Chapter 5

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Rachel paced around in the waiting room, while Eric was sipping his coffee, sitting calmly in a chair. He watched his team member with slight amusement. He had never known a team that was as close as this one, the way the members cared for each other was highly unusual. It was also very hard for him as new precept, for he knew who had brought them together. He knew Derek had started out with only Alex, Philip and the now dead Julia Walker. Julia had recruited Nick and years after that came Rachel. It had to be one hell of a precept, if he could bring all those different kind of people together. They were so close that they almost seemed like a family. Only one was not here, only one did not like the tight bond of the San Francisco team. The priest had left the Legacy for years now, only passing by once in a while. He wondered what happened that could break such a bond.

Rachel did not notice the glances she received from her new precept; she too was lost in thoughts, worried for her young friend. It had only been a few weeks since she was here, pacing this same waiting room, waiting for the same doctors, hoping they would tell her the same news. The last time had been good news, and she hoped this was going to be good news as well. He was taken to the intensive care immediately, his temperature far below the normal grade. They could not operate him if he was in a life threatening situation, and that concerned her even more. The broken bone had to be set soon now, or else she feared the worst. What if Nick lost his foot? He would not take it lightly, to say the least. He would be depressed, even more then he already was. She sighed, wishing, not for the first time, that Alex was here. But she wasn't, she was doing a case in Cairo, helping the Cairo House. Rachel had tried to reach her, but the cell phone was out of reach. Just her luck. Little did she know that her other team member was also fighting for her life, back in Cairo. It would explain the failure of the phone, but it didn't even cross Rachel's mind.

Hours later Rachel finally got to hear how Nick was doing as she and Eric were shown into a private area. The young female doctor smiled politely at them, her brows on the other hand furrowed with hidden concern.

"Nick is going into surgery right now; we were able to get his temperature up a couple degrees."

Eric and Rachel both sighed with relief, Rachel because she knew her friend was going to be fine and Eric because it saved him a lot of explaining towards the London House. The psychiatrist wasn't all grateful yet.

"What about his foot? Will he be able to walk again?"

The doctor tried to gave her a reassuring smile, her brown eyes not smiling with it. She had seen too much misery in her life to even try to be of any comfort. The man who had been brought in was just another faceless patient to her, just another guy to fix up.

"We're trying our best. There's a lot of damage done though, and if the operation is successful, it will take a while before he'll be able to use it. If he's lucky, he can run in about six months. Now, I'll come back as soon as I know some more."

She excused herself, getting ready for the operation. Even Eric was perplexed, squeezing Rachel's shoulder in comfort. Six months was a long time to be unable to walk. And again they sat down in the waiting room, waiting for the hours to pass by.


Meanwhile, somewhere in Cairo......

Alex looked back, while limping as fast as she could, hearing the sounds getting closer. They were going to catch up with her; they were too fast for her. Where were the others, was she all alone, didn't the others make it? She did not know, as she ran faster, panting sounds coming not so far behind her. Sweat trickled down her face, her eyes big in fear, a large red spot covering her thigh that was getting bigger with every step she took. What were those beasts? They looked like hounds, but then mixed with a human, almost like the hounds that were displayed on the Egyptian ancient arts. One of them had attacked her, ripping away a large amount of flesh on her left thigh, the wound now bleeding with a steady stream. It only made the beasts go wilder, the scent of the blood making them howl for her. Oh God, she was going to die here, she just knew it. And at that thought, fate decided to play a cruel trick on her, and she tripped, falling flat on her face. The beasts were getting closer, she could hear them coming. They were coming; they were going to kill her. She closed her eyes, and waited for the impact, that she knew was going to come any time now.

She heard the beasts getting closer, their stinking breath clearly noticeable. She heard their grunting noises only a few meters away and she was waiting for the impact of teeth or claws. She hoped it wasn't going to hurt too much. She heard gunshots through the air…..Gunshots? The beasts were killing her with bullets? How could that...? She realised then that she wasn't getting killed, when the screams of the beasts subdued, dying slowly. A warm hand touched her cheek, as if it was checking if she was still alive. She kept her eyes closed, afraid to open them, afraid to see what was waiting her.

"Can you hear me?"

A soft, warm voice called out to her, and finally, with a sigh, she opened her eyes, knowing that the person wanted her to wake up. The first things she registered were the large blue eyes, which were looking at her with concern. The second thing her blurry mind saw was long blonde hair. Oh no! Did she die? Was this being in front of her an angel?

"Am I dead? Is this heaven?"

The being in front of her chuckled, again that warm soft sound. He helped her up, his strong arms supporting her. He found it amusing, that he was mistaken for an angel. He had been compared to a lot of things, but never an angel. The woman seemed dazed, which wasn't strange, since he had found her barely conscious, with demons surrounding her.

"I'm afraid I have to disappoint you, because I'm no angel and this is not heaven. I hope you can forgive me."

The blue eyes looked amused, and she realised he was teasing her. The moment she sat up, things became clearer for her. In front of her was a young man, with his blond hair tied back into a ponytail, wearing black clothes. Around them were the now dead bodies of the beasts that had wanted to attack her just minutes earlier. She understood her mistake when she eyed the young man, recognizing him as Tristan, the new member of the Cairo House. When she had been introduced to him, she had thought similar things. His long hair, blue eyes and handsome face made him almost angelic.

"Tristan! Am I glad to see you!"

He smiled, while looking at her wound with a practiced eye. It didn't look to bad, but with this heat, it could infect easily. And she looked pretty shaken up. His eyes darted around, looking, as if he was searching. A frown appeared on his face.

"Where are the others?"

She gasped, the others! She had forgotten about them. Then the memories of what happened came back to her. Screams, the smell of blood in the air, desperate screams, crying for help, grunting noises of beasts feasting on flesh, and she paled.

"I don't think they survived. The beasts, they came in surprise....Nathan, he….."

He had saved her, but probably had died in the process. Tristan flinched lightly, paling himself. Alex felt for him, for she had lost her Precept not too long ago, and knew how he must be feeling. She had the comfort of the rest of her team members, she had been fortunate to having friends. He had none; the whole team had died, slaughtered. He stood up, helping her up as well. He had closed of his emotions, she noticed, his mouth a thin line. He reminded her of Nick somehow.

"We have to get back, to see if there are people alive."

Again she gasped, standing perfectly still, stopping him from dragging her along. She did not want to go back there, she didn't know what they would find there, but her feeling told her it wasn't going to be something good. Her memories told her it was going to be something that would only make it worse for the young man who was holding her hand so tightly.

"I don't think so, Tristan. There can be demons back there, it can be dangerous."

He turned around suddenly, his eyes flashing with anger, not to her, but about the cruel thing that most likely had happened to his team. He held up his gun to her, flashing it before her eyes.

"We're lucky this time; they can be killed with bullets."

And with that, he had said enough. Alex suppressed a smile. He indeed was so like the ex-seal she had grown to like within the years. Nick too had high hopes in his gun, but had found out the hard way, that a gun in the Legacy was more a hinder then it was doing good. Tristan probably had similar experiences. And so she followed him, knowing he had to do this, he had to see it for himself. She understood it, if it had been her team, if it had been Rachel or Nick out there…..She shuddered, not even wanting to go there. And so she followed him, knowing they were going to see something that would haunt them the rest of their lives.