The Gods of Man

Hunter and Juliet rolled into the office together with the same dead-tired look on their faces. Hunter sat in the quiet of his office while he began working on a pot of coffee Hanson brought for him. Juliet just seemed to find the conference room and fall down in one of the larger chairs. Hanson came to her aide but the proper method with her would be to let her take a nap and let her wake herself up. While the two recovered Hanson went to work looking at the newly issued contracts. A couple looked decent but there was one that seemed something more up their alley. A cargo shipment of rare artifacts was meant to be put on display two weeks ago but has not. Those who come into contact with them seem to disappear, fall violently ill, or get involved in an accident. The shipment comes from Egypt containing the remains of what looks to be a shrine to a high priest during the rule of a pharaoh.

The news has been kept quiet but a few leaks of information made it to the public. They want it under control before it explodes. The price is right for the type of work they would need to do. Hanson takes it to Hunter. After an hour of deliberation, they were on the contract packing to head out to the desert city of Cairo in Egypt. The long plane ride offered a perfect opportunity to catch up on sleep. Hunter took to the bedroom aboard the plane while Juliet just passed out in her chair. The 14-hour flight was mostly quiet until Juliet jarred herself awake. It caught Hanson's attention while she stumbled around trying to regain her balance, "That was rather violent. Are you ok, Miss?"

"I have not been able to sleep well since staying at Hunter's place."

"What happened?"

Her shoulders relaxed a bit more, "He asked me to watch his house while he slept and something was watching him in the dark. He didn't see it but I did twice but he dismissed it."

She got Hanson's attention, "Do you know what it was?"

"Just some shadow of a figure that seemed to reach out to him."

"That is peculiar. Would you be able to identify it if you saw a photo or picture?"

"No. It had no defining features. It was just... black. Looked kind of human but easily discernible that it was not."

"I will bring this up with him when he awakes."

"Thank you, Hanson. Someone really needs to."

She sighed with a bit of relief. If anyone would be able to figure out what happened it would be Hanson. They had about four hours before they were supposed to land. Juliet kept to herself looking out the window while they continued. They were really close to where they fought with the Lich's forces. She remembered back to the horror of finding that monster among the buildings wasted with corpses and wondered which was worse, the Lich or the shadow. Thinking about either made her shudder.

Hanson kept to his work spread over the small table near one of the exits. It was never really clear what he was doing. It could have been their financials, contract hunting, or administrative paperwork. He never really said and kept most of it to himself. It seems like he's been showing his age more. Since she first met and joined the two she's noticed that Hanson's face is beginning to age. A couple more wrinkles here and there, some discoloration of the skin, and his reflexes have been slowing. "Hey Hanson, have you ever thought about retiring?"

It seemed to shake him to some degree. He stopped what he was doing to look at her, "Retirement? I guess I really haven't. I don't know what I would do with all the free time."

"Well, haven't you wanted to travel? Go see the world?"

"Miss, we are on a plane to Cairo."

"Oh yea, I guess this job does let you see the world."

"I have been to every continent on Earth including Antarctica. I've been to almost every country that there is and been to most of the major cities that people who love to travel would love to see; staying in exotic places, hotels, and sometimes just under the stars. My travel thirst has been quenched."

"Well how about settling down?"

"I never saw myself as a family person. I did have a few romances here and there but nothing fruitful."

"You sound a lot like how I imagine Hunter to be like."

Almost like clockwork, "Who sounds like me?" Hunter emerged from the small bedroom shuffling his hair around trying to get it out of his face. Hanson stood up heading towards the small galley to brew coffee. Juliet stayed in her seat as the two shuffled around back and forth getting ready. "How did you sleep, sir?"

"Restless, but better than last night. Juliet, you ok?"

"I got a few winks."

"Good, we need to be fresh for this one. It may get weird."

With a cup in his hand, he sat down across from Hanson at the table glancing over the papers he had laid out. Hanson continued to work while Hunter just seemed to exist. The bags under his eyes seemed worse than they did before. Did he actually get any sleep? Juliet continued to look at him while he slowly slipped away. He seemed to not notice anything going on around him. By now he would have noticed that she was staring but nothing this time. The remaining couple of hours were dead quiet.

The landing was a bit rougher than usual but they did land safely. It seemed that the group that needed the help was very anxious to get it. Before they could even set foot off the plane they had their transport vehicles ready to leave. The drivers were ready and the extra hands to help unload luggage were in the compartment before the pilots were ready. Before they could get a word in they were ushered into the lead car with wheels moving within minutes! The four looked around at the extra people in the car with them until one of them spoke up, "Pleasure to meet you all! I am Dr. Hurnburry, I am in charge of this project that we desperately need your assistance with." Hunter immediately retook control, "Ok, your 'project' is now under my control. Your men and resources are mine and none of you will move without me knowing about it."

The others seem to shut up once he got his game face on. Even in a sleep-deprived state, he cast a very demanding aura on the others. Enough to shut down anyone who thought they would be running the show. "From what I understand you are dealing with a Curse of the Pharaoh type of situation. Have you ruled out the idea that it is an old must, mold, mildew, or strain of some disease that is making people sick?"

Dr. Hurnburry shook his head affirmatively, "We did, ever since that was what was determined to happen on previous finds, that is the first thing we do."

"And nothing?"

"No, we disinfect and carefully clean everything we pull out from the sands."

"That saves us some work. Where is everything currently kept?"

"We have a few small items on display as we continue to get more out but most of it is still kept in the restoration rooms."

"Hanson, I want you to look at what they have on display when we get there and let me know if something seems off. Abigale, you and David will follow me and we'll look at the restoration room items."

Juliet and Adam looked at one another quickly figuring out that he gave them false names for this trip. They both rolled with it rather seamlessly while Hunter seemed to continue asking more and more questions about what's been happening. Apparently, these accidents and incidents have not killed anyone but they have gotten close. It's becoming more and more of a problem as more and more people are being affected. The initial group was the group that uncovered the tomb. It spread to the research team that examined the find, and it began to spread to just the general staff. The contract went out to stop the mess before it began to affect the visitors. The problem is now that the general public has heard about it. The local media is dubbing it a curse for desecrating the tomb. A lot of locals agree but there are those who are intrigued and go to visit anyway.

The car pulled up to the museum using the back entrance. The second car pulled behind them and those there to help began unloading their bags. Stepping out, Hunter immediately questioned it, "What are they doing?"

Dr, Hurnburry was caught off guard, "They are unloading your bags and bringing them inside."

"Is the hotel we're staying at near here?"

"Uh, no. They are bringing it inside the museum."

Something clicked in Hunter's head. Everyone could feel it, "Excuse me, but do you think we're staying here?"

"Well, that was the idea."

"No, no it was not."

"But we need to find out what is happening as soon as possible!"

"Are you staying here?!"

"Well, no. I go home at night."

"So you think we're going to stay here? Hate to tell you this doctor, no! We have a place away from here specifically so we can work without interruption."

"I will make sure that you are not disturbed…"

"Except for you, right? You'll check in whenever you feel like it?"

"Well, it is my project."

"No! I am here to help you but you will work for me while I am here! Hanson! Do what you need to do to get our own vehicle here to use."

Hanson had his phone out, "On it, sir."

"Doctor, if we need access after hours you will be the one we call. Until then we will work to not attract attention to our presence here and I expect you to follow my rules. Hanson?"

"Car should be here in seven minutes."

Hanson, Hunter, Adam, and Juliet got their bags from the extra help who could not seem to understand who to follow until the extra car showed up. A sleek black luxury car stopped on the main street where one man stepped out. They made sure he was their ride before loading everything into the trunk. Before leaving Hunter rolled down the window, "We'll be back in about half an hour doctor." The car began pulling off towards the direction of their hotel. Once the window was rolled up Hunter looked over toward Juliet who was sitting on the opposite side of the back seat. Adam was between them while Hanson was riding shotgun with the driver. She was looking out towards the sand hills they could kind of see. The pyramids were just barely visible through the cityscape. She seemed to be eyeing them rather intensely.

This wasn't Hanson's first time here but Hunter had not been to the great pyramids. He had been around Egypt but this place was fresh to him. He did a quick look around at where they were going looking for landmarks, locations, and identifiers in case he got lost or needed something. Everyone seemed to be doing their own thing for the short ride to their hotel. They pulled up to a rather nice-looking place where the driver stopped under the overhead. He walked inside coming back out with a parking sticker and another person. They placed the parking sticker on the dashboard saying something that only Hanson only seemed to understand. The two men got in another car and left. This vehicle was theirs until they needed to leave.

They grabbed their bags heading toward the lobby. Hanson picked up their room card keys while Hunter looked around for a TV. He found one near the bar standing underneath it looking at the news story playing. Nothing on it seemed to entertain him but it filled the time until Hanson returned. They were on the 3rd floor of this hotel near the end of the hallway that seemed to be slightly away from everyone else. Once inside it was sprawling. There were a few beds in the living room and one separated into the master bedroom by a door. Hunter threw his gear on the bed closest to the window while everyone else sorted out where they wanted to sleep. Since Hunter took one of the smaller beds he tried for the master bedroom. Hunter stopped that nonsense, giving it to Juliet who could use some privacy on a job for once.

It was an awesome victory for her and a crushing defeat for Adam. He still wouldn't have to share a bed as Hanson took the other half of Hunter's bed. Everyone got their arrangement set up. Hunter started grabbing the few bits of information they already had, newspaper articles, online news clippings and began putting them up on the board they brought. He pulled out a few smaller items from the bag placing them on the counter below while Hanson began looking at what they had. "You two! Take a camera! While you look around at the museum I want you to take photos of what you find from all angles so Hanson gets a good idea of the items we are dealing with."

The two quickly moved over grabbing the small digital cameras. Juliet got hers to turn on first looking at the digital screen, "Do you really think this is a curse that is carried with something on display?"

"We don't know so we can't rule it out yet. Observe it as everything and then begin narrowing it down."

"Seems complicated."

"You might be surprised."

Everyone got loaded back up into the car outside. Hanson took the wheel, Hunter took passenger, and Juliet and Adam took the back. It was a quick couple of turns and they were parked in front of the museum. Everyone inside seemed to be lively and having a decent time. There were a lot of visitors and the staff was kept busy answering questions and directing people around. The lady at the front desk greeted them with a friendly smile as she let them pass. "Once more, pictures of everything. Hanson, you'll take what's on display. I'm going to find our overzealous doctor and get him to show up in the preparation rooms." With a solid nod, Hanson went on his own way while the others followed Hunter.

They quickly ran into Dr. Hurnburry who was waiting rather impatiently for them. Once their eyes met he did a quick walk over. "You said 30 minutes."

"It's been 28, doc. Anyway, preparation rooms?"

"Ah, yes. This way."

Dr. Hurnburry seemed to be rather ancy to get this resolved. He quickly moved through the crowds bumping a few people out of his way while they were walking around. Hunter was the one who had to apologize to them. They finally got to a partially out-of-the-way area past a few of the other exhibits. It was keypad protected which only took a few button pushes to get open. Once inside they were led around a few of the extra items from other exhibits in storage. They got to an area that was covered with plastic sheets to help keep the air out while they were being looked at. Past the plastic, there were vases, relics, and other assorted items laying down, in glass, and out where they were being cleaned. With a few flicks of his wrist, Adam and Juliet were off on their own looking at each piece doubling up taking photos of everything. "Please! No flash!" Hunter tapped the doctor, "You need to let us work. I understand your concern but we need every detail we can get." It seemed to work but the doctor was still very uneasy. They were looking at every little thing that was pulled out from the tomb but something caught Hunter's ear.

He stopped to listen to it. It sounded like whispering. He couldn't make out what it was saying but he could pinpoint where it was coming from. There was another area where there were tarps up. Dark tarps the blocked light. "Doctor, what's over there?"

"Ah! That is the prize of this exhibit."

"I need to see what's over there."

He seemed hesitant, "Well, just be careful."

"I don't want to touch anything."

The doctor led the way past the layers of the tarp as it got darker and darker the further back they got. Once he could barely see anything the whispering was loud. It was almost deafening. The doctor turned on the light and the voices stopped. The light was soft to not damage the item in the center of the room. Laying on a protected surface covered with glass was a sarcophagus with the lid on. It was marked with hieroglyphs all over that probably told the story of the person inside. Hunter pulled out his phone, dimmed the light as much as he could, and began recording everything as he walked around. He got to the head where it looked to have the face of a dog. At least that's what it looked like to him. Something seemed off about it but he could not place his finger on it. The gold lining the face glittered as the light moved over. He continued his way around until he made one full pass.

He turned off the recording making sure he got it all. Nodding, he began heading back toward the other room with the kids. They were halfway through photographing everything and taking doubles of the others' work. Without being instructed, they were being rather thorough with their work. Hanson was still sweeping the main floor when they finished. He was found in an off branch of the exhibit looking at a few of the past finds from other temples, pyramids, and tombs to cross-reference. Everyone was on point. With a lot of information to go over the group took their exit against Dr. Hurnburry's request to head back to base and look over their findings.

Being only a few minutes away they could easily be contacted to return in the case of an emergency however being the first night, they were pretty helpless. They needed to learn about their case more before they could begin action. Hanson began sorting the photos that were taken while Hunter looked over the board adding the photos that Hanson printed out. Hunter dumped the video onto the computer while he continued to look. The file however, seemed to not transfer correctly. Part of the video was corrupted and became like snow which for a digital file should be the whole video is bad. Hunter recopied the video but it was still happening. The only thing to do was to get it from the source. Hunter began playing the video on his phone. When he got to the head of the sarcophagus the video began to act weird. Not like on the computer where it snowed out but began to sputter and distort. He restarted it at the beginning playing it over and over again but it continued to have issues. Putting his phone down he looked at Hanson, "I checked it before we left and it played fine. I don't know what happened but I have a feeling that it's not my phone that's doing it."

The night was not quiet. They were going over the photos they had taken looking and translating the hieroglyphs as best they could trying to find out who this tomb belonged to. It was not an easy question as the museum and archeology team had not been able to identify them yet either. From the few contextual clues they had, it could have been a high priest from all the religious references they were able to identify. They continued into the morning hours until neither of them could really focus anymore. Adam and Juliet had already tucked themselves in for the night. It was decided that some bed rest with an early start would be the best.

Hanson and Hunter climbed into the bed with Hunter on the side facing the window. With the slight crack, a few of the city lights were able to illuminate part of the room. The small hallway light was left on but everywhere else was coated in darkness. Once they stopped shifting Hunter was able to hear Adam's and Hanson's breathing. It only took a short while before Hanson's breathing changed to a slower rhythm. He was peacefully asleep. With the few sounds of the city, Hunter was finally able to close his eyes and drift off himself.

The morning sun reflected off a building into the small crack in the curtain. Rolling over Hunter was able to clearly see the entire room illuminated. He seemed to be the first one up. With his feet on the floor, he walked around to the small coffee maker provided by the hotel. With the basic brew bag, he got some water from the bathroom faucet and began making the first cup. He stared blankly at the board while he listened to the boiling water gurgle through the filter. The smell woke Hanson up shortly before it finished. Once those two were up and moving around the others slowly stirred. Juliet looked like she had a decent night's sleep while Adam looked like death for an hour. With no real information, they would need to start really looking deeper to start making points connect. The top of that list was still to solve the reason behind the incidents but right up there was to identify the individual who was buried in the sands. If they know who it was, they may know why and what is affecting these people.

The museum doesn't open for another couple hours after the staff arrive and begin their day. A lot of them are students working with researchers and professors to clean up and learn about the items in the museum. The group showed up about 30 minutes before the doors opened for the day in time to see the sarcophagus being carefully wheeled out into the area where it will be displayed. The room was cordoned off from visitors who will be arriving while they get things set up. At the head of people moving was Dr. Hurnburry who despite their warnings was acting on his own again. Hunter jumped the rope, scaring the helpers as he headed towards Dr. Hurnburry, "What are you doing?!"

"Clearly getting ready."

"You have us here looking at accidents that may be centered around this thing and you want to put it out in front of the world?"

The doctor got defensive, "We have a date set and that date is today! We have to have it out!"

Hunter was ready to slap him down, "Or you can have some sense and try to protect your people! What is wrong with you?"

His question was not answered. Dr. Hurnburry turned around and headed to the backroom calling the two who were wheeling the sarcophagus back with him. "You guys go knock some sense into him. I'm going to look this over again since it's lighter out here." Adam separated from the group to keep near the doorway they used to exit. Hanson and Juliet followed the other deeper in as they went to the back room. Hunter circled around the sarcophagus looking at the hieroglyphics. The cart they used to wheel it out kept it flat on the ground. The lights around the area dimmed slightly. Looking up, they did dim. This area was for items sensitive to light. To combat this it was kept on a timer or sensor to limit light exposure. With just him slowly moving around it must have turned off. He brushed his fingers around the body of the piece looking up and down for anything. As he got to the head he looked at the face. It was solid black with distinct features outlined in whites and yellows, probably gold, to show a dog-like face.

Hunter leaned in closer looking at the muzzle up to the eyes. "Just who are you? What did you do?" Something caught his eye. A glint of something. He moved back and forth looking at the eyes trying to make them shine again. He tried from different angles but could not get it to do it again. Standing up he put his hand to his mouth resting himself on his hand. He was puzzled by this one. It was a new puzzle for him. He'd worked in Egypt before but this was very different. Something didn't feel right since he laid eyes on this thing.

The glint hit him again. He looked at it before looking behind him, "Hey! Adam?" No response. "Adam!" Still nothing. He must have wandered into the back room where they couldn't hear him. Looking back something changed. The face was different. Just slightly though. "What the hell?" The detailing looked like it changed. The eyes had more precise features. Maybe he just didn't notice it before. He let out a deep exhale that echoed through the room. As it faded out something else began to make a noise. The echo turned into a low growl. Dropping his arms, Hunter lowered his body slightly quickly looking around. He had his arms out ready for something that was not coming. The rumble disappeared into the room.

He returned back to his standing stance with a deep inhale again. Halfway through something wretched hit his mouth and nose. "Oh geez." It began to burn, smelling like rancid meat. "Oh man, it smells like…" His eyes widened as a cold chill ran over his body paralyzing him, "...death…"

The blood-curdling scream echoed through the entire museum shaking everyone to the core! Hanson shoved Adam out of the doorway heading into the room where Hunter was standing no more than two minutes ago now gone from sight. There was the sound of something muffled in the room. Dr. Hurnburry followed behind, "What in the blazes was that?!" Hanson was pacing the room trying to track down the sound. Juliet was shortly behind him, "What happened?" No one seemed to be able to figure out where the noise was coming from. It seemed to be echoing off of everything. Finally, there was a loud bang from the center of the room. The only thing there was the sarcophagus sitting on the cart. Juliet screamed as loud as she could, "Hunter!" The muffling continued as she ran toward the sarcophagus. Putting her weight into it she tried to move the lid but could not. Hanson joined as she pushed into but neither could do it.

Dr. Hurnburry ran up grabbing Hanson, "You can't damage that!" Hanson shoved him off before shoving him to the ground. "Adam!" he shouted across the room. Adam came bolting over jumping the cart to get to the opposite side. He pushed once before Hanson had it, "Lift!" Everyone grabbed the metal bars under the cart lifting one side and sliding the sarcophagus off onto the floor. The top let go skidding across the floor as the main body landed open on the floor. Dr, Hurnburry lost his mind, "What are you doing?! You are destroying valuable pieces of history!" As he stood up to check the sarcophagus he made an astonishing discovery. "The mummy is gone…" Hanson looked inside then back at Juliet, "The young master is gone." The muffled noises had stopped.

Juliet hit the side of the sarcophagus as she slid across the floor. She almost threw herself into the empty box reaching the bottom with her hands trying to find something, anything tangible. The tears began forming in her eyes as she tried to find anything. "No. No. No! No No No No NO! Hunter! Hunter!" She began slamming her hands against the back, "Hunter! Hunter~." Her body gave out from the stress as she continued to push herself. Adam looked around the room for anything else. He noticed the lid had slid almost all the way across the room. He walked up to it, noticing a piece of notebook paper stuck to the inside. He carefully peeled it off to find a phone number written on it. "Uh, Hanson." Hanson snapped to him. Adam just held the paper up. It was enough to make the old man move as if he was young again. Pulling out his phone he dialed the number. It rang twice before someone picked up, "This is Cooper." The person who walked into the office looking for a job, the Necromancer in training. "Uh, hello?"

"Cooper?"

"Speaking."

"This is Hanson."

"Hanson… From the office, right. What can I do for you?"

"Um, I think we need your help."

"My help? What's wrong?"

Hanson tried not to stutter his words, "W-we don't know."

"Oh, ok. Um, where are you?"

"Egypt."

"...that's a bit out of the way."

"We'll get you here."

"Ok. Um, if you guys have no idea what's going on do you mind if I bring my grandfather? I'm good but he's a lot better and this sounds serious."

"We'll get you out on the next available flight."

"Ok, we'll be at the airport as quickly as possible. Just email me the tickets."

Why was Cooper's number stuck to the inside of the sarcophagus? Things went from very bad to much much worse. Hunter was now missing, something strange was happening, and every bit of information they had was not enough to remotely begin looking. With their only source on their way, it may be another day before they are able to do anything. Hanson took command of the operation, shutting down the museum to the public and non-necessary staff. No one was to enter the building until Cooper and his Great Grandfather arrived.

For the group, it was a very sleepless night. Everyone was out in the living area sitting on pins and needles. Hanson was by the window which overlooked the entryway looking back at every car that pulled up. It would be hours before their plane landed but he still looked. They got some sleep in between but it was minimal. Just maybe a half hour before they were jarred awake. Eventually, they all passed out where they sat until there was a knock at the door. Hanson was up and gone. He had the door open as they finished scaring Cooper. He had a small bag with him that was covered in voodoo paraphernalia. Next to him was a much older gentleman with white eyes and scraggy clothing. "Um, good morning Hanson. Long time no see."

There were no pleasant introductions. Everyone was up in a dazed state and in the car before they knew what was happening. They arrived at the museum where their door was locked but Hanson was given a key as this was an extreme case. Walking in Cooper and his grandfather were ushered to the area where the sarcophagus was kept. As they got close both Cooper and his grandfather came to a halting stop. "Oh no. Oh no no no no." Cooper grabbed some beads out of his pocket handing one string to his grandfather. They both began mumbling a low chant in sync before stepping closer to the cord that blocked the area. They both stood at the rope looking over at the fallen-over cart. "You know, don't you, Grandfather?" For the first time since they arrived, they hear the old man inhale. With a whisper tone, his voice echoed over the entire museum as he uttered the name, "A-nu~bi~s~." The long "s" turned into a low growl that echoed throughout the halls shaking the glass and foundation of the building in a violent rage. The shaking lasted for about half a minute before it settled.

Cooper turned around to the group, "Necromancers are familiar with death, how it works, the soul, and the afterlife. We do not, however, know about the god of death. More so those made by man." The group looked concerned about his words. Looking around he finally noticed what was missing. "Oh. Hunter is missing, isn't he?" They all looked at one another. He was spot on. "Ok, give me a minute." He turned around heading back to his grandfather. In an old and foreign language, he began talking with him. They exchanged a few words before looking towards the room and chanting together. They both stopped putting away their beads. Cooper took his grandfather by his hand and walked him towards the entrance with the other following. The car was waiting out front for them. Cooper helped his grandfather into the car before turning back, "I'll be back. Let me get him to his room. He's used a lot of his power and needs to rest."

It was only half an hour before Cooper returned with his bag around his shoulder. "Is there a room far from the sarcophagus? I need to know more from you before we are able to continue." The only room that they could find was the coat check room. They grabbed a few chairs making a circle with Cooper leading the talk, "So, last time that I saw Hunter he was in good healthy shape for someone his age. Did anyone notice anything about him and when did that happen?" They all looked around a bit but no one really had anything to say. "Anything strange in how he was acting? Mumbling? Sleeping?" That perked Juliet, "He did look like he hadn't been sleeping well."

She now had Cooper's full attention, "Good you remember. Do you know when this happened?"

"We got back from Ashwood in Oregon and a few days later he asked me to watch his house while he slept."

"Did he say why?"

"No, he just wanted someone to watch if there was anything that was strange or happened."

"No, it was quiet all night." Her face changed instantly and she remembered back.

He picked up on it, "That face says otherwise. What happened, dear? I need to know."

She tried to mutter words but the image of the shadow looming near the window staring at Hunter. Then something tried to grab him as he was standing in the doorway. The tears began to form in her eyes. They weren't sad. It was repressed fear surfacing. Cooper went into action grabbing beads from his pocket. He placed his opposite hand on her forehead. Looking into her eyes he chanted as fast as he could, keeping a hold of her. He repeated it time and time again until finally, he said, "Fear be free from her mind and clarity return." Her shallow breaths became deeper but they were still rapid. The tears began streaming down her face but she stopped crying. As her breathing slowly returned Cooper moved back to his chair. "It's ok, child. Your mind will overcome the fear and make you powerful enough to face it." As she slowly began to return to her normal self he turned to Hanson beckoning him to move closer.

Cooper leaned in as far as he could to whisper, "While she did not say what it was, that was the look of one who has brushed with death herself. She is a cruel mistress who leaves all those whose lives she enters crippled and deformed to be controlled by her presence. She will be fine now, but that only confirms what we are dealing with here." He sat back in his chair taking a deep breath himself. "I need to ask this straight. Did Hunter have a near-death experience recently?" Hanson immediately looked alarmed, "The lake in Ashwood."

"What happened in Ashwood, Hanson?"

"We were investigating a group of missing people and we found it to be connected to a lake. The young master was the one who plunged a purified tire iron into the source of the wisps that were causing people to go missing."

"A source of wisps?"

Cooper stood up pacing around fumbling with the beads in his hands mumbling to himself. "Did you have to revive him by chance?" Hanson's face went pale as paper, "Yes." Cooper nodded his head before sitting back down, "Ok, wisps are spiritual, and being that close to a source of them is very bad. I'm guessing that as he plunged into the water, closing the source, the resulting pulse knocked him out underwater, basically drowning him. Death came for him and you took him away from her. She is not happy about it and was waiting for her chance to get him back. He was living off borrowed time and his time ran out. Except it is not death that has him now. It's the proclaimed god of death from ancient Egypt, worshiped and revered, and formed by the ideas of man. Anubis." The growl was more violent as everything shook again rattling everything. The window beside them cracked but did not shatter. "And he is angry we are trying to take him back from his realm. We're not saving his life. We're saving his entire being." The rumbling picks up again as the group quiets down. Cooper stands, "We need to leave if we are going to continue to talk about this."

No one wanted to leave the museum with Hunter still trapped within its walls but placing themselves in danger was not going to help. Back in the car, the group drove off back to the hotel where they could sit down. The hotel bar was empty which gave them a comfortable stop to sit down and eat while going over everything. Cooper pulled out a few aged books from his bag flipping them open to a few pages. Everything was written in a language that even Hanson could not identify. It grabbed everyone's attention as he began finding pages. Once their food appeared he moved everything off to the side but continued reading by himself. Once he seemed to find what he was looking for he finally spoke up, "OK, do we have a map of the museum by some chance?"

There were pamphlets that are handed out to visitors that have a general access map of the building which would suffice for now. With the map before him he started, "Grandfather already identified what we are up against so I guess I need to help educate you so you know what we're up against. You are all familiar with the Egyptian god Anubis, correct?" Everyone seemed to be on the same page with Anubis being the god of death. "That saves a lot of time, however, I have to re-educate you. Anubis was no god, but a man from before the Egyptian empire really came to power. All of the gods were mortal and walked the Earth as such however, they were the ones who essentially created the mystic forces that branched off to witchcraft, voodoo, the idea of alchemy, and so on. They used this to gain fame and fortune, and immortalize themselves. Well, it turns out that they really did stumble across something more powerful than they were. This led them to their status as gods to the people they ruled over but they were still mortal and mortals die. They were all buried in their respective tombs that they modeled themselves and thereafter so did the rulers of Egypt. The thing is, their physical forms were dead but their spirit lived on as they were praised and worshiped. As the empire fell they hoarded the power to continue to survive on the spiritual plane. Now that Anubis has been disturbed, well… Here we are."

Everyone seemed a little dumbfounded. They seemed to follow but not everything seemed to stick. Juliet kind of just phased out, "In short, what are we going against?"

"In short, a very powerful, very mortal, dead person with an extreme understanding of what I have been studying nearly all my short life."

There is no such thing as a break when it comes to their job. Hanson was already taking notes and trying to come up with a plan on how they were going to counter this being and retrieve their boss. The only notes he had to go off of were their recent encounter with the Lich in Afghanistan. To him, it was very similar. A very powerful dead being that has powers able to reach into the living world and affect it. However in this case it had the ability to affect those still living. As he scribbled into his miniature notebook Cooper reached over, placing his hand down and stopping him. As a sense of dread flowed over him Cooper started into his eyes, "If this was a Lich, we could be done today. We're going against something much worse that my grandfather and I need to prepare properly for. We will need your help though." He removed his hand from the paper Hanson was writing on. Everything he has jotted down is gone. The paper was clean. "I don't need you acting on bad information so just forget it was ever there."

The entire table shook from his words. They were going into uncharted territory on this one. Cooper, the man who they had just met, was going to be their guide into this realm. They had to put their trust in this stranger. The necromancer truly was their only hope.

Cooper worked with his grandfather for the rest of the day in the room next to theirs. Occasionally they could hear chanting and mumbling from the other room on a tongue that no one could understand. Adam was patiently sitting in the chair near the corner while Hanson looked frazzled that he was waiting and not working on getting a solution. Juliet was with him on that one. She was worried about what was happening at the museum. There was no one there so if anything happened no one would know about it. The hours passed before there was a knock on their door. Cooper had a shaman bag at his waist with his grandfather by his side, "We're going to go set up. Tomorrow we act. Try and get some sleep." Everyone seemed a bit uneasy. "Hey, we'll get him back. I promise. It's just going to take time."

With nothing else to go on, they let Cooper go. Everyone took wherever they could sleep. Adam and Juliet shared the same bed while Hanson took the other to himself. The couch lay empty. Something about the vacant furniture threw everyone off that night. Juliet kept rolling over looking down expecting her master and boss to be there sleepy, oddly sound for someone in his position but there was no one there. Adam rolled over on occasion and forced himself to get up and walk around. He didn't seem able to relax either. Hanson didn't sleep but he kept himself quiet, starting off at the wall with his back to the others. Morning came and it was rough. Hanson was up before his alarm as he had never actually slept getting the coffee ready. With no one to share it with he ended up dumping half of it before they left.

They arrived at the museum where the front door was left unlocked by Cooper the night before. Walking in they heard a low rhythmic bass echoing through the building. It seemed like there was singing with it but the lyrics were what they had heard from Cooper and his grandfather. At least it seemed like it was the same language. They followed the noise to the room where the sarcophagus was still laying on the floor. It was put back together and propped up on the cart facing toward the two sitting on the floor. A small shrine had been made before them as close to the rope as they could have before crossing over. Before the shrine were two men. Cooper was sitting off to the left of his grandfather. His arms were moving to create the bass thumping they had heard when they entered. His grandfather was shaking something similar to a gord in his hand rattling it while chanting and focusing on the shrine before him.

The group approached a certain distance before Cooper turned around still beating on the drum giving them a sign to halt and make no noise. The bags under his eyes were heavy. Were these two up all night doing this? They showed no signs of stopping. The others stayed as still as they could, creating as little noise as they could until there was one last boom that came from Cooper's drum. His grandfather whispered something that seemed to slither around the room in a whirlpool. The drum was placed on the ground before Cooper stood up to stretch. His skin was pale and he looked exhausted. With a forced smile on his face, he turned to them, "Glad you're here. This is where I need your help."

From his bag, he picked out three bundles of what looked like sticks handing one to each of them before taking one himself. "Grandfather is going to take it from here and we are going to help him. You'll know when to start." He positioned them around his grandfather who was not standing up. He removed his shirt showing all the tattoos he has. There were scriptures, recipes, images, and diagrams all over him. His body was almost bare bones sharpening the images on him.

With everyone in position, Cooper gave them a nod to hold their bundle before them stomach high just below the ribs and against their body. Something seemed to bother Cooper though. His eyes had a certain sadness like he knew what was about to happen was not going to be pleasant. They could only trust him that what he was doing was correct. "Everyone ready?" They all nodded as he looked them over to make sure they had the position correct. "Ok Grandfather, we're ready. We're all ready."

They heard the old man inhale deeply before a low bass began to rumble around the room shaking them to the spine. The bones in their body rattled against one another at the frequency. The hum turned into elongated words that kept going. The old man took another deep breath getting another four words before stopping. Another deep inhale and a hold signified that this was going to be the last one. The bundle each held sparked into a quick flame before turning to incense that burnt a horrid smell. Cooper caught their ears, "Now pray to whatever deity you believe in. Just pray until you can no longer focus, then just keep praying."

Looking forward again the old man was hovering off the ground. They all looked down at the end of the smoldering bundle and each whispered their own prayer. Adam began mumbling for the safe return of his boss. Juliet prayed for the safe return of her master. Hanson began reciting from the bible, the different verses that gave him courage in the darkest of times. Cooper kept to his own while he watched his grandfather with a tear in his eye. The old man lifted higher into the sky and the shaking around them became more violent. The crashing noise became almost unbearable to where no one could hear themselves as they yelled out.

The old man was feet above the ground still chanting out loud, shattering the blistering sounds around them with his own voice. It all lowered into a low rumble before dulling into silence. The three kept their eyes looking down but around them. They all looked over to Cooper who had locked with them. With a nod, they all looked up and forward. Hanson whispered the last word, "Amen…" The sarcophagus blasted open, releasing a dark shadow that wrapped around the old man pulling him forward. His body disappeared into the darkness before the lid slammed shut. They all watched in horror as the container shook before opening slowly. Inside stood a man dressed in a black suit, white dress shirt, and a bright blood-red tie. His hands were covered in gold rings with blood-red rubies scattered among them in several ways. His hair was short but spiked up and to his left.

Gravity began to take hold of him. His unconscious body fell forward landing on the hard floor jarring his body to move. Hanson dropped the bundle ducking under the rope and flipping the body over. His skin was pale and cold but it was Hunter. He began chest compressions before Cooper pushed him slightly over shaking his head no. Grabbing his bag he moved it out of the way so he could sit next to him. Much like with CPR, he tilted his head back holding his nose shut. Instead of blowing air into his lungs, he began sucking out. The first time he coughed before doing it again. The third time he seemed to gag on something before lifting himself up. He carefully seemed to be controlling his breath before releasing a slow exhale. A small black trail of what looked like smoke was expelled, dissipating into the air.

The violent coughing from the body on the floor alerted everyone. His color began to come back slowly while his body warmed up. He got to where he could roll himself over onto his side to breathe better putting himself in the recovery position with his arm under his head. He continued to breathe occasionally coughing as his lungs began to function as normal. His breath was weezy but he was going to be okay when he opened his eyes to find himself on the floor. With a couple more deep breaths he spat out the words, "Where am I now?"

He dozed in and out muttering the same phrase every time he came to. It was hours before he was able to roll himself over to his back. Cooper kept everyone off of him while he continued to cough. The best thing for him was to recover under his own strength. Any interference could cause some adverse effects and send him into shock. Once on his back, he seemed to regain himself. He opened his eyes looking around him. He forced himself to sit up looking around and seeing the others. His mind seemed to not be here yet. His eyes were still dull, almost glassed over and colorless, but he was alive. He stood up stretching, cracking his joints. His arms dropped to his side limply. He took a quick turn left and right before doubling over throwing up on an empty stomach. It was painful to watch as he seemed to slowly become himself again. He began mumbling to himself asking questions and answering them.

With a deep breath, his color finally returned to him. He looked over at Adam moving to Juliet, then Hanson and Cooper. With a dull smile and a tired expression he muttered, "It's good to be back." Juliet was the first to lose it. She ran past Cooper almost knocking him over with a loud thud. He jerked in pain but was still happy to have someone hold him. The sound of Juliet's sobbing came through before Hanson approached him. Kneeling down beside him Hunter was able to address him, "How long was I gone?"

"Almost 2 days, sir."

His head fell back onto the floor with a deep sigh. Cooper caught wind of the question and proposed his own, "How long were you gone?" His eyes deadened again as he thought, "Two years…" Cooper's eyes widened, "Are you going to be ok?"

"I… I don't know. Can we leave? Are we done with whatever we were doing here?"

"Yes, the job is done."

Hanson helped Juliet and Hunter up from the floor. He kept his mouth shut while they walked out where he could sit on the steps out in the sun. Something seemed rather off about him now. He was covering his eyes, squinting them as tight as he could. The slight amount of light was enough to blind him. "I'll be fine. I just need to adjust." Hanson took him at his word, grabbing his phone and making a phone call to Dr. Hurnburry. The job was done and the mystery was solved. A couple cars rolled up about 30 minutes later with the doctor and a few of his students and staff. They ran up to the Hunter who could not talk to them right now. They moved to Hanson who explained that the tomb they raided was to the one Anubis. It should be quelled but precautions should be taken.

It was a short while before they were able to leave. Hanson guided Hunter to the backseat. He kept his hands over his eyes slowly trying to adjust to the light again. Adam took to riding shotgun while Juliet sat next to Hunter in the back keeping an eye on him. Cooper drove the car he took back to the hotel. Their current plan was to just reconvene before leaving on the plane back home. Cooper was going to join them on this ride back but one question still stayed in the back of their minds. What about Cooper's grandfather?

Adam was the one who broke that question out as Cooper sat in the chair while the others got ready. Everyone went dead quiet. A tear ran down Cooper's face at the reality of the situation. Hunter stood up sitting next to him on the arm with his arm around him, "I know what he did, Cooper. He knew what he was doing and so did you for a long time."

"Yea, yea I did."

"Doesn't make it any easier does it?"

Cooper wiped the tears from his eyes, "No, no it doesn't."

"It'll be ok. You know more than anyone that even though what happened he'll find his way back to you."

Cooper broke down a bit, shaking his shoulders as he cried his tears for his grandfather. Hunter patted him on the back before standing again. Hanson collected their things packing everything up. The drive to the airport was quiet. Once on the plane, Cooper opened up, "When I first started learning with my great grandfather he told me that the day that he left me I would be powerful enough to continue on without his guidance. That when that day came, I would be put before the greatest challenge of my life. I'd say that defeating a god is a pretty big challenge." Hanson was curious about this, "What was it that you two did?"

"We can't fight one on one with Anubis on this plane so grandfather bargained for Hunter. He traded himself for Hunter after we searched for him."

"Searched for him?"

"The chant you all heard when you walked in was us trying to communicate and find him. We did, we locked him in place in between where he was and where we were. That's when grandfather gave himself to pull him out. But grandfather always believed that his place was in that plane so he had no regrets or remorse for his decision."

Hunter shuffled in his seat, "That's why he was so willing to trade places." Hunter looked down at the rings still on his hands. He rolled one of them over before he began pulling them off. They each let out a crystal clear ding as they hit the table until they were all off. He removed the suit jacket, undoing the tie and throwing them on the floor. Cooper watched as he did so, "So tell me, Hunter, what sins do you still have to atone for?"

This question rattled everyone. Hunter's eyes locked on Cooper with almost a death glare before he let it go. "I have a long way to go before I get my redemption…"

"How far did you get?"

There was no worded answer. Just a chuckle while he shook his head. With a deep sigh, he did answer, "I'm not sure there is redemption for someone like me, son."

"Two years and you're still fighting the bonds that you made here." Something struck him as odd though, "Hunter, what's my name?"

He asked him loud enough that everyone looked over. Hunter kept a straight face while he looked at him. No one could tell if he was fighting something or biting back. "Hunter, what is my name?" His stare continued until he finally broke, "I don't know." Cooper sat back in his chair looking over the table as Hunter covered his face. "Can you name anyone who is here?"

"I… can't… I don't remember any of you."

Hanson kept a good poker face. Adam seemed slightly offended. Juliet seemed to have some issues with this as well. Her master could not remember who she was. "Hunter, I need the truth. How long were you gone?" Juliet chimed in, "He was gone two days."

"But he said for him it was two years. The spiritual plane does not operate at the same time as we do so I ask again, how long were you gone?"

A tear ran down his face as he pursed his lips, "Two… hundred… and forty-three years."

Everyone was floored. For them, he was gone for two days but to him, it was almost two and a half centuries. "That's why you don't know."

"I don't even know my own name!" He lurched forward with his hands open and palms up, "It's been so long since someone called me by my name, my real name, that I don't remember it anymore! I don't even know who I am anymore! You all call me 'Hunter' but I know that's just a nickname or something. I know what I used to do! I know all the knowledge that I've retained but names, faces, and everything else is gone! Everything that made me a person is just… it's just gone."

He finally relaxed his arms on the armrest of his chair while he leaned back. He covered his eyes trying to hide the tears while wiping them. He had really changed in a short time. Something happened to him where he broke and had to rebuild himself. His actions were different. The way he carried himself was off. Walking into the office was like watching him set foot on a different planet. Hansons showed him to his office where he could finally sit down. The suit jacket was hung up on a rack while the rings were scattered across the desk. He looked at each one going as deep into it as he could. The gems were something different from rubies. They seemed to be clear yet clouded with eternal darkness. He could never see the gold on the other side. There were 12 of these. He leaned back, closing his eyes trying to remember a time before the darkness swallowed him. His last memory is just darkness pulling him into what seemed like a bottomless ocean. It jarred him forward in his chair.

Looking around he found an odd-shaped glass with something inside of it. He took the top off taking a sniff. The burning sensation from it caused him to lurch back holding it away from him. He put the cap back on it, placing it back on the shelf where he got it. Everything about this room seemed distantly familiar but foreign. He looked around wondering just how much he had changed. Everything just seemed off.

A knock on the door got him back to his present situation, "Yes?" The tall man walked in carrying clothes. "Here you are sir, a fresh change of clothes." Hunter looked over at the pile left on his desk. "Thank you, uh…" It hurt him a bit but Hanson remembered that he was still recovering, "Hanson, sir."

"Thank you, Hanson."

Just hearing his name though was enough to bring a smile to the old man's face. As he went to leave he stopped in the doorway, "It is good to have you back, sir."

"Good to be back."

The door shut behind him leaving Hunter to the quiet darkness of his room, "I think…"