Date: Tue, 18 Oct 1994 08:44:24 EDT Reply-To: Highlander TV show stories Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Brian Macleod Subject: Behind Blue Eyes, part 5 (well, the prelims are done, now for the real plot to begin....) ************************************************************************* *************************H I G H L A N D E R***************************** *****************B E H I N D B L U E E Y E S********************* ************************************************************************* BY BRIAN PROCOPIO, BASED ON THE FILM OF THE SAME NAME. COPYRIGHT 1994 CHAOS PICTURES, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> It was a dark and stormy night.... The pre-dawn chill cut through the liner in his trenchcoat, his breath coming in misty spurts. As he navigated the dimly lit streets David Macleod found himself reliving the evening's events... The pounding in his head rang true once more, cutting him off from his thoughts again. True to form, Brian MacKenzie walked forth out of the shadows. "Knew you'd be along this way eventually," he commented firmly. "What's up, Bri?" returned Dave. The elder immortal motioned for Macleod to follow him as he began walking towards the river off in the distance. "We need to talk, Dave." After recieving a nod in return, MacKenzie sighed as he searched through his mind for a starting point. "Your training's finished, Dave. You're ready." "WHAT!??!" exploded Macleod. "Whaddya mean 'I'm ready?' You train me for a few months, dissapear, come back and train me for a few days then, 'poof!' I'm ready?????" "Yes, that's what I mean exactly," MacKenzie calmly replied. "But... why? no. Not yet! I'm not.. There's still so much more I need to learn!" fumbled David. "I'm not leaving, Dave. There's always something more to learn, and you're a good friend. What I mean is that your tenure as my student as ended. You're ready enough for most of the challenges which may arise against you. You don't need to be hiding in my shadow anymore. We'll still be sparring alot of the time and such, but you've mastered the basics. Any- thing else can be learned 'on the job.' The training's over, Macleod. Now we both have to hone our skills for the Gathering." "But.... where did it all begin, why does this happen?" questioned Dave. They reached Penn's Landing, alongside the wide Delaware River. MacKenzie leaned up against the steel bars keeping passerby from falling into the swiftly moving river feet below. He sighed heavily. "I am Brian MacKenzie of the clan MacKenzie, born three-hundred and forty-two years ago in the highlands of Scotland. By the age of sixteen I had run away from home and joined a troupe of actors. We toured together for three years, until one night, near the summer equinox, as we passed through central london..... <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< The chilled early morning fog permeated all, it's tendrils seeking out any spark of warmth to envelop and destroy. Brian MacKenzie stumbled a bit on the cobblestone path as he rushed home. The night's activities catching up to him at last, he failed to hear the footsteps coming quickly up behind him. He fell backwards as he was yanked off-balance by a hand shoved under his chin, impaling himself on the long knife placed beneath his back. The cutthroat twisted the blade, and Brian began to fade from conciousness, the pain already beginning to dull, his vision blurring. He remembered the sound of the thief's malacious laughter echoing off of ths stone walls about them as his footsteps dissapeared from his hearing. He thought he heard hoofsteps clattering up ahead, the carriage of death come to take him away..... ______________________________________________________________________________ Voices trailed near the edge of his awareness, elusive, slipping in and out of reach. A fine red haze clouded his vision when he tried to open his eyes. "But WHY, Connor? What makes him our responsibility all of a sudden?" "He's a highlander, Duncan, and he deserves to be treated as such. Besides, he's one of us." "Don't you think I feel that, kinsman??!!?! We'll come back for him or some- thing like that. In case you don't remember, most of London's law is looking for us right now! They'll behead us in the Tower, you know!" "How would YOU like it if you were left to discover your immortality alone if you had a choice about it? Besides, he's coming to, we can smuggle him onto the boat with us and instruct him on the way." "Fine. The next time you decide to behead someone in public I'm leaving flat out, no arguements allowed. Now, let's go, Connor!!!" >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> "...and that's where it all began for me--" continued MacKenzie. "bu--" interjected David, who was silenced by a wave from MacKenzie. "But where did we ALL come from, I know that's what you're going to ask. Well, I'd like to tell you some nice fairy tale about how Peter Pan and Tinkerbell sprinkled immortality dust on us when we were babies, but I can't. You won't like this, not at all," warned Brian. "We don't know. Not at all. At least, none of the old ones I've known. Ramirez didn't even know exactly." "That's it?!?! No idea? None at all? Zilch, zippo, here's your membership sword, happy to join the club, that's it???" "Uh, if you'll remember I warned you that you wouldn't like it, Dave." "Doesn't that bother you? No idea of where you came from, why you're here? You've never searched, not in all of the past centuries you've been around?" questioned David. "I've been busy. Eventually I'll get around to it, I'm sure. Besides, I could just win the Prize, of course, then I think I might know," Brian grinned. "You're hopeless!" Macleod laughed. " 'I've been busy!' That's good, classic even. And you were training ME? Great, I'm doomed!" "C'mon, lets go grab a steak at Pat's, on me, ok?" asked MacKenzie. "What, you thought Lisa's cooking wasn't the best either, eh?" accepted Macleod. "Ah, just trying to be diplomatic...." Brian began to explain. _______________________________________________________________________________ He put down the binoculars and smiled. "Soon, MacKenzie, very soon we'll complete our battle...." _______________________________________________________________________________ See ya all later with part six, e-mail me with comments..... =========================================================================