Bedouin Trading Post - Day
Rick barters in Arabic with a Camel Trader at a trading post. Jonathan forks over some cash. The Trader hands them the reins of four ugly old camels.
"I can't believe the price of these fleabags." Johnathan scoffs in disbelief at the price of the animals they were going to ride to the ancient city.
Rick grips the ropes holding five Camels together, "We coulda had 'em for free, all we had to do was give 'em your sister" He says speaking about Evy. No one was going to touch Maggie.
"Yes, awfully tempting, wasn't it?" Johnathan asks walking away from Rick and the Camels.
"Awfully." He replies back.
And that's when Evelyn steps out of a trading tent. She's changed into a gorgeous, tightly fitted, Bedouin dress. But Rick wasn't looking at Evy. Maggie walked out of the tent after Evy. She was in tightly fitted dark gray pants, a gray undershirt with a black button up blouse rolled up to her elbows. To colorify her outfit she had on a white and blue cloth that wrapped securely around her waist above a loose brown belt. She also had a light gray tank topped cardigan. She was wearing black heeled boots that went up to just bellow her knee. She even had a tanned shoulder bag that sinks down to her hip. Her hair was elegantly pinned back.
Maggie smiles at Rick as he stares in awe, "My pretty girl." He whispers.
Sahara Desert Sand Dunes - Day
Rick, Maggie, Evelyn, Jonathan and the Warden are on camels in the middle of the frying pan; the endless, sunbaked Sahara, "Never did like camels. Filthy buggers. They smell, they bite, they spit. Disgusting." Johnathan complains about the animals the were riding.
The warden savagely attacks a chicken wing with his vile green teeth. Flies buzz around his head. He sucks at his gums, then spits out some gristle. Rick watches him, "Yeah, disgusting."
Maggie and Evy smile, having the time of their lives on top of their Camel, "Well we think they're cute." Evy voices for Maggie and her.
Frying Pan - Night
The moon shines down an five lone camel rider's trekking across the vast wasteland.
Jonathan is sound asleep, his head bobbing comically to the rhythm of his Camel. On the camel next to him, the Warden snores loudly. Up in front of them, Evy is also asleep on her Camel. Rick and Maggie are upfront, Rick moved Maggie to his Camel a hand securely wrapped around her stomach, "You need to sleep." He whispers to Maggie as she looks up to him.
She shakes her head, "I can't." For a long moment, his eyes watch Maggie, and then he looks up at a distant ridge. Familiar men dressed in black on horses watching him and the others. His arms tighten around Maggie.
Giant Sand Dune - Endless Horizon - Day
The dawning sun hasn't yet crested the distant horizon as Jonathan and the Warden ride alongside a giant sand dune, "And you snore!" Johnathan yells to the Warden
"I do not snore!" The Warden denies
"All night you snored!"
"I have never snored!"
As the two bicker back and forth, Up in front of them, Rick looks at Evy and Maggie who was on her own Camel now, she moved when she woke up.
"We're almost there." He states to the girls. Evy looks in disbelief
"Are you sure?" She asks him
O'Connell looks down at the ground, "Pretty sure."
The others look down and see dozens of skeletons sticking out of the ground. Bleached and eaten away. Some of the skeletons look like they're trying to crawl up out of the desert floor.
Johnathan looks in horror, "what in bloody hell is this?"
The Warden shivers in fear, "Other seekers of Hamunaptra."
The American Expedition rides out from behind the far end of the dune. The Americans are accompanied by two dozen native diggers and an Arab Egyptologist. Beni rides lead on a camel, the rest ride horses.
"Good morning, my friend!" Beni exclaims
Rick just nods. The two parties come to a stop a hundred feet apart. Rick turns and stares out across the endless horizon. Beni does likewise. The Americans look puzzled.
"Well, what the hell we doin'?" Daniels asks Beni getting impatient.
"Patience, my good sahib, patience." Beni speaks back to impatient little man he's leading.
Henderson looks over at Rick, "First one to the city, O'Connell! Five hundred! Cash bucks!"
O'Connell and Beni just stare out at the flat nothingness. Maggie gives him a look, Evy and Jonathan share a look. And then, the sun starts to rise in the distance, breaking the flat horizon.
"Get ready." Rick says. Evy and Maggie can feel the suspense and the majesty of the moment.
"For what" Evy asks. Maggie presses a hand to her bump.
Rick continues to look into the horizon, "we're about to be shown the way."
Far off to the right, a huge shape begins to rise with the sun. A volcano. Rick and Beni watch it, expressionless. Daniels, Henderson and Burns share a look, and then, "Heya"
The Americans take off. Racing towards the rising volcano, "See ya there, O'Connell" Daniels yells as he and the Americans ride off.
Evy and Jonathan give Rick anxious, sarcastic looks, "Ah, begging your pardon, but shouldn't we be going?" Johnathan asks him.
Evy looks to Rick, "After all, you rode us night and day to win that bet."
Rick doesn't say a word, staring hard. Beni watches the Americans and spits into the sand, "Fools."
And then suddenly, the volcano shifts across the horizon. Passing across the sun as it goes. --It's a mirage. The Americans crash their horses to a stop and race the other way, after the volcano. Evy and Jonathan smile, amazed, Maggie just smirks. The volcano shifts again, floating across the watery horizon. The Americans crash to a stop again and chase after the volcano. All three of them confused and cursing. Rick and Beni just stare, waiting. The volcano shifts again. And the Americans crash to a stop again. Burns is thrown from his horse. Henderson angrily rips his hat off and chucks it to the ground. Daniels just curses as they give up the chase.
Rick looks to Maggie grabbing her hand, "Take it easy. I don't need you getting hurt over a bet I made."
Maggie looks to her lover, "I won't, but if you win you're taking me shopping for new dig equipment." Rick pouts out at her.
The volcano comes to a stop on the far left of the horizon.
The Americans are on the far right. Nothing moves. A beat. And then Rick grins. So does Beni. They share a look. And then with a swat their camels and race away. Everybody else hauls-ass after them. Rick and Beni are neck-and-neck. And then Evy comes galloping up, hair flying in the wind. Beni takes out his camel whip and starts whipping Rick. Trying to knock him off his camel. once. CRACK! Twice. CRACK! But on the third try Rick grabs the whip and jerks Beni off his camel. Beni slams to the ground and tumbles. Evy and Rick race across the desert. Evy has never felt so alive. She laughs. Beni stumbles to his feet, then quickly dances out of the way as Jonathan and all the other riders stampede past him. Evy beats Rick to the stone ramp, racing hard.
"Evelyn! Slow down!" Rick shouts at his soon to be sister-in-law. But she ignores him. Trying desperately to impress him, "Slow down, Evelyn! Slow down! There's a really big--"
Hamunaptra - Day
--Evy goes ass-over-teacups through the air and crash lands in a sand dune. She sits up, stunned, sandy hair in her eyes. Rick stops at the edge of the ramp next to her camel, "Never mind"
The Americans ride up and look in wonder at the ruins inside the volcano. Rick gives them a big, shit-eating grin, "You boys owe me five hundred dollars."
Maggie finally makes her way to the spot and rolls her eyes at what Rick says. She looks at Rick with an amused smirk. He looks at her and smiles with a thumbs up. Maggie just laughs out and trots away on her Camel, Rick chasing after her.
