biting his lip. His nose is scrunched up as his fingers are submerged under the surface of the earth from their constant digging. His whole body racks with convulsions of pain; his back jumps from the ground to create an ark like position and his legs kick dirt up from the ground. He keeps crying out to the other members, begging, pleading, for them to stop the pain.
Hannibal commands the two soldiers to build a gurney, as he finds the courage to walk over to Face. Face's eyes move quickly over to him. His breathing is decline to sharp breaths taken through gritted teeth. He gropes for the Cornell's hand. Hannibal grasps Faces tightly.
"It's going to be alright Face, I promise," He comforts.
Face snorts, "F-From th-the way you're l-lookin' at m-me, I'm th-thinking-g oth-therwise…"
Hannibal shakes his head. He looks over at Murdock and B.A who are motioning for him to pick up face. He looks back at his lieutenant and carefully slides his arms under him. Face yelps and grabs hold of Hannibal's shoulder. Hannibal gently lays him down on the gurney.
"How bad is it?" Face asks.
"I've seen worse in A-Tom bombs," Murdock laughs dryly.
Hannibal pulls B.A father from the two. "B.A I want you ready for the worst. Those burns on Faceman look terrible, and he might even die from them. Murdock won't be able to handle Face's death if it does happen. You need to take charge of him if it comes to that. I'll need quiet to even think about getting Face out of here alive." B.A just nodded, but inside even he was ready to cry.