Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Price They Paid ❯ campfires Pt. II ( Chapter 5 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Campfires Pt. II.

Heero gathered up all the dropped packs and, with a sharp eye on the approaching fire, efficiently
made up a single pack of the things he knew would be most useful. Draden would have been
startled at what he kept. The only things he left behind were the extra sleeping bags, tents and
every stitch of clothing except for what he was wearing and a jacket. He kept all the food and
water, the GPS/radio, map, a tent and sleeping bag. He tossed almost all the cookware, keeping a
billy can and a fry pan. The pack had to weigh in at over a hundred pounds.

He was carrying enough food for one person for two weeks and water for eight days. The streams
were potable, if they weren't fouled by ashes.

He followed his nose more or less and headed away from the fire. That put him headed north and
up hill. When he topped the first ridge, he heard the chopper coming back. Unfortunately, there
was no place for it to land and the winds made it impossible for them to drop him a device of any
kind. The chance of it being blown into the rotors was too great. He watched as the navigator
used hand signals to try to talk to him but they were too far away for him to see clearly. He
waived them off but they hovered anyway. Finally, he put the pack down and searched until he
found the GPS. He tried the radio but they weren't on the same frequency, then he saw that it had
a mirror inside the cover. He flipped it over and used flash code to signal them that he was ok
and he was going to walk out. The chopper left him again after the pilot eyeballed him.

Heero turned back to the edge of the ridge and took a good look around, he was looking
especially for a way around the fire. There wasn't one.

Suddenly the radio beeped. When he answered it, he found that he was connected with the central
command unit in charge of fire fighting.

"Who is this? Dispatch over."

"Winner-Yuy, Heero. Over."

"Not Draden? Over."

"No. Over."

"Where's Draden? Over."

"He and all the others took off in the rescue unit. Over."

"Damnit, what are you doing with the radio? . . . over."

[[Heero, answer the unasked questions.]]

"There was a misscommunication and the chopper took off without me. 01 over."

"Where are you? Over."

Heero read off the latitude and longitude to the man and waited for him to find his location on his
map.

"You're on top of devils backbone. Wait. Dispatch out."

The radio went dead but Heero was willing to wait. He had communication with someone who
could get him information on the fire and the best ways to avoid it. They seemed very
professional, the dispatcher not forgetting radio conventions even though he was obviously upset.
He was safe for now, so he decided to eat and drink while he waited.

He had a mouth full of dry rations when the radio beeped again

"Oh-one."

"Excuse me? Dispatch."

"Sorry. I'm here. Oh-one over."

"Well, yeah. You're in good shape. Draden is having a fit. He's going to have to take the other
boys back to the facility. The sheriff knows what happened, so you aren't in any trouble with the
law. In fact that other boy is . . . "

Heero cut the man off saying sharply " I don't care about that. I'll handle that when the time
comes. How any reasonable person could possibly think this is my fault, I don't know. Just tell
me where to go to get out of the way of that fire. Oh-one over."

"You're awfully calm about all this. Dispatch over."

"Want to deal with a hysterical kid? Oh-one."

"No. Look, all this yackking isn't getting us anywhere. You know how to handle a GPS and
map? Dispatch."

"Yes. Oh-one."

"Ok, here's where you go." The dispatcher gave Heero a set of coordinates and finished, "It's all
private property. You'll be leaving the park the minute you go over the ridge behind you. Keep to
the trails and don't cut any fences. Ok? Over."

"Yes, Sir. It's all clear. I'll give you an ETA in a few. Over."

"You can't get in touch with us once you go over that ridge. It's out of our radio range.
Dispatch."

"All GPS have satellite up link. Oh-one."

"Affirmative. But that GPS is a cheapie. The radio isn't sat. link. Dispatch."

"Damn."

"Do you know how to change the frequency? Dispatch."

"Yes. Oh-one."

"I'll give you a list of frequencies. Got a pencil? Dispatch."

"Negative, but I'll remember. Oh-one."

"Yeah, right, but here goes." The dispatcher gave Heero a list of frequencies for the sheriff and
highway patrol, ending. "Got an ETA yet? Dispatch."

"Negative. Back to you in five minutes. I need to check the map. Oh-one out."

Heero sat back with the map and GPS, figured out a route that stayed with the marked trails and
headed as straight as possible to the given coordinates.

"Oh-one to dispatch. Do you read? Over."

"Here, Oh-one. Got that ETA for me? Dispatch."

"Affirmative. Forty-eight hours hard march or ninety-six if I sleep. Over"

"Boy, you're crazy. I got the sheriff to mark out a route for you. We'll drop it to you. It'll take
you seven days to make it by the best route. Dispatch."

"Don't bother, I set it out by the shortest route by the marked trails. I've been up for ten hours
now. If I stay here for the rest of the day and night, the fire will be past me. I can start out at gray
dawn and it'll take me forty-eight hours to make the trip. I don't need to sleep. I can make a
forced march and be at pickup in forty-eight, I repeat, forty-eight hours. Over."

"Sheriff Haskins here. Do not. I repeat, do not make a forced march. You are not, repeat not
AWOL. You are not in trouble with us. Take your time. We do not, repeat not want you to force
yourself past your limits. Over."

Heero sat for a minute and digested that.

"Oh-one here. Affirmative on no forced march. I'll be one hundred sixty eight hours plus or
minus two hours. I'll be traveling from these coordinates through . . . " Heero gave the sheriff a
complete list of the coordinates he was going to use as trip markers. "I'll be in deep forrest for
most of the trip. There are no places to pick me up between here and the appointed pick up. oh-
one over."

"Dispatch here. We want to eye ball you as often as possible. What are you wearing? Dispatch
over."

Heero had a very odd feeling, he'd never had to give out such information before and it made
him hesitate

"Dispatch to Oh-one. You still there? Dispatch."

"Affirmative. Oh-one here. I'm wearing denim jeans, denim jacket, and dark green short sleeved
t-shirt. Black work boots. Over."

"Damn. You don't have anything bright orange, red, or yellow, do you? Dispatch."

"Negative. Oh-one."

"Any signaling device? Over."

"A mirror. Over."

"If you hear a fly by, flash them. Over."

"Affirmative. Over and out."

"Good luck. Dispatch out."

Heero climbed over the ridge and worked his way down the other side. After a few minutes walk,
he found a place to camp. He set up the tent and made his camp carefully. He wouldn't make a
fire. It was too dry and he didn't want fire on this side of the ridge, especially if it was his fault.
So he made a cold camp and ate ration bars and drank hot chocolate, courtesy of Draden's heat
tabs. He'd found several of them in his pack. They were one of the reasons he'd kept the flat billy
can cup. Right now he really wanted the little pack stove he'd tried to bring.

The next morning he crawled out of the tent to an overcast sky and chill dew. He packed up and
ate ration bars on the move. Then he stuck a heat tab to the side of the billy and dumped cocoa
mix in it. The cold water didn't mix very well but he knew when it got hot it would stir up. He
held the cup as he walked, having little trouble keeping it level even on the rough trail. [This is
going to be a cake walk. I can't believe they're telling me to take a full seven days to make this
hike. Cushy. Seven days? *snort*]

He hiked in, what was for him, a leisurely fashion until noon, then he stopped and settled down
to eat an MRE. Heero sighed, this was really what he'd been hoping for when the warden
[Headmaster my ass] said he was going camping. Not even running from a fire was going to ruin
this. The weather was good. The nights were chill but not frigid, when the sun came up and the
fog and dew burned away it was almost hot. He knew he was going to have to be careful not to
burn. The sun at this altitude was a lot stronger than you might expect.

Opening his MRE Heero saw that it was Beef Stroganoff, not his favorite, but good. He wasn't
sure why they put hot chocolate [excuse me. Chocolate flavored hot beverage powder] in it but
he was happy to be able to sit down and eat without having to set perimeters and worry about
being shot at. There was also a piece of pound cake for desert. He wished Duo was there to offer
to trade for his fruit cup. They always seemed to wind up with Heero trading Duo his cake for
Duo's fruit.

At the thought of Duo Heero felt a tightening in his chest. It hurt that he wasn't going to get to
see Duo, maybe after a while he could come visit. He didn't realize how close they'd come, only
missing each other by the turn of a head. If the pilot had seen his group, he and Duo would have
been in the same chopper.

He finished his lunch and got back on the trail, he checked his map and GPS. He was making
good time and had cut at least three hours off his ETA so far.

He felt good, strong and confident. This was going to be easy, easier than any mission had ever
been.

Late afternoon saw Heero coming to his first exchange point. The point where he had to change
trails. This one was the hardest of them, he hadn't told the Sheriff but he was going to have to
ford a stream. The water was cold and running fast. He managed to make the ford without
wetting his pack, but every stitch of clothing he had on was wet. He looked at the sun and since it
was high he knew he had time to strip off and put them out to dry.

When the chopper flew over he just waved, completely forgetting he was nude. The pilot flew
over again and dropped a capsule. Heero picked it up and found a map and a small flare gun.
The note told him to follow the trail on the map and not to use the flare gun unless he was injured
so badly that he was unable to travel.

When Heero looked at the map the trails the sheriff marked were almost the same as the one's
he'd marked except he was to make a four mile detour to get to a bridge over the river. But that
detour would put him way too close to the fire for his comfort. He was glad he'd already forded
the stream before he got the map. He wasn't good a disobeying orders.

Heero lounged in the sun and checked his clothing. He enjoyed the simple activity of sitting in
the sun thinking about nothing in particular. He knew he was going to have to make up some
time but since he was ahead of his ETA he wouldn't have to push too much. He didn't realize
that the sheriff had allowed him a week to hike out thinking his confidence was misplaced. And
the pilot seeing him naked was going to cause some consternation back at the HQ. If he'd heard
the sheriff cursing, he'd have laughed.

But as it was, he didn't know any of this so he didn't worry about it. Instead he set himself a pace
that he could keep up all day without strain and started down the mountain again.

He traveled for the rest of the afternoon and near dusk started looking for a place to camp again.
He knew he was going to have trouble for the next two days. There was little level ground and no
safe place to make a fire. So, instead of even trying, Heero made cold camp again and just set his
tent, put out the sleeping bag and went to sleep the minute the sun went down.

He maintained this routine for the next two days and made three more exchange points, they
were all easy all he had to do was make the right turn. Late the afternoon of the third day he had
to make the second hardest exchange. He wondered if the sheriff knew that this exchange was a
free climb down a forty foot cliff (He didn't).

Heero sat on the edge of the cliff and enjoyed the updraft that blew his hair into his eyes and
tugged at his shirt. He took stock of the next part of the trail. He could see quite a bit of it from
were he was sitting. After he got down the cliff he was going to be in flat country and the trail
was hard packed and clearly marked. This was the part the sheriff hadn't understood. When he
was on flat ground Heero could maintain a pace of six miles an hour for up to thirty hours
without rest. And that was taking it easy. If he really pushed it he could travel for several days
snatching naps as he could and eating on the run.

Heero took his time climbing down the cliff, he didn't want to fall. He probably would break at
least one bone and he didn't want to break a leg. Duo would have a fit. He still nagged about him
setting his leg himself.

At the bottom he checked his map and realized if he pushed it just a little he could spend the
night in a line shack that belonged to the ranch he was on. It was going to be a long hard haul but
he thought it would be worth it because he could spend the next day there resting and, dare he,
fooling around a little.

He made the line shack sooner than he had though he would because the trail was so smooth.
When he got there, he saw that it was a one room building constructed of logs but it was well
chinked and weather tight. There was a pan instead of a sink and the running water was him
running for water, but all in all, it was nice. The stove was well maintained and there was wood
for it. There wasn't any food but he had plenty and the water barrel was full, so he'd didn't have
to go for water.

There was a note on the table underneath a cup.

"If you use the shack. Please refill the wood box and water barrel. The stove draws hard so don't
use too much wood or you'll roast yourself out. Water comes from the creek down the hill.
Please leave it like you found it. The men who use this shack work hard and don't deserve to
have to fill up before they can rest.

Thank you."

Heero made up a fire and put some water on to boil. He was going to have a hot meal and a warm
wash before he went to bed. When he got up, he was going to waste a day exploring the area
around the shack. He just hoped he didn't get in trouble when the sheriff found out.

The stream at the foot of the path was wide but shallow, except in one spot, where a Willow had
been uprooted. The tree was still alive, just nearly flat to the ground. The top showed that it had
been down for several years at least, it had started to grow upright again. Where the root ball had
been was a deep hole shaded by the still living tree. Heero eyed the spot eagerly. [I wonder if
there are any fish in there.]

Heero made four trips to the stream and filled the water barrel completely. He also took the time
to chop all the wood in the wood pile and stack it neatly, ready for the next man to use. He had
no idea that he was doing something that no one else would have thought of. Most people who
used the place only replaced what they used.

The water was warm by the time Heero was finished. He made up his dinner and put it back on
the stove to stay hot while he took a hobo bath using the wash pan and a piece of soap he found
on the shelf beside it. When he was sufficiently clean that he didn't feel like a walking mud ball
he sat down at the table to eat. He finished eating and made sure that all his packaging was put
into the stove to burn and turned to the bed.

There was only one but it was nice. It was made of local small logs pegged together to make a
full size bed with a soft mattress and clean sheets. Heero slipped between them and pulled the
blankets up. He snuggled down and curled up, falling asleep almost at once. His last thought was
that Duo would love this place.

Morning found Heero rooting through his pack looking for coffee. He knew there were some real
coffee grounds in there somewhere. He'd made sure to keep it, hoping for a chance to enjoy it
somewhere along his path back to civilization.

"Ha! Thought you could hide from me did you. I'll have you know I've found eels far more
slippery than a package of coffee." Heero smiled, if Duo knew he talked to himself he'd have a
heyday. He made coffee in the pot he took off the shelf that served the shack as storage. It was
good to have every thing where he could see it. He felt somehow that rummaging through this
place's secrets was wrong.

Breakfast was a thing of beauty to Heero. He had spaghetti and meat balls and didn't have to feel
guilty because he was eating dinner for breakfast. He liked spaghetti, he had to smile at the
thought of what Quatre would say, never mind J; who would have punished him for breaking
routine. He wondered vaguely if J was really dead and decided if he wasn't and showed his face
he soon would be.

After carefully cleaning the dishes and sweeping out the shack Heero made a leisurely,
wandering trip back to the stream. He stopped to look at some columbine and picked a plant that
he'd never seen before. He'd press it in the map and look it up when he got back. His wanderings
took him to the base of the willow tree and he examined the pool carefully. He was delighted to
see that there were several fat trout in the waters. He watched them for some time, simply
enjoying their sleek rainbowed sides and the slow sculling of their fins.

Looking at the sun he decided it was time to catch his lunch and get ready to take to the trail early
the next morning. So he lay down on his stomach and put his hand in the water. He waited for a
little while then began gently wiggling his fingers. Finally one of the fish noticed and came over
to investigate this possible source of food. He grabbed the fish and knocked it in the head, killing
it instantly.

He took it back to the shack and carefully gutted it, absently wishing for some bacon. But not
having any he made do with some crisco from a can on the shelf. He fried the fish with salt and
pepper. He knew Quatre would have done something elegant with lemon and such, but he was
satisfied with salt, pepper and appetite. He took the plate out onto the porch and sat on the bench
against the wall. Taking his time he ate, looked around, and watched the sky. The single fish was
just enough to fill him up. He opened one of the MRE's and took out the cake, after thinking
about it for a while he ripped the package open and took out the confection. Then he poked
around int the meal pouch until he found the fruit. He put the cake on a plate and dumped the
fruit over it. After the first tentative taste he had to exert some control to keep from bolting the
whole thing in a few bites. [[Heero, don't eat it like you're afraid someone will take it. Small
bites . . . chew well . . . makes it seem like more than it is.]]

More dish washing and cleaning still left Heero with plenty of time to go through the pack and
reorganize it so he could find things again. He couldn't believe how quickly a pack could turn
into a disorganized bundle of junk. Heero finished his self-appointed tasks, and after making sure
the water barrel really was full, as well as the wood box, he went to bed early. [Early to bed and
early to rise drives Duo Maxwell out of his mind.]

"Morning. Damn. Well . . . I'd better get going. And break the habit of talking to myself. They'll
think I'm insane."

Heero made a mental note to quit that and made a breakfast of an energy bar and hot tea flavored
beverage power, grimacing at the taste. [I can see why they don't call it tea.] He hit the trail as
early as he could safely see. He wasn't about to chance an injury at this point. He decided he was
bored and so he set a pace that would have had a good horse lathered. He stopped twice before
noon to use the GPS and map to make sure he wasn't going off course. Noon saw him several
miles closer to his objective and he heard a chopper hovering. It was still impossible for the
chopper to pick him up. The scrub and young trees made an impenetrable layer overhead. They
could see him but there was no way to drop him a line or land to pick him up. He flashed them
that he was fine and they shouldn't waste resources checking up on him. He got a waggle and the
chopper flew away.

Deciding to use the radio was an exercise in futility. He was still too far away from the sheriff's
station. He could hear some of their broadcasts but it broke up so badly that he couldn't make
sense of it. He absently wondered how long it would take them to replace the antenna the fire had
destroyed and why they didn't just subscribe to satellite up links. That would be the most viable
option but if there was a lot of iron ore in the mountain rocks it wouldn't be possible.

As he ran, he worked over the problem of communication in his head and tried to find some way
to let Duo know he was safe. He was sure he was worried. If he knew what was going on that
was.

The chopper flew over again and dropped another capsule. It contained a rather extensive lecture
on wearing himself out for no reason and a bright orange jacket. It also contained several candy
bars and a list of frequencies that he was to try to tune the radio to. Heero felt stupid; he
remembered that the dispatcher had given him the same list. He wondered if he was losing his
mind. He'd never forgotten something so important before. Duo would rag him endlessly about
that. When he found out.

Heero took out the GPS and fiddled with the radio. After several tries he got a clear signal. It was
a little faint but very clear.

"Oh-one to Sheriff's Dispatch. Oh-one."

"Sheriff's Dispatch to Oh-one. Read you Five by Five Over"

"Read you 10-1. Over."

"You're in a dead spot. We have several antenna down. Over."

"10-4. How many are 10-7? Over."

"Every one on that side of the valley. 10-12 for five. Over."

Heero kept moving. He didn't see any need to stop when he was moving slowly over level
ground. The ridge he was on top of was fairly high ground but he was going to drop into a valley
soon. Which was going to make the going rougher as he would be on a down hill slope again.

"Sheriff Haskins here. Oh-one. What's your ETA? Over."

"My 10-77 is, at present, one hundred hours plus or minus four. Over."

"Damnit, boy, where did you learn all that ten crap. I'm elected, so you'll have to speak clear, or
I'm sunk. Over"

Heero smirked slightly, in his experience, elected officials were either very good or totally
incompetent. This guy sounded like the former.

"Sorry. My ETA is four days more or less. Probably much less. Over."

"You're not in trouble. Your people know that you didn't try to escape. Slow down. You'll kill
yourself. Over."

"I spent a full day resting up at that line shack. I'm good. Over."

"Damn, boy. How fast are you averaging? Over."

Heero did mental math.

"I'm covering approximately twenty miles a day. That's not even a marathon. If the terrain was
better I could cover more ground, but you said I didn't need to hurry so I'm not. Over."

"If you keep that up you'll be here by late afternoon tomorrow. Over."

"I'm not sure that's right. I'm at check point eight on your map. Over."

"Yeah. Well we moved the advance camp. Fire's moving away from you now and we moved
behind it." The sheriff gave Heero the new coordinates of the advance HQ and concluded his
transmission with a sharp, "Over."

"I'll re compute my ETA and be back in five. Over."

Heero stopped, fished the map out of its pocket, found the new advance HQ and realized that he
could make it by just after dark if he really pushed it.

"If I drop my pack and push hard I can be at your twenty by 9:00pm. Over."

"I told you not to do that. You lay over somewhere before it gets dark. Do not travel in bad light.
Do you read me? Over."

"Read you. 10-4 that. Will be making camp in. . . . " Heero quickly consulted his watch.
"approximately six hours. I'll be at your twenty by 10 p.m. tomorrow. That's going easy. Over."

"Son, I really hope you know what you're talking about. I don't want the headmaster coming
down on me because you show up in bad shape. Over"

"What does he care? Over and out."

"Boy, you have no idea. Over and out."

Heero spent a few seconds wondering about what the sheriff had said. He couldn't conceive of
the headmaster worrying about what shape he was in.

Little did either the sheriff or Heero know that he was going to be tested to the extreme very
soon.

Heero continued his hike, slowing down just because he could. He decided if the sheriff was that
adamant that he take his time, he was going to do exactly that, and really enjoy the hike. He
slowed to what was, for him, a crawl. He looked around, watched the clouds, the birds, he even
saw a chipmunk and took the time to stand and watch it for a while as it searched for seeds
among the rocks. He couldn't help feeling slightly guilty for dawdling around like this but Duo
would have told him out right, "'Ro if you're offered a free pass to fool around take it."

So Heero did. He dawdled and wandered, he actually went off the trail to look at a view and
again just to examine a plant. He started down hill moving off the crest of the ridge and down the
side into a valley. He had three more ridges to cross before he fell down into the valley. Then he
had another forty miles to go to make it to the sheriff's advance station. He didn't expect anyone
to do more than fly over from time to time as their flight plan allowed. He wasn't in any danger
so they would expect him to walk out himself.

When it started getting dark Heero started looking for a place to camp. He wasn't going to do
more than throw up his tent and sleep. Cold camp again. He had plenty of fire materials but he
still wasn't going to risk setting a new fire on this side of the main ridge. He didn't want to have
to run ahead of a fire.

The night went fast and Heero woke at first light, packed up, ate breakfast, and headed out again.
He was planning his route and speed as he traveled at a leisurely pace. He'd tried the radio but he
was out of range again and he wasn't too happy about that.

When he topped the first ridge he tried the radio and spoke with the dispatcher for a few minutes
filling her in on his 10-20 and 10-77. When she replied that his location and ETA were of great
interest to all the sheriffs' department he just gave her a 10-4 and cut communication. Then he
sat down on a rock and fished out a candy bar. He wasn't allowed candy when he was young,
Oden had discouraged eating it because it made his hands sticky and J hadn't allowed Heero
much that was fun. So now he ate two bars at once, savoring the sweet chocolate and caramel.
And he merrily cheated. He wasn't that fond of peanuts in chocolate, so he sucked the sweet
gooey chocolate and caramel off and spit them on the ground, making a chipmunk very happy.

After washing his hands in a near by stream and drinking some water from it, he struck out on the
next lap of his journey. There were still two ridges to cross and he knew that he wasn't going to
make it as far as he'd first planned. But he wasn't going to worry about it, the sheriff had told
him twice not to. He could talk to dispatch at the top of each ridge. When he finally got to the
bottom of the range, he would be in a larger valley, called a basin, where he was sure he would
be able to keep in constant radio contact.

He continued his trek for the next two hours and crested the second ridge. It was almost noon and
he was making slow but steady progress. He stopped to look out over the area from a good
vantage point. He'd had to make a detour and climb to get to it, but this detour saved his life.

What he saw had him swearing and groping for the radio. He called the dispatcher and told her
the fire had jumped the ridge line and was on this side of it.

"Oh-one are you sure? Over."

"Damnit Dispatch, I'm seventeen not seven. I know fire when it see it. And the fire has definitely
jumped the ridge and is in this valley. It's headed my way. Over."

"Is there any place to pick you up? Over."

"Negative. Sheriff Haskins would have sent a pick up if there was one. Over."

"I don't know what to tell you. Over."

"I'll tell you. I'm running ahead of the fire and I'm headed for Shadow Lake. It's my only
chance. Over."

"You can't make it. It's too far. It's also completely changing your route over."

"Yes I can. You don't know what I can do if I have to. Over"

"I'll tell the sheriff. Expect a fly over. Dispatch over."

"Won't do any good I tell you. there's no place to land. over"

"fly over for fire location. they'll check on you. over.

"I"ll put on the jacket you sent but don't expect to see me. over"

"Dispatch out"

"Oh one out."

Heero put the pack down and took out ration bars. Stuffing them into his pockets, he got out the
hydration pack that was part of the backpack and filled it with the water bottles. He hadn't
bothered before because he could stop to drink, now he wasn't going to have time. He filled it the
rest of the way at the stream, adjusted the straps to keep it from rubbing blisters, and started off.

He set a pace that wasn't too hard just yet, he was going to wait for the fly over before he decided
to, not exactly panic, he never did that; but perhaps get concerned was the right expression. So he
traveled fast but didn't put much strain on himself just yet. If he started smelling smoke, he was
going to push hard.

When the chopper flew by he waved but kept moving. The going was getting hard, as he was
jogging up hill. He was glad he'd taken it easy the last days, this was going to be a fast run over
bad terrain. The level, hard packed path was giving way to a rocky deer trail over rough terrain.
Heero wondered if there was a god somewhere who's only reason for existence was to make life
hard for Gundam pilots. Just then the chopper flew back by and dropped him another capsule.
The note in it gave him coordinates that sent him straight for Shadow Lake [I already figured that
out, tell me something I don't know.] and told him to go as fast as he could as the fire was
burning out of control and moving fast, it had 'crowned', gone into the tops of the trees. [Shit]

Heero gave up any hope of taking it easy, he stepped up his pace to a ground eating lope and set
his mind to keeping it up until he dropped from exhaustion. He didn't look very far down the
slope, he had to keep his eyes on his feet or he'd fall. So when he ran around a huge bolder and
nearly ran right over a bear he didn't bother to change directions. He just charged the bear with a
scream that made the bear back up, trying to figure out what that crazy human was up to. Heero
kept on running until he couldn't hear the bear, then he stopped for a five minute breather.
[Damn, just what I need. A pissed off bear on my trail.] But he didn't hear the bear coming after
him. Actually the bear wasn't interested in Heero, it was only interested in getting away from the
fire. It kept on its way too.

The fire jumped the stream and made its way down the mountain side, building in intensity as it
got further from the frost line. The further down the mountain it got; the denser the growth, the
more fuel it had to burn. The more fuel; the faster it burned and it burned hotter. So while Heero
was running up hill, he was moving down the mountain side, farther from the frost line and into a
fuel rich environment.

Topping the last ridge late in the afternoon Heero took the time to check on the fire's progress.
His heart fell into his boots, the fire was making it way down the last ridge, which put it no more
than three miles behind him. Way too damn close for comfort. He was going to have to run or
burn.

He set a pace that would have driven many men to their knees in the first hour. Holding the GPS
in his hand he used it to keep himself on the correct heading and ran. The fire was catching up to
him slowly but surely, he wasn't sure he was going to make it to shadow lake before the fire
made it to him. [Fuck. Duo I wish I'd told you I love you more often. I always thought that if we
made it through the war there'd be plenty of time]

The chopper flew over to check on him again. This time it was a different one. Heero looked at it
and identified it as coming from the sheriffs department instead of forestry service. It had a bull
horn and he heard the sheriffs voice.

"Son you better put some speed on. That fire is traveling at a good four miles an hour and
jumping the ridge. We can't find anyplace to pick you up. I'm sorry. We'll keep checking on you
and trying to find a pick up. God be with you."

Heero didn't bother to do more than wave at them. He concentrated on keeping his feet on the
rapidly worsening trail. The trails he'd been on had been worked over for tourists, but the trails
leading to Shadow Lake weren't tourist trails. They were merely deer trails that humans had
taken over, marked out on maps, and used because they were there.

The trails to Shadow Lake were marked with the line for fair. Heero stopped for a quick drink,
GPS check and a look at the map. He decided that whoever had classified the trail was a blasted
optimist or hated hikers. The trails were terrible to down right nonexistent. But he kept on. He'd
run through deep forrest without trails with Oz breathing down his neck, he could do this. He
wasn't going to live through a war in order to be killed by a damn fire, no matter how big it was.

The fire was breathing down the back of his neck when he reached really flat ground. The trees
were thicker, which was actually good, as there wasn't so much underbrush to deal with, but the
fire was traveling in the tops of the trees still. It was making a sound like a freight train, creating
its own winds, and generally making life miserable for Heero. The smoke was choking and ash
swirled in the winds, blowing into his eyes and nose, making breathing even more difficult.

His final run was accomplished by dodging trees until he made it into the clearing surrounding
the lake. He'd covered more ground in a five hour run than he'd planned on covering in two full
days. He emerged at a point where the tree line was approximately half a mile from the lake, but
the trees came right down to the lake in several places and the grass was dry, no more than tinder.
Heero knew that his first impulse had been correct. He had to make it to the lake and get in the
water before the fire reached him. He heard the chopper fly over and wished absently that the
pilot would quit. The wash from the rotors was blowing smoke, ash, and sparks over him. The
pilot realized what was happening and moved away. Heero realized that he was still trying to find
a way to pick him up, endangering the chopper and himself. A wave off made the chopper move
away, but not far. Heero waved him off again and pointed to the fire, still running. The pilot left
after another eyeball.

Heero made it to the lake just ahead of the fire and waded into the water, then swam out until he
was at least fifteen feet from the shore line. He could still touch bottom but he had plenty of
depth to hide in and that was exactly what he did. As the fire swept over the lake, Heero
submerged completely, watching the fire sweep over the surface of the water. He held his breath
until he saw black spots dancing in his vision, then he came up ready to duck back under if he
had to. But the fire was gone. He looked around and sighed. the lake was still fairly clean and
there were a few animals in it but the fire had burned every tree around.

Heero swam to the opposite bank and climbed out. This was not good. The lake on this side was
drinkable, so he filled the water pack. When he looked around, he realized that although the trees
were burned there was still no place for the chopper to land. The smoking trunks of the burned
trees were still upright. He just hoped the chopper pilot would be more careful, he didn't want a
cinder in his eye or a spark down the back of his neck.

Both the GPS and the map were water proof and luckily the ration bars were individually
wrapped. That meant that he was still in fair shape. He was wet, but he was on the down hill side
of the lake. The trails were good, but there was no cover from the sun. he wasn't going to find a
place to sleep tonight. The fire had made the ground too hot to sleep on and without tree cover it
was going to get cold. Which seemed a contradiction in terms but he had no wish to bake one
side and freeze the other. So he sat on a rock which wasn't too hot and stripped. He spread his
clothes on another, hoping for them to be at least partially dry before the sun went down. It
wasn't going to be strong enough to completely dry them as the smoke had made a pall over the
basin which was blocking much of its strength. He looked at his watch and calculated that he had
about two more hours of daylight before the sun went behind the mountains.

Heero decided to take the map and GPS and set out his route to the sheriffs advance station.
When he activated the GPS it beeped. He realized that his habit of turning radios off was
probably driving the sheriff's dispatcher crazy.

"Oh-one to Dispatch. I'm ok over."

"Damn it. Don't turn that radio off again. If the batteries die, we'll drop you more. Over."

"Sorry. I'm used to maintaining radio silence. Over."

"Radio . . . don't even want to know. Need 10-20 and 10-77. Over."

"10-4. 10-20 and 10-77 to follow. 10-12 over and out."

"Dispatch. 10-4 the 10-12. Over and out."

Heero checked his location and planned his route. It was almost a straight run down a logging
road to the sheriff's advance HQ. The sun was down, but the road was wide. He wished for a
flashlight then decided . . .

"Oh-one to Sheriffs' Dispatch. Over."

"Dispatch. Over."

"I need a flashlight. Over."

"Don't travel after dark. Make a camp. Over."

"Negative. Over."

"Oh-one, camp. Over."

"Where? The ground is too hot. I dumped my equipment, no tent, no bag. Over."

"Damn! I'll make arrangements. Over and out."

Heero continued to travel at the best pace he could manage in the rapidly deepening dusk. The
chopper flew over and dropped him a bundle then left immediately. It was getting too dark for
him to be in the air. Heero silently thanked the man for making a trip just to bring him a
flashlight.

To Heero's silent delight, the bundle contained not only the requested flashlight but a sandwich,
bottle of soda and a candy bar. The bundle itself was a dry jacket. He ate the sandwich and candy
bar, drank half the soda and pulled the jacket over a bare chest. It was more comfortable than
putting it on over a wet shirt. He balled the wet stuff up and strapped it to the back of the water
pack then turned the flashlight on and started to walk.

He walked for most of the night and walked into the advance HQ at one a.m..

Walking up to a deputy he cleared his throat and watched as the man nearly jumped out of his
skin.

"Where the hell did you come from?"

Heero just pointed

"But . . . the fire . . . stay right there!"

Heero didn't want to stay right there, he was tired, cold, still damp, and foot sore. His wet boots
had blistered his feet. But he stayed where he was until the Sheriff himself came to him, giving
the Deputy hell all the way.

"Boy you Heero?"

"Yes sir. I'm Winner-Yuy."

"Here, give me that." The sheriff took a blanket from someone and wrapped it around Heero,
putting his arm around his shoulders the sheriff guided him to a tent.

"Here, sit down before you fall down." The sheriff stuck his head out of the tent and yelled
"Where the hell is that medic? Get him in here, now."

Heero started to try to unlace his boots but the laces were knotted and wet, so he wasn't having
much luck.

"Let me do that. You're exhausted."

Heero sat up straighter and couldn't help but give the sheriff a puzzled look. The only ones
who'd ever taken care of him were the other pilots. He didn't expect help from anyone else. This
man however, was clearly intent on stripping him, Doctoring him, and tucking him in. He gave
Sheriff Haskins a rather bleary smile and let him.

Haskins got the boots off and left his socks, he didn't like the looks of the stains on them. He
pealed Heero out of the rest of his wet clothes and turned him over to the medic. He refrained
from remarking on the scars he saw, figuring if he needed to know, someone would tell him. He
wasn't about to add to Heero's distress by asking personal questions.

Heero let the medic check him over and ask him stupid questions until he finally told him
wearily, "If you can't remember who the regional governor is write it down. I'm tired, not
concussed. If you really want to doctor an injury, check my feet."

The medic, who'd only been told that Heero was hurt, decided to give the sheriff a piece of his
mind soon, then bent to removing Heero's socks. What he saw wasn't pleasant. Heero's feet
resembled raw meat.

"Why didn't you stop?"

"Because I really didn't want to be bar-b-que. I out ran the fire. Can you fix me up, or do I have
to do it myself?"

After spraying on aerosol antiseptic, the man gave Heero a pair of clean socks and told him to
stay off his feet.

"Yeah thanks." [Not much chance of that] Heero managed to lie down for a few minutes. He was
just beginning to drift off when the sheriff came in.

"Sorry boy. I hate to do this but it's regulations."

Heero rolled over on the cot and watched as the sheriff drove an anchor into the ground, attached
a chain to it, and snapped a cuff around his ankle. He examined the arrangement calmly. If he
needed to he could just snap the chain.

"Whatever. Do I get to sleep now?"

The sheriff realized that Heero was too tired to care much about anything.

Get some sleep boy. You look played out.

Aa. 'Night'

Heero groped for the blanket that had almost slid off the cot when he sat up. The sheriff patted
him on the shoulder and . . . tucked him in! Heero gave him a genuine smile and went to sleep.

<O>

"Son . . . Heero . . . you need to get up . . . Heero"

Heero woke to the sheriff tossing pine cones at him and calling him to wake up.

"Yes, sir I'm awake. Um . . . sir?"

"Now that you're awake, I'll take you to the jakes." The sheriff unlocked the cuff from Heero's
ankle and waited as he reached for his boots.

"You ok to walk? The medic said your feet are really blistered."

"I'm ok. I don't think I'd like to make another forced march, but as long as it's only a few yards,
I can make it. Thank you."

The sheriff reached out and took one of Heero's hands in his, he snapped a handcuff around his
wrist and sighed.

"'They' say I have to cuff you. You're not AWOL, but you're outside your home facility. I'm
sorry, son. I know this is humiliating, but I don't want flack. You don't need to be coddled either,
or I miss my guess. Come on. If I walk too fast, tell me."

Heero let the sheriff lead him by the one cuffed wrist. He snorted as he realized that the sheriff
thought holding the chain between the cuff around his wrist and the open cuff was going to be
enough to hold him. Then smiled as he acknowledged that it was. He wasn't going anywhere
except to the jakes.

"Ok son. Here we are. You'll have to do your business with one hand. Can you manage?"

At Heero's nod the sheriff reached into the chempot and cuffed Heero to a bar then shut the door.

Heero opened the door when he was finished, waited for the sheriff to unlock the cuff, and then
hissed softly. He'd bumped his toes against something and it had hurt.

"Boy? You good?"

Heero looked at the sheriff and thought quickly, but not quickly enough

"Look, don't pull that I'm-tougher-than-leather crap with me. If you're hur,t say so."

"Yes, sir . . . I'm afraid I've been conditioned not to complain; but, unless it's really necessary, I
would appreciate not having to walk too far."

The sheriff looked at Heero's feet and realized that his boots hadn't survived the trek combined
with a soaking. They were broken across the toes and the sides were stiff. The trip had taken its
toll

"Shit . . . Well, hell, I'll have to carry you."

The sheriff reached out and scooped Heero up into his arms. Now, the sheriff was a big man, and
Heero was still small for his age, he still felt silly but didn't protest [['Ro if someone wants to
take care of you let them, especially if they don't have to.]]

When they reached the main tent the sheriff was panting slightly, Heero was all muscle and
heavier than he looked. But Haskins was made of stern stuff, so he managed to put Heero down
gently. The minuted he regained his feet Heero knew he was, as usual, healing fast. His feet
didn't hurt near as much.

"Sheriff? . . . I need some information. You told me several times I'm not in trouble. So why the
cuffs?"

The sheriff was looking around trying to find a something to handcuff Heero to. "Humm? Cuffs?
. . . oh, it's a departmental regulation. I think, in your case, it's pretty much a waste of time. But
if I let you slide then someone who don't deserve it will want to slide too. And it makes a bad
precedent. Sorry. . . . damnit."

Heero nodded his understanding and picked up the chair. He moved it to a place near one of the
support poles, then plucked the open cuff from the Sheriff's hand and snapped it around the pole.
This put him out of the way of traffic but still where he could be seen easily.

"Will this do, Sir?"

"Boy, you're a pistol. I never saw the like. You hungry? Stupid question, boys your age are
always hungry. And I know you didn't have anything but energy bars and MRE's. Not much
good for a growing boy. How old are you? I got a sheet on you somewhere, but I'm not wasting
time looking it up."

Heero looked at the sheriff for a second then asked, "What difference does it make?"

"None, really. I just wondered. You act so old."

"I'm seventeen."

"Damn.."

"I'm sorry, Sir. I'll try not to be any trouble."

The sheriff just shook his head, remarking that he didn't think Heero would be trouble. Then he
just walked off, telling Heero he'd get him some breakfast.

Soon the sheriff was back with a plate and a cup. He looked around and grumbled, "How the hell
are you gonna eat cuffed to a pole?"

Heero thought for a second, then said, "Well . . . you could cuff my hands behind me and put it
on the ground."

He thought the sheriff was going to either explode or have a stroke. he'd been joking but his
expression hadn't changed enough for a stranger to realize that.

"What the hell. Who? Boy . . . you better be joking."

"I was. I'm sorry. My friends are used to me. I forgot to smile."

"Damnit. I still get the impression that someone really made you eat off the floor, and I want to
know who it was . . . now. I won't stand for abuse, even if it's not in my jurisdiction."

"Oh. It was during the war. I was a POW of Oz. They aren't known for their kindness."

The sheriff just shook his head, he'd heard stories, as all law enforcement had, and he didn't like
any of them.

"Well I hope it was investigated. Here. Lorna . . . come here and sit with him while he eats.
Then cuff him again."

The female sheriff's deputy came over, sat down next to Heero and just watched as he ate his
breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and coffee. Then she cuffed him back to the pole,
remarking, "If that's too tight, let someone know. If your fingers start to tingle or get cold, yell.
No Mr tough guy, all right?"

"Yes Ma'am. Um . . . could you tell me when I'll be picked up. I don't want to be a problem to
you. You've got plenty to do besides baby sit me."

The lady deputy smiled at him and reached out to pat his head. He had to force himself not to
duck away. He didn't want to offend her, she'd been nice to him so it wouldn't be right to hurt
her feelings. [[Hee-kun, don't hurt the feelings of people who're trying to be nice to you. It's
bad]]

"You don't worry about that. You've had a hard few days. The headmaster is coming to get you
as soon as he can. He'll be here in a couple of hours. Just relax. If you want more coffee just ask.
If you need anything else, we'll see what we can do. Ok?"

"Thank you, Ma'am."

"Honey, stop calling me Ma'am. Makes me look behind me for my Mom."

Heero blinked then nodded. "Ok. Sorry."

<O>

Headmaster Compton arrived shortly before noon. He'd started out at seven a.m. and driven
straight through, taking one guard with him. He didn't think Heero would be any trouble, but
regs were regs.

"Hello, Sheriff Haskins, I'm Headmaster Compton and this is Mr. Trent. We have come for
young Mr. Winner-Yuy. I understand he was brought in late last night."

"Well Pardner. You got it about half right. You been gettin' our updates?"

"Yes. They were very thorough."

"Well someone missed something in that last one then. He walked in on his own at one this
morning. How that boy managed to keep from gettn roasted I'll never know. He out ran that fire
and made a hike in like four days, that I'd want at least a week to make."

Mr. Trent, who'd worked with Heero some, just shook his head. "Boy's like a machine. Strong,
fast and tough. But he's less trouble than any of the other boys. Just keeps to himself and stays
out of trouble."

The sheriff led them to Heero, who was still cuffed to the tent pole, drinking coffee and looking
around with interest. The HQ was well managed and he was happily storing up procedures in his
head. Not that he'd ever use them but . . . you never knew. Besides, it was better than just sitting
there staring into empty air.

"Hello Heero. How are you doing?"

"Fine, Sir. I'm sorry I was so much trouble. I hope you weren't too worried."

Mr. Trent just took the key from the sheriff and unlocked the cuff, then took the set off the pole
and handed it to the sheriff. Headmaster Compton sighed and shook his head, he'd hopped the
sheriff would reassure Heero that he wasn't in any trouble.

"Heero, we were all worried sick. I can't believe you did what you did. You should have . . .well,
water over the dam."

"Sir. Please. If you have a question, ask it. I don't want to be in trouble."

"Why didn't you get in the chopper?"

Mr. Trent busied himself with getting Heero ready for transport. Which included leg irons.

The sheriff took exception to them immediately.

"Here, that's not necessary. He's come in on his own. Take it easy on the kid."

Mr. Trent sighed he didn't like this any more than the sheriff did, but, "I'm not happy either. But
his paperwork hasn't caught up with him yet, so we don't have a profile. That means, per regs,
we take the highest precautions. I know it doesn't make sense to send him on a camping trip then
shackle him for transport, but whoever said the penal system makes sense."

Heero just allowed the man to do his job. It didn't hurt so what difference did it make.

"Well if you're through torturing the poor kid, let's get it on the road."

Sheriff Haskins gathered Heero into his arms and started for the door. It looked pretty odd, a
great big bear of a man carrying a slender kid in full transport shackles. Never mind that the kid
in question was the Heero Yuy, scourge of Oz and White Fang.

Heero squinted his eyes against the bright sun and turned his face into the sheriff's chest to
protect them from it.

The headmaster following behind, demanded to know what was going on and got a reply from
Trent who told him to look at the boots. When he did, he was smart enough to know that Heero
had to have blistered his feet rather badly. He told Trent to make sure that Heero saw the school
Doctor as soon as they got back.

The media descended in a feeding frenzy that made Heero flinch instinctively. Several reporters
thrush microphones of various descriptions in his face, yelling questions without giving him time
to answer. The sheriff roared them down and demanded silence.

"I'm not having you all scare the wits out of the boy. He's had enough to deal with without you
idiots sticking things in his face while he's cuffed." Turning to the headmaster, he demanded,
"What you want to do about this pack of wolves?"

Headmaster Compton, still dealing with unanswered questions of his own, looked at Heero.

Heero shrugged, "It's up to you, Sir. I'll talk to them if you want me to."

Compton decided if Heero was ok with it so was he.

"I'll speak to the young man, then you may have sometime." Compton turned to Heero. "I have
Draden's version of what happened. Now I want yours. Make it fast and keep it short."

"Ok. Jamie banged on the partition. The pilot took off. Pete was still with me on the ground. I
knew I could walk out and he couldn't. So I made sure he was on the chopper. I couldn't get both
of us on, so I chose him."

"Damn. I'm going to have some more words with that Jamie boy. You answer questions until
you get tired or I stop you."

"Yes, Sir."

Heero turned to the reporters and waited. While the headmaster had been questioning him the
reporters had sorted themselves out. With some shouting and snarling by the Sheriff.

"Why are you in chains?"

"I'm still a convict. It's regulation."

The next reporter asked a much more important question. "How did you manage to get left
behind?"

"There was a misscommunication between the back and the pilot. One of the other boys banged
on the partition and the chopper took off. I knew that they wouldn't be able to land again before
the fire got to us so I threw Pete to Sargent Draden. They had to keep going."

"Aren't those chains uncomfortable?"

Heero gave the persistent reported the look that Duo called the Omae o Kurosu Special, he faded
into the crowd and shut up.

"Sorry about him, he's a pest. Now. How did you get to the camp?"

"The camp? We flew in."

"No, this camp."

"Oh you mean the HQ here. I hiked."

Heero was beginning to get a headache. He wished he hadn't agreed to this, but since he had,
he'd answer one more question.

"I'm getting tired, my feet are sore and I'm only going to take one more question, so make it a
good one."

"What are you in for?"

Heero gave the man a look, but the looks that all the other reporters gave him, rivaled it.

"Crimes against society. Like . . ." The headmaster poked him gently in the back. "er . . . tee-
peeing the courthouse or . . . um . . . hacking into a bank computer and messing up something
important. I've been signaled that that's all. Thank you."

Heero turned to the headmaster who was giving him a funny look. "Did I do ok? I'm sorry if I
said something I shouldn't. Are we leaving now?"

"Yes we're going now. I hope some of your family sees you on tv. You know you could have
said 'Hi Mom' or something."

Heero just shrugged. As they made their careful way to the van, with the sheriff carrying Heero
again, Heero managed to make several hand signs that he hoped wouldn't be cut from the vid
feed.

When they finally got to the van, the sheriff put Heero down and patted him on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry you had such a bad visit to our county. When you get out, come back and I'll show
you around."

"Thanks. I'll see you in twenty years or so."

"Twenty years? Boy what the hell did you do, shoot . . . don't answer that. Just . . . what was the
actual sentence?"

"Two ten year sentences. one for crimes against society and one for manslaughter."

"Hump! Hell of a sentence to stick on a kid."

The headmaster just sighed, "Drunk, stupid kid kills in auto accident." This was not good.

"Ok Sheriff, you want to break the news, or can I?"

"You're his warden, you do it. But I get to stand here and watch."

The headmaster smiled, put his hand on Heero's shoulder and patted it.

"Well son unless I'm sadly mistaken, the sentences run concurrently" Heero just nodded. "and
you spent some time incarcerated before you went to trial?" Heero told him how long they'd
been cooped up in Quartes estate. "Concurrent means that the sentences run together, so that
makes your sentence 120 months, subtract 9 equals 111. Ten percent of that is eleven. That's
how long you'll have to wait until you're eligible for parole. Due to your young age I don't doubt
that you'll be granted on first try. Especially if you keep your nose relatively clean. So . . Now
son. Take it easy. Let's get you into the van, you don't need all these reporters staring."

The sheriff was pleased to see Heero smiling a real, genuine smile, even though he had tears in
his eyes. They got Heero into the van and slammed the door. The sheriff banged on the side of
the van and they drove away.

<O>

Quatre ran through the door yelling, "Everyone! Hey! Heero's on tv. Hurry."

Duo nearly broke down the door getting into the lounge. He jumped the back of the couch and
landed on his ass on the seat, Wufei right behind him. Trowa was so close behind them that he
nearly landed on Wufei.

"Look, look. What the hell happened to him? He looks like he just got back from a hard mission.
Shit. They're not taking care of him."

By the time they listened to the announcer tell the story and saw the clips. They were all thinking
the same thing. Trust Heero to make sure everyone else was safe and take the dirty end of the
stick for himself.

Then the announcer finished with "The brave young man had to be carried back to his prison van
by Sheriff Haskins because he blistered his feet so badly he can't walk. And he so bravely waved
good by to the Sheriffs Deputy's who kept him over night."

Duo blinked. "Quatre. Tell me you recorded that . . . please. I missed some of it."

"I can do you one better than that. I can get the raw footage. That station belongs to Winner
Communications."

Ten minutes later they were watching Heero signal them, "Pilot one hundred percent. Baby, I
love you. Be happy. Check mail."

<O>
I hope that makes up for the evil cliffie. To all those who want them to get together they will. But
not for a while yet. There will be several more chapters. You'll get several chapters where Heero
and Duo experience approximately the same event with very different results.

Radio conventions really do work just like this. I've listened to hours of real police and fire radio.
It is really kind of boring. I only heard a dispatcher get upset enough to break conventions once.