Chapter 12
Greetings, dearly beloved Journal!
Once again, it has been too long. I can only wish what I am about to write were more pleasant. Sadly, these visions continue to torment me; McKenzie suggested I record them within you, so this is what I shall do/here I am. It may well be worth the effort on my part, though sharing with her still feels like a risk in and of itself. Admittedly, I have been avoiding writing down any unpleasantness, including my 'nightmares.' I had prayed they were merely a passing phenomena- I was wrong. Perhaps gravely wrong. Now, I pray for the safety of the others; if what I saw last night was an omen, things are about to grow dire...
As always, the heat from the flames was intense, scorching me without touching a limb. My heart threatened to leave my chest as I ran, I know not from who or from what. I never know who or what- perhaps I am avoiding that revelation... Always, I hear the others' anguished cries from the enshrouding darkness, which is somehow never illuminated despite a fire large enough to consume this museum in the waking world. I answer them with cries of my own; they are beyond my reach, and it kills me.
Inevitably, I reach my reconstructed tomb, where I confront a silver-haired man, one who I feel I should know somehow, but his features are blurred beyond recognition, and he has no eyes. Nonetheless, I can tell he smirks as he taunts me, telling me I shall never gain mastery over my heirloom, that I will never be master of myself again- he controls me. In this vision, he added the tablet would never be truly mine, for I do not understand its true potential. How I fear this is true!
Before I can fight, the smoke envelops and smothers me. Somehow I awaken before it kills me.
How much longer can I hold on?
Ahkmenrah paused, quill tickling his lips. Did he dare show this to his therapist? What possible sense could she make of it that he hadn't thought of already? Obviously, these 'night terrors' were not normal, they were not fading, and it was taking every ounce of willpower he had left just to mull through the evenings. Thank Ra Larry had given them reprieves from their jobs, for he would surely have fallen asleep during his tours!
Should he describe the flashbacks too? McKenzie would probably wish to know about those as well. Then again, how relevant could old memories be? To date, he'd only had a couple. Regardless, it couldn't hurt to jot something down.
What he wasn't counting on was another flashback springing upon him as he wrote.
"You're doing quite well," Dr. Fergus nodded his approval while looking over Ahkmenrah's shoulder. Fergus had decided the young pharaoh needed then after being directed to a broom closet when he asked to use the facilities. Since then, the professor had been tutoring the pharaoh in his private study. "Your print is pleasantly legible, and you seem to be mastering the alphabet quickly, always a good start. We'll see how you handle cursive in a couple of weeks, once you've mastered the basics. Now, how about a little break, eh?"
The pharaoh nodded gratefully- his hand was beginning to cramp up.
"Excellent! How about a spot of tea, eh? Warms the heart and soul. Wait right here, I'll fetch the kettle!" He bustled out with the bouncy, overwhelming eagerness of a feisty Irish maid.
For his part, the pharaoh reclined regally in his chair- not nearly as stiff as his throne had been, but still not quite comfortable. He was also quite curious to know what this 'tea' tasted like. Hopefully better than the herbs the physician occasionally made him and Kah drink. With nothing better to do- he sensed Fergus did not wish him to wonder about aimlessly as he had the previous two evenings- he looked over his handiwork. This scrawl made no sense to him yet, but he couldn't help but smile, modestly pleased with his writing. Hopefully Fergus would continue instructing him.
The professor soon arrived with a silver tray, two cups, and a strange pot with a spout. "Well, don't stare at it like it's the plague, drink up!" Fergus laughed. Hesitantly, Ahkmenrah took a sip. He was pleasantly surprised by it's lack of bitterness and the subtle sweetness of honey mixed within the beverage's warmth. "Wonderful strengthener of the soul, wouldn't you say?" Together, they sipped tea by the light of the lanterns.
"Ahk, Ahk! Wake up!"
Ahkmenrah lurched up with the enthusiasm of a startled sleepwalker. "Are you all right? You were out cold!" McKenzie rarely made direct eye contact with him, but now she was inspecting him up and down, looking into his eyes as if that alone could uncover the reason for his fainting fit.
Shaking his head away from days of the past, Ahkmenrah smiled at her in his best imitation of alertness. "Do not worry, I am all right. Nothing but memories."
McKenzie looked doubtful. "Memories don't normally make one pass out."
"Mine do lately," he replied as nonchalantly as possible.
"Another thing to add to my growing list of anomalies about you," she sighed.
"Anomalies?"
"Abnormalities, unusual qualities, whatever!"
"Yet something else to remind myself of my abnormality," he sighed. As if he needed one when there were already so many.
McKenzie cringed. "I didn't quite mean it like that, Ahk. I just wasn't expecting you to be slumped over your diary, you know, since I'm guessing you and the others never really... sleep?"
"I cannot speak for the others, but I occasionally do have some sort of awareness of the daylight hours. Normally I am, as you said, out cold. I know," he smiled, "another anomaly."
"Actually, that's fascinating! I'd just assumed you guys were all lifeless after sunrise. This bores some investigating... After we cure your nightmares, of course." He was already on guard again, she could tell from his stiff shoulders and subtle pout/hunch combination. Perhaps some gentle coaxing would work. "So what were you remembering?"
"Nothing of importance, merely a memory from Cambridge."
"Wait, what? You went to Cambridge?"
"I was on display in the Egyptology department," he stated simply.
"Fascinating! How long were you there?"
"Eighteen years." By now, he longed to analyze his visions- Cambridge held few kind memories for him. He'd just experienced one of them.
"Is that where you learned English? You speak it very well, by the way." He shrugged modestly. "Why on earth did you leave? It's a rather charming place."
Had she really just asked him that? "They no longer required my services."
"Oh," she muttered sheepishly. "Sorry."
"Do not be, you did nothing wrong." He was about to hand over his journal when she went on.
"You know, I recently graduated from there, it's actually not a terrible school, despite what some people would tell you-" He gave her a look pointed enough to silence her. "Sorry, you just said they kicked you out."
"It was not quite that simple..." She waited, but he didn't continue. "Regardless, it is past. We have more pressing matters to attend to."
"Right. Journal," she held out her palm, but he hesitated. Struggling to maintain her calm demeanor, she leaned towards him in what she prayed was a reassuring manner. "I won't burn it, Ahk. I promise I will not read any pages you don't want me to; here, you can read with me, make sure I don't pry too much." Reluctantly, he relinquished his journal and scooted closer, still unsure he'd made the wisest decision. He hadn't even thought about showing Teddy, yet here was this girl who decided she was privy to his mental musings!
However, he eased up as they progressed. McKenzie kept her word, and was surprisingly respectful if he asked she not read a paragraph or page. She just stared for a few seconds after reading his dream entry; she must have been stunned, for she'd never been so silent before.
"Wow. Quite remarkably morbid. More disturbing than I thought... They're all similar? How long have they persisted?"
"I have lost track, but I believe the first one occurred almost a month ago."
"And you're still able to sleep?!" Another pointed look in response. "Right, sorry! It's just... rather hard to remember you're no longer, you know..."
"No longer alive?" McKenzie nodded sheepishly. "You can say it, I am not offended. I have long since accepted the confusion others feel about my current state; you are not the only ones amazed or puzzled."
"Do you think of yourself as alive?"
"I truly do not think about it much anymore. When I awoke for the first time, it bothered me incessantly. Had I moved on? Was this all there would be to enjoy, not the paradise I had been raised to believe in? Now, I have accepted it as a second life, though technically I died four thousand years ago. I suppose I am alive in a way- the tablet brings me back every night. When dawn breaks, I return to my natural state."
This was almost too much knowledge for her to digest, but it was the most he'd spoken with her since their first meeting. She needed to dig deeper. "Have you ever wondered why that is?"
"Why what is?"
"Why you, why the tablet, why all this!"
Ahkmenrah nodded. "Often. I know my father's tablet was crafted to aid my family's rule somehow, but he failed to elaborate, so I know little more than the others do. No, I do not understand how it has the power to bring everything here to life every night, let alone how it can fully revive a human. I am guessing since its powers are life-giving, the others benefit through close proximity to it? I do not dwell on such matters as much as I once did."
"Really? Fascinating... Anyway, lovely chat! Keep up the writing, and I'll see you same time tomorrow evening, right?"
Ahkmenrah didn't get the chance to bid her farewell, she left in a whirlwind of notes and paper. What he didn't realize was he'd given her a significant amount of information to process. So much information in fact, that upon returning home she collapsed against the door and fell asleep from the load of it.
Here's the latest! I'm sincerely sorry this is late again, college is a pain. :( Sorry to have kept you all waiting!
