Rise of the Fallen Princess (Ahmanet - The Mummy)

Chapter 7 - Worthy for Truth

Having discovered on arriving in the morning that Mathias had disappeared from his room and could not be found anywhere, Jonathan de Mirand had alerted the authorities and search notices with Mathias's photo had been put in place. The police had thoroughly searched the whole hospital, but nothing. It was as if Mathias had evaporated without leaving the slightest trace.

The images from the security camera which monitored the hallway where Mathias's room was had also been inspected, but around midnight, the image from the camera had become curiously blurred and it was impossible to recover what had been filmed. Jonathan, having an idea, had discreetly made a copy of the surveillance video on a USB key and had immediately downloaded the file to his personal computer once he returned to his hotel.

Sitting in front of the laptop, Jonathan had sent the video to his top computer and decryption specialists working for him. He absolutely wanted to know where Mathias had gone, or who had been able to break into the hospital and succeed in kidnapping him without anyone realizing anything. He still feared wrongdoing from the jihadists, but he was far from suspecting the truth. Finally, after endless hours of waiting, he ends up receiving the result of the decrypted video on his computer. However, a message from his team warned him that he was going to have a hard time believing what he was about to see. More than intrigued, Jonathan started playing the video.

The image showed the corridor as agreed, devoid of the slightest presence. Then, when midnight appears on the timer, the quality of the video seems to undergo some malfunctions, sizzling. Jonathan then notices that the neon lights on the hallway ceiling begin to dim more and more, jerking and the lights dying out one after another. Then, his eyes widened in an expression of incomprehension and a shudder of anguish when he saw this form, feminine and human, completely dark, emerging little by little from the darkness, walking with a slow and silent step and stopping just outside Mathias' bedroom door.

Jonathan remained frozen in front of the video, unable to tear his gaze away. The shadowy form then slowly lifted its attention to the lens of the surveillance camera, then began to move towards it and disappeared from sight for a moment. Jonathan then jumped back in fear as a pair of monstrous eyes popped up and covered the entire field of view of the camera and almost seemed to be glaring at Jonathan. Breathing could be heard, along with a ghostly, female voice speaking unfamiliar words, as if this thing was mumbling.

Then, the video stopped, the camera seeming to have broken down at that moment. Jonathan remained silent, shocked and completely confused by what he had just seen. It couldn't be a special effect or a trick... But then... What was that?!

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Since waking up and after regaining control of his body, Mathias had been locked up for hours in a room of modest size, without a window, lit by a simple candle placed on an old wooden table.

Seated on a simple patched bed which was the only piece of furniture in the room, Mathias remained silent, pensive but also moribund. He could have chosen to try to open his cell door, but it was locked. Moreover, Mathias could not move more than a meter away from the bed, because of iron chains around his wrists and fixed firmly to the wall next to it. He was indeed a prisoner, however, he wondered why he had not been killed by these monsters. What did Ahmanet want with him? He kept wondering this question without being able to find the answer and it frustrated him to the highest point. Having been stripped of his hospital gown, Mathias was surprised to wake up wearing his own civilian clothes that he wore during the expedition. He wondered why Ahmanet had made such a gesture towards him when she was keeping him like a common prisoner? Again, impossible to find an answer.

Another unpleasant feeling then appeared: that of hunger, Mathias' stomach gurgling slightly. His mouth and throat were dry too, he hadn't eaten or drunk anything for a while. Did Ahmanet intend to let him starve to death? No, that was completely stupid, she wouldn't have bothered to kidnap him if she wanted him dead. In that case, was she trying to break him mentally? Maybe.