Disclaimer and Acknowledgement: As in Chapter 1

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Chapter 16 – Cast Away

The few hours of walking seemed like an eternity to them. The pains in their bodies made travelling on foot close to impossible. Leaning heavily on each other, Aragorn and Legolas dragged their feet along the tall grass leaving a rather undesirable trail. The human’s wound had also started to bleed again sometime ago, the dark red stain spreading rapidly on the while bandages. Sweat beaded on the ranger’s brow and his steps were beginning to falter as the blood loss and pain made it hard for him to concentrate.

Beside him, Legolas stumbled on as he supported most of the human’s weight with his own weakened body. Pain coursed through his chest with every step like knife slicing into his heart. He panted heavily as if the air around him had suddenly grown too thin for him to breathe. He wanted to rest but knew that they shouldn’t risk it unless absolutely necessary for he feared that they would not have the will to go on anymore once they stopped.

The evening sun crept towards the horizon, leaving streaks of red, purple and blue across the slowly darkening sky. The wind started to pick up speed and a clap of thunder could be heard some distance away, signaling the approach of a storm.

The elf knew that they would need shelter for the night soon unless the storm dissipated before reaching them but he didn’t want to push his luck. Glancing around the area with his keen elven eyes, Legolas scanned the area for possible shelters. So determined to find some place safe and warm to spend the night, he did not notice the log lying hidden among he tall grass. The prince tripped and the two friends went tumbling into each other and landed in a tangled heap on the soft grass. Both human and elf cried out as the impact sent fire through their nerves, numbing their senses momentarily. After several moments of moans and groans, the exhausted elf was able to regain his composure and untangle himself carefully from the ranger.

"Aragorn?" he called out unsteadily but the human did not answer.

A sense of panic surged through Legolas’ heart. The human had been quiet along the way but he was still walking under his own powers although a little sluggishly. The elf had no idea that the human had pushed himself to the limits and he felt extremely guilty for not paying more attention to his mortal friend. Pulling the human’s head onto his lap, Legolas brushed away a strand of stray hair that had stuck stubbornly on the ranger’s clammy skin. Aragorn’s lips parted slightly as he panted heavily through his open mouth. Legolas stroke the human’s cheeks with the back of his hand while calling out gently to him trying to get his attention to focus on his voice. The young man finally let out a small groan but his eyes remained closed.

"W-Water..." His voice was so weak that an ordinary man may have missed it but the elf caught the words without difficulty.

Removing the waterskin that Deyron had supplied them with from the pack, Legolas uncorked it and trickled the water slowly into the ranger’s lips. When the cool liquid touched his lips, Aragorn opened his mouth and took in the much-needed fluid. His eyes opened moments later and he blinked a few times trying to focus on the blurry face hovering above him.

"Where are we?" he croaked and tried to sit up but Legolas’ gentle touch on his shoulder indicated that he should lie still.

"We are still on the way back to Rivendell," the elf explained patiently as he put the cork back into the waterskin and crammed it back into the pack again.

"Why have we stopped?" the human asked groggily.

"Because your clumsy friend took a stumble and sent us crashing onto the forest floor," the elf gave the human a sheepish grin but his demeanor turned solemn again when he thought of their current predicament. "I’m sorry. I promise to be more careful in the future." the prince apologized and then diverted his attention to the human’s blood-soaked bandages. "I will need to change those."

Aragorn gave a small nod and Legolas eased the human off his lap with great care so as not to cause him any unnecessary discomfort. The elf found the fresh bandages in the pack and lay them out on the grass but he soon realized that it was impossible for him to work single-handedly. Without a second thought, he removed the sling that was supporting his left arm and tossed the piece of cloth aside. Bracing himself against the pain, he allowed a few seconds for his body to adjust itself to the new sensation. Flexing his fingers slightly to get the blood circulation going he worked quickly to re-dress Aragorn’s wounds before the pain overwhelmed him. Tossing the soiled bandages aside, the elven prince secured the clean bandages over the wounds with shaky fingers. The pain in his left arm screamed out at him but he gritted his teeth and concentrated hard on what he was doing.

Aragorn saw sweat break out on his friend’s face and neck, dripping down his back and soaking into his tunic. He could see that the elf was in great pain and was trying hard to swallow the scream that threatened to escape. His face was pale and his lips trembled under the stress. The human only wished that there was something he could do to elevate his friend’s agony.

It had taken forever to change the dressings or at least that was what he felt like but it was finally done. Cradling his arm against his chest tightly, Legolas shut his eyes tightly against the pain and had no idea when the human had made his way over to his side. When Aragorn tried to get Legolas to release his injured arm so that he could replace the sling, the elf protested angrily, not willing to let anyone touch him.

"Kela!" A single tear slipped from the corner of his closed eyes down his pale cheek as the agonizing pain finally overtook his senses.

//Go away!//

"Let me help you, my friend," the ranger coaxed gently in elvish and after several minutes, he finally managed to replace the sling over the wood-elf’s arm. Exhausted, the two friends sat leaning on each other, gathering strength from the other’s presence.

"We have to move," Legolas stated reluctantly after their extended rest but the ranger only grunted beside him. The human was fading fast, his strength bleeding away like the blood that was seeping out from his wounds. Forcing himself unsteadily back onto his feet, the elf reached down and pulled the ranger to his feet despite the human’s insistence of rooting onto the ground.

The young man let out a whimper as the movement jarred the wound in his side. Instinctively, he pressed his palm on the bandage and squeezed his eyes shut as the pain sent bright green spots dancing across his vision. The ranger swayed on his feet and Legolas quickly wrapped his arm around his shoulders to steady him.

"I wish we could rest for a little longer too but..." he paused to catch his breath and swallowed his own discomfort before continuing, "we need to find shelter for the night."

A flash of lightning streaked overhead followed closely by a loud clap of thunder, indicating that the storm had finally caught up with them. While urging the ranger to move faster, Legolas scanned the area for any possible shelter. He had no intentions to spend the night under the stars this day and definitely not under the pouring rain. His body ached all over and his vision was getting blurry and unfocused. His usually bright blue eyes had lost their sparkle and were now dull with pain and despair.

A drop of rain fell from the heavens and landed on the elf’s eyelashes. Another one followed shortly and splattered on his cheeks. The frequency of the raindrops increased steadily and the light drizzle soon turned into a heavy downpour, drenching the two miserable travellers.

The prince searched desperately for a haven but except for trees and grass, there was nowhere that they could take refuge. Legolas quickened his steps, dragging the almost unconscious ranger along in a futile attempt to outrun the storm. The human was hardly walking on his own anymore and Legolas found it more and more difficult to support the man’s weight as his own strength faltered steadily. The dizziness that he felt some time ago had increased in intensity and he stumbled once again as a wave of nausea assaulted him with a vengeance.

Stumbling towards an old oak tree, the wood-elf crashed to his knees beside the thick tree trunk, pulling the human down with him. Legolas released his grip on Aragorn and clutched his stomach tightly, doubling over as a spasm ran through his body. His stomach turned and he heaved violently onto the grass but nothing was brought up except for clear bitter fluid. As the retching and dry heaving finally eased up, the elf leaned against the trunk too exhausted to be bothered with anything else, the foul taste of bile still lingered in his throat. Wiping his mouth on his sleeves, Legolas turned to the prone body beside him and shook the ranger gingerly but the human had already fallen into a deep unconsciousness.

"Aragorn... no..." the elf choked out at the hopeless situation and a strangle sob caught in his throat as his lungs constricted painfully in his chest. He used his remaining strength to pull Aragorn up to a seated position and extended his cloak around the unconscious man’s shoulder, shielding him from the heavy rain. The exertion sent a deep piercing pain through his chest and tore a ragged cough from him. The elf clamped his hand over his mouth as his body sent him into another coughing fit. When he removed it, it came away bloody. Wiping off the blood on his sodden tunic, the prince let out a long, beaten sigh. Pulling Aragorn closer to him, Legolas rested his chin on the rangers’ head and the two friends huddled together under the boughs of the old oak tree, hoping that someone would come across the desolate path and find them before death did.

*****

To Be Continued...