"Lock-nah's men!"
Monica and Cody turned around to see Alex O'Connell running towards them. They were still in Cairo, trying to dig up information. So far, they'd come up empty. "Who?"
Alex stopped, trying to catch his breath. His old body wasn't used to so much activity. "I just saw the curator. He said he sent a message a few days ago to Ardeth, warning him that members of Lock-nah's tribe are after him. Ardeth did not received any message, or he would've told us!"
"Wait a minute," said Monica. "Who is this Lock-nah?"
Alex shook his head. "A horrible man. When Ardeth became leader of his tribe, Lock-nah tried to kill him, so he could take over the Med-jai. Years later, he was finally executed3. Lock-nah's men are after Ardeth for the death of their leader! We have to get back and warn him!"
********************
"SHAMARA!"
Frank looked behind himself to see Safti rushing around in a panic, calling for the Med-jai healer. Frank ran over, to see what was wrong.
"What is it?!" he asked, seeing the terror on the Med-jai's face.
"It's Ardeth!" Safti said, his voice breaking. "He's dying!"
Before Frank could say anything, Shamara came out of nowhere, and they all followed Safti. They found Ardeth lying in the sand; unconscious, with blood all over his robes.
Frank knelt beside him, belatedly noticing the rest of his team behind him.
Shamara tried to stop the bleeding, but it wasn't working; Ardeth was losing more then Frank thought possible. Finally she shook her head. "I can do nothing," she said, tears making her words nearly indistinguishable.
"No!" Safti yelled. "Ardeth!"
"No…" Frank echoed, softly.
Ardeth seemed to hear him, and opened his eyes. "I…am…sorry…" he whispered, to Frank.
Frank realized that Ardeth was apologizing for now indirectly causing his own death. He shook his head, grabbing Ardeth's arm. "Do something!" he said to Shamara. He didn't want Ardeth to die, and he didn't want to die either! He watched as Ardeth took his last breath, and suddenly everything faded to black…
"NO!"Frank bolted upright, breathing heavily. "No!" he said again.
"Frank?!"
Frank heard the voice, but showed no evidence of that as he tried to get up.
"Frank!" It was Jake. "What is it? No, don't get up…"
"Don't start, Jake! We have to find him!"
"Who?" Jake asked, holding Frank's arm, trying to prevent him from standing.
"Ardeth! We have to find him…"
Jake saw that he wasn't going to succeed in keeping Frank down. "Wait, Frank! At least drink some water first."
Frank realized what he was trying to do, and took the salty water, drinking it down in one gulp. "We have to find him, now!"
Jake sighed, as he helped Frank stand. "Why?"
Frank shook his head, as he tried to limp quickly towards the tent's opening. Because I had a dream that he died? How could he explain it to Jake without sounding like a fool?
Jake opened the flap, and they left the tent. He stopped there, forcing Frank to wait, as he scanned the camp, looking to see if he spotted Ardeth anywhere. "I don't see him."
Frank didn't either. "There's Suhaylah."
"Suhaylah!" Jake yelled, and beckoned to her when she looked in their direction.
She waddled over. "Yes?"
"Do you know where Ardeth is?"
Suhaylah shook her head. "No…" she looked around. "I do not see my husband either."
Frank sighed, having a very bad feeling about this.
********************
Ardeth and Safti said nothing for a while, as they enjoyed the ride. They kept the pace high, relishing the coolness of the wind. Finally they stopped, a good distance from camp.
"Tell me your thoughts, Ardeth," Safti said, the first one to break the silence.
Ardeth sighed. It was a long moment before he spoke. "I am…afraid."
Safti was shocked. Fear was one thing Ardeth Bay hardly ever admitted to. He was silent, knowing that there was more.
"I do not want to die," Ardeth continued. "I want to marry and have children…Alanur." He shook his head, with a slight smile; picturing the baby girl that would be his…if he was lucky.
Safti sighed, and opened his mouth to say something, but he closed it again.
Ardeth saw him. "What?"
Safti sighed. "Suhaylah will have our child soon. I hope that you…live…to see it."
Ardeth echoed the sigh, looking down at the sand. He wanted nothing more then to be there. When Safti had told him the news, he had been as ecstatic as the soon-to-be father. Not knowing what to say, he was silent.
Suddenly, Ardeth looked up, his head flying around. Safti followed his gaze, and it was then that he heard the distinctive displacement of air. His eyes wide, he watched helplessly as an arrow embedded itself in his friend. Clutching his chest, Ardeth crumpled from the horse, hitting the sand with a resounding thud.
"ARDETH!" Safti yelled; jumping from his saddle, and kneeling beside him.
Ardeth gasped for air as his fingers blindly groped for the arrow. The effort became increasingly futile, as the arrow grew slick with blood; but he was so desperate to relieve the horrible pain that he wouldn't give up.
"Ardeth…" Safti said, his voice tearful. They couldn't prevent this; he is going to die! "No…"
Ardeth hazily registered Safti's anxious face hovering over him, as the sky above pitching sickeningly. "Safti," he whispered. "Who…"
Safti remembered that the shooter had to still be around, and he stood and looked in all directions. Seeing no one, he knelt beside his leader—and friend—again. "Ardeth, you are not going to die," he said. "I will not let you!"
Ardeth felt his friend's hands close over his, drawing them away from the arrow. Closing his eyes tightly again as a wave of nausea swept through him, Ardeth let his arms limply drop away. The slight movement to the arrow as Safti's hands gripped it sent ripples of pain surging through him. Biting his lip to stifle a cry, Ardeth braced himself.
Prepared to pull it out, Safti hesitated, studying its location for a second, before deciding that it would be too dangerous to do it there, away from help. Sighing, he settled for snapping the protruding piece of wood, shortening it to about three inches in length.
Ardeth cried out in pain when he did it, his breath coming faster.
"I'm sorry…" Safti said, beside himself that he had caused Ardeth more pain.
Ardeth tried to speak, but couldn't.
"Shh, no…Ardeth…don't…" Safti stumbled over his words as he tried to figure out how to safely get Ardeth back to the camp. Running over to the horses, he tied Ardeth's to his own, wishing that they had brought a canteen of water with them. He went back to Ardeth to find him shaking; gasping in pain, seemingly unable to get sufficient air.
Safti fought to blink back tears as he tried to gently pick Ardeth up. Surprisingly, Ardeth didn't cry out with pain that time, but Safti didn't know if that was a good sign or a bad one. He somehow managed to get him onto the horse, and sat behind him, trying to keep a firm hold on his friend, as well as the horse's reins.
3 'Wrath's Return' by Deana: http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=370331