Date: Mon, 25 Nov 1996 20:46:26 -0700 (MST) From: Cathy Laughlin Subject: He Also Serves, part one Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII He Also Serves, part 1 As the last tingles of the leap faded, Sam's senses returned. He was sitting with his back against a tree, bundled in layers of heavy clothing. An old battered backpack lay to his left, and there was a small camp-stove to his right. A pot of Ramen noodles sat on the little stove; Sam thought it might be a long time before they were edible. He stood and looked around. The whole world seemed covered in white. The only place without snow was the area around the small stove. Sam felt chilly even with the leapee's warm clothes. Sam had no idea where he was, or what he should do. He sat down and watched the noodles cook, waiting for Al. Hours passed as Sam dozed under the tree, oblivious to the cold. The sound of the Imaging Chamber door woke Sam with a start, and Al's voice cut through his sleep-induced haze. "Hey, Sam! You awake?" Sam glared up at the image of his best friend. Al was dressed in his Admiral's uniform, complete with white gloves and cap. *Good thing he's a hologram. If he were really here, he'd be freezing,* Sam thought. Ignoring Al for now, Sam rubbed his gloved hands together briskly. *I'm lucky Al showed up when he did. I would've gotten frostbite if I sat here much longer.* His face and hands were completely numb from the biting cold. Sam stood and began to look for some dry firewood. "Wow!" Al exclaimed. "You're lucky, Sam. This place is really great! Look at all the snow... It reminds me of when I was little, and Pop would help me build a snowman in the park." Sam smiled at this; he knew that Al had very few happy memories from his lonely childhood. Sam bent down, packed a snowball, and tossed it through Al's image playfully. "Ooo, you're lucky I'm not really here, kid," Al growled menacingly, but his dark eyes were filled with laughter, giving him away. "I'd knock that silly grin right off your face." Sam laughed at the Observer's mock anger. He was glad to see his friend look so happy. He remembered how hard it had been to run the project, even when he and Al had been working together. Sometimes he worried about his friend; Sam knew Al's habit of letting his feelings stay bottled up inside, and he also knew that Al would be reluctant to admit any problems he might have. Sam had no worries today; Al Calavicci was in fine form. "So, what am I doing here in Nature's icebox?" Sam asked. "Too bad this guy didn't bring any hot chocolate." Al pulled out the handlink with a flourish, and squinted at the small colorful device. "Your name is Daniel Sapwood," Al said, "and the date is December 2, 1982. This is Kodiak Mountain, Alaska. Dan is an expert hiker, but in the original history, he got lost, missed the pick-up point, and froze to death before anyone could rescue him. Your job should be simple- Ziggy says all you have to do is get to the drop-off point before 11 o'clock tomorrow night. That's when the helicopter will pick you up, but you don't have to be here for that. Just hit the drop-off point, and you should Leap out," Al snapped his fingers, "just like that." "This should be pretty easy," Sam chuckled. "Maybe I finally got a break with this one." "Don't get _too_ confident, Sam," Al advised. "This mountain is pretty tough. Two people have died up here so far this year, and another person dies two weeks after Daniel does. There is no trail, so you're going to have to go by direction. Just keep heading North- that's where the drop-off point is, a few miles from the top of the mountain." Sam headed over to Dan's backpack, opened it, and rummaged around inside it. He made a mental note of his supplies: matches, a poncho, a hatchet, a sleeping bag, and some water purifiying tablets. There was also some more food- more Ramen noodles, some beef jerky, trail mix, and dried fruit. "Al, Dan doesn't have a compass. How am I supposed to find North without a compass?" Sam asked. "That's probably why Dan died in the first place, Sam. He lost his compass about a mile back. So far he's been okay because he just kept going straight, but tonight there's gonna be a snowstorm. He got confused, and by the time the storm was over he was totally lost." Sam groaned softly. His thoughts were dark- *How in the world can I do this? I'm not really a hiker, and I don't even have a compass!* Well, here it is, my first Quantum Leap story. Please email me and let me know what you think!! ************************************************ * "Make the most of the Indian Hemp seed, sow it * everywhere!"- George Washington * * Free Kaneh Bosm-the world's safest medicine! * Cathy Laughlin: Hempster@nmt.edu * http://www.nmt.edu/~hempster ************************************************