A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! And sorry this one is late, I wasn't able to write three days this week.
Tuesday, 10:42am; Jarnollen.
Obi-Wan carefully pulled Anakin onto his back, away from the wall. His Padawan was awake, but barely, he looked like he wouldn't remain in the hands of consciousness for long. His eyes were closed and his breathing heavy, and Obi-Wan presumed that whatever had happened must've happened recently. He looked around to check there was no one else around that he might've missed, but the room was empty except for the two of them. And, of course, the body on the floor.
Obi-Wan knew that the other man must've had some connection to Anakin. Good or bad only Anakin would know. So, although he didn't want to, he gently let Anakin go, standing and walking to the body. Pressing two fingers to the man's neck, he felt for a pulse. There was no sign of it. Obi-Wan doubted that he would have been able to get them both out anyway, one more injured person was just another person he'd have to defend. From the looks of it the man had been killed by the blaster, at point blank range.
Obi-Wan left the body, knowing there was nothing more he could do for it, and returned to Anakin. He gently pulled the boy up so he was sitting against his shoulder, so that he could see the injuries without Anakin being uncomfortable on the floor. He put his lightsaber down on the floor, near enough that he'd be able to reach it if he needed to, but no so close that it would impede them.
The first thing Obi-Wan noticed was the blaster wound in Anakin's side. It looked bad, but it didn't seem to have hit anything vital. Unlike the aim on the other man, this one looked as if it had been hurriedly done, shot randomly in the hopes of hitting something. It seemed the diversion had worked in the nick of time. Obi-Wan felt sick thinking about what might have happened if they were a moment too late.
The wound was in Anakin's side, and partly on his arm. The one on his torso wasn't bleeding, the blaster having cauterized the injury immediately, but the bit on his arm was open, bleeding heavily. Obi-Wan checked to make sure it wasn't in need of desperate attention, then left it. It would last until they got back to the ship.
There was nasty bruising along Anakin's face and down his body, some fresh and some possibly days old. He had a black eye which looked recent, and Obi-Wan briefly wondered what had happened that caused someone to kill one man and severely injure another. But his attention was drawn back to Anakin as he let out a quiet moan when Obi-Wan shuffled.
"It's fine Anakin. You're with me." Obi-Wan said. Even though the first bit was technically a lie, his Padawan was definitely not fine, Obi-Wan was just glad he was able to say those words. Glad that Anakin was alive enough to revive them.
He looked at the other injuries that Anakin had, but none were to dangerous for the moment. All of then were in desperate need of medical attention, Anakin's leg especially. Obi-Wan felt ill just looking at it, with the knowledge that Anakin was forced to walk around with it without any care. He knew first hand what a broken bone felt like, even with medical care it was excruciating.
Along one of his arms were cuts, lined up perfectly from shoulder to elbow. Obi-Wan knew that it wasn't common slave practice to punish people so carefully. That meant that they were from the person who kidnapped Anakin. Obi-Wan knew that when he eventually found the man who did it, he was going to tear him to pieces before he even thought about killing him.
Anakin, all in all, looked terrible. Obi-Wan knew that he needed medical care. As soon as possible. But Obi-Wan was no qualified person, he could lessen pain with the Force, but not heal. He didn't want to mess anything up, and, besides, he needed all the energy he could get if he was going to get them out.
Making up his mind, he moved Anakin off himself gently, then stood and took of the brown cloak he was wearing with his disguise. He wrapped it around Anakin's arms and torso to stop any worse bleeding, and also so he'd blend in with the landscape better. Then he hoisted Anakin up into his arms, so the Padawan's head rested against his shoulder. A few weeks ago he would've struggled to lift Anakin. It would've been manageable, but difficult. Now though it was easy. He was light, so much so that Obi-Wan barely had to strain. He'd lost so much weight since Obi-Wan last saw him.
Once he'd secured Anakin in his grip, he summoned his lightsaber into his belt. He'd need to move quickly until he got to Quinlan, he wouldn't be able to defend himself as well as Anakin at the same time. He took a few steps and found that it wasn't to hard to move while carrying Anakin. So, leaving the body behind with a regretful look over his shoulder, Obi-Wan stepped out into the corridor. It was as empty as before, but Obi-Wan could hear some shouting from a distance away, and knew that Quinlan should be somewhere down there. Right in the thick of things probably. Which meant that he needed to find a way to reach him without drawing attention to himself.
Obi-Wan walked carefully up the passageway, checking around every so often to see if anyone was following them. When he reached the staircase he was slightly worried as to how he would get down, but with Anakin barely weighing him down as he would've done before, it was no harder than it would've been if Anakin hadn't been there. They went down several flights before Obi-Wan saw the armoury again. Once he knew it was the right floor, he set Anakin don't carefully in a near corner and took a breather. Down on the main floor there were plenty more people, but Obi-Wan blended in with them, and Anakin was mostly covered so didn't look out of the ordinary. It (hopefully) just looked like someone helping his friend who was injured in the blast. It was only if someone took a closer look that they'd be in trouble.
Another explosion rocked the building. Obi-Wan realised that meant that Quinlan had run out of detonators, as he had only taken a few from what Obi-Wan had seen. Obi-Wan lifted Anakin back up into his arms and went down the corridor which he had first come up. When he reached the room where the man from before was unconscious, and the guard lay groaning, slowly regaining awareness, he shuffled so his lightsaber was in his hand, but he was still holding Anakin. At least now he would be able to deflect a few bolts which might come their way. He gave the door a small kick, and then they were in open air again, the sickly sweet smell of the toxic jungle washing over him.
He carefully walked down the pathway, making sure his legs remained untangled from the foliage and plants. He didn't want to trip, as he didn't have a free hand to steady himself. It was slow going, picking his way through the plants, before he had been able to move it aside, but now he struggled to get through.
When he got to the corner which would lead to the open area at the front, he stopped. Looking around, he cursed as he saw people with blasters firing at some point he couldn't see. From the flashing and the bolts jumping back into the sky, Obi-Wan presumed that it was Quinlan. But there was no way he'd be able to get to Quinlan without getting pelted by blaster fire, and there was no way he was going to leave Anakin. A group of slaves had gathered to watch the fight, and everyone else was too occupied to tell them not to. Obi-Wan thought quickly. There was no way he'd manage to pass as one of them, not when actually with them.
It seemed his best bet would be to go to the ship and then come back for Quinlan. The plan had been to com him, but now it was obvious that he wouldn't be able to pick up in the midst of a battle. Obi-Wan didn't exactly feel safe walking up the path without someone watching his back, but he didn't really have a choice. Making sure the cloak covered Anakin so he wouldn't stand out too much, Obi-Wan walked out into the open. When no one noticed him his confidence grew, and he took another step. No one attacked, nobody even looked his way. It seemed Quinlan was the perfect distraction.
He walked quickly, head down, hand clutching his lightsaber. It would all be fine as long as no one noticed him. When he finally reached a more shielded jungle area, about five minutes later, he breathed a sigh of relief. They weren't out yet, but they were part way there. It would be a lot harder for anyone to track them through the trees. Obi-Wan was about to move on when he heard a rustling coming from the undergrowth. He activated his lightsaber, spinning to face the noise. He debated on whether he should place Anakin behind him and fight properly, but if someone got past him then he wouldn't be able to defend Anakin. At least with Anakin in his arms he'd have to be dead before they could reach him.
He waited. The sounds of the jungle eerie in the otherwise silent place. Then Obi-Wan realised. Silence. The fighting had stopped. That either meant that Quinlan had got out, or he was...
Quinlan barreled through the bushes, panting heavily.
"Hey." He breathed, when he came to a halt beside Obi-Wan.
"Are the tailing you?" Obi-Wan asked quickly.
"I don't think so. I managed to smoke up the area enough that they couldn't see me.
Obi-Wan smiled, relieved. One of Quinlan's more inventive tricks was to deflect blaster bolts to the ground, causing dust to rise up and blind the attacker.
"How did you find me then?" He asked cautiously.
"I saw you come out. I had my eye on the spot we'd gone in." Quinlan said. He caught his breath, hand clutching his side. "He doesn't look good." He said, motioning at Anakin.
"No. He doesn't." Obi-Wan agreed. "He needs medical attention urgently. There's a blaster wound in his side which is recent."
"We can do basic treatment when we get to the ship. Then we just have to hope we make it to the Temple quickly." Quinlan said.
They both began to walk up the track.
"Do you want me to carry him?" Quinlan asked.
"No, thank you." Obi-Wan answered. He didn't want to give up Anakin yet, not right after he'd finally got him back. "I'll be fine. Anyways, I doubt that -"
Both of them swung around, Quinlan drawing his saber and Obi-Wan activating his. They'd both heard the twig snap behind them, tantalisingly close. Obi-Wan had felt dread shoot through him, thinking they'd be fired at immediately. Instead both of them found that they were now facing an old woman.
Obi-Wan didn't lower his lightsaber, not knowing yet if the woman was friend or foe. Quinlan scowled at her, yet she didn't back away as Obi-Wan would've done if in her position. She stood her ground and glared back.
"Let him go." She said, and Obi-Wan was startled to hear that her voice wasn't frail like he'd expected, but strong, laced with anger. She raised a finger. "Drop him there or I call out.
Obi-Wan looked at Quinlan with a worried expression. The woman was unarmed, but if she signalled anyone they'd be swarmed within minutes. Quinlan looked tired out, and Obi-Wan himself was starting to feel fatigue claw at his muscles. But he couldn't let Anakin go. He refused to put him down on the floor, not in his current state.
"No." Obi-Wan replied. He glared angrily at her. The woman didn't miss a beat.
"Let him down." She said, just as forcefully as before.
"No." Obi-Wan growled, tightening his grip. "We could fight our way out of any backup you call." He bluffed. She smiled knowingly, and the lie felt heavy in the air between them.
"Sure you could. Now let him go. Last chance."
She took a threatening step forward, and despite the fact that he was a trained Jedi wielding a lightsaber, Obi-Wan took a step away.
"What do you want with him?" He asked angrily.
"I could ask the same of you." She replied, deflecting the question. Obi-Wan sighed. For all his negotiations skills, he was at loss for something he could do to convince her.
"We're rescuing him, if you must know." He said finally. He had a feeling that lies couldn't fool anyone anymore.
A look of tentative realisation started to dawn on the woman's face, and she gave Obi-Wan a sharp look.
"Where are you from?" She asked. Obi-Wan started.
"Where am I -"
"From, yes."
"Oh. Uh, Coruscant." He said. She nodded, relaxing more. Obi-Wan wasn't quite sure what he had said to calm her down, but he was glad it was working.
"I thought so."
Anakin took that moment to shift in his arms, and Obi-Wan, having forgotten that he was there, almost dropped him. He quickly got his hand back under Anakin's shoulders though, and positioned him safely.
"Stop moving Anakin!" He said out of habit, even though he knew Anakin wouldn't hear him. The movement had caused Obi-Wan's eyes to drop from the woman and look at Anakin, but when he glanced up again hr was surprised at what he saw. It seemed as though all of the protectiveness had melted out of the woman, and she stood there with a small smile on her face.
"You were saying..." Obi-Wan prompted. The woman looked away from Anakin and up at Obi-Wan. Her face morphed into one of stern protectiveness, an emotion Obi-Wan had seen on his face often enough.
"Look after him." She said. Quinlan shared another glance with Obi-Wan, but then the woman turned and walked back down the way she came, back towards the castle and the yells coming from it. Obi-Wan stared after her, still trying to puzzle together what was going on, when Quinlan grabbed his arm.
"We need to move. Even if she doesn't alert anyone, someone else could follow us at any moment." He said urgently. Obi-Wan nodded his agreement, throwing one last look at the woman hobbling down the pathway, then followed Quinlan as fast as he could while still holding Anakin.
The shouts slowly started to quieten behind them. The air was filled with the sounds of the jungle, the chirps of unseen animals and the running of a distant river. Their ragged breaths echoed in the forest, the heat finally beginning to get to them. Obi-Wan's arms ached from the strain of holding Anakin for so long, but he didn't even think about giving him to Quinlan. By the time the ship came into view, both Jedi were tired and sweating, panting for breath. Obi-Wan hadn't though to bring any water down from the ship, so when he saw it he knew that they'd need to get a drink before anything else.
Quinlan lowered the boarding ramp, then followed Obi-Wan up. The ship they had taken was small, but consisted of a small medical bench and a 'fresher, as well as a cockpit. Obi-Wan headed straight for the bench, needing a place where he could start to look at Anakin's blaster wound. He placed him gently down, while Quinlan brought over a blanket to place on the cold metal surface.
"I'll start the ship. Meet me up front when you're done." He said, then headed to the controls. Obi-Wan felt the engine hum into life a moment later, and sat down next to Anakin.
Once they had actually taken off, and were heading to the outer atmosphere, Obi-Wan kneeled down next to Anakin. He knew some basic medical training from his early Padawan days, not that he'd ever thought he'd need to use it. But he hooked Anakin up to a miniature vital displayer so he could see what he was doing, then carefully unwrapped Anakin from his robe.
The first thing Obi-Wan noticed was that Anakin was low on oxygen, he wasn't taking enough in through his lungs. Obi-Wan didn't know how long that had been going on, but he assumed it was from inhalation of water or dust. So he placed an oxygen mask over Anakin's face, hoping that it would be enough to get Anakin to Coruscant. He dabbed some bacta onto the blaster wound, wrapping it tightly in the few bandages he'd found in a cupboard.
While it stopped the bleeding, Obi-Wan still felt at loss. He didn't know how to deal with most injuries, let alone with someone who'd been subject to multiple without medical care for almost half a month. So, instead of progressing too far, he only helped Anakin up until the point that he was satisfied Anakin would make it to Coruscant. The rest he'd have to leave to the healers. Breathing a sigh, a mixture of relief, exhaustion and anger mixed in, he left Anakin sleeping fitfully and joined Quinlan at the front.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! And, also, did you guys hear that Hayden Christensen will probably have a recurring role in the Kenobi series? There was I thinking I'd never get anymore content with them.