Chapter Fourteen
Jennifer didn't sleep at all, that long night. Jennifer thought it felt like the longest night in the world, except for the night she ran away after finding out she was adopted, in America. Beside her, the O'Connells slept; Alex slept in between Rick and Evelyn, who had just finally gotten to sleep. Sahure was also asleep, leaving Jennifer the only one awake. Maybe Jennifer couldn't sleep because she was shivering, shaking; maybe Jennifer couldn't sleep because it was hard to sleep with your sunburned face against scratchy sand; or maybe Jennifer couldn't sleep because she was thinking. She also filled with guilt; watching Alex's eyes droop with tiredness and him moan about being hungry, made Jennifer feel very guilty getting the O'Connells into this mess. If Anubis had insisted that Jennifer take him to Amh-Shre, it wouldn't have been so bad (since they would have gotten lost) but bringing Rick and Evelyn and Alex into it was too much. Guilt.
Jennifer watched the sunrise, as she had in America, and decided she hated the sun. In the new, becoming, light Jennifer checked herself over. She felt the back of her head, there was a huge bruise and a welt but no blood; her ankles and wrists were completely raw and bleeding a little; her arms, face, legs and the back of her neck were sun-burned. She was almost entirely red and raw; some places were even bleeding and peeling. Looking at her burns made them hurt even more; Jennifer closed her eyes and decided to stare at the sunrise. Jennifer watched the sunrise but wasn't really noticing the bright colors; her mind was too busy reeling with thoughts.
Evelyn watched her sister from behind; like her sister, Evelyn hadn't been able to sleep either, despite what Jennifer thought. Evelyn looked at her sister, whom she was beginning to know so well already. Evelyn knew that her sister blamed herself for Anubis capturing everyone. She knew that her sister knew that Rick blamed her for Anubis capturing everyone. Evelyn wanted to hug her sister and tell her that it wasn't her fault and that they would get through this, some how. However, she didn't and she didn't know why but she just sat and stared at her sister.
In a few hours, Anubis and Sahure were awake and the prisoners were headed toward Amh-Shre again. Jennifer was the only one of the prisoners tied up; this time, however, she was sitting upright behind Anubis. Jennifer kept fidgeting with her binds but that only made her raw wrists and ankles hurt more, so her attempts to escape were few. Anubis was now pressing the prisoners for directions to the lost oasis.
"Phlie, the temple island of Phlie." Rick answered.
"Then where?" Anubis asked, eager to find if there was a "short-cut".
Evelyn and Rick thought for a moment, knowing their lives depended on being able to answer the jackal's questions.
At last Evelyn said, "The temple at Abu Simbel."
Anubis repeated his question, eager to catch the short cut.
This time is was Alex who answered the question. "Past the Blue Nile." The boy answered, remembering Imhotep's frightening water display that almost killed his parents.
"That's right, and then we walked into the 'jungle' and met up with Imhotep's warriors and then to the Golden Pyramid with the Scorpion King." Rick said, singling to Anubis that the Blue Nile was the last place to stop.
Jennifer listened to the O'Connells remember their latest Egyptian journey and remembered Alex's story. There was one part of Alex's story that didn't quite make since. "Then, as we raced to get out of the pyramid," her nephew had said, "the oasis and everything started disappearing. It was being sucked into somewhere. We almost got sucked in too but Izzy and his blimp saved us. When we looked down at the 'oasis' there was nothing but sand there."
If the oasis disappeared, how was Anubis supposed to raise his army? Jennifer decided not to say anything about the oasis that was no longer there; the O'Connells didn't say anything either, maybe they didn't remember or maybe they chose not to.
Jennifer didn't sleep at all, that long night. Jennifer thought it felt like the longest night in the world, except for the night she ran away after finding out she was adopted, in America. Beside her, the O'Connells slept; Alex slept in between Rick and Evelyn, who had just finally gotten to sleep. Sahure was also asleep, leaving Jennifer the only one awake. Maybe Jennifer couldn't sleep because she was shivering, shaking; maybe Jennifer couldn't sleep because it was hard to sleep with your sunburned face against scratchy sand; or maybe Jennifer couldn't sleep because she was thinking. She also filled with guilt; watching Alex's eyes droop with tiredness and him moan about being hungry, made Jennifer feel very guilty getting the O'Connells into this mess. If Anubis had insisted that Jennifer take him to Amh-Shre, it wouldn't have been so bad (since they would have gotten lost) but bringing Rick and Evelyn and Alex into it was too much. Guilt.
Jennifer watched the sunrise, as she had in America, and decided she hated the sun. In the new, becoming, light Jennifer checked herself over. She felt the back of her head, there was a huge bruise and a welt but no blood; her ankles and wrists were completely raw and bleeding a little; her arms, face, legs and the back of her neck were sun-burned. She was almost entirely red and raw; some places were even bleeding and peeling. Looking at her burns made them hurt even more; Jennifer closed her eyes and decided to stare at the sunrise. Jennifer watched the sunrise but wasn't really noticing the bright colors; her mind was too busy reeling with thoughts.
Evelyn watched her sister from behind; like her sister, Evelyn hadn't been able to sleep either, despite what Jennifer thought. Evelyn looked at her sister, whom she was beginning to know so well already. Evelyn knew that her sister blamed herself for Anubis capturing everyone. She knew that her sister knew that Rick blamed her for Anubis capturing everyone. Evelyn wanted to hug her sister and tell her that it wasn't her fault and that they would get through this, some how. However, she didn't and she didn't know why but she just sat and stared at her sister.
In a few hours, Anubis and Sahure were awake and the prisoners were headed toward Amh-Shre again. Jennifer was the only one of the prisoners tied up; this time, however, she was sitting upright behind Anubis. Jennifer kept fidgeting with her binds but that only made her raw wrists and ankles hurt more, so her attempts to escape were few. Anubis was now pressing the prisoners for directions to the lost oasis.
"Phlie, the temple island of Phlie." Rick answered.
"Then where?" Anubis asked, eager to find if there was a "short-cut".
Evelyn and Rick thought for a moment, knowing their lives depended on being able to answer the jackal's questions.
At last Evelyn said, "The temple at Abu Simbel."
Anubis repeated his question, eager to catch the short cut.
This time is was Alex who answered the question. "Past the Blue Nile." The boy answered, remembering Imhotep's frightening water display that almost killed his parents.
"That's right, and then we walked into the 'jungle' and met up with Imhotep's warriors and then to the Golden Pyramid with the Scorpion King." Rick said, singling to Anubis that the Blue Nile was the last place to stop.
Jennifer listened to the O'Connells remember their latest Egyptian journey and remembered Alex's story. There was one part of Alex's story that didn't quite make since. "Then, as we raced to get out of the pyramid," her nephew had said, "the oasis and everything started disappearing. It was being sucked into somewhere. We almost got sucked in too but Izzy and his blimp saved us. When we looked down at the 'oasis' there was nothing but sand there."
If the oasis disappeared, how was Anubis supposed to raise his army? Jennifer decided not to say anything about the oasis that was no longer there; the O'Connells didn't say anything either, maybe they didn't remember or maybe they chose not to.