CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
It was easy enough to find the building they were holding Sobek in. Mark drove straight to it, following an abnormal energy in the air.

"You know this is probably a trap, right?" Mark asked the others. "This was too easy. They know we're here."

"He's right," Ryan said.

"It doesn't matter," Dean said. "We have to save him. If anyone wants to back out, this is your chance."

"I'm with you, Dean," Jonathan said seriously. "No matter what we find in there."

"I'm up for a fight," Ryan agreed.

"Alright, we're all on the same page," Mark said.

"On your order," Jonathan said to Dean.

Taking a deep breath, Dean nodded. "Mark, take the lead. Jonathan, I want you where I can keep an eye on you, just in case. I'm not losing anyone today. I'll take the back. Ryan... Just do you, alright? We might need a little chaos today."

"I think I can manage that," Ryan replied dryly.

They headed inside. What they found made Mark freeze in horror. Corpses littered the ground. Several were missing limbs. The slaughter was a bit disturbing, and it was clear there had been one hell of a fight. A young man with dark olive skin that was mostly covered in blood lay with his hands and feet shackled on the ground. His mouth had an iron muzzle around it. He had been severely beaten. Initially, Mark thought he was dead, but then he opened his green eyes. As they fell on Mark, he began struggling to move again.

"Easy, Sobek," Mark said soothingly. He started trying to free him. The shackles were strong, but Mark happened to be great at picking locks. He freed Sobek's hands and feet before working on the muzzle.

The man looked at him for a moment before mumbling, "About damn time, Khonsu." He proceeded to fall unconscious in Mark's arms.

"Is he alright?" Jonathan asked in concern.

"He lost a lot of blood," Dean said as he tried to stop some of the bleeding. "The guy must have put everything he had into fighting them off."

"What do you think happened here?"

"My guess is they attacked and he turned into a crocodile," Ryan replied. "It looks like he took a lot of them down with him."

"Come on, guys. Let's get him out of here," Mark said. He carefully tried to pick Sobek up, but he started bleeding worse.

"We can't move him," Jonathan said.

"He'll bleed out if we don't," Ryan pointed out.

"We need to get him into the water. It can heal him," Mark said.

"Wake up, Sailor," Dean said firmly. "Your mission isn't over yet."

Sobek groaned in pain or annoyance, or possibly both. Mark couldn't say for sure. "That's it," Dean continued. "Stay with us."

Sobek opened his eyes again. There was still some fight in them. "What's your Rank, Sailor?" Dean asked.

"Petty Officer, Third Class," Sobek replied weakly.

"And your name, Petty Officer?"

"Khan... Jamal Khan."

"Alright, Petty Officer Khan. This is what we're going to do. We're going to move you to the Hudson River. It should only take us a few minutes to get you there, but you're losing blood rapidly. I need you to stay with me."

Jamal nodded slowly. Dean motioned for Jonathan and Mark to lift him up. Ryan continued applying pressure to the worst of his wounds as Jonathan and Mark carefully moved him out of the room. Dean continued talking to him and trying to keep him calm.

Dean might irritate Mark to no end, but right now, Mark was impressed by how he was handling the situation. Not only had he taken charge, but he knew exactly what to say to keep Jamal fighting to survive.

Mark tensed as he heard hissing. His eyes widened in horror as he spotted hundreds of snakes surrounding them.

"Dean... If you have a plan, now would be a great time to tell us," Mark said.

"Jonathan, take over putting pressure on the injury while Mark carries Khan out of here. Ryan," Dean said, "do you."

Ryan smirked before he began unleashing chaos on the snakes. Dean initially guided Mark and Jonathan through the opening Ryan made, but when they reached the door, he stopped.

"On my order, run," Dean said.

"What about you?" Jonathan asked.

"The enemy's watching us. I can feel it. They'll ambush Ryan the second the snakes are gone. I may not like him, but I never leave a man behind. You two need to get Khan out of here. I'll stay behind to get Ryan out."

Mark sighed. He didn't like the idea of leaving Dean and Ryan alone, especially not when they were in danger, but he knew Jamal was going to die if they didn't get him to the water. "Don't get killed," he told Dean. "Come on, Jonathan. Let's move."

"Be careful, Yankee," Jonathan said.

"You, too, Confederate," Dean replied.

Mark and Jonathan hurried out of the building. They carefully maneuvered toward the water, releasing Jamal into the river when they finally reached it. He immediately sank below the surface.

For a second, Mark was worried Jamal was going to drown. Then, a crocodile broke through the surface and began moving eagerly through the water.

"Is that him?" Jonathan asked.

"Considering crocodiles don't typically swim in the Hudson, I'd guess it is," Mark replied.

"Will he be okay now?"

"I think so. Sobek is a water deity. The Hudson's a far cry from the Nile, but it should still do the trick."

They watched the river for a bit until Dean and Ryan came toward them. Both were injured, but Dean looked worse. Ryan was supporting his weight.

"Are you two okay?" Jonathan asked.

"We'll live," Ryan replied, passing Dean off to him. "Dean could probably use a healer."

"You don't look too good yourself, Ryan," Mark said in concern.

"I've been worse. At least we didn't get bitten by any of the snakes."

"Where's Petty Officer Khan?" Dean asked a bit weakly.

"In the river," Jonathan replied. "In crocodile form."

The crocodile emerged then. He quickly shifted back into his human form. His clothes were still covered in blood, but his injuries had healed.

"Do you want to tell us what happened?" Mark asked.

"In a minute," Jamal replied. He called the river toward him, wrapping waves of water around both Dean and Ryan. Their injuries began to heal immediately.

"You're a healer?" Jonathan asked in surprise.

"Sometimes," Jamal said. "It depends on my mood, but seeing as how you guys saved me, I figured I should return the favor." He looked at Dean. "Thanks, Horus."

"It's Dean, actually," he replied. "And that's Mark, Jonathan, and Ryan."

"Dean. You're Military."

"Army," he confirmed. "Brat turned Sergeant."

"Thanks for what you did in there. It kept me focused."

"Anytime, Petty Officer."

"So, how did this happen, Jamal?" Ryan asked.

"I left Fort Hamilton for the weekend. The cult found me almost immediately and knocked me out," Jamal began. "I woke up in that building, and they attacked. At first, I didn't know what was happening, but then my soul unlocked and I was suddenly a crocodile. So I did what crocodiles do and started biting off their limbs. All of my memories came back to me and I sensed the other deities were here in New York. I kept fighting in the hopes that you'd find me."

"You're not safe on your own. You need to come back with us," Ryan said.

"I've got to be back early Monday morning or I'll be AWOL," Jamal protested.

"Listen, Jamal, you've been called to a different war," Mark began.

"My record is impeccable," Jamal insisted. "I'm no deserter."

"We'll figure out a way to keep you from going AWOL," Dean promised. "Zane will think of something."

"Zane?" Jamal repeated.

"Ra."

Jamal sighed. "I guess I can't exactly refuse an order from him... Fine. I'll go with you, but I need a solution before Monday."

"Great. Come on," Mark said. "My car's this way."

They headed to the vehicle, but of course it wasn't that simple. An army of snakes suddenly slithered toward them before they could reach the car. That was when a motorcycle pulled up. The driver removed her helmet first.

"Ellis?" Jonathan asked.

"And Leo," the other rider replied as he pulled off his helmet. He immediately zeroed in on the snakes. He approached them fearlessly and began working his way through them. Ellis joined him, and together, they sent the last of the snakes into the river.

"We had a feeling you guys might need backup," Ellis explained.

"Thanks for coming," Dean replied. "Jamal, say hello to Iabet and Ptah. They only just joined us."

"Nice bike," Jamal said to Ellis.

"She's my baby," Ellis replied with pride.

Two people approached them then. One was smiling sadistically. He wore the mark of the Cult of Chaos around his neck with pride. The girl with him looked about thirteen years old. Her long black hair was braided down her back, and her skin tone marked her as Egyptian. Something about her was familiar, but Mark couldn't place her.

"You aren't going anywhere," the man said firmly. "Not without Aziza."

Mark hesitated. The young girl looked nervous as the man said her name. Her eyes silently begged them for help.

"Let the kid go," Mark said. "Then we can talk like civilized people."

"Aziza remains with us," the man replied firmly.

To Mark's shock, Ellis pulled out a gun. She aimed it straight at the man's head and said, "I don't think that's how this is going to play out."

Leo, Dean, and Jonathan each eyed the gun in surprise. Jamal and Ryan both looked thoroughly amused. Mark waited to see what would happen next.

"I do not fear death," the man said. "My master would never allow your bullets to pierce my flesh!"

"Let's test that theory," Ellis replied, pulling the trigger twice. Both bullets hit the center of his forehead, killing him instantly. "I guess his master was on a coffee break," she quipped.

"Okay, I like you," Ryan decided.

"Dude, same!" Jamal agreed.

"Hey, Kid... Come here," Ellis said to Aziza. The girl looked at her in confusion and fear. "We won't hurt you. We'll take you somewhere safe."

Aziza continued to appear confused. Mark took a chance. In Ancient Egyptian, he asked, "Are you from this time?"

Slowly, she shook her head from side to side. "I am Khonsu," he explained. "In this time, they call me Mark. We are friends... We are Gods. Will you trust us?"

She sniffled before nodding and slowly approaching them. Mark examined her for injuries. She had some cuts and bruises, but it could have been worse. "How did you get here?" He asked.

"I am time," Aziza replied.

"She is time?" Ryan repeated in English. "Mark... Do you think she's...?"

"Why are we speaking Ancient Egyptian?" Dean interrupted. "What's going on?"

"I'm pretty sure that's where she's from," Mark replied. "Like Panya. We'll need Julian to sort this out."

"Aziza... What do you mean?" Ryan asked in the ancient language.

"I am time... Renpet," Aziza emphasized the word this time.

"Renpet?" Jonathan asked.

"Another Goddess," Mark explained. "Renpet personifies time. I think that means she can walk the timeline and visit any time she wants to."

"Did you come here on purpose?" Dean asked in awkward Ancient Egyptian.

She shook her head no as she stared at him in wonder. "Are you Horus?" She asked.

"Yes," he replied.

Aziza flung her arms around him. "Please protect me!" She sobbed. "They will keep hunting me." She began rapidly speaking the language. Mark could barely keep up, so he knew Dean was lost.

"Safe," Dean finally replied as he held her and tried to comfort her. "You are safe."

Her legs were trembling, so Dean scooped her up in his arms and carried her. Mark looked at Ellis and Leo. "Stay close," he said. They nodded and put their helmets back on. Mark led everyone else to his car.

Dean slipped into the backseat, still holding Aziza. She buried her face in his shoulder, too terrified to look around. Ryan sat in the passenger seat, so Jonathan and Jamal got into the back with Dean. Mark began driving after making sure Ellis and Leo were right behind him.

Nekhbet, Osiris, Sobek, and Renpet... That's four more deities joining us in one day, he thought. Something tells me things are about to get a little crazy around here.