He dropped to his knees, gasping and panting for breath. Somewhere out there, Halt was calling for him, looking for him, but he didn't have the strength to turn back.
The little stream in front of him sang a gentle song, and he stared down at the water, at the rippled reflection of his. Tear tracks stained his grubby face, his clothes still tousled and wrinkled. His hair stuck up at odd ends, but the most terrifying part was looking into his eyes.
His eyes were the same color. But they were dull, and empty. They held no life, no energy. It was like looking into a mirror and seeing someone he'd never seen before. This wasn't him. This wasn't right. This was some stranger he'd never seen before, some stranger he didn't want to see.
Then who was it? Will didn't know. He didn't really want to know, either, but he was stuck there alone with that image.
But maybe, just maybe, the old him was still in there somewhere. He could feel it. He could feel it pounding inside his head, yelling, screaming, begging to be let back out, begging to be freed from this awful cage.
And he wanted to be free. He wanted to go back to the energetic, happy kid he'd been. But it was hard, and the chains holding him down were far too heavy to even fathom lifting. And so he was stuck somewhere inside, stuck looking at that shadow of himself.
And there was nothing he could do.
YOU ARE READING
Ranger's Apprentice: Tales Untold
FanfictionYou've heard of their adventures, of the wars, of their accomplishments. You know where they've traveled. But what about the parts you don't see? The parts of their lives that have been untold?
