HOPE YOU ENJOY
PLEASE VOTE
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Shiro, Pidge and Lance race up the staircase, just ahead of the mass of scurrying, chittering scarabs.
Shiro leaps out onto a pedestal and Lance jumps up next to him.
Pidge jumps up into a grotto on the other side of the narrow stairway.
The horrible herd of vicious scarabs scurries between them, their ear-piercing chitters send shivers up Pidge's spine.
She leans back.
The wall moves.
Pidge falls backwards through an opening.
Shiro and Lance are left to watch the scarabs vanish up the staircase.
Then they look across the way.
Pidge is gone.
"Katie!?" Lance cried out in stomach dropping horror over his vanished sister, dread creeping up him as he thought over the worse and tears started falling freely from his eyes.
Shiro simply staying silent, unable to speak, even to call out for her, as he stared where he was certain she jumped too. He was sure she was safe across them, his heart aching as it couldn't believe that she wasn't alive, wasn't left safe somewhere.
She had to be, he couldn't lose her like this.
With Pidge..
Pidge sits up, shakes the sand out of her hair, fearfully looks around.
It's almost pitch black.
She gets up and feels her way along the dark walls. She rounds a corner.
A shaft of moonlight filters in through a crack in the ceiling.
A man stands in the middle of the room.
Pidge is left with no other choice but to walks towards him.
"Oh thank god, Curtis. I was just starting to get a bit spooked on my own and why I don't think we've had the best start. I think it's good that we're not al- AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Pidge started to say with fear laced in her voice as she hurried over to him, glad she wasn't lost by herself right now before screaming in fright as Curtis turned round and showing himself without any eyes.
Pidge stumbled back as he blindly wobbled towards her, waving his arms about before failing to speak clearly.
"My eyes. My eyes" Curtis sobbed out, trying to feel for her as she backed away, scared over what would have done such a thing to him when he was with his friend just a few minutes before.
Coming to a halt as the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and a low growl echoed behind her. She shakily turned around before screaming in fright all over again as she was faced with the missing mummy. Curtis feeling to his knees in panic somewhere behind her as she tried stepping away from the mummy.
Sweat falling from her forehead and she knew how sweaty her hands truly were as her back met with an wall. Her hands shakily and urgently feeling around to get her baring's once more and feel for a way out.
The mummy himself still creeping towards her, acting like an predator to it's cornered prey. Taking no notice over Curtis anymore, even as the older man tried crawling away. The mummy eyes were completely set on her and her alone right now.
Pidge struggling to find her voice, fear taking it far away right now as her blood ran cold. Her body trembled and she felt completely defenceless right now. No smart remark or bravery actions filled her mind, just pure cold terror.
"P-P-P-Please h-help me" Pidge whimpered out, turning her gaze towards Curtis who almost crawled out of the room completely before quickly turning her gaze back to the mummy who simply stood before her now.
She knew Curtis was injured and as scared as she was, she was being selfish for asking for his help. But she was too scared, to desperate for someone to make this all go away to think properly over it all.
The mummy turning almost all of his body to look behind and see Curtis almost reaching one of the three doorways out of the room.
"He took my tongue" Curtis cried out, still using his arms to crawl him away as his legs laid limp in fear.
"Please, at least don't leave me" Pidge begged, feeling her whole body shake and the tears starting to form in her eyes as she didn't want to die by herself. She didn't want to be alone and have her body buried in the sand, forgotten and hidden forever.
The mummy turning back to her, growling ever so slightly and making her want to vomit over the sight of his rotten self. The smell was just as unpleasant and he looked completely terrifying so close.
"Anck-su-namun?" The Mummy spoke making her even more scared than before.
With Shiro and Lance,
By the Trapdoor..
"Damn it! It's a trapdoor" Shiro hissed out as he's feeling his way around inside the grotto.
"S-S-So, s-she's still alive? R-Right? P-Pidgey is okay" Lance sniffed back in relief and desperate to know that his sister to be was actually alive and unharmed still.
"There must be a switch around here someplace" Shiro grumbled back as he tried shoving at the trapdoor when he felt not levers to pull down on.
Yelled echoed from the direction where the scarabs had gone past them and soon Antok came rushing out with a horrified Regris behind him and an digger that got lost in the halls earlier.
"Run, you sons of bitches! Run!" Antok screamed out like an mad man making both Shiro and Lance know it's bad if Antok was letting his fear take over completely.
"Go" Shiro simply told Lance who didn't need telling twice before they got running.
Shiro and Lance soon joining along behind Antok and Regris leaving the digger at the back. All of them stuck hearing the herd of chittering scarabs coming their way.
The poor digger suddenly trips and falls earning Shiro to slow down, ready to go back and help him. But it's too late. The digger screams in horror as the herd of scarabs run over him, eating straight through him, leaving behind the Digger's half eaten skeleton. Antok and Lance react in horror. Shiro is already running, races right past them. The others turn and haul ass after him knowing if Shiro couldn't handle the scarabs than they couldn't either.
With Pidge..
The mummy steps forward, the sand around him seems to magnetize, swirling and dancing around his flaking skeletal legs. Pidge stars shuffling along the wall, horrified, glancing for one of the doorways for her to slip through.
Pidge shivers in fear as the mummy simply side steps along with her, following her every move.
"Come with me my Princess Anck-su-namun" The mummy speaks once more, offering his hand towards her to take.
Suddenly, Shiro comes flying around the corner and runs right up to her. Her relief never getting a chance to take over as her eyes stayed glued to the mummy before them that he clearly hasn't noticed yet.
"Would you quit playin, around! Let's get outta here already!" Shiro snapped back as he knew it was a good idea to just get out of this god damn place already.
But than Shiro sees the look in her eyes and turns around. A yelp leaving his lips at the sight of the mummy, Shiro jumps back in fright. Standing beside Katie, their arms and shoulder's touching and he quickly glanced down when something gripped at his sleeve only for him to find Katie shaking hand holding it with her fingers.
Shiro and Katie start backing away, sliding their backs along the wall to keep as far back from the wall as they could. Shiro slipping hand into Katie shaking one, trying to give the little comfort he could to her right now as he tried leading her back the way they came.
The mummy glides sideways with them, like a tiger cornering his prey, the sand around him swirls and dances. It toys with them, following along before stopping once more as the rest came tumbling in.
"Pidgey!" Lance cried out in relief before screaming at the sight of the mummy.
"I-I've found o-our m-mi-missing m-mummy" Pidge nervously stuttered back, her grip on Shiro hand even tighter than before.
But than the mummy suddenly stops and unhinges his skeletal jaw, his skinless mouth stretches to an inhuman size, and he lets out a horrific, primordial shriek.
Katie scream, feeling Shiro release her hand at the same time.
Lance, Regris and Antok freeze to the spot.
Shiro shudders, then, embarrassed by his fear, he opens his own mouth and roars right back at him.
"Ahhhhhhhh!!" Shiro roared back with all that he had, trying to spook the mummy back before blasting him with the elephant gun. Seeing through all the smoke and flammage, he sees the mummy blown off his feet, his ribcage half torn away.
Giving Shiro the perfect chance to grab Katie hand once more and start running all over again.
"Move" Lance ordered the other two frightened males behind him as he started chasing after his sister to be and Shiro.
"Did you see that?" Regris cried out as he and Antok got running after Lance.
"It was walking. It was walking!" Antok freaked out completely, neither of them seeing the mummy get back up again.
Sand and wind whip through the ruins as the group of five stumble up out of the crevice and come face to face with ten armed Magi. Within the blink of an eye the Magi quickly raise their guns towards the group. Antok, Regris and Lance raise their hands in surrender while Shiro pushed Katie behind him protectively, keeping a tight grip on her hand to make sure nothing could drag her away from behind either. The Egyptologist, James, is already on his knees, hands shakily clinging to the locked book in his arms still.
Keith finally steps forward, pulling his scar free from his face to show who he was and getting an unpleasant look from Shiro.
"I told you to leave or die, you refused, and now you may have killed us all. For you have unleashed the creature that we have feared for more than three thousand years" Keith snarled out as he glared towards the group for their actions even after he had warned them once already.
"Relax, I got him" Shiro calmly replied like it was no big deal and gaining an eye roll from Keith. Not feeling as Katie slipped her hand free and stood with her brother to be in surrender. Not waning to get mixed up between Shiro and Keith mini "who's got a bigger dick" war.
"No mortal weapons can kill this creature. He is not of this world" Keith snapped back over how foolish Shiro was speaking right now.
"Are we talkin, about the same creature? The walking corpse? Really big mouth? Really bad breath?" Shiro asked back in an joking manner, getting on Keith nerves with each passing second.
"Takashi!" Katie scolded as she slapped his back since this wasn't the time to argue or make jokes.
Soon two Magi start to drag Curtis up. The poor injured man can only stare out with vacant sockets. Leaving both Antok and Regris especially horrified. Catching their partner as he's thrown to them by the two Magi who soon return to stand with the rest of their own men.
"You bastards!" Regris growled out, glaring towards the Magi men while Antok cradles Curtis the best he can.
"What did you do to him!?" Antok yelled out, enraged by the cruelty they've shown to Curtis. They might not have been good friend but no one deserved to be treated like this.
"We saved him! Saved him before the creature could finish his work. Now leave, all of you, quickly, before he finishes you all" Keith simply answered, shaking his head in disapproval over the other's trying to pass blame onto his own men. Before turning serious, passing on his own mission the rest have forced him to do.
"You're not going to kill us?" Lance asked in surprise before groaning in pain as Pidge elbows him in the ribs.
"We must now hunt him down, and try and find a way to kill him, before he consumes the earth. Allah be with us" Keith explained, giving out an order in his home tongue before he and his men started heading down into the crevice.
"I told ya, I already got him!" Shiro yells back at them trying to convince himself.
"Know this, the creature will be coming for you. He must consummate the curse. And until he does, he will never eat, he will never sleep, and he will never stop" Keith stops and looks back, being deadly serious as he gives his reply. Before turning once more and jumps down into the crevice after his own men.
"Will you stop trying to out man the dude! He's just doing his job and we were too foolish to listen" Katie huffed out in announce as she slapped at Shiro arm making him cry out in pain.
"OW! I can't help it! The kid tried killing me three times already. I've grown to dislike him" Shiro grumbled back, backing away as Katie was ready to slap him again.
"I thought you were meant to be the mature one" Katie huffed out tiredly as she placed her hands on her hips, rolling her eyes over his childish he's being.
"I am when it doesn't involve him" Shiro argued back in his defence with a bit of a pout that Katie certainly did not find cute, not at all, nope .. okay, maybe a little.
"We need to get Curtis to a doctor" Antok spoke up in urgently, normally finding it amusing to find someone like Shiro cowering away from someone as small as Pidge.
"Than head back to the city, get him some help" Pidge ordered back without skipping a beat, knowing Curtis needed the medical help.
"Are you not coming with us?" Regris asked unsure from the tone she used.
"Yes" Lance answered back without skipping a beat as he was ready to hide away in the city and drink away his fears right now.
"No" Pidge answered at the same time complexly serious.
"No?" Lance and Shiro repeated in disbelief after all they just faced and she wanted to stay.
"I'm staying here to speak with the Magi once they've finished our mummy hunt" Katie explained as she looked towards Shiro when he moved towards her in an panic.
"No you're not" Shiro snapped back, not letting her be anywhere near the growing dangers below them any longer.
"Yes I am. They've been guarding Hamunaptra for all this time meaning they saw who comes and goes. They'll know over Matthew" Katie argued back without any care over her own life right now since this was the only way to find her brother.
"Pidgey, I think the scary Magi men are a little busty with dealing with our killer mummy. Why don't we hurry away to safety and come back when the world isn't in danger" Lance nervously mumbled back as he wobbled over to her, placing an hand on her shoulder and knowing she was still as terrified as he was over this whole curse mess.
"Lance, you return somewhere safe for now and I'll meet up with you later. I can't give up my chance at finding any real answers over Matt, it might be our only shot" Pidge replied calmly, giving her best brave face to show she'd be all right here on her alone and wanting him to get to safety.
"I'm not leaving this place without you" Shiro snarled back stubbornly.
"Great! That means you can stay here with me and not let the mummy eat me if Keith fails to hunt it down" Katie grinned back as she hopped over to him, feeling a bit better now that Shiro would be around with her.
"That wasn't what I was aiming for" Shiro sighed back as he didn't mean for her to just accept it. He meant for himself to drag her to an camel and kidnap her back to the city where she'd be safe.
"Too late, you've offered to help now" Katie smirked back, an cheeky shine to her eyes as she held her hands behind her back, leaning forward.
"I'll stay too but only before I want to smack Keith one if he ends up being the one who hurt Matt" Lance mumbled out, not believing himself over staying behind but knowing he couldn't just leave her here either.
"With that thought in mind, I'll gladly stay back with you. As long as I get the honour to shoot Keith if he ends up the one to kill Matt" Shiro perked up at the new option given out over them staying.
"Deal" Pidge grinned back with an happy nod.
"Mr Shirogane can't be the one to stay behind since we've lost Slav somewhere inside. We need someone to guide us back to the city" Antok spoke up with slight panic as they wouldn't be able to find their own way back now.
"And Curtis is in need of seeing a real good doctor. We can't just hang about here. I'm sorry" Regris added on with an frown as they knew what they'd be asking over Shiro to do.
"I'm not leaving Katie on her own" Shiro huffed back with an deep and stubborn look.
"Than we'll ask the Magi to lead you back" Pidge perked up instead, slapping her hands together and making the rest turn towards her.
"And you think they'd just help us? Are you insane!" Lance cried back like she finally lost it.