OKay, i'm sorry that these next chapters are going to be short, but its hard to decide where to cut the chapters off.....not too long, not too short. ARGH! But i hope you like them!
Trin: You are so, like, FORGIVEN! You're such a little angel! You've like, REVIEWED ALMOST ALL MY CHAPTERS! *hugs* You're fantastic and such a good writer too!
Nakhti: *sigh* have i told you how much i love your long reviews? Was the sabre dance worth waiting for? I thought u might like being Hope, after all, shes the only one that gets to kiss him....kinda....but when i said you could be her, i obviously didn't model her on you! i have no idea wat u looked like or nothing? i remember writing that piece at school in a study lesson when i was meant to be writing up an essay about the River Murray for Biology. Hehehe. School. *snorts* Hey! I am good! And hes not exactly the one i dream about at nite, and on that subject, stay away from MY 18-year-old ARAGORN! MINE! You can have as much Ardeth arse as you want, you like my ari alone! Yeah, i got the idea of personifying emotions from Terry Pratchett, cause he personifys Death...its soo funny! Yeah, you know whats stupid? It should've been SUNRISE. the guards were ASLEEP. *whacks head* i've screwed up so much in this story....ARGH!!! And you're right, the ambush was rushed, but the fight and the 'end' went for like 30 pages! and i really couldn't be bothered doing more! So i'm lazy! Sue me for all the money i don't have!
Siri: *rushes in* NEW CHAPTER!
Medjaiangel: *blushes* i so don't deserve that compliment at all. I'm glad you're likin it though. 1 happy person, 100 disgruntled ones....*sigh* can't win them all! No, i'd position the swords so they'd trip over them and if they didn't, push them off the cliff!
'roo: Hehehe! Love the name! Fair dinkum mate!! Very Aussie! Heres an update just for you! *aussie drawl* Well, well, well, stone the crows!
You ready for the twist? Here is comes!
****They were trapped. They hadn't meant to end up in the front lines like this. Although Jawhar was the chief's son, he had been told explicitedly not to fight. Him, Zen and their child were guarding Ardeth and had been told to find a good hiding spot. After all, they were the last hope for the village. But somehow things had changed and they found themselves caught in the crossfire between the Med-Jai and the Sami-Nhir.
Jawhar sheltered Zen and the child from anything harmful while at the same time managing to scowl continuously at Ardeth.
"It's all your fault." The clipped angry words were forced out of the Sami-Nhir's mouth. Ardeth did not reply. Nothing he could say would help change the boy's mind. His pleas, even his screams had fallen on deaf ears. Just when he thought that he had won the older man over, something would change, his father would warp him and then things would go back to the way they were - Jawhar hating his eternal soul and wishing to send him to eternal damnation.
The two warring sides were getting closer to their hiding spot, to their little piece of rubble. Ardeth peered out and saw the faces of the men from both sides. Such waste, such misunderstanding. So many men were dying for…………..for what? For absolutely nothing.
Another Med-Jai fell. Ardeth remembered when that same man had laughed at his youthful actions. A Sami-Nhir fell. Ardeth remembered that man sneering at the start of his beating and afterwards walking quickly away, looking ill.
Men fell rapidly from both sides and while Ardeth felt grief for his fellow Med-Jai, he did not derive any pleasure from the fall of the Sami-Nhir. What a complete waste of good men. The reek of cordite hung heavy in the air and the air smelt bitter-sweet of blood, of a thick, almost tangible metallic scent.
Ardeth felt ill.
Then suddenly, he saw him. Ardeth saw his father. After so long, Ardeth laid his eyes on his parent. The man was astride his best battle charger, a large black stallion that had sired Ardeth's own dead horse. He had his scimitar high above his head and was shouting orders to the men around him. The sight of his father made Ardeth's throat constrict and his heard clench painfully in his heart. Finally, after all this time, Ardeth had been granted his wish and prayer – to see his father again. But in these circumstances?
"F-Father….." he whispered reverently, "Father." He repeated it to make himself believe that the image in front of his was not a dream, a nightmare or a mixture of both.
"What are you saying Bay?" Jawhar snapped.
"My father…" Ardeth was not making any sense to the Sami-Nhir.
"What are going on about freak?"
"My father! It's my father!" Ardeth gamely pointed out his parent, astride his beast.
"Hashim Bay! HASHIM BAY! The Med-Jai chief!! Finally! We have him where we want him! Thankyou Bay! You have received the gratitude of the Sami-Nhir." Jawhar sneered at the shocked boy. Until that minute, Ardeth had not realised that his father did not have his hood drawn over his head just to shield himself from the sun. It was his protection, his camouflage. And his own son, HIS SON, had just given him away.
"Today, you will watch the Sami-Nhir cut down your beloved, just like the Med-Jai did to ours!" Jawhar gloated.
"No!" Ardeth whispered turning horror-stricken eyes to Jawhar. "You wouldn't!"
"Just watch me." Jawhar turned around to peer at his side. Catching sight of a familiar figure he waved and yelled, "SHAHIN!!! The Med-Jai chief! Take him out! Shoot him! SHOOT HIM!" he gesticulated frantically to Hashim, his finger pointing out the solitary fighting figure.
"NO!" Ardeth's face turned pale as Shahin nodded curtly and grinned viciously. The mass of warriors that had been around Hashim, suddenly disappeared and left the Med-Jai open for an attack. Ardeth lurched to his feet and swung around to face the contemptuous Jawhar. "How could you? How could you??" The boy's face was screwed up in anxiety and mental agony for his parent. "HOW COULD YOU?"
"He is a murderer." Jawhar stated coldly while holding Zen, who sat quietly crooning to the baby.
"He is my father!" Ardeth's voice choked on a sob as he turned back to gaze out over the gory battle scene.
Shahin had his rifle pointed at Hashim and was steadying himself for the shot. Eternity passed where Ardeth couldn't do anything. His body froze and his mind panicked. Shahin's finger tightened on the trigger, gradually, gradually. Ardeth saw Shahin's body tense and follow the age-old marksmanship rules. Ardeth remembered learning the very same rules in his childhood. Aim high, tighten grip and just as you pull the trigger breath out and the tip of the rifle will dip slightly and hit the target exactly where you aimed albeit slightly below. Ardeth's mind screamed out all the steps that Shahin was taking but he couldn't move his body to do anything. He watched in ultimate terror.
Shahin breathed in.
The rifle aimed high.
Shahin's grip tightened and he gripped the rifle tighter to his shoulder.
Shahin breathed out.
And pulled the trigger.
A split second before the cordite ignited and the bullet sped out of the barrel, a horse beside Shahin screamed in pain and terror and collapsed sideways, slamming straight into Shahin's mount and spoiling the Sami-Nhir's aim at that last precarious moment. Shahin cursed as he felt the bullet go wide as his horse stumbled. The rider of the unfortunate beast cried out as he got stuck underneath his mount, all the horses weight on his chest, slowing crushing him to death.
The reprieve broke the shocked state that Ardeth was in and wildly and uncomprehending the danger he was in, he scrambled out of the hiding place. Jawhar tried to grab the teenager's ankle on the way past but all it did was trip the boy up and in the Med-Jai's frantic state, Bay didn't even notice the hindrance - quickly stumbling to his feet and ripping his ankle out of Jawhar's grasp.
"What are you doing idiot? You'll be shot!" Jawhar screamed out, his heart fluttering strangely. No matter what he said, he realised that he didn't actually want the boy to die. Well, not in front of him anyway.
Shahin had dismounted and stood on the ground steadying his rifle for the next shot. Hashim was in plain view, unaware of the danger he was in. Ardeth ran as hard as he could, his feet digging deep into the sand, his muscles propelling through the air which suddenly felt as thick as water. He saw Shahin's finger tightened on the trigger for the second shot and Ardeth knew with horrible clarity that he was not going to make it. There was nothing but him to distract or slam into the sniper but he was a split second away from knocking him over.
Ardeth opened his mouth, and screamed loudly, his voice frightened and terrified. It's ear-shattering volume and nearness made Shahin look around and the expression of surprise would've made Ardeth laugh if it had been any other time but Shahin swung the rifle around to face his attacker and fired.
At such close quarters it would've been impossible to miss. The bullet went through Ardeth, ricocheted off a rock behind him and slammed into the Jawhar and Zen's hiding spot. Ardeth's forward velocity slammed him into Shahin, knocking him over.
For Jawhar, the scene seemed to have happened in slow motion. Ardeth had ran to Shahin, Shahin had fired and the bullet had gone……..where? He had heard the whine of the bullet as it ricocheted off the rock and suddenly he had been struck with a rock chip from the side of his hiding spot, it had hit him in the cheek, lodging itself deep, alongside the cheekbone. Then there was a shrill shriek through the air as the bullet whined past him – he could feel the windlash as the bullet went past – and a sharp gasp of pain and disbelief from Zen beside him. Ardeth had then slammed into Shahin, knocking him over and pinning him to the sand…………
Ardeth was on top of Shahin? That fool! He knew that Shahin would butcher him as soon as look at him….although……
The bullet had gone through Ardeth, Jawhar was sure of that. He had seen the fleeting expression of surprise and pain and the way that the teenagers body had twisted in the air while still falling towards its target.
It was more then likely that the teenage Med-Jai, Ardeth Bay, was dead.
Jawhar felt his heart twist strangely within his chest. The boy couldn't be dead. Not after the whole time that he had survived….he had hung on for so long….and to die so stupidly? So quickly? So painlessly? After all the suffering that he was put through, through the slow physical and mental torture….to die so quickly?
Probably the best way to go, Jawhar surmised. He couldn't help himself…he had to see.
Jawhar clumsily stood up and ignoring the slight whimper beside him, walked unsteadily to the opening of their hiding spot. After all, it would be incredibly hard for someone to fire straight into their little cavern. Only a ricochet could accomplish such a feat and that was a million in one chance.
Leaning lightly upon the wall, he surveyed the desert waste in front of him. The boy was there, lying on the ground – motionless.
Wait! Something….there was something moving….
Ardeth had never felt so much pain before. His body screamed at him…….Where was he? What was he going here? The boys mind was in a jumble. He couldn't get his thoughts to work properly. And then, in a sudden rush, like a dam bursting, it all came back to him.
Father….Shahin……the rifle….firing….jumping…..dead?
Was he dead? He couldn't be. Ardeth doubted very much that this much pain could exist in the afterlife. That means…..that he was still alive, with a bullet through him and he was lying on TOP of the man that would take the sadistic pleasure in slowly slitting his throat.
Uh oh.
"You bastard!" The words were muffled but vehemous nevertheless. Shahin roughly shoved the limp body off him and stood up. With heartfelt swearwords he kicked the boy squarely in the side several times, then gave up and aimed his rifle at the boy.
Ardeth looked up into the barrel and automatically closed his eyes, not wishing to see the beginning of the metal bullet that would end his life quickly and viciously.
The bullet never came.
Ardeth slowly screwed upon his eyes, as the sounds of Shahin's vicious mumblings of swearwords reached his ears. Shahin was grappling with the rifle trying to recock it by wresting with the pin.
The sand had jammed up the rifle.
Ardeth had always been a big believer in Allah but had never actually believed that Allah would actually do something so miraculous and merciful like this. Now, Ardeth believed.
But he didn't wait after being spared so. Ardeth stumbled to his feet and tried to avoid the enraged Sami-Nhir. Ardeth's side hurt….it hurt so badly. The boy gasped as a sudden spike of pain sent him to his knees. He pressed his hand against his side and forced himself back to his feet. His hand felt slippery, wet and warm……Ardeth took his hand away and stared listlessly at the red blood coating it. He could feel the blood running down his side. He didn't have long before the blood loss would conquer him and he would pass out, Ardeth knew this. Even in his muddled state, he knew he didn't have long. He took a trembling step forward and just as he was getting up the waning energy to run Shahin struck him.
The enraged adult didn't even pull the punch or make it less powerful. Since his rifle was useless he spun it around in his hand and slammed the wooden butt into the boy's head, the force sending the boy flying into the sand a few feet away.
Ardeth's cry was lost in the melee of the battle, a drop amongst the ocean.
Shahin stalked forward snarling, "You brat! You utter brat! You're going to pay for that. Not even Allah will save you. Nothing will! NOTHING! Your father doesn't even recognise you!" Shahin flung his arm wide open and gestured to the black figure on horseback, fighting and yelling. "I don't care what Ruwaid or Jawhar or even Mikail says. I have my orders and you will die. Yes, you will die. But, you will die the slowest, most treacherous, painful death that I can imagine. Something that will make you wish you had never been reincarnated….never been born. I'm going to kill you slowly in front of your father and for every scream you make, I extract twice as many from the almighty Hashim, leader of the Med-Jai."
Stop your gloating, Ardeth's panicking brain threw up useless sardonic comments and as scrabbled backwards into the sand, trying futilely to crawl away.
"How can you do this Shahin? You know what is going to happen! You can see it happening now! The Med-Jai and the Sami-Nhir will eliminate each other! They will keep fighting, their hatred fuelling each other until they all lie dead and or there is a 'victor'. You know that there are no winners in a wa-" Ardeth was interrupted as Shahin struck him a vicious blow across his face, sending the boy sprawling onto the sand.
He then crouched down and roughly grabbed the boy's face, the pressure turning the boy's normally tanned face white where his fingers gripped. The boy's eyes were glazing rapidly……..he wouldn't have much time left.
If Shahin listened hard enough, he was sure he could hear the sands of the boy's life falling through his hourglass…….and the top bulb was almost empty.
Shahin grinned maniacally, "That's where you're wrong boy. That's where you're very wrong. Because my tribe will be the winner."
My tribe? Something was happening, something was not right! "Y-your tribe? But you are part of the Sami-Nhir! That's your tribe fighting out there! That's your tribe dying out there! How can you say that?" Ardeth tried to make his brain work, his eyes focus, his heart keep beating.
"Because I am not part of the Sami-Nhir tribe. My ancestors were once part of the almighty Med-Jai."
****Tell me what you thought bout that plot twister! And sorry its so short!
