Disclaimer: I do not own anything here except my OC's. The rest belongs to Universal.
AN: Some slight racy conversation, not graphic, just fun teasing. Thought I'd add it in a note for warning's sake.
AN: It's so hard to edit when you're watching The Mummy with commentary XD I hoped to get this up a little earlier today but it became hard to concentrate when I have a million ideas going on in my head. This is one of the last chapters that I've had pre-written from ages ago and needed revising, so after about one more chapter I will be writing completely from scratch (so to speak). Please enjoy!
After a drunken night for Evy, finishing off the rest of the Seagram's, she seemed to completely be off the hook from any sign of a hangover, or even a headahce. Fallon and Kelly both supposed that she was too excited to open that sarcophagus. Fallon on the other hand, having only had several gulps of it before the attack on the camps, woke up with a pounding headache. She only dreamed of one thing, the sarcophagus. Nothing else, just the ancient coffin laying in the sand; and the uneasy feeling of just watching it there.
Kelly wanted to tell Evy that they shouldn't open it, but she knew that Evy wouldn't listen to her at all. Everything seemed off that morning to Kelly. There was something in the atmosphere, a sense of caution she felt. And she couldn't help but feel it when she spied Fallon and Adam having at it several feet away from the camp.
"Give them back to me, Adam!" Fallon exclaimed. She reached for the sleeve of his khaki coat as though he held what she desired in his arms.
He fought off her arms. "Not until you tell me what's going on, Fallon! Don't you deny it! Where did you find this stuff?!" He argued.
"You wouldn't understand!" Fallon stated. She could see the bulge in his coat where she knew he kept the toolkit and the letter. She only hoped that the journal wouldn't fall out of the small knapsack she nicked off of one of the camels. Every time she got close to him or grabbed his coat he would fight her off.
"That's bullshit and you know it! There's something going on here! I've noticed it for over a year now. I can hear you tossing turning in your sleep through the wall in our apartment. I hear you screaming yourself awake and talking in your sleep. Then this trip, after you know what happened to our parents. Do you know why I came on this trip on such short notice?" He explained. She didn't reply, she could only breathe heavily, her chest heaving up and down. "Do you?!"
"Why? Tell me then!" She snapped.
"Because I was worried about you! Hamunaptra?! Of all places to go on a dig site?! I just hoped you were following Evy on one of her silly little pursuits, but when I saw it was Hamunaptra...! I knew it couldn't just be that. This stuff that you found yesterday only proves it to me."
Fallon couldn't bring herself to speak.
Adam took off his hat and ran a hand over his dark hair pulled back into a small ponytail. The morning heat showed by the sweat on his forehead, which he used to pull back the stray hairs that couldn't make it back into his ponytail.
"What is going on, Fallon? I'm not giving you this stuff back until you tell me," Adam bargained.
"I...I just can't, Adam. It has nothing to do with you. My mom and dad-"
"They're my parents too!" He shouted.
The silence that followed was excruciating. They couldn't even hear a loud American laughing across the camp like they had been doing all morning. Fallon stifled a cry in her throat and tears pooled in her eyes.
"You're right..." she sniffled. She could finally look him in the eye. "I'm sorry, Adam. You just never seem to talk to me about what could have happened to them, and I began to think that you didn't care anymore. I just couldn't ever drop it. When I saw the chance to come here, I couldn't refuse. I had to know, I had to figure out what happened to them. And when I found those in the crypts, I finally found some answers. But it only made things more complicated than they already were. This is the only thing that I want out of this trip. Not to find some golden book, or treasure, or mummy. But to find out what happened to our parents."
She could see the tears start to form in his eyes as he flung his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug. She couldn't keep the tears from falling down her cheeks onto his coat. "Adam, I'm so scared."
"Please, let me help you," Adam muttered into her shoulder. "You need to tell me everything."
Her heart had twisted itself into a knot. "I don't know if I can."
He released her from the hug and held her at arm's length. He smiled and sniffed back tears. "You know, you used to tell me everything once upon a time. I can't help if you don't tell me everything. I know you, you're only scared if you only have to be. I'm worried."
Fallon's mind raced. He was her brother after all. He knew her better than anyone, even Kelly. "It's...these dreams that I've been having. They're always about the same thing, except the last few nights they've been different..."
She had tried to keep the explanation brief to Adam, but as accurate as possible. She tried to keep some particular specifics about the man in black to herself, at least the little bit on the boat and their little conversation last night. She also reminded herself to not play up his constant presence in her dreams.
"Man in black?" Adam asked. Fallon clenched her teeth. "Like the men last night. The one who helped you up..." Fallon gulped, hard. Adam furrowed his brow, and placed his hand on his gun at his waist. "Does he have anything to do with any of this?"
"No-" Fallon began to protest, her face flushing uncontrollably.
"Fallon, mind if I borrow you for a second? Ooh, better get a hat on to shade those cheeks, they're getting red from the sun," Kelly appeared by her best friend's side like she had come from thin air. No matter how much Kelly had a crush on Fallon's brother, her friendship with Fallon was more important.
"Kelly-" Adam started.
"Sorry, babe, it's girl stuff. You'll understand in time," Kelly explained, dragging Fallon off.
As soon as they were out of ear shot of Adam, Fallon released her breath she had been holding. She realized she needed to remind herself to breathe more.
"Thanks for that," Fallon said.
"No problem, sister," Kelly replied, handing her a water canteen. "I figured you weren't in the mood to talk about Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome-and-Not-to-Mention-Forbidden to your brother who's crazy worried about you, by the way. Just thought I'd lend you a hand before he got murderous and started scouring the desert for someone I'm sure doesn't want to be found."
Fallon chuckled. Kelly always had a way to make the situation a little lighter. "I wouldn't say Tall-Dark-and-Handsome."
Kelly snorted. "Are you joking? Look, I'm all for your brother, but even I can't deny that that guy was a bit of a looker."
Fallon laughed. "Well, when we were tangled up in the tent last night fighting, the last thing I was noticing was how attractive he was."
Silence fell as they looked at each other. Fallon immediately regretted what she had just said as Kelly burst into laughter. "Oooohhh, tangled up in the tent, huh? Fighting, huh? Was he fighting with his sword, Fallon?" Kelly teased. Fallon shrieked and laughed as she threw some of the water from the canteen onto Kelly, who splashed some back from her own.
"You have a filthy mind!" Fallon cackled, trying to dodge the cool water.
"Better check what you say before you say it!" Kelly replied.
"Hey! Don't you guys waste that water!" Rick called to them from their crypt entrance. They continued to giggle and sip their water, occasionally nudging and elbowing each other playfully.
"But seriously though, we should be careful of those guys. Which is why we shouldn't wander away from the campsite in the middle of the night," Kelly said.
Fallon froze. Shoot, Kelly must have woken up and noticed she was gone.
"I...I found something while I was trying to get some air away from the campfire. The embers were bothering me," Fallon explained. She reached into her knapsack and pulled out the diary. Kelly took it and unwound the leather chord to open it.
"Your mother?" Kelly gasped looking up from the journal. Fallon nodded. "And you just found it wandering around Hamunaptra trying to get some air? Alright, I know that's a lie, but when you're ready to tell me I'll be all ears." Kelly flipped through the pages and stopped when she noticed something wedged between two. It was a photograph, worn and some of the corners dog-eared. The photo was an early family photograph of Fallon and her family. "This journal has gone through a lot."
"What do you mean?" Fallon asked.
"I mean that for something that's been lying around a lost city in the middle of the desert for ten years, the pages have yellowed a lot from the oils of human hands, and are tearing from the binding from constant page turning. I mean, your mother wrote a lot, but I can't imagine that she constantly read through her old entries in the five years that she wrote in it," Kelly deduced. Fallon took the diary from Kelly and examined it as well. She was right, there weren't a lot of entries dedicated to actual information, just events and musings about her children. She kept her archaeological finds and information in a separate journal. That man had given it to her because he had had it all this time. She didn't expect him to have not read it all the time he might have had it, but how often had he read it? She caught herself before she said anything about it.
"I wouldn't be so surprised if those Medjai planted it or something," Kelly said cautiously.
Fallon snapped her head to Kelly. "Medjai?"
Kelly raised an eyebrow. "Honestly, Fallon? I thought you were smarter than that. The men in black are most definitely the Medjai. They protect this place like the last cookie in the jar. They want us to leave. Put it together, it makes sense. Don't you remember that book you were reading?"
Fallon had left it on the boat in her cabin and hadn't had any time to grab it due to her little sword fight. She realized it must have perished in the fire. But it did make sense, these people protected the city and were doing everything in their power to make sure that they didn't make it to Hamunaptra, and that they would all leave. Why? She realized that she had just gotten to the chapter about Hamunaptra when she had been interrupted. She wished right then that she had finished that book.
Fallon shook her head. "I never got to read the chapter about the Medjai and Hamunaptra. But the Medjai protected cities and tombs and the Pharoahs. The stopped tomb raids. I can only imagine that there is something here that they wish to protect and don't want diggers to find."
"Well it's not the gold, I mean it's just treasure, and Rick said that they value water more than gold. What else would they be trying to protect?" Kelly asked.
Fallon's mind went immediately to the sarcophagus. "I remember last night that the Medjai said that we needed to leave this place or die. What if he was warning us of something that we would find? Something dangerous, perhaps."
"Or that could have just been a death threat, that they would come back and kill us if we didn't leave," Kelly stated. Fallon hadn't thought of that, and these people probably would. They'd killed enough people as it is. But somehow that didn't seem quite right as the explanation. Her mind kept going back to that horrible sarcophagus.
"Come on guys! Time to get that coffin open!" They heard Rick call to them as everyone else made their way towards the entrance of the crypts.
In the Crypts
"Are you alright, Fallon?" Kelly called back to Fallon who was trailing behind the rest.
Fallon snapped out of whatever thought she was having and looked at Kelly. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just..." Kelly left Adam's side and trailed back to Fallon. "I just have a weird feeling about opening the sarcophagus. It's an eerie feeling. I think after that dream I had a couple nights ago about the face in the sand in front of the Statue of Anubis wasn't a good sign. It's been irking me in the back of my head ever since last night after the raid."
Kelly sighed. "I have the same feeling."
"Then maybe we should not open the sarcophagus, Kelly. It just doesn't feel right," Fallon said.
"Evy wouldn't listen to us. To her...it's just a sarcophagus with a dead person in it. And maybe that's true, but if the sand is making creepy faces then it's definitely not a good omen," Kelly said.
"You say that as if it wasn't a dream," Fallon chuckled. Kelly was silent for a moment.
"...Yeah," Kelly hesitantly agreed.
Fallon gave her a look. "It wasn't just a dream was it, Kelly?" The fear grew even more in Fallon's eyes when Kelly didn't answer immediately. Fallon lowered her voice even more so as not to attract attention from the others. "Kelly, answer me. It was just a dream wasn't it? Sand can't make faces." Kelly couldn't decide whether she was purposely being silent as a way to tell Fallon or just couldn't find the words to say.
"Three years ago," Kelly began. A hand flew to Fallon's mouth, trying not to let a cry escape from her lips. "During the battle Rick and I fled into the city. We ran out of ammo as soon as we got to the Statue of Anubis and they had us surrounded. We were certain they were going to shoot us dead right there, but they didn't. A voice and jackal howls rang on the wind and they were all scared so they fled out of the city. All of a sudden the sand started spurting and sinking until it formed a face in front of the statue. Rick and I ran for it and then we found you. We never told you because we knew you would either freak out or never believe us."
Fallon could hardly say a word and when she did she desperately tried not to go above a whisper, but her voice was frantic and frightened. "Why would I dream about it then?! Kelly! What does this mean?! I don't understand how that's possible!"
Kelly linked arms with Fallon to keep her steady. "Fallon, it's okay. We're trying to figure it out."
"Who's we?" Fallon asked.
"Me, Rick, and Adam. We're worried about you so we're all trying to figure out everything that's going on," Kelly explained.
Fallon gasped. "If it actually happened then we definitely shouldn't open that sarcophagus, there's no way-!"
"Is everything okay back there?" Rick called back to them. Kelly's hand flew to Fallon's mouth to keep her from saying anything.
"Yup, we're all good here," Kelly replied naturally. They were entering the room where they found the sarcophagus. Kelly remove her hand as they finally gathering around the sarcophagus.
"Is there anything else I should know about?" Fallon asked, angrily.
Adam, Rick, and Jonathon were all using their brute strength to lift up the sarcophagus and lead it against the wall. Evy was searching her bag for the key.
"Later," Kelly said.
"Oh, I've dreamed about this ever since I was a little girl," Evy said, giddy like a school girl.
"You dreamed about dead guys?" Rick asked.
"Oh, look, the sacred spells have been chiseled off," Evy started, fingering what used to be hieroglyphs on the sarcophagus.
"He was meant to be condemned in this life and the next," Fallon added softly, clutching Kelly's arm.
"Well, that sounds like he probably did something naughty during his life. Which answers our question from yesterday," Adam said.
"Well, let's take a look at what this guy looks like, shall we?" Rick said, using his crowbar to open the sarcophagus. Evy waited intently for him to crack it open after they turned the key in the lock.
Fallon and Kelly gripped each others hands tightly, not fully expecting what they were going to see as soon as the sarcophagus opened.
The sarcophagus lid fell to the ground, and a body popped out in a cloud of moisture and sand and dust, making Evy, Fallon, and Kelly cry out in fright.
"God, I hate it when these things do that!" Evy cried.
Fallon and Kelly's hands were white and aching from holding onto each other so tightly. When they caught sight of the body inside of the sarcophagus, they were shocked at the state of it.
"Is it supposed to look like that?" Rick asked. They all inched closer to the sarcophagus looking at the oozing mummy inside, it's mouth open wide and at an inhuman angle.
"No..." Fallon said quietly. She's seen many mummies in her lifetime, some much older and younger than this one and she had never seen any still in this state.
"It's still..." Kelly started, trying to find the word.
"Juicy," Everyone said at the same time.
"Well, yes," Evy said. "This mummy has to be more than three thousand years old and it still looks as though it's still decomposing."
Fallon looked down at the lid of the sarcophagus and knelt down at what she saw. "Guys, look at this." Everyone knelt down with her. Fallon fingered the strange etchings inside the lid. "What in the world are these?" Scratching the inside of the lid, her fingernails made similar marks as the ones they saw. "Fingernails. This man was buried alive."
They all looked up at the mummy, their faces each something different.
"And he left us a little message," Evy continued. "Death is only in the beginning."
"I don't like the sound of that," Adam said.
Kelly stood up and dusted off her pants of some sand. "Why don't we continue excavating around Hamunaptra. Those who want to stay here and find out more about this guy here can do that, and maybe the rest of us can do what they wish."
"That sounds like a good idea," Rick agreed.
"Perfect," Evy said. "Fallon, we can excavate this mummy here."
Fallon stepped away from the mummy and sarcophagus all together. "I'd rather not."
Rick, Jonathon, and Evy turned to look at her curiously. They knew normally she would jump at the chance to excavate a new find like a mummy, but her backing down was unnatural.
"What? I thought you'd want to help me find out more about this person. It's technically your job," Evy said.
Fallon shook her head. "I'd much rather excavate the mummification room. If you don't mind."
Evy nodded hesitantly. "Alright, whatever you think is best."
Fallon swallowed the lump in her throat that has been there ever since they opened the sarcophagus and nodded. Her gut felt like it was churning up something dangerous, and no matter what she did she couldn't shake the feeling.
AN: A nice long chapter! I had fun writing this one, and most of it was added material onto the original. And I got to expand on relationships between Fallon and her brother, and Fallon and Kelly, which had been slightly neglected throughout the fanfiction. Please Favorite, Follow, and Review telling me what you think and what I can improve on. I always find those reviews to be very useful.