The horn of the riverboat echoed throughout the port, signaling everyone around the surrounding area that it is close to departing. The port was overly crowded as workers and passengers were creating a lively environment to this part of the river. We walked through a crowd of people with my luggage in one hand and Isaac holding the other to lead me the way. I never really noticed how tall Isaac really was, otherwise I would have been lost within this sea of people. At last we arrived at our destination as David, Bernard and Beni were waiting for us by one of the entrance ramps to the boat. I look at the group, only to realize that Dr. Chamberlain was not there. In which Isaac asks,
"Hey! Where's Dr. Know It All?".
In which David responds, "Don't worry, he'll be here. Just start putting the luggage in the boat, since you two are the last ones to get here."
We take our bags and make our way up the ramp and through the main deck to get to the living quarters. We get to the other end of the main deck, as I look over to see the small waves of the river crashing to the side of the boat.
"I think this is the first time I've ever been on a boat before." I stated.
"Really? Not even when we were kids growing up? asked Isaac.
"No. There weren't any rivers near where we lived, and when I left for Silver City, it was nothing but desert." I replied.
We arrive to the living quarters section of the boat as we both made our way to our room. Isaac was able to find it and opened the door to find that David and Bernard have already brought in their luggage from earlier. There were two bunk beds and it looks like both Isaac and I got the top bunk. We place our luggage on the beds and try to unpack whatever necessary items we will need for tonight. I opened my bag to see the book Dr. Bey let me borrow, I immediately took it out and placed it on the nightstand, so that I can read it later.
I also place the luggage full of my medical supplies and place it under the bunk bed, just so it doesn't go flying through the air with the sway of the boat.
"So, what's that you got there Anna?" asked Isaac.
I turn to see what Isaac was asking about, when I see that he was pointing at the New Kingdom of Egypt book.
"Oh that was from the museum that I was in earlier. I wanted to get some more information about Hamunaptra before we got there. You know, just some light reading," I explained.
Isaac then proceeds to grab the book and starts flipping through the pages, he stops at one page where he reads aloud,
"Nefertiri, in the wake of her father's death, Pharaoh Seti the first, fell to her death from the palace balcony, while his concubine, Anck Su Namun, ended her life with a stab wound to the abdomen that she inflicted upon herself."
Isaac paused to close the book and study it's cover and spine, to which he questioned,
"You sure you should be reading something like this as a "light read" Anna?" asked Isaac.
I take the book from Isaac's hand and place it back on the nightstand, as I explained,
"Oh come on, try reading a book about pharmaceuticals. This is nothing compared to those books."
Isaac shrugs his shoulders as if he was agreeing with me. I finish unpacking and start making my way towards the entrance of our room. I turned to Isaac to see he had finished unpacking as well as I suggested,
"Come on, we should probably see if "Dr. Know it all" finally made it."
Isaac gives a small chuckle at my remark and follows me out.
We make our way back to the direction of the shore line, when I see David, Bernard and Beni leaning against the railing on the other end of the deck. We soon joined them when I noticed Beni meddling with a revolver. A thought crossed my mind as I contemplated on how we allowed him to be our guide. I questioned Beni as he was playing with that gun, "So Beni, how long do you think it would take to get to Hamunaptra?"
He did not stop with what he was doing to answer, "It is three days down the nile, then two days by camel, my flower." I paused at that last remark when David continued to say, "With all the money we're paying you, there're better be something under that sand." I thought the same when Isaac pats David on the back to say, "Hamunaptra Daniels, thats all you got to keep telling yourself. Hamunaptra." Isaac then wraps his arm around my shoulder to try and get me to smile. Probably to deter me from that comment Beni made, but more so to try and lighten the mood. Which worked because Bernard was just as enthusiastic when he said, "We're going to find it boys! We're going to make history!" To which Isaac replied with the same amount of energy, "And get rich doing it!" Soon after, we hear the horn of the river boat announcing its departure from the shore line.
This is it, no going back now. Hamunaptra here we come.
We find ourselves killing time until we reach our destination. It wasn't long after that dawn was approaching and soon after the moonlight sky.
Bernard, David, Dr. Chamberlain and I were sitting under the awning of the main deck at a rather small table, as the group was conversing about sports, politics and any other topics that would pass the time.
"Look, all that I'm saying is that if the Yankees would have played their cards right and placed Ben Paschal more as an outfielder, maybe that would have had a better chance at winning the World series!" explained David.
"Babe Ruth was the only one in that game picking up the slack, it's not his fault that he was caught stealing second in the bottom of the ninth inning." rebutted Bernard.
I can never get into sports lingo, I would always get lost in the middle of the conversation. I then see Isaac, bringing over a few cups of whiskey and placing it on the small table that we had procured.
"All right boys, enough chit chat! Time to place some bets!" announces Isaac as he brings out a deck of old playing cards and starts shuffling the worn out cards.
"Now you're talking!" replied David.
I grab a cup of whiskey from the table so that they can have more playing room. I took a sip from the glass cup, when the burning sensation of the drink ran down my throat and caused me to cough a little. Isaac must have seen this coming, as he pats my back trying to get me to stop coughing out my lungs. I then watch the boys play few rounds of poker, noticing that Bernard seems to be having the better hand as luck seems to be on his side tonight. I get up to grab another drink from the bartender, when a man with a pith helmet came up and asked "Can I buy you a drink miss?" I look at the stranger and see that he's obviously British from his accent, but he's wearing a tan suit with his pants raised up to his waist and black boots to complete his "Safari look".
I politely declined the offer as I said, "No, thank you, I don't take drinks from strangers."
When immediately he responded with, "Well we are all strangers until we get to know each other." I pause at his response as I can tell he's the kind to not take no for an answer. He then proceeds to introduce himself, "Jonathan Carnahan miss! World adventurer and treasure seeker. Perhaps we can share a drink on this fine evening, miss...?"
"Annabelle Cambell and I would have to decline as I was already spending my evening with my colleagues here." I point to the playing table where Bernard wins yet another hand of Poker.
"Well that seems to be a good ol' time, how about we go over there and you can introduce me to your colleagues?" says Jonathan.
"No, really I..." He then pulls me to the direction of my group as I try and not drop my drink. We make it to the table when Jonathan says, "Hello chaps! I hear we're wagering bets on this fine evening. Care to add another player in your game?"
The group paused as they all stared at me, in which I shrugged my shoulders and gave a forcible grin on my face to indicate that I did not invite this man.
"Of course, why not, we could use another player. Bernard seems to be taking our money, so why not yours." says David.
The man quickly grabs another chair to bring to our, already cramped, table and then the game proceeds. I watch from the sidelines as the stranger seems to be already making wagers that seem to be out of his limits. Game after game, he seems to be losing more and more money. I scoff at the mere sight of this man as he probably has the worst of luck.
"So where are you fine gentleman and lady, coming from?" asked Jonathan
When David responds to "We're from the states, and you?"
"Oh I'm local, you know entrepreneurs like myself are often in the search for new worldly treasures" replied Jonathan.
"Treasure? What kind of treasure?" I asked
"Well, just like now! My colleagues and I are heading to the search for the lost city of Hamunaptra."
We all paused as to what we just heard. Who would have thought that some other group is also in search of Hamunaptra. I looked at Jonathan to see that he was unaware that we were all staring at him, until David spoke up to say, "Well what a coincidence, so are we!"
I looked to David to see that he had a glisten in his eye, as if he heard the greatest news of his life. "This game just got more interesting!" he added.
The night went on as this simple game of poker seemed to have become more exciting to the group. Bets and wagers were coming and going and I couldn't even keep track of who's winning or losing. It wasn't until David slams the deck of cards on the table and says,
"Quick playing with your glasses and cut the deck would you Burns!"
To which Bernard replied with the same energy and said "Well without my glasses I can't see the deck to cut it, can I Daniel?"
I hear the deck door open from behind me when me and Jonathan both look to see a tall man with a white button up, a tan jacket and brown hair walks through the door. In which Jonathan says, "O'Connell! Sit down, sit down, we can use another player!" Well this must be his colleague that he was talking about.
"I only gamble with my life, never my money." says O'Connell.
"Never? What if I was to bet you five hundred dollars says that we get to Hamunaptra before you!" David added. This must have struck a chord with O'Connell, because he seemed to have been upset over David's comment. "You're looking for Hamunaptra" O' Connell says, in which Issac replied with "Damn straight we are!" O'Connell looks around the table and proceeds to ask "Who says we are?" In which we all say "He does!" pointing at Jonathan simultaneously.
You can tell that O'Connell was upset as he gave Jonathan an unpleasant look. When David interrupts with a grin on his face to ask, "Well how about it? Is it a bet?" In which O'Connell gives a smirk of his own to David as a challenge and says, "Alright you're on."
Dr. Chamberlain, who has been silent this entire night, finally breaks silence and asked Mr. O'Connell, "What makes you so confident sir?" In which O'Connell responds back "Well what makes you?" I can tell with O'Connell's tone in his voice, that he's not one to mess around with. People like him are the ones that you should probably avoid any conflict with. I stood silent as this conversation seemed to be turning for the worst. "Well, we got us a man who's actually been there" announced Isaac.
I nudged Isaac with my elbow to tell him to shut up. He gave me an annoyed look as if we were siblings kicking each other under the dinner table. I wanted to avoid giving any more information to this group as much as possible, especially if what Beni said about Hamunaptra is true. Then Jonathan added to Isaac's comment by saying, "Well what a coincidence 'cus O'connell....."
Before Jonathan was able to finish his sentence, O'Connell swung his bag just enough to hit Jonathan in the back, just like what I did towards Isaac to get him to stop talking. I soon realized that both parties have something to hide, I wasn't acting paranoid after all by elbowing Isaac. "Who's play is it? Is, is it my play...." continued Jonathan as he was hoping that no one noticed that hit. When O'Connell placed his hand on Jonathan's shoulder and said, "Gentleman we got us a wager. Good evening. Jonathan" As he said that, you can tell that his grip got stronger as Jonathan winced in pain and then said "Goodnight to O'Connell."
I gave Jonathan a glare as I was still trying to understand what just happened. Obviously there is more at stake with this plan than I expected. I then remembered that I still have the book from Dr. Bey, that I still need to read on my nightstand. I stand up from my chair to start heading back to the room when Isaac asks, "Hey! Where are you going? The night is still young?" I turn to the play group and try to give an excuse as to why I'm leaving, "I'm going to bed, that whiskey is really turning my head and I need to lay down."
Isaac gives me a confused look as he knows that I've only had one and a half drinks tonight. I quickly give Isaac a gesture of goodbye and then say, "Don't let Bernard take all your money, lord know you don't have much as it is." It must have been a slap to Isaac's face as everyone in that table started laughing at what I said.
I make my way to the bedroom in a quick manner, when I notice puddles of water on the deck. It wouldn't have phased me since we're on a boat but, the puddles were leading up to the living quarters. I changed my pace a little faster until I was able to reach my destination. My heart was beating a little faster than normal as I grabbed the book from the night stand and tried to skim through the book to try and find any information about the curse. I reached a part in the book that spoke of a high priest who apparently had a secret affair with the pharaohs soon to be wife. I keep reading as I get to another part of the chapter that says, the High priest took the corpse of the mistress to Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead, to try and resurrect her. But he soon fell to his demise and was then executed soon after. I flip to the next page and it tells how the priest and his subjects were condemned to suffer an ancient ritual called the "Hom Dai", it said that this ritual was so horrible, that it was only performed once. I flip to the next page to read more, but it just skips to the children of Seti I. As I flipped the pages back and forth to read more about this ritual, it was never mentioned again, "It's like it skipped a whole chapter of the book?"
I skip to the end of the book to see something written on the last page of the book that is written in what looks to be arabic. I try my best to try and decipher this language when I hear gunshots from a distance. I jumped out of my skin to the loud banging of the gun shots that I dropped the book on the ground. I jump to my feet to turn off the lights and I grab my dagger from my holster. I didn't even know how to use the knife but I grabbed it like my life depended on it. I then hear the gunshots get closer and closer towards my direction and then I hear a loud thud from outside my door. My heart was pounding from my chest and I was breathing heavily. The air in the room was getting more dense as if this dark room was getting smaller and smaller with each breath I took. I hear the door knob jiggle as if someone is trying to get in. I close my eyes and try to block out the noise when suddenly I hear
"ANNA! ANNA OPEN THE DOOR!"
I open my eyes and quickly run to the door and swing the door open to find Isaac standing right in front of me. He then proceeds to hug me as if he was happy to see me alive. He turns on the lights to see that there was no one else in this room. He then starts grabbing his guns and ammo from his luggage and placing it in a backpack. I quickly do the same and try to grab any necessary items that can fit into my bag as well.
"Isaac what's going on?!" I say in sheer panic.
In which Isaac replies, "Some men dressed in black robes started shooting up the place, next thing we know there was a fire starting and I started running back here to get you. I ended up killing one of them on the way here, so they mean business."
He then starts loading up his revolvers with bullets as if he is getting ready for battle. I quickly packed any medications, sutures and bandages in whatever room I had left in my bag. My hands were shaking from the adrenaline being pumped into me that I was starting to drop things on the floor. I then remembered about the book, I went to grab it and shove it in my bag when suddenly we heard an explosion.
"It sounds like it's coming from the stables!" Isaac says. He quickly grabs my arm and places the dagger in my hands as he says, "It's now or never." All of a sudden my hands stopped shaking, I guess what Isaac said about having a weapon is true, it does calm your nerves. "Come on Anna! LETS GO!" yelled Isaac.
I put on my backpack as fast as I could then Isaac and I started running to the deck where we were playing poker earlier. I see the chaos of the battle as we run through the corridors of the boat. Men are jumping ship, some are getting shot and there's a fire that broke out in the kitchen. We get to the deck when I see the gang huddled behind a makeshift trench made out of luggage, chairs and tables with David reloading his revolver and Bernard shooting like a cowboy in a movie. Isaac then yells for me to duck, as he pulls me down in a sliding motion to the group.
"Where the hell have you been Henderson?!" yells David
"I had to go get Anna! She was trapped in the room by herself!" replied Isaac as he started shooting overhead to the other opposing trench from across the deck. I looked over to see that Isaac was actually hitting his marks. One by one the men in black robes started dropping like flies and the guys were so in sync that they started yelling like cowboys. I see that Dr. Chamberlain was cowering in the corner as he was flinching with every shot being made.
I then saw a figure next to me running towards our direction, It was Jonathan! He paused to see how our group was doing when he let out a muffled word, "Americans."
When out of nowhere a man in black robes and literally on fire comes out like a bat out of hell and starts attacking Jonathan! I call out to Isaac to help Jonathan as he starts shooting at the man on fire, that he emptied his revolver within seconds. I looked in awe as I had never seen Isaac in action like this before. I can see why he's the weapons expert, he had no hesitation in his shots. I turn to see Dr. Chamberlain had his jaw dropped from the mere sight of that battle, that it looked like he was frozen.
"Bloody good show chaps!" says Jonathan as he whips out a black hexagon shaped block from his pocket. "And did I panic? I think not!" he says as he throws it in the air.
When suddenly an explosion erupts in front of us, we all must have panicked because we all jumped ship! As I was falling my body met with the cold embrace of the river water and I started kicking to the surface. I took in a deep breath once I reached the surface and looked around me to see if we all made it out alive. I start swimming to the shore line as I hear the guys behind me, ensuring me that we all made it.
I get to land as I start coughing up any water that got into my lungs, I then see David, Bernard and Isaac next to me as we were all exhausted from the battle. I go to give them all a big hug, as I said, "Thank God you guys are alright!" In which they all gave me a hug back, ensuring me that they were happy to see that I was safe as well.
After the hug, we noticed that there was a wave of horses, having a hard time getting to the shore. We all go to help lead the horses to safety, Isaac being the cowboy as he is, grabs a hold of two of them to try and lead them to dry land. "Come on doggies! Give them a smack would ya!"he said as he almost lost his balance trying to pull.
David then made a comment saying, "This a messed up country!" while tripping and falling into the water.
I was able to lead a horse to dry land as it was breathing hard and heavy. I brushed its nose up and down to calm it down, which seemed to have worked as it started to close its eyes as I was doing so.
I then hear a familiar voice in the chaos yelling, "O'Connell! Hey O'Connell!" It was Beni! In which I said "Son of a bitch ended up making it."
It looked like Beni was trying to wave down O'Connell and his group as he said, "It looks to me that I got all of the horses!"
"Hey Beni! Looks to me like you're on the wrong side of the river!" O'Connell yells back. This must have upsetted Beni because he starts kicking the water and cursing in the air like a child.
I look over to see the burning river boat slowly moving down the current. I realize that most of our supplies and the money that we brought for this trip was also burning in that boat. I give out a sigh of disbelief as I announced, "Everything was in that boat.... Do you know what this means?"
"We're shit out of luck" David replied.
I looked at the group and saw that they had no clue how bad the gravity of this situation was. "It means most of the supplies, especially our rations that we brought, are up in flames. We still have at least four days of travel to get to our destination. We better start praying that there's treasure in Hamunaptra if we are ever to go back home."
I look to the desert and say under my breath,
"Otherwise, we're going to die out here."
Official Art
Jonathan seducing Annabelle, meanwhile chaos ensues.