Here we are with another one. Enjoy it while it lasts!

And again, thank you for ignoring me completely except for Animesoul and Hypermint, whom I thank for not ignoring. What a wonderfully grateful guy I am, you wonder!

Chapter 33

I did not know what to do. I did not know where to go. I did not know what to feel. All I could come up with was anger. At this war. At Dad. At Col. Potter. At Radar. But I was angry at myself the most. Why did I have to screw things up like this? And if I had to, why the hell could I not handle them?

What if I were a plumber? What if I worked on a real assembly line in Detroit? Or an oil refinery? They wouldn't have drafted me, right?

You don't know that.

WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW??

Nothing!

I know nothing.

Attention all personnel. This just came in. UN forces and North Korea have reached an agreement that says that 38th Parallel is the new Line of Demarcation. This is considered a major breakthrough and to celebrate this ostentatious occasion, dinner will not be served tonight.

Great!

Took them a year and a half to define the borders. How long before they decide to cease fire? To stop killing each other? Killing us?

I will never get out of here.

No, Sir!

I am not getting out of this war alive. I just know I am not.

Have you ever felt this lousy?

No. Never.

What are you going to do about it?

I don't know!

Who knows?

I don't know!

This will not get fixed on its own.

Thank you for your reassuring presence!

The expanse in front of me could have been anywhere in the US. Why did it have to be so far away? Why did it have to be in the middle of a war? Why did I have to be in the middle of a war? This could have been somewhere in the foothills of Appalachians or Rockies. Or Smoky Mountains. Or It could have been anywhere but it had to be Korea.

I had to do something, anything to stop me from going crazy. I thought I could fix it with the call. I thought I could call Olivia first because I knew my Dad. He would never go back to her after humiliating her emotions on my account. But Col. Potter had to butt in. And Radar had to be the most efficient company clerk in the history of efficient company clerks.

I couldn't do anything and that was the fact.

There has to be something...

"Hawkeye!" I was startled. It was Father Mulcahy.

"Uh, Hi, Father!"

"We have been looking all over for you. Didn't you hear the PA announcements?"

"Just the one about 38th Parallel. Why?"

"Col. Potter went to examine you and did not see you in your tent and sounded the alarm bells. And this news is a few days old, I have been told."

"Why the alarms? I am not six. No offense, Father, but I want to be alone right now." The concern infuriated me to no limit. It was the same concern that just made my life a whole lot more difficult than it really was only an hour ago.

"Hawkeye, its cold. Can you please be alone in your own tent?"

"No Father. Its not that cold. And I don't want anything to do with the camp right now. Please leave me be and don't send troops after me. I am all grown up and don't need this concern!"

"I cannot. Whether you like it or not, we ARE family and I am concerned about you, just like everybody else whether you need it or not."

"FINE! Then I will leave!" And with that, I stormed off.

Back at camp, everybody had turned in. It was getting dark already.

I saw the man I was looking for.

"RIZZO! I need a vehicle with snow tires. NOW."

"Hello Cap'n Pierce. Col. Potter has ordered all personnel to stay put till weather clears..."

"Rizzo, I was not asking you. I need a vehicle. Either you give it or I take it myself." His reluctance only helped me reach a decision quicker. I went towards motorpool and found what I needed. Good thing nobody tried to stop me. I was not sure where I was going but I knew I was not staying put.

Not very smart, I thought. But I had used up all the smart I had in one day and was interested in finding out what 'stupid' would do for me.

The road had gotten bumpier over past few weeks. I remembered my last trip down the same track and just knew where I wanted to go.

The Korean Family with a permanently surprised look and my little exchange with them about whether the kid knew where Uijeongbu was.

Does she know where Uijeongbu is?

Uijeongbu?

Oh, Great!

I could never forget that fearfully comic situation. I felt cracking of the stiff facial muscles as I couldn't help but smile.

Road conditions demanded my full and undivided attention and kept my mind off of everything else in the world. Even with effort, I could not focus on anything but keeping the wheels on the road.

Hardly five miles out, I saw the first road block.

"Yes Sergeant." I asked nicely from the Sgt. who approached me.

"Can I see your identification please?" Of course there was no caduceus and no captain's bars. All I had were my dogtags and a lot of verbal manipulation.

"Captain Benjamin Pierce, 4077 MASH. There is a medical emergency down in one of the Korean aid stations and they requested help. I am a surgeon and need to get there as soon as possible." I showed him my dogtags and the verbal waltz, whatever blitzed him was anybody's guess.

"We are not aware of any Korean medical stations in nearby areas."

"Maybe you need to talk to your superiors. Meanwhile, every minute you waste might mean a wasted life so let me through and save a few lives!"

Reluctantly they let me through. I could have tried the around-the-roadblock routine but in this weather, that was positively counterproductive, someone from Basic shouted in my ear.

My first victory in days and my first real action in a very long time filled me with a new energy. I considered the possibility that the family had already fled the area because of some heavy fighting in the area a few weeks back but with two sick kids and a new baby, I hoped they hadn't. And then felt guilty. That was the worst thing they could have done, staying there. How come I never thought of this before? I could have sent someone...

The huts were dark and lifeless. They had been bombed. I stopped the jeep recklessly and got off, falling spectacularly. Could have been funny had the situation not been so grave suddenly. Rubbing my shoulder and side of head, remembering the similar albeit less severe injuries those many weeks ago, I entered the closest hut. The roof was gone and there was not a single living soul. The upside was, there was no possession of theirs lying around either. That meant they packed and left and did not have to hurry out of here. I could live with that. But the spark of life, of hope, that I came looking for never materialized.

Somewhat dejectedly, I returned to the jeep and turned it around to go back to the camp I was escaping. Col. Potter would definitely tear me a new one. I could see his doleful eyes full of disappointment. And then there was BJ. And Margaret. And of course Father Mulcahy.

The checkpost was still there when I got there.

"Back already?"

"You were right. It was someone's way of playing April Fool's Day on me. And to think I left a patient on the table to attend to this emergency."

"Of course! Some people just love to make a fool out of you. If I were you, I would hurry back. Your commander has sent an APB all over Korea for a fugitive."

"Of course Sgt. I shall get going. Who knows where that idiot is hiding and what he might do. So long!" And with that I amscrayed. A Sgt. with a funny bone. He belonged in Smithsonian's. Or American Museum of Natural History. Or unnatural history, perhaps.

P.S. Next one will be up soon since my Beta has a life, unlike me and cannot review the chapters I sent her/him where as I keep writing them!