I promised a battle scene, and by god, you are getting one. Most of this chapter came to me while in a pool. And it must have look rather strange to my mom, seeing me thrash around in the water, acting the scene out. (i do this, i act out my stories. Say the diologe...talk to my self...its just what i do. Angie knows...she watched me do it. "Did you sleep with him?!?!" "Well, not in the slange meaning of the word...." She will understand.) Anyway, heres the chapter.
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"Forget about these foolish men, my lord." Steven said, pulling Imhotep aside. "There is more in the cave."
"That I know." Imhotep hissed as the sound of metal on metal filled the air. He, Steven, and Travis made their way around the small battle, and started to climb the wall into the cave. The Med-jai below were too busy to notice.
It was four to three, which in most cases, would have been a simple victory for one side or the other…but both sides were skilled warriors, and both sides wouldn't give up or give in.
~~
"Nick, stay in that little space, don't come out." Ameera said, heart pounding, as the first hand appeared on the bottom of the cave mouth.
"I am not going to let them come in here and kill you." He said back, still tearing his pack apart. "Two to three is better then one to three."
"Where is the spell?"
"I don't know! It was here!"
"Nick, damnit, find that thing."
"I'm looking, I'm looking."
Ameera ducked into the smaller room and pulled Nick close to the back of it, so those entering could not see them.
"What the…"
"SHHH!"
"O'Connell!" They heard Travis yell, "Hey O'Connell! Come on out, no hard feelings on everything."
Imhotep looked around the cave, a thin smile on his lips.
"Come on O'Connell, we're not going to hurt ya, we just want to talk."
"What are we going to do?" Nick whispered.
Ameera handed him one of her scimitars. "You know how to use this?"
"Um…no."
"Simple, hold it at the handle, swing in towards whoever you are fighting, aim for the chest, neck, or side. And try and not get hit with whatever they are going to be fighting you with."
He nodded and took the long sword in his hands. Faint sounds from the small battle outside were rising up into the cave, and from the sounds of footsteps, the men were at the back of the cave.
"Let me go out first." Ameera whispered. "Someone is standing right next to the entrance ready to kill the first person who goes out."
"How do you know?"
"Because only two men are walking, and three came in."
Ameera slowly steeped over the bags they had brought with them, scimitar held in front of her, ready to take on he who stood on the outside. And she didn't have to wait long. As she stepped out of the smaller cave, blade in front of her body, another sword shot out from the outside, aimed right at her midsection, in one quick movement, she blocked the blow and pushed herself away from the opening of the smaller cave. Coming face to face with Imhotep himself. Before he could think, she dove at him, knocking him from the entrance, giving Nick a clear way out.
~~
Steven and Travis both turned at the grunts that came up from Imhotep and Ameera, watching on as the two-exchanged blow after blow, and blocking everyone, Ameera with her long scimitar, Imhotep with a long gold sword of his own. Travis nudged Steven and pointed at Nick, who had slowly came out of the smaller cave, holding the other scimitar out in front of his body. Travis made the first dash at him, Steven close behind. This was going to be easy.
~~
At least, that's what they thought. Travis made it to Nick first, holding a sword of his own, ready to kill the man, Steven close behind, gold knife in his hand that he had used the night before. But a larger body intercepted him, throwing him to the ground.
~~
Omar forced Steven to the ground, punching him and knocking the knife out of his hand, but Steven would not be held down for long. He forced the Med-jai off of him, grabbing his knife and throwing himself at the man, knocking him to the ground this time.
~~
Travis aimed a well-placed blow at nick's chest, but he ducked out of the way just in time, bringing the scimitar up and blocking the blow. He wasn't too bad at wielding the sword.
~~
Ameera grunted as she twisted to the side, missing the blow that Imhotep had aimed at her. She brought the scimitar up and slashed at his chest, but he jumped back just in time. Giving him a second to look over whom he was fighting. Much to Imhotep's surprise, he was fighting a woman!
"A female Med-jai?" he hissed, staring her down.
She nodded her head and shot him an evil smile.
"A female Med-jai who is going to kick your ass." She shot back and lunged at him, catching his own blade with hers, twisting it down, and bringing up her foot, kicking him into the back wall of the cave. He threw himself to the side, missing the point of her blade by inches. He dropped low with his knees, kicking on foot out and bringing her feet out from under her, she landed on the ground with a grunt, and he was on top of her in a split second, bringing his sword down to her neck. As her blade shot up to block the blow.
~~
Omar head butted Steven and kicked him back, stumbling up and diving at him, sword raised, ready to kill. Steven jumped back, bringing his knife around and jabbing at Omar. The two met with such force that both weapons shot out of their hands and landed on the floor with a load clang. Steven jumped at Omar, managing to get him fingers around the Med-jai's neck.
~~
Nick dove at Travis, knocking him to the ground and his sword out of his hands. But Travis got his feet up and kicked Nick back, slamming him into the floor. He was up in a second, and dove at Travis again, this time the later was not able to react in much time, and Nick got a well-aimed blow to his side. Travis screamed in pain and threw Nick off him, managing to get his own sword and get up at the same time. One hand shooting to his new cut; it was not deep at all, but still hurt like hell.
~~
Omar got in another solid head butt, slamming his forehead into Steven's nose. Steven jumped back and let go of his neck. Omar dove at him, throwing him closer to the mouth of the cliff. Steven threw himself forward, not at Omar, but at his weapon. He got a solid grip on the handle as Omar grabbed his legs and pulled him back. Steven twisted around and kicked at Omar, sending him stumbling back. But he quickly regained himself, standing at the very mouth of the cave. Steven dove at him, knife held out, he got in one nice slash across Omar's upper arm before both men fell out of the cave, both landing in the sand below with a grunt. And both going at each other the second they hit the ground.
~~
Radhi and Haris were finishing off the last two red & black's but it was not that easy, the skilled warriors going after each other with rage in their eyes.
~~
Ameera twisted but could not get out of the grip Imhotep had on her. Finally she stopped struggling and looked up at him, death burning in her eyes.
"You are a beautiful one, Med-jai." He said softly, trying to make her lose her edge. She did not. She brought up he knee and got him as had as she could in the groin. Even for the undead, this hurt like hell, his face twisted in pain and he tumbled to the side a little, allowing her to throw him off and stand up. He to stood up, eyes filled with hate and rage, sword in hand, he threw himself at her, forcing her back towards the back of the cave, where it dropped off into the water below.
~~
Neither of them noticed that Ameera had lost her U.S.N. knife along the way.
~~
Travis dropped his sword and dove at Nick; forcing him to drop his own weapon and forcing him back about five feet. Travis, now on top of Nick, wrapped his fingers around Nick's neck and squeezed hard, forcing the air out of his chest with his knee. Nick struggled and got his hands up into Travis's face, digging his thumb into his eyes. Travis yelped and threw himself back, eyes closed in pain. It took him a few seconds to regain himself. This time, Travis grabbed Omar's fallen scimitar and when he dove at Nick, got a nice, somewhat deep gash across nicks chest. Nicked yelped in pain, but if did not stop him, turning to the side; he saw Ameera's fallen knife and dove at it.
~~
Ameera and Imhotep her still blocking all the blows they aimed at each other, and now that Ameera was so close to the edge, she had to be careful not to fall back into the water. Imhotep dove at her, knocking both of their weapons to the cave floor and both of them into the water below.
~~
The cold water closed around her in an instant. Her full Med-jai robes becoming very heavy on her body. When she came up to the surface, Imhotep was no where to be see. He had fallen into the water with me, right? She thought quickly, before her whole body was forced under water again. Her robes caught on something…maybe a rock, and she couldn't pull them free to get to the surface for air. As her lungs felt like they were going to burst, she franticly tried to untie her robes, finally getting them undone and kicking them off her body. When she got to the surface, she breathed in deeply and grabbed at the sides…she was not the greatest swimmer.
~~
Travis brought the scimitar down swiftly, but Nick was still able to get away. He got a good grip around the knife and as Travis dove at him, brought it up right into his chest, the knife sticking in all the way. Travis stumbled back and gasped…looking down at the knife sticking in his chest. He dropped the sword and dropped to his knees. Travis Ripkin looked up at Nick, eyes shinning, mouth agape, breath weird.
"Your no better then the rest of us…" He gasped out, "This is not the end."
And with that, his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell over, his last breath escaping him. Nick looked down at the dead man, unable to believe it was he who had taken his life away...But his attention was stolen away by a hand reaching up from the edge in the back of the cave, a feminine, tattooed hand.
~~
It had taken all of Ameera's strength to climb up the twelve-foot wall that led into the cave. So she was more then relieved when, as she reached up to grab onto something on the floor of the cave, she felt a hand close around hers, and that the hand belonged to Nick O'Connell.
~~
Omar punched Steven solid in the nose, blood splattering everywhere. Steven forced him to the ground, bringing his gold knife up high to plunge it into Omar's chest, but a dark blurb slammed into Steven, knocking both him and the knife in different directions. Omar looked over as he jumped up, and now Haris was fighting with Steven. Radhi grabbed the knife and attacked Steven as well, and though Omar couldn't see it, he knew what the warriors were about to do. Steven got in one last punch, before his own gold knife was brought down into his heart. He coughed up a little blood and spit it into the face of Haris, before his breathing stopped and he died.
Omar crossed to the dead man and the warriors, pulling the knife out of his lifeless chest, before sticking it in his belt so he climb back into the cave. When he heard a strange battle cry come form Ameera from inside.
~~
Ameera fell into the small embrace Nick gave her as he pulled her over the ledge. She was soaking wet but he didn't care.
"Nick…find…the...spell…now…" She gasped out looking into his eyes. "Find it…read it…now!"
He didn't have time to respond before something hard slammed into the back of his head, knocking him out cold and slumping onto a shocked Ameera.
She looked up into the face of Imhotep, rage burning in her eyes. No one did that to her friends. She stood up, and with a battle cry, dove at Imhotep, slamming into him at the waist and throwing both of them to the ground. In a quick movement, he got his feet under her and kicked up, throwing her over his head and on to her back. She groaned but got back up, almost tripping over the body of Travis. She dove at them again, for both were weapon less, fists tight so she could knock his lights out. But he twisted around and grabbed her, throwing her to the floor and landing on top of her, using all his weight to keep her down, and try as she might, she couldn't break free of his grip.
"Your all wet." He hissed in her ear, "Do you want to know why they should never allow a woman warrior?" He smiled evilly, eyes running over her wet body, the tight black tank top now sticking to her even more, before he leaned down, kissing her harshly.
She struggled and fought, but she could wrench free from his hold on her body or her lips. As they kissed, the still body of Nick O'Connell was being dragged away towards the smaller cave. After a second, Ameera let part of her guard down as she felt herself being pulled deeper and deeper into the creature's kiss.
"AMEERA!" They both heard Omar yell. "WHAT THE…KNIFE!"
This distracted Imhotep, who had grabbed a hold of Ameera's lucky knife and pulled it out of Travis' chest. The knife hung in midair for a second, enough time for Ameera to head butt him, pulled her right arm free, and slam her elbow, then her fist into the creature's face, forcing him back.
~~
"Nick…NICK!" He felt his face get slapped rather hard. "Nick! Get the hell up you fool!"
"Wha…?" Nick opened his eyes and found himself staring into the round face of Martin Adams.
Martin had been able to sneak around the small battlefield outside and get into the cave unnoticed.
"Get up! That girl needs your help out there!"
"Ameera!" They heard a voice yell. "What the…knife!"
"Get up!" Martin pulled Nick to his feet, not caring that he was still rather unsteady from the slight concussion he had just received.
"The spell…"
"What?" Martin asked, looking at him.
"There is a small folded up piece of paper in that back-pack right there, you have to get it out."
Martin nodded and began to pull apart Nick's pack more then it already was.
"Is this it?" He asked, pulling a folded up piece of paper out of a side pocket.
Nick grabbed it and unfolded it, staring into the rubbing of the book of the living. The words were now slightly smudged, but it would have to do.
~~
Omar threw himself onto Imhotep, only to get thrown off again, the blood stained gold knife falling to the floor in a clatter. Ameera dove for the knife, grabbing it, then jumping back up and whipping around to face Imhotep. He looked at the knife in her hand, eyes becoming wide at the sight of the blood on it. He jumped at her, scimitar in hand, swinging the weapon like crazy in an effort to kill her before she had the chance to kill him. She was able to block a few of the blows with the long gold knife, but was unable to jump back as he aimed at her side, resulting in a long cut. She, unaware that she had even been wounded, dropped to the ground and kicked his feet out from under him, causing him to drop to the ground where she dove on top of him, only to again be kicked over his head and land on her back in a grunt. She twisted around and jumped up, leaning back to miss the bow he aimed at her chest.
They were close to the back edge of the cliff again, Omar coming in at one side and Ameera coming in at the other. Imhotep jumped forward in a dive, popping back up and going at Ameera, when they were all stopped in their tracks.
~~
A weak voice filled the cave, echoing against the walls. A voice reading strange words…strange, ancient words. Imhotep turned towards the source of the words…and saw Nick and Martin standing on the other side of the cave, Martin holding up a rather weak Nick.
Once Nick was done reading the words from the rubbing, he stood up straight and said the spell over again.
~~
Nothing happened to Imhotep, no ghostly chariot came and stole away his soul, no strange light surrounded him, and he just stood there, in shock.
Ameera took her chance and dove at Imhotep, twisting him around and carving a rather deep gash across his chest, but he didn't react or fight back. He dropped the scimitar he was holding and grabbed Ameera's throat, pushing her back over the back edge and back into the water below.
She struggled and grabbed at his wrist, trying to get him to let go of her, but his hold on her was to strong. Imhotep was holding her under the water, squeezing her throat so she could not move or get any air when they had made the plunge.
To Ameera's shock, he started to disappear, his legs turning to powder and drifting away in the water, as is slowly spread up his body.
Imhotep squeezed a little harder on her neck before leaning in close to her face.
"I am not the only one." He said with an evil look in his eye, before turning to powder completely, disappearing right before her eyes.
That's when the lack of air kicked in and her eyes rolled to the back of her head, everything going black. Slowly, her lifeless body floated to the surface of the water, tipping to the side before breaking the surface, face down.
~~
The splash of another body hitting the water forced Ameera's limp body to go back under water, but this body was here to help, wrapping it's arms around her waist and pulling her to the surface, face up.
"Nick!" Omar yelled from the cave. "Is she ok?"
Nick held his wet face close to hers…no breath was hitting his cheeks. "She isn't breathing!" He yelled as he pulled her to the side of the wall. "You're going to have to help me get her back up there!"
With several grunts and a strength he did not know he had, Nicked somehow got Ameera's limp body up high enough for Omar and Haris to grab her arms, pulling her up and over, onto the floor of the cave. Martin and Radhi helped Nick up the rest of the way as well.
Nick scrambled to Ameera, checking her neck for a pulse; luckily, there was one, just no breaths. Nick tipped her head back and opened her mouth, placing his on hers, and breathing in to her. He breathed for three seconds before coming up for another breath, then repeating. He breathed into her mouth for a total of six times before she coughed and spit up a little bit of water, rolling on to her side, coughing some more.
Ameera straightened out again as Nick pulled her into his arms, resting her on his lap slightly.
"Did we…did we get him…?" She whispered, a weakness falling over her body.
"Shhh…don't speak, yes, we got him. We got all of them." Nick said softly, brushing wet strands of hair behind her ear.
She nodded and looked up at the line of men who were kneeling on the other side of her. Omar with his hand over hers, Radhi and Haris smiling weakly, a man with bright red hair and a round face, smiling at her at the end.
"Who the hell…"
"This is Martin Adams…he works with me, but was with Steven and Trav…um…he was with them."
"Why?" she hissed.
"They needed me to read the map they stole from Nicky here. I had nothing else to do with it, I swear…"
"Nicky?" Ameera repeated. "Nicky?"
"That's what he calls me…" Nick said, silently cursing Martin.
She smiled and laughed softly, "Nicky…"
"We should get out of here…are there anymore men?" Omar asked, looking at Martin.
"No, there was only the diggers, but they were all released….what are we going to do about the bodies?"
"He's right…this isn't our ancestors day when they could just leave the bodies…this could cause an international rift…"Nick said, looking at Ameera softly.
"The…one thing I remember from the one time I met Rick O'Connell…" Ameera said weakly, eyes closed, "Is he told someone, I forget who, to always take at least three sticks of dynamite with them when ever they went off into the desert…who did he tell that to?"
"Me." Nick said softly. "He told that to me, and I listened. Why?"
"Bring the bodies in here and blow up the entrance, right?" Omar said softly.
"Right." Ameera said.
The four men looked at each other.
"I will take her down." Nick said softly. "We can use that boat out there…once we get the driver off."
"Good idea…you." Omar pointed at Martin. "Help him."
"Yes sir." Martin was rather afraid of the tall Med-jai, but if Nick trusted them…he could to.
"Can you stand?" Nick asked Ameera.
"Yeah…but not on my own." He helped her up, draping on of her arms across his shoulder and wrapping one arm around her waist. Together, they slowly made their way towards the mouth of the cave, the rest of them following them. Nick, who was still rather weak himself, went down first, then held his arms up for Ameera, who, with the help of Omar and Radhi, ("I can do it myself!") climbed down until Nick could help her the rest of the way. Nick took her in his arms again, forgetting how angry he had been with her before. They stumbled across the sand, both looking out at the boat with a sigh. They were going to have to walk through chest deep water in some points to get out to the boat.
"No…more…water." Ameera moaned, but Nick had other plans. In one solid movement, he swiped her off her feet, holding her in a fireman's hold. He chuckled as she raised an eyebrow at him and began to walk into the water. It took them a while to get out to the boat, because Nick had to go slow, but both were relieved when they reached it. Ameera climbed up first and helped Nick up, then helped Martin in, who had to swim the last part because he was so short. Both men thanked her and Nick led her to a bench under some shade and forced her to lay down.
"I will help you with the driver…"
"No, you will rest. You did more then the rest of us back there, you are weak."
"So are you!"
"Shhh. Just rest, I will be a minute." Nick crossed to where the driver of the boat was and dragged him to the end of the boat, where Omar was waiting to take him back to the cave. Omar took his arms and Nick got his legs, and they dragged him back to the beach, where Haris and Radhi were pulling the bodies of the four red & black warriors into the cave.
The boat was mid-sized, a large deck with benches on the sides and a large canopy covering it. There was a small room where the boat was driven from, but there was no glass in the windows in the room. Then a very small deck in the front.
"Why are you here?" Ameera asked Martin, who was sitting on the other side of the boat.
"They…they wanted my to come with them, because I could read the map they had. I knew nothing of their plans…I swear…nothing!"
"Don't worry, we believe you. You don't look like someone who would be involved with the bad guys."
Martin couldn't tell wither or not he was being made fun of, so he didn't say a word after that.
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As said, Travis is based on my older brother, and Steven on his friend. So...I felt kinda bad killing them off. But I know travis wouldnt want to be anyone else but the bad guy....that silly bastard.
Imhotep...could be no more....dont know yet. Depends on my muse.
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"Forget about these foolish men, my lord." Steven said, pulling Imhotep aside. "There is more in the cave."
"That I know." Imhotep hissed as the sound of metal on metal filled the air. He, Steven, and Travis made their way around the small battle, and started to climb the wall into the cave. The Med-jai below were too busy to notice.
It was four to three, which in most cases, would have been a simple victory for one side or the other…but both sides were skilled warriors, and both sides wouldn't give up or give in.
~~
"Nick, stay in that little space, don't come out." Ameera said, heart pounding, as the first hand appeared on the bottom of the cave mouth.
"I am not going to let them come in here and kill you." He said back, still tearing his pack apart. "Two to three is better then one to three."
"Where is the spell?"
"I don't know! It was here!"
"Nick, damnit, find that thing."
"I'm looking, I'm looking."
Ameera ducked into the smaller room and pulled Nick close to the back of it, so those entering could not see them.
"What the…"
"SHHH!"
"O'Connell!" They heard Travis yell, "Hey O'Connell! Come on out, no hard feelings on everything."
Imhotep looked around the cave, a thin smile on his lips.
"Come on O'Connell, we're not going to hurt ya, we just want to talk."
"What are we going to do?" Nick whispered.
Ameera handed him one of her scimitars. "You know how to use this?"
"Um…no."
"Simple, hold it at the handle, swing in towards whoever you are fighting, aim for the chest, neck, or side. And try and not get hit with whatever they are going to be fighting you with."
He nodded and took the long sword in his hands. Faint sounds from the small battle outside were rising up into the cave, and from the sounds of footsteps, the men were at the back of the cave.
"Let me go out first." Ameera whispered. "Someone is standing right next to the entrance ready to kill the first person who goes out."
"How do you know?"
"Because only two men are walking, and three came in."
Ameera slowly steeped over the bags they had brought with them, scimitar held in front of her, ready to take on he who stood on the outside. And she didn't have to wait long. As she stepped out of the smaller cave, blade in front of her body, another sword shot out from the outside, aimed right at her midsection, in one quick movement, she blocked the blow and pushed herself away from the opening of the smaller cave. Coming face to face with Imhotep himself. Before he could think, she dove at him, knocking him from the entrance, giving Nick a clear way out.
~~
Steven and Travis both turned at the grunts that came up from Imhotep and Ameera, watching on as the two-exchanged blow after blow, and blocking everyone, Ameera with her long scimitar, Imhotep with a long gold sword of his own. Travis nudged Steven and pointed at Nick, who had slowly came out of the smaller cave, holding the other scimitar out in front of his body. Travis made the first dash at him, Steven close behind. This was going to be easy.
~~
At least, that's what they thought. Travis made it to Nick first, holding a sword of his own, ready to kill the man, Steven close behind, gold knife in his hand that he had used the night before. But a larger body intercepted him, throwing him to the ground.
~~
Omar forced Steven to the ground, punching him and knocking the knife out of his hand, but Steven would not be held down for long. He forced the Med-jai off of him, grabbing his knife and throwing himself at the man, knocking him to the ground this time.
~~
Travis aimed a well-placed blow at nick's chest, but he ducked out of the way just in time, bringing the scimitar up and blocking the blow. He wasn't too bad at wielding the sword.
~~
Ameera grunted as she twisted to the side, missing the blow that Imhotep had aimed at her. She brought the scimitar up and slashed at his chest, but he jumped back just in time. Giving him a second to look over whom he was fighting. Much to Imhotep's surprise, he was fighting a woman!
"A female Med-jai?" he hissed, staring her down.
She nodded her head and shot him an evil smile.
"A female Med-jai who is going to kick your ass." She shot back and lunged at him, catching his own blade with hers, twisting it down, and bringing up her foot, kicking him into the back wall of the cave. He threw himself to the side, missing the point of her blade by inches. He dropped low with his knees, kicking on foot out and bringing her feet out from under her, she landed on the ground with a grunt, and he was on top of her in a split second, bringing his sword down to her neck. As her blade shot up to block the blow.
~~
Omar head butted Steven and kicked him back, stumbling up and diving at him, sword raised, ready to kill. Steven jumped back, bringing his knife around and jabbing at Omar. The two met with such force that both weapons shot out of their hands and landed on the floor with a load clang. Steven jumped at Omar, managing to get him fingers around the Med-jai's neck.
~~
Nick dove at Travis, knocking him to the ground and his sword out of his hands. But Travis got his feet up and kicked Nick back, slamming him into the floor. He was up in a second, and dove at Travis again, this time the later was not able to react in much time, and Nick got a well-aimed blow to his side. Travis screamed in pain and threw Nick off him, managing to get his own sword and get up at the same time. One hand shooting to his new cut; it was not deep at all, but still hurt like hell.
~~
Omar got in another solid head butt, slamming his forehead into Steven's nose. Steven jumped back and let go of his neck. Omar dove at him, throwing him closer to the mouth of the cliff. Steven threw himself forward, not at Omar, but at his weapon. He got a solid grip on the handle as Omar grabbed his legs and pulled him back. Steven twisted around and kicked at Omar, sending him stumbling back. But he quickly regained himself, standing at the very mouth of the cave. Steven dove at him, knife held out, he got in one nice slash across Omar's upper arm before both men fell out of the cave, both landing in the sand below with a grunt. And both going at each other the second they hit the ground.
~~
Radhi and Haris were finishing off the last two red & black's but it was not that easy, the skilled warriors going after each other with rage in their eyes.
~~
Ameera twisted but could not get out of the grip Imhotep had on her. Finally she stopped struggling and looked up at him, death burning in her eyes.
"You are a beautiful one, Med-jai." He said softly, trying to make her lose her edge. She did not. She brought up he knee and got him as had as she could in the groin. Even for the undead, this hurt like hell, his face twisted in pain and he tumbled to the side a little, allowing her to throw him off and stand up. He to stood up, eyes filled with hate and rage, sword in hand, he threw himself at her, forcing her back towards the back of the cave, where it dropped off into the water below.
~~
Neither of them noticed that Ameera had lost her U.S.N. knife along the way.
~~
Travis dropped his sword and dove at Nick; forcing him to drop his own weapon and forcing him back about five feet. Travis, now on top of Nick, wrapped his fingers around Nick's neck and squeezed hard, forcing the air out of his chest with his knee. Nick struggled and got his hands up into Travis's face, digging his thumb into his eyes. Travis yelped and threw himself back, eyes closed in pain. It took him a few seconds to regain himself. This time, Travis grabbed Omar's fallen scimitar and when he dove at Nick, got a nice, somewhat deep gash across nicks chest. Nicked yelped in pain, but if did not stop him, turning to the side; he saw Ameera's fallen knife and dove at it.
~~
Ameera and Imhotep her still blocking all the blows they aimed at each other, and now that Ameera was so close to the edge, she had to be careful not to fall back into the water. Imhotep dove at her, knocking both of their weapons to the cave floor and both of them into the water below.
~~
The cold water closed around her in an instant. Her full Med-jai robes becoming very heavy on her body. When she came up to the surface, Imhotep was no where to be see. He had fallen into the water with me, right? She thought quickly, before her whole body was forced under water again. Her robes caught on something…maybe a rock, and she couldn't pull them free to get to the surface for air. As her lungs felt like they were going to burst, she franticly tried to untie her robes, finally getting them undone and kicking them off her body. When she got to the surface, she breathed in deeply and grabbed at the sides…she was not the greatest swimmer.
~~
Travis brought the scimitar down swiftly, but Nick was still able to get away. He got a good grip around the knife and as Travis dove at him, brought it up right into his chest, the knife sticking in all the way. Travis stumbled back and gasped…looking down at the knife sticking in his chest. He dropped the sword and dropped to his knees. Travis Ripkin looked up at Nick, eyes shinning, mouth agape, breath weird.
"Your no better then the rest of us…" He gasped out, "This is not the end."
And with that, his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell over, his last breath escaping him. Nick looked down at the dead man, unable to believe it was he who had taken his life away...But his attention was stolen away by a hand reaching up from the edge in the back of the cave, a feminine, tattooed hand.
~~
It had taken all of Ameera's strength to climb up the twelve-foot wall that led into the cave. So she was more then relieved when, as she reached up to grab onto something on the floor of the cave, she felt a hand close around hers, and that the hand belonged to Nick O'Connell.
~~
Omar punched Steven solid in the nose, blood splattering everywhere. Steven forced him to the ground, bringing his gold knife up high to plunge it into Omar's chest, but a dark blurb slammed into Steven, knocking both him and the knife in different directions. Omar looked over as he jumped up, and now Haris was fighting with Steven. Radhi grabbed the knife and attacked Steven as well, and though Omar couldn't see it, he knew what the warriors were about to do. Steven got in one last punch, before his own gold knife was brought down into his heart. He coughed up a little blood and spit it into the face of Haris, before his breathing stopped and he died.
Omar crossed to the dead man and the warriors, pulling the knife out of his lifeless chest, before sticking it in his belt so he climb back into the cave. When he heard a strange battle cry come form Ameera from inside.
~~
Ameera fell into the small embrace Nick gave her as he pulled her over the ledge. She was soaking wet but he didn't care.
"Nick…find…the...spell…now…" She gasped out looking into his eyes. "Find it…read it…now!"
He didn't have time to respond before something hard slammed into the back of his head, knocking him out cold and slumping onto a shocked Ameera.
She looked up into the face of Imhotep, rage burning in her eyes. No one did that to her friends. She stood up, and with a battle cry, dove at Imhotep, slamming into him at the waist and throwing both of them to the ground. In a quick movement, he got his feet under her and kicked up, throwing her over his head and on to her back. She groaned but got back up, almost tripping over the body of Travis. She dove at them again, for both were weapon less, fists tight so she could knock his lights out. But he twisted around and grabbed her, throwing her to the floor and landing on top of her, using all his weight to keep her down, and try as she might, she couldn't break free of his grip.
"Your all wet." He hissed in her ear, "Do you want to know why they should never allow a woman warrior?" He smiled evilly, eyes running over her wet body, the tight black tank top now sticking to her even more, before he leaned down, kissing her harshly.
She struggled and fought, but she could wrench free from his hold on her body or her lips. As they kissed, the still body of Nick O'Connell was being dragged away towards the smaller cave. After a second, Ameera let part of her guard down as she felt herself being pulled deeper and deeper into the creature's kiss.
"AMEERA!" They both heard Omar yell. "WHAT THE…KNIFE!"
This distracted Imhotep, who had grabbed a hold of Ameera's lucky knife and pulled it out of Travis' chest. The knife hung in midair for a second, enough time for Ameera to head butt him, pulled her right arm free, and slam her elbow, then her fist into the creature's face, forcing him back.
~~
"Nick…NICK!" He felt his face get slapped rather hard. "Nick! Get the hell up you fool!"
"Wha…?" Nick opened his eyes and found himself staring into the round face of Martin Adams.
Martin had been able to sneak around the small battlefield outside and get into the cave unnoticed.
"Get up! That girl needs your help out there!"
"Ameera!" They heard a voice yell. "What the…knife!"
"Get up!" Martin pulled Nick to his feet, not caring that he was still rather unsteady from the slight concussion he had just received.
"The spell…"
"What?" Martin asked, looking at him.
"There is a small folded up piece of paper in that back-pack right there, you have to get it out."
Martin nodded and began to pull apart Nick's pack more then it already was.
"Is this it?" He asked, pulling a folded up piece of paper out of a side pocket.
Nick grabbed it and unfolded it, staring into the rubbing of the book of the living. The words were now slightly smudged, but it would have to do.
~~
Omar threw himself onto Imhotep, only to get thrown off again, the blood stained gold knife falling to the floor in a clatter. Ameera dove for the knife, grabbing it, then jumping back up and whipping around to face Imhotep. He looked at the knife in her hand, eyes becoming wide at the sight of the blood on it. He jumped at her, scimitar in hand, swinging the weapon like crazy in an effort to kill her before she had the chance to kill him. She was able to block a few of the blows with the long gold knife, but was unable to jump back as he aimed at her side, resulting in a long cut. She, unaware that she had even been wounded, dropped to the ground and kicked his feet out from under him, causing him to drop to the ground where she dove on top of him, only to again be kicked over his head and land on her back in a grunt. She twisted around and jumped up, leaning back to miss the bow he aimed at her chest.
They were close to the back edge of the cliff again, Omar coming in at one side and Ameera coming in at the other. Imhotep jumped forward in a dive, popping back up and going at Ameera, when they were all stopped in their tracks.
~~
A weak voice filled the cave, echoing against the walls. A voice reading strange words…strange, ancient words. Imhotep turned towards the source of the words…and saw Nick and Martin standing on the other side of the cave, Martin holding up a rather weak Nick.
Once Nick was done reading the words from the rubbing, he stood up straight and said the spell over again.
~~
Nothing happened to Imhotep, no ghostly chariot came and stole away his soul, no strange light surrounded him, and he just stood there, in shock.
Ameera took her chance and dove at Imhotep, twisting him around and carving a rather deep gash across his chest, but he didn't react or fight back. He dropped the scimitar he was holding and grabbed Ameera's throat, pushing her back over the back edge and back into the water below.
She struggled and grabbed at his wrist, trying to get him to let go of her, but his hold on her was to strong. Imhotep was holding her under the water, squeezing her throat so she could not move or get any air when they had made the plunge.
To Ameera's shock, he started to disappear, his legs turning to powder and drifting away in the water, as is slowly spread up his body.
Imhotep squeezed a little harder on her neck before leaning in close to her face.
"I am not the only one." He said with an evil look in his eye, before turning to powder completely, disappearing right before her eyes.
That's when the lack of air kicked in and her eyes rolled to the back of her head, everything going black. Slowly, her lifeless body floated to the surface of the water, tipping to the side before breaking the surface, face down.
~~
The splash of another body hitting the water forced Ameera's limp body to go back under water, but this body was here to help, wrapping it's arms around her waist and pulling her to the surface, face up.
"Nick!" Omar yelled from the cave. "Is she ok?"
Nick held his wet face close to hers…no breath was hitting his cheeks. "She isn't breathing!" He yelled as he pulled her to the side of the wall. "You're going to have to help me get her back up there!"
With several grunts and a strength he did not know he had, Nicked somehow got Ameera's limp body up high enough for Omar and Haris to grab her arms, pulling her up and over, onto the floor of the cave. Martin and Radhi helped Nick up the rest of the way as well.
Nick scrambled to Ameera, checking her neck for a pulse; luckily, there was one, just no breaths. Nick tipped her head back and opened her mouth, placing his on hers, and breathing in to her. He breathed for three seconds before coming up for another breath, then repeating. He breathed into her mouth for a total of six times before she coughed and spit up a little bit of water, rolling on to her side, coughing some more.
Ameera straightened out again as Nick pulled her into his arms, resting her on his lap slightly.
"Did we…did we get him…?" She whispered, a weakness falling over her body.
"Shhh…don't speak, yes, we got him. We got all of them." Nick said softly, brushing wet strands of hair behind her ear.
She nodded and looked up at the line of men who were kneeling on the other side of her. Omar with his hand over hers, Radhi and Haris smiling weakly, a man with bright red hair and a round face, smiling at her at the end.
"Who the hell…"
"This is Martin Adams…he works with me, but was with Steven and Trav…um…he was with them."
"Why?" she hissed.
"They needed me to read the map they stole from Nicky here. I had nothing else to do with it, I swear…"
"Nicky?" Ameera repeated. "Nicky?"
"That's what he calls me…" Nick said, silently cursing Martin.
She smiled and laughed softly, "Nicky…"
"We should get out of here…are there anymore men?" Omar asked, looking at Martin.
"No, there was only the diggers, but they were all released….what are we going to do about the bodies?"
"He's right…this isn't our ancestors day when they could just leave the bodies…this could cause an international rift…"Nick said, looking at Ameera softly.
"The…one thing I remember from the one time I met Rick O'Connell…" Ameera said weakly, eyes closed, "Is he told someone, I forget who, to always take at least three sticks of dynamite with them when ever they went off into the desert…who did he tell that to?"
"Me." Nick said softly. "He told that to me, and I listened. Why?"
"Bring the bodies in here and blow up the entrance, right?" Omar said softly.
"Right." Ameera said.
The four men looked at each other.
"I will take her down." Nick said softly. "We can use that boat out there…once we get the driver off."
"Good idea…you." Omar pointed at Martin. "Help him."
"Yes sir." Martin was rather afraid of the tall Med-jai, but if Nick trusted them…he could to.
"Can you stand?" Nick asked Ameera.
"Yeah…but not on my own." He helped her up, draping on of her arms across his shoulder and wrapping one arm around her waist. Together, they slowly made their way towards the mouth of the cave, the rest of them following them. Nick, who was still rather weak himself, went down first, then held his arms up for Ameera, who, with the help of Omar and Radhi, ("I can do it myself!") climbed down until Nick could help her the rest of the way. Nick took her in his arms again, forgetting how angry he had been with her before. They stumbled across the sand, both looking out at the boat with a sigh. They were going to have to walk through chest deep water in some points to get out to the boat.
"No…more…water." Ameera moaned, but Nick had other plans. In one solid movement, he swiped her off her feet, holding her in a fireman's hold. He chuckled as she raised an eyebrow at him and began to walk into the water. It took them a while to get out to the boat, because Nick had to go slow, but both were relieved when they reached it. Ameera climbed up first and helped Nick up, then helped Martin in, who had to swim the last part because he was so short. Both men thanked her and Nick led her to a bench under some shade and forced her to lay down.
"I will help you with the driver…"
"No, you will rest. You did more then the rest of us back there, you are weak."
"So are you!"
"Shhh. Just rest, I will be a minute." Nick crossed to where the driver of the boat was and dragged him to the end of the boat, where Omar was waiting to take him back to the cave. Omar took his arms and Nick got his legs, and they dragged him back to the beach, where Haris and Radhi were pulling the bodies of the four red & black warriors into the cave.
The boat was mid-sized, a large deck with benches on the sides and a large canopy covering it. There was a small room where the boat was driven from, but there was no glass in the windows in the room. Then a very small deck in the front.
"Why are you here?" Ameera asked Martin, who was sitting on the other side of the boat.
"They…they wanted my to come with them, because I could read the map they had. I knew nothing of their plans…I swear…nothing!"
"Don't worry, we believe you. You don't look like someone who would be involved with the bad guys."
Martin couldn't tell wither or not he was being made fun of, so he didn't say a word after that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As said, Travis is based on my older brother, and Steven on his friend. So...I felt kinda bad killing them off. But I know travis wouldnt want to be anyone else but the bad guy....that silly bastard.
Imhotep...could be no more....dont know yet. Depends on my muse.