THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING!!!!!!!!! as always I really do love u all!!!
a certain *awsumm* someone gave me a shoutout on their fic and I would like to return the favour. so if you havent already, go read Adonne de la Chaleur by authorEmilyRay. it is AMAZINGLY GOOD!!! sssssssssooooooooooooooooo much better than this so if you havent read it then WTF ARE YOU DOING?!!?!?!?! GO READ IT!! NNOOOWWWW!!!!! if youre reading this and you havent read adonne de la chaleur then I will be mad..very very mad...why are you still reading this??? you should not be reading this...I will hit you...seriously...I will...*slap*...now GO!!
alrightty..now that you have read *and REVIEWED!!!!!* Adonna de la Chaleur you may continue to read this..
ENJOY!!..
Chapter Three
Halt entered his room to find Will lying on his stomach, arms and legs spread-eagled on the bed. The blankets were half off the bed and Will's head was almost under the pillow. He looked at the boy, sadness in his eyes. Gently he placed Will's head back on top of the pillow. At first he recoiled from the touch but after a moment of observing Halt through half-lidded eyes and a few soothing words, he calmed.
Halt untangled the blankets and re-tucked them around Will's form then wet the cloth and placed it back on his forehead.
Then Halt fetched a chair from the corner, sat next to Will and waited for Tom. Will's wheezing breaths filled the silence and occasionally he would let out a chesty cough. Halt held his clammy hand soothingly.
Not long after Halt finished fixing up his apprentice there was a knock on the front door. He was tempted to call out but the noise might have disturbed Will, who, though he was not entirely asleep, seemed to be getting some sort of rest.
Will whimpered slightly at the loss of contact with Halt's hand as he stood to answer the door.
"How is he?" Tom asked as he moved into the cabin.
"He appears to have calmed down a little bit, he's not as frantic as before." Halt lead him into his room to see Will.
The old healer moved forward, sitting his gear on the small table where the jug of water was.
"Will?" he asked quietly.
The boy opened his eyes half-heartedly and swallowed.
"How do you feel?"
"Bad," he said, barely audible.
"How so?"
His eyes slipped closed, as if holding them open, even as slits, was too much effort. "Head hurts, chest hurts when I breathe...everything hurts..."
"How much have you slept?"
Will made the slightest movement of his head, "Haven't."
Tom nodded, running the facts over in his head. He lowered his head to Will's chest and listened. He was breathing in short, ragged, irregular bursts and every time he did he was rushing the air into his lungs through itchy clumps of phlegm.
He straightened again. "Have you drunk or eaten anything unusual within the past week or so? Something you haven't eaten before? Off meat?"
"No."
Tom looked at Halt for conformation and the Ranger shook his head in agreement with Will.
"Are you thirsty Will?"
"Yeah. But it hurts too much to drink..."
The healer sighed. "Do have some coffee, Halt?"
"Of course," he said. "Will, I'll be back in a moment."
Halt went out to the kitchen and began boiling a pot of water. Tom followed him out.
"What is it?" Halt asked, worry written all over his face.
"I've seen things like this before." His voice sounded almost defeated. "Only a few times. All we can do is treat the symptoms...and hope for the best."
"Hope for the best?"
"I'm afraid so. I have only seen a small number of cases like this and not even half of those have survived."
Halt looked...empty.
"Will appears to have it pretty bad. I can give him herbs for the cough and to help numb his throat and chest so he can eat. I can give him a sedative to help him sleep; it'll certainly make his passing less painful. I'm sorry Halt."
Halt's emotions were mixed. He wanted, so badly, to lash out, to scream and yell at Tom, how could there be nothing they could do but hope? Will had been through so much and now he was going to die? After everything? There was nothing to be done? He was just a boy for God's sake! Healers like Tom were supposed to help people, not give up and let them die!
But he knew screaming would do no good. He knew no matter how angry he was, it wouldn't change the fact that Will might die.
No, he thought sternly. No. Will would not die while he was around. He breathed deeply.
"Just...do what you can for him."
Tom left Halt a bundle of assorted herbs. One kind was for his throat, to be had every time before he ate; another kind for his chest, to be had once a day; another kind for his head and every other aching part of his body, to be had two to five times a day, depending on how he needed it and the final kind was a sedative. Halt said that he most likely wouldn't use it, if Will was to die he didn't want him under the delusion that he was just going to close his eyes for a second then wake up later. But, he thought, if it stops him from suffering...
"He'll go through a few stages," Tom had said before he left. "The first stage is this. Everything seems to be going wrong, everything hurts, he coughs, he wheezes. The second stage he calms down, he sleeps a lot and appears to be on the mend. Stage three and he starts becoming delusional; hallucinations, fears start coming to life, reliving old horrors. He might have panic attacks, hyperventilate, that is probably when you'll need the sedative most.
"The final stage is similar to the first. Hot one second, freezing the next, coughing harshly, wheezing. A rash appears on the limbs, red and itchy. Once he gets to that stage do not let him scratch. Scratching will make it became infected and the infection, instead of speeding up the process slows it down. But if it gets infected he'll lose function of his arms and legs, and he will be in so much pain, it's better to stop him scratching and let it go at its own pace.
"There's only a small chance he'll come out of it alive, and I mean a small chance. There's not really anything to do except hope. If he dies it'll be after all the stages, if he lives, he could turn at any moment. After the second stage, if seems to be on the mend than he will most likely live. I'm sorry Halt, that's all I can say."
Unbid tears sprung to Halt's eyes, "I know you've done all you can. Thank you."
Tom nodded then opened the door and left.
w00t. :D PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! just so you all know I'm not planning on killing off Will...I mean, I could be a total bitch and do it and one day I will..perhaps in one of my other half-written fics.....but not in this one...it just doesn't feel right to kill him off.
sssooo...PLEASE REVIEW AND I SHALL GIVE YOU A....a...ermm...uh...I'll give you a..TIM TAM!!!!!! wait...the poor American's probably don't know what that is...I shall give the American's...MARS BARS!!! :D
luv u all..
passion.
