Magic Carpet

"Alex, I got a big job for you. Stay here and protect the car." Evy spoke up as we were getting ready to leave.

"I could do that." Jon spoke up. He didn't always annoy me, but my wife was gone for the second time due to Imhotep so Jon specifically was drawing on my last nerve.

"Jonathan!!" Evy exclaimed as she hit his arm.

"Protect the car?" Alex said put off that his mom would take him out of the adventure. I didn't blame the little dude, it really was a lot of fun when we weren't running for our lives. "Come on. Just because I'm a kid doesn't mean I'm stupid." Alex replied to his mother.

"I know." Evy smiled at her son, ruffling his hair.

"If you see anyone come running out screaming, it's just me." Jon announced sarcastically to all of us in the car.

"Maybe you should stay here and watch Alex." Ardeth jumped in. Evy looked at him silently asking if she should stay as well, he nodded. Might be good to have a parent stay behind.

"Now you're talking." Jon said, happier with this plan. I got out of the car slammed the door shut and walked over to the trunk opening it. Ardeth followed me.

"You want the shotgun?" I asked him sensing him next to me.

"No, I prefer the Thompson." He replied. "If I were to say to you, I am a stranger traveling from the east seeking that which is lost—" Ardeth started. Weirdly enough I knew exactly what he was talking about, it was an old thing we learned in orphanage.

"Then I would reply that I am a stranger traveling from the west. It is I whom you seek" I stopped loading the shotgun and looked at him skeptically, wondering where he was going with this line of questioning.

"So then it is true? You have the sacred mark." I looked at him oddly. He grabbed my wrist, looking at my tattoo.

"Oh that? I got that slapped on me when I was in orphanage in Cairo." I explained to him, he was making something out of nothing.

"That mark means you are a protector of man, a warrior for god. A Medjai." He started to explain things rapidly as he had a tendency to do so when he was excited. He had done the same when Evy and him came back to celebrate the wedding and birth of Alex with the family. I took my wrist back and continued loading up with weapons.

"Sorry. Wrong guy." I brushed him off, there was no way I of all people was a warrior for God.

Lightening struck around us as we made our way into the museum. Ardeth and I made our way through the Egyptian section, I heard it before I saw what was happening. Chanting... Oh God damn it, this couldn't be good. All of a sudden the mummies in the crypts and behind the glass were coming to life. I'd had quite enough mummies for a god damn while. I looked at Ardeth slightly expecting us to do something about them but we let them be and continued with our original mission: Josephine. We got to the top level when I saw this huge ring of men with torches holding some sort of ceremony. The thing I saw that frightened me the most was my wife on a wooden board, her limbs bound with rope looking around as if she didn't know what to do. She looked so helpless, which was very unlike Josephine.

Joe's POV

I woke up rather abruptly. My head throbbing as I sat up quickly. What the hell?? I looked around at my surroundings seeing the curator of the British Museum reading from the Book of the Dead. Oh fuck. I immediately knew exactly what was happening. They were trying to raise Imhotep from the grave we had put him in. Slowly, Imhoteps bones started to move. He broke out of the wax from which he was encased and looked around at these imbeciles.

"Imhotep." I whispered.

"What year is it??" He asked whomever in ancient Egyptian.

"My Lord, it is the year of the Scorpion." Some random bloke in the crowd said to him.

"Truly?" Imhotep responded.

"Yes." The curator replied. Imhotep started laughing maniacally. A door opened and a woman started walking up the path right up to Imhotep. A vision overtook me, as soon as I saw her, she was strutting forward in elegant body paint. Then it stopped and I flashed back to real time.

"Do not be frightened." The curator started to say to her.

"I am not afraid." She told him not taking her eyes off the living corpse.

"I am Anck-su-namun reincarnated." She told him. Oh Jesus Christ, this bitch was crazy. It's always the crazy ones that get roped up into this.

"Only in body, but soon I shall bring your soul back from the underworld and our love shall once again be whole." Imhotep said walking a circle around her and stroking her hair. I cringed inwardly. Thank god it wasn't Evy this time. They just stared at each other for a while. I looked away feeling like I was invading their privacy. I peeked behind the scene that was unfolding and noticed they had stolen the chest. How in the world?? They unsealed it burning the seal with some sort of chemical.

"Lord Imhotep will be most pleased." What they pulled out seemed odd to me, it was a baseball sculpture Jon had won from a long time ago. However, it was only a participation award, could you imagine Jonathan doing sports? I laughed at the thought.

"Where is it?? Where is the bracelet?" the curator asked the man in red robes.

"I think I know." He said sounding angry.

"I have a gift for you." The woman said looking at me maliciously.

"Her!!" He shouted at me just about scaring the living daylights out of me, as I was not paying attention. Ah fuck no. I slowly reached for my knife hidden in my boot.

"I knew it would please you to watch her die." Ah HELL NO. I quickly cut my bonds from my legs then lashed out as she snapped her fingers, the guards around me moved the plank I was on. I kicked the guards as best I could but they quickly put me back into place. I was overpowered but that wouldn't stop me from fighting. They wrestled my knife from me, slowly placing me near the fire that was burning.

"Shit." I cursed debating what else to do. I was gonna burn alive, this was definitely not the way I had planned to go out.

"The underworld awaits you." Imhotep told me in ancient Egyptian.

"Bastard, you're going back to where you came from. Just you wait." I yelled back at him.

"Our thinking was not if we kill you first." The curator told me, I elbowed him in the face and tried to stand up on the plank they had me on. Rick suddenly came through the fire to save me. He jumped on the plank and the shots started to ring out. Ardeth must be up there somewhere I thought noticing the balcony. Rick threw me over his shoulder and rushed in between some crates for cover, he set me down and cut my wrist ties. I shook them off. Rick handed me one of my favorite guns and gave me a look as if to say 'don't get shot'. I smirked at him and we popped back out to join the firefight. We quickly started making our way to the stairs. I hoped he knew where he was going otherwise we were going to die. Suddenly a lot of things exploded and Rick was yelling at me to go.

"Go, go, go!" I ran up another flight of stairs waiting for him to join me. I grabbed his arm dragging him with me so he wouldn't be left behind. Rick had a tendency to stay in a fight longer than was necessary. Ardeth joined us on the stairs, quiet as ever.

"Oh, no. Not these guys again." Rick complained, I rolled my eyes continuing to run away and up the stairs. Ardeth and Rick on my heels. We burst out the doors and into the night. I saw Evy there waiting for me. Oh thank God she was still alive. I hugged her fast, when I pulled away I grabbed her wrist promptly running towards the car. She yanked herself from my grip and grabbed the bench and started to move it in front of the door.

"EVY! What are you doing?? These guys don't use doors." I heard Ardeth yell to my sister while running back to grab her and moving from the building.

"Where the hell's Jonathan??!!" Rick yelled looking at his car skeptically as a double decker bus pulled up in front of the museum.

"What's the matter with my car??" Rick asked him sounding hurt.

"I was forced to find an alternative form of transportation." Jon started to explain himself scared of Rick.

"A DOUBLE-DECKER BUS?!?!?!" Rick yelled at him. I quickly grabbed Ricks arm dragging him onto the bus. Following Evy and Ardeths example of let's just leave.

"It was his idea." Jon tried again to get himself out of the conversation pointing to Alex.

"Was not!" Alex rebuttled.

"Was too!" The two bickered.

"Just go!" Rick yelled, putting an end to the twos arguing. You know, they are almost identical when they got into an emotionally charged situation. They didn't see it, but I knew Alex was bonding with his Uncle Jon a little too much.

"It was too!" Jon tried to win the conversation with Alex. Imhoteps minions suddenly burst through the brick of the museum and ran after us.

"No, no! Not my car! Oh, I hate mummies." Rick seethed, as the mummies crushed his car beneath their feet. That car was his baby. He stored the thought and started reloading.

"Glad to see me now?" Ardeth asked Rick.

"Just like old times, huh?" Rick said back as he went up the stairs of the bus. I sat down below, looking to Evy.

"You okay?" She asked me concerned her mother qualities coming out.

"I'm fine. Just need my weapons." I said to her smiling. I looked to Alex, he smiled back to me a look of happiness on his face, I was happy he was alright. Suddenly, Ardeth started to open fire on a mummy that was trying to invade the bus. The mummies bottom half fell but it's top half came back right as Ardeth reloaded. Ah shit. I felt so vunerable without my weapons. Alright, time for some hand to hand. I admit I was a tad better than Rick was. I had tried to train him to help him get better, but being the proud man he is, he certainly did not use all my tricks. I stood up from my seat walking towards Ardeth. Ardeth was also not so great at hand to hand but defense was working well for him so far. The mummy flung him into the window a couple times and I waited for my chance. I heard a struggle break out upstairs and posted myself at the base of them to help Rick if he needed it. I dodged the mummy who was pursuing Ardeth, hoping he could handle himself.

"You got this, yes?" I yelled to Ardeth.

"Yes, go!" with that reply I ran up the stairs. What met my eyes was not pleasing, I saw Rick being tossed up against the ceiling. I grabbed the shotgun that had gotten away from him and fired at the mummy, its bits and pieces flying everywhere.

"Turn, turn! Turn Jonathan Turn!!!" I heard Evy yell. I got flung against some seats, promptly throwing me off my feet. I heard the mummy grab Rick and start screaming at him. I knew he could deal with this himself as he has many times before. Rick fell to the floor crawling for the shotgun. Remaining where I was, I kicked it to him. He shot the mummy again but it still wouldn't give up. Jon turned the bus rapidly and the shotgun fell down to the first level.

"I can't believe you dropped it!" I yelled at him, I stayed where I was comfortable on the seats. I saw the bridge, realizing we wouldn't clear that overhang, Rick ducked and covered. As I rolled off my seat onto the floor I held my head close to the floor of the top deck. I heard the mummy go splat against the bridge along with half the metal on the top bunk of the bus. Jonathan finally pulled over to the side of the bridge once we had passed it. Rick just walked up to me and held me in his arms, we were basking in the moonlight on Tower Bridge.

"You okay?" he asked concerned as he caressed my cheek. I leaned forward capturing his lips with mine. We broke apart happily just comfortable near each other. Everyone was okay.

"Yes, I am now." I smiled closing my eyes enjoying the warmth he gave me. Suddenly screaming broke out downstairs. Oh God, it wasn't over. Rick and I broke apart quickly and bounded down the stairs to see Ardeth running after a car. Well that won't end well. The bridge started raising as the car started driving off with Evy gripping on the side of the bus door yelling after Alex. Oh God damn it not again, more and more shit from this evening was piling up and I was not having it. The car drove off the opposite direction over the bridge. Fuck. Ardeth walked back to us slowly.

"They cannot hurt him, for he wears the bracelet of Anubis." He told Evy, holding her in a hug.

"Alex is wearing the bracelet?" I asked. I looked into Ricks eyes concerned. This was our fault, we're the ones who put Alex in this predicament in the first place. I looked away from him and vacated the bus running my hands through my golden hair as I walked to the edge of Tower Bridge putting my head in my hands wondering what else there was to do now.

"When he put it on, he said he saw the pyramids at Giza and the temple at Karnak." Ardeth explained to me while he walked up behind me with my family. "At Karnak, the bracelet will show him the next step of the journey."

"If we dont get to Karnak before them, we won't know where to look for him." Evy said close to tears. I looked at her determined pushing the thoughts I was having aside, resting my elbows on the edge of the wall.

"Don't worry Eves, we'll get him back." I said to her as Rick walked up to the side of me.

"Seems to me... Like we need a magic carpet." Rick said looking at me. I wracked my brain to understand what he was talking about. Of course... Izzy.