Lexi opened her eyes, but quickly shut them against the white light that greeted them, groaning. Her head was swimming, but it didn't hurt at least. She felt like she had been hit by a double-decker bus. Slowly, sounds came into focus; a machine beeping steadily, the faintest murmur of voices. Her memory returned in chunks; her report, being tied up, and the blurry face of the man who saved her. Lexi tried again to open her eyes, squinting against the lights above her. She was in a stark white room, which only made it harder to see and threatened her with a headache. She was laying in a bed, a needle in her arm. A man, a doctor, walked over to her, smiling.
"Ah, you're awake! How do you feel Miss Montgomery?" Lexi blinked, trying to get used to all the bright white objects around her. She had always hated white.
"Tired," she croaked, throat dry. "Where am I?"
"In the hospital. Some friends of yours brought you in late last night. You were in bad shape."
"Friends…?" Lexi tried to remember more of what happened. She had been blindfolded and left alone, then the man - her own best friend, Ardeth Bay, she realized, stunned - had come in and saved her. Her kidnappers had been ransoming her for… what?
"Yes. Three men and a woman. The woman said her name was Evy O'Connell." Lexi smiled. Evy was a co-worker of hers, a strong willed British woman. Evy had had her back from the beginning, and it was comforting to know she still did. Lexi slowly managed to sit up; she may have been severely hurt the night before, but she hated bed rest, and it wasn't in her nature to stay still for long.
"How bad was I?" she asked.
"You had lost a good deal of blood, and had head trauma. The shock and delirium were the easiest to treat. To be honest, you shouldn't be able to sit up so well."
"Guess I'm lucky." She remarked. "Am I able to see my friends?"
"Certainly, but we can only allow one in at a time."
"Send in the man with tan skin, black hair and facial tattoos. His name is Ardeth." The doctor nodded and slipped out of the door. Lexi laid back down onto her pillows. She could hardly believe it. She had asked for Ardeth, and there Ardeth appeared.
I definitely believe in 'ask and thou shall receive' now… Lexi thought with a grin. Sighing, she settled down and waited for Ardeth.
Ardeth was having trouble not pacing a trench in the hospital floor. It had been almost six hours since they brought Lexi to the hospital. Jonathan and Alex had arrived but were now asleep. Evy and Rick had been taking turns dozing off. Safti did not sleep but stayed seated, watching Ardeth fidget nervously, unable to stay still. The doctor suddenly came through the doors.
"How is she, doc?" Rick asked.
"Good news: she's awake and doing very well. She wants t see a man named Ardeth."
"That would be me," Ardeth said, stepping forward. The doctor nodded and lead Ardeth through the cold halls until they stopped at the room Lexi was in.
"She's inside. Her memory will likely be a little fuzzy, s please be patient if she doesn't remember something." Ardeth thanked the doctor and eased open the door, slipping inside.
Lexi looked towards the door as Ardeth stepped in. She was amazed by how much he had changed. The scruffy child was now a strong desert warrior. Lexi was proud as she grinned at her friend.
"I know that's not the same little boy who used to smuggle snakes into his tent." Ardeth laughed, showing a glimpse of the playful child he once was. Lexi hadn't changed at all in his mind. Ardeth stepped over and gently hugged his dear friend. Lexi giggled and hugged back with surprising strength. "It's great to see you. I missed you."
"I missed you too, Lexi." Ardeth sat on the edge of the bed, smiling more than he had in several days. "You just can't stay out of trouble, can you?" Lexi laughed.
"You know that's not my style, sweetheart. You know, I had hoped you would save me back in the storage room, but I didn't expect you to actually come." Ardeth chuckled.
"I couldn't let my friend get hurt, now could I?" Remembering that there was a more serious issue at hand, Ardeth's face lost it's light. Lexi's gut sank when Ardeth's face became serious, and she had to remind herself that they were not children anymore. I just got beat over the brain and got laid up in a hospital bed and all I can do is joke about it? she thought. Things were serious, and she needed to be, too. Save the joking for later.
"The guys who caught me wanted something from you guys. What's going on here, Ardeth?" Ardeth brushed the hair from his eyes.
"I don't know much right now, Lexi. Have you heard of the Amulet of Mnemosyne?"
"I've heard of the goddess, but not an amulet, no. Why?" Ardeth quickly told her of the Amulet's power, and what the men wanted. "All this over a rock in my pocket?"
"The gem is more than a rock, Lexi. Now that they have both the gem and the chain, they have the ability to cause massive amounts of destruction." Lexi took Ardeth's hand and squeezed it.
"It'll be okay, Ardeth; we can still fix this mess." Ardeth had to smile.
"I hope you're right, Lexi."
"Disclaimer: The Mummy and its plot, characters, etc. is property of Director Stephen Sommers. The character Safti is the creation of the awesome Deana and is used with her permission. Everything else is mine.