Chapter Three
"Wea" leads me through the museum exhibits, pointing out interesting features and reciting facts. Finally, I work up the nerve to ask her a question.
"What's it like working here?"
She pauses, "It's… very nice. I enjoy history."
"And do you like giving tours?"
"Oh, yes. The spark in a child's eye when he learns is unlike anything else. It's wonderful."
"That's sweet."
She seems very nice. I want to know her real name, but I feel like that might be stretching it a little. She already broke character to tell me these things. We walk by a hallway, the first one she has walked by without talking about it.
"What's down here?"
"Oh, nothing. Just an old exhibit." she suddenly looks a little nervous.
"Can we go see it?"
"It's closed."
"Well then there's no harm in just taking a peek, is there?"
I walk down the hallway before she can protest. I hear her sigh, but she follows me. The hallway leads to a single stone archway. It appears to be carved with Egyptian hieroglyphs. Is this the pharaoh's exhibit? The archway is blocked by a locked metal gate, and the exhibit is dark. I can't see inside the room at all. There is a sign on the gate in big letters.
THIS EXHIBIT IS TEMPORARILY CLOSED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE, AND WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.
Temporarily closed sounds a lot like what Larry said about the Pharaoh, "temporarily discontinued". Is this it? I stare as hard as I can at the glyphs. All I'm able to get is something about the power of Khonsu, the Egyptian god of the moon and time.
"Wea, what exhibit is this?"
"It's closed for renovations right now."
She's avoiding my question. I stare into the darkness, trying to see what could be inside. It's like trying to look through solid rock.
"What was it before renovation?"
She sighs in consent, "It holds the sarcophagus of Ahkmenrah, and his tablet."
My breath catches in my throat. I knew it.
"He's in there? Oh please, Wea, can we look inside? Please?"
"We shouldn't trespass. It's closed for a reason."
Wea looks as if she knows exactly what that reason is.
"Oh, come on. It couldn't be dangerous."
"You don't know that."
What does she mean?
"Alex, I'm sorry, but we can't. Let's keep going."
I heave a sigh. There's no point in fighting back. Wea turns back down the hallway, and I have no choice but to follow. Just then, a low moan seeps from the darkness of the exhibit. What was that? I turn back around and peer through the gates, but it's too dark. I probably just imagined it. I want to go in so badly I'm hallucinating! I shake my head to clear my thoughts, and walk back down the hall. Maybe Larry can let me in once the museum closes tonight. Sacagawea leads me through many other rooms and halls, but I'm hardly paying attention anymore. There is an actual mummy in this museum, and yet I'm not allowed to see it. That seems highly unfair.
The time flies, it is well past an hour and Larry hasn't come to get me. Wea seems to be running out of things to show me. Haven't we passed that Easter Island statue already? It seems to be chewing gum. How interesting. A voice that sounds like Rebecca's comes over the PA system.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the museum is closing. Please make your way to the exits, and enjoy your night. Thank you for visiting the Museum of Natural History, where history comes to life."
The few visitors arounds us start to exit, but Sacagawea and I don't move.
"We should probably go find Mr. Daley." Wea murmurs.
She can tell I lost interest after the pharaoh. I know I'm being rude, but I can't help it. That exhibit is the only thing I really want to see, and I have to find a way to get in. We go walking down the hallway, back to the main hall. The last of the guests are filing out the doors. I check my phone, it's ten o'clock. Rebecca and Larry are talking by the front desk, Larry glancing at me occasionally. Is he talking about me? The actors are congregated into little groups, talking and laughing. Rebecca leaves, and Larry strides over to the doors to lock them each in turn. He walks over to me.
"How did you like your tour?"
"It was fun."
He can tell I'm a little upset about something, but he doesn't ask. Instead, he turns to the rest of the museum exhibits.
"Great night, guys. Rexy, you can break."
Larry looks at me nervously.
"What's-" I start to ask. But I'm cut off by a scraping sound. A sound like grating bones. The tyrannosaurus rex fossil in front of me shakes from head to tail, like a dog shaking off water. It's massive head turns to Larry and nudges him, knocking him back a few feet. It's tail is wagging. Is it…
"alive…" I breathe.
Larry brushes off his jacket with a chuckle, "Hey, boy. Great job tonight. You looked especially robotic."
Rexy seems to understand, swishing his tail at Larry. This thing is… no. No way. This can't be happening.
"What do you think?" Larry asks me.
"Very realistic." I croak.
I feel like I'm about to pass out.
"That's because it's real. Everything in this museum comes to life at night. Even fossils. That's what I wanted to tell you earlier. The secret."
I lower myself to the floor before my knees can give out.
"Hey. You okay?"
Larry sits down next to me, putting his hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm… Actually, no. I'm not fine. These aren't actors? What are they?"
Theodore Roosevelt and Sacagawea approach us, having heard my questions.
"I'm wax. Sacagawea is polyurethane." the President smiles at me.
I let out an incredulous laugh, "And you guys just come to life every night? Just hop out of your exhibits and take a stroll? Here's the twenty fourth President of-"
"Twenty sixth." Roosevelt interjects.
I try to speak again, but my mouth can't seem to form words. These are inanimate objects. Wax. Yet they come to life. They talk. They think. They move. A thought hits me then. That's what Larry meant when he told me about talking to a pharaoh. Does Ahkmenrah come to life, too? Could I talk to a real Egyptian pharaoh?
They seem to sense that I've wrapped my head around the idea, because Roosevelt extends a hand to me, helping me to my feet. He shakes my hand.
"President Theodore Roosevelt at your service, malady. But you can call me Teddy."
I manage a weak smile.
"You've already met Sacagawea?"
She smiles at me, I return it.
"Larry, does the pharaoh come to life, too?"
"Ahk?" he asks, hesitant.
I laugh, "That's what you call him?"
Teddy and Wea look incredibly uncomfortable. What did I say?
"Um, he doesn't really want to see anyone right now. It's complicated." Larry mumbles, looking at his shoes.
"Oh." my face must have fallen farther than I felt it, because Sacagawea puts her hand on my arm.
"It's alright. Maybe you can see him later this week?"
"Could I?"
"I'm sure we can make arrangements." Teddy says warmly.
"I'd like that. Thank you."
"Well, would you like to meet everyone else?" Larry asks, clearly changing the subject.
"Um, sure."
Of course I'm disappointed, but what can I do? Wea leads me over to a group of men dressed like Asian warriors, with furs and metal armor.
"Unfortunately, our dear pharaoh is the only one who can speak fluent Hun. We won't be able to understand a lot of what Attila says, but he's a very friendly person." Teddy whispers to me.
Wea approaches the large man and taps on his shoulder, he turns around.
"Saca!" he shouts, wrapping her in a hug and lifting her off the ground.
"Te vagy a kedvenc." he murmurs, closing his eyes and rocking back and forth.
"Uh, thank you, Attila. We want to introduce our new friend, Alex." Wea steps back and reveals me.
Attila's eyes flash at me, before he rushes forward and picks me up in a bone crushing hug.
"Orülök, hogy megismerhetem. Kedvellek."
"Um, thanks?"
He puts me down and smiles at me, holding on to my shoulders. We stay like that for a while, in an awkward pause.
"Well," Teddy clears his throat, "we should move on."
"Később találkozunk!" Attila calls after us.
"Same to you!" Larry replies, despite not having a clue what the Hun is saying.
The two exhibits lead Larry and I down several hallways, until we get to a room filled with small landscapes. One, depicting a Mayan temple of sorts, has been locked up. But the others have been left open, and each diorama is going about their business. We approach a setting that appears to be the Old West, with a railroad and little figurines in cowboy hats. They come to life, too?
"Jedediah?" Wea speaks into the exhibit.
"Right here!" a tiny voice drawls.
Her face lights up, and she extends her hand into the diorama. One of the tiny figures climbs onto her hand, and she brings him up to our faces. A little man is standing on her palm, dressed in chaps and cowboy boots, with a little hat, blue shirt, tan vest, and red bandana around his neck.
"This is Larry's niece, Alex."
"Well, nice to meet ya, pretty lady!" Jedediah says. Despite being small, his voice is quite loud.
He extends a hand, and I extend a finger. He shakes it, and I giggle. His cheeky smile can be seen despite his miniature features.
"Good evening, my friends. Who have we here?" another small, yet mighty, voice calls.
I glance down to find a tiny man in Roman battle attire. He must be from the Coliseum diorama. Teddy reaches a hand down and the little figure climbs on.
"My name is Octavius, malady. It's a pleasure."
They're adorable!
"It's very nice to meet you both."
They grin.
"Well, let's keep moving." Larry says. He's in a hurry.
Teddy and Sacagawea put the two figures back in their respective dioramas. We continue through the museum to an archway marked "Hall of African Mammals". There are only a few animals here that haven't left to explore the rest of the museum. A lion and his mate lounge on some rocks in the center of the room, and there are several monkeys in the trees on the sides of the exhibit. One of them swings over to our group as soon as we enter. It perches on Larry's shoulder.
"Hey, Dex. This is Alex."
The monkey regards me cooly before leaping onto my shoulder, running his tiny fingers through my hair and cooing in my ear. I laugh in surprise and delight.
"He likes you." Wea observes.
I reach up and pet him. He's kind of cute.
"Well, that's everyone. We should get back home, Alex."
Why does he want to get out of here so bad? I check my phone. It's almost one o'clock in the morning. I'm realizing how tired I am.
"Sure thing."
"Well, we'll see you guys tomorrow."
"You're leaving?" Teddy asks, confused.
"Yep. Alex is tired, we should go."
Well, I am tired, but I could easily spend the whole night here. It's Larry that wants to leave, not me. Nevertheless, Larry leads me out of the room and through the museum back to his office.
hello again! first off, a few notes: "Te vagy a kedvenc" means "You're my favorite", "Orülök, hogy megismerhetem. Kedvellek" means "Pleased to meet you. I like you" and "Később találkozunk" means "See you later". All are roughly translated Hungarian, which I know may not be historically accurate, but Hun could be shortened to Hungarian and I figured some foreign words would be more fun anyways. don't judge. ;P also, hello and thank you to my newest followers/favoriters, redhoodfan, PotterxBriefsxUchihaxKiryuu, lunashrinryu, The Time Vulcan, and iiCraziiChic! I'm SO GLAD you guys are liking the story! thank you for your support :) a new chapter is on its way (don't worry, you'll meet Ahk soon enough)! please remember to review, favorite, and follow! XOXO