Why, hello there! It's me, Footloose Poets! Rest assured, I'm still writing 'The Troubles with Youth.' I just came up with this idea a while ago and I wanted to see what people thought of it. I suppose this is a twisted take on a Rangers in reality fanfic that everyone seems to write eventually. Trust me though, this isn't like the others; there is little humour in this one. It's not terrible - it's a bit of an adventure really. It's just not a comedy.

By the way, this is only a prologue.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The Ranger's Apprentice series and its characters are the intellectual property of John Flanagan. I do not in any way own them.

Really, does that need to be said?

Since we're disclaiming, the part about the intravenous line in this chapter was inspired by a scene in 'The King of Shadows' by Susan Cooper.

Debbie sighed as her mobile phone beeped, indicating she had received a text message. Oh, great, she thought, I'm driving! She looked up and down the long country road. There was no one around. Maybe she could just read the text quickly, while she was driving. She reached over and grabbed her phone from the cradle, trying her best to keep an eye on the road. She snuck a look at the phone, then back at the road, then back at the phone.

Her second look at the road was a moment too late.

Something had run out in front of the car, and Debbie stepped on the brakes. She heard a horrifying thud as the bonnet of the car slammed into the man and sent him flying across the road. The car finally halted, but all too late. Debbie just sat there, stunned, until the truth sank in.

She'd just hit someone.

She'd just hit someone.

She'd just hit someone!

Strangely, she didn't scream; she didn't even feel uneasy. She must be in a state of shock. Then it hit her; what was she doing here? She'd just hit someone! She needed to see if they were okay.

Debbie climbed out of the car and saw the man sprawled across the road, and…

She looked away. She couldn't stand the sight of blood.

All there was left to do was call the ambulance.

2243:

The man was rushed down the corridor on one of the hospital beds. Doctors barked orders and nurses followed them. As they rolled the bed into the surgery, the man gained consciousness. His head lolled about on the pillow groggily, and he stared blearily at all the commotion above him. All the frantic activity of the doctors and nurses, as well the bright lights and loud sounds distressed him. He began to thrash about, shouting in horror.

"Quick!" yelled one of the doctors. "Put him under. If he keeps struggling like this he'll hurt himself!"

The man protested violently as one of the nurses tried to hold a mask up to his mouth. The woman backed away, and several other nurses moved forward to hold the man down. Finally, they managed to get the mask on and give him enough anaesthetic to put him to sleep.

0236:

The man was suffering from severe concussion, and a couple of broken ribs. Apart from that, the doctors were surprised to find he'd come out of the accident relatively unscathed.

In his concussed state, he muttered incoherently to no one in particular. When the nurses came in, he grilled them urgently with questions about someone named Will. He wanted to know his whereabouts, if he was alright, and where he himself happened to be.

As soon as he opened eyes, he panicked and started to struggle again.

0657:

The man lay unconscious in bed, his arms and legs strapped to the sides of it in case he woke up. He had torn the intravenous line from his arm each time he saw it, crying out in utter terror. After the third time, the nurses had been forced to tie him down to prevent him from doing so again.

Didn't he know the drip was keeping him healthy?

The doctor sighed, "He's been like this all night?"

The nurse nodded, "I'm afraid so, sir. Every time he wakes up he just becomes frantic. We try to calm him down, but he panics no matter what we do."

"Have you gotten any details from him? Maybe family names or an address?"

"Not in detail, sir. He just says he lives somewhere called Redmont. As for family, we're not sure who they are but he keeps muttering about someone called Will. He seemed very worried for him."

"So he didn't even have any identification?"

"None, sir."

The doctor considered this. The man in the bed before him seemed to have just come out of nowhere. He had no identification, and no one had reported someone missing who matched his description. When he was hit by a car last night, he looked like he had just left a medieval festival. It all sounded a little strange, but it wasn't too suspicious. The hospital often came across patients like this man, and they were always identified in the end.

"Alright," he said finally. "He shouldn't be discharged until tomorrow. Someone should be able to identify him by then anyway."

Gee, I wonder who this man is? Spooky.

What did you think? Please review!

Seriously, I'm not continuing this if I don't get reviews (for obvious reasons).

I'm afraid I can't say when this will be updated next, but reviews will definitely make me type faster!