Chapter One
Tally sat bolt upright in bed, panting, in a ferocious coldsweat, the lingering image of a young man about to drive a knife through her chest seared onto her mind's eye. She rubbed her face dry with her bedsheet and walked into the kitchen for a glass of cold water. She checked her watch, seeing that it read 1:38 A.M. She took a drink of the water and rubbed her eyes, and with the glass in hand, she walked back into the bedroom and set it on the nightstand, crawling back into the covers and closing her eyes.
After about thirty minutes of trying to sleep, she finally gave up, got dressed, and called Larry to let him know she was coming in after all. She locked the apartment door behind her, exited the building, and heralded a taxi to take her to the Museum of Natural History. Spending the better part of ten minutes pretending to listen to the cabby's ranting about having to work late, she paid fare and said, "Listen, pal, I'd love my job if I were you."
He gave her a strange look, but she ignored it and walked up the steps to the door, which Larry had finished unlocking. He locked the door again and turned to Tally.
"Thanks," Tally said.
"Still not sleeping?" Larry asked.
"Nope, not at all. I hoped today would be different, but it wasn't."
"Well, what can I say?"
"Not a lot, I guess. We're stuck in a rut for however long that rut lasts us."
"That's a new one."
"Tally? What are you doing here?" Ahkmenrah asked, redirecting Tally's attention. Larry had already turned to go on his way at that point.
"I couldn't sleep."
"Still? Is something wrong?"
"I wish I could answer, but I can't."
He pulled her into a gentle embrace and kissed the top of her head. "Is there a way you might be able to get some rest?"
"I dunno yet. I just have to figure out what this dream means and maybe that'll help."
"What dream?"
"The dream about the guy trying to cut me to pieces."
"I think I know something that might help." Ahkmenrah led Tally into the Egyptian Wing and gestured to a painting of Osiris, a man who was wrapped up to his head in bandages. "The legend goes that he was cut into pieces by his brother and scattered across Egypt until his wife Isis put him back together and mummified him."
"That's quite the relationship."
"At least, that's how the story goes conventionally."
"So, some freakish guy like Osiris' brother is going to cut me to pieces in hopes that I'm not ever reassembled and thus my soul will die?"
"You catch on quickly. Now, can you identify the man in your dreams?"
"I can't give him a name, but if it is Osiris' brother, then we're screwed."
"Big time. Oh, and his name is Set."
"Good to know."
"My question to you is, why on earth would he be after you?"
"I dunno, maybe because he wasn't there to help best Apep."
"Yes, that could be a logical reason."
"Okay, whilst we're on the subject of logic, I heard we were getting a transfer. Is it safe?"
"It should be, as long as whoever it is can stay inside or get inside before the sun rises, but that, of course, depends on the transfer."
"Isn't it also that the interaction dynamic of the exhibits will be changed?"
"Where did you learn to talk like this?"
"Sociology and Psychology lectures online."
"Still doing college, I see."
"Why shouldn't I? Fills the time and furthers my education."
"Alright, that makes sense."
Ahkmenrah and Tally both sat down on the nearest bench, Tally's eyes wandering the halls in search of anything unusual. Ahkmenrah pulled her close and stroked her hair. Eventually, Tally allowed her eyes to flutter shut and whispered, "I do need rest."
"Getting it seems to be problematic for you, however."
"Oh, there you are," Larry said, walking up to them. "I can't seem to find a big enough space for the new waxwork."
"Oh, so there is a transfer," Tally said. "Get McPhee to worry about it later."
"He wants the space picked out by the time he gets here."
"So he's relying on us?"
"Yes, now come on."
Larry attempted to pull Tally along behind him when Ahkmenrah shot to his feet and shouted something in Egyptian. The night guard stepped back, struggling to keep even footing with a pharaoh staring him down.
Tally got to her feet of her own volition and stepped between the two. "Before anyone here does anything stupid," she said, "I'm gonna have to be dead."
Ahkmenrah backed off, allowing Larry to relax, and Tally followed the latter into what was considered the Western Wing, despite it lacking in several components, like the matching diorama. "Okay," Larry said. "Is there anywhere we can put the new waxwork and matching display?"
"How big is it? Are we talking life-size here or what?"
"Yeah, life-size. The display's a bit bigger, though."
Tally's eyes roamed the room for a second. "How about that gap over there between the Railroad and the Westward Expansion?"
"How come I didn't see that?"
Tally rolled her eyes and sighed. "So we've got our space. Is that all?"
"Yes."
"Good." She turned on her heel and walked out of the wing.
