For Tsari who asked for Scott's birthday please!
April: steal something back + 4th: a concussion
It was a nightmare that Scott truly believed would never happen. But it had happened. And in the worst possible way.
He was missing. Or rather, he didn't know where he was. Or where his brothers were. Or even where his uniform was.
But most of all, he didn't know where One was.
He appeared to be in some kind of forest. Which was odd, really, as he was pretty sure that he had been on a mountainside. Maybe. He wasn't too sure of anything, really, because his head was pounding.
He was sitting propped against a tree of some kind. Touching his head and looking at his fingers they were sticky with blood. Scott grimaced. That explained the jackhammer in his head. He gingerly explored the wound. It was quite long and sluggishly bleeding.
How long had he been out of it? How long had he been missing? Without any of his gear on him at all he had no way of knowing anything or contacting anyone. He still had the neoprene suit on, but his baldrick and helmet were missing. Come to think of it, he was beginning to feel the cold too, the fingerless gloves he preferred not helping in this matter.
Right. First things first – check himself over. One long gash to the left side of his forehead. One knot on the back of his head. Limbs seemed to be whole and in one piece. No stab wounds – always a bonus. Hmm, possible sprained ankle?
Once he was sure that there were no broken legs or arms Scott used the tree to help him stand. His head swum and his knees buckled, but he held on firmly, waiting for the dizziness and black spots to dissipate.
Injury check done. Now, where was he? All he could see was trees. Was he in a forest? Had there been a forest on the mountain where he thought he was? It was no good. Scott was definite that he had concussion now, and because of it he couldn't see the wood for the trees. He snorted. Definitely concussed – no way he would usually find that funny.
Scott also couldn't see the sun. Judging from the light of the sky he could see he knew only that it was daylight, the trees blocking out almost all the sky. He shivered. Without being able to see the sun he could get lost, but if he stayed here there was no telling what could happen.
All he knew for sure is that someone else had to have been involved in his being here because of the missing parts of his uniform, and that One would hopefully be somewhere nearby. Staying here could mean trouble in the form of whatever assailants there were returning once they realised they couldn't get into One.
He hoped they couldn't get into One.
Trusting his gut instinct, Scott set out at a pace he hoped he could maintain. It was nowhere near his fastest, but he needed to ensure he didn't expend too much energy. There was no knowing how far he would need to travel, or what he would need to do when he got there.
It would have been relaxing on any other occasion. The birds sung their hearts out. There was a whisper of a breeze rustling the trees from time to time. It was cool, bordering on cold, and he could see his breath misting in front of him. And that was it. No sounds of other people, not even of any animals.
Just Scott, the trees and the birds.
Eventually Scott decided a rest was in order. He'd been walking steadily for quite a while now, and if he wasn't mistaken, slightly up hill. Surely he would get somewhere soon. But for now, he sat against another tree, facing the way he was going, and closed his eyes for a moment. He needed to rest his head, but only for five minutes.
When Scott opened his eyes again it was darker. Cursing himself and his injuries, he got up too quickly and immediately fell forward onto his hands and knees. How on earth had he forgotten his concussion? Concentrating on getting his breathing under control and to stop his head exploding, he almost missed the snap of a branch ahead.
Scott held his breath, freezing in place. Nothing. He gingerly got up and backed into the tree, hearing on full alert. There was the sound of something stepping gently, barely discernible ahead of him. As he held his breath and hoped that the blue of his uniform wasn't too visible in the darkness, a stag stepped out of the trees and stopped, one leg raised, and sniffed the air. His antlers were huge and magnificent, and for one heart-stopping moment he stared straight at Scott before moving on.
Scott let out the breath he hadn't realised he was holding. Deer were good. It meant that in his immediate vicinity there were no threats. Picking his way carefully in the darkness, using the patches of dappled moonlight, Scott carried on slowly. He didn't want to break a leg now and knowing his luck…he shivered. He had thought he was cold before, but now he really was.
Once more Scott walked until he was too exhausted to go any further. He did notice that the trees were getting thinner, and there was a light dusting of snow here and there. So he might have been right about the mountain rescue.
Wondering where Virgil was, a total blank as to whether he had been alone or not, he found a hollow in a tree facing away from the snowline and settled down. Sleep wasn't wise, but he knew that he needed to get some rest so had some strength.
Scott's sleep was fitful, and he was fully awake before the dawn. Hauling himself out, head still spinning and now with the added delight of blurred vision. He sighed. It didn't matter, he'd been out overnight and knew everyone would be worried and searching.
A sudden bright light overhead had him hesitating. Instinct had him wanting to run out of the treeline and wave the pilot down. But the engine sounds didn't belong to Two. Or One, and he held himself back. The helo shone the light back and forth.
They were searching for him. Scott grinned grimly to himself. If they were looking then he couldn't be too far from either their base camp or – hopefully – One.
Keeping to the trees, thin though they were, they offered some protection, he followed them. Eventually, as hoped, the helicopter returned to what looked like a couple of tents and there, behind them, stood One. She was slightly gleaming in the pre-dawn light.
He counted eight men, no, nine with the copter pilot. There was a small campfire to one side. Scott watched for quite some while and a glimmer of hope appeared. They couldn't get into One, despite their tries.
Why hadn't John taken One home? He assumed that it was because Virgil wasn't available to come and get him. There was a vague memory of an earthquake call that he should have attended after this rescue. Scott sat back and closed his eyes. The pain was bad, but he had worked through worse.
Despite not being able to find him, Scott was almost amused that the group hadn't set a guard. They had obviously been hard at work, there were plenty of yawns and he could smell the tar of overcooked strong coffee, stirring a memory that he quickly shook off.
Sure enough, four of the men took off with the pilot, no doubt to try and find him again, while the remaining four split into pairs and entered the tents.
This was his cue.
Waiting to ensure the men in the tents had a chance to settle, Scott crept around the camp and behind the tents. He wanted to go straight to his 'bird, but he had to ensure that the men wouldn't disturb him. It would take 30 seconds to get the hatch open, and while that was a short time, it was time that he could be attacked again. He couldn't afford another blow to the head.
There were snores from the closest tent, but there was quiet chatting in the tent closest to One. Quiet walking on the pine needles and snow wasn't easy, and Scott called on training he hadn't needed to use in several years.
It was very slow going, and he could now see One's colours in the light. Scott reached the hatch just as the tent flap opened and one of the men came out. He froze. The man stretched and headed towards the treeline, not once turning around. If he had he would have seen Scott.
Scott watched as he disappeared around the first tree and sighed as sounds showed exactly what the man was doing. He didn't have long, and Scott silently thanked Brains that One was soundless as the hatch slid back. He entered his code, the cockpit opened and his chair lowered.
He swung up into his chair to the bellow of fury from the man returning from his business. Scott winked at him and threw in a sloppy two-fingered salute as One sealed beneath him. As his fired up the engine the others appeared from the tents, but he knew he was home free.
As he cleared the trees John's holo appeared. He'd never been so thankful to hear John's voice – panic and all – and for the first time in several hours he had a genuine smile on his face.
The relief on John's face said more than any words, and for a second the two brothers just smiled at each other. Then John frowned. 'Scott, you have incoming.' Scott nodded. The helo was back, but she was no match for One and Scott.
Pushing his 'bird into hypersonic, and the mountain, along with everything else was gone in the blink of an eye. While he headed for home he allowed the sounds of John explained what he knew had happened to wash over him.
Virgil, Gordon, Alan and Kayo were still at the earthquake site. The GDF were on their way, allegedly. Grandma was at home, waiting for Scott to get there. John had, of course, forwarded the scans he had made the instant Scott had sat in his pilot's chair.
By the time Scott had made it home, John reported that Virgil and the others were also on their way back. He was greeted with a tight hug from their Grandma and was led straight to the infirmary.
By the time Two arrived home, Scott was stitched and bandaged and waiting in the hangar. There were hugs and they retired to the lounge to hear Scott explain how he had crept up and stolen One back.
They retired to the den, where Scott promptly fell asleep while a movie played in the background, surrounded by the warmth of his brothers.