The Lucky One (a Star Wars fanfic)

Chapter 10

Anakin's pov

Left. Right. Left. Right.

As I continue aimlessly putting one foot in front of the other, having no clue where I am going, other than the fact that I need to get away from our base, another sigh escapes.

What am I doing?

Having lack of anything better to do, I sit down and look at the sand below me, being this close to the sand reminding me of how much I hate it. I hate sand almost as much as I hate Rider right now. Sadly, when it comes to sand, no matter how many times I promise myself that I won't go near it anymore, here I am, surrounded by nothing but sand. Even though I hope that it isn't the case, I have a feeling that hating Rider is going to work the same way. No matter how badly I want to stay away from him, it will be impossible.

After a few more seconds of just staring in disgust at the sand beneath me, I feel a powerful disturbance in the force, immediately causing me to spring to my feet, lightsaber already in hand.

Sensing that the disturbance was toward the right of me, I quickly walk in that direction, eager for whatever this might be to distract me from my thoughts of Rider.

After a few minutes of walking, I reach a large dune. Upon climbing to the top of it, I see six Tusken Raiders below, all of which are staring at me.

As I stare back at the Raiders, hatred fills every part of me, and for the second time in my life, I feel the irresistible urge to kill all of them. They deserve to die for all the times they have hurt me and countless other people.

One of the Raiders releases their familiar cry while raising their Gaderffii Stick, causing me to clutch my lightsaber tighter, my thumb so close to activating my blade, the blade that will gladly kill of them, revenge for the way they killed my mother.

Instead of charging toward me like I expected them to do, they start making their way down the dune they were standing on, disappearing from my sight.

Knowing that they must have found an easier target than me, I follow closely behind the Raiders, feeling the need to save this person.

Once I climb the dune they had been on moments ago and crouch down on top of it, about twenty feet away from me, I see thirty Tusken Raiders circling a man.

A Raider does a series of yells, then, all thirty begin closing in on the defenseless man.

I am getting ready to come to the man's aid, but he does something surprising, causing me to instead watch him with interest. After reaching out his right hand toward a cluster of the Raiders, he uses the force to push them back. Then, without a second of hesitation, turns left and force pushes seven more backwards.

Now that the Raiders have been pushed back, it leaves enough room in their circle for the man to make his escape.

As the man begins sprinting toward the opening in their circle, I find myself cheering this stranger on, hoping that he will be able to escape.

While the man tries to make his desperate attempt at freedom, two of the nearby Raiders release a yell, afterwards beginning to stab their Gaderffii Sticks in his general direction, trying and failing to hit the man. Soon, the other Raiders begin copying those two, all of them trying to hit the man, but he dodges between their weapons with what seems like practiced ease.

Just when I think that he is going to escape, one of the Raiders get lucky, landing a blow on his stomach.

The man drops to his knees, holding tightly to his stomach that is starting to bleed.

Only a second later, a Raider cuts the man diagonally across the entire length of his back, leaving a nasty wound.

With a scream of agony, the man falls onto his side, making me realize that I need to help him.

As fast as I can, I run toward the Raiders, hoping that I will reach the man before they kill him.

When I have cleared only half of the distance between us, the man screams again, pushing me to go faster.

Once I reach the circle, I cut down some of the Raiders that are the closest to me, hating that these creatures are trying to take another life. Haven't they already done enough damage?

As if they don't care that seven of their friends are now dead, they continue to stab the man who is whimpering and moaning, seeming like he is in so much pain.

"Leave him alone!" I yell at the Raiders.

When they show no signs of obeying me, I kill three more of the Raiders, hoping that doing so will finally get them to stop hurting the man. If not, I will just have to kill every one of them.

Finally noticing that many of their kind are dying, one of them releases a high-pitched yell. Afterwards, the remaining Raiders run away, leaving me alone with the man.

Now that all of them are gone, I kneel beside the man who continues to moan softly.

As carefully as I can, I pick up the man, feeling bad when he winces.

"Please, don't hurt me," I hear a familiar voice beg, almost causing me to drop the man.

For a few seconds, I just stare at the man in shock. The man I just saved from the Raiders isn't a stranger like I expected him to be, instead it is Rider.

"I won't, Rider. The Raiders left. You are safe with me now," I whisper protectively as I hold him a little closer to my chest, wanting him to feel safe.

"Anakin?" He asks in a whisper as I begin walking, his voice filled with shock, but mostly pain.

"Yes, it's me. I'm sorry for leaving you, Rider. I should have at least given you a chance to explain. If I had, maybe you wouldn't be hurt right now," I say quietly, feeling ashamed that I put him in this position and now he is hurt badly.

"I'm.... s-sorry for.... lying," he whispers as he clutches his stomach tighter, each word sounding like a major struggle for him.

"It's okay, Rider," I say quietly, meaning it. I was mad at him, but not anymore. Coming this close to losing him has made me realize how badly I need him, making it impossible to hate him.

"Anakin, Am I..... dying?" He asks weakly, sounding like he is in so much pain.

"No, I won't let you die," I say firmly, knowing that he can't die. I can't lose another person I love!

"Thank you...... for...... ev-everything," he says quietly as his eyes close, causing me to panic.

"Rider! Stay with me!" I yell, so afraid that he is going to die before I can tend to his wounds.

"So.......... tired," he whispers, barely loud enough for me to hear him.

Just seconds later, his body goes limp.

For a few panic-filled seconds, I think that I lost him, but then I hear his shallow breathing.

Knowing that he is still alive, I release a heavy sigh, the tightness in my chest lessening.

Quickly, with the help of the force, I begin running toward the base, knowing that Rider will die if can't slow the bleeding from his wounds, especially the one on his stomach.

I hold Rider tight to my chest as I continue to run toward the base, hoping with all my heart that he is going to live.

A/N: Well, chapter ten is finished! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will see you all in the next one. Bye :)