Realization

We had immediately left Hamunaptra after our encounter with the Medjai warriors. We rode through the night and into the day to make sure we got out of the city as quickly as possible. Hidalgo was fine from the event with the bugs, he had even eaten some of them. It wasn't super long til we got back to my humble abode in Cairo and were currently unpacking our cases. I had put Hidalgo safely in a stable where I knew he'd be secure. I had been distracted though on why the mummy had called me Sekhmet and why he'd called Evy Anck-su-namun. Such a confusing time. I had taken a shower and was all cleaned up and dressed in my normal clothes when Rick came bursting through the door, emotions off the hook.

"l thought you said you didn't believe in that fairy tales and hokum stuff." Rick proceeded to badger my sister who was unpacking. "Shoo!" He shewed a cat away from the bed.

"H-Having an encounter with a 3,000-year-old walking, talking corpse, does tend to convert one." Evy stuttered out while Rick had started to throw our stuff back into our suitcase.

"Forget it. We're out the door, down the hall and we're gone." Rick said while Evy started to unpack as he packed more in. Throwing my typewriter and Evy's books in there for good measure.

"Oh, no, we are not." Evy said.

"Oh, yes, we are." Rick countered back.

"Oh, no, we are not. We woke him up, and we are going to stop him." Evy countered. I laughed at how this event was currently unfolding.

"We? What we?" Rick asked incredulous. "We didn't read that book." Rick yelled at us, throwing his hands up in the air looking very dissatisfied. "l told you not to play around with that thing. Didn't l tell you?" I stepped in between them so as to confirm no one would get hurt.

"Yes, then me, me, me, me, l, l, l woke him up and l intend to stop him." Evy continued to tell him. Rick looked at me as if asking my stance on the issue at hand. I looked away from his piercing gaze he knew I'd take my sisters side in all this.

"Yeah? How? You heard the man-- no mortal weapons can kill this guy." He proceeded to poke holes in our plan.

"Then we are just going to have to find some immortal ones." I countered.

"There goes that 'we' again." He said looking entirely peeved.

"Will you listen to me? We have to do-- Once this creature has been reborn... His curse is going to spread until the whole of the Earth is destroyed." Evy said, unpacking more of our stuff that had been thrown into the suitcase by Rick a little earlier.

"Yeah? Is that my problem?" He asked us, fuming.

"Well, It is everybody's problem." I snapped at him, getting annoyed at him, myself.

"Josephine, l appreciate you saving my life and all, but when l signed on... l agreed to take your family out there and to bring you back. l have done that. End of job. End of story. Contract terminated!!" Rick said waving his arms around. I felt hurt by his words but quickly put up a wall to set up a face to look like I wasn't fazed.

"Is that all l am to you? A contract?" I asked him curiously showing hurt only a little.

"You can either tag along with me... Or you can stay here and try and save the world!" He said seriously. I rolled my eyes at him. "What's it gonna be?" He asked after a couple seconds had gone by.

"I'm staying." I said looking at my sister with her wide eyes watching this argument and relationship go down the toilet.

"Fine!" Rick said proceeding to leave the room.

"Fine." I said back.

"Fine." He countered pausing at the door.

"Fine." I said again.

"Fine." He said finally slamming the door he had came through only moments before. God damn this man. I decided a walk might be beneficial to walk off the energy, nervousness, and annoyance Rick was causing me. Evy offered to come with so I allowed her to. She was reading a book but could definitely feel the tension coming off of me. She broke the silence.

"Joe.. I'm sure he didn't mean it. You know things tend to slip out when the stress is high." Evy tried to calm me down.

"Eves.. I know, I just need time to think about it, if the relationship is worth it." I said looking down at the ground and keeping my thoughts to myself.

"Oh, Josephine!" I heard my name from that specific man I was thinking about. Evy and I turned around, facing the problem child.

"Oh, so you're still here." Evy spoke for me, sarcasm intertwining her voice. Suddenly, lightening and meteors were falling from the sky, one of the many plagues that have already happened upon us.

"We've got problems." Rick said looking from my sister to me.

"NO SHIT" I exclaimed, as Rick swiftly pulled me to him and grabbed my sisters arm noticing the meteors falling and lightening flashing, some people were even on fire. It was unreal I was so flabbergasted by the balls of fire reigning down on us, it felt like the end of the world. As we were looking in awe at the world around us, Rick noticed some movement on the staircase next to us. I recognized the red fez Beni was wearing.

"Hey! Beni, you little stinkweed. Where you been?" Rick quickly grabbed Beni by the shirt and pushed him against the wall. Suddenly we heard a scream come from above us. Rick had loosened his grip enough to where Beni could slip away. Our group ran up the stairs, what we saw was not what we were expecting. Rick and I had our guns at the ready. With Evelyn behind us we walked into a beautiful suite to see a very unpleasant and dryly sucked Mr. Burns. Rick and I trained our guns on the mummy who was now transforming more into a figure. More muscle was there and skin was forming. I realized everything he was getting was from Mr. Burns. I cringed inwardly.

"We are in serious trouble." Rick said his eyes widening at the mummy. The mummy started advancing on us. Rick and I held our ground shooting at the mummy with full force. However, the effort was futile, I realized as there was no point and put my gun away while Rick was still shooting with both of his guns rapid fire. Jon and the Americans raced into the room as well, all of them getting out their guns shooting along with Rick. The mummy was very close to Rick and he pushed him out of the way into the Americans and Jon toppling them like bowling pins. He turned to Evy and I. My sister was terrified just as we had been in the city. Fuck. He backed us up against the bookcase. I stepped in front of Evy protecting her, but barely.

"You saved me from the undead. I thank you." He said in ancient Egyptian and leaned into kiss Evy. I quickly brought my fist up ready to punch him if he got any closer to us. But before I could, a sound was heard from the opposite side of the room, a cat had strode across the piano keys. The mummy immediately faded into sand and out the door, no where to be seen.

"We are in very serious trouble." Rick reiterated himself as he sat up with Jon and the Americans, looking at where the mummy had disappeared to.

Museum of Antiquities

"He does seem to like Evy." Jon said voicing his thoughts to us as we walked through the museum of antiquities.

"Yeah, what's that about?" Rick asked looking around at all the artifacts while following Evy's quick pace.

"There's only one person I know that can give us any answers." Evy said very determined that the curator would know what to do. "You?!" Evy exclaimed as we entered the room where standing was the curator and a man clad in black robes. The Americans guns went up at a fast pace, however, I did not see the need to put mine up. I knew they wouldn't harm us. Though it was a very surprising to see the warrior in this particular place.

"Miss Carnahan... Gentlemen... Josephine." Dr. Bey, the curator, greeted us all calmly.

"What is he doing here?" Evy asked with a twinge of interest in her voice rather than blame. She looked at him briefly trying to hide her very apparent interest in the mystery man.

"Do you really want to know, or would you prefer to just shoot us?" Dr. Bey asked looking rather peeved at the Americans and Rick for preparing themselves so abruptly and entirely ready to end their lives if need be.

"After what l just saw... I'm willing to go on a little faith here." Rick said close to my shoulder, lowering his weapon putting it in it's holster and walking over with me to go sit down in a chair. I was sitting on the arm of his chair.

"We are part of an ancient secret society. For over 3,000 years we have guarded the City of the Dead. We are sworn at manhood to do any and all in our power to stop the High Priest lmhotep from being reborn into this world." Dr. Bey explained, well that explains half of his actions.

"Because of you, we have failed." The warrior filled in looking curiously at Evy. Perhaps a romance would be kindling here very soon between them I thought.

"You think this justifies the killing of innocent people?" Evy asked sounding so much like a twat. I rolled my eyes at her walking away from my sister and over to Jonathan.

"To stop this creature? Let me think..." The curator pretended to think for a second.

"Yes!" The warrior and Dr. both exclaimed in unison.

"Question: Why doesn't he like cats?" Rick asked sounding altogether very confused about it.

"Cats are the guardians of the underworld. He will fear them until he is fully regenerated." Dr. Bey filled in Ricks mundane question.

"And then he will fear nothing." The warrior exclaimed, sounding annoyed.

"You know how he gets himself fully regenerated?" said the American I didn't know the name of.

"By killin' everyone who opened that chest." Henderson filled in.

"And suckin' 'em dry, that's how!!" The other American said.

"Jonathan, will you stop playing with that?" Evy said to Jon. I looked over to see Jon playing with one of the mannequins bows. I stifled my laugh. "When l saw him alive at Hamunaptra, he called me Anck-su-namun. And then just now in Mr. Burns' quarters, h-he tried to kiss me." Evy explained to them. I decided now it was time to tell everyone what he had called me.

"He also called me Sekhmet." I added in right after Evy she looked at me along with the mysterious warrior. The warrior and the curator looked at each other curiously then the warrior looked back to me starting to explain.

"Sekhmet was the leader of the Medjai, which is what my people are, but she is also a goddess, goddess of war whom was sent to go fight amongst the mortals and alongside the pharaohs. She is very adamant on revenge and winning almost impossible fights." The man explained.

"Joe is a spitting image of her for sure. Sekhmet was with us to make sure Imhotep did not rise again and she was there overseeing his live mummification, she was the one who actually gave the order. The reason she did that was because she was also the pharaohs daughter which gave her even more vengeance to slay Imhotep for killing her father. A lot of anger from the goddess indeed. No telling what Imhotep will do with that." Dr. Bey said looking at me with grave interest in his eye. I shook my head disbelievingly. The curator searched around for a second then pulled a picture of the goddess from a folder he had been holding. I stared at it for a second realizing it did look like me a tad, however, she had her differences. I passed it to my siblings they looked at it and nodded.

"However, why he called Evelyn Anck-su-namun is simple. lt's because of his love for Anck-su-namun that he was cursed." Dr. Bey filled in now explaining Evy's role.

"Apparently, even after 3,000 years—" Dr. Bey continued.

"He is still in love with her." The warrior finished the thought.

"Yes, well that is very romantic, but what has it got to do with me?" Evy asked very intrigued by this part of the story that mum had failed to mention to her children.

"Perhaps he will once again try to raise her from the dead. And it appears he has already chosen his human sacrifice." Dr. Bey said looking to Evy with little concern in his eyes along with the lovely warrior.

"Bad luck, old mum." Jon said leaning down giving both Evy and I stares.

"On the contrary, it may just give us the time we need... to kill the creature." Dr. Bey contemplated. I shook my head, I didn't like where this idea was headed.

"We will need all the help we can get. His powers are growing." The warrior said. We all got up to watch the eclipse.

"And he stretched forth

his hand towards the heavens...

and there was darkness

throughout the land of Egypt.''