I still own nothing from The
Mummy or The Mummy Returns.
Rebecca held one brush between her teeth, one in her hand and a torch in the other hand as she leaned forward to examine the paintings she'd uncovered. Evy reached over, taking the brush from Rebecca's mouth and dropping it into the toolkit so Rebecca could speak.
"I haven't seen anything like
what I saw in the vision." Rebecca said
with frustration, rubbing her hand over her face tiredly, forgetting about the
brush that left a streak of dust over her cheek.
"It's almost midnight." Evy pointed out. "Maybe we should quit. Look at it tomorrow, with eyes that aren't quite as tired."
"But we're close. I can feel it. It's right here!" Rebecca
said, striking her fist against the wall.
A rumble shook the ground,
knocking both women to the floor. The
wall began to swing outward, and both women scrambled back as a rush of air
exited, blowing their hair back wildly. Rebecca raised the torch she still held, scrambling to Evy's side.
"Are you alright?" She asked, helping her friend to stand.
"That's going to leave a
mark." Evy remarked, rubbing her
backside. "Alex, go get your father."
"You bet." Alex replied, wide eyed.
Rebecca stepped forward,
sticking the torch through the open doorway. The light revealed a small chamber, bare but for a small table set in
the exact center. Rebecca entered
slowly, her eyes scanning for any signs of ancient booby traps waiting to
spring. Evy followed as Rebecca
approached the table, the light revealing a chest sitting atop it.
"Don't touch that." Rick said sharply from the doorway. "Read the inscription first. I don't care to outrun the Nile again."
Rebecca still clutched the brush
in her hand. She brushed a thick layer
of dust off the chest, leaning down to read what it said.
"Only a Medjai can open
this. Anyone else faces death." Rebecca read, raising her gaze to where Rick
and Ardeth stood. "I guess that means
one of you."
Rick glanced at Ardeth, nodding
slightly. Ardeth stepped forward, looking
down at the chest suspiciously. It
appeared harmless, though that did not always mean anything. He laid his hand
atop it, jerking back with surprise when the lid popped open a crack, letting
out a hiss of air.
"That was easy." Rick said, tension evident in his voice.
"Too easy." Alex added, unconsciously stepping closer to
his father.
Ardeth raised the lid the rest
of the way. Rebecca let out a gasp as
she saw what was revealed. It was the
key.
"Hey, that's looks like the
one I found!" Jonathan exclaimed,
hastily correcting himself when Rick shot him an amused glance." The one Rick found, I mean."
"I guess it would have been
foolish to hide them together." Rebecca said, when a further search of the chest turned up nothing.
"I say we call it a day." Rick said, his eye on Evy's tired face. "Start again in the morning."
Rebecca nodded as Ardeth handed
the key to her. She wrapped it in a cloth, hiding it in the inner pocket of her
jacket. His smile when their eyes met
took her breath away, and she was unable to move for a moment as the others
filed out. He raised his hand to her
face, wiping at a smudge on her cheek with his thumb.
"You have been playing in
the dirt again." He teased, taking
her arm and leading her towards the doorway.
"I didn't have time to
bathe." She sot back, tugging her
arm free as they ducked through the narrow opening that led to outside.
A cool breeze blew across her
face. The sun had set hours ago, and
the temperature had lowered accordingly. Rebecca raised her face to it, welcoming the cooling effect after having
spent the cooped up inside the building.
"Well, if that is all that
it is." Ardeth said, sweeping her
up in his arms as he turned toward the river.
"Don't you dare! Ardeth!" Her cry was choked off as the river closed over her head. He'd thrown her in!
A man watched from a distance, a
spyglass raised to his eye. He saw them
come out, saw the play between them. He
lowered the glass, satisfied by what he saw.
"She is the key." He said. "She is the way to the books, and the weapon to use against the
Medjai warrior. Once I have her, he
will give me what I want."
"The books?" Another man asked, from his position behind
him.
"With the books, I can
bring about the end of the Medjai. Once
I raise our Lord Imhotep, he will bring about a new order. One that I will be in charge of."
He turned, and you could see the
marks on his face. The same that Ardeth
Bey wore, yet different. Altered, like
they'd been erased…leaving behind a faint marred smudge.