Chapter Three
"So what did you think of what happened today?" Zahra sighed, running a hand through her dark hair. Her uncle had joined the two girls in a card game.
"What took place?" If there was one thing Kahmunrah honestly enjoyed, it was spending time with his niece. She was so much like him in terms of personality.
"Well, Taylor and I did a bit of shopping today with some of the money that Uncle Larry gave us for our birthday and we were having lunch in a restaurant and there were three young kids who were running around, screaming and not behaving and the parents got really nasty when they were confronted about it." Larry had been like an uncle to the two girls, and he let them call him Uncle Larry. Kahmunrah sighed. The way he had seen young children and teenagers behave these days, it amazed him. Had he dared to think to behave that way when he was a child, he would have gotten a good whipping from one of his parents. However, he tended to avoid getting into trouble, often managing to place the blame on others.
"It amazes me that children now behave the way they do. Had I even dared to think to behave that way as a child, I would have been in serious trouble." Taylor nodded, handing Zahra another card.
"Yeah, we had to get our food to go. That noise was insane, it was giving me a headache." Taylor had then excused herself to use the washroom. She had not been gone for more than a few moments when she came rushing back.
"Zahra, you'll want to come here and have a look, there's something really wrong!" Kahmunrah followed his niece, and the three found the tablet with the green spot having grown much larger.
"Have you ever seen it like this?" Zahra shook her head.
"No, never. Taylor, go get Uncle Larry and my dad." Taking the tablet off the wall, Zahra could sense as if the tablet was trying to communicate with her. It was as if the tablet was asking – no, begging for help.
"Dad, there's something seriously wrong now. We can't put off any restoration efforts any longer." Akhmenrah nodded. The tablet was dying. There was no two ways about it. There was only one man who would know what to do, and he wasn't here.
"Is there anything we can do?" Larry asked.
"There's only one man who would know what to do and that would be my father. However, he is not at this museum. I do not know where he is, actually." Taylor pulled out her cell phone.
"Do you remember your father's name? I can run a search on him and try to find out where he is."
"Merenkahre is my father's name. How long will this search take?" Within moments, Taylor had an answer.
"Alright, according to this, your father and mother are both on display at the British museum. They were sent there in the 1930s after your family tomb was found."
"That's one questioned answered. The problem is, how on earth are we going to get the tablet to London? We can't just take it."
"Maybe if we explain to McPhee what's going on he might let us take it. It's worth a shot and we'll never know until we ask him." Larry nodded, agreeing to talk to McPhee in the morning. Zahra had been sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. She had been getting the dizziness and queasiness again, but now the symptoms were just getting worse. Kahmunrah went to comfort the young woman. The situation was very bad, even he knew that. The following evening, Larry said he had explained to McPhee what was going on and the director had agreed to allow them to take the tablet to London, along with allowing them to take a few exhibits.
"Alright, so is everyone who is coming to London ready?" Larry had decided that the exhibits that would be coming with them were Teddy, Sacagawea, Dexter, Jedediah and Octavius, and to his surprise, Kahmunrah had offered to come along.
"Okay, everyone get to where you need to be, the movers will be here soon." On the way home, Akhmenrah could see that his daughter was nervous.
"What if we can't fix the tablet?"
"Then the museum will no longer come to life ever again. It would become an ordinary, plain museum." Everyone had packed a small bag with only the bare essentials; money, a few changes of clothes and whatever tidbits of research they had managed to scrape together.
"Larry just called, his son Nicky is coming with us." Zahra nodded; she had never met Nick Daley.
"Alright, is everyone ready to go? We have a flight to catch!" When they got to the airport, they spent about ten minutes waiting for Larry. Once everyone had a chance to use the bathroom, they had just been heading to the boarding area when Larry saw a familiar face.
"Hey Cecil, long time no see." The retired night guard turned to face the other man.
"Larry, it's you. How have you been?"
"I'm good. My son is in university now." Introductions had been made, and the situation explained.
"So the tablet is losing it's power? How is that possible?" Akhmenrah shook his head.
"I do not know, but it has been affecting my daughter Zahra. She has always been able to sense the tablet's powers, even when she was a small baby." Cecil took a glance at the teenager standing before him. She was a spitting image of her father, but at the same time, Cecil could tell that there was more to Zahra that met the eye.
"The entire museum is depending on me and everyone here to save the tablet." Cecil nodded.
"I happen to be heading to London myself to visit my son. Would you object to me coming with you? An extra pair of hands could be useful." Larry nodded. Any extra help was very much appreciated. Everyone got onto the plane and sat together.
"My son Robert happens to work at the British museum, he can get us in. I brought him to the museum frequently when he was a child, so he is aware of the tablet's powers." Cecil told Larry quietly.
"Well, that makes things a bit easier, knowing we can get in. We just have to hope that nobody else who works there gets in the way." Zahra had agreed with Larry, knowing that the last thing they needed was for anyone else finding out about what the tablet was capable of. Of course she'd heard about what had taken place at the Smithsonian many years ago, and Zahra found it hard to believe that her uncle could have been so violent. However, back then, he'd had reason to be.
"Zahra, are you alright? You look really worried."
"Taylor, I just don't know if the tablet can be fixed. Even if my grandfather does know what's wrong, it doesn't mean he can fix it." Although everyone hated to admit it, Zahra raised a good point. Akhmenrah bit his lip. He had not seen his father for such a long time, and with Kahmnrah coming with them, one of the things they didn't need was for there to be an argument between father and son.
"Alright, we're here. Come on everyone." Larry had led everyone off the plane. Cecil however, could see a grave look on Zahra's face. The elderly man could tell that Zahra had a lot more to her than she was willing to reveal, and, after what he had heard from the girl's mother, it made Cecil believe firmly that Zahra was somehow vital to keeping the tablet's magic from dying.
"London seems pretty cool." Taylor said, wanting to try and lighten the mood a little, but nobody said a reply. When they met Cecil's son Robert, he seemed stand-offish and rather rude. Zahra didn't like him, sensing that there was something off about him.
"Alright, you can all stay here until the sun goes down. Nobody ever comes down here, anyway." Akhmenrah could sense that his daughter had taken an instant disliking of Robert, and even he himself could sense that there wasn't something quite right about him. Robert and Cecil had then left the rest of the group to gather their thoughts.
"I don't trust Robert. There's something about him I don't like."
"Well, keep in mind if it wasn't for Robert, we wouldn't have gotten in here."
"I know Uncle Larry, but something tells me that he's not interested in helping us."
"Unfortunately, I have to agree with my daughter on this. If Zahra takes such a quick disliking of someone, then there's a good reason for it. I suggest we keep a close eye on Robert and his father for good measure. It's better to be safe than sorry." Alexandria said, with her husband nodding in agreement.
"Alright, take the lid off the box, the others should be waking up soon." Larry could still sense that Zahra was feeling dread about the upcoming night. Even he himself had seen the connection the young Princess had with her father's tablet. Maybe she would be part of the solution to fix it. To Larry's surprise, over the years he and Kahmunrah had become fairly good friends, despite the events at the Smithsonian. The two men discovered they had several common interests, and of course when Zahra had been born, that had really brought them together. Kahmunrah himself had never married, nor did he have children of his own, mainly because he had admitted he'd died before he had the chance to go searching for a wife.
"Alright, I think we need to find a map first so we know where we're going. This museum is waking up for the first time and we have no idea what's out there."
"If we need to, I can bring up a more detailed map on my phone." Taylor said. She had been sure to charge her cell phone in case they needed it. Larry nodded, taking the map that Akhmenrah had found. He just hoped that they would be able to save the tablet.