The Mummy Trilogy: Iris Carnahan

Legs of Anubis

Iris' POV

"Ah, begging your pardon, but shouldn't we be going?" Jonathan asks Ric.

"After all, you rode us night and day to win that bet" Evie adds. Ric doesn't say a word, staring hard. Beni watches the Americans and spits into the sand.

"Fools" he grumbles. And then suddenly, the volcano shifts across the horizon. Passing across the sun as it goes.

"It's a mirage!" I shout smiling. The Americans crash their horses to a stop and race the other way, after the volcano. Evelyn, Jonathan and I smile, amazed. The volcano finally comes to a stop on the far left of the horizon. Beni and Ric take off making their camels gallop. "Let's go Evie!" I cheer and she makes our camel run holding me close.

Jonathan and the Warden follow quickly behind us. Evie and I pass Beni, who Rick had pushed off of his camel. "Serves you right" Evie tells him and I giggle.

"Faster Evie!" I shout and she makes the camel go faster. I laugh as we pass Rick.

"Go Evie and Iris, go!" Jonathan cheers us on. We enter the city first quickly followed by Rick. Evie slows the camel down.

"Again! Again!" I shout smiling.

"Another time Iris" Evie assures me smiling as the Americans arrive.

"You boys owe me five hundred bucks" Rick tells them.

"Don't they owe Evie and I five hundred buck? We won" I remind him. We dismount our camels and I notice a bunch of stray camels. "Why are they here?" I ask confused.

"They belong to the dead. They will wait years for their masters to return before leaving" Beni explains. The groups then split up to build their camps. Evie and I get our own tent, while the three men had to share. But I doubt we'll use them, it's a beautiful day and I'd love to sleep under the stars.

The Americans are by the main doorway, where the native diggers get to work. While we're near a hole in the ground, Ric called it a crevice. Rick ties a rope around a pillar and throws the rest of the coils into the crevice. Jonathan yelps and backs away from something. I look up to see the decrepit face of Anubis. I hide behind Rick.

"That thing gives me the creeps" Jonathan states.

"Be nice, that thing saved my life" Ric tells him.

"That thing gets me excited" Evie states.

"But it's scary" I tell her.

"The things that get you excited and don't fear Iris. You're perfectly safe" Ric assures me.

"According to Bembridge Scholars, inside the statue of Anubis was a secret compartment, perhaps containing The Book Of The Living" Evie explains. I smile, that is exciting.

"What's with the mirrors?" he asks Evie.

"Ancient Egyptian trick. You'll see" Evie tells him. Rick then jumps into the hole going down the rope. Jonathan has me climb onto his back and hold on tight. He then takes us both down the rope. Evie soon joins us with the warden.

"Do you realize, we are standing inside a room that no one has entered in over four thousand years" I tell the others. Evie smiles and dusts some cobwebs off an ancient mirror. She angles it to catch the ray of light from the mirrors outside. It bounces off other mirrors illuminating the whole room.

"That is a neat trick" Rick tells her.

"Oh my god! It's a preparation room!" Evie exclaims. I cling to Jonathan's arm.

"Preparation for what?" Rick asks.

"For entering the after life" Evie clarifies.

"Mummies, my good son, this is where they made the mummies" Jonathan states.

"Can we go now?" I beg feeling creeped out by the room. Evie nods her head taking my hand. We head down a narrow passageway, the others following us. As we continue, we hear something and freeze. It sounds like somebody is clawing inside the walls. I cling to Evie's side.

"I'm sure it just bugs" Rick assures me.

"Bugs? I hate bugs" the warden states. We slowly move forward and it's gets darker. We soon hear the sound again and it sounds louder. Rick pulls out his pistol cocking it.

We slowly creep out of the labyrinth and up to the foot of an enormous half-buried statue. The lower half of Anubis. Again we hear the sound getting closer. Rick pulls Evie and I behind him. He raises his gun as Jonathan and the warden pull out their own guns. I didn't even know Jonathan owned a gun.

As we round the corner three sweaty faces appear and I scream hugging Evie. "Ya scared the bejeezus out of us, O'Connell" one of the Americans state.

"You scared Iris" Ric tells him.

"This here is our statue,... friend" another tells him.

"Don't see your name on it, pal" Ric retorts. That's when Beni, five Diggers and the Egyptologist step out of the shadows, -- all holding guns aimed at Rick. I look down and notice another hole. I tug Evie's arm and she looks down at me. I kick some pebbles into the hole and she gets the idea.

"Let's be nice, children, if we're going to play together, we must learn to share" she tells the men. Who lower their guns. "There are other places to dig" she states. We leave the Americans with the base of Anubis as Evie leads us to another chamber.

A/N

Gif above of Hamunaptra appearing and picture on the external link of the stand off.