As before promised, its time to bring Imhotep back around. Plus, we get to find out whats going on with Ameera & Nick. (Who was an Alex, but Angie made me realize that that would be really confusing...so....)
Enjoy, keep the reviews coming. NMGS
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"Oh my god…" Nick muttered with a sigh. They had been hiking down the river for somewhere around six hours, with only a half an hour break half way in, for a quick lunch.
"Having issues?" Ameera, still at the head of the group, called back.
"Shut up." Nick said under his breath.
The Med-jai, used to such extreme ways of life and travel, did not seem to mind the muggy 110-degree weather they had walked into. Nick couldn't see how they could go on the way they did…they were wearing dark clothes…carrying about twenty extra pounds on their backs. Nick, who walked next to the fearless female leader for the first hour of the hike, had now fallen to the back, pushing himself as hard as he could to just keep up. This sucked. The sun was now hanging low in the sky, and would set in the next hour or so.
"Any one know what time it is?" He called to the warriors. They all looked at each other but no one made a dash for a watch of any kind, so they did not answer him.
"Wouldn't you have a watch?" Omar asked, looking back at Nick.
"I gave up on the concept of time a while ago." He said, looking up into the sky, trying to judge the time by the sun.
"That's a Med-jai trait." Haris said, speaking for the first time since…well…they had left Cairo.
"Yes it is." Ameera said, not slowing her pace. "But, by the way the sun is, I would say it is around seven o'clock."
Nick nodded his head, not that she could see him do it, and became silent again. Adjusting his pack so it was just a little bit easier to carry.
About an hour later, the sun set into the ground, bringing up brilliant colors of deep reds, pinks peaches, purples, and orange. After the sun fell out of sight, the bright colors were replaced with much more mellow hues of violets, peaches, and yellows. It was a beautiful sight, and everyone slowed down a little to watch it pass. As the sky began to die out for the day, the Med-jai reached into their packs and pulled out, of all things, large "Maglight" flashlights. Nick racked his brain to understand why these Bedouin people would have such a thing, but decided against asking. They were not that far outside what most people would call normal society.
He rummaged around in his own bag until he found his own "Maglight", and turned it on, messing with the beam until he got it just right. As dusk settled, the crickets began to make noise, filling the silent air with their soft songs. It was another hour until they stopped, and Nick saw Ameera and Omar pointing their flashlights up on to the side of the large rock wall. Nick stepped up next to them and pointed his flashlight up to where theirs was. They had been pointing up to a cave, about ten feet up the wall.
"Think we should stay there tonight?" Ameera asked out loud, looking to both men for an answer.
"Seems ok to me." Omar said, "It's up high, so no animal's could get in and it would be a good look out for any trouble. I say we go for it."
"I'm with him. I doesn't matter much to me, as long as we stop." Nick said, knowing that both Med-jai were rolling their eyes at him.
"Alright, then there it is." Ameera said, with a grunt and a sigh, she flopped both her bags on to the ground. The rest followed suit, stretching out their arms before lugging the packs back on, to climb the wall up to the cave. Omar had gone ahead to see that the cave was big enough and nothing was already there, all was clear, so they handed his bags up to him, then started the tiny climb. It was rather easy, for there were many foot holes and places to grab onto. Ameera went up first, followed by Nick, then the Silent Ones, as the Brit had taken to calling them. When they all got into the cave, they discovered how spacious it was. One very large room, with a smaller room off to the side, in which they unloaded their bags. In the back of the cave, instead of a wall, was a large drop, leading to the pool of water underneath.
"There must be an under water cave that leads to the Nile outside." Nick said out load, to no one in particular. From somewhere, the Silent Ones pulled out two small lanterns, and lit them, casting a low light on the cave. They unrolled all the bedrolls, and flopped down on them, all tired after the long day they had. Omar made a very small fire towards the back of the cave, big enough to heat a small amount of food over. He had pulled a small bundle of sticks out of his bag, and had started the fire with matches.
Just where were they keeping all this stuff? Nick thought, looking on. He also wondered just what sort of things they had stuffed into the packs they had brought with them. Lord knows there was most likely a kitchen sink in there somewhere.
Diner was a helping of cooked meat, (He didn't want to know what kind of meat it was, but it tasted like chicken) some fruits, (dates, orange slices, a fig.) a piece of cheese and bread. And, much to Nick's enjoyment, goat's milk. (He had to try his hardest not to spit the disgusting liquid out, every time he took a bitter sip.) Then, much to everyone's surprise an joy, Radhi pulled out a large, malted, chocolate candy bar, breaking it into five equal pieces and handing it out.
After diner, everyone settled down and enjoyed the cool night air in the cave. The Silent ones kept a first watch, sitting at the edge of the cave looking out into the Blue Nile. Ameera and Omar talked, in Arabic, about something or another. Every now and then, Nick picked up words, but wasn't really paying attention. He was busy reading a book by flashlight, every once and a while adjusting his body weight to turn the pages. He was laying on his stomach, arms holding his head up. After a long while, he heard Omar climb on to his bedroll and attempt to fall asleep, the Silent Ones were still at guard, and Ameera was using her flashlight to study the map she had removed from the Med-jai vault. Nick smiled and pushed himself up, careful not to disturb Omar, whose bedroll was close to his. He sat up, stretched a little, and turned to Ameera, whose bedroll was right next to Nick's.
"Hi." He said softly, causing her to look up at him, somewhat surprised.
"Hi!" She said softly back, placing the map down.
"Whatcha doin'?"
"Just checkin' up on some things." She smiled softly, staring into his eyes, "You doing ok?"
"I'm going to be a little sore, but I think I will be ok with everything."
"Good. I was worried you weren't going to make it on the hike today, I fear you are not used to this sort of life."
"Your fears are true, I am not used to it at all." He chuckled, "You know, I thought that life as an adventurer was going to be more easy. Guess I was wrong, eh?"
"You would be surprised, Nick. The life I lead is not as fantastic as you dream it to be. It is just a normal life…with more danger added to it."
He nodded but did not say anything, after a minute, he finally sighed. "How much more do we have to go?"
"We should get there late tomorrow morning. Hopefully, they have not uncovered the Book of the Dead…hopefully we can get through this peacefully."
"Peacefully? I wouldn't have considered you a pacifist."
"There is much you don't know about me, O'Connell." She let out the faintest hint of a bright smile, and laid back on her bedroll, turning off her flashlight. "Sleep well." She said softly and turned her back to him, covering her self with a thin blanket.
Nick looked her over, his mind filling with all sorts of daydreams that could never happen. He sighed and yawned, then fell back on his own thin bedroll. After the hike and a nights sleep on the hard cave floor, he was going to be damn sore in the morning.
~~
Steven and Travis looked at each other, evil smiles on their faces, as they climbed down the large hole where the top half of the pyramid sat in. It was nearing midnight as they entered the pyramid door, making their way down its deep staircase and towards the main chamber. In one arm, Steven held the Book of the Dead, pages open, and in the other hand he held a large, gold, knife. They made their way into the large, now cleaned up, main chamber. Travis lit the massive flat oil lamps, casting light everywhere, as Steven sat up the Book and the knife, next to the largest crack in the floor. Which led down to a dark, bottomless, pit.
Once Travis was done lighting the lamps, he kneeled down next to Steven, who was looking at the book rather nervously.
"Ready?" Travis asked.
"Ready." Steven replayed; he took the knife in his right hand, and drew it across his left palm, carving a deep wound. He winced a little, but showed no other indication that it hurt. Travis watched on as Steven began to read from the black Book of the Dead, the strange words filling the silent chamber. He spoke for a minute, then held his cut hand over the large crack in the wall, squeezing it into a fist so that blood dripped down his hand and into the bark pit. As the blood dripped down, he spoke some more, reading the same spell over again.
Suddenly, a strange light began to come up from the deep pit. It was small and weak at first, then got larger and stronger. A loud noise filled the chamber, but could not drown out the words Steven spoke.
~~
Martin Adams stood behind a large stone pillar, watching Steven and Travis' every move. He had been weary of them since they uncovered the pyramid, and now he knew he was right. They were doing something, although Martin couldn't really tell what. Steven was reading from the black book they had uncovered, and seemed to have cut his hand. Why though? He leaned in a little closer, careful not to make any indication that he was there.
~~
Travis stared on silently, as he watched what took place around him. The light got brighter, and then there was this load crack. The hole had split open, the floor rumbled, and Steven went on reading from the book, holding his hand over the pit, squeezing in more of his blood. Suddenly, the light from the pit got so bright, he had to close his eyes and turn his head away, and the noise could have broken glass it was so loud. After a few long seconds of that, it all stopped.
Slowly, he turned back to the pit, and saw with awe the sight in front of him.
A man floated in front of Steven and Travis, a large man, maybe six-foot-three, very tan, and very clean-shaven. He was limp, head lying off to one side, eyes closed, hands and legs lying there. Steven reached out and grabbed the man's right hand and drew the knife across it. No blood came out, but there was a clear cut in the skin. Steven then cut his own hand a little more, so more blood would flow, then placed their hands together, closing the man's hand tightly around his own. There was yet another bright light that caused Travis to look away.
When he looked up, finally, the tall man stood in front of them, looking at both men strangely, like he had no idea what was going on. Steven and the man were still holding hands, a bright red light seeping through the cracks of their hands. After a second, the light withdrew from the inside, causing both men to suck in deeply then collapse.
~~
Martin could not believe what was going on in front of his eyes…a man just rose from the cracks of the floor…and was now alive! What the hell was going on?
~~
Travis scrambled over to Steven and helped him up, but he was very shaky and weak, and could barely stand up on his own. The other man stood up as well, a bit shaken, weak, and confused. He looked at the men, then looked around the room. Memories flooding back to him like a river.
He had been here before, battling the white man with the funny voice. His child was there…so was the reincarnated princess. His own princess was there…but she had not helped him. What was her name?
Oh, yes, Anuck-su-nabitch.
"My lord, Imhotep." Steven said with a small bow of the head, "Welcome back."
Imhotep turned and stared at the two men…they brought him back, but why?
"Why am I here?" He asked, voice deep as it spoke the Egyptian words.
"We have brought you back to let you do what you have failed twice before. The people who fought you so long ago are now all dead, so there is no one to bother your plans."
Imhotep's lips curled into a slight, evil smile, "What year is it?"
"It is year1999, my lord."
Imhotep smiled and began to walk around the room, running his hands along the large gong and weapons they had picked up from the floor.
"This time," He said softly, "I will not fail."
~~
Ameera Bay woke up with a start. Had she really just seen the creature being brought back to earth? She breathed in deeply for a minute, trying to figure out if what she had just seen was real, or the dream it seemed to be.
She looked over at Nick, who was sleeping soundly, and then she propped herself up on her elbows, looking around. Omar was still asleep, Haris had gone to bed as well, and now Radhi was the only one on watch. With a quiet sigh, she stood up and crossed to Radhi, sitting down next to him.
"If you want, you can go to sleep now. I will keep watch." She said softly.
"Are you sure, Ameera?" He asked softly back.
"Yeah, I wont be able to fall asleep for a while any ways. Go to bed, get some rest."
Radhi nodded and smiled, then stood up and crossed to his own bedroll. Ameera watched him for a minute and then turned her attention back to the calm night before her. The moon was hanging high over head, casting a low light over the Blue Nile and the cave they were all sleeping in. She sighed and looked around, nothing was moving and the only sound was that of crickets.
She adjusted her body weight and pulled out a knife from her robe. It was the only weapon of hers she never took off her body while sleeping away from her home. It was a ten-inch knife with a five and a half-inch blade taking up most of the inches. The handle made of wood, broken off at the end with a little lump of duct tape at the very end. The blade itself was dirty and slightly rusted at the base. On one side of the base, carved words read, ""Robeson Sharldae, No. 20", on the other side, was simply, "U.S.N." It was a very old knife, given to her by her great-grandfather when she was only ten. It was her lucky knife and she never went anywhere with out it.
She turned the knife over in her hands, staring at it in the soft moonlight, when she heard some movement behind her. Turning, she saw Nick making his tired way towards her.
"Whatcha doing up?" He asked, sleepily.
"Keeping watch." She said softly, as though not to wake the others.
"Hum." Nick sat down next to her, looking out at the river then at her. There was silence for a minute, until Nick finally spoke.
"What do you think we are going to find tomorrow?"
"I don't know. I have the strangest feeling that we are to late, and that they have already brought back the creature."
"Why do you think that?"
"I just…feel it in my bones."
Nick nodded. "But, we are going to be able to stop them, right?"
"Hopefully. I have got some of the best warriors on our side, but unfortunately, we don't know who they have on their side."
"I have seen Steven York fight, and it is not a pretty sight. He is a large and strong man, and he does not give up…"
Ameera shook her head with a smile. "You damn Englishmen…always messing with stuff you shouldn't even go near. This is the third time someone from your little island has brought back the creature."
"In all fairness, the first time was an accident…"
"I know that, but the point remains…you people are trouble."
Nick couldn't help but laugh, she was right. "That's how it will always be, Ameera, we will bring about trouble, and you Med-jai will help us out of it. That is the whole reason any of us are even here."
She let out a soft chuckle then handed the knife to Nick, blade held firmly between her thumb and forefinger.
"You might like to look at this. It was once Rick's."
"Really?" He took the knife by the handle, and held it close to his eyes. "Why do you have it?"
"It was given to me by Ardeth."
"U.S.N. United States Navy…"
"From the story I was told, this knife was given to Rick as a present from a man he met in a Cairo bar one night. They didn't even learn each other's names; they just got to talking, and talked the whole night. When the man finally left, he gave this knife to Rick and told him to pass it on to someone else when he was done. So, Rick took the knife and had it for years, until, shortly after Ardeth met Emily, he gave it to Ardeth. Telling him the same thing, pass it on to someone else when you are done with it. Ardeth had it right on up to his…" She stopped short, still finding it hard to talk about what had happened 17 years before. Nick knew what she meant, so he didn't ask. "Anyway, he gave it to me and told me the same thing, and I have had it ever since."
"That's a great story…" Nick said softly, holding the weapon in his hand to get the feel of it. "Why didn't Ardeth give it to his son, though?"
"I don't know…he never said. All I know, is he gave it to me, and one day, I will give it to someone else. Probity my heir." She laughed softly, "That would mean I would have to find a husband first."
Then she cursed herself in her thoughts for saying that out loud, to him.
"You um…you involved with anyone?" He asked shyly, avoiding her eyes.
"No…you?" She tried to sound pleasant.
"No." There was a silence, then both of them chuckled. Neither one could believe they were having that conversation with the other.
"What are you going to do when you get married? Are you going to take his last name?"
"Though it is custom to take the husbands last name, I will not take mine. I think that was one reason the Elders were so…apprehensive about allowing a female to be chieftain, they were afraid that the Bays would no longer be the leaders of the Med-jai. Like we have been for over 2000 years now.
"So, no, I will not take my husbands last name, and who ever my heir would be, they will also be a Bay. I wont let my family name die out like that." She thought for a second. "Would you allow your…future wife…to keep her last name?"
"Maybe. It would have to have a special reason for her to keep it. For instance, if, and this is for the sake of the conversation only, but if me and you were to get married…" He stopped short from the look of pure surprise she was giving him. "Like I said, for the sake of the conversation. But if we were to…wed…I would let you…um…keep your last name, and our kids…uh…would have your last name as well…"
Ameera's eyes were as big as diner plates. There was another minute of awkward silence, until she finally spoke up.
"That's…very noble of you Nick…" More silence. After a minute, Nick handed her back her knife and began to stand up.
"Where are you going?" She asked, looking up at him.
"I figured I would leave the conversation on…that strange note."
"No, no…it's ok. Stay here, keep me company." She smiled at him.
"Ok." He sat back down and looked out at the starry sky. "Beautiful, isn't it?" He asked softly.
"Yes, it is. I could never live in a place where I couldn't see the stars." She said softly
"In London, you can hardly see the stars at all. It is even worse in America, can't see a bloody star in some places."
"You've spent some time in America?"
"Yeah, spent a year there. Just got back about six months ago."
"Why were you there?"
"The museum took one of their Egypt exhibits on the road, toured all over that country. I was sent along as the curator of it all. It was a lot of fun, spent a month in twelve different major cities, LA, Seattle, New York, Washington D.C, Chicago, and a few other places. It was really nice…strange place, that country. Filled with a lot of odd people."
"Well, your part American, you know." Ameera said with a smile.
"So are you." He shot back. It was true, Rick was American and so was Emily.
"So, I take it you enjoyed yourself there."
"I did. But I was happy to get back to London, it is hard not being able to sleep in your own bed for that long…but I trust you know that already."
"I have had the bedroll for five years now, that thing is a second bed to me. So it is not that hard."
"America is a strange place, but I wouldn't mind going back one day. I really enjoyed Seattle, reminded me of London. Nice people there to."
"I don't think I will ever visit America, I don't think I will ever even leave Egypt. I don't mind though sometimes I do get bored with everyday life here."
"Well, I will make you a deal, one day, I will take you to Seattle or even London, just so you can see another part of the world. A more…green…part of the world."
She thought about it for a minute and smiled, holding out her hand. "Deal." She said, shaking his hand.
She drew her legs up close to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them, resting her chin on her knees. Ameera sat looking out at the river below them, and Nick sat looking at her, when suddenly, she felt him move closer to her, but she didn't look towards him. After a minute, he moved even closer, this times, she looked at him, and that's when it happened.
He leaned in quickly and kissed her gently, resting his lips on hers, and she didn't pull away. The kiss didn't last long, their lips nearly sat on each other's, and when it broke, they looked at each other softly. In one quick movement, she stood up, blushing and turning away, but he, now standing, placed one hand around the back of her neck and pulled her into him, lips locking on to each other. He gently parted her lips with his tongue, and slid it into her mouth. This was not Ameera's first kiss, and was certainly not Nick's. Her hand moved up to the back of his neck, as his dropped down to her back, holding her firmly in that place. His other hand was over her ear, his thumb resting lightly against her temple, his other four fingers intertwined in her hair. Her other hand placed on his side.
After a minute, when the kiss broke, she slowly opened her eyes to make sure she wasn't dreaming, but saw him burning a hole into her with his own eyes. Then his face broke into a thin smile and pulled her lips to him again, but she pushed away.
"No…"She said softly…placing her hands on his chest and pushing him back. His one arm at her back held her to him with strength she had never seen in him.
"What is it…?"He asked, voice low in her ear.
"This is not right," She let slip out.
"Not right? Why?"
"It just isn't right...me and you…doing this…it's not right."
"Why?" She could hear the anger rising in his voice.
"Because of…who we both are…" She also let that one slip out, and immediately regretted opening her mouth.
"Who we are?" He pushed her away from him, anger boiling in his blood. "Who we are? Who are we? You mean a Med-jai and a common Englishman? What, you don't think it's right for us to kiss because of that?" He shook his head bitterly. "I would have thought you were above that image, Ameera, I would have thought you wouldn't have cared about that."
"Wait…it's not what you think…"
"I am afraid it is what I think. Good night." He turned on his heal and walked back to where his bedroll was. Leaving her, mouth agape, trying to figure out how one minute she was kissing this man, and the net he was pissed off at her. She stared at him for a second, then turned around, sitting down again. Her hand rose to cover her eyes, her thumb and middle finger gently rubbing her temples. What the hell had just happened?
Turning back, she saw that he was now laying on his bedroll, face hidden from her. She felt like crying. Since the day she saw him, she was trying to hide her feelings from herself and him. Then, suddenly, they popped up when they kissed, and then were stepped on. Granted, she shouldn't have said the wrong thing, but if he let her explain.
Hell, she thought with a sigh, I can't even explain to my self why I stopped him from kissing me again. She sat in the silence of her thoughts for a real long time, finally, she looked up and saw that the moon was now far off to the side of the sky, and it was time for her to be relieved of her position. She sighed and stood up, silently crossing to where her males were sleeping, and with a sinking heart, she saw that her bedroll, that was next to Nick, was now next to Radhi…on the other side of the cave from Nick's. She leaned down and woke up Omar, telling him it was time for him to keep watch, and with a grumble of cuss words, he stood up and took his place as guard. As she laid down and tried to fall asleep.
~~
Martin had just barely made it back to his tent when he heard Steven, Travis, and Imhotep walked up into the campgrounds. They talked in low voices, speaking ancient Egyptian, so there were few that could understand them. Martin laid back on his cot and listened to that they were saying.
"My lord, what do you wish to do?"
"I wish to go to Humanaptra, get the book of the living, and begin what I have planned. I must go back, to regain my powers."
"And what plans would that be?"
"Those are matters that do not concern you at this time. I will leave tomorrow, if you are with me or not."
"Yes, my lord. We have a boat waiting to take you up the Blue Nile."
"Good, good."
Martin heard a tent door open and saw a light turn on somewhere out in the darkness. The voices became muffled, so Martin rolled over and tried to fall asleep, but such a thing would be hopeless tonight.
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I am hopeing you all assumed that Martin can understand Egyptian, hense he could understand the conversation between Imhotep & the boys.
I didnt want Imhotep to go through all the, "having to suck people dry to be whole and human" thing, so he didnt. I imagin that he would not really decompose in hell.....whatever. Any who, he's back.
Enjoy, keep the reviews coming. NMGS
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"Oh my god…" Nick muttered with a sigh. They had been hiking down the river for somewhere around six hours, with only a half an hour break half way in, for a quick lunch.
"Having issues?" Ameera, still at the head of the group, called back.
"Shut up." Nick said under his breath.
The Med-jai, used to such extreme ways of life and travel, did not seem to mind the muggy 110-degree weather they had walked into. Nick couldn't see how they could go on the way they did…they were wearing dark clothes…carrying about twenty extra pounds on their backs. Nick, who walked next to the fearless female leader for the first hour of the hike, had now fallen to the back, pushing himself as hard as he could to just keep up. This sucked. The sun was now hanging low in the sky, and would set in the next hour or so.
"Any one know what time it is?" He called to the warriors. They all looked at each other but no one made a dash for a watch of any kind, so they did not answer him.
"Wouldn't you have a watch?" Omar asked, looking back at Nick.
"I gave up on the concept of time a while ago." He said, looking up into the sky, trying to judge the time by the sun.
"That's a Med-jai trait." Haris said, speaking for the first time since…well…they had left Cairo.
"Yes it is." Ameera said, not slowing her pace. "But, by the way the sun is, I would say it is around seven o'clock."
Nick nodded his head, not that she could see him do it, and became silent again. Adjusting his pack so it was just a little bit easier to carry.
About an hour later, the sun set into the ground, bringing up brilliant colors of deep reds, pinks peaches, purples, and orange. After the sun fell out of sight, the bright colors were replaced with much more mellow hues of violets, peaches, and yellows. It was a beautiful sight, and everyone slowed down a little to watch it pass. As the sky began to die out for the day, the Med-jai reached into their packs and pulled out, of all things, large "Maglight" flashlights. Nick racked his brain to understand why these Bedouin people would have such a thing, but decided against asking. They were not that far outside what most people would call normal society.
He rummaged around in his own bag until he found his own "Maglight", and turned it on, messing with the beam until he got it just right. As dusk settled, the crickets began to make noise, filling the silent air with their soft songs. It was another hour until they stopped, and Nick saw Ameera and Omar pointing their flashlights up on to the side of the large rock wall. Nick stepped up next to them and pointed his flashlight up to where theirs was. They had been pointing up to a cave, about ten feet up the wall.
"Think we should stay there tonight?" Ameera asked out loud, looking to both men for an answer.
"Seems ok to me." Omar said, "It's up high, so no animal's could get in and it would be a good look out for any trouble. I say we go for it."
"I'm with him. I doesn't matter much to me, as long as we stop." Nick said, knowing that both Med-jai were rolling their eyes at him.
"Alright, then there it is." Ameera said, with a grunt and a sigh, she flopped both her bags on to the ground. The rest followed suit, stretching out their arms before lugging the packs back on, to climb the wall up to the cave. Omar had gone ahead to see that the cave was big enough and nothing was already there, all was clear, so they handed his bags up to him, then started the tiny climb. It was rather easy, for there were many foot holes and places to grab onto. Ameera went up first, followed by Nick, then the Silent Ones, as the Brit had taken to calling them. When they all got into the cave, they discovered how spacious it was. One very large room, with a smaller room off to the side, in which they unloaded their bags. In the back of the cave, instead of a wall, was a large drop, leading to the pool of water underneath.
"There must be an under water cave that leads to the Nile outside." Nick said out load, to no one in particular. From somewhere, the Silent Ones pulled out two small lanterns, and lit them, casting a low light on the cave. They unrolled all the bedrolls, and flopped down on them, all tired after the long day they had. Omar made a very small fire towards the back of the cave, big enough to heat a small amount of food over. He had pulled a small bundle of sticks out of his bag, and had started the fire with matches.
Just where were they keeping all this stuff? Nick thought, looking on. He also wondered just what sort of things they had stuffed into the packs they had brought with them. Lord knows there was most likely a kitchen sink in there somewhere.
Diner was a helping of cooked meat, (He didn't want to know what kind of meat it was, but it tasted like chicken) some fruits, (dates, orange slices, a fig.) a piece of cheese and bread. And, much to Nick's enjoyment, goat's milk. (He had to try his hardest not to spit the disgusting liquid out, every time he took a bitter sip.) Then, much to everyone's surprise an joy, Radhi pulled out a large, malted, chocolate candy bar, breaking it into five equal pieces and handing it out.
After diner, everyone settled down and enjoyed the cool night air in the cave. The Silent ones kept a first watch, sitting at the edge of the cave looking out into the Blue Nile. Ameera and Omar talked, in Arabic, about something or another. Every now and then, Nick picked up words, but wasn't really paying attention. He was busy reading a book by flashlight, every once and a while adjusting his body weight to turn the pages. He was laying on his stomach, arms holding his head up. After a long while, he heard Omar climb on to his bedroll and attempt to fall asleep, the Silent Ones were still at guard, and Ameera was using her flashlight to study the map she had removed from the Med-jai vault. Nick smiled and pushed himself up, careful not to disturb Omar, whose bedroll was close to his. He sat up, stretched a little, and turned to Ameera, whose bedroll was right next to Nick's.
"Hi." He said softly, causing her to look up at him, somewhat surprised.
"Hi!" She said softly back, placing the map down.
"Whatcha doin'?"
"Just checkin' up on some things." She smiled softly, staring into his eyes, "You doing ok?"
"I'm going to be a little sore, but I think I will be ok with everything."
"Good. I was worried you weren't going to make it on the hike today, I fear you are not used to this sort of life."
"Your fears are true, I am not used to it at all." He chuckled, "You know, I thought that life as an adventurer was going to be more easy. Guess I was wrong, eh?"
"You would be surprised, Nick. The life I lead is not as fantastic as you dream it to be. It is just a normal life…with more danger added to it."
He nodded but did not say anything, after a minute, he finally sighed. "How much more do we have to go?"
"We should get there late tomorrow morning. Hopefully, they have not uncovered the Book of the Dead…hopefully we can get through this peacefully."
"Peacefully? I wouldn't have considered you a pacifist."
"There is much you don't know about me, O'Connell." She let out the faintest hint of a bright smile, and laid back on her bedroll, turning off her flashlight. "Sleep well." She said softly and turned her back to him, covering her self with a thin blanket.
Nick looked her over, his mind filling with all sorts of daydreams that could never happen. He sighed and yawned, then fell back on his own thin bedroll. After the hike and a nights sleep on the hard cave floor, he was going to be damn sore in the morning.
~~
Steven and Travis looked at each other, evil smiles on their faces, as they climbed down the large hole where the top half of the pyramid sat in. It was nearing midnight as they entered the pyramid door, making their way down its deep staircase and towards the main chamber. In one arm, Steven held the Book of the Dead, pages open, and in the other hand he held a large, gold, knife. They made their way into the large, now cleaned up, main chamber. Travis lit the massive flat oil lamps, casting light everywhere, as Steven sat up the Book and the knife, next to the largest crack in the floor. Which led down to a dark, bottomless, pit.
Once Travis was done lighting the lamps, he kneeled down next to Steven, who was looking at the book rather nervously.
"Ready?" Travis asked.
"Ready." Steven replayed; he took the knife in his right hand, and drew it across his left palm, carving a deep wound. He winced a little, but showed no other indication that it hurt. Travis watched on as Steven began to read from the black Book of the Dead, the strange words filling the silent chamber. He spoke for a minute, then held his cut hand over the large crack in the wall, squeezing it into a fist so that blood dripped down his hand and into the bark pit. As the blood dripped down, he spoke some more, reading the same spell over again.
Suddenly, a strange light began to come up from the deep pit. It was small and weak at first, then got larger and stronger. A loud noise filled the chamber, but could not drown out the words Steven spoke.
~~
Martin Adams stood behind a large stone pillar, watching Steven and Travis' every move. He had been weary of them since they uncovered the pyramid, and now he knew he was right. They were doing something, although Martin couldn't really tell what. Steven was reading from the black book they had uncovered, and seemed to have cut his hand. Why though? He leaned in a little closer, careful not to make any indication that he was there.
~~
Travis stared on silently, as he watched what took place around him. The light got brighter, and then there was this load crack. The hole had split open, the floor rumbled, and Steven went on reading from the book, holding his hand over the pit, squeezing in more of his blood. Suddenly, the light from the pit got so bright, he had to close his eyes and turn his head away, and the noise could have broken glass it was so loud. After a few long seconds of that, it all stopped.
Slowly, he turned back to the pit, and saw with awe the sight in front of him.
A man floated in front of Steven and Travis, a large man, maybe six-foot-three, very tan, and very clean-shaven. He was limp, head lying off to one side, eyes closed, hands and legs lying there. Steven reached out and grabbed the man's right hand and drew the knife across it. No blood came out, but there was a clear cut in the skin. Steven then cut his own hand a little more, so more blood would flow, then placed their hands together, closing the man's hand tightly around his own. There was yet another bright light that caused Travis to look away.
When he looked up, finally, the tall man stood in front of them, looking at both men strangely, like he had no idea what was going on. Steven and the man were still holding hands, a bright red light seeping through the cracks of their hands. After a second, the light withdrew from the inside, causing both men to suck in deeply then collapse.
~~
Martin could not believe what was going on in front of his eyes…a man just rose from the cracks of the floor…and was now alive! What the hell was going on?
~~
Travis scrambled over to Steven and helped him up, but he was very shaky and weak, and could barely stand up on his own. The other man stood up as well, a bit shaken, weak, and confused. He looked at the men, then looked around the room. Memories flooding back to him like a river.
He had been here before, battling the white man with the funny voice. His child was there…so was the reincarnated princess. His own princess was there…but she had not helped him. What was her name?
Oh, yes, Anuck-su-nabitch.
"My lord, Imhotep." Steven said with a small bow of the head, "Welcome back."
Imhotep turned and stared at the two men…they brought him back, but why?
"Why am I here?" He asked, voice deep as it spoke the Egyptian words.
"We have brought you back to let you do what you have failed twice before. The people who fought you so long ago are now all dead, so there is no one to bother your plans."
Imhotep's lips curled into a slight, evil smile, "What year is it?"
"It is year1999, my lord."
Imhotep smiled and began to walk around the room, running his hands along the large gong and weapons they had picked up from the floor.
"This time," He said softly, "I will not fail."
~~
Ameera Bay woke up with a start. Had she really just seen the creature being brought back to earth? She breathed in deeply for a minute, trying to figure out if what she had just seen was real, or the dream it seemed to be.
She looked over at Nick, who was sleeping soundly, and then she propped herself up on her elbows, looking around. Omar was still asleep, Haris had gone to bed as well, and now Radhi was the only one on watch. With a quiet sigh, she stood up and crossed to Radhi, sitting down next to him.
"If you want, you can go to sleep now. I will keep watch." She said softly.
"Are you sure, Ameera?" He asked softly back.
"Yeah, I wont be able to fall asleep for a while any ways. Go to bed, get some rest."
Radhi nodded and smiled, then stood up and crossed to his own bedroll. Ameera watched him for a minute and then turned her attention back to the calm night before her. The moon was hanging high over head, casting a low light over the Blue Nile and the cave they were all sleeping in. She sighed and looked around, nothing was moving and the only sound was that of crickets.
She adjusted her body weight and pulled out a knife from her robe. It was the only weapon of hers she never took off her body while sleeping away from her home. It was a ten-inch knife with a five and a half-inch blade taking up most of the inches. The handle made of wood, broken off at the end with a little lump of duct tape at the very end. The blade itself was dirty and slightly rusted at the base. On one side of the base, carved words read, ""Robeson Sharldae, No. 20", on the other side, was simply, "U.S.N." It was a very old knife, given to her by her great-grandfather when she was only ten. It was her lucky knife and she never went anywhere with out it.
She turned the knife over in her hands, staring at it in the soft moonlight, when she heard some movement behind her. Turning, she saw Nick making his tired way towards her.
"Whatcha doing up?" He asked, sleepily.
"Keeping watch." She said softly, as though not to wake the others.
"Hum." Nick sat down next to her, looking out at the river then at her. There was silence for a minute, until Nick finally spoke.
"What do you think we are going to find tomorrow?"
"I don't know. I have the strangest feeling that we are to late, and that they have already brought back the creature."
"Why do you think that?"
"I just…feel it in my bones."
Nick nodded. "But, we are going to be able to stop them, right?"
"Hopefully. I have got some of the best warriors on our side, but unfortunately, we don't know who they have on their side."
"I have seen Steven York fight, and it is not a pretty sight. He is a large and strong man, and he does not give up…"
Ameera shook her head with a smile. "You damn Englishmen…always messing with stuff you shouldn't even go near. This is the third time someone from your little island has brought back the creature."
"In all fairness, the first time was an accident…"
"I know that, but the point remains…you people are trouble."
Nick couldn't help but laugh, she was right. "That's how it will always be, Ameera, we will bring about trouble, and you Med-jai will help us out of it. That is the whole reason any of us are even here."
She let out a soft chuckle then handed the knife to Nick, blade held firmly between her thumb and forefinger.
"You might like to look at this. It was once Rick's."
"Really?" He took the knife by the handle, and held it close to his eyes. "Why do you have it?"
"It was given to me by Ardeth."
"U.S.N. United States Navy…"
"From the story I was told, this knife was given to Rick as a present from a man he met in a Cairo bar one night. They didn't even learn each other's names; they just got to talking, and talked the whole night. When the man finally left, he gave this knife to Rick and told him to pass it on to someone else when he was done. So, Rick took the knife and had it for years, until, shortly after Ardeth met Emily, he gave it to Ardeth. Telling him the same thing, pass it on to someone else when you are done with it. Ardeth had it right on up to his…" She stopped short, still finding it hard to talk about what had happened 17 years before. Nick knew what she meant, so he didn't ask. "Anyway, he gave it to me and told me the same thing, and I have had it ever since."
"That's a great story…" Nick said softly, holding the weapon in his hand to get the feel of it. "Why didn't Ardeth give it to his son, though?"
"I don't know…he never said. All I know, is he gave it to me, and one day, I will give it to someone else. Probity my heir." She laughed softly, "That would mean I would have to find a husband first."
Then she cursed herself in her thoughts for saying that out loud, to him.
"You um…you involved with anyone?" He asked shyly, avoiding her eyes.
"No…you?" She tried to sound pleasant.
"No." There was a silence, then both of them chuckled. Neither one could believe they were having that conversation with the other.
"What are you going to do when you get married? Are you going to take his last name?"
"Though it is custom to take the husbands last name, I will not take mine. I think that was one reason the Elders were so…apprehensive about allowing a female to be chieftain, they were afraid that the Bays would no longer be the leaders of the Med-jai. Like we have been for over 2000 years now.
"So, no, I will not take my husbands last name, and who ever my heir would be, they will also be a Bay. I wont let my family name die out like that." She thought for a second. "Would you allow your…future wife…to keep her last name?"
"Maybe. It would have to have a special reason for her to keep it. For instance, if, and this is for the sake of the conversation only, but if me and you were to get married…" He stopped short from the look of pure surprise she was giving him. "Like I said, for the sake of the conversation. But if we were to…wed…I would let you…um…keep your last name, and our kids…uh…would have your last name as well…"
Ameera's eyes were as big as diner plates. There was another minute of awkward silence, until she finally spoke up.
"That's…very noble of you Nick…" More silence. After a minute, Nick handed her back her knife and began to stand up.
"Where are you going?" She asked, looking up at him.
"I figured I would leave the conversation on…that strange note."
"No, no…it's ok. Stay here, keep me company." She smiled at him.
"Ok." He sat back down and looked out at the starry sky. "Beautiful, isn't it?" He asked softly.
"Yes, it is. I could never live in a place where I couldn't see the stars." She said softly
"In London, you can hardly see the stars at all. It is even worse in America, can't see a bloody star in some places."
"You've spent some time in America?"
"Yeah, spent a year there. Just got back about six months ago."
"Why were you there?"
"The museum took one of their Egypt exhibits on the road, toured all over that country. I was sent along as the curator of it all. It was a lot of fun, spent a month in twelve different major cities, LA, Seattle, New York, Washington D.C, Chicago, and a few other places. It was really nice…strange place, that country. Filled with a lot of odd people."
"Well, your part American, you know." Ameera said with a smile.
"So are you." He shot back. It was true, Rick was American and so was Emily.
"So, I take it you enjoyed yourself there."
"I did. But I was happy to get back to London, it is hard not being able to sleep in your own bed for that long…but I trust you know that already."
"I have had the bedroll for five years now, that thing is a second bed to me. So it is not that hard."
"America is a strange place, but I wouldn't mind going back one day. I really enjoyed Seattle, reminded me of London. Nice people there to."
"I don't think I will ever visit America, I don't think I will ever even leave Egypt. I don't mind though sometimes I do get bored with everyday life here."
"Well, I will make you a deal, one day, I will take you to Seattle or even London, just so you can see another part of the world. A more…green…part of the world."
She thought about it for a minute and smiled, holding out her hand. "Deal." She said, shaking his hand.
She drew her legs up close to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them, resting her chin on her knees. Ameera sat looking out at the river below them, and Nick sat looking at her, when suddenly, she felt him move closer to her, but she didn't look towards him. After a minute, he moved even closer, this times, she looked at him, and that's when it happened.
He leaned in quickly and kissed her gently, resting his lips on hers, and she didn't pull away. The kiss didn't last long, their lips nearly sat on each other's, and when it broke, they looked at each other softly. In one quick movement, she stood up, blushing and turning away, but he, now standing, placed one hand around the back of her neck and pulled her into him, lips locking on to each other. He gently parted her lips with his tongue, and slid it into her mouth. This was not Ameera's first kiss, and was certainly not Nick's. Her hand moved up to the back of his neck, as his dropped down to her back, holding her firmly in that place. His other hand was over her ear, his thumb resting lightly against her temple, his other four fingers intertwined in her hair. Her other hand placed on his side.
After a minute, when the kiss broke, she slowly opened her eyes to make sure she wasn't dreaming, but saw him burning a hole into her with his own eyes. Then his face broke into a thin smile and pulled her lips to him again, but she pushed away.
"No…"She said softly…placing her hands on his chest and pushing him back. His one arm at her back held her to him with strength she had never seen in him.
"What is it…?"He asked, voice low in her ear.
"This is not right," She let slip out.
"Not right? Why?"
"It just isn't right...me and you…doing this…it's not right."
"Why?" She could hear the anger rising in his voice.
"Because of…who we both are…" She also let that one slip out, and immediately regretted opening her mouth.
"Who we are?" He pushed her away from him, anger boiling in his blood. "Who we are? Who are we? You mean a Med-jai and a common Englishman? What, you don't think it's right for us to kiss because of that?" He shook his head bitterly. "I would have thought you were above that image, Ameera, I would have thought you wouldn't have cared about that."
"Wait…it's not what you think…"
"I am afraid it is what I think. Good night." He turned on his heal and walked back to where his bedroll was. Leaving her, mouth agape, trying to figure out how one minute she was kissing this man, and the net he was pissed off at her. She stared at him for a second, then turned around, sitting down again. Her hand rose to cover her eyes, her thumb and middle finger gently rubbing her temples. What the hell had just happened?
Turning back, she saw that he was now laying on his bedroll, face hidden from her. She felt like crying. Since the day she saw him, she was trying to hide her feelings from herself and him. Then, suddenly, they popped up when they kissed, and then were stepped on. Granted, she shouldn't have said the wrong thing, but if he let her explain.
Hell, she thought with a sigh, I can't even explain to my self why I stopped him from kissing me again. She sat in the silence of her thoughts for a real long time, finally, she looked up and saw that the moon was now far off to the side of the sky, and it was time for her to be relieved of her position. She sighed and stood up, silently crossing to where her males were sleeping, and with a sinking heart, she saw that her bedroll, that was next to Nick, was now next to Radhi…on the other side of the cave from Nick's. She leaned down and woke up Omar, telling him it was time for him to keep watch, and with a grumble of cuss words, he stood up and took his place as guard. As she laid down and tried to fall asleep.
~~
Martin had just barely made it back to his tent when he heard Steven, Travis, and Imhotep walked up into the campgrounds. They talked in low voices, speaking ancient Egyptian, so there were few that could understand them. Martin laid back on his cot and listened to that they were saying.
"My lord, what do you wish to do?"
"I wish to go to Humanaptra, get the book of the living, and begin what I have planned. I must go back, to regain my powers."
"And what plans would that be?"
"Those are matters that do not concern you at this time. I will leave tomorrow, if you are with me or not."
"Yes, my lord. We have a boat waiting to take you up the Blue Nile."
"Good, good."
Martin heard a tent door open and saw a light turn on somewhere out in the darkness. The voices became muffled, so Martin rolled over and tried to fall asleep, but such a thing would be hopeless tonight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am hopeing you all assumed that Martin can understand Egyptian, hense he could understand the conversation between Imhotep & the boys.
I didnt want Imhotep to go through all the, "having to suck people dry to be whole and human" thing, so he didnt. I imagin that he would not really decompose in hell.....whatever. Any who, he's back.