Through the Sands of Time

Chapter 5

                                                                    **Rose**

I was setting up camp as O'Connell tied a rope around a broken pillar. At each swing O'Connell hit the warden with the rope making me laugh. Evy washed an ancient mirror positioning it to project light down into the hole in the ground.

"Jonathan you're meant to catch the light with that!" Evy instructed.

I went over and helped Jonathan as O'Connell handed Evy a leather bound digging kit. O'Connell seemed nervous as he walked away.

"Looks to me like the bet is in my favor, cousin." I whispered.

"Are you two coming?" Evy asked, holding the rope.

"Wouldn't miss it." I dashed after Evy. She slid down the rope into the darkness. I took the rope and made my way down slowly feeling the rough texture start to burn my hands. I landed a few feet from Evy as Jonathan and the warden made their way down.

"Do you realize we are standing in a room no one has been in over 3,000 years?" Evy scanned the darkness. A few sunbeams made their way down enough to see matching mirrors set up around the room. Evy and I made our way to one and turned the heavy mirror catching the light. "And then there was light." The light bounced from one mirror to the next illuminating the room.

"Wow that is a neat trick." O'Connell smirked.

"Oh my God," I gasped, recognizing this room. "This is sarnache."

"What?" O'Connell asked, giving me a face.

"A preparation room." I explained.

He turned to Evy. "Preparation for what?"

"For entering the afterlife." She beamed.

Jonathan lit a torch off of O'Connell's. "Mummies my friend. This is where they made the mummies."

We made our way deeper into the halls that were now filled with sand. The sound of rushing water filled the hall as we frantically looked around. Nothing showed up.

"What was that?" The warden asked.

"Sounds like bugs." O'Connell drew a gun.

Evy whispered back to us. "He said bugs."

"What do you mean bugs? I hate bugs!" The warden panicked.

I snickered with Jonathan moving onward with the others.

We came into a chamber where the legs of Anubis stood his upper body stuck in the sands above that hardened into a natural ceiling.

"The legs of Anubis," Evy looked closely at the statue. "The hidden compartment should be around here somewhere."

A faint mumbling sound came from the opposite hall. I drew my dagger and jumped onto the statue vanishing in the shadows. I waited for the right moment to strike when Americans appeared from the corner scarring everyone. Once the screaming stopped they began discussing each other's motives which then turned into them arguing.

I rolled my eyes finding hidden hieroglyphics carved into the statue."Whoever opens this compartment shall melt into the sands itself." I mumbled under my breath. This statue was rigged with a booby trap. I leapt down to my cousins to convince them to leave. "Come now," I approached the others. "There are other places to dig." I held Evy's gaze and she nodded.

"She's right." Evy lowered O'Connell's arm.

He put away his gun and followed us deeper into the tomb. "What was that about?"