A/N: Oh my goodness guys. I am so sorry for the wait on this chapter! Let's just say that recently my life has been really hectic and just downright terrible. But thankfully, things are starting to slow down and I should be able to post more regularly.
Thank you so much for sticking with me and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Thank you to Caithlinn13 for the idea.
Warning: Slight descriptions of blood, a bit of violence... some suspense.
Disclaimer: I don't own Ranger's Apprentice.
35. Hold My Hand
He could feel the sweat on his palms, making his fingers slippery. He clawed desperately at the side of the cliff, blood dripping down his hands, dirt coating his broken fingernails.
"Will?"
He heard the shout through a great tunnel, his vision going dark around the edges and his breath coming in strangled gasps. He made the mistake of looking down, seeing the far drop to the bottom of the cliff, the only thing to break his fall a few gnarled trees, branches jutting out towards the sky, searching desperately for sunlight.
How on earth did it come to this? He asked himself.
And then his hand slipped.
HOLD MY HAND
Earlier that day...
Will crouched behind his mentor, feet planted firmly in the dirt, eyes fixated on the craggy rocks in front of them. The sky was dark, stars twinkling in the blackness, a half moon peeking out from behind a deep gray cloud. The apprentice could just make out a small glow from the rocks in front of them, smoke rising.
"Do we attack now?" he asked eagerly, slowly shifting to where he could see Halt more clearly. The two men had been given an assignment earlier that week: the tracking down of a fierce criminal, an assassin who had been murdering important delegates of the king's council.
They had been tracking the man for days, across the country, through dangerous terrain. Now, they were near a large cliff, the land steeply dropping to the floor.
Will was reminded a bit of The Fissure, the place where he burnt down the bridge, only to be captured by Morgarath's army. He could still smell the burning wood, still feel the heat on his face, hear the screams of Wargals echoing around him.
Halt's voice brought him out of his memory.
"What do you think, Will?" the mentor asked the apprentice skeptically.
"This is the closest we have been for days," Will responded quickly, eager to please the elder man. "He's trapped at the edge of the cliff. I think we go for it."
Halt shook his head quickly. "You're too hasty. Think of it this way... This man is a trained criminal. Do you think he would really light a fire so blatantly if he didn't have a sure way to escape ambush? Novices are always making mistakes and getting captured. But trained criminals always have a way out so in the event they are found, they can just slip away."
"So what do we do now?" Will asked.
"We wait until he starts moving. We watch to see what direction he goes in, whether it be to start scaling the cliff or off in another direction. When he reveals his path, I go and cut him off, blocking his path of escape. You will go up from behind so he is blocked from both angles."
Will just nodded, sitting back on his heels. "So we wait?" he asked, a little sigh escaping his lips before he could stop it.
"Now we wait," Halt echoed.
HOLD MY HAND
The dark sky was streaked with pink, as if an artist had swept a paint brush through the stars. Will shifted a little, his foot brushing against a pebble, sending it bouncing down the edge of the cliff. The apprentice was pressed between a boulder and the edge of the cliff, his feet balancing on a small strip of rock.
He was as close to the enemy as he dared, his hiding place merely a few meters away from the assassin himself. The apprentice watched as the man in question began to move, heading along the edge of the cliff. Will crept along close behind, holding his breath.
Halt jumped from behind a pile of rocks, his gray-green cloak swirling around him. Will saw the glint of a knife, the early morning light bouncing off the cold silver of the blade.
"Stop," Halt commanded, his voice ringing. The assassin paused, hand reaching towards the throwing knives at his belt.
"By the command of the Rangers of Araluen, I order you to surrender all of your weapons. You are under arrest," Halt continued.
Will held his breath, muscles tense, ready to spring into action at any moment. There was a brief moments pause before an explosion of movement.
The criminal lunged forwards, but Will was ready, moving forwards from behind the boulder, launching himself at the attacker with full force, his knife gripped in his clenched fist. His body collided with the assassin, sending the wind running out of his lungs.
He didn't pause to catch his breath, the assassin giving him no time to think.
White hot pain filled every cell, became everything he knew. He looked down, seeing blood trickling down his side. He stumbled back, and before he knew it, there was nothing but air under him.
He grabbed the thing closest to him, the assassin's shirt and they both went over the edge.
Dirt. Pain. Blood. Light.
He blindly reached out a hand, a scream ripping through him. His fingers grabbed a hold of something, momentum causing his already sore body to slam into the side of the cliff.
He heard a thud, presumably the sound of the assassin hitting the ground far below him.
Everything was still.
He could feel the sweat on his palms, making his fingers slippery. He clawed desperately at the side of the cliff, blood dripping down his hands, dirt coating his broken fingernails.
"Will?"
He heard the shout through a great tunnel, his vision going dark around the edges and his breath coming in strangled gasps. He made the mistake of looking down, seeing the far drop to the bottom of the cliff, the only thing to break his fall a few gnarled trees, branches jutting out towards the sky, searching desperately for sunlight.
How on earth did it come to this? He asked himself.
And then his hand slipped.
He screamed, clenching his eyes shut, preparing for the impact. But none came. Looking up, he saw Halt leaning over the edge, the older ranger gripping the younger ranger's hand.
"Hold my hand. Do not let go!" Halt said, his voice strained from the effort of keeping the young man up.
"Halt." That was all Will could say, gravity pulling at his arms, making his joints pop.
"Do not let go!" Halt said again, heaving upwards, letting out a guttural cry.
Will felt his hands slipping, the blood making his palms thick. His fingers felt heavy, his brain foggy. He was slipping, slipping, slipping...
With one final heave, Halt pulled him up over the edge and onto solid ground.
Will didn't move, his side erupting in pain. He let out a moan, bloody hands coming up to his side.
"Hold still," Halt said, and Will complied, unable to muster the strength to sit up.
"This is a pretty nasty cut... I need to get the medical supplies. Stay here," Halt said. The man disappeared from Will's line of sight for a moment, the apprentice lying alone, unguarded. But it was only a few seconds before Halt was back, a bag clutched in his hands.
"Lay still, and don't be a girl," Halt said.
"Don't... be... a... girl?" Will gasped out between clenched teeth. "Halt... just a few... seconds ago... you were... begging... to hold my hand."
"Shut up," Halt said with a small smile, beginning to clean the wound. Will didn't have to be told twice, his eyes sliding closed.
Halt worked quietly and quickly, bandaging up the apprentice's wound before packing there supplies. He checked over the side of the cliff to see the assassin's body, and, after he was content the man was dead, picked up Will in his arms and carried him away from the scene.
"Thank god I didn't lose you... not again."
A/N: So... there you have it. I hope it was worth the wait. It's not my best work, I know... but I couldn't get the words out of my head properly... if that makes sense...
Next up is 'Precious Treasure'! I already have a few ideas, but please leave a review and tell me what you want to see.
Thank you so much for reading! Live long and prosper.
-Dawn