This is the chapter you may not like. At all. It's…well, you'll have to read it.
Anyway. Moving on. I don't own. Capiche? Excellent. Let's do this.
O-o-O
"Guess…that one," Zia said, pointing to another plant growing at the edge of the trail. She thought it resembled a palm frond. Carter studied it for a moment.
"Not a clue," he finally responded. "I'm guessing it's poisonous?"
She smiled. "That's hemlock. Extremely poisonous."
"So, not the ideal stuff for a salad?"
She rolled her eyes but didn't deign to reply.
Carter turned her to face him, tucking her head under his chin. She blushed—after all, they were in the middle of a public hiking trail—and twisted so that her head was (slightly more appropriately) resting against his shoulder. Later, she wasn't sure whether she was thankful or angry that she had turned; nor was she sure that it had made any difference in the outcome.
"Zia?" he said, feeling her fists clench and her muscles freeze.
"Don't. Move," she whispered, eyes locked on the shape in the brush.
He moved anyway, slowly turning his head to look over his shoulder. She felt him stiffen as he followed her gaze."That's a…"
"Copperhead," she breathed. "I don't know what it's doing this close to the city."
The snake slithered forward, pausing briefly in a patch of sun ten feet behind them. Zia whimpered.
"What is it?" he asked, running his hands soothingly through her hair. She could feel his breathing accelerate as the serpent crept forward another inch, staring at them questioningly, as if it were thinking, What are the people looking at?
"I'm…allergic to copperhead venom."
Carter's hand, resting against her back, clenched.
"How long will you have?" he finally asked, never taking his eyes off the snake.
"Minutes," she said, "and that is if I am very lucky." Her chin trembled, and the words poured out of her in her panic. "It's like hemlock to me. If I am bitten, my toes will start to feel numb, and then it will creep up through my blood until it reaches my lungs. Then," she murmured, "I will stop breathing."
She supposed he couldn't help his bitter laugh at the irony of the situation.
The snake slithered forward another few inches, tasting the air and hissing—warning them to get off its territory, Zia supposed. She didn't dare move. Carter, very slowly, turned around, pulling his sword out of thin air. The serpent opened its mouth, baring its fangs in a warning. She shivered, tears sliding from her eyes without permission.
No.
It lunged.
Carter yelled and slashed, but the snake was too fast. It darted past him and sank its fangs into her ankle.
She screamed and stumbled back, falling on the dirt, and there was a flash and a dull thud and the snake's body fell limp, its severed head still embedded in her leg.
Carter pried the fangs from her skin and threw the head aside, lowering her to the ground as she screamed, lost in absolute hysterics. She heard Carter yelling for help, people appearing from around corners, horrified screams.
Carter lifted her torso, trying to keep the poison from reaching her upper body, and she kept crying even though it was stupid; she needed to slow her heart rate. Her toes were already going numb.
"Zia, hang on," Carter pleaded, cradling her head. She nodded and did her best to ignore the lack of sensation creeping past her ankles. Some hikers were digging in their pockets and backpacks, looking for Thoth only knew what, and she heard someone muttering something about a pen.
Her heart was going too fast. Her panic was driving the venom through her veins; already she could feel nothing below her mid-calf. She clutched Carter's hand, squeezing his fingers until they cracked, trying to quell the terror that was already closing her throat tight. "Don't let go," she begged.
"'Course not," he said, sounding a little strangled. How ironic that he would be the one suffocating.
She held back a scream of frustration as she lost the sensation in her knees. Why, of all the places in the city, was it this trail? Why her, of all people?
Carter leaned over and pressed his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and muttering a prayer—she didn't catch which god it was to—but it was ineffective. Her waist was tingling. Carter put his hand on her knee, trying to calm her down, but she shook her head and pulled it up to her torso. Comforting gestures required functioning nerves.
"Already?" Carter whispered. She nodded but didn't say anything, as she was having difficulty breathing—maybe it was just her emotions, or maybe the poison had reached her lower lungs, she couldn't be sure. She did her best to swallow the lump in her throat.
Sissy? It's okay.
She choked in surprise. Carter forced her chin up, possibly thinking she was suffocating.
Adrian?
It was like some unseen force had superimposed an image of her brother over her vision. Carter was still holding her, trying to get her attention, but at the same time Adrian was standing in front of her with his hands behind his back.
Not yet, he said.
"Stay with me, Zia," Carter pleaded.
She looked him in the eye. "Adrian," she sobbed.
"You'll see him soon," Carter promised, stroking her cheek.
She wanted to tell him that she could see him now, but suddenly there was no air left in her lungs. She sat up, cupping her hands around her throat, and retched, trying to breathe.
Come on, Zee-Zee! Adrian smiled, holding out his hand for her.
Carter pressed his mouth to hers, trying to force air down her nonresponsive windpipe in a last-ditch effort.
Zia took her baby brother's hand.
And Carter simply wasn't there anymore. Instead, there was Ra's sun boat, docked and waiting with the sun god himself sitting on his throne. Bast was kneeling at the foot of the throne, but she smiled sideways at Zia and gestured for her to come aboard. She hesitated—she had never heard of a spirit getting an escort to the Land of the Dead—but Adrian tugged on her hand and ran to the goddess's side, bowing once to Ra and sitting next to the flaming chair—better manners than he'd ever had when he was alive, Zia couldn't help but notice. She knelt at Ra's feet, and he gave her a curt nod before turning his attention back to the river in front of them.
The boat lurched forward, and they sped down the River of Night, with Bast fighting off the monsters that swarmed around them. Adrian, who was now wearing a skirt and sandals, like an Egyptian warrior, curled up in her lap. She briefly noted that she was now wearing a white dress and a heavy jeweled collar, which would probably make her neck hurt soon.
After some length of time—she wasn't sure how quickly time passed in the Duat—she saw the Hall of Judgment looming in the distance. She half expected the boat to stop, but they sailed straight past.
Finally, the sun boat docked at Osiris' palace. Ra stood, ready to disembark, and Adrian tugged her to her feet. She slowly made her way onto dry land, unsure whether she was supposed to be here at all.
Osiris himself sat at the end of the table, just to the right of Ra's chair. He winked at Zia as Adrian pulled her past.
And she was in Paradise.
O-o-O
Carter: YOU KILLED MY GIRLFRIEND! *beats me about the head and shoulders with his sword*
Adrian: YOU KILLED MY SISSY! *beats me about the shins and ankles with a stick*
Me: So, in case you haven't noticed, I'm paying dearly for what I did. But you can still yell at me in a review if you want. And also, for some strange reason Ra was no longer senile. Maybe he went to rehab or something.