Date: Sun, 10 Sep 1995 00:23:49 -0400 Reply-To: GrinnyP@AOL.COM Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Carol Ann Liddiard Subject: "Origins" Chapter 6, part 1 Since it is now officially Sunday here is chapter 6. Lots of twists and more mystery guests! And to start it all off my favorite bible quote . . . Enjoy! --------------------------- "Origins" c. 1995 C. A. Liddiard Chapter 6 "And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth." _Revelations 6:7-8_ --------------------- Washington State, 1995 Duncan lost track of how many corridors they had crept through, checking carefully for Hunter mercenaries. They had already encountered and neutralized three in their quest for the meeting room on the sixth floor, where the Watcher leadership was holding their meeting. *Don't worry, I sense that they're still alive,* came the reply to his unvoiced thought. Duncan shook his head. He decided it would take him a little time to get used to her ability to read him that easily. He put the unproductive thought aside for the moment and concentrated on staying alive and in one piece. By this time, he saw that Carol had reached a nondescript door and was cautiously easing it open. "This is the stairwell we need to get to the meeting room. I don't sense any hostiles." "Can you tell how close they may be?" he asked, curious. She shook her head in confusion. "I can tell approximately where groups of them are, but it's hard to pick out exact locations. And you and Richie aren't helping matters any. All that energy that you two put out is nearly blinding." She stiffened and said, "Uh-oh." Duncan looked at her in alarm. "What now?" "Their immortal has found Richie. They're fighting." She grabbed him before he could run back the way they came. "You can't help him now, Duncan." At first, he nearly shrugged off her hold, then he gave a resigned nod and turned back to the staircase. "I know the rules. It doesn't mean I have to like them." She looked at him with compassion in her eyes. "You trained him well Duncan. I'm sure he can handle himself. Meanwhile . . ." she trailed off. "Meanwhile, we have to rescue the Watchers. Lead on." --------------------- Berri Egoitza, @9,400 BCE Song was staring out of the window at the sea below when Baretasun entered the room. He crossed to where she was standing and wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. "Are you sure about this, my love? It's not too late to change your mind." "I won't change my mind," she replied as she brought her arms up to cover his. "I must do this." He sighed and buried his face in her lovely hair. "Your brother would not expect you to do this after what you've already been through." She smiled for the first time since she sensed his entrance. "No, he would not. I, however, do expect it of myself. I wish to do anything I can to help bring down that unnatural, evil . . . I cannot bring myself to call him a person." They stood there for a long time, enjoying the closeness that had been theirs almost from their first meeting. Baretasun tried one last time. "You do understand the consequences if this doesn't work?" "I understand, my mate." *Please, go quickly.* "Here it is, then," he said as he passed her a small crystal. His arms dropped from the embrace and he stepped back. *Mother be with you, Song of my Heart.* He kissed her briefly and left without a backward glance. *And with you, love,* came her unvoiced reply. She waited until she sensed he was no longer near the hut she now shared with the other volunteers. When she was satisfied he was far enough away, she examined the stone he had pressed into her hands. It was a small quartz with a hollow center. If she looked closely, she could just make out a liquid suspended in that small chamber. Mentally, she examined the crystalline structure, searching for flaws and inclusions. She applied a bit of mental pressure at certain points and the rock shattered in her hands, spilling out a pink liquid. Quietly, she stared as it spilled all over her hands, mixing with the shards of crystal. With a convulsive movement her hands clenched, squeezing the shards so tight that blood began to drip from her fists. She could feel the pink liquid making its way into her bloodstream. *For you, my brother.* --------------------- Washington State, 1995 Richie was beginning to get worried. At first, he had been able to parry Felicia's attacks easily, and even press his own ferociously enough to cause her brow to wrinkle in surprise. But he soon lost the advantage fighting in the confines of the building corridors. Debris from the explosions was everywhere, making footing uncertain. Smoke billowed from all sides and interfered both with visibility and breathing. He was tiring now, and Felicia's lunges were beginning to get through his guard. He sported several small bleeding gashes where her sword had gotten uncomfortably close. Now, she was driving him toward a cul-de-sac. He knew if he got boxed in there, it would be all over. Soon it would come down to a choice between leaving Joe helpless or losing his head. --------------------- Consciousness came painfully to Joe Dawson. He slowly became aware of all the throbbing aches in his body from the gunshot wound and his head injury. With blurred vision, he spotted Richie sword fighting with what he presumed was another immortal. Finally his mind cleared enough to realize that his young friend was being overwhelmed in the small hallway. Joe also realized that Richie was at such a disadvantage because he wouldn't leave him. Joe struggled painfully to his knees and groped for his cane. "Richie, I'm okay," he yelled as he lurched to his feet. "Don't stay here and get killed on my account." He turned and began making his way towards the nearest stairwell. When he reached the door and risked a look, he saw to his relief that Richie -- no longer constrained by trying to protect him -- began to move the fight out of the narrow hallway. His vision still slightly blurred and his shoulder throbbing, Joe made his way down the stairs to the back loading dock. --------------------- Carol and Duncan slipped out of the emergency exit door, carefully checking the hallway. The sound of gunfire and explosions sounded more distant. "I don't think they've managed to fight their way up here yet," Carol whispered. She looked at Duncan. "Now I have to ask you to do something for me." "What's that?" he asked. She took a deep breath. "I need you to get the Watchers out safely while I take care of something." Duncan, who had been looking up and down the corridor, suddenly focused his entire attention on her. "What exactly do you need to take care of?" "I need to get to that computer in the basement. It has to be destroyed before the Hunters can get their hands on the data. And," she added ruefully, "I really don't want any of the Watchers to see me." "I realize that," he replied reluctantly, "but how do I know you're not leaving me hanging here?" Carol's eyes grew cold and hard. "Darius!" She practically spat the name out. "Is your judgment of people so bad you would have to take the advice of that ruthless barbarian?" The Highlander was stunned by the hatred evident in her voice. He said in a level tone, "Darius was a friend of mine, and a man of peace." "Tell that to all the souls he slaughtered or sold into slavery on his march across Europe," she replied furiously. "Tell that to the immortal he slew at the gates of Paris." Duncan began to get angry himself. "Now look. That was in the past. He changed, you know. He devoted the rest of his life to good causes." "He was a coward who cowered on holy ground, for all the good it did him," was her snide rejoinder. "And do you think for a moment that his good works negate thousands of years of evil?" She swiped a hand across her face and visibly tried to calm herself. "I'm sorry, I know you were close to him, but I have a _long_ memory, and the immortal he killed was a dear friend of mine." He relaxed a little, realizing that unconsciously he had adopted a defensive fighting stance. "I can understand that." A smile broke out, momentarily brightening his face. "And I guess I should have learned by now to trust you. What's the best way to get them out?" "I'd use this stairwell to the second floor, then head for the same entrance we came in." She pointed to a set of double doors at the end of the hall. "That's the meeting room. Be careful going in, they have a couple of armed security men in there." She started down the hall in the opposite direction, but stopped after a few steps. "And, MacLeod . . ." "Yes?" He turned to look at her. She gave him an inscrutable stare. "You may be right not to trust me too far, Highlander." Without another word she turned and strode purposefully down the corridor. --------------------- Richie ducked in the doorway, Felicia's sword barely missing his head. He backpedaled furiously into the large room and looked around. "Oh no," he said, realizing that the large room in the floor plans in his head had been divided up into cubicles with partitions. He had backed himself into a giant maze of partitions and desks, with the only exit on the far side of the room. He leapt atop a desk as Felicia dived into the room. She looked around and said gleefully, "Gotcha now, Richie." Richie hopped over her swing and ducked behind another partition, working his way towards the windows. he thought desperately, as Felicia thrust through one of the partitions, nearly wounding him. He moved frantically, trying to lose her in the maze. "Come out, come out, wherever you are," she mocked as she tracked Richie through the maze, occasionally swinging around a cubicle. He managed to evade her and move into a space right next to a window. ran through his mind as he picked up the chair and swung at the window. The chair bounced harmlessly off the safety glass, the sound alerting Felicia to his whereabouts. He managed to get atop the large desk as she came around the corner, slashing mightily with her sword. She grinned as she parried his return slice, and leapt atop the desk. For endless moments, they struggled eyeball to eyeball as each tried to disarm the other by sheer force. They swayed back and forth in their struggle, neither giving an inch to the other. was his inconsequential thought, as noise erupted in the formerly quiet room. He felt a burning pain all along his side, and saw her eyes widen in surprise as they were strafed with gunfire. Richie caught a glimpse of one of the Hunter mercenaries in the doorway, wielding an uzi, before the second round of bullets sent both him and Felicia flying through the now shattered third story window. --------------------- (to be continued . . .) =========================================================================