One of Those Days

Chapter One - Bad Trip

They sat huddled against the carcass of a fallen tree, under a small outcrop of rock, holding their breath, waiting, trying to make themselves invisible. The angry voices that echoed through the jungle seemed to come from everywhere, but the same rain and darkness that blinded their hunters also hid them from view. The two downed Air Force officers realized that there were any number of ways this could go, most of them bad. Caught deep in the jungle, behind enemy lines, rain and darkness were their only allies now.

As the patrol gradually shifted its search, Kenny O'Neal put his weapon back into its holster and quietly moved toward his friend. There was blood flowing from a deep gash in Leo McGarry's right leg. O'Neal reached down and split the pant leg of Leo's flight suit open to take a closer look at the mangled flesh.

"I think it's broken," the injured pilot managed.

"We landed pretty close to base camp, just out that way," O'Neal whispered, ignoring the implications of what a broken leg with an open wound meant for his partner in this environment. He wanted to give Leo as much hope as possible, and it didn't hurt Kenny's morale to say it out loud. If they were to have any chance at all, he had to truly believe they were going to make it out of this situation.

"It's a coupla miles. You can't be dragging me all over the jungle … gotta leave me … you won't make it with me along," Leo tried.

Kenny pulled out the large bandage and powered antiseptic they had been trained to use. "You're not so heavy, Old Man." As he tied the dressing into place, tightening it firmly, Leo cried out and grabbed the top of his thigh. Shock was beginning to have its way with the injured pilot.

"Please," McGarry begged, lips trembling, "you gotta go."

"Forget it. I'm not leaving you, Leo." Lieutenant Kenny O'Neal grabbed hold of the front of Leo's flight suit, pulling him away from the stump. He carefully maneuvered himself behind Leo and wrapped his arms around his flying partner's chest, dragging him back the way they'd come, toward the river.

"Uhh!" Pain shot through Leo's right leg all the way up to his groin and into his lower back as he ground a scream to death between clinched teeth. The trauma of being ejected from a jet that was capable of traveling at over 1,200 miles per hour hadn't been kind to any of his joints, and somewhere in the back of his mind, he thought he remembered that his hip had actually been separated. It all happened so quickly that the details eluded him, but he knew for a fact that the landing had been far from perfect.

O'Neal tried to ignore the grunts of pain emanating from his friend as he hefted the Captain onto his shoulder and carefully made his way deeper into the jungle. He knew that Leo's leg was badly broken, but also knew that it wouldn't be the only thing that was broken if the small band of North Vietnamese patrolling the area ever caught up with them. They were all around - he could still hear the occasional burst of automatic gunfire - and Kenny wasn't at all interested in spending any time in the Hanoi Hilton. He and Leo were in enough trouble as it was: the large wound covering the lower half of his friend's leg was going cause major problems if Kenny wasn't able to find him help, and soon.

The incessant rain was a mixed blessing, for it both helped hide any tracks the two airmen might leave, but made foot travel treacherous. It would have been bad enough if both men had been able to walk on their own, but with Leo's injuries, Kenny would have to negotiate the terrain for them both.

Within two hours, they had left the small group of voices far behind, but weren't out of trouble by any means. Breathing hard from their travels, Kenny carefully lowered Leo to the ground and checked his friend's condition. McGarry had passed out almost immediately after he'd been picked up, the agonizing pain in his leg overwhelming any sense of self-preservation that might remain.

"Leo," Kenny whispered. "Hey, can you hear me, Pal?"

"Mmm."

"Come on, Leo," he urged. "Open your eyes, Buddy."

Leo's head lolled to the side, as his eyes slowly drifted open. Suddenly, the excruciating pain in his right leg penetrated the haze he was in, bringing reality back with a vengeance. "Oh, shit! Oh, my God," McGarry groaned as he tried desperately to grab his thigh. "… the hell happened?"

"Ah, come on now, Leo, you remember. Your stellar piloting got us shot down," Kenny responded with a small grin as he checked the injured leg.

"Stellar … funny. Got … lucky … that's all," he ground out through clenched teeth.

"Right," O'Neal said distractedly as he check under the bandage … he didn't like what could see through the semi-darkness. Though it was slowed by his ministrations, the bleeding from Leo's injured leg hadn't completely stopped, and he was quickly running out of the powdered antibiotic to keep the infection that was sure to follow at bay. "We gotta keep moving, Leo. There's patrols all over this jungle, and sun's startin' to come up - we got just a little bit of dark left."

"Leg's on fire … hurts."

Kenny put his hand on McGarry's forehead. "You feel a little warm there, Pal. I gotta try to find us some water, maybe that'll help till we get out of here."

"Don't know 'bout that," Leo mumbled. "You … might be … carryin' … dead man."

"Stop it, Leo. We're gonna make it. We got some people to go back to, remember?"

McGarry's brow furrowed in concentration. "Jenny," he finally sighed, closing his eyes in exhaustion. "Jenny … Jed … Abbey."

"That's right. Jenny, Jed, and Abbey. How about your mom and sisters and little brother?" Kenny added quietly.

Leo's eyes fluttered open for a moment, but he was beginning to get disoriented, his answers slow, speech slurred. "Gotta get home," he whispered. "Promish … sher …"

First light was just beginning to cast its shadows through the canopy overhead. "Leo, listen to me. I'm gonna pick you up, and we're going to get as far as we can before we stop for a rest, okay?"

"Rest," Leo repeated, as he began to drift again. "Gotta … ress."

Kenny watched as his friend slipped back into unconsciousness, "Yeah, you may be better off that way, Mac."

O'Neal pulled the injured pilot onto his shoulder once more and started up a small rise in the jungle floor. As Kenny moved toward the top of the hill, he heard engines … helicopter engines! He ran as fast as his burden would allow, but not knowing exactly where the helicopter was, he was reluctant to make too much noise. Enemy patrols were still a major concern. O'Neal listened as the sound gradually became more distant.

"Shit," he whispered. "Well, Leo. Looks like we're on our own for a while. Don't worry, though. We're gonna get through this." Kenny wasn't sure whether he was trying to convince his unconscious partner or himself. "God, help us," he asked, crossing himself. "Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee," he began. "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus." Kenny finished quietly, "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen."