Sahara Desert - Day
The American Expedition rides out from behind the far end of the dune. The Americans are accompanied by two dozen native diggers and an Arab Egyptologist. Beni rides lead on a camel, while the rest ride horses. "Good morning, my friend!" he said to Rick.
Rick just nods as the two parties come to a stop a hundred feet apart. He turns and stares out across the endless horizon, as I come to his side, doing the same. Beni does likewise and the Americans look puzzled. "Well, what the hell we doin'?" The one named Daniels said.
"Patience, my good sahib, patience." Beni assured.
One of the other Americans, Henderson, looked at Rick, "First one to the city, O'Connell! Five hundred! Cash bucks!"
He ignores them, as we continue staring. And then, the sun starts to rise in the distance, breaking the flat horizon. "Get ready." He told me.
"For what?" Evie asked.
Before he could answer, I did, "We're about to be shown the way."
Far off to the right, a huge shape begins to rise with the sun. A volcano. Rick and Beni watch it, expressionless.
Daniels, Henderson and the other American, Burns, share a look before yelling, "HEYA!" They race off to the ruins.
Daniels yells back, "SEE YA THERE, O'CONNELL!"
We didn't follow, but I knew why. Jonathan looked at Rick, "Ah, begging your pardon, but shouldn't we be going?"
"After all, you rode us night and day to win that bet." Evie added.
Rick doesn't say a word, staring hard. Beni watches the Americans and spits into the sand, "Fools."
And then suddenly, the volcano shifts across the horizon, passing across the sun as it goes. As I figured, it was a mirage. The Americans crash their horses to a stop and race the other way, after the volcano. I could sense my siblings amazement from behind, as they continued watching.
The volcano shifts again, floating across the watery horizon. The Americans crash to a stop again and chase after the volcano, with all three of them confused and cursing. Rick,Beni, and I just stare, waiting. The volcano shifts again, and the Americans crash to a stop again. Burns is thrown from his horse. Henderson angrily rips his hat off and chucks it to the ground. Daniels just curses as they give up the chase, as the volcano comes to a stop on the far left of the horizon.
No one moves for a beat, and then Rick grins, as does Beni. I get ready, as they shared a look. They swat their camels and race away, me not far behind. Everybody else hauls-ass after us. Rick and Beni are neck-and-neck. I come up beside Rick, as Beni takes out his camel whip and starts whipping O'Connell, trying to knock him off his camel. But on the third try, Rick grabs the whip and jerks Beni off his camel. Beni slams to the ground and tumbles.
Evie comes up beside me as we race across the desert. I hear my sister laugh and grin, glad she was enjoying herself. She beats us to the stone ramp, racing hard. "Evelyn! Slow down!" Rick yells.
She ignores him and races up the ramp.
He tried again, "SLOW DOWN, EVELYN! SLOW DOWN! THERE'S A REALLY BIG -" She goes ass-over-teacups through the air and crash lands in a sand dune. She sits up, stunned, sandy hair in her eyes. We stop next to her, "Never mind." he said. I snicker at her and she gave me a glare.
The Americans ride up and look in wonder at the ruins inside the volcano. Rick gives them a big, shit-eating grin, "You boys owe me five hundred dollars."
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Hamunaptra - Dig Site
We were working next to a narrow crevice, which weaves it's way through the ruins. Rick ties a rope around a pillar and throws the rest of the coils into the crevice, about to rappel down. Jonathan bends over to have a look, his ass hits something, he yelps and backs away. It's the decrepit face of Anubis.
"That thing gives me the creeps." my brother said.
"Be nice. That thing saved my life." Rick said.
I was helping Evie position ancient mirrors along the crevice. I smirk over at the two, "That 'thing' gets me excited." And I was. I could feel the adrenaline pumping as we continued.
"The things that get you excited." I hear Rick say sarcastically.
I chuckle, "You don't know the half of it."
"According to Bembridge Scholars, inside the statue of Anubis was a secret compartment, perhaps containing The Book Of The Living." Evie said.
"What are those mirrors for?" Rick asked.
"Ancient Egyptian trick. You'll see." I said.
"Ah," he pulled something out of his pack, "Here these are for you." I take it, confused, and he continues, "Go ahead. It's something I borrowed off our American brethren. I thought you might like it. You might need it…for when you're…" He stepped backwards, miming a chiseling action with his hands, before he noticed the warden watching his awkwardness. "What are you looking at?" The warden held up his hands in defense. I chuckle and look down at the bundle in my hands. I open it to find a bunch of archaeological field tools. I smile to myself at the thoughtfulness of this gift. He rappels down into the crevice. Jon, Evie, and the warden followed after him, while I stayed to adjust the mirror.
Beset.
I look around, trying to find the voice who said that. The voice sounds familiar, yet I don't know it. I shrug and follow down, dismissing the voice from my mind.
I see Evie trying to see into the darkness as she says, "Do you realize, we are standing inside a room that no one has entered in over four thousand years."
"Who cares? I don't see no treasure." the warden said, boredly.
"You're welcome to my share of the spider webs," Rick said with a smirk.
"And it stinks to high heaven in here." Jonathan complained.
My sister just rolled her eyes, "Cretins."
Jonathan sniffs the foul air, then he looks at the warden and realizes where the smell is coming from. He stops sniffing, and I chuckle as I brush away cobwebs from a metal disk on the wall. I reposition it on it's pedestal and aim it at a ray of light shining in from the outer mirrors. "'And then there was…light'." I say as the ray of light hit the disk and quickly shoots around the room from one disk to another until the whole chamber is lit up, and continues down passageways.
Rick looks at me, "That's a neat trick."
My sister got excited as she looked around, "Oh my god, it's a Sah-Netjer. A preparation room."
"Preparation for what?" Rick asked.
"For entering the afterlife." I answered.
He quickly drew his gun and I laughed. Jonathan gently nudged him, "Mummies, my good son, this is where they made the mummies."
Evie and I start heading down a narrow passageway, and the others follow soon after.
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We all paused when we heard loud skittering noises, with all of us spinning around to locate the source of the noise. I give the tool kit to Evie, and took out both of my pistols.
"What was that?" Jonathan questioned.
"Sounds like…bugs." Rick said.
"He said bugs." Evy repeated, which freaked the prison warden out more.
"What do you mean, bugs? I hate bugs," he whined. I sigh in irritation. Why can't I just shoot him?
It got darker as we continued down the tunnel, the only source of light was the torch that Rick held. We came to the end of the passageway, and came upon a new room. Rick was cautious, as he looked around the room.
"The legs of Anubis," Evie said, staring at the bottom half of the statue. "The secret compartment should be hidden somewhere inside here."
Beset.
I whipped around looking for the voice again. Why did it sound so familiar? And why was I filled with anger and sadness when I hear it? I ignored it, but I felt like something was watching me. Waiting like a predator.
We all heard a noise and then some murmuring, setting us all on edge. We leaned against the base of Anubis' statue, with Evie holding Rick's torch, as we prepared to face what was on the other side.
Rick and I shared a look, before jumping out, guns raised to shouts of surprise. The Americans pointed guns at us, but let out a sigh of relief.
"You scared the bejesus out of us, O'Connell." Henderson said, as he lowered his guns.
"Likewise." Rick replied, as we both lower our guns, including Jonathan and the warden. Mr. Burns looked at the tool kit that was in my sister's arms, and stepped forward.
"Hey! That's my tool kit."
"No, I don't think so." I say, and all of us raise our guns.
Burns backed away, "Okay," he said, staring down the barrels of my pistols. "Perhaps I was mistaken."
"I'm certain you are." I reply, smirking.
"Why don't you put the guns down before you hurt yourself." I slowly turned to the man, who shrank beneath my glare, and backed away from my guns.
"You want to say that again." I say in a deadly calm voice. I saw everyone shiver at the coldness of my voice. I cocked my weapons and he gulped. "I may be a woman, but I have seen a lot more than you. Do you know who I am?" The Americans, the Egyptologist, the man who spoke, and Beni shook their heads slowly. "My name is Asima Carnahan." Their eyes widened in recognition. "I have more experience than you think, and if you mutter one more sexist comment towards me or my sister…" I pause, then smirk. "Let's just say, I favor one area to shoot than others," I point my gun in the specified area and they all gulp. "So don't mess with me." I saw Rick shake his head with a smile on his face.
Trying to diffuse the situation before it escalates, Evie jumped in, "Have a nice day, gentlemen. We have a lot of work to be getting along with."
"Push off! This is our dig site." The Egyptologist said.
"We got here first." I glared at him.
We all raised our weapons again.
"This here's our statue… friend." Daniels said.
"I don't see your name written on it… pal." Rick replied.
"Yes, well there's only five of you, and fifteen of me," Beni said, sounding smug. "You're odds are not so great, O'Connell."
"I've had worse." he said, aiming one gun at Beni.
"Me, too." Jonathan replied. Rick and I gave him skeptical looks.
"For goodness' sake, let's be nice, children," Evie said, getting in the middle and forced some guns down. Henderson lowered his and holstered them. "If we're going to play together, we must learn to share." She looked at me and put her hand on my arm, "There are other places to dig." She gave a look to Rick too.
Rick and I both nodded, and holstered our guns. Rick threw a glare at Beni before stepping back. I take the veil off my face and place it in my bag, tired of it for the moment. I give Evie a look, saying 'I hope you know what you're doing.' She gave me a reassuring look, so I decide to trust her judgement. Our group separates from the Americans, as we follow Evie to the next dig site.
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"According to these hieroglyphics, we're underneath the statue," Evy said as Rick hammered away at the ceiling. "We should come up right between his legs."
Beset. Guardian of Thebes. Come and learn of your past.
I turn towards where I heard the voice, and decided to follow it. Heading down another passageway, I come upon a doorway that seemed to show a person of great importance. I try opening it, but it was locked. Then all of a sudden, I saw a woman in Ancient Egyptian attire open the door. I gasp, as I come back to the present. I look around confused, but try what I saw.
I touch the lock and unlock it the way I was shown. The door opens and I see a room filled with ancient clothing, that seemed to be here for thousands of years, yet there was no sign of aging. I walk towards the clothing on display in the middle: it had a black leather top with gold designs, that tied behind my neck, and ties on the side to keep the back and front together. It had a floor length black skirt, with a slit up the side going all the way to my hip. Knee high black sandals were placed in front. Golden bands lined both the statues upper arms, and a crown that had a snake design was placed on the head. To the side on a pedestal, two sheaths for sais were placed there.
Put these on, Guardian. They are yours, for once again, duty calls.
Taking the voice's advice, I put them on and tightened the straps, making sure they stay on, and leave the crown off. I look in the mirror, seeing myself as I redo my braid. I suddenly get dizzy and pass out on the floor.
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Ancient Egypt - 2,134 B.C.
City of Thebes
As I looked over the city of my home, I see my father heading towards his mistress', Anck-su-namun, rooms. I look towards the her balcony, and see my husband standing there. My heart broke as he head inside when my father drew near. Dread was filling me as I ran there, dodging the guards as I passed. I enter the room when Anck-su-namun stabbed my father in the back, then my husband stabbed him in the stomach.
"Medjai! My father, he needs you!" I yell in Ancient Egyptian, but it was already too late. The Medjai burst in after my husband was taken away by his priests. I head towards Anck-su-namun, and I hear her say, "My body is no longer his temple!"
I stop her as she tried to kill herself, deflecting the blow, and tackle her to the ground. "How dare you!" Her eyes widened, "It wasn't enough that you took my husband, but you had to kill my father?!" I raise my dagger above her, "I curse you, to never know peace. To never move on. You will wonder this world, until you decide to wither away." I thrust the dagger down into her heart, and I look up seeing my husband looking at me, as his priests try to drag him away. I give him a cold, hate-filled glare, as he leaves. I turn to the Medjai, "Go to Hamunaptra. My husband will try to resurrect her, so meet them there. Stop him, before he completes the ritual. I will meet you there." They nod and head out, ready to do my will. I take a breath as I look at my father's body, holding back tears. I was Pharaoh now, and I can't show weakness. I take one last look before leaving the room. I ordered the guards to take my father's body to the Sah-Netjer, to prepare his body.
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Hamunaptra - Night
As I watch my former lover try to resurrect Anck-su-namun, I feel nothing but hatred and pain. I signal for the head Medjai to interrupt them. They burst into the room, startling the priests and he smashes the jar with her heart in it. The mist that surround her, instantly sucks back out of Anck-su-namun's body and implodes back into the swirling hole in the bog. I walk in as the Medjai detain the priests and grab my former lover, who looked at me in shock and pain. I looked at him coldly as I say, "For the murder of my father, Pharaoh Seti the First, you are to receive the Hom-Dai, while your priests are mummified alive."
"Beset -" he tried to reason.
"No." I gave him a glare. "You have betrayed me, time and again. You killed my father, and you expect me to be lenient? No, you must pay for your crimes." I turn to the exit and lead them out of the room, heading back to the palace.
I split off from them as they head towards the embalming chamber, ignoring the cries to come back from a man that was once my childhood friend, then lover, but now an enemy.
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Present Day
I gasp, opening my eyes. I look around, confused, to see I'm in the room still. I get up off the floor and look at the mirror. My eyes, butterscotch with a gold sheen, glanced to make sure I wasn't harmed. I relax when I see no injuries, yet I couldn't remember what I saw. I knew I had a vision, yet I couldn't remember what it was. When I'm done, I strap my thigh holster and gun harness on and I give one last look at the room before leaving, not bothering to take the crown. The door closes behind me and I head back towards the others.
I hear Rick say, "Lemme get this straight, they stuck a sharp, red hot poker up your nose, cut your brain into small pieces, then ripped it all out through your nostrils?"
Jonathan says, "OUCH! That's really got to hurt." I snicker as he and Rick touch their noses.
"It's called mummification. You're dead when they do this." I say as I come up behind my brother.
He jumps and they all turn to me. Their eyes widened as they saw my new outfit. I smirk as Rick looked me over.
Evie was the first to recover, "Where did you find that? And where have you been?"
"This was in a room I was led to. I kept hearing a voice call me Beset and I decided to follow it. The voice said it belongs to me." I shrug and Evie's eyes widened.
And that's when a huge chunk of the roof suddenly gives out.
Rick grabs Evie and jerks her out of the way, as Jonathan dived towards the far wall. A massive stone casement drops out of the ceiling and crashes to the floor, causing dust to fill the room.
Evie approached it, "Oh my god,... it looks like, it looks like a sarcophagus."
"Why would they bury somebody in the ceiling?" Rick asked, looking up at the empty space.
"They didn't, they buried him at the foot of Anubis. He was either someone of great importance. Or he did something very naughty." I say as I look at it. I realized something and looked around, "Where is the warden?"
They shrug.
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Evie and I were clearing the dirt off the top of the sarcophagus, revealing a single hieroglyph. I stare at it as I got a sense of deja vu. I shake it off as Rick asks, "Well?... Who is it?"
"'He that shall not be named.'" I read the inscription.
He dusted off an area and reveals a lock, "There's some sort of lock here." He looked at Evie, " You say these thing's are made of granite with a steel interior?"
"Quarried granite with a cobalt lining." She said nonchalantly.
Jonathan said, "Whoever's in here, sure wasn't getting out."
"No kiddin', without a key, it'll take us a month to crack this thing," Rick said and my eyes widened.
"A key! That's it! That's what he was talking about." I say rushing to Jonathan's pack, which was on his back.
"Who was talking about what?" Rick asked.
I ignored him as I rummage through his pack, pulling out the box. Jonathan tried grabbing it from me, "Hey that's mine!"
I slap his hand away and hurry over to the sarcophagus, "The man on the barge. The one with the hook, he was looking for a key." I look at the box, trying to find the button to open it. It opens and I go over to the lock and place on there. It was a perfect fit, and I smiled.
All the sudden, a scream ripped through the air, and we all rushed to find where it came from, but not before I grabbed the key.
We come around the corner to see the warden trying to rip his hair out. When Rick and Jon tried to grab him, he shook them off and ran past us. He slams his head against a rock wall, and drops to the ground, dead. We look at one another, wondering what the hell was going on.
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I'm having so much fun writing this! Her outfits are on my profile, so check them out! As always: Favorite, Follow, Review!
- Seraphis88