Chapter 13-


Ravena did her best to avoid Ardeth all day. Thankfully, it was easy as hell. Rick said the leader was preparing for the search in the tombs of Hamunaptra later on that day, and he was busy preparing his men. She dressed into her white blouse with the sleeves rolled halfway up, and a long black vest. She also wore a feminine black skirt that reached just barely below her legs. Her hair spread down her shoulders like when lightning strikes. Ravena sat down on a nearby chair and unknowingly crossed her legs seductively. She had no idea about the hungry stares of the passing male Medjai, and then Alex came running over to her wanting to show her a new game he had invented.

Suddenly, screaming filled the air. It was so piercing Ravena covered her ears in desperation. Alex did the same, because his small ears had trouble handling it. When a short rumble vibrated with the ground, Ravena grabbed the little boy and tucked him close to her. They crouched down low and the woman did her best to shield his body with hers from flying debris. It looked like a beginning of a sandstorm, but that assumption changed when they could feel the earth cracking open, revealing a long way down into the planet. Screams from the women and children were in unison, while the men were running all over the place in search for their families. Such terror hadn’t been known for thousands of years. Alex started to sob, crying for Evelyn. Ravena could hear Rick in the distance, calling their names, but she couldn’t find her voice to answer. She was scared to death. She could hear the stamping of feet running away from the advancing earthquake, or basically the split in the earth that was sucking everything in it’s path. Ravena was about to take Alex and run too, but suddenly a pole (with a tent still attached to it) flew through the air and knocked them both back to the ground, pinning them. Ravena tried to kick the pole away, but with no avail, she and Alex were incapable of moving. They lay on their backs, holding on for dear life, unable to detach their eyes from the oncoming earthquake. It seemed to move in slow motion, how the earth would split open, welcoming and eating anything in its way. It was directed towards Ravena and Alex. The clutched on tighter, and closed their eyes in desperation.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Ravena felt strong hands pulling her up from the collapsed tent and then reached for Alex’s hand. It was Ardeth. The woman barely had time to register this when he picked up the boy, grabbed her hand, pulled her along, and ran like hell.

“We must hurry if we want to live!” cried Ardeth in the midst of all the screeches.

They tore through the campgrounds although their legs felt like led. Confusion and fear ran through Ravena’s head like bolts of electricity. But the thing that kept her going was determination. With that she picked up her pace and the three of them darted to the left, but all of a sudden, a strong power threw EVERYONE in the air, and they all collapsed to the ground with a huge thump. Then there was silence. The earthquake seemingly had stopped and everyone stood there in shock. Ravena felt herself on top of Ardeth, and quickly, embarrassed, moved away from him. They all looked around them with immense distress. It all seemed like a mirage. Everything was back in its place, there was no sign of the ground that any disturbances had taken place. Nothing had changed, it looked so peaceful. Then the cries of the children came, wailing to their mothers of their confusion. Ravena looked around in despair. She got up, and looked quickly around her. She saw Evelyn and Rick a little farther away. They saw her and Alex and ran to where they stood, still in shock. Then Evy was snapped back into reality. She saw her son and grabbed him, placing motherly kisses all over his face, and hugged him a million times.

“Mummy! You’re messing up my hair!”

Then Evelyn started to cry with happiness. Jonathan saw them and ran over to where they stood, and looked at the Ravena.

“You alright old mum?”

The woman just nodded, still in shock. She suddenly remembered how she was saved and quickly looked around for Ardeth, but there was no sign of him anywhere. She tried to look over the heads of the other Medjai for him, but they were all dressed in black robes, so, after a thorough search she couldn’t find him. Ravena finally gave up and focused on her surroundings. She looked around sadly as mothers and fathers hugged their children, wishing more and more that she could find Paris. Eventually, everyone slowly walked back towards the camp, cautiously.


The rest of the day, it seemed to go very slowly. The warrior men stuck by their wives and children, as if realizing the true consequences of them somehow losing them. People barely talked, their suspicions of the creature being awakened realized when something that looked like a dark moon covered the sun, blocking out it’s light. They couldn’t ignore the fire bolts in the sky. Ardeth Bey, at one point during a meeting to discuss the creature, clearly stated...

“It has begun...”

Like Imhotep once said, “ Death is only the beginning.”