A/N: So, obviously I am starting a new story based on characters from the Mummy, one of my favorite movies. It is set after the second movie. Once again, please, please, please review! It helps keep the stories going.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Mummy, any of its characters or plots, nor do I pretend to. So I would appreciate it if no one sued.
A lone figure made his way down the street. It moved quickly and quietly, shrouded in all black. Passersby hastily averted their eyes and stepped out of its path, some even making the effort to cross the street. The figure seemed to pay no mind, but continued calmly on its way. After a moment or so, it paused. The figure moved its hands to his face, removing the black cloth disguising his face.
Lines creased his tattooed face as Ardeth Bey realized that he was lost.
He silently took in his surroundings and tried to place where he was and where he needed to be. After a moment he realized he would have to ask for help. Though his face betrayed nothing, he inwardly sighed. If given the choice, he would never leave his native country of Egypt. Unfortunately, being a Medjai, he sometimes had no choice. He was sworn to protect the secret of the Creature and the evil he could bring to the Earth.
As one of the leaders, it was his job to ensure the world's safety. Unfortunately, rumor had spread recently that the Book of the Dead had been rediscovered and brought to a museum near London. Though the rumor had not been confirmed, recent events had set the Medjai on edge, and they could not afford to take any chances. And so it was Ardeth's unhappy assignment to navigate the streets of England. Trouble was, he was not very used to modern technology. But, he had the most experience in the Western world, thanks to an experience three years back involving the O'Connell's.
He spun around, attempting to find a person to ask for directions. His appearance had driven the general population away from him. He turned again with the intent of entering the nearest building. He was impeded when he slammed full force into a body. He managed to keep his balance and steadied the woman he had bumped into. She had dropped the stack of books she had been holding. He helped her to gather them again.
"Sorry," she mumbled, attempting to gather her belongings as quickly as possible.
"It is no fault of yours," Ardeth responded calmly. "I should not have turned in such haste."
The woman looked up at him, and for the first time, they made eye contact. She quickly looked away.
Ardeth was not bothered. He had discovered that he had this impression on many people, especially those not from his home. "I hoped you might help me with something. I am looking for the Museum of Egyptology, and I cannot seem to locate it. Would you mind directing me?"
The woman did not speak as she attempted to rise to her feet while balancing her stack of books. Ardeth gently coaxed them out of her grasp and held them easily under one arm. She seemed slightly startled by his gesture.
"You don't have to-" he interrupted her by holding up his hand.
"It is the least I can do after knocking down a woman." She flushed slightly.
"The museum is not far from here, and it is on the way to where I am going. I could show you the way."
Ardeth bowed slightly. "Many thanks."
They set off in silence. Ardeth noticed the woman sneaking what she thought were covert looks at him. He assumed it was his tattoos that concerned her. Or perhaps it was his outlandish appearance. Either way, it was of little concern to him. He met her gaze on the fourth or fifth time she glanced his way. Even in the fading sunlight, he could see her brown cheeks darken. He kept his face passive, but inside he chuckled. They rounded a corner, and he came face to face with his destination.
"Here we are," she announced unnecessarily.
"And where is it that you need these books to be carried to?" he asked calmly.
"Oh, I can manage from here," she assured him. "The library is right across the street." She gestured.
He nodded. "Again, many thanks." the woman nodded as she reclaimed her books.
'Of course." she waited a moment as though unsure of what to do. She soon folded under the intense gaze of the strange man she had escorted.
"Well, bye." she said somewhat uncertainly. Turning on her heels, she hurried across the street.
Ardeth watched her disappear into the massive mahogany doors of the library. He smiled slightly at her retreating form, but it soon faded as he prepared for what was ahead. He prayed to Allah that the rumors were false, as he opened to doors to the museum and picked his way through.
The guard glanced at him uncertainly but allowed him to pass. He picked his way through the plethora of stolen treasures. He fumed inwardly at the British belief that the world was a personal play thing and their blatant disrespect for the culture of his people. However, he could not dwell on this, there was a job at hand. An hour later, he had nearly completed his tour of the museum. He breathed a sigh of relief; it was a rumor after all.
He turned to the final case. His heart stopped when his fierce gaze fell on a obsidian book displayed in a glass case. He only allowed himself a moment of shock before he steeled his nerve. He swept out of the museum, taking care to ensure that the guard saw him leave.
When he left the building he quickly swung into the alley behind the building. He thanked Allah for the cover of darkness. He crept onto the ledge of a window and pulled himself up. He slid into the window. Dust floated up and filled his senses as his booted feet connected with the floor. He was in what appeared to be a storage closet. He crouched behind a stack of crates, patiently awaiting the museum's closing time.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Oni remained in the library long after the sun had left the sky. She was curled up in her favorite worn armchair, her guilty pleasure propped in her lap. The romance novel was hidden inside of a large encyclopedia. Truth be told, she found her habit embarrassing, but she was a hopeless romantic at heart. It was not the only thing she read of course. But sometimes, after filing her brain with research on nearly everything she could get her hands on, it was nice to relax with some low maintenence reading material. Her tastes in non- fiction were equally as romantic as the novels she read. She learned all she could about far -flung countries and distant retreats. She knew about Greece, Australia, the Caribbean, the Middle East and nearly every part of Africa. As a result she was an arsenal of relatively useless facts about all sorts of things. But the knowledge anchored her to the real world and took her away from her loneliness.
The hours ticked by and she soon was startled from he fantasy world by a librarian clearing her throat. She sheepishly gathered up her books under the gaze of the impatient woman who tapped her foot as though attempting to speed up Oni's departure.
Oni hurried out of the doors, tucking her two books of choice into her bag: a romance novel involving an American adventurer and a British researcher and a book chronicling the gods and goddesses of various countries. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a group of suited men enter the museum across the street. She thought nothing of it and swung the bag over her shoulder and made her way down the sidewalk. She had just begun humming to herself when a series of gunshots rang out from across the street. Before her mind could register what had happened an explosion rocked the street. She stumbled, frantically taking cover behind a nearby wall. The men in suits rushed from the doors of the museum. Flames leapt from the window, casting light on the large black object one of the suited men was carrying. They were yelling to each other as they piled into a nearby car. She could only make out part of their conversation over the din of the blaze.
"The flames will take care of that one, but soon others will arrive to try and take it from us."
"More Medjai?"
"Many more."
The men swung into the car and peeled off. Oni had no idea what they meant by it, but had the sinking feeling that they had left someone in the building. She cautiously picked her way across the street and toward the building. Using her sweater to cover her mouth, she squinted into the smoke. She could make out a lone black figure laying just past the doorway. Without hesitation she rushed into the building. She grasped the man's ankles and pulled. He was impossibly heavy. She looked around frantically, praying help would arrive. The only thing she saw were the spreading flames. She glanced back at the figure and steeling herself, she pulled with all her might. The man's body began to slide. When she reached the door, she rolled him out and as far away as she could from the building. To her horror, she noticed he wasn't moving, or even breathing.
She tilted his head back, pulled his mouth open, and breathed for him. Her hand rested on his chest. There was no heartbeat. She pumped his heart for him as well, cringing when she heard his ribs crack beneath the weight of her body. She continued for several minutes. She was tiring rapidly. She had to keep going. Oni didn't know how much time passed after that, but she distinctly recalled the sound of sirens.
Firemen poured out of their truck. They immediately set to putting out the fire. Two large men hefted the man from the grass and loaded him into the truck. She noticed with a start that it was the same man she had guided to the museum several hours ago. She did not know how his tattoos had failed to catch her attention. Her heart rattled against her chest. She realized that for the last several minutes, she had been running on pure adrenaline.
"Miss?" A fireman addressed her. "Do you know this man?" She stared past him, watching the others load the large man's limp body into the truck.
"Miss?' he asked again, "Miss?" she snapped her eyes back to him. She knew that normally only family would be allowed into the ambulance. She did not want the man to be alone. Not now.
She nodded. "Yes, we are engaged." she said quickly, deciding that they did not look close enough to be related by blood.
The fireman nodded. "Alright then." he helped her into the ambulance.
She sat to the right side of her tattooed, dark stranger. She grasped his burning hand and prayed that he survived. She did not know who he was, but she knew she had never wanted anyone to live as much as she wanted him to.
