Cold Time

Hello, hope you are having a good day.

"Arthur, I can't go on. I'm too cold." Merlin shivered shakily.

"Don't be such a girl." Arthur sighed angrily.

"Arthur, I can't feel my arms and legs. I can barely walk. I need to rest or I'll pass out. I'm exhausted."

"Ok. Come on let's get somewhere warmer. I'll help you walk."

"Ok. Oh, my head."

Arthur went to Merlin and helped him walk. When Arthur looked at Merlin he could see the boy's lips turning blue. Arthur held Merlin close and could feel Merlin shiver.

"Merlin, you're cold. I think you are a bit too cold. Come on." Arthur blurted out.

They walked till they found a warm place. They went into an old hut and warmed up for several minutes. Merlin felt tired and was about to fall asleep but Arthur stopped him.

"Merlin, don't fall asleep." Arthur yelled quickly.

"I'm tired. I haven't slept in 2 days."

"I know but wait till we find some place tonight. We need to get to Camelot."

"Ok."

Arthur and Merlin went back into the snow and walked the way home but they got lost. It was almost night when Merlin fell in the snow and Arthur did not know till several minutes later. He looked around him and didn't see Merlin. He called Merlin's name and went back the way they came. He found Merlin and lifted him up.

"Hey Merlin, let's go." Arthur whispered shakily.

"OK." Merlin shivered weakly.

Arthur picked him up and help him walk. An hour later they fell into a hole and they saw blackness.

Merlin's POV

Merlin opened his eyes and screamed in pain. He looked around him and saw darkness and very little light. Merlin looked at his legs and saw that there were rocks the size of 2 heads on his legs. He was on his back and his right arm was covered by several huge rocks the size of huge bowls and saw a few on his other arm. He saw 3 rocks on his right ribs and a couple on his left. He couldn't see Arthur. Then he saw something move in far left corner. He knew it was Arthur and he wanted to help but couldn't. He saw Arthur get up and move to him.

Arthur's POV

Arthur opened his eyes and looked around him. HE couldn't find Merlin. He saw something move and knew it was Merlin. Oh, good, nothing hurts. What if Merlin's hurt? He's not moving as much as he should. Arthur thought to himself. He got up and went to Merlin. When he got there he was greeted with an unpleasant sight. Merlin wasn't shivering and was as cold as ice. Arthur could see a dark crimson color on Merlin's forehead. Then he saw the rocks. Arthur knew that Merlin was dying.

"Don't touch my head. It hurts too much. I can't breathe. You must move the rocks." Merlin moaned painfully.

"Ok." Arthur agreed as he moved the rocks off Merlin's ribs. When he was done he asked, "What do I do? Hey, remain conscious."

"Poke them and see if they're broken. You may need to lift my shirt up and see. Move the rocks, poke the areas to see if broken, and keep me conscious and warm. I'm about to go into shock. You will need light."

"Ok. I've found several sticks. I'll try to make a fire."

Arthur grabbed a few sticks and made a fire. Then he found several other sticks. When he was done he went back to Merlin and removed the other rocks. As he did Merlin screamed in pain and whimpered for several minutes. Arthur lifted Merlin's shirt and saw crimson red lace Merlin's right ribs and some left ones. He started to wiped the blood away and saw what looked like white sticks show.

"I will need surgery when we get back. My ribs a severely damaged. I've lost too much blood. It hurts a lot. If I don't get help soon, I'll die. I might have internal bleeding." Merlin moaned.

"I know. I'm trying to stop the bleeding. I need you to stay awake. I don't know what might have happened to your head. If you go into shock out here you will die. I don't know how long we were unconscious. You may have hypothermia. OK." Arthur calmly whispered as he saw Merlin close his eyes. When Arthur was done talking he squeezed Merlin's hand. Arthur smiled as he saw Merlin open his eyes.

"Are you done yet?"

"Yes. Now let's get you warmed up."

"Ok."

Then Arthur found his stuff and found blankets and bandages. He went over to Merlin and wrapped Merlin's ribs up. Merlin whimpered as Arthur wrapped his ribs up. Then Arthur wrapped Merlin's right leg. When Arthur was done he realized that he had no more bandages. SO he took part of his cloak and used it to make a sling for Merlin's blood covered arm.

"Arthur, I'm… cold. I…I… can't… br….ea….the. Help… me… Ar…th…ur. Pl….. ea…..se." Merlin whimpered semi-consciously. Arthur took the 5 blankets they had and covered Merlin up. Then he found Merlin's left hand and squeezed it.

"I'm here, Merlin. Open your eyes." Arthur whispered sadly. Merlin opened his eyes and did what he could to stay conscious. After a few minutes Arthur got up and started pushing parts of the wall. "We need to get out of here before you die. How do you feel?"

"Weak… cold… tired… thirsty… hungry. It… hurts… all… over." Merlin hoarsely groaned.

"We'll get out of here soon."

Then Arthur found a loose rock. He pushed it and a light started to shine through.

"What…is…..it…..Art….hur?" Merlin shivered.

"I think we found our way out. The cold air in here will get much worse so brace yourself."

"Like go unconscious?"

"Anything but that and death, Merlin. I know it hurts. We'll be out and in Camelot soon."

"Ok."

Then Arthur pushed all the rocks in that area revealing a door. It lead to the woods where the blizzard was still blowing. Arthur looked back to Merlin and saw him shivering violently. Arthur went to Merlin and bent down next to Merlin on his left side. He grabbed Merlin's left arm and put it around his neck. He lifted Merlin up and carried him out of the cave. Merlin put his head on Arthur's right shoulder. For the next hour they walked to Camelot or a least tried to. Then Arthur got to a slope and saw Camelot red flags flying in the wind. Arthur looked down at Merlin who was shivering violently in his arms. Merlin's breath hitched more than it should. Merlin's lips were tinted with blue.

"Hey, Merlin, look. It's Camelot. We'll get there. Stay awake. Keep talking to me." Arthur calmly sighed. Merlin looked where Arthur was looking and saw Camelot but was delusional. Merlin barely shivered after he looked. Arthur looked down at Merlin and saw how cold he was. Then he ran as fast as he could to Camelot. He could feel Merlin weaken. A couple hours later Arthur got to Camelot. He carried Merlin all the way to Gaius's chamber. When he got there he kicked the door open and gently put Merlin on Gaius's bed. Then Gaius came in.

"What happened?" Gaius asked breathlessly. Then Gaius started checking Merlin.

"We were hunting even when the blizzard started. HE started dying so we rested. Then when we started coming back we fell down a hole. When we got out he was unconscious and bleeding to death." Arthur panted sadly.

"I need to treat his wounds. He's too weak. I have to operate on him. He has internal bleeding. His right lung is bleeding. Take his shirt off and the bandages."

"How bad?"

"I have to do this now or he will die. He has hours."

TBC