NOW-An Hour Ago
Mac closed his eyes and leaned back gritting his teeth. He was grateful for Jack's firm grip on his waist. The swirling water of the water made him dizzy and sick. His shoulder was a fire engine of pain blaring through his whole body every time the tide of the river swirled around him. Each rock under his foot was slick forcing his torn feet to clamp on them tighter. It felt like sand in his wounds.
"You doing ok, kiddo?"
"Ehrm." Was all Mac managed. He felt Jack take a step closer. Mac wanted nothing more to close his eyes and be on the other side...hell be home. If he was going to wish for teleportation, might as well go all the way. He didn't even feel bad for not finishing the mission. He'd just about had it. He twisted crying out as he almost fell off a pointy rock. Jack was there, as always, easing him back on track. Mac tried very hard not to move his head. The pull of his pack added torment onto agony. He opened his eyes to see how far they'd gone. Almost half way.
Mac had half a second to feel the disappointment before he took a step into nothing. Mac lost most of his air screaming in terror. FALLING! Everything was bubbles, swirling and pain.
Something snapped at his neck and his shoulder restraint popped off. Mac screamed again this time in pain. He managed to close his mouth before he sucked in water, but he knew it wouldn't be long before he did. He tried to paddle his good arm. This time he took in water with his cry. Mac felt the burn in his chest. He had no idea which way was up, or even if there had been an up. His body went flaccid and he was floating deeper than the river when something wrapped around his chest and pulled him up. Mac opened his mouth, but he didn't have any more air left to scream.
Jack grimaced as he fought to swim to the surface. There were so many tides and eddies it took every fiber of muscle he had to pull them both to air. Finally they crested. Jack made sure Mac's head was above ground. Mac made a sound that was a combination of puking and wail of torment. Water gushed out of his nose and mouth. Jack gritted his teeth, took a bigger breath then put all his effort into reaching shore. In his head he knew it was only five or six feet, but it felt like he was crossing the angry Amazon. Although he couldn't remember the Amazon being this pissed. A lot more Crocodiles though.
Jack pulled Mac close and spun them. He grunted as he slammed into a rock. Mac moaned softly his head sagging forward. Jack coughed as he was yanked from that rock and headed into a pile of rocks. Jack whirled, pushed off and managed to angle them into the shallow end of the rock pile. Jack felt something pull in his back. He ignored it and braced him and Mac against the stones. The current was calmer. He took time to blink water out of his eyes. They were only a few feet from the weeds along the shore of the river.
"We're almost there." Jack said as he pulled Mac after him determined to crawl his way through the weeds even if there was a lost Amazonian Crocodile in there.
"Good." Mac breathed.
"Glad you're still with me, brother." He could feel Mac hum through his hold on the kid's chest. Mac was holding on, that's all he needed.
"Just a few more minutes." Jack offered. Mac hummed again. Jack had never been happier to have slime ooze between his toes as he shoved up through the mass of half rotten grasses. He winced as he pulled Mac after him. Mac's shoulder and abdomen were bleeding again. This yucky crap was not going to help him. Hopefully, they would be out of here sooner than later.
Jack collapsed onto sand and grass bracing Mac against him to cushion his fall. Mac's head arched back and he let out a cry of pain.
"Sorry, buddy." Jack jumped when something barked at his elbow. He looked down into the angry eyes of a prairie dog. It was kinda cute. Jack could almost see it as a cartoon with hands on its hips yelling at him.
"Sorry." Jack muttered as he stood slowly bringing Mac up with him. The prairie dog disappeared. Jack shook his head. South Dakota was weird. Mac slumped. Jack turned and managed to catch him and grunted as he pulled the taller skinny man into a bridal carry. Jack paused eyes closed waiting for his back to stop throbbing enough for him to move.
They had landed on the edge of a small plain. To their right a wall of red and grey rocks rose in a steep slope. There was a narrow patch of scrub and scraggly trees then another steep slope went down. Jack carried Mac to a boulder with a twisted Burr oak. Under the tree roots spread out from the rock like a creeping monster. Still, it was shade. Jack set Mac down. Mac cried out and arched toward his uninjured side.
"Hey, easy, shhh-shhh, you're ok-" Mac opened his eyes enough to shoot Jack a penetrating glare.
"I said ok, not great." He helped Mac ease back. Mac's face scrunched. His face was whiter than anything living should be. Drips poured down his face. Jack was pretty sure they weren't only river water. Mac sucked in air, bending to the side coughing. Water sprayed from his mouth and nose. Mac moaned and collapsed forward breathing hard. Jack checked the back wound on his shoulder. He tried to scrape the dirt and debris off. He frowned. It was cleaner but not as much as he wanted.
Mac groaned and rolled onto his back. Jack helped him wincing. He couldn't imagine the pain his partner was in.
"Easy, easy. Let me do the work." Mac didn't answer, "Mac? C'mon, brother, stay with me. Come on open those baby blues? I'll start singing." It looked like a mighty struggle but Mac finally managed to crack his eyes open. His forehead wrinkled with pain.
"Any...ing...ut...at." Mac managed. Jack grinned.
"I know you don't mean that." Jack bent over Mac folding his arms close to his side. Mac's eyes squinched shut and his breathing sped up, but he didn't cry out. Jack took that as a good side. The kid was with it enough to care about hiding his pain-even though Jack would never judge him for it.
Jack didn't say anything. He palpated around Mac's shoulder and abdomen. The broken collar bone had split farther apart and the bullet hole bled freely. The stitches in his abdomen were pulled out on the edges, but the rest were still intact. Jack smiled feeling a little proud of himself.
"Aurf." Jack stared at Mac wondering how the hell he made that noise, "Aurf." It came from above him. He looked up onto an army of prairie dogs. They lined the stones above him like an army. Jack frowned. His eye rested on the largest. It sat watching him. It had white streamed through its fur, probably the oldest. Papa Smurf of this lot. They all watched him silently. Nope, not creepy at all.
"Look, guys, we'll be out of here as soon as we can, ok? I promise." The old one stared at him. Jack felt like he was having a stare down with an ankle high Yoda.
"I promise, ok?" The leader's nose twitched as it turned to look at Mac. Jack swore it nodded.
"Auf." It grunted softly. In a blink, they were gone.
"South Dakota is weird, man." Jack grumbled looking around him. He didn't see any other prairie dogs around him, but he felt like their eyes were everywhere. Whatever. They were the least of his problems. He turned back to Mac. Mac's face had gone slack.
"Mac, c'mon you have to open your eyes, man. I was talking to the Prairie dogs and they understood me...I'm fricking Dr. Doolittle, man!" Mac hummed and forced his eyes open.
"What?" He had a definite slur to his voice. Jack grinned.
"I'm talking for real, dude, these little rats love me." Mac blinked and stared at Jack as if deciding he was dreaming or not. Jack laughed. He turned and looked back at the river frowning. He glanced up at the sun and the shadows that fell from the trees. It was about 4:00 pm. He had about an hour until sunset. He rubbed his arms. It was still warm out, but definitely getting cold. Walking around in wet underwear wasn't going to cut it. Jack looked down at Mac. Mac's eyes were almost closed. Jack felt his pulse. Steady, weak, fast. Mac wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Jack patted his partner on the shoulder.
"I gotta go forage, I'll be right back. Don't piss off my friends, ok?" He saw a hint of blue and Mac hummed. Good enough. Jack stretched as he stood up. He was going to get them all a month off after this, whether Matty wanted it or not. World be damned, he hurt and Mac...Jack moved faster. He gathered a handful of dandelions, plantain grass, yarrow, and Hound's tongue. He pulled up a small tree. He jogged back to Mac. The younger man was shivering and out cold. Jack worked quickly.
He grabbed a handful of mud and worked the plants into it until he had what Texans would call a cow patty. Jack grinned. Maybe they'd go recuperate on the ranch back home. Jack put his pile of medicated mud on a stone and moved it closer. He carefully packed Mac's abdomen. He pulled the leaves off the tree and bit it removing long strings of bark. Jack kept working until he had only a narrow white stick that was easily bendable and several long strips. He nimbly braided these together.
"I'm sorry, brother, but this next part's gonna hurt quite a bit." He knew his face showed all the pain Mac was too far out of it to show. He straightened Mac's arm. Mac moaned and his eyes fluttered.
"Figures you wake up for the shitty part." Jack murmured. He worked Mac's elbow until his collar bone was in as close to its normal position as he could manage. Mac's eyes opened wide and his mouth open in a rictus of pain. He didn't make a sound. Jack paused.
"Breathe through it, Mac. C'mon, in...c'mon, don't let ol' Jack watch you turn blue. It took me a lot of effort to get you out of the water still breathing, don't waste all that work, right? C'mon...BREATHE dammit!" Mac reflexively sucked in air. It whooshed out in a soft cry of pain. Mac sucked in another one. He closed his eyes, but continued to breathe deeply.
"That's it, good job." Mac opened his eyes and glared at Jack. Jack grinned, "You can kill me later if it'll make you happy, just keep sucking in air, ok?" Mac closed his eyes. His breathing evened out. His face scrunched up in pain. Jack licked his lips sure his heart broke.
"Sorry." Jack murmured. Mac's eyes opened in confusion. Jack braced himself then straightened Mac's arm, twisting it back into position then bent the elbow so the hand was bent high on Mac's abdomen. Mac's eyes widened and he cried out loudly arching away from the pain. Jack held his arm close to his side. Mac gasped for air. Jack eased him to sitting, holding Mac's arm in place. Mac swayed paling even more.
"I know, brother. Just another minute ok?" Mac's lips and mouth were even paler with the pressure he used to pinch them tightly closed. Mac obviously was fighting nausea and agony. Jack nodded. The best thing was to get this done fast. He plastered the mud into both holes of the bullet wound. The herbs he'd added to the poultice were natural blood cleaners, clotters and would help with pain. Mac gasped as Jack patted it deeply into his wound. It wasn't a great solution, but the best he could come up with. At least it would buy time. Mac had taught him this himself so if he died it was his own fault right? Jack grimaced at his black humor. Not that he'd ever let his kid die, mind you.
Jack took the white middle part of the tree and wrapped it around Mac's arm. He tied it to his body with the braided bark rope and wrapped Mac's shoulder until it was tied in place. Mac slumped forward his wet hanging. He shook, his breathing fast and uneven. Jack moved so Mac could lean against him. He held his brother and pushed his hair back.
"See that wasn't so bad was it?" Jack said, mostly because he wanted some sort of sign Mac was still with him. Mac made a sound between a sob and growl. Jack carefully bent closer holding his friend a long minute. He knew it wouldn't give Mac much relief, but it made him feel better.
"Ouch." Mac breathed into his ear. Jack let out a surprised laugh, tears burning his eyes.
"I know, I know. Easy now, you're ok." Jack's voice had softened to the tone he used only for an injured MacGyver. Mac hummed. That was enough. Jack gently laid his friend back. Mac looked up at him, his eyes at half mast.
"You 'k?" His voice was barely audible.
"Sure I'm just hanging around with the wild life in my wet skivvies playing patty cake." Mac blink confused.
"'K?" Jack shook his head and ran a thumb along Mac's cheek. He left a streak of mud which washed away with the dampness flowing down Mac's face from his wet hair, skin, and reddened eyes.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I have to go get our stuff, it's probably pretty far downstream by now." Mac's eyes were cloudy. He didn't know how much the blonde was taking in.
" 'K" Mac managed. His eyes drooped shut and his head tilted to the side. Jack fought the urge to wake him up again. It was better Mac was asleep. He was fairly hidden. Jack hadn't heard any motors nearby, but he doubted they'd given up their pursuit. Maybe they had to take the long way around the river. Jack hoped so. He brushed dead leaves on Mac until the kid was covered by a giant pile. It would provide a little protection from the cold and camouflage to protect Mac.
Jack stood. He'd done all he could. He hated leaving Mac so defenseless. He felt eyes on him. He looked up to find the Papa prairie dog staring at him at eye level.
"That's my boy, you take care of him, hear?" The dog appeared to consider. He twitched his whiskers gave a soft bark then vanished. Jack shook his head and turned jogging downriver. He was talking to fucking prairie dogs. Maybe Mac wasn't the only one out of his head.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Desi stopped the buggy in front of a fast running river. She turned to Riley.
"I didn't cross this."
"I bet it winds around like a snake with all these rocks around here." Bozer offered. Riley shook her head.
"Without my rig I have no idea where Mac is."
"Didn't you take Mac's wilderness class?"
"Don't even get me started!" Desi laughed.
"Glad I missed it. No, it isn't even that hard. We've seen all the trails and dirt roads, Mac and Jack would cross it to get away from them, plus our getaway cars are that way."
"Cars?" Bozer asked with raised eyebrows.
"Shush. We have to get across."
"I don't see a bridge or-" Desi shot Riley the devilish grin Riley had learned to dread.
"Out."
"Desi-"
"What-"
"Now, out!" Riley and Bozer shared a worried look and reluctantly stepped out of the vehicle. Desi backed up as far as she could, shot them a wild grin and stomped the gas. The woman let out a suspiciously Texas-sounding rebel yell then skidded forward leaving a shower of dirt and pine needles following in her wake. Desi narrowed her eyes choosing a half rotten maple. She waited until the last second then rolled free.
The vehicle slammed into the trunk of the tree, there was an explosive crunch, then the tree surrendered and fell across the river. Desi stood up and dusted herself off. She grinned at the others.
"Et voila!" She said. The others raised an eyebrow. Desi rolled her eyes. "Let's go." She reached into the back of the crashed car and pulled out two large duffles. She handed one to Riley. Riley grunted and slung it over her shoulder almost knocking herself backwards.
"What the hell is in there?" Bozer said steadying her. Desi shot him a dark look.
"Supplies."
"You want me to take it?" Bozer asked. Riley opened her mouth to agree when she noticed the way Bozer looked at the narrow tree they had to cross. Fear and trepidation.
"Nah, I'm used to carrying a pack."
"Let's go, this'll bring them here pretty quick." Desi said waving at Riley. She crouched beside the vehicle and dug into her bag. Riley didn't wait to see what she was doing. Riley studied the tree. It was about the size of an Olympic balance beam, but round. Only one branch stuck up in the middle of the tree. It was broken and half rotten. Riley put one boot on the tree and kicked it. It seemed pretty sturdy. Riley took a deep breath and stepped onto the bark. She moved quickly and steadily. When she reached the branch she kicked it. It broke off and went flying into the current. Riley almost fell off the tree. She held out her arms and one foot waving until she steadied and could put both feet on the wood again.
Riley took a deep breath and continued on slower and more careful. Her heart was pounding by the time she stepped off onto the boulders along the other side of the river. She let out a deep breath then turned.
Bozer fidgetted at the base of the tree.
"C'mon, Boze. Didn't you tell me you and Mac would walk along walls all the time? It's just like that."
"No, it isn't! This is round. And over water."
"You can do it." Riley encouraged.
"You have to do it now." Desi said softly. She patted Bozer on the shoulder,"I'm right behind you." Boze nodded and shot her a grateful small smile. He stepped onto the tree and started to cross. It was nail biting. He slipped two times, but Desi steadied him with a strong hand on his collar. They both made it safely across. Boze bent over breathing hard. He stood up grinning.
"Don't know what you'awl are making a big deal of!" Desi and Riley shared an eye roll then headed south following the flow of the river.
