Rangers Apprentice: Something Missing

Chapter 2

Halt had packed up and left right after he got back to the campsite. He wanted to get the little girl to some healers as soon as possible, he had no idea how much smoke she breathed in. An hour into the ride the girl started to wake up. Now that Halt had gotten a good look at her she couldn't be older than four. The girl just stays there in Halt's arms shallow tears streaming down her face. Halt looked down at the girl and saw her tears. He lifted his hand to her face and gently wiped them away. The girl looked up at him for a moment then buried her head back in his shirt. As long as the girl was with him Halt decided to go a little slower. The girl showed no signs that she had smoke in her lungs as far as halt could tell, but he would still keep up a steady pace. They had ridden all night long and with Halt holding the girl he felt like his whole body was screaming for him to stop. Reluctantly he did. Halt rained in Abelard, patting him on the neck. Halt slowly got off Abelard, still holding the little girl in his arms. She looked so tired for someone who just woke up a couple of hours ago. Halt grabbed what was left of his food and sat down on the leaf-strewn ground of the woods. As he was about to start eating he realized he had nothing to feed the little girl. He didn't know anything about what little children normally eat. Making up his mind Halt grabbed out an apple and put it in a bole and mashed it up. Halt sat the girl's head up to feed her the sweet apple source when she put her head right back down.
"It's ok, I just want to give you something to eat." Halt said trying to lift the girl's head again only for her to put her head back down.
"It's good, hear see." Halt put a spoon full in his mouth and licked his lips.
"Hear you try." Halt moved a spoon full of the apple sauce near her mouth. The girl slowly opened her mouth and ate the apple sauce off the spoon. The girl's eyes widened and a small smile spread across her face. halt felt a smile crept across his face at the sight of her enjoyment.
"Good right, you want some more." The girl nodded her head and Halt gave her another bite, and another one, until it was all gone. She looked at Halt expectedly, waiting for more.
"Sorry, that's all I have." Halt said and the little girl started to tear up.
"Hey now, don't do that, when we get to where we're going I can get you more. Halt held her in his arms and started humming to her. She calmed down and within a couple of minutes fell asleep. Halt put everything up and got up on Abelard careful not to wake the girl. He rode for about twenty minutes when he suddenly felt a chill go down his spine. Someone was watching him, he could feel it. Instinctively Halt tried to grab his bow. Then he realized he would not be able to shoot while holding the girl, who was still fast asleep. Halt urged Abelard on, that feeling of being watched still bothering him. Halt kept looking in every direction, but he never saw anything. They had ridden for an hour, yet Halt couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. Just as They were about to exit the woods Halt caught a glimpse of someone in the corner of his eye. Halt turned around and saw a man in a black cloak just standing there, like a shadow amid the light coming through the trees. Halt blinked for just a moment and he was gone. Halt sat there speechless, not knowing if he had been seeing things, or if someone was there.