| THE ADVENTURES OF THE O'CONNELL FAMILY Page 16 |
| The man did not look so comfortable in the city as Gabrielle did. And once Alex looked close enough, he could see that the townspeople did not look quite too comfortable with him. Then Alex realized why. All the people in the town, and Gabrielle as well were dressed in ragged, dirty and torn clothing, but the man, Gabrielle's friend, wore nice, clean, new looking clothing. "What's your name?" Alex blurted out to the man. He must have gotten his blurting out everything he was thinking trait from Jonathan. The man seemed to hesitate, but he answered none the less, "Olympus..." And for the first time he smiled at Alex. A warm friendly smile, and Alex smiled back. Marion ([email protected]) March 5, 2002 The cool night air blew across her face and after riding all day aback a camel in the hot sun it felt wonderful. Her streaming tears melted down her cheeks in warm streaks as they pooled in the sand underneath her bowed head. She choked down her sobs, not wanting to be heard. In the distance she could just make out the rest of her party talking excitedly. No doubt they were hastily looking forward to their son's homecoming. Their hopes were too high, she knew that much. When she had lost her sister her whole world had collapsed, she did not want to see the faces of these individuals when they realized that their son could not be saved. She threw her hands down into the coarse sand letting out a little painful squeal while doing so. She did not know that he was dead, she only assumed. Question assumptions, because assume makes an ass out of you and me. Her father's words rang out painfully in her head. The thought of her father made her angrier and more distressed. She curled herself up into a tiny ball her head surrounded by her arms, the vertex, and shook, squeezing her eyes shut while stifling her cries with her fist. ~*~*~*~*~ It had been years since he had touched a woman. "Women are forbidden", rule number one in the Med-Jai Code. But, how she moved him to touch her! He could not bare to see her cry so... He did not know why she made his throat constrict. It wasn't like she was the only woman he'd ever seen. No, there must be something wrong with him. He'd known Evelyn for quite some time and she did not do this to him. If only he knew why he felt this way! He was exasperated, torn between his feelings and his moral duties. Quickly, enraged, he turned, his cloak flapped in the wind and he made no sound or so he thought as he returned to the O'Connell's and Jonathan around the campfire. ~*~*~*~*~ Her tear-jerked red and swollen eyes shot up with catlike precision. Her acute senses picked up a soft fluttering of material and her scimitar was quickly drawn from its sheath at her side. Nefret's nostrils flared as she whipped around, prepared to slit his throat if he came nearer. All she saw was his sleek form retreating off away from her into the desert toward his friends. She bit her lip in anger so hard that she drew blood. Cursing she slid the weapon back in its sheath with a sharp "Ka-Ching" and stomped angrily back to her mat. He was trying her patience. In an isolated corner of the Universe Asyria looked down upon her older sister Nefret and blew a kiss, willing her to help these people as much as she could. It was at this moment that Nefret's preordained fate changed. Shell ([email protected]) March 5, 2002 As they road through the silent desert, well ahead of the rest of their group, Rick noticed his wife�s mood. In the beginning they had all been talking anxiously about discovering new places, and about finding Alex, but as the night drew on, and they made camp, Evelyn had found a place alone away from the others. Knowing she needed time to think, to work things out in her mind, Rick had left her alone, and had noticed how silent Ardeth had been having just come back to the fire from where ever he had gone. As time passed on, Rick went to the tent he and Evelyn would share, and got out a blanket. He walked over to where she stood next to the Nile, and put the blanket over her shoulders not getting response. "What are you thinking of?" he asked as he rubbed her shoulders, and drew her back against him. Evelyn sighed looking up at the moon which was almost half full. She knew that unless they reached Alex before the next full moon he would die, and losing the only child she had ever been able to conceive was not something she could handle. "I know you don't like to think of things that have already been written, but when the moon is full, if we don't get to Alex, then we will lose him," she said and began to shake. Rick turned her to face him and lifted her face holding her gaze with his own. "I will die before I let any harm come to him Evelyn, and I mean that. Our son is not going to die, not at the next full moon, not until he has lived out his life in full," Rick said, then sealed his words with a kiss. ~*~*~*~*~ Night had fallen over the city of Teh-Suup-Suh, and in a small room, in one of the most comfortable beds he had ever slept in, Alex dreamed of being home with his parents, and with his dog Max, a German Shepherd who had been left with Marie during their absence. While he dreamed, a woman and a man entered the city in dark brown robes. They had come to take him back, to make him fulfill his destiny, and he would pay for running out on them, pay dearly for that. Heidi Rittner ([email protected]) March 6, 2002 Bonnie and Seth worked their way slowly towards Gabrielle�s small shelter which she called her home. They quietly ducked in and out of the shadows, using only the nearly full moon as their light. Neither had spoken a word until they had their backs against the side of Gabrielle�s home. �Seth,� Bonnie said in a low whisper. �Are you sure Gabrielle had a part in his escape? We will have risked a great deal if we break in and we are wrong.� Seth gave Bonnie a disapproving look. �Of course I am sure.� He whispered back. He did not like his keen logic to be questioned. �My idea will work. You will wait out here for me and keep watch. If you see anybody approaching, you must give me the signal.� Bonnie nodded her agreement and watched Seth disappear around the corner. |