Rick, Evy and Ardeth climb off the camels in front of Seti's tomb just as professor Stephen Miles, the team leader of the scholars at Seti's tomb, comes running up to them.
"Mr. O'Connell! Have you seen Jackson?" he yelled out as he approached.
"No, not since the last time we were here," Rick tells him.
"No one has seen him for the last 12 hours. I was hoping that he had just gone back to town for some supplies, but since you just came from that direction and did not see him, I am afraid that he may be lost in the tomb somewhere." A hard wind suddenly hits the four of them as the professor finishes talking. "It's been gusting like that for a couple of days now! I think there is a sandstorm coming," he yells over the wind. "It's very rare for sandstorms to occur this time of year."
Rick and Ardeth glance at each other and know they are both thinking that Seti is somehow behind this.
"Let's get inside!" Rick yells back as he tries to shield his face from the flying sand.
They all run toward the entrance to the tomb and duck inside.
(*-*) That evening (*-*)
"We've been searching for hours!" Ardeth exclaims. "Maybe the answer is not in this tomb. Maybe this is a decoy."
Evy continues to feel along the wall for hidden cracks. "No, it's here; we just need to keep looking."
"I've been thinking about how the royals will come back if Seti is successful in getting you to read that book," Ardeth says.
"Oh yea?" Rick asks. "And what do you think is going to happen?"
"There are some legends that talk about the gods coming down and inhabiting the bodies of mortals so that they could affect things in the realm of the living."
"That would make sense," Evelyn agrees. "Especially since a lot of Egyptian royalty are mummified to a point where their body will be useless to them if it they are reanimated." She brings her hand up and tries unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn. "I am so tired."
"We should keep a watch on her to make sure Seti does not once again take control of her body," Ardeth tells his friends.
"Sounds good, I'll take first shift," Rick tells him.
(*-*) Camp outside of Seti's tomb (*-*)
The wind dies down enough for Rick and Ardeth to set up camp. Ardeth bunks down in a sleeping bag outside the tent, while Rick sits and watches his wife sleep.
Rick finds it difficult to keep his eyes open when Evelyn wakes up and reaches out to him. He scoots over to her and she gently places her hand on his cheek.
"Rick," she whispers. "It's okay now, it's over. Seti tried to get me in my sleep but I found his weakness; I stopped him Rick."
"That's so great Evelyn," he whispers back. "I knew you would figure this out. You always do."
Evelyn looks lovingly Rick and he notices that her eyes seem to sparkle.
"Let's go home darling," she tells him as she gently presses her lips to his.
Rick smiles into her kiss. "I couldn't agree more."
They exit the tent and begin to pack up their things when Rick has a curious thought.
"Evelyn, what was his weakness?"
"Hmmmm?" she asks, distractedly, as she puts her books in her rucksack.
"Seti's weakness? What was it?" he asks again, a little annoyed that she seems to be dodging his question.
"Does it really matter?" she asks. "He's gone."
Rick grabs Evelyn by the arms and pulls her up to look at him.
"You're not Evelyn," he realizes. "Who are you?"
Evelyn's face morphs into that of an ancient Egyptian man who smirks wickedly at him.
Rick releases his grip and the man falls to the ground. His smirks turns into a full out laugh. "You're too late!"
Rick jerks awake and quickly takes in his surroundings. He is still in the tent; however, Evelyn is no longer asleep. She is sitting up, glassy eyed, and reciting the book backwards again.
"No! No! No!" Rick screams as he lunges for her. Ardeth comes rushing into the tent. He had feared that Evelyn might fall asleep so he kept a bucket on water nearby, which he immediately drenches her with.
Evelyn's body stiffens as she wakes up and realizes that she is soaking wet. "You boys have got to find a better way to wake me up."
Rick sits back and runs his hand through his hair. "I must have fallen asleep. Seti was pretending to by Evelyn in my dream. I think he was stalling for time while he made her recite the book." Rick tells them.
"He is getting more and more creative," Ardeth agrees. "We need to find a way to stop this and soon."
"I still think the key lies with Seti's body," Evelyn says as she exits the tent. "If we can find that, we will probably find what we need to stop him."
Rick, Evelyn and Ardeth head back into the tomb. As they pass the entrance to one of the outer chambers, Evelyn accidentally steps on a loose stone in the floor, activating a trap door, which she promptly falls through before it closes on top of her.
Rick whirls around and studies the area but can find no sign of the trigger. "Every single time," he mutters under his breath.
The two friends head out looking for Evelyn, searching every loose or jutted area in both the walls and the floor. Eventually, Rick finds a trigger stone in the wall and they both watch as a new door opens.
