Daniels glanced from the canopic jar in his left hand to the young woman who had just slipped into a nervous sleep mere minutes ago. Jess lay close to the lantern in the centre of the tent, right hand clutched tightly around the ebony handle of a bronze bladed sickle. Daniels knew to glance at it that it was no ordinary weapon, it looked old, the markings on it were definitely Egyptian and he thought it might be valuable and was suspicious that she had gotten it in the ruins. His fedora was still on her head, crooked and far too big; he had considered taking it back but was wary of waking her up and getting a sickle to the face. She lay curled up half beneath Henderson's brown jacket, he had placed it round her lightly before slipping out of the tent quietly to retire to his own, joking softly about Daniels having a thing for jackals.

The lantern was down now, almost out and Daniels knew he should retire for bed. It had gone quiet again, save for the low murmurings of O'Connell and Evelyn, which he couldn't quite make out, and the occasional crackle of the fire. He found it consoling, though he would never admit to it, in this dangerous place it was certainly easier to nod off while you knew someone else was awake. He wasn't sure about nodding off with a thief in his tent however, especially an armed one but reminded himself that it had been his offer and that she didn't exactly have a reason to gut his throat. Besides, it was just as likely him shooting her, wasn't it?

She let out a low moan and he glanced over at her wearily wondering what she dreamed about. 'Her family?' he pondered. 'Tombs? Mummies?'

"NO! NO YOU MUST NOT READ FROM THE BOOK!"

The voice bellowed out suddenly through the night air, sending a chill of alarm through Daniels. He processed that it was Dr. Chamberlain's voice but that was all he had time to consider as Jess bolted upright, looking about in surprise, sickle at the ready.

"Stay here," Daniels cautioned her before he hastened to his feet and outside. There he joined an equally surprised and confused Henderson and Burns. The trio stood searching the campsite to see what the danger was.

It was then that the noise came. At first Daniels dismissed it for the wind as he spied Dr. Chamberlain grasping that wretched black book and glowering at the Carnahan woman.

"What is that?" Burns quipped in suspicion as he looked to where two half-sunken, limestone walls stood opposite each other.

It was a humming and it seemed to be growing louder by the second. Closer and closer, they were all staring at the walls now, gathering that it came from there. Beni and Jonathan were up now too, gawking at that spot with intrigue and fear. Jess crept out just as a black cloud seemed to appear in between the walls, vibrating rapidly as the humming became almost unbearable.

It was only as the cloud swept towards them with a frightening speed that they all finally realised what it was.

"Locusts!" Jonathan shrieked in horror and astonishment.

It was as if the Englishman's voice had snapped everyone from a trance, at his word they all began to run, bolting with confused yells as the locusts swept over the campsite, slamming into them without mercy. They moved for the hidden city of the dead, diggers included, as they all head in a panic through the same entrance, everyone running to save themselves.

Only Dr. Chamberlain chose not to run, instead he fell to his knees, hugging the black tome close as the locusts swarmed over him. "What have we done?" he choked out in horror.

Jess glanced over her shoulder, her eyes widening at the sight of Dr. Chamberlain being swarmed by the locusts. She stumbled as she did, before turning ahead once more and pushing herself on. She didn't even notice the cold of the desert air as she followed after everyone else, charging blindly to the labyrinth of ancient tunnels and tombs they had all once been so wary of. In there was mystery and potential death, out here locusts of a Biblical proportion.

Henderson was suspicious about the chamber they ran into, certain they had not been in it before. The wall markings he glimpsed briefly, barely visible under what little of the pale moonlight seeped into the entrance, were not familiar. Considering the locusts a bigger threat than the unknown the blonde kept running with Daniels hot on his heels, both of them certain that Burns was with them too.

Burns looked ahead in frustration, his friends were getting further and further away despite how fast he was running, and O'Connell's party had vanished. He opened his mouth to call out to Daniels and Henderson when he tripped over a rock and fell hard, his glasses toppling off the end of his nose in the impact. Burns' world became a blurry uncertainty as he stretched his hand outwards in vain, hoping to grasp his glasses in the darkness. He could hear feet thundering past him in a panic and cried out to them.

"Hey! Can someone help me find my glasses?"

Crunch! Burns winced at the sound, unaware that it was Beni who crushed them under his foot. The Hungarian glanced back once and gave a ruthless sneer at the fallen man before hurrying on.

Hearing a humming in the distance, Burns staggered to his feet and started to move, desperate and uncertain.

"Mr. Burns!"

He whirled round at the voice, relief filling his unfocused teal eyes as he made out a lithe form, smaller than him with untidy hair that had tumbled free. He actually smiled at the sight before confessing, "I lost my glasses."

Jess glanced over her shoulder nervously, her eyes widening as she saw the entrance they had come through darken with locusts. She turned and seized Mr. Burns' right hand suddenly. "Okay, well you'll have to trust me then. Let's go!" she snapped quickly before she broke out into a run.

Mr. Burns stumbled slightly, pulling back on Jess unintentionally before he managed to match her pace. They fled through the darkness, chasing after footsteps, yells and shadows as they weaved right and left, descending down a winding corridor. Jess let out a sudden shriek as her feet skidded over something slimy and she almost lost her balance, saved a fall only by Burns tightening his grasp on her hand and steadying her back.

"What is it?" he queried, sounding a lot calmer than he felt. His heart was pounding hard against his chest, he didn't want to show any fear before Jess though and did his best to swallow it down though he felt vulnerable without his glasses. He tensed as several croaks echoed through the tunnel. 'It can't be,' he thought disbelievingly, certain that his ears were just playing tricks on him.

"Frogs," Jess retorted quietly as she surveyed the tunnel floor in shock. They were everywhere, fat, slimy, green frogs, hopping and crawling over each other as they called out in unison. "And the frogs shall come up on you, on your people, and on all your servants," she murmured darkly.

"Jess we need to find the others," Burns remarked, still calm though he was unnerved at her words and could feel an uneasy sweat trickling down him.

"Right," Jess retorted as she looked about warily, flinching back as a frog jumped on her boot. "We can't go this way, they're everywhere," she informed him. She glanced around quickly searching for an escape route around the frogs. Spying a narrow tunnel to the right that hadn't quite been overrun, she pulled Burns down it.

When they entered a new chamber Burns made out a few faint flickers of torchlight and blurred forms. His lips parted to call out to them until he felt Jess' hand turn to ice in his grasp and he knew that something wasn't right.

Three shambling figures moved up ahead, humanlike, Jess only realised they weren't when one turned its head slightly in their direction, a rotting head missing an eye and showing a jaw exposed thanks to a missing cheekbone. The smell of rot and death hit Jess and Burns in a wave and it was all they could do to subdue the nausea that washed over them.

Jess had no time to think of a plan when all three suddenly halted and turned sharply to face her and Burns. All she could think was that the American had no glasses, he was an easy target! Jess released his hand slowly and addressed him sternly, "turn around and go back the way you came. Don't make a sound, just go, quick as you can, I'll be right behind you." It was a lie but she knew he wouldn't move otherwise. "Go now," she pleaded as she saw him reach for his gun.

Burns turned reluctantly, banishing the odd figures from sight, and made his way back and up to the frogs. He wanted to run, he was desperate to run but something in him insisted it was a very bad idea. So he walked, listening for Jess' footsteps behind him but he couldn't hear anything over the repetitive call of the frogs. He trusted that she was behind him though; there was no reason for her to linger after all.

The three figures came at once, running hastily for Burns' retreating form but Jess was ready for them, one of Daniels' guns out in hand, she dodged to the left and let out a loud yell, captivating their attention. They came shambling towards her, quick despite their awkward movements, rotting, half-bandaged hands outstretched ready to grasp at her.

The young woman froze as she made out one's face, a small chin, an eternal smile thanks to the flesh at the cheeks missing, rotting teeth and eyes, sunken in their skull but still there, two irises of warm brown. She felt a sob bulge in her throat as she met that fierce, dead gaze, she knew those eyes. The mummy had clumps of bloodstained brown hair poking out from a scalp rotted yellow and brown with pus, blood and age, bony shoulders and a small, thin frame but when her partially bandaged hands clasped around Jess' throat they had a surprising strength in them.

The young woman's eyes bulged as she found herself grasping for air. She tried to scream when another's exposed, boil coated fingers ran down the left side of her face, leaving a trail of oily grease and pus as they did, but the scream only exited as a hoarse croak as her throat was restricted.

She lifted the gun in a moment of panic, not even sure if it was ready for shooting, did Daniels bother with a safety? He didn't seem the type. The eyes met hers once more as she aimed the nozzle at the skull. Suddenly they were filled with emotion, a brown stare of warmth and love; it had been years since Jess had seen it. 'He's messing with you!' she told herself angrily. 'Those aren't her eyes! She's dead and dust! Shoot!' She screamed at herself mentally to pull the trigger as her vision flashed red and black and she felt a roll of dizziness almost overcome her.

BANG! Flesh and blood splattered onto Jess as the skull was blown clean through, a large hole appearing in the centre, ruining the nose and sucking the right eye inwards as the thin, rotted flesh couldn't take the impact.

Tasting vomit, Jess only just managed to resist the urge to throw up as she pulled herself free from those hands, letting out an unwilling scream as one hand tore off its limb and came with her. She grasped it and flung it hard, striking the face of the mummy who had soiled her face and then she ran, fleeing into the darkness without a care.

She could hear them pursue her, soft footsteps beating hard on the limestone floor, fast but uneven as their owners gave off low, warning moans. They were hunting her. Left, right, through one chamber, and then another until she found herself almost colliding with someone in a narrow corridor lit by the faint silver reflection of the moonlight carried by a series of mirrors.

Daniels flinched when Jess pressed a single, trembling finger against his lips as he went to address her. He looked at her terrified, blood and pus stained face in confusion for a moment before he heard a groan from behind her. His eyes flickered up and ahead, the confusion in them deepening as he made out a figure coming towards them in an odd fashion. Jess pressed against him in desperation and he wondered if she knew what was moving towards them, slow and curious, it hadn't noticed her or Daniels yet.

The American already had his Colt out and he was quick to raise and point it, but held his fire, wary of the sound alerting the thing or, worse, drawing more to them. So he stood his ground, keeping a sharp gaze on it as it got closer and closer.

Jess tried to stay as still as she could as she heard the thing coming nearer and nearer. She choked down a whimper as she sensed it right behind her and felt its horrid, warm, wet hand pushing against the back of her neck. It ran its infected fingers through her hair as if out of affection and she tasted bile once more. 'He's toying with you,' she thought sternly, 'don't give in, don't be afraid, that's what he wants.' Yet for all her brave thoughts she couldn't help subconsciously moving into Daniels to the point of almost pushing him back. When the fingers raked down her hair again she reacted.

Daniels was within seconds of pulling the trigger when Jess suddenly moved. He made out a ghoulish face, grey in the faint light and mostly lost in shadow but sadly not lost enough. Whatever it was, Daniels saw enough to know that it shouldn't be up and walking about. That face reeled back with an open mouth of horror when Jess turned swiftly, and violently brought her sickle up and through its imposing hand, severing it at the wrist. The sickle cut up with ease, sending dust and shards of bone through the air as the hand hit the ground uselessly.

BANG! Daniels let off a round straight through its skull, his face filling with disgust as the skull seemed to crumble in on itself with the impact. BANG! He fired another for good measure, filling with satisfaction when it hit the ground with an odd sort of moan.

Jess' frightened eyes flickered up to the American in disbelief and for a moment she just stood there, unsure what to do as the thing writhed and died before them. Daniels wondered if 'died' was the right word, had the thing actually been alive to begin with?

"We need to go," he ordered the woman firmly. He turned from her, heading up the corridor she had found him in, trusting her to follow. There was no way he was surrendering his gun to take her hand and he doubted she was going to give up her sickle or the gun she had stolen from him, now out in her left hand.

Jess followed wordlessly, moving so close she actually stumbled into the man twice, prompting him to pause both times with a grunt of irritation. They both tensed hearing yells and chittering sounds, followed by a terrible, bloodcurdling scream.

"Damn it now what?" Daniels grumbled as he continued onwards.

They reached a wide corridor with several winding paths to different places and for a moment the American filled with frustration. The frustration gave way to a sliver of relief when Henderson suddenly appeared at a run followed by several shrieking diggers and that odd, disturbing chittering sound.

Henderson looked at his friend in shock before shouting, "DAVID, JESS, RUN!"

The pair didn't need told twice, they glimpsed hundreds of glittering black bugs, which Jess immediately recognised as the same things that had attacked the prison warden, and they started running. They followed after Henderson, jumping over debris, ducking under a wooden beam and sprinting blindly through a narrow tunnel before they bolted into a corridor lit with several amber torches hanging on the walls.

Henderson found himself forced to jump over a stone beam, causing him to enter the new corridor quite dramatically. It was a winding stone pathway leading directly to another shadowy room and in the middle of it stood a startled Jonathan and perplexed O'Connell.

"RUN YOU SONS OF BITCHES! RUN!" Henderson shouted at them madly as he sprinted for dear life. The sweat was lashing down him, his muscles were aching, and his messy blonde hair kept getting in his face but he didn't care, too caught up in the adrenaline rush to notice any of his concerns. There was no thought of stopping or looking back, he could still hear that damn chittering sound, only when it was gone was he safe.

Daniels followed closely, looking even more alarmed as he bypassed Jonathan and O'Connell wordlessly. Next came Jess, pale and slower thanks to her leg, she let out a yelp when a digger shoved her to one side and she fell.

There was another yell as a digger went down just behind the woman with a cry of horror, one hand extending desperately upwards to his allies, some of whom even ran over him to get past. Everyone paused and turned at the cries. O'Connell made to go back for the digger but there was no time, the black scarabs were on him already, engulfing him in a hungry horde. The man's death screams were a sound all of them knew would haunt their nightmares for months.

Jonathan flung himself in Jess' direction, his right arm going out to her flailing hands as he bowed in her direction. At first their hands missed each other and he hesitated in a moment of horror as he saw that the bugs had already finished with their feast.

"Jonathan!" Jess yelled.

The Englishman snapped back to his senses and reached for her hand once more, grabbing it tight and pulling her up to her feet.

BANG! O'Connell fired a shot into the horde as he saw a bleached white skeleton appear in their midst, the man had been picked clean! They scattered round the bullet but it didn't delay them.

Satisfied that Jess at least was safe, they all started running again. Jess kept a tight grasp on Jonathan's hand, letting him pull her on when her shorter legs struggled to keep up with his longer paces. On and on, they seemed to run forever, no one daring to pause for even a second.

O'Connell sprinted past them all without even seeming to break a sweat, down into the darkness where fresh screams called up to them. Daniels and Henderson hesitated then, daring to wonder if what was down there was possibly worse.

"Keep going chaps!" Jonathan urged them with an ill-suited cheer as he finally caught up to them and released Jess.

There was the sound of yells just before Henderson raced into a chamber, torch out in one hand. As he tried to take in what was going Jonathan blundered in, in front of him. With a yell of horror, Jonathan flung his torch up in the air helplessly and staggered back just as Daniels finally entered the chamber. Jonathan elbowed both men back in his effort to get away, choking down a yell of horror as Henderson continued to try to make sense of what was going on.

Jess entered the chamber just as O'Connell let out a dramatic yell. Her amber-brown eyes widened in disgust and horror as she took in what they all did- a mummy. Only this mummy was animated, staring at them with a pair of teal eyes that looked horribly familiar to Jess. 'Why the eyes?' she wondered fearfully. It was like no mummy she had ever seen, perfectly preserved and yet gooey, the sinews of rotting brown flesh visible in the gaps of its stained, formerly cream bandages. It had numerous holes in its form, a large one at the top of its skull, a gap where a nose had long since rotted away from, and gaps in its chest that revealed a distinctive lack of organs. The thing should not be moving!

BANG! O'Connell's elephant gun roared through the chamber sending the mummy reeling to the floor with an animalistic cry as another hole was added to its unnatural form.

"Run!" O'Connell snapped as he grabbed Evelyn's hand and followed his own advice.

For a moment no one thought, they just moved, going on instinct, following after O'Connell like sheep. It was only when they felt the cool, fresh air of the night calling down to banish the stale odour of death that they started to snap back to reality. Only then did Daniels realise he had foolishly surrendered his gun to its holster and had a vice grip on Jess' right hand. Henderson was just as quick to notice it was Jonathan clinging to him like a nervous schoolgirl, and he was swift in shaking the hand free from his own with a shake of his head.

As they finally escaped the bowels of the city of the dead another terrible sight welcomed them. Dozens of the desert nomads stood there, all armed and clad in black, staring at them hostilely from behind black cowls. Many of them had their guns and scimitars raised and the only thing that gave O'Connell and the others any hope was the sight of Dr. Chamberlain, still very much alive. The Egyptologist was on his knees, staring at Evelyn accusingly as he clutched the black Book of the Dead close to his chest with both hands.

Jess looked at the book in angry surprise as she finally remembered the words that had awoken her from her slumber to this nightmare. "Who read from the book?" she queried hoarsely as the men wisely put their hands up.

The leader of the nomads stepped forward, tugging off his black cowl to reveal a stern, handsome face, younger than Evelyn had expected for one who was a leader. O'Connell recognised him as the man who had attacked him previously with a bronze scimitar before allowing them one day's grace to leave. 'I bet he's regretting that now,' he thought sardonically as he scanned the crowd for Beni. 'No surprise he's scarpered.'

"I told you to leave or die," the leader addressed them sternly. "You refused, and now you may have killed us all. For you have unleashed the creature that we have feared for more than four thousand years."

O'Connell relaxed his stance, daring to lower his hands as he stepped forward to address the man. "Relax," he said calmly, "I got him."

"Impossible," the man scorned with a brown eyed glower. "No mortal weapons can kill this creature. He is not of this world."

"I told you, I got him," O'Connell insisted, "I shot him, he went down."

"He wasn't alive for you to kill," Jess commented coldly.

"And there you go doing that weird doom and gloom thing again," Jonathan remarked dryly with a shake of his head at the woman.

There was a groan as two more nomads joined the group with a man between them. Evelyn let out a gasp of horror and instinctively hid her head at the sight against O'Connell. She had already seen it once and knew her nightmares would forever replay the image; she did not want to see it in person again so soon.

"You bastards!" Daniels cursed hotly as he and Henderson both stepped forward and pulled out their guns.

The broken man on his knees between the nomads was Burns but he was changed, as his pale face turned searchingly they realised he had suffered a worse evening than they. The man had bloody eye sockets where his eyes should be and as he opened his mouth to wail in pain only a gargle came out with a thick trickle of blood, his tongue was gone too. Jess felt ill as she realised now why the mummy's eyes had seemed familiar.

"Oh God," the woman gasped in a whisper, "I thought you would be safe, what...what happened?"

"Yeah, what did you do to him?!" Henderson demanded in outrage.

"We saved him!" the nomad leader protested as fury burned in his eyes. "Saved him before the creature could finish with him. Now, leave all of you, before he finishes his work."

Daniels and Henderson holstered their guns once more to rush to their friend's side. Henderson cradled him in both arms whilst Daniels crouched beside the blonde, one hand out to grasp Burns as he continued looking to the nomads. Daniels found Burns' hand slick with sweat and trembling as he shrank back from his friends in a moment of uncertainty.

"It's okay," Henderson said weakly as he looked to his friend, too much in shock to realise just how permanent Burns' situation was. "Bernie it's..." He trailed off weakly and shook his head helplessly.

"I told you," O'Connell repeatedly firmly, "I already got him." It was obvious in his warm, sea blue eyes however that he was beginning to doubt this. As he looked to Burns he realised that whatever they had dealt with was stronger and more brutal than anything he had ever encountered before.

The leader shook his head in scorn with a look of pity. "We must now hunt him down, and try to find a way to stop him. Know this, the creature that hunts you he must consummate the curse, and until he does he will never sleep, he will never eat, and he will never stop."

"Who are you anyway?" Jonathan queried with a look of confusion. "And what curse do you mean?"

"My name is Ardeth Bay," the man introduced himself solemnly, "and I speak of the curse you recklessly ignored when you chose to read a book you had no understanding of, a curse that promises the plagues upon this land once more and death for all who foolishly ignored the warning."

"Warning?" Jess echoed as her eyes flickered across the others, suddenly hostile as they settled on Evelyn. "What did you read?" she demanded. "And why in the hell did you read it?"

Evelyn broke from O'Connell at last, only to shrink back from Jess' accusatory stare. "I..." She faltered slightly before shaking her head crossly. "I didn't believe in curses!"

"Your name is Carnahan!" Jess snapped angrily. "How can you not? You lost your own parents to one!"

Jonathan paled slightly at that unpleasant reminder whilst Evelyn just continued to look cross. "Nonsense!" she scorned.

"Really?" Jess retorted sardonically. "Was that monster in the cave nonsense too?"

"Monsters," Daniels echoed quietly. Feeling curious stares on him he frowned and explained, "there were other...mummies."

"Impossible," Ardeth dismissed with a wary look at the Texan.

"Hey!" Daniels snapped with his own glower. "I don't know exactly what I saw but I know I saw it damn it, and there were definitely others!" He released Burns' hand then to point at Jess. "She saw 'em too!"

Ardeth's eyes turned to Jess, turning down to the sickle in her hand as it flashed in the glow of the torches. He let out a wild cry without warning and went to spring for her. Everyone moved at once, Jess darted back, raising both sickle and gun defensively just as several other guns clicked and Rick raised his own.

"Everyone just calm down," Rick ordered in a voice that was forcefully calm. "Now, why are you going for her?"

"She carries the mark of Set!" Ardeth explained angrily as he held his scimitar at Jess threateningly. "On that weapon!"

"She took it for treasure," Daniels grumbled, "girl just saw something shiny to have is all."

Jess glanced at Daniels briefly as she wondered if he actually believed what he said or was trying to lie for her. She was unsure whether to be insulted or grateful and banished both thoughts as her stare turned back to Ardeth.

"You fools," Ardeth scorned, "coming here with no sense and only greed! Do you know what you may have brought on yourself with the mark of Set?"

"Is it worse than plagues and death?" Jonathan quipped sardonically with a tired look. The Englishman's arms were beginning to ache as he continued to hold them in the air, hoping that if things turned hostile he might yet live as the only agreeable one of the group.

"It is the wrath of Set himself," Ardeth explained darkly as he continued to hold Jess' stare, he did not see the naive gaze of a dumb thief there but rather the knowing crafty gaze of a jackal, a dangerous scavenger that knew exactly what it had taken.

"And he is?" Rick queried wearily.

"The god of chaos," Ardeth answered bluntly.

"I know his wrath already," Jess said in a low voice, "this," she raised the sickle slightly, "cannot bring upon me what is already there."

"Great," Rick grumbled sardonically as he lowered his gun at last and looked to Evelyn disapprovingly, "you bring a mummy upon us and she brings a chaos god, and you women wonder why no one will take you seriously as academics?"

Evelyn folded her arms and retorted churlishly, "I didn't open a chest with a curse on it."

"And I never said anything about being an academic," Jess muttered.

"That's what you find fault with?" Jonathan queried in disbelief. "Not the whole chaos god thing," he continued with a wave of his right hand, "just the academics? For a thief you don't pick your treasures well, forget the gold, nah, the cursed weapon is much better."

"Better than a mummy," came the childish retort.

"Enough," Ardeth said sternly, "you all need to leave, now before he recovers. All you can hope for now is that we find him before he finds you. Those of us that can be spared will see you safely from this place."

Jess gave Jonathan a biting smile at this. "And you say I bring the doom and gloom," she remarked dryly.

The group hastened then to pack up.

Jess lingered awkwardly near Burns beside a hastily stoked fire, giving a watery smile of promise to Henderson when he asked her to watch his friend while he packed their stuff.

Daniels busied himself in his own tent, pausing at his upturned fedora as he spied something glittering in it. He knelt down and frowned at the sight of a silver, ovular locket he was certain he had lost in the filthy streets of Cairo. He snatched it up, opening the stiff clasp to reveal the portrait of a young, fair skinned blonde with a faint blush on her milky cheeks and sparkling green eyes. With a scowl he snapped it shut suddenly, shoved it inside his shirt pocket and charged out of the tent with a look of fury.

"You!" he snapped at Jess suddenly. He hesitated slightly seeing how Burns' jumped at his voice, tensing slightly against the young woman before turning in the night with a moan as he tried to spy Daniels.

"Me," she retorted calmly with that same watery smile she had offered Henderson. She was just as shaken as the rest of them but making an effort to keep on a front, whether for herself or Burns was anyone's guess.

The blinded man was in agony, how he was still conscious at this point was a mystery, and no was quite sure what to do about his pain. His hand brushed against Jess' as if seeking confirmation that it was definitely a friend that had joined them.

Daniels felt disgust as he looked as his friend along with horror, still in too much shock to feel pity, like Henderson he hadn't quite registered just how serious his friend's condition was. "Er..." He tore his gaze away from Burns, focusing it on Jess once more as he felt his fury burn anew. "The necklace," he snapped at her, "you stole it!"

"And gave it back," she retorted defensively. "Look," she said hastily, "I didn't realise it was personal when I took it okay or I wouldn't have."

"And why did you bother returning it?" he snarled angrily. "Why now?"

"Well truthfully I would have returned it sooner but you were kind of an ass," she answered hotly as she looked up at him unflinchingly, "but I felt guilty about taking something with sentimental value and...well you were nice in a way, reluctantly, and for information, but still." She shrugged.

Burns attempted to listen attentively; the voices were a distraction from the pain if nothing else and now had him pondering about this necklace of Daniels. He had known David Daniels for a long time and the man had never struck him as the type to get silly trinkets, especially not when their only value was an emotional one. He thought hard, quickly welcoming the diversion, and guessed there was only one woman it could have belonged too. 'I didn't know he wanted a reminder of her,' he thought to himself curiously.

"You know what, you are a bloody jackal," Daniels snapped at her hotly, "why don't you scavenge elsewhere, we don't need you near us."

Jess glared up at the dark haired man but complied anyway, releasing Burns' hand and standing despite the moan of protest he gave. "Alright," she murmured quietly before she scurried off.

Daniels took her seat with some reluctance as he saw how Burns turned and twisted about anxiously. "It's alright Bernie," he murmured. He wanted to say 'you're safe' or something similar but it just seemed hollow, for one thing, what more could happen to the man and for another, how was he safe? Daniels was beginning to realise they had no clue what they had tampered with and what was hidden out here in the ancient sands.

Burns tried to gargle something in response but words failed him and instead hoarse sobs came out as salvia trickled down his chin.

Daniels put an arm around his friend and bowed his head wordlessly knowing that there was no way to make this right.