Tickle Torture Tales: The Tomb of Torment

CHAPTER SEVEN: A NIGHTMARE IN NEW CAIRO

Suddenly alone, Sandy struggled desperately to determine what her next move should be. Of course, rescuing her friends was foremost in her mind; no easy task given the fact that she had not the faintest idea where Rosie was being held, or where Roxy would be taken. Yet one thing was for certain, she could trust Giza to keep his word, contacting her within the allotted time period, but that was the only act of honesty she could expect from the black marketeer; by simply handing over the headband she would doubtless be wandering into a trap, she suspected. Finally, a plan formed in her mind.

Returning to the museum through the open fire escape, the flashlight picking out her path, Sandy discovered the Egyptian authorities had not in fact surrounded the building; instead it seemed they had been summoned to attend an incident on the opposite side of the square, some drunken English tourist causing quite a scene outside a restaurant. Soon Sandy had returned to the area outside of the vault where lay Mr Memphis, the curator still bound hand and foot with cable ties, the strip of tape still fastened firmly over his mouth; freeing the barefoot old man from his bonds.

"Lady Crevice, what on earth are you doing here?" he gasped as the tape gag was torn free from his face, "What is happening here, who were those terrible people?"

"I'm sorry, Mr Memphis - but there simply isn't time to explain!" sighed Sandy as she freed the fellow from his bonds, "Let's just say they're a fanatical order of foot fetishists hunting for the headband of Queen Tikeltootsi!"

"I see... So that explains the tickle torture I was forced to endure..." frowned the curator, massaging his wrists to restore the circulation of his blood, "I have to confess, Lady Crevice, I couldn't hold out any longer - I had no option other than to unlock the vault!"

"It really doesn't matter for the moment, for I have the headband - it's quite safe, for the time being at least!" assured the adventurer, careful to omit any mention of the recently resurrected queen for fear that it may cause the old man some sort of a seizure, "And now, I really must be leaving, for these fanatics are holding two of your team captive - I must make plans to rescue them!"

"I don't understand, who is being held captive?" enquired the curator in confusion.

"Doctor Stone, for a start!" explained Sandy, assisting the old man as he struggled to haul himself upright, "And it's also equally likely they're holding your absent assistant curator captive as well!"

"Petra? Yes, I must admit I thought it unlikely she had any involvement in the initial raid on the museum, in spite of the authorities suggesting it was carried out with the assistance of an insider!" pondered the curator.

"Well don't worry, Mr Memphis - if she's innocent in all of this then I shall rescue her from her abductors!" promised Sandy, the adventurer anxious to depart, "And now, I really must be leaving if I am to have any hope of halting these fanatics and recovering the artefacts they have stolen! Of course, when reporting the raid, I would appreciate it if you would not mention my involvement in any of this..."

"Then naturally you shall remain anonymous if you so wish, Lady Crevice!" assured the old man, before thanking the adventurer for freeing him.

Sprinting up the stairwell once more, Sandy soon emerged at ground level; searching the exhibition area with the aid of the flashlight, she fast found what she was looking for, the fallen form of the female fanatic slumped unconscious against a wall. Clenching the flashlight firmly between her teeth, Sandy seized the wilting woman's waist, dragging Delta towards the open fire escape; once outside the museum, she hauled her towards the taxi still awaiting her return within the square.