Chapter 3: City of the Dead

Casandra woke the next morning feeling a little sluggish. She had pushed the events of the previous day from her mind and decided to focus on having some fun.

She looked at the tour guide flyer and thought about which of the sites would be the least boring. Everything just looked like some old buildings, broken bits of pottery, or inscriptions no one could read anymore.

God, her dad chose the worst place for “vacation”. On the last page she saw a headline which read “The Necropolis: City of the Dead”. A giant graveyard? Why would anyone go there?

She rolled her eyes. She did notice that in small print on the side there was something about construction being done on the site. Maybe there is a mall down there!

She jumped up and threw on her shoes, excited at the thought of maybe being able to do something other than get attacked by some old lady. She grabbed her jacket and then suddenly couldn’t find her purse. Where’d it go? She looked around and saw it poking out from her bed. Without thinking she grabbed it and ran out the door.

Completely forgetting the crown which still rested inside.

She headed out the door and walked the streets. At first it was easy enough to follow the map, but soon she realized that the streets and buildings must've changed a lot due to all the construction and excavations that happened. She found herself going in circles, retracing her steps, trying to back track, only to realize she wasn’t getting anywhere nor did she know the way back. She decided to try to use her phone’s GPS but forgot she hadn't bought an international plan yet and did not have data! She slapped her forehead.

She felt like a total idiot, and she couldn’t even ask someone for directions because she could barely communicate to them. She started to wander about a bit carelessly, trying to see if she recognized anything to help her find her way back. She could feel her head begin to spin wildly. She lost her balance and began tripping over her own feet as she frantically struggled to figure out which way she ought to go. She could feel herself panicking.

Unfortunately, she got so frantic she did not notice the large ditch beneath a broken bridge and found herself falling down the hole. She let out a scream, and disappeared. She picked her head up slowly from the rocky ground, looking about slowly. Her heart rate had slowed down a little, and she tried to look around but could not. It was so dark she could barely see her hands on the ground in front of her. She slowly sat up, feeling about her face and body to see if she felt blood, which she didn’t. That was a relief!

She stood to her feet slowly and took out her phone and turned on her flashlight. It did not light up much, and the air was very dusty. But, she could see more than before. She slowly walked about, tentatively putting her feet down to avoid tripping. It was strange, there were paintings and writing on the wall that were not english. There were columns cropping up seeming to hold the roof of the cave up. What was this? She thought. She knew this is something her dad would’ve loved, even though she did not really know what it was.

She decided she should keep moving to try and find some kind of exit, when she was distracted by something painted on one of the walls in front of her.

Painted on the wall before her was a massive mural depicting a beautiful young woman with jet black hair, large lovely eyes, an imposing figure, standing holding a scepter and wearing a crown. The crown was a disk with two cow horns jutting out from the sides. Beside her was a similar looking woman with wings of a hawk, kneeling beside the lady with her wings outstretched. The women both seemed very happy, yet terrifyingly powerful. As she studied them she noticed the crown upon the standing woman's head. It seemed so familiar.

She stared at it for a long moment and then realized where she saw it before! The crown the old lady gave her! It was exactly the same! She quickly reached into her bag, realizing that she had brought it by accident. She felt her heart rate go up and her hands trembled in a manner she did not really understand.

Cassandra slowly lifted the crown up to her head, trying to stay calm, until it finally nestled perfectly on top of her head. She never wore it before and realized how heavy it was, but not in a bad way. She felt like the weight made it feel sturdy, and she liked that.

The crown was far from beautiful by her definition, but seeing the lady in the picture wear it made her feel like her: Strong, powerful, and beautiful. She started to reach her hand out to touch the image of this lovely lady when suddenly a voice from behind her said, “You don’t want to be doing that.”