The Beauty and The Betrayal

13. Sahara

Ameraths P.O.V

I awaken, my arm moving to the space beside me. I could've sworn he was here, that I had felt the warmth of another body next to mine. My mind raced while I slept last night. Every dream and every thought was a memory surrounding him. When Imoteph and Amunet met, when she first kissed him, when they first made love, when they wed...every critical moment. The one that raised above all was when she birthed Abraxus. When she first saw his eyes hold their son. I stood up and ran the brush through my hair; as I reached the door, Beni was there. He was sporting a busted lip and a black eye. I reached out, and he caught my hand, " A present for dropping you. He could've done worse." I nodded, saddened by the thought that he indeed could have. He guided me out, and when we walked out to him, he waved his hands. The temple we had stayed at and the oasis with it was gone. As we walked, Evy was silent. She made no motions or sounds, just staring ahead of us in a trance.

Growling at the desert, Imoteph creates a sand dune enveloping us in it. Across the desert, a large sand tornado races over the dunes. The sand transport comes to a stop and starts to dissipate. Evelyn and Beni are suddenly ejected out of it; they land in a dune. The sand swirls as it drops Imoteph and me gently. Imoteph looks up into the sky, listening carefully. Evy shakes the sand out of her hair and looks at Beni. She finally wakes up. "Um. What just happened?" She questions the scrawny man. He shrugs his shoulders, "All I remember is him turning into a blast of sand... and then I remember nothing." I looked at Imoteph; he was focusing on the sky. Then they hear a plane in the sky and look up.

Rick's p.o.v

The wind whips at Winston in the cockpit. The man they convinced to fly them across the desert to reach the girls. Rick sits in the gunner's compartment. Jonathan is strapped spread-eagle across the left wing, and Ardeth Bay is tied tight to the right. Both men are scared out of their wits and screaming in fear. "BLOODY HELL O'CONNELL!!" but Rick wasn't paying attention. He could see them, The woman who held his heart and the woman who helped build him. They were there, so close but yet so far away.

Amerath's P.O.V

The fear in my heart disappeared when I saw what had caught Imoteoh's attention. It was Rick, flying in a plane. Imoteph looked at my smile, and his anger rose. Imhotep's jaw unhinged, his mouth opened to an inhuman size, and he let out another one of his horrible shrieks . And a massive wall of sand rose up out of the desert.

Rick watches the desert below him come alive and rise towards the plane. Winston looks over the side and sees what's coming. He laughs, throws the throttle, and puts the aircraft into a dive. Winston shouts out, "Hang on, men! WE GO WIDE!" The sandstorm chases the diving, twisting biplane. Getting closer and closer, about to engulf it. Rick looks back into the blinding sand and sees a GIANT FACE forming inside the sandstorm. It's Imhotep. Grinning as his living sand chases them. Rick grabs the Lewis machine gun, cocks the bracket, and fires, blasting away at Imhotep's giant face inside the sandstorm. Imhotep's face begins to laugh, his jaw unhinges, his mouth opens wide, and he swallows the plane. Winston blindly fights for control, elated. The panic in Winston's voice is there, lacing every syllable. "We're going down! The biplane Spins inside the sand, whirling around them. Engines roared and grinding as they got clogged. Jonathan and Ardeth screamed as they held on with a death grip. Winston laughs, "Here I come, ladies!!" The three men brace for impact.

Amerath leaps to her feet and runs over to Imoteph. "STOP. FOR GOD's SAKE, PLEASE STOP!" he grabs her and pulls her close; her beautiful eyes stare into his shockingly intense ones. Then he kisses her hard. Amerath is amazed at the feeling. Her body sinks against him, her lips molded into his. She plunged forward into his chest, his hands curling into her hair, pulling her closer. When she places her hands on his chest and pushes him away, stumbling back. When he caught her eye again, Imhotep laughed.

The biplane smashes over a dune, flips, and stops upside-down into another dune. The sand stops swirling as Rick falls out of the gunner's compartment. The left-wing is jammed into the dune, and Jonathan hangs upside down. "Excuse me... A little help would be useful... IF IT'S NOT TOO MUCH TROUBLE!!" Rick goes to help Jonathan. Ardeth Ray stumbles to the gunner's compartment and tears the Lewis gun off its mount. He throws the machine gun over one shoulder, a cartridge belt over the other, and staggers away. Rick and Jonathan look into the cockpit. Winston Havlock is dead. A smile on his face. The plane suddenly starts to move, the sand sinks under their feet, and they quickly high-tail-it away. Rick, Jonathan, and Ardeth Ray make it to some rocks and look back. The biplane, with Winston Havlock inside, slides away over a dune. Rick gives it a salute. The plane vanishes over the dune and into the swirling sand.

Amerath, Beni, Evy, and Imoteph stop in the city. Unlike before, at the wave of Imotephs hand, the town comes to life. Slowly, each piece rose. Bricks started stacking on each other, statues straightened, and water flowed. It was as it once was when her father ruled the city. Trees bloomed to their full potential, and fountains scattered the town. If she didn't know that the city of Hamunaptra was buried beneath the sand, she would have sworn that the town had always lived and thrived.