Nothing from the Mummy or the Mummy Returns is mine, yadda, yadda.
Hard Journey
Rebecca twisted her hands, trying to free them from the rope tied around them. Her wrists were already raw and bleeding from her efforts. She gave a frustrated sigh that turned into a groan as the camel she was on lurched, nearly toppling her from her perch, as she had no hands to grip with. The man on her right grabbed her shoulder roughly, pushing her upright. She glared at him, her temper rising when he only stared at her.
"You're pretty brave for a man that's afraid to show his face." She sneered.
"There is no need to hide it now, I suppose." He said, pulling the hood back from his face.
"You!" She said, surprised. For she was looking upon the face of her foreman, the man she had trusted as a partner in her endeavor to find Hamunaptra. "Hamand. I did not expect this betrayal from you."
"You walked right into my hands." He replied, smirking. "If that stinking Medjai hadn't shown up when he did we would have finished this weeks ago."
"You wouldn't have had a chance." Rebecca spat. "Not on your own. It took you and an army to get me."
"But we did get you." Hamand growled, grabbing a handful of her hair and jerking her head back cruelly. He crushed his lips down on hers, bruising her lips with a brutal kiss. "You did not dirty yourself with that Medjai, did you?"
"What if I did?" she asked, wiping her mouth with her bound hands, tasting blood.
"Your death will be even more painful." He warned. "You were promised to me the day you were born. You are to suffer at my hands, in any manner I choose. After spending weeks at Hamunaptra with you, I knew you were bound to be mine."
"Until you kill me."
"If I kill you. It is written that if the bastard child of Anck-su-namun were to live on, then his children would become the slaves of he who leads our group."
"I thought you had to kill me in order to raise Seti?" Rebecca asked, confused.
"Only after you suffer the torture I choose to inflict upon you." He grinned. "I could keep you alive for years."
Rebecca thought furiously. She had to get him to take her to Hamunaptra. She knew that would be the first place Ardeth would look for her.
"I stayed in his house." She told him, contempt on her face. "I slept in his bed. Do you think I did not let him touch me?"
"You lie." Hamand roared, his face white with fury.
"I do not." She said smugly. "I gave myself to him willingly, again and again. I wanted him to take me back to Hamunaptra."
Infuriated, he raised his hand, bringing it across her face in a vicious backhand that knocked her from her perch. She fell to the sand with a jolting thud, unable to brace herself with her bound hands. He leapt upon her, shaking her until her head snapped back.
"You whore! Tell me why you wanted to return to the City of the Dead!"
"I found gold." She gasped, her breath coming from her in pants as her vision blurred. "I hid it in the city. Near Seti's tomb."
He gripped her chin in his fingers, forcing her to meet his gaze. Whatever he saw in her eyes must have convinced him, for he released her chin to haul her to her feet. He tossed her onto the back of the camel, swinging up behind her in one swift motion. He shouted an order to his men, and the group turned as one towards the east.
"We will go to Hamunaptra, to see if you speak the truth." He said against her hair, his hand coming forward to squeeze her breast brutally. "I will be most displeased if I discover that you have lied to me."
"I'm not lying." She swore, wincing. "I did find gold."
She did not tell him that it was in Cairo, at Ardeth's. She only prayed he did not stop, to make good on his threats to make her suffer. She had yet to recover from the blow to her head. She didn't know how much more she could take. She squared her shoulders. She could make it until Ardeth arrived. She had to.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Rick scanned the area with his binoculars. Seeing no one, he motioned to Evy to come forward.
"I think we got here first." He said with satisfaction. "We owe Izzy."
"Again." She added, looking back to where the dirigible floated away in the distance. "He was more willing to help this time."
"He didn't get shot in the ass last time." Jonathan said with a grin. "That can do a lot to change a man's mind. So, what's the plan?"
"Every time I see you people I wind up flying in the sky." Ardeth complained, approaching from behind them. 'It is not normal."
"Sure it is. Maybe it is your destiny to fly. If you embrace it, there is nothing you can't do." Rick teased, sarcastically reminding the Medjai of his own words.
Ardeth scowled at Rick. Slinging his pack over his shoulder, he headed down the dune, towards the ancient city. The rest followed, with Jonathan taking up the lead. All three men carried enough weapons to take out a small army. Evy carried her own arsenal, a set of sai weapons sheathed to her belt, and a dagger strapped to her thigh. A shoulder holster completed the ensemble, creating a picture of a dangerous woman one would hesitate to cross.
"We head for the tomb of Seti." Ardeth commanded. "We know that is where they are bringing her. We will be there to meet them."
"I think I should stay here, maybe follow from behind." Jonathan said hopefully. "Watch your back, you know?"
Rick and Ardeth exchanged a glance filled with irritated amusement at the suggestion. While trademark Jonathan, it actually made sense.
"Fine. You stay back here." Rick said, slapping his brother-in-law on the shoulder. "When they come in, follow at a safe distance. You can be our surprise arsenal."
"That's the idea." Jonathan said, relieved at having delayed his entrance into Hamunaptra. "You go ahead."
The three headed into the city, disappearing down the dark corridor. Jonathan took care to hide himself atop a monument facing the entrance, his rifle trained on the door in readiness.
Evy took care with her footing. They'd only taken the one torch, not wanting too much light to give away their presence. Once they reached the room where Imhotep had first tried to raise Anck-su-namun, she led the way to the stairway leading down to Seti's tomb. It was dark, and the air seemed to hold a sense of waiting, as if something inside awaited their approach. At the bottom of the stairs she paused, turning to Rick and Ardeth.
"What do we do now?" She whispered.
"We wait. I do not believe we will do so for long." Ardeth said quietly. "As long as they come straight here."
"Why wouldn't they?" Evy asked, confused. "Don't they have to be here to perform the ritual?"
"Yes. But they may choose to keep her alive, for a time." Ardeth replied, his gut twisting at the thought. "To punish her for the sins of her ancestor."
"You mean torture." Rick corrected, his hand gripping Evy's shoulder reassuringly.
"Rebecca will get them here." Evy said fiercely, "She knows we'll come here first. She'll make sure they bring her here."
"Yes." Ardeth agreed, "But what condition will she be when they arrive? It's already been two days."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rebecca dozed atop the camel. She'd had no water for the last 12 hours; the desert was slowly sapping the energy from her. Her body sagged back against Hamand; unable to fight to keep her distance from him any longer. He glanced down; frowning at the pallor her features had taken on. He could not afford to have her die just yet. The rite required she be killed before the doors to Seti's tomb. She also had to lead him to the gold she'd promised was there. Raising his hand, he brought the caravan to a halt.
"Wake up." He commanded, shaking his captive none too gently. Rebecca opened her eyes, squinting under the glare of the sun. He held a canteen to her lips, tipping it so water flowed into her mouth. She drank all that he gave her, knowing she would need it to regain her strength.
"We camp now. We should reach Hamunaptra by morning."
He lowered her down to the ground, where her legs, stiff from riding, refused to support her. She sank to the sand, gritting her teeth and glaring when he laughed at her.
"Even now you still have such pride." Hamand said, a sneer on his face as he yanked her to her feet. "We will see how proud you are after you have spent a night in my tent."
"You will not touch me." She said with more bravery than she felt. 'Why would you anger the man you intend to raise from the dead?"
"What makes you think he would be angered by what I do to you?" he asked, noting the way his men looked at each other with fear at her words.
"If any man were to harm the children of your children's children, wouldn't you want some sort of revenge?" Rebecca asked, her voice raised so that the others would hear her.
"You are the descendant of the woman who caused his death."
"Would any of you blame your child for the actions of his mother? What makes you think my death will raise him?"
"Because it is written!"
"Not all that is written is truth." Rebecca replied, her voice filled with conviction.
"Maybe she's right." One of the men whispered. "You should not harm her before the ritual."
"You would listen to the words of a whore?" Hamand asked with disbelief.
"Would it not be better to be safe than sorry?" Another man asked. "When the ritual works, we can stand above her dying soul and spit upon her. But we should not jeopardize the ritual."
So it wound up that Rebecca spent the night chained to a post dug in just outside the circle of the fire. It was not a restful night, but it was made comfortable by the fact that she'd succeeded in keeping Hamand's hands off her. She rested her head against the pole, ready to doze, when a voice spoke.
Do not fear, child
She looked around. She'd heard a voice. A voice that spoke ancient Egyptian. She was not afraid. There was a comforting tone to the voice, like a parent soothing a child.
"Who are you?" She asked, keeping her voice low.
I have always protected you. I will not stop now.
"Who are you?" She repeated, still unafraid.
There was no further reply.
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