Chapter 2: The Maji Attack
Hermione watched in horror as the guards dragged the only man who could lead them to Hamunaptra to the gallows. The other prisoners of the Cairo Jail watched from their cells, cheering and shouting for the execution to commence.
Hermione looked at the warden sitting next to her and said, "I will give you one hundred pounds to save this mans life."
Crowley smirked, "Madame, I would pay one hundred pounds just to see him hanged love."
The brunette glanced at the prisoner growing ever closer to his death, "Two hundred pounds!" she cried frantically. "Oh…three hundred pounds!"
Down on the platform, one of the guards fastened the rope around the unruly-haired man's neck, making him grunt uncomfortably.
"Any last requests, pig?"
"Yeah, loosen the knot and let me go bitch." Dean growled.
None too bright, the prison worker turned his gaze to Crowley and called out, inquiring whether or not they were supposed to honor the man's request.
"Moron!" Crowley shouted. "Of course we don't let him go!"
Dean rolled his green eyes, earning a smack in the head from the dim-witted guard.
"Five hundred pounds!" Hermione continued her bargaining.
Crowley signaled to the executioners to wait a moment, then looked at the brown haired woman, saying, "And what else?"
He reached out and put his hand on Hermione's thigh. "I am a very lonely man."
The young women scowled and smacked his hand with the book she was holding, resulting in several laughs from the surrounding prisoners.
The warden stood up and shouted at the guards to pull the lever.
"NO!" Hermione screamed as the board beneath Dean's feet slid back, dropping him and beginning his hanging.
He gagged and kicked his legs about, striving to free himself.
Crowley laughed and announced, "His neck did not break! Now we must watch him strangle to death! So, exciting love"
The brown-eyed beauty breathed a sigh of slight relief, realizing she still had a little time.
"He knows the location of Hamunaptra." She reasoned.
The warden stared at her in shock for a moment before saying, "You lie!"
"I would never!"
Crowley stared at Dean, who was beginning to look a little blue. "Are you telling me that this godless son of a pig knows where to find the City of the Dead?"
"Yes!"
"Truly?"
"Yes!" Hermione cried triumphantly, "And if you cut him down we will give you…" she glanced at her suffocating potential guide, wondering how much they could afford. "…ten percent."
"Fifty percent," Crowley countered
"Twenty."
"Forty."
"Thirty."
The warden thought for a moment and for lack of another number said, "Twenty Five!"
"Ha!" Hermione grinned. "Deal!"
Crowley blinked and groaned in frustration when he realized his own stupidity. Nevertheless, he glanced down at the gallows and shouted, "Cut him down!"
The executioner swung his scabbard slicing through the rope and freeing its victim, Dean collapsed on the ground, coughing and gasping for air. With some difficulty, due to his bound hands he rolled over on his side…and glimpsed Miss Hermione Granger, smiling at him triumphantly.
Afterwards, the two Granger siblings found themselves standing at Giza Port with their luggage, waiting for their new guide.
"Do you really think the prat's gonna show up?" Hermione asked.
Sam nodded. "He may be a cowboy but I know his breed. His word is his word, I think."
The brunette haired woman huffed and replied, "Well I think he's a filthy, rude, complete scoundrel. I don't like him one bit."
"Tell me how you really feel sweetheart?"
The two turned to see…a completely cleaned up Dean Winchester. He had taken a shower and was completely free of dirt and dried blood, his formerly tangled hair was now brushed and styled to be spiked in the front . A clean white shirt with a black jacket and dark pants replaced his dirty tunic. In a word he was…handsome.
"Oh…" Hermione gasped, hypnotized by the young man's green eyes. "Um…Hello."
Sam thumped their new companion on the chest and exclaimed. "Gorgeous day for the start of an adventure, eh Winchester?"
"Yeah..." Dean cocked an eyebrow and felt within his chest pocket, ensuring that his wallet was still there.
Sam laughed. "Oh, no, no, I'd never steal from a partner…Jerk."
"Oh, that reminds me…no hard feelings about the…" The brown haired man punched the air, demonstrating his previous act of slugging Sam. Then caught what the male had called him and smirked at him slightly relaxed. "Bitch"
The blonde boy waved a dismissive hand and replied, "Oh,no, happens all the time."
"Mr. Winchester…" Hermione began uncertainly. "Can you look me in the eye and guarentee that this isn't some kind of flimflam? Because if it is, Im warning you-"
"Your warning me sweetheart?" Dean raised his eyebrows. "Lady, let me put it this way. My whole garrison believed in this so much that without orders, they marched halfway across Libya and into Egypt to find that City. And when we got there, all we found…was sand and blood."
The brown haired woman gazed at him thoughtfully as he leaned down, grabbed her bags and began hauling them to the ferry.
Once he was out of earshot, Sam muttered, "Yes…you were right…filthy, rude, complete scoundrel…nothing to like there at all…Jerk."
The brown-eyed beauty looked over her shoulder and was about to say something when another familiar face appeared.
"Bright morning to all lovelies," Crowley greeted, dragging his own luggage behind him.
Hermione groaned saying, "oh, no…what are you doing here?"
"I am here to protect my investment thank you very much love."
The ferry cruised over the evening Nile water, fuly visible beneath the bright, silvery moon. This made it all the more easy…for the Maji to follow close behind on their soundless watercraft.
Aboard the ferry, a rambunctious group of treasure hunters were having a blast playing poker and drinking.
"Quit sleeping and cut the deck, Crabbe." Exclaimed Draco, a man with short white blonde hair.
Vincent Crabbe, a heavy set male who loved to eat sweets and follow around the blonde like a puppy, with short brown hair that looked buzzed, replied. "Cutting the deck, right sorry Drake."
Dean stepped out of a ship cabin and Sam called out to him, "Hey, Winchester! Sit down we could use another player."
The brown haired man shook his head, "I only gamble with my life never my money."
"Never?" inquired Goyle, a pale skinned burly, shaggy brown haired man. "What if I was to bet you five-hundred dollars we get to Hamunaptra before you?"
"You're looking for Hamunaptra?"
"We sure are."
"And who says we are?" Dean asked, squinting his green eyes suspiciously.
All the guys pointed at Sam. "He does."
Quivering under the soldiers unwavering glare, the dirty blonde man chuckled nervously and said, "H-How about it?"
"Is it a bet?" Goyle grinned.
Being partial to a little competition, Dean gave a smirk and replaced, "All right, your on."
"And what makes you so confident" said a feminine voice, belonging to a red haired woman named Charlie Bradbury.
"What makes you?" Dean shot back knowing all too well that this woman had to be the brains in charge of Draco, Goyle and Crabbe.
Draco grinned and announced, "we've got a man who's actually been there."
Not one to be outdone, Sam began. "Oh, what a coincidence because Winchester-"
Said guide threw his thick, leather bag over his shoulder. Purposefully hitting Sam in the process.
Catching the hint, the Granger sibling stammered out. "Is it-is it my play? I thought…"
"Gentlemen," Dean smirked placing a hand on the dirty blonde man's shoulder, "we've got a wager." He then painfully squeezed his loudmouth companion's shoulder and growled, "Goodnight, Sammy."
"G-Goodnight and its Sam!." Sam grimaced.
At the more peaceful side of the ship, Hermione was sitting in a cushy chair, completely absorbed in a book and enjoying the night air. She yelped in fright when a bag was suddenly thrown on the table in front of her.
"Sorry sweetheart," Dean lamented. "Didn't mean to scare you."
Hermione smirked and replied, "The only thing that scares me, Mr. Winchester, is your lack of manners."
Dean studied her for a moment before cocking an eyebrow and murmuring, "still angry about that kiss, huh sweetheart?"
Her breath caught in her throat and she searched her brain for a comeback, "well if you call THAT a kiss."
The brown haired man smirked and rolled open his leather bag, revealing countless guns, knives, and ammunition.
"Umm…" Hermioine began, gulping at the plethora of weapons, "Did I miss something? Are we…are we going into battle?"
"Lady, there's something out there," Dean replied cryptically, loading one of his pistols. "Something underneath that sand."
"Yes, well…I'm hoping to find a certain artifact. A book actually. My brother thinks there's treasure." She began absentmindedly playing with a hook-like device in the weapon satchel.
"In a word…an evil son of a bitch. Some people believe that Hamunaptra is cursed."
"Oh, I don't believe in fairy tales and hocus pocus, Mr. Winchester," Hermione replied as Dean reached over and took the hook away from her. "…but I do believe that one of the most famous books in history is buried down their. The book of Amun-Ra. It contains within it all the secret incantaions of the old kingdom. Its what first interested me as a child. Its why I came here-sort of a lifes pursuit."
The adventurer chuckled. "And the fact that they say its made of pure gold makes no never mind to you? Right?"
"You know your history." The young woman beamed.
"I know my treasure."
Hermione smiled for a moment, then bit her lip in contemplation. "By the way…why did you kiss me?"
Dean chuckled, saying, "Sweetheart, I was about to be hanged by the neck. It seemed like a good idea at the time."
Appalled, the young woman scowled and slammed her book shut, storming back to her cabin.
"What?" Dean blinked, genuinely clueless. "What did I say?"
His attention was then caught by a yelp coming from the corner of the deck. The soldier glanced at the wall…and glimpsed a shadow he knew all too well. Dean crept up…and seized Naomi by the collar, slamming her against the wall.
"My good friend, you're alive thank goodness!" Naomi squeaked nervously, "I was so very worried."
Dean smirked. "Well if it aint my little buddy Naomi. I think I'll kill you."
He pulled out his pistol as the dark haired woman cried, "Think of my children!"
"You don't have any children bitch!"
"Someday I might."
"Shut up!" the green-eyed man hissed, "So you're the one leading those idiots. I might have known so what's the scam? You take them out into the middle of the desert and then you leave them to rot?"
"Unfortunately, no." Naomi replied truthfully. "Those idiots are smart. They pay me only half now and half when I get them back to Cairo. So this time I must go all the way."
"Them's the breaks, huh?" Dean finally released his former partner.
Naomi straightened her shirt and muttered, "you've never believed in Hamunaptra, Winchester. Why are you going back?"
The two turned when they heard a camel grunting in the stable section of the ferry. Hermione stood by the creature, cooing and gently stroking its head.
"You see that girl?" Dean pointed to her. "She saved my neck."
"You always did have more brawn then brains and only thought with what was in your pants Winchester." The ex-soldier smirked she laughed scornfully and the brown-haired man joined her. Clapping her on the shoulder and leading her away from the wall, until…"Goodbye, Naomi," he threw her over the side of the ship.
Dean went back to preparing his fire arms…and froze when he noticed a trail of wet footprints leading back to the cabins. Naomi was still coughing and sputtering in the ocean, so who…?
Dressed in a spaghetti strap nightgown, Hermione wandered around her bedroom, reading a book to herself as she went…though she found she was having trouble concentrating.
"George Bembridge…in eighteen-sixty…hmmm…in 1865was…was…"
Finally, the pinkette threw her hands up in the air and exclaimed. "Oh, for bloody heaven's sake, girl, it wasn't THAT good of a kiss anyway!"
She would never admit that it actually was. The young women went to the dresser and began running a brush through her thick brown hair. Hermione sighed as a book fell on the floor and reached down to pick it up…but when she got to her feet again. She shrieked in horror…for their was a man clad in black, standing in her room.
He seized her by the throat and held a hooked knife to her face, growling, "Where is the map?"
Terrified, the brown haired woman nodded her head in the parchments direction, "Its th…there…"
"And the key?"
Her heart lurched with fright and confusion as she stuttered, The k-key? W-what key?"
"Hermione!" Dean burst through the door, pointing twin pistols, at the intruder who held the girl against him as a shield.
The cabin window opened and the soldier quickly shot at the man behind it, before knocking over a lantern and setting the rooms couch on fire. Getting the idea, Hermione grabbed a candle off her dresser and drove it into her attackers face, making him scream and let her go. Shielding the brown haired woman from harm, Dean stood between her and the window shooting at the enemies before racing out the door.
"The map! I forgot the map!" Hermione shrieked and tried to re-enter the room.
Her guide, however, grabbed her arm and said, "Relax. Im the map. Its all in my head."
"Oh, THAT'S comforting…"
"HERMIONE!" Sam raced to her bedroom, knocking the already burned Maji into the burning couch. He then grabbed the metal object he stole from Dean and took off down the ship.
People began screaming and grabbing the animals from the stables, leaping off the ferry as the Maji began to torch it.
Racing out of the cabin section Dean tossed Hermione his weapon bag around hid behind a wall so that he could snipe at the mysterious enemies. He fired off a few shots, then hid behind his barricade again reloading the pistols. Bullets began shooting through the wall, growing nearer to the two people behind it until…Hermione pulled Dean aside just as a bullet came through right where his head had been. The adventurer paled and stared at the girl who'd just saved his life for the second time, then resumed firing.
When the Maji in the area had mostly been defeated, Dean looked at Hermione and asked "can you swim?"
"Of course I can swim. If the occasion calls for it you prat."
"Trust me," Dean said as he picked the brown-haired woman up bridal-style. "It calls for it." He then unceremoniously threw her off the boat…before being attacked.
The ebony clad man tried to strangle the green-eyed warrior, but Dean head-butted him and threw him into a blazing room.
"Moose! Moose!" Crowley came running to him "What are we going to do?"
Taking great amusement in the man's stupidity, Dean replied, "Wait here! I'll get help!" before leaping off the burning ferry.
The warden blinked then groaned and mimicked his former prisoner's actions.
Sam finally managed to scramble onto the deck…then stared in perplexity at the sight before him. Goyle, Draco, and Crabbe were laughing and having a great time, shooting at the enemy as if it were a game.
"Damn morons…" The dirty blonde muttered, then yelped as a Maji leaped at him. Goyle laughed and shot him down while Naruto sweat dropped, saying. "Good show guys! And did I panic? I think not!"
Just then, flames leaped out at the Granger brother and he screamed in terror, plummeting into the ocean with the others.
Exhausted, the passengers of the burning ferry trudged out of the Nile, dragging horses, camels, and soaked luggage with them.
"This is a messed up country." Draco muttered while Crabbe wrung out his shirtl.
"We've lost everything!" Hermione exclaimed, tripping in her drenched nightdress. "All the tools, All the equipment…all my clothes."
"Hey Winchester!" Naomi called, grinning scornfully. "It looks to me like I've got all the horses!"
Dean smirked and turned around. "Hey Naomi! It looks to me like your on the wrong side of the river!"
The dark-haired woman blinked…then kicked the water in frustration when she realized her adversary was right.
Fortunately, everyone had survived the ship attack…now they just had to make it to Hamunaptra.
A/N: Well there was Chapter 2! I hope you all enjoyed it!