Is It Personal?

by AliasCWN

Tully and Hitch find themselves in a situation that makes it hard to keep the war impersonal.

Is It Personal?

By: AliasCWN

The first thing Hitch noticed was the sun beating down on his face. Even with his eyelids closed the bright light still hurt his eyes. The headache didn't help either. It felt like someone had put his head inside a metal drum and then beat on the outside. It hurt!

He tried to raise his hand to shield his face. That's when it registered that he was tied down. He could feel the sand beneath him so he knew he was lying on the ground. He wiggled his feet, testing the restraints, but they held firm.

Slowly so that he wouldn't attract attention he began to take stock of the situation. His legs and feet seemed all right, they wouldn't move, but the ropes on his ankles explained that. His body didn't hurt anywhere, at least not much. There were some spots that felt bruised but he didn't think that he had been shot. Both arms felt okay with the exception of his left shoulder. That shoulder ached a bit, but overall, not too bad. Now if he could only remember why his head wasn't in the same shape as the rest of him he might be able to figure this thing out.

"Hitch."

The low whisper came from above him but not too far away.

"Don't move Hitch, I don't want them to know that you're awake."

"Am I?" Hitch whispered back without moving his head. "I was hoping I was dreaming."

"Sorry buddy, no such luck."

"How did you know that I was awake? Did I move?"

"I heard the change in your breathing." Tully whispered in response.

"What happened?"

"Don't you remember?"

"No." Hitch remembered Tully's warning just in time before he shook his head. Good thing too, because moving his head would have hurt.

"The convoy stopped for a break. You were talking to one of the drivers when the first shell hit. I saw you flying through the air just before you hit the side of the truck head first. You were out cold when I got to you."

"Sarge and Doc?"

"They saw you fly too. And they saw me go after you. They grabbed a couple of guys to drive and they took the jeeps out to try to chase the krauts away. We were surrounded and they couldn't reach us. The Germans forced them to run to save the jeeps. They probably radioed the base by now and let them know what happened." Tully's voice was getting raspy from all of the talking.

"Did the convoy get away?"

"Most of it." Tully answered. "Besides us the Germans took maybe seven prisoners."

"Maybe?"

"One was hurt pretty badly; I think he may have died a little bit ago."

"So where are they?" Hitch hadn't heard anyone else tied nearby.

"The krauts have them in one of the trucks under guard."

"Why aren't we there?"

"They know who we are." Tully explained simply.

"Bait." Hitch guessed.

"Get comfortable, we're going to be here awhile."

Hitch sighed as Tully's voice trailed off. He wished that it had all been a dream. It never crossed his mind that the sergeants wouldn't come back for them. Unfortunately the Germans seemed to be having the same thought.

His shoulder ached from where it had slammed into the side of the truck. It was all coming back now. He had been talking to some guy about a bar in Cairo that they had both visited. The shell had come out of nowhere. He remembered hearing it just before the explosion. His mind had registered the blast about the same time it registered the flat side of the truck in front of his face. Instinctively he had tried to twist away. That's when his shoulder had connected with the truck body. Lucky for him his shoulder had slowed his momentum as his head hit the metal. He hadn't seen stars when he hit, in fact, he hadn't seen anything else. His next recollection was waking up tied next to Tully. He tugged a little bit on the ropes, but as he suspected, they were tight. Letting his body relax, he tried to get his mind to follow his body's example.

Tully had sounded tired. He wondered how long they had been tied there. His mouth was so dry his tongue was sticking to his teeth. He couldn't even summon any saliva to loosen it. The sun still beat down on his eyelids, adding to the pain in his head. Trying to take his mind off of his own discomfort he tried to listen to Tully breathe.

Tully's breathing was slow, almost as if he were asleep. Hitch didn't want to wake him so he kept quiet. The sound of German voices carried to him but they sounded far off and indistinct. He couldn't hear any other American voices at all. Maybe the guards had told them to stay quiet. Or maybe they were too thirsty to talk. Hitch tried to swallow but his throat was too dry.

Hitch didn't think that the Germans would let them die out there in the sun. Bait was only good if it was alive. He knew the Germans would want them to move occasionally so that the sergeants would see the movement. Letting them suffer was the whole objective. The sergeants would want to save them from the suffering. If they were out there, and Hitch admitted that it was not guaranteed, they would be watching for any move that either private made.

Knowing the location of the spot the convoy had chosen to stop and rest he knew that the convoys planned destination was only half a day's travel ahead. The sergeants might have taken the convoy on and tried to talk the base commander into sending a rescue party. That meant that help would not arrive until nightfall at the earliest. If they sent heavy vehicles it would delay the rescue until morning. Hitch squinted up at the sun and prayed that he could last that long.

A kick to his ribs woke him from a fitful sleep. He groaned as the boot connected with his ribs again.

"Wake up!"

Hitch opened his eyes slowly, grateful that the irritating German officer was temporarily blocking the sun with his body. He blinked up at the officer, not giving him the satisfaction of a verbal response.

The officer gave an order and a German soldier knelt next to Hitch and put a canteen to his lips. The warm water tasted metallic from being stored in a can but Hitch took it greedily. The flow stopped after a few swallows, not enough to quench his thirst but enough to keep him alive.

The German officer nodded with satisfaction. "Good, you will live a while longer. At least one of you will survive to draw your sergeants into our trap."

"What?" Hitch croaked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Your wounded friend may not survive much longer. Your sergeants may not come for your bodies but as long as one of you lives, they will come."

"What are you talking about?" Hitch struggled to twist around so that he could see Tully. "Tully! Tully!" His desperate cries went unanswered but the yelling did serve to increase the banging in his head.

"Very good private," the officer laughed, "wake him if you can. With both of you struggling against the ropes your sergeants will have twice as many reasons to come for you."

Hitch stopped moving the moment he realized that he was giving the German exactly what he wanted. He glared at the officer standing over him, refusing to let himself be manipulated again.

"They will come private, and we will be ready." The officer walked away, followed by the soldier carrying the canteen.

Hitch listened as the footsteps faded away. "Tully?" He kept his voice in a whisper so that the Germans wouldn't be able to hear him and he didn't try to twist around to see his buddy. "Tully?"

"Yeah?" The weak answer sounded like it took a lot of effort to produce.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were wounded?"

"Nothing you could do about it." Tully gasp, followed by a muffled groan, then silence.

"How bad?"

"Upper thigh. Bullet missed the bone, I think. I managed to get the bleeding stopped before the krauts reached us."

"Hang in there Tully."

"Yeah."

Tully fell silent again as Hitch strained to listen him breath. All the times that Tully had save him came to mind. Now Tully needed him and he was helpless to do anything! Heck, Tully probably got shot coming after him. Hitch ground his teeth and tried to think of something that would help.

"Hey Tully."

"Yeah?"

"Would it help if I keep talking to you?"

"I'd like that Hitch." Tully whispered in a voice that sounded even weaker than it had only a minute before. "But you're going to get awful thirsty before they bring us any more water."

"I'll be okay. If I get too thirsty I'll stop."

"'kay." Tully agreed tiredly. "Thanks."

So Hitch began a monologue about his life before he joined the army. Tully already knew most of it but Hitch didn't think that he would mind hearing it again. He talked until his throat felt like he had swallowed sandpaper. He stopped only when he heard Tully groan. As he listened Tully's breathing slowed and steadied. Hitch wanted to continue talking but he really needed a break, and with Tully unconscious, he paused to rest too.

The sun had shifted position until Hitch had to turn his head to avoid the glare in his face. Facing the other way, he could see the Germans lounging in the shade of their vehicles. He spotted the truck holding the other prisoners parked off to one side. As he, watched one of the guards walked over and tossed a canteen into the rear of the truck. There was movement inside as someone retrieved the canteen but Hitch couldn't make out any more detail. Thinking about the canteen reminded him of how dry his throat was after all of his talking. Maybe it was the thought of the canteen that made his thirst seem to increase dramatically. He pushed his head into the sand, trying to distract himself because he knew he wasn't going to be given any more water any time in the near future. Exhausted, he fell into a light doze haunted by dreams of Tully disappearing into darkness.

Hitch awoke with a start, not sure what had awakened him.

"Hitch?"

Tully's soft call sounded like it was coming from far away. "Here Tully. How are you doing?"

"Thought I'd lost you." Tully rasped.

"Not a chance." Hitch answered. His throat hurt from all of the talking but he was not about to let Tully know that. "You fell asleep so I shut up so I wouldn't wake you."

"Could still hear you."

Hitch smiled at the information.

"Helped just knowing that you were there."

"I'm glad." Hitch responded. "Why don't you try and get some more rest? Sarge and Doc will be back after dark to get us."

"Won't be here." Tully gasped.

"Tully! Don't talk like that! You're going to make it! We're both going to make it!"

"Not what I meant." Tully explained. "That kraut officer said that they would wait until dark, and if there was no rescue attempt by then, they would take us back to the base. He figures that they'll follow and try there."

"Yeah, he's right," Hitch agreed. "Unless they launch a rescue along the way."

Tully coughed and then had to catch his breath before he could answer. "He said they would blow up the entire truck if they tried that. He's going to wire a booby-trap to the tailgate and allow Sarge and Doc to separate it from his column. It will blow sky high when they attempt to free us and the other prisoners."

Hitch bit his lip until it bled. He licked at the fresh blood absently as he considered the information that Tully had given him. The plan had a good chance of working. In the rush to free the prisoners the sergeants might now notice the wires. He was starting to get that helpless feeling again. It was certain that the German officer would make sure that they were all bound and gagged so that they would have no chance to warn their rescuers. It seemed impossible, but then, the Rat Patrol thrived on the impossible. Instead of focusing on his discomfort he decided to concentrate on coming up with a plan.

"Get some rest Tully; we're going to have to be ready to warn Sarge and Doc when they get here."

Tully didn't answer and when Hitch listened to his breathing he realized that his buddy had already fallen asleep.

The sun was still a big yellow ball in the sky when Hitch opened his eyes next. He hadn't meant to go to sleep but the combination of heat and his head injury had made him sleepy. He had succumbed to the combination without realizing that he was doing it.

The Germans were working on the tailgate of the truck that held the other prisoners. Hitch caught the glint of sunlight on wire before a German soldier stepped in the way. Tully's comment about the booby-trap sprang to mind. The soldier stepped away and Hitch looked for the glint again but it wasn't repeated. He couldn't see a wire and he was looking for it.

The sound of retching drew his attention back to Tully. "Tully, are you all right?"

"Feel sick." Tully mumbled.

"Are you dizzy?"

"Yeah, kinda. Getting cramps in my legs too." Tully's voice shook as he struggled to pronounce the words. They came out weak and slow.

"Are you still sweating?" There was no answer. "Tully! Tully!" Hitch struggled with the ropes, sawing the restraints around his wrists. It didn't take a medic to recognize the signs of heat exhaustion. He needed to know if the other private was still sweating. Lack of sweat would be bad. It would mean that Tully had progressed to heat stroke. If that were the case it would mean that it was unlikely that he would survive until the sun set and the desert cooled.

His own head hurt, partly from hitting the truck, and partly from dehydration. He knew that he was also displaying some of the signs of heat exhaustion. He was sweating profusely, the moisture soaking his uniform but drying quickly in the sun. It worried him that his body was rapidly running out of water. He had been on the desert long enough to adapt to the heat but this prolonged exposure without water was something that his system was not prepared to handle. Along with the headache he knew that his thinking was becoming increasingly confused, making it had to concentrate on a plan of action.

There was nothing he could do for Tully now but he needed to be ready if a chance presented itself. He needed to be coherent enough to act if something came up. He bit his lip again, sucking on the blood for its moisture.

He thought that he was hearing things when he heard the goats bleating. They sounded like they were coming closer. Shaking his head, he tried to clear it. At the movement the pain increased tenfold making it feel like his head was going to explode. It hurt but it did help to clear his thinking. He wasn't hearing things, there were goats headed toward them. He had to twist his head hard to see the small herd of animals moving erratically toward the Germans. Two Arabs drove the herd in the desired direction with the aid of long staffs. Neither herder appeared to be armed.

When they were within shouting distance one of the herders called to the Germans in their own language. The officer in charge called back, his tone less than friendly. The Arab in turn waved a hand toward some nearby hills and spoke at length. The posture of the Germans changed immediately. Soldiers looked around nervously, eyeing the hills in question.

The officer began to shout orders, sending his men rushing to their vehicles. They drove off into the desert leaving only a small force to guard the camp and the prisoners.

Hitch yanked on the ropes; this was quite possibly the best chance they were going to get. The frenzy of activity brought on a bout of dizziness and his stomach threatened to revolt. He hadn't realized how weak he had become just lying there. His muscles weren't cramping yet but he knew that complication wouldn't be far in his future. The ropes held and he gave up in exhaustion. He was trying to think of another way to take advantage of the distraction when the sounds of gunfire rolled across the desert from the direction the vehicles had gone. Hitch wasn't paying much attention until the American 50's answered the German guns. He renewed his struggles as the sounds of battle drifted further away.

"Your friends gave up rather easily."

Hitch looked up to see the German officer standing over him. He wanted to argue but he couldn't muster the energy to respond.

"My men will chase them down and they will either surrender or die. All of your suffering has paid off private. We will end the threat of your unit today, once and for all."

One of the Arabs walked up behind the officer and spoke quickly, holding out a sun darkened hand. The officer nodded and reached into his tunic for a bag of gold coins he carried to pay bribes. The Arab kept his eyes locked on the purse, waiting expectantly.

The gunfire had faded into the distance but suddenly there was a loud boom that shook the ground beneath Hitch. The German officer looked up, a frown on his face. When the German turned to look toward the sound the Arab clubbed him over the head.

Gunfire erupted from the German camp where the few remaining guards kept an eye on the prisoners. Hitch jerked his head toward the sound and cried out as pain exploded behind his eyes. He slumped unconscious to the sand and heard no more.

A cool cloth settled onto his forehead and Hitch sighed in relief. The cloth was left in place as another one was used to wipe his bare chest and arms. He tried to move his arms but one of them was tied to the side. Opening his eyes slowly, he squinted up at the blurry face above him.

"Troy?"

"Not quite private." A strange voice answered him. The voice was accompanied by gentle hands that continued to bathe his sunburned face and body. As his vision cleared a darkly tanned face topped by dark unruly hair loomed above him. Intense blue eyes looked back at him with concern.

"Who?" The question came out more like a croak but the stranger seemed to understand.

"I'm a doctor. You're in the hospital."

"Whose?" Hitch asked warily.

"Ours." The doctor smiled warmly at him. "You're suffering from heat exhaustion. We've been trying to get your temperature down. You're doing better Private, you just might live." The doctor smiled to show that he was teasing.

"Coulda fooled me." Hitch mumbled as his stomach did a somersault.

The doctor chuckled. "You had us worried for a while there."

Hitch tried to shift to a more comfortable position but the doctor put a hand on his shoulder and gently pushed him back onto the mattress. "Easy does it Private, you still have a ways to go before you can get up."

The room spun around Hitch, forcing him to close his eyes.

"You had a mild concussion, dehydration, a couple of cracked ribs, heat exhaustion and a badly bruised shoulder. We managed to cool you down but the muscle weakness and dizziness will last a few more days at least."

Hitch tugged on his bound arm.

"Don't pull on that." The doctor ordered sharply. "That IV needs to stay in until you are rehydrated."

Hitch nodded, too weary to argue and too weak to fight it. He was starting to drift off when he remembered Tully. Tully?" His muscles cramped as he tried to sit up.

"Private, stay still or I'll have you strapped to the bed."

"What happened to Tully?"

"Tully?"

"Tully Pettigrew, my friend." Hitch's voice rose in volume along with his level of anxiety.

"Calm down." The doctor ordered. "Your friend is in the bed right next to you." He pointed to the bed where Tully slept with his chin as he held Hitch down with both hands.

Hitch turned his head and looked around the doctor to spot Tully. His friend's face wasn't the pale he had expected, it was beet red. His lips were dry and covered with blood where they had cracked. Hitch licked his own lips in sympathy. Tully's eyes were closed but he seemed to be breathing easily. His upper thigh was covered by a blanket but Hitch could see the bulge of a bandage.

"Is he all right?"

"All right? No." The doctor replied, releasing his hold on Hitch but staying near in case his patient tried to move again. "He was in more serious condition than you. When they brought him in he was suffering from heat stroke on top of the thigh wound." Seeing the fear in Hitch's eyes the doctor hurried on with his explanation. "I think we caught it in time. His temperature has returned to normal and he is able to keep fluids down. He was confused when he first woke up but he recognized your sergeants the last time they were here. He's not completely out of the woods yet but I've been told that he is a fighter." The doctor watched Tully sleep for a minute before he continued. "As long as there are no complications he should be fine."

Hitch stared at Tully for a long time. The doctor stepped back and gave him time to process all that he had just learned.

"My sergeants have been here then?" Hitch finally asked. He didn't look away from Tully as he spoke.

"Yes." The doctor replied. "They have been in several times to check on you."

"Have they talked to Tully?"

The doctor nodded. "They spoke to him the last time they were here. He was awake for a few minutes." The doctor wasn't sure what it was that Hitch wanted to hear. "They sat and talked to both of you while you were unconscious. I told them that you couldn't hear them but they didn't seem to care."

Hitch nodded. "Tully especially likes us to talk to him while he sleeps."

"He wasn't merely sleeping." The doctor differed. "We've been giving him a special solution to try to rehydrate him as quickly as possible. He was suffering from heat stroke and that is a life threatening condition. Once we got his temperature down we had to deal with the dehydration."

"What special solution?" Hitch asked curiously.

"A mixture of salt, sugar, and water. A study done a few years ago suggested that this was the best thing we could do for him. So far it seems to be working, he's responded quite well to the treatment. It's experimental but we've been monitoring him closely."

"How long have we been here?"

"Three days. You were both in bad shape when you were brought in. The doctor on the scene worked on lowering your temperature before he allowed you to be moved. That decision most certainly saved both of your lives. The fluids he gave you helped but they wouldn't have been enough if your temperatures had remained so high."

"I don't remember it too well."

"That's not surprising; you were well on your way to heat stroke yourself. Disorientation and confusion are common symptoms and a warning that you are running out of time."

The diagnosis didn't surprise Hitch. He knew they had both been out in the sun way too long without sufficient water. "I guess I'll try to get some more sleep."

"Good idea." The doctor agreed. "You need to get your strength back. Before you do…" The doctor picked up a cup and offered it to Hitch. "Try to drink some more of this." He helped Hitch steady the cup and get it to his lips so he could drink.

The first swallow went down smoothly but he choked on the next one. Pushing the cup away he sputtered and coughed. "What is that stuff?"

The doctor smiled. "This is that special solution I was telling you about. You're getting it through your IV, but if you can swallow it and keep it down, that works too."

Hitch licked his lips and eyed the cup with distaste. "Maybe we should stick to the IV."

The doctor chuckled and placed the cup back on the stand. "How about some plain water?"

"Yeah, I think I can swallow that."

After helping Hitch drink half a cup of plain water the doctor made a note on his chart and excused himself. Hitch fell asleep and slept the rest of the day.

The next time he opened his eyes Troy was sitting by his bed.

"Look who's awake." Troy greeted cheerfully and gently pushed him back against his pillow when Hitch tried to sit up. "Just relax, you're not going anywhere."

"How's Tully?"

Troy glance at the bed where his other private slept and smiled. "Better."

"Did he get hit saving me Sarge?"

"No." Troy shook his head. "He went after one of the drivers from the convoy. The guy was dead before Tully reached him. He got hit trying to get back to cover. Why?"

Hitch shrugged, eliciting a reminder that he had an injured shoulder. "I just thought that maybe he got hurt saving me again."

"Not this time Hitch; you can't take the blame for this one."

"It's not that Sarge." Hitch protested but he dropped his head and reddened as Troy smiled knowingly at him. "What happened after those Arabs showed up?" Hitch changed the subject rather than admit that Troy was right.

"Ah!" Troy knew what he was doing but he played along. "The Arabs told the Germans that they had spotted our jeeps nearby and offered to sell them the location."

"From what I saw and heard I guess the Germans accepted the offer."

"Yeah they did." Troy laughed. "They sent most of their guys after us."

"I heard the shooting but that's about all I remember."

"Moffitt and I made a call to the base and ask for support. Captain Beauregard sent tanks and some men. He already had a column dong a recon mission and they were in the area so he diverted them to help us. After Moffitt got the Arabs to talk to the Germans we used our jeeps as decoys to draw them into a trap."

"Moffitt sent the Arabs?"

"Yeah, they were friends of his. They were glad to do it; they hate the Germans even more than we do. Anyway, while they were waiting for us we managed to sneak some troops into position above the camp. Private Tuttle, you remember him don't you…Private Tuttle and three others volunteered to pretend to be us and use the jeeps to lead the Germans into an ambush where the tanks could take care of them while we stayed with the soldiers above the camp. The Arabs knocked the officer over the head while Moffitt and I led our concealed troops in an attack on the camp."

"What about the booby-traps in the trucks? I saw them working on one."

"Yeah, we saw them, but they weren't ready to move so they hadn't connected the wires to the explosives yet." Troy admitted.

The blond nodded. "What happened to the officer?"

Troy hesitated and made a face. "When he woke up he objected to being held prisoner. He tried to escape by grabbing a gun from one of the former prisoners; the guy shot him." Troy paused, watching his driver's face. "I know I always say that we can't make this war personal."

Hitch nodded with a guilty look. "I try not to Sarge, but after what he did to Tully…"

Troy nodded, looking a bit guilty too. "I know I always warn you guys about letting your feelings get in the way of doing your job." The sergeant paused as he looked at his two men. "I have to admit, I wish he had tried for my gun instead. That's one kraut I wouldn't have felt guilty about killing."

"I know how you feel." The blond sighed softly.

Troy laughed. "I bet you do." He reached behind Hitch and shifted his pillow until it looked more comfortable. "Why don't you try and get some more sleep? Do you want me to read to you for a while?"

"Yeah, yeah I'd like that."

"Me too." Tully agreed from the next bed over.