At the camp later that evening, Evelyn, and Jonathan are nuzzled up to a campfire.
"What do you suppose killed him?" Evy quietly asks.
"Did you ever see him eat?"
O'Connell comes up over some rocks."Seems the Americans had a little misadventure of their own today, three of their diggers were killed."
"How?" Evelyn breathlessly whispers.
"Salt acid. Pressurized salt acid. Some sort of ancient booby-trap."
"Maybe this place really is cursed." A gust of wind blows through the camp. The campfire flickers O'Connell and Jonathan share a nervous look. Evelyn laughs.
"Don't believe in curses, huh?"
"No. I believe if I can see it and I can touch it, then it's real. That's what I believe." O'Connell cocks his rifle, KA-CHANK! Gives her a big grin. "I believe in being prepared."
Jonathan opens the Warden's pouch, the one that held the scarabs. He reaches in, starts scrounging around. And then, Jonathan screams in pain and rips his hand back out of the pouch. O'Connell and Evelyn both jump."WHAT?! WHAT IS IT?!"
Jonathan sucks his finger, then reaches back into the pouch and pulls out a liquor bottle, the top has been chipped off."Seagrams!"
Jonathan smiles at the bottle, then turns the pouch inside out and shakes it, nothing but sand is inside it."Well, he may have been a stinky fellow,...but he had good taste."
Jonathan takes a swig. O'Connell and Evelyn laugh, guiltily. And then O'Connell suddenly kneels down and sticks his ear to the sand. Evelyn and Jonathan watch him. And then a barrage of gunfire is heard coming from the American camp. O'Connell jumps up and throws the elephant gun to Evelyn."Stay here!"
He takes off running through the ruins. Evelyn immediately gets up and runs after him. Jonathan grabs a gun, holds the bottle of Seagrams; tight and dashes after her. "Evy! Excuse me! But didn't the man just say!"
The American camp is under siege. Two dozen Medjai riders gallop through firing rifles. Several Diggers are killed as they run. The Americans leap out of their tents firing. Kill multiple Riders. Daniels is shot, spins and falls, keeps shooting. Henderson and Burns run to his aid, blasting away. O'Connell races through the ruins and slams right into Beni, who is obviously trying to high-tail-it out of there."Goin' somewhere?"
"Just looking for you, O'Connell! I wanted to be with my friend!" O'Connell drags him back towards the American camp.
"C'mon, friend."
While Beni is struggling he asks O'Connell, "Why do you like to fight so much?"
"'Cause I look good doin', it."
Ardeth Bay gallops through the camp, cutting Diggers down with his scimitar. O'Connell runs up on top of some rocks, leaps out and tackles him off his horse. The two men slam to
the ground. O'Connell spins up onto one knee and fires, point blank and blows the scimitar out of Ardeth Bay's hand. O'Connell is about to shoot again when a horse rides up between them. A scimitar swoops down, almost takes O'Connell's head off, misses him by an inch. O'Connell leaps up and blows the Rider off his mount. The horse bolts. But Ardeth Bay is gone.
Evelyn hides behind some rocks, watching the scene, suddenly, she hears something coming up behind her and spins around. A vicious tattooed Medjai Rider races at her. Evelyn quickly
backpedals over the rocks, terrified. The Medjai Rider raises his scimitar, about to strike. Evelyn screams, trips over a rock and fires the elephant gun, BLAM! And blows the Rider off his mount and catapults him twenty feet back into some ruins.
At the same time, the kick blows Evelyn off her feet and over a ridge. She flails through the air and lands in a sand dune. Jonathan and some Diggers are holding their own near the
temple door. Four Riders come charging right at them. Jonathan takes a swig off the Seagrams.
"Let 'em have it, boys!" Jonathan and the Diggers open fire. When the smoke clears, the Riders are either dead or gone. Jonathan grins."I say, bloody good show."
And then several more Medjai leap off the temple and land behind them. Jonathan and the remaining Diggers spin around and suddenly find themselves in hand-to-hand combat.
O'Connell is quickly loading his pistol. He hears something thundering up behind him. He spins around just as Ardeth Bay on a horse swings his scimitar. O'Connell instinctively raises his hands to protect his face, the scimitar strikes! And hits his gun, CHING! O'Connell's gun flips away. Disarmed, O'Connell dives and rolls and suddenly comes up with a stick of dynamite in his hand. He shoves the fuse into a fire. It ignites. He faces Ardeth Bay, towering above him. The two men lock eyes. The fuse continues to burn down. Ardeth Bay points his scimitar at O'Connell's head. "LEAVE THIS PLACE! ...LEAVE THIS PLACE OR DIE!"
Ardeth Bay gallops off. The remaining Medjai Riders race after him, vanishing into the night. O'Connell watches them leave, then turns to the burning fuse,...and blows it out. Evelyn staggers up, looking very shaken. O'Connell gently takes her and holds her close."You alright?"
Evelyn looks up into his strong eyes. It's the first time he's shown genuine concern for her. And she likes it. He's also holding her a little too close. And she likes that too."Yes, ...fine, ...thank you." She stutters out
Beni crawls out from under some pillars as Henderson and Burns help Daniels to his feet."See! That proves it! Old Seti's fortune's gotta be under this sand!"
"For them to protect it like this, you just know there's got to be treasure down there."
O'Connell looks up into the surrounding ridges, unsatisfied."These men are a desert people they value water, not gold." Evelyn looks at O'Connell, suddenly very worried.
Meanwhile with Rose inside the tunnels under Hamunaptra. Rose decided she wanted to see more than just that one room at the base of Anubis. Continuing her journey, she wandered into a room that caused her to fall to her knees. Her head pounding, aching, as images flash past her. Images of a handsome, muscular man with intense, gentle eyes. "My love," He whispers to her while his hand crest her bulging lower abdomen. Eyes alight with adoration. "Thank you, Nefertari. For giving me a family." Warm, soft lips gently press against her own. A smile graces her face as she looks at her husband."I will love you for eternity and ever after." She whimpers against his lips. Rose opens her eyes slowly, not realizing that she had closed them. She thinks back to that vision, the feeling of love, the soft kisses make her touch her own lips as they tingle. Standing up she looks around the room and sees two beautiful golden sarcophagus, inlaid with rubies, emeralds and sapphires; one only big enough to hold small a child in. Tears build in her eyes and cress her cheeks, an image of a little boy laughing flashes past her eyes. Wiping the tears away she realizes that she is in a treasure room, although it looks to be more homely treasure than anything else. Rose rushes out of the room, no longer able to handle the feelings crashing through her.
Rose rejoins her camp as Jonathan falls and hits the ground. Eyes wide open and mouth agape. And then his eyes close and his mouth widens into a goofy smile, he is shit-faced drunk. O'Connell and Evelyn laugh, both half-in-the-bag themselves, the bottle of Seagrams is almost gone. Rose sits a bit away from them and watches as O'Connell offers the bottle to Evelyn, she waves it away, slurring badly."Unlike my brother, sir, I know when to say no."
O'Connell polishes off the bottle and chucks it away."Unlike your brother, Miss, you I don't get. You're a whole new brew."
"I know, you're wondering, what's a place like me doing in a girl like this?" Rose looks at Evy, before smiling knowing that her sister is going finally get the guy. She is happy, even though she has most likely lost the bet she had with Jonathan.
"Something like that."
"Egypt is in my blood. My father was a famous explorer, he loved Egypt so much that he married an Egyptian my mother! Who was quite an adventurer herself."
"Okay, I get your father, I get your mother and I get your brother, even your sister, but what are you doing here?"
Evelyn is insulted, she staggers to her feet."I may not be an explorer, or an adventurer, or a treasure hunter, or a gunfighter! mister O'Connell But I'm proud of what I am." Rose shakes her head, quietly laughing at her sister."
"And what is that?"
Evelyn plops back down beside him, really drunk, she grins and proudly lifts her head high."I... am a librarian!" She leans in, very close to his face, looks him in the eyes."I'm going to kiss you, mister O'Connell." Rose looks at her big sister proudly, glad that shes happy.
"No you're not." Rose looks at O'Connell confused.
"I'm not?"
"Not unless you call me Rick" Damn Rose thought that he wasn't going let her kiss him.
"Why would I do that?" Rose Aw's at her sister. Drunk Evy is so cute.
"Because that's my name." She gives him a goofy smile. He leans forward and kisses her. Evelyn's eyes slowly close. And then she passes out, slumping into his arms. O'Connell looks down at her, and just smiles. Rose smiles and gets up to got to bed.
Evelyn's hand slips the key into the sarcophagus, lock and turns it. A series of strange mechanical-lick sounds are heard, and then the sarcophagus unlocks with a giant hiss. O'Connell, Evelyn and Jonathan all look very, very hungover. While Rose is clear eyed and focused. They start to slide the heavy lid off the sarcophagus. Pushing, shoving and groaning, the lid budging, inch by inch.
"I can't believe I allowed the three of you to get me drunk."
"Actually, Evy its just those two. I wasn't there when you guys started drinking."
"Don't blame me, I don't even remember being there. And where were you Rosie Poise?"
"Well neither do I, thank you. And good question, where were you?"
"I was looking around." Rose looks at Evy, then Rick saddens.
O'Connell gives her a hurt look."You don't?"
Evelyn gives O'Connell a nervous look."No . ... Why? ... Should I?" Rose looks at Rick questioningly.
"Gee, yeah, you told me it was the best time you ever had." O'Connell gives her a big cheesy smile. Evelyn's face drops, appalled and embarrassed. And that's when the lid falls off and loudly crashes to the ground. All three of them instantly grab their sore heads and moan. Rose laughs at them.
-LINE BREAK-
Several fear-filled, sweaty-faced Diggers reach into the secret compartment. Henderson and Burns hold guns on them. Daniels has his arm in a sling. The Diggers slowly pull out the ornate chest. They set the chest down on the sandy floor. Beni watches as the Egyptologist translates the hieratics."There is a curse upon this chest."
"Curse my ass." Daniel's exclaims.
"Yeah, who cares." Henderson echos.
The Egyptologist gives them the evil-eye."In these hallowed grounds, that which was set forth in ancient times, is as strong today, as it was then."
"Yeah, yeah, okay, what's it." Henderson utters.
The Egyptologist slowly and carefully reads the inscription:"Death will come on swift wings to whomever opens this chest"."
A gust of wind blows through the chamber. torches flicker All-the Diggers suddenly turn tail and run off screaming. The Americans look at each other, suddenly very nervous."It says, there is one, the undead, who if brought back to life, is bound by sacred law to consummate this curse."
"Yeah, well, let's just make sure we don't bring anybody back from the dead then, huh?" The three Americans laugh.
"He will kill all who open this chest,...and assimilate their organs and fluids."
"Assimilate their organs and fluids? Ya mean eat 'em?" Daniel's hissed.
The Egyptologist continues reading, "And in so doing he will regenerate. And no longer be the undead, but a plague upon this earth. The wind whistles and the torches flicker. Very spooky. Beni and the Egyptologist share a fear-filled look. Henderson just shrugs."Ah hell, let's open it anyways."
WHAM! Imhotep's wooden coffin is dropped to the ground next to his stone sarcophagus. Evelyn is very excited. Too excited in Rose's opinion.
"Oh my god, love dreamed about this ever since I was a little girl." Rose nods because, yeah, Evy dreams of dead people.
"You dream about dead guys?" Evelyn just gives him a look, then starts brushing dirt and cobwebs off the top of the coffin. Then she freezes. "Look, all the sacred spells have been chiseled off. The hieratics and hieroglyphs that protect the deceased on his journey into the afterlife, they've been removed. This man was cursed,...doomed."
O'Connell and Jonathan are too excited to care. Rose looks concerned at what Evy says.
"Tough break."
"Yes, I'm all tears, now let's see who's inside, shall we?" Rose rolls her eyes at the two man-children. Evelyn can't believe these guys. Jonathan inserts the key into the coffin's lock, turns it, the lid cracks open with a hiss. They all react to the foul stench. Then O'Connell grabs the lid. It's stuck. He pulls with all his might, Jonathan helps him. It starts to give way. Slowly. Slowly. Slowly. And then it suddenly pops open and the most hideous, maggot- infested, rotten corpse imaginable jumps up!
"AHHHHH!"They all jump back. Scared to death. The years have not been kind; he slumps back into his coffin. Rose grabs her head as a migraine hammers away at her head.
Henderson and Daniels start to pry at the lid of the wooden chest. Beni and the Egyptologist watch. In the background, Beni starts backing away, filled with fear, sweating buckets."The curse,...beware the curse!" He turns and bolts from the chamber.
Daniels spits."Stupid superstitious bastard." And that's when the seal breaks, A black vapor blasts out of the chest. Everybody vanishes into the strange cloud.
O'Connell, Evelyn, Jonathan and Rose slowly creep forward and carefully look back inside Imhotep's coffin, creeped-out." Is he supposed to look like that?" Rick questions Evy.
"No. I've never seen a mummy look like this. He's, he's still..."
"Juicy?" Jonathan and Rose supply.
"Yes. He's more than four thousand years old and still decomposing."
"I guess he looks good for a guy four thousand years plus." Jonathan gives Rose a look.
"And look at this." O'Connell points at the inside of the coffin lid, where there are fingernail scratches and dried blood all over the inside.
"Oh my god, he was buried alive," This sends a chill through everyone. Evelyn leans in closer, "And he left a message." A grouping of hieratics written in blood."It says: 'Death is only the beginning*"Jonathan shivers.
Rose goes and sits down on some of the rubble because her head is pounding. As she closes her eyes to black out the light, she is assaulted with more images of the handsome, muscular man with gentle eyes. The man is holding Nefertari closely in his arms, while she lays on a large bed. Simply holding her, as though letting her go would end his life. "I thought I had lost you, my love. When the midwives said that you might not make it, I feared for your life and the life of our son. Our Husani." The man says with sorrow filled eyes."I am sorry for worrying you, My Heart. My dear Imhotep." A whine breaks though their sweet moment, Imhotep stands up and walks to a small crib, picking up his new born infant son. He brings him over to Nefertari, how is holding her arms open. Gently he gives her their baby."He is so small, My Heart. Our little handsome boy." The imagesfade away once again and as Rose is brought back to her family. A warm, loving feeling enraptures her as a smile makes it way onto her face.
O'Connell looks around. "Where's my gun?"
"What are you going to do?" Jonathan teases. "Shoot him?"
"If he decides to wakes up, hell yes!" Rose shakes her head laughing.
As the vapor is settling the Americans have their guns aimed at the chest. The Egyptologist slowly steps up, reaches inside, and lifts out a heavy burlap bag. Everyone's eyes widen in excitement as he sticks his hand into the bag and slowly pulls out the black Book Of The Dead.
"I have heard told of this book, but I never truly believed it existed. This, good gentlemen, is a most priceless treasure. Henderson kicks the sandy floor in anger." I wouldn't trade ya for a brass spittoon!"
"Yeah! It's supposed to be made outta pure gold!" Daniels kicks the chest; it breaks open, unfolding to reveal a lower compartment. Inside, are five jewel encrusted canopic jars (one is shattered and without jewels)
The two camps have now joined together. O'Connell and Beni are roasting chunks of hairy meat over a fire. Jonathan wrinkles his nose, disgusted by the smell."What is this stuff? It smells like our late friend, the warden."
O'Connell and Beni both grin. Jonathan looks horrified." You did not!?... We're not!?"
"Rat gizzards. They smell bad and taste worse, but that's the best the desert has to offer." The gloating Americans sit down, fondling their jewelled jars.
Henderson says "O'Connell, whadaya think these honey's'll fetch back home?"
While Burns states,"We heard you gentlemen found yerselves a nice gooey mummy. Congratulations." Daniels adds on, "Ya know if ya dry him out, you can sell him for firewood." The Americans laugh.
"You boy obviously don't realize how big a discovery our gooey mummy really is. He was eaten alive meaning that he did something bad enough that the Pharaoh decided not only does he deserve a sharp, red hot poker up his nose, to cut up his brain into small pieces, then have it all ripped out through his nostrils, he..." Evelyn walks up, sits down and drops a pile of big dusty bug skeletons onto the ground, cutting Rose off, "Scarabs, flesh eaters, I found them inside our friend's coffin. They can stay alive for years living off the flesh of a corpse, or in this case..." She shrugs, then looks at the roasting meat.
"..famished."
O'Connell, Jonathan and the Americans stare at the bug skeletons, disgusted."Are you saying somebody threw these things in with our guy and they slowly ate him alive?"
"Very slowly."
"He certainly was not a popular fellow when they planted him." Jonathan states.
"Must of got a little too frisky with the Pharaoh's daughter."Rick jokes.
"According to my readings, our friend suffered the HOM-DAI, the worst of all Ancient Egyptian curses, one reserved for only the most evil blasphemers. In all of my research, I've never read of this curse actually having been performed."
"That bad huh?" Rose looks concerned, as though she was worried for the nameless mummy.
"Yes, they never used it because they feared it so. it's written, that if a victim of the HOM-DAI should ever arise, he would bring with him the ten plagues of Egypt."
"The ten plagues?... You mean all ten plagues." Rick states.
"Like what that Moses guy did to that Pharaoh guy?" Beni faintly questioned.
"That's one way of putting it." Evy replies.
"Let's see, there was frogs, flies, locusts..."
"Hail and fire."
"The sun turning black."
"Water turning to blood."
"And my personal favourite: people covered in boils and sores." All the men say sharing nervous looks, they are really spooked. Evelyn just laughs at them, then pulls a meat stick out of the fire."Fried gizzard anyone?"
Having just freshened up for bed, Evelyn exits the temple and steps past the sleeping Diggers. She spots the Egyptologist, with his jeweled canopic jar snug under one arm, the Book Of The Dead laying loose under the other. Evelyn stares at the Book, nervously biting her lip, then she sneaks over, carefully steals it, and quickly tip-toes away. Lying on some blankets by the campfire, O'Connell rolls over and sees Evelyn, sitting wide-eyed, staring at the Book."You sure you outta be playin, around with that?"
"It's just a book, no harm ever came from a book." Evelyn opens the cover. The fire flickers. She and O'Connell share a nervous look, then Evelyn shrugs and starts reading.
"Ahm kum Ra. Ahm kum Dei." Evelyn continues reading the book aloud in Ancient Egyptian.
As Evelyn's voice is heard in Imhotep's chamber and in his sarcophagus. Over the lip of the coffin, closer and closer towards Imhotep's rotten, twisted head, and his putrid face, and then suddenly his crusty eyelids pop open! Revealing empty sockets.
The Egyptologist sits bolt upright. Quickly looks around, sees Evelyn reading the Book. He gets up and runs for her."NO! NOOOO! YOU MUST NOT!"
He skids to a stop as a strange, piercing whine is heard, coming from out in the desert. O'Connell and the others all leap to their feet. The Americans run out of their tents. The sound gets louder and closer. And then from out of the darkness a huge walls of locusts swirl into camp and envelops everyone. O'Connell grabs Evelyn, and with Jonathan and Rose at their side they race for the crevice, trying to fend off the horrid vermin as they go. Beni and the Americans run for the temple. The Egyptologist is covered in locusts. He stares at The Book Of The Dead, looking haunted."What have we done?"
O'Connell, Evelyn, Rose and Jonathan race down the labyrinth, slapping at themselves and picking locusts out of their hair."Did you see that!? Grasshoppers! Billions of grasshoppers!"
"That's one of the plagues, right? The grasshopper plague!"
"This is not a plague. It's generational. Every so many years the locusts of Egypt have a population explosion and they all take flight." Evelyn steps forward, something squishes. O'Connell lowers his torch, the entire floor is filled with slimy frogs. "Okay,...and what about frogs?"
(The Americans, Beni and the Diggers race into a passageway. Burns is knocked down, his bifocals skitter across the ground, they get crushed in the stampede. Burns staggers to his feet, squinting. Blurry figures vanish into the darkness,"Daniels! Henderson!")
The ground under O'Connell, Evelyn, Jonathan and Rose starts to shake. Then suddenly, right in front of them, hundreds of chittering scarab beetles boil up out of the sand. Start scurrying towards them. Evelyn screams. Jonathan screams. Rose screams. Even Rick almost screams. They turn around and haul-ass.
Burns staggers down a passageway, squinting, his hands out in front of him, groping, trying not to bump into anything. Then ten feet in front of him, a dark, blurry figure steps out." Daniels?... is that you?"
Burns half-blindly staggers forward. The Figure doesn't move.
"Henderson?" Burns trips, stumbles forward, towards the Figure, his hands reach out and sink into Imhotep's putrid chest cavity. Burns jumps like a scalded cat, pulls his hands out and looks at them, his hands are covered in molten flesh rot. He starts to scream. A skeletal hand clamps over his mouth.