X-Men Fan Fiction ❯ The Camping Trip ❯ Ch 4 ( Chapter 4 )

See disclaimers in first chap.

Words between ~ ~ are thoughts or mental speak

CH 4

Remy woke alone in the tent.  Logan was already up and off on a morning constitutional.  He inhaled deeply, yawned, and smiled as he wiped the last remnants of sleep from his eyes.  Shifting the cover back, he decided that Logan had the right idea and grabbed some toiletries as he headed for the river.  They had been camping here before, and Remy felt pretty comfortable with the immediate surrounding, knowing the basic direction to and from the banks.  Logan had taken him hiking once, on a previous trip, and it hadn't taken him long to get totally disoriented with directions.  Thank all that was good and holy that his feral lover was with him or he would have been totally lost.  All he remembered from that previous venture was that a very short distance north of their camp, the ground rose higher and the banks of the river drew steeper.  Of course, he mused, that must be why it was called the north ridge. 

After cleaning up a bit in the cool waters of the river, he slipped on an undershirt, then his long sleeve LSU jersey, a pair of faded jeans complete with holes in the knees, and a pair of hiking shoes.  He headed back and began making them both something to eat.  Activities from the night before had definitely burned away the stew they had consumed for dinner.  Breakfast was almost done by the time Logan returned.  He was fully dressed and ready to go.  He seemed in better spirits, but then being in his element usually lifted his mood.  They ate the foods that Remy prepared, discussing the plans for the day.  Of course, Remy didn't have a clue what they would do.  Well, that wasn't completely true.  He had an idea of what he would like them to do all day.  But, Logan had other notions.  And, Logan was quite excited about the prospects of the day's activities that HE had planned - a little hunting, maybe some fishing.  Though, he noted that the fishing might be a little tricky since the river was flowing quite swiftly.

Remy glanced at his excited lover and shook his head.  "Logan, cher, you know I love you more dan etouffee, mais you know I don' like killing animals, least not de four legged non-mutant kind." 

"Ain't planning on killing nothing, Cajun.  Just tracking and hiking.  I may be friends with the guy that runs this place, but that don't mean I'm gonna break his rules and mess him up.  Most we might kill is a fish or two to eat."  Logan downed the rest of his coffee in one gulp and stood up.  "Now, let's get going.  We're burning daylight."

With a heavy sigh, Remy started cleaning up.  "'Kay.  Just lemme put dis up and get my coat."

"Why in the hell did ya bring that thing anyway.  A leather trench coat don't really have much give in the woods.  Anything we track will detect ya way before ya get near." 

Remy planted a lop-sided grin on his face.  "You forget, mon ami, Gambit be one of de world's best t'iefs.  I can sneak up on anyt'ing no matter what I be wearing.  De coat lets me do it in style."  

They had just finished cleaning up the meal, storing supplies safely so as to not be scavenged by critters while they were away from camp, when suddenly Logan stopped cold. He stood straight and turned slightly, nostrils flaring and head tilted straining to hear.  Remy recognized the body language and he too started scanning.  He knew that he didn't have the capabilities of picking out subtle sounds and smells like Logan.  But, he had other gifts.  His spatial awareness was tingling, picking up….something….just at the edge of his range. 

Remy decided to lower his shields, thinking maybe another camper or two was out there.  No sooner were they down when he was slammed with too many emotions from multiple directions.  He grabbed his head and staggered back, quickly strengthening his barriers.  He hadn't been expecting so much.

"Mon dieu" he whispered.  Remy turned a wide eyed look towards Logan just as the first shot rang out.

"MOVE!"  Logan yelled as he whirled around and grabbed Remy's arm. 

They ran the other direction from whatever was shooting at them.  Gambit screamed at Logan that there were many of them, all with hatred and bloodlust pouring off them.  "Dieu, Logan!  Dey trying to kill us."

"Split up!  I'll try to draw them off.  Make your way back to the jeep and call Scott."  Logan turned and started to run towards the ridge along the edge of the river banks.  Remy took a moment to watch his lover's back, then ran the opposite direction when he heard them coming closer.

He didn't know how long he'd run.  From the sweat beading on his forehead and the pain in his chest as he struggled to take a breath, he figured it had been a good while.  He was so turned around, every tree and bush looking exactly like the tree or bush he'd just passed. 

~ I hate de woods ~ was all he could think. 

Gambit heard a few men closing in on his position and decided it was time to make a stand.  He took a minute to survey the area, brain working feverishly on a plan, and then climbed up to perch on a limb.  He was hidden for the most part as he watched four heavily armed and uniformed men enter his makeshift arena.  These men were good at tracking and stopped short, eyes darting everywhere, guns held ready.  Gambit watched them as he mentally urged them to come closer. 

"Come on out, mutant.  Surrender now and we'll make it quick." one of the uniforms yelled.

"Yeh.  We know you're here. We know all about you X-men, and especially you, Cajun swamp rat." One of the other uniforms chided.

The reply they got seemed to come from all around them, much like a ventriloquist throwing his voice.  "Merde!  Why does everyone insist on calling me dat?" 

Remy flung down from his perch and angled himself to plant both feet in the back of the man that had slandered him.  The man lurched forward, landing flat on his face. 

"Yah, I took de tour."

Gambit spared no time, quickly jumping up into a round house kick on the next nearest man, his foot landing squarely across the guy's jaw, hurling him sideways.

"Mais, I never live dere."

Gambit immediately back flipped up, extending his bo staff as bullets flew all around, and landed behind the furthest guard.  Back to back with the man, he reached over the man's head with his extended bo staff and grasped the man under the chin, yanking up and over to flip the man.

"De only Canal I travel, be a concrete street near de Quarter."

Gambit whirled around flipping two charged cards at the final guard just as he was about to shoot Remy in the back.  KABOOM!  The resulting explosion blew the man back some twenty yards, where his body sprawled lifelessly on the ground.

"Not murky water and cypress trees."

The first two men Remy felled were stirring.  He swung his staff around in an arch in front of him, sending the men flying backwards, landing on their backs with a sickening thud.  From behind him, the third guy had also staggered back.  Gambit leaped up, kicking his leg back to hit powerfully in the man's chest.  He fell back into the trunk of a tree, where his eyes rolled back in his head and he slid unconscious to the ground.

"Well dat's a shame.  I was just beginning to have fun, too."  Remy crouched down to examine one of the bodies.  "Military, eh?  Let's see what you want."  He dug around the man's pockets and found several syringes containing some kind of liquid.  Noting the tranquilizer gun attached to the man's hip, Remy started putting two and two together and the answer he was coming up with didn't equal four.  "Weapon X" he hissed.  "You after Logan.  Merde!" 

Quickly, he raided all of their pockets, taking whatever he could fit into his coat and strapping on anything he thought he could use.  He wasn't sure how many were in the woods, but it was a safe bet that he and Logan may be running or fighting for a while.  Careful to take only what he thought he might use, so as to not weigh himself down too much, he picked up one of the automatic weapons and some extra rounds before darting off in the direction from which he could faintly feel emotions radiating.

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