Thanks to my co-writer SummerMistedDragon for this chapter!
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Dressed smartly in the navy blue guard uniform, black shoes polished, and unruly hair tamed with copious amounts of combing and some water, Owen followed Larry Daley through the silent museum. At this hour, it was void of all visitors and other employees, even the janitors absent, having already polished up the almost immaculate building before departing. He had to admit, even for being just a history museum, it was beautiful…
"Ok!"
Owen jumped, then kicked himself internally for not paying attention as Larry clapped once and rubbed his hands together, as if to keep himself calm. Why was he nervous? It didn't make much sense. Maybe he was just cold, Owen told himself, puzzling over the matter. The night guard had the job anyways. It wasn't his livelihood on the line.
"So, I figured we'd start at the beginning…" Larry paused, coughing once into his sleeve. "...or at least the source...heh...This here is the Tomb of the Pharaoh Ahkmenrah. One of the greatest pharaohs of all a famous figure…."
As Larry kept talking, explaining the history of the mummy lying locked in his sarcophagus nearby, Owen began to zone out,his mind concentrating on the room he was in. He stared up at the twenty foot tall statues that guarded the exhibit's entrance. The black marble and gold plated jackal gods were stunning, polished to the point he could almost see his reflection in the gleaming stone that must be thousands of years old.
Something jingled, then clicked off to his side. If Owen had been paying attention he would have seen Larry unlock the sarcophagus, and heard him mutter something about the museum curator's rules and the nuisance of stubborn padlocks. Instead, he read over the plaque set into the base of one of the statutes, clearly fascinated by the facts on the significance of the Egyptian God Anubis, being the symbol of the pharoah's protector. It was absolutely incredible, the similarities between the Roman beliefs and Egyptian culture.
The black marble seemed to darken as the lighting in the museum dimmed, the light that entered through the skylight that illuminated many of the halls dimming as the sun sank below the horizon.
"Mr. Daley-" Owen began, turning to the night guard.
"Call me Larry." Larry said, smiling slightly. "No need for formalities."
"Of course," Owen said, shifting a bit. He glanced back out at the rest of the museum as the sunlight faded completely from the hallway, the exhibit they were standing in growing dark. He noted that the dim lighting added an almost mysterious tone to the atmosphere, and found it slightly exciting. "How well does the museum stay lit at night? I noticed you carry a rather large flashlight, are the hallways truly that da-"
Suddenly, something abruptly banged behind him, sounding like stone on stone, and Owen spun around from watching the last of the sunlight fade from the hallway floor. He felt a rush of warmth surge over him, and out of the corner of his eye he noticed the lid fly off of the sarcophagus. What Owen did notice, were the two, twenty foot tall jackals he had been admiring earlier, now staring at him and threatening him with the tips of their spears, their cold metal eyes trained on him.
The next thing he did was let out a rather undignified scream, and ran out of the room. Had he stayed a bit longer, he would have heard the sharp command in a foreign language, and have heard the conversation between the very much alive and mobile mummy who was speaking with the head night guard.
"Who was that?" Ahkmenrah asked staring dumbfounded and a little surprised after the running man.
"That Ahk...is the new guy." Larry said, shaking his head.
A weary sigh left the pharaoh's lips, bordering on frustrated exasperation, "Oh great...another screamer…"
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Stupid.
Stupid.
Absolutely positively stupid! What the heck had he been thinking!? He knew working at a museum was a bad idea! How could he be so stupid? But more importantly...what the hell was going on!?
Owen didn't have time to dwell on that as he skidded around the first corner he came to. He was desperately trying to find the set of stairs he and Larry had climbed earlier from the guard's office. As soon as he turned the corner, he froze, running literally into something so menacing he let out a cry of shock.
"Khen chamd baigaa bögööd ta muzyeid yuu khiij baigaa yum be?" Screamed a hairy faced barbarian directly in his face.
Owen stood face to face with a rapidly growing angry Hun,who did not seem happy to see him. As much as he had appreciated Attila's historical significance when in high school, he seemed just as mean as his historical counterpart. Especially as he took a step towards Owen, miming ripping something, or someone, apart.
For the second time that night, Owen let out a rather undignified howl and took off down yet another hallway, trying to get as far away from the pursuing Huns and Larry and someone else clothed in almost complete gold as they tried to catch up with him.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Larry slid on the floor a bit, nodding as Attila caught him as they continued to sprint after the still panicked Owen Scott. Ahk was trying to catch the Hun up on the situation while struggling to run in his zero traction sandals.
"No-no Attila...no ripping! Just catch the new guy and don't let him leave the museum!" Ahk said urgently, shaking his head while making the pulling gesture to make his point.
Attila grunted and nodded, shouting an order to his men before they put on another burst of speed and left the night guard in their metaphorical dust.
Ahkmenrah at last caught up with him, and reached out to keep the slightly out of shape night guard on his feet as he wheezed for air.
"This is not good…" Larry said, panting. He doubled over for a moment, trying to catch his breath.
"Did you not attempt to explain to him what happens within the museum after sunset?" Ahk asked, crossing his arms.
"Um yeah, Ahk...kinda why we were in your exhibit in the first place."
The pharaoh sighed, sounding weighed down with the burdens of an ancient ruler. Larry looked at him guiltily.
"Did you at least ensure he paid attention when you were explaining?" Asked the pharaoh, hoping for some good news.
"Umm…"
Ahk crossed his arms over his jeweled chest, staring sternly at Larry, "Did you think to even start with 'everything within the museum comes to life at night'?"
Larry glared back, his eyes angry. "One, don't take that tone with me I'm older than you-"
"No you're not, I'm over four thousand-" Ahkmenrah protested, only to get cut off.
"And two...No! I did not start with that and probably should have! Okay!? Now just help me sort this out!"
Ahk rolled his eyes, opening his mouth to scold the night guard about yet another hectic night with a new guard when the Moai head roared down the hallways.
"Run-run Dum-Dum!"
"I swear I'm gonna…" Larry ran to the nearest staircase as a pealing scream echoed back to them, the sound becoming bone chillingly familiar to the last time it was heard…..
"Yes," Ahk nodded, his tone tinged with a touch of sarcasm. "You probably should go catch him. Before he makes the other exhibits panic."
Larry sighed, before turning on his heel and running towards the sound of th panicking man and excited exhibits.
It was going to be a long night…
Xxx
Owen encountered many strange things on his flight through the museum. The first was the Easter Island head, who shouted at him the second he had jumped down the stairs, trying to avoid the pursuing Huns. Then he met the bumbling and very obnoxious Neanderthals, who had stopped him when they'd tackled him.
That had hurt a bit…
Apparently they had figured out that he was not Larry by completely messing up his hair and yanking at his clothes, trying to find the other night guard inside the new one. Needless to say it resulted in both parties getting frustrated and by the time Owen was able to scramble away he not only had the Huns still chasing him, but three angry Neanderthals hollering after him as well.
To top it all off, some monkey was howling throughout the building, apparently acting as an alarm system as more and more museum exhibits came to investigate all the commotion. It was one thing to see all these people and animals during the day when they weren't alive and immobile, but it was another to see the eyes blinking and tracking his every movement as he pounded through the hallways looking for a way out.
He let out another scream.
Scrambling around another corner, he almost slid into something very large, and, to be honest, very terrifying. He found himself face to face with the one museum piece he had forgotten about in his shocked state. And it was one that gave him shivers even when he was awake.
"Oh no...oh no...no...no...no-no-nonononono…." He muttered, his hands trembling as he stared into the eyeless sockets. "No no no!"
The dark beige and black cracked skull was inches from his nose, sniffing loudly before it nudged Owen's chest gently.
Now normally, he would have picked up instantly that a creature, no matter its species or age or state of living, that carried a bone or stick or ball in its mouth and then proceeded to drop it at someone's feet and stand there waiting with a tail or at least hindquarters wagging in the air, wanted to play fetch. He might also would have realized the T-Rex was totally harmless, even without Larry explaining this to him.
At the current moment, though, all Owen could do the second the rib bone smacked the tile floor beneath his feet was scream yet again, and take off running once more.
"Whoa there!" Came a sudden hollering voice.
Before Owen could stop, he did hit a wall, and then stumbled back to collide with a solid body that was smaller than Attila but still strong enough to keep both of them upright as he heaved for air and scrambled to get away.
The leather gloves didn't let up though, and Owen managed to calm down enough to realize just who was holding him and asking if he was alright.
Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States of America, said, "Easy lad...that's it...nothing to be worried about." When Owen began to calm down, Teddy smiled gently, and let him go. "Now then, care to tell me just who you are and what you are doing in the museum? It would appear by your uniformed attire you have come to fill the vacant night guard position, and...are not having an easy night of it…"
Owen nodded, shaking as the president who should be astride his bay horse in the front lobby now stood in front of him and held him steady when he jumped in surprise as Larry came rushing in with the gold figure right behind him. That's when Owen realized that, judging by the arched crown upon the young man's head, the pharaoh resided...or, had resided, over Lower Egypt. Or at least close to it, the crown wasn't complete. He then scolded himself for thinking about history of all things when something more important was at hand.
"Thanks Teddy." larry said, nodding once to the president. He then looked at Owen. "Owen, look, I may have started things off wrong-"
The pharaoh abruptly cleared his throat. "May?"
Why did a pharaoh have British Accent? Owen asked himself, his gaze puzzled. And why did he know english?
"Ok, I definitely started this night out wrong." Larry said, casting a sheepish glance at Ahk. "But here's the deal. This is Ahkmenrah, and his tablet, the gold one, is what brings everyone to life at night from sunset to sunrise, and-"
"You're kidding me right?" Owen snapped, taking a step back now that President Roosevelt had let go. "A magic tablet? Seriously? I've hear more far fetched stories from the guys who used to come into the bar. Nice try Mr. Daley, great way to break in the new guy with some over elaborate hazing, rather historically accurate...but still over the top."
"Owen, listen to me, this isn't some crazy hazing or dream or-"
"Dream?! That would actually be a better explanation than this!" Owen laughed sarcastically, completely missing the angry glare on Ahkmenrah's face. He fought to speak through his hyperventilating, rubbing his face in confusion and he groaned out, "Just a dream...just a horrible-horrible dream...all the bloody stress from Sylvia and the landlord and that stupid bar and the unemployment office and…"
Before he could go on both Larry and President Roosevelt took a step back as someone else graced the scene, nodding to Ahkmenrah as she stepped up to the almost hysterical Owen. It only took her two seconds to take in the disaster the night had created and did the one thing guaranteed to work and get everyone back on track.
*slap*
The crack reverberated across the museum lobby, and even the rambunctious T-Rex who had been watching from a corner froze at the sound. The silence that took over the once loud lobby allowed everyone a chance to breathe, and the latest addition to the night life a chance to get his bearings.
Owen gasped out an awkward noise of shock and pain, before working his jaw a second as he rubbed his cheek.
"Better?" Sacagawea asked, arms clasped behind her back.
The Shoshone woman before him was calm and patient as he fought to get his head to nod, remembering from his brief skimming of the museum pamphlet that this was Sacajawea, meaning that Lewis and Clark were here too. Somewhere apparently, wandering around like everything….everyone….else.
"Better." He finally managed to say, shaking his head once to stop the ringing.
She gave him a curt nod, her sharp eyes turning to Larry with a fierceness Owen was instantly afraid of encountering. "Good. Larry Daley, if I may suggest you take our new night guard to the security office with our pharaoh here and explain just what is going on, the right way this time."
Teddy cut in at that moment. "Without him running around screaming loud enough to wake the dead."
The joke fell flat on Owen and the others, no one in the mood for the simple humor. But Larry did agree with the suggestion, motioning for Owen to follow him deeper into the museum with a look of pure apology.
Owen started to, pausing after a couple steps and glancing around at everyone in pure dumbfounded shock. "Twenty years working in a bar around drunk and stoned college kids and none of it prepared me for this" He muttered, shaking his head slowly. "...by the gods my life sucks."
Teddy and Sacagawea watched him follow Larry and the irritated Ahkmenrah down the hallway to the back of the museum, both glancing to each other in concern.
"Not a bad fellow…" Teddy said, nodding after them. "A bit stressed and excitable, but Lawrence wasn't much different at the start of his nights here-"
"Teddy..." Sacagawea said softly, her soft eyes glazed with concern.
The president sighed, instantly deflating, "You see it to?"
"Of course I do, how could I not?" She took one of Teddy's hands, and turned her gaze to the backs of the three figures entering the door to the security office. "But it does not matter what we see...what does matter is-"
"Making sure Jedediah doesn't see."