My Version of the Mummy

In detail

Chapter 5

Ardeth Bay weaved through the crowed spanning the Cairo market square, which lay sprawled in a jigsaw of dyed Egyptian cotton tents, under the magnificent obelisks preceding Cairo's museum. Weary stool holders eyed the scimitar that peeked from within his dark robes, while tourists scattered out of his path, disturbed (most likely) by his medji tattoos.

Once again he had been called to duty, hardly 3 weeks before he'd been called by the curator of the museum to protect the city of the dead, and now, once again, he must do the same. He was angry and frustrated with the charge, no curse, his ancestors and laid on him and his fellow medji. A solemn sworn oath to protect humanity from the evil hidden within the deserts sands.

Striding through the market he took no notice of the enticing smells or bright colours, that was a tourists Egypt, a lie, a business for the locals who could con money off those too oblivious, too trusting. The true Egypt was hidden away, long lost beneath the desert sands, and sometimes in place's no tourist would dare tread it still lived on. But as Ardeth moved into the sheltered darkness of an alley, he truly wished it didn't.

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Giza's Docks, around the same time

Charlie watched, oblivious to her brother, as he walked up to his employers, Evelyn and Jonathan. Brother and sister, and by the looks of it, seeing as Evelyn was carrying both cases, somewhat the same as them. She huffed out a lungful of hot air, as she dragged hers, and Rick's, cases out of the 'borrowed' cart behind her Arabian horse, Aasifat. God knows why he couldn't carry it himself, she thought as she looked up to openly glare at him, although he wasn't looking. Oh that's why, she amended herself as she tugged at her weapons bag, he left me with the cases so he could go carry hers, another hard tug, why how nice, tug, of you, tug, my dear brother! Pulling sharply the handle of the bag suddenly gave way, leaving her sprawled on the floor with a mild sense of shock.

Aasifat turned his large eyes onto his mistress sprawled on the floor and whinnied at her with mild amusement. "Ha, hilarious, I end up on the floor and even my horse is laughing at me, absolutely god dammed hilarious." Pushing herself up of the floor she proceeded to unbuckle the harness from Aasifat pulling her and the bags away from the now deserted cart as she spotted a the recently borrowed carts owner, he did not look best pleased. She quickly made to put enough distance between her and the cart but was stopped by a rather willowy young man.

"Stealing is wrong you know," He was young, not too much over twenty she would say, and British. She recognised him as Jonathan, Evelyn's brother; at least she thought he was... "I'm Jonathan Carnahan." He offered his hand expecting her to shake it, instead she just raised an eyebrow.

"Stealing is wrong, according to you, really."

With his hand still outstretched he replied. "Didn't say you shouldn't do it though." Smiling they shook hands, while a man in dark robes watched from a darkened alleyway.

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On the boat, later that night (same time as film)

Charlie watched the game between Jonathan and the Americans, he was losing badly. Very badly, so badly in fact it was actually paining her to watch, but she needed something to pass the time. Jonathan wasn't all that bad in reality, he was a cheat, a gambler, and a money launderer, but not that bad. Compared to some of the people she knew he was positively gentlemanly.

A loud snort sounded to her near right, unlike him. She glared at the sleeping prison warden crinkling her nose at the smell bellowing from his bowls. Shaking her head in disgust she moved away from the open deck to lean against the rail watching as the waves, with their white crowned breakers, reflected the pale crescent of the moon. She let her eyes wonder out over the darkened landscape imagining what treasures could lay underneath the shifting sands. A whole, once living and breathing world, enveloped by the sands of time, very cliché.

But the romantic in her wondered at the adventures and thrill that the lost cities could hold. She'd never been far into the desert, the furthest she'd gone was in search for Rick, but something, something deep inside her was encouraging her onwards, and now, more than ever she could feel it inside her. Something that was hidden now longing to be freed. Egypt had felt like the closest thing to home since they'd left so many years ago, there was something about it that made her feel like she just belonged, now more than ever, and she couldn't help thinking that soon something was going to happen.

Gun shots sounded her out of her revere. Her musings now long forgotten as she pelted through the confined corridor towards the sound, and her room. Entering quickly she scooped up her guns, throwing several knives and a scimitar into a drawstring canvas bag, securing them in their places. Throwing herself out of the door she flew into Rick who was dragging a terrified Evelyn towards the water.

"Rick! What's going on?"

"I don't know, desert people." His voice was almost lost in the rattle of gunfire as he turned to fire at one of them, hitting a burning oil lamp, which spilled liquid fire onto the deck.

"Rick!"

He turned to sarcastically reply, but by that time she was already gone and running determinedly towards the smoking stables.

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Same place, same time

Ardeth Bay watched as another of his men fell in honour to his cause. The attacked had turned in to chaos, and now fire was quickly spreading through the dry timbers of the ship. Moving quickly he made his way towards the stables, he could not condone the killing of horses for no reason. He fought his way through the mayhem, dodging the Americans bullets, which were hidden behind an upturned table, and avoiding the burning timbers that cascaded from above.

He could already smell the burning hay, but just as he came across the stable doors a silver Arabian stallion burst through the charred doors, his coat shimmering in the viscous smoke. He made to move towards it but was stopped by a scimitar pointed at his throat.

" I only came here to save the horses, not to kill you, now do you swear to let me gone with no harm to my person." He nodded, glaring at the woman at the head of the scimitar. Without warning she dropped it and moved towards her horse soothing it in hushed tones, before entering the burning stables from which she had just came.

A few moments later she came back out guiding several horses out from the smoke, letting the go she made to move back to her own horse just as the floor collapsed beneath them.

Ardeth pulled himself to the surface gasping for air, watching as the flaming boat was claimed by the Nile. The silver Arabian was not metres away from him whinnying frantically at the waves, calling, he expected, for its mistress, who was not at the surface. He knew she was the same woman he had watched earlier that day in the streets of Cairo, and he knew he shouldn't help her, she was not medji, and it was not his duty. But that didn't stop him from taking in a deep breath of air before he dived beneath the waves.

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A few minutes after, on the right side of the river bank (Side with Rick on it... wink, wink )

Rick was scared and he'd openly admit it. Not moments ago he had be jovial, boasting to Bennie ( who was guiding the Americans) about being on the right side of the river bank, but it was short-lived when he noticed the absence of his sister. He swallowed the lump in his throat down as he watched the burning ship sink lower into the Nile, what if she was still on there? He closed his eyes, hoping to god that she wasn't, before opening them again moving off down the river bank in search for her. If she'd died he was going to kill her.

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A little while down the river bank from Rick, same time

Ardeth pulled the woman further up onto the bank, forcing himself to ignore how much her sodden clothes revealed her figure underneath, and how his own robes weighed him down. He doubted there was much water in her lungs for he was quick to find her under the waves, his only concern was how long before she would regain consciousness and how to keep her warm. Behind him he could hear the Arabian stallion climbing onto the riverbank and was slightly stunned as he was non to gently nudged out of the way, allowing the stallion to curl around his mistresses shivering form. Ardeth dared not move any closer to the protective stallion, who watched wearily his every move. Instead he resigned himself to wait, only to make sure she stayed alive until help came, at least he told himself that. But looking at her now he noticed something familiar in her, the same feeling he'd felt before when watching her fight in the street. Not to mention it was the same feeling of needing to help her, wanting to help her as then, only this time it had been much stronger.

She couldn't be much younger than him, but he could already see the scars that decorated her skin, this woman, whoever she was, was no shy stranger to hardship and fighting. The way she'd held her weapon on the ship was evidence alone. But he'd noticed assortments of weapons, hidden in a variety of places when saving her. She was confusing, reminding him of a desert fox.

He tried to assure himself that he only saved her out of duty, out of the fact that she, like him, would not see innocent animals die, for the bravery she showed in saving them. He was lying, he knew that, but there was something about her that intrigued him, and letting her die would not help him solve nor find the origin of that feeling that was his excuse.

He pulled himself up off the ground, and faded into the bushes, only moments before a fanatic Rick stumbled upon his only just conscious sister.

Well I don't know if that's up to my standard, or the rest of the stories, because I haven't done this in a while and I'M SORRY but I didn't think I had that much interest in it but I had a review alert from Dalonega Noquisi which helped to inspire me to write this chapter which I have been trying to do for a while but just couldn't get it quite right. I would like to hear from my readers on what they think of this chapter and if they have any tips on improving it if you want me to.

Love Charlotte xx