Ranger's Apprentice - Race For Halt

Ch. 17

Halt noticed it before anyone else. They were all sitting in Jenny's house. All except one.
"Where's Will?" Halt asked.
Gilan and Maddie shared a glance. The others fell silent.
"You sent him home only a few hours ago." Maddie said. "I'm sure he just fell asleep."
Gilan and the others nodded, but Halt shook his head.
"I know Will." He insisted. "Something's wrong."
Silence again.
"I'll go check on him in a few minutes." Gilan suggested. But again, Halt shook his head. This time, he began to stand up.
"No. Something's wrong and I'm going now to check on him."
"Oh no you are not!" Madonna said, pulling him back in his seat. "That cure hasn't had time to take over yet. You aren't going anywhere."
Halt began to protest but Gilan stood.
"Alright, Halt! If you're that worried, I'll go now." He said. "But Will can take care of himself."
Nobody spoke as Gilan left and mounted Blaze. He cantered into the forest.
"Crazy old man," he muttered.
Blaze snorted.
Remember who he trained?
"Yes, but I'm nothing like him!" Gilan denied. Blaze only snickered.
They arrived at the little cabin only three minutes later. Gilan's calmness was wiped away immediately.
The door was wide open. Tug was whinning furiosuly.
And Will was lying in the doorway, face down.
Gilan jumped off Blaze and ran to his friend, where he knelt beside him.
"Will!" He cried. His hands ran over his friend's body, searching for any signs of injury. It was clear he'd been hit in the head; blood had trickled down his neck and was in his hair. Gilan saw his right wrist twisted brutally, and his knees were bruised.
How long had he been like this? Minutes? Hours?
"Will, get up!" He begged.
Will didn't stir. Gilan checked his back, where a large and ugly bruise was formed in the shape of a boot.
Who did this? Who hurt his friend.
His brother.
"Will," Gilan said again, straining his voice. It was demanding now, angry at whoever had done this to his friend. "Come on."
Gilan rolled him over on his back. He took his good wrist, draped across his stomach, and checked his pulse.
Still there.
"Will?" He tried again. "Will!"
His eyes moved.
"Will, get up." Gilan begged. "Get up!"
The man's eyes fluttered, but closed again. Gilan put a hand on his forehead. No fever.
"Will!" He screamed his name again.
This time, Will gasped and his eyes fluttered open. He laid breathing hard, his eyes darting around the room.
"Will?" Gilan's voice shook. "Can you hear me?"
Will's eyes snapped to Gilan.
"Will?" He tried again.
Several seconds of silence passed for Will spoke.
"Gilan?" He said.
Gilan sighed in relief. Baby steps.
"Can you hear me?" He repeated.
"Yes." Will replied.
"Can you see clearly?"
Will took a moment of straining his eyes before answering.
"No." He said in a defeated tone.
"What hurts?" Gilan asked.
Will closed his eyes and answered slowly.
"My head...my legs...my chest...?"
"Your chest?" Gilan asked worriedly. "You got kicked in the back."
Will opened his eyes.
"I don't know. It just hurts." He said.
Gilan's eyes strayed to Will's wrist.
"And this doesn't hurt?" He asked.
Will looked at Gilan confused and tried to sit up to look. Unfortunately, that meant straining his back and head, as well as putting pressure on his wrist.
The sound Will made was head-splitting and heartbreaking. It was agony and misery mixed together. It brought tears to Gilan's eyes.
"Will, don't move!" He cried. Will's eyes were shut tight and his teeth were gritted together in pain.
Gilan stood and went to the sink to wet a cloth. When he came back, he knelt again and put it on Will's forehead. The man grunted, clearly still in pain, but his jaw and eyes relaxed and he sighed.
"Will," Gilan said slowly. "I'm going to take you to Blaze. This is going to hurt, but I have to get you to the infirmary. Do you understand?"
Will nodded.
Gilan lifted Will slowly to his feet. All the while, Will tried to refrain from crying out, but failed.
Finally, Gilan got him atop Blaze.
"Now, the easy part." He said as he mounted his horse. He sat Will in front of him and allowed him to rest his head back.
"Hang on, Will." He said as he sent Blaze off.