Author's note: Well here's another chapter. I made myself a writing schedule so my posts for all fics should be much quicker now. However, I am a college student so I make no promises that I will be able to post every month. Thank you for reading and please review and let me know what you think so far.

disclaimer: I own nothing from the Mummy.

The Beginning of the End

"So I suppose we'll have to bury the fellow now," Jonathan said disinterestedly.

"Well we can't just let him lie here," Ava agreed and then smirked. "Unless Evie would like to try and mummify him."

"I think I'll pass," Evie replied somewhat regretfully.

"Well then that just leaves who's going to do the job," Jonathan said.

"Ava and I will do it," Rick volunteered.

"I will not!" Ava protested. "I already checked to see if he was dead my parts done."

"Well, I'm not going to do it," Jonathan asserted.

"Of course you're not," Evie said rolling her eyes. "I'll help you."

"Ava and I will do it," Rick said again firmly. "Ava grab his feet, we'll want to catch the last of the daylight." Ava scowled at her brother before stomping back towards the Warden and gripping hold of his feet. She and Rick lifted him up and carried him out of the temple. "Jonathan, set up our camp and get a fire going."

"Sure thing old chap," Jonathan called and she and Rick headed off towards a sand dune.

"Why did I have to be the one to help you bury the dirty bastard," Ava complained. Her shoulders hurt from carrying the dead weight and her shovel.

"Because I don't think it's a good idea for you to be alone with Jonathan," Rick replied simply.

"Jonathan's harmless, and I'm a big girl. I can handle myself," Ava argued and then realized what her brother was implying. "Wait! You think I'm planning on lying with him."

Rick winced. "It's just that I know he'd be willing to pay…" Rick began but Ava cut him off with a hard glare.

"Listen to me, Richard O'Connell, because I'm only going to say this once," Ava hissed. "My choice of career was not one made by preference. I had to make money somehow and no one would hire me for any respectable job. You know the consequences for stealing in Cairo, I couldn't keep risking it. Not to mention mooching off friends who couldn't afford to take me in. I did not whore myself around because I liked it. I did it to survive, and I would have thought you of all people would understand." She finished, breath ragged in anger.

Rick had the decency to look ashamed. "You're right," he replied softly. "I know that's not the life you ever would have chosen if you had any other options. I'm sorry."

"You're forgiven," she said and was about to say more when she caught sight of the Americans and a small group of their diggers up ahead. "Rick." She nodded her head over his shoulder.

He turned his head to look over his shoulder and groaned. "What now?" he muttered quietly.

The blonde American, Henderson, glanced their way just then. "See you had your own bout of bad luck today, eh O'Connell," he called in greeting.

"I don't know if I would call it bad luck," Rick replied as they reached the other group. "Didn't much like the grimy bastard."

"What happened to him?" Burns asked politely.

Rick and Ava looked at each other before turning back to the Americans and shrugged. "No idea," they both said. Then Rick nodded his head at the small mass grave that had been dug. "What happened to you lot?" he asked.

"Poor devils got done in by a booby trap," Daniels answered.

"Booby trap?" Ava questioned disbelievingly.

"Pressurized salt acid," Burns explained. "It wasn't pretty." Ava turned her glance to where Burns tipped his head. Three of their diggers lie dead in the desert sand, skin red raw and covered in angry blisters that still seemed to ooze. She grimaced, turning away from the grisly sight.

"Mind if we add another body?" Rick asked.

"Toss him in the pile," Henderson said. "Spare you the expense of a funeral." He laughed at his own joke.

"Thanks boys," Rick replied as he and Ava let the Warden's corpse drop on top of the dead diggers. "We'll just be on our way back to our camp." When they returned to their camp Jonathan had gotten the fire going and was now sitting beside his sister.

"What do you supposed killed him?" Evie asked her brother.

"Did you ever see him eat?" Jonathan quipped.

"Unfortunately yes," Ava replied sitting down. "It was the most disgusting sight I've ever seen."

"Seems our American friends had a little misfortune of their own today. Three of their diggers were, uh, melted," Rick informed the other two.

"How?" Jonathan asked intrigued.

"Some kind of booby trap," Ava answered.

"Salt acid," Rick said. "Pressurized salt acid."

Jonathan shivered. "Maybe this place really is cursed," he murmured. As if to accentuate his thoughts the wind blew through ominously. Ava, Rick, and Jonathan shot nervous glances at each other.

Oh, for goodness's sake, you three!" Evie scolded.

"I guess you don't believe in curses?" Ava said.

"No, I don't," Evie replied. "I believe if you can see it and you can touch it, it's real. That's what I believe."

"I believe in being prepared," Rick said cocking his rifle.

"Let's see what our friend the Warden believed in," Jonathan cut in beginning to dig through the deceased's bag. Ava leaned in closer to try and see inside the bag when Jonathan suddenly screamed. Ava stumbled back and fumbled for her hand gun.

"What?" Rick and she asked.

"A broken bottle," Jonathan answered easily, as though he hadn't just scared them all to death. "Glenlivet, twelve years old! He may have been a stinky fellow, but he had good taste."

"I hope you were planning to share," Ava said watching Jonathan guzzle down a mouthful of the tempting liquid. Jonathan opened his mouth to answer when suddenly the sound of hoof beats pounding against the sand reached them. A few startled shouts from the American encampment had Ava on her feet. "Rick."

Rick nodded before handing Evie his rifle. "Take this. Stay here," he ordered firmly. "Let's go Ava." The two quickly headed over to the American's campsite to see they were under attack from the desert people who'd been following them throughout their journey. Ava rushed into the fray, shooting the men off their horses to try and even out the playing field. She was too quick and too efficient for anyone to get at her.

She had just taken down another attacker when she heard Jonathan scream, "O'Connell!"

Immediately she spun around to see him being chased by a man on horseback. She charged at him gun raised. She was just about to shoot when she saw her brother leaping at the man to knock him off the horse. "No Rick!" she cried as the man fell onto her. Both she and the man crashed to the ground. Ava closed her eyes waiting to be crushed, but although she was flat on the ground she felt no weight on her. She opened her eyes to find that the man had caught himself from falling on her, his two arms on either side of her face. She also realized with dismay that her gun had flown from her hand and was just out of reach. Her eyes went from her gun to the dark eyes of the man on top of her and she suddenly remembered her fears of what would happen if she were taken by them. She was ashamed to admit that now she didn't find the idea so horrifying. It might be nice to lie with this man. As if he could read her mind she suddenly felt his hands on her hips and she gasped. But she realized he was just pushing her hips down, that she had subconsciously raised them to his, trying to be closer.

Ava blushed. She wanted to turn her face away, sure he must be disgusted at her loose behavior, but when she defiantly met his gaze she was surprised to find he looked amused. Suddenly the man was ripped off of her. "You keep your hands off my sister!" he shouted pointing his gun at the man.

Quickly, she scrambled to reach her gun and stand up. "Rick…" she began to implore but stopped when Rick shot the man's dagger out of his hand. The man quickly grabbed another weapon and smacked Rick's gun out of his hand. Ava's eyes darted quickly between the two men when her gaze landed on a stick of dynamite. She grabbed on and lit the fuse before holding it between the mysterious man and her brother.

"Ava are you crazy?!" Rick cried trying to take the explosive off her, but she only elbowed him in the ribs urging him back.

The dark eyed man stared at her studiously. Apparently deciding she meant her threat he bellowed, "Enough! Yallah!" The attack on the camp ended and his men either climbed back atop their horses. The man looked directly at her then. "We will shed no more blood, but you must leave. Leave this place or die. You have one day." And with that he pulled himself onto his horse and led his men away. Ava quickly pulled the fuse off the switch.

The camp was quiet for a few moments as everyone started coming towards the light of the fire. "Ava, what were you thinking?" Rick fumed.

"I was trying to stall him," Ava replied weakly, exhausted from the fight. "It worked. Now go check on Evelyn." They both looked over to where she was lying sprawled on the sand.

Rick rushed towards her and helped pull her to her feet. "Are you alright?" he asked checking her up and down for injuries. Ava rolled her eyes. He really and no subtlety.

"I'm fine," Evie answered looking a tad shell shocked.

"Are you positive?" Ava inquired sympathetically. "It's okay if you're not. I wouldn't be if I were you."

"No, really. I'm fine," Evie assured them both.

"See?" Daniels cried out somewhat hysterically. "That proves it! Seti's fortune's got to be under this sand!"

"For them to protect it like this, you know there's treasure down there," Henderson agreed heartily.

"I'm not so sure," Ava replied to both men. "They aren't using the treasure. They have no use for it."

"These men are desert people. They value water, not gold," Rick said.

"You know, uh, maybe just at night, we could combine forces, hmm?" implied Burns sidling closer to the fire. He still had shaving cream smeared across his cheeks and chin.

Ava nodded in agreement. "Just at night," she answered. There was a bustle around the campsite then as the American and their diggers settled closer to their small group. Soon though everyone went to bed, besides their group. Jonathan had broken out the Warden's scotch and passed it around their group. It quickly became clear to Ava that the Carnahan's could not hold their liquor. Jonathan drank himself to sleep pretty quickly and Ava was left to watch and increasingly drunk Evie flirt with her brother. It looked like they were about to kiss when Evelyn drunkenly passed out. Ava laughed softly. "Tough luck."

Rick shot her a look as he laid Evelyn out on her mat. "Should we finish off the bottle?" he asked tipping his head towards the bottle clutched in Jonathan's hand.

She shook her head. "Two of us should be functioning tomorrow," she replied before staring across the desert where the desert men had retreated to.

"Hey, you okay?" Rick asked sitting next to her.

Ava shrugged. "I'm trying to figure out what they want," she replied. Well, that was partially true. She was also thinking about how handsome their leader was.

"Any thoughts?" Rick questioned amused.

"Not really," Ava answered turning back to face Rick. "I can't explain it, but I have a really bad feeling about this place. I'm beginning to see why you didn't want to bring me along."

"Well I hate to say I told you so, but…" he cut off as Ava pushed his shoulder playfully.

"We're gonna be okay, right Rick?" she asked.

Rick wrapped and arm around her shoulders. "We'll be okay," he assured her. "That's a promise."

She smiled up at him. "Well then I'm going to bed," she said. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Ava," Rick replied. When Ava opened her eyes again it was morning. Activity was beginning to buzz in the camp as everyone got ready to dig again. Ava sat up, brushing her tangled hair away from her face and glanced around her campsite. Evie and Jonathan were both sitting around the fire place, faces pinched tightly. Ava chuckled thinking about the terrible hangovers they must have.

"How are you feeling?" Ava asked sitting down beside Evelyn.

Evie gave her a small smile. "I could be better," she admitted.

"You'll feel better once we get started," Ava said. "Have you seen my brother?"

"I'm right here," Rick said standing in front of them. "Are we ready to start our day?"

"Might as well," Ava said and the group hurried back to the temple and followed the path that would lead them back to the sarcophagus. "So we're really going to open this thing?"

"Yep," Rick replied.

Ava wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Why? I mean there can't be anything valuable in there," she reasoned.

"Yes, but we might learn something from him," Evie answered excitedly, clearly forgetting her hangover.

"If you say so," Ava replied as they entered the chamber.

"Jonathan, help me lift our buddy up," Rick ordered and the two men struggled to bring the sarcophagus to a standing position.

"Oh, I've dreamed about this moment since I was a little girl," Evie gushed, key in hand.

"You dream about dead guys?" Rick asked.

"That's cause for concern," Ava muttered as Evie continued to inspect the sarcophagus.

"Look, his sacred spells have been chiseled off. This man must have been condemned not only in this life, but the next," Evie remarked.

"Tough break," Rick and Ava said.

"Yeah I'm all tears," Jonathan murmured impatiently. "Now, let's see whose inside, shall we?" Jonathan and Rick worked together to tear the lid of the sarcophagus off, but once they did so the mummy sprung out of the coffin. Evie screamed and Ava nearly fell backwards in fright.

"I hate it when these things do that," she breathed wearily.

"They do that often?" Ava asked dismayed.

Rick was staring hard at the mummy. "Is he supposed to look like that?" Rick questioned suddenly. Ava forced herself to look closer at the corpse. It didn't look quite right.

"No, I've never seen a mummy look like that before," Evie answered leaning closer to the mummy. "He's still…still…"

"Juicy," Rick, Ava, and Jonathan commented at the same time.

"Yes, he must be more than three thousand years old and, well it looks as if he's still…decomposing," Evie said. Ava took in the rotting flesh and the torn sinew of the corpse. She shuttered and back a few steps, accidently tripping on the lid of the sarcophagus. She looked down curiously at the lid and noticed a bunch scratched on the inside of the lid.

"Evelyn, come take a look at this," she said kneeling down beside the lid.

Evelyn walked over to her side and ran her fingers along the scratches. Ava watched as her face filled with horror and shock. "My God," she murmured. "These marks were made with fingernails! This man was buried alive, and he left a message. 'Death is only the beginning.'"

Ava felt a chill travel down her spine. "I think I've had enough excitement for one day," she said getting up. "If you need me you can find me back at the campsite."

"Hey, Ava I don't won't you to be out there on your own," Rick called as she made her way towards the exit and sunlight.

"I'll be fine," Ava said sending him a reassuring smile.

"Yeah and what if those men attack again," Rick pointed out.

"They've yet to attack during the day," she argued.

"Why don't the three of you head back to the campsite," Evie suggested. "I just want a few more minutes with our friend here."

"Well, I have no problem with that," Jonathan said hurrying to follow Ava out.

"You're sure you'll be okay here?" Rick inquired.

"Oh, I'll be fine," Evie replied already inspecting the sarcophagus for more clues. "Go with your sister and my brother. I think they very much want some fresh air." Rick nodded and walked towards the exit then.

"It'll be dark soon anyway," Ava said. "We can get the fire going."

"Just as long as we get there before those pesky Americans," Jonathan replied and then hesitated. "No offense."

"None taken," Ava and Rick sighed wearily. When they exited the temple they realized the sun was just beginning to set and they rushed to start a fire. Ava gathered rats out of the traps she and Rick had set early that morning and gave them to her brother to roast over the fire. They had just sat down when Beni and the Americans came over to join them.

"Say, O'Connell, what do you think these babies'll fetch back home?" Henderson gloated thrusting his group's find in their faces.

"Not much if you're the auctioneer," Ava replied sarcastically. Henderson deflated just a little, but Burns quickly joined the conversation and steered it back to their good luck.

"We heard ya'll found yourself a nice, gooey mummy," he pestered. "Congratulations!"

Daniels chuckled and joined in the heckling. "Maybe if you dry 'em out you can sell him for firewood," he guffawed.

"Oh the lot of you are so very funny," Ava shot back. "Excuse me for not laughing."

The Americans were about to reply when Evie's voice cried out excitedly, "Look what I found!"

"You're in her seat," Rick said pushing facing Beni who looked like he was about to argue before quickly standing up and scurrying to another spot.

"I hope it was something interesting," Ava said as Evelyn sat beside her brother. "You were with that mummy an awful long time. What did you find?"

"Scarab skeletons," Evie replied holding the dried up skin of the exoskeletons for everyone to see. "They're flesh eaters. I found them inside our friend's coffin. They can stay alive for years feasting on the flesh of a corpse. Unfortunately for our friend he was still alive when they started eating him."

"Well this guy wasn't winning any popularity contests was he?" Ava muttered looking away from the dead scarabs. She was growing more uneasy about this whole exhibition by the minute.

"Wait, so somebody threw these in with our guy, and the slowly at him alive?" Rick clarified.

"Very slowly," Evie replied with emphasis.

"He probably got a bit too frisky with the pharaoh's daughter," Rick joked giving Evie a suggestive look. Ava scowled at him, but Evie seemed pleased by the attention. Ava would never understand why women always fell for her idiot of a brother.

"Well according to my readings," Evelyn continued to explain the meaning of her finding, "our friend suffered the Hom-Dai, the worst of all ancient Egyptian curses. It was one reserved for the most evil blasphemers. Well, in my research, I've never heard of this curse actually being performed."

"That bad, huh?" Daniels inquired.

"Yes, well they never used it because they feared it so. It's written that if a victim of the Hom-Dai should ever arise he would bring with him the ten plagues of Egypt."

"Why would they even have a curse like that?" Ava questioned.

"Who knows," Rick said. "But it's not like we'll have to worry about it." Ava wasn't too sure. She was quiet the rest of the night, and even after everyone had gone to bed she was still awake just staring up at the night sky. She frowned when she heard a rustling sound and turned her head to see Evie shuffling across the sand with a large book clutched tightly to her chest.

"That's called stealing you know," Rick's sleep filled voice filled the camp site. Ava sat up then, surprised he was still awake.

"Well, according to you, Ava, and my brother it's called borrowing," Evie replied as she began searching through Jonathan's bag.

"What are you looking for?" Ava whispered making her way over beside her brother.

"This!" Evie answered eagerly pulling out the star-shaped key.

Rick was inspecting the book carefully. "I thought the book of Amun-Ra was made out of gold," he said looking disappointed.

"It is made out of gold," Evie returned slightly exasperated. "This isn't the book of Amun-Ra. This is something else. I think this may be the Book of the Dead."

"The Book of the Dead?" Ava repeated bluntly. "Well the Egyptians were cheery people weren't they?"

"Are you sure you want to be playing around with that thing?" Rick inquired nervously.

"It's just a book," Evie replied somewhat scathingly, as if Ava and Rick were childish for worrying. "No harm ever came from reading a book."

But Ava was sure something horrible was about to happen. As the book clicked open that eerie wind blew through the campsite again.

"That happens a lot around here," Rick murmured. "What's it say?"

"Who cares?" Ava spoke up then. "Evie, please close the book."

However, Evelyn ignored her. "Amun-Ra. Amun-Dei. It speaks of the night and of the day," she explained before continuing.

"NO!" The Egyptologist suddenly shouted. The three jumped at his cry. "You must not read from the book!" The night was deadly silent for a moment as everyone began to wake up, and then there was a horrible sound breaking across the desert. A huge black cloud was heading straight for the camp.

"Rick," Ava cried grabbing onto his arm.

"They're locusts," Evie moaned.

"Run!" Rick ordered grabbing Evie and pushing Ava in front of him. Jonathan was quickly at their side as they ran for the Temple.

"Where the hell did they come from!" Jonathan cried panicked.

"I ain't waiting around to find out!" Daniels called back as they all hurried to escape the locusts turning down a hallway. Ava's group followed a different path. Suddenly the ground shook and the four turned to see a mound of sand rising in the middle of the floor.

"What the hell," Ava murmured and then screamed when a swarm of scarabs broke through the top of the mound like a volcano. They began running again, Rick shooting at the scarabs with his gun. They all ran across a bridge in the temple before jumping to the side. Rick and Jonathan jump to the left while she and Evelyn jump to the right. Ava nervously watched the scarabs pass by. She sighed in relief when they were all gone.

"You alright Ava?" Rick called from the other side of the bridge.

"I'm fine," she replied shakily.

"Evelyn?" Rick inquired, but received no answer. The three of them spun around and began frantically searching for Evelyn.

"She was right with me," Ava said confused. "Where could she go?"

Rick tapped at the wall behind Ava. "Dammit it's a trapped door," he sighed.

Suddenly a cry of screams filled the air and three men came running towards them. "Run you sons of bitches run!" Henderson cried as he, Daniels, and a digger ran by. Ava quickly hurried after them her brother and Jonathan just behind her. Ava turned her head to see another swarm of scarabs in pursuit. The digger tripped suddenly and both Ava and Rick paused and began to make their way to aid him when the scarabs ate right through him, leaving a dry carcass behind.

"Go! Go!" Rick cried pushing her forward again.

As they continued to run Rick got separated from the group. Ava stopped about to turn back, but Jonathan grabbed her arm and began to pull her forwards again. "Rick!" Ava yelled. "I have to find Rick!"

"We need to get out of here," Jonathan insisted.

"We'll find him," Henderson said holding onto her other arm and urging her forwards. "He's probably outside already. Suddenly they all ran into room and stumbled to a halt as they saw the mummy her group had found standing in front of Rick and Evie.

Rick shot the mummy away. "Move!" he yelled pushing Evie in front of him.

"Oh my God!" Ava cried. "It was…it was…"

"It was walking! It was walking!" Jonathan repeated half hysterical. They continued to run for the exit but screeched to a standstill at the wall of desert men guarded the exit of the Temple, guns pointed at them. They quickly all raised their hands in surrender. Ava couldn't stop looking at their leader, and to her surprise he was looking directly at her too.

Suddenly the leader's gaze landed on Rick. "I told you to leave this place or die," he said seriously. "You refused. Now you may have killed us all. For you have released a creature we have feared for more than three thousand years."

"Relax," Rick replied. "I got him."

"No mortal weapon can kill this creature," the leader informed. "He's not of this world."

"Yeah I kinda figured that out when he started moving," Ava replied with her usual sarcasm before blushing. She hadn't meant to say that. The leader stared inquiringly at her before turning to his men who deposited Burns back to the Americans. His eyes were missing.

"You bastards!" Daniels accused helping to hold up his friend.

"What did you do to him?" Henderson asked angrily.

"We saved him. Saved him before the creature could finish his work," the leader responded. "Leave, all of you, quickly before he finishes you all. We must now go on the hunt and try to find a way to kill him."

"I already told you, I got him," Rick insisted.

The leader stopped beside him before turning his intense gaze upon her brother. "Know this…this creature is the bringer of death. He will never eat, he will never sleep, he will never stop," he warned before turning his gaze to her. His expression softened a little as he stared into what she imagined were her fright filled eyes. He turned back to Rick. "Watch after her," he ordered before following his men into the Temple. Ava stared after him, and hoped he would be okay.