The small female studied the map for a moment then turned around and strolled out of the tent into the cool day. Heading straight ahead, this small female came to a deep trench. She bent down to one knee and peered inside. "Mel?"

The southern belle had heard her name, so she turned around to see her friend. "Hey Janice."

"How's it going down there?"

Melinda grinned. "Ain't bad." She paused. "Why don't yo come down yonder here?"

The archeologist nodded her head. She then put her right hand over her head to hold her hat down. Next she jumped down into the digging trench, her hand falling back to her side. Janice padded over to the southerner's side. "What's up?"

"Nothing right now. We haven't hit uh thing but rocks."

"You probably won't for awhile."

Melinda bobbed her head up and down a few times. "Dat's what I reckoned." She took a deep breath. "Yo reckon we're really diggen in duh right area?"

Janice crossed her arms against her chest. "I know we are Mel. I've been doing enough research to know."

"I know." The southerner then sighed.

Janice then turned her gaze away, she looked up and down the trench's length, she watched some of the workers. Looking to the trench's depth, she tried to figure how many feet deep it is. She estimated it to be around four feet as of now maybe three and half. The archeologist then looked up to Mel. "Help me out with something Mel."

Melinda nodded. "Love tuh."

"Great." Janice then hauled herself out of the trench with Melinda following behind.

Once the southerner stood up on the level ground she brushed off her pants and looked to her friend.

"Okay I'm trying to decided where to start the second trench." Janice turned her attention back to Mel. "So where do you think I should start it?"

Melinda looked to the other woman with wide eyes. "Why yo asken me?"

"Because you wanted to learn how to be an archeologist. So here you go. Where do I dig?"

The belle brought her arms over her chest, she gazed around in the cleared dig site within the massive forest. She then spotted something odd, rather odd. Melinda uncrossed her arms and started to walk closer, Janice followed. "Dat's real peculiar Janice."

The archeologist nodded. "So? There's a lump in the ground. Why does it matter?"

Melinda studied the way the ground rose up in this one particular spot then was level every where else. "It matters 'cause something iz probably underneath."

"Yeah, a bunch of dirty maybe."

"No no." The southerner took a deep breath as she put her facts together. "Duh ground around here iz all leveled. Then there iz dis one spot that ain't. Duh only possible reason dat itz like dat iz 'cause somebody? or something dug there." She paused for a moment. "Something iz taking dat space up under duh ground Janice." Mel looked to the archeologist. "Right?"

The archeologist looked away from the mound in the ground and peered up to Melinda. "You're right Mel." Mel grinned. "Good job." Her eyes averted back to the lump. "Let's get some workers on that area."

Melinda nodded. "I'll take care of dat." She then spun around on her heals and strolled back into the main part of the dig site. Collecting a few works, she pointed to the area and turned her head back to the workers and continued to talk.

Janice though, she had just turned around to watch Melinda leave. She studied the southerner as she took control of the workers. It made the archeologist grin to herself.

To Janice, Melinda follows with a beautiful grace, floating on air. She dips and dives here and there in the air as her colors run deep through her wings. Making Melinda Pappas seem so elegant.

Things are just perfect.

By late afternoon things were still perfect. Numerous works were uncovering the mound Melinda had spotted. The first trench still being worked on. The day rolled on along with the clouds, they seemed to become denser and darker. That in turn had worried the archeologist and the southerner, the two deciding later tonight that they needed to cover the trenches for protection.

Then there was the dusk of the day that came. That's when everything became quite fascinating.

"Janice, look at dis."

The archeologist propped her shovel against the side of the trench, she walked over to Mel's side. She looked down to the same spot Mel was staring at, her eyes in amazement. "Jesus." Bending down to one knee, she studied the object stuck deep in the ground.

Melinda herself bent down to one knee. Her hand carefully grazed across the object, a cool silver metal. It sparkled up to her as if greeting after being trapped under the earth for so long. "Janice iz dat a serpent embossed in duh metal."

Janice signaled her agreement with a bob of her head, her hand carefully touched the serpent design on the metal. "It definitely is." She lifted that same hand to rest on her knee. "It's amazing the condition this metal is in, no dents." Looking up to Mel, she smiled. "Good job Mel." She turned her head to looked back down. "Let's get this dug out before dark."

Melinda nodded her head. "We ain't got much time."

"We'll get it out." Janice stood up and looked to her workers in the trench. "Boys, we've got something over here that needs to be dug up and carefully removed. Let's get it out before dark!"

All the workers nodded and shuffled down the trench to the silver object in the bottom of the trench, they all began to work around the metal, digging it up with small hand shovels. And well by nightfall the item was excavated. A silver shield with serpent designs going all along the trim, it was something to behold.

Both Mel and Janice had an idea to what this shield, but didn't discuss it till they were in Janice's tent, alone.

"Mel it couldn't be." Janice exhaled slowly.

The southerner nodded her head "What else could it be Janice? It wuz in perfect condition like it wuz made tuhday."

Janice shook her head. "Mel it is not the damn Aegis. Zeus's shield is just legend you know that."

"Okay, I reckon dat Janice. But wuzn't it yo dat wuz in Doctor Johnson's office tellen him dat duh Amazons ain't just uh legend? Janice you're an archeologist wid proof right before your eyes." The sound of thunder filled the air after Mel spoke.

"That's a hell of a lot different Mel." The archeologist brought her arms up to her chest, crossed.

Melinda's hands went to her hips. "Iz it really?" Thunder again.

"Mel even if it is the Aegis. Why is it here in the old Amazon Nation? The Amazons' goddess was Artemis not Zeus." Thunder sounded again with lightening.

The southerner sighed as she dropped her hands to her sides again. "Well Zeus did give Athena his shield in mythology."

"Yeah Athena not Artemis."

Melinda huffed. "Okay they were sisters Janice. Yo figure it out since you're duh archeologist." She shifted to the tent flap, about to leave. She had second thoughts as rain came pouring down.

Janice sidestepped Mel and went to the tent flap, she opened it and looked out.

Melinda came up behind Janice and looked over the small woman to see the rain coming down. There was lightening and then thunder, the rain coming down even hardier. "Oh my."

"Damn it. This would happen." The archeologist closed the tent flaps roughly and whirled around to stare up at Mel.

Melinda saw the anger in Janice's eyes. "Duh trenches will be fine Janice. We covered them."

Janice sucked in a deep breath. "I know, this will just slow things down. Hell, I hate rain." She walked pass Melinda and went to sit on the bed.

The southerner released her breath slowly and shifted over to Janice. "Janice it could be worse ya hear. We could have never covered them trenches then we'd be in real trouble."

The archeologist sighed. "Yeah you're right." Again she sighed. "Look sorry about earlier Mel. It's just, it?s a crazy idea. You know?"

Melinda nodded. "I know but they say anything is possible."

"It is." Janice then looked up with smile but she raised an eyebrow. "So what you going to do about getting to your tent?"

Melinda placed her hands on her hips again with a devilish smirk. "I aint gonna go in dat rain."

"Mel, you can't stay in here."

The southerner arched an eyebrow suggestively.

Janice's face dropped. "Don't even think about it Mel. No never. You can get to your own damn tent." For emphasis she crossed her arms against her chest.

Melinda Pappas just grinned in return.

Janice sighed. How'd she let this happen? She had no idea how. Now she crossed her arms against her chest and closed her eyes again. For a brief moment she listened to the rain and thunder outside. "Mel?"

"Mmm?"

"You owe me big for this."

Melinda grinned. "Now Doctor Covington, remember who got yo here in duh first place."

"Very funny Mel. You wouldn't be here either if it wasn't for me."

"True, I won't argue wid dat." The southerner then shifted her shoulders some. "Janice scoot over."

"Mel, if I scoot over any more I'm going to fall square on my ass on the floor." Now she opened her emerald eyes. She stared up at the top of the tent. She still had yet to figure out how she let Melinda Pappas talk her into sleeping in the same bed with her.

"Well I'm 'bout tuh fall out of dis bed Janice."

"Same here. We fall out of it together."

The southerner chuckled. "If we ever do an expedition again together we'll have tuh put in extra money for larger beds."

"Right Mel. I'll try and remember that." Janice then tried to roll to her right, she soon was staring down at the floor, her side right on the edge of the bed. "This isn't going to work."

Melinda sighed. "We need tuh figure something out here."

"Yeah I got it, I'll sleep on the floor and you can sleep on the bed."

"I ain't gonna let you sleep on dat floor." She turned her head to the right to see Janice on her side, her back to Mel. The southerner then rolled to her right so that she faced the other woman's back. "I gotta idea."

"What's that?"

"Come here."

"What?"

"Jus' come here Janice." Mel then brought her hands forward to grasp Janice's side, she pulled.

Janice gradually released her breath and followed the physical command, her back soon pressed into the taller woman's body. She then felt Mel wrap her arms around her waist, her own head tucked under Melinda's chin. "Well this is just great." Bad sarcasm seeped into Janice's voice.

"Well do you have uh better idea dat doesn't involve duh floor?"

"I'll go sleep in the rain."

In answer, Melinda tightened her arms around Janice's waist. "You'll get sick then and I don't wanna reckon what you're like when you're sick."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"It means you're uh grouchy archeologist."

"Well like this is normal Mel?"

"Are you really complaining?"

Silence.

Melinda then mentally slapped herself for that one. Realizing what she just said aloud. Stupid move number one. She then felt her own pulse pick up because of the silence.

Janice opened her eyes again and took a deep breath. "I'm not going to answer that one. Neither of us could handle it."

The southerner sighed. Out of relief or sadness? She then shifted her body a little and Janice's body then seemed to perfectly mold against Melinda's. "Good. Sleep well Janice."

"Night Mel." She closed her eyes and began to relax. Soon sleep would come to take them away from this world.

The next morning the pair woke up earlier but not early enough. Neither sure why but yet they had their guess as to why they slept so late. Well not late in the way of later morning but they weren't up at the crack of dawn like they should have been.

Mel had gotten up first and rolled out of bed, she turned around to stare down at her friend. "Yup, she looks like uh child." That had been a whisper as the southerner studied the archeologist still sleeping.

Janice Covington, with a front stage and back stage. She has her front stage with an interesting play going on. But then there's the hidden back stage. A back stage that is worn, messy, and cluttered with chaos. Just how much would it take to clean and repair the damage to the back stage? That is something Melinda wanted to know.

Yet as Melinda stood there staring at her friend, she could see how peacefully Janice slept. Almost like a child. Sleeping as if she were back in her young years where there's so much innocence surrounding her. That idea had made Mel chuckle. Janice Covington innocent? Right, that would never happen. Then again?

The woman took a long breath and slowly released it. She then strolled to the other side of the bed and carefully grasped her friend's closes arm. "Janice?" She got a low mumble in return. "Come on Janice you seriously need tuh get up." A question entered Mel's mind on exactly how this other woman ever got up earlier anyway. Decided this wasn't working, she bent down to one knee and became eye level with the archeologist. Melinda ran her right hand through Janice's sun-kissed hair. "Janice wake up."

Very, very slowly sparkling ivy eyes opened up and studied Mel. "Morning."

"Morning back at yo." Melinda smirked and shifted her hand to rest on the other woman's shoulder. "Slept well huh?"

The archeologist snickered which shook the frame of her small body. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

"I ain't sure, jus' uh lucky guess." Melinda smiled warmly. "We are late in getting up."

"Hmmm, what time is it?"

"I ain't sure, but it ain't dawn."

Janice rolled her eyes then closed them. "Tell me when its noon."

"Very funny Covington." She stood up. "Yo better get up or I'll help yo get up."

Janice chuckled. "Yeah? Maybe I won't then just so I can see what you would do." Her eyes opened again and sparkled with mischief to Melinda.

The southerner arched an eyebrow. "Don't tempt me."

But Janice was still grinning. "Uh huh."

Melinda's eyes went a bit darker, then her expression went serious. "Get up? if you want." It came out hard and she turned on her heals to stomp out of the tent. Mel headed to the food tent and got breakfast. She'd eaten quickly and went to the first trench. She knew that Janice would be at the second but she didn't want to be near the archeologist right now.

And Melinda had been right. After Janice had breakfast she went to the second trench to work there. She knew her friend was angry with her. One of the best things she figured was to leave the southerner be so she could calm down. But after an hour or so Janice began to notice that the workers had stopped working on one specific area of the second trench. Janice went to that area to find out what was going on. She quickly found out why and called for her partner. "Mel?"

The southerner left the side of the first trench and came over to where she heard Janice yell for her. She came to the edge of the trench and gazed in. There was Janice Covington standing beside what looked to be a door in the ground. "My lord. Iz dat uh door Janice?"

"I don't know Mel." She glanced up. "Get down here."

Melinda nodded and hopped into the trench. "There's gotta be some latch or somethen Janice." She looked around in the dirt, Janice following her example. Then something gleamed up to Mel, she bent down to one knee and found a brass bar. "Janice?"

The archeologist lowered down beside her and grinned. "Bingo."

They grinned to each other then went about removing the dirt more. Soon a handle to the door appeared, the door more of a hatch then anything. The pair figured it must be a door to a tomb. Of what they had no idea of.

"Okay Mel, we're both going to have to grab this handle and pull."

Melinda nodded and grasped the handle with both hands.

Janice did the samething. "Count of three. One?Two?Three!"

The two women pulled hard on the handle and they could hear a scrapping sound as the door started to give way. Both women gritted their teeth and pulled hardier. The scrapping switched to a sound of air hissing. That's when the archeologist knew the tomb had been airtight. Then the door gave up, it flung open and let air in.

"Jesus, that's a hell of a door." Janice rounded the door on one side.

Melinda walked on the other side, she looked in. Then turned her attention to Janice with huge round eyes.

The archeologist was still staring down, she grinned and looked up to Melinda. "It starting to look like a good day of digging." She chuckled and peeped back down into the dark hole. She couldn't see much but a set of marble stairs that led down. The archeologist then stepped up beside her friend. "Let's go get some lamps huh?"

The southerner simply nodded.

Janice climbed out of the trench with Melinda following behind. The pair went through the camp and made their way directly to the tent that held different archeology tools. They went inside and went to the far end of the tent where a table of different lamps lay.

The archeologist shifted to the table then turned to Melinda beside her. "Sorry Mel." It was a low whisper.

The tall woman averted her eyes away from the table to Janice. "It'z alright Janice."

"I guess I found my line this morning." Janice grinned up to her friend.

Mel grinned back for a moment then went stern. "We both did Janice."

The archeologist's head bobbed up and down as she slowly let her breath come out. She turned back to the table. "Right."

The southerner brought her arms up against her chest. "It'z uh line but it ain't permanent."

Janice nodded sadly. "Right." Same word bad sign. She reached forward and lifted up a lamp and turned back to Mel. "Get two lamps." She then started walking to the tent flap.

Melinda arched an eyebrow at seeing that total switch in attitude, she didn?t like it. "Janice Covington." It came out hard and almost commanding.

The archeologist sighed and slowly turned around to her friend. "Yes?"

Slowly the tall southerner walked up to her friend. "What wuz dat 'bout?"

"What?"

"You know goddamn well what."

Janice blinked. Did her friend just cuss? Did the southerner bell just cuss? She wanted to almost laugh but this wasn't the time. "I don't."

Melinda sighed. "Why are you being so thick headed Janice? I gave you an opening in our relationship."

The archeologist shifted her stance uncomfortable. "It wouldn't work Mel."

"What? Our friendship becoming? more?"

"Oh Christ, listen to yourself Mel!" Janice huffed and stomped over to another side of the tent. She whirled around to face her friend. "It is crazy Mel and just stupid."

The southerner nodded a few times as she thought about that. She lifted her eyes to Janice. "Thank you." She paused. "Now I know where I stand wid you and it sounds like I ain't worth Doctor Janice Covington's time." Now it was Melinda's turn to move to the tent flap.

"Mel wait, that isn't what I meant." Janice took steps closer to her friend.

Melinda sighed and released her hand from the tent flap, she gave Janice her attention. "Then what you mean?"

"I meant?" Janice took a long breath. "Its just it is the forties and well? Realistically it wouldn't work Mel. We both know that."

Melinda's hands went to her hips. "Yes well I told myself duh samething but yo never know till yo try something."

The archeologist arched an eyebrow. "Mel it would be to hard for the both of us."

"Maybe? maybe not Janice. But I reckon we'll never find out since? since well yo drew duh line? permanently."

Janice's closed her eyes for a second then opened them again. Those words stung deep. She walked over to a table and placed the lamp there. Her hands grasped the edge of the table tightly as she leaned forward closing her eyes again in frustration. "It's to hard." A whisper.

Melinda lowered her head for a moment then turned her eyes to her friend. Slowly she walked up behind Janice. "We can't be sure Janice." She paused then she decided to question that. "Don't you reckon dat Janice?"

The archeologist's ivy eyes opened once more. "I don't know Mel, really I don't."

The southerner didn't respond right away she chewed on the words spoken since they first entered this tent. "Dat's why we would try. Tread duh water Janice." She let her right hand come up to rest on the other woman's right shoulder. "What you have tuh lose Janice?"

The archeologist turned around and locked eyes with Melinda. "You."

"Same here Janice." Melinda sadly smiled. "We're both in duh same boat. So?"

The small dropped her eye contact and stared at the floor below. Is she crazy for even considering something like this? Or is she crazier for trying to ignore somebody like Melinda Pappas? Melinda Pappas whom she has a deep strong draw towards. She answered those questions to herself and slowly raised her head to the waiting woman. Janice let a fine smile crease her lips. "So? we try."

The southerner smiled warmly. "Sounds like uh plan."

The small woman chuckled. "Uh huh."

Melinda grinned and leaned down a little to place a light kiss to the other woman's cheek then she pulled her in for a hug.

Janice grinned then pulled back from the embrace. "Come on enough of this crap. We have things to do."

Mel chuckled she turned to the table and gathered up two lamps. "Yes Doctor Covington."

The archeologist shook her head and took her lamp as well. "Let's go Miss Pappas."

And they did, the two females left the tent quickly and headed back to the second trench.

Janice turned to her right, she bent down to one knee and placed the lantern on the ground. Upspring to her feet, she gazed around listening to the sound of her partner coming down the stairs. The room was dark still with a dry almost cough like air, dust filtering in the air. The archeologist averted her eyes to her left as Melinda came down with two other lanterns, the room brightened.

"Oh my." The southerner rotated her head left and right in inside of the tomb, she still stood on the bottom step.

Janice grinned as she finally could see everything. It's a basic small square tomb. Janice stood in the center, to her left were the stairs, in front of her is a wall. The wall had a number of holes with scrolls inserted into them. To the archeologist's right is another wall with writing on it. Then behind Janice? well she turned around to find out.

Once she did turn around, she took a stride back with her eyes wide. "Mel?"

The southerner came down the last step and stood beside her friend. She looked to the same wall, her own eyes wide. "Iz dat what I reckon it iz?"

The smaller woman nodded. "I think it is Mel." Janice took a step forward her hand reaching out to carefully skim across the smooth wall and over the niches in the wall. She took a step back into her original spot. "It?s a good drawing of a Gorgon though."

"But why Janice? Duh Amazons ain't got anything tuh do wid duh Gorgons. And which Gorgon iz dat?"

The archeologist shrugged her shoulders, her arms crossing against her chest. She stared at the perfect drawing of a snake haired female warrior. "I don't know Mel. There were three Gorgons."

"Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale. But it can't be Medusa Janice she wuz killed in mythology."

"Yeah in mythology Mel." Janice turned around to the wall that held the scrolls. "My guess is the answers are in those scrolls." She walked over to the wall and pulled out a scroll, unrolled it, and began to read the ancient Greek.

Melinda though, she sauntered over to the other wall that had writing on it. She dropped the lantern in her left hand on the ground and raised the one in her right hand to read the writing. She began to read it aloud. "Beware?. Of the? ancient duo." Mel pushed her glass up onto her nose to keep reading. "Of the immortal Gorgon sisters." She turned around on her heals to gaze at Janice. "Janice dat ain't good."

Janice nodded, she was still staring down at the scroll. She shifted to Mel's side as she saw the southerner lift up the second lantern from the floor. "That isn't all of it Mel. Here's the story of this tomb." She took a deep breath and read from the scroll. "After Medusa's death? the two Gorgon sisters, Stheno and Euryale, swore revenge for their sister's death. So they set out to go after? Athena first since she helped in the death of Medusa. Uh? it goes on to say Athena couldn't kill them because they're immortal. So she asked the help of her sister, Artemis, to lock them both up. Artemis agreed and then? Athena and Artemis decided the best way to stop the Gorgon sisters was to lock them in separate tombs. Artemis said her Amazons would take one Gorgon and bury it in their forest." Janice stopped reading and peered up to Mel.

The southerner ran her right hand through her hair. "Well where's the other sister?"

Janice shrugged her shoulders and began to roll the scroll up. "Doesn't say. The rest of the scroll went on to say if one Gorgon is freed then the other would be and the two of them would destroy the world." Janice sighed. "Sounds like a bunch of hocus pocus to me Mel."

Melinda arched an eyebrow. "Janice, yo probably jus' jinxed us."

"Oh Christ?." Janice stopped in mid sentence as something caught her eye. She sided stepped the other woman to go to the wall with the writing. She lowered herself down to one knee as she noticed something. "Mel give me one of your lanterns."

The southerner turned to face the wall, bending down beside Janice with her lantern. "What iz it Janice?"

"Look." Janice pointed to a crack in the wall, a very large crack.

"It'z uh crack. So?"

"So? Christ give me a lamp." Janice took the handed lantern and held it close to the crack.

Melinda studied hard at the wall as the archeologist held the lantern close. She then realized she could see through the crack. "There's uhnother room."

"Not just that Mel, but this wall is paper thin." The archeologist stood up. "Back away Mel." Janice watched her friend take a step back. "Hold this." She handed the lantern to the southerner then glimpsed back to the wall. A grin spread across her lips as she took two steps back then rushed forward. Janice closed her eyes as she felt herself ram into the wall then it crumbled in. Janice went tumbling into another room, the brown wall's bits under her body as she lay on her stomach on the floor.

"Yo know I could have helped yo Janice." The southerner stepped into the room with the two lanterns stared down at the smaller woman.

Janice rolled her eyes as she stood back up. "Oh no, I'm the tough one. Remember?" She grinned and took one of Mel's lamps.

The pair then gazed into the room they just discovered. Together they walked into it and found what appeared to be an actual sarcophagus in the center of the room.

Janice walked over to it and looked down on the lid, she felt herself shaking now. Maybe, just maybe that scroll was true. She began to study the engraving of yet another Gorgon. This can't be good for sure. Melinda though took a quick glimpse, but something else had caught her eye. She went to the opposite side of the wall with her lamp. Her glass were pushed back up onto the bridge of her nose as she studied an object on the wall. She lifted her right hand to the object, there were three snakes making a circle design. Mel began to bring her hand to the center, which seemed to be? "Janice?"

"Yeah Mel?" Janice turned around towards Mel to see the southerner bring her hand to the center of a snake design ornament in the wall. "Mel don't-" Her words were cut off as a scraping sound was heard. "Touch that button." She said it with frustration.

Both women though turned around to the direction of the scraping sound, which was the coffin. The lid slowly was sliding off.

Janice then began to hear a hissing sound like a snake. "Shit!" She jumped to Mel's side and grabbed her arm. "I think we wore out our visit Mel. Run!" The archeologist began to run, Mel dragging behind.

The pair raced out of the coffin room into the scroll room and ran up the marble stairs into the trench.

"Janice wuz wrong?" Mel was breathing hard as she came up to the trench.

"What you mean Mel? You just released a Gorgon! What could be possible wrong!? This is normal!" Janice then saw all the workers in the dig site stiffen up, turning their heads around frantically. "Mel move!" She grabbed the southerner again by the arm and hauled her out of the trench.

"I can run on my own Janice Covington." She stood at the edge of the trench on the level ground.

"Then come on for Christ sakes Mel!" Janice released the other woman's arm. She began to run with Melinda right beside her.

"Where we going Janice?" She kept running beside the archeologist.

"To my tent. I need to get my gun."

The two females ran to Janice's tent. They went inside and once they did they heard the workers all screaming and running around. They all spoke in Greek and Janice translated the Greek in her head as she frantically searched in the tent for her gun.

"What they saying Janice?"

"That there's a creature and to run." Janice went to her nightstand to find her gun. She quickly snatched it up and opened the chamber to found it filled with bullets. Closing the chamber, Janice spun it to hear it click.

"Janice?" Mel had spoke in a gasp.

The archeologist glanced up to Mel saw her staring in one direction and she looked in that same direction to see a shadow. Janice's eyes turned into wide orbs with her attention going back to her partner, she could see Melinda was about to scream. So she quickly rushed to Melinda's side and lifted her right hand up over the southerner's mouth to keep her quiet. Janice then looked back to the shadow of a thin woman marching slowly by the tent, the great part was her hair was wavering high up in the air and hissing.

Melinda sighed as she closed her eyes, trying to block out the image. She took deep breaths to calm herself, her hearing picking up on the screams of the workers. Slowly she opened her eyes again and watched the Gorgon walk past the tent to go somewhere else. A sigh came again from Mel.

Janice slowly removed her hand from her friend's mouth. "You okay now?" She'd whispered the question.

Mel nodded. "Yeah." A whispered answer back. She then looked down to Janice. "What we gonna do?"

The archeologist slowly let her breath out as she reflected. "I don't know." She took a long breath. "We need some sort of mirror."

"Janice, the Aegis." Her expression had brightened up.

The archeologist grinned. "Perfect, that's what killed Medusa." Her expression then dropped. "Damn, the shield is still in the artifact tent. We need to get to it Mel."

"How we gonna do dat?" Melinda placed her hands on her own sides. "We need tuh distract duh Gorgon Janice."

"Hold on Mel." The archeologist took a deep breath. "If you sneak back around to the artifact tent through the woods. I can distract the Gorgon with my gun. It might work."

"What if ain't gonna work Janice?"

"Then you better get out of here Mel."

The southerner's hands fell off her hips. "I ain't gonna leave wid out yo. I wouldn't be much of uh partner then." She grinned.

Janice sighed with a grin. "Sure, sure Mel." She then shifted to the tent flap, opening it a crack. Looking out, her emerald eyes narrowed. The scene outside was a numerous amounts of workers but statues now. She turned her head to the right some, to the center of the dig site, there she spotted the profile of the Gorgon. Backing up she looked to Mel. "Okay, the Gorgon is near the trenches. You go into the artifact tent and get the shield. I'll keep her busy till you do. Once you get the shield get her to look at her reflection Mel."

"Right." The southerner moved to the tent flap beside Janice.

"Mel?"

"Yeah?"

"Be careful alright. Stay behind that shield too."

Melinda smiled. "Don't worry. Be careful too."

Janice smiled back warmly. "Let's go."

Melinda nodded and the two women stepped out of the tent at the same time. Melinda went to her left into the woods.

Janice slowly crept to her right towards the Gorgon with her gun up. She quickly darted across an open area to go behind another tent, the creature had her back to Janice. Raising her gun, Janice pulled the hammer back and pointed it at the Gorgon. "I hate uninvited guests on my sites." She pulled back on the trigger. The gold bullet sped through the air and made its mark in the beast's back.

The Gorgon flinched from the bullet landing into her back but no blood came out. She quickly spun around from the direction it came from with gleaming red eyes. Even the snakes themselves acted as the Gorgon, searching.

Janice though had hid back behind the tent. She was breathing hard while the adrenaline pumped through her body. Then she could hear the Gorgon moving in her direction even more so by the sound of the hissing snakes coming closer. Janice though couldn't tell how close the Gorgon was without peering to the creature. But she came up with a quick improvise and lifted her gun so that she looked at it from the side, she carefully titled it. The reflection came and she saw the Female creature making her way to Janice and about fifty paces away. The archeologist's eyes widen and she quickly ran around the tent, she then looked to the trenches and started counting.

"One? two?. Three." She broke off running to the first made trench. She literally fell into it making a loud noise from the stones and dirty falling into the trench at the edge. Janice pressed her back against the trench as she listened, her gun up. Her thumb came up slowly to pull back on the hammer.

The Gorgon had heard the noise and whipped around to face the trenches again. She narrowed her red eyes and started to slowly pursue in that direction.

Janice again tried her trick with the gun. Lifting it in front of her face, she titled up and down till she got the reflection of the Gorgon coming towards her. She took a deep breath as she guessed the Gorgon to be fifty yards away. Bring the gun's barrel to her lips, she closed her eyes and sighed. Springing to her feet she whirled around, her eyes still closed and she shot her gun in the direction she thought the Warrior Gorgon to be in.

Janice heard a low hiss from the Warrior Gorgon as she plopped back down into the trench. She opened her sea green eyes and grinned. "Hit two." She sighed. "Where are you Mel?"

The Warrior Gorgon though, grinned to herself. She then decided to take another route, she began to walk down to the end of the trench instead of going directly towards Janice. She quickly power-walked though and came to the end of the trench and looked down it to see the woman with a gun not noticing her.

The Warrior Gorgon was about to jump into the trench, but a yell filled the air. "Hey ugly! Why don't yo try me out?"

The creature's eyes narrowed as she brought her sights up to see a tall dark haired woman standing at the corner of a tent. She wasn't looking at the Gorgon either. Slowly the Gorgon rose up from the trench's edge and started stalking towards Melinda.

Janice ducked deep down into the trench as the Gorgon strolled passed her. Once the Gorgon was far enough away she quietly climbed out of the trench to watch the back of the Snaked haired woman walk to Melinda. The archeologist pulled back her hammer on the gun just incase something went wrong.

The Gorgon walked towards Melinda with a grin. As she neared she brought her hands up.

Melinda watched the Gorgon's shadow coming to her. She stood tensed at the corner of the artifact tent, half her body visible to the Gorgon, the other not. The shadow came close and she took a deep breath. Quickly twisting to her right, Mel swung her right arm in front of her body as she ducked her head into her body while bending down. Attached to her right arm is the Aegis. The Aegis itself was placed on the ground pointing in the Gorgon's direction with its owner safely hidden behind.

"Take uh good look at yourself beautiful!" Melinda grinned at her own words as she heard a scream fill the air. It lasted for seconds then the scream slowly faded out as if somebody were drowning.

"Its okay to look Mel." Janice lowered her gun, placing it back into her holster, and ran towards her friend.

Gradually the southerner rose up while removing the shield, she dropped it to the ground. The relief of tension led to her body shaking in reaction. Janice ran up to her side and both women faced the creature.

The Gorgon was a statue now, her face in pain with a scream still trying to escape. The snakes in her hair were all straight up. Then the Gorgon's eyes went red and very fine cracks began to creep up and down the length of the Gorgon statue.

"Christ!" Janice turned to Mel and half jumped half pushed Melinda to the ground. She covered her body over top of the southerner's to protect her. The statue of the Gorgon then exploded without another warning. It shattered into millions of soaring pieces that neatly landed to the ground close to the partners. Then the statues of the workers began to slowly materialize from stone to human forms.

Mel opened her eyes and gazed up to her friend. "Well dat wuz more then I bargained for."

Janice lifted her head and smirked down at the other woman. "Well that wasn't anything compared to my regular days."

"Please spare me." Melinda chuckled.

"Well we'll have to do this again sometime Miss Pappas."

Melinda Pappas groaned and closed her eyes with a chuckled. Janice Covington though laughed and dropped her head against her friend's shoulders.

The End