Deep into the darkness of a desert ruin in Egypt a group sit with their hands linked around a stone table, only a few days ago they had found a strange scroll. For a simple sacrifice they could contact the dead from the grave, girls sit between the men scared of what outcome could possibly come of this while their photographer makes a video.
"bel dara no herga fer la nor leg'ala molera" the leader chant's with closed eyes while the girl kneeling spins the lens to angle it onto the wrapped up cloth with blood staining the centre, side stepping around she watches carefully. "dora sel ala merla gorana gerfure" another chants from across the table as the wind starts to pick up, in the distance is thunder's but soon it subsides leaving nothing of interest.
"well that was pointless" one snaps with a grunt after the third attempt at the ritual, the girl on camera raising it back up from her feet to video them bickering.
"at least the trip wasn't fruitless, we found those 4 statue's remember?" a brunette state's clearing up the excavation with the other's, one whistles at the camera woman to look round. "you, stop wasting the film and go take another photo of the coffin before we start moving it" he snaps flicking his hand as she nods and starts to walk down the sloping hill deeper inside, mumbling under her breath she breaths in the stale air while videoing the symbols on the walls.
"does a 'please' ever hurt someone…" she grumbles under her breath coming across the cracking crypt as her eyes squint, the lid was closed last time they where down here. Peering inside she finds it empty apart from a few black threads that where surrounded in the rusting dust, videoing the content's she scales the walls again with her lens to examine everything.
She had always wanted to be an explorer but could never get the money together to do her own things, pushing the waves of blonde from her shoulder's she squints her perpetual green eyes when something shifts about on the ground behind her. Coming closer and closer to her feet as she stands absently still with a gulp, turning ever so slowly her eyes cast around but the room was vacant and empty.
Hearing something moving around to a dark corner she stares over at it while coming closer, stepping to the corner of the coffin she leans over only to jump back onto her bum when a jet black cobra bursts from the other side in a hissing frenzy. It's eyes glowing a horrible colour as it slithers up and around her thigh before coiling up on her stomach, trembling with fear as it opens its gaping mouth her eyes squeeze shut but nothing happens.
Opening them slowly the snake only sit's staring at her, it's slit tongue wriggling as it starts to move further up her frozen body and around her neck. Watching it shift to stare her in the face with concocting eyes she slowly shifts her head back, the slippery tongue flicking her nose before turning it's head to suddenly start burrowing into her coat collar and down. Green orbs widening as she feels the horrible creature slipping down to somehow get comfy in her bra, one of the men coming down to see what was taking her so long.
"what's wrong?" he suddenly bursts out in a panic as her terrified eyes and pale skin flicker under the poor lighting, gulping she points a trembling hand to her coat.
"t-there's a-a-a c….cobra…" she whisper's in a stutter as the man looks around, his eyebrow raised as she shifts her eyes down at her coat to emphases her 'point', the man widening his eyes with a gasp.
"oh…oh! For gods sake, don't move. I'll go get help!" he shakes his hand while turning away in a scatter leaving her to keep her eyes firmly on the dusty ground, shuddering when it slithers tighter around one of her mounds while it's head starts to move into one of the cups to get comfy. When more people come down she gives them the same look of terror. "h-help…me" she whimper's as a female slowly and carefully kneels in front of her.
"I don't know what we can do…if it get's angry it'll bite. We can't remove it by force" she whisper's unzipping the jacket to check, her eyes widening at the sheer black of the creature as it suddenly slithers up to rest it's head on top of her chest. "as long as it's relaxed…" the girl mumbles trying to distract it while another moves their hand to grip the back of it's head only to have the cobra turn and hiss angrily sending the hostage into a terrified rasping sound.
"can you stand up?" one whisper's quietly while another glares.
"don't be so stupid, if she moves the snake will…" watching her stupidly stand up with her arms outstretched the snake just seems to hunker back down to scowl at anyone trying to touch it.
"w-what d…do I do?" she shudder's as they glance at each other then back to her and the cobra, gulping she glances down at it before reaching her hand up and back down from the high peek to try grab it herself.
"Kea, be careful" one whisper's watching with worry as the blonde slowly grips onto the back of it's head, the snake just hisses through it's fangs but says nothing more as Kea hands its head over to another explorer.
"well, that was eventful" one sigh's rubbing his head while watching them cage the snake. "why is the casket open?" he questions staring at the girl still trying to get over what had just happened.
"it was like that when I came down, I thought one of you might have opened it" she shakily states rubbing her arms together before picking up the camera, glancing at them as they stare questing this but shrug it off while going to the cars. Kea being given the snake basket while she sits on the back with the coffin, glancing at the lid she opens it slightly before doing it completely. The cobra was gone with no where for it to have gotten out from as she looks about the ground where it is empty, propping the woven object away she sigh's nervously while rubbing her wrists.
At the hotel the blonde woman lay in her nightgown staring into space, she was still nervous that perhaps another beastie could get in and come after her while she slept but soon enough her eyes flutter shut as she turns over to curl up and snooze. During her sleep she could feel something shifting about above her but she attempts to ignore it while swatting her hand in the air, muttering gently the annoying movements come back a little heavier as she slowly opens up her emerald eyes to look at the time. Slowly sitting up to glance around the blurry scene before Kea reaches for her glasses which she could not find making her pout softly, reaching about the mattress encase she left it to the side her hand runs up something sleek.
Squinting her eyebrow gently she feels up and down the object before turning to stare at the table again, leaning further the blonde grabs her spectacles to look about the empty bed.
"weird…" she sigh's pulling her glasses down to stare about the empty room before taking them off completely and laying back down, feeling what ever it was creeping up her again she growls and sits up while grabbing her glasses. At that moment she wished she hadn't looked, sitting between her legs was the damned snake from before that hisses in anger at her yelling.
Gulping she reaches out to grab it before wincing when it opens it's mouth as a threat, starting to scoot backwards and off the bed it darts forwards to come face to face with her. It's eyes slitting as it breaths out it's nose in a short snort watching her move onto her back and fumble backwards against the wall, watching as the black cobra skulks up her foot, leg, stomach and onto her chest like before only it does not stop moving as, to unimaginable terror, thread like legs grab her mouth and jolt it open.
Struggling in an attempt scream it is muffled by the snake starting to intrude her mouth and make it's way down her throat, gagging an invisible source throws her forwards to straighten her out across the bed. Struggling profusely as tears come down her eyes her glasses drop to the floor and crack against the stone while the snake pushes the last of it's body into her, the legs and force dissipating as she gasps for air. The blonde's stomach churning as she grabs her mouth to puff out her cheeks, when the queasy sensation starts to fade Kea wraps her arms tightly around her knees to curl up and stare down.
Gasping and sitting up in the morning the blonde is sweating heavily out of panic as her hands smack about the cover's and her body, touching and pressing roughly against her stomach she looks about while grabbing her glasses. Peering through them they seem fine, not a single crack to be found upon them as she shudder's and rubs her belly just to make sure.
Standing with her suitcase she glances about the airport waiting for her ride back to New York, she hadn't been able to stomach any food after such a horrible dream and even the smell or sight of the substance made her want to throw-up. On the plane the blonde stares down onto her tummy in a fixated manner, a man close by giving an odd stare but says nothing else before turning back to reading the paper. On landing the blonde sigh's while pulling her bags along the roller, hand shooting out for a taxi to get home. Her apartment was small, her friends would always tell her it could have been worse but she honestly thought there couldn't be one any smaller. After getting settled in she runs a bath and gets an early sleep, she would need the energy for tomorrow when she went back to the museum.
Cleaning the area swiftly her mobile rings as she picks it up, chatting to a friend they offer her a coffee in which she takes to like fire and wheat, the area would be closing soon anyway. Peering around the empty abyss of the artefacts once the place was shut Kea spins the keys on her finger's before hearing footsteps making her eyebrow cock, she had started to get used to being randomly haunted by strange sounds but because of the aging building she put it down to the area settling down. This same sound in the same area had eventually started to annoy her over the following weeks, the creaking only actually sounding when she was alone. Reaching about to put books in their places with mannequins of animals footsteps clatter, as if running, right past her but on turning there is no one.
"hello?" she calls out while shifting her mouth to no reply, going back to what she was going a thin shadow moves across the floor followed by a child's laugh. "who's there?" she enquires again turning to stare about, slowly stepping the way the person had run to turn a corner and see a leg go round the other side of a pillar. A nasty vibe trickling through her system as she slowly steps away and starts to walk briskly from the area, the shadow casting and getting closer as she spins around ending in her toppling over with her hands up to protect herself.
When nothing happens she looks at the vacant space about her, stuffed animals with cocked eyes just staring at her from every side. Rubbing her eyes she slowly turns and lets out a shriek of undying horror when a small face is right up at her, flopping back with her eyes rolling she groans into the back of her hand sometime later. Crinkling her brow she sit's up to see the area empty again, the lack of food must have been going for her, she was hallucinating, a lot.
Shakily getting to her feet she see's the time and almost has a heart attack, she must have been out for over three hours if not more. Scuttling swiftly she does not see a single eye from the frame of a large door staring out at her, the brunettes hair flowing off their shoulder as they watch her running away in a panic, just as silent as they had watched they disappear when a guard stomps past.
It wasn't until a few days. and a doctor's appointment, later that she heard the vibrating footsteps once again stalking her, this time in the jungle exhibit where she stood ticking off each stuffed tiger in order of size and rarity. It was a busy day as she eats a sandwich and takes children round the area's while chattering, glancing to a small tanned boy that looked strongly familiar but she shakes it off to come see him.
"hi there, are you lost?" she enquires as he looks up at her with flickering green and red eyes, she only smiles pleasantly at him until watching him wander away without even answering her question. Shaking her head Kea goes back to taking the students round before shutting time where she waves them off, sitting by the Koi ponds she watches the large clock strike up a number as the models spin about.
Turning her head she jumps almost falling into the water when the tanned boy from before is found standing at her knee's staring up at her, blinking she looks about. "waiting for your parents, huh?" she enquires getting no reply, only his emotionless eyes burning into her soul's core. "…well I'm going now" she nervously smiles with a twitching upper lip, the boy watching her leave the large doors quietly.
Going through the staff's entrance the blonde does her daily rounds before seeing something running by the marble flooring again, this time she knew it must have been the boys shadow. He must have been one of the staff's sons that came to work with them, peering about she sees him kneeling and prodding at something on the floor.
"hey…it's a bit early for kids to be up. Don't you think?" she enquires stepping a little closer until apparent blood takes her attention from the wall, gasping she grabs the child away from a stone cold body. Putting his face to her stomach she stares at the disembowelled man, in a squeaking panic she runs to find anyone before bringing them back in a frantic state of panic but there is no body to be seen where it once lay.
"Kea, there's nothing here…maybe you should get some sleep?" the man mumbles squeezing her shoulder and walking away, the young woman steps to where the body was in a questioning manner.
"I wasn't hallucinating…I saw a body here" shuddering she glances to jump when she feels the cold touch of a small hand grip her index finger, looking down at the young boy she pouts at the emotionless expression returned. "you saw the body, right?" she questions but the child says nothing and starts pointing towards the Egyptology exhibit, sighing she follows him towards it.
"hey, where are your parents?" she enquires but the boy ignores her still before placing her in front of the red ropes blocking passers from touching the objects, peering up the blonde stares at the black beasts from the runes with a blink. "it's only a statue…" she mumbles with a soft smile running fingers through his brown locks, his head shifting to watch her as the creatures move about ready to snag her if it weren't for someone coming in.
"hey, photo girl from the trip" a brunette plight's seeming troubled and looking around shakily. "have you seen any weird occurrences, strange dreams and what not? Anything going missing or people acting strange" she enquires only to get a small pause of silence, the tanned boy glaring under his fringe secretly.
"after the scroll was used?" she questions seeming rather out of it before going a little pale when she nods. "do you ever feel followed? And had a dream about a cobra in your bed?…a few minutes ago I saw a dead body but when I came back it was gone" she pouts as the girl shudders and nods before more people appear from before, they soon all have the same conversation but for some reason the only one not to have seen their death was Kea but she was the only one to have seen a body.
"defiantly that scroll worked, or at least it has done something" one mumbles as they sit at a table with the young boy on Kea's lap and snuggled into her asleep.
"this is the perfect time to video some of the happening's, it would seem they all resonate in this very museum" a man states to people agreeing while the blonde stays silent through the talk "tomorrow night, bring tents and other things. We'll make this an official thing, camera girl you'll be videoing it all" they state before scurrying off leaving her to silently ponder, was it really a good idea?
Sighing she glances down at the small boy still curled up happily into her, running a few finger's along his arm she thinks about today's work. Right up until it got late no one had come to collect the young boy as she sits with her head against a wooden statue, opening them every so often to groan when still no one is around.
"hey, why are you still here? You got off shift ages ago…" the caretaker mumbles curiously pausing in front of her and blocking out the light.
"oh hi Sybilla, I was waiting for the kid over there's parent's to appear. But they still haven't turned up" the elderly woman glances to the young boy and hum's.
"he's been wandering about for some time now, in-fact I saw him here last night just walking about aimlessly in the insect's department…I thought he was someone's here but if he's still not been picked up I think he might not actually belong to someone" the woman states staring at the boy before sitting down next to Kea, there is an awkward silence before the woman places a hand to the blondes stomach making her eyebrow hitch.
"he wont hurt you when he comes…" she whisper's randomly making the young girl have small shudders of confusion.
"who comes?" she enquires curiously towards the caretaker who rubs her stomach in a kind of trans.
"you've met him, haven't you?" the grey haired woman enquires looking up at Kea curiously but pouts at the confused stare. "that boy over there is more than he seems" looking at the child she turns her head to find the grey haired woman gone, another hallucination? Sitting with a bored expression on her face the young boy wander's closer to raise his arms up looking to be held again, glancing at him with dull sea green eyes she looks around then sigh's again.
"where do your parent's actually work?" she enquires seeing he still has his arms raised up, groaning and scrunching her eyebrow her arms wrap up around him as she picks him up onto her black trousers. "if they don't show up soon I'm leaving you in the hands of someone else" she grouchily mumbles nuzzling her nose sheepishly into the back of his hair that smelled surprisingly of lavender and camomile, even after an hour of sitting about there was no one.
Huffing she puts him down and stretches, scruffing his head Kea wander's forwards before having her finger's gripped. "I'm tiered, I have been sitting with you for some time now…I really want to go get something to eat" she complains looking down at the emotionless orbs staring back with a sparking light, groaning at the green and red she wanders back over to slump with a crossed armed and legged pout on the floor.
The tanned child disappearing and coming back with random food, Kea staring at it before grabbing the child in awe. "you're so cute" she mumbles sticking one of the Dango's into her mouth to munch happily, leaving a few for the boy but he doesn't touch them. "you don't want to eat?" she questions as the young child only stays snuggled into her side, Kea looks to the clock hitting midnight as a yawn leaves her lips.
"I'm going to call this a night, it's getting late" she sigh's looking at the small child. "c'mon, you can stay with me for the night…" she mumbles picking him up into her arms and pulling out her car keys, back at her flat she tucks him into her own bed while taking refugee on the sofa watching T.V. Twitching she wakes up with a yawn during the night to go make a coffee, while waiting for the machine to finish brewing something shift's in her stomach making her moan and squint her eyes slightly.
"weird…" she mumbles stepping towards the fridge only to have it happen again, gripping her stomach and cringing she flops over. "ahhh…" she groans out in a sensation of both pain and something else. Reaching to the counter she pulls herself up against it to curl up and gasp when it happens again, staring at her stomach she can feel it shifting again. Grabbing her mouth and scrambling for the bathroom she slams the door shut and grabs her hair urgently, after a few minutes she comes out a paler shade of green.
Groaning she gulps down as much coffee as she can quickly to remove the taste, flopping onto the sofa with a pale and placid look to herself Kea glances at the floor for sometime before going back to sleep. In the morning she slowly opens her eyes to come face to face with the small child, her pupils dilating but she doesn't flinch. She was used to the creepy kid getting unnaturally close to her the way he did, sitting up to rub her head the child clamber's up where she lay to curl up into her side.
"your rather affectionate for being a little creepy…" she mumbles scruffing his brunette hair gently, sighing she lays back down to hold him like a teddy. "I can't be bothered going to this night time search…the most that will happen is a few silly noises and someone screaming" she mumbles watching the small boy nuzzle into her chest, if he where older then it would have been a rather awkward moment.
Later that night Kea drives into the museum with tents, cover's and other random things and sets them up in the Egyptian section with everyone else's, the small child wandering in to the tent with her to get comfy. Bundling cover's up over the entrance into the tent Kea glances about before going out to set up the camera, following everyone the small child had disappeared off somewhere but no one seemed to mind.
Video recorder in hand she follows them through the dark, apparently they had brought their own camera's as-well so they could split off. Leaving Kea on her own she walks the lonely stairs of the dinosaur exhibit before putting it down with a sigh, nothing was going to happen and it was already midnight. A scream forces her to jump but then settle, as she thought they would start screaming about anything. Wandering through she widens her eyes to stare at one of the women from here basically ripped of her clothes and strewn across the marble flooring, people running with their camera's.
"holy shit!" one yells going over to check for a pulse. "she's dead…some sick fuck's raped her…" he snaps getting up as everyone peers between each other, Kea starting to get rather worried about this.
"can I go home…" she mumbles looking at them as they shake their heads.
"no ones allowed to go home, I'm calling the police" the man snaps storming off while everyone follows closely leaving the camera girl with the body, there was something not right about this; the scream happened too quickly for that to have been rape; unless they where superman.
Stepping closer to lean down towards the body she reaches out and picks up a piece of black material that looked just like the beasts from the exhibit and the ones left in the coffin, walking from the body when they return she goes to the Egyptian part before pausing; they where gone.
"none of the phones are working and theirs no reception in this stupid place" someone sigh's wandering past as Kea walks with her master keys rattling, going to the lock up she opens it up and scans about before relocking it.
Best she checked for them and locked off every room with nothing in it to have some sort of control over the place, not that she felt she had any in the first place. Seeing shadows shifting she turns her head to see the small boy from before just standing watching her lock the door again, stepping closer the blonde smiles at him before glancing to her side when what sounds like the scraping of metal rattles the flooring. Blinking to nothing her head turns back to find him gone again, the tanned child was starting to get creepier as she shakes her head and goes to find everyone else.
Finding no one about she sigh's and climbs back into the tent to wait, hearing something moving about outside after at least an hour of lazing about Kea glances up at the large bulk standing outside of the tent. Getting up she slowly reaches up before watching it swiftly thunder off with heavy bumps from the room when people come in, pocking her head out to find the rest of them glancing about.
"Kea, have you seen Josh and Mike? They where heading back here but disappeared…" one mumbles as she shakes her head and glances about, perhaps one of the bulks was them but then again it was too big to have been one of them. Waiting they do not appear until someone comes running looking about half dead and bleeding everywhere, leaping from the darkness towards the group they turn and shimmy into their legs as some kneel in shock horror.
"m-monsters! Demons! These…things, they attacked us" he gasps with wide eyes as they look over the scratches and gashes, this expedition was starting to get seriously dangerous.
"I feared this" the eldest of them mumbles pulling out the large black box he had brought with them, handing out guns Kea takes one to stare at in an unsure manner.
"b-but I don't know how to use a gun" she pleads as someone cocks it for her and shows her how to lock it.
"split up and find it, use these when you've found them and try not get seen. Camera girl stay here…" they mumble walking off leaving her alone in the poorly lit area, gulping she flinches at every sound that creaks or echoes.