Kidnapped

"l think the bracelet is some sort of guide to the lost oasis of Ahm Shere." I rambled on to Rick as we went through the door to my old childhood house. Evy was here somewhere, who knows where.

"EVY!" I yelled, to get no answer. Rick dropped the majority of our bags near the door.

"MOM!" Alex yelled behind us. He ran forward into the living area setting the chest on the table.

"Josephine... I know what you're thinking and the answers no. We just got home." Rick said clearly wanting to stay home and relax for a bit before we started off on another adventure. But he didn't understand my yearning to figure out what these dreams were and why I was having them. I needed to know.

"That's the beauty of it. We're already packed." I said spinning around to face my husband.

"Why don't you just give me one good reason?" Rick said walking up close to my face.

"Its just an oasis... Darling." I said to him tipping the hat he had been wearing off his head and onto the floor. I wanted this more than a lot of things lately. He needed to understand. I sighed internally.

"A beautiful... exciting... romantic... oasis." I did a full circle around him removing his scarf he had been wearing in the process. Rick pulled me closer to him by the waist.

"The kind with the white, sandy beach and the palm trees... and the cool, clear, blue water? We could have some of those big drinks with the little umbrellas." He made a gesture trying to explain to me the tiny umbrellas. I smiled at his attempt to get the point across to me.

"Sounds good." I said happily smelling his cologne and getting even more comfy in his arms.

"Sounds too good. What's the catch?" He quickly put me at arms length. I sighed walking out of his arms, he was catching on quicker now that we were married.

"Supposedly its the resting place of Anubis' army." Evelyn butted in making her presence known. I walked over to my sister and gave her a hug. I was happy to see her again.

"Evy!! You're home.. How's it feel to be back?" I asked her while pulling away.

"Me? I should be asking you! Alex said he had fun. I saw the chest. Beautiful, I can't believe I missed it." Evy babbled on before Rick interrupted our girl talk.

"You see? I knew there's a catch. There's always a catch. How did I know that? And let me guess. It was commanded by this Scorpion King guy?" Rick butted himself back into the conversation steering it towards the outcome he wanted.

"Yes, but he only awakens once every 5,000 years." Evy said in my defense.

"And if someone doesn't kill him, he's gonna wipe out the world." Rick said. I started walking away from him up the staircase. He followed me.

"How did you know?" I asked skeptically but sarcastically. Evy laughed at us and went to go talk to Alex a bit more while Rick and I bickered about the Scorpion King.

"I didn't, but that's always the story." Rick said knowingly.

"The last known expedition to actually reach Ahm Shere... was sent by Ramses the Fourth over 3,000 years ago. He sent over a thousand men." Evy yelled up the stairs to us.

"None of them was ever seen again." Rick said on his wipe out the world ploy.

"How did you know?" I asked smiling at his dumb antics.

"I didn't, but that's always the story." He said back to me still following me as I made my way over to the bookshelf where I knew I stored the book that I needed.

"Did I mention the pyramid of gold?" I asked him knowing I had mentioned it already.

"Twice." Rick said getting annoyed.

"Alexander the Great sent troops in search of it." I said trying to spike his interest.

"Hooray for him." He wasn't biting.

"So did Caesar." Evy yelled up to us.

"Look what happened to his career." Rick mumbled under his breath, I stifled a laugh.

"And Napoleon." I said.

"Yeah, but were smarter than him. Taller too." Rick made his point.

"Exactly. That's why we're the ones who are gonna find it." I told him knowing I would win this argument or I would go without my husband on this journey.

"Because we're taller?" He asked me. I rolled my eyes. I walked up the small stairs and grabbed the book I needed and jumped off into Rick's waiting arms.

"That's why I love you." I smiled at him as he set me back on my feet.

"Nice try." He knew I was trying to con him into this. Just as he was saying that, I heard something fall in the next room. Evy yelled that she would check it out.

"All I'm saying is let's be cautious. If anything happened to you, I would never forgive myself." Rick voiced his concerns to me. Awhh he was worried about me. He shouldn't be, I could take care of myself.

"Rick. I've been doing this sort of thing my entire life you have to know I can handle any situation... Right?" I asked him actually concerned, he didn't know I'd been in plenty of scuffles without him to know how to handle myself.

"Have I kissed you today?" He asked completely avoiding my question, I hated when he did that. Ugh. He leaned in to kiss me, however, I turned my head last minute so he kissed my cheek. "I hate it when you do that." He said to me. I sighed and quickly redeemed myself by kissing him. He dipped me down extending our kiss. After we broke apart I looked up seeing someone's bra hanging from my cabinet. Rick followed my stare.

"Those knickers are not mine." I said to Rick. Clearly, we hadn't been home in a week or so.

"Jonathan." Rick said, knowing Jon he'd probably brought some broad home. Rick went off to find Jonathan while I made my way back down the stairs to go find Evy and Alex. I ended up running into Alex first.

"Happy to be home?" I asked him.

"Couldn't be happier." Oh crap something was off I knew it in the kids tone. I choose to ignore it, I didn't wanna know yet.

"Its the Year of the Scorpion." I said to him pulling the book from behind my back showing him the page and handing him the book.

"Neat." He said reading as he did so.

"Thought you might like that. Where'd your mother get to?" I asked him curiously.

"Not sure, I thought she went into the dining room." Alex said. I nodded and walked off in that direction to try to find Evy. I walked around the dining hall and then into the main hall to see if she'd wandered off there. I found her finally, back with Alex asking about the key to the chest.

"Good evening." That's a new voice, I spun around to be met with a guy in red robes. What the hell.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Evy asked the million-dollar questions.

"I'm looking for the chest, of course." He said matter of factly. Fuck, I brought this upon us. It's always something.

"Give it to me now." He demanded as Alex picked up the chest. I walked over to my sword display, picking out my favorite.

"Get out of my house before I slice you into oblivion." I said to the stranger.

"Whoa, Aunt Joe. Maybe not the best idea." Alex said from behind us. He'd never seen his aunt fight anyone.

"Alex, get back there." Evy said as she grabbed a sword, more men stepped behind their leader. Well, she surprised me.

"Definitely not the best idea." Alex said again voicing concern. "I think its time to yell for Uncle Rick now." He said from behind Evy.

"Now I will kill you and take it anyway." The man said.

"I think not." I heard the deep sultry voice before I saw Ardeth walk up next to us.

"Dad!" Alex exclaimed.

"Ardeth. Nice to see you again." I said to him not taking my eyes off the intruders.

"What are you doing here?" Evy said adrenaline in her voice.

"Perhaps explanations are best kept for later." He said to his newlywed wife.

"Ardeth Bay." The man said. Oh no... They knew each other. This couldn't be good.

"Lock-Nah." Ardeth said. Then the fighting broke out. Alex and Evy ran to the back while Ardeth and I took the fighting in the front lines. I was swinging at the men in red only to realize they were holding back on their fighting skill. They were throwing all their might at Ardeth but not so much with me. I kicked one of the two I was fighting into a bookshelf as Ardeth took care of the other one.

"Not bad for a Medjai." I heard Lock-Nah say to him, ugh this asshole... I rolled my eyes, someone needed to teach him a lesson. I quickly made myself known again by jumping on his back. He flung me off hitting a wall, god damn always happens. My head hurt but I managed to get back up.

"What's in the chest?" I heard him yell.

"The bracelet of Anubis!" I yelled back, running to help my sister with her fight.

"They must not get the bracelet." Ardeth yelled back. No shit. "Get it and get out of here!" Ardeth yelled again. Alex tipped my bookshelf over on one of the men as Evy grabbed the chest.

"Look out!" I heard Alex yell.

"Joe!!!" I heard Evy yell my name too. What?? What was everyone yelling about? I got punched in the face and blackness. The last thing I remembered was seeing red.. I woke up inside a car not much later as far as I can tell. I saw my husband out the rear view window.

"RICK!" I yelled. Not hearing anything back. Quickly they placed a rag over my mouth probably with chloroform on it. Then blackness, out once again.

Rick POV

"Uncle Rick!!!" I heard my name being yelled by Alex as he came running up to me with his father behind him... When did he get here?

"Are you alright?" I asked my little companion.

"Yeah." Alex answered. Alright good everyone's okay. Now time to get down to business.

"O'Connell!" Ardeth greeted me bowing his head. Haha he thought he could walk into my house so easily... NOT!

"What the hell are you doing here?" I yelled grabbing Ardeth by the robes, throwing him against the podium outside.

"Rick please don't!" Evelyn begged me running up to meet me, her brother stood frozen next to me.

"Scratch that. I don't care." I said while letting him go. "Who the hell are those guys and where are they taking my wife?"

"My friend, I'm not sure but wherever this man is, your wife will surely be." He held up a picture of some other doofus in a red dress.

"Hey, I know him. He's the curator. He works at the British Museum." Alex spoke up.

"Are you sure?" Ardeth confirmed what his son was saying with his wife.

"Better believe him. He spends more time there than he does at home." Evelyn answered as I strode off towards the car.

"Okay, you're here. The bad guys are here. Joe's been kidnapped. Let me guess..." I asked him waiting for him to fill in the blanks.

"Yes, they have once again removed the creature from his grave." Ardeth didn't disappoint.

"Oh that's where you were." Evy spoke up. So not the time.

"Not to point fingers, but isn't it your job to make sure that doesn't happen?" Jonathan said waving his treasured gold stick he'd held onto throughout all our fighting.

"That woman with him knows things no living person could possibly know. She knew exactly where the creature was buried. We hoped she would lead us to the bracelet. She obviously did. Now they have it." Ardeth said sounding defeated. I was ready to throw him up against the car and yell at him for this mess but I knew it wasn't his fault.

"I wouldn't get too nervous just yet." Alex pipped up from beside Evelyn. Pulling back his jacket sleeve to reveal the bracelet Joe and I had found. Ardeth held the boy's arm in his hand.

"Is that gold?" Jon asked immediately distracted. I rolled my eyes, so Jonathan.

"Alex..." Evy said disappointment in her voice.

"When I stuck it on, I saw the pyramids at Giza. Then whoosh-- straight across the desert to Karnak." He explained.

"By putting this on you have started a chain reaction that could bring about the next apocalypse." Ardeth scolded his son. Alex gasped and Evy smacked her husbands arm lightly.

"You, lighten up. You, big trouble. You two, get in the car." I said to everyone taking lead in our gaggle. We all got in my car and sped off towards the British Museum.

"I am sorry if I alarmed you son, but you must understand. Now that the bracelets on your wrist we have only seven days before the Scorpion King arises." Ardeth trailed off from beside me talking to Alex.

"We? What we?" I asked him.

"If he is not killed, he will raise the Army of Anubis." Ardeth told me seriously.

"I take it that's not a good thing." Jon pipped up again from behind my seat.

"Oh, he'll wipe out the world." I said sarcastically pushing the gas pedal down more wanting Joe back in my arms as soon as possible where it was safe.

"Ah the old 'wipe out the world' ploy." Jonathan sighed back to me.

"Whomever can kill the Scorpion King can send his army back to the Underworld... Or use it to destroy mankind and rule the Earth." Ardeth explained the back story.

"So that's why they dug up Imhotep, 'cause he's the only guy tough enough to take out the Scorpion King." Evelyn said from behind Ardeth.

"That is their plan." He confirmed his wifes theory. God damn it I thought, here we go again as I whipped the car into a spot in front of the British Museum.