========================================================================= Date: Tue, 16 Apr 1996 18:07:00 PDT Reply-To: Mike Goldman Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Mike Goldman Subject: "A Dangerous Game" (10/22) HL Story "This was the monment..." >> Just as she was smoothing down the quilt, the door flew open and a large stocky man stood framed in the doorway. "You look just like your mother." Rory stepped back. "What are ye doin' here?" she quavered, trying to keep her voice steady. James Riordan stepped into the room. "I kept hearing rumors that the lovely daughter of Meg Malone had come back to Wexford and I decided to see for myself." "Well, ye've seen. Now go away and leave me alone." "Not just yet." Before Rory could react, James was in the room and had backed her up against the wall with her hands pinned behind her back. "I liked the mother so much I thought I would try the daughter as well." he breathed, attempting to kiss her. In desperation, Rory bit his tongue. James howled and let go, stumbling back as he wiped blood off his chin. "Daughter of a whore!" he yelled as Rory backed over to the kitchen and grabbed her bread knife. "I'm thinkin' that would be your mother!" she yelled back, trying to show she was unafraid. If only her voice would stop shaking! "Don't come any closer! Get out of here now or I'll use this!" She brandished the bread knife. James, too angry to care about anything except his revenge, came rushing at her. Rory closed her eyes and stabbed with the bread knife. She felt it press into something soft and opened her eyes in horror to see it protuding from James' ribs. "Mother of God." she breathed as James fell on her and carried them both to the floor. Crying, shaking and babbling incoherently, she pushed him off, brushing futilely at the blood now staining her dress. Regaining her feet, she looked wildly about the cottage, her eyes always coming back to the still body at her feet. Putting her bloodstained hands over her mouth to hold back the scream that threatened to overwhelm her, she ran outside the cottage. "Hey, you!" came a voice. Whirling around, she saw two men holding three horses. Still not thinking, she stood there until it was too late to run as one of them grabbed her while the dark-haired man ran inside the cottage. He ran back out within minutes. "She's killed him!" "Then I say we kill her!" The other man looked at Rory. "Alright, at least we can tell his wife that justice was done. No one will care about this one anyway." He ran back to his horse and grabbed a length of rope. Rory now realizing what was going to happen, began to kick and scream. The redhead holding her cuffed her in the face and she sagged against him. The next thing she dimly felt was a scratchy rope being placed around her neck and she was thrown on the back of a horse. The last thing she remembered was her world being jerked out from under her as her breath was slowly cut off... ...then somehow she was breathing again. Her first awareness was the dirt her face seemed to be lying in. The second was that someone else was there. She opened her eyes to see a well-dressed man sitting on the ground across from her. "Well, it's nice to see you're finally awake." he said. Rory tried to put her hands under her and raise up, but she failed. The man rose and assisted her to a sitting position against the tree. She laid a hand against her neck, feeling the rope striations. "Oh, they hanged you." the man assured her. "Who...who are you?" she rasped. "My name is Simon Neville," he introduced himself in cultured tones. "and I am Immortal...like you." >> >> >> Richie looked up from his reading. Joe's eyes were unreadable and Mac's face was like stone. "Guys?" "Did she ever mention anything about that to you?" Joe asked Duncan. "No, but then we never really talked about how we became Immortal. You?" Joe shook his head. "I guess it wouldn't be classified as an experience one would choose to discuss all that willingly." They sat there for a moment until they heard someone knocking rather insistently at the door. Leaving the journals where they were, they got up and went downstairs. Joe opened the door and found a rather irritated Anne on the other end. "I've been knocking for about five minutes now!" she said, putting her hands somewhere around what was previously her waist. "Sorry," said Joe, "we were upstairs and didn't hear you." He moved out of the way and Anne came in. "Alright, I'm here. Will you please tell me what's going on?" This time Joe looked at Mac with the universal "she's-*your*-ex-girlfriend" look. Mac looked at Anne. "Why don't you sit down? This may take a while." She sat and listened as first Macleod, then Joe, explained what had happened and who Rory seemed to be now. "Oh my God," she breathed when they finished. "Can you fix it?" Joe shrugged helplessly. "I don't know." he said. Tears pricking his eyes, he grabbed his cane and walked over to the window, staring sightlessly out at the view. Mac and Richie looked at him. "Anne," Duncan said quietly, "we're hoping that you may be able to help us at least possibly keep Rory in control while we try and figure this out." "That's why you wanted the sedatives." she guessed. Duncan nodded. "Maybe if we can keep her calm, she'll have a better chance at remaining in control." "OK," she agreed, "but I don't want them to be given to her unless it's under my direction and I want to talk to her about it." "Anne," Richie broke in. "we can't even guarantee if she'll be able to talk to you." "Then try." she said, fixing him with her eyes. They nodded finally and Anne went over to Joe. "Hey," she whispered, putting a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head slightly. "you gave me back someone I thought I lost once, let's see if I can do the same for you." He grasped her hand. "Thank you." he whispered and the two mortals stood there for a moment. Clearing his throat, he said, "Let me show you where she is." and they went to the basement. Lori mgoldman@cts.com Bass Player/Musical Director for the SJD Kick-Ass House Band CFW/WAR Chief for Smokin' Joe Dawson in the first HL WAR