Sorry for the delay on this chapter. I did not have time to write this weekend, so this is only a short chapter. As for the questions pointed out in the reviews, my answer is: I agree, those are good questions...what do you think? IS he the same Carter...or is he NOT?
In diesem Kapitel gibt es noch mal Schultz, aber spricht er denn auf Deutsch. Ich versuchte ihn mit 'ner Bayrischer Akzent auf zu reden. Hoffenlich geht das.
I promise the story does pick up next chapter and things get a LOT more interesting...
-HH- -EKvH- -HH- EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-
As Hogan entered the barracks, he saw that Carter was lying on his side facing the wall. He briefly considered talking to the kid, but quickly dismissed it. He was an officer, and not only that, a colonel. It was doubtful that the boy would open up to someone who had the power to bust him even lower. I'll let Kinch continue to work with him. It sounds like he's already opened up a bit. This better not be a kraut trick, because toying with our emotions like this should be outlawed by the Geneva Convention somewhere. Hogan sighed and leaned against the bunk nearest the common-room table and watched Kinch and Newkirk play cards.
"I seem to remember saying keep your hands on the table where I can see them." Kinch looked slightly displeased.
"'Ey, I 'ave been. But when a man's gotta itch 'is back, a man's gotta itch it."
"And magically appear back with two Aces?"
"'Ey. I resent 'at."
"It's true. Because well," Kinch laid his hand down on the table. "I already have those aces."
"When did ya get observant an' clever?"
"Why, working with you of course, Peter. You have thought me much in the art of observation." Kinch grinned.
"Oh. Well then ya should thank me, and give me ya chips in payment." Newkirk returned the grin.
"Uh-uh. I won fair and square." The bickering quickly turned to light-hearted insults about England and America. Hogan couldn't help but smile as the two friends joked back and forth.
Finishing his cup of hot water, when are the Red Cross packages gonna get here, Hogan walked slowly to his office, where he started to pace in a steady manner until Sergeant Schultz showed up to announce lights out.
Hogan paused a moment in his pacing as he heard the usual playing bickering between guard and prisoners as Schultz turned off the lights. His room suddenly became dark, and he sighed, resigning to go to bed. At least we don't have a mission tonight. It would be hard to explain our absence to Carter. Unless of course he remembers that we are the ones who helped him escape out of Germany. Hogan climbed into bed. I wonder what happened to him after he left…Hogan pondered different scenarios in his mind as he drifted to sleep.
-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-
"AAAAAAH! AAAAAAH! NOOOOOOO! STEEEEVE! AAAAAH! NOOOO!" CRASH! The sound of screaming and a body smashing to the floor woke every member of barracks two. Hogan raced out of his office to find a still screaming Sergeant Carter, still apparently in a nightmare thrashing on the floor, Newkirk and Kinch were trying to console and wake up the terrified kid.
"Andrew! Andrew! Wake up! It's only a dream! Newkirk shook his shoulder.
"Come-on, Andrew. It's okay. You're safe. Wake-up!" Kinch tried to pull him to his feet.
"Was is' hia denn los! (What's going on here!)" Schultz swung the door wide open. His eyes taking a moment to adjust. "Colonel Hogan…Why aren't your men in bed…?"
"Nightmare, Schultz. We have it under control. Don't worry."
"Boy. It sounds like a bad one. Poor Carter. Did he fall out of bed?"
"Yes Schultz." Hogan started to escort Schultz out of the barracks. The rest of the men excluding Kinch, Newkirk, and Carter headed themselves back to bed.
"My middle child would fall out of bed sometimes. Very painful. We put up bars. Put him on the lower bunk. That way he doesn't hurt himself. He didn't hurt himself…did he?"
"Not badly. Thank you for the suggestion, Night Schosie." To be honoust, Hogan hadn't gotten a chance to check. He prayed that Carter wasn't seriously hurt. But the whole barracks shook when he fell. Hogan walked over, afraid of the answer. "How badly is he hurt?"
"Not too badly, colonel. He's got a nasty bruise on his forehead here. And will probably have one mother of a headache tomorrow. And Wilson should probably take a look at his arm. Other than that, I'm guessing he's fine." Kinch whispered. Carter was sleeping now on Newkirk's lower bunk.
"Newkirk, if it's alright with you, I am not ordering, but highly suggesting Carter have the bottom bunk for a few days."
"Not a problem Colonel. If it saves me from 'aving to find a 'chute for 'im in the dark, that's fine by me." Newkirk crawled up onto the top bunk. Hogan rolled his eyes, though no one could see in the dark.
"Good. Then let's all get some sleep."
-HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH- -HH- -EKvH-
There was a quiet yet collective sigh as the men settled back down to sleep. Newkirk was just starting to relax when he heard some mumbling below him. You 'ave got to be bloody jokin'… popping his head over the side and starring down at the sleeping figure he saw Carter fidgeting in his sleep again. Turning his head, he saw Kinch, who was the next nearest bunk, pop himself up on one elbow und shrug.
"Should we wake 'im?" Newkirk whispered.
"I dunno. Maybe listen? Perhaps we can get info outta him? I'm not sure…" Kinch wasn't sure, all he really wanted to do was sleep, seeing he didn't have to man the radio that night.
"…Jimmy…..…... .run…..…. goes BOOM…..… Snoopy…... Jimmy…. but I don't wanna go to school…. the chem lab went boom….. sorry mom… .feed Snoopy…. drafted…. taken prisoner…. yes feed Snoopy…. sorry Sir, no more explosions… .feed Snoopy, yes Mom…. Don't let Snoopy in, Jimmy, we don't want him to lick the nitro-glycerine, Watch out Jimmy, Messerschmitts! Run! Germans! No! Steve! Jimmy! No! Aaaah! Aaaah! No!" Carter started screaming again.
"Just as things were getting' interestin'. I was 'oping to find out 'o Snoopy was." Newkirk hopped out of bed and started shaking Carter again. "Wake up, mate! Time to feed Snoopy!" Carter's eyes flew open.
"Snoopy! Oh no! Mom will kill me!"
"That's better." Newkirk smiled down at the confused Carter. Carter looked up at him puzzled.
"Why are you in my bedroom?" Newkirk turned to Kinch and rolled his eyes.
"'E must 'ave 'it 'is 'ead 'arder than we thought." Sighing, he turned back to Carter. "I'm not in your bedroom, Andrew. I'm the good dream fairy. I'm 'ere to take all your bad dreams away and give you good ones. Wha's your favourite thing ta dream about?"
"Oh." Carter pondered this for a moment. His head was throbbing in his ears like a squadron of B-17s dropping a load of bombs, and he felt like he was trying to think through all the noise. Shutting his eyes, he tried not to think. "Mary Jane." He finally answered.
"Mary Jane?" Newkirk asked.
"Yeah. My girl."
"And wha' do ya like to dream about with 'er?"
"Well, that we invent things, and get to explore the states." Carter yawned. "For a dream fairy, you're not very good at this." That wasn't the answer Newkirk, or Kinch were expecting.
"Oh well, sorry. The real dream fairy was unable to make a 'ouse call. 'Ow 'bout ya dream of you an' ya girl creatin' a way to fly all around the states on a magic carpet. And you can 'ave a picnic in the air. Sound nice?"
"Yeah….nice…" Carter mumbled and drifted off to sleep. Kinch's eyebrows rose. He was amazed.
"I'm, I'm impressed. More like stunned."
"Well, I 'ave a little sister. She used ta-"
"Hey dream fairy, mind keeping it down? There are those of us actually trying to sleep here." A voice whispered from somewhere in the darkness.
"Sorry. We can't see ya, so we forgot ya were there." Newkirk announced in return.
"Ok, ok people. Enough. Now everyone go to sleep." Kinch defused the situation before crawling himself back into bed. From the doorway observing the situation, Hogan watched his men crawl back into bed. He felt so helpless watching his newest charge struggle, like all of them had, with the nightmares that accompany life as a POW. Sighing, he returned to his office, pacing as the screams of Carter had brought back his own nightmares of being shot down. Sleep would not be coming tonight.