Chapter Six

"And she just dropped?"

"Yes. I don't know what could have caused it. But she's still breathing."

"What happened?"

"One minute she was reaching for the tablet, and the next, her eyes were glowing gold and she was falling to the floor."

I crack my eyes open with a soft moan. I feel like I'm about to throw up, and my headache is banging against my temples.

"Hey. Hey, Alex. Are you okay?"

Larry crouches down into my line of sight. Ahkmenrah stands a little further back, curiosity etched into his features.

"I'm okay. My head kind of hurts, though."

Larry brings the back of his hand to my forehead to check for fever.

"Do you remember what happened?"

"I just remember feeling really… hot. And tingly. Like I'd been struck by lightning."

"Ahk came and got me as soon as he could. Gave the visitors quite a shock. You've been out for almost the whole night. I was about to call the paramedics, but given the weird situation, I'm glad I didn't. Can you stand?"

"I think so."

Larry offers me a hand and gingerly pulls me to my feet. My head throbs. I lose my balance and stumble into Ahk, who catches me.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little dizzy."

I move to pull away from him, but he doesn't let me go.

"You can let me go now."

"Oh. My apologies."

"It's okay."

I stand up straight. My headache hasn't gone away, but I can surely stand on my own. They're looking at me as if I'm about to explode.

"Seriously. I'm fine. I feel fine. I'm just a little tired."

Ahkmenrah tilts his head, "I have yet to discover the full powers of the tablet. You should not assume that you are fine."

"Well, has anything like this happened before?" Larry asks, worry lacing his tone.

"No. Not that I can recall." Ahk replies, sounding concerned.

I wander out into the hallway, my vision blurring and refocusing several times. I lean against the wall, vaguely listening to their conversation.

"I should just take her home. Will you be okay?" Larry asks.

"Will you be bringing her tomorrow?"

"If she'd like to come, then certainly."

"I should like to see the tablet's effects on her," he pauses, "you will be here tomorrow?"

I freeze, and tentatively respond, "Are you speaking to me?"

"Of course," he replies, "come back in."

"Who are you talking-" Larry cuts himself off as I come into the room.

"You can speak Arabic?" he asks me, bewildered.

"Yeah? I thought you knew."

"No. No, I didn't."

I see another ghost of a smile on Ahk's face, "I prefer to speak in my native tongue. Is this acceptable?"

"Whatever would make you feel more comfortable." I reply.

Larry looks dumbstruck.

"I apologize, but I am very tired. I must be leaving."

"No apology. Go home and rest, it is good for you. Please take care of yourself, I don't know the full abilities of the tablet."

I smile at him, "Thank you."

He nods, and I turn and walk back into the hallway. I distantly hear Ahkmenrah tell Larry to keep an eye on me, and bring me here if anything happens. Almost as soon as I leave the room, a fresh wave of nausea crashes over my head. I place my hand on the wall in an attempt to steady myself, and only succeed in slightly cushioning my fall to the floor. I can't muster the energy to sit up.

"Alex?" I hear Larry's worried call.

I move my mouth to respond, but no sound comes out. I'm seeing stars. My vision is fuzzy, and everything has a soft tint of gold. I can see Larry's feet exit the exhibit, and run towards me. I can't move.

"Alex. Alex, can you hear me?"

I can't respond. The gold seeps further into my eyes, filling up the cracks of the floor and walls. I can see Ahkmenrah's sandals walk quickly to Larry. All I can see is their feet. I can still hear them clearly, but I can't seem to move. Everything is turning gold. I can't breathe.

"Larry. Her eyes."

Larry makes a small noise of worry, before placing a hand on my arm. He gets shocked by the static electricity, and yanks his arm away.

"She's burning up. Ahk, what do we do?"

"I-I don't know!"

He lets out a stream of curses in Arabic so Larry doesn't hear.

"If you can hear me, you need to do something. Please. Anything."

I can hear you! I just can't move! He reaches out to touch me. His fingertips are like a light switch. My vision blinks out, and my lungs take a deep, shuddering breath.

"Alex? Oh my God please don't die."

I would have laughed at Larry's hysteria if I could move my mouth. I can't open my eyes, but at least I can breathe again. I can feel arms pulling on my body. It's Ahkmenrah, I think. He has pulled me into his lap, laying my head on his shoulder. I can't seem to catch my breath. I can feel cool fingertips gently smoothing my hair away from my face.

"She's okay." Ahk murmurs.

"She doesn't look okay." Larry says, sounding almost on the verge of shouting.

My eyes snap open, darting around for a moment before finding Ahkmenrah's face. His brows are creased in worry.

"Hello there. Are you alright?"

"I think so." I breathe.

"What's she saying?" Larry asks.

"She's fine. She's okay." Ahk replies softly, not looking away from my face.

It's a little easier to breathe now. I have regained enough movement to fist his cloak in my trembling palm.

"Can you stand?" he asks.

"No. Not yet, please."

"Take your time. How do you feel?"

"Sick. Dizzy. Tired."

"Do you know what happened?"

"No. I just got very lightheaded."

"Hm. May I carry you?"

"Oh, that's really not-"

He rolls his eyes and rises, taking me with him as if I were no heavier than a feather. He carries me into the exhibit, sitting down on the edge of the sarcophagus.

"Close the gate, please, Larry."

"Ahk, we need to do something. The museum is already closed and the sun will be coming up in a few minutes."

"That is not my concern as of now." Ahk says fiercely, as if daring Larry to say otherwise.

I can feel my eyelids drooping. I'm awfully tired. I let them slide closed.

"Alex? Are you okay?" Larry asks.

"Yeah. Just tired."

"There's no way you're just tired! Your eyes-"

"Larry! She needs to rest. Just let her sleep." Ahk cuts in with surprising dominance.

Larry's features harden. I can tell that the kind-hearted pharaoh doesn't usually snap at him like that.

"What am I supposed to do? Leave her here so you can decompose underneath her?"

Ahk pauses. I can feel the anger in his voice when he replies to Larry, "I am more than a decomposing corpse, Larry. I can handle this myself. Please, take Nick home and leave her with me."

"But, Ahk-"

"No. Leave."

I'm too tired to protest. Is he going to turn back into a mummy? What will I do then? I have only regained movement in my face, and the very tips of my fingertips and toes.

"Don't tell me what I will or will not do regarding my own family." Larry growls. He pauses before continuing, tempting Ahk to interject.

"I'm going to take her home, she needs to sleep in her own bed. I'll bring her back tomorrow if anything else happens, okay? Please."

The pharaoh heaves a sigh, "Fine. But I am not responsible for any harm that comes to her while not under my care. Are we clear?"

"Crystal." Larry replies icily.

I can feel his presence over me. I force my eyes open again. He looks down at me with a grim smile.

"Hey. Can you stand?"

I can at least walk home, can't I? I don't see why not. I slowly roll my ankles and wrists, starting to get feeling back into my joints. I nod at him, and Ahk helps me to my feet. I hold onto the edge of his sarcophagus for a moment to steady myself, before I step forward. Larry holds his arm around my waist to help me walk.

"Good morning, Ahk." Larry says, attempting to be nice despite the moment of tension they shared a few moments ago.

"Good morning." the pharaoh tersely replies.

I want to say thank you to him, but I don't think Larry will let me. And I'm tired enough as it is. We make it to the exit doors, where Nick is talking with Rebecca. Sunlight is streaming through the windows, bathing the room in a yellow glow. They both stop when they see me, and Nick runs over to us.

"Hey! Ahk emerged from his cave for the first time in months to get Larry. We were really worried because he wouldn't let anyone else come with him. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Rebecca's brow furrows, "What happened?"

"Not sure. Something did. She's coming back tomorrow so Ahk can fix it."

"Sorry to interrupt," Teddy calls from his pedestal, "but it's well past sunrise, and I'm still awake."

hey hey! sorry it's been a while, finals are next week and I've been trying to split my time between the four stories I'm writing right now haha. anyway, thank you SO MUCH to The-Right-Girl, Signerz (thx for following me as well bae), Black Eclipsed Soul, Weirdchick27, Ikariworshipper98 (also you're the best for favoriting me ;P), Redflowerxoxo, writingNOOB, Erudessa-gabrielle (ty for favoriting me you're awesome), FantasyMind231, angelic13demon, Irrelevant86, Sam0728, thenarnianwitch, KlarolineforeverX (GIRL SAME KLAROLINE = OTP), and athleanaprime21 for following/favoriting! also, shout out to the awesome people that have been leaving reviews on this story, reading them literally makes me smile so hard I was sitting in English a few days ago and I got one and I started smiling and my friend was like what are you reading and I was like oh nothing.. SERIOUSLY I love you guys so much you make me love what I do! also, you all should get on inkitt .com and like "the First" in the fan fiction contest, I just created an account on the website and if you like to read, this website is the place for you! it would mean so much if you could get on the site and give my story a like. anyways, thanks for reading, and I'll see you next chapter! wonder what's happening to Alex... ;P