Here is chapter 4!  I am glad to hear that people are reading this story and liking it!  Thanks to Fan of the Mummy, AnimeChick91, and Julie for your words of encouragement.  I will continue this story as long as you are all reading!  Anyway, this chapter is when things start happening.  It may not make much sense right now, but the next chapter or two will start to make things look clearer.  Anyways, enjoy!

Chapter 4  Run!

            Evelyn lunged at Leah and clamped her hand over Leah's mouth.  "Shh!" she whispered for about the millionth time.

            Leah, shaking, nodded as Evelyn removed her hand.  She grabbed a blanket from her bedding and wrapped it around her shoulders as Evelyn moved towards the door again.

            A few agonizing seconds went by.  Then Leah heard Evelyn ask softly, "Rick?  Rick, is that you?"

            "Oh, thank God."  Leah heard her brother's voice approaching the tent.

            "Rick!" called Leah loudly, trying to be heard over the continued screaming.  She ripped open the flap of the tent and stepped out, right on top of her brother's feet.  "Rick, what's going on?" she asked.

            "Are you guys okay?" Rick asked, ignoring his sister's question and reaching his hands out to keep her from falling on her face.

            "We're fine," said Evelyn, a bit breathlessly.  "And Alex and Jonathan?"

            "Fine," said Rick quickly, grabbing his wife's and sister's hands.  He began to lead them around the campfire towards the tent he was sharing with Alex and Jonathan.

            Leah checked out the territory.  Looking back at the tent they were leaving, with the excavation site just a half mile behind it, Leah could make out a couple of bonfires and several men running around wildly, still screaming.  Her eyes widened and she stopped in her tracks, taking it all in.

            "Lee?" asked Rick earnestly, tugging on her hand.  "Lee, what is it?"

            A breeze went across the campsite just then.  It was a strange breeze, too warm for the cold desert night.  She shivered and shook her head to clear her mind, then let her brother lead her away.

            "Oh, good, there you are, Evie," she heard Jonathan say as they reached the guys' tent.

            "Hi, Aunt Leah," she heard Alex say as Rick opened the tent flap and began to help her inside.

            "All of you, stay here," Rick ordered.  "I'm going down to investigate."

            "I'm going with you," said Evelyn, who still hadn't entered.  Leah saw the flash of silver in the doorway and knew that Evie was still holding the gun, ready to fight if the need arose.  She also spied the bulges underneath Rick's white shirt and knew that he was fully armed as well.

            "No," said Rick firmly, placing his hands on Evelyn's shoulders.  "You are staying here."

            "I'm coming," said Evelyn, "and you can't stop me."

            Rick looked over his shoulder at the approaching mob, which was continuously coming closer, the noise becoming louder.  "Evelyn, I don't have time to argue this.  Now stay here."

            "No!  I'm going to go with you.  Leah and Alex can stay here."

            "And me?" asked Jonathan hopefully.

            Nobody acknowledged Jonathan.  Instead, Rick looked deep into Evie's eyes.  Then he sighed loudly.  "Fine.  We'll go together.  But I'm going first."

            "Deal," said Evelyn, and she closed the flap behind her sister-in-law.

            "We'll be back for the three of you," Rick called inside.  "Just stay here until we do."

            "Okay, Dad," said Alex obediently.  He, his aunt, and his uncle watched his parents' shadows disappear into the night.

            "Well," said Jonathan.

            "Well?  All you can say is 'well', Uncle Jon?" asked Alex incredulously.  "We could be moments away from our deaths and that's all you have to say?"

            "Oh, now, come on," said Leah with a nervous chuckle.  She pulled Alex to her side.  "We're not going to die.  They're probably just having a wild party down there."

            "A party?"  Jonathan burst into laughter.  "Who's having a party?  Nobody even knows this stupid place exists!  Who would even be here, anyway?"

            "We are," Alex pointed out.

            Leah shot Jonathan a sour look, and he began to grumble under his breath about how everybody was so mean to him.  He crawled to the other side of the tent and buried himself under his blankets.

            "Aunt Leah?" asked Alex as he snuggled against his aunt.

            "Yes?" asked Leah.

            "Can I show you something?"

            "Sure," said Leah, her mind only half on what Alex was saying.

            Alex reached into his pocket.  "Look what I found in the pyramid today," he said, holding his palm out to his aunt.  In it was a small piece of yellowed, very old scroll paper.

            "What is it?" asked Leah, only half interested as she listened to the mob getting closer, the screams getting louder, and doom becoming imminent.

            "A letter," whispered Alex, unfolding the brittle paper to reveal a page full of ancient Egyptian writing.  "A letter to Samir-hi.  You know, the princess?"

            "Princess?" asked Leah absently, peering out the tent flap to see the mob just a hundred yards away.

            "Yes.  A letter to Samir-hi, Rathshad's daughter.  Do you know who it's from?"

            "Who?" asked Leah, clutching Alex closer.

            "Imhotep," said Alex dramatically.  "It's a letter to Samir-hi from Imhotep."

            "Not that guy again," moaned Jonathan from his blankets.  "We are so going to die.  I knew this trip was a bad idea!  But would anybody listen to me?"

            "Imhotep?" asked Leah, still distracted, but slowly becoming more interested in what her nephew was telling her.  "You mean, the priest that was favored by Pharaoh Seti?"

            "You know your history, young lass," said Jonathan, impressed.

            "I ought to… my fiancé is an Egyptian history major… I mean, uh, my ex-fiancé was an Egyptian history major," said Leah, memories flooding through her mind.

            "Yes, he was the priest guy who was favored by Pharaoh Seti," said Alex quickly, trying to change the subject from Andrew to the situation at hand.  "He fell in love with Anck-su-namun, Seti's concubine."

            "He was murdered by the pharaoh and now he haunts innocent people who dig around in his grave and disturb his slumber," said Jonathan, sitting up and crawling to the pair on the other side.

            "What do you mean, he haunts them?" asked Leah.

            "Let's just say, that even though he's dead, his immortal soul still lives, and he likes to chase innocent people around and take their eyes and tongues and stuff until he has a whole body, and then he tries to take over the world," said Jonathan.

            "And how do you know this?" asked Leah, getting annoyed, as usual, with Jonathan's crassness and bluntness.

            "Experience," said Jonathan, wagging his head.

            Leah shook her head disgustedly at Jonathan.

            "He's telling the truth, Aunt Leah," said Alex.  "And I'm very afraid that the same thing may happen again."

            "Read the letter," said Leah softly.

            Alex nodded and smoothed the wrinkled paper.  Slowly, he began to translate.

My dearest Samir-hi,

            I know you, though you know me only in name, as the priest who watched over twin brothers Rathshad and Seti I.  I have watched from afar as you grew from a small child, to a beautiful young lady, to a strong warrior.  It is hard to believe that now you are gone from this world, never to be seen by the mortal again.

            Even in death, I admire your beauty.  I hardly dare to tell you what I am going to say, for fear of ruining the serene look that is on your face in death, but I must share this secret.

First I must ask for your understanding and patience, for what I am about to tell you has pained me for many years.  I am going to reveal a secret to you, one that nobody must know.  Your whole life, you grew believing to be the daughter of Rathshad, brother to Seti.  But I am writing to tell you that this is not true.  You are, Samir-hi, my daughter.  You are my flesh and blood, my lovechild with your mother, my lover Alshirem, Rathshad's wife.  A few years after you were born, Rathshad rebelled against his brother, pharaoh of Egypt, and thus came the Egyptian Civil War, which distanced you and I as we were on opposite sides.  But now we can make amends, and be the father and daughter that we truly are.  Some day soon, your mother and I will be together, and when we are, we will come for you.  I will bring you back, and we will be a family, the one we were always meant to be.  I am so sorry that it took your death for me to admit to you the secret your mother and I have carried since your birth, but I felt that you must know that although you were not raised as my daughter, I do love you.  Always and forever, for eternity, I will love you, and we will be together some day.  I will come for you, my little Samir-hi, my warrior, my daughter.  I will come for you

.

                                                                          Your loving father,

                                                                     Imhotep

Silence filled the tent as the words sunk into their minds.  Then Jonathan asked the burning question:  "What does it mean?"

"Well, it means that Samir-hi is Imhotep's lovechild with Rathshad's wife, Alshirem," said Leah, summing up the letter in one sentence.

"Imhotep always wants to be with the ones he loves," commented Jonathan.  "Which means that if he is ever raised from the dead again, he will raise Samir-hi.  Which means one more person will help him try to take over the world."

"But Samir-hi was good-hearted!" exclaimed Leah.  "She wouldn't want to take over the world or harm people!  She and her father rebelled against Seti and started the civil war because they wanted to free the Jewish slaves!  And she disguised herself as a warrior and fought in the Battle of Rathshad!  That was how she died!  She wouldn't want to attack innocent people, she would try to stop Imhotep!  Even if he was her father!  In her heart, Rathshad was her father.  Rathshad was a man of peace, a man of love, a man of fairness.  And he passed these qualities on to Samir-hi."

"Okay, that's all fine and dandy, except that there's about a hundred men careening towards us at this very moment," said Jonathan.  He pointed towards the door, where the shadows of the mob were clear on the tent sides.

"We have about ten seconds before we're turned into camel pellets," said Alex.

Without a second thought, Leah grabbed Alex's and Jonathan's hands.  She yanked open the tent flap and helped them out, then climbed out herself.  She gasped at what was happening in front of her.

About a hundred feet away, gobs of men were screaming and running, straight towards the O'Connells' campsite.  Behind them, a large wave of locusts was chirping and clicking, chasing the group.  A strong, hurricane-like wind began blowing across the desert, kicking up sandstorms and making it hard to breathe.

"Who are these people?" asked Alex.  "What are they doing here?"

"There's no time for that, chap!" said Jonathan.  "We've got to get out of here!"

"But Dad said to stay here!" Alex argued.  "He said he'd come back for us!"

Suddenly, Leah heard pounding on the ground, as if a herd of elephants was heading towards them.  When she looked out towards the mob, which was now a mere seventy feet away, she saw about a dozen men on horseback galloping towards them, going around the mob and heading to the front of the crowd.

"Ahhh!" screamed Jonathan, and he turned and began to run in the same direction as the mob.

"Uncle Jon!" cried Alex, running after Evelyn's crazy brother.  "Uncle Jon, come back!"

Leah, becoming frightened, turned and watched the pair run.  "Hey!  You guys!  Don't leave me alone here!  Please!"  She looked over her shoulder and saw that the horses, now in the lead of the pack, were only thirty feet away from trampling her down.  "Guys!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.  "Guys, don't leave me here!"  She tentatively took a step around the tent, reluctant to disobey Rick's orders and leave the campsite.  Looking back over her shoulder, the mob was now only twenty feet away.  "Please!  Wait for me!" she shouted, and she began to run.

Panting with fear, she tried to catch up with her nephew and his uncle.  But they had had a good head start, and showed no intention of stopping to wait for her to catch up.

"Traitors!" she screeched through clenched teeth.  "Both of you!  Traitors!"

Alex heard this, and turned from chasing Jonathan.  "Leah!  Run!  Hurry!" he cried.

Leah ran for all she was worth, running, running, all the while the screaming coming closer as Leah realized that she was no match for the advancing pack and that she was soon going to be trampled to death.  She knew she was only ten feet from meeting her maker, and with the last ounce of energy she possessed, she began to pray.

"Leah!" she heard Alex yelling.  "Leah, look out!  Leah!"

Suddenly, she heard a swooshing noise, and something thumped her on the back.

This is it, she thought.  This is the end.

She was lifted into the air, her long curls being yanked upon, and all of the breath being sucked out of her as a strong pair of arms wrapped themselves around her.

"Hold on tight, ma'am," said a deep, authoritative voice as the arms dragged her even higher and pulled her onto the horse's back.  "We have no time to lose."

"But I—I mean—Alex!" she cried.  "Alex!"

"Do not worry.  They have been taken care of."

"But they're going to get trampled!"  Leah attempted to climb down off the horse, and she nearly succeeded, coming with six inches of falling head first to the ground from atop the racing equine.

"Please!  Do not worry!" said the voice again as the hands grasped Leah's waist and pulled her back to safety.  "They are not in danger, I promise you."

"How do you know?"

"No time for questions," said the strange man, and he urged his mount on.  "We have no time for questions.  The creature has returned."