The Mummy

GIZA PORT, A WEEK LATER.

The port was crowded. Actually it was worse than that. Harry hated crowded places and he so he felt like he had just walked into his worst nightmare. He sighed as he tried not to bump into anyone. He wasn't even sure he was walking straight, his two heavy suitcases were making him stumble left and right. He nearly bumped into Jonathan, who was walking right next to him, several times. He really shouldn't have packed so many things.

“Do you really think he's going to show up?” He asked Jonathan, trying to take his mind off the heaviness of his suitcases.

“Yes, undoubtedly, knowing my luck.” Jonathan reassured him. “He may be a cowboy but I know his breed. His word is his word.”

Harry didn't know if he wanted O'Connell to show up. A part of him wanted O'Connell to show up for he was their map to Hamunaptra. Another part of him wanted O'Connell to stay as far away from him as possible. He couldn't stand being around ill-mannered people and that was what O'Connell was. Only a person with no education would have dared to kiss him like O'Connell had. He still couldn't believe he had let O'Connell steal his first kiss, he hated himself for it. He couldn't stop thinking about him though. O'Connell simply didn't want to get out of his head, and neither did the kiss.

“Well, personally I think he's filthy, rude, a complete scoundrel. I don't like him one bit.” Harry said and he meant every last word.

“Anyone I know?” He heard a deep voice ask from behind him which made him jump slightly.

He turned around and immediately felt like he just got the air knocked out of him. O'Connell was standing right there, in front of Harry. Harry didn't know what to say, he had to admit he was impressed. O'Connell looked nothing like the O'Connell Harry had met at the prison. This O'Connell was shaved and showered, he had a clean haircut and was well-dressed. He even smelled really good.

“Oh.” Harry mumbled, looking for something clever to say. “Um, hello.”

It was the only thing he managed to say. His mind was blank. The only thing he seemed to be able to do was look at O'Connell. He wasn't even sure he would be able to look away if he wanted to but it didn't matter because he didn't want to look away. Even in his wildest dreams, Harry would have never imagined O'Connell to look as dashing. He had to admit that he wouldn't really mind kissing those pinkish lips now. He wouldn't mind feeling them against his own without the disgusting taste of filth he had tasted the first time.

Jonathan chuckled, pulling Harry out of his thoughts. “Smashing day for the start of an adventure, eh, O'Connell?” Jonathan said, enthusiastically shaking O'Connell's hand.

“Yeah. Yeah, smashing.” He agreed slowly before checking his pockets.

“Oh, no, no. I'd never steal from a partner, Partner.” Jonathan laughed easily.

O'Connell laughed right back and Harry liked that sound. He liked the sound of O'Connell laughing, it was deep and rough and really manly. He liked it very much.

“That reminds me. No hard feelings about the, uh...”

“Oh, no, no. Happens all the time.” Jonathan said, waving his hand dismissively.

“Mr. O'Connell.” Harry said, catching O'Connell's attention. “Can you look me in the eye and guarantee me this isn't a sort of flimflam?” Harry asked. As dashing as O'Connell looked, Harry still wasn't sure whether O'Connell was really going to lead them to Hamunaptra and he needed to be sure. “Because if it is, I'm warning you-”

“You're warning me?” O'Connell cut him off, his eyebrows high. “Boy, let me put it this way, my whole damn garrison believed in this somuch that withoutorders, they marched halfway across Libya and into Egypt to find that city. When we got there, all we found was sand and blood.” O'Connell was so passionate that Harry didn't know how to reply and so he kept his mouth shut. “Let me get your bags.”

O'Connell swiftly picked up both of Harry's suitcases and walked up the gangplank and onto the boat without a single look back. Harry's gaze followed him without Harry realizing. He didn't know what to think of O'Connell. Every time he seemed to have made up his mind, something made him change it. He seemed to be a really gentleman now that he was out of prison.

“Yes, yes, you're right. Filthy, rude, a complete scoudrel. Nothing to like there at all.” Jonathan said into his ear, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Harry glanced at him and silently cursed him for being so clever.

“Bright good morning to all.” The warden said as he appeared beside Harry. He had a smug smile on his lips.

Harry sighed. He had completely forgotten about him and their little arrangement. “Oh, no. What are you doing here?”

“I'm here to protect my investment, thank you very much.” He replied as he climbed onto the boat.

Harry sighed heavily. He had a feeling the man would be nothing but a burden. It had been so stupid of him to offer the man a  part of their foundings. He had had to save O'Connell though. He would just have to put up with the man. He had no choice.

He took a deep breath, took one last look at Jonathan and stepped onto the gangplank. He nearly felt naked walking without his two suitcases in hand. He couldn't say he missed the weight though. He didn't bother waiting for Jonathan or looking for O'Connell. He didn't really care about his suitcases anyway, O'Connell had them, they weren't really lost. He wanted to get settled as soon as possible.

He walked around the boat for some time, aimlessly. There were a lot of people on the boat, but thankfully not enough for Harry to feel awkward. A small smile appeared on his lips when he felt the boat move, they were finally setting sail. He quickly walked to the edge of the boat and leaned over the rail, watching people waving as the boat sailed away. Harry waved right back at them even though he knew that was no one down there who waved at him in particular.

He stared until he couldn't see the shore anymore. He was so excited about his upcoming adventure that he felt like butterflies were flying around in his stomach. He couldn't wait to get to Hamunaptra. He walked back toward the center of the boat, intent on finding his room, then he would find O'Connell and his suitcases.

It didn't really take him long to find his room for there were very few rooms on this boat. It was a small room, there was nothing really interesting. It was just a simple room on a boat. He had already travelled by boat once, to get to Egypt. It had been a really long trip but Harry had loved it. It had been his first time but his parents had been there with him every step of the way. It felt weird to be on a boat without his parents but at least, he still had Jonathan.

Harry was surprised to see that his suitcases were already in his room, waiting for him on his bed. O'Connell had been here then. He had been thoughtful enough to bring his suitcases right into his room. He seemed to be full of surprises.

The night fell quickly and it grew warm enough for Harry to remain on the deck, outside of his room. He found a small table with two chairs and settled with a book. They wouldn't arrive until tomorrow morning so he might as well busy himself with something interesting. The whole book was written in hieroglyphics but he didn't mind. Sometimes he even felt like he'd rather read hieroglytics than English.

He put his glasses on and began reading. It was about Hamunaptra. He had read the thing a thousand times already but he couldn't get enough of it. The whole myth was so interesting he wished he never had to put the book down. What he liked the most about the situation was that he would actually get to see the city he had read so much about. He felt like a child the day before Christmas, eager to open his presents.

He jumped out of his skin when a heavy bag landed on the table, right in front of him. “Sorry, didn't mean to scare you.” O'Connell said, a wide grin on his face, proof that he wasn't sorry at all and that he was actually laughing at Harry.

“The only thing that scares me, Mr. O'Connell, are your manners.” Harry said before focusing back on his book.

“Still angry about that kiss, huh?”

“Well, if you can call that a kiss.” Harry replied dismissively. He was not angry about the kiss. He had never been angry about the kiss. Deep down, he knew that he had enjoyed it but he couldn't really tell O'Connell that.

O'Connell narrowed his eyes at Harry and stared, as though Harry had just dared him to do something. O'Connell then opened his gunny-bag in a sharp movement, revealing a lot of guns. Harry hadn't been informed about O'Connell bringing guns. They were only going to Hamunaptra, a hidden city, no one was supposed to be there and so they wouldn't need guns.

“Did I miss something? Are we- Are we going into battle?” He asked, a giddy smile on his face as he let his book fall on his lap, focusing solely on the guns and O'Connell.

“Boy, there's something out there.” O'Connell said as he sat down on the chair facing Harry. “Something underneath that sand.”

“Yes, well, I'm hoping to find a certain artifact. A book, actually. My brother thinks there's treasure. What- What do you think is out there?”

“In a word? Evil.” Harry tried hard not to scoff at that. “The Bedouin and the Tuaregs believe that Hamunaptra is cursed.”

“Oh, look, I don't believe in fairy tales and hokum, Mr. O'Connell,” Harry lied. Of course he believed in fairy tales and hokum. He had been a wizard once. Weren't wizards considered as part of fairy tales? “but I do believe one of the most famous books in history is buried there, the Book of Amun-Ra.” He leaned closer to O'Connell. “It contains within it all the secret incantations of the old kingdom. It's what first interested me in Egypt when I was younger. It's why I came here, sort of a- a life's pursuit.”

He had never told that to anyone before. He didn't know why he was telling O'Connell of all people. Even Jonathan didn't know how obsessed with the book he was. Only his parents had known. He had told his mother once and then she had told his father. It had been their secret, just the three of them. He hadn't planned on telling O'Connell but once he got started on Egypt, he just couldn't stop talking. He knew that and so he hadn't been able to stop himself from telling O'Connell.

“And the fact that they say it's made out of pure gold makes no never mind to you, right?” O'Connell said as he cleaned his guns.

Harry knew that his eyes were sparkling and that he was grinning like a fool but he didn't care. Very few people were able to keep up with him when he got started about history and O'Connell seemed to be one of them. Much to Harry's surprise. “You know your history.”

“I know my treasure.” O'Connell replied.

Harry felt his smile fall a bit. Of course O'Connell would be interested in the treasure. Harry didn't understand why he had thought otherwise for a second. O'Connell couldn't be interested in history. He wasn't that type of guy, Harry didn't need to get to know him to know that much. He cleared his throat as softly as possible and decided to talk about something else.

He glanced at O'Connell and the memory of O'Connell kissing him flashed through his mind. He hated himself for not being able to forget about it. But what did people say about someone's first kiss? Something about not being able to forget it? Ever?

“Um, by the way,” Harry began, not looking at O'Connell. He hoped it was dark enough for O'Connell not to see him blushing. “why did you kiss me?” He felt his heart stutter inside his chest. He wasn't sure he was ready to hear O'Connell's answer just yet. But it was a bit too late to think about that.

O'Connell chuckled. He actually chuckled . “I was about to be hanged. It seemed like a good idea at the time.” Harry couldn't believe what he had just heard. O'Connell had kissed him, had stolen his first kiss, just for fun. He couldn't stay here. He couldn't stay in the same area as O'Connell at the moment. He was such a despicable man.

Harry felt his eyes water and so he hurried away. He shouldn't be crying. He shouldn't get so emotional. He shouldn't let O'Connell get to him. Of course it had just been a game to O'Connell. Of course he didn't care. He didn't even know him. Why would he kiss him and mean it? He didn't know O'Connell either. He couldn't understand why he cared so much. It was just a stupid kiss. He shouldn't care that much.

“What? What did I say?” He heard O'Connell call after him.

He caught sight of a camel not far from the table where he had been sitting with O'Connell and so he decided to go there. It seemed like a good distraction from O'Connell. He heard a strange noise and so he looked back, just in time to see O'Connell get up from his chair, a gun in hand. He walked toward some suitcases and pulled a man from behind them.

“Oh, what a surprise! My good friend, you're alive!” The man yelped. He had a thick accent, Harry could hear it even from his place far from them. “I was so very, very worried.”

“Well, if it ain't my little buddy, Beni.” O'Connell paused as though he was thinking about something. “I think I'll kill you.” He pointed his gun right at Beni's chest which made Harry's eyes widen. O'Connell couldn't be that cruel, right?

Beni gasped. “Think of my children.”

“You don't have any children.”

“Someday I might.”

“Shut up!” O'Connell hissed. “So you're the one who's leading the Americans. I might have known. So, what's the scam, Beni? You take them into the middle of the desert, and then you leave them to rot?”

“Unfortunately, no. these Americans are smart. They pay me only half now, half when I get them back to Cairo so this time I must go all the way."

“Them's the breaks, huh?” O'Connell said in fake sympathy as he lowered his gun.

“You never believed in Hamunaptra, O'Connell. Why are you going back?” Beni asked.

Harry quickly looked away and focused his attention on the camel next to him. He petted it a couple of times, still listening to O'Connell and Beni's conversation.

“See that boy? He saved my neck.” He heard O'Connell say. He couldn't help but look at him and both O'Connell and Beni were looking right at him.

Beni looked at O'Connell and slapped his upper arm amicably. “You always did have more balls than brains.” Harry heard Beni say.

Harry scoffed, glared at O'Connell and left. He didn't need to hear any more. He was still sore from O'Connell's revelation about the kiss. He didn't need to know that O'Connell was planning on bedding him and then move on. He quickly walked toward his room until he heard a splash.

“O'Connell!” He heard Beni yell.

Harry couldn't help but smile slightly when he realized that O'Connell had just thrown Beni over the rail. Surely, it meant that Beni had assumed wrong, right? He sighed and shook his head as he entered his room. He needed to stop thinking about O'Connell.

He quickly got into his nightclothes before going back to his book, dead set on forgetting entirely about O'Connell, just for tonight at least.

“George Bembridge,” Harry read out loud, trying his best to take his mind off that awful kiss. “in 1860- 1865 was...” Harry sighed heavily. “Oh, for heaven's sake, Harry, it wasn't that good of a kiss anyway.” He tried to convince himself.

He shook his head and walked toward the mirror, looking at his hair which had become a mess. He heard a muffled thud, sighed and bent down to pick up his book. He straightened up and gasped when he caught sight of a man standing right behind him.

The man grabbed him by the throat before Harry could even think about moving. He pushed him against the wall and raised his other hand, which was a hook. Harry's eyes widened in fear as he felt the hook press against his cheek. Never before had he wished he was still a wizard. He felt utterly helpless.

“Where is the map?” The man asked in a rough voice.

Harry glanced toward the table where he had put the map, next to the flickering candle. “There.”

“And the key? Where is the key?”

“The key? The key?” Harry mumbled. He had no idea what that man was talking about. “What key?”

“Harry!” He heard O'Connell yell from outside of his room.

The door was kicked open and O'Connell burst in, a gun in each hand. The man with the hook spinned Harry around and held him in front him, using him as a shield. Harry felt the coldness of the hook at his throat and gasped. He had to find a way to free himself from the man's grasp. O'Connell shot a man who had appeared at one of the tiny windows, a lantern exploded and fire spread on the couch. Harry caught sight of the flickering candle. It was his only option. He grabbed the candle and jammed it back over his shoulder, right into the man's eye, who screeched in pain.

He let go of Harry who ran to O'Connell as fast as he could. He ran into the hallway as O'Connell kept shooting at the men. He gasped when he realized that the map had remained inside his room. “The map, the map! I forgot the map!” He said as he hurried back to his room.

O'Connell grabbed his arm. “Relax. I'm the map. It's all up here.” He said, pointing up at his head.

“Oh, that's comforting.” Harry said sarcastically as he was pulled along.

The boat was a mess. There were men running everywhere, everyone was shooting around, trying to kill as many as possible. Fire was spreading as well. It took only a handful of seconds for the boat to turn into a large flame.

“Hold this.” O'Connell said as he threw his gunny-bag into Harry's arms. Harry gasped at the weight. He remained hidden behind O'Connell. If he stepped away from him, he would be killed anyway and he didn't really want to die today.

O'Connell leaned against a wall as he reloaded his gun. He seemed unconcerned by the fact that he was being shot at. Someone shot right into the wall, next to O'Connell's head but he didn't even look up. They shot closer, closer, closer, closer. Harry pulled O'Connell toward him just in time to prevent him from being shot through the head.

O'Connell took a deep breath, a gun in each hand, and walked in the open, shooting at every man he deemed his enemy on the way. Harry carefully walked behind him, using O'Connell's body as a shield. They made it safely to the rail and O'Connell turned toward Harry.

“Can you swim?” He asked loud enough to be heard over the gunshots.

“Of course I can swim,” Harry replied as O'Connell took his gunny-bag back and put it down on the floor. “if the occasion calls for it.”

“Trust me,” O'Connell began as he picked Harry up bridal style. “it calls for it.”

Harry didn't have time to register the fact that he was in O'Connell's arms before he was thrown over the rail and into the Nile. He gasped as his head broke the surface. He took a moment to look up at the flaming boat. It was a wreck. It would probably sink, sooner rather than later. He waited a moment for O'Connell to join him into the water but he didn't.

He started to lose faith after a whole minute without seeing O'Connell but then he saw him jump over the rail and join him. “Where is Jonathan?” Harry gasped O'Connell swam up to him.

“He's coming. Let's go.” O'Connell replied as he pulled Harry along, toward the shore.

It took them a while to reach the shore. Jonathan joined them halfway through and Harry couldn't contain his sigh of relief. He wouldn't have been able to live with himself if he had lost his brother in that fire. It was the only family he had left.

“We've lost everything.” Harry complained as they finally reached the shore. “All of our tools, all the equipment. All my clothes.”

“O'Connell!” Harry heard someone shout from far away. He turned around and saw Beni, standing on the other side of the Nile. “Hey! O'Connell! It looks to me like I've got all the horses!”

“Hey Beni!” O'Connell shouted back. “Looks to me like you're on the wrong side of the river!” O'Connell was smirking smugly and Harry couldn't help but smile as well. Perhaps it wasn't so bad to have O'Connell with them after all. He had saved Harry's life and so, technically, he was trustworthy, right?