"So what does my name look like?" Alex asked. "Well…A-L-E-X" Ardeth Bay drew in the sand a rough hawk, lion, leaf, and a bowl and cane as he said the letters of the boy's name out loud. "As close to an English translation as I can guess." He finished explaining. "Cool…" Alex exclaimed, tracing the figures in the sand with his finger. The conversation had started when Alex asked Ardeth what the tattoos on his face meant, and when Ardeth had explained they were symbols for his family name, Alex had become intrigued, and the conversation about the Egyptian letters, alphabet, and words was a pleasant change for Ardeth, as opposed to the constant bickering.
Unfortunately, the pleasantness didn't last long. The explosion that had ripped through Rick and Evy's latest excavation site echoed through the desert, reaching Ardeth Bay and Alex. Ardeth stood up immediately, muttering under his breath in another language. Alex leapt to his feet, startled by the loud break in silence. In the nearby tent, Jonathan shot up right in bed, the hat that had been covering his face tossed to the floor.
At the same time, Ardeth Bay and Alexander O'Connell noticed the rising cloud of dust from the entrance of the tomb Alex's parents were in. "MOM, DAD!" The boy tried to run towards the site, But Ardeth bay's strong hand in his shoulder stopped him. An annoyed Alex looked up at him. "Don't worry, we'll get them." Ardeth explained, and with his hand still on Alex's shoulder, guided him back towards the tent.
****************
Mean while...
"Look!" Evy exclaimed. "It actually says where the king's burial chamber is! Well, there is a code you have to break first." She finished, tracing her finger along the carvings in the wall, much as Alex had in the sand.
"Hey, hey wait a second now…burial chamber? I thought we agreed, no more solving little puzzles that were obviously not meant to be solved, no more opening *anything* with a lock on it, and most of all…no more dead guys. Just sticking to pots and jewelry…unless that jewelry is in a locked box with an ancient curse upon it."
"You're so cute!" Evy giggled, kissing him on the cheek.
"Ok, one burial chamber, just one!" Rick caved. Evy smiled sweetly in response, turning back to the wall of hieroglyphs.
Only seconds later, the explosion boomed through the corridors, knocking pots and tools from shelves along walls, sending bits of rocks and other debris from the ceiling, and raising thousands of years worth of dust. Rick's first reaction was to place his hands on the wall on either side of his wife's head, using his own back to protect her from any flying objects.
"Are you okay?" He asked, when the ground stopped rumbling and the dust began settled. "Yes, I'm fine, but what on earth...an earthquake?" "No," He answered, "Not with an explosion like that."
With anger and determination in his handsome eyes, Rick snatched his torch from the wall with one hand, while un-holstering his gun with the other. He guided the gun and torch around the corner into the hallway first, then peeked his head around to find the main corridor empty. He nodded to Evy indicating it was safe, and proceeded down the hall, checking every room along the way to find each empty.
"Wait a minute..." Evy said after a few minutes. "Something isn't right." Rick soon realized what she had noticed. "There's no light from the entrance." He concluded the thought. "Son of a bitch." He muttered, to which Evy glared him critically. He rolled his eyes in playful annoyance, "Son of a gun." he corrected himself. "Some one's trying to lock us in." He finally finished. "Or they already have." Evy said from his side. "That entrance at the front is the only way in...or out." She explained. "But these things always have a bunch of doors...don't they?" Rick whined. "Well not these ones. They were carved into stone ledges, I am pretty sure they only make one entrance." Evy answered.
**********
"Come on come on come ooooooon!" Alex urged, tugging Ardeth Bay's hand. "I know, I know. Jonathan?" Ardeth answered the boy, then turned to Jonathan. "Yes, yes, I'm coming." Jonathan took one more swig from the wine bottle, "Just for some extra courage, aye?" He explained, then followed Alex and Ardeth Bay out of the tent.
Ardeth was now fully loaded with a couple hand guns and his machete, while Jonathan was armed with…well with two fists. The two men had decided it safer to take Alex with them, rather then leave him alone and in the open. The trio now headed towards a rock ledge, where they would follow it along to the entrance of the O'Connell's excavation site, and hopefully avoid being spotted by whoever blasted the dynamite a few minutes ago.
****************
"There's just too much here, we can't move it all." Rick sighed, hopping to the floor. "Well we can't just stay here and rot." Evy protested. Rick lightly kicked a stone at the bottom of the pile of rubble that had once been the entrance to the tomb. "Unless you can think of another way out, Evy, cause we aint gettin' through this door." Rick waved his torch at the rubble.
"Well…come to think of it…the burial chamber always has a shaft leading up, it was meant to point the Pharaoh's soul towards the North Star, the direction they thought-" "Ok, ok, so there is a shaft leading out?" Rick cut her off. Once Evy got started explaining one of these things she tended to go on for a while. "Yes. But I don't know if it is accessible…by know the whole thing could be filled with sand." She went on to explain. "Well it's worth a shot, better then waiting here anyways." Rick said, as Evy nodded in agreement, and the two headed back to the last chamber to figure out the directions to the burial room.
**********
"So what exactly happened?" Jonathan blurted out, after surveying the ruined tomb entrance. Ardeth Bay hushed him with a stern look. "Silence, right." Jonathan whispered. Alex peered at the tomb from behind Ardeth, with Jonathan standing behind him. All three were pressed against the rock ledge, slowly moving closer. They had noticed some men walking around the entrance and they appeared to be guarding it. Ardeth wondered if they knew he and the others were still out here.
His question was answered seconds later, by the click of a gun. He turned around to see four men, one with a gun pointing at Jonathan's face. "'Bout time you showed up." He said gruffly. The three other men unsheathed their own weapons when Ardeth tried to reach for his gun. "I don't think so." He smiled crookedly, jabbing the gun closer to John's face, and motioning forward. "That way." The man ordered.
******************
Chapter 2 done! Working on chapter 3.
yeah and, imaflamer, you can just go screw yourself…that is if you aren't already…and instead of being a spineless coward why don't you try signing your reviews so I can see what wonderful works of art you have created, because clearly they must be better than mine...or so one would think.
Unfortunately, the pleasantness didn't last long. The explosion that had ripped through Rick and Evy's latest excavation site echoed through the desert, reaching Ardeth Bay and Alex. Ardeth stood up immediately, muttering under his breath in another language. Alex leapt to his feet, startled by the loud break in silence. In the nearby tent, Jonathan shot up right in bed, the hat that had been covering his face tossed to the floor.
At the same time, Ardeth Bay and Alexander O'Connell noticed the rising cloud of dust from the entrance of the tomb Alex's parents were in. "MOM, DAD!" The boy tried to run towards the site, But Ardeth bay's strong hand in his shoulder stopped him. An annoyed Alex looked up at him. "Don't worry, we'll get them." Ardeth explained, and with his hand still on Alex's shoulder, guided him back towards the tent.
****************
Mean while...
"Look!" Evy exclaimed. "It actually says where the king's burial chamber is! Well, there is a code you have to break first." She finished, tracing her finger along the carvings in the wall, much as Alex had in the sand.
"Hey, hey wait a second now…burial chamber? I thought we agreed, no more solving little puzzles that were obviously not meant to be solved, no more opening *anything* with a lock on it, and most of all…no more dead guys. Just sticking to pots and jewelry…unless that jewelry is in a locked box with an ancient curse upon it."
"You're so cute!" Evy giggled, kissing him on the cheek.
"Ok, one burial chamber, just one!" Rick caved. Evy smiled sweetly in response, turning back to the wall of hieroglyphs.
Only seconds later, the explosion boomed through the corridors, knocking pots and tools from shelves along walls, sending bits of rocks and other debris from the ceiling, and raising thousands of years worth of dust. Rick's first reaction was to place his hands on the wall on either side of his wife's head, using his own back to protect her from any flying objects.
"Are you okay?" He asked, when the ground stopped rumbling and the dust began settled. "Yes, I'm fine, but what on earth...an earthquake?" "No," He answered, "Not with an explosion like that."
With anger and determination in his handsome eyes, Rick snatched his torch from the wall with one hand, while un-holstering his gun with the other. He guided the gun and torch around the corner into the hallway first, then peeked his head around to find the main corridor empty. He nodded to Evy indicating it was safe, and proceeded down the hall, checking every room along the way to find each empty.
"Wait a minute..." Evy said after a few minutes. "Something isn't right." Rick soon realized what she had noticed. "There's no light from the entrance." He concluded the thought. "Son of a bitch." He muttered, to which Evy glared him critically. He rolled his eyes in playful annoyance, "Son of a gun." he corrected himself. "Some one's trying to lock us in." He finally finished. "Or they already have." Evy said from his side. "That entrance at the front is the only way in...or out." She explained. "But these things always have a bunch of doors...don't they?" Rick whined. "Well not these ones. They were carved into stone ledges, I am pretty sure they only make one entrance." Evy answered.
**********
"Come on come on come ooooooon!" Alex urged, tugging Ardeth Bay's hand. "I know, I know. Jonathan?" Ardeth answered the boy, then turned to Jonathan. "Yes, yes, I'm coming." Jonathan took one more swig from the wine bottle, "Just for some extra courage, aye?" He explained, then followed Alex and Ardeth Bay out of the tent.
Ardeth was now fully loaded with a couple hand guns and his machete, while Jonathan was armed with…well with two fists. The two men had decided it safer to take Alex with them, rather then leave him alone and in the open. The trio now headed towards a rock ledge, where they would follow it along to the entrance of the O'Connell's excavation site, and hopefully avoid being spotted by whoever blasted the dynamite a few minutes ago.
****************
"There's just too much here, we can't move it all." Rick sighed, hopping to the floor. "Well we can't just stay here and rot." Evy protested. Rick lightly kicked a stone at the bottom of the pile of rubble that had once been the entrance to the tomb. "Unless you can think of another way out, Evy, cause we aint gettin' through this door." Rick waved his torch at the rubble.
"Well…come to think of it…the burial chamber always has a shaft leading up, it was meant to point the Pharaoh's soul towards the North Star, the direction they thought-" "Ok, ok, so there is a shaft leading out?" Rick cut her off. Once Evy got started explaining one of these things she tended to go on for a while. "Yes. But I don't know if it is accessible…by know the whole thing could be filled with sand." She went on to explain. "Well it's worth a shot, better then waiting here anyways." Rick said, as Evy nodded in agreement, and the two headed back to the last chamber to figure out the directions to the burial room.
**********
"So what exactly happened?" Jonathan blurted out, after surveying the ruined tomb entrance. Ardeth Bay hushed him with a stern look. "Silence, right." Jonathan whispered. Alex peered at the tomb from behind Ardeth, with Jonathan standing behind him. All three were pressed against the rock ledge, slowly moving closer. They had noticed some men walking around the entrance and they appeared to be guarding it. Ardeth wondered if they knew he and the others were still out here.
His question was answered seconds later, by the click of a gun. He turned around to see four men, one with a gun pointing at Jonathan's face. "'Bout time you showed up." He said gruffly. The three other men unsheathed their own weapons when Ardeth tried to reach for his gun. "I don't think so." He smiled crookedly, jabbing the gun closer to John's face, and motioning forward. "That way." The man ordered.
******************
Chapter 2 done! Working on chapter 3.
yeah and, imaflamer, you can just go screw yourself…that is if you aren't already…and instead of being a spineless coward why don't you try signing your reviews so I can see what wonderful works of art you have created, because clearly they must be better than mine...or so one would think.