Tomb
Feeling exhausted from the previous event and lack of protection now, Zahra decided to let Layla drive. The sun had begun to rise across the horizon as they followed the GPS to the tomb of Ammit.
"We can't lose more time. Harrow must be headed back to the tomb." Layla began,"Look, if he is, we're gonna need Marc, yeah?"
"She has a point, Steven," Omari agreed. "Ew, I don't like agreeing with people."
"No."
"No?" Layla questioned.
"No. See, the thing is, we made a deal, Marc and I, that when he was done with Khonshu, he would disappear for good."
"You guys made a deal?" Zahra didn't know whether to be upset or angry,"That he would just disappear from my life? Was that before or after you found out I was alive? And you didn't think that maybe I should've been made aware of that?"
"Oh. Well, hadn't he disappeared from your life already?"
"Steven, having no memories...or being dead...is not the same," Zahra crossed her arms. "Just because I was forced to live without him for two months does not—"
"I mean, whatever. His suit was his best feature, wasn't it?" Layla interrupted. "Plus, I know him. He'd wanna lone wolf this whole thing. It's not happening. We're not gonna do that."
"We are not. It's just us and the open road."
"We're gonna go on foot from here." Omari interrupted.
"Yeah, all right."
Zahra didn't say much as they walked on foot. She was frustrated that Marc would make a decision to abandon her when, just a few days ago, he had told her how he struggled with her dead. Marc just 'disappearing' was no better.
" It looks like they're already inside. We'll need to find another way to beat them to Ammit," Zahra said quietly.
"Hello,"Steven greeted a camel, which caused Zahra to smile.
In the mind of Omari, he thought that Steven would be much better for Zahra than Marc would ever be. Steven and Zahra had the same interests, the same kindness and the same morals. Marc and Zahra were practically opposites...how did they stay together?
"Let's check for supplies," Layla instructed.
They all went separate ways to look for anything that could help them, even in the slightest ways. It wasn't a surprise that Steven managed to fall across a mirror, where Marc didn't look very happy.
"You look scared." said Marc.
"I'm not."
"Well, you should be. Without Khonshu, there's no more suit, no more healing, no more power."
"Yeah, no more you, I thought. It's what you said, isn't it?" Steven replied,"But believing anything that comes out of your mouth just shows what a plonker I am."
"Look, I wish I could just disappear. I really do. But unfortunately, I'm still here. If you're gonna go through with this, you gotta be smart, for Zahra's sake, and Layla and Omari. Zahra doesn't have a suit. I've been in situations like this before."
"So have I. It's the same body, isn't it? It's in there somewhere. Muscle memory and that. I'm not sure it works that way."
"Just... Whatever. I'm here. You're not alone."
"I know I'm not alone. I know I'm bloody not alone. I've got Zahra. She's got my back. And so does Layla and Omari."
"Are you in love? Are you in love with my wife?"
I appreciate your concern, mate. I really do. But we've got it from here."
"I swear to you, Steven. I swear..."
"If I need a recipe for a protein shake or something, I'll call you."
"I'll throw us off a cliff!"
"Steven?" Zahra called. "Are you talking to Marc?"
"Oh. Yeah."
"Great, tell him that we're going to have a long chat, most likely a yelling match, about the fact he thinks he can just leave," Zahra spoke as calmly as possible. "He's a...uh...I can't think of an insulting English word. What did you say once, uh, prick?"
"Yeah," Steven smiled. "I'm sorry about Marc."
"It's not your fault," She smiled.
"He wants to throw us off a cliff!" Steven blurted out. "He said he'll throw us off a cliff because he thinks I'm trying to steal you—"
"Marc doesn't get a say," Zahra replied softly. "Besides, I'm still mad at him. Don't listen to him Steven, he wouldn't dare. And I know he can hear me."
Layla and Omari had managed to find a bundle of ropes as well as harnesses, enabling them to get into the tomb.
"I have to say, I've been waiting for this my whole life," Steven sighed as Zahra helped him get the harness on. "The adventure I mean."
Layla nodded, "I know. We want what we never had."
"I want a day of just laying in bed," Zahra commented lightly. "That would be nice."
Zahra moved to Steven's other leg to tighten the side of the harness. She looked at him with a smile, finding it hard to remember that even though he looked like Marc, he was Steven.
"Marc is trying to protect you and Layla from Khonshu." Steven blurted out.
"What?"
"He thinks Khonshu wants you as his avatar, not Nephthys and if he can't get you, then Layla. He won't let that happen," He stumbled over his words. "I just felt like you should know that."
"Why are you telling me this now?" Zahra questioned. "I'm already an Avatar...was an Avatar."
"I don't know. I just thought you deserved to know."
"It's not his call to make," Zahra continued,"Layla makes her own decisions, everyone knows that and even I wasn't Nephthys avatar, I have my own mind to decide."
"Yeah, I get that," Steven said gently.
"I guess that's more of a 'you' thing, isn't it?"
"What? Being...honest?"
"Yeah. Being honest."
Steven placed his hands on Zahra's shoulders, leaning into close the gap between them. Zahra couldn't help it — Steven looked like Marc and she wondered if she was beginning to catch feeling for Steven's personality too.
"Time to go," Layla called when the two broke away. "I'm gonna go first and Zahra can follow."
"Okay. Yeah. Great," Steven uttered in response.
"Before I belay," Layla said.
"What is 'belay'?" Steven qustioned.
She looked back and laughed,"I still can't tell when you're joking or not."
She took a rooped and hooked into her harness, stepped up onto the outside of the hole and jumped. Zahra followed after her.
Steven's fist collided with his own face and Omari had a feeling he knew exactly what it was about.
"Oh shit!" He yelled out as he fell over from the force.
"That tends to happen when you kiss someone's wife, Steven," said Omari with a pat on Steven's shoulder,"Same body or not."
Zahra waited until Omari and Steven were safely in the tomb, noticing that Zahra was going to have to help Steve get out of the harness.
"I wish you hadn't of seen that," He admitted,"Oh wow, look at you."
Zahra looked to where his gaze was set. It was a wall that had hieroglyphs spread along it, clearly centuries old. The eygptian couldn't help but be interested in it, running a hand over the worn drawings.
Omari noticed a drawing in the sand at the foot of one of the sphinxes, "Did any of you to this?"
"What?" Layla looked over at it. "Oh yeah, it's for my father...and Zahra's. They would have loved it here."
"Big history buffs, were they?" Steven questioned.
"So much worse, Archaeologists on a mission. A dream with dying for and they did."
Zahra wondered if she would ever remember her parents anymore. They weren't around, from what Layla said, and she couldn't get her memories back unless they — then she realised, the Marc was gone.
"Shit," She exclaimed more loudly than she should have.
"Zahra?" Steve spoke up,"Are you okay?"
"My tattoo is gone," She breathed in sharply. "That's it. Without that, I'm never getting any memories back other than Marc."
Omari frowned at her as Steve looked at the place the mark had once been with an upset look. Zahra didn't deserve what happened to her.
"I'm sorry Zahra," said Steve,"And about your dad's."
"It's fine," Zahra mumbled.
"I bet that they would be positively beaming right now, seeing you standing in the proof it," Steve assured.
"Yeah I think so," Layla replied.
Omari was looking excited at the tomb and becoming slightly impatient,"Let's go!"
They made their way through a door that was in between the two sphinxes and turned left, going deeper into the dark tomb. Layla led the way through the passengers, followed by Omari with Zahra and Steven behind her, only lit by flashlights. The walls were made of stone blocks with vines creeping through the cracks.
"It's a maze," Omari stated, looking down a thinner path.
"It's a-maz-ing," Steven said in excitement.
Zahra turned and gave him an amused smile, which only made Steve beam more.
"It's not a maze," Layla realised,"There are six paths."
Zahra's foot stumbled upon something on the ground and she quickly moved the flashlight to point towards it. She knelt down to pick up what appeared to be an empty bullet casing, twisting it between her thumb and pointer finger.
"What would they be shooting at?" She questioned. "I take that back. I don't want to know."
She turned when she heard sand shifting, finding Steven drawing on a table at the centre of the room. Curiously, the other members of the group approached him to see what he was doing.
"This whole structure," He began,"Is a symbol."
"That's the Eye of Horus," Layla stated.
"Yeah," Steven responded, shining his light on the eye, causing it to reflect on the ceiling,"It's the royal symbol, protection in the afterlife."
Layla was looking around,"I mean, like, the resources needed to build this thing."
"Her final avatar was a pharaoh," said Zahra lightly.
"Whoa! A bloody pharaoh," Steven whispered in amazement.
"So what? You think it's a map?" Omari questioned.
"Right. So, the Eye of Horus is also the eye of mind, yeah? Representing the six senses, six points. So, you got the eyebrow that denotes thought. Pupil, sight, obviously. This point here, is hearing. Smell. Touch. And this long line ending in a spiral is the tongue."
He pointed to each part as he explained.
"Her avatar would've been Ammit's voice," Layla added.
"That's right," Steven nodded.
He pointed down a passage and they quickly moved towards it to head towards a large room, with another stone table in the centre. Something remembling a mummy was in the corner, looking like it hadn't been touched in centuries.
There were holes in the wall where more mummies stood; A large painting on the wall was what Layla had taken interest in.
"Oh. Heka priests," Layla stated,"Judging by their masks and ceremonial stances. They wouldn't be entombed here to protect the pharaoh."
"The heck's a heka?" Steven questioned.
"Sorcerers of their time," Layla replied.
"Looks like their time is up, they've been here for centuries,"Omari added. "These must be some of the unlucky souls who crossed their path."
Steven had wandered towards the centre table before gagging,"Oh my god. Oh, God. Is that fresh blood? Isn't that little chunks of meaty bits?"
"Yes, yes it is," said Omari with a slightly higher pitch voice.
When you travelled the world as an assassin before joining forces with an avatar, Omari had seen some gruesome things. Blood didn't bother him. What did bother him, and Zahra was who's blood it was.
"Don't keep looking at it then," Zahra took Steven's hand and pulled him away,"Let's keep moving."
They followed the trail of blood, where skeletons littered the floor past the door they were planning on entering. Zahra froze, as did the others.
"Just a minute," Steven said, voice shaking. "I'm just saying what I see and I see lots of blood and bones going that way. So I'm just thinking, what if there's maybe another..."
He turned around and looked towards the ceiling, pointing towards an opening,"There's an opening up there, you see that?"
"Should we check it out?" Omari questioned.
"Yeah, Zahra, Steven, you go," Layla encouraged.
Zahra nodded and interlocked her fingers together, lowing her hands. Steven placed food on her hands and Zahra pushed him up. Once he had finally managed to get up there, he took Zahra's hand as she used the wall to help him get up.
"You good?" Omari called.
"Yep," Zahra replied.
Steven began to read the walls," So according to the ancient text, Ammit should be bound to an ushabti, those statue thingies."
Steven and Zahra removed towards the contents of a table, moving items to get a better look.
"How it looking?" Layla asked.
"It's amazing," Steven replied,"This looks like a freshly filled canopic jar and snake skins and self-regeneration."
"Steven," Zahra warned.
Zahra and Steven moved towards the exit to join the others. Gunshots rang out in the distance, causing Steven to flinch. They stopped briefly and Zahra looked at Steven.
"Harrow."
"What are they shooting at," Steven inquired, looking at the others for answers.
"Let's not find out," Omari replied.
A clicking sound came from the passage filled with blood and bones, getting louder as it came towards the room they were in.
"Hide," Zahra demanded.
Omari and Steved moved behind a table while Layla and Zahra moved to hide behind the centre table. Then a walking corpse entered the room, dragging a body with it. The creature slammed the dead body onto the table, the one Layla and Zahra had used to hide.
Zahra wouldn't help her look of horror as the odd-looking man picked up a tool and plunged it into the man on the table. The man's organs were being ripped from his body and placed into jars on the ground.
Zahra pulled Layla towards the opposite side of the table to place some distance between them on the creature. As they moved, one of Layla's hands bumped into one of the jars, making a small thudding noise. She stabilised the jar slowly as the creature figured out what it was.
They managed to move before he noticed them.
The creature noticed Steven and Omari once it heard the planks creek, jumping and making its way towards them It's dark fingers clung to the boards to hold its body up. Layla had another plan, throwing the jar to distract you.
"Run!" Omari yelled,"We'll find you!"
Zahra stalled but Layla had already gripped her arm and began to run. They weren't sure where they were heading but they had found themselves on the other side of a deep cavern, across from Arthur Harrow. Zahra began to back away as he began talking.
"My little Scarab and little explorer," He uttered in Ancient Eygptian and then English,"Isn't that what your fathers used to call you both? Abdullah El Faouly and Ahmed Okasha. One of Egyptain's most unique archaeologist duo. They would be so proud of you if they knew that you were among the first to confirm for the world what he always believed. Egyptian gods walk among us."
He raised his cane to eye level.
"These scales achieve their judgement by revealing to me moments of sin and pain. And your husband, Zahra Okasha, is in agony. More pain than anyone can bear, more than yours," Arthur sat down, legs dangling off the steep drog.
"No one is beyond saving if they have someone to save them." Zahra stated.
"He still hasn't told either of you the truth."
"Well, you're obviously dying to," said Zahra in irritation,"Go ahead, the floor is yours."
Harrow took a breath,"I read his scales. The scales do not lie. Your fathers were murdered by Mercenaries and no one knows who they were, do they?"
"So you're saying Marc was one of them?" Layla said with a twitch of anger.
"You said it, what do you think?" Harrow responded,"Marc remembers everything that happened that day. He remembers everyone who died. Two men stood out. A man with a fuchsia scarf, scarab details, handmade. Made by his daughter perhaps. Another, with a necklace of desert sand and crystals, shaped in hearts, handmade."
"Are you done?" said Zahra in a raspy voice, tears threatening to flow.
"I do hope you find closure," Harrow said in a comforting voice. "You are free from being an avatar, Zahra, from being used. You need to free yourself from the truth of your past."
Zahra and Layla began to walk away and down the passage before Harrow appeared behind them once again.
"Wake up!" His voice echoed from behind.
"Wake up!" His voice echoed from behind