**Disclaimer**: Still don't own anything except my OC.
I was jostled awake when the car came to a stop. Blinking through the rising sun that was already way too bright, I saw we had made it to the Royal Airfield. I was quickly reminded of the events of the past twenty-four hours and a fresh wave of guilt wash over me. Jack was gone, he was really gone. I half expected him to pop out of the backseat, laughing at this great prank he pulled off. But he wouldn't. He wouldn't even make it home and I would have to find a way to explain all of this to our parents.
Before I could get too into it and let my emotions get the better of me, I felt whatever I had been resting against start to move. Looking up I realized that at some point during the ride I had moved to lean against Ardeth in my sleep. I blushed when he looked down at me with a smirk on his face. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry." I said, stumbling over my words in embarrassment.
"It's ok, you looked too peaceful to move." He assured me.
"Did you know you talk in your sleep?" Rick asked with a shit eating grin on his face.
"What did I say?" I asked, mortified.
"Oh, nothing of too much importance." He replied, with that smile still on his face as he gathered his weapons sack from the boot of the car. Now I was worried. I couldn't have said anything too embarrassing, otherwise Ardeth wouldn't have been so calm. Ardeth, meanwhile, was chuckling to himself as he exited the car before offering me his hand to help me out of the vehicle. I accepted his help with a grateful smile and then made my way to the front of our little lineup with Rick.
"Now what the hell did I say?" I asked him, terrified that I had spoken too freely in my sleep.
"You were mumbling a name." Rick said, wagging his eyebrows at me.
"Please tell me it wasn't Ardeth's. I really don't need that right now."
"Then I won't tell you." Jonathan said with a laugh. I risked a look over at Ardeth who was doing his best to not look in my direction, still chuckling.
"Well shit!" 'Things couldn't really get worse, could they?' I thought as we walked up to who I'm assuming was our pilot.
"Morning Winston. A word?" Rick called ahead as we approached this old man sipping his tea atop one of the sand dunes watching the sunrise.
"What's your little problem got to do with His Majesty's Royal Air Corp?" Winston asked Rick.
"Not a damn thing." Rick responded.
"Is it dangerous?"
"Well, you probably won't live through it." Rick said seriously.
"By jove, you really think so?" Winston asked, excitedly.
"Well, everyone else we've run into has died, why not you?" Jonathan added. Ardeth and I just shared a weird look.
"What's the mission then?"
"Rescue the damsel in distress, stop the bad guy, save the world." Rick informed him.
"Ha ha! Winston Havelock at your service." He said with a salute. He led us down the sand dune and back towards the landing strip. We came up to his plane and I couldn't help the nervous laugh that escaped my mouth.
"Um, gentlemen. Not to be that woman, but there are only 2 seats and 5 of us. How're we going to make that work?" I asked nervously. Winston started making preparations, checking the plane to make sure everything was in good shape for flying.
"Let's see, I'll take the back seat with the gun. Jonathan will be on one wing and you and Ardeth will be on the other." Rick laid out the flight plan, smirking at me the whole time. I balled up my fists, wishing I could have decked him right then and there.
"That doesn't make much sense though, does it? Shouldn't Jonathan and I be on the same side, since we're smaller than Ardeth?" I asked, doing my best to avoid looking in Ardeth's direction.
"Normally I would say yes, but if something were to happen and you got loose of the straps, Ardeth is stronger and can keep a hold of you." I unfortunately couldn't argue with his logic, although it seemed like Jonathan could. He was insisting he was just as capable as Ardeth was. I smirked at this.
"Ok fine. Let's do this." I said before walking over to the plane and waited for Rick to help strap me up. If only Jack could see me now, I thought. Tears started forming in the corner of my eyes and I hastily wiped them away. Now was not the time to break down. My heart hurt in a way I never thought possible. I wouldn't wish this kind of pain on anyone. Jack had been the only thing in my life that I could count on, even our parents weren't always on my side with things. I didn't know how I was going to be able to go home and face everything that had happened in the months since we left.
I snapped out of my emotional haze and wiped away the rest of my tears when Rick and Ardeth approached me, ready to start this final leg of our journey. I tied my hair up and away from my face before placing my scarf around my head, doing my very best to make sure my hair wouldn't get in the way. They both helped me onto the plane before Ardeth got up next to me, an arm around my back holding me in place. With us both situated, Rick strapped us in with a huge belt, before moving over to the other side to help Jonathan. "You will be ok Margaret. I made a promise to your brother that I would not let anything happen to you." Ardeth assured me.
I whipped my head to the left to look at him. "What are you talking about?" I asked him. He hesitated for a second before telling me about the conversation my brother had with him before we left the museum yesterday afternoon. I started crying again. Even with his life on the line, Jack was still protecting me. Anything that I could have said next was cut off by the sound of the engine starting. Little to nothing else could be heard over it. We took off and if I thought just being strapped to it on the ground was bad, nothing could have prepared me for the feeling of flying through the desert with only Ardeth's arm and a belt holding me in place on a plane wing. My mother would kill me if she saw this, and not just because I was being held in such a way by a man.
I heard a whistle and turned my head just enough to see Rick smiling at us. "You alright?" he yelled to be heard over the sound of the engine.
"Absolutely not!" I yelled back. Ardeth was just grinning like a madman. "There's no way you're that comfortable with this!" I yelled to him. He just laughed at me, having a blast. I heard Rick yell something at Winston and both Ardeth and I were able to turn our heads just enough to see a massive wall of sand coming towards us. "Well, what do you know? I won't have to worry about how my mom will react to how this adventure panned out because I won't make it home to tell her about it." I meant for it to be a joke but at that point Ardeth gave me a look that said it wasn't appreciated. Before I could apologize, however, the plane got sucked into a vortex that appeared from within the sand wall. I screamed and lowered my face into the wing. I felt Ardeth shift slightly in an attempt to cover my body with his.
When I was finally able to see clearly, free from sand being whipped in my face, I could see the ground getting closer and closer. "Shit!" I yelled before jamming my head into Ardeth as best I could, bracing for impact. And impact we did. Somehow, I came unattached to the belts holding me and Ardeth to the plane wing and got flung against another part of the plane that broke apart. I groaned, black spots dotting my vision. I heard Ardeth struggling to right himself and remove the helmet and goggles he was wearing. He was finally able to stand without swaying too much and walked over to me, pulling me to my feet. We stood like that for a minute, like time stood still.
I cleared my throat and whatever spell was holding us in place broke and he went to grab the gun off the back of the plane, and I went to grab my pack, checking to make sure nothing broke in the crash. I heard Jonathan complaining about not being able to get out by himself and Rick go over to help him. I noticed that Winston hadn't gotten out of the plane yet. "Winston, are you ok?" I didn't get a response and I moved closer, wanting to make sure that he was ok. Rick noticed what I was doing and beat me to it, placing two fingers on the side of Winston's neck, checking for a pulse I wasn't sure he would find.
He pulled away, shaking his head, confirming my fears. One more. That was one more person that we lost on this insane trip. How many more people was I going to have to lose? Would Rick be next, or Jonathan? God forbid anything happened to Ardeth. I wasn't sure what would happen if I failed in my purpose. Not only that, but I couldn't deny that I had grown to depend on him, maybe even something more. But I wasn't sure yet. The one good thing that came from this trip was him. Whatever he became after we stopped this creature wasn't in the forefront of my mind. But in the wake of Jack's death, that pull that I felt towards Ardeth, was the only thing that was keeping me from falling under and breaking apart.
I felt his hand wrap around my arm and pull me towards him, and safety, as he yelled, "Quicksand! There's quicksand!" I regained my footing, falling into his side a little, as we watched Winston and most of his plane sink into the desert floor. Rick gave him a small salute before we started the trek to Hamunaptra, which ended up taking the better part of the day in the desert heat. I was dying, drenched completely through with sweat. I was on the verge of passing out when we finally made it over the small wall and into the city. "Margaret, are you okay?" I heard Ardeth asked but it sounded like he was halfway across the desert instead of right next to me like I knew he was. I started to respond but then, falling forward, I passed out, into Ardeth's waiting arms.
I came to on the ground inside of the city, away from the harsh sun and the wind slapping sand against my face. I could feel three sets of eyes on me before I even opened mine and I became aware that I had passed out, yet again. Goodness, these guys were going to think I wasn't fit for this shit, the way I had been fainting like some schoolteacher. I slowly sat up. "I'm ok, I think." I said, my voice rough from not drinking anything in a while. Jonathan must have sensed this because he, very sweetly, offered me his canteen. "Thank you, Jonathan," I said gratefully. He nodded in acknowledgement before backing up, allowing me space to get up. I slowly got to my feet, still shaky from unconsciousness. Ardeth had a hand out, ready to catch me if I fell again. When I was finally upright and made no sign that I was going to faint again, we started finding our way through this maze of horrors.
As we moved further and further into the labyrinth of hallways, I grew more and more nervous. The closer we got to Imhotep, the closer we got to whatever was waiting for me. I had no idea what Sekhmet had meant when she was saying it was my duty to protect this man who was currently helping Rick move rocks out of the way so we could continue, but I knew that I couldn't do much, not with the way I had taken to fainting at every little thing lately.
I was brought out of my musings by Jonathan screaming. I looked up and saw a bulge in his arm. "Eww!" Was the only thing I could say. Rick grabbed his arm and Ardeth grabbed him from behind, holding him still while Rick cut whatever was in his arm out. A scarab beetle came flying out of Jonathan's arm and landed ten feet away from us. It screeched before turning and heading back towards us. It didn't make it very far though, Rick grabbed one of the pistols from his holder and shot the thing dead.
"As happy as I am that thing is dead, that probably wasn't the best idea. Now they know we're here." I said, looking around, half expecting Imhotep to materialize through a wall. We stood there silently for several minutes, waiting for something to appear. When nothing did, they resumed moving the rocks out of the way. We broke through and the hallway on the other side was very narrow. Rick went in first, having to turn sideways to be able to fit through it. Jonathan followed with me trailing behind him and Ardeth bringing up the rear. Rick found an opening and threw his torch down, landing a couple of feet below him. Jonathan jumped down and held out a hand to help me so I wouldn't fall.
"Thanks," I said to him with a smile. He nodded in acknowledgement. Ardeth came through last, and we started walking towards what we assumed was the center of the room. There wasn't a lot of light and our torches weren't helping too much. Rick must have seen something out of the corner of his eye because he brought his gun out, firing it into a corner, where a mirror moved at the contact and into the correct position, causing a domino effect that caused the whole room to light up, revealing a massive treasure trove. We were all speechless. We walked down the stairs and were surrounded by thousands of years of Egyptian history. Statues of the gods, gold coins, and precious gemstones were strewn throughout this cavernous room.
I saw a sword amidst the gold necklaces, headpieces and other treasures and was drawn to it. On the hilt was a lioness' head, the goddess Sekhmet. Cautiously, I picked it up. I had never used a sword, but it felt right in my hand, like it was made for me. I felt someone come up behind me and I turned too quickly and with skill I didn't know I possessed, brought the sword up in an attack. Thankfully Ardeth had fast reflexes and had drawn his sword to block me. I backed up and quickly dropped the sword to my side, eyes wide in fear. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that," my words meshing together as I blurted out an apology.
He nodded in understanding, before putting his sword back in the holder at his side. We both jerked around at the sounds of grunting and groaning coming from the ground in the middle of the room. We had closed ranks before hands started shooting out from the ground, mummified bodies clawing their way to the surface. "What the hell are those things?" I asked.
"Priests. Imhotep's priests." Ardeth said, realization dawning on him, and then me. So, these were what became of the gold painted men I saw in my dream.
"All right, then." Rick said before we open fired, attempting to at least keep them from getting any closer. Jonathan surprised us all by taking two of Rick's pistols and actually joining the fight, unloading them both into the oncoming horde. When they were finally both empty, he chucked them at the mummies. I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my lips at this. We took off, further into the treasure room before finding a corridor to go down. We all filed in one by one and entered into a big chamber, much like the one where the base of the statue of Anubis was. Except this one held the statue of the falcon head god. "Thank goodness." I said, almost in tears as I was the first one to enter the room.
"Hello Horus, ol' boy," Jonathan said as he came in behind me. Rick and Ardeth arrived last, taking the time to slow the advancing mummies. They paused for a moment with Rick handing him the shotgun before grabbing a stick of dynamite out of his pack and lighting it against Ardeth's cheek.
"Time to close the door." He quipped before tossing the dynamite into the hallway. We raced to get behind the statue, away from the blast. Ardeth pulled me under him, shielding me from any debris that might make its way to us. Finally, a moment of peace. Rick and Jonathan started digging out the compartment that held the book of Amun Ra while Ardeth and I reloaded our weapons. The mummified priests were slowly advancing again, having found another entrance into the statue room.
"These guys just don't quit, do they?" Rick asked, voice tight with exertion while he tried to pry out the chest. Ardeth had finished loading the shotgun by this point.
"Keep digging." He ordered Rick and Jonathan.
"Don't do anything stupid." I tell him, as I put the last remaining bullets into my rifle. I go over to join him, watching his back as he guards the door. Jonathan and Rick had gotten the book out by this point and Ardeth was doing his best to keep the priests at bay. But there were too many of them and he was out of bullets. He turned and looked at me, and I could see in his eyes just what he was planning on doing. "Please don't." I begged him, hoping he could see that I wasn't strong enough to lose him too.
"Be strong, ya amar," he whispered to me, placing a kiss on my forehead, before turning to speak to Rick, "Save the girl. Kill the creature," before yelling out a war cry and running headfirst into the throng of mummies trying to get through the door. Through the smoke from the previous gunshots, we could see that he was doing his best to beat them off, a battle that he was surely going to lose as he was outnumbered. All I could do was stand in silent horror and watch as he got lost in the crowd. Rick then lit yet another stick of dynamite to make another way out. "What are you waiting for? Get out! Get out!" Ardeth yelled back to us, but you couldn't even make him out at this point. I didn't have much time to search though as Rick threw the dynamite into an alcove in the side of the room, blowing out a portion of the wall.
I felt this searing pain in my chest, a warning from Sekhmet that if I didn't intervene, he would be lost. I turned to Rick and Jonathan. "You need to go save Evy and stop Imhotep from bringing his bitch back." I told them, before grabbing my rifle and making my way towards the corridor that Ardeth had gone down.
"If you go in after him, you'll die." Rick warned me.
"And if I don't go in after him, his people will die. This is something I have to do Rick. This is what I was chosen for. This is my purpose." I told him before instinct took over and I grabbed my sword from its spot on the ground. Allowing Sekhmet to guide my actions, I took off into the tunnel after Ardeth, slashing my way through the mummies as I went. I turned the corner and saw three of them taking him on. I came up behind as quietly as I could and brought my hands up around one of their necks, twisting it sharply, breaking it. I watched as it crumbled to the floor at my feet. I managed to push another one off of Ardeth before slicing its head off.
Now that he had the opportunity, Ardeth was able to take care of the last one before the hallway was empty, the remaining priests had disappeared to God knows where. "What did you think you were doing?" I asked angrily. "Did you really think I was going to let you sacrifice yourself like that? Of all the stupid, stubborn decisions I've seen from the men on this trip so far this has got to be…" But before I could finish, Ardeth cut me off, pulling me into his arms and kissing me soundly. I recovered from my surprise quickly, and put my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me. He licked my bottom lip, silently asking for entrance, which I was all too eager to provide. His tongue explored my mouth before starting a battle with mine for dominance. I could've stayed like that forever, however, the need to breathe was soon too difficult to ignore and we broke apart, chests heaving, trying to catch our breaths.
Ardeth placed his forehead on my own, as his breathing evened out. I looked into his eyes, hoping he could see everything that I was feeling because I wasn't too certain that I could put it into words at that moment. He nodded his head and we started to follow the tunnel, hoping that it would lead us out of the ruins. I was just able to make out daylight coming from an opening at the end of the tunnel when the whole place started to shake. I turned to Ardeth; terror evident on my face. "This whole place is rigged with a switch that can send it back into the sands if tripped. We need to get out of here!" he told me before grabbing my hand and dragging me back out into the desert heat. We grabbed a camel and ran until we were far enough out of the city that we didn't need to worry.
I took this time to check him for injuries. Besides some bruises and some minor cuts, he wasn't in too bad of shape. He brought his hand up to the side of my head and I winced. Pulling his hand back and into my line of vision, I saw there was blood on it. He ripped some of the bottom of his robe off and took some water out of his canteen, getting it wet. He gently dabbed it against my cut, cleaning it out. We both turned when the sounds of the city sinking were too loud to ignore. It was almost completely gone by this point.
"But where are Evy, Rick and Jonathan?" I asked, scanning the horizon. I couldn't see them, and I was getting worried. I made to go back when Ardeth grabbed my arm, stopping me. I turned to yell at him when I saw him pointing towards the pack of camels that had migrated to the cliff side, seeking some shade. I saw three people amongst them, also watching the city sink beneath the sand.
Ardeth helped me onto the camel before getting on behind me and urging it to walk over to where the others were. Everything calmed down and things were quiet until Ardeth reached over and touched Jonathan's shoulder, causing him to jump and them all to shout in fright. "Argh! Thank you. Thank you very much." Jonathan cried, clutching his heart. Ardeth smiled.
"You have earned the respect and gratitude of me and my people."
"Yes, well, it was nothing." Jonathan assured him.
"May Allah smile upon you always." Ardeth said, before bringing his hand to his lips then his forehead, bidding them farewell.
"And yourself." Jonathan replied, attempting, and failing, to replicate the gesture. I laughed at that.
"I'll hopefully meet up with you in Cairo." I told them, waving as Ardeth turned our camel around and started heading away from the city.
AN: And that's a wrap on The Mummy plot. Finally! I can now start working on the original story that I've been developing since I started this fic. I hope you've grown as fond of Margaret as I have and will continue to follow her on her adventures.
Translation:
Ya amar: my moon