Chapter 1: Carter

I woke to a scream in the dead of night; it was a truly horrifying scream, as I had been awakened from a ba journey. I jumped out of bed and raced to Ro's room. That's where I guessed it came from; I slipped a bit on the carpet in the halls.

I had never heard something so agonizing. Something really dreadful must have happened, because I had never heard the seemingly invulnerable Ro cry, much less scream.

When I finally arrived at her room, I saw that she was curled up in a fetal position; she was rocking back and forth as she lay on the floor, clutching her hand. Pathetic whimpers of agony escaped her trembling lips. Sadie, Walt and Jaz ran into the room also, looks of panic decorated all of their faces.

I then spotted what had injured her: a scorpion. You could easily separate it from the wrinkled sheets on her bed; it seemed to glow with a deadly red as it tried to crawl away on her bed. I took out my khopesh and sliced it in half with one, easy swing.

Jaz was trying to help her with natural words of comfort, she was murmuring to the helpless girl, "It's all right, Ro, it's all right."

Sadie and Walt were trying to help her sit up; she managed to, but groaned with the draining effort. Her teeth were clenched with the excruciating pain.

"Carter!" Jaz yelled to me. "Go get some clean water and bandages!"

I sprinted in order to fulfill my errand.

When I ran back into the room with all of the prescribed materials, I saw that Enna was in the room. Ro's eyes fluttered open and they darted around the room. When she spotted Enna, her eyes blazed with anger.

"You," she nastily spat at the girl through clenched teeth. "You did this; you set that scorpion on me!"

Enna's eyes widened.

"What? I- I would never! It… it wasn't me!" Her lips stumbled over the words as she tried to prove herself innocent.

After I listened to her attempt at an alibi, she didn't really help herself with proving Ro's daring accusation wrong. In my point of view, I think Enna was too full of shock to speak.

Lia, a blind girl following the path of Anubis, stepped into the room. "She's telling the truth. It wasn't her. Serqet took possession of her while she was sleeping."

I stepped forward to give Jaz the bandages and water. It was then I saw Ro's wound for the first time.

It was a six-inch gash, smoking with poison. I was shocked that she wasn't unconscious by now. Jaz took a water-soaked bandage and started cleaning the wound.

Ro winced at the touch of the water. I heard Sadie whisper, "Sleep." Ro relaxed, a slight smile on her face. As she drifted into unconsciousness, I saw Enna still looked shocked. No one likes doing something against their will, and Enna was no different.

It dawned on me as a chill ran down my back. Ro might not make it through the night. For the sake of Ma'at, I was hoping she would.