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Mar. 6th, 2005 08:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lastgunslingerThere are things that Roland Deschain does not see, because he is unconscious.
He does not see Blondie dressing the wound in his back, though when Blondie looks to see if the bullet is still inside, Roland moans slightly.
It's a quick job, but one that saves his life. The blood loss is stopped. This is what matters.
Blondie looks to the red-haired woman and they exchange a glance -- Blondie is tired, and he feels ill. They leave the gunslinger with the girl with the funny skirt and the boy who welcomed the gunslinger to Milliways, and they go upstairs.
The girl and the boy maneuver Roland upstairs as best they can without hurting him. It's hard, and it takes a while, and Roland Deschain does not see what Room 99 looks like when he enters it for the first time. He doesn't see The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor lying next to The Lord of the Rings, Gone To Texas and The Vengeance Trail of Josey Wales, Leaves of Grass, and Green Eggs and Ham on an end table. He doesn't see the blue blanket made for him by a woman he will not meet for years lying over his favorite chair. He doesn't see his gunna sitting in the corner.
Instead he lies on his stomach on the bed, and he does not move. He is unaware.
The girl stays with him, watching -- sometimes picking up a book and paging through it without reading.
Eventually Roland's eyes flutter open, and he sees her sitting in the chair.
Everything hurts.
He does not see Blondie dressing the wound in his back, though when Blondie looks to see if the bullet is still inside, Roland moans slightly.
It's a quick job, but one that saves his life. The blood loss is stopped. This is what matters.
Blondie looks to the red-haired woman and they exchange a glance -- Blondie is tired, and he feels ill. They leave the gunslinger with the girl with the funny skirt and the boy who welcomed the gunslinger to Milliways, and they go upstairs.
The girl and the boy maneuver Roland upstairs as best they can without hurting him. It's hard, and it takes a while, and Roland Deschain does not see what Room 99 looks like when he enters it for the first time. He doesn't see The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor lying next to The Lord of the Rings, Gone To Texas and The Vengeance Trail of Josey Wales, Leaves of Grass, and Green Eggs and Ham on an end table. He doesn't see the blue blanket made for him by a woman he will not meet for years lying over his favorite chair. He doesn't see his gunna sitting in the corner.
Instead he lies on his stomach on the bed, and he does not move. He is unaware.
The girl stays with him, watching -- sometimes picking up a book and paging through it without reading.
Eventually Roland's eyes flutter open, and he sees her sitting in the chair.
Everything hurts.
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Date: 2005-03-06 05:42 pm (UTC)"I guess." Pause. "I shouldn't ask what he's -- what I'm -- like. Right?"
It's more that he can't imagine an older self calling this girl a friend.
Not that he can really imagine an older self at all. There was a battle, and Gilead is gone. He never expected to have a future.
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Date: 2005-03-06 05:46 pm (UTC)*She takes a breath.* You'll have to expect that it'll be - difficult - for people to get used to the change.
There are lots of people here you're very close to, you know - I don't mean me, *she adds hastily,* you mostly just tolerate me, but - people.
Expect them to be hurt. It's not your fault, but - expect it.
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Date: 2005-03-06 05:49 pm (UTC)"All right."
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Date: 2005-03-06 05:52 pm (UTC)She rejects it as stupid. It might help her, but it certainly wouldn't help him.
So instead, she looks down, and says, quietly,* Sorry. To have to tell you all this.
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Date: 2005-03-06 05:53 pm (UTC)Pause.
"Did he ever speak of Gilead?"
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Date: 2005-03-06 05:54 pm (UTC)Yes.
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Date: 2005-03-06 05:58 pm (UTC)Softly, he says, "I hurt you. Is it not so?"
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Date: 2005-03-06 06:02 pm (UTC)Ask any questions you need to, Roland. Someone needs to answer them.
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Date: 2005-03-06 06:04 pm (UTC)He doesn't have a home. Not any more.
So he closes his eyes, and doesn't speak.
Eventually it becomes clear that he's sleeping.
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Date: 2005-03-06 06:07 pm (UTC)She knows she probably shouldn't sleep - she is, after all, meant to be watching him - but it's a relief when it comes all the same.*