From: pecan@hotmail.com   
      
   TITLE Peruvian Escapade   
   AUTHOR Valerie (poormulder )  vavie2003@wanadoo.fr   
      
   CATEGORY MSR, G   
      
   SPOILERS Detour, FTF   
      
   DISCLAIMER : they don't belong to me. yada yada yada. Whata crying shame   
   "sniff"   
      
   Written for the January Mulder's refuge fic challenge, OUT OF COUNTRY   
      
      
      
   Peruvian Escapade   
      
      
      
   In Peru, towards the South, at the edge of the Pacific, this Dark sea of Old   
   is the driest desert in the world.  It's made up of successive vast pampas   
   whose names sing of a different age:  pampa of Pisco, pampa of arid Ica...   
   250 kms of sand and broken rocks, where the rains rarely ever fell in its   
   millennia history.  There, in this desolate and odd place, the greatest   
   archaeological enigma of the 21st century is:  the lines of Nazca.  Immense   
   geometrical drawings, that travel for vast distances across the scorching   
   barren plains; roads which do not start in a particular place then stop   
   suddenly, casting among others, the gigantic birds wings of sand pictograms,   
   a fairy-like bestiary of mysterious artistry including a lizard, a pelican,   
   a monkey, a spider, an orc, even an iguana...These curious images that made   
   no sense on the ground, yet only from the air could their full beauty and   
   identity become clear. Images whose true meanings have vexed man for   
   centuries.   
      
   In the South of Nazca: Present time.   
      
   The jeep had bumpity -bumped its way along for several hours on the stony,   
   battered track.  Scully pushed back the lock of damp hair that had fallen   
   into her eyes for the 100th time.  It seemed to her that the whole of her   
   body and skin was covered with a layer of dust and her throat was burning.   
   The sun was still high and it made her screw up her eyes in spite of her   
   expensive Raybans.  She took a careful swig of her Evian and looked out at   
   the vast, almost Martian landscape before them.   
      
   Battling with the irregular ground, Mulder was gripping at the wheel, his   
   knuckles white with the strain.  Beads of sweat streamed down his face, his   
   tee-shirt was soaked and stuck uncomfortably to his chest, but he continued   
   to fight with the battered vehicle to arrive at his goal.  Suddenly the jeep   
   brutally left the track and Scully gasped with fear as Mulder was hurled   
   violently from the jeep to the stony ground.  The jeep narrowly missed   
   rolling over his unmoving body before it smacked against a large rock.   
   Shocked, but saved by the belt that still held her in her seat, Scully got   
   clear and jumped down quickly to assess the state of her unfortunate   
   partner.  He was just conscious, but his face was crumpled with pain and   
   suffering.  His handsome features were marred with abrasions; dust and blood   
   coated his cheek and he clutch at his leg that was bent by the ankle at an   
   unnatural angle, biting his lower lip to contain the pain.   
      
   "Mulder ! Are you all right?"   
      
   "Hell no." he groaned, spitting out dust. His movements were slow and   
   worrying as he shuffled to a sitting position.. "  It's my leg. I think it's   
   broken.... shit!"   
      
   Scully carefully scanned Mulder's ankle and placed her hand on it, trying to   
   cause him as little extra pain as she could.  She removed the shoe   
   delicately and then slowly rolled off the sock.  His ankle was already   
   hugely red and swollen.  Mulder groaned as her fingers probed the external   
   malleolus; the bony prominence either side of his ankle.   
      
   "It's undoubtedly a pretty bad fracture, Mulder. How is the pain?"   
      
   "It's bad, Scully. Just short of girlie scream 8."   
      
   She gave him a cautious smile. "I see, as bad as that then."   
      
   His face was pale and he was gritting his teeth to hold the pain back, his   
   breathing coming in fast pants.   
      
   " I'm going to immobilize your ankle with an ace bandage. Thank god I   
   remembered to throw the first aid kit in the jeep.  That will relieve your   
   discomfort a little.  I can't do more out here.  Are you going to be all   
   right?"   
      
   She looked at him with concern.  He was at the edge of fainting, face ashen   
   and lips tightened with pain. Throwing up looked like a distinct   
   possibility.   
      
   "S'ok, Scully, Ow, remind me never to leave civilization again.  I'm going   
   to make it. Lets do it quick and see about getting back to our nice   
   comfortable hotel. I could murder a cold beer."   
      
   His voice was rough with agony and his body language contradicted his brave   
   words.  His jaws pulled into a grimace as he forced himself still while   
   Scully gathered her medical supplies.  She cleaned the few cuts on his face,   
   and then wrapped his ankle as best she could, after helping move him out of   
   the direct blazing heat so he was more comfortable against the door of the   
   car.   
      
   The night started to descend on them and the temperature was falling   
   quickly. Soon it would be freezing out here miles from anywhere on the   
   lonely, eerie Pampa. With Mulder settled for the time being, she popped the   
   jeep hood and inspected the workings, still emitting hissing tendrils of   
   smoke. She sighed in defeat and cursed before approaching Mulder again, who   
   seemed to be dozing.   
      
   "The radiator is cracked and I think the engine is screwed. It's as a hot as   
   a furnace under that hood. In light of the fact that our transport out of   
   here poses a huge problem, not least of which we might freeze, I'm going to   
   call for help.  Just pray or send good funky vibes out that the radio still   
   works. Mulder nodded, half unconscious with pain. She suspected that the   
   broken ankle wasn't his only injury. He'd hit the ground like an egg and   
   bounced. She just hoped that the suspected broken ribs hadn't caused more   
   serious damage internally. Out here he could die really easily before help   
   had hope of getting to them.   
      
   She tuned into the frequency and was rewarded with a welcome signal of life.   
   Muttering her thanks to whatever kind ancient god out here had smiled on   
   their predicament; she started to transmit the mayday call.   
      
    Mulder rested his head against the door and tried to forget the pain, which   
   rose up in strobes of agony waves through his right leg, leaving him with   
   urge to vomit, while his ribs screamed their protest as he tucked both arms   
   tightly against himself. It seemed to him that he heard Scully's voice   
   through thick cotton.   
      
   "We cannot send help before day break." Came the disembodied accented voice   
   across the airwaves. Scully counted to ten and rotated her aching neck   
   muscles. This wasn't what she wanted to hear. Her partner was in no state to   
   be out here the whole night.. "We do not have any apparatus available. I am   
   sorry Miss."   
      
   " Look. I have somebody here with me who needs urgent medical care. He could   
   have life threatening internal injuries and that's if his condition doesn't   
   deteriorate from exposure!   Is there nothing you can do to help us get   
   back? We have no shelter here, nothing beyond basic medical supplies.   
   Please. "   
      
   "If there is not urgently vital, I can do nothing for you.  It is necessary   
   that you wait until tomorrow. "   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)