Chapter Four
As I rushed towards the Smithsonian Castle, thoughts were racing around in my head. Akhmenrah's tablet was down in the Federal Archives, which meant the biggest museum in the world was coming to life. However, the first big obstacle was to find a way to get into the archives. I had been to the Smithsonian twice before, so I knew the archives were underneath the nineteen museums that made up the Smithsonian. Looking at my watch, I had two hours until sundown and one hour until the museum was to close. Thankfully, the museum in New York was closed and McPhee was on vacation, so hopefully I wouldn't have to explain why the tablet had been missing for several days. Entering the castle, I noticed several exhibits which looked interesting, but I had no time to stop and look.
"Kahmunrah." I made my way towards what appeared to be a large stone gate. I read the sign that stood next to it.
The Gate of Kahmunrah: Mythical door to the Underworld
Upon closer inspection, on the door of the gate, there was a hole where Akhmenrah's tablet would fit perfectly. So I now knew why Kahmunrah wanted the tablet, but I still didn't know what his plan was.
"Hey, what are you doing?" I turned.
"Oh, sorry. I just dropped something and I was just picking it up." The guard came over to me.
"Well, then next time be careful not to drop things." I had bought a drink on the plane and I still had some left. I "accidentally" spilled it all over the guard.
"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't mean to! I'm such a klutz. Here, let me hold your jacket while you go get a new one." While the guard was gone for a brief moment, I snatched his ID card and hid it in my pocket. When he came back I gave him his jacket.
"Well, here you are. I better get going." I quickly ran off towards the locked doors I had passed a good ten minutes ago where there were no guards in front of it. Quickly checking around, I used the ID card to get in. I could hear more people coming, and I shut myself in the locker room. Noticing some uniforms, I quickly slipped one on and made my way out. I had to work quickly, only having twenty eight minutes until sundown. I hoped badly that the tablet would not activate before I could find it. I made my way down several staircases and went through several doors before I got to where I needed to be. I turned on my flashlight so I could see better.
"Alright, where are you guys?" Along the way, I had found a box with a giant octopus inside it. I kept a mental note in case I needed it for later. Reaching another door, I slid the ID card through the swiper and went inside. It did not take me long to find what I was looking for. Weaving my way through the soldiers, I arrived at the doors of the crate. All my friends were inside, poised and ready for battle. Taking one of the spears from the soldier closest to me, I managed to grab hold of the tablet.
"Thank goodness I found you before you activated." Just as I had finished saying that, Akhmenrah's tablet lit up like a Christmas tree.
"No, no, no, no! Bad tablet!" Scolding it wouldn't do any good. I soon had spears from the Egyptian soldiers in my face.
"English, you're English perhaps?" I nodded.
"I take it you're Kahmunrah?"
"So you've heard of me?" Akhmenrah was right, his brother did have a noticable lisp.
"I have heard of you. I also happen to know your brother Akhmenrah. He's a good friend of mine."
"Oh she knows baby brother, who was the favourite son."
"Yes, he is very nice."
"Oh isn't he just? You know mother and father always gave him the best of everything and I do mean everything. They even gave him the throne. The throne which was rightfully mine!"
"Gee, I wonder why?" I muttered under my breath.
"Well, now begins the era of Kahmunrah. Now hand over that tablet." My friends from New York started speaking up.
"Don't give it to him, Alexandria!"
"Oh silence, silence in there!" Kahmunrah banged his fist on the door.
"Don't make me come in there!"
"No, I won't be muzzled!" Typical Jedediah. He had always been a hot head.
"Look, that tablet is more powerful than you could ever imagine. Bringing things back to life is just a parlour trick." Now I knew I was in a dangerous situation.
"What's your point?" I was only just over five feet tall. Kahmunrah on the other hand, stood at just over six feet tall and I could tell he was quite muscular and would be more than capable of physically restraining me if he wanted to.
"With it, I shall unlock the gate to the underworld and bring forth my army from the land of the dead. So if it's not too much trouble, hand it over." Remembering the octopus in the crate, I gave it to him.
"Alright, fine. Here you go." Kahmunrah had turned to leave.
"Wise desicion."
"I just thought you would have wanted the cube."
"The cube?"
"The cube. Of rubik. You know, it's the cube that turns all who oppose you to dust. My bad, Akhmenrah didn't want to mess with it and wanted to play it safe. You just struck me as the next level kind of person." I batted my eyelashes, using what little flirtatious ability I had to keep his interest. Akhmenrah had mentioned that Kahmunrah had a soft spot for pretty girls, so if I had to flirt with him to keep my friends alive, I was fully prepared to do it.
"Then take me to this cube of rubik then." I had Kahmunrah and his soldiers follow me to where the octopus was.
"Open it." He ordered me. I undid the latch on one side, and stood out of the way when I undid the other latch. The octopus was NOT a happy camper. It lashed about, sending soldiers flying into crates, releasing animals within. There were animals all over the place. One of the tentacles had knocked Kahmunrah right off his feet, giving me a prime opportunity to grab the tablet and run. I made my way to a door, and I would have been able to get out, had someone not stepped in front of me. I hid behind a fountain to stay out of sigh of some other exhibits who were clearly looking for me. Based on their outfits, I suspected they were French.
"That was close." I muttered quietly. I headed to the closest door to make my way out of the art museum where I had wound up. Air and space was the closest, so I made my way over there, looking for someone who could maybe help me. Getting inside, there were exhibits wandering all over the place. There was even a little monkey who looked like Dexter.
"Oh, your name is Able? You're a polite little monkey." I shook Able's tiny little hand and she hopped up to sit on my shoulder. I continued walking through the museum, trying to find someone who could help me.
"Excuse me, but you dropped this back there." I turned around and came face to face with Amelia Earhart.
"Thanks." I put my jacket back on.
"What are you doing?" I took a few moments to explain to Amelia what was going on, and to my surprise, she volunteered to come with me.
"Are you sure? Kahmunrah is really dangerous."
"Don't worry. You won't get lost following me!" So we made our way to get out of here. Able was perched on my shoulder quite happily. Before we could get out, we were cornered by Al Capone of all people.
"Dress boy wants to see you, he says you gave him trouble." Able had left and gotten away, leaving these mobsters to take Amelia and myself back to the Smithsonian castle where everyone else was. When we got there, I could see that Kahmunrah had also recruited Napoleon and Ivan the Terrible in his scheme to take over the world, likely promising them entire countries in exchange for their help. I wasn't going to let him win.
"It would appear that mother and father have changed the combination on me."
"You must be really frustrated because you've waited three thousand years to do this and now it's clearly not going so well."
"I shall wait a thousand more if I must."
"Good, because when the sun comes up, you'll be standing there frozen and frustrated and I'll take the tablet and my friends and get out of here. I have all night."
"You may have all night, but he doesn't." Kahmunrah pointed to a bird cage that was holding Jedediah captive.
"Hey, leave him alone." Kahmunrah had picked Jed up by the back of his shirt.
"Put me down, I don't like to be manhandled!"
"Oh look, he's having a tiny little tantrum! Don't squirm, I shan't hurt you. Oh, I lied." Kahmunrah had dropped Jed into an hour glass.
"Let him go."
"Now go find me the tablet's combination. I would say your shaggy headed little cowman here has a little over an hour."
"I hate you." I told him before being shooed off. Amelia and I had left the castle.
"Amelia, go get some back up. I'll find a way to translate this tablet." So we split up. First heading to the air and space, I remembered the little Einstein bobble heads. Maybe they could help me! After spending fifteen of my precious sixty minutes trying to find them, I finally did.
"I need help figuring out the combination. It says I can figure out the combination if I figure out the secret at the heart of Pharaoh's tomb. Any ideas?"
"The answer is in the question, it's a figure. A number." I thought for a moment. Now I get it!
"The answer is the value of pi! Thanks so much!" I ran back to the entrance to make my way back over to the castle. Hopefully something would stop working or I could come up with a plan to stop Kahmunrah. Getting back inside, I went to the main lobby.
"Now your little friend here had better hope that you figured out the combination."
"First off, give me Jed and I will give you the tablet and the combination."
"Oh no, hand over that tablet and give me the combination."
"I told you to give me Jed before I give you anything."
"We already got the answer! It's pi. 3.14159265." Before I could protest, Kahmunrah grabbed the tablet from my hands, tossing the hour glass that Jed was trapped in towards my hands.
I was getting more and more worried that I would not be able to stop him.