COMPLETED: September 3, 2000
CATEGORY: Cast
RATING: PG-13
SPOILERS: None
DISCLAIMER: ER and its characters are owned by people other than me. I'm only borrowing them for a while and they'll be returned unharmed...more or less
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is my absurd response to the Sept. challenge issued by Debbie at JCF. :) Characters written knowing the JCF character likes and dislikes at the time. :)
SUMMARY: The ER gang goes camping and finds not all is right in these woods...
"Are you sure this is the right way?" Abby asked a little hesitantly, not wanting to antagonize anyone.
"Of course I'm sure," Dave answered, sounding more confident than he actually was. "According to the compass and map, we should be headed in the right direction."
"Should?" Carter asked, stopping to look at Dave.
"Oof," Deb protested as she turned her head straight into Carter's back. She had been talking to Luka about something and had turned around in time to see Carter stop. However, she couldn't stop herself in time...not that she minded. He *did* smell pretty good.
"Sorry," Deb apologized as she pulled back, Carter reciprocating the apology.
He then turned back to Dave. "Do you mean to say that you have no idea where we are?"
"Hey," Dave said, becoming defensive, "You guys are the ones who handed me the map even after I told you I have no skills whatsoever in this department."
"Or any other," muttered Elizabeth.
Dave either didn't hear or chose to ignore that comment and continued on, pointing at the map. "Well, I think we're somewhere...here." Everyone groaned as they realized he pointed in the general vicinity of where they were supposed to be.
"This doesn't look anything like where you pointed to, Malucci," Kerry pointed out. "See? There's a river here, but on the map there's nothing."
Dave blushed slightly and shoved the map into the hands of Mark, who was standing nearby, "Here, you take over."
"Me?" Mark asked, "I'm not the one who insisted we all go on a camping trip. You do it, Kerry."
She grabbed the map. "I didn't want this either, but Romano insisted we all acquire better teamwork skills and for some reason thought this the best way."
"Can we take a break?" asked Carter, "My back kinda hurts."
Kerry hesitated, "Well, I guess we can take a short one. Not too long, though. We need to find a suitable sleeping area before it gets dark. I guess we can use this time to actually figure out where we are."
Cleo came jogging up along with Peter, "Hey guys. Peter and I were just gathering some berries to eat."
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, "Oh, really?"
"Yeah, see?" Cleo reached into her backpack and out came a few handfuls of berries. "They're really good."
"I'd say they picking more than berries," Dave whispered to Carter, who gave a small laugh.
Abby came to sit on the same rock they were on and sighed, "I wish we could get this over with. I was never really an outdoors-y kind of person."
"Aw, come on, you mean to tell me Abby Lockhart was never a Girl Scout?" Carter asked, teasing.
"Nope," she said, smiling, "But I did get survival skills from my brothers."
"Oooh," Dave said, "Like I'm *so* impressed."
As Kerry pondered over the map, Cleo and Peter decided to go site-seeing once again. Cleo pulled Peter to a clearer part of the woods and pulled him closer. She was about to do more, when she suddenly heard a rustling noise.
"What the- Peter, did you hear that?" Cleo asked, cocking her head to one side in case the sound came back.
"Hmm? No, what did you hear?"
"It sounded like...oh, never mind, it was probably some kind of animal or something."
Rustle, rustle
"There it is again! Did you hear it that time?" she asked, getting a little concerned.
"Yeah, now that you mentioned it..." he looked around, but saw nothing, not even any swaying leaves from movement. "We should probably get back with everyone else."
"Okay, come on. This is creeping me out."
They started walking back, not noticing the pairs of glowing eyes that had been watching the whole time.
Mark was in the process of giving Elizabeth a back rub when Peter and Cleo came running back, panting.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's up with you two?" Mark asked, pulling away from Elizabeth.
The two lovers just put their hands on their knees and gasped for breath. Peter gained his first.
"We heard something...something strange. We felt like we were being watched."
"What?" Elizabeth asked, more than annoyed that her back rub had been interrupted.
By then, a group had gathered, seeing the expressions on the two faces...especially Cleo's because she rarely showed emotion. Carter handed her the canteen and she took a big swig.
"Hey, save some for the rest of us," Dave protested, earning a glare from Cleo.
"Ok, that's enough," Kerry intervened, " *What* exactly did you guys hear?"
"Well, it sounded like a rustling, like someone was moving through the bushes, but when we looked, we didn't see anybody...not even any bushes moving if it had been an animal," Cleo answered. "And it felt like someone or something was watching us." She shivered at the memory.
"Ok, well we'll just be on the lookout, ok?" Kerry said, trying to calm her down. "I doubt anyone would try anything with all of us together." She decided to change the subject. "Oh, well, while you were gone I found out where we are." She pointed to a spot on the map, a ways away from where they were supposed to meet Romano and Anspaugh for further team-building exercises. "We can continue walking to this point, and then set up camp for the night. Tomorrow we'll be at the Curses Camp Ground. There's no way we'll make it tonight before it gets dark."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Mark agreed, "Come on, troopers, a walking we will go!"
They had been walking for half an hour and everybody was getting tired.
"Just how far is it, Kerry?" Dave asked.
"Another hour, Dave." Kerry returned, a bit annoyed. He'd been asking every five minutes. And to top it off, they all had to call each other by their names, no "Dr." attached. It was supposed to build a sense of equality, but Kerry didn't like it. "If you didn't need to take a break every other minute, we would've been there already."
Carter turned to Luka and whispered, "Is it me or do Cleo and Peter seem...more subdued than usual?"
Luka looked at the two in question and was startled to see Carter was right. "Yeah, that's odd, isn't it?"
"Hmm," Carter murmured. He went back to walking and promptly tripped over a protruding root. "Dammit," he cursed to himself. As he started to get up, he noticed a smashed compass on the trail. "Strange," he said to himself. He figured there might be lost items on the trail, but smashed? He ignored the bad vibe that went through his spine and continued on.
They reached the agreed-upon night spot and started laying out their stuff. Carter, Luka, and Dave pitched the tent, while Kerry, Deb, and Abby prepared food. Peter & Cleo and Mark & Elizabeth decided to use that time to get away for a little while. Well, it was more like Mark & Elizabeth going and Peter & Cleo following.
They reached a secluded area and started to kiss. Peter and Cleo held back a little, but when the time was right, they pounced on the unsuspecting Mark and Elizabeth.
Back at camp, Kerry had started ordering people to get items for dinner. Abby and Deb went to gather more berries, seeing as Cleo didn't have enough for everybody. Carter, Luka, and Dave went to get water from the stream.
As they made their way to the stream they made small talk. Carter told Dave about his suspicions of Peter and Cleo, which Dave promptly agreed to. "Usually they're all over each other," he had said.
Talk had dwindled down and they had continued walking. Five minutes later, a twig snapped overhead, startling the three.
"What was that?" asked Dave nervously.
"I dunno, a bird?" Carter replied, trying not to show how nervous he was, too.
"Hmm, perhaps," Luka said, not wanting to share his suspicions. He didn't want to cause any undue fear.
"What's that?" Dave asked suddenly, pointing to a tree. On it, someone had carved a heart with droplets trickling from it. He pointed to another one that had a crude skull on it.
"Let's just hurry, eh?" Luka said, walking briskly.
"Yeah..." Carter trailed off, trying his best to keep up.
While everyone was gone, Kerry's cell phone had started to ring.
"Yeah?" she answered. "What do you want? ... I told you, we'll get there! Just be patient ... Yes, I realize this is a setback, but it's only a minor one. Stupid Malucci couldn't handle the map ... Oh, just shut up, don't you threaten me. I'll see you tomorrow."
She ended the call without waiting for a reply and replaced the phone in her bag. The others didn't know she had it nor were they supposed to.
It was a good thing she'd chosen to end the call there, for the others started returning. Berries and water had been gathered and everyone was back. Kerry quickly whipped up something with the berries and canned food they had brought. What they didn't see was Kerry slip something into each person's bowl...something different for each person.
After the meal had been served and devoured, everyone agreed that it had been a good one.
"Great job, Kerry," Peter and Mark said, smiling at Kerry.
"Thank you very much. I try," she replied, smiling.
"Hey, we've run out of water," Dave said, holding his now empty jug.
"Well, if you didn't drink it after every bite..." Kerry said.
"I wouldn't have to if mine didn't taste so spicy," Dave shot back, more than a little perturbed that his meal had seemed spicier than everyone else's.
"Well, let me finish my water, first," Kerry said, drinking the rest of her water quickly, not minding it if some splashed on her white top. "There. Fill mine up, too."
"Hey, I don't want to get it," Dave protested, remembering how creeped out he was earlier.
"I'll do it," Carter volunteered, much to Kerry's disappointment.
"I'll go too," Abby said, wanting to take a walk after that meal.
"Fine by me," Dave said gratefully, handing over his canteen. Kerry did so, too, grumbling about something.
Carter and Abby finished gathering everyone else's canteens and went off.
After they were gone, Peter walked up to Luka. "Hey, Luka, I know we haven't exactly been on friendly terms lately and I'd like to change that. Why don't we go and talk?"
Luka was shocked by this sudden changed, but it was not unwelcome, "Sure," he replied, getting up.
They left the group and went not too far into the woods. Deb excused herself, nature was calling.
Dave started twiddling his thumbs as a silence descended over the group. "Sooo," he said, hoping to start a conversation, "Anyone want to guess how the Cubs are going to do this year?"
Glances were exchanged around the group and everyone converged on Dave.
The last thing he saw was Kerry's chest in his face and he screamed.
Luka heard Dave's scream and turned around. "What was that?" he asked Peter, without looking at him. He turned back to Peter just in time to see his fist. It connected with his jaw and he reeled back, stunned. "What -?" he started, but was cut off as others came out of nowhere and converged on him.
Carter and Abby made their way through the maze of trees in semi-silence. Every now and then someone would say something but it would go back to silence as they listened to the sounds of the woods at night.
Suddenly Abby lurched to the right and lost her balance. She fell to the ground and immediately felt embarrassed.
"Are you ok?" Carter asked concerned.
"Yeah," Abby said, glad the night hid her blush. "I just felt dizzy all of a sudden."
Carter helped her up and noticed she was wobbily. "I'll help you, ok? We don't have to go too fast. We're not in a hurry."
She smiled at him, and leaned on him for balance.
They hadn't been walking for more than five minutes when Carter suddenly paused, his face turning pale. Abby noticed and looked at him concerned.
"What is it?" Abby asked.
"My...back," Carter gasped out, his arm falling from Abby's back as he fell to his knees. "Hurts...bad," he fell the rest of the way onto the side of his face, which was contorted in pain. "Seizure...coming...I think." That was the last thing he said as his eyes rolled back into his head and his body started jerking.
"Carter!" Abby called out, horrified. She felt another wave of nause pass her and the trees started spinning. She collapsed next to Carter, out cold.
Deb made her way back to camp, noticing everyone seated.
"Boy, I didn't think I took that long!" she said joking. She noticed no one laugh and everyone's serious expressions. "What? What is it? What's wrong?" No one said anything, but one by one wicked smiles lit their faces as they started walking towards Deb. She nervously glanced at everyone, and realized she was scared. But before she could do anything, they reached her and started smothering her. She didn't even have time to scream.
Abby woke up not knowing where she was or how she got there. All she knew was that it was really cold and she couldn't move. As she became more coherent, she realized there was a reason why she couldn't move. Her arms and feet were bound together and her back was to a wall. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the dark and she noticed that there were many others, too. In fact, everyone who had been in her group was there, except for Kerry, all tied up the same way she was, with various lacerations on their face and arms.
She looked next to her and noticed Carter was there, hanging, like she was, from his wrists. He was still unconscious and as she looked around, she realized she was the only one who was conscious at the moment. She looked back at Carter and noticed he was breathing quickly and his face was bloody. She hoped he wasn't hurt too bad.
She looked to the other side of her and noticed Deb there, hanging like a limp doll. She started to say something, but realized she couldn't. There was a piece of cloth in her mouth, held fast by a piece of duct tape. That scared her even more. She tried struggling against her bonds, but it was no use.
Abby leaned back in defeat, hoping one of the others would awaken soon.
The Next Morning
Kerry made her way through the woods to where she was supposed to meet with Anspaugh and Romano. She wasn't too surprised that they weren't there. Instead, Dale Edson was. When he caught sight of her, he stood up and approached her.
"Kerry, I hope you know that you're extremely late."
"Can it, Dale. Everything went off without a hitch, so why worry?"
"I"m not worried, but you know how he gets when things don't go off on schedule." He realized he wasn't getting anywhere with his scare tactics, at least not on Kerry. He changed the subject. "So, where's the new batch?"
"Right this way," she said smiling as she linked elbows with him.
They made their way into the dark underground cave and soon came to the place where Kerry had stashed everyone. They were all hanging there, just as she said they'd be. She was glad no one was missing, or it would've been her head.
"I'm very impressed, Kerry," Dale said, walking to the captives. He stopped at Carter's figure and turned to Kerry. "I thought you said you weren't going to get him for me."
"I didn't say that," Kerry replied, "I just said that I wanted him first. Then you could have him."
"I see," he said, picking Carter's head up by the chin.
Neither noticed Abby was awake and watching them out of the corner of her eye. She was glad she put her hair up today, or she wouldn't have been able to see anything.
After hearing this, she was afraid for Carter. What did they want to do with him?
Kerry walked over to where he was bound and stroked his cheek. Dale backed away and let her have a moment before turning him over. She quickly tore off the tape, startling Carter into awareness and took out the gag. Just as quickly, she stuck her tongue in his mouth, much to his disgust and started playing tonsil tennis. She grabbed his face with both her hands and kissed him profusely. Abby turned away, sickened, especially after seeing the horror in his face. Carter tried to get Kerry out, but couldn't, not without use of his hands. He could only accept the cruel fate that had been chosen for him.
Kerry continued the assault and kissed his neck and shoulders, licking his wounds. As Kerry's head disappeared from his line of vision, he was able to see the figure behind her. Disgust turned to outrage.
"You!" he shouted hoarsely. "What are you doing here? Why are we all tied up?"
"Oh, John, John," Dale said laughing. "What do you think? Kerry and I are helping a smaller race of people stay alive! We're replacing your forms with theirs. They're shape-shifters and can transform their faces into anyone's ugly mugs, including yours! But we need you alive. They can only stay alive for as long as their host is. So unfortunately, you'll spend the rest of your existence stuck in this cave." He gave an evil laugh, which Kerry joined in.
"You...you bastard!" Carter cried out, "You sick, arrogant, two-faced...short bastard!"
Dale wheeled around, "Short? Short? Who are you calling short?" He quickly shoved Kerry out of the way and grabbed Carter by his shirt. "I'll teach you who to call 'short' " He pulled his fist back and punched Carter in the face.
Abby let her protests be known by mumbling in her gag and twisting around in her restraints.
"Oh, you don't like that, do you?" Dale said, turning to Abby, "How do you like this?" He turned to Carter again and punched him in the stomach and twice more in the face, blood dripping from his knuckles. He walked up to Abby and ran the bloody hand down her face, despite Abby's movement.
"Ok, stop it, Dale. I wasn't finished with him yet," Kerry turned back to Carter and wiped the blood from his forehead. She kissed him passionately once more, then replaced the gag. Carter wished he had his canteen with him.
"Ok, I'm done now," she said, casting a glance at Carter. "Every so often a woman needs a kiss like that, ya know? I won't need another for another few years. But when I do, I know where to go." She winked at Carter as he glared at her.
"I'll see you later, Dale. I'm sure Anspaugh and Romano are looking for me now."
"Fine, Kerry, tell them I'm elsewhere if they ask. I didn't show up to work today."
"Will do," and with that she was gone.
"Well, well, well...What do I do with you guys now? I guess just leave you here, but not unconscious. No, that's no fun. You need to experience this." He walked over to everyone else and waved smelling salts under their noses, waking them up. Each came into awareness realizing they were bound and gagged. "Well, I'll see you guys later. I'm sure you'll need something to eat sooner or later. For now, enjoy your newfound captivity." He walked out and left them in the dark.
Romano was getting very impatient with his group from the ER. This was not showing a good example. As he continued to pace back and forth, he heard something. He looked around and noticed they were making his way towards him, late but there. He wished he could've been able to get out of this like Anspaugh had. He was called into an emergency surgery.
Kerry approached him and gestured towards her co-workers. "Here we are, Robert, we finally made it."
"Finally," he reiterated. "Ok, here's the deal..." he trailed off, sensing something amiss. He looked at Mark and Elizabeth and then to Cleo and Peter and noticed neither was all over each other. Plus something didn't *smell* right. "Wait a second," he said.
"What?" Kerry asked innocently.
"Something's not right. Peter, what's your son's name?"
"Son?" he looked puzzled and turned to Kerry for guidance.
Shit, she thought. He knows something's not right. She gave a nervous laugh. "I'm sure it's the exposure that's making him delirious." she said.
Romano wasn't so sure. He walked up to Kerry and put his face in front of hers. "What happened?" he asked, emphasizing each word.
Kerry looked confused for a second, but when he pinned her to a nearby tree, she spilled it all.
"Take me there," Romano said when she was finished.
"It was all Dale's idea! He forced me to, he-" she was cut off as Romano slapped her across the face.
"Just take me there."
There was a maddening silence in the cave. No one could say anything even if they wanted to. They couldn't even go back to being unconscious. They just hung there, trying to ignore the bitter taste in their mouths.
Suddenly a light flooded the area, as they heard voices and footsteps approaching. Romano's voice became evident as did Kerry Weaver's.
They looked up and saw he was nudging her along. "Oh, my God," he said as he saw the state in which the workers were bound. "Kerry, you did this?"
"It wasn't just me! Dale did it! He conned me into helping him!"
"Shut up, Kerry. Just shut up. You stay here." He tied her up to a nearby ring and went about untying his employees. They each collapsed to the ground after being freed and took the gags out of their mouths, spitting at the floor. No one noticed the other figure step in.
Carter looked over at Abby and noticed his blood still on her face. He leaned over and tried to wipe it off, but it had hardened. "I'm sorry," he said softly.
"For what?" she asked incredulously.
"I'm sorry that you have my blood all over your face."
"What? Don't be sorry, it was that bastard, Dale! I couldn't stand watching him punch you, I wanted to do something, but couldn't," she looked down.
"You couldn't have done anything, don't worry about it," he said, stroking her cheek. Neither noticed Dale and Kerry walk up.
"You stupid wretch!" Dale shouted at Abby, hauling her up to her feet. He slapped her face, "You couldn't stand watching me beat him," he said in a childish tone.
"Leave her alone!" Carter demanded, trying to get up, only to have Kerry use her foot to push his forehead down. She quicly sat on top of him. "Going somewhere?" she asked evilly.
By then the others had been freed and were horrified to see their friends in the situations they were in.
"Let them go," Romano bellowed out, leading the pack.
"Uh uh," Dale said, dragging Abby with him, while Kerry pulled Carter back as best she could. She pulled him back a couple feet and sat on his chest again. She leaned closer to his face and whispered, "If you want Abby to go free, you'll do what I want." Carter looked over at Abby in the clutches of Dale and knew what he had to do. "Ok," he whispered.
"Let her go, Dale, and come over here." Dale looked at her and knew what she wanted. He looked at Abby and shoved her to the ground in front of him. "You're free to go." He walked over to where Kerry was with Carter and took him from her, twisting his hands behind his back.
Kerry walked in front of Carter and stuck her hands up his shirt, "You don't know how long I've wanted to do this," she said softly, making Carter shudder. She reached her hands around his face and pulled it closer, while Dale tighted his hold in case he tried to run. Carter tried squirming, but found it useless as Kerry once again stuck her tongue in his mouth.
The onlookers watched horrified, Dave even turned around and threw up, making a not-too-pleasant smell.
When she was finished, she pulled back reluctantly.
"That's enough," Romano bellowed, marching straight up to Kerry and Dale, "I can't stand idly by and let this happen."
Strangely enough, she didn't protest as he grabbed her around the waist and dragged her to the others, who quickly took hold of her. He went back to Dale and got in his face. "You know, Dale, I used to think you could've been something. A good surgeon perhaps. You certainly had the cocky attitude down pat. But what you've done today and for however long you've been doing this. Well, that is totally unacceptable. These are you co-workers!"
Dale smirked at him, "You know what? I don't need this. I can go anywhere else and do the same thing. Take him." He threw down Carter and Romano struggled to catch him. He quickly lowered him to the ground and jumped on Dale. He tackled him to the ground and punched him repeatedly. Carter staggered to his knees and came behind Romano. "I think that's good enough."
Romano looked at the mess in front of him and threw Dale to the ground.
2 Days Later
The survivors of the camping trip were gathered at a nearby ice skating rink. They had decided they needed a break from the camping trip and prompt return to work. That trip had brought them closer together as they realized they cared for the well-bring of the others. Everybody had put aside past differences and were on good terms, even Romano. Kerry and Dale were in psychiatric wards, awaiting trial.
"So, that's that, huh?" Carter asked Romano as he tied up his laces.
"Yep, I was assured they'd both be locked up for a long time, whether behind bars or in padded walls. We don't have to worry about them anymore."
"I'm glad," Abby said shuddering at the memories. The only tangible memories of the event were the stitches everybody received, although Carter had received the most. She looked over at Carter and he seemed to be doing okay. Better than he had in a while, even.
Everybody else was already on the rink skating, although Elizabeth was having a hard time keeping Mark upright.
Carter extended his hand to Abby, "Care to join me?"
"Why certainly, Dr. Carter, I'd be honored."
He led her to the rink and they started skating.
Romano looked out at his people and grinned. It wasn't something he did often, so when Elizabeth passed by with Mark, she stopped and took notice. "Isn't someone awfully happy today?"
Romano looked up at Elizabeth and smiled. "It's been a great day."
"Well, care to join us in skating? You can't be any worse than Mark," she smiled at him as he tried to defend himself.
"I think I just might do that, Elizabeth," he said as he got to his feet and onto the ice. The Zamboni machine had just been over it, making the ice extra slippery, but he soon got his balance. He skated a little with Mark and Elizabeth, but found the going too slow and took off on his own. He passed Luka who was getting help from Carter and Abby. Dave was chasing Deb around as she performed stunning maneuvers to get away from him. Peter and Cleo were slowly skating around, holding each others' hands. Romano smiled again. These were a great group of people and he was sorry that it took such an incident for him to see that.
The End :)