Once In A Lifetime Adventure - Part 2

 

            Annie looked up at the massive pyramid in front of her. No picture that she’d seen could ever do justice to its larger-than-life size. She swallowed. Were they really going to go inside this thing?

            Cody stepped next to her and patted her shoulder. “Are you ready to find the treasure?”

            Annie turned to him with raised eyebrows. “What kind of treasure are we looking for again?”

            “Oh, you know. Gold, jewelry, gems. The usual. The hard part will be avoiding the cursed mummy that haunts the pyramid.”

            Annie’s breath hitched slightly in her throat. “Is there really a cursed mummy walking around inside there?”

            A chuckle sounded behind them. Daniel handed an unlit torch to Annie. “Of course there isn’t. The mummy only rises when someone disturbs him. It’s as quiet and still as death in there right now.”

            Swallowing nervously, Annie wasn’t comforted by this. Oh well. This was just all pretend, right? She was part of a voluntary magical adventure. Although, ‘voluntary’ was a pretty strong word. Annie’s mother was the one who had ‘voluntarily’ signed her up for this. Taking a deep breath, she tightened her grip on the torch as the three of them walked to an archway that led directly into the pyramid. Megan, Justin, and Evie waited for them.

            Annie had met the group of professional-looking archaeologists only a few minutes before. Cody, who seemed to be the leader, clapped his hands together excitedly as he surveyed the group before him. “All right, team. Let’s do this!” His torch glowed brightly with orange flames as he dipped it into the small campfire on the ground in front of the entrance.

            Following his example, Annie lit her own torch as she went inside the pyramid. As soon as all six of them had passed under the archway, a resounding boom echoed behind them. The sunlight disappeared and Annie slowly turned around, dread settling in her stomach. The entrance they had just walked through was no longer there. A solid wall stood where there hadn’t been one before.

            “Here we go!” Daniel cried gleefully. “The mummy knows we’re here.”

            With a reassuring smile, Megan turned to Annie, whose panic must have shown on her face. “Don’t worry, Annie. There’s six of us and only one of him.”

            “One mummy sounds like enough to me.” Images from every scary mummy movie she’d seen flashed through Annie’s mind. “I’d rather not run into him, if it’s all the same to you guys.”

            “Let’s get a move on then,” Cody said with confidence. “Lead us to the treasure, Annie.”

            A jolt of surprise made Annie jump. “Me?!”

            Cody’s reassuring smile did little to put Annie at ease. “This is your adventure. What are we going to do?”

            Annie glanced at the long dark hallway in front of them. Finding a form of bravery somewhere inside herself, she stepped forward. “Let’s try to go as quietly as we can.” A horrible thought struck Annie. “Do we have any kind of defense in case we do run into the mummy?”

            Justin’s hand flashed with a pistol. “This should at least slow it down enough for us to get away from it.”

            Annie nodded, but didn’t feel reassured. They walked along in silence as their torchlights reflected off the walls in front of them. The small space magnified their footfalls until they sounded thunderous in her ears. At every corner, she expected to run into the monster, but that wasn’t the case. The darkness drew closer around them as they walked farther into the heart of the pyramid. The path ahead didn’t seem so bad now. Confidence was just starting to return when the unmistakable sound of shuffling feet reached them, coming from somewhere up ahead.

            “Uh, Justin?” Annie asked, no louder than a whisper. “I think we’re going to need your gun.”

            Justin suddenly appeared at her side. The shuffling continued, but didn’t sound any closer. Willing her eyes to penetrate the darkness ahead, there was a brilliant flash of light that illuminated the entire pathway. A figure was slowly moving forward and Annie stepped back. Wrappings trailed behind the figure, and she thought she could smell death.

            Stumbling backward now, she turned and ran.

            She only got a few feet before Cody grabbed her arm and stopped her. “We can’t get out that way, remember?”

            Evie cried, “There’s another passage just up ahead. If we hurry, we’ll reach it before the mummy.”

            Not waiting for anyone else, Annie ran faster than she thought possible, still holding her flaming torch. The passage was off to the left, and she plunged down it, nearly running into a closed wooden door. Footsteps behind her announced the arrival of the rest of the group.

            Frantically, Annie pushed on the door, willing it to move. It didn’t budge. “It must be locked!”

            Daniel came to investigate. There was no sign of a door handle. He and Justin heaved against the door. The shuffling behind them grew louder as the mummy came closer. “Come on!” Daniel’s voice was filled with impatience. “Do something!” he shouted. This was directed at Annie.

            Willing herself to calm down, Annie tried to ignore the fact that the mummy was getting closer. She thought again of the scary movies she’d seen. They were just acting, right? There had to be a way out of here. There was nowhere else to go. She pushed again on the door, but it didn’t budge.

            “He’s coming,” Megan announced.

            Annie didn’t allow herself to look behind her. Beside her, Justin cocked the gun and fired it, nearly deafening her. The mummy staggered back slightly, but continued on. Rage started to replace Annie’s fear. How were they supposed to look for treasure while a magical mummy chased them? She kicked at the door, hard. If this was a play, there had to be a way out of here. She paused as she went to kick the door again. What about magic? This was a magical pyramid, after all. Maybe there was a hidden door or something.

            Frantically, Annie ran her hands along the smooth stone walls. There! To the left of the door, she felt her hand move from stone to wood. She brushed her hand around the area until she felt a metal handle. She pulled on it, and a door appeared. Without waiting for anyone else, she dashed through the now open doorway and shone her light down another long hallway. “Come on! Hurry! We need to shut this door again!”

            Daniel, Justin, Evie, Megan, and Cody quickly followed Annie, who hurriedly shut the door behind them. As soon as it shut, it turned back into stone.

            Annie sank down to the floor in relief. While she tried to catch her breath, Cody nodded in approval. “Well done, Annie. You’ve found the secret passage. Let’s take a minute to rest before we move on.” He handed Annie a metal canteen, which she drank from gratefully.

            She had done it. It had been terrifying, but they were safe. At least for now. Maybe she could do this after all. She stood up with confidence and looked at the faces around her. She’d gotten this far into the adventure, and she knew she could finish it. “I’m ready now. Let’s go.” She started down the dark passageway, flaming torch in hand. She was ready to find the treasure.