Serena was trembling with excitement. It had been almost ten years since she had seen her friends, and after all was said and done, she didn't know if she'd ever see them again. This was a moment she had to cherish.
The journey was only a few days, but it seemed like much longer than that. When the couple finally pulled up into the O'Connells driveway, Serena saw two other cars of the exact same style already here.
"That's not good," she whispered, her excitement dwindling.
They ran into the house, Ardeth taking the lead by a mile. When Serena finally caught up, they paused outside the door, listening to the conversation, waiting for the right moment to enter.
"Get…out…of my house," Serena heard her friend say as the sound of a sword unsheathing rang out.
"Whoa, Mum, maybe not the best idea!" a little boy said. She assumed it was their son.
"Alex, get back there!"
They heard more footsteps and evidently, more men walked into the room.
"Definitely not the best idea!" the little boy cried again. "I think it's time to yell for Dad now."
Serena couldn't help but smile at the comment. If only he knew what his mother was really capable of!
"Now I will kill you and take it anyway!" a familiar voice said. Serena let out a small sigh as she thought about the owner of the voice. The Medjai had fought with him and his kind for a long time.
"I think not," Ardeth said as he walked into the room.
"Ardeth, what are you doing here?"
"Perhaps explanations are best left for later."
Serena followed her husband into the room and approached the other side of her friend.
"Serena?"
"Hello, Evy," Serena answered with a huge smile on her face. She took in the fact that her friend looked incredibly different from the last time she had seen her. She was no longer the little bookworm Serena had known. Her gorgeous black hair was so luscious and flowed like a waterfall down her head. She had discovered mascara and eyeliner and applied much of it around her perfect eyes. Serena wondered if she had gone through such a change too, and maybe Evy felt the same way about her.
She wanted so direly to give her friend a huge hug. After all, the two women hadn't seen each other for nearly a decade. But they knew it would have to wait.
"Ardeth Bay," an African-American man said. Serena looked at him and immediately recognized him: the owner of that horrid voice. He was the second-in-command of a cult and a ruthless one who used violence at any moment possible.
"Lock-Nah," Ardeth stated.
He looked at Serena. "Serena Gardner."
Serena smiled and gave a small bow. She pulled her sword out of her sheath and held it firmly in front of her, ready to fight. "Just like old times, huh?" she smiled at her friend.
"Al lif!" Lock-Nah yelled. Ardeth and Serena threw off their capes, and the men started fighting the three people furiously. Evy did an impressive back-flip and used her sword to defend herself. Meanwhile, Serena took her sword and fought one of the men who had charged her. After temporarily disabling him, she turned to look at the small boy. "Hi, you must be Alex! I'm Serena Gardner! I'm your mom's best friend!"
The man came back at her and she kicked him in the gut and then punched him in the face and knocked his sword out of his hand once more. It slid under the bookshelf, where he attempted to get it, but appeared unsuccessful. She turned back to him. "It's so nice to finally meet you! I've heard so much about you!"
Evy made a successful move on her own two opponents, and Alex cried, "Whoa, Mum, where did you learn to do that?"
"I have no idea!" she answered. A man came and choked her, but she managed to punch him away. "That I learned from your father!" Serena smiled having witnessed that same move so long ago.
"Not bad…for some Medjai," Lock-Nah sneered.
Serena looked at him deviously. "Compliment taken."
One of the men tried to take the chest from Alex, though the boy held onto it firmly. It wasn't enough. The man took the chest and Alex fell to the floor.
Serena helped him up. "Are you alright?"
The boy just nodded as Serena fought off even more men.
"What's in the chest?!" Ardeth shouted.
"The bracelet of Anubis!" Evy shouted back.
Throughout the fighting, Ardeth and Serena made eye contact with each other.
Lock-Nah threw off his cape and drew his sword. He began to fight Ardeth and boy, was he good! Their swords knocked against each other and punches landed. Ardeth got hit twice in the face, but delivered a good one to Lock-Nah. Lock-Nah managed to sock him again in the stomach and face. Serena wanted to help him, but she couldn't shake off these men!
"Ardeth!" she cried.
"They must not get the bracelet!" he yelled to her and Evy. "Get it and get out of here!"
"I'm not leaving you!" Serena yelled.
"You must!"
Alex overturned a bookshelf on one of the men and Serena smiled at him. She went back to fighting when she heard him scream, "Mom, look out!" She turned and saw a huge man whack Evy on the head, sending her out cold.
"Evelyn!"
"Evy!" Serena ran after her, but one of the cultists came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. She remembered what Ardeth had told her to do in this situation and hit him first in the side with her elbow, then stomped on his foot, then used her hand to hit his nose, then finally hit him where a man should NOT be hit. By the time her attacker was defeated, Evy was gone, and Lock-Nah was finishing up attacking Ardeth. He threw a huge blade at him and it hit the wall as he moved just in time. He threw his cape back on and left.
Serena ran over to Ardeth and looked at the large cut on the front of his shoulder. "Are you okay?" she asked with fear in her eyes for him.
He looked at her with those beautiful brown eyes of his, a trait that had first drawn her towards him. "I'm fine, but Evelyn is not!" She, Ardeth, and Alex all ran out to the front and were greeted by Rick and Jonathon.
They arrived just in time to see the car that held Evy prisoner taking off after shooting bullets at Rick.
"Evy!" Serena screamed.
Some reunion.
