Twenty-three minutes. She overslept by twenty-three minutes.
Anna Campbell cracked her eye opened, saw the time, and let out a loud "FUCK!"
She jumped off her bed and ran around her room, grabbing clothes and putting them on. She thundered down the stairs and flew through the kitchen. "I'm late!" She shrieked to her mother as she grabbed her bag.
"That's what you get for going to bed so late," her mother scolded.
"You could have woken me up," Anna said as she hopped on one foot, getting her shoes on. "I'm going to be late for work."
"And you need to understand that you're an adult now and you have responsibilities. You can't just waste your time on your computer anymore," her mother lectured.
"I wasn't wasting time!" Anna protested. "I was watching an educational TV series."
Her mother rolled her eyes at that. She held out a muffin for Anna and she snatched it from her.
"Thanks, bye!" She ran out the door and down the street. If she ran fast enough, she could get to work a hair before she was supposed to clock in.
For once in her life she was glad she had spent five years as a midfielder.
She shoved the muffin in her mouth and chewed as she ran. She clung to the hope that Mr. Young would go easy on her since she had never been late before. He liked her a lot too and told her she was one of the more competent workers he's had.
Anna glanced at her phone and saw she only had seven minutes until she was supposed to clock in. Her heart jumped. Mr. Young's store was ten blocks away.
Panic engulfed her. Why in the hell did she have to binge-watch Marco Polo last night?
She swallowed the rest of her muffin and crossed the street. But in her haste she forgot to look to her left for incoming traffic. Immediately she heard a loud car horn, she looked left, and to her horror saw a truck heading her way.
It was like time slowed down. She could make out the detailing of the black Dodge ram as it came closer and closer. The truck was shiny too. She could see her own deer-in-the-headlights look reflected back at her.
Oh no, she thought as she put her hands up as if to shield herself. Hot agony ripped through her as the truck collided with her body and she flew back.
It was true what they said because Anna saw her life flash before her eyes. She thought of her mother and her step-dad, John, laughing at their wedding. She saw her Abuela reciting her Hail Mary in Spanish and lighting a votive candle. Her dad was grinning as she received her high school diploma. Her soccer team screaming when they won Nationals. And then she was watching Marco Polo until she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer.
Twenty-three minutes. Had she gotten up on time she wouldn't have been in such a hurry. She would've been at work already.
Anna Campbell opened her mouth in a soundless scream (not that she could scream—the truck knocked all wind out of her) and her world went black as her back hit the pavement.
-x-
"I just found her lying there!" Someone was saying in the distance. A woman, Anna thought vaguely.
"Where did she come from? And what is she wearing?" This time, it was man speaking."And is that metal in her ears?"
Was she in the hospital? Did she survive being hit by a truck? But that woman didn't sound like her mother. And that man didn't sound like John or her dad. And come to think of it, Anna didn't feel like she was in pain; just sore all over with a raging headache.
Maybe the hospital had extremely good painkillers.
How long have I been out? She thought.
But above her, the man was speaking. "Miss? Miss, can you hear me?" A finger tapped her forehead gently and Anna's eyes snapped open.
She was staring at an elderly man with a salt and pepper beard and wearing what looked like a funny, red hat. He was leaning over her—was she on a floor? But he was most definitely not her dad or John.
Anna screamed high and loud. The man backed away quickly, wincing at sheer volume of Anna's scream. Anna scuttled backwards until her back hit something solid. Her eyes darted from the man to the woman standing just behind him.
She was pretty in an old-fashioned sort of way: curly, brown hair tied back, dark, brown eyes, and a white blouse and skirt ensemble. She looked very matronly.
"Who are you?" Anna shrieked. "Where am I?"
The man looked to the woman and she stepped closer to Anna. She held her hands up and said soothingly, "you're okay. We're not going to hurt you."
"Who are you?" Anna asked again. "And where am I?"
The two shared looks again before the woman spoke again. "My name is Evelyn Carnahan. This is Dr. Terrence Bey. And you're in the Museum of Antiquities in Cairo."
Cairo? "Cairo, Egypt?" Anna blurted out.
Evelyn Carnahan nodded. "Yes. I found you passed out on the floor."
Cairo, Egypt. How on Earth did she travel seven thousand miles from San Francisco to Cairo? I'm dead, Anna thought. I died and now I'm in heaven or something. But she looked around her and saw things that looked like they belonged in an Egypt exhibit in a museum.
She looked at the two, terrified, before a little squeak escaped her and her eyes rolled up to the back of her head and she passed out.
-x-
Anna was surrounded by fog. She looked around but couldn't see anything. There was nothing but fog and the dirt road she was standing on. "Hello?" She shouted into the din.
In response she felt something brush past her ear and heard something whisper to her: "Come closer, child."
Though she felt terrified, she blindly walked forward and hoped whoever had talked to her was waiting ahead of her.
"Hello?" She tried again.
She stopped fully when she saw someone emerge from in the fog and then she was staring at the most beautiful woman she had ever laid eyes on.
The woman was unnaturally tall with straight black hair that fell to her shoulders. She wore an elaborate headdress that looked kind of like a throne the more Anna looked at it. Her eyes were so dark they appeared black. And she wore the softest-looking white dress. "Do not be afraid," the woman said.
"I..." Anna's voice failed her. "Who are you?" She asked when she finally gain the courage to speak.
The woman merely smiled mysteriously. "Hold your head high. Soon, your time will come to stop a great calamity. Embrace you destiny."
Anna stared at the woman blankly. "What?" She asked, dumbfounded. What the hell was she talking about? Anna was only a nineteen year old girl from San Francisco! Who, however long ago, had been hit by a freaking truck!
The woman chuckled. "Do not be frightened when the time comes, Iset."She walked forward and put her hand on Anna's forehead. "Walk towards the light."
And then Anna woke up.
She bolted upright and immediately regretted it because her head gave a vicious throb. Anna winced and held her head in her hands before looking around.
She was no longer in the room from before but in what seemed like a small office. She got up from the small sofa where she had been laying on and looked around. It looked a lot of like the office her old high school advance placement history teacher's desk area in his classroom. Books were strewn everywhere, stacked on high bookshelves and left on tables. There were notes scattered about and a couple plants. But despite that, the office was pretty well organized unlike her old teacher's whose desk always looked like a tornado went through.
Curiosity got the best of her and her first stop was the bookshelf. She noted many of the books were in languages she couldn't understand (looked like a majority were in Arabic and maybe some in Hebrew?) And only a few were in English.
On the desk she found some handwritten notes and a newspaper. She gingerly picked it up and scanned it but when she looked at the numbers up top, she dropped it in shock. She did not just—
"Oh you're up!" The woman, Evelyn, was back. She looked more cheerful to see Anna up and about. "How're you feeling, dear?
Anna gaped at her and Evelyn frowned. "Something wrong?" Evelyn asked.
"What year is it?" Anna asked weakly.
Evelyn gave her a strange look. "April Sixteenth, 1926," she said.
Anna's knees went weak and she had to hold onto the desk chair for support. She wasn't in San Francisco, California in 2015. She was in Cairo, Egypt in the year 1926. "That's impossible," Anna croaked out.
Evelyn hurried to her and helped get her steady. "Are you alright?"
No. The word got stuck her throat and she shook her head mutely. But then a lump formed in her throat, her chin trembled, and she burst into tears.
"Oh no," Evelyn said and pulled her into a warm embrace. "Please don't cry. Please tell me what's going on."
It took half an hour for Anna to stop crying and by then Evelyn had made her a cup of tea and sat her back down on the sofa. "Dr. Bey had to step out for awhile," Evelyn told her as she sat next to Anna.
Anna sipped at her tea, grimacing at the bitterness. Earl Grey. Not my favorite. What I wouldn't give for a white tea or chai.
"I think I'm lost," Anna said finally when she trusted her voice.
"Lost how?"
Anna hesitated here. As much as she felt she could trust this Evelyn, she decided telling her she was from the future was not the best of ideas. Evelyn would think her crazy. And if her history classes from high school served her correctly, mental institutions were the worst possible place she could end up in. (As if being in 1926 wasn't the worse place she could be.)
"Where are you from? What's your name?" Evelyn asked.
"My name's Anna Campbell," Anna started. "I'm from San Francisco, California."
Anna started off small. She told Evelyn how old she was and that she really didn't know how she got to Egypt from California. And as truthfully as she could, she told Evelyn she didn't have any family which was technically true. Her parents haven't been born yet. Her grandparents were probably children, maybe young adults.
Evelyn seemed to accept this and didn't push Anna for more details after Anna truthfully told her she didn't know how she ended up in the museum. Anna was grateful for that because she didn't know how she would make up her history. She didn't know what she could say that wouldn't give away what was to come.
It was 1926 now which meant America was nearing the end of the roaring twenties and jazz era. It had only three more years until the stock market crashed. World War I ended seven years ago. World War II wouldn't happen for another thirteen years and Anna shuddered, remembering all the atrocities committed during the second world war.
And then cold dread swept through her again. She was in 1926. Which meant the internet hadn't been invented yet. Neither had smartphones or computers.
Tom Hiddleston hasn't been born yet.
She let out a mournful wail when she realized she would at least be forty years older than Tom Hiddleston. And the Avengers didn't exist. Neither did Batman or Captain America or Spider-man.
And she began to cry again when she realized that it would be sixty-four years before Netflix would be invented. And even then, there would be at least another decade before Netflix started streaming movies and shows. She could be dead by then.
Evelyn rubbed Anna's back gently, allowing Anna to cry. "I'm sorry," Anna hiccuped. "I'm just really overwhelmed right now."
"It's alright," Evy soothed. "Just let it out. We'll get things sorted."
But at that moment, Dr. Bey returned. Anna wiped her tears away as the man looked her over. "Have we got an idea who she is?" He asked Evelyn.
"Sort of," Evelyn replied and gave Anna a smile. "I was thinking I would just let her stay with me until we get things sorted."
"Good," Dr. Bey said. "I don't want the authorities swarming in here saying we kidnapped an American girl."
And that would be bad thing, Anna realized. She had no paperwork identifying her as an American citizen. She didn't even have a passport. All she had was the clothes on her back (and just her clothes, her phone and bag didn't seem to come with her on this strange journey) and judging by the way Evelyn and Dr. Bey were eying them, they were horribly out of place.
Compared to Evelyn, she did look strange and unnatural. Anna was just nearly as tall as Evelyn though where Evelyn was petite and womanly, Anna was all leg and a bit thinner thanks to soccer.
And of course her clothing options highlighted these difference. She had opted for a pair of black leggings and a nice, blue shirt, and her neon orange tennis shoes when she was dressing in a hurry. Her long, brown hair (so dark it almost appeared black) was swept back into a ponytail which was slowly becoming messy. And with her pale skin and blue eyes, she was sure she was going to stick out like a sore thumb in Egypt.
-x-
"I don't live too far from the museum," Evelyn said as she walked Anna down the street.
Anna couldn't keep her eyes on one spot. Everything looked like a picture out of a history book: English people and Egyptians walked the streets (many of them giving Anna odd looks.) It wasn't at all like how the internet made Egypt look with the constant disarray from violence.
But at the moment, Egypt was under the control of Britain and Anna wondered how much longer that would last. She wished they had spent more time on Egypt in history so could actually map out the changes in government and when the protests would begin.
"Here we are." Evelyn pulled Anna into a large building. "Fort Bryden. My apartment is closer to the top floor."
Evelyn's apartment was very nice. A four-poster bed in her bedroom with a large wardrobe and vanity. Her living room was open with a table in the middle and several chairs. There was a secondary room that was filled with books on Egypt.
"Please sit." Evelyn gestured to a chair and Anna hesitantly sat down.
Evelyn disappeared into her room and came back out with an armful of clothes. "These may be a bit big for you but they'll do until I can get you some of your own clothes."
As Evelyn sat them out Anna noted they were all blouses and skirts.
"Can't I have pants?" Anna asked as she fingered one of the long white skirts not unlike the one Evelyn was wearing.
Evelyn's brow furrowed. "The shops normally sell pants for men. You'd have to get something tailored but I'd doubt they'd do so. But you could try the Egyptian shops," Evelyn said. "Or steal some from my brother Jonathan when he comes to visit."
And so Anna dejectedly resigned herself to wearing skirts for the time being. She took a white skirt and a purple blouse and walked into the bathroom. She pulled her shoes, leggings, and shirt off and changed into Evy's borrowed clothes. The skirt was a little too short for her long legs but the blouse fit.
"Thanks for helping me, Evelyn," Anna said truthfully to Evelyn when she came out. "I don't what I'd do on my own."
Evelyn merely smiled. "It's nothing, Anna. I couldn't leave you along. And please, call me Evy."
"Thanks, Evy."
-x-
Anna decided that she would have no choice but to settle in her new life in the twenties in Egypt and she figured there were worse places she could be. She could have ended up in Russia as it became a communist state. Or France in the aftermath of the war.
Leave Anna to try and find the positives in life. But those positives quickly drained when the things she would usually turn to for entertainment hadn't been invented yet.
So worked on integrating into this new society. Slowly, she began to learn some Arabic from her neighbors and Ancient Egyptian from Evy (though the latter was extremely difficult.)
With her meager Arabic, she managed to make friends with an elderly Egyptian couple living in a home not too far from the fort. Amir and his wife Aaliyah were happy enough to help Anna with her pronunciation. And Aaliyah took Anna to the bazaar and get some clothes of her own.
Adjusting to Egypt was difficult at first. She had thought California was hot but Egypt was so much worse. The sun beat down on her everyday and she had underestimated the Egyptian sun her first week and ended up with a horrible sun burn. Aaliyah had taken pity on her and showed her how to wear a hijab to protect her neck and shoulders since Anna refused to wear the ridiculous hats Evy gave her. And to make matters worse she kept her hair up in a ponytail despite how horribly informal it was according to Evy.
But Anna didn't care. She enjoyed putting her hair up with her black hair-tie. It felt like the only thing she had left of her previous life. Well, her hair-tie wasn't the only thing she still had left. Her earrings were still in: two piercings on each lob, a ring in her right helix, and a small stud in her right tragus (and no, she would not take them out no matter how horrified people get when they learn those were, in fact, actual piercings.)
Though the best thing that shocked many English people (including Evy) was the small tattoo on her left clavicle: a calavera or, as many people knew it as, a sugar skull. She had to explain a sugar skull to Evy but she skipped over the important details of how she got it.
Nevertheless, because of the sun, Anna had to keep her shoulders covered anyway. People would only see it if she was indoors and wearing a dress with straps.
And to Dr. Bey's annoyance, Anna would join Evy at the museum since she didn't want to stay cooped up in Evy's apartment all day. Going out to explore when Aaliyah or Evy were not around was not an option because of Anna's limited Arabic and she knew nothing of Cairo.
Dr. Bey would give her dark looks as she wandered around the museum and tell her not to touch anything. So Anna would keep to the back rooms, studying her Arabic (and at times, Ancient Egyptian) and made sure to stay out of Dr. Bey's way.
As the days blurred together, Anna had settled into her new life and was resigned to know that she was never going back to 2015. However, her life would be thrown in disarray only two months after coming to Cairo.
-x-
Why on Earth would I start another fanfiction up? Maybe because I'm insane? I don't know. But The Mummy is one of my favorite movies ever and I watched it last week and I've always wanted to write something for it but I never got an idea of what.
Carnahan and O'Connell siblings have been done to death (not judging, I found a few I've liked!) but the trapped in another world/movie/game/etc trope has always been a guilty pleasure of mine so why not? I haven't seen a lot of those in the Mummy archive.
So, this is going to be a slow Ardeth romance considering how little time Ardeth gets on screen but it'll get there. I promise.
And if any of my regular readers are worried about other stories getting updated, this story is pretty much completed already. I just need to clean up chapters and do a bunch of editing so my time won't be diverted away from the others. So also expect a weekly update if I can remember to post a new chapter or find time to edit.
Reviews, favorites, and follows are love! See ya in chapter two!