Author: Nelle Donaghue

New Times
by Nell Donaghue
***

I was sitting on my bed contemplating the past few days. I had to found the Golden Spork on the streets a few days earlier, I had no idea what it was, but I knew that it was important by the way it felt in my hand. Who am I? I am Nelle Donaghue. Until a few days ago I was a college student living a relatively boring but stable life. That is until I answered the knock at my door and to my shock saw 2 men I didn't know standing in front of my door. One of the men was about 6'2", he introduced himself as Rupert Giles. He was good looking, but the his companion caught my eye. His companion was a bit shorter than Giles and had the most incredible eyes that fluctuated between gold and green.

"Adam Pierson." He introduced himself in a gorgeous British accent that had a touch of Welsh in it. He held out his hand, and I shook it. His hands were long and elegant and had callouses on the palms.

"Nelle Donaghue." I introduced myself.

"Ms. Donaghue, we are looking for a very important artifact. We were wondering if you had found a spork made of pure gold?" Giles asked me.

I looked at him dumbfounded, how had they known that I had found a solid gold spork. "Why do you ask?" I asked in a shaky voice.

Adam looked at me seriously, "If we don't find it within the next day, the world as we know it will end."

I nodded and indicated that they should come in. They came in, and I fetched the gold spork from its hiding place in my white nightstand's top drawer. Giles took it gratefully and informed us that he had to get back to somewhere called Sunnydale out in California. Adam and Giles seemed to be communicating nonverbally, I was about to ask them what the hell was going on when Adam announced that he would stay with me. When I started to protest, he hushed me.

"Nelle, I know that this may seem strange to you, but if the parties who wanted this spork find you, well, they will kill you."

I gasped in horror, why would they want to kill me? Could I trust these two? I started to open my but was stopped by Adam, "Look, I'll just be with you until the bad guys are brought down. I'll leave you alone after that." Something in his eyes told me that I could trust him.

I just nodded. Giles left with the Golden Spork leaving me alone with Adam. "So what now?" I asked when I got my voice back.

"Are you hungry?" He asked me.

I realized that I was in fact starving. "Starving."

"So, where do you want to go to eat?"

I thought for a moment, "Sukho Thai."

Adam nodded before replying, "I don't have my car here, it is at my hotel."

"It's not too far; we can walk."

Adam nodded again, I grabbed my leather coat and left. The walk to Sukho Thai took about 15 minutes. Adam was silent beside me. I couldn't figure out why he was wearing a long, dark coat in the middle of summer! Dinner was excellent and when I reached for the check, he stopped my hand. "My treat." He paid the check, and we left. I felt a burning piercing between my shoulder blades, stumbled then fell. I looked up to see that Adam had a sword out. I was panicking, but the darkness was calling me. I slipped out of consciousness. I woke up to find myself in a strange hotel room. I had Adam's sweater on and a pounding headache. "What the hell happened?" I screeched.

"You were dead, and now you're not."

My jaw dropped; I had been dead? But that's impossible. Everyone dies. "I don't believe you. Why the hell did you have a sword?"

He sighed and mumbled how he hated this part. "You are now like me, immortal. We can only die by beheading. We are all part of something called the Game." He went on to explain what the Game and Prize were. I was horrified.

"So what happens now?" I asked him.

"We find you a teacher."

"Why can't you teach me?"

He looked me straight in the eyes, "Because I haven't had a student in centuries."

My eyes widened even further, "How old are you?" I whispered.

"Can I have your assurance that you will tell no one my name unless I say they know it?"

"I agree."

"I am 5000 years old; my name is Methos." He looked like expected me to bow down and worship his feet.

I surprised him by leaning forward and capturing his lips in a deep passionate kiss. "5000 years old, huh? Don't worry, I'm not into hero worship."

He pulled back and searched my eyes for truth. Satisfied when he found it, he leaned in for another searing kiss. "Well, Nelle, I will take you on as a student."

"Good." I pulled him down on top of me. He reached over and fumbled with the light. Everything would be OK, I had a hunch that he would be around for a very long time, as would I.

The next morning I was awoken at 7 AM by Methos shaking me. "Wh-what?" I mumbled out.

"Wake up Nelle, we have to go to Seacouver Washington."

"Why?"

"To train you of course."

"But my job!"

"Quit it. This is more important than that."

So a half hour later I had quit my job, I called my mother and broke the news that I would be moving to Washington. She didn't take it well. "Mom, trust me on this. This is an experience of a lifetime. It's not everyday that I get to study under a famous biology scholar."

Eventually, she relented and gave me her best wishes. An hour after that we were on a plane to Seacouver.

~~finis?~~

Note: Suhko Thai is a real restaurant in Madison. Best Thai food in town!