I do not own any of these characters or story plot or anything in this story. All of these belong to the writer of The Mummy Returns. I only own my character- Ms. Sara Case.
"So what's exactly happening?" Sara asked, watching the others from her place in the back of the bus. She was rubbing the already developing bruises around her wrists where the rope had been.
All the heads on the bus turned towards her, almost in a comical fashion, then towards each other as if questioning to tell her the truth. Rick shrugged his shoulders at the others, as if to say, What the heck? And as if on a final agreement, the mysterious sniper with tribal tattoos sat next to Sara, taking a deep breath to explain, "Well, that corpse was the resurrected mummy of Imhotep, the High Priest to Seti the first; and the dark-haired woman was the reincarnation of Anck-su-Namun, the pharaoh's concubine. Illicit passion led to betrayal and murder of the pharaoh himself. The pharaoh's concubine killed herself before the Med-Jai could stop her, trusting Imhotep to bring her back from the dead. Later, Imhotep managed to steal her body and take it to Hamunaptura, City of the Dead. The Med-Jai arrived in time to halt the blasphemous ceremony before Imhotep could restore the concubine's organs to her mummified body. For this outrage Imhotep was condemned to be mummified alive. The Med-Jai saw him shut into his sarcophagus with dozens of scarabs, flesh eaters who could survive by devouring him slowly over the coming centuries."
Her mouth stayed open in a permanent gasp, her jaw hanging loosely. Everything went in one ear and out the other, and she sat completely frozen, trying to get a hold of everything the tattooed man had just said. Med-Jai? Reincarnation? Mummy? Brought back to life? Despite all her confusion and questions, the most intelligent thing that she could say was, "Huh?"
Rick chuckled, running his hands through his cropped brown hair, "Yeah, it's a lot to grasp at first…" He wrapped his arms around the brunet woman's waist, and she leaned back into him comfortably. He burrowed his head in her brown curls, and Sara looked away, almost as if she had intruded on something.
She looked down, studying her hands as they clenched and unclenched in her lap, a nervous habit she always had as a child. Her brain hurt from trying to comprehend everything, and her heart raced, thinking back towards the monster, the woman, and the weird circumstances she was in. "This is all so hard to understand," Sara sobbed silently, still gazing down at her hands, fidgeting.
"Don't worry," The brunet lady said, smiling cheerfully at Sara, in a warm and friendly way that made Sara instantly relax, "you'll be safe now." After a brief pause, the woman jumped slightly in shock, and covered her mouth with a hand, "Oh! How rude of me," she said formally, her face red from embarrassment, "let me introduce ourselves: my name is Evelyn Carnahan O'Connell, this is my husband Rick, and our son Alex," Evelyn ruffled a young boy seated close to her's blond hair, and he smacked her hand away lightly as if embarrassed, groaning in protest to her display of affection. She pointed to the driver next, and then the tattooed man next to Sara, "This is my brother, Jonathan and our family friend, Ardeth Bay."
Sara nodded, smiling politely as she introduced herself, "Sara Case." A short pause followed the introductions and Sara crossed her legs, letting herself fidget again. She looked up briefly, glancing around for answers, "So where do I fit in all of this?"
Ardeth looked at her closely, "Imhotep and his followers believe you are the incarnated queen of a legendary Egyptian solider who sold his soul to Anubis, and now rules the army of the Underworld for all of eternity."
He watched her reaction as her eyebrows rose, her eyes widening. She scoffed, "Look Mr. Bay, you've got the wrong girl; I am no queen, no mistress of the Underworld or..."
"You do resemble her a lot though," Evelyn said from her place, and all eyes turned towards Sara as if to examine her closely. Even Jonathan looked back, who was driving the bus, until he was snapped at by Rick for being so careless. "I had recently been studying the story of the Scorpion King, and have stumbled across the Bracelet of Anubis on a dig in Egypt. When we arrived home earlier today, our house was broken into. He must have taken the bracelet then."
Ardeth Bay nodded grimly and combed his black hair back with his fingers, "I believe Imhotep needs both you and the Bracelet of Anubis to arise the army, and I fear if the bracelet is already in his clutches, there not much we can do but to protect you from his grasp. The Med-Jai and I will protect you, there is nothing to fear."
His genuine smile and the brightness in his chocolate coloured eyes brought hope to Sara. Ardeth took Sara's hand in his own, an action of reassurance and condolence. Sara eyed their hands, the warmth and feel of his calloused hands brought her back from her cold numbness, but her voice was still laced with despair, "If it's this ancient evil you're fighting against, how can you be so sure I'll be safe?"
Ardeth's smile grew, "I am a Med-Jai warrior, and it has been our duty since the beginning to protect people from the unknown evil of Egypt. I give you my word on behalf of the Med-Jai of my tribe that we will protect you." Sara nodded weakly, sighing at the overwhelming situation. Ardeth withdrew his hands from her and pulled off a ring from his pinkie finger, before taking Sara's palm in his again. "This," he said towards the ring, "Is the sign of the Med-Jai. If you are in trouble, this is a symbol that you are under our protection. It will keep you safe." He slid the cool metal ring onto Sara's pinkie, which was too small for the sacred ring, and resorted to placing it on her middle finger.
It was still rather loose, but Sara observed its intricate designs in awe. "Thank you," she said quietly, looking up at Ardeth to see his smile grow even more, spreading across his face in a childish way. Sara stayed silent, tracing the detail of the ring rather than her usual habit of fidgeting.
The silence was broken when Alex spoke up, his small voice cracking from nerves, "Uh, that's a nice ring and all, but I don't think that's going to be a problem. With the whole bracelet and all..." He led off, raising his wrist in front of him to show a golden bangle hanging there. It glistened in the dim light from the bus, glinting off of the golden scorpion decoration positioned at the top. "I just slipped it on for a second, I swear! It wouldn't come off!"