The Ranger

Chapter Two: No Gun?

I followed Halt through the back streets until we left the city and entered the woods. "Where exactly are we going?" I asked as we walked. Strangely, unless I focused on Halt as we entered the woods, he seemed to disappear and reappear in different places. "I have a cabin out here away from everything and everyone." He responded and stopped walking. Turning to face me, he asked, "No gun?"

"Never learned how to use one."

"Parents didn't teach you?"

"I grew up in an orphanage."

After a moment of silently looking at me, he said, "Let's go. I want to get there before nightfall." And he started walking again. As we walked, I noticed how Halt made no sound as he moved, and his cloak, which was a mottled gray, green, and brown, helped to camouflage him. I also noticed a sword poke out from his cloak every now and then. We continued in silence.

Nighttime

The sun was setting when we walked into a clearing with a small cabin, garden, and goat pen off to the side. Halt walked up the steps to the door, turned to me, and gestured for me to follow him. I walked forward, ready to run at any moment, not fully trusting him, yet we stepped inside. He flipped a switch, and the lights came on. Halt looked at me, pulling his hood down. I got my first look at his face. He looked in his mid-50s with salt and pepper hair, a beard to match, and dark brown eyes. "What's your name, kid?" he asked me.

"Felix" "How'd you survive out there?"

"I moved at night, avoided people, stayed near the larger roads, and scavenged what I could," I told him.

"Can you teach me to use a cloak like yours?" I asked before he could ask me another question. "What do you mean?" he asked blankly.

"It's a camouflage pattern to help break up the shape of your body, but you have a special way of walking and moving. It's quiet, and you look like you disappear." I told him, and his eyes slightly widened. "You get all that just from watching me?" he asked, and I nodded. "The people at the orphanage said I was scary because they couldn't lie to me. I have a photographic memory, so I'm good at reading people."

"Well then, you can have the door on the left. The bathroom is at the end of the hall. I didn't realize I found a lie detector." He mumbled the last part, obviously not meaning for me to hear it. "Tomorrow, I'll start training you how to fight unarmed and with knives," he said before he walked into what I assume to be his room.

As I lay in bed that night, I hoped that maybe things might be looking up, and for a while, they did.

Morning

I woke to the smell of breakfast, and my stomach rumbled. How long has it been since I've had a real meal? I got up and headed out to the main area and found Halt at the table eating. He looked up at me as I entered and pointed to the plate across from him, "Eat up, you're gonna need it." I sat and started to eat with a quiet "thank you."

When I finished eating, I looked at Halt. "Not to pry or sound ungrateful, but why help me?" I asked, "Because you're a kid, and if my kid was ever in a situation like that, then I hope somebody would help him too." he said before standing and getting his cloak from the rack by the door. "when you're ready, meet me out front." he said as he walked out. I ran, grabbed my knife from my room, and headed out the front door.

"Lesson one, always be on your guard." I heard from my right as I was kicked down the steps, landing on my side and knocking the wind out of me. "Stand up." Halt ordered, "Your opponents won't give you a chance to recover." Groaning, I pushed myself to my feet and readied myself again. And Halt advanced