D E S E R T ❁ D E S I R ES// A.BAY

THE RISE

A/N: COME GET Y'ALL JUICE!!!

//LIDIA'S POV\\

Early in the morning, after we had our breakfast, we gathered our things and moved camp. They had a little spot allocated for us that wasn't too far from Dr. Chamberlin's cowboys. I guess if anything happened, we'd be stronger together. It didn't take us incredibly long, but it did give us a late start on our own excavating. Evie was unexpectedly peppy for someone with a hangover. Nothing would be able to rain on her parade today.

Once we were done, the four of us geared up. Evie wanted to open up the sarcophagus in hopes that there's some kind of clue as to who's actually inside. I was hoping whatever we find would satisfy her enough. There was no way we were risking our lives for treasure that might not even be here. I was walking side by side with Rick as we made our way through the long-forgotten hallways. He's been in a funny mood today, but don't know what the reason is. It might just be this place.

"Ricky, you good?" Our walking pace slowed down a little. The Carnahan's were further ahead than us, stuck in their own conversation.

"Yeah." 

"Are you sure?" I looked at him skeptically. He looked like he was debating with himself over something. He stopped walking and turned to me, looking at me seriously.

"Where did you go last night?" 

"What do you mean?"

"I woke up to use the bathroom, and you were gone. So where did you go?"

"I went for a stroll. I was a little restless, so I decided to take a little walk to calm my mind a bit." I couldn't help the churning feeling in my gut. Rick is a little too smart for his own good sometimes.

"Must have been a long stroll." Rick says before walking on. I didn't mishear the sarcasm in his tone. I know that he knows something isn't right here. He seems to know that I'm lying to him, but he won't just say anything. It doesn't matter right now regardless; we've got a task to get done.

The four of us busied ourselves with the sarcophagus. After prying of the lid of the heavy stone box, we got to the coffin inside. Leaning the coffin against the wall, Evie looked ready to tear it open herself.  "Oh my god, I've dreamed about this since I was a little girl!"

"You dream about dead guys?" Rick said sarcastically.

"Look the sacred spells have been chiseled off. This man must have been condemned in not only this life but the next."

"An eternal time out." I added.

"Yeah, I'm all tears. Let's see who's inside, shall we?"

The boys begin to pry the cover off. Evie is pretty much glowing with excitement. The cover budged inch by inch before giving way. Our collective sounds of fright bounced off the walls of the city as the body inside appeared to try and jump out.

Evie huffs out a frustrated breath. "I hate it when these things do that."

"Is he supposed to look like that?" Rick looked the gooey mummy up and down in disgust. 

"No, I've never seen a mummy look like this before. He's still- still-"

"Juicy." 

"Yes. He must be more than 3,000 years old and, well, it looks as if he's still decomposing."

"Hey look at that." Rick points to the fallen cover of the coffin. We all crouch down to get a closer look. "What do you make of this?"

"My god, these marks were made with... fingernails." Evie ran her fingertips over the scratches. "This man was buried alive, and he left a message. 'Death is only the beginning'."  "Have you ever seen a mummy like this before?" Evie turned towards me.