The Hardy Girls

"You have got to be kidding me!" I cry out when I hear the news. Turns out, my idiot cousins, Joe and Frank solved a case about a mummy's curse. And Joe had hooked up with Samantha Chilton.

"Nope. It's all true. They even made the front page." my sister, Chloe confirms. We've been competing with Joe and Frank for years! Now, we've all tied for the most amount of cases solved.

"We've got to get back in the lead!" I exclaim, "We need to showcase them that we are much better detectives."

Chloe gives me a look of defeat. "There's no way we can find another mystery better than this one. They got tons of money! Don't forget about Samantha! If we want to best them, we have to get treasures and a moviestar! There's no way!"

I grin mischievously. "There is a mystery that I know of that could accomplish both of these."

Chloe raises an eyebrow. "Whatever it is, I'm in."

***

After a few hours, we arrive in Egypt. I look out the airplane window, just to see a huge bazaar with crowds of people.

"Cleo, this is fantastic!" Chloe exclaims from next to me in awe, "Look! Look! Over there! That's the Nile River!"

"So Chloe, the plan is that we have to pretend to be part of the camera crew so that we can get into the expedition. We'll be with a few other professors during the trip. The only two that I know of are Professor Kwirky and Professor Blevins. Got it?" I explain.

"Yes, ma'am! But who is the movie star?"

"Nick Power!" I squeal.

She jumps up and down in the seat next to me. "OMG! The real Nick Power! The one with the perfect hair and the billions of dollars?"

"That's the one!"

***

Once we get off the plane in Cairo, we immediately head for Abasi Port, where Nick Power's boat is docked. I heard from the news that this was where he was leaving.

***

We arrive at Abasi Port with all our camera supplies. Chloe spies something and points. "Over there! That's the boat!" As we approach, we hear Nick Power giving orders to the crew

"Come on people, let's move, we need to reach the pyramids of Dahshur by sundown. And quit whining Professor Kwirky, we only have two days to get into King Aziza's tomb," scolds Nick. When Nick sees Chloe and me approaching, he yells, "Hey you girls over there, the ones with the cameras! Have you two come to film the opening of King Aziza's tomb?"

His black hair ruffled from the wind. He stares intently at us with his electric blue eyes. Just seeing him this close, makes me dizzy.

"Uh ... yes, we have ... come to film ... with our ... cameras," I stutter and smile sheepishly, holding up the camera. Chloe kicks me in the shin.

"Great, now come aboard my humble ship and we shall sail to the pyramids of Dahshur where I will discover the tomb of the greatest Pharaoh ever to have lived. Pharaoh Aziza!" he announces. He pauses and looks at us, "Wait, were the cameras running?"

***

It was smooth sailing to the pyramids. As we docked the ship, a stampede of Egyptian workers run up to the boat and start yelling.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" I ask

"It's the curse! Turn the ship around! Go where it is safe! Go kind people! Leave!" yells one.

"What curse?"

"THE PHARAOH'S CURSE!" screams another.

"What happened?" Chloe chirps from behind me.

"Professor Blevins and most of his workers were crushed in an avalanche!" screams the first worker.

"How did you know it was King Aziza?" I ask

"Because I saw him. He grabbed my friend." explains the second.

"Where did he go? What did he look like?" I demand

The workers all point toward the pyramid. "He was wrapped in linen!"

I march down the ramp of the ship and across the desert

"Hey Cleo! Wait up!" calls Nick, "You can't possibly go down there alone!"

"If only you knew." I grumble under my breath. I just keep on walking until I reach the pyramid.

"Processor Blevins was my main dude! He would have solved this whole mummy thing right away!" mutters Nick from behind me.

So what's the deal with this Blevins guy? I ask Nick.

"He has studied Pharaoh Aziza for most of his life, hoping one day to find his tomb. Professor Blevins knows more about him than all of us combined."

"Even the other professors?"

"Yes. Sadly." Nick sighs. Then all of a sudden, we hear a scream coming from the ship. We sprint over to them, just to find Professor Kwirky screaming and writhing on the sand.

"Poison!" he croaks, "It was poison!"

"Please! No!" cries Nick, "We need you for the expedition!"

"Look in the third pyramid." Professor Kwirky whispers and then falls silent.

"Noooo!" bellows Nick.

"We should leave now." suggests a hopeful worker.

"No. We need to get to the third pyramid before the mummy strikes again!" I exclaim. We all sprint to the third pyramid.

"Where's the door?" asks Nick.

"Over here!" yells a worker. I run over and sure enough, there is a door! I open it and peek inside. It's a cavern lit by torches.

"Guys! C'mon! The mummy must have been here! The torches!" I call to the others.

Once they all get here, I creep inside.

"Joe and Frank are going to be soooo jealous when they hear about the treasure! We'll be heros!" Chloe squeals. We all follow the path.

"It feels like we've been walking for hours!" whines Nick.

All of a sudden, all the torches extinguish. It was like a breath of darkness blew them out.

Chloe grabs on to me. "Uh C-Cleo w-what's h-happening?" she shivers.

"Look!" I yell. "There's light!" I point down a tunnel.

"Run then! Let's go!" Nick sprints down the tunnel.

Once we get inside, I spot a linen-wrapped mummy in the center of the cavern. I walk over to it, Nick and Chloe at my sides. The mummy's face is pale and bloody.

"Hey! That looks like Professor Blevins," Nick exclaims.

"You bet it does!" says a male voice at the doorway. I spin around and gasp.

It was my two idiot cousins, Frank and Joe.

"What - how - why?" I stutter.

"Oh stop drooling. We knew you'd show up some time." Frank sneers.

"What do you mean?" asks Chloe.

"We knew that you would want to show us up with your own little case. Oh, and don't worry nobody got hurt, they're all just really good actors. So, we decide to set it up. Nick, the letter saying about the treasure. Well that was us." Joe explains.

"WHAT? Are you saying this all a joke!" Nick yells, stomping his foot. Joe and Frank just nod. "I'm going to call my agent!" Nick stomps back to the boat, dialing on his phone.

"What till he finds out who our dad is." Joe says with a grin.

"Why?" I blurt out.

"To show you up!" Frank says like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Everyone laughs.

"Oh and Cleo, we are still in the lead." Joe adds with a wink.