Chapter 6
Explanations
Blah blah, don't own, yada yada
Note: I recently found an Arabic dictionary, so I put some of that in here. All words used will be translated at the end of the chapter. I'm pretty sure that they speak Arabic in Egypt. . .
++++
"You know, you can be a bit dramatic at times, old chap," Jonathon remarked casually to Ardeth.
Evelyn glared at her annoying brother. "Ardeth, what's going on? Who are these Hath'ne? What does Rick have to do with Armageddon?"
"The Hath'ne are a group of satanic men. They have only one quest: to destroy all life."
Jonathon looked shocked. "Good God!"
"Allah be praised, na'am, indeed. So far the Medjai have succeeded in stopping them reach their terrible goal. We had believed they were no more, but this," he indicated to the ring, "proves otherwise."
"Where does Rick fit in with all this?"
"Have you ever noticed the pyramid tattoo on Rick's left wrist?" Evelyn nodded. "That is no mere tattoo. It is a map."
"A map? To what?" questioned Evelyn.
"To a weapon more terrible than any other."
"Yes, well, that would make sense, wouldn't it?" Jonathon said.
"What does the weapon do?"
"It destroys all life instantly. There will be nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Everyone and everything will die."
++++
Meanwhile, Rick sat in the back of Rasheed's long black car. Rasheed sat to his left and held Rick's wrist in his hand, studying the tattoo with a magnifying glass. It was starting to annoy Rick.
"Look, Rasheed, I want some answers. Why the Hell am I sitting here with you staring at my wrist like it's made of gold on the way to God-knows- where against my will?"
Rasheed smiled and chuckled. "You are a strong man, Mr. O'Connell. I can see that I will get no assistance from you until I tell you what you want to know.
"This tattoo on your wrist is no tattoo at all. It is a map."
"You're crazy. I had this slapped on me back at the orphanage. It's no map."
"I assure you it is. And I need this map to find the treasure I have been seeking my entire life. You see, I was told about this treasure from my father, who was told by his father. My family has been searching for generations.
"The only way to find the treasure is to find and interpret the map. The only surviving replicas are tattoos. Two, in fact. And you need both of them to find the treasure."
"So where's the other half?"
Rasheed pulled back his right sleeve. There, a blue pyramid on his wrist, was the other half of the map.
Rick knew that this was bad.
What he didn't know what it was Rasheed was looking for, but he knew it was no treasure.
++++
Evelyn gasped. "Are you saying that. . . that Rick has the power to destroy all life on Earth?"
Ardeth nodded.
"This is not good! We have to do something!"
"That is true," agreed the Medjai, "and we must act quickly. The Hath'ne will stop at nothing to get the weapon, and they will expect us to be following them."
"What do we do?" asked a very pale Jonathon.
"First, we dine."
++++
A half-hour later, Evelyn and Jonathon sat with Ardeth at his table.
"So," said Evelyn, "If they have the only map, namely my husband, how do we find them?"
"That is a fine point, Ibna. I have a good idea of where to begin. I have dealt with these monsters before."
"Remind me why we're still here eating?" inquired Jonathon.
"The body cannot survive without nourishment. We will leave when we are finished. My wives are preparing the provisions."
"Wives?" This concept, to Jonathon, was a little foreign.
"Yes, Jonathon. The desert people often take more than one wife," Evelyn said, never one to miss an opportunity to show off her knowledge.
"I say, old chap, perhaps I could borrow one for a night." He grinned. Only a few seconds later he exclaimed, "Ow!" as Evelyn slapped him upside the head. "That bloody American has been a bad influence on you, baby sister," he complained as he rubbed his head.
Ardeth laughed.
++++
Laughter was the farthest thing from Rick's mind at the moment. He would have rather kicked the shit out of the smug Egyptian next to him.
However, there wasn't enough time to do so, because just as Rick was contemplating this option, the car stopped. Nekonkh opened the door and Rasheed exited the vehicle. Nekonkh reached into the car, grabbed Rick's collar, and pulled him roughly out into the daylight.
What Rick saw was more than disturbing.
Twenty men, clothed in long black robes, stood in a circle in front of a gigantic statue of Anubis. They were positioned so that the shadow Anubis cast covered them, leaving them standing in the dark. It seemed they were more comfortable there. They were so silent that Rick could hear the desert breeze whispering to him urgently.
'Escape, escape, escape,' it breathed. Rick did his best to ignore it.
Rasheed took his place among the men, completing the circle. "Hath'ne," his voice rang out. "Our time is at hand. Finally, after millennia of waiting, we have found he who can lead us to the weapon."
He motioned to Nekonkh, who pushed Rick to the center of the circle and forced him to his knees. Rick glared at the Hath'ne. "We will fulfill the mission that our ancestors set for us, and bring upon the world the holy Apocalypse. Tonight, we begin!"
The evil men cheered.
Rick knew this was bad.
++++
Half and hour after they had sat down, Evelyn, Jonathon, and Ardeth were ready to depart. Zhora, Ardeth's Head Wife, had just finished supervising his other wives and children (of which he had many) in loading the car.
Ardeth walked over to Zhora and embraced her. "Shokran, Za'oga. I will return swiftly. Farewell."
She muttered a protection prayer, and he stepped away. He jumped into the back seat of the car, and looked to Jonathon, in the front seat. "Let us go."
Nodding, Jonathon turned the key.
++++
Na'am- Yes
Ibna- Daughter (sounded like something Ardeth would say.)
Shokran- Thank you.
Za'oga- Wife.
Explanations
Blah blah, don't own, yada yada
Note: I recently found an Arabic dictionary, so I put some of that in here. All words used will be translated at the end of the chapter. I'm pretty sure that they speak Arabic in Egypt. . .
++++
"You know, you can be a bit dramatic at times, old chap," Jonathon remarked casually to Ardeth.
Evelyn glared at her annoying brother. "Ardeth, what's going on? Who are these Hath'ne? What does Rick have to do with Armageddon?"
"The Hath'ne are a group of satanic men. They have only one quest: to destroy all life."
Jonathon looked shocked. "Good God!"
"Allah be praised, na'am, indeed. So far the Medjai have succeeded in stopping them reach their terrible goal. We had believed they were no more, but this," he indicated to the ring, "proves otherwise."
"Where does Rick fit in with all this?"
"Have you ever noticed the pyramid tattoo on Rick's left wrist?" Evelyn nodded. "That is no mere tattoo. It is a map."
"A map? To what?" questioned Evelyn.
"To a weapon more terrible than any other."
"Yes, well, that would make sense, wouldn't it?" Jonathon said.
"What does the weapon do?"
"It destroys all life instantly. There will be nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Everyone and everything will die."
++++
Meanwhile, Rick sat in the back of Rasheed's long black car. Rasheed sat to his left and held Rick's wrist in his hand, studying the tattoo with a magnifying glass. It was starting to annoy Rick.
"Look, Rasheed, I want some answers. Why the Hell am I sitting here with you staring at my wrist like it's made of gold on the way to God-knows- where against my will?"
Rasheed smiled and chuckled. "You are a strong man, Mr. O'Connell. I can see that I will get no assistance from you until I tell you what you want to know.
"This tattoo on your wrist is no tattoo at all. It is a map."
"You're crazy. I had this slapped on me back at the orphanage. It's no map."
"I assure you it is. And I need this map to find the treasure I have been seeking my entire life. You see, I was told about this treasure from my father, who was told by his father. My family has been searching for generations.
"The only way to find the treasure is to find and interpret the map. The only surviving replicas are tattoos. Two, in fact. And you need both of them to find the treasure."
"So where's the other half?"
Rasheed pulled back his right sleeve. There, a blue pyramid on his wrist, was the other half of the map.
Rick knew that this was bad.
What he didn't know what it was Rasheed was looking for, but he knew it was no treasure.
++++
Evelyn gasped. "Are you saying that. . . that Rick has the power to destroy all life on Earth?"
Ardeth nodded.
"This is not good! We have to do something!"
"That is true," agreed the Medjai, "and we must act quickly. The Hath'ne will stop at nothing to get the weapon, and they will expect us to be following them."
"What do we do?" asked a very pale Jonathon.
"First, we dine."
++++
A half-hour later, Evelyn and Jonathon sat with Ardeth at his table.
"So," said Evelyn, "If they have the only map, namely my husband, how do we find them?"
"That is a fine point, Ibna. I have a good idea of where to begin. I have dealt with these monsters before."
"Remind me why we're still here eating?" inquired Jonathon.
"The body cannot survive without nourishment. We will leave when we are finished. My wives are preparing the provisions."
"Wives?" This concept, to Jonathon, was a little foreign.
"Yes, Jonathon. The desert people often take more than one wife," Evelyn said, never one to miss an opportunity to show off her knowledge.
"I say, old chap, perhaps I could borrow one for a night." He grinned. Only a few seconds later he exclaimed, "Ow!" as Evelyn slapped him upside the head. "That bloody American has been a bad influence on you, baby sister," he complained as he rubbed his head.
Ardeth laughed.
++++
Laughter was the farthest thing from Rick's mind at the moment. He would have rather kicked the shit out of the smug Egyptian next to him.
However, there wasn't enough time to do so, because just as Rick was contemplating this option, the car stopped. Nekonkh opened the door and Rasheed exited the vehicle. Nekonkh reached into the car, grabbed Rick's collar, and pulled him roughly out into the daylight.
What Rick saw was more than disturbing.
Twenty men, clothed in long black robes, stood in a circle in front of a gigantic statue of Anubis. They were positioned so that the shadow Anubis cast covered them, leaving them standing in the dark. It seemed they were more comfortable there. They were so silent that Rick could hear the desert breeze whispering to him urgently.
'Escape, escape, escape,' it breathed. Rick did his best to ignore it.
Rasheed took his place among the men, completing the circle. "Hath'ne," his voice rang out. "Our time is at hand. Finally, after millennia of waiting, we have found he who can lead us to the weapon."
He motioned to Nekonkh, who pushed Rick to the center of the circle and forced him to his knees. Rick glared at the Hath'ne. "We will fulfill the mission that our ancestors set for us, and bring upon the world the holy Apocalypse. Tonight, we begin!"
The evil men cheered.
Rick knew this was bad.
++++
Half and hour after they had sat down, Evelyn, Jonathon, and Ardeth were ready to depart. Zhora, Ardeth's Head Wife, had just finished supervising his other wives and children (of which he had many) in loading the car.
Ardeth walked over to Zhora and embraced her. "Shokran, Za'oga. I will return swiftly. Farewell."
She muttered a protection prayer, and he stepped away. He jumped into the back seat of the car, and looked to Jonathon, in the front seat. "Let us go."
Nodding, Jonathon turned the key.
++++
Na'am- Yes
Ibna- Daughter (sounded like something Ardeth would say.)
Shokran- Thank you.
Za'oga- Wife.