Date: Wed, 13 Sep 1995 10:11:07 -0400 Reply-To: GrinnyP@AOL.COM Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Carol Ann Liddiard Subject: "Origins" Chapter 8, part 1 Sorry for the delay, here's chapter 8. Hmmm, rather portentious opening verse . . . --------------- "Origins" c. 1995 C. A. Liddiard Chapter 8 "And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places." _Revelations 6:12-14_ --------------------- Washington State, 1995 "Richie, I need you to do me a favor," Carol began. "I need to get the information about the Hunter headquarters to Mike and the others. Will you take it?" Richie looked up and focused on the ancient immortal. "What if he wants to know where it came from?" "Just tell him that it came from the woman Watcher who warned Joe about the attack. If he asks about her, just say she gave you the information and skipped town to avoid the Hunters. Are you up to it?" Richie nodded decisively and stood up. "Yeah, I'll go. Does this mean we're not going to rescue Joe?" "No, it simply means we're not going with the Watchers to rescue Joe," came her reply. She handed him a thick manila envelope with Joe's name written on it. "They've gone to Joe's house. Come back here after you've delivered it and we'll discuss our plans." --------------------- Berri Egoitza, @9,400 BCE The surprise attack began at dawn, when Evil One's troops silently killed the lone sentinel stationed at the northern end of the island. Within minutes, most of his army had arrived and they swarmed over the settlement at the base of the volcano. The Seer woke with a start, the echoes of the sentinel's death-scream reverberating through her head. *Wise One, they are here! They are attacking!* *I know,* came the distracted reply. *They're heading for my workshop. Round up as many of the children as you can find and head for the mainland.* The Seer pulled on a tunic and ran out the door into complete bedlam. People were running everywhere, some to the main village, some to the volcano, most to the piers where the boats were kept. She grabbed the next person who ran by and said, "Gizaki, help me get these people organized. Grab some of your friends and start going hut to hut and send the people to the piers. Can you do that?" "Yes, Seer, I can do that." Gizaki looked grateful that someone was making decisions. He hailed a few young people and they began organizing the exodus towards the boats. --------------------- Song stood at the edge of the steep cliff, holding Gaztetxo and shivering in reaction. When word of the attack was broadcast, the rest of the patients had hurried towards the main settlement. Song was about to join them when Baretasun contacted her and told her to meet him at the cliff instead. So now she waited for word, eyeing the two hundred foot drop to the jagged rocks below. she thought to herself as she tried to reassure Gaztetxo, who was starting to whimper. *Baretasun, hurry.* --------------------- Sagu laughed as he sensed the panic all around him. Most of the people in the village had been subdued, but there were still many running around the island. "Start killing the men," he told his lieutenant. "But leave as many of the women alive as possible. I'm heading for the workshop to get the antidote." "As you command, Great One," was the reply. "Indeed it is," laughed Sagu. Everything he wanted was nearly in his grasp. In good spirits, he motioned a small party of his warriors to follow him to the summit of the mountain where he sensed Wise One waiting for him. --------------------- Washington State, 1995 The three immortals sat in silence in the living room. Eventually, Duncan heard Carol get up and begin to move around. The clink of glass aroused his curiosity enough to cause him to look up and see her kneeling in front of a 16th century cabinet. From within it's depths she pulled out a dusty bottle and stood up. On top of the cabinet were three large tumblers which she filled with generous portions of whatever was in the bottle. Duncan took one of the glasses from her, took a large gulp, then nearly choked as the fiery liquid burned a trail down his throat. Duncan looked up and saw Carol repressing a grin as she handed Methos his drink. She flipped a wall switch to turn on the gas fireplace, perched on the arm of the chair Methos sprawled in and took a generous swig of her own drink. Duncan was forced to hide his own grin when she swatted Methos' hand away from her thigh and took another sip. When the glasses were empty, Carol raised an eyebrow toward Duncan and gestured with the bottle. When he shook his head, she rose, collected the glasses, and headed for the kitchen. On her way back from the kitchen, Carol stopped and leaned over Methos, still sprawled in the overstuffed chair. Duncan watched the silent communication between them as Methos took her hand and kissed it. She nodded once and headed towards the stairs. Silently, he watched her climb the staircase. When the echoes of her footsteps had faded, he turned and looked at Methos. "Can I ask you something?" The sound of his voice seemed to shake Methos out of his introspection. "Sure, MacLeod, ask away." "You said something at the headquarters about knowing Carol since you were 14 years old," Duncan began. "But when we first met you said that you didn't remember much before you took your first head. Why did you lie?" Methos sighed and sat up. "I was wondering when you would get around to asking. I don't talk about my early life because to do so would be to talk about her and could put her in danger." Duncan looked puzzled. "She seems to be able to take care of herself. I don't understand why you trusted me enough to offer me your head but didn't trust me enough to talk about her." "It's not a matter of trust, Duncan," Methos leaned forward and clasped his hands. "If I told you and later you ran into Horton, he would have been able to read the information in your mind. And _that_ would have put us in a very precarious position, with both of us infiltrating the Watcher organization." "So you do remember when you first met?" "Like it was yesterday," the older immortal replied as he stared moodily into the fireplace . . . --------------------- Shore of Lake Constance, @6,000 BCE First Son stared impatiently at the haunch roasting over the hearth fire. He had been so excited about the preparations for his adulthood ceremony that morning that he had left the hut without the morning meal, and now he was starving. His attention was turned away from supper by the commotion outside. Curious, he went to the door to see what was happening. The Headman of the village, First Son's father, was striding towards a stranger who had entered the settlement from the east. Squinting his eyes, First Son examined the person and let out a silent sigh of relief when he realized that it wasn't Lohitsu came to make good on his threats. Something tugged the back of his tunic and yanked him out of the doorway. "Where are your manners, son?" his mother asked, exasperated. "Your father approaches with a visitor, and are you ready to greet them properly, as befits the son of the headman of the village? No," she answered her own question as he began to fidget under her glare, "My son is too busy gawking like a youngster." First son hung his head in shame and his mother relented. "Go on, get ready to greet them. I can hear them coming up the ladder." She sighed when her son flashed her a knowing grin and scrambled for the entrance to the stilt house. she wondered as she shook her head and went back to preparing the evening meal. "Yes, he appeared a week ago," First Son could hear his father say to the visitor as they entered the structure. "At first he acted like a trader, but soon he was demanding that people make bad trades, or simply give him things for free. When we ignored his demands, he began attacking people. We were forced to kill him." "But he came back to life," a musical voice replied. First Son caught himself staring as he realized the visitor was a pretty female. The Headman's eyebrows went up in astonishment. "Yes, he came back to life. Do you know this man?" he demanded. "No, but I know men like him," she said. "Did he demand anything after that?" "Yes, just as he came back to life the group of young men and women who are ready for their adulthood rites came back from their preparations. He seemed startled by the children, then he said that we should send the group of them to him as a sacrifice, or he would burn the village down." The Headman gestured his guest to sit down and he lowered himself to the floor. "Many of the people were very afraid and we did not know what to do." He gestured to First Son whom he'd spotted lurking in the other room. "My son was among those whom Lohitsu wanted to kill. Come closer, son." The woman visitor swung around sharply and stared at First Son, then looked back at the Headman. "He is your birth son?" she asked sharply. "No, he was found as an infant next to his mother's cold body. Where they came from, or how far they traveled we cannot say. Her style of dress was not familiar to anyone in the village or to the people who trade with us. My wife and I took him in as we were not blessed with offspring." He gave her a curious glance. "Why do you ask?" The stranger ignored the question and looked the adolescent over thoroughly. "He's going to be very tall, isn't he?" First Son straightened up proudly as his father nodded. At 14 he could already look his father in the eye, and was still growing. "He looks like a fine young man." The stranger turned her attention back to the Headman. "Let us see that he makes it to his adulthood ceremony." "You can help us then with this accursed Lohitsu?" "Yes, I can." --------------------- Berri Egoitza, @9,400 BCE The Seer looked back at the piers from among the third boatload of children. She didn't want to leave her people, but the adults were convinced that it was imperative that she survive. They argued that she was in the best position to help the children if anything went wrong. Acknowledging the truth of that, the Seer allowed herself to be loaded in the boat and set out for the mainland. As the boats -- loaded down with as many children as they could hold and one adult in each -- reached a few hundred yards from shore, the Seer could sense the soldiers' nearing the pier area. The adults there also sensed it and, in a gesture designed to protect their children, began to destroy the remaining boats to give the Seer and the children enough of a head start to get away. The Seer turned away, tears in her eyes, as she sensed the beheadings begin. --------------------- Sagu halted suddenly as he received a report from his men at the docks. "Soldier!" he yelled at one of his more trusted warriors. "Gudari and I are going to show the Seer the error of trying to escape our wrath. Take the rest of the men and secure that building," he said, pointing to the Wise One's workshop. "And I want the men inside taken alive, understood?" "It will be as you command, Great One." "Come Gudari," the Evil One said as he turned in the direction of the boats they had ridden to the island. "Let's go round up the children." Gudari's only reply was a chuckle as he stroked his stone axe in anticipation. --------------------- (to be continued . . .) =========================================================================