“Good boy, Miko!” Sagira stroked her sleek and very large cat.
Kadin and Leoma’s eyes widened at the sight of the dangerous feline that was now rolling Tom down the stairs to toy with him in the maze.
Sagira stood up with a wide smile. “Miko. My pet leopard. Is he not beautiful?”
“Uhh...yeah. Sure. Whatever you say. He’s not going to come back after us or anything, is he?” Kadin asked, as Miko and Tom left his view.
“No.” She climbed the stairs up to them and watched Leoma carving away at the wall. “Is it working?”
“No. It’s too solid.” Leoma paused to wipe sweat from her forehead. “You okay?”
“Fine.” Sagira nodded.
“Here. Hold out your hands.” Kadin instructed, holding his sword steady. When she obeyed, with a quick slice of the sword the ropes fell to the sandy stairs.
“Thank you.” Sagira rubbed her wrists. Then she took the torch from him so he could sheath his sword.
“I hope there aren’t any more surprises...or traps.” Kadin commented while they watched Leoma work.
They waited for several moments while they listened to the chisel beat against hard stone.
“Argh! This isn’t working.” Leoma finally quit digging and rested her tired arms.
“We can always follow the footsteps back to those thieves’ entrance.” Kadin shrugged, leaning against the wall to rest.
“No. We cannot.” Sagira sadly shook her head.
“Why not?” Kadin and Leoma both turned to stare at her.
Sagira shrugged. “I do not know who did it, but someone went through the other tunnels making tracks. We would not be able to decide which was ours and which was not.”
Kadin and Leoma glanced at each other, before narrowing their eyes at the Egyptian.
“Who could’ve done that?” Kadin gripped the handle of his knife.
“I do not know. Did you wake anyone else up?”
“No. We found that other guy’s tomb but we put the jewel back on his forehead before he could wake up.” Leoma shook her head.
“Are you sure?” Sagira narrowed her eyes.
“Why? Was he bad news?” Kadin unsheathed his sword again.
“I do not know...you can never trust anyone when it comes to politics.” Sagira rubbed her arm.
“I know how true that one is. Just look at the life of Cleopatra.” Leoma half-chuckled. “Poor girl. She had to fear her father; her sisters tried to kill her, and they couldn’t trust the Romans that they were going to for help.”
They paused to stare at the wall, wondering how much time they had left before the mysterious person or mummy caught up to them.
Thinking back to the last wall she read, Leoma eyed the wall. “’Now that you understand the riddle, the rest is sure to follow...’”
“What?” Kadin glanced at her.
“There must be a button or something.” Leoma eyed the wall. “The riddle was like a Ying Yang thing. Would that have anything to do with this?”
Sagira stepped up to the wall and eyed it. “Well...what would we do if we were trying to get in, instead of out?”
“We’d...push it! That’s it!” Leoma clapped her dusty hands together.
“What? What’s it?” Kadin sheathed his sword, ready to move something.
“This brick here must be too small to be pushed out. There has to be a lip on the other side. So to get out we’ll have to pull it...in.” She blinked, her glee leaving her once she thought of what they’d have to do.
“But...if we pull it in...we’ll be flattened.” Kadin set his hands on his hips.
“Here is the hook for a rope.” Sagira uncovered the dust from the small, stone hook in the middle of the wall.
“Oh great.” Kadin sighed. “Where’s the rope that big guy had?”
“Miko!” Sagira called, before scurrying down the stairs after her pet.
Moments later they were tying off the leftover rope to the ancient hook. Kadin wrapped it around the hook several times, before using several square knots to tie it off.
“This appears much older than I remember.” Sagira sighed.
“It should. You’re about two thousand years old now.” Leoma commented before eyeing Kadin’s handiwork.
“Okay. Now on three, everybody pull as hard as you can. As soon as I shout to stop, we run like mad down the stairs.” Kadin instructed, walking down several stairs before taking his place on the line of rope.
Leoma nodded as she traveled down a few stairs below him and took her spot, clutching the rope readily.
Sagira hopped down the stairs and took her spot a few feet from Sagira, holding onto the rope uneasily.
Kadin gulped, staring at the very heavy slab in front of him. “Okay...one...two...THREE!”
All three heaved against the rope, trying to yank it down yet still keep their footing on the worn, smooth stairs. A large grinding noise filled the winding staircase, as the slab began sliding out towards them, inch by inch.
Sweat poured off of them, as they grunted and continued to pull.
Eyeing the slab in between yanks, Kadin watched it slowly come out. First it was six inches, then a foot, then eighteen inches. It was when it was too feet out of the first step that it began to waver, announcing it’s soon descent!
“STOP!” Kadin yelled, right before dropping the room and sprinting down the stairs, skipping four at a time!
Leoma and Sagira both dropped the rope and ran ahead of him, also skipping stairs, as the large slab began flipping and grinding its way down right after them! Several of the stairs collapsed, and some of the wall was ground away, as the slab fell flat on the stairs and raced down them, like a sled on a snowy hill.
After reaching the bottom, neither of them stopped or even slowed, and they hurried into the tunnel. No one knew how far the slab would actually slide before coming to a complete stop.
The slab followed them into the tunnel, finally slowing on the flat ground, letting out a screeching bellow! After a few moments, it halted completely, the friction finally overcoming it.
Kadin stopped first, staring back at the cloud of dust behind them, trying to see the slab through it. “I think...it stopped.”
Leoma halted, followed by Sagira, and they stood panting from the adrenalin rush.
“After I become famous...I wonder if the school will give me leave...to take a vacation.” Leoma pondered aloud in a tired voice.
“What is a vacation?” Sagira wiped the muddy sweat from her brow.
“It’s when you get to go surfing...and snowboarding...and eat...and sleep, all the time.” Kadin smiled up at the dream, as if it were floating above his head.
“Sounds like fun. Can I go?” Sagira spoke in between pants.
“Sure. If we get out.” Leoma began walking forwards into the clearing cloud. “I think we’re home free now.”
“I hope that was it. I’m really getting tired.” Kadin commented as he followed Leoma.
Hopping over the slab, the three trudged tiredly up the stairs, leaning on the walls for support. They had to stop a few times to rest before nearing the top. As they rounded the last corner, the bright light of the sun struck them in their faces, blinding them momentarily.
“Yes! YES! We’re out!” Kadin was the first to exclaim before running up the staircase, blind.
“WAHOO! We made it!” Leoma hopped before sprinting after Kadin, seeing only his black body shape because of the glowing light.
Sagira hurried after them, eager to see what had happened to the area since her time.
Scrambling through the open doorway, the three stopped outside and stared around them at the ravine, the low-hanging sun, and the pyramids and sphinx in the distance.
Leoma and Kadin were never so happy to see the simple sight.
“We made it out!”
“We’re alive!” The two jumped up and down in glee, celebrating their newly found freedom.
Staring around at the vast, open desert, Sagira felt a little bewildered. “Huh? Wh-where’s all the people? The jungle? The caravans? The farms? The chariots?”
Leoma and Kadin calmed down, glancing around them before trying to answer.
“Well...after the Romans took over, their kingdom fell later. Then the Arabians overtook Egypt in 641 A.D.” Leoma explained.
“So...everything’s different now?” Sagira blinked.
“Yeah. It’s a country now, called the Arab Republic of Egypt. There are no kings, instead the rulers, who are called presidents, and aids in the legislature are elected now by popular vote of the people. The capital is Cairo, and the official language is Arabic.”
Sagira could only blink, trying to take it all in. “Arabians...rule now?”
Kadin nodded. “Yep. My father was Arabian.”
“Well...at least the pyramids are still standing.” Turning, Sagira stared off at the large buildings in the distance. “Who is the world power now? The Arabs? The Europeans? The Mongols?”
“Well...there isn’t a world power. It’s more like the world powers. There’s the United States, where I’m from, China, Japan, Russia, Britain, France, Germany, Iran, Iraq, and Australia...well, you get the picture. And then there’s a United Nations too.”
“Is Egypt a world power?”
“I think so.” Leoma scratched her head.
“Not a strong one I gather.” Sagira rolled her eyes. “Well, that was the way it was going when my father ruled. It’s only natural.”
“So...am I the only one wondering how we’re going to get to our jeeps from here?” Kadin stood, staring down at their small vehicles in the gorge below.
“Oh.” Leoma walked over to the edge and peered down also.
Sagira walked over and looked down also. “What are those?”
“Jeeps. Motorized vehicles. So we don’t need animal power.” Kadin answered rubbing his head. “Wow, I’m thirsty.”
“Hey! There’s Greg! Hey, Greg! UP HERE!” Leoma stood up and waved her arms, trying to get the attention of what appeared to be a little ant.
The ant turned and stopped, suddenly peering up at them. “What are you doing up there?” He called.
“We need to find a way down! We’ve explored the rest of the palace! Can you toss us a rope or something?”
“No way!” Greg gasped before hurrying around, searching for a rope. Then he disappeared back into the upper palace, calling for his colleages.
“Hmm. Was he the right one to ask for a rope?” Kadin commented.
“Well, I thought I should wait until after we’re down to ask for my twenty bucks.” Leoma breathed on her fingernails before shining them on her shirt in airy fashion.
“You look like my older sister when you do that.” Sagira commented with a snicker.
Leoma only smiled triumphantly.
“Well...since there’s no royalty here anymore...what does one do if one is a normal teenager?” Sagira took off her headband and fingered it.
“Oh, you know. Work...go to school...and sleep.” Kadin stretched. “All depends on where you decide to live.”
“Hmmmm. Was it nice where you used to live, Leoma?” Sagira tapped her chin.
“Oh yeah. Lots of freedoms to do whatever you want. Even come here for college.” Leoma twirled on her one foot once around. During the turn the tall Egyptian standing behind them suddenly surprised her, so much so that she nearly tripped!
Her gasp alerted the other two and they whirled. Kadin bared his sword while Sagira stared in disbelief.
“Runi?”
“Runi?” Kadin glanced at Sagira. “Who’s Runi?”
“The other guy in that tomb...we must’ve put the wrong jewels back!” Leoma gulped, staring up at the six-foot man.
Sagira swallowed down her surprise. “Runi, don’t scare us like that! Do you want us to fall?”
Runi spoke some quick words in the Ancient Egyptian, followed by a slight grin. He stood rather stocky, with his burial robe around his waist, and his golden sandals. His black hair had been shaved clean off.
“What’d he say?” Leoma whispered to Sagira.
She gulped. “Let us just say he was planning for you to go over first.”
“Oh.”

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