Updated Author's Note: This story is undergoing revision. Since I am going to start working on Part Two, I wanted to revise this part and see if I still liked it the way it was. I am also taking into account the feedback I have gotten, which has been both positive and constructive, and I thank all my reviewers for that. Having people tell you a story is awesome is great, but having them tell you how it could be improved is even better. I hope that you will take the time to reread the revised chapters, despite anxiously awaiting Part Two, and continue to comment on the changes that have been made.
Feedback Note: A few people have asked why Evelyn is so mean to Lynette. It was not my intention for Evelyn to come off as mean, although I suppose I understand why some might get that impression. However, I think this chapter sets up their relationship in an effective way without being really obvious about it. To clarify, Evelyn is a mother to Lynette because she is the only responsible older sibling, and that is why she is what I would consider firm, not mean, to Lynette. If anyone is mean or difficult, it is Lynette, since she is the one who gets upset all the time. I hope this makes some of you feel better, as I am not trying to vilify Evy!
Original Author's Note: This story does assume familiarity with the events of The Mummy and The Mummy Returns. I skip key events in the films that aren't pertinent to my OC character or Ardeth Bay as I feel is necessary to move the story along. Hopefully no one feels like this detracts from the story, but I certainly am interested in knowing what you think and fielding any questions you may have. Also, I can't take complete credit for the clandestine museum meeting that takes place in this chapter. That scene was actually cut from the film but was in Stephen Sommers' original script. The idea for the scene and some of the dialogue comes from that script. Obviously, I do not own any of the original dialogue or the plot from the movie either, but I do greatly enjoy using it for fantasy purposes.
For the Love of a Med-Jai
Part One: The Mummy
Chapter One
Thebes, City of the Living, crown jewel of Pharaoh Seti I; home of Imhotep, Pharaoh's High Priest, Keeper of the Dead; birthplace of Anck-su-namun, Pharaoh's mistress. No other man was allowed to touch her. But for their love, they were willing to risk life itself. Killing herself to escape worse punishment at the hands of the Med-Jai, Anck-su-namun was laid to rest under the sands of Egypt.
To resurrect Anck-su-namun, Imhotep and his priests broke into her crypt and stole her body. They raced deep into the desert, taking Anck-su-namun's corpse to Hamunaptra, City of the Dead, ancient burial site for the sons of pharaohs and resting place for the wealth of Egypt. For his love, Imhotep dared the gods' anger by going deep into the city, where he took the black Book of the Dead from its holy resting place.
Anck-su-namun's soul had been sent to the dark Underworld, her vital organs removed and placed in five sacred canopic jars. Only Imhotep could perform the ritual that would resurrect her, and the beginning of the ritual was a success. Anck-su-namun's soul had come back from the dead, but Pharaoh's bodyguards had followed Imhotep and stopped him before the ritual could be completed.
Imhotep's priests were condemned to be mummified alive. As for Imhotep, he was condemned to endure the Hom-Dai, the worst of all ancient curses, one so horrible it had never before been bestowed. He was to remain sealed inside his sarcophagus, the undead for all of eternity. The Med-Jai would never allow him to be released, for he would arise a walking disease, a plague upon mankind, an unholy flesh eater with the strength of ages, power over the sands, and the glory of invincibility!
OOOO
Lynette Carnahan stood amidst the ruins of what had been the Cairo Museum of Antiquities library until roughly one hour ago. Her sister Evelyn had needed a break from sorting through all the books she had knocked down, and Lynette had let her leave without saying anything, despite the fact that the entire mess was Evelyn's fault. Lynette was used to giving her sister space. After all, Evelyn's head was usually in the clouds, which meant that she was often getting herself into an awkward kind of trouble. Still, Evy was brilliant, and Lynette respected that, even though she mildly resented having to live in her sister's shadow.
Lynette was 16 years old, the youngest of three children in her family. Evelyn was working diligently towards a career in archaeology, trying to get accepted by the prestigious Bembridge Scholars. Jonathan had no such lofty goals and was constantly gambling or searching for treasure. Lynette wasn't certain of what her goals actually were, but she loved Egypt and its history just as much as her late parents and Evelyn, so she stayed at the museum, waiting to find her calling. At the moment, she had certainly decided that she never wanted to be a librarian.
Frustrated, Lynette turned and walked out of the room, almost crashing into her brother Jonathan, who was following Evelyn down the hallway with a huge smile on his face. Before she could ask what he was so happy about, he had grabbed her arm and was dragging her down the hallway. "Jonathan," she protested, trying to free her arm without ripping her sleeve. "Jonathan, would you like to tell me what's going on?"
"I found something, Lynn! I finally found something!" he said joyously. "After years of searching, I think I'll finally end up with something valuable." Lynnette rolled her eyes and finally fell into step with Jonathan so that she wasn't stumbling down the hallway. Her brother's search for wealth was a constant thorn in her side, as well as in Evy's. Of course, it did occur to Lynette that if Evelyn was going along with Jonathan's little scheme, there might actually be something to it. As they entered the curator's office, Jonathan finally let go of her and she stood beside the desk next to him, her arms crossed over her chest. She looked pointedly at Evelyn.
"Would you two mind telling me what all this is about?" she asked. Evelyn ignored her and set an old papyrus map down in front of the curator, who looked at her witheringly, which was not surprising after the library incident. Lynette stepped up to the edge of the desk and bent over to get a better look, trying not to get in the curator's way. "Is that the seal of Seti I?" she murmured, glancing up at Evelyn.
"Yes, I'm sure of it," Evelyn answered. The curator looked skeptical.
"Perhaps," he said curtly, his eyes scanning the map. Lynette noticed him frowning slightly. Jonathan was practically jumping out of his skin next to her.
"Well, who the hell was Seti I, and was he rich?" he asked. Lynette sighed. There was nothing like her brother's one-track mind. "Well?" Jonathan insisted.
"He was supposedly the wealthiest pharaoh to ever rule Egypt," Lynette answered. Jonathan's eyes practically popped out of his head. Evelyn was leaning over the map with the curator, her fingers tracing the markings on the far right side of the map.
"Do you see these here?" she said softly. "I think it's Hamunaptra."
The curator looked sharply up at Evelyn. "Don't be ridiculous. We're scholars, not treasure hunters. Hamunaptra is a myth."
"Hamunaptra?" Jonathan asked. "You mean…"
Lynette nodded. "The city where they supposedly hid all the wealth of Egypt in a giant underground treasure chamber. The whole thing was rumored to be able to disappear under the sands with the flick of a switch. But no one's ever found it."
The curator was holding the map close to his candle, squinting at something in one of the corners. Evelyn seemed to be waiting for him to come to some sort of revelation, and Lynette stepped away from the desk, beginning to pace in quiet contemplation. She started as Evelyn shrieked, turning around quickly. The curator had held the map too close to the candle and it was now lying on the carpet in flames. Lynette stayed back as Evelyn and Jonathan fell onto the map, trying to put out the flames. The curator seemed decidedly less than disappointed, but Jonathan sounded as if he wanted to die as he said, "You burned it. You burned off a part of the lost city!"
"It is for the best, I'm sure," the curator said defensively. "Many men have wasted their lives in the foolish pursuit of Hamunaptra. No one has ever found it, and most have never returned." Evelyn's brow was furrowed as she grabbed the box that had contained the map off of the desk.
"Come on, Jonathan, let's go," she said, quickly walking out of the room with Jonathan on her heels. Lynette was left alone with the curator. She tapped her fingers impatiently on the desk. She was always getting left out. She supposed she should be used to it.
OOOO
"What do you mean, you're leaving?" Lynette said angrily, glaring at Evelyn and Jonathan. Evelyn was packing, completely oblivious to Lynette's anger, while Jonathan stood sheepishly to the side, his hands resting on the back of his neck.
"I mean we're going to find Hamunaptra, and I expect you to keep an eye on things here while we're gone," Evelyn said matter-of-factly. Lynette was close to seething, but she was trying to be reasonable.
"Watch things here?" she said incredulously. "Evy, you're telling me that you're going after the most coveted Egyptian treasure of all time and you want me to stay home?"
"Well, you're too young to go anyway," Evelyn said blithely. Lynette finally snapped and slammed the lid of her sister's suitcase shut, glaring at her from the other side of the bed it was sitting on.
"What do you mean I'm too young? I know just as much as you do and I'm tired of being left out all the time! You can't just waltz off and leave me in a museum every time you don't want the extra baggage!"
Evelyn evenly met her sister's angry gaze. "You're not going, and that's final."
Lynette clenched her teeth but held her tongue. She knew it was futile to say anything. They would leave the next morning and she would have to stay behind. She turned on her heel and walked briskly out of the room.
OOOO
Lynette walked through the halls of the dark museum, not really knowing where she was going. She was so angry she could hardly think, but she didn't know what she could do about it. After all, she didn't really get a say in how anything went in her life. Now her brother and sister were going to leave her here while they went on some extravagant adventure. Yes, she was young, but not that young. She could handle herself around an archaeological site, she was sure of it. She just didn't know how to convince Evelyn of that.
Rounding a corner, Lynette stopped short, surprised to see light coming from under the curator's office door. It was almost midnight, and he never stayed that late. What could be going on? Curiosity dissipating some of her anger, Lynette crept closer to the door, noticing that it was slightly ajar. She moved quietly, finally leaning down to peer through the crack. She had to cover her mouth to keep from gasping as she saw an old man with a hook for a hand and his face covered in tattoos talking to the curator.
"She is like all the others," the mysterious visitor said. "She will die in the desert."
"No! She has seen too much, she knows too much," the curator insisted. Lynette bit her lip. Were they talking about Evelyn? "Not only does she have a map, but she has the key," the curator continued.
"She has the lost key?" The man with the hook looked angrily at the curator. "Then we will kill her, kill her and all those with her!" Lynette couldn't believe what she was hearing. Surely the curator couldn't go along with a plan to kill Evelyn?
"Yes… yes, kill her. And burn the map and retrieve the key," the curator answered. Lynette bit her lip. What the hell was she going to do? She couldn't let this man kill the only family she had left, regardless of how annoying they were being at present.
Lost in thought, Lynette almost didn't realize that the man with the hook was moving towards the door. She quickly scurried down the hallway and slipped through the archway of one of the exhibit rooms, tucking herself into a corner until the footsteps faded away. Then it was time to think about what she was going to do.
She knew Evelyn would never believe her if she tried to convince her that there was a strange man after her at the behest of the curator. She would think it was some silly ploy to stop them from going, or to let them come with her. But Lynette couldn't just let them go and leave it to chance that they would be all right. As she slipped out of the museum into the cold night air, she decided that her only choice would be to arrive earlier than Evelyn and Jonathan and book passage on the ship. She would have to stay hidden long enough so that they wouldn't be able to send her back, and then she could try and warn them.
Even if they didn't believe her, at least they would be warned.
OOOO
Lynette awoke slowly, her body cramped and freezing. Her plan to arrive before her brother and sister and book passage on their ship had worked, but the only room available was barely big enough to be a decent closet. She had finally fallen asleep, realizing that she wouldn't be able to do anything else until they were well underway. As she struggled to get up, she fell against the door, hitting her head and making a considerable thump. She rubbed her forehead and managed to open the door, dismayed to find that it was dark outside. She was sure that man would come for her sister under the cover of night, so she had to get to Evelyn fast. Luckily, she knew that her sister was in the room right next to hers, since she had heard her board that morning before she fell asleep.
Lynette was almost to Evelyn's door when her feet suddenly slid out from under her. She yelped and fell heavily to the deck, adding a bruised backside to her current list of discomforts. She got up, chiding herself for being so careless. It was a boat, after all, the deck was bound to be wet. Then she looked down and was amazed at what she saw. It was indeed water that she had slipped on, but this water was part of a trail of footprints that led right to her sister's door!
"Evelyn!" she gasped, running to the door and throwing it open. Her mouth dropped open as she saw the man with the hook crawling up slowly behind her sister. He stopped as he heard the door open, and Lynette ran into the room, reaching out and grabbing the man by the shoulders, pulling him up and away from Evelyn. He threw all his weight back on top of her and she fell to the floor, the wind temporarily knocked out of her. Evelyn's eyes were wide with surprise, but Lynette could hardly breathe, let alone say anything. She tried to sit up and simply fell back as the man with the hook backed her sister up against the wall.
Lynette heard the man ask about the map and key, then realized that she was breathing normally again. She sat up, successfully this time, and managed to get to her feet. At that moment, a strange man burst into the room yelling for Evelyn. For a moment, Lynette stood dumbly in the center of the confusion, watching as another man in black threw open a window in the wall and began shooting. Lynette shrieked as their rescuer began shooting back and as the man with the hook grabbed her by the ankle. She kicked him in the face with her other foot and grabbed the lantern off the table, smashing it over his head. She froze in momentary fear as he burst into flames, then gathered her wits and ran out of the room on the heels of Evelyn and her companion. She realized that the entire ship was on fire around her and that they would have no choice but to go overboard. She watched as the man threw Evelyn overboard, not relishing the idea of a late night dip, then hesitated as she realized that she hadn't seen her brother.
"Wait, where's Jonathan?" she yelled, but the man had already jumped ship. She looked around frantically, realizing that she didn't have much time, when Jonathan came barreling around a corner and crashed into her. He looked at her in confusion for a moment before immediately jumping overboard. Lynette whirled and saw the man with the hook stumbling towards her, his clothes aflame. She shrieked and dove headfirst off the ship, hitting the cold water, her breath stolen from her for the second time that night.
Surfacing despite the general chaos surrounding the ship, Lynette spotted her sister and swam to shore. She was completely soaked, and her skirt had ripped as she jumped overboard. All of her other clothes had been onboard. She sighed and squeezed water out of her shirtsleeve, glancing from Evelyn to Jonathan and then to the strange man who had rescued them.
"And you are?" she asked. He looked from her to Evelyn and then shrugged.
"Rick O'Connell. I'm the guide. Although I might ask you the same thing."
Before Lynette had a chance to answer, Evelyn spoke up. "Lynette, what are you doing here? I told you to stay at home!"
"Evelyn, we can't do this right now!" Lynette said in exasperation. "I'm here and I'm staying, and that's that. Now what are we going to do?"
Evelyn was about to say something else, but Rick put a hand on her shoulder, restraining her. "She's right, there's nothing you can about it now, whoever she is. We need to get to the nearest town and get supplies. And I'm sure you and… Lynette, was it?… would like some clothes."
Lynette pursed her lips and nodded, and Evelyn slowly nodded in agreement. "All right," she gave in reluctantly. "But we will be talking about this later."
Lynette rolled her eyes and sighed, holding her arms tightly against her chest to try and get warm before turning to follow her sister up the dark embankment.
