A/N: Here, have a chapter for Christmas. Or whatever winter holiday you celebrate. Or just because I love you.
Set
Chapter Three
Realization
"Oh, come on, Paige! How long do you plan on being in there?" Alex shouted through the bathroom door in their hotel room, trying to be heard over the running water.
"I'm taking a shower!" the blonde girl insisted.
Alex rolled his eyes. "I know that. You've been taking a shower for like, an hour now."
"You know I take showers when I'm stressed, Alex!"
"Other people need to get in there, Paige!"
"They can wait their turn, Alex!"
"It's my turn to shower now, Paige!" Alex put his hand on the door handle. "Don't make me come in there!"
"Maybe I want you to come in here…"
Alex grinned. "Well then, maybe I will."
From her place in the living-room, Fiona shouted, "Please don't!"
Alex glanced back at the brunette, sitting cross-legged in a chair with a Bible in her lap. He rolled his eyes. "I wasn't going to – I mean, we weren't gonna-"
"Sure you weren't," said Fi, who then smiled. Alex smiled back, mostly to hide his wince as he saw how fake his friend's smile was. Normally she had dimples, and little lines around her eyes when she smiled or laughed. This smile may as well be painted on.
Of course, it was understandable. Their trip to Egypt was eerily similar to the one they took three years ago. Or at least, this outcome was.
Three years ago, Paige had come back from Hamunaptra with the information that she was a reincarnated concubine, and it had taken her a long time to comprehend that. Fiona had come back from the Valley of the Kings with her own mystery. She'd been told she was reincarnated already, but now her name was in English in an ancient tomb along with a list of other names, including her previous life as a concubine. Maybe all the names were her. And that was also difficult to comprehend, even for people experienced with weird past lives.
And it was further complicated by Fiona's faith, her belief that reincarnation wasn't possible, and yet kept proving to be. He couldn't help but feel sorry for the spiritual crisis she was surely going through.
Finally, Alex heard the water in the bathroom turn off. He released the door handle. "About time!"
"Oh, shut up," he heard Paige sigh from the other side. "I'll be out in just a minute."
Pushing his hands deep into his pockets, Alex made his way back into the living room area of the hotel room. He collapsed in the chair across from Fiona's with a sigh, and watched her read for a moment before speaking. "So…you okay?"
Fiona's eyes glanced up before she placed a pink and gold painted fingertip to the page to save her place. "Of course I am, why do you ask?" she spoke as she moved her head up to stare back at him.
In reply, Alex just stared back at her, his mouth set in a line. His brown eyes bored into her blue ones until she sighed, and tugged down on her grey and pink-floral striped tanktop, in the way he had begun to recognize was a nervous habit.
"Okay, fine," she sighed, closing the book and setting it on the table beside her. "I try to keep a positive outlook, I really do, but I'm starting to really freak out."
"That's understandable."
"I mean…" Fi began curling her hair around her finger, another nervous habit. "I mean, I was just starting to get used to the idea of having one past life, and now I might have five? And even if that isn't the case, my name is there, in English, in an ancient Egyptian tomb. I just…I don't know what to think, or how to react or what to do with this information."
Alex shrugged, leaning back in the chair and reaching out with his legs to rest his feet on the coffee table. "I wish I had something comforting to say to you, but honestly, there's just nothing. Anytime something like this happens, we like to sit around and talk about it and try to figure it out as if we had any control. But it always just sort of comes and blows up in our faces," said Alex as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "Either the names will matter and the problem will find us, or they'll always just be some weird thing we found but never explained."
He was one to talk, really. He hadn't slept since they found the names. He tried sleeping all night, tossed and turned, but all he could do was wonder how the hell English words had found their way into that tomb.
Finally, the door to the bathroom opened and Paige emerged from a cloud of steam, in distressed shorts, a beige sequin tank top, brown stiletto boots and the ever-present scarab necklace.
Fiona laughed. "Do you ever dress appropriately anymore?"
"What?" asked Paige distractedly as she ran her fingers through her hair, trying to get some of the moisture out.
Alex sat up. "I swear, you dress weirder and weirder every day."
Fiona stood, and stretched her arms over her head. "I don't know, her style was pretty weird in high school."
"Ha!" Alex snorted. "You're telling me. You should have seen what she wore on her date with Josh. It was ridiculous."
Alex and Fiona watched as Paige made her way to the sofa and collapsed on it, laying down with her shoes hanging over the arm. They waited for a moment, and when she didn't have a witty comeback, they glanced at each other worriedly.
"Are you okay, Paige?" Fiona asked, concerned, walking forward to stand over her friend.
Paige glanced at Fi. "What? Oh, yeah, I'm cool. Sorry, the hot water made me sleepy."
Alex stood. "Yeah, I think we could all use a nap."
The door to the hotel room opened, and in walked Jonathan, still in his grey suit though with the tie loosened, his hair sticking up at odd angles, dark circles under his eyes.
"Speaking of sleepless nights…" muttered Alex.
Jonathan closed the door by leaning against it, and he stood there for a moment before he realized the younger adults were awake, all staring at him. Awkwardly, he waved. "Morning, everyone. Wrong room, huh? Must've grabbed the wrong key last night…" he paused for a moment, and then asked, "How did you lot sleep?"
"How did you sleep? Or…where?" asked Alex, moving towards his uncle. "Not jail again. Please tell me you didn't get arrested. I know it's been years but Egypt always seems to bring the worst out in you."
Jonathan snorted and waved his hand dismissively. "No, no, 'course not. I met someone."
Alex stopped and shifted awkwardly. "Oh. Well, in that case, we don't really need details like-"
Again, Jonathan waved his hand dismissively. He headed to the living room and collapsed in Alex's seat with a loud 'thud' and a heavy sigh. "It wasn't like that. We stayed up and talked all night, just…talked."
Paige raised an eyebrow. "Really? You…just talked?"
Jonathan nodded, his eyes closed as he placed a hand on his forehead. He was obviously fighting a hangover. "Yes, we talked. All night. Though honestly, mostly I talked and she listened. She didn't seem to want to talk about herself very much. Still…"
"Still what?" Fiona asked, sitting on the coffee table across from Paige.
He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling as he replied. "I think I found her. The One."
Around him, Alex, Paige and Fiona were silent, first staring at him in disbelief, then looking at each other as if hoping for an explanation. Jonathan, the seemingly proud bachelor, declaring a woman he'd just met 'The One'? Even the words 'The One' sounded odd coming from his mouth, almost like a child practicing a curse word.
"I…" Alex wanted to say something encouraging or at least to ask who the woman was, but words failed him. It didn't matter, because a moment later they could hear a banging on the door beside them, and then yelling.
That was Evy and Rick's room.
Quickly, the group stood and headed into the hallway. The door was cracked open, and Alex pushed it open an inch more and peeked inside. He breathed a sigh of relief and looked back at everyone and said, "It's Ardeth."
He pushed the door open the rest of the way and the group followed him in. Evy and Rick were standing around the coffee table, with Alice coming in from the dining area with Diana and Robert. Ardeth was pacing across the length of the room, yelling in both Arabic and English.
Ardeth stopped in his garbled ranting to corner Rick. "You should have answered your phone, damn you!"
Rick wasn't one to be yelled at, especially when he didn't know why. "I always forget to turn it on, Ardeth, you know that!"
"I told you I would call if something important happened, Rick O'Connell!"
"I told you to get Alex's number instead – he answers his phone more often!"
Ardeth charged forward until Rick and he were nearly touching. "It is not your son's responsibility!"
"What the hell is your problem, man? I didn't answer my phone. You're here instead, so just…tell us what happened."
Ardeth spun around, his eyes searching every face until he found Alice's. He stepped away from Rick, and moved towards his bride-to-be. "Why didn't you answer your phone?"
Alice was much calmer than Rick, and she stepped forward and folded her hands in front of her. "I've been on the phone with delivery people all day, for our wedding tomorrow," she reminded him gently, but a hint of worry was in her soft voice. "What happened, Ardeth? Why are you so afraid?"
And now the others in the room could see it. Ardeth's hands were clenched into fists at his sides, his face was white with purplish-black circles underneath his eyes betraying that he hadn't slept in quite some time. Even his pupils were larger than usual, proof that whatever anger he may be showing, something had Ardeth terrified.
Leave it to Alice to see straight through him.
Ardeth turned, and collapsed in the nearby recliner, and everyone else gathered around him, varying levels of fear on their faces. "James Parsons was the man that helped the Creature adjust to modern life. He has stolen the Scroll of Thebes-"
"He has? But it's safely locked away in the museum!" Evy interrupted, but looked sheepish when everyone shushed her.
"He stole the Scroll, which has the power to raise any soul from the dead, though it only works once," muttered Ardeth, his words soft but quick. His eyes were closed tight as though he believed that if he didn't see reality, it couldn't be true. "He left the city with a group of diggers and guides…headed towards Ahm-Shere."
"Oh my God," whispered Alex, quickly gripping Paige's hand.
Rick stared down at the defeated-looking Med-Jai, and he tried not to lose hope. "You mean this Parsons guy is…"
Ardeth opened his eyes, glanced at Alice's white face, and then looked at Rick. "Parsons seems to intend to raise the Scorpion King and use the Army to take over the world, and reap the benefits he thought he would obtain through the Creature."
"Oh my God," Alex muttered again, squeezing Paige's hand. The blonde looked from Ardeth to her friend and saw Fiona gripping the cross and her lips moving, probably forming a prayer. Alex had told Paige all about the Scorpion King long ago, and Paige had told Fiona. She remembered how they'd laughed with relief and thanked their lucky stars that there was no way for such a monster to come back.
"What do we do now, then?" asked Robert, Paige and Alice's father. He too had been told all about the O'Connell's adventures, along with his ex-wife, Diana, who stood a little ways behind him. "How do we stop this from happening?"
"No, but wait," said Rick, turning from Ardeth and running his hands through his hair as he walked to the other side of the room. He stared down at the busy street below. "I sent the Scorpion King to the Underworld. There's no way he could come back from that."
"Um…" Paige squeaked, raising her free hand like she did in class when she had to admit she hadn't done the assignment. "Imhotep was sent to the Underworld, too, and uh…I brought him back, so…"
Ardeth stood. "We should leave immediately. We must not allow what happened with the Creature to happen again. We must stop James Parsons before he succeeds in his mission." Ardeth walked to his fiancée, and took her softly by the arm. He squeezed it once reassuringly, and when she weakly smiled at him, he turned to face the others. "Do any of you recall how to get to Ahm-Shere?"
Alex shook his head. "I was too young to remember. I think we were in Karnak at one point, and right before Ahm-Shere there was a pool of water…but that's all I remember on locations. Even if I remembered each stop, we'd need to know exactly where the pyramid was. The oasis is gone," Alex paused as Paige rested her forehead against his shoulder, and he swore he could hear her stifle a sob. He wanted to kiss her, but there was no time for that. "Dad, do you remember?"
Rick turned to face Ardeth with a finger raised and his mouth open, but he paused and a moment later he lowered his hand. "Ah, no. I don't. Izzy flew us most of the way. I'll call him and see if he remembers."
While Rick went to find his cell phone in his bedroom, Ardeth began shouting demands, telling everyone to pack only the essentials and anything they might need on a long, hard trip through the desert, and explaining that they would first go to the Med-Jai camp so that they could gather more equipment before going on to Ahm-Shere. Evy tried to tell Alex, Paige and Fiona to get ready to go back to England, but one look from Alex told her that nothing she said would stop him from following them, and Paige would be right beside him, and where Paige was, Fiona would follow.
While Evy tried in vain to argue with her son, Ardeth continued to shout orders. When he told Alice to take her parents to the airport quickly, she shook her head.
"No."
"No? Alice, you do not understand how-"
"I understand perfectly, Ardeth Bey," she said, setting her hands on her narrow hips. When she used his full name, she was either feeling very angry or very in love. She didn't seem very in love at the moment. "I know we're in danger. I know the whole world is in danger. I was shot by a stupid teenage boy once, do you remember? I know this thing is much worse and that the consequences are much higher."
"Then why wouldn't you want your parents somewhere safe?"
"I know this is dangerous, Ardeth," she said, lowering her hands and moving towards him with slow, almost uncertain steps. While everyone around her began pulling out backpacks and protein bars as they shook with fear, Alice looked to Ardeth like the eye of the storm. She placed her hands on his chest, and only then could he see the tears glistening in her eyes, making them sparkle in a way he never wanted to see again. "I know it's dangerous. And I know very well that…that there is a chance that you will never come back."
Ardeth wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her close as the tears began to make dark trails along her perfect, pale cheeks. She allowed him to hold her for only a moment before she pulled back again, and looked in his eyes with new determination.
"I know you could go after this man and never return. And if you go and die, my love, I don't want to be the girl who lost her fiancée before they could get married. I want to be a widow. And before you die, I want to be a wife," she said. She closed her eyes tight and forced the tears to stop before she continued to speak, her voice softer than he'd ever heard it before. "For better or for worse, Ardeth. For richer or poorer. In sickness and in health, to love and to cherish…until death do us part. Not until separation, not until you have to go on some terrible adventure in the desert and leave me behind. Until death, Ardeth."
Ardeth pulled her against his chest again so that she wouldn't see the tears forming in his own eyes. "There isn't time, Alice. Already we may be too late. I wish that I could-"
"Actually," came Paige's voice. Alice looked at her sister, hardly surprised that the girl had been listening in. "If we're stopping by the Med-Jai camp first, we could have a quick wedding there. Nothing fancy, just vows and some rice thrown in your hair before we march to war. Alex could get ordained on the internet, people do that all the time."
Alice turned to Ardeth with hopeful eyes. And slowly and ever-so-slightly, Ardeth nodded his head. "Very well. But it will have to be very, very fast."
Paige grinned. "It will be. But what is a wedding without food? I'll grab the French macarons and the Jordan almonds. We can eat them at the wedding, and on the way to Ahm-Shere. Too bad the cake is too heavy…"
Alice grabbed Paige's arm before she could fly out the door. "Actually, tell Fiona to get the wedding clothes. We can have the wedding on the boat on the way there…then there will be plenty of time."
Ardeth didn't seem amused by this delay, but he supposed it didn't matter. They still weren't sure where they were going yet. And it wasn't as though doing nothing but worry would make the boat go faster.
Finally, Rick came back into the living room, his face pale.
"What is it?" Ardeth asked.
Rick held up his cell phone. "I called fourteen times before Izzy's wife finally picked up. Apparently, Izzy has been missing for the last two weeks. She doesn't know where he went."
"Could he have…?" began Alice, not wanting to finish the sentence.
Rick sighed, shrugged and stuck the phone in his pocket. "I doubt it. Izzy wasn't stupid, and he loved his own skin more than he loved any amount of money anybody could offer him. Besides, he was rich enough for it not to matter. Probably he ran off with some woman and didn't have the balls to tell his wife."
"Why do you look so afraid, then?"
"Because none of us know how to get to Ahm-Shere. How the hell are we supposed to stop this guy before he raises the army?"
Downstairs and out on the street, Alex, Paige and Fiona were packing wedding supplies in the car. Everyone else was packing up the rest of the survival gear and basic clothing upstairs.
"I can't believe this is happening," breathed Fiona as she tried to use her Tetris skills to fit everything into one trunk while saving space for the necessary gear.
Alex patted her on the back. "You can go home, if you want. We're not going to make you go fight this thing…you've never had to deal with any of this before."
Fiona smiled back at him as she stepped away from the trunk, finally giving up. "No, Alex. I'm not leaving you guys," she said as she sunk her hands into her pockets, a habit she'd picked up from Alex. "I trust that my being here when this happened - and us finding my name in that crypt - isn't a coincidence. God wants me here. I know it, and whatever happens, I'm going to follow the path He has put me on."
"You could get hurt," said Paige, stepped forward and hugging her best girl friend close. "I don't want anything to happen to you, Fi. I haven't been through a lot of the adventure stuff either, but at least I dealt with Imhotep once. The biggest thing you've fought is the tarantula that found it's way into your room last year."
Fi laughed, hugged Paige tight and then pulled away. "I trust in God that whatever happens to me, will happen for a reason. I can't call all this coincidence, Paige, I just can't. And if I have a part to play, then that's what I'm going to do."
"Aren't you scared?" asked Paige, her own voice shaking. She liked to put on a brave face, but this…whatever was coming, it was the worst thing she would ever see in her life. And it could very well be the end of her life.
Fiona nodded, tears filling her eyes. She raised a hand to quickly wipe them from her cheeks. "Of course I am. I'm terrified. I'm so afraid I feel sick. But I can't…I can't…" she paused a moment as her shoulders shook in a sob. Alex and Paige glanced at each other, both wanting to do something to help but not knowing what to do. "I can't just leave you guys. And I can't leave behind what might be part of God's plan for me. So yes, I am scared. But no, I am not leaving you."
Paige kissed Fi on the cheek, and again hugged her fiercely. "You're a lot more stable than I was when I dealt with stuff like this. You'll be fine, Fi."
"So will you, Paige," promised Fiona, hugging Paige again then looking at Alex. "And so will you. But I need to call Sebastian, guys. If end of the world stuff is going to happen, he needs to be warned."
Paige nodded and released her friend so she could call her brother, and then went and seized Alex in a tight hug as well. Alex wrapped his arms around her waist, and felt his heart break when he heard his girlfriend crying. Paige was always so strong, so tough…hearing her crying now was heartbreaking and scary. If Paige was crying, than the situation was most definitely dire.
Fiona pulled her cell out of her pocket, but before she could press any numbers, she heard a strange sound. A strange, roaring sound. She heard another one, off in the distance, and loud 'thuds'. She spun around to face Alex and Paige, who both looked as confused as she felt.
There was another growling sound, and then – a scream.
Quickly, Paige, Fi and Alex ran out of the covered parking lot of the hotel and out onto the grass that separated it from the main street. They looked up one end of the street and saw nothing but people clinging to their bags or purses or children's hands as they ran about in a panic. They looked the other way, and then backed away in horror.
Tall, horrific grey creatures filled the streets. Their ribs showed, some had holes in their skin so that Paige and the others could see straight through them. They were quite obviously undead, and dressed in ancient Egyptian garb, and in their claw-like hands they carried large sticks with rounded blades at the end. Their heads were those of a jackal.
These things swarmed the streets, swinging their weapons at any living being that they could hit, be they young or old. Many people tried to run for cover, but the creatures were supernaturally quick. If they couldn't hit their victim with the blade, they bent their heads down and bit at their limbs or heads. The atrocious things ran down the road with enormous speed and violence.
It was clear that there was no escape. These creatures seemed determined to kill every living thing in the city. And if they chose to, they could easily wash the whole world with blood.
It was too late for the human race.
The Army of Set had arrived in Cairo.
Artificial: What do I want for Christmas? Opinions. How do you give me your opinion? Leave a review! They mean a lot to me, and help me grow as a writer, as well as help shape the future of this story. So it's kind of like a gift for you. Leave a review, give yourself a gift! Merry Christmas, or Happy Holidays, or Good Winter (is that a thing?)!
