The Cursed City of An'Kah - An Alternative Universe: Alfie Solomons

Chapter One - A fall from Grace

Distinguished, renowned, and talented. These were words that once described the famous Jewish archeologist, Alfie Solomons. He was a prodigy and had made dozens of fantastic discoveries across the middle east. From Egypt to Iraq, Palestine to Iran, his expeditions yielded amazing finds that graced the hallways of the British Museum. The Royal Geographical Society, in which he was quickly made a member of, raved over him. He was at the height of his glory, that was until it all came crashing down.

It was almost over two years ago when it all had come to an end. Now, instead of major excavations and adventurous digs, Alfie spent his days at the Oasis, an expat bar near a military fort in Cairo. There he drank cheap whiskey, listened to the same old World War I stories and sweated his ass off in the sweltering heat. The year was 1922 and the British Empire was at its height, albeit tapering. And just this morning, Alfie had heard that one of his competitors, Howard Carter, had discovered something most astonishing in the Valley of the Kings. The young boy Pharaoh, Tutankhamun, tomb had just been found entirely intact. An extraordinary find, unlike what the world had ever seen. It was the find of the century and it only added to Alfie's misery.

Alfie's fall from grace all started when he decided to search for the lost city known as An'Kah. It was considered by most, a mythical city and was not dissimilar to the fabled South American city, El Dorado, a city of gold. It was said that over three thousand years ago, An'Kah was the wealthiest city in the civilized world. It was the Crown Jewel of Pharaoh Sobek-Ram-Ankh. The legend stated that his palace walls were lined in gold and that the white limestone city would glisten like a diamond in the desert. And within a vast underground chamber, Sobek-Ram-Ankh stored his mighty treasure.

But the city had been lost to time in a desert storm. That is where the curse came in. If it were to be believed, the Goddess of War, Sekhmet, had unleashed the storm as a punishment to Sobek-Ram-Ankh. She had given him her love, but he had rejected her offer. This infuriated the Goddess and she destroyed his city. At one point, the city itself rested on the banks of the Nile, not far from modern day Cairo. But the Goddess had shifted the flow of the Nile, to ensure the city's complete destruction.

So, Alfie had decided to search for this city. He was interested in the tale of the vast treasure that supposedly rested beneath the sands of An'Kah. He knew it was a risk, but he was confident in his research and requested funding from the RGS. They granted him the money without hesitation, thinking that their star archeologist was bound to find something. But they were wrong. After a six month dig, Alfie had found nothing but sand. It was not uncommon for something like this to happen, so the RGS extended his dig and funding. However, after another six months, the RGS's patience had worn thin and called for Alfie to come home.

But Alfie had refused, believing he was close to finding the city. By then, the RGS had deemed him "unreasonable" and "obsessed". It didn't take long before a majority of the members turned their back on him and then his membership was revoked. One by one, Alfie's colleagues turned on him and he would have been all alone if it hadn't been for his mentor, Avrom Eidelberg. The kindly old gentleman, his mentor, his friend, had died just a year ago, right after Alfie had been fully expelled from the RGS. It was a devastating blow and the loss had completely dismantled him. Avrom had been a prestigious member of the RGS. So when news of his death reached Alfie in Egypt, he decided not to attend the funeral. The reason being was that he didn't want to deal with any more ridicule from the RGS.

And, now, here he was at the Oasis yet again, drinking away his sorrows.

"wahidat 'ukhraa," Alfie said, pushing his glass forward.

The bartender, a man named Ahmed, frowned at Alfie.

"I'm sorry my Jewish friend, but I think you've had too many today."

"Yeah, well, ain't like I got much to do anyways, do I?"

Ahmed, a gentle and kind Arab man, shook his head.

"Raqm, my friend. Go home,"

"Home? And where is that exactly? Britain? They don't want me. Oh, wait, maybe Israel? But that doesn't exist anymore. I don't have a home, Ahmed," Alfie said with disdain.

"Why not Egypt?" Ahmed said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Where my people were kept in bondage for four hundred years? Yeah, home sweet home," Alfie retorted.

Ahmed simply smiled, he was used to Alfie being a difficult man.

"Maybe you will find a nice Egyptian girl, she will make you an honest man."

"I'd just make that girl the naughtiest she's ever been, that's all that'd do," Alfie said, standing up from the bar.

As Alfie rose up from his barstool, he bumped into a man that was passing by to the exit. The force of the bump was hard, so the man turned to face Alfie directly. The man, about the same size as Alfie, was one of the British officers from the military fort nearby. He did not seem like an understanding gentleman and shoved Alfie back just as hard.

"Bloody, kike," the man uttered.

"That's how it's gonna be then, mate?" Alfie growled, before throwing a solid right hook into the man's jaw.

A brawl broke out between the two men and an angry struggle for dominance ensued. Alfie was so focused on his anger that he didn't realize that two other officers had rushed in to break up the commotion. One of them grabbed Alfie by the arm, so Alfie turned his attention toward his new attacker and decked him in the face. The British soldier went out cold and hit the floor with a thud. Meanwhile three more officers stormed into the bar and together, four of the officers teamed up in order to restrain Alfie.

"Bloody hell, he's like a rabid bear!" one of the officers cried out as he strained to hold Alfie back.

"Hit 'im with your billy club, John! He ain't going down without a fight," another officer commanded.

A club came out and connected hard with the back of Alfie's skull. A loud crack rang out and Alfie sank to the floor.

"Blimey, Dr. Solomons is stronger than a bloody ox!" an officer stated.

"Yeah, it don't matter now. Get 'im over to the prison post haste. He can't be acting like a crazed animal," the head officer said grimly.

The four officers picked up Alfie's limp body and shoved him into the back of their jeep, then drove through the crowded streets of Cairo to the prison. Once past the gate, they proceeded to drag Alfie through the prison yard and toss him into a cell. Alfie slowly came back to the conscious world as he landed on his back on the dirt floor. He groggily looked over as the steel barred door slammed shut. He didn't bother getting up. He stayed on the floor on his back and looked up at the ceiling.

Distinguished, renowned, and talented.

"What a load of bollocks," he scoffed.