Ranger's Apprentice Quick Stories

Wake Up - In and Out

"W-w-waakkee upp."

"G-G-Gi-l."

Gilan frowned as he fought to open his eyes. Someone was calling to him. But their voice was distant. And it echoed strangely.

With difficulty, he peeled his eyes open. His vision was doubled. The cabin ceiling was spinning. And to his left, he could just make out a very concerned-looking Halt. Actually... two of him.

"Halt?" He said, rather sleepily. "Why are there two of you?"

Gilan winced as Halt moved closer to him. The action had jarred Gilan's side, and that had hurt for some odd reason.

"Gilan, focus on me," Halt demanded, and Gilan quickly obeyed. Halt seemed angry with him.

"Okay," he said, his words still slurring. "Sorry, Halt."

"Enough of that," Halt replied sharply. "Keep focusing on me. Look here."

Gilan did as he was told. Slowly, Halt came into focus. Unfortunately, his growing consciousness also brought a rather sharp pain in his left side.

"Ow," he moaned, grimacing. "Halt, what happened?"

Halt, satisfied that Gilan was awake now, moved to examine Gilan's side. Gilan watched Halt's face closely. The grizzled Ranger's expression remained grim as he used his saxe to cut a hole in Gilan's cloak and jerkin.

That's good, Gilan said. Ruin all my clothes, why don't you. Still, he said nothing.

The lack of worry or shock on Halt's face gave Gilan peace of mind. That meant whatever was causing him pain wasn't too serious.

"It's just a graze, but it's on your ribs," Halt finally reported, returning his attention to Gilan's face.

"Gil, look here."

Gilan's eyes fluttered back to Halt. He hadn't realized that he'd been drifting back out of consciousness.

"Sorry Halt," he muttered. Halt nodded.

"It's alright," he said grimly. "It's probably from the blood loss. I need to get you to the infirmary. This will hurt, okay?"

Gilan sighed, hating the idea already.

"Okay," he said nonetheless.

"If you feel that you're going to pass out, tell me," Halt told him. Slowly, Gilan nodded.

"Ready?" Halt asked, moving one arm behind Gilan's shoulders and gripping the boy's forearm with his other hand as he prepared to help the boy stand. "One, two, three."

Together, they managed to drag Gilan to his feet.

Instantly, the boy swayed, and then became dead weight.

"Blast it all," Halt muttered, supporting Gilan's weight with only his own body.

"Alright, Gil. Here we go," Halt muttered, more to himself since Gilan was completely unconscious.  Halt smoothly swept one arm under the bend of Gilan's knees and kept the other behind his shoulders. He lifted the boy into his arms, thanking the heavens that drawing his longbow had given him such strong arms over the years. Otherwise, there would be no way the smaller Ranger could have hefted Gilan into his arms.

As it was, Halt made good time as he returned outside, lifting Gilan over the saddle of Abelard, where the little horse had waited obediently.

"I'll be back in just a moment," he promised his limp apprentice. Quickly, Halt ran back to the cabin, tying the two intruders up.

"We'll talk when I get back," he growled before shoving the two of them into his closet, bound and gagged, without a shred of remorse.

Then, he was back outside, mounting Abelard. He pulled Gilan back and into his lap, absentmindedly brushing a strand of the boy's sandy hair out of his face. For a split second, Halt watched Gilan's face. It was completely slack - almost peaceful - with his head resting against Halt's shoulder. In a moment of fear, Halt checked for the boy's heartbeat. Halt's own heart skipped a beat when he couldn't feel anything for a second. Then, he readjusted his fingers and finally felt the small but steady pulse.

"Hang in there, Gil," he whispered, before he spurred Abelard on toward the infirmary.

Okay, can we please talk about how underappreciated it is that Halt O'Carrick, grim and unemotional as he is, is the person that gave Gilan his nickname of "Gil"??? Am I the only one that LOVES that fact?? Such a rare show of affection from the grizzled old man!