| THE ADVENTURES OF THE O'CONNELL FAMILY Page 37 |
| sent to kill her by Imhotep. Gabrielle crouched down to pull the sais that she had tucked in scabbards in her boots out and immediately was whipping them around, slashing at the guards with lovely grace. She added to her already fierce fighting skills a few wild kicks and punches that landed in all the right spots (head, groin, foot...you know.) And did all this while still keeping an eye on Jonathan... ...who had realized that he didn't have anything to fight with, snapped off a tree branch and started swinging at everything he could, actually getting lucky a few times and hitting something. He took care of few of the guards, while Gabrielle took out well over half. The fight was finally dying down when Imhotep, accompanied by several guards walked up out of the fog. (Yeah I know, random fog, but there's always got to be some fog in a battle scene). Gabrielle looked at the priest with eyes blazing with fury. "Imhotep." She breathed angrily, and in a unthinking moment of hate and rage she charged him, twirling her sais and letting out a tremendous yell. He waited a moment before he reacted. She slashed his face with her sais, making a deep cut in his right cheek, and as soon as the blood came to the surface, out of nowhere, so it seemed, Imhotep drew his sword and thrust it into the thief girl's stomach. "Gabrielle!" Jonathan yelled, after it was too late. He watched her fall to her knees in front of Imhotep, watched the content smirk on the high priest's face, and watched him turn right around (along with his guards) and walk away like the coward he was. It took Jonathan what seemed like years to get the feeling back in his body. He couldn't move for a moment. He just looked at her, Gabrielle, the one woman he'd ever really cared for, lying there with blood pouring from her wound, not able to move. It had really taken him about five seconds to get to her side, but he always remembered it taking much longer than that. "Gabrielle..." He whimpered helplessly. She was still alive, her eyes were open and her breathing scattered and rough. Jonathan took her head in his lap and whisked her dark hair back from her pretty face. How could she look so beautiful...even now...when her end was so near? Jonathan tried so hard to smile, to let her know that she was going to be okay, and that he wouldn't let her die, but he was too shocked and frightened to even begin to smile. But she did it for him. She smiled at him and reached her hand up to touch his face. She wiped some of the dirt from his cheek and smiled. "Jonathan...." The controlling mood kicked in, "No Gabs, don't talk...please don't talk..." He said, trying to be strong and sound strong. "I love you." She told him, her eyes now glistening with nearly forming tears. Jonathan's brow crinkled and he could feel himself starting to break down from the inside. This is it, he told himself, this is the last thing I'm ever going to be able to say to her. "I l-love you t-too Gabrielle." He sniffed, tears coming fast to his eyes. "Please don't leave me." He heard footsteps shuffle behind him and a woman gasp. He looked up to see Ardeth and Nefret looking down at him. Deana Lisi ([email protected]) April 27, 2002 Ardeth had never before seen such anguish in Jonathan�s face. He sighed, as the stricken man turned back to the dying woman, whose eyes were now closed. Jonathan gathered Gabrielle into his lap, and sat rocking her. �Gabrielle�� he moaned. �Gabrielle�� Nefret looked at Ardeth, with tears in her eyes. She saw the compassion in his face, and he looked at her, neither of them speaking. Suddenly they heard footsteps, and turned to see Rick, Evie, and a stranger running towards them. Evie gasped when she saw what had happened. �Jonathan!� she cried. �Who�� �It was the creature,� said Ardeth, before realizing that the priest was a mortal man at present, and, as such, had a name. �Imhotep.� Evie crouched next to her brother, who was silently cradling Gabrielle, and put a hand on his shoulder. �Wait a minute,� Rick suddenly said, �How did you two get here? Last time we saw you, Ardeth, you were unconscious.� �I could not lie in bed while you may require my help,� Ardeth told him. Evie gasped, the situation having made her momentarily forget the injuries their Med-jai friend had received. �Are you all right?� she asked, having known Ardeth long enough to see that he didn�t look as healthy as he was trying to appear. �Should you even be here?� Ardeth sighed, knowing that Evie could obviously see through the �mask� he�d put on, so that they wouldn�t be able to tell that his head was splitting, his leg was aching, and it hurt to talk. �I am fine,� he lied. Suddenly the stranger spoke, for the first time since entering the scene. �We can not waste any more time!� he cried, impatiently. �We must hurry!� Evie tried to pull Jonathan up, but he didn�t move, clutching Gabrielle tighter. �No!� he said. �Jonathan�� said Evie. �We have to prevent the ritual�we don�t have much time�� Jonathan was shaking his head, Evie�s words obviously not sinking in. �I won�t leave her! I won�t!� |