Chapter Six: Hot Stuff
~~
It was just gone ten o'clock in the evening when the rain started, when everyone was just filing out of the OR after another lengthy session of surgery. Six hours later, the storm was in full swing, keeping every single member of the unit awake and restless. The flimsy tenting swayed and flapped in the wind, the sheets of rain dripped through rips in the sodden canvas, and thunder and lightning cracked and lit up the sky of Korea. It was the kind of night that only a fool would dare step outside.
As Klinger ran across the compound, he could hear the grumbles about the storm from Charles, and Hawkeye's ranting comments. The Corporal quickly entered Colonel Potter's tent and slammed shut the door, keeping out the noise of the whistling wind, causing the CO to wake up with a start.
"Klinger! What in the name of McArthur's pipe are you doing in here at this hour?"
"S-sorry, s-sir," Klinger said, his teeth chattering from the cold and his breath all too visible as he spoke. "I h-have bad news t-to report."
"Bad news? More wounded?"
"No, sir, it's the stove again," Klinger said, feeling warmer by the minute being inside a tent. He was amazed at how much difference the canvas made, despite it being so thin. "It's really gone this time, no life left in it."
"Dang, and Zale's just gone on R&R," Colonel Potter said, mentally cursing the rotten timing. Zale had gone away to Seoul two days before, an event that went almost unnoticed due to Father Mulcahy arriving in the state he was in, and the Sergeant was due back the day after tomorrow. Knowing that the camp could not go for two days without a working stove, Colonel Potter said, "All right, Klinger, it's up to you. Get Igor and a toolkit, and do your worst."
Sighing, Klinger replied, "Yes sir."
~~
Much to Igor's disgruntlement, the two set about working on the stove, and had been working on it for about an hour when the storm started to fade away and the sun began to rise. In the Swamp, conversation began to become louder as the inmates began to feel more awake.
"Did anyone get any sleep last night?" Hawkeye asked before yawning and stretching.
"Not a whole lot," BJ admitted, he too yawning as though it were contagious, "What time is it?" Looking at his watch he answered his own question, "Five a.m.? Another hour and I'll be on duty."
Hawkeye knew that something had been niggling at him, something that he had forgotten to do, say, ask, and this caused him to remember what it was. With some amount of tact, he asked, "hey, how come Potter's been forcing all these early shifts on you?"
"I told you, Pierce, Hunnicutt over there asked for the shifts, nothing was forced upon him," Charles said in a groggy voice, apparently having been awoken by the conversation.
So much for tact, Hawkeye thought to himself. BJ said, "Like Charles just said, I asked for the shifts." He knew that Hawkeye would ask why, it was the automatic question, and already BJ was beginning to plan the answer.
Hawkeye was at a loss for shrewdness, so he just came out with the question that he would have danced around and about, had he possessed the skill of doing so that early in the morning. "But why?"
BJ stopped for a moment, refusing to answer. That was when an explosive blast rocked and broke the silence.
All three in the Swamp covered their heads with their arms, and even after the noise had stopped, they were wary to look out, thinking at first that they were being shelled. When they did some seconds later, Hawkeye and BJ glanced at each other, and Hawkeye voiced what they were both thinking. "What the Hell was that?"
Charles dared glance out of the netting of his tent and gasped. "My God, the kitchen, it's ablaze!"
All three were out of their cots, into some boots and robes and out of the tent in mere seconds. Others had gathered outside to see what the commotion was about, and were at that moment being ordered to form a chain to deliver water from the tower, to extinguish the fire.
As this was being done, Colonel Potter found the three doctors. "Klinger and Igor are in there, I told them to fix the stove," he said breathlessly, his concern evident in his voice.
"We'll get them out," Hawkeye promised him, before he joined the others at the front of the chain to throw the water over the flames that licked at one wall of the kitchen.
With the help of the chain of water buckets being passed, the fire was soon under control, and Hawkeye and BJ could go into the smoke-filled room to search for Igor and Klinger.
BJ first stumbled across one of them quite literately, his boot brushing past something on the floor. "Hawk, I've found Igor," BJ called out, having enough light to see who it was, but not enough to determine the extent of injuries. He dragged him out of the room whilst Hawkeye continued to search.
"Klinger!" Hawkeye called, choking on the smoke as he did so. He searched almost blindly around the smoggy room, and after another minute found the Corporal slumped against some shelving in the corner, unconscious. "Come on, Klinger," Hawkeye said, shaking his shoulders slightly in the hope that he might get a response. Nothing. Hawkeye with ever more speed practically threw Klinger over his shoulder and jogged out of the room, with both care and speed. "Max, I hope you can hear me, I'm going to charge you for my hernia," he warned the unconscious Klinger.
Choking as he did so, Hawkeye lay Klinger down on the ground outside and began to check for injuries. He was beyond relief to find a pulse, and began to check the rest of him. "Concussion, smoke inhalation, and possible cracked ribs, I'll need a stretcher and an x-ray," he called to anyone without a job.
Colonel Potter listened and breathed a sigh of relief, glad to know for now that the injuries were not life threatening, and even more glad to know that Klinger was alive to see another day. He headed over to where BJ and Charles were tending to Igor's injuries, a situation that did not seem so good.
"Second degree burns to the arms, I need a cloth and water here, stat," BJ shouted furiously, knowing that time was of the essence. Margaret had prepared for this possible situation, and presented him with the required items almost immediately. BJ lightly ran water over the raw red areas of skin with the wet cloth whilst Charles checked the rest of the injuries.
"Concussion, abrasion and contusion to the left temple, smoke inhalation, no broken bones," he said, rattling off the symptoms efficiently. "A stretcher here, take him straight to Post-Op and continue to immerse the burns in clean, cold water."
Colonel Potter slowed his pace as he walked beside Klinger's stretcher, before he totally stopped and let events take place around him as the shock began to sink in. The adrenaline that had compelled him to give orders and organise everyone so efficiently just those moments ago had gone, and he was left standing, wondering how on earth such chaos could take place so early in the day. "If this is what sunup is like, I can't wait for sundown," he said to himself, before clearing his head and driving his feet to go forward and take him to Post-Op, where he could look in on the newest patients.
~~~~
Note: Thanks for all my reviews, I'm glad you like what I'm writing, keep reading! Frankie - this idea refused to leave me alone so I had to play with it, but I will be getting back to the Against All Odds series as soon as I'm done with this, don't worry!
~~
It was just gone ten o'clock in the evening when the rain started, when everyone was just filing out of the OR after another lengthy session of surgery. Six hours later, the storm was in full swing, keeping every single member of the unit awake and restless. The flimsy tenting swayed and flapped in the wind, the sheets of rain dripped through rips in the sodden canvas, and thunder and lightning cracked and lit up the sky of Korea. It was the kind of night that only a fool would dare step outside.
As Klinger ran across the compound, he could hear the grumbles about the storm from Charles, and Hawkeye's ranting comments. The Corporal quickly entered Colonel Potter's tent and slammed shut the door, keeping out the noise of the whistling wind, causing the CO to wake up with a start.
"Klinger! What in the name of McArthur's pipe are you doing in here at this hour?"
"S-sorry, s-sir," Klinger said, his teeth chattering from the cold and his breath all too visible as he spoke. "I h-have bad news t-to report."
"Bad news? More wounded?"
"No, sir, it's the stove again," Klinger said, feeling warmer by the minute being inside a tent. He was amazed at how much difference the canvas made, despite it being so thin. "It's really gone this time, no life left in it."
"Dang, and Zale's just gone on R&R," Colonel Potter said, mentally cursing the rotten timing. Zale had gone away to Seoul two days before, an event that went almost unnoticed due to Father Mulcahy arriving in the state he was in, and the Sergeant was due back the day after tomorrow. Knowing that the camp could not go for two days without a working stove, Colonel Potter said, "All right, Klinger, it's up to you. Get Igor and a toolkit, and do your worst."
Sighing, Klinger replied, "Yes sir."
~~
Much to Igor's disgruntlement, the two set about working on the stove, and had been working on it for about an hour when the storm started to fade away and the sun began to rise. In the Swamp, conversation began to become louder as the inmates began to feel more awake.
"Did anyone get any sleep last night?" Hawkeye asked before yawning and stretching.
"Not a whole lot," BJ admitted, he too yawning as though it were contagious, "What time is it?" Looking at his watch he answered his own question, "Five a.m.? Another hour and I'll be on duty."
Hawkeye knew that something had been niggling at him, something that he had forgotten to do, say, ask, and this caused him to remember what it was. With some amount of tact, he asked, "hey, how come Potter's been forcing all these early shifts on you?"
"I told you, Pierce, Hunnicutt over there asked for the shifts, nothing was forced upon him," Charles said in a groggy voice, apparently having been awoken by the conversation.
So much for tact, Hawkeye thought to himself. BJ said, "Like Charles just said, I asked for the shifts." He knew that Hawkeye would ask why, it was the automatic question, and already BJ was beginning to plan the answer.
Hawkeye was at a loss for shrewdness, so he just came out with the question that he would have danced around and about, had he possessed the skill of doing so that early in the morning. "But why?"
BJ stopped for a moment, refusing to answer. That was when an explosive blast rocked and broke the silence.
All three in the Swamp covered their heads with their arms, and even after the noise had stopped, they were wary to look out, thinking at first that they were being shelled. When they did some seconds later, Hawkeye and BJ glanced at each other, and Hawkeye voiced what they were both thinking. "What the Hell was that?"
Charles dared glance out of the netting of his tent and gasped. "My God, the kitchen, it's ablaze!"
All three were out of their cots, into some boots and robes and out of the tent in mere seconds. Others had gathered outside to see what the commotion was about, and were at that moment being ordered to form a chain to deliver water from the tower, to extinguish the fire.
As this was being done, Colonel Potter found the three doctors. "Klinger and Igor are in there, I told them to fix the stove," he said breathlessly, his concern evident in his voice.
"We'll get them out," Hawkeye promised him, before he joined the others at the front of the chain to throw the water over the flames that licked at one wall of the kitchen.
With the help of the chain of water buckets being passed, the fire was soon under control, and Hawkeye and BJ could go into the smoke-filled room to search for Igor and Klinger.
BJ first stumbled across one of them quite literately, his boot brushing past something on the floor. "Hawk, I've found Igor," BJ called out, having enough light to see who it was, but not enough to determine the extent of injuries. He dragged him out of the room whilst Hawkeye continued to search.
"Klinger!" Hawkeye called, choking on the smoke as he did so. He searched almost blindly around the smoggy room, and after another minute found the Corporal slumped against some shelving in the corner, unconscious. "Come on, Klinger," Hawkeye said, shaking his shoulders slightly in the hope that he might get a response. Nothing. Hawkeye with ever more speed practically threw Klinger over his shoulder and jogged out of the room, with both care and speed. "Max, I hope you can hear me, I'm going to charge you for my hernia," he warned the unconscious Klinger.
Choking as he did so, Hawkeye lay Klinger down on the ground outside and began to check for injuries. He was beyond relief to find a pulse, and began to check the rest of him. "Concussion, smoke inhalation, and possible cracked ribs, I'll need a stretcher and an x-ray," he called to anyone without a job.
Colonel Potter listened and breathed a sigh of relief, glad to know for now that the injuries were not life threatening, and even more glad to know that Klinger was alive to see another day. He headed over to where BJ and Charles were tending to Igor's injuries, a situation that did not seem so good.
"Second degree burns to the arms, I need a cloth and water here, stat," BJ shouted furiously, knowing that time was of the essence. Margaret had prepared for this possible situation, and presented him with the required items almost immediately. BJ lightly ran water over the raw red areas of skin with the wet cloth whilst Charles checked the rest of the injuries.
"Concussion, abrasion and contusion to the left temple, smoke inhalation, no broken bones," he said, rattling off the symptoms efficiently. "A stretcher here, take him straight to Post-Op and continue to immerse the burns in clean, cold water."
Colonel Potter slowed his pace as he walked beside Klinger's stretcher, before he totally stopped and let events take place around him as the shock began to sink in. The adrenaline that had compelled him to give orders and organise everyone so efficiently just those moments ago had gone, and he was left standing, wondering how on earth such chaos could take place so early in the day. "If this is what sunup is like, I can't wait for sundown," he said to himself, before clearing his head and driving his feet to go forward and take him to Post-Op, where he could look in on the newest patients.
~~~~
Note: Thanks for all my reviews, I'm glad you like what I'm writing, keep reading! Frankie - this idea refused to leave me alone so I had to play with it, but I will be getting back to the Against All Odds series as soon as I'm done with this, don't worry!