Holy Mother of Horus, two chapters in one day. When was the last time I was able to do something like that? Please enjoy!
Fallon's ears rang. Kelly had wrapped her hands over her own ears.
A thin stream of smoke curled from the barrel of Fallon's gun. And following the aim down the barrel was Imhotep slightly hunched over, his hands folded over his chest near his heart. Blood dripped down his abdomen.
Fallon could barely speak.
"He's mortal," Evy said, her face hard.
Zero bullets left, Fallon dropped the gun.
Imhotep stumbled backwards his feet splashing into the thick onyx waters of the ritual pool. He sank deeper, the watery souls of the underworld beginning to swallow him.
His human form began to rot away until he resembled the juicy corpse they had found just barely a week ago. His deep, growling voice uttered something in Ancient Egyptian, nearly illegible. But Fallon could understand, and it sent a chill through her whole body.
"'Death is only the beginning'," Evy translated. Fallon clutched the key closer to her body.
The whole chamber began to shake. Pieces of stone fell from the ceiling.
Rick grabbed Evy's hand. "Time to go!"
They raced through the chamber as the shaking intensified. Kelly and Fallon linked hands themselves and Jonathon trailed behind them, clutching the Book of Amun-Ra. When he tripped and fell up a small set of stairs, the book slid out of his hands and into the murky water infested with bones and corpses. Making the quick decision that it wasn't worth trying to fish out, he got to his feet and kept going, Evy doubling back in shock.
"You-you dropped the book how-" Evy stuttered.
Rick and Jonathon grabbed onto her to drag her away while Fallon and Kelly continued on ahead.
Fallon allowed her feet to guide her once more through the corridors of Hamunaptra, ceilings and walls closing in on the subterranean city. Sand poured through the cracks in the ceiling. Rick had snatched a torch on their way out of the ritual chamber to light their way. They ducked through doorways with painted doors threatening to crush them should they be caught too late.
Flying through the treasure room as pillars crumbled and waterfalls of sand covered the priceless gold artifacts, they barely realized Jonathon had trailed behind to a stop to gaze longingly at the treasures that, in his mind, could still be his.
"Can't we just-?" He whined.
"No, Jonathon!" Rick and Evy cried as they dragged him away as well.
The ceiling was closing down at the top of the stairs from where they came earlier. Fallon's lungs screamed as she inhaled dust and sand, and panicked at the thought of crawling through the tight space to safety. But as Kelly slid through the space and reached back for Fallon, courage filled her.
She clutched the key to her chest and crawled on her chest towards her best friend until she grasped her hand.
"I've got you!" Kelly said through the loud rumble of the city collapsing. Tears filled Fallon's eyes.
Evy and Jonathon crawled through after them, and Fallon heard Rick call for Beni as he finally made it through with them, but that part of the ceiling finally closed down before their hands could reach each other.
Good riddance, Fallon thought.
Reaching the final room of Hamunaptra before they touched the outside they all regathered and burst through the open door, the hot, orange Egyptian sun shining its bright rays into the room. Hope filled the group and they burst into the outside. But the city was still collapsing.
Obelisks, pillars, archs, and statues were toppling over every which way. The earth continued to rumble and as they ran towards the entrance into the city, camels racing with them, the ground at their feet began to crack and follow them as they ran and avoided the falling architecture.
But they ran for their lives and refused to stop.
When they were finally a safe distance away from the entrance to Hamunaptra they turned to watch the last of the city disappear into the sand dunes of the Egyptian desert.
Something in Fallon's stomach churned and sank deeper into her body at the sight of the destruction of the Lost City. Now it was forever lost. It was as if she was losing everything that had happened there. The discovery of what happened to her parents. Burns. Ardeth…
She would never truly know what happened to him. The explosion wasn't so large that he would have instantly died. He could have lived. But if he wasn't claimed by the dead, there was no way he would have made it out of the collapsing city. Fallon gripped the key, the discovery that started it all, to her heart so tightly he knuckles turned white. Tears formed in her eyes, blurring her vision, and she would have dropped to her knees if Kelly hadn't grabbed hold of her shoulders. It was as if she knew exactly what Fallon was thinking about.
Jonathon cried out suddenly, the scare making Kelly and Fallon cry out in response.
Spinning around, they see Ardeth Bay sitting atop a camel, his hand wrapped with a scrappy bandage.
"Holy shit," Kelly breathed, not believing her eyes, but also out of relief.
Fallon could only gape at him, mouth ajar, sheer disbelief clouding her mind and judgement. When Ardeth noticed her, he released a relieved sigh and dismounted his camel. Fallon handed the key to Kelly, and Kelly knew she would never be strong enough to hold her back.
Fallon flew to him, and she wrapped her arms around his broad chest and buried her face into him. He stood there frozen, shocked at her sudden, intimate gesture. But when she released a quiet sob, a small smile formed on his face and he wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace.
She didn't care for a moment that everyone was staring, or that in any other circumstance she would never do what she had just done. When she let go of him she ran a hand over her face to wipe at the flowing tears.
"I-I… didn't think you had made it," she sniffed.
He chuckled, his rare smile something that brought a small flush to Fallon's cheeks. "My life in exchange for the defeat of the Creature, and for your success and future, is a fair bargain."
Fallon sighed into her smile. "Don't be ridiculous."
He turned to the others. "You have earned the respect and gratitude of me and my people. May Allah smile upon you all."
To Kelly, it looked as though he avoided turning to look at Fallon again, and she saw the heartbroken grimace in his face as he turned instead to his camel and mounted it. Looking to Fallon, she could see the heartbreak on her face as well. He clicked his tongue and began to ride off into the desert, the sun setting away from the city.
They all watched and Jonathon sighed indignantly. "Well it looks like we're leaving empty-handed… again."
"I wouldn't say that," Rick said, turning to Evy. They shared a tender kiss as Jonathon rolled his eyes and sauntered towards a spare camel who had made it out of Hamunaptra with them.
Kelly felt heat rise to her face, and she knew it wasn't the sweltering sunset. Fallon stared down at the sand at her feet, her arms crossing over her body to embrace herself, and Kelly knew that she was remembering what it felt like to be in his arms to briefly.
And that was the last straw for Kelly.
She shoved the key back into Fallon's hands and bolted after Ardeth, calling after him.
Fallon watched on as Ardeth slowed for her and she gestured wildly back towards everyone. She couldn't hear what they were saying. After a few minutes, Kelly returned back to them.
"Son of a bitch," Kelly hissed under her breath.
"Is everything okay?" Fallon asked.
Kelly gazed at her friend, the look in them unmistakably sad. She closed them for a moment and placed a hand on Fallon's shoulder.
"It's fine." She pulled Fallon into a tight hug, one that Fallon didn't want to let go. When Kelly pulled them apart she gave her a smile and held her by the shoulders. "Come on. Your brother is going to be worried sick about us. Let's go home."
Fallon turned her head to look back at the Medjai, now a dark spot on the orange horizon only growing smaller. When she learned her parents had died on their expedition to Hamunaptra, a hole was carved out of her heart. It never fully filled up again. But since learning of the Medjai, and the dreams, and the things she learned from Ardeth, and the kindness and care he gave to her so unconditionally, it seemed like maybe something in her heart was changing. Like it was making room for something new to fill into her heart. But now that hole was left empty as well. It dried like water in the desert, the last drop of it as small and black as that spot she watched only grow smaller.
Kelly gave her shoulder a squeeze and the grabbed her hand. "Come on. We're not leaving empty-handed either."
Hi all! This isn't the last chapter! There is one more left! I will be writing it this week as well as simultaneously writing the first chapter for the new fanfic, which I plan to post at the same time. Please favorite, follow, and REVIEW if you please! Love y'all!