After Bad Rock

Warning: This following story contains extreme,graphic, and repetitve physical, sexual and psychological torure. We love Face, but we were not nice to him at all in this one. Consider yourself warned...read at your own risk...and hopefully enjoyment!

Chapter 36

'I'm dangerous, have to get away from them….not safe.' With that thought in mind Face stumbled out the door and moved on auto pilot until he collapsed some way into the forest. When he came around he didn't know where he was until he saw Sue's face right in front of him. It all came back to him in a rush. The forest, Sue's hut…he must have escaped somehow. She would be on him in a second. He got up and willed his legs to move faster.

'I can't get away fast enough. Hide, need to hide. Move further in the night, have training, advantage over her.'

The dizziness was bad…it had been hours since he ate or drank anything substantial. But still he put one shaky leg in front of the other and somehow managed to stay upright.

It crossed his mind that he didn't have a weapon. He was barefoot and only wearing pajamas. He couldn't remember where they came from since Sue had chained him up naked but then again he couldn't remember his escape either.

He reached a group of trees that would make a good hiding spot and crawled in between them. As he looked around deciding on a good hiding spot he saw something glistening in the moon light. He removed the leaves that were partially covering the object and found an old knife someone must have lost there. That brought his hope up for two reasons, one, he wasn't completely without a weapon anymore and two, they were not too far into the forest that nobody came there. Chances were he would meet someone who could help. That thought made him stumble on a bit more instead of hiding where he was.

"Hannibal…come in…Hannibal," B.A. said into the radio, stopping for a quick rest.

"Yeah…I'm here."

"Anythin' yet, man?"

"No…and it's getting dark." Hannibal kept walking as he talked. "We can't stop until we find him…how's your leg holding up."

"I'm fine, man." His leg ached a little but mostly from not being used much since being shot. "I'll walk all night if I hafta."

"Let's hope none of us have to…stay safe, sergeant."

"You too, colonel…over and out."

Hannibal and B.A. soldiered on by flashlight. They called out Face's name and after a while realized that they could hear each other's voices. They had made almost a complete circle around the cabin perimeter with no luck.

Face too could hear the voices coming closer, but in his disoriented state he heard Sue. 'I'll never let her take me alive.' He ran out into the open, holding a knife in his hand and screamed out, "You come any closer, Sue, and I'll kill myself." He put the tip of the blade against his belly and stood in wait.

Hannibal and BA were on opposite sides of Face by this time, looking at each other in horror and frozen in fear. This couldn't be happening.

"Face, Sue is not here, you're safe." Hannibal kept talking soothingly to Face but didn't dare take one step closer.

Face stood frozen, listening to the voice he hated so much, seeing her face before him. She was coming closer, he could feel it, he could make out her moves between the trees. "Stop, not one more step."

"Hey easy Faceman, nobody's moving, just drop that knife."

Face whirled around. How was that possible? He had just heard her on the other side, why was she behind him now? He was ready to ram the knife into his guts when his mind registered that it was two different voices talking to him.

'Not Sue? No…Hannibal and BA…rescue.' He lowered the blade just an inch when a picture of Murdock withering on the floor appeared in front of his eyes and he stopped short.

'Dangerous, I'm dangerous and they know it.' More flashes from the Team hurting him crossed his mind. BA with the cattle prod, Hannibal with the scalpel, cutting him…and then Hannibal holding the burning hot knife. He looked at the knife in his hands as if it was going to burn him and dropped it. The adrenalin shooting through his veins gave him the extra energy to take off running into the dense forest.

"B.A., after him!" Hannibal shouted.

They converged together and ran side by side in the direction they saw Face go in.

"Where he go, man?" B.A. panted after a few minutes.

"No clue…can hardly see in the dark." He grabbed B.A.'s arm to stop him and whispered, "I have an idea…play along. Start running…now."

Hannibal ran in a different direction than B.A. then threw himself to the ground and yelled out in mock pain.

B.A. caught on right away; the colonel was trying to draw Face out by making him think one of them was hurt. He ran back over toward Hannibal and said loudly hoping Face would hear, "You okay, man. Where you hurt?"

"My knee."

"Can you walk on it?"

"Don't think so."

"I'll carry you, man…"

Hannibal smiled to himself; B.A. was spot on for where he was going with this. "No way, Sergeant…you're limping as it is."

Face was watching and listening intently hiding behind down in a ditch off to the side of his teammates. 'I did it again…my fault Hannibal is hurt.' This was the precise reason he was fleeing them to begin with, but now he was torn. He didn't want them to suffer but they had also come after him to hurt him, had hurt him already. What would they do to him if he left his hiding spot to help? And BA, BA was limping again. It was his fault he got shot in the first place and now he had made it worse, BA had been walking too much because of his running away. BA could still make it back but Hannibal couldn't walk. And Murdock could also not come to the rescue, thanks to him. He could not sit there and watch the colonel suffer. No matter what was happening now, they had been there for him for so many years, especially the colonel. If they hurt him now, he deserved it for getting them in danger, for kicking out and hurting them in his sleep, for hurting Murdock, for getting BA shot….the list of crimes ran through his head without end. He wanted to help the colonel but at the same time he was afraid, afraid of his own team. He hurt all over and the mere thought of having to endure any more abuse made him ache more. He wasn't also sure how he was going to help his colonel, he could barely stand on his own.

"It ain't working." BA whispered to Hannibal.

"If only Face was here to help. I don't know what to do without him." Hannibal tried another approach, playing with Face's insecurities and showing him that he was needed.

BA too had another idea. "I hope he doesn't think the fool got hurt because of him. He can't know that I hurt the fools arm."

"Good BA" whispered Hannibal.

'Not my fault? BA hurt Murdock? They…they still want me. No, not an option, I'm too dangerous. But I can help them back before vanishing.' Just as he wanted to get up he heard Murdock.

"Hannibal, BA, Face, where are you?"

Murdock, Murdock was coming to help the colonel, he was no longer needed, Murdock would play his part.

"Damn fool is gonna spoil everything." BA muttered under his breath.

"Stay cool," Hannibal whispered back before calling out, "over here, Captain!"

Murdock came jogging over, the white sling around his arm visible in the moonlight. "What…what happened? Did Face do this?"

Face's heart began pounding; even Murdock now considered him a danger.

"Shut up, fool," B.A. hissed.

"Play along, Murdock," Hannibal said softly.

"Play along with what…why are you whispering?" Murdock was confused having no clue that Face was only feet away. Although he had turned his voice low to fit in with the whispers just in case, he was still talking loud enough for Face to hear.

'It was all an act,' Face thought. He felt stupid, but most of all he felt betrayed. 'Have to get away…they want to hurt me…have to run.' But as soon as he crawled onto his knees to make his move he knew he was in trouble. His vision blurred and his stomach rolled, but still he wasn't ready to surrender.

However his body had other ideas. He moved from knees to feet and took a few tentative steps before crashing down to the ground hard.

The rest of the team heard a thump and turned in Face's direction, but the con man was still too well hidden to be seen.

"Go!" Hannibal ordered.

All Face could do was roll his body out of their path and under the cover of some low hanging branches. But as he did so something sharp stabbed him in the back and he couldn't hold back a gasp of pain.

"Did you hear that? This way." Murdock pointed in Face's direction and went in search.

The branches provided a good cover in the night and Face heard Murdock pass just inches beside him. He could see the beam of the flashlight but luckily he had nothing shiny on him that reflected. Next was BA, he could hear the jingling of the gold. He willed his heart to slow down, he was sure it pounded so loud that it could be heard miles away. He wondered what they wanted to do to him this time. Did BA still have the cattle prod on him? And Hannibal the knife? Were they going for a repetition or had they gotten creative in the mean time and thought up something new? Maybe Sue would join them.

BA too had passed, two down one to go.

"Murdock, BA, you're searching too far."

"What do you mean? You's just standing 'round there."

Murdock rolled his eyes, the last thing he needed was the two of them going at each other again.

"I've been listening. The thud we heard wasn't that far and I never heard a sound other than you two since then. He must be closer."

'Damn.' If possible his heart hammered even more.

"He's the best in silent moves, have you forgotten Nam?"

"I sometimes wish I could. I know what he's capable of but not in his current condition. Besides, if he was able to get away in silence we'll never find him and I can't even begin to think of that."

'Why? They want me gone after all. Well, not before they had their fun.' But he couldn't shake the feeling that Hannibal had meant it different, that he still cared. He couldn't shake it but he could very well suppress it.

"Come back and search the hiding spots. Move as quiet as you can so I can listen for any movements out of place."

'Double damn. They'll find me, oh god, I don't even have the knife anymore.'

BA and Murdock came back shining their flashlights in every corner. They came closer.

He could see them now. Murdock and BA, holding something in their hands. The burning stick…Murdock had the burning stick again. This one much bigger than the last one, and he was barefoot already. Oh no, please, this can't be happening again, not again. BA was holding the cattle prod, this one was even glowing in the dark.

Murdock lifted some branches to look under and there was a fast movement. Hannibal came closer but it was just a rabbit they had startled. He searched on.

Hannibal was now standing closer, he could see him. He also held something glowing. 'Oh no, the knife, the glowing hot knife, no please, why? Just why are they doing this?'

Murdock crouched down in front of his branches ready to lift and shine under. Maybe if he moved further down, towards the back, the light of the burning stick would not catch him. He instinctively brought up his bare feet to protect them as he did so.

Hannibal heard the rustling and motioned for Murdock to be careful. He and BA covered the back of the tree so Face could not make a run for it from the other side.

'Oh no, damn, damn, damn. I'm cornered, they know where I am.' Just a second later the beam of the flashlight caught him.

"Face, am I glad to see you buddy. Come on out there, you're safe."

"Please…please don't hurt me again, please, just leave me, I'll never come back, promised, please."

"Facey, nobody's gonna hurt you, we don't want you to go, just come on out."

"No, I know I'm dangerous, gotta go, please don't burn me with this, please." He hugged his knees, trying to hide his feet from Murdock.

"Sounds like he's gone nuts too." BA whispered to Hannibal and would have caught a harsh glare could he have seen in the darkness. This would be discussed later on.

Murdock caught on to what Face meant and put the flashlight away. "Come on Facey, I'm your best friend, you know I wouldn't hurt you if I'm not forced too."

He had put it away, could he trust him? He was his best friend for a long time, that's true. And he wasn't around when they tried to trick him. "You know I'm dangerous."

"Yes, I know and I don't care. You're only dangerous when you're startled awake or sick and we know it. No worries about that. We'll deal with it. Just come out now."

What he said made sense, and this was Murdock, his trust in Murdock was rooted deep within. And the thing had stopped burning, it was no threat. But there were still the other two.

"They are going to hurt me."

"Who?"

"BA with his cattle prod and Hannibal with the knife."

"No, they don't have anything like that here."

Couldn't he see?

"Mind if I join you down there? It's kinda lonely here."

"Okay." It felt good to have one ally. But then another thought struck, he was getting Murdock in trouble again. They would turn onto the two of them now. Murdock had already crawled under the branches.

"They'll hurt you too. Can't you see the prod and the knife glowing? Just stay behind me, I'll take it on me and you can run." He whispered to Murdock.

It was Murdock's turn to try to get the others to play along with him. "No…we're a team…you and I, muchacho. We'll take them out together."

"Hope that fool knows what he's tellin' the other fool," B.A. said so that just Hannibal could hear.

"Me too," Hannibal responded. "But enough with those kind of comments already…understood?"

"Yeah…but what we gonna do now?"

"Wait…we follow Murdock's lead."

B.A. snorted but Hannibal ignored it and focused on what was happening with his other men.

"Murdock…I don't know. With your arm...how're we going to do this?"

It was amazing to Murdock that Face didn't realize the others could hear them; it was a testament to just how far gone he was. "I have B.A.'s night-night juice in my back pocket. You distract Hannibal while I shoot up B.A. and then I'll get the colonel." To prove his point he reached back and produced a syringe.

"Murdock…wh…why?"

"Why what, buddy?"

"Why're you helping me?"

"Because of all the times you have helped me, Face. I owe you." At least Murdock meant every word of that statement. "Just stay still and wait for them to come toward us."

"Hannibal, you don't think…" B.A.'s voice trailed off.

"I don't know, but if he pretends to hit you with something act as if he does. Let's go."

Hannibal and B.A. moved forward slowly. "Face…it's Hannibal…B.A. and I are coming to help you and Murdock."

"Don't be scared, lil' bro. We ain't gonna hurt ya."

"Murdock…they sound like they mean it," Face said.

Murdock hadn't expected that and was thrown for a second. Should he go with the plan and tell Face that they were trying to hurt him and to stay the course? Or risk telling him the truth…that they really did want to help him…and risk Face thinking he was against him as well if he didn't believe him. 'The truth shall set you free,' Murdock thought. "They do mean it, Face."

"I…I'm so…confused. I can't…think…straight."

Hannibal and Murdock were right before them now and were bending over to remove some branches.

Face was hit with a sudden wave of panic and as his cover was lifted he reached out and grabbed the syringe out of Murdock's hand. He bolted forward and jabbed it into B.A.'s thigh.

"Argh!" B.A. gasped and then fell to the ground in a pretend faint.

Murdock decided to go along with this new set of circumstances and pretended to inject Hannibal in the arm.

"Ah," Hannibal moaned before collapsing.

Face had his back to Murdock and was staring blankly at his fallen friends. He never saw Murdock coming behind him with another syringe…one that actually contained the drug.

Hannibal and B.A. heard Face gasp, and opened their eyes to see him falling backwards and Murdock looking like he had lost his best friend…a very real possibility after what he had just done.

"Ah man, he's gonna hate us forever."

What was it with BA and his comments today? Hannibal put an arm around Murdock's shoulder. "You did the right thing captain. He'll snap out of it and be thankful. Right now we need to get him to safety."

"Yeah sure, Hannibal, I live with those that didn't snap out of it, me included."

"Murdock, you're not paranoid and neither is Face. I don't know what caused this but I know we'll get through it, together."

"You don't know what caused it? Just think back over the last some weeks and then tell me who wouldn't have gone nuts over all the shit that happened. You and me fighting was the last drop that made the bottle spill over. Now what are you standing in my way? Move it, I need to carry my brother to his bed where he can recover."

"I didn't like some of the comments you made earlier on but this one was on the spot. Only I'll carry him, you're limping as it is."

"Forget it man…"

"Argghh, will you two stop it? None of you is able to carry him all the way back alone and my arm throbs too much to be of any help. Just pick him up one of you and then change from time to time. And stop arguing over each and everything."

Hannibal turned to pick Face up first. He was determined to carry him as much as possible as BA had really started to limp more and he didn't need three men down. "God kid you're cold." He shrugged out of his jacket and slipped it on Face's form before picking him up. Once he had him in a fireman's carry Murdock added his jacket to cover as much of Face's legs as possible.

It was a long walk back and BA and Hannibal changed positions several times. Finally they reached the house and Hannibal got a first good chance to check Face over.

"He's made a mess out of his feet, he's still too cold and I don't like the way his belly looks. We need Maggie." and with a look at BA he added "She's gonna tear us to pieces once she hears what went down. BA and Murdock, go get her, I want for her to take an x-ray of Murdock's arm, don't like the way it looks."

"No, I have to be here when he comes around."

"Don't worry, you'll be back by then. What you shot him up with coupled with the exhaustion should keep him out for the whole day, and if not I'll top him up, he needs rest."

"Come on fool, you really not looking too good."

As soon as they were gone Hannibal started to secure the windows so Face would have no possibility to escape. Then he settled in for a long wait, occasionally changing the hot water bottles they had placed by Face's sides.