Chapter Eleven: Superstition
Pacing, that was all Nerissa could do at the moment. She was after all just told that not only was she a reincarnated High Priestess that cursed the very mummy that wanted her dead. But then, throw in the fact that the man that she was highly attracted to and was possibly starting what could be a relationship was actually the reincarnation, of her past life's lover. She never missed the clueless years of her childhood in Egypt as much as she did now, she longed for the years she spent climbing and playing in the sand with her oldest friend Jonathan.
"Nerissa, stop pacing you are making me sick." She quickly spun around and looked at the owner of the voice that made her jump. It was Rick who was standing by the window looking up at the sky.
"Sorry, I pace when I need to think. And after what I just heard, after what I just went through? You'd be pacing too if you were me!" She snapped she always snapped when frustrated it was the Irish in her as Jonathan used to always tell her. Speaking of her friend he was sitting in a chair next to her, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into his lap.
"Don't worry Rissy; no old undead mummy will get my best friend! What would I do without my best friend? No offense but no one else here could ever compare! And besides, I don't think Mr. Henderson over there would cope very well, he seems to be carrying a torch for you." He whispered the last part making her blush; of course Henderson looked over and seemed somewhat jealous.
"Bullshit!" She said as she turned to look at her friend who just laughed harder. She stood up and smacked him on the back of the head sticking her tongue out before moving to stand next to Henderson who seemed rather pleased with that and gave her one of his flirtatious winks, at least he could still have his charm in a situation like this.
"We must stop him from regenerating. Who opened that chest?" Evy spoke up as she herself slowly paced the room, playing with her locket again her nervous habit since a child.
"Well there was Daniels here, oh and Burns of course." Henderson spoke up. Daniels rested his elbow on the table and placed a hand on his face taking a deep sigh.
"And that Egyptologist fellow." Daniels said after a moment. Nerissa looked over at Henderson with a worried look on her face.
"What about you? Weren't you in the room Jake?" She asked him silently hoping that he wasn't, she was growing rather fond of the man. He looked down at her with a weak smile.
"Nah, I guess I was lucky. Indy saved my ass from being in the room." He looked over at the Indy who was lying in front of the quarter's door as if standing guard. The dog sat up and barked at the man wagging his tail as his tongue flopped out, as if to tell him damn straight. "I guess what they say about dogs being man's best friend is true in my case." Nerissa looked over at her dog and smiled, she was never so happy to have Indy with her on a trip.
"What about our buddy Beni?" Rick asked turning away from the window to look at everyone.
"No, he scrammed outta there 'fore we opened the damn thing." Daniels said still leaning on arm on the table he sat at. Henderson looked at his friend while eating one of the peanuts from the bar downstairs.
"Yeah, he was the smart one." He said has he begun to follow the other's lead and pace the room.
"Well, that sounds like Beni." Rick said with a sigh. Nerissa leaned against the wall behind her and rubbed her hands over her face.
"Well we must find the Egyptologist and bring him back to the safety of the fort, before the creature gets to him." Evy said, resulting in Nerissa speaking up from her spot against the wall.
"Can't we just let him get turned into jerky? I mean seriously who would miss the guy? And what's one more? We would just have to make sure that Daniels here is safe." She said which made Evy glare at her.
"That is uncalled for Nerissa! What did that poor man do to you? No one deserves that kind of death!" She said as if she were scolding a child, Nerissa raised her eyebrow as she crossed her arms.
"What did he do to me? He gave me shit for being a woman. Last I checked I could protect my own damn ass, and did you see me being all dainty with a fucking parasol in the desert? He thinks that he is better than us Evy because he supposedly has a certain appendage below the belt! I may be a woman but I bet I have more balls than him!" Nerissa spat as she pushed off the wall and stood in front of Evy, the only person in the room shorter than her and looked down at the woman with a harsh glare. She didn't care if it wasn't lady like if she swore, she didn't care if her parents were rolling in their graves at her language she would be damned before bend over backwards for a sexist pig that thought she should be at home providing meals and children for a man. The men in the room all snickered at her mini rant; it was moments like this that her Irish temper came through.
"I stand by what I said earlier, marry me." Henderson said with a laugh making her blush.
"Alright Rissa, we know where you stand. But we don't want any more plagues so we have to save him, however if he were to be…manhandled or accidentally knocked out in his panic then I'd understand." Rick said with a smirk making Evy make a noise of protest. "So you, stay here, you two come with me and you two make sure she stays here. No one comes in, no one comes out." He said pointing at Evy, then pointing at Nerissa and Jonathan and finally pointing to Henderson and Daniels. Everyone began protesting at once which made Rick call out for silence. When Evy put up a fight he threw her over his shoulder and carried her into the room, and tossed her on the bed before locking the door.
"Like I said, she stays. You two make sure no one comes in and no one leaves, right?" He said pointing at Henderson.
"Right." Henderson said looking at Rick with a quick nod. Rick then looked over at Daniels and pointed at him.
"Right?" Daniels replied to Rick's question with a nod of his own. Nerissa looked towards Rick with a glare at first.
"Why do I have to go with you and Jonathan?" She asked crossing her arms; Rick looked over at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Don't you want you free shot at the Egyptologist?" He asked she immediately relaxed and perked up, her face immediately, switched to one of mischief and excitement.
"O'Connell, I know she can protect herself…but can you keep an extra eye on her?" Henderson asked as he looked over at Nerissa hesitantly. When she looked at him she had a look that was a mix of confusion and amusement.
"Aww…you care about me. How sweet, if you want him to keep an eye on me then Indy will stay here and keep an eye on you." She said with a laugh Henderson just gave her a wink and a charming smile.
"Anything that makes you happy darlin'." He said with a laugh making her blush again, she never blushed this much before but with his constant winks, smiles and that southern drawl it was nearly impossible to not blush.
"Come on you little love bird." Rick said dragging Nerissa out of the quarters with a laugh; Jonathan was not far behind them. "Let's go Jonathan." He said turning to the other man, who was hesitant to go with him and Nerissa.
"Oh, well, I thought I could stay at the fort and, uh, reconnoiter…" Rick turned towards Jonathan and grabbed his arm.
"NOW!" He said in a stern voice making Jonathan jump a little, and Nerissa chuckle. She looked at the man with a smirk patting him on the back almost sympathetically.
"Yeah…right, we're just gonna rescue the…Egyptologist." Jonathan said
Henderson was growing impatient; the others still had not found the Egyptologist. Daniels was still sitting in his chair and gave a tired and frustrated sigh, before jumping out of his chair and looking over at Henderson.
"I can't take waiting here anymore I'm gonna go get a drink. You want anything?" Daniels said with a frustrated sigh, Henderson immediately perked up.
"Get me a glass of bourbon." He said, pausing he realized just a glass wasn't enough for what his day had been like so far.
"Alright." Daniels said as he walked to the door.
"A-and a shot of bourbon!" Henderson said, but it still didn't seem like enough it had been a crazy day after all.
"Yeah. Okay, okay." Daniels said giving Henderson a quick look over his shoulder as he walked out the door and down the hall. Henderson ran to stick his head out the door to call out one more request.
"And a bourbon chaser!" That seemed like enough for him, he just wanted to pretend for just a little longer that this was some crazy heat induced dream.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll get your damn bourbon!" Daniels said shaking his head as he walked out of sight. Henderson sat down with a sigh as he looked at Indy who was lying by the bedroom door as if to keep anyone out. If someone had told him his trip to Egypt would turn into a crazy experience involving an undead mummy that wanted to take over the world he would have laughed and told them to lay off the drinks, but sadly it was true. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was apparently some reincarnated bodyguard named Amon, but he couldn't help but think it was crazy. But at the same time it seemed believable, how else could he explain the urge to travel to Egypt and how it all seemed oddly familiar. It also could be the explanation as to why he was so drawn to Nerissa as well, since she was supposedly his past life's lover.
"Indy, can this day get any more insane?" He asked looking at the dog, who just barked before walking over to him. The dog rested his head on Henderson's lap with a small sigh, it was moments like this Henderson had to think for a dog Indy was very human like which was comforting since he found himself talking to the dog. He turned to look at the small falcon canopic jar and found it to seem oddly familiar the more he thought about it he could almost remember his past life. It disturbed him that he could have had a past life, but then again he thought himself to be rather open-minded. He decided that Daniels was taking far too long and thought he would at least catch some rest, Indy would bark if anyone came in the room anyway. As he closed his eyes he found himself drifting into the much-needed rest.
"Amon, what are you doing here? You know you aren't supposed to be in here. If someone found out you were in here…" Amun looked down at the woman he was supposed to protect with his life and smiled.
"Since when do you follow that rule? If you want to follow that rule then I suppose I should beg the Goddess Isis for forgiveness since I have tainted her High Priestess." He said as he gave the woman a kiss making her smile.
"Yes, I suppose you should, especially since I am carrying your child. But I have seen our child…such a beautiful child she will be. I see us living in the country side away from the Palace, I see us free from this life." The woman said with a grin as she held his hand to her still flat stomach which held their unborn child. She was going to ask the Pharaoh if she could resign from her role as High Priestess it wasn't common or even heard of for the High Priestess to resign but it seemed as if the gods had plans for them.
"I will be just outside my love." He said with a smile as he snuck out of the room with a wink.
"Hypocrisy seems to suit you Layla. What makes you think that your love is acceptable and my own is not?" The woman spun around in surprise when she heard the High Priest of Osiris, Imhotep. "What would the Pharaoh think knowing that his High Priestess had lain with her guard?" He spat, he was angry since it was her that persuaded the Pharaoh to paint Anck-Su-Namun.
"I had her painted to protect you! She is to be the Pharaoh's wife!" Layla spat as she tried to walk away, he grabbed her arm with a glare.
"If I can't have her then perhaps you shouldn't have your precious Medjai!" He said with a snarl, she pulled her arm away and ran out of the room. She gasped when she saw Amun surrounded by the other Medjai before he was dragged away.
"NO! AMUN! STOP WHERE ARE YOU TAKING HIM?!" She cried out as they dragged him out of the chambers.
"To the dungeons, to await his execution he touched the High Priestess. That is a crime punishable by death." Imhotep said with a sadistic grin as he watched the woman fall to her knees sobbing.
It had been days since he had seen his beloved Layla, he just wanted to see her one last time but the guards refused to let him see her. Word had traveled that he had forced himself on Layla which made him sick; he never forced himself on her. He loved her more than anything in all of existence it was obvious that the gods made the match why else would they have fallen in love? Why else would she of still had, the visions the Goddess Isis gave her if it wasn't meant to be? Surely the Goddess wouldn't still give her the gift of sight if she had angered her.
"Amun, I am here to inform you that on behalf of your crimes you will be executed at dawn." A guard said as he held up a papyrus with the Pharaoh's decision. His only thought was that if it meant that his beloved Layla and their unborn child were safe then he would die a thousand times.
When dawn had finally arrived he found himself in the execution square, he was to be publicly executed. He held back tears when they told him he was not allowed to see Layla. He just wanted to see her one more time! He silently begged the gods to let him see her one last time, and just for safe measures he prayed to his father's ancestor's gods as well he prayed to Zeus that he would be allowed to just see his beloved Layla. He was on his knees awaiting the blade that would behead him. He only looked up when he heard a scream from above turning he saw his beloved on the balcony of the temple.
"AMUN! I SWEAR TO YOU BY THE GODDESS WE WILL BE TOGETHER IF NOT IN THIS LIFE THEN ANOTHER LIFE!" She screamed the people all looked up at the High Priestess, it was the first time they had ever seen her without her golden mask, and they like he had been were in awe of her beauty. Before he could say a word he was shoved to his knees again and the blade swung, they say that your life flashes before your eyes when you die, but the only thing he saw was the face of his beloved. The woman he vowed to wait for before he graced the halls of the dead. If the executioner had waited a moment longer he would have heard that the Pharaoh had pardoned him, after the High Priestess told him that she was in love with Amun, and that their union was blessed by the Goddess Isis since she still had the gift of sight. But the executioner did not hear this news until it was too late, the personal guard of the High Priestess was already dead. However to make amends for the uncalled for execution the Pharaoh arranged for Amun to be buried as if he were a Prince of Egypt, and that when his beloved died she would be buried next to him.
Henderson woke with a start when he felt as if a blade had swung down on his neck, he had never had a dream like that before and it terrified him. Could that have been his past life? Is that how his past life had died, executed simply because he loved a woman more than anything else in the world?
"AMUN!" Came a snarl, Henderson jumped to his feet when he saw the mummy in front of him, he couldn't help but gasp a little. The mummy's eyes might have been Burns' before but now they held such hatred that seemed wrong, Burns never was an angry man so seeing his eyes hold such hatred only angered him.
"Imhotep I assume? Sorry you son of a bitch but you aren't going to win this time!" He said as he grabbed the closest thing to him which was the canopic jar and threw it. Imhotep let out an inhuman screech as he in a whirl wind of sand rushed to catch the jar before it shattered; he clutched it close to his undead heart and glared at Henderson. Grabbing the man with his other hand he threw the man into the window, splintering the shutters as the man fell to the ground. Thankfully Henderson had enough time to brace himself thus saving his life.
"JAKE, what the hell happened?!" He looked up to see Layla, no Nerissa he wasn't Amun, he was Jacob Henderson. Slowly rising to his feet he let out a groan as he felt the obvious pain from being thrown out a window.
"The damn mummy threw me out a window. That's what happened! Ugh my, everything hurts right now." He let out a yelp as Rick shoved him and ran up the stairs. "Shit, I forgot about your sister, sorry." Henderson said as he turned to Jonathan who let out a whimper before deciding his sister was worth facing a pissed off undead mummy.
"Yeah…we were too late for the Egyptologist…I just wish I could of punched him before he was turned into jerky." She said before she ran up to the room as well. When she got in the room she pulled out her gun and aimed at the mummy before he disappeared once Rick held up Cleo who hissed at him making him screech.
"So…I guess we better find a way to kill him before he gets Daniels?" Nerissa asked as she looked at Daniels who had apparently shown up before her and Henderson, the poor man was shaking like a leaf.
"Yeah, we waited too long already. Now let's go, Evy I sure hope you can translate that damn slab you mentioned before." Rick said with a sigh.
This was SIX pages, and sadly I feel it's kinda lame. But hey it's a filler for the time being. I might not update this one for a while since I am working on two other stories on top of being busy with school. Please don't hate me! But hey I did throw in a bit of a "flashback" or "memory" of Henderson's past life does that make it a little better? Please REVIEW!
