Fireworks

We all sat in the car on the crowded street waiting to get through the traffic that had coagulated, which made sense because Chinese New Year was in full swing. The car was crammed, it was hot and I was just not having it and Jon was starting to get on my nerves as per usual.

"I think walking is faster, or if we take a rickshaw." Rick said unhappily rubbing his face with his hand. He then looked at me through the mirror to see if I was doing okay.

"It's Chinese New Year. Don't you love this country? With so many extra little holidays and drinking is mandatory." Jon chimed into the conversation hoping to ease the tension but failed horribly. I scoffed looking out the window to see the fireworks going off.

"I can't believe we get to see your first big discovery. It's so exciting." Evy said to both Tori and Alex happily, stroking Alex's face with her gloved hand.

"Well, after last night... I'm surprised you want to see it at all." Alex told Evy, yanking his face away from her hand. Rick rolled his eyes and Tori huffed seeing that reaction out of her dad. Our emotions were strained and I didn't want to upset anyone with my own internal discomfort.

"This car will pick you up in about an hour." Jon told us as we passed through a gate to a large house.

"You're not coming?" Evy asked our brother.

"No, no. I've seen enough mummies to last a lifetime." Jon replied happy to finally have a way out of the action. Something told me he would get pulled back in eventually. We walked into the house slowly and cautiously not really knowing what to expect from Alex and Tori's professor. Roger was a strange man to predict, you never knew what would become of something when going into business with the man. He was a lot like Beni and I didn't like him.

"There he is." Alex said as we rounded a corner into a large room with a ginormous sarcophagus on top of the shape of 4 horses pulling a carriage with the emperor on top.

"Oh, my darling, very impressive. When do you get to open the sarcophagus?" Evy asked Alex.

"Well, I have to wait til the official red tape's been cut." Alex recalled. I saw Tori huff out of the corner of my eye. Something was up with her and I would be finding out about it as soon as I could. She hid her emotions well like I did, but right now she wasn't doing too hot.

"The words 'Rest in Peace' mean anything, to you two?" Rick said to us all. Not too eager to jump into another mummy adventure. We started our walk around the beautiful sculpture.

"So mom, why don't you stick around for the next few days... and we can open it together?" Alex said to Evy. Tori smirked a little, reminding me of her dad. I was busy observing everyone's energy in the room. Reincarnated princesses tend to do that after learning from the past two adventures what we have screwed up.

"I'd like that very much, thanks." Evy said still looking at the statue in awe, standing at the front of the horses.

"Alex... huh, won't you go and tell Professor Wilson that we're here?" Rick told him.

"No problem." He said as he walked back around the rear and out of the room to go find him.

"Okay." Rick smiled forcibly. Alex suddenly stopped and spun around to say one last thing before he made his exit.

"Oh, just... don't wake the big guy up while I'm gone." He said sounding genuinely worried.

"I won't let them Alex, don't worry." Tori said, there was a glimmer in her eye. Evy and I started walking around the horses. I reached out touching their necks missing my own horse at home. I admired how intricately they were made. Rick was whistling, juggling around the Eye of Shangri La in his hands. He stopped and his whistle got lower as he noticed me, Evy walked onwards as I stopped immediately, noticing Tori and Evy were having a private conversation.

"What?" I asked Rick curiosity in my voice. "Oh, there's a certain glow about you I haven't seen in a long time." He told me as he sauntered up to me near the horse. He put his hand on my cheek. I smiled and closed my eyes, gently relaxing into his touch. I missed him after my long couple years working for the Army.

"I guess mummies and battles bring out the best in me." I smiled at him, opening my eyes. He leaned forwards to kiss me.

"Take a wrong turn into Cairo? Sorry to interrupt." Professor Wilson's voice echoed through the vast room as he walked up to Evy and myself.

"Roger." Evy said as she walked over to him meeting him halfway, Tori following her. I stayed behind with my husband.

"Professor Wilson." I said with a fake smile as I pushed Rick a couple steps away from me, holding out my hand for the old man to shake.

"Hello, Rick." He said as Rick moved up to join us.

"You know, when Alex told me... That you had gone legit, I just couldn't believe my ears." Rick said clearly trying to play nice but not doing so well at it. I elbowed him in the ribs to try to signal he needed to make a better effort. He made a squeaking noise and then straightened up glaring at me. I knew he didn't trust him and neither did I. But we couldn't really do anything right this second about it.

"Well, now I just pillage Tombs... In the name of preservation. Josephine!" He roped me back into the conversation unwillingly. I put on my fake smile and the words just tore out of my mouth.

"Congratulations, on your latest discovery." I said through gritted teeth. No idea what in the world compelled me to say that. It was NOT his discovery.

"Alex and Tori deserve all the credit, he's one hell of a kid. He's like a son I never had." You could really see he favored Alex as opposed to Tori. Fucking men. I rolled my eyes. Tori saw this and stifled a laugh.

"He's the only one I've got. So, next time you send him on one of your field trips... You give us the heads up first." Evy said to Roger, making the air feel a bit awkward.

"Yes, yes, of course. And now I believe, you have something that belongs to us." He nodded agreeing with her trying to break the tension between them.

"What's that?" Evy asked trying to pull a little prank, looking to Rick.

"Hmm... Oh, you mean this?" Rick threw the Eye up from behind his back and caught it. I looked away, really kind of hoping he would drop it but he did not. He continued to fake us out and went on with his shenanigans. Tori giggled a little at her dad. He finally handed it over to Roger.

"I knew I could rely on you two." He said.

"I'm afraid your work is not done yet, Mr. and Mrs. O'Connell." A new voice came out of no where. I wondered where Alex had gotten off to, we needed to get out of here as soon as possible.

"I'd like to introduce you to a friend of mine... General Yang." Roger said as he pulled a gun on all of us. Oh dear god here we go again.

"Roger!" Evy exclaimed as she danced behind me pushing me forwards into the line of fire, thanks sis.

"Well, he is the man who financed Alex's dig... We're in this together, body and soul, General." He told us as he handed the Eye to the General.

"Search him." The General ordered.

"'The Eye belongs to Chinese people, you can't do this." Evy exclaimed, unhappy this was happening again, as another girl came out from behind the general.

"So, Rog, you snake. How much did... Uh, Yin and Yang pay you?" Rick asked. He roughly got searched and gave me a look as if to say 'you brought weapons, didn't you?', as his got stripped from his person.

"Enough to pull strings at the Foreign Office. Make sure it was you two who delivered 'The Eye' we never really cared for Evelyn." Roger answered our question. "Turn around!"

"'The Eye contains the elixir from the pool of eternal life." The general kept going as he held the eye up and examined it.

"I need you to open it, Mrs. O'Connell." He looked at me. Ah fuck I really did not want to do this.

"No, I don't really feel like it." I played around with him a little. Predators love to play with their prey beforehand.

"You're going to use it to wake the emperor, aren't you?" Evy asked him.

"And his terracotta army. At least that's the general idea." Said Roger chiming in at the best time.

"Raising an army of Mummies is insane. Listen Yang..." Rick got cut off as he got hit. I looked at Evy, she was holding a knife and I was just about to pull one as well when Roger turned the gun on Rick. I stopped what I was doing. Evy got attacked and the knife flew out of her hand, we weren't getting anywhere fast.

"Time to open the sarcophagus. Move it!" I looked at Tori, her eyes were wide and I gave her the same look Rick had given to me earlier. She shook her head and mouthed that she was sorry. Rick was being led up to the actual coffin where the emperor was held and I was being restrained by some goons.

"Read the inscription, now!" the General ordered as he held out the egg to me. Roger switched the gun towards me.

"Ancient Chinese isn't really my forte." I told him.

"Here is some encouragement. Wilson!" Roger pulled the gun on Rick again as he picked up a wrench to open the sarcophagus.

"Don't do it!" I told him, acting scared. Otherwise we would never get out of this.

"No Joe, don't do it. They're just gonna kill me anyway." Rick tried with me. I looked at him then at Tori. She shook her head again.

"The inscription says, 'that only a drop of blood from a person of pure heart can open The Eye'." Evy said stepping up, taking it right out of my hands.

"Your husband was right." The general said as he changed his aim to Rick.

"No!" I told him and jumped into the line of fire.

"If your so keen on killing someone. Just kill me." I told him.

"Only the pure at heart, will sacrifice themselves for the one they love." The general said to his gooney scar face.

"Open it." I heard Wilson say along with clinking of metal against metal. The girl grabbed my arm, I knew that fighting when we were out numbered wasn't the best idea so I didn't fight it as much as I knew we could. I watched as scar face took out a really fucking huge knife. At that moment I decided fuck it. I punched her in the face as hard as I could and Rick did the same to Wilson. She grabbed my arm from behind and scratched my finger with her dagger. I looked at Rick. My blood dripped into the egg turning it's color pink. The snakes came alive and slithered away as the crystals of the egg came through and turned into some sort of flower.

"Get on with it, O'Connell." Wilson said calmly. I heard Rick clinking away again.

"Alright..." He mumbled taking a huge swing at the lid knocking it loose, he then slid the top off.

"Once this touches his hand The Emperor will rise, to rule again. Finish him off." The General said as he walked towards the coffin. I looked around for Tori to see her nowhere in sight. I then realized she was on a rope swing with Alex in tow. Alex kicked over the General and Tori and some new girl I didn't know also helped with the fight. Against our efforts the eye was already knocked over into the coffin where the emperor would rise again. Shit. Rick jumped off his perch and slid to get his guns. I reached for my knife hidden on my leg, I cut the bitch who I had named scar face and sliced her up a good amount before I broke her arm. I climbed up her knee onto her shoulders and twisted my legs around her neck.

"It's a decoy." I heard the new girl say. I almost smiled however, the cracking of metal caught my attention that something wasn't right and we still were in trouble. I let the bitch go by tumbling us down to the ground, throwing her into some boxes. She would live another day as much as I wanted to kill her. The metal continued to separate and I saw some hands appear in the facial area and the horses eyes come to life. Their hooves clambered on the ground. There was an explosion when the emperor finally broke out of his house for the last couple decades. I went flying towards Rick.

"Here we go again." Rick mumbled near me as he slid both Evy and I a gun. All of us including Alex and Tori started shooting the emperor, the stone started chipping away from his face. The emperor didn't really enjoy that so he blew fire at Rick and I.

"I live to serve you, my Lord. I can help you become immortal." I heard out of the explosion from the General. God damn, there's always that one idiot who will turn with the villain.

"If you are lying, you will burn." I heard the emperor say back, as he re-stoned his face.

"Wait, wait, you wait for me! I'm coming with you." Wilson tried to get on the carriage to make his exit as well, but the emperor just sliced his head off with his burning hot hand. I watched as Alex, Tori and this new girl just slid under the carriage and hitched a ride underneath. The horses started galloping away through the glass windows and tearing off the gate that surrounded the museum.

"We gotta put that mummy down fast. The longer we wait, the stronger he gets." Rick yelled as Evy and I followed behind him. Rick ran into the middle of the traffic, immediately stopping a car. The man was yelling at him to get out of the way.

"Yea, yea, yea, I know, you better get out, there's a Mummy on the loose." Rick said to him as he threw the man out.

"You wanna drive?" he asked me.

"Why not?" I countered sliding into the drivers seat with Evy next to me.

"God, I love a woman who can drive a truck." He said to me as he climbed on top.

"Happy New Year!" Rick said to him as he threw money at him. As I sped through the streets, I saw Jonathan near his car. He jumped out of the way as his car got mauled by the carriage and horses. I screeched to a stop near him.

"Jonathan, get in the back." Evy yelled to him from beside me.

"You guys are like Mummy magnets!" I heard my brother yell from behind me.

"Excuse us." Evy yelled to the pedestrians in the street as I maneuvered around them. "Stop messing about, he's getting away." Evy continued to yell at our boys.

"Eves they're getting fireworks on top ready." I told her in a sing song voice trying not to bite her head off. Rick banged on the top of the car

"Aim for the Emperor! Light the fuse." Rick told all of us.

"I'll try." Jonathan whimpered out.

"Fire!" Rick yelled. Jon shot off a firework charge at the emperor.

"Did we get him?" Jonathan asked us.

"Fire!" Rick yelled at him.

"Fire? What?" Jon asked him.

"Your ass is on fire!" Rick yelled at him.

"My ass?" Jon seemed confused.

"Hold still, I'm trying to put it out!" Rick yelled at him.

"My ass is on fire! Put me out, Rick!" Oh the fucking mess we've made.

"Spank my ass! Spank my ass!" I burst out laughing when I heard that, almost losing control of the truck.

"Where're you going?" I heard my passengers yell at me.

"Shortcut!" I yelled back at them.

"Joe!!!" I heard Rick protest.

"I told you, it was a shortcut." I yelled back at him.

"Wow, now, they're chasing us." Rick said back to me.

"Joe, here, here you'll need these." Rick told me. I spread my palm for him. He placed some bullets inside.

"Don't wait for me." He said to me.

"Where're you going?!" I yelled at him.

"Out." Fuck. I knew where he was going but all I needed to focus on right now was keeping the rest of my family safe.

"Where's Rick?" Jon popped his head in the car.

"Where'd you think?" Evy answered for me. I smiled at her. I looked out the window and saw Rick jump on a horse and cut it loose, the horse bucked and immediately reduced it's speed. Rick started yelling at Tori mostly. The horse started going crazy once again, probably some sort of mummy magic. I saw Rick come back up in my mirror riding a headless horse.

"Evy take the wheel and pull Jon in." I told her. She nodded and I leaned out the window shooting as the emperor came up beside us. I was driving after Rick with a truck on fire. Seemed absolutely family safe. Fucking fool proof. I saw everyone was sliding in different directions. Rick was hanging from a banner. So safe enough.

"Guy's we're going to have to jump!!" I yelled at my siblings as I let my foot off the gas and climbed outside the cab. Jumping and preparing my legs for the impact. Even so the impact hurt like a bitch. I was getting too old for this shit. I laid on the ground, my hair around my face. I was covered in bruises and scratches I immediately felt. I knew there was more of this to come but I needed a reason to keep going. Tori. Rick. Jon. Evy. The reason was there, the motivation to put down another mummy that wasn't my own was not. The kids needed to do this on their own.