The Golden Scarab (Chasing Chaos Book One)

Chapter Four

CHAPTER FOUR

New York City, 2017...

Just as she expected to feel her flesh tear, Panya felt herself soar through the air and land gently. She cautiously opened her eyes and found herself standing directly next to an obelisk with hieroglyphics carved all over it.

     Confused, Panya looked around for something familiar. How had she ended up outside? What was all that noise? She covered her ears in a desperate attempt to block it out. She had never heard such a commotion, yet no one else around her seemed bothered by it.

     She studied the people before her. They wore strange linens and looked rather unusual to her. Some held something to their ears and appeared to be talking to themselves. Others sat against trees or on the grass.

     Panya began to feel faint and leaned against the obelisk for support. "You there!" A man called. She was frightened he might be after her as the others had been. "You can't lean against that! How did you even get over there? It's blocked off for a reason, Kid. You aren't supposed to touch it. It's old and priceless and needs to be protected. Nice costume, by the way. Now come on, sweetheart. Move along."

     Panya was deeply confused by his words. She knew he was speaking to her but could not understand the strange language. She did, however, understand his anger. Fear surged through her as she ran from him.

     "Hey! Come back here!" The man called after her.

     She kept running. She nearly knocked over several strange-looking people in her attempt to escape. It was when she came across a very unusual road that she froze.

     What were those beasts? They were the source of all the noise. They were loud and they made the air smell unusual. There were so many of them Panya was certain she would be crushed in their stampede. They came in every shape and color imaginable and some she had never dreamed of. The yellow ones seemed especially hostile. What were they? She had never seen anything so strange.

     Deciding this route was obviously an unsafe one, Panya fled in the opposite direction. She spotted a wooded area that seemed empty. It was not blocked off by anything but she suspected it was not a place people generally ventured.

     When she reached the quietest space she could find, Panya settled down. What was happening? This was not the Afterlife. The Duat was not here. She wasn't dead. Where was she? What was this strange new world?

     Feeling lost and exhausted, Panya lay down and willed her body to relax. Perhaps if she meditated, the Gods would be able to help her.

*

     It was a pleasant surprise when Jonathan was able to open his eyes. Then the pain hit. Howling, he looked around and wondered where he was. His regiment was nowhere to be seen. He was lying outside of a strange building. He tried to focus his eyes and was able to read the word "Hospital."

     "Well, thank goodness for that! Medics," Jonathan said. Wincing, he forced himself to crawl toward the unusual doorway. He was bleeding and weak, and was still fairly certain he was going to die, but he could at least attempt to survive this.

     "What on Earth?" A woman asked as she spotted him. "Get a gurney!" She rushed to Jonathan's side. "Sir, what's your name?"

     "Adams, Ma'am. Private Jonathan Adams, of the Confederate Army. I think my regiment must have dropped me off here. Can someone assist me?"

     "Confederate Army? Are you one of those re-enactment guys? I guess something went wrong. You're losing a lot of blood." She shook her head as she and one of the other workers helped him onto the gurney. "The things people do," she mumbled under her breath. "This is one for my blog."