The snow was up to just above his knees, and raising slowly through the blizzard like conditions. He trudged through the below freezing weather, and through the tundra climate. He left a trail, not just from the foot prints, but also from the trail of blood leaking down his back and down his legs. His hands were tightly and shakely wrapped around his rifle which was close to his chest.
His camo clothing stood out against the snow, if they were to attack him now he would be a very easy target if it were visible at the current time. Luckily for him there was a massive blizzard for him, making conditions far to bad to travel in for a sensable person. He was a sensable person usually, but he had no choice in this, he was stranded and all he could do now is move forward. He was determined to make it back to camp. He knew his physical being was dying, but his mental being was determined to reach the salvation of which was the camp. He had to return home, to his family. He promised he would come home, and wasnt about to let them down. The thought of them brought some inner warmth as his exterior was frozen numb.
He let out another shakey breathe as the wind picked up. He could barely see, let alone stand, but he was somehow still moving forward. Slowly. His breathing was ragged and strained as he took another step forward, but his foot hit something unexpected, making him fall forward, face first into the snow. He dropped his rifle infront of him, it landed just above where his head landed. He stayed there for a minute without movement as more hellish winds blew over him, covering him gently in a thin layer of snow. He gasped, biting in some snow, almost choking on it. He had closed his eyes before he made impact with the snow.
He tried to get up, but realized he couldnt. He fell back down face first into the snow again, feeling the bitter coldness. He coughed violently as he tried again, but only managed to flip over. He had pushed his body way past its limits now, and would not allow him to go any further.
He shakely moved his hands to his torso, wrapping them around himself for some warmth. He yelped in a hoarse whisper of pain as he felt his wounds. He had recieved 3 bullets to the adobmen and chest area during the operation. He was amazed that he hadnt bleed to death already. He assumed they were positioned in such a way to keep him alive, but in mortal agony. Each move was agonized, and he half wondered how he had made it this far without giving in to the pain. This was a pain far beyond what he had ever felt before, not even dying would match this hell that he had been placed in. He had been out here for hours, and there had been no sign of anything. His limbs were frozen numb, and frostbitten badly. He gave himself another hour or two before the cold and the injuries got to him and finished him off.
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A convoy was driving along. The blizzard had just blown over and they werre searching the terrain for survivors. Refugees and soldiers together, but they had no luck so far. This was Russia they were talking about anyways, and they were in the middle of no where. There was going to be nothing there, why bother even.
They were heading back now when they hit a bump that was unexpected. Two of the soldiers climbed out of the back and looked for what the bump was a rifle. They looked at it curiously, why was there a rifle here in the middle of no where. Where was its owner? The owner must not be too far away, maybe even in need of help. They scanned the area, to find some more indented snow, like footprints that were covered up by the freshly fallen snow. They stopped though. The solders then started to push the snow aside a little, finding a hand. It was frozen and off color.
They alerted the rest of the convoy as the whole team dug up the fallen soldier. They felt for his pulse, and found it fading away. He was ice cold. His showing skin was frostbitten. They found his wounds, and they were frozen over too, infected, and frostbitten. He was in very rough shape, and they wondered if he would even make it back to the base. They hastily sped this trip up.
Two solders carried him, one was holding him by the arms and the other by the legs. They carried him over to the convoy and gently placed him in. The convoy took off with diligiant speed now, needing to get this fallen soldier quickly to the base. The soldiers in the back of the convoy searched him for his dog tags to idientify him. They found his dog tags, marking him as an American soldier, named Jack Bauer. They were UN soldiers themselves and had a base not far from here. All they could do at the moment was place a blanket over his body, in an attempt to warm him up some.
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Once they reached the base the Medical ward doctors took over the fallen soldiers' status. They moved him onto a stretcher and hurried him off into the medical shack. They had to put thick layers of blankets on him ti attempt to warm him up, enough so they could get a clearer look at the damaged done. They were amazed that he was still alive, and knew he would still be battling for his life for a while longer. Hopefully when they got his body a bit warmer they could fix the bullet wounds to help heal more.
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Tony had just pulled his car up to Kim and Chases' house. He sighed deeply as another stray tear ran down his face, he quickly wipped it away with a small sniffle, getting out of the car slowly. He was dressed in his full army uniform. He pulled with him an american flag that was folded up into a triangle with a white letter on top of it. He slowly made his way towards the front door, trying to build up the courage to do what he was about to do. He had done this before, but it had never been this hard.
He finally got to the front door, taking another heavy sigh, putting the items in 1 hand and ringing the doorbell in another, he had to be very professional about this. It wasnt long before the door was answered, by Chase. Chase looked at Tony for 1 second and knew exactly what was going on, his eyes went big as almost shocked by this news given silently. Kim walked up behind him.
"Whos there honey?" She asked before she came into the view of Tony. Tonys' heart broke even more seeing Kim was obviously pregnant. His eyes adverted to the ground, as tears threatened his eyes. She looked at him once, instantly tears filling her eyes.
"No...Tony, No..." She stuttered, as tears fell down her eyes. Tony sympathized with her but he had to be strong and professional. Chase pulled Kim into a comforting embracement, wrapping his arms around her shoulder blades and resting his chin on her head as she cried into his shirt.
"I am here for you if you need me..." Tony looked up at her again, his eyes filled with pain and sorrow as well. It was harder for him then anyone else, he had been there, he had seen Jack go down, he had seen him fall into the snow and remain unmoving. The other men literally had to drag him away out of the firing range of the hostiles, leaving Jack to die alone in the field. He had fought against the other men in an attempt to get back to him, to save him, but they restrained him, telling him it was a lost cause, he was dead.
"I present you with this flag, and this letter from the government" He said in a shakey tone, he could barely keep his professional mask on. Seeing Kim and Chase like this was just heartbreaking, but he knew he was the best man to do this. To deliever this terrible news. Chase looked to Tony, he too was biting back tears. All of them were very close to Jack, and so it was very hard for all of them. Chase took the flag and letter from Tony, as Kim continued to cry into his chest.
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The UN medics were working on Jack diligantly, fixing him up, his injuries werent as bad as they had first thought, it was just the fact that he was out in the winter for god knows how long. They had stripped him of his army gear and put a hostipal style gown on him, and some loose sleep type pants on him, since they were still in a very cold winter of Russia. They tried to figure out where he had came from, and figured he was on a mission. The nearest camp to where they found him was 30 miles away, and it was the enemies' camp. Other then that nothing else, the nearest American camp around their was 100 miles from where they had found him, but in another direction of which he was heading in. They had found a package on him, a black case that was locked up. They inspected it and put it in save quarters for now til the patient woke up and told them exactly what happened. They wanted to inform the Americans that they had one of their soldiers, but the Americans were pulling out of the area, so it was near impossible to reach them, it would be a while before they could finally get ahold of the Americans. And as for now Jack would propably wake up before they even got in touch with the American army, so they figured he could fill them in.
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It had been another full week until Jack had awoken in the camp. The UN soldiers still could not reach the americans, but were trying still. The head doctor of the camp walked into jacks' area to find him dressing himself in some army garb that they had retrieved for him and was taking off all the IVs and stuff.
"What do you think your doing?" He asked as Jack pulled his dog tags over his head again.
"I need to go" He sighed.
"No you dont, you havent healed completely yet, your not leaving!" The doctor argued with him.
"I have to go before they find out I am alive, please dont inform my government that I am alive" He looked at the doctor with pleading eyes.
"Why should we not!" The doctor asked.
"Because it will cause more trouble then any of you want to deal with" He answered.
"What was your mission?" The doctor persisted more.
"To retrieve something...just send it to my government...where are my personal items?" He asked looking to the doctor.
"I am not letting you leave here" The doctor stood in the doorway.
"I have to leave, You dont understand" Jack glared at him defiantly.
"Then try to explain it to me!" The doctor hissed.
"You wont understand!" Jack yelled back.
"Try Me!" The doctor pushed him back as he was trying to exit. Jack glared at him with a warning 'dont fuck with me' stare. Jack said no more, he just pushed his way around the doctor forcefully and headed out near the exit of the camp.
"If you leave now you will be AWOL to your own government!" The doctor threatened. Jack stopped, clenching his fist and jaw. Tears spilled from his eyes as he looked to the ground, he then closed his eyes for a brief second wiping the tears away then looking back at the doctor.
"I Fucking know that..." He hissed in a low tone, the doctor didnt hear him but saw his mouth moving. Jack stormed out of the camp then, no one even tried to attempt to stop him aside from the doctor.
Jack had no idea where he was going, but he did know he couldnt go back. Not after what happened, he just couldnt. It would be best left if everyone thought he was dead back at home, for now. He suddenly found himself laughing at the ironicness of the situation. First he was hanging on by a thread, trudging towards help to go back home. And now he was pushing it away. Once he had came around and came to his senses he realized the full impact of what he had done, and knew he would not be able to return to his home after this. If he returned the enemy of this mission would propably come after him. Send assasins after him or something like that. He couldnt risk his family and friends to be endangered because of this mission. So with this knowledge he decided just to remain 'dead' as the governments thought, and he would maybe be able to return after the conflict is over and done with.
Though he knew the camp that found him, the UN camp wouldnt keep their mouths shut and tell the american government that he was alive, and now AWOL. He knew he would be awaiting a court-marshal when he finally did return, if he did return. He thought about it as he walked, would good things out weigh the bad in returning, so far they werent. Things propably would be better if he stayed away from the country. But then once his family and friends caught word that he was alive, they might come searching. No they would, he sighed heavily. He didnt want them looking for him. He didnt want them near him right now at least. It was too dangerous for him alone. He didnt want to worry about them too, it would only cause more trouble. He debated with himself. He might return when the conflict is over, but only when its over. And hopefully they wont come searching for him.
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Jack had been walking for the last week straight, he had yet to find civilization and he was starting to regret leaving the camp so soon. He trudged through the snow, finally finding some relative cover in the trees now, but it was still freezing. He found himself cursing Russias' hellish winters day in and day out. His walking pace slowed down more and more as the days rolled on, as he was getting exhausted alot more quickly. And his stomach demanding food wasnt helping. Energy fled him quickly now, but he continued to go forward. He needed to keep moving forward. Moving backwards was not an option anymore.
Suddenly out of the corner of his eye he saw a darkened figure pounce on him. Before he knew it a large cat had pushed him in to the snow hard with its paws clawing into his back. He yelped in pain but it was muffled as his whole head was covered in by the snow, which was a few feet high, and could easily submerge him if he was down to the actual ground in it. Snow fell onto his head as the mountain lion pushed him down to the ground, readying to sink its teeth into Jacks' neck. Jack struggled under the mammals' weight but wasnt getting anywhere, he was weak and the animal easily outweighed him. He gasped for air, but only got snow, water, which started to give him the drowning effect.
The mountain lion pushed its' teeth into Jacks' skin, making him scream, and the snow to fill into his mouth. He struggled more as the moutain lion sunk its teeth deeper into his skin, drawing blood, and hitting his collar bone. Jack struggled enough to make the wound even worse, as the mountain lion now had a good grip on him with its' teeth. He coughed in pain as the snow melted in his mouth and went down his throat.
He was now desperate as he drew a knife from his back pocket and waved it around to where the mountain lion was on his back, he managed to cut the animals' foot, making it loose its grip on him. The animal removed its teeth from his shoulder, and moved off him, in a whimpering pain. Jack was able to turn on his good side holding the knife and waving it at the animal wildly as if he were crazy, getting the mountain lion to run off. He hacked up some of the water that he had gotten in his lungs, making breathing difficult and painful for him.
The mountain lion had other plans though, it was hungry and would do anything to get a meal, Jack saw this in its eyes, and sensed it in the pit of his stomach as the animal clawed at him, hitting him in the hand and knocking the knife out of his hand. He pushed back on his first injuried arm in a vain tempt to crawl backwards away from the beast. The mountain lion advanced on him with hunger in its eyes.
Jack backed up into a tree as the mountain lion readied to pounce him. Jack stared in fear and desperation now, he was looking death in the face now. Yes he knew he deserved it, but he figured it wont be now, at the claws of a mountain lion. He then glanced up seeing a branch he could reach, he could climb the tree in a last ditch effort to escape the clutchs of the hungry animal. He was still half coughing up water, as he reached for the branch, weakly pulling himself up. He climbed the tree as quickly as he could, as the mountain lion tried to jump and reach him to drag him back down, but had no luck. Jack finally got high enough where the animal gave up on him. It paced for a moment, then walked off. Jack gasped for air, as fresh blood ran down his back and chest from the teeth.
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The smell
filtered through his nose, as he tried to run. He needed to get away
from the smell, it was unbareable. It was making him gag. The screams
rang through his ears and mind. He desperatly put his hands over his
ears in an attempt to stop the screams, but he couldnt. He fell apon
his knees in the snow, trying to clear out the screams with his own
manaic scream, but it only intensified it. He just wanted it to end
as he looked around searching for an exit. He saw blood everywhere,
the red was everywhere on the snow. He sobbed searching hastily for
an exit, anything, but found he was covered in blood himself and it
was everywhere. The screams didnt stop they only got louder, as he
put more pressure on his ears trying to block it out. He staggered to
his feet trying to escape this frozen hell. He ran forward jumping
between the blotchs of red blood, trying not to touch it. In
his staggered run he tripped over something, falling face first into
the snow. He got into a crawling position wiping off the snow on him
which was now tainted red because he himself was covered in blood. He
looked back to see what he tripped over and approached it on his
hands and knees. He shreaked in horror to see it was a body. More
tears fell from his eyes as he tried to catch his breathe. He scanned
the face, and shreaked in horror again to see who it was. He gasped
obviously horrified by the sight before him, he pushed back from the
body putting his hand over his mouth. "No...No...Please
God No..." He muttered to himself as more tears flooded down his
cheeks.
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Jack was wrestling in his sleep, enough to fall from the branch of the tree he was on. He fell to the ground with a small thud, this woke him up. He fearfully sprung to his feet, to be ment by some strain in his back and pain filtered through out the course of his body. His mind was racing to try and comprehend what had just happened. His breathing was erratic and unsteady. He took a few deep breathes calming himself down, and realizing he was having a dream. A nightmare for that fact, but it was so real to him. It had definitly shakened him up at the core of his being. As he regulated his breathing he looked around to see all was silent and calm. The sun was just rising.
He sighed heavily and continued along his path which was leading him to a place unknown to him.
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"Hes ...Alive" The words were foreign to his ears. He sat there at his station in a stunned state. The words echo-ed over and over in his ears though it was only said once. He almost dropped the phone in shock.
"What do you mean 'alive'!'" He asked as if they were playing some cruel joke with him.
"An United Nations Camp had found him last week, about 30 miles off of where the mission was taken place, They said he was barely alive when they found him. They were able to heal him, but before they could get word to us he stormed off" The voice explained.
"So hes somewhere off in the middle of no where, propably dying!" He hissed into the phone.
"Pretty much." The voice replied softly.
"Is there any rescue teams out to find him?" He asked.
"No." The voice sighed heavily.
"you said he was last spotted in an UN camp in Russia..." He started to formulate a plan.
"What are you planning Tony?" The voice asked hearing his tone.
"Im going to bring him back" Tony answered.
"Do you know how large a country Russia is! Itll take years, and he left under his own authority. You know how He is, if he wants to vanish he can vanish without anyone having any hopes of finding him!" The voice tried to convince him out of it.
"You dont understand, Sir, I left him there, I need to find him..." Tony said. He heard a muffled sigh from the other end.
"Alright...Go and try to find him..." The voice said softly slightly disappointed.
The phone call ended then. Tony leant forward in his chair putting his face into his hands.
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Jack was trudging through the snow slowly, trying to move his fatigued body forward. He knew he wouldnt be able to keep this up much longer and hoped to find some sort of civilization soon. Someone, something, anything, he needed more then this snow day in and day out. The blood finally stopped flowing from his bite wound, and had frozen dried onto his back and shoulder. He didnt dare look at how bad it was. He just kept moving forward.
He heard some rustling then coming from infront of him. He stopped looking around for the source of the rustling, he figured it was coming from behind the tree. He creeped towards it as he heard muffled whimpers from an animal, he came closer to the tree. He then looked down at the base on the other side to see an injuried baby snow leopard. It looked like it had hurt its hind leg, and its' mother left it, or maybe it was an orphan now. He crouched down to the fuzz ball and reached towards it. Out of fear the baby animal snapped at him. Jack pulled his hand back slowly, for a second stopping then coming forward towards it again.
"Shhh...I am trying to help..." Jack said hoarsely to the small cat, trying to be soothing. The baby snow leopard snapped at him again, but Jack avoided its teeth and wrapped his right arm around the small critter. He picked the small orphan up, examining its hind leg. It looked just like a minor scratch, maybe the poor little creature sprained it, he thought to himself.
"You shouldnt be by yourself..." He said in a hushed tone, smiling weakly.
"Ill take you with me, alright?" He coo-ed. He thought the critter was offly cute and definitly shouldnt be left alone, with god knows what out here. Jack shuttered slightly at the thought of the mountain lion. The baby snow leopard crawled into a more comfortable position in Jacks' arm, resting its small head on Jacks' right hand, licking it. Jack liked the little fuzz ball, and it seemed to like him now. He smiled weakly as he petted the top of the leopards' head with his left hand. He then started to walk again, feeling more of something that he couldnt explain now. Almost like having more strength now to keep going.