All right! Well, first off...Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've had Writer's Block, and then was inflicted with Starter's Curse on the beginning of my newest chappie for this. Pretty soon you'll also have chappie two for Unlikely Enemy!

One final fight, for this tonight.
Woah...
With knives and pens we made our plight.
Woah...
And I can't go on without your love, you lost, you never held on.
We tried out best... Turn out the light,
Turn out the light.

Sorry. I like Black Veil Brides and was singing along with the song, and I began to write down the lyrics XD! I think I'll keep them there, though. By the way, Andy Sixx is pretty hot. Yes, I'm messed up in the head. Thanks for noticing! ^_^

Anyway...I only got a few reviews so far? What's wrong?Are you guys sick or something and can't get on the computer to review and read my stuff and all? Dude...that's just not right...XD Anyway, you should go ahead and read chapter four, all right? Haha XD ^_^

Chapter Four: The Countdown, Day One

The next day, Will woke with a start in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room, and instantly he began to panic and shout for Halt. His cries were cut off abruptly as a hand clamped down on his mouth, and then a voice muttered in his ear, "You're going to wake all of Redmont, Will. Be quiet."

Halt. Will's fright melted away slowly with a sigh, and then he turned slightly, wincing as a few twinges of pain shot through him, and met Halt's dark, brooding eyes. His mentor looked both annoyed, relieved, and—Will blinked in surprise—worry. Halt was never worried. Something bad must have happened. Then everything came flooding back to him. With a gasp, Will looked around, biting his bottom lip, looking for any signs of death.

"Is everyone all right? Did you tell them what happened, about the Demons?" Will demanded, but the almost glum look on Halt's face stopped him. "They didn't believe you." It wasn't a question.

Will's mentor shook his head. "Pauline thinks I've gone completely insane, Baron Arald is also beginning to question my sanity, Sir Rodney suggested that we lock me up...But Alyss believes us," he added suddenly, looking a bit more bright now. "Mostly because you started screaming about the Demons in your sleep, though. What were you dreaming about?"

"Alyss believes us?" Will began to beam. Then his smile faded, and he frowned. "Where's your Oakleaf, Halt?"

His heart sank when Halt ignored the question. "They won't let you be a Ranger anymore, will they?"

"We're officially—" Halt didn't get any farther, since Will began to speak in astonishment and betrayal, and he almost absently shut Will up again by putting his hand back on his apprentice's mouth. "No, you're not a Ranger's apprentice anymore. Because I'm not a Ranger, and Redmont thinks we're insane."

"We're foresters then?" Will looked like he was ready to cry. "Those...those bastards!"

For once, Halt didn't scold him on his use of language, but agreed silently, brooding darkly once more, chewing on his bottom lip in a sign that Will recognized as deep thinking. "They didn't take our longbows or our knives. Crowley thinks we're crazy as well, but he just can't let us be completely defenseless anymore. It's not like we don't still have enemies, Will."

Will was staring at something, and he trailed his apprentice's gaze back to where his wrist was wrapped up and completely still in his lap. "Does it hurt?" Will asked him somewhat curiously, frowning.

"Of course not," Halt snapped.

"Then move it around."

The younger ex-Ranger avoided Halt's glare, and then his mentor grumbled under his breath. After a few seconds, though, his voice became louder. "Fine. It hurts. Does it really matter?" he asked in exasperation as Will acquired a slightly smug expression.

"Not exactly, if you don't want it to. I just wanted to know," Will said flatly. Halt was a bit surprised at how Will seemed suddenly so...rebellious. The poison must have gotten to his head, he mused almost calmly, and decided that Will could hold his sarcastic manner with him for a little while, since it seemed to bring comfort to the boy. They needed a lot of comfort at the time, the two of them, with all that had happened.

Then Will smiled at him, almost a grin. "You look angry, Halt! What's wrong?"

"Never mind, Will." Halt's annoyance was reaching breaking point, which was what Will seemed to have as his goal.

"I'm serious. What's wrong? Did I say something?" Will was smirking now, the smile gone; he couldn't help but smirk at his former mentor. "You know, Halt, now that we're not apprentice/master anymore, we're practically like father/son now! Did you think of that?"

His rebellious act ended abruptly when Halt began to glare again, but in a much more dangerous fashion than before that proved the fact that he was not somebody to mess with, though at the same time Halt thought about that. What would it be like to have Will as an adoptive son? He would have to deal with the questions even more, since Will would be staying with him until he was eighteen and out of the cabin (couldn't really say house...XD!), and the boy wouldn't have anyone to pose as a mother for him, since Halt had no intention of getting married any time in his life now that Pauline basically hated him, but other than that it could be a very interesting experience.

"Sorry. It was just a suggestion," Will mumbled, and then fell back in bed, wincing when he did so. This poison was potent stuff! "When can I get out of bed?" he asked Halt.

"Poisoned and possibly near death, and already wondering when he can get out of bed," Halt mused allowed, purposely doing so to see Will's reaction to his hidden sarcasm.

"I'm dying?" Will's voice was so shrill that Halt immediately regretted his private joke.

"I was joking, Will," he said flatly, and then Will calmed down, but then frowned and began to edge away from his mentor. Halt never told jokes. He must be poisoned as well, or just really upset since Pauline dumped him. Did he cry? he wondered, and then realized that he had said his thoughts out loud, part of the realization because of the dangerous look in Halt's eyes and because he heard himself say the last word.

"Uh...I never said anything." Will quietly swore to himself, wondering how on Earth he so suddenly started to get himself in trouble, when usually he stayed out of messes like this (I'm having fun writing this, lol).

Halt glared at him a moment longer, and then gave it up, leaning back in his chair and sighing. "How are we going to warn Redmont, Will? That's the problem."

They both looked up as one of the nurses bustled into the room, but something out the window caught Halt's eye, and he continued to watch the dark, shadowy shape make it's way over the roof above the infirmary building. He was quite sure it was a Demon, and stood abruptly, causing the chair to fall over in his haste to get over to the window. Frowning, the nurse joined him as he looked out—and screamed as a thin, clawed arm crashed through the glass. Will watched it horror as his mentor and the young lady stumbled back to avoid the needle-like claws.

The arm was suddenly gone, and Halt turned to Will, ignoring the nurse's sobs as she went to get somebody. "The Demons have been attacking all day. It's rather disappointing to know that at least five people have been killed, there have been sightings, and still nobody believes."

Will didn't reply to that, but continued to stare at where the Demon arm had broken through the closed window, and wondered what Redmont would be like in two more days. After all, two days wasn't a very long time. It was a lot closer than they all thought.

~*~Hours later~*~

Evening had fallen, and Lady Pauline was striding down to saddle her horse, now ready for her newest Diplomatic mission in order to contact the fief next door; Baron Arald had told her there were some minor difficulties getting the small fief to cooperate with the upcoming war with Morgarath. The only thing Pauline didn't like about this was the fact that there had been so many deaths lately around here, and she was going off alone, with nobody to escort her. After all, she was a trained Diplomat, she had assured the baron.

She just didn't know what she was getting herself into, and realized that once she reached the deep, dark chasm. Incredulous, she swung down from the gray roan she had borrowed, and slowly approached the gap in the ground that seemed to stretch on for forever. Now wondering if Halt and Will had told the truth after all, Pauline looking around, feeling suddenly edgy out here in the open, just right around the area that the two Rangers had set up camp.

"Paranoid," she muttered to herself, pushing the thoughts out of her mind, but continued to glance around nervously, sighing briefly as she hauled herself up into the saddle again, but then froze as a noise came from a few feet away, from in the chasm, and then watched silently as a dark shape pulled itself up and out of the gap, loping away from her, in the direction of Redmont. Sitting there for a moment longer, halfway up into her saddle, she resisted the urge to bolt. Slowly and cautiously, she steered her strangely calm horse forward, and it did so quietly and seemingly without question.

Now Pauline was positive Halt hadn't been lying to her. But still, she couldn't believe the part about the...the Demons, could she? The rest of her doubts melted away as there was a chilling howl from behind her, and then she forced her mount into a canter, now frightened and wondering if she was being either hunted down or herded, or just set free.

At least two hours of riding later, she reached Redmont castle once more, and nearly leaped off the saddle of her horse, dashing into the large building to tell Baron Arald of what she had seen. Upstairs in the infirmary, Halt stood at the window, watching her curiously, and wondered what had happened. Behind him, Will slept, and that was how he had been since dark had fallen completely, when Halt began to watch over him.

Something must have happened to Pauline, he decided, and then sighed. Halt hoped she was all right, at least. Frowning and trying not to think of Pauline at the time, Halt closed his eyes briefly and then opened them to a open, fanged mouth, as if it was getting ready to swallow him whole. Nearly falling over as he staggered back, Halt regained his balance after a moment and then blinked once; the Demon was gone. Going over and slamming the window shut, Will's mentor, breathing hard, backed away from where he had nearly met his death, and then collapsed into the chair he had been sitting in for a while now, and closed his eyes again, trying to make himself fall asleep and not think about it.

The last thing he remembered before finally drifting off, was a dark chuckle from close by. Then the world went black around him.

If you're wondering, he wasn't killed. He fell asleep, lol. But do you like how this is going? I wasn't very certain, and almost wrote it over again...but then decided not to. I think I'm going to have nightmares of this XD!

I had a confession, really. I got the entire idea out of a nightmare, but about a year ago...I'll explain. I was planning my novel/series/whatever you want to call it, and wanted a man monster thing. I didn't know what I wanted. One night while I was asleep, I actually dreamed of my characters. They were being attacked by evil, demon-like things that scared the crap out of me in my head. And I thought, when I woke up, that's perfect! So pretty much you're reading a little idea out of my novel, out of my weird mind.

Anyway, R&R, please! I'll have the next chappie up soon, since it's already halfway finished XD!

Velvet out.