"What Am I To You?"

Problems

"Maverick!"

The last words Mav heard over his intercoms before he crashed into the ground. He barely had time to eject.

The feeling of cool air hitting his face woke him up as he felt the rigidly cold snow on his hands. He groaned as he pulled himself up.

He looked up and saw a helicopter ominously charging towards him. He panicked and dove behind a tree avoiding the spray of gunfire on him.

He took deep breaths as the sound of the propellers got closer to him. Soon he came face to face with the machine that was intent on killing him.

Maverick had accepted his fate until three jets flew overhead.

He saw Rooster, Phoenix, BOB, and Hangman.

"No... NO!" He waved at them to leave as the helicopter was shot down. Shortly after the enemy MiGs shot down Hangman, then Phoenix, and finally Rooster.

Maverick felt panic rise in his chest. There was only
One word he could scream out. "KIDS!" He raced through the snow to get to the three downed planes as fast as he could.

Were they alive?

How badly injured were they!?

Maverick made it to Roosters jet. He didn't see him. He looked around and saw Rooster running over to Hangman's jet that was still on fire with him in it.

"HANGMAN! JAKE! WAKE UP!" Rooster screamed As he pounded on the canopy. Hangman's head was bleeding and so was his nose.

Maverick made his way over and was assuming the worst. "Hangman!" Maverick yelled as he looked around for something, anything! To break the canopy.

He saw a rather large rock. "Rooster!" Rooster turned and immediately started to help maverick carry it over to the jet. The two threw it at the canopy glass which cracked it.

Rooster pulled out his knife and stabbed through the crack breaking the canopy. Mavericks quickly pulled the lever that opened the canopy.

Rooster pulled Hangman out of the jet right before the cockpit caught fire.

"Mav! Find the others! I got him!" Rooster said as he started to do recusitation on Hangman. He did compressions against his chest.

"Jake!" Rooster said right before he gave him a breath. That one breath had Hangman suddenly wake up.

"Bradley..." hangman said quickly as he gripped Roosters arm.

"Hey man... son of a bitch you had me worried..." he said as he looked over where Maverick was. He sighed and looked back at Hangman. "Do you need help getting up?"

Hangman nodded slightly. His sarcastic, narcissistic attitude was casted to the side for the moment. Rooster helped him up and wrapped an arm around his waist as he walked him down where he saw Maverick run off to.

Maverick panted as he made it to BOB and Phoenix's jet. Phoenix limped out of the jet as she frantically looked around for something.

Maverick looked at the backseat and noticed BOB wasn't there. "Where's BOB?" He asked.

"He was the only one who ejected! My handles didn't work!" She said as she limped away from the aircraft. She felt her heart rate pick up due to the panic of the situation.

She then suddenly stopped when saw BOB limping over to the jet holding his side. "ROBERT!" She ran over to him despite her leg. She quickly scanned him.

She noticed his glasses were cracked. "Are you okay?! What happened?" She said worried.

"I'm alright... just kinda sore." He said tiredly. She sighed and nodded as she walked him over to maverick as Rooster and Hangman arrived.

Maverick teared up and pulled all of them into a hug. "You stupid STUPID kids.... If I crash. Don't follow after me." He said with relief and annoyance in his voice.

"Just doing what we do best..." hangman said with a weak smirk.

There's the charm that he was missing.

Maverick chuckled tiredly. "Well... we need to find a shelter. It's getting dark and we have snow coming in..." he said as he looked around.

"I found a cave near where I landed." Bob said as he looked at Maverick.

Maverick sensed something was wrong with Bob but he nodded. "Lead the way."

Bob started to walk ahead of them towards where the cave. He was ignoring his limp and the fact that his side was bleeding. He just hid it by placing his hand on it,'acting as if it was sore.

The group made it to the cave and all finally got to sit down and sit down and rest. Maverick and Rooster were the least injured of the group so they got to play doctor.

Maverick was working on Hangman as Rooster worked on Phoenix's cut on her cheek. "Hey Bob, can you go fill the canteens with snow and find some wood?" Rooster asked as he glanced at him.

Bob nodded and got up and walked out the cave. Immediately Phoenix sensed something wrong. "I'm going out there with him. He needs a battle buddy." She said as she pulled herself up.

"Are you sure?" She nodded and rushed after Bob. She caught up to him eventually and watched him grip his side tighter than earlier. "You okay?"

"Yeah... yeah I'm fine." He said as he looked at her. He noticed the blood on her cheek. "Are you?"

"I'm fine. This isn't as bad as it seems." She said with a chuckle as she looked around for some clear snow.  He watched her closely. A faint smile went across his face as she grabbed her canteen and started to shove snow in it.

He wished they never crashed.

He really wished they were at the ship.

If they were, he wouldn't feel like a burden like he did right now. He felt like he was gonna pass out.

But he continued forward, and started to fill everyone's canteens with snow.

Phoenix stopped and glanced at him. "What are you hiding from me?" She asked. Bob looked at her and then continued to put snow into the canteen.

"Nothing..." he said as he closed one canteen and then grabbed another. She was about to say something when she heard footsteps, and it wasn't Rooster or Maverick.

The two hid as fast as they could. Phoenix hid in a bush and Bob hid in a bush away from her. The two held their breaths as Bob watched an enemy trooper step towards their canteens they left out in the open.

Bobs eyes widened as the trooper glanced at the footprints at the ground. The steps lead straight over to Phoenix. She teared up as she didn't have her gun on her.

The guard reached into the bush and yanked her out. She winced as she hit the ground in front of the trooper. They aimed their gun at her head. She was shaking and had tears going down her face.

She glanced at Bob and gave him the faintest smile.

The gun was cocked. Bob rushed out with his knife and stabbed the troopers back. The trooper in return hit him with their gun.

Bob got up and put himself in between Phoenix and the enemy. He flipped his knife and swung at the enemy, hitting them in the chest.

He kicked them into a rock wall and panted as they came to a stop. He ran over to Phoenix and helped her up. She gripped his arm tightly as she tried to stay calm.

"Hey.... You're okay... you're-" Bob stumbled as the world started to spin. He fell to the ground and coughed up blood. "Bob! MAVERICK!" Phoenix yelled as opened up his flight suit seeing the nasty gash on his side.

Maverick came running as Bob fell unconscious.

"Shit..."