So here it is: My newest story. Full summary is as follows.
When thirteen-year-old Saskia van Deman finds herself trapped in King Ahkmenrah's Tomb afterhours, she sings to herself to quell her fear. Ten years down the line, having made a name for herself in the Gothic/Alternative music scene, she has all but forgotten the event, putting those lingering memories of a shaking sarcophagus down to childish fantasies. But when the family Tomb of the King himself is threatened with displacement in favour of a potential fortune-grabbing construction scheme, Saskia finds herself fighting for it's preservation, and ends up face to face with the Pharaoh who could never forget her in the first place, and the brother who would like him out of the way.
Obviously I have changed things around a little bit: Ahkmenrah is not in New York, much less America. He is back in his rightful tomb in Egypt, where he is on tour. In fact, the time sequence is completely different. Imagine the first movie never happened – Ahk is in Egypt but will transfer back to New York where Larry has been working as the night guard with no hitches (because the tablet is not there.) Larry would not have seen the museum come to life before. However, the second film will (sort of) take place, but with changes. So Ahk will be in New York for a short while. Capice?
And now: IMPORTANT
I am not a songwriter, so the songs Saskia sings throughout this story will not be my own, much less hers, but you will have to pretend they are. I will have to borrow songs already made known by bands such as Within Temptation, Therion, Evanescence etcetera. I am sorry, but I can't write songs, and there NEED to be songs here. Some lyrics you see I will have edited to make them at least partially original, but you have been warned.
I do not own Night at The Museum, Egypt, or the song that Saskia will sing. I do own Saskia, however. And her guitar.
The Sound Of Music
.:Track One: The Fear:.
"(It's the fear)
Fear of the dark,
It's growing inside of me,
That one day will come to life.
(Have to find)
Find the light,
There is no escaping,
Because my place is of horror and doom."
'The Fear', by Saskia van Deman – vocalist of 'Origin', in their studio album 'Even In Death'
Darkness.
That was all I could perceive. Darkness, and the cold.
Imagine that - Cold in Egypt. One of the sunniest countries I have ever visited. It almost seemed impossible, but the Goosebumps raised over my arms and neck proved otherwise.
Loneliness.
Crippling loneliness, as I realised I could hear nothing but my own rapid breathing, and the faint ticks of night dwelling insects no longer having to hide under the sand from the scorching Middle Eastern sun.
Fear.
Unlike anything I had ever known, as I failed to pull any recollection of where I was, and why I was there. Alone, in the dark. Two of my greatest terrors pulled into one.
I pushed myself slowly upwards from where I had been lying, sprawled and unconscious on the dusty stone floor. A dull and throbbing ache at the back of my head had me searching through my hair with my hands, and I almost fainted back at the discovery of blood, or some other wet substance, coating my scalp. Crusting through my reddish hair. I stretched an arm outwards in search of some sort of hold, and grazed it gently on rough and jagged stone, before lacing my fingers into a crack, and pulling myself onto my feet. I cried out as a sudden stabbing pain shot through my ankle and radiated up to my kneecaps, sending bright spots dancing under my eyelids. Biting it back to a whimper, I shifted all of my weight onto the wall, and slowly lifted my injured leg, only to catch my knee on another surface adjacent to me. I paused, and tried to get my bearings, feeling further with my hands.
I was in some sort of tunnel, I eventually decided, not quite the width of my arm span. I couldn't see how long it stretched on for, but by the extent to which my cries had been echoed back to me, I could guess at a reasonable distance. I couldn't feel a roof touching my head, not even on my toes, and I couldn't work out just how far away it was with my complete inability to see a thing. I reached an arm slowly upwards, and my fingertips brushed against yet more rough stone, the same feel as the walls either side of me.
Where was I?
I wanted to get out of there – the darkness was oppressing, and I couldn't shake the premonition that the walls were going to grind closed and crush me into nothing. My ankle was proving a problem though, and I was shocked to realise I couldn't even move it when I tried. It dangled uselessly and painfully at the end of my calf like a limp balloon. I felt a wave of panic, followed by hysteria, and finally by tears.
I must have stood like that for ten minutes of so, balanced awkwardly on one leg with my arms stretched out, the various cuts and grazes puckering my skin stinging as I started to focus on them more. I kept asking myself the same questions, racking my brain for information; Where was I? What the hell had happened? What was I going to do?
Try as I might, I couldn't pull up any answers. I began to fear for the seriousness of the wound on my skull.
There was nothing to gain from staying where I was, I eventually decided, experimenting by hopping forwards on my good leg, using the wall as my brace. I felt my foot collide with something solid, kicking it forwards, and I froze – my heart in my mouth. I envisioned some sort of animal, for one reason or another. Maybe a snake, or a small mammal? After a few more moments of silence, I felt out tentatively with my leg, before brushing up against it again. I took comfort in the fact that it was apparently inanimate, contrary to my previous beliefs. Bending down and leaning forwards, I grasped at it and felt fabric against my fingertips, before dragging it forwards and up into my arms.
My guitar case, I realised with a jolt, feeling the familiar curves and velvet of the casing. What on earth was that doing here? I had a sudden recollection; pushing through a crowd with it banging on my hips.
Spooked, I went onwards, my pace increasing as I got used to the rhythm. Brace and shuffle. Brace and shuffle. Brace and shuffle. I went on like that for an unfathomable amount of time.
Suddenly, just as I was leaning forward to brace, I heard a muffled thump through the walls. I paused, ears strained, until I heard it again.
Thump. Thump. THUMP.
It then stopped, before being replaced by the sound of rattling and crashing, strong enough for it to be able to produce vibrations that I could feel through the wall. I paused, and began to tremble. I wasn't surprised to feel a tear run down my cheek. I had never been so afraid.
Nevertheless, I went onwards.
As I did, I tried to recollect my day. I knew I was in Egypt – on holiday, with my family. Where were they? I could remember our trip to the pyramids in Giza a few days before, I was relieved to realise, as well as a train journey South, but beyond that…
Tombs. It came to me in a flash. An image of crowds, moving by tombs. The Valley of the Kings!
My sudden relief at remembering memories lost was short lived, as I re-evaluated my situation. Was I in a tomb?
I bloody well hoped not.
It seemed likely, though, as much as I hated the thought. The rough walls, enclosed spaces and darkness. And there was the smell: the stale stench of stagnant air that I hadn't really noticed until then.
A tomb.
What had I gotten myself into?
I shuffled forwards again, a new desperation burning. I noticed the crashes and thumps only got louder as I moved onwards, and considered turning back, but I had already gotten so far… and maybe the sound was of people moving about? A search party? How long had I been here? It seemed a bit of a fantastical thought, but what else did I have to go on? My hopes began to perk up as I realised the area around me was getting a touch lighter – I could see my hand in front of my nose, and increased my speed further, my guitar case bouncing uncomfortably on my back, and my breath coming in short and sharp bursts.
It was definitely getting lighter now – I could make out the texture of the walls, and there was a golden glow coming from up ahead. Maybe it was the end of the tunnel?
It was – I soon discovered, and my relief almost had my legs giving out underneath me. I was finally going to get out of that tunnel. I pushed onwards, no longer caring for the pain in my ankle, or the increasing volume of the clattering – I had become more and more certain that it was a party waiting for me in the light, even playing out the meeting in my head. Would I throw myself into their arms in relief, or would exhaustion overtake me. I felt it pulling on my muscles even as I thought it.
I needn't have bothered with the imagining or the relief, for when I finally pulled myself into the golden glow of the new room, it wasn't a search party sat waiting for me at all.
No, it was a sarcophagus.
A shaking sarcophagus.
My first instinct was to scream, then run, then vomit uncontrollably and collapse. I did none of those. The breath was hitched in my throat, my muscles paralyzed and my stomach non-functional as a thousand million possibilities ran through my head.
A mummy. Like from the movies. Ready to strip my flesh or turn me into it's minion.
No, a vampire, thirsty for young blood.
Or maybe a demon? Trapped down in a tomb by an ancient curse, to be broken only by the entrance of a thirteen year old girl set to fulfil a prophecy.
It was only after my heart starting beating once more, and the air moved more freely in my lungs, when I began to think a bit more rationally. Had somebody gotten themselves trapped in a sarcophagus? Well some people were destined to fail.
"Hello?" I called out shakily, my voice still stronger than I had expected it to be. The pounding and shaking of the golden gilded coffin instantly ceased, before resuming with more vigour. So they had registered my voice.
There was someone trapped in there!
"Oh my God, hang on!" I shouted over the noise, hopping shakily over to where the sarcophagus was rested on a large stone dais. I reached forward to pull at what looked like a chain wrapped around it's exterior, but was forced to pull back in risk of having my hand broken against the jumping gold.
"Stay still!" I pleaded, wobbling sharply on my one leg. I instinctively placed my other foot on the ground to keep my balance, and cried out in agony as my ankle screamed its protest. My pain quickly turned to anger and I reached out to thump the coffin sharply with my fist, shouting out in demand.
"Stay still!"
To my surprise, it worked.
"That's better. I can work on getting you out now, alright?" I tried to add reassuringly, calming myself down. I pulled on the chain again – following the links for some sort of release, but only found a really big and really strong looking padlock.
Ah.
"Um, I have a problem." I tried to explain, leaning closer to the sarcophagus. "There's a lock on this thing, and I can't undo it. You're stuck, but don't worry! I'm lost too and I think a search party might come so-"
I didn't even have time to finish my sentence when the sarcophagus jumped with enough vigour to catch me in the face and send me flying backwards. I sprawled back on the hard and rough floor, my various wounds screeching in protest as they rubbed across the dust, an new pain stabbing at my lip. I reached up a hand to touch it, and discovered yet more blood.
"You idiot!" I screamed at the sarcophagus, new tears forming in my eyes. "I was just trying to help you! I told you I couldn't get you out! A search party will come, so stop panicking!"
My shouts seemed to have some effect, as the shaking instantly stopped, and a heavy silence took its place. I sniffed and wiped my lip on my sleeve, wincing where the skin stuck to the fabric and pulled away in flakes. My ankle still throbbed, and my head still ached, but at least it was light, and I had some form of company. Even if it was a possible demon.
But why was it light? I took a moment to consider my surroundings, and found the source to be what looked like a glowing pane of gold mounted on the walls behind a thick barrier of glass. I stared at it for a few moments, transfixed, before my gaze wondered to the further adjournment of the tomb. There were all the traditional paintings, of course, in rich colours of red, blue, gold and green, interrupted only by sections where the inks had either faded or chipped away. Aside from the sarcophagus, there was no further physical ornamentation, and I guessed it had all either been looted or taken away by curious scientists. I leaned back and closed my eyes, steadying my breathing. The silence lingered on.
"I'm sorry," I called out tentatively after a moment, propping myself up on an arm. "I shouldn't have shouted, but you really hurt me you know."
Silence.
"Can you understand me?" I called then, and the coffin rattled slightly.
"How about you thump twice or something if you can understand me," I offered, and after a few seconds there came two very discreet bangs.
"Good!"
The fact that whoever was in there understood English comforted me somewhat, and certainly dispelled any last suspicions of supernatural forces waiting to prey on my sweet virgin flesh. I ran a hand through my copper hair, catching my fingers where it had been bundled into loose plaits at some point, before becoming preoccupied into a jaw-cracking yawn. A sudden gust of wind had me jumping back in terror – didn't that always happen in the movies? – before I forced myself to calm. There was probably a crack somewhere, or a break into the outside. Technically, I could go and search for it and walk out of this place free, but my muscles didn't seem to want to let me, and there was the question of ankle. Besides, it would be heartless to leave whoever it was in the sarcophagus on their own. They were probably as frightened as I was – there did seem to be something eerie about this place. Maybe they were even locked in with a mummy? I shuddered at the thought.
I caught sight of my guitar case lying next to me in the dust, and had a sudden longing to feel the strings under my fingertips, letting the notes bring a little bit more life into this hole.
"Hey," I started up at the coffin again, pulling the instrument towards me. "We might be here a while, you know. I don't know where my parents are, and I'm not really in a position to run and get help…" I paused. "Should I play a little music to pass the time? I know guitar… and can sing, I think. Two thumps for yes and one for no."
A silence. Then two thumps.
"Thank you." I smiled, before pulling my guitar out of its case and cradling it tenderly. My guitar was my baby, along with my violin, my piano, and my flute. I had taken classical instrumental lessons before I could remember, and music meant the world to me. I had even written one or two songs of my own, although my sister said I'd never get anywhere with them. They were too gloomy and dark, she'd told me. I needed to write something more modern and 'pop' like. I hated pop though. Who wanted to listen to a load of electronic auto-tuned rubbish when you could have the real deal?
I absently began to strum a few chords, before starting the opening of one of my favourite songs.
"This is a personal favourite of mine," I explained hesitantly, feeling a little self conscious playing in front of another. "It's called Ice Queen, by Within Temptation? Have you heard of them? They're really good! The actual song is of Symphonic Metal in genre, but I've done my own acoustic version. Want to hear?"
Two thumps.
"Alright then! I warn you, I'm not a professionally trained singer or anything."
I re-played the opening chords, fumbling slightly as I tried to make my way around the contrasting highs and lows of the song, my shivering in the cold making it only harder. I soon got into it a bit more, however, and I cleared my throat as I prepared to sing.
"When leaves have fallen and skies turned to grey,
The night keeps on closing in on the day.
A nightingale sings his song of farewell,
You better hide from her freezing hell…"
My voice was shaky and uncertain to start with, as I fought to push down my nervousness. Singing in front of someone new was always tricky, even if they were stupid enough to get themselves locked in a sarcophagus. The somewhat traumatising events of the last hour or so probably hadn't helped either, along with my unease and lingering terror.
"On cold wings, she's coming!
You better, keep moving!
For warmth, you're longing
Any day.
Come on, just feel it!
Don't you, see it?
You'd better believe..."
My voice grew stronger with the chorus, although it still wasn't perfect. I hadn't ever had voice training, but I was hoping to some day. I wanted to be in a band, and be like Sharon Den Adel – one of my idols and the writer of the song. She was also the vocalist of one of the best bands of all time. Within Temptation, they were called.
"When she embraces your heart turns to stone,
She comes at night when you're all alone.
And when she whispers your blood shall run cold,
You'd better hide before she finds you!"
I jumped up an octave as I reached the turning point in the song, my hands slipping up on the strings, before re-finding themselves.
"Whenever she is raging, she takes a life away.
"Haven't you seen…?
Haven't you seen,
The ruins of her world?"
"And whenever she is raging, she takes a life away.
"Haven't you seen?
"Haven't you seen,
The ruins of our world!"
Now was when I did the little guitar solo, humming the tune of the lyrics over the top of it. I was smiling slightly, as I did it, not quite so afraid as I had been before. I didn't mean to sound all deep or special, or any of that, but music soothed me.
"She covers the earth with a breathtaking cloak.
The sun awakes and melts it away.
The world now opens its eyes and sees,
The dawning of a new day!"
"On cold wings, she's coming.
You better, keep moving.
For warmth, you'll be longing,
Any day.
Come on, you feel it!
Don't you, see it?
You'd better believe!"
"Whenever she is raging, she takes a life away!
Haven't you seen?
Haven't you seen,
The ruins of her world!"
"Whenever she is raging, she takes a life away.
Haven't you seen?
Haven't you seen,
The ruins of our world…?"
I let my voice trail off slowly, taking advantage of the echoes, and dropped my hands from the strings. I found myself suddenly desperately tired : too tired for another song, and too tired to get up and look for an exit. The back of my head was buzzing, and I worried momentarily if I was suffering from the after-effects of concussion, but before I could do a whole lot about it, I had put my head down and drifted off.
Ice Queen is actually a very insane song, and despite it's branding it is more Orchestral and Symphonic than Gothic or metal like. There's definitely no screaming, and the singer has a very beautiful voice. Give it a listen. It's Ice Queen by Within Temptation. The Black Symphony version is much better than the studio recording. I'll put a link in my profile, or just type in 'Within Temptation Ice Queen Black Symphony' into YouTube. (I'm not trying to shove this band down your throat or anything .)
What did you guys think? Constructive criticism my good people.
I know you don't get the best introduction to Saskia and her personality/appearance etc, but this chapter is more of a prologue to the story. The next chapter is about ten years later.
Rage x