Chapter 32

The mob moved into a circle around them and chanted Imhotep. Slowly they fell silent and parted like the red sea. They saw the creature coming into view as the curator spoke, "It's the creature. He's fully regenerated."

The creature Imhotep at this point moves forward to them, and they noticed Jessica still form on his shoulder. Evelyn and Jonathan cried out, "Jessica!" They tried to move toward the creature, but Shafi and Kontar stopped them at the same time as the curator spoke, "No, my young charges."

They turned and stared at the curator with deep fear eyes, but his attention was on the creature. Terrance and the mummy locked eyes for a long time as its smile turned to a smirk. Pausing a few feet from them and paused. He noticed the royal robes of the older man. There was another older one Medjai he noted. But his attention was on the two young ones. He studied them for a time. It had been ages since he last saw the markings of the Medjai the pharaoh's loyal bodyguards. He will use the girl.

He moved her from her shoulder and lowered her to the ground and stood back up staring at them, and he waved his hand. Jessica's eyes shot open in confusion, trying to get her bearings and heard, "Milady."

Quinn's voice reached her ears, and she turned slightly to see her family behind her, and she blinked. She turned back around to understand why they were fearful, and she took in the mummy who was utterly human now had her scrambling back towards the others.

She felt her body not responding to what she wanted it to do and slowly found herself pulled and back to the priest and he grabbed her arm. She tried to break free from his hold, but it was no use. Imhotep smirked at the girl and returned his attention to the group before him, "Keetah mi pharos a ja nilo isirian."

It was at this point that his new servant shuffled up beside him, "Come with me, my princess. It's time to make you mine forever."

He watched as the one he had chosen gave a nasty look and responded to the servant, "For all eternity, idiot."

"Koontash dai na, aja nilo." Spoke Imhotep as he stretches out his hand.

Beni, translated again, "Take my hand, and I will spare your friends."

Here O'Connell scoffs at the words. As Evelyn spoke, "Oh, dear."

She looks around at the bloodthirsty crowd that was waiting to pounce, she looks at the confident priest in front of her than at Rick and spoke, "Have you got any bright ideas?"

Rick responded with, "I'm thinkin', I'm thinkin'."

Evie looked at him and responded, "You better think of something fast, because if he turns me into a mummy, you're the first one I'm coming after."

Evelyn stepped forward and paused at her youngest sibling voice, "Sister."

They looked eyes she saw the fear in her baby sister eyes, and she paused in her stepped and shifted her gaze to the mummy and raised an eyebrow at him arms crossed in front of her. The mummy smiled and shifted his gaze to the girl and let his grip go. Jessica stepped quickly back and turned. Her attention entirely fixed on Ardeth and she made the small dash to him.

Ardeth held out a hand and grabbed her one hand and pulled her quickly to him and she wrapped her arms around him and reached out with one hand to Kontar with one who gently squeezed her hand.

The mummy looked on, and his smirk got slightly more prominent. Evelyn noticed the look on the mummy's face, and she closed her eyes briefly, and images and conversations flew in her memory at her sister's misgivings and warnings. She turned around quickly and moved towards her sister immediately. Jessica in feeling her sister presences behind looked up. Evelyn placed a kissed softly on her head before whispering in her ear, "I'm sorry little sister. I love you."

Evie pulled away and moved to the priest and took his hand, finally.

She quickly turns around as a sound of a gun was heard, and both Rick and Jonathan shouted out, "No!"

Kontar and Shafi each grabbed Rick and Jonathan as they said, "No!"

Evelyn spoke up with a warning and a message for the two, "Don't! He has to take me to Hamunaptra to perform the ritual."

Ardeth spoke up from his spot, "She is right. Live today, fight tomorrow."

With great difficulty, Rick unarms his gun and places it back in the holster as Kontar let go of him. Rick and Evelyn stared at each other for a short time. Rick moves the torch in front of him, pointing it at the mummy, "I'll be seeing you again."

The creature smiled a little bit more as he turned with his first prize and began walking away.

"Evelyn!" Shouted Rick as they moved away with Evelyn looking behind her at her family. She watched as Beni reached out and struggled with Jonathan and he managed to get the puzzle box and grabbed the puzzle box from Jonathan who shouted, "Hey, that's mine!"

Beni stepped back to follow after Imhotep. Responded to Jonathan, "Thank you."

Imptoph's voice sounded from the middle with order and Evelyn's shouts of, "No. Jessica. Let Me go!" As she struggles against his hold.

Beni looked at his prince and back at the rest who was few feet away and smiled, "Kill them, except for the girl and the two young warriors bring them to me alive. Goodbye, my friend."

He scrambles away as Rick lunges at him as he said, "Come here, you little..." but trailed off as the crowd shifted slightly forward. It was during this that Dr. Bey pulled Jessica into a hug as his son stepped in front of them his stance ready for battle.

Terrance whispered in her ear, "I am so very proud of you, your grandmother would be too, dear girl. I love you as my daughter. If I ever had a daughter, I pray that she would be like you, my dearest."

"Why are you saying this now?" She all too aware of the crowd that stood still and her sister's shouts faded. Did the crowd shifted and started to shuffle forward slowly. The voice of her guardian brought her attention back to him as he spoke again, "The statue of Horus would be located not too far from the Statue of Anubis located to the east from it."

Her eyes widen with terror, "Please tell me we don't need to go back there?" She whispered.

"If we want to kill the creature, then yes. Be brave and have faith child. I love you and my son very much."

He pushed her back towards O'Connell who had by this point tossed his torch and pulled the cover over a utility hole. He grabbed his Heir and did the same. Ardeth had a startled look on his face, and the grim faces of the two Medjai warriors heeded their chieftain, "Keep them safe." They pushed Ardeth and Jessica closer to the utility hole.

The crowd kept moving slowly towards them. Shafi and Kontar glanced at each other first before Shafi jumps down. Rick turns toward Jonathan and screams, "Come on!"

He helps him down the hole as Jonathan spoke up, "What about our sister?"

"We're gonna get her back! Go!"

Kontar jumped down next. Quinn quickly followed behind. Rick proceeded to grab Jessica and gently helps her down the hole and lets her go. She screamed in as she fell than silence. Ardeth stared in horror as he watched his father moved towards the enslave crowd as he pulled his scimitar and the curator pushed his son back even more towards Rick and gave him an order, "Go! Find a way! Kill the Creature!"

"Your next!" shouted Rick as he grabbed and managed to Ardeth to go down.

Rick shouted at the curator, "Come on! Give me your hand!"

"You Go!" He shouted as he sliced some of the people in the crowd.

"Come on!" shouted Rick again.

"Go!" Shouted the curator as he throws himself at the mob with slicing, they were in arm's reach by that point. Rick jumps down in the hole. As he landed at the bottom, the group stood in silence listened to the screaming of a male's voice in pain.

Jessica and Quinn stood near the wall of the sewer crying due to the horror of what happened. Ardeth was in shock, and the two warriors stood near their now chieftain in silent support and grief. Jonathan was in a numb state of mind. After a time Shafi locked eyes with Rick and they stared at each other for a time.

After silent watching each other and listening straining to hear any movement, Rick spoke, "We need to move and move now. It will not take them long to come down."

Ardeth looked at him and nodded his head agreement. The group moved down the passage and through the dirty, murky waterway of the sewer. Jessica and Quinn had their arms wrapped around each other and was in was the center of the group. A noise sounded behind them, and Rick dodge left down another tunnel of the sewer system. The rest followed behind him.

Rick pushed everyone forward grabbing one of his dynamite and another match from his pocket and strikes it off the wall and lights the fuse and throws it and runs after the others. They managed to make another turn to the right and an explosion rining out from behind them, and it bunched off the walls.

Finding a ladder halfway down the new tunnel Shafi climbed up first and pushed off the sewer lid to the utility hole and pulled himself up. Rick was next to come up along with Kontar followed by Jonathan than Quinn. Next Jessica, finally Ardeth. They replaced the cover over the hole.

Rick motioned them to stay here as he saw the flickering of light. He crept down the alley and finding the street lit with flames from the fire blast of the dynamite through a whole that was huge. He hurried back down and announced to the others, "A hole from the explosions with flames coming up that is about fifty feet."

The warriors stood still and not moving. The two girls had sat down the ground leaning against each other, Jonathan sat beside them staring into nothing.

Finally, Jessica's soft child-like voice drifted into the air as she whispered, "I want Evelyn back."

"I know baby sister we will get her back. No one touches her, or you like that and gets away with it." Jessica turned and looked at her brother due to the tone of his voice and the look on his face that was hard and deadly made him look entirely like a different person than her fun, loving brother.

"We will." replied Rick, "Where he's taking her?" The siblings looked at each other and their guide and paid attention to the conversation.

Ardeth responded to the question. "To Hamunaptra. To perform the ritual."

Jonathan and Jessica looked at each other worried looks as Jonathan spoke up, "And what ritual would that be?"

Konatar spoke with a solemness in his voice, "The ritual to bring the body of his love to life."

Jessica scrambled to her feet, and Quinn stood up with them. She looked at her cousin as her brother stood and said, "And how does one do that?"

The three warriors looked at each in concern for the two. As Ardeth spoke slowly, "By reading the Book Of The Dead."

"That's it?" Replied Quinn. The three was mystified from the concern and hesitation of the warriors around them.

"Oh is that all?" Replied a relief, Jonathan. Jessica looked at Ardeth with confusion. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned her head and saw it was Kontar, her head snapped in the direction of Ardeth again as she heard Shafi state, "And then kill your sister."

Jessica turned around and buried her head into her cousin's chest, and he wrapped his arms around her.

"Excuse me?" Jonathan spoke up.

But Ardeth looked at O'Connell and spoke, "Imhotep is now able to cross the desert with great haste."

Ardeth was interrupted by Jonathan who was tapping him on his shoulder, the warrior turned and looked at him and turned to Rick again. As Jon spoke up, "Begging your pardon, but I wasn't quite clear on that last part."

However, Ardeth ignored him as he continued, "If he arrives before us, it will be almost too late."

Jonathan tried again, "Did you say 'kill our sister'?

Jessica mumbled a response, "Yes he did, brother."

Jonathan looked helpless at the others as it finally set in. They stand thoughtfully until O' Connell smiles and spoke, I know how to beat him to it, but first, we need to find a place to hid and rest. We need our strength."

"Follow me." Spoke Ardeth and he led the group through the streets, dodging around the crazy people that litter the streets. He came to a building and took his boot knife and broke the lock on a door and opened it. Jessica had moved away from the group and stopped halfway down the side street, for she heard a small sound.

She looked behind the crates and kneeling there hidden was a terrified Martha and Rebecca who had a tiny baby pressed into her trying to calm and soothe the scared infant. Her breath caught in her throat and she looked slightly off to the side and blinked in surprise at the two thin, pale gruff men, and it took her a minute to realize that the unkempt men were her father and Joshua.

"Jessica." The voice of Kontar sounded behind her, and she turned in looked at him.

"We can't leave them here."

"Leave who here?" He spoke softly and came up to her and stood beside her and he noticed the family. His body tense and his eyes narrowed.

"You heard our princess, so move." was his stern order as he turned and ushered Jessica ahead him and followed behind. He stopped and turned back and said, "Are you coming or not? We don't have all night."

The group of five moved slowly down the street, and they stepped into the building, and Kontar came behind them and shut and locked the door. Without even glancing at them he moved to the group only to stop by Jessica who stood in front of him, and she whispered, "Thank you."

He stared at her and spoke, "You are welcome. Just don't wander off again."

Nodding her head, she moved to be of help to the others, and they slowly made a small camp. Ardeth and Rick went to guard the exits. Shafi stood guard silently leaning against the wall near the group as for Jonathan he curled up and fall asleep and Kontar sat and kept his eyes on the family in front him not trusting them at all.

It was sometime later that had Kontar and Shafi moved off to check out things after Jessica's family fell asleep. It was a little time than that had Jessica finally standing up, her motion took Quinn from her musings and she watched Jessica moving through the middle of the small camp heading in the direction that Ardeth had made, and she called to her lady and friend, "Jessica, come back for a moment please."

Turning she looked at Quinn and moved back kneeling in front of her. Quinn spoke gently and whispered so the others wouldn't awake, "If you go to him, you are going not to a man but to a warrior who needs the comfort of his woman. Are you sure about this? For this will not be like the times past."

Jessica bit her lip thoughtfully, and with hesitation and fear slightly in her eyes, she spoke with determination, "I have to try to help. He's been there for me, and I need to be there for him too."

Quinn let out a sigh and responded with, "If you are certain Miss. Jessica."

Jessica's response was firm, " I am."

Jessica stood and moved quickly away before she lost her courage to do what she needed to do.

Behind her thoughtful eyes looked at her as she departed, wondering what was going.