𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐀 𝐁𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐒𝐋𝐀𝐕𝐄, 𝙞𝙢𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙥 𝙭 𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙘

Chapter two

Egyptian speech will look like this.

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

As Rick, Ardeth, and I made our way through the doors, we were met with a bone-chilling draft and faint devilish voices murmuring some sort of incantation. I swallowed, certainly not sure what I had got myself into. Ardeth and Rick, I knew, had been in similar situations before so I was thankful that I was with them and not alone. Rick held his gun high, ready for any sudden attacks. Ardeth did the same. That's when I knew that I should wield my Khopesh instead of having them attached to my belt. And so I unclipped them and held them in a manner of which I was comfortable. I moved swiftly and calmly, my two weapons ready to pounce. In a strange sort of way, I felt as if my Khopesh gave me strength and confidence. I liked it.

As we moved around the darkness of the Museum, we saw a faint light at the end of a corridor. There were shadows moving about. Rick looked back and gave Ardeth a nod. Ardeth returned that nod. As Rick made his way towards the light, Ardeth looked back at me, concern in his eyes. He didn't have to say anything as I already knew what he was trying to say. "It's ok. I'll be fine. Getting Evie back should be the top priority. Not me." I tried to soothe him. He shook his head. "But, but-" "Ardeth." He stiffened when I said his name, but nevertheless, we shared a smile. And with that, we both followed after Rick.

As we rounded a corner and walked onto a balcony, my mouth fell agape. The room was lit dimly with several torches and in the middle of it were many people dressed in red like the ones back at Evie and Rick's house. They all surrounded what looked like a giant crystal rock, bowing down as if the rock was some sort of God. The rock seemed normal to me but it's faint glow told me otherwise. Their murmured voice carried on, filling the silence of the room. And there was Evie, strapped down heavily onto a table merely adjacent to the rock. She was alive and awake and struggling to get free. She seemed in a state of panic, like she wasn't ready for what was to happen. But that's the thing, I thought, what is happening?!

I turned to Ardeth about to question him. I stopped myself when I saw that he shared a similar expression to Evie. "What? What is it?" I asked, confused by the situation. Rick's attention was still on Evie, but he stood still, unsure of what to do. Ardeth's attention turned to Rick but his eyes stayed fixed on the scene below. "They're trying to resurrect him." Ardeth spoke quietly but it was clearly loud enough as Rick snapped his head back, a slight horror in his eyes. "No. They can't." Ardeth scoffed and gestured. "They clearly can. And they are." I huffed and looked between the two men and the people in red. "What is happening? Who are you speaking of?" Rick answered before Ardeth could. "A stupid Egyptian Priest who was obsessed with bringing his dead girlfriend back from the dead." I raised my eyebrow, not believing what I was hearing. 

Ardeth saw my confusion. "The creature is an ancient horror. It will never stop, never sleep, until it gets what it wants. No mortal weapon can stop it. Your brother, you sister, Rick here, fought it eight years ago. And now he's coming back." I ran my hand through my hair. "What have I got myself into?" I mutter to myself. Our convocation stopped dead as a painful, inhuman scream sounded in the room. I whipped my head down at the scene only to see the rock cracking fast and the glow nearly consumed the whole thing. Then, bang, the rock exploded. When the dust settled, my eyes widened in alarm. A mummy now stood in my vision. It still had eyes and teeth and it looked like a wild animal trying to figure out where it was. My anxiety ran through me due to my shocked state. Ardeth put a hand on my shoulder and reassured me that I would be ok. 

I could not take my eyes of it, no matter how hard I tried. "H-how? W-what?" I spluttered. Ardeth smiled as an attempt to calm me. "I know. Everything you think you know, you might as well scrap it. This is beyond anything a regular person would see." He caressed my shoulder in a soothing way just like his speech. I exhaled and nodded. A woman came up to the mummy, clearly not afraid by what she saw. She had long, dark hair and a matching pair of dark, mysterious eyes. Somehow she felt incredibly familiar to me but I could not think why. It was like part of me was locked away in darkness and I had no idea what was there, only fragments that didn't make sense to me. 

The mummy did not attack. It seemed happy by her presence, if anything. The woman then gestured towards where Evie was. The mummy followed her motion and stopped completely. It then shouted one word. It seemed to be in another language. A language that I knew was uncommon, but I still understood weirdly enough. "Her!" The mummy rounded towards Evie. That's when we panicked. Rick shot his shotgun towards the mummy and he hit it at a perfect shot. It fell to the floor before standing up again and it looked right at us. "You!" The mummy spoke again in a hoarse sort of voice. Rick and Ardeth sprung into action as I stood firm to the stop, deciding my next move. 

Everyone seemed to be concentrating on Rick and Ardeth and I noticed that Evie was left completely alone. I rolled back my shoulders and sighed. I'm coming Evie. I ran down and swiftly made my way towards my sister, who was still struggling with her bondage. "Eric! Oh my god." I smiled at her and started to undo her binds fast. "Hi." I spoke calmly. She scoffed and got up. "Thank you." And she rushed to where Rick was to aid him. I started to fight the people around me, killing them with my blade. The woman who was with the mummy came up to me and started to attack me. She then spoke to me with words that shocked me. "You shall not have him. Imhotep is mine." Her voice was filled with venom. I looked at her with such confusion. Who was Imhotep? Why would I want him?

"I don't know what you mean." I told her as I dodged an attack. "Of course you would say that, Erebus. Prince of Darkness and lies." She tried again, this time I did not dodge. She stabbed me with a dagger in the abdomen and I couldn't help but cry out in anger and uncertainty. "My...name...is...not...Erebus. I am Eric." I tried to fight the pain that she had given me. She stared at me with narrow eyes. "A reincarnation with no idea." She muttered and I could just about hear her. I fell to my knees and cupped my wound that had already started to turn crimson. "Anck-su-namun." A voice broke me out from my pain. The mummy had come to the woman's side. It froze when it saw me. It's expression turned from anger to shock and then happiness. It came closer to me. And I moved away, scared for my life. 

"Erebus, my prince. There is no need to fear me. I knew deep down that we could not be together in that life. But, this one, is different. We can start again, my love. No one would stop us." The mummy spoke lovingly but I couldn't answer. I was filled with a mix of emotions and fear dominated them all. I flinched when the mummy held a rotting hand out to me. I did not take it. "ERIC!!!" Ardeth fired his gun towards the woman and the mummy before rushing to my side. "Don't worry I got ya." He picked me up bridal style before running away from the scene and back outside to where Jonathan and Alex were waiting. The last thing I saw was Rick and Evie running behind us and the cold chill of the evening air hitting my skin before everything went black. 

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

Who is Imhotep and the woman? And will Eric be ok?

Keep reading Caged In Bandages to find out.