Unlikely Salvation (L.K)

Into the Storm.

When you arrived in Kharga, it was so deathly quiet that it had you on edge. There were no people around, no noise but the wind, and it made you wonder if it was because of the festival or if everyone was dead. Stepping out of the jeep that you had driven to the temple, you frowned at the sight of the place.

From a normal point of view, the place looked like regular ruins. However, the more you looked on at the buildings, the more you could tell that there was more than meets the eye.

Walking up to one of the structures, you began to look around, keeping your eyes peeled for any indicators that might tell you where an entrance might be. After a while of searching, you came across a structure that had stairs going down to a door. Carefully, you walked down the steps, frowning at the wall before you.

“Stairs that lead to nowhere?”

Placing your hands on the bricks, you began to search for a secret lever or button, running your hands along the stones before you finally noticed a brick that looked a bit out of place. Taking the brick out of the wall, you found a lever, and you couldn’t help but smirk.

“Mr. Jones, I’ve figured it out.”

Pulling the lever, you stumbled slightly as the wall began to slowly move down to reveal a passageway, and you grabbed your flashlight, turning it on and making a face as the passageway seemed to go on forever. Carefully, you began to make your way down the hall, and you gasped as the door began to shut on you.

“No, no, wait!”

Banging your fist on the wall, you growled and phoned Hunnigan.

“Hunnigan, come in.”

Static.

Shit. This meant that you were completely on your own. Swallowing thickly, you took a few deep breaths.

You could do this. You were going to be alright.

Glancing all around the hallway, you were almost in awe by all the hieroglyphs that were painted all over the wall. They were in such great condition that it had you wondering if whoever was behind the attack and hiding down in the depths of the temple had repainted the walls.

You made a face at any scorpions you saw, kicking them away if they got too close, and you were almost tempted to turn around by the malodorous scent in the air. It was a strange mix of stale and dust, making your nose tickle as you realized there wasn’t really any airflow.

Deeper into the darkness, you could faintly make out what looked to be lit torches around a corner. Turning off your flashlight and bringing your gun up, you slowly tip-toed your way to the hallway, peeking out slightly from around the corner.

It opened up into a room, three different sarcophagi lined up onto the wall with an altar on the opposite side. On the altar was a small statue of a ram-headed sphinx, the same symbol that had been on the canister. Frowning, you stepped inside of the room, walking towards the altar when a tile that you had stepped on suddenly dropped into the floor.

Gasping slightly, you jumped back off the tile, and you almost cursed at the way the lids to the sarcophagi practically blasted off. Rotten-looking zombies came falling out of the coffins, and you shot each in the head, watching them drop and completely die. A few rattlesnakes came out of the coffins, and you swore you almost felt sick to your stomach at the undead reptiles.