Jess knew she should ignore the commotion and let the others deal with it. She was safe where she was after all and completely unseen but then she heard the screams of men in pain and worse, men dying, and knew she couldn't ignore it. So she found herself clambering down from the slanted arch she had taken for a bed and scurrying up to the Americans' camp where all hell had broken loose.
'You're being a fool,' she scolded herself, dagger out in her right hand and ready, 'they have guns but if everyone dies and you're the only left...' She shuddered, that was cutting far too close to home. 'I can't let it happen again,' she thought firmly as she pushed on.
There were the men who had been on the boat, black robes, hoods, kilts and tops, tattooed faces, horses, swords, and guns. They rode through both camp sites with loud, fearless war cries, shooting rifles and pistols and swinging their scimitars. Jess watched as Jonathan ran for it, gun in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other, clutching both tightly as he leaped over a broken column and only just saved himself from a beheading.
The woman shook her head scornfully as she thought, 'wine in hand, the man certainly has his priorities in order.' She scanned the campsite quickly, no O'Connell or the sister, Evelyn, but was that O'Connell's gunnysack? Jess ducked and moved, dancing through a few stray gunshots as she did.
The yells of the men and whinnying of their horses was almost deafening. She feinted to the left to avoid a horse, ducked to escape a scimitar, and then skidded low to the ground to avoid another and slide under a horse. Her dagger went up, slashing mercilessly at its grey belly before she rolled out from under as the horse went wild with pain. She reached the gunnysack and snatched out a gun without thinking.
There was a yell behind the woman, she turned, and with no time to dodge she threw herself to the ground to avoid the sword. She barely had time to move before a black horse came at her next, nostrils flared, brown eyes wide, and flank flecked with foam and its cloaked, mad eyed rider ready to shoot. BANG! BANG! She rolled again and again, her face getting coated in dust and dirt as she did. No time to check the gun, she would just have to hope and run for it.
Up on her feet she moved as quickly as she could, she was still sore from her earlier tumble in the temple but nothing was sprained or broken and with that knowledge she pushed herself on. On to the next camp, which was encircled by riders pacing about repetitively as they let off gunshots and let out loud shrieks into the night.
Jess arrived to see the Americans having just hastened from their tents to stand side by side, guns out and ready despite their looks of surprise. Burns' glasses were wonky, evidently put on in haste and he had shaving foam around his chin and only one gun in his possession. Henderson was only wearing his shirt, now loose and half-unbuttoned, and his trousers. Dr. Chamberlain raced towards them with a yell of alarm as they lined up side by side and started shooting back.
BANG! Daniels let out a shriek of pain as a bullet cut cleanly through his left arm. He spun back with the impact and his gun hit the sand carelessly as his arm burned with pain. Burns immediately grabbed him by his upper shoulder and attempted to right him as he tried to look from their attackers to his friend to assess the damage.
"You hit Daniels?!" Henderson yelled as he kept both his guns up and shooting.
"I'm hit but I'll live!" Daniels snapped as he kept shooting back angrily.
Jess and Rick joined the fray together, Rick shooting back with a deadly aim as three poor Arab workers were shot down dead. Rick shot one assailant cleanly through the chest causing him to fall back dead in his saddle. Jess for her part just pointed and shot, she had used a gun before but had little experience with them and was just hoping for the best at this point.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
They were everywhere! The awful sounds of gunfire, shrieks of war, pain and death, and the whinnying of horses came from all directions, a never ceasing tirade of noise. Daniels, Henderson and Burns took out several of the sable cloaked men whilst Dr. Chamberlain cowered around them, lifting his coat up before his face with both hands as if it could shield him. Beni was nowhere to be seen unsurprisingly and Evelyn was hanging back swinging a torch in desperation.
A brown horse charged at the Americans forcing their separation. Burns turned and fired shots at it as he fell backwards whilst Henderson just forced himself to keep both guns up and aimed.
Daniels staggered back, cursing as his arm stung again before he raised his gun to the man on a reddish-brown horse that towered over him. He found himself looking into a rifle barrel as he went to fire. Click. Daniels' sapphire stare turned to horror as he realised he was out of bullets.
The robed man suddenly gave a gargled cry and his rifle slid down as he seemed to twitch uneasily on his horse. For a moment Daniels was confused before he saw the reason why, there was a hilt of a dagger sticking out of the man's neck. Daniels dared to look to the right where the dagger had come from, his eyes widening again as he saw a woman he was certain he had thrown from a boat into the Nile. When the horse reared in frustration and Daniels saw that he was about to be trampled he moved, running to the left.
"Now let's not do anything hasty!" Jonathan stammered as he found himself cornered against a wall. He waved his pistol about frantically at the four riders who had him trapped.
"Jonathan!" Evelyn yelled as she threw her torch dramatically. To her astonishment it successfully hit the rider in the centre and within seconds he was howling as his robes went up in flames.
"Good show Evie!" Jonathan cried out jovially as the poor horse below the fire broke into a panic and started rearing and bucking frantically.
BANG! Jonathan shot another rider in the right arm before making a run for it.
Jess was running now too, trying to move quicker than a white mare with a rider who was swinging a scimitar at her. She jumped over debris and then onto a fallen column and over it, straight into the path of three horseless men. Two had their faces hidden by black cloth whilst the other had his face bare but coated in black tattoos of ancient Egyptian writing. Jess swallowed hard as the bare faced man calmly sank his blade into the skull of an Egyptian aide fallen before him.
The woman looked for an exit but there was none, save for a narrow gap between two of them. She could hear the hooves beating in the sand behind her, dangerously close. She swallowed hard and ran blindly at the men with a scream. A knife swung at her head, and a gun went off close to her left ear immediately deafening in it. She screamed as a torch swung low, catching her left leg and burning through her trouser leg to the flesh of her upper thigh.
The woman fell with the impact, writhing in pain as her leg blistered and bled. The man with the bloodstained blade approached her calmly. She saw him out of the corner of her right eye, blurred thanks to the tears of pain blooming there. 'Get up!' she thought frantically even as her leg bent and twisted involuntarily in pain. 'Get up!' She flinched when he reached her and pressed the tip of his blade to her skull, a tiny prick which she felt briefly before he raised his sword up in both hands. She sucked in a breath but it was hard, the wind had rushed out of her lungs with the sudden pain that flared through her and all her mind could register was the searing agony rushing up her leg.
BANG! The man fell backwards with a look of shock in his brown eyes, his blow undelivered.
Jess glanced up through her teary eyes of pain to look at Daniels, his previously dropped gun now clutched tightly in his right hand. He aimed at the remaining two men with a threatening glower but they ran off before he could make a shot. Jess didn't wait for others to take their place; she forced herself up at last, gritting her teeth to prevent a yelp slipping out. For a moment she stood there, panting hard as the sweat lashed down her body and her leg trembled and throbbed. 'You have to move!' she told herself stubbornly. She hastened off, not quite running but not walking either, as Daniels occupied himself with the next foe.
Rick saw the scimitar of a mounted rider come his way; he moved to the left and only just dodged it, marvelling at how close it was as he heard the air rush past his ear. The rider turned his horse abruptly, ready to attack again as Rick raised both his pistols with a vicious look. The rider frowned and pulled his mount to a sudden halt. "ENOUGH!" he bellowed. His voice seemed to echo through the ruins, young and yet full of authority.
Rick stared up at him warily; he was a golden skinned man somewhere in his thirties with a neatly trimmed black moustache and beard, tattoos on his cheeks and forehead, and black curls spilling down from his ebony hood. There was a fierce commanding look in his deep, dark chocolate brown eyes as he looked down at Rick sternly.
"There has been enough bloodshed!" the man snapped.
As he yelled the other riders began to quieten, ceasing their attack on the Americans and their helpers, and soon the only sound was the crackle of the torches, the moans of the injured, and the whimpers of Dr. Chamberlain who had, against all the odds, managed to beat back several opponents with his umbrella.
"You must leave this place! Leave this place or die!" the man shouted down at Rick as his eyes filled with the flames of the torches. "We will give you one day!"
Before Rick could retort or even question the man he drew his horse up into a rear, turned the beast and galloped off into the night followed by the rest of his hooded companions. Rick let out a curse as they departed before searching for Evelyn, he had seen her in the ruckus, of course the foolish woman had followed him. He spied her near her brother in the shade of a broken statue of Anubis, her cheeks smudged with dirt and a sheen of sweat along her brow. Jonathan was half-sitting against the statue and busying himself with downing the contents of the wine bottle. Rick rushed to the pair, and surprised Evelyn by gripping her by both shoulders tenderly before he queried softly, "are you alright?"
Evelyn gazed up at him, startled, and for a moment their eyes locked before she stammered with a blush, "yes...fine. Who were they?" She held his stare, her curiosity and alarm suddenly seeming so minor compared to this moment. He was so close she could feel his breath hot on her cheeks like the desert wind.
"See that proves it!" Daniels cried out triumphantly, interrupting Evelyn and Rick's moment as he waved off Burns' look of concern. "Old Seti's fortune has to be under this sand!"
Burns frowned at the blood dripping down his friend's left arm; most of the grey sleeve had now turned a dark, damp crimson. "David that looks bad," he said worriedly.
"Those men are a desert people," Rick murmured as he glanced over at Daniels, "they value water, not gold." He stared out to where the horses had headed but there was no sign of their attackers now.
"I think we should combine camps," Henderson suggested as he gave the bodies an unpleasant look. "Safety in numbers and all that."
"Seems sensible," Evelyn voiced her approval.
"Alright," Rick said. He slapped Jonathan's shoulder with one hand and gripped it tight. "Before you get too drunk Jonathan help us move," he suggested as he gave the Englishman a warning gaze.
Jonathan lowered the bottle with a reluctant sigh and nodded. "Alright but we're not sleeping near the er...carnage." He glanced about curiously as he only just swallowed down a hiccup. "Just a sec...where's that wild woman? Oh lord she didn't get shot did she?"
"Wild woman?" Henderson queried inquisitively as he dusted his cream shirt down. "You don't mean your sister do you Jonathan? Because she's right beside you," he concluded with a small smile in Evelyn's direction.
Evelyn gave the blonde an unpleasant look at that whilst Jonathan looked at the cowboy and laughed. "No," he said as he grinned, oblivious to Evelyn's look of displeasure, "the other one."
"What other one?" Henderson quipped as he narrowed his sea blue eyes in suspicion.
"Oh I saw her too," Burns piped up. He was now standing with Daniels, having pushed his soaked shirt sleeve up to inspect his wound. "She was here, fighting with us. I suppose it wouldn't be right leaving her out there, not when it's so dangerous. She looked familiar too..." He frowned momentarily before giving Daniels an accusatory look. "In fact she looked a lot like the girl Daniels here threw off the boat."
"Threw off the boat?!" Jonathan exclaimed with a look of disgust. "Why on earth would you do that?"
"Maybe she annoyed him," Rick answered as he finally spied Beni trying to slink over like he hadn't hidden during the fight.
"Or maybe the situation called for it hmm?" Evelyn remarked sarcastically as her hazel eyes flickered over to Rick almost accusingly.
"She annoyed me," Daniels admitted with a nod that made it clear he felt no guilt over it.
"Wait, the girl from the boat?" Henderson queried. "Nah, why would she be out here?"
"To steal," Beni hissed. "She's a filthy thief from Cairo."
"Now Beni, what makes you say that?" Rick demanded as he gave the Hungarian a suspicious look.
Beni shrugged. "I've seen her around, I didn't realise it at first but she always seems to be around when things go missing."
Jonathan frowned as he continued to wonder why the woman had looked familiar to him, hearing the word thief just made him more suspicious.
"Do you know her?" Henderson demanded as he looked at the Hungarian questioningly.
"No," Beni confessed.
"Does anyone?" Burns pondered aloud. "Who is she here with and why is she here?"
"Questions I'd love to ask her," Rick mused.
"I think we should just find her," Evelyn murmured as she rubbed her hands up and down her arms, "it's getting cold and it's not safe. I wouldn't want anyone to be out there alone."
"I agree," Burns spoke up.
"We have no idea who she is," Daniels protested with an angry look at his friend as he tugged his wounded arm free. He didn't bother mentioning that he knew the woman, whoever she was, was injured. Let her stay out there away from them, he'd seen her fight twice now and it wasn't normal, he didn't really want her nearby. He didn't even really want their camps united but he had to admit that it was the sensible thing to do.
"David it doesn't matter," Burns argued as he pushed his glasses up the ridge of his nose and looked at his friend seriously. "She's a woman alone in the city of the dead and there are armed bandits out there."
"Um not bandits," Rick argued. He had the grace to look apologetic when Burns glowered his way. "Sorry, just, they're nomads."
"Armed nomads, who want to kill us," Burns remarked pointedly, "and she helped us fight them so I don't think she's one of them somehow. She helped you David," he pointed out.
Daniels' frown deepened at that reminder. "I helped her too," he grumbled. "Fine, go look for her then."
"I will," Rick said.
"I'll go with you," Henderson offered. "Sort your arm out Daniels and then get everyone moving camp."
Rick lifted a fresh torch and he and Henderson headed round the ruins to look for the woman. Henderson walked with both guns out, tensing at every noise- rocks moving under foot, the low rattle of an unusual breeze, bones creaking in the sands, birds calling from far away, and the remaining camels and horses nervously grunting and braying.
"It's all turned a little foreboding all of a sudden," the blonde mused cheerfully with a small smile.
"Yeah, almost like something doesn't want us here," Rick retorted darkly as they paused at a stone arch. Rick sighed as he glanced about, he couldn't see any sign of the woman.
"There," Henderson said as he gestured forward with his left hand to a column.
Rick held the torch forward; there was a sticky stain of red on the column. "She was here," he mused as he looked up to the slanted horizontal bar of the arch above them.
"Tried to climb up," Henderson guessed, "but couldn't because she's injured."
Rick sighed as he swung the torch low near a cluster of rocks. "Now where is she hiding?" he queried wearily.
Back with the others Burns had just finished bandaging up Daniels' arm in a half-broken tent. Daniels had spent the time cross-legged, quiet and drinking heavily from a bottle of bourbon, seemingly determined to catch up to Jonathan who was singing quite merrily as he helped carrying camp items up the mountainside to a flat area where there were thankfully no bodies.
"it's done," Burns said at last as he leaned back and mopped a trickle of sweat from his brow, "you're lucky the bullet went straight through."
"Sure," Daniels grumbled as he shrugged his arm with a wince and sat down the bottle. "Thanks Burns. I need to take a leak, see you in a bit." He stood up with a slight stagger and headed out of the tent and into the night.
Burns stood up and hastened out after him, pausing as he watched his friend stumble over rocks, bones, fallen tents, and bodies awkwardly. Daniels wobbled twice, even grasping the top of a tent once for support before he continued on until he was out of sight behind a statue of Anubis. Burns frowned, he supposed the man wanted his privacy and he had reloaded his guns but still, away from company and the fires just seemed like asking for trouble.
Daniels chose a secluded spot at the back of the Anubis statue and made a point of turning towards it before he struggled to unbutton his trousers. "Ah shit," he cursed as he found the task a lot more difficult when his left arm wouldn't bend properly.
When the man started his task he glanced about suspiciously, it was quiet out here, too quiet but he supposed all the gunshots had undoubtedly scared the wildlife away. He frowned when he spied a couple of blood spatters on the ground, visible thanks to the moonlight catching on them. He followed them and his indigo eyes went wide at the sight of a face staring right back at him from under a broken column resting on rocks. He cursed as he was forced to abandon his aim to grab his gun. He faltered as he raised it when the form smiled back mischievously and he realised who it was. "You!" he snarled it accusingly.
"Me," the woman retorted back tiredly. She was seated against the side of a crumbled platform the column had collapsed against, her legs stretched out in front of her as she sagged in her shoulders.
"What the hell are you doing out here? People are out looking for you, you know!"
She narrowed her golden-brown eyes and queried, "what people? I didn't come here with anyone."
"We know that," he growled, "but after what happened some people didn't think you should be out here alone."
"Some people?" she sneered back. "Not you then?"
He frowned and said with an accusing glower, "I'm wondering how long you've been out here alone spying on all of us, hell never mind here, just how long have you been watching?"
"Don't flatter yourself Mr. Daniels," she mused, "it's not your riches I'm after although..." She looked pointedly at his lower region and he followed her gaze, his face reddening slightly as he did.
"Shit!" He turned round suddenly and let out several more expletives when she giggled.
"You can put away the gun," she murmured, "I'm not a threat."
"No," he retorted moodily as he holstered his gun and buttoned up his trousers. He turned back to face her, eyeing her bloodstained trouser leg pointedly. "That burn looks nasty."
"I'll deal with it," she answered dismissively.
"Well could you deal with it at camp?" he queried tiredly. His arm was still throbbing and he was quite eager to resume drinking whiskey and dull the pain a bit more.
Jess frowned up at the man. "Camp?" she echoed. "So you can all pester me with questions and accusations."
"Lady I don't care much for your business so long as it doesn't affect mine, I just want you to come so people stop wasting their time looking for you and because it's the sensible thing to do. If those desert men come back you can't run this time," he pointed out.
Jess sighed, manoeuvred out from under the column and struggled to her feet with a wince. "I suppose you make a good point," she admitted.
"I know I do, now come on." He led the way back, wondering if some of Burns' concern had rubbed off on him or if he was just that drunk. Daniels stumbled as he led, his boots seemingly finding every rock, hole, bones and debris in their path whilst she limped behind him. "What's your name anyway?" he asked without looking back.
"Jess."
"Just Jess?"
"Just Jess is all you're getting."
"You know my last name," he pointed out.
"I do but you're still not getting mine."
Rick and Henderson looked over in surprise as they arrived back at the new camp in time to see Daniels staggering up to it with the woman limping behind him. She frowned as they all immediately crowded round her.
"You poor thing, you've been burned!" Evelyn was quick to sympathise as she eyed the woman's bloody and partially exposed upper thigh with a mixture of horror and sympathy.
"Poor nothing," Rick scorned as he looked at Jess with a knowing smirk. "What's your name and what are you doing out here?"
"And how did you get here?" Beni demanded with a cross look. "Did you follow us?"
"It was easy," Jess retorted mockingly as she scowled back at him.
"Silly Americans," Jonathan scorned even as he looked to Jess with suspicion.
"Hey it's not like we left her a trail!" Burns protested as he gave Jonathan a cross look.
"You're English," Evelyn marvelled at Jess with a sparkle of interest in her eyes.
"What is with you English and stealing things?" Rick muttered as his gaze flickered from Jess to Jonathan.
"Have we met?" Jonathan queried as he leaned into her with a suspicious, unfocused gaze. "Cause I'm sure you know me."
Jess reeled back slightly from his wine tinged breath. "Do I?" she queried coolly.
Jonathan let out a hiccup. "Yes, wait a minute..." He flushed slightly. "No you are a he, a boy, you are a thief!" He let out another hiccup before clapping a hand over his mouth as he realised what he had said. "Ahem," he added awkwardly as his hand dropped away, "I mean...er nothing, never mind."
Jess folded her arms and frowned at him angrily. "Never mind? What because you can't admit to it?"
"Admit to what?" Evelyn questioned with a nervous look. "Jonathan please tell me this isn't another angry ex lover of yours." She gave Jess a sympathetic smile. "Look I know my brother can be ah...well mean to you women but following him across a desert, it's a bit much isn't it?"
Jess actually turned white at the thought and looked horrified as Henderson snickered. "Hell no, he got me thrown in prison!" Jess blurted out before she could help it. She paused seeing Rick's wide smile and realised her error.
"In prison?" Evelyn queried with a startled look.
"Right!" Jonathan snapped as he pointed at her. "Watch thief! But I didn't know, I mean you wouldn't throw a girl in jail, thought you were a boy."
"Fooled by a hat," Jess grumbled, "typical man, you find it too hard to believe a woman could outfox you so you believe what you want to. And as for that watch it had 'To my dearest Eustace' engraved on it!"
"Oh Jonathan," Evelyn scorned with a roll of her eyes.
"So it had a previous owner, I bought it at a market," Jonathan said defensively as he folded his arms and pouted. "It's still sentimental."
"It wasn't even real silver," Jess commented dejectedly.
"It was too!" Jonathan protested. "He swore ahem...the market seller that is, swore to me that it was."
"Wait a minute," Rick injected, "he," he gestured to Jonathan with one hand, "got you," he gestured back to Jess, "thrown in jail?" He shook his head. "Uh, uh, you're crafty and he's...well he's an idiot, I don't buy it. Unless," he frowned as his brown eyebrows arched slightly, "you wanted arrested! That cell, how did you get out of it so quickly?"
"What cell?" Evelyn demanded. "What's going on here?"
Jess sighed. "Still sore because I left you? Look I couldn't have got you out okay, it was nothing personal!" she snapped defensively.
"Wait, you were in jail too?" Henderson queried calmly as he looked at Rick.
"Shocked?" Rick retorted sarcastically with a wide, white teethed smile.
"Not even a little," Daniels answered with a shake of his head. 'Why did I bring her back here? Why?' he scolded himself internally.
Rick returned his attention to Jess who was scowling up at him. "You were with that old guy...what was his name," Rick pondered with a thoughtful look, "Salih!"
"Salih?" Jonathan queried with a knowing look. "That old git, said he knew where treasure was," Jonathan looked mournful, "but it was just lies. Kept talking about a key, on and on, wouldn't show it though no matter how many drinks I bought him. Said he was going to unlock the door himself or die with the key so no one else could..." He trailed off and looked to Jess suspiciously with everyone else. "The key was true!" Jonathan exclaimed. He frowned as he realised his error. "The rumour was a key! Er...there's a key?"
"That's it," Rick said carefully, "you got yourself arrested to get a key to treasure, but how the hell did you get out of that cell? Hell how did you get into it?"
Jess sighed; she was undone now, careful but apparently not nearly careful enough. Cover blown, it was all out there now, she was exposed as a thief. Well it was no loss, she didn't care much what these particular people thought of her. 'Why the hell did O'Connell have to be in that cell and now here?' she pondered crossly.
"It's easy to get in and out of places when you have a key," she answered smugly.
"How exactly did you get the key to a prison cell?" Evelyn queried with a look of intrigue. She would never admit it but this woman fascinated her. She looked to be of similar age, perhaps a little younger, twenty-four or twenty-five maybe, and she was English but there all similarities ended. The brunette knew she should never show any kind of admiration for a thief but there was something interesting about this story.
"Get close to a guard get close to a key," Jess answered vaguely.
"Wouldn't he have er...reported it missing?" Evelyn ventured weakly, not wanting to know how the woman had gotten close to a guard.
"Not if he wanted to keep all his fingers," Jess retorted with a wide smile.
"So this key that you stole, what does it open and what does any of this have to do with Hamunaptra?" Rick demanded. "And how did you get into that particular cell? Coincidence?" he sneered.
"Here's a question, why did you have the prison warden with you?" Jess demanded. "Are you on day release? No wandering without him huh?"
"Ah yes what about our belated foul friend?" Jonathan quipped curiously. "Did you kill him?" He gave Jess a weak smile. "I'd understand, man was a grotesque pig, I thought about it, especially when he snored."
"Wait you're a thief and a killer?" Henderson queried as he gave the woman a look that was part approval and part concern. "Really?"
"No," Jess answered hotly. She was beginning to feel quite warm and irritated and her skin had turned an odd shade of grey. "I didn't kill him."
"Then what did?" Rick demanded.
She shrugged. "I have no idea, maybe this place is cursed," she suggested lightly.
Rick frowned at her even as Evelyn shook her head dismissively. "You would have a motive you know; I mean he let me out for a price, but you, not so much," Rick remarked.
"Oh please," Jess sneered, "firstly, it was a boy who escaped him and even if he recognised me, which the fat pig did not, there is no way he would admit to it, the shame of letting a woman into a cell never mind out of one again would be a little too much for his reputation. Look I'm so sorry I didn't have to bribe him like you, but that doesn't make me a killer, just a better escape artist than you."
"Alright, I'll admit I don't think you did it," Rick confessed.
"Oh I'm so glad," Jess retorted sarcastically, "a man who was going to hang has pardoned me."
Rick frowned at her whilst Henderson snickered and Burns gave a small, fleeting smile.
"Alright, well what are you doing here?" Rick demanded.
"Yes, thief," Beni spat out, "why are you here? Who are you stealing for?"
"Oh okay, why don't you explain what you're doing here too?" Jess queried Rick angrily. She was now soaked in sweat and had a slight tremor and yet she seemed oblivious to it as she scowled from Rick to Evelyn. "Come on, cards on the table, why don't we all share? What are you after?"
Evelyn's eyes flickered nervously to the quiet, scowling Dr. Chamberlain as she wondered if he had learned about the golden book yet. "Alright," she said hastily, "we don't need details but what's your name? I'm-"
"Evelyn Carnahan," Jess interrupted as she swayed slightly, "and that's your brother Jonathan. I'm still sore about you getting me arrested by the way, nasty thing to do, it was a watch you stole!"
"I thought you were a boy," Jonathan spluttered. "Anyway you wanted arrested, you owe me!"
"How did you get on the boat?" Rick queried suddenly as he narrowed his cerulean eyes at her.
"I had a ticket," she answered calmly.
"Wait a minute," Burns interrupted. "You intended to come here so you had to know we were going to Hamunaptra before that, before we got on that boat. How?"
"You were talking a bit more loudly in that bar than you knew, especially you," she added as she narrowed her eyes at Beni. "Chatty Hungarian," she murmured. "I did enjoy you telling that merchant later how you would've led everyone to the middle of nowhere if they had only paid you in full. I think we're all quite grateful it didn't work that way."
"Rat," Daniels grumbled at the man.
"Lying jackal!" Beni snapped at Jess.
"People call you that a lot," Rick mused as he looked back at Jess. "Didn't the warden call you that too?"
She shrugged and retorted airily, "it's a term of endearment." With those words she fell to the ground with a groan of pain.
"Jackal," Beni hissed again as his eyes narrowed with a heavy suspicion.
"Oh dear!" Evelyn chirped as she kneeled down before the young woman.
"It's her leg," Burns said as he pushed up his glasses and looked at the burn with a frown, "it needs looked at."
"Well...er...is anyone here a doctor?" Evelyn queried awkwardly as she looked at the Egyptologist.
"Not that sort," Dr. Chamberlain answered darkly before he turned his nose up dismissively.
"Itsfine," Jess mumbled deliriously. "Honestly, I'll walk it off tomorrow, it will be grand."
"Did you take Burns' ticket for the boat?" Daniels suddenly demanded as he gave her a vicious look.
Burns looked shocked and then suspicious. "Hey, did you?"
"A little thieving jackal," Beni scorned again.
"I just wanted to see how you'd cope," she murmured. "See what you were made of." She smiled. "Guns and gold, guns and gold, it's always the same."
"That's enough questions for now, don't you think?" Evelyn remarked sharply as she gave them a scorning look. "She needs help with that leg."
"Stupid warden gave me away, stupid, stupid," Jess ranted, "if I hadn't fallen into that hole, could've run quicker if I hadn't fallen. Shouldn't have bloody helped you lot either."
"Look, let's take her to the tent," Burns suggested, his annoyance giving way to sympathy, "I've got some supplies there that might help."
Jess snapped back into reality at the sounds of the howling. She tensed at the noise; it was loud, constant and close. It sounded like fifty wolves were out there howling, or jackals, it was hard for her to tell. The noise made her nervous and for a moment all she could do was wonder at it before she realised her surroundings had changed.
There was something beneath her head, a flat pillow she realised and an old grey coat had been placed across her. She shifted slightly onto her side, wincing at the pain that flooded up her leg with the gesture. She saw the cream edges of a tent before she looked for the light source. There was a black iron and glass lantern at the opening of the tent seated beside a man who was hunched over, cross legged and staring outwards. He was wearing a grey fedora hat, a dark grey shirt with dark brown stains down the left sleeve, and grey-brown trousers.
Jess sat up slowly drawing the man's attention her way, it was Daniels. Cigarette in his right hand and an uneasy expression in his bloodshot indigo eyes, he gave her a calm, cold stare. "They've been howling for a while now," he murmured tiredly.
"They?" she echoed.
"Jackals," he explained, "can't see them but they're out there. Tried shooting at them but that did nothing, just wasted bullets."
"Oh. Well this place just keeps getting creepier and creepier," she mused. "So why are you here? Why am I?"
"Burns fixed your leg up and we thought it was best not leaving you alone."
"How chivalrous," Jess retorted sardonically. "So you're on guard duty then."
"Something like that," he admitted with a frown.
"From what? The jackals or the thief?"
"Same thing isn't it?" He shot back with an accusing stare. "That's what our guide keeps calling you."
"He's a snake," Jess grumbled. She frowned and looked about the tent nervously as the howls seemed to grow even closer. Her eyes widened as she was certain she saw a silhouette flash past the left side. "Mr. Daniels I know it might seem highly forward of me but could you please close the tent flap?" she queried with a forced calm tone.
Daniels gave her an odd look as he flicked his cigarette out into the night and then tugged out his gun. "Scared?" he queried tauntingly.
"No, just being cautious." She swallowed down a cry of alarm as she was certain another shadow ran past, that one was definitely canine in shape. "Please?"
He sighed and shifted back into the tent properly before setting down his gun and fumbling to fasten the flap. "They're not out there," he said confidently, "and even if they are this is just a bunch of cloth and sticks."
"They're out there," she said assertively.
There was a low snarl and Daniels let out a curse as a black furred head burst into the tent with an open muzzle full of teeth. Jess tried to move forward, looking for a weapon as she did but her leg burned in agony and slowed her. She could only watch in horror as Daniel's right hand darted along the bottom of the tent for his gun whilst he kept his eyes on the snapping teeth. The creature resembled a jackal except he didn't think they were jet black and he was certain their eyes shouldn't be so wide and tinged with red, nor should there be foam coming from their jaws. 'Are they normally so vicious?' he wondered as the creature fought to get inside the half-closed tent, scratching at it with its front paws.
Daniels' hand grasped the familiar steel of his gun at last and he fired without hesitation. BANG! There was a yelp as the animal jerked back as it was shot right between the eyes.
"The light!" Jess yelled as several more jackal silhouettes appeared around the tent and they heard a chorus of snarls.
Daniels fumbled with the tent flap as Jess reached the lantern, and turned down its wick until it burned out just as Daniels closed the flap at last. The pair fell silent as they tried to inch back from the tent door, all the while Daniels wondered if the others were okay.
Jess flinched when they heard a loud snarl and paws pressed against the tent flaps trying to put them in. "Fine time not to have a weapon," she grumbled quietly as she bowed her head.
One seemed to rear up on its hind legs and press its front paws against the front of the tent before raking its claws down. Jess half-expected it to rip and was relieved when the tent mercifully held.
"That ain't normal," Daniels muttered as he kept his gun raised though it was difficult to see.
There was a bark from the right, then a yip from the left, howls from behind and snarls from the front. Jess and Daniels found their heads whipping about frantically in the darkness as they reacted to every sound.
"Why aren't the others shooting?" Daniels wondered aloud.
"Because sometimes that just draws attention," Jess hissed angrily. "Guns and gold, broaden your ideas Mr. Daniels."
"Hey my bullets helped you more than once!" he retorted angrily, raising his voice louder than intended. "And you're a thief remember? You know more about gold than me!"
"Shush!" she snapped as a jackal's burrowed its face into the tent, snapping and snarling as it tried to force its way through.
The torment lasted for another ten minutes and during that time several jackals tried to enter the tent, then, all of a sudden the ruins fell silent and the silhouettes vanished.
"Are they gone?" Jess queried quietly.
"How in the hell should I know?" Daniels grumbled.
The pair both tensed and looked to the front of the tent with wide eyes when it was suddenly yanked open. "Jesus Daniels lower your gun!" Henderson snapped crossly as he met with the nozzle of Daniels' Colt Revolver.
Daniels obeyed as a sigh of relief escaped him before he could help it.
Henderson gave the pair an enquiring look before he grinned at them teasingly. "Now why have you got this flap closed anyway? Didn't I say we'd swap in an hour? You weren't up to something untoward with Miss Jess now, were you David?"
"Shut up Henderson," Daniels snapped hotly.
"Wait, you didn't see them?" Jess demanded with wide eyes as she leaned forward to face Henderson better.
"See what?" the blonde retorted with a confused look.
"The jackals!" she snapped. "They were attacking the tent!"
"Was she having a bad dream?" Henderson queried as he glanced at Daniels. "There were no jackals, not up here. They were howling down there for a bit but that's just the desert for you."
"No," Jess argued with a shake of her head.
Daniels just looked puzzled for a moment as he tried to figure out what was going on. "They were here," he admitted, "they tried to get in here. Did you really not hear them Henry?"
"Nope," the blonde retorted with a shake of his head. "Not a thing, and I haven't heard anyone else complaining. Were you both dreaming?"
Daniels frown deepened. "No Henry," he answered coldly.
"Guess they were hungry," Henderson joked. "Anyway, there's nothing out there, see for yourself."
Daniels' frown deepened as he moved to the tent door as Henderson stepped back. Daniels stood upright and looked about with a puzzled expression as Jess poked her head out.
"There's no blood," she murmured. "But wait," she looked up at Henderson in confusion, "he shot at one, didn't you hear that?"
The blonde shrugged and shook his head. "Them 'gyptian servants are still taking pot shots, I heard gunfire but I figured it was them. Anyway, you're still pale looking and I did promise Miss Carnahan that we'd look after you."
"And who did you promise to keep safe from me?" Jess queried sarcastically.
Henderson barked out a laugh at that before shaking his head. "The good Dr. Chamberlain naturally, Beni, and Jonathan. Miss Carnahan wanted to sit with you but O'Connell says she can't shoot right if those desert folk return so we thought it best to keep you apart. Anyway, go and get some sleep Daniels, I'll watch Miss Jess."
"Jess," she stated calmly.
"Huh?" Henderson blinked at her in confusion.
"Just Jess," Daniels remarked dryly as he continued to glance round the ruins, "she refuses to give up her surname. I assume she comes from a family of criminals."
"Assume away Mr. Daniels," Jess retorted brightly. "Maybe I just don't like you enough to share."
Daniels did not bother with a retort instead he headed wearily to his own tent leaving Henderson to sit down on the edge of the tent and converse with the irritatingly secretive woman.