Carter's Army - 3. Chapter 3

November 28th

At the moment they hit, Will sensed they were going to die, he sensed they were in desperate trouble, he sensed that what he had heard of happening to other people was happening to them, he sensed that he might be dead and that his family were going to miss him, he sensed ... So many thoughts went through his head at once, just like a brilliant lightning flashing in the dark, illuminating the whole landscape, before everything returned to total darkness. Trembling he glanced over at Andrew, who sat with his hands clenched on the steering wheel breathing hard as he stared out of the cracked windscreen. He turned his head and caught Will's eyes.

"Whoa..." was all he could manage.

Will shook his head to clear the shock as he looked at the clock on the dashboard. It was 5:40 p.m. He realized that it had taken them two hours to cover 10 miles. There were still 10 more miles to any kind of town.

Andrew restarted the engine, which sputtered to life but it sounded ragged, like it would die at any moment. A quick check of the gasoline gauge showed that the tank was 90% full. He looked over at the shattered passenger side window. As the engine idled Andrew quickly patted himself down as he checked his clothes, before he stopped and looked over at Will's, but he didn't have to check: Will was still soaked, huddled in the leather varsity jacket and he shook his head. "I just cleaned my car out this morning, I didn't think to put anything back into it. Though I might have a small blanket under your seat..." he looked over at Will for a moment weighing the options, eventually he just scrubbed his face, "What are we going to do?"

Will sat quietly trying to think as Andrew tried to rock the car back and forth to see if he would have any luck getting it out. He failed. He knew the more he tried that, the more trouble they might get into. Many ideas and options spun through his mind, but none of them seemed possible. In frustration Andrew shut the engine off to preserve gas.

"We could use the horn," Will offered, shivering as he looked out of his shattered window at the snow that blew past him, feeling the heat rushing out of the car. "Some one might hear us and come to the rescue." He recalled that in many stories, people used various ways to send out "SOS" signals, "Try tapping out a Morse code... long and short signals?" It was a lame suggestion he knew, but all he could think of.

"SOS?" Andrew asked as he tried "long-short-long," "short-long-short," with both horn and headlights. But it was to no effect. Finally he stopped and couldn't help laughing at himself. Will chuckled as well, in such a stormy night with the wind roaring, miles from anywhere, who would hear the horn? Who would see their lights? It was the same as his not being able to hear anything but the blasting wind; he could not see anything but blowing snow. Even if anyone could see or hear them, it would have been all but impossible for them to get through in such a bad weather.

Will suddenly felt very insignificant as he reached under the seat to pull out Andrew's blanket, one of the small thermal kind that was really just a square of fleece cloth. He held it as he shivered again, looking over at the man who had come to his rescue only to fall victim to the storm as well. He felt guilty suddenly, as if it was his fault they were stranded.

Andrew, as if reading his mind, shook his head and offered him a half-smile. "We'll be okay," he said reassuringly as he looked out of the window at the driving snow, "There'll be a plough along soon, or a car, or something, and we'll just flag them down and get them to help us."

To break the dull sound of blowing snow through the broken window, he turned on the radio. Lively music instantly filled the car and he brightened, "Look, at least we still get the Bear."

Will smiled in return; at least they weren't totally isolated from civilization. "Environment Canada has issued an severe winter storm warning for Ottawa-Hull, Montreal, and regions of Eastern Ontario and Quebec. 45-60 cm of snow are expected to fall in the region by morning. Temperatures are expected to remain around the freezing for the next few hours then fall rapidly to minus 20. Sustained winds North by Northwest of 30 km/h gusting to 55 km/h, there is an extreme wind-chill warning in effect with the wind-chill factor approaching -45 degrees later this evening....

Sub-zero temperatures! Forty below! Will shuddered at the thought, shivering again as he stared out at the snow again. He always hated the cold, and it would be a cruel fate for him to die that way.

"Residents are being advised not to leave their homes except in cases of extreme emergency. The following road closures are in effect..."

The rest of the broadcast was a series of road and school closing announcements for the next day. At least Lisa's hopes of a snow day were confirmed. With the trembling voice of the broadcaster, Will started to feel a trembling too. He recalled the last time when there had been severe weather. The advisory was, "Don't go out unless necessary." Apparently this time it was a very bad and rare weather situation.

Andrew saw him tremble and a look of concern crossed his face. He smiled and said, "Well, they don't have to come out, but we have to stay here," It was a feeble attempt at humour, but it still made his passenger smile.

"I'm sorry Andrew..." Will began, realizing his teeth were beginning to chatter, "I should have just gone to my aunt's..."

Andrew shrugged, "And then I would be here alone. I take this road home every day so I'd be stuck here anyway." He stopped, noticing Will's lack of attention and shivering. And he tried to restart the car.

His look of concern became one of worry as he heard an unusual sound from the engine - like someone had used a blanket to choke the engine. A low and continuous engine blowing sound persisted.

"I just got this car fixed!" He exclaimed.

He rubbed the window and stared out at the snow drifting up beside the car and realized that the snow had covered the exhaust pipe so the engine could not breathe. Will glanced up and noticed that the snowdrift had already piled up so high on the left hand side that the side window was covered. Half of the car was completely under snow.

Andrew looked over at Will who was watching him silently in concern trying to wrap himself into the blanket to stay warm as the heat was quickly pulled from the body of the car no longer able to heat itself. He reached into the glove box of the car and fished out a small book and began to flip through it.

Will continued to watch him as he did so trying desperately to say something, but his words kept coming out as incoherent phrases between the stammering and the chattering of his teeth. In the end he just gestured at the book.

Andrew glanced up and offered a tight smile, "Hypothermia..." he began to read as he showed Will the cover of the small scouts survival booklet, "The treatment for hypothermia requires that the body core temperature be raised to a normal level, aided by outside sources of heat. Some recommended suggestions include: stripping the victim, who is then placed into a sleeping bag along with one or two likewise attired companions... in such a situation there's no room for modesty..."

Will blinked, was Andrew serious...

"Get `em off now!" Andrew directed already reaching out to begin to unbutton Will's shirt.

Will could do nothing but sit there, leaning forward when told to do so, so that Andrew could take his shirt off. He shivered a moment pulling the blanket around him as Andrew worked his trousers off. He tried to focus, but all he wanted to do was fall asleep. He yawned loudly.

"Don't even think about it Will." Andrew threatened as he peeled off his own shirt, "Stay with me and don't fall asleep."

He yawned again, and he had vague recollections of consciousness, of feeling warmth wrapped about him, of the strong smell of perspiration and cologne, of someone talking...

He opened his eyes again and blinked at the pair of blue eyes staring into his own; he focused and glanced about him. "What..?"

"You're back then." Andrew said, his voice husky with emotion, "I was worried..."

Will shifted and realized Andrew was holding him gently keeping him warm with his own body heat. He immediately reddened at the intimacy of the moment. "W..what time is it?" he stammered.

"Close to nine thirty." Andrew replied, his breath frosting in the cold air of the rest of the car, he had somehow wrestled Will into the back seat where they were now huddled for survival.

They had been stranded out in the cold for hours. Some one had to be missing them, to report that they were still out in the storm. If not Will's parents then Andrew's mother.

The snow was still blowing constantly and Will suddenly felt privileged to be watching the blizzard from so close. Will appreciated the fact that he was still comfortable. His cheek brushed Andrew's, feeling the sandpapery texture of a five o'clock shadow and the soft smell of his skin. He swallowed as he stared up at the snow. The snow was flying horizontally past his eyes. The whole world was flying horizontally.

He felt sleepy and tired laying there. So he lay there staring upwards. He saw that Andrew had been inventive; the broken window had been patched with the floor mats. Only then did he realize that the ceiling of the car was much smaller in size than he had thought, in relation to the car, since he was able to see out the windows on all four sides, and the square ceiling was only a small barrier between them and the sky.

He felt insignificant in the mighty storm. Like he was just a tiny powerless creature trying to survive in the anger of Mother Nature. He started to laugh at himself for the naive attempt earlier to send out signals for help. It was no use at all! Even a village, a town, or a city, could be wiped out, or simply engulfed, if the storm got really ferocious.

In front of the mighty storm, all political struggles in human society seemed meaningless, not to mention personal fights. What were they for? Everything could just be erased! In the face of such a true power human conflict was so childish. Mankind had so many dangerous enemies already in the world around him that he didn't need to fight his own kind as well.

Through the side window, the twinkle of a star reached his eyes in between the snow gusts. "Hey! I am able to see the sky!" he managed and he felt Andrew shift to see for himself; it was a small sliver of hope that the storm might diminish in strength.

"I told you we would be okay," Andrew said with a smile, "we're warm at least..." he suddenly chuckled as if he found something funny.

"What?" Will asked feeling self-conscious all of a sudden.

Andrew bit his lip as he looked down at the pair of them curled up in just their underwear beneath a pitifully small blanket, "Its just... I didn't expect the first time I would be doing this in the back seat of a car would be with a guy."

Will chuckled, "Ditto." He stopped and looked into Andrew's eyes, "You mean you've never...I mean it's okay, it's just that you have a reputation..."

Andrew hesitated as if considering what to say, or how much he trusted this virtual stranger who he was now entwined with. He nodded after a moment, "Nope, never have. No reason really...I just didn't." He grinned, "Though Charlene keeps trying to corner me."

Will laughed; Charlene was a cheerleader with an appetite for men that had earned her a reputation for being easy. "Yeah she got Jared from what I hear..."

"What about you?" Andrew asked turning the conversation back on Will, "Aren't you and that Jenny girl...?"

Will shook his head, "No, she's... I just..." he trailed off.

Andrew squeezed Will's arm in understanding, "No I get it. I think that's why I've been single. I am going to University next year, getting the hell away from here..."

Will leaned on Andrew's other arm, "Oh? Where are you going?"

"I got a scholarship to go to UNB, I want to go on to Law school..." Andrew seemed mildly embarrassed by it.

"That's great," Will said, "I've got my sights set on Dalhousie University in Halifax."

"Good school," Andrew replied, he moved his arm so that it now rested along Will's side, "Any ideas what you want to do?"

Will shook his head, "None. I just know I want to get as far away from here as I can."

Andrew studied him a moment, "You really hate it here?"

Will shrugged as he tried to express how he felt in words, "I don't fit here. And my dad can't wait to just get on with his new life..."

"New life?"

Will let out a heavy breath again, not exactly sure why he was opening up to someone he barely knew, telling him the personal things about himself, but as it stood there was a strong chance they wouldn't survive the night stranded without heat in the car. He looked at the eyes, really the only thing he could see in the gloom of the backseat and decided to just keep talking.

"My dad remarried, it was the reason we moved here. He wanted to start a new family." He sighed, "I just don't fit into that very well, I remind him of everything he tried to leave behind when he came here."

"He takes it out on you?" Andrew asked, his fingers brushing Will's shoulder lightly, absently.

Will nodded, "He resents me for it, but I only have a year to go then I can leave and he gets what he wants, his new life."

"What about your mom?" Andrew asked.

Will looked down for a moment and sighed, "No idea, she took off and left a long time ago. So it's just me."

"My dad died last year," Andrew confessed, "Just my mom and I now, and she's pretty cut up about me leaving Merrickville to go to UNB in Fredricton... But I just have to go somewhere else for a bit. I am thinking of doing Law School here though." He stared up at the snow covered rear window "I like it here."

"It's your home." Will finished for him, "I just haven't found mine yet."

"It's just a matter of finding yourself first." Andrew returned, "My dad always said that to me, I don't know who I am yet..."

"You're the Andrew Highmore." Will said with a wry grin, "You're athlete of the year, set to be valedictorian as well. Half the school worships you."

He felt Andrew chuckle and adjust himself to press warmly against Will's stomach, "True, but you're the William Carter; every one knows you're a wiz at writing papers."

"Really?" Will asked, "Doesn't that make me a geek or something?"

Andrew laughed again, "Nah, too many people jealous of it. I watched you working in the library this afternoon with that Lisa girl who dates that shop Jock..."

"Brody?" Will supplied.

"Yeah, Brody. Anyway I watched you write a paper in, like, half-an-hour. How'd you do it so fast?" he shook his head in wonder "You're going to do well at University where papers and stuff are more important than exams."

Will nodded, "Yeah, try telling my Dad that. He keeps yelling at me over my math scores."

"He's just an asshole." Andrew said and froze, "I didn't mean...I'm sorry I..."

Will laughed at Andrew's sudden awkwardness, "No, its okay; the Major is an asshole, I know that. As I said, one more year."

"Why do you do that?" Andrew asked suddenly.

"What?" Will asked.

"Call your dad 'the Major'?"

Will nodded, "He is one, British Army, he's stationed here as a liaison officer. Growing up every one just called him the major, I guess I did too..."

"You don't call him 'Dad'?" Andrew seemed fascinated by something Will just took for granted.

Will nodded, "I do, but it doesn't seem to fit him, I always just thought of him as the Major."

"You're strange.' Andrew said with a smile.