Note: Thanks to Angie for helping me with the battle scenes. You saved my butt again Luv, thanks. (If any part of your body is going to kill you...) :)
~~~~~~~~~
The sun sluggishly melted behind the dunes, only a sliver of dazzling gold peeking over their peaks. Two of the Ka guards stood outside the temple, watching the display with little interest and making idle conversation. The taller of the two strolled to the edge of the platform leading into the darkening temple, and relieved himself over the edge while grunting in boredom from his job. A battle cry abruptly pierced the air, incoherent at first, but growing in excitement and tone.
The pair of guards stood stock still in the arriving gloom, which brought with it a sea of Med-jai, thirsting for blood. The sight was so overwhelming, that the hapless guards didn't turn and run till the leader was upon them, cutting them down easily with a wickedly curved sword. The Med-jai surrounded the temple, shooting at the Fajarah as they ran out, trying to keep them back.
The battle raged on as Ardeth, Evy, Jonathan, and Rick jumped of their horses, running into the temple. As they set foot in, five large men came at them, swords raised.
"Find Emily!" Ardeth told Evy and Jonathan, shoving them away.
They ran off, through the temple, Evy with two guns and her tridents, Jonathan with 2 guns of his own. From the corner of her eye, Evy saw the men coming at them, she turned, shot both of them, and kept on running.
~~
Sabooru heard the battle cry, and saw the sea of people coming at them. He ran to where Emily was, unlocking her in a panic. As soon as she was unlocked, the 2 large guards next to her grabbed her, dragging her off kicking and screaming through her gag. They pulled her down a dark flight of stairs, and into an even darker room. One of them lit a torch as the other guard and Sabooru chained her to yet another wall.
~~
Rick and Ardeth simply shot the men coming after them. They ran in the same direction of Evy and John, but were ambushed. Neither of them saw the 2 men jump down from a high ledge, until they felt the men land of their backs, forcing them to the ground. Ardeth had been able to throw the man off of himself, pulling out his long scimitar. Rick had a little more trouble. The man began to choke him, reaching for his dagger with his free hand. Rick was able to get a solid punch in, knocking the guy off him. He pulled out a gun and shot the guy in the leg. It did not stop the warrior, he threw his knife at Rick's throat. But Rick was able to catch the knife, and threw it back at the guy, the blade slamming into the man's chest.
Ardeth found his appoint skilled, but was still able to get the upper hand, upper-cutting the warrior in one solid movement. Kicking the guy back into a pillar, Ardeth ran him through. Rick looked at Ardeth, and then looked over him, seeing the group of warrior's come at them, guns raised, and bullets flying. They dove out of the way, and Ardeth finally pulled the submachine gun off his shoulder, and stood up. He ran to O'Connell as he blasted the gun, taking down a few of the men on his way. Rick had his own guns drawn, taking out a couple of the dark green goons on his own.
~~
Panting with exhaustion, Evy and John reached the room. Adrenaline kept them from sitting down and resting, however the luckless Jonathon had almost reached his collapsing point. Evy's fatigued, chartreuse eyes scanned the hall way ahead of them, though she still didn't catch the warriors that grabbed each of them by the shoulders and threw them roughly to the ground. Jonathon wearily got up, only to find the large warrior's hands around his body, pinning his arms against the side. He had time to give the man a venomous glare before he was sent flying into a wall, his body crumpling to the floor.
Meanwhile, Evy was putting up more of a fight. She was up again, her twin tridents being unsheathed from their concealment under her jacket. She viciously sliced at the burly warrior, catching him across his bare chest. He stared at the meandering red line for a moment, before furiously unsheathing his sword and slashing at Evy. She nimbly hopped back, only managing to obtain a shallow gash across the arm.
Pushing away his sword with the main prong of her trident, the girl gave a grunt as she dug a foot into the man's stomach and kicked. He was sent sprawling backwards, slamming against the lice-eaten door leading to the stairway and tumbling down the stone steps. Satisfied, she turned to the other warrior, who was making his way slowly to the downed Jonathon - like a cat moving to finish off its prey. Without a sound, Evy dug a trident into his back. With a shriek of surprise, the warrior spun, connecting a fist with the girl's head and sending her backwards. The tridents fell from her grasp, clattering along the floor before vanishing down a gaping hole in the stone floor. The warrior, mouth agape in horror, fell forwards, mortally wounded.
~~
The loud pang of the falling weapons causes Sabooru, the guards, and Emily look over, then up. They could hear grunting sometimes a yelp or two coming from above them. Sabooru cursed, told the guards to come with him, and ran out of the room, in the opposite direction of the staircase. Emily was powerless. But she struggled to get free.
~~
All around Evy and Jonathan were sounds of war, but from the outside, they could hear the Med-jai yell in triumph. They were winning. The looked at each other and raced down the stairs. Finding the dark room with Emily chained to the wall. John ran to help her as Evy went for her tridents. She grabbed them, but as she turned around, found herself face to face with a large group of sword wielding Fajarah. she backed up slowly, tridents raised in a threatening manner.
John pulled out his guns, and gave Emily a 'hold on a second" look. The men attacked Evy and john. And even though it was 7 to 2, they still didn't give in. Evy blocked blows from the swords with her tridents, and, seeing a chance, she kicked the weapon out of the man's hand. She dove for it, tridents in one hand, and the sword now in her other. She quickly tucked the tridents into her belt and ran towards john, half the group focussing their attention on him. He began to shoot at them. But quickly ran out of bullets. He turned to Evy, and pulled the 2 guns she had holstered out. She beat one off with her sword, stabbing him and kicking him into another.
She took the chance to take care of Emily, knowing they could not fight off the men with out her. she slammed the blade against the chains, breaking her free.
They didn't have a key to get the things off her wrist, but it was good enough. Evy took care of the chains at her feet. As she stood, Emily grabbed the sword out of her hands, grabbed Evy's shoulder and forced her to the ground, she thrust the sword forward, stabbing the warrior that came at the woman. He gasped, looked down at the sword sticking in his chest, and fell back. Evy popped up, nodded a "thanks" and pulled the sword out of the man's chest, Emily grabbing the other sword. They ran into the group, fighting off the men, trying to find Jonathan.
He stood against a door, panting, eyes wide as he watched the carnage around him. Evy kneed a guy in the crotch, and as he was down, brought the sword across his neck, slashing a deep gash from ear to ear. Emily fought of 2 men at once, remembering her garden "battle" with the Med-jai. She swung her sword. Slashing one deep in the chest, and as the other came at her from behind, she twisted the sword and slammed it behind her, twisting the blade in the mans flesh, and pulling up. She brought her leg up and roundhouse kicked the warrior she slashed across the chest. 3 men remained. And as one came at Emily, she saw with a gasp that another warrior stood behind the unsuspecting Jonathan, about to dig his sword deep into the English man.
"JONATHAN!" she yelled, her voice echoing across the room, "DUCK!" she threw the sword right at him, he dropped to the ground right as it slammed into the warrior's chest. He yelped and fell back.
"Grab that thing and fight!" she yelled. She turned, kick the warrior, bringing her foot up high and catching him in the face, breaking his nose. He fell back slightly, she took the chance to grab his sword and run him through, killing him cleanly. Evy herself took out one more warrior. Swinging her sword high across his neck, decapitating him. All 3 turned and looked at the lone warrior left in the room. 7 of his comrades lay dead at the hands of 2 women. Fear streaked across his face, and he ran up the stairs. Followed closely by Evy, Emily, and Jonathan.
~~
Sabooru and his 2 guards ran into the room to see Jonathan flee. Dead bodies were all around the ground. Emily gone. The leader let out a string of curses and ran up the stairs. He would kill that damn woman himself.
~~
Ardeth and Rick managed to take all the warriors down, and shot every single bullet until every single warrior had died. They then ran over the bodies, and ran into a large stone room, where they saw Evy, Emily, and Jonathan run out of an old doorway. Blood on their clothes, Evy had a small gash on her arm. And there were still shackles around Emily's ankles and wrists. A smile found its way across Ardeth's face when he saw her, and she smiled back.
They were all to late to see the hands reach out and grab Emily, pulling her back down into the stairway. All four of them made a dash for the door. And found 2 very large dark green robes in their way. Ardeth pulled out his long scimitar, diving for the men. Rick grabbed Jonathan's sword and he and Evy went after the men to, Jonathan stepped back, happy to be the odd man out.
Emily meanwhile slammed her elbow into Sabooru's side, and brought her head back, slamming the back of her head into his nose. He let out a yelp and let go. She made a dash for the door. And he made a dash for her, grabbing her and dragging her down she turned around and swung her sword, carving a deep gash in his face. He screamed and stood up, throwing himself right one her. she pulled her sword up and he landed on the blade, it sticking right into his midsection. He fell off her, stunned.
Meanwhile, Ardeth, Rick, and Evy had fought and killed the 2 large warriors. Emily began to run to Ardeth when Sabooru stood up, using all his strength. He pulled out a dagger from his robes and threw it at her back.
"Emily!" Ardeth yelled, she turned right as the blade slammed into her side. Sticking in half way. She let out a gasp and stopped. Looking down at the dagger that stuck out nicely from her side. She pulled it out with a scream, and held the bloody blade between her forefingers and thumb. Turning, she used all her power to throw the knife at Sabooru, it slamming right between his eyes. Sticking in as far as it could go. He was dead before he ever hit the ground.
She let out a tiny gasp and fell to the ground. Blood poured out of her side.
"Emily!" Ardeth yelled again, running to her. he held her gently.
"Oh my god…Evy! help!"
she ran to them, looking at the wound, it was deep and Evy knew that if it didn't get treatment fast, she would die.
"We have to get her out of the dirt….Jonathan! dust off that table! Ardeth, pick her up gently, put your hand over her wound tightly."
They both did what she said. Ardeth set her gently on her side, so Evy could have easy access to her wound. They lifted up the purple shirt she wore.
"Ardeth, I need you to cut the bottom off your robes off. We need to bandage her up." He nodded and bent down, pulling out a dagger and cutting off long strips of his black robe. He handed the first one to Evy, and she used it to wipe away the blood, which had no stopped flowing freely. Rick and Jonathan stood off to the side, watching on silently. Outside, they could hear the voices of the Med-jai, yelling happily about the easy victory.
Then, Ahmad ran into the room, ready to tell them all the good news. The stopped short as he was the grisly scene. Ardeth looked up at his second in command as he helped Evy wrap Emily's side, his eyes large and unsure of what to do.
As for Emily, she just stayed quiet. Her eyes closed. She was weak, and waited for the darkness to close in on her.
"Will she be ok?" Ardeth asked softly, looking down at her.
"She needs to get some real medical treatment quickly." Evy said, tucking under the last of the bandages.
"The closest town is Cairo, but she would never make it…" Rick said softly.
"My Tribe." Ardeth said, "We have some very skilled doctors there." Evy looked at him, unsure.
"It is half a day away if we move quickly. It is the only thing we can do." Evy nodded. "Ahmad, send a message ahead, tell them to get the doctors ready." He gently picked up Emily, reminding him of the first time he had saved her. "How many wounded warriors do we have?"
"The worst seems to be her." Ahmad said, pointing to the limp woman in his arms. "Other then that, just a few minor cuts."
Ardeth nodded and carried Emily out of the temple, being careful to step over all the dead bodies. When they got out side, they saw the Med-jai had started to pile up the dark green robed bodies. They all stopped and looked on sadly at their Chieftain holding the limp body of the woman they had come to save.
"We will go with you." Evy said as she walked next to Ardeth. He looked at her.
"What about Alex?"
"I will go get him." They heard Ahmad say, they turned to him.
"Will you?" Evy asked.
"It would be my honor."
"I'll go with him," Jonathan said, "Get you guys some clothes."
Rick nodded. "Ok, get the first aid kit as well. We might need it."
Evy thanked Ahmad and hugged Jonathan. "It will take us about 3 days." Ahmad said, mounting his horse. And with that, they rode off.
~~
Ardeth handed Emily over to Rick and climbed up on his horse. Rick, with the help of Evy, gently held Emily up so that Ardeth could take her in his arms. He was able to keep her cradled against his body, her legs hanging off to the side of the horse.
She stirred gently and her eyes fluttered open. Ardeth looked at her softly. She moved her lips and he bent his ear down to listen to her.
"We…always meet…at dusk…" she said weakly. Before going limp in his arms. He bent over and kissed her forehead softly, sure that she could feel it.
He yelled out a command to his men, and then rode off, with Evy, Rick, and 2 other Med-jai for protection.
~~~~~~~~~
The sun sluggishly melted behind the dunes, only a sliver of dazzling gold peeking over their peaks. Two of the Ka guards stood outside the temple, watching the display with little interest and making idle conversation. The taller of the two strolled to the edge of the platform leading into the darkening temple, and relieved himself over the edge while grunting in boredom from his job. A battle cry abruptly pierced the air, incoherent at first, but growing in excitement and tone.
The pair of guards stood stock still in the arriving gloom, which brought with it a sea of Med-jai, thirsting for blood. The sight was so overwhelming, that the hapless guards didn't turn and run till the leader was upon them, cutting them down easily with a wickedly curved sword. The Med-jai surrounded the temple, shooting at the Fajarah as they ran out, trying to keep them back.
The battle raged on as Ardeth, Evy, Jonathan, and Rick jumped of their horses, running into the temple. As they set foot in, five large men came at them, swords raised.
"Find Emily!" Ardeth told Evy and Jonathan, shoving them away.
They ran off, through the temple, Evy with two guns and her tridents, Jonathan with 2 guns of his own. From the corner of her eye, Evy saw the men coming at them, she turned, shot both of them, and kept on running.
~~
Sabooru heard the battle cry, and saw the sea of people coming at them. He ran to where Emily was, unlocking her in a panic. As soon as she was unlocked, the 2 large guards next to her grabbed her, dragging her off kicking and screaming through her gag. They pulled her down a dark flight of stairs, and into an even darker room. One of them lit a torch as the other guard and Sabooru chained her to yet another wall.
~~
Rick and Ardeth simply shot the men coming after them. They ran in the same direction of Evy and John, but were ambushed. Neither of them saw the 2 men jump down from a high ledge, until they felt the men land of their backs, forcing them to the ground. Ardeth had been able to throw the man off of himself, pulling out his long scimitar. Rick had a little more trouble. The man began to choke him, reaching for his dagger with his free hand. Rick was able to get a solid punch in, knocking the guy off him. He pulled out a gun and shot the guy in the leg. It did not stop the warrior, he threw his knife at Rick's throat. But Rick was able to catch the knife, and threw it back at the guy, the blade slamming into the man's chest.
Ardeth found his appoint skilled, but was still able to get the upper hand, upper-cutting the warrior in one solid movement. Kicking the guy back into a pillar, Ardeth ran him through. Rick looked at Ardeth, and then looked over him, seeing the group of warrior's come at them, guns raised, and bullets flying. They dove out of the way, and Ardeth finally pulled the submachine gun off his shoulder, and stood up. He ran to O'Connell as he blasted the gun, taking down a few of the men on his way. Rick had his own guns drawn, taking out a couple of the dark green goons on his own.
~~
Panting with exhaustion, Evy and John reached the room. Adrenaline kept them from sitting down and resting, however the luckless Jonathon had almost reached his collapsing point. Evy's fatigued, chartreuse eyes scanned the hall way ahead of them, though she still didn't catch the warriors that grabbed each of them by the shoulders and threw them roughly to the ground. Jonathon wearily got up, only to find the large warrior's hands around his body, pinning his arms against the side. He had time to give the man a venomous glare before he was sent flying into a wall, his body crumpling to the floor.
Meanwhile, Evy was putting up more of a fight. She was up again, her twin tridents being unsheathed from their concealment under her jacket. She viciously sliced at the burly warrior, catching him across his bare chest. He stared at the meandering red line for a moment, before furiously unsheathing his sword and slashing at Evy. She nimbly hopped back, only managing to obtain a shallow gash across the arm.
Pushing away his sword with the main prong of her trident, the girl gave a grunt as she dug a foot into the man's stomach and kicked. He was sent sprawling backwards, slamming against the lice-eaten door leading to the stairway and tumbling down the stone steps. Satisfied, she turned to the other warrior, who was making his way slowly to the downed Jonathon - like a cat moving to finish off its prey. Without a sound, Evy dug a trident into his back. With a shriek of surprise, the warrior spun, connecting a fist with the girl's head and sending her backwards. The tridents fell from her grasp, clattering along the floor before vanishing down a gaping hole in the stone floor. The warrior, mouth agape in horror, fell forwards, mortally wounded.
~~
The loud pang of the falling weapons causes Sabooru, the guards, and Emily look over, then up. They could hear grunting sometimes a yelp or two coming from above them. Sabooru cursed, told the guards to come with him, and ran out of the room, in the opposite direction of the staircase. Emily was powerless. But she struggled to get free.
~~
All around Evy and Jonathan were sounds of war, but from the outside, they could hear the Med-jai yell in triumph. They were winning. The looked at each other and raced down the stairs. Finding the dark room with Emily chained to the wall. John ran to help her as Evy went for her tridents. She grabbed them, but as she turned around, found herself face to face with a large group of sword wielding Fajarah. she backed up slowly, tridents raised in a threatening manner.
John pulled out his guns, and gave Emily a 'hold on a second" look. The men attacked Evy and john. And even though it was 7 to 2, they still didn't give in. Evy blocked blows from the swords with her tridents, and, seeing a chance, she kicked the weapon out of the man's hand. She dove for it, tridents in one hand, and the sword now in her other. She quickly tucked the tridents into her belt and ran towards john, half the group focussing their attention on him. He began to shoot at them. But quickly ran out of bullets. He turned to Evy, and pulled the 2 guns she had holstered out. She beat one off with her sword, stabbing him and kicking him into another.
She took the chance to take care of Emily, knowing they could not fight off the men with out her. she slammed the blade against the chains, breaking her free.
They didn't have a key to get the things off her wrist, but it was good enough. Evy took care of the chains at her feet. As she stood, Emily grabbed the sword out of her hands, grabbed Evy's shoulder and forced her to the ground, she thrust the sword forward, stabbing the warrior that came at the woman. He gasped, looked down at the sword sticking in his chest, and fell back. Evy popped up, nodded a "thanks" and pulled the sword out of the man's chest, Emily grabbing the other sword. They ran into the group, fighting off the men, trying to find Jonathan.
He stood against a door, panting, eyes wide as he watched the carnage around him. Evy kneed a guy in the crotch, and as he was down, brought the sword across his neck, slashing a deep gash from ear to ear. Emily fought of 2 men at once, remembering her garden "battle" with the Med-jai. She swung her sword. Slashing one deep in the chest, and as the other came at her from behind, she twisted the sword and slammed it behind her, twisting the blade in the mans flesh, and pulling up. She brought her leg up and roundhouse kicked the warrior she slashed across the chest. 3 men remained. And as one came at Emily, she saw with a gasp that another warrior stood behind the unsuspecting Jonathan, about to dig his sword deep into the English man.
"JONATHAN!" she yelled, her voice echoing across the room, "DUCK!" she threw the sword right at him, he dropped to the ground right as it slammed into the warrior's chest. He yelped and fell back.
"Grab that thing and fight!" she yelled. She turned, kick the warrior, bringing her foot up high and catching him in the face, breaking his nose. He fell back slightly, she took the chance to grab his sword and run him through, killing him cleanly. Evy herself took out one more warrior. Swinging her sword high across his neck, decapitating him. All 3 turned and looked at the lone warrior left in the room. 7 of his comrades lay dead at the hands of 2 women. Fear streaked across his face, and he ran up the stairs. Followed closely by Evy, Emily, and Jonathan.
~~
Sabooru and his 2 guards ran into the room to see Jonathan flee. Dead bodies were all around the ground. Emily gone. The leader let out a string of curses and ran up the stairs. He would kill that damn woman himself.
~~
Ardeth and Rick managed to take all the warriors down, and shot every single bullet until every single warrior had died. They then ran over the bodies, and ran into a large stone room, where they saw Evy, Emily, and Jonathan run out of an old doorway. Blood on their clothes, Evy had a small gash on her arm. And there were still shackles around Emily's ankles and wrists. A smile found its way across Ardeth's face when he saw her, and she smiled back.
They were all to late to see the hands reach out and grab Emily, pulling her back down into the stairway. All four of them made a dash for the door. And found 2 very large dark green robes in their way. Ardeth pulled out his long scimitar, diving for the men. Rick grabbed Jonathan's sword and he and Evy went after the men to, Jonathan stepped back, happy to be the odd man out.
Emily meanwhile slammed her elbow into Sabooru's side, and brought her head back, slamming the back of her head into his nose. He let out a yelp and let go. She made a dash for the door. And he made a dash for her, grabbing her and dragging her down she turned around and swung her sword, carving a deep gash in his face. He screamed and stood up, throwing himself right one her. she pulled her sword up and he landed on the blade, it sticking right into his midsection. He fell off her, stunned.
Meanwhile, Ardeth, Rick, and Evy had fought and killed the 2 large warriors. Emily began to run to Ardeth when Sabooru stood up, using all his strength. He pulled out a dagger from his robes and threw it at her back.
"Emily!" Ardeth yelled, she turned right as the blade slammed into her side. Sticking in half way. She let out a gasp and stopped. Looking down at the dagger that stuck out nicely from her side. She pulled it out with a scream, and held the bloody blade between her forefingers and thumb. Turning, she used all her power to throw the knife at Sabooru, it slamming right between his eyes. Sticking in as far as it could go. He was dead before he ever hit the ground.
She let out a tiny gasp and fell to the ground. Blood poured out of her side.
"Emily!" Ardeth yelled again, running to her. he held her gently.
"Oh my god…Evy! help!"
she ran to them, looking at the wound, it was deep and Evy knew that if it didn't get treatment fast, she would die.
"We have to get her out of the dirt….Jonathan! dust off that table! Ardeth, pick her up gently, put your hand over her wound tightly."
They both did what she said. Ardeth set her gently on her side, so Evy could have easy access to her wound. They lifted up the purple shirt she wore.
"Ardeth, I need you to cut the bottom off your robes off. We need to bandage her up." He nodded and bent down, pulling out a dagger and cutting off long strips of his black robe. He handed the first one to Evy, and she used it to wipe away the blood, which had no stopped flowing freely. Rick and Jonathan stood off to the side, watching on silently. Outside, they could hear the voices of the Med-jai, yelling happily about the easy victory.
Then, Ahmad ran into the room, ready to tell them all the good news. The stopped short as he was the grisly scene. Ardeth looked up at his second in command as he helped Evy wrap Emily's side, his eyes large and unsure of what to do.
As for Emily, she just stayed quiet. Her eyes closed. She was weak, and waited for the darkness to close in on her.
"Will she be ok?" Ardeth asked softly, looking down at her.
"She needs to get some real medical treatment quickly." Evy said, tucking under the last of the bandages.
"The closest town is Cairo, but she would never make it…" Rick said softly.
"My Tribe." Ardeth said, "We have some very skilled doctors there." Evy looked at him, unsure.
"It is half a day away if we move quickly. It is the only thing we can do." Evy nodded. "Ahmad, send a message ahead, tell them to get the doctors ready." He gently picked up Emily, reminding him of the first time he had saved her. "How many wounded warriors do we have?"
"The worst seems to be her." Ahmad said, pointing to the limp woman in his arms. "Other then that, just a few minor cuts."
Ardeth nodded and carried Emily out of the temple, being careful to step over all the dead bodies. When they got out side, they saw the Med-jai had started to pile up the dark green robed bodies. They all stopped and looked on sadly at their Chieftain holding the limp body of the woman they had come to save.
"We will go with you." Evy said as she walked next to Ardeth. He looked at her.
"What about Alex?"
"I will go get him." They heard Ahmad say, they turned to him.
"Will you?" Evy asked.
"It would be my honor."
"I'll go with him," Jonathan said, "Get you guys some clothes."
Rick nodded. "Ok, get the first aid kit as well. We might need it."
Evy thanked Ahmad and hugged Jonathan. "It will take us about 3 days." Ahmad said, mounting his horse. And with that, they rode off.
~~
Ardeth handed Emily over to Rick and climbed up on his horse. Rick, with the help of Evy, gently held Emily up so that Ardeth could take her in his arms. He was able to keep her cradled against his body, her legs hanging off to the side of the horse.
She stirred gently and her eyes fluttered open. Ardeth looked at her softly. She moved her lips and he bent his ear down to listen to her.
"We…always meet…at dusk…" she said weakly. Before going limp in his arms. He bent over and kissed her forehead softly, sure that she could feel it.
He yelled out a command to his men, and then rode off, with Evy, Rick, and 2 other Med-jai for protection.