My Version of the Mummy
In detail
Chapter 4
Rick rubbed his cheek for the umpteenth time, Charlie hit hard and there was no doubt about that. She'd been bloody furious at him and had every right to be, it was his fault that he'd been thrown into prison in the first place. He'd yet to spring on here that he'd be leaving for Hamunaptra yet again; to be honest he should have got it over and done with because he was certain he'd be sporting another sore cheek by the end of that announcement. Instead he was playing chicken while she went and got a barber, because, well, he needed one.
Sitting still was never Rick's forte, so pushing himself up of the bed he wandered around their dilapidated house. The paint was peeling slightly and the furniture was scratched to bits, the one bed, which was never slept in, was collecting dust in the far corner. Sure the place could be a lot better if they bothered to fix it up but it could be a hell of a lot worse. When you think about it they were pretty well of considering they came here with no money whatsoever.
His hand that had been dragging casually across a table knocked against a picture frame, he gently turned it over. It was a picture of their family, their entire family. It was taken 3 years after Charlie was born, Rick had stolen it when they'd left, it's not their father would of wanted it anyway, he certainly hadn't wanted them. They were smiling in the picture, a proper happy family, something he believed he'd never be able to aspire to. Charlie could of course; then again all brothers would be bias to their sisters, well then again only if the man could handle her. But he, he would never make it, what person would truly want him. Charlie was obliged to take care of him through family bonds; no one would willingly let him in.
His father's last words to him entered his mind.
"You're a useless piece of shit, the both of you parasites, murderers. No one wants you and they never will!" Stuff like that sticks with you no matter how many times you try to prove it wrong. It had stuck with him, certainly, whether Charlie thought about it or not he didn't know. Then again she hardly had the time to think with amount of running around after him she had to do. Without him she could live so easy, have a man, although he wouldn't approve, a family, a house even. More than she had now at least, that was what he wanted for her right?
"Rick, barber wants you in 5, I brought you some food. Don't look at me like that, okay, okay I stole it but no one saw so it's good right?" He defiantly wanted a better life for her, but for now he needed her.
15...15...15...15...15
Same place, a little while later,
Charlie knew, from the moment she seen him after walking out of that prison, that he was hiding something from her. As of yet she had no idea what it was, but she was certainly going to find out one way or another.
Quietly she snuck through Cairo's streets, she'd left Rick arguing with the barber on the price, she was trying to find that woman...Evelyn, wasn't it? She passed a bar full of drunken Arabs who were laughing heartily over an English game of cards, some children who were clustered around a food stall begging for scraps and a street full of faux goods traders who's bellowing voiced ploughed through the quivering air. In truth she had no idea where she was going and so settled for wandering the tourist district in hope she might catch a name and place in the tumbling barrage of voices. But, she thought, why don't I have some fun while I'm at it.
Spotting and easy opportunity, in the form of a desert Arab hidden in a doorway, she put on her best face. The innocent one.
Casually she weaved through the crowed, carefully judging the steps she took. While in her mind she played through an act, worth that of Shakespeare. But lady luck had deserted her. The guards from earlier, the ones she had thoroughly embarrassed earlier were walking up the street and they had already spotted her. For once she really regretted not following Ricks orders, she had nothing on her she could use to defend herself, the only option...run. Turning quicker than a gazelle she made to launch herself up the street, when she spotted another guard, shit, a trap! Hopelessly she glanced around for an escape, while all the time the net was closing ever tighter. She could feel it, like a helpless bird in a cage she darted from side to side, glancing at any possible hole in the trap, there were none.
15...15...15...15...15
Same place around the same time,
Ardeth Bay drifted into the shadows of the doorway, he watched in carful contemplation thinking over the problem before him. Once again Hamunaptra was in danger of discovery, he wondered over the ancestors choice, how could they condemn the medji to this, forever eternal slavery to the protection of the creature. It was thoughtless and getting more hopeless by the day. What if the medji couldn't protect the secret, what would happen if the creature got free...the world would end. He sighed in the stupidity of it all.
He closed his eyes for a moment before reopening them, his line of sight directed to that of a girl, he was certain he'd never seen her before but the way she moved, glided through the crowd was recognisable to him, deep in his mind her knew that he'd known her, somehow, he just knew. Carefully he watched her, her face was a mask of pure innocents and every step carefully thought through. You would never notice her, she was almost invisible as she moved, but that's what made her stand out.
She was dressed like a man but did nothing to hide her gender, brown hair fluttered in light feathery strands as she moved, while kohl lined eyes shifted from place to place analysing her surroundings. she could fight, he could tell it by the slight confidence that she possessed in the way she held herself, like a lioness.
But then suddenly everything changed, her demeanour broken by a discovery in her surroundings. Her eyes widened slightly as she scanned a part of the street that he could not see. Her muscles tensed, it gave him the impression that she was trapped like a caged bird. Suddenly she turned, ready to sprint through the crowed, but she stopped herself almost as quickly. Her body movements showed distress and he was urged to help her, but something rooted him to the spot. She was European or American, she was not of his country why should he help her. It was not his duty to protect such a woman, so he stayed hidden and watching.
Like a cobra she darted into an alley way and clawed her way up the wall onto the roof. Two men, Cairo guards he noticed, pulled themselves up spindly ladders, effectively trapping her once again. She didn't seem to panic though but instead waited, ready for their approach. One of the men drew a knife that glimmered deadly in the sunlight, while the other remained unarmed, although the strain of a gun could be seen through his uniform. Still unnoticed Ardeth watched, now consciously planning on interfering before it got deadly. He wouldn't need to.
The men charged her like Spanish bulls, blind to direction changed and their environment. She moved two steps to the right, towards the edge of the building, and then waited till she was inches from the sharpened blade, before dropping off the edge onto grain filled bags. The guards flailed in mid air, their bodies colliding and tumbling down the building shear edge till they landed bundled on the floor. They did not get up.
Ardeth relaxed against the stone wall, unaware that his body had tensed. Surely she was safe, but it seemed not. She moved like a shark, he body cutting through the busy street like water, while her eyes were concentrated on the closest threat. The man showed no outside signs of power but the woman seemed to regard him as the largest threat to her now. Ardeth could clearly see that he presented an imminent threat with the daggers carried against his wrists, this man was no dumb guard...he'd been trained.
He moved directly towards her, pushing through the crowed with his dangerous demeanour. Tourist scattered, abandoning their shopping for the safety of the side lines, skirting around this man, avoiding his scolding gaze.
The woman made for some stable gates, the lock already broken by a picklock earlier that morning. She pushed them open and a soft voice, carried over the din. It was Egyptian, unheard of in this city for thousands of years. The words were unknown to him but their effect was immediate.
A stampeding mass of muscled stallions galloped from their confines, leaping over stools to charge down the street. The beat of steal shoes clattered against the cobbles and the women was lost in a blur of rampant colours. The guard was gone, either trampled underfoot or scarpered to one side of the street. Tourists screamed in panic as they too tried to find safety. While the stool owners shouted as their produce was lost to the pounding hooves.
Ardeth quietly slipped away into the shadows and wondered after the woman who has disappeared into the day. But he wondered most of all what that mark meant draped over the skin of her right shoulder.
15...15...15...15...15
Just beyond the street, after the fight,
Charlotte was bent double catching her breath. She shouldn't have done it, all those people and the children. She'd had no choice though, it was either let the horses loose or get, most likely, killed. That man, that guard, was out for her blood, she'd seen it in his eyes. Sighing she made her way back to their home, Rick probably knew already and it would be her turn to get shouted at. He hated it when she got into trouble, blamed himself really. Sometimes she just couldn't understand why he cared so much, he always wanted something better for her, he couldn't be satisfied that she was happy with what they had.
She opened the door to the home and stopped in shock. Rick was packing.
Okay I realise it's been a long, long time since I updated and I'm sorry. I just had some other stuff going on that I needed to take care of. I hope you liked this chapter and need your reviews to help fuel my writing so please does review, even if you hated it. A BIG thankyou to all my reviewers so far, it really does help.
Love Charlotte xx
