The House of Life

Chapter 14

Part 2

~Ardeth~

Duty, loyalty and a warrior. My name is Ardeth Bay, a warrior for god, a Medjai. I am part of a secret society, whose sole purpose is to prevent the awakening of Imhotep and in doing so, the end of the world. I had all the training a Medjai warrior could ever have, I thought I was prepared, but nothing would have prepared me for her. Miss Annabelle Campell. The sole survivor of the American excavation team. Imhotep took the lives of those closest to her and left her a broken woman. I don't know what drew me to her, was it her determination to save her friends or her fiery personality to which I thought was so enticing. Either way, we were beyond the point of no return.

After barely escaping from the ruins of Hermopolis, we were forced to find safety. Annabelle was gravely injured, with her self inflicting wounds causing her to drain most of her blood from her body. She was ghostly pale and I fear that I might have been too late. If her body cannot replenish the blood that she has lost, I fear she will meet the same fate of her late friends. Qasim is doing all he can to try and keep Miss Cambell warm. The last thing she asked of me before she succumbed to her wounds was to find Darius Bey, the older sibling of the late Dr. Terrence Bey. She said he was the key to finding Massika Reed. I turned my head to look over my shoulder to see that Qasim was holding Miss Cambell to try and keep her warm, just like I ordered.

Seeing Annabelle in this state of weakness shows how unprepared we were in this endeavor. What did Annabelle see? Why was she screaming? All these questions I still have unanswered. I only wish that her sacrifice was enough for her to find the answers she needed. Otherwise we wouldn't be pursuing Darius. I held the reins on the horse tighter in my hands, as I remembered how Annabelle looked at me as she slit her wrists. How peaceful she looked at me, like she was ready to meet death. I felt helpless in that moment, the promise to which I made with Isaac, was all for not. I couldn't protect her. I couldn't stop her from what she did, if Isaac were here now, he would probably punch me for allowing this to happen. I only pray that God is watching over Annabelle and that she makes it out alive.

We rode until the sand dissipated and we managed to escape the dome that covered Hermopolis. I did not stop, even when the horse was weary and tired as we were, we kept riding until we made it to a small city on the western front of Egypt, where Darius Bey resides in his retirement. I did not want our presence in this town to alarm the Medjai, so I had to ensure that we entered this town undetected and we had to stay under the radar until we found Darius. I dismounted from my horse and ordered Qasim to stay with Annabelle until I returned. A sharp pain radiated through my left arm, where I was stabbed,. The wound that I succumbed from the attack from those desert people, was taking its course in healing, I winced in pain as I grabbed my shoulder to try and calm the pain.

A rookie mistake on my end to allow my guard down. Just one second was enough to allow myself to be opened, but what came over me? Was it the fear that Annabelle was hurt? Or was it my instinct to reassure her safety? Whatever it was, I was not myself and in doing so, I put myself in jeopardy. If it weren't for Annabelle, I probably would have lost my arm. After the pain subsided, I continued in search of a place to rest. I covered my face as I entered the town in search of a hospital or clinic.

An hour had passed and the sun was starting to set for the night. I was running out of time and the pain in my shoulder was starting to overtake me. I leaned against a building to try and rest. I gritted my teeth to contain my pain. I broke into a sweat and I was on the brink of being irritable.

"What are you doing leaning on my building?!" yelled an older woman. "This is no place for you to loiter, you need to keep moving!" Damn for an older woman, she still had lungs on her. I spoke back in Arabic as I pleaded, "Please, can you tell me where I can find your town's clinic. My friend, she's injured and she needs medicine." The lady paused as she observed me, squinting her eyes to try and see clearly. At that moment I realized there was dry blood on me from the scavenger in Hermopolis. I just hoped for the old woman's sake that her vision was as bad as her attitude. The lady smacked her lips and said, "The nearest hospital is just a few blocks over, maybe a fifteen minute walk. It's a bit run down and a few bums hang around the area, but they can help you. They might also help you find a place to stay, but you better get going, they are probably getting ready to close for the night." I laughed as I stated "At this point I'll take anything. But I appreciate this information. Thank you."