Chapter 9: Anubis

Once they'd decided on a dig site, William and the rest got to work by a statue of Anubis. They'd eventually found an area in which there was an opening into a chamber. Bonnie got to work on tying a rope around a column so they could rappel down while William and Jonathan cleaned off the ancient Egyptian mirrors nearby. Hassad merely stood around to watch. The man was quite lazy.

Which is why William found it highly amusing how Bonnie kept smacking Hassad lazily with the rope.

"Hey! Hey!" Hassad snapped quickly.

"Don't want to get hit? Stand somewhere else," Bonnie said dryly.

Hassad moved a little further away, watching Bonnie work. "Why are we even digging here?" the warden asked.

"That's the statue of Anubis," William began. "Its legs go deep underground. According to Bembridge scholars, that's where we'll find a secret compartment containing the golden Book of Amun-Ra." William looked toward the sun then to his brother. "Jonathan, you're meant to catch the sun with that."

Once Bonnie finished making the lapel, she cleared her throat and walked up to William. "So, uh, what are these old mirrors for?" she asked softly.

"Ancient mirrors. It's an ancient Egyptian trick. You'll see."

"Uh huh," Bonnie said before clearing her throat again. "Uh, here," she said, holding out something bound in leather. "This is for, uh, you." William looked at the leather and blinked before looking at her in confusion. "Go ahead. It's something I borrowed off our American brethren. I thought you might like it," Bonnie smiled almost shyly. "You might need it...for when you're, uh...uh, yeah..." she backed up, making a hammering motion with her fists before turning away and glaring at the grinning warden. "What are you looking at?" Bonnie snarled at Hassad before walking off.

William opened the leather and was astonished to find a set of archeology tools. He raised his head, immediately catching her eye, and smirked at her with a raised eyebrow. Bonnie was about to jump into the chasm with the rope around her, and she gave him a bright smile.

"Hey! Look for bugs," the warden said. "I hate bugs."

Bonnie rolled her eyes before going down into the chasm. William quickly tied up his new tool set and tucked it into his jacket before going to the edge of the opening. "I'll go next," he said excitedly.

The rope was thrown back up and William went down the same way Bonnie did, then he tossed up the rope so the other two could come down. He looked around in wonder at the room they were in. Bonnie had already lit a torch and was looking around.

"This is marvelous!" William said in happy shock. "Do you realize we're standing inside a room that no one has entered in over three thousand years?"

"Yes," Bonnie replied. "Bet you're gonna have fun with that tool set."

William chuckled. "Yes. Thank you for that, by the way," he said, making his way over to her as she continued to look around.

"You're welcome."

William smirked as he got closer. "I don't believe anyone's ever stolen something for me before."

Bonnie straightened, probably now aware of how close he was behind her. "I borrowed it."

"So does this mean I have to give it back?"

The adventurer turned to face William, smiling at him. "No."

The librarian grinned. "Whoo!" Jonathan said as he landed, shaking his hands around. "What is that god-awful stench?!" When Hassad also made his way down, Jonathan sniffed him and shook his head. "Oh."

Bonnie snorted with laughter, but William made his way over to another ancient mirror before brushing off the cobwebs and dust, then he began to adjust it. "And then there was..." a ray of light hit the mirror and began to reflect, illuminating the whole room. "...light."

"Hey, that is a neat trick," Bonnie said while gazing around the room.

William blinked in awe as he and the others took in the room, looking at the broken ruins of tables and slabs. "Oh my God, it's a sah-netjer,' he said in surprise.

"Huh?"

"A preparation room."

"Preparation for what?"

"For entering the afterlife," William said to Bonnie in a spooky tone.

As the others grabbed torches, Bonnie pulled out her gun. "Mummies, old girl," Jonathan said. "This is where they made the mummies."

"...oh," Bonnie said before clearing her throat and leading the group to a corridor. "Still, can't be too careful, can we?"

William chuckled and rolled his eyes as they followed Bonnie. "You're not seriously thinking there's something to be worried about, are you?"

Bonnie scoffed as they continued on. "You weren't here the last time I was, William."

"Right," he huffed. "And what happened, exactly? You've been pretty tight-lipped about it."

"Sand and blood."

"Yes, I got that part, but I was hoping for more specific information."

Bonnie paused then turned to look at William. "We were ambushed by an army of desert people. We were outnumbered, outgunned...only Beni and I survived, although he left me to die. I was just about to kick the bucket when something scared the enemy, and then..."

"And then?" William asked curiously.

"...something in the sand swarmed around me. It was like it was taunting me. I got the hell out of there as soon as possible."

Bonnie went forward again. William tried to ask more questions but Bonnie remained silent except for a few yes and no answers. He huffed in frustration. This woman was one tough nut to crack.

As they trekked onward, something started echoing through the walls. The chittering noise got louder, making the party look around in slight panic, trying to discern where the noise was coming from.

"What the...what was that?" Jonathan asked in fear as the sound went away.

Bonnie smirked as she looked at Hassad. "Sounds like...bugs," she said quietly before moving forward.

William chuckled. "He said bugs!" he hissed loudly.

"What do you mean bugs?! I hate bugs!" the warden snapped.

Eventually they found their way into another chamber and Bonnie held the torch out to reveal the rest of the Anubis statue. "The legs of Anubis," the librarian stated as they got closer. "The secret compartment should be hidden somewhere inside here."

As they approached the large statue, William and the others heard a strange noise, almost like a creature snarling and passing by faster than the wind. This caused them all to turn sharply, William's senses now on edge as the hair stood up on the back of his neck.

Bonnie, with a revolver already in one hand, brushed the others to stay to one side of the statue as she boldly inched to the corner, taking slow and deep breaths to ready herself before pulling out her other revolver. Voices were heard speaking, along with a few moans, and this was definitely setting William even more on edge. The other men pulled out their guns, preparing for the worst.

Bonnie turned around the corner sharply, being met with shouts from the American treasure hunterers as they pulled out their own weapons. William, his brother and Hassad had their guns still aimed as the Americans and Beni breathed a sign of relief.

"You scared the bejesus out of us, O'Connell," Mr. Henderson said as they began lowering their guns.

"Likewise," Bonnie replied curtly, smirking as she was about to holster her guns.

"Hey," Mr. Burns said, staring at the tools William had tied to his belt. "That's my tool kit!"

Bonnie raised her guns in Mr. Burns' face, causing the rest of the men to raise their guns once more. "No, I don't think so," she remarked coolly.

"Okay," Mr. Burns said before backing up. "Perhaps I was mistaken."

William smiled at Bonnie"a reaction, then spoke, causing people to once again lower their arms. "Well, have a nice day, gentlemen. We have a lot of work to be getting along with."

"Push off! This is our dig site!" Dr. Chamberlain complained rudely, poking his head forward between the shoulders of some of his comrades.

William narrowed his eyes at the man. "We got here first!"

People, once again, raised their guns. "This here's our statue, friend," Mr. Daniels argued in a threatening tone.

Bonnie arched a brow. "I don't see your name written on it...pal," she hissed.

"Yes, well," Beni said as William looked down at the floor, seeing an open line along the floor and pushing some rocks through with his foot. There was another room underneath. "There are only four of you, and fifteen of me. Your odds are not so great, O'Connell."

This only caused Bonnie to get more aggressive. "I've had worse."

William's jaw dropped at her tenacity. He then wondered about her marriage prospects, which he found rather odd to be thinking of at a time like this.

"Yeah, me too," Jonathan argued.

"For heaven's sake, I'd rather not have my troublesome brother be shot," William argued before putting a hand on Bonnie's arm and looking her in the eye with a serious gaze. "There are other places to dig."

Bonnie seemed to think it over quickly, but she nodded with a restrained grin and holstered her guns. "Fine," she grumbled.

Hassad started to argue but William elbowed him in the gut to shut him up. Beni and his American friends looked smug as hell but William had an idea. As the small group vacated the area, Bonnie cleared her throat.

"Why do I get the feeling you're up to something, Mr. Carnahan?" she asked William.

"That's because you have impeccable instincts," William replied with a smirk. "This way," he said as he led them down a corridor.