I do not own Mummy. I don't know who does but they are richer then I am.

The only thing in this story that is mine is Irene/ Isis.

Key

Ancient Egyptian

English

Thoughts are '

spoken words are "

Chapter 2

Time Marches On

THE SAHARA - 1925

A mile across the scorching desert two hundred French Foreign Legionnaires scurry through the ruins, preparing for the onslaught. Our hero is up on the wall. His Kepi sits at a jaunty angle. This is the dashing and handsome Rick O'Connell

He looks out at the massive screaming horde galloping at him.

O'Connell: "I knew this was gonna be a lousy day."

A doughy little Frenchman joins him as he makes his way across the top of the wall. This is Beni.

Beni: "Personally, I would like to surrender. Why can we not just surrender?"

O'Connell: "Shut-up and give me your bandolier."

Beni pulls off his cartridge belt, and hands it to O'Connell.

Beni: "Then let's run away. Right now, while we can still make it."

O'Connell throws it on, crisscrossing his own bandolier.

O'Connell: "Now give me your revolver; you'll never use it anyway."

Beni pulls out his pistol and chucks it to O'Connell.

Beni: "Then let's play dead, huh? Nobody ever does that anymore."

O'Connell slides it into his belt, next to his own revolver.

O'Connell: "Now go find me a big stick."

Beni: "In the desert? What is it for?"

O'Connell turns and goes nose-to-nose with him.

O'Connell: "So I can tie it to your back, you appear to be without a spine."

The horde of warriors thunders forward. Now a half mile out their scimitars rattling. O'Connell and Beni run through the ruins.

O'Connell: "How'd a guy like you end up in the Legion anyways?

Beni: "I got caught robbing a synagogue. Lots of good stuff in them holy places; churches, temples, mosques, and who's guarding them?"

O'Connell: "Altar boys?"

Beni: "Exactly! I speak seven languages, including Hebrew, so my specialty was synagogues. How about you? Kill somebody?"

Beni trips and accidentally tackles O'Connell to the ground. O'Connell gives him a nasty look.

O'Connell: "No, but I'm considering it."

They get up and run out the gate and down the stone ramp

Beni: "What then? Robbery? Extortion? Kidnapping!"

O'Connell: "None of the above, thank you."

Beni: "Then what the hell are you doing here!?"

They both skid to a stop at the front line as they see the horde of warriors. The sound of charging horses is deafening.

O'Connell gives Beni a big cheesy smile.

O'Connell: "I was just looking for a good time."

And that's when the cowardly Legionnaire Colonel suddenly panics, cuts and runs. O'Connell instantly stiffens.

O'Connell: "Oh shit. Steady!"

This gives the men around him courage. But onward come the horde their hoofs pounding the sand. Several more Legionnaires take off.

O'Connell: "STEADY!" 'What the hell am I saying?'

The Tuaregs let loose with those horrifying screams. More Legionnaires haul-ass to get away. Beni is one of them.

O'Connell: "STEADY!" 'What the hell am I doing?'

The Tuaregs set their rifles and take aim. O'Connell steels himself, cocks and locks. The cartridge in his mouth suddenly snaps, he spits it into the sand. Another second passes. And then…

O'Connell: "FIRE!"

The Legionnaires on the ground shoot. The rifles report with a crash. The blast blows dozens of Tuaregs clean off their mounts. The prone Legionnaires quickly begin to reload.

O'Connell: "FIRE!"

The kneeling Legionnaires shoot. More Tuaregs bite the sand. The remaining Tuareg warriors shoot. Thunder and smoke rip the hot air. A third of the Legionnaires are killed instantly.

O'Connell: "FIRE!"

The remaining standing Legionnaires shoot. Tuaregs spin off their mounts crashing to the sand. And then the entire Tuareg force plows into the ruins and through the Legionnaires.

O'Connell grabs the barrel of his rifle and starts clubbing riders off their steeds, fighting like a man possessed.

Beni on the other hand, is on his belly crawling across the sand, whimpering in full retreat as Legionnaires fall dead all around him. He crawls through the front gate.

O'Connell throws his rifle down and goes for his guns. He cross-draws, gun in each hand, starts blowing riders off their mounts.

Beni crawls faster, and then he spots an open temple doorway amongst the rocks. He gets up and sprints for the door as the last of the Legionnaires are shot off their feet behind him. O'Connell's guns go empty.

O'Connell: "Son-of-a-bitch."

He turns and runs like hell, right through the front gate. Four Tuareg warriors on massive Arabians are chasing after him.

O'Connell hurdles a stone column, hits the ground running. He spots Beni inside the Temple doorway, trying to close the heavy sandstone door.

O'Connell: "Hey! Beni! Wait up!"

Beni has no intention of waiting up, he pushes harder.

O'Connell: "What are you doing?! Wait up!"

O'Connell runs faster. Beni pushes harder. The four Horsemen leap the big column and charge after him, their horses' hooves pounding in the sand.

O'Connell: "Don't you close that door! DON'T YOU CLOSE THAT DOOR!"

Beni closes the door just as O'Connell reaches it. O'Connell slams his body into the door. It doesn't budge.

O'Connell: "I'm gonna get you for this!"

He turns and bolts off around the rocks. Running for his life, he weaves through the ruins. The Arabians start quickly catching up and the pounding of the horses' hooves getting louder and louder as he runs.

O'Connell finally spins around and faces his attackers. The four massive horses crash to a stop in front of him. The vicious Tuaregs raise their rifles to finish him off. O'Connell just stands there, exhausted and beaten, and then he slowly lifts his right hand and gives them the bird.

And that's when the horses go ape-shit. All four of them rear up. Two of the Riders are thrown to the ground. The horses screech and bellow and snort in fear, then buck like hell and haul-ass away as if the devil himself had scared them. The thrown Riders get up and race off after their mounts.

O'Connell just stands there, stunned, then he lifts his right hand and checks out his middle finger. And then he feels the evil himself, and turns around. The shattered, decrepit statue of Anubis stares back at him.

Suddenly, the sand begins to shift under O'Connell's feet.

He starts to back away, keeping his eyes on the transforming sand, it looks like huge snakes are wiggling and writhing beneath it, forming lines and shapes, drawing a picture.

O'Connell quickly turns and runs off through the ruins. The sand stops moving, and we can now see that, drawn in the sand, is a picture of Imhotep's screaming face.

RIDGE - DAY

Up on a ridge, A group of riders, different than the ones before, watch O'Connell stumble clear of the decrepit city. O'Connell feels their presence and looks up. Very different from the Tuaregs, they have blue tinted skin and faces covered in strange puzzle tattoos.

It is the Medjai. Still they watch Imhotep's grave after all this time.

The Medjai leader is a huge, fierce man in black robes, with dual scimitars across his waist. His face is handsome and horrible, blue and tattooed. This man is Ardeth Bay. His dark eyes watch O'Connell stagger off into the open desert.

CAIRO - DAY

Cairo, a city so old the stars have actually changed their positions in the sky since its birth, a city teeming with every form of life. It is a strange, mysterious, wonderful city.

CAIRO MUSEUM OF ANTIQUITIES - DAY

Deep in the bowels of the museum are the Stacks. Rows upon rows of towering bookshelves filled with literature on the Antiquities. Standing at the top of a tall ladder between two of these rows and leaning against one of the bookshelves, is a rather uninteresting British GIRL: eye-glasses, hair-in-a-bun, long boring dress, your typical prudish nightmare. Her name is Evelyn 'Evy' Carnahan.

Evelyn pulls a book out from a stack under her arm, blows the dust off it, and then places it on a shelf with other books whose titles all begin with the letter "O". Then she grabs another book out from under her arm and reads the title.

Evelyn: "Tuthmosis? Now how did you get up here?"

Carefully, so as not to lose her balance, she looks over her shoulder to the bookshelf behind her, where all the titles begin with the letter "T". Then she looks down. It's a long way to the bottom. Evelyn gently sets the other books down on the top shelf, then turns and gingerly starts to reach across the aisle with the Tuthmosis book. It's a little too far, so she stretches, reaching, holding the top of the ladder with her fingertips, she's almost got it, closer now closer.

And that's when the ladder pulls away from the shelf. Evelyn yelps, flings the Tuthmosis book and grabs the top of the ladder, which stands straight up. Evelyn holds her breath, swaying precariously, a long second, and then she loses her balance, the ladder swings around and Evelyn starts stilt-walking down the aisle.

Evelyn: "OHEIUGM! AHHHHHH!"

The ladder crosses the aisle, does an about face and heads back the way it came. Evelyn clings to the top, struggling for balance. The ladder teeters out into the main aisle and picks up speed. Evelyn screams as it does a 180, spins into another aisle and finally crashes to a stop at the top of a bookshelf. Evelyn holds her breath, then sighs heavily.

And that's when the bookshelf falls away from her and crashes into the next bookshelf.

Evelyn slides down the ladder and plops to the floor. She looks up just as the domino effect kicks-in: each bookshelf crashing into the next. And onward it goes. Bookshelf after bookshelf tumbles; thousands of volumes go flinging off shelves and scattering across the floor. It finally ends as the last shelf crashes into a wall. Evelyn's eyes are closed. She opens one eye. Looks left. Then right. Then opens the other eye and stares at the huge mess.

Evelyn: "Oops."

The Egyptian Curator storms in.

Curator: "Look at this! Sons of the Messiah! Give me frogs, flies, locusts, anything but this! Compared to you, the other plagues were a joy!"

Evelyn quickly gets up and starts gathering books.

Evelyn: "I'm sorry, it was an accident."

Curator: "When Ramses destroyed Syria, it was an accident. You are a catastrophe! Why do I put up with you?"

Evelyn turns to him, trying to contain herself.

Evelyn: "You put up with me, because I can read and write ancient Egyptian, decipher hieroglyphs and hieratic, and I'm the only person within a thousand miles who knows how to properly code and catalogue this library."

Curator: "Who needs smart women? I put up with you because your mother and father were our finest patrons, Allah rest their souls. Now straighten up this mess!"

The Curator storms out. Evelyn just stands there, steaming.

And then she hears a noise and quickly turns around.

Evelyn: "Hello?"

The place is quiet and eerie. Then she hears it again, like feet, slowly shuffling across the floor, coming from a nearby gallery. Evelyn jumps as she hears a voice behind her.

Irene: "Hi sis, what did I miss?"

Evelyn turns around and you see a young woman standing a few feet behind her. This is Irene Carnahan, youngest of the set of three siblings. She stands a good 5'5", had dark brown hair and blue eyes. Her skin is tanned by long days in the Egyptian sun. She works as a tour guide in Cairo.

Irene: "What happened here?"

Evelyn: "Nothing just a small mishap. I'll clean it up in a moment I heard something coming from the Ramses Exhibit."

Irene: "Well it doesn't look so small to me. I'll help clean it up ok?"

Evelyn: "Sure, let's see what that sound was first."

Irene: "Ok."

They walk through the stacks and enter the exhibit.

THE RAMESSEUM

This is a place filled with treasures and plunder from the Middle Kingdom. It's very dark and quiet in here; the only light is from flickering torches at either end of the spooky gallery.

The noise is heard again! From the far side of the room it sounds like feet, slowly shuffling, plodding across the floor. Evelyn grabs a torch.

They look around, at a statue of Anubis, another of Horus, the statues stare down at Evelyn, who is starting to get scared now. Irene is barely affected. They walk down the aisle. Past a closed sarcophagus, past cases of ancient artifacts, and past another sarcophagus, only this one is open.

Evelyn freezes, swallows hard, nervously looks around to see who could have opened it. Then she slowly leans forward with the torch, and peers inside.

Suddenly a hideous rotted mummy sits up and screeches at her!

Evelyn screams, drops the torch and backs away, scared out of her wits. Irene backs up quickly. And then, coming from inside the sarcophagus, they hear a man laughing. Evelyn's eyes narrow as a foppish cad crawls out from behind the Mummy, laughing his ass off, half drunk.

Evelyn: "You...! YOU...!"

Jonathan: "Drunkard? Fool? Rat-bastard? Please call me something original."

Irene: "How about idiot."

This is Jonathan Carnahan, oldest of the Carnahan siblings. As he crawls out of the sarcophagus, Evelyn pulls a cigarette out of the mummy's mouth.

Evelyn: "Have you no respect for the dead?"

Jonathan: "Right now, I only wish to join them."

He grins drunkenly. Evelyn punches him hard in the chest.

Evelyn: "Well I wish you'd do it sooner rather than later, before you ruin my career the way you've ruined yours."

Irene shakes her head at both of them.

Irene: "Not even funny either of you. I am not letting either of you go under my watch."

Jonathan continues on as if Irene never spoke.

Jonathan: "My dear, sweet, baby sisters, I'll have you know, that at this moment my career is on a high note."

He belches, and then falls back and sits on the edge of a tomb.

Evelyn: "High note? Ha! For five years you've been scrounging around Egypt, and what have you to show for it? Not a thing. At least Irene and I have good solid jobs."

Jonathan excitedly starts scrounging around in his jacket.

Jonathan: "Oh yes I do! I have something right here!"

Evelyn: "Oh no, not another worthless trinket, Jonathan, if I bring one more piece of junk to the Curator to try and sell it for you I could lose my job."

Jonathan pulls out a small, ancient box; the collapsed key to Imhotep's sarcophagus. Evelyn is instantly curious; she grabs the box out of his hand.

Evelyn: "Where did you get this?"

Jonathan knows her weaknesses, gives her a mischievous smile.

Jonathan: "On a dig, down in Thebes."

Irene: "Yeah right bet you stole it."

Evelyn rolls the box around in her hands, mumbling to herself as she translates the hieratics and hieroglyphs covering it.

Jonathan licks his lips in anticipation.

Jonathan: "My whole life I've never found anything, Evy. Tell me I've found something."

Evelyn's fingers play with the various little slats on the box, shifting them this way and that way, it's like a puzzle box. Then suddenly, it unfolds itself, almost-mechanically, turning itself into the key. Sitting inside the open key/box is a folded piece of golden papyrus. It is an ancient map.

Evelyn: "Jonathan?"

Jonathan: "Yes?"

Evelyn: "I think you found something."

Irene: "Are you serious?"

Evelyn: "Yes, let's take it to the curator to be sure."

Irene and Jonathan: "Let's go."

CURATOR'S OFFICE - DAY

The Curator sits at his desk, staring through a jeweler's eyepiece at the key/box. Evelyn hovers behind him, excited.

Evelyn: "See the cartouche there, it's the official royal seal of Seti the First, I'm sure of it."

Curator: "Perhaps."

Jonathan leans in from across the desk.

Jonathan: "Two questions. Who the hell is Seti the First? And was he rich?"

Irene: "No duh, Sherlock."

Evelyn: "He was the last Pharaoh of the Old Kingdom, said to be the wealthiest Pharaoh of them all."

Jonathan: "Alright, good, that's good. I like this fellow, like him very much."

Irene: "Of course you do you just found out he's rich."

The Curator picks up the map. It's a map of ancient Egypt during the reign of Seti the First.

Evelyn: "I've already dated it; this map is almost four thousand years old. And the hieratics over here state… (Inhales deeply) It's Hamunaptra."

The Curator froze, suddenly very nervous, and then he recovers.

Curator: "My dear girl, don't be ridiculous, we are scholars, not treasure hunters. Hamunaptra is a myth."

Jonathan: "Are we talking about the Hamunaptra?"

Irene: (with sarcasm) "No we're talking about a totally unrelated city."

Evelyn: "Yes, it is The City of the Dead. It is where the early Pharaohs were said to have hidden the wealth of Egypt."

Jonathan: "Right, right, in a big underground treasure chamber. Everybody knows the story. The entire necropolis was rigged to sink into the sand. On Pharaoh's command, a flick of the switch! And the whole place could disappear beneath the dunes."

Irene: "And if it were ever to be found then great disaster would befall all who found it. This doesn't include the traps and stuff probably all over the city."

Evelyn: "All we know for sure is that the city mysteriously vanished around 2,134 B.C."

The Curator holds the map closer to the burning candle-lamp.

Curator: "As the Americans would say: it's all fairy tales and hokum."

The map 'accidentally,' catches on fire. The Curator throws it to the floor. Jonathan drops to his knees and quickly puts it out and lifts it up. The left third of the map is now missing.

Jonathan: "You burned it! You burned off the part with the lost city!"

Curator: "It's for the best, I'm sure. Many men have wasted their lives in the foolish pursuit of Hamunaptra, no one has ever found it, most have never returned."

Jonathan: (devastated) "You killed my map."

Curator: "I'm sure it was a fake, anyway, I'm surprised at you, Miss Carnahan, to be so fooled."

The Curator reaches for the key/box. Evelyn quickly snatches it off the desk and gives him a very angry, suspicious look.