The Egyptian Enigma Reader x Countryhuman book

finally realized eh?

darkness, darkness pressing in on her eyes. Everytime CN tried to reach her nerves out to feel her body, they were knocked back with bright flashes of pain. everytime she tried to open her eyes, it was like heavy weights were pulling her eyelids down. she was curled up, on the floor, somewhere uncomfortably warm, a kind of warm that hurt her nose. they ground was overly heated as well. rumbling, from the ear that was pressed to the ground. 

where am i? where did i fall down? what did i fall down? am i okay? am i dead?

finally, after an aggravating amount of time, CN pulled herself up to a sitting. she was somewhere dark, like the insides of her eyelids had suggested. but after her eyes adjusted, she could see fire, weird fire, on a black backdrop. it was empty and forbidding, lava, it seemed like, poured from somewhere. the entire place was rocky, smelled of sulfur and death, and it looked like.... hell?

have i really done that much bad things that i deserve hell? i mean, this is absurd. i did like what? 2 bad things in my life. killing mother was, um. a little bit bad. but seriously?! man god is strict about his criterion.

she looked up, maybe this was a trick. maybe this was some tourist chamber she had accidentally wandered into, depicting the horrors of the egyptian underworld. but, above her was all dark. if any hole had been there, it wasn't visible. plus, who would want to fall down a pit in their travels?!

CN tried standing up. nope, everything still hurt. especially her back. maybe, this was a trick. maybe the ghost expected her to come down this pit and he expected me to die! well, tricks on you. I don't die as easily as how you died dumb ghost.

after hours (maybe just a few minutes, CN wasn't sure this place was doing something to her mind), CN gathered the strength to stand up. she walked around, kicking piles of stone and poking lava flows with rocks. 

the place stretched endlessly, with occasional growling from something far away. hills and valleys of red and black rocks, gold and orange lava, flames burning on ashes. ravines stretched deep into the ground, like giant claw scratches on the floor. if the ghost did build all this just for me to die in, this is quiet excessive.  

walking for something like another few hours, perhaps in circles. her mind was numb but curiosity drove her on. the only thing that broke this numbness was when she realized she had kicked something. CN looked down. it was a human skull. 

CN screamed, and the screaming reverberated of the hills and rocks. it looked about as big as her head, but it was old and yellow, like it had been down here for ages, in this stuffy dry place. CN bent down caustiously, picking it up. examining it, she discovered that there was a pattern scored into it's bones. ouch, it that why it died? although, the pattern wasn't anything else, but the symbol of the nazis.

realizing that, CN threw it as far away as she could. she heard shattering, as if the skull had crashed on the side of a hill. CN hadn't experience the awfulness of nazi himself, but she had heard enough from the gossip of others in school to know that throwing the skull was the right choice indeed.

russia pov:

thump thump thump, behind him, russia could hear someone on his trail. it was either the mad ghost, or it was one of the classmates, annoyingly following him around. 

turning his way an that, trying to find somewhere in this big maze to hide. there were more crossways and doorways that russia thought, so the whole thing was more like a maze than a direct path to the tomb. 

"Wait up! wait up russia! Im not a ghost, im france!"

Russia stopped immediately. turning around and almost coming face first with the beret wearing, Chanel sweater french. they almost crashed but france stopped herself just in time.

"WHAT, are you doing, following me?! if the ghost finds on of us, we're both doomed!" Russia growled at her in a whisper-yell.

"well, not necessarily? i mean, assuming the ghost can't divide himself." 

"I DON'T WANNA BE KILLED BECAUSE YOU WERE TOO LOUD!!!!"

"chill, chill, i get it. i need to tell you something. CN is gone. i've gathered everybody outside because i memorized the way out. i counted all of them, triple checked all the hallways, but i can't find you and CN. even capital is outside, and she's worried as hell. do you know where CN may be? uh, since you like her."

that news caught Russia off guard.

how?! how?! was it that obvious?! the looks he'd been sneaking at her, hoping she'll notice him, were the lunch conversations that obvious, that even the book nose france noticed?! russia! thats not important right now! Do you know where CN might be?!

"uh, maybe? i might know. get capital, she needs to know as well."

france signaled for Russia to follow her and they ran through the winding tunnels, and russia could see light in front of him at last. they charged out and back into the blinding sun of the dessert. 

france ran up to capital and russia followed as well. it was harder to run in the sands, sinking below his feet like unstable rocks.

capital was sitting cross-legged, in the sand with her hands covering her face. she looked like she was crying, but when she looked up, russia saw anger on her face instead.

"I'll kill that ghost, ill kill him! his smug 'oh im in charge of everything' look won;t stay on his face much longer! WHAT FRANCE, CAN'T YOU SEE I'M HAVING A MOMENT?!"

"Russia knows where CN is. he might be able to help us, and you're coming with us." france

he did not appreciate the skeptical face capital gave him.

"you? why, because you've known her for so long? Do you REALY THINK YOU CAN BE HELPFUL?!" but she stood up anyway, following france back into the pyramid.

russia followed france to the tomb room. on the way there, he thought of all the possiblilities that might have happened. she isn't the kind of person to go running into the tunnels, she's much more calm and decisive than that. maybe she hid in the tomb, i mean, if the ghost chased everyone else in a hurry, he might have missed a country hiding behind the tomb on the way out. maybe then she didn't know it was safe to come out, so she kept hiding in there?

"this is the tomb room. i really don't see how she can be in here." france pointed at the doorway in front of them. 

russia examind the entire room, but he knew the answer before even going in. there were no crawlspaces beneath the tomb, she wasn't hanging on to the roof, or in the corners or anywhere. Capital mumbled something like,"knew this was stupid," and disappointingly kicked the wall. 

and then, the stone fell back, revealing a tunnel....

they didn't have time for france and russia's suprised expressions because at the same time, they heard footsteps from the hallway. russia's heart jumped with happiness and fear at the same time. the ghost? or CN?! 

The head that poked through, though, was neither. 

a brick, beret and an ushanka smacked egypt's face before logical thoughts came to any of the three.

"OUWWWWWW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" egypt yelled, clutching his face.

"eh, sorry? thought you were the ghost." france apoligized, but less in a sorry way, than a trying really hard not to laugh way. she walked up to pick up her hat.

after a few apologies and snickers, they crawled into the tight tunnel.