𝑫𝑹𝑨𝑷𝑬𝑻𝑶𝑴𝑨𝑵𝑰𝑨 - Ardeth Bay

eighteen

"Shut up and get me off here, Jonathan!" Evelyn screamed, struggling in her shackles. "Open the book, Jonathan. It's the only way to kill him. You have to open the book and find the inscription."

"Well, I can't open it. It's locked or something." Jonathan yelled back, struggling to open the book.

"The key." Tiye mumbled to herself, realising they needed the key.

"We need the key, Evy!" Jonathan called down, hearing what Tiye said.

"It's inside his robes." Evelyn informed them. Tiye grabbed Jonathan's arm and dragged him away once noticing Imhotep advancing towards them.

"Here's an inscription." Tiye said, running her finger over the hieroglyphs covering the cover of the golden book.

"Rasheem - Rasheem oola- Rasheem oola Kashka!" Jonathan read out, silently cheering to himself. Doors burst open and an army of mummified Egyptian soldiers stormed into the room. "Oh boy!"

"What did you just do?" The Egyptian woman sighed, groaning slightly as she glared small daggers at the man.

"Do something, Jonathan." Evy glanced over at her brother.

"Me?"

"You can command them." Tiye told him, grabbing his arm and pulling him backwards, away from danger.

"You have got to be joking." Jonathan protested.

"Finish the inscription on the cover, idiot. Then you can control them." Evelyn shouted at her brother. "Ti, can help you."

"My hieroglyphic skills are not the best." Tiye smiled innocently as the man beside her groaned in annoyance. Jonathan and Tiye quickly ran to find somewhere safe and away from mummies to finish the inscription.

"Hurry up, you two." Evy shrieked.

"Evy!" Tiye noticed her friend in danger. She grabbed her dagger and raced towards Evy and Anck-su-namun. Before the undead woman could attack Tiye raised her dagger and faught off the woman, buying Evy some time to escape.

"I can't figure out this last symbol." Jonathan called out to the women.

"What does it look like?" Evy asked. Anck-su-namun dived forwards and aimed for Tiye, missing but catching her arm. It shoved the Egyptian woman aside and ran for Evelyn.

"It's a, uh- a bird-a stork!" Jonathan shouted back.

"Ahmenophus!" Tiye stated, staggering to her feet and running back towards Evy.

"Oh, yes, I see." Jonathan grinned to himself.

"Hurry up, Jonathan." Both women screamed. Anck-su-namun held Evy by the throat while throwing Tiye backwards.

"Uh, Hootash im Ahmenophus." Jonathan read out, watching as the guards stopped their attack on Rick and went still. Imhotep tried to command them but it was no use. Jonathan commanded them to kill Anck-su-namun.

"Come on!" While the guards re-killed Anck-su-namun, Tiye grabbed Evelyn by the arm and dragged her away from the mummies.

"Evy, I got it!" Jonathan called, proudly holding up the key to the book. Both women ran to him, wanting to finally put an end to the curse.

"Keep him busy." Evelyn told Rick as she quickly got to work opening the book.

"No problem." He groaned in pain. As the book opened the two women instantly started reading through the hieroglyphs, trying to find the right one.

"Hurry, Evy. Hurry." Jonathan rushed his sister, noticing Rick being strangled.

"You're not helping." She snapped at him. "Oh, I've got it!"

As Evelyn read out the ancient Egyptian, spirits from the afterlife burst into the underground chamber, grabbing on to Imhoteps immortality and dragging it away.

"I thought you said it was going to kill him." Rick complained, grabbing a sword and standing proactively in front of the Carnahan siblings and the Egyptian woman. As Imhotep angrily stomped towards them, Rick shoved the sword into its stomach, blood pouring.

"He's mortal." Tiye smiled victoriuosly, watching as he stepped back into the water of souls, going back to his dead self before finally dying.

"Death is only the beginning." Evelyn translated Imhoteps final words.