My Love Will Laugh With Me (Before Morning Comes)

Meritamen

The stone face silently screams in the dark of the crater. The underground leaves a lasting impression on the face. Earth clings to the black stone after millennia underground. Its eyes are dark and chain Lelah to the sand. She stands at the mouth of the hole: brown eyes trained on the scream.

Muted shrieks echo through her ears and a voice choked with tears whispers:

"Meritamen."

Lela shivers at the halted name. Her heart aches deep in her chest as she struggles to breathe through it. The voice sounds so familiar: husky yet sweet. Again, the name echoes through her ears until someone misses a step behind her.

She blinks. The voice is gone and soon so will her friend. Lelah grabs Jenny's arm roughly right before she can hit the sand and possibly slide down. It happens so quickly few catch the misstep  Jenny comes to her feet quickly, unshaken and smiling widely. Jenny hits Lelah's arm repeatedly, excited.

"Oh my God! Lela, don't you see it?!"

Lelah nods still coming back to herself.

Chris, the man wearing the same uniform as Nick, approaches. He looks anything but scary. Chris awkwardly rubs his neck staring into the dark of the tunnel. Lelah sees him and grins when he flinches at the depth of the hole.

Jenny notices his attention.

"It's Egyptian," She says half explaining half thinking out loud.

"Why is that-?"

"We're not in Egypt," Lelah says interrupting. "Yeah, we're on the Fertile Crescent, but this is Mesopotamia."

"We're on the Persian Gulf, Chris."

Jenny nods without looking at anyone.

"Right. Egypt is a thousand miles away, so it's pretty unusual," Chris surmises shaking his head.

Both archaeologists race to the Colonel. As Jenny grabs the supplies, Lelah begins to talk.

"Colonel, my partner and I are here to save ancient relics from being destroyed. There is no reason an Egyptian work should be underground unless it's leading to a room. That room is probably filled with countless treasures that are now exposed because of that air strike. You need to protect this area until we get as much out as possible."

Lelah waited for him to meet her eyes.

"I want in there and you're letting me," Lelah says gesturing towards him. "Name your price."

***

As Lelah scales down the tunnel, she eyes the men behind her in suspicion. Nick's friend apparently named Chris shrinks back when her eyes meet his. Good.  Lelah stares down Nick from head to toe as they start to reach the middle. She gives one last meaningful glare at his eyes and hands before looking down to see their progress.

The hole is larger than Lelah thought. A pit forms in her stomach. The farther they go, the darker it becomes. She refuses to give into it. At a certain point, Lelah reaches for her flashlight glaring at the rocky walls. She bites her cheek as they continue down. At a snail's pace, they gradually reach the ground. Lelah is the first to remove herself from the safety harness, and her hair stands up as she feels someone watching her.

She points her flashlight almost dropping at what she sees.

Behind her was the gigantean figure: all man except for his birdlike head. A single eye stared down Lelah, and she held in a chill. The Set statue would've hidden Lelah in his shadow if sunlight reached that deep. It was an otherworldly green under her flashlight. She swallowed harshly as she took in his stance. Set, the god of violence, desert, storms, and chaos knelt on one knee. What would possess a god to bow to another?