Chapter 2.

A mighty storm finds both hunted and hunters unprepared.

Measurements of distance— 1 parasang = 3 miles approx. (4.827 km). 10 stadia = 1 mile approx. (1.609 km).

The evening before, after crossing the ridge, Otrera had found a surprise awaiting her. Instead of a panorama of distant horizons, like that she had left behind, she found a wall of greenery soaring far into the sky; forming a solid barrier to any distant view. The trees in this part of the forest were different to any she had yet experienced; enormously tall; wide-trunked with crumbling red bark; and densely-leaved with long thick branches spreading wide. They grew closely together and formed a complete canopy, blocking out all sight of the sky far overhead once she had advanced a few yards into their shade. The silence as she walked under them was almost terrifying in its intensity.

But she was also faced with another difficulty, which had ended in her stopping for the night earlier than she had planned. The terrain had turned into a series of rocky gullies, interspersed with high slopes swathed in heavy tree cover. No sooner had she scrambled down into one gully bordered by high rock walls and up the far side than another appeared directly ahead.

After struggling across two of these setbacks she finally admitted defeat. Covered in sweat; gasping for breath in the humid almost stagnant air amongst the trees; and wholly exhausted, she collapsed wearily under the heavy low-hanging branches of one of the younger trees and gratefully lay down to spend the night.

Now, in the morning, after a hurried meal of stream-water and fruit from some nearby bushes she had continued on through this unknown country. But the ground did not improve as she went. Although the trees were high, vast and disturbing in their immensity the gullies were equally frightening in their boulder strewn depths.

She was not helped by the overcast sky whose gray solidity, along with the tree-canopy overhead, cast a gloom over the whole forest floor. Otrera found it more and more difficult to see the loose stones and ground under her feet as she progressed. Every now and again there was a burst of song or flutter of wings down some distant vista among the trees as a bird flew out from among the bushes. As she walked the girl also had to constantly flick a hand in front of her face to brush away the flies which buzzed everywhere.

The morning was still young, she reckoned, when the first gust of wind blew in her face; disturbing the surrounding branches and sending a light drizzle of rain into her face. Within a few minutes it had settled into a steady downpour.

She had only walked some thirty yards through the dim shadows under the trees; heavy mould crunching under her boots, when the next gully opened before her. At first the ground sloped gently, then it reached an angle that made her crouch as she slithered down. Going very carefully she grasped at bushes for support, and to slow her descent; every few yards sliding against the trunk of a tree to keep from speeding up too quickly. Then, with a final rush and scramble she found herself standing on the rock-strewn stream-bed in the heart of the gully.

She was by now used to impediments, and her present position offered a serious one. She stood on a shoreline of shingly pebbles, while on either hand a jumble of craggy splintered boulders lined the rushing water. It was only about ten feet wide, though flowing at a somewhat disturbing speed on its uneven rocky bed. The sound filled the narrow corridor of rock with a loud roar, belying the actual size of the stream.

On her side the slope she had just descended rose behind her, covered in trees: where she now stood the river edge was strewn with loose sharp boulders lying at all angles; some singly, others in dangerous-looking heaps. The far side some twelve feet away across the river-channel, instead of a low bank, was formed by a continuous rock wall rising sheer from the rushing water to a height of some twenty feet. Its face shattered by aeons of winters and water-action. It was surmounted by thick bushes, above and beyond which rose more massive trees covering the slope of the gully high above. At first glance it looked impossible to find a way out.

To her right she could see only a sharp bend sixty feet away, hiding whatever was beyond. On her left it was possible to follow the stream-bed without too much difficulty, but at a necessarily slow pace. Scrambling over the boulders and crunching over loose pebbles she made about fifty yards before finding a possible crossing-point. Here the rock-wall broke for a length of about thirty feet, showing a relatively easy slope covered in bushes ascending the far side. But to reach it, she found, was not possible from where she stood. The stream here flowed, at considerable and frightening speed, through and over a ragged pile of immense boulders creating a series of mini-waterfalls and rapids which were clearly impassable.

Glancing back the way she had come Otrera saw that if she scrambled across a series of stones at a lower point, where the stream was less violent, she could just reach a thin line of pebbles forming a narrow band running along below the rock-wall. This slight shoreline nearly reached the end of the rock-face where, if she jumped out onto a large flattish boulder and from that climbed up onto a further higher boulder; with water rushing past on both sides, she could then jump to the opposite shore.

Another reason for not dallying, but going forward quickly, was the presence of myriads of flies and other buzzing insects all around her. The depth of the ravine; with its bushes and running water, seemed to be an ideal breeding ground, and there were thousands of the things swirling round her face; creeping over her jerkin; and alighting on her hands and hair with every step she took. Only a few, mercifully, appeared to be of the biting kind; but those that were made up in sudden sharp pain for their lack of numbers. What Otrera wanted most of all was to get out of this ravine as quickly as possible.

Her whole plan took nearly an hour as she carefully stepped from one precarious foothold to another. After reaching the thin line of pebbles that almost made a shoreline on the far side she found it necessary to scramble along brushing the sharp edges of the rock-wall. Her jerkin was torn in several places and her hands and forearms were bruised and scratched mercilessly by the splintered edges of rock as she made her delicate way along.

Finally she was able to jump across to the boulder in mid-stream: a frightening business with the fast-flowing water below her boots and the roaring of the stream battering her ears as it echoed from the rock-face.

Then came a slippery scramble onto the higher boulder, cutting the stream in two here with spray soaking her clothes. Another jump; taken more or less in hope than certainty, finally found her at last standing on solid ground at the base of the bush-covered slope where she fell to the ground in exhaustion. It took her nearly half an hour before she felt able to face scrambling up the slope, and it was as she did this that she again felt the strong gusts of rain battering their way through the high canopy and splashing her face. At last she stood once more on high ground above and beyond the gully. But even in the enveloping dimness she could see, some forty yards away, the uneven forest-floor disappear once more: almost certainly into another ravine.

As far as she could tell she had only been able to make about 10 stadia, if that; and was still, she thought, within a single parasang of the high ridge behind her. The thought of those on her trail now began to assume serious proportions in her mind. With this impenetrable landscape all around she had no chance of speeding up and out-running her pursuers. She could not tell for sure, but it appeared this series of gullies and high wooded slopes was the general topography in this area and might stretch almost without limit to whatever horizon there was before easing off into more level ground. The chances of escaping her pursuers were distinctly vanishing with every new gully facing her. And the storm was approaching.

Leaning wearily against the mighty trunk of one of the huge red trees Otrera paused to consider her options.

—OOO—

Xena and Gabrielle headed on through the thick trees all around keeping to their North-Westerly direction, confident this was the route their quarry would have to take in order to reach the border of Thrace. The morning had seen them make an early start, with hardly any time wasted in eating. The sky, as much as was ever visible of it, was heavy with cloud and the light was dimming fast as they pursued their way through the interweaving trees and bushes. Xena had taken the lead for a while as they trod quickly but carefully through the bracken and over the loose bark-strewn ground.

Gabrielle was soon complaining about the many flies which seemed to be picking her out to alight on. As they brushed through the undergrowth this set free hundreds of insects of all varieties which circled the women singly or in flickering groups. All buzzing with energy and intent. The majority apparently finding the blonde Amazon more to their taste than her dark companion.

"Hades! Tartarus! Damnation! Son of a Bacchae! Bitch! Bitch! Bitch! Argh!"

"Come on. Gabrielle." Xena, perhaps, was a little uncaring as they tramped through the scented bushes and trees. "It's only a few flies!"

"Flies!" The Amazon Queen snarled at her friend. "These ain't flies. These are demons from the darkest depth of Tartarus! And why ain't they worrying you, eh! Might I ask?"

"Oh, everyone knows flies like pale skin. Nicer flavour!"

"Once we make our escape from this hole, and reach civilisation again, I'm goin'ta have something to say to you, Warrior Princess." Gabrielle's voice was calm, but oozed with restrained vigour. "And it ain't goin'ta be about the latest fashions in Athens!"

They kept to their route steadily and continued to make good time; managing to stay more or less on a straight line. After a couple of hours they had made more than a parasang in distance and were beginning to think about taking a break.

"Rain, Xena!" Gabrielle had glanced up as they passed a slight break in the trees, allowing a brief glimpse of sky. "There's a squall coming our way!"

"Nothing to be done, Gabrielle." Xena didn't slow her pace yet as they slipped through the shadows under the trees. "No cover here. We have to keep going. Might be another hour or so before the main storm-front hits us, though!"

As she spoke the surrounding undergrowth abruptly gave way and they found themselves standing on the bank of a wide stream so suddenly that Xena grabbed Gabrielle's shoulder as she teetered on the crumbling edge.

"Whoa, there! No time for a bath yet!"

"Har-har! But thanks!" Gabrielle regained her foothold and grasped Xena's shoulder to steady herself. "Hades! Some river! How do we cross this?"

"Let's look around." Xena was already pacing along to their left, on the edge of the trees. "We can't be far from where the girl must have crossed. We should be able to spot the place."

They scrambled down onto the pebble-covered shore and gazed across the width of the river. There were some largish boulders lying in the stream-bed, encircled by swiftly-flowing water, but it was generally open and clearly deep.

"Must be twenty-five feet at least." Gabrielle suddenly looked up at the broken line of gray sky and hunched her shoulders slightly. "Here comes the rain. Tartarus!"

Another instant found the two women battered by a sudden gust of wind, closely followed by a sheet of rain so heavy it felt almost like a solid object. Within seconds they were soaked, with trickles running down their faces from their hair. Both ran for cover to the nearby trees to stand disconsolately under the branches of a tall cedar which gave some protection.

"We can stay here and watch the rain, or carry on upstream looking for a way over." Gabrielle glanced in that direction as she spoke. "I've got a kind of a feeling we should really try to cross this as quickly as possible!"

"Yeah." Xena nodded in agreement and they both stepped gingerly out onto the rainswept shore again. "No telling when this river might turn into a flood. The rain's heavy enough to make that happen before you realise it! This way, eh?"

"Yes. Upstream." Gabrielle was a few steps in front of Xena as they walked slowly over the pebbles, keeping a sharp eye on the stream as they went. "Say, what's that up ahead? Stones over the river?"

A few more minutes found the women contemplating a row of boulders lying across the river. Both Xena and Gabrielle shook themselves uncomfortably as the rain fell on them mercilessly where they stood in the open.

"Doesn't look promising." Gabrielle cast an expert eye on the uneven stones forming a ragged line. "But it's all there is! At least in the vicinity, I think!"

"Yeah!" Xena shook her head and put a hand up over her shoulder to ease her pack and sword-sheave. "We ain't got time to search for anything better. This'll have to be it. What d'ya think, Gabrielle?"

The Amazon stepped down to the very edge of the water and gazed silently at the assembly of boulders. She crouched down to get a lower viewpoint; gauging the height of those above water-level, before standing up and turning confidently to Xena.

"We can do it!" She managed a small grin. "Seen worse on one of my training marches! See that boulder out in the centre? That's the difficult one! The surface is curved so we'll need to jump up as well as over! Think you can manage it, Warrior Woman?"

"Ha-Ha!" Xena's laughter echoed loudly along the rock-strewn shore, as she laid an arm gently on Gabrielle's shoulder. "Reckon I might! But I'll need help!"

Gabrielle moved forward and easily stepped onto the first of the low-set stones. From there a few more jumps took her well out into the main stream where she stopped to take note of the chief deterrent; a four-foot channel of speeding water passing a rounded moss-grown boulder standing a few feet above the flow.

She took stock of the boulder's position and the swirling water rushing along its side. Then, lifting one arm in the air, jumped across and landed on the rock's curved surface. Her boot slipped for an instant then she stood upright and safe. A moment later she turned carefully and nodded at Xena.

"It's OK! A little slippery. Just try to get your foot right on top of the curve!"

Xena, close behind, watched as Gabrielle took another jump onto a further stone, leaving the boulder free. Then the warrior jumped herself; not attempting any fancy somersaults, to land squarely on the top.

"Look there, Xena!" Gabrielle; from her position on the further stone, pointed at the moss-covered surface of the boulder near where Xena's boot was placed. "See that scrape in the damp moss I made when I landed?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, just a little way to the side! That's another scrape, but less than a day old, I think. It's her! We're on her track."

"You're right, Gabrielle!" Xena nodded in agreement. "She skidded on landing just like you did. Well spotted!"

In a moment they stood securely on the further bank, gazing back at the dangerous crossing they had just made.

"Think we should carry on, Xena?" Gabrielle looked around at the thick trees; mainly elms and oaks, which stretched away on all sides around them. "This storm is only going to get worse!"

"Yeah!" Xena cast her eye around their surroundings. The slight mark on the river boulder was the only visible evidence that anyone had recently passed this way; but to both women it was positive and definite. "We should keep going. The trees'll keep the worst of the rain off us; and we need to catch up some with the girl."

"OK. Let's go!" Gabrielle turned to lead the way onward through the forest, brushing a fly from her forehead as she went. "Gods! These mosquito's! Damn them all to Tartarus!"

—OOO—

Otrera had finally decided against trying to move forward; she focussed instead, for the present, on finding somewhere to take cover from the rapidly approaching storm. With her new experience of the many gullies in the area the danger of being caught in one if a flash-flood came through was too frightening to chance. As a result she now concentrated on looking for a cave to lie low in for the next several hours. Her pursuers could take care of themselves.

She had walked across to the edge of the next gully-slope in her path. But the merest glance had told her it was too dangerous to consider in the present weather conditions. It was not so much the slope she stood on; but down in the dark depths she could see the far side had another rock-wall protecting it, that looked even more of an impediment than the previous one.

Knowing it was too hazardous to try going back down into the gully she had just crossed she instead had walked along in parallel to it and had made some 3 or 4 stadia. She worried about not putting more distance between her and her pursuers; but there was nothing to be done about this.

As she walked she began to have an uneasy feeling the gully she was following had veered and was heading back towards the vicinity of the ridge she had crossed yesterday. The thought of walking ever closer to her pursuers instead of away was worrying and Otrera finally decided to investigate the new gully on her left, in the hope of an easy route over it and away across country again.

The rain had been persistent for some time, but now it really began to show its intent. It began to fall in sheets which had an almost physical impact as the windy squalls drove into her face. She realised the main body of the storm was not far away now. With renewed energy she began to search for some place of safety; ignoring now the thought of the warriors closing in behind her.

The ever-present need to still keep a close look-out was suddenly brought alive, however, when a couple of small actions conspired to nearly injure her. The flies, wasps, and other pernicious insects darting around her in their thousands as she disturbed their habitat in the leafy undergrowth were a constant nuisance. Finally one more aggressive wasp-like fly landed on her neck and, before she could brush it off, had stung her painfully. In the surprised reaction to this sudden attack Otrera lost her footing on the loose stones, staggering as she slipped and twisted her ankle.

The injury was not, she soon realised, a major accident. Her ankle was not broken, or even badly twisted. The ligaments were not torn or any other serious damage done: but the pain was enough to cause her to limp painfully for the time being, and served to slow her down. It also put out of mind the idea of going down into this next gully, hoping for an easy way across. Her only course now was to find shelter from the increasing rain and wait for the storm to pass and her ankle to ease somewhat.

Limping along she still kept an eye on the edge of the slope leading down into the gully: it would be there that any small cave was located in whatever rock-face there might hopefully be. And after some minutes her luck began to change. The slope to her left abruptly fell away sheer, making a cliff along the top of which she found herself now walking. Looking carefully over the edge she saw it was only about fifteen feet high and was easily accessible from a low pebbly scree to her left, before the tree-covered slope continued down into the gorge.

Struggling carefully to the base of the low cliff she noted it continued along for some distance before curving round a bend out of sight. But about twenty yards away the dark entrance to an opening of some sort in the gray rock could be seen. Less than two minutes later Otrera was standing in the entrance to a small, but dry, cave which cut into the rock for what appeared to be about ten feet before halting in a rock-wall. It was small, as caves went, but it was hers and she felt a wave of relief wash over her as she sank to the ground with her back against the friendly solidity of the stone. For the moment she was safe; depending, of course, on how close her pursuers might be.

—OOO—

Something like another hour had gone by as the two women swiftly passed through the dim shadows of the closely growing trees. The undergrowth was much lighter in this area so Xena and Gabrielle had no trouble increasing their speed as they moved forward. The heavy sheets of rain which now constantly beat in their faces served to keep them relatively cool; though they could tell the general temperature was decidedly falling all round them: and the dimness was steadily advancing into actual darkness as the heavy storm-clouds made their inexorable way overhead.

Again, with unexpected and slightly frightening speed, the trees suddenly came to an end and they found themselves looking at the slope of a rocky ridge forming a solid barrier as far as they could see to both right and left. The jagged sky-line appearing to be some seventy feet above their heads; almost at the level of the forest-canopy behind them.

"Well!" Gabrielle was the first to voice their thoughts. "She must have crossed; so we can too!"

"This way." Xena pointed slightly to their right as she took the lead.

But before she could say anything else an enormous flash of lightning flickered across the sky above, searing their eyes with its intensity. An instant later a peal of thunder, so loud Gabrielle felt the ground tremble under her boots, roared out above them. Immediately the rain; till then merely constant, took on a force like an invading army battering them with truly immense energy.

A faint noise far away over the forest behind them, which both women had been aware of for some time, now struck all around as the roar of the main storm-front reached them with terrifying intensity. The trees of the forest reacted as a single living thing, bowing and straining with the power of the wind: the high trunks groaning and creaking as they staggered against the colossal force pummelling them. Both women suddenly felt as if a mighty power; almost Godlike in its rampaging fury, was set purposely to attack and annihilate anyone in its track.

"We gotta get over this ridge, Gabrielle!" Xena grabbed the arm of her companion and unceremoniously dragged her towards the scree-like slope immediately in front of them. "Over here to the side: we can climb over the stones. Come on!"

"What about the tree-cover, Xena!" Gabrielle was already gasping for breath as they scrambled up the loose rocks.

"Behind us? Nah! No cover there. Storm's too strong." Xena glanced round to make sure Gabrielle was close beside her. "Probably better cover over the ridge. Maybe a cave. We gotta get over this open rock before the lightning increases any!"

Both women were soaked through; their deerskin jerkins and leggings feeling clammy on their skin. Their hair was plastered flat and rain ran down their faces as if a water barrel had been up-ended over them. They had to constantly brush the drops from their eyes as they ascended; heads down and scrabbling at the stones with bare, scratched hands.

Suddenly, just as they reached the peak of the ridge another couple of lightning flashes speared across the sky; one of which must have hit close by, for both women felt the ground shake and a peculiar frisson of energy surge through them from head to foot.

"Damn close!" Xena turned to grab Gabrielle once more. "Come on! No time to waste. We're too exposed here! Follow me!"

They ran, crouched low, over the loose stones of the ridge's flat crest, thankfully reaching the far side almost at once. And the sight that met them gave both women some heart. A solid wall of green, formed by the thickest, highest barrier of enormous trees that Gabrielle for one had ever seen. The hope of some kind of cover from the dangers of the storm galvanised their limbs and both ran down the far incline without thought of safety as the sky again lit up all round with intense multiple lightning flashes. So many in fact that the roar of the accompanying thunder took on a constant bellow alongside the brilliant lightning, as if some monstrous chorus was roaring in unison with a play acted by an assembly of angry Gods.

Xena and Gabrielle reached the end of the down-slope without injury and dashed into the protection of the thick trees with something almost like glee. But their troubles were not over as they realised the trees, though large, were generally mature and had old weak branches. As they stood, in those first seconds, amongst the dark shadows something crashed to the ground over on their left hand with a mighty force sending a cloud of dust and light debris through the near twilight to envelop them in a choking powdery film.

"Keep going!" Gabrielle now took over the lead as they ran forwards into the depths of the forest. "Let's get away from here. We need to get deeper into the trees."

High and thick though the trees were the intensity of the storm was such that even this massive canopy was vulnerable to its mighty force. The women found themselves constantly battered by the heavy rain; and the extraordinary power of the wind gusts staggered even Xena in her tracks as they proceeded.

They headed further into the profound ranks of trees all around for several more minutes, battling the storm at every step. Though they must have reached far into the forest now the wind was just as strong, and the rain and lightning just as powerful. And there was still no sign of shelter. Without warning another bolt of lightning lit up the area for an instant as if it were midday; then an immense surge of power hit the ground very close, throwing both to the forest-floor where they lay gasping as an intensity of pain Gabrielle at least had never before experienced ripped through their bodies.

A further crash sounded almost on top of them as another branch fell; blazing in flames, from the canopy far above. It landed some distance away but the impact of the enormous limb hitting the ground was so tremendous it knocked the breath from both women, and it was a couple of minutes before even Xena could crawl over to reach for Gabrielle's arm.

"You OK, Gabrielle?"

"Just about." The Amazon gasped deeply as she staggered to her feet beside the Warrior Princess. "Hades! This storm means business, don't it!"

"We're not safe here." Xena had to put her lips right against Gabrielle's ear to make herself heard over the roar of the wind and hissing of rain. "We gotta go forward. Find some cover further on. This way."

The two women ran on, unheeding of their surroundings in the one over-reaching necessity to escape the storm's uncaring force. The ground was covered in the detritus of ages, making a thick loose surface that their boots either sank into or caught on thin tendrils of old roots; so that every few yards each woman found themselves tripping and staggering for a foothold. Engrossed in this almost mind-numbing race they came upon the next danger in their path with no prior warning. One moment the ground was flat before them; the next instant they were both scrabbling in the dirt as they rolled down the steep slope of a ravine.

Caught off-guard both Xena and Gabrielle found themselves hitting stones in the ground and bumping against tree-trunks as they more or less fell down the incline, rolling over and over. Happily neither actually hit the trees with any force; and finally both came to a halt on the pebbles of a small stream at the gully's foot.

Xena rose first and shook her hair out of her face before turning to where Gabrielle was just climbing to her own feet, apparently uninjured.

"What did we do to anger the Gods this time, Xena?" Gabrielle wiped a hand over her dust-covered face; a hand bleeding from a multitude of scratches. " 'cause someone's got it in for us!"

"Nah!" Xena's forced laugh was mirthless and didn't deceive the Amazon for an instant. "Just a storm. No great shakes. I've seen worse! But we need to find some kind of shelter. We need to dry out, and those scratches you've got'll need looking at."

"This way, do you think, Xena?" Gabrielle was giving the terrain a searching investigation over to their left side; as far as she could see in the near darkness.

"What?" Xena leaned closer to the slight figure beside her as the rain seemed to gain in intensity, along with the curiously loud roar of the stream beside them as it flowed over the boulders in its bed.

"I said, what about over here, Xena!" She pointed along the stream, which suddenly came into view along its whole length as another streak of lightning flashed overhead, reflecting in white intensity from the water's surface.

"No! I think the other way's better." Xena had waited till the blast of thunder had rolled earsplittingly over their heads before replying. "See the low pebbly shore on our side, just before it goes round that bend? I think the slopes on both sides'll be easier to cross there."

"OK!" Gabrielle put her mouth right against Xena's ear. "I'm with you!"

Together they scrabbled along the boulders and loose pebbles till they reached the spot Xena had pointed out. As she said the shore on both sides of the stream proved to be low here, and it was only a matter of stepping daintily across a few flat stones to reach the far side. From this point the slope rose at a fairly easy angle, though still covered in heavy tall trees with an almost impenetrable darkness beneath them; but both were used to this now and set out up the slippery slope with determination.

A few minutes steady climbing found them once more on the floor of the forest proper. The trees here were just as immense and thick; and the force of the all-encompassing storm still raged all round and through the trees forcing the women to stagger slightly as they stepped carefully over the ground.

"Gods! Am I glad that's over, Xena!" Gabrielle shrugged her shoulders in an effort to ease strained muscles. "Which way now? Look! Is that a deer-run over there. It might let us move quicker. I'll take a look. You go over to your right, Xena! Is that a path going through the trees?"

The Amazon Queen let go of her companion's wrist, which she had grasped by instinct as they stood together, and darted off into the dim receding trees. With a shake of her head at her friend's impetuousness Xena headed over in the direction Gabrielle had indicated, where the ground seemed to show a line of bare rocks that certainly looked somewhat like a path. But on reaching the spot Xena instantly saw it was just a natural line of stones that petered out after a few yards, leaving the forest floor as trackless as ever in that direction. She turned towards Gabrielle again and saw her, some distance away, standing in a space under the trees that let in a little more light than usual. As she casually headed towards her Xena saw Gabrielle raise a hand to her mouth and shout something. The words were immediately lost in the roar of wind and hiss of rain but Xena saw her friend putting her arm up and waving, as if pointing somewhere over to her right. Then the world stopped for Xena.

The entire area lit up as if it was midday in Summer: lightning tore the sky apart for an amazing length of time: rolling thunder broke out with such intensity it sounded as if Tartarus itself was rocking on its foundations: then a roaring flash of flame was visible just to the left of Gabrielle, where she stood some forty yards away from Xena.

In what appeared to the Warrior Princess to be slow-motion several things happened at once. A mighty increasing roar, as if a mountain was falling, split the air: a wrenching tearing noise ripped through her eardrums: and something that had been the merest of shadows took shape as it revealed itself as one of the immense trees falling to earth in a welter of torn branches, flying leaves, and enormous trunk.

All Xena saw was an intense darkness falling: the sudden length of tree-trunk coming into view as it fell: and the earth-shaking impact as it hit the ground: hiding the small figure of Gabrielle as it landed, seemingly right on top of her.

Xena was immediately thrown backwards, as if by a solid force. Then, once again, the air was filled with dust and leaves and other debris. It was a couple of minutes before Xena could once more stagger to her feet, and what she saw was devastation.

Across her path, fifteen feet in front of her, was a high barrier of leaf-shrouded branches stretching away on both sides seemingly without end. At places where the branches had split apart she could see the bole of the tree rising some twenty feet into the air, and could only assume the scene was similar on the far side. Apart from a myriad of flies dancing all round her there was no movement of any kind: the enormous impact appearing to have silenced all wildlife in the area. Of Gabrielle there was not the slightest sign.

Xena stood beside the colossal wreckage, hands at her side, in stunned shock. Somewhere under that terrifying ruin was the one person in all the world who gave her life meaning and strength!

"Gabrielle! Gabrielle!"

The sound of her shouts penetrated high over the roar of the storm, echoing under the trees and through the rain-soaked darkness. But for reply there came only silence.

Chapter 3 is on the stocks and will be launched shortly.