The Eyes Have It

Chapter 5: So This Is Love

"What's going on?"

His eyes look at me before turning back around "screw him, come on"

We start to jog towards the stairs as Larry checks his watch "Larry, what the hell is going on?"

"It's Ahk" he starts explaining "sometimes it's a little... difficult to get him into his sarcophagus"

"Difficult?" I ask when we reach the top of the stairs, I was concerned about this, from the first moment I laid eyes on that sarcophagus and figured out that he had to get into it.

"Yeah, he gets a little anxious, starts to get a little angry"

We reach his tomb and I'm shocked at what I see, a lot of men are on the floor, one is in Ahkmenrah's grip, dangling a few centimetres 0ff the floor "anxious? The word you chose to use was, anxious?"

Larry shrugs as he moves towards one of the groaning men on the floor, he'd better get them to their exhibits before the sun comes up, or they'll be stuck in these positions all day "you go calm him down, I'll get these guys back to where they're meant to be"

I nod quickly and run towards Ahkmenrah, what the hell am I supposed to say? "Ahk... put him down" I say in a stern tone, trying to channel mum when she shouts at me or orders me around.

Ahkmenrah doesn't even turn to look at me, his eyes stay fixed on the man he's choking "I won't go back in there" he says through gritted teeth.

We don't have time for this! I grab his face and make him look at me "hey, hey! Everything is going to be okay, come on baby you've got to put him down"

He takes a second to stare at me "Celeste?" He whispers, his expression softening.

I smile and breathe out a "yes" before letting go of his face "I'm here, look at me I'm right here" my eyes glance at the man who's face is growing redder by the minute "you have to put him down now"

Ahkmenrah looks at the man in his tight grasp, almost like he's breaking free of some kind of trance he lets the man go, I tell him to go find Larry and don't stop to watch him leave, I stay focused on Ahkmenrah "I'm so sorry... you must think me a monster"

"No" I say as I take his hands "never" I check the time on my watch and realise that I don't have enough time to comfort him "I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry, I know you're scared but we're running out of time, you have to get in" he gulps and nods slowly, turning around to climb into the glass case, I help him in and watch as he sits down, staring up at me with childlike eyes "it's okay, look, I'm here, okay, just lie down"

"Promise me you'll close your eyes"

I nod quickly as he closes his and the tablet starts to glow, his skin starts to slowly dry out and collapse around his bones, I close my eyes like he asked and reach up for the lid of the sarcophagus, lowering it slowly to conceal the desiccating Pharaoh. Tears start to flood my eyes as I remember how scared he looked, I'd be too if I was stuck in a coffin for 57 years, screaming out for help, crying myself to sleep so that the darkness would go away, wrapped in suffocating bandages that probably wreaked of rotting flesh. The thought alone is enough to keep me up at night.

Larry walks in and rubs my shoulder "the first time is always the hardest, making him go in there"

The only thing I can bring myself to do is nod, I can't think about the look on his face anymore or my heart will just break. So I wipe my tears and try my best to hold myself together "um, can I... can I hang around here for a while? I can't go back to the hotel this early"

He looks hesitant about leaving me here alone, but in the end he sees that I have no where else to go "sure, yeah, uh, just let me get you some blankets and you can catch some z's on one of the benches, I know it's not ideal but..."