Once In A Lifetime Adventure - Part 4

 

            Annie slowly crept down the passage that flickered with the light from her torch. Prickles ran up her spine, screaming for her to run away, but she kept moving forward. Her friends were counting on her to rescue them from the mummy.

            When she reached the place where she’d last seen them, she stopped and looked around. The only things she saw were the ornate golden door and the stone walls that were the same throughout the pyramid. A confusion of footprints filled the floor, but they didn’t seem to go anywhere. Furrowing her brow, she thought about what she was going to do next.

            Carefully, she put her hand against the door and pushed. To her great surprise, it opened, and she peered inside. Only darkness greeted her.

            Shining her torch inside, she saw a narrow passageway, stretching out in front of her. Taking a deep breath, she started down it as quietly as she could. She tried not to think about the mummy wrapping its hands around her throat as she searched for her friends.

            Reaching a point where the passage split into three different directions, she focused on the faces of Cody, Justin, Daniel, Evie, and Megan. The center way lit up, and she started down it without hesitation. She could feel that she was going the right way. She also felt the malice of this place getting stronger.

            Equal parts of hope and terror poured into her as she spied another door ahead of her. This one was made out of gold as well, but it was also inlaid with countless precious gems. If the mummy’s resting place was anywhere in this pyramid, it had to be behind this door. That thought nearly made Annie turn around and run the other way, but she also felt her friends’ hopes resting on her.

            Gripping her torch tightly, she pushed on the door, and it slowly creaked open. This room was already brightly lit, and the sight of her friends sitting unconscious against the wall made her run over to them. She didn’t notice the mummy standing behind her until the door slammed shut.

            Whipping around, she watched the mummy let out a gravelly growl as he reached for her. The menace pouring off of him hit her like a physical blow.

            Narrowly escaping his grasp, Annie thought of Justin’s gun and how she wished she had it now.

            She suddenly felt cold steel in her hand and was amazed to see the gun in it. Without any further thought, she gripped it tightly and pointed it at the monster, who was still lurching toward her. When the gun fired and bucked in her hand, the recoil pushed her backward and she nearly fell. Recovering quickly, she fired again, but the mummy was still advancing.

            Trying hard not to completely panic, she threw her thoughts toward her friends, willing them to wake up.

            Moans and groans issued from her previously unconscious friends as, one by one, they stood up, dazed and confused.

            Annie shot the gun once more before it gave a hollow click, out of ammunition. Throwing the gun down in frustration, she leaned down and picked up the torch that she had dropped. With concentrated intention, she willed its flame toward the ancient hands wrapped in discolored gauze and cloth.

            A terrible scream sounded from the mummy as he clawed at the flames that had enveloped his head.

            Annie turned to her companions, who were all standing now, gaping at the growing inferno. “Let’s get out of here!” She pointed her torch toward the exit, and flames jumped out of her hand to light the way.

            Glancing back at her in wonder, Cody led them out.

            Annie made sure everyone else had left before she followed them, closing the door on the still-screaming mummy. Without even thinking, she sent flames behind her to burn and guard the door. She did not want to see that mummy again.

            Catching up with the others who were breathing heavily, she looked back into their inquiring faces and said with a triumphant grin, “I know where the treasure is! Let’s get it and get out of here!” She helped Evie, who had sat down against the wall, to her feet. Evie was gingerly holding a hand to a lump on her head.

            With trembling hands, Cody congratulated her. “Well done, Annie. Which way do we go?” His reassuring smile made Annie relax a little as she led them back to the treasure room.

            Not really interested in the treasure, she stood at the entrance while the others stuffed their packs. Daniel noticed her disinterest.

            “Don’t you want to enjoy the fruits of your efforts?” He held up a ruby the size of an egg. “You deserve a share of this.” He tossed the ruby over to Annie, who caught it, surprised by its weight.

            “This isn’t real. I’ve had my adventure, and now I just want to go home.”

            Evie looked inquiringly over at Annie. “Who said this isn’t real?”

            A cold shiver ran down Annie’s spine at the thought of the danger they would all have been in if this hadn’t really been pretend. But, of course, it was just an act, right? She pushed the thought away and put the ruby in her pocket. At least she would have some kind of souvenir from this adventure.

            With their packs bulging with gold and treasure, they were all finally ready to head back out into the sunshine. The only treasure Annie was carrying in her pockets was the ruby and a handful of gold coins that Megan had handed to her as they were leaving. “You might want this for later,” Megan said with a wink.

            The trip back through the pyramid didn’t take long at all. When they reached the entrance, it was no longer blocked, and they stepped out into the searing desert heat. To her relief, Annie saw the door that she’d first come through standing at the top of a sand dune.

            She quickly shook hands with the others as she thanked them for the once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Each of her friends wore a mysterious smile as they told her what a good job she had done with the mummy.

            Finally, she said goodbye and walked up the sand dune toward the door. It opened easily, and she found herself back on the stage she had left, her mother gazing anxiously at her.

            “Well, how did it go?” her mother asked nervously.

            Annie stared at her mother. “That was a very different adventure than I was led to believe it was going to be.”

            “But you defeated the mummy?”

            Annie pulled the ruby from her pocket. “Yep, and I brought back a souvenir.”

            Her mother’s eyes bulged as she saw the size of the ruby. “So, did you use your magic, then?”

            “My magic?”

            “Yes. Our family line is one of the most magic-infused in the world. I’m sorry I had to put you through that experience, but it was the only way for you to discover how to use your magic.”

            Annie’s jaw dropped in shock. Was this really happening?

            Her mother hugged her. “It looks like you’ve done really well for yourself.”

            For the next hour, Annie listened as she learned who she really was. She thought back on her not-so-pretend adventure. A whole new world was opening up before her. She had actually beaten a cursed mummy in a haunted pyramid.

            A smile spread over her face. Maybe this wasn’t so bad. She felt the ruby in her pocket. That was quite the souvenir she’d brought back. Apparently, she was going to have a lot more adventures now. That thought might have terrified her before, but things were different now. She could use magic!

Once In A Lifetime Adventure - Part 3

 

            After coming face-to-face with a cursed mummy once, Annie had no desire to do it again. She was ready to get out of this haunted pyramid. She led the group of actor archaeologists down the long pathway, her torch held high in front of her. Moving quickly, they soon came to a place where the way branched off into three separate directions.

“Which way is the right way?” Although she tried to hide it, worry still seeped into her voice. She turned around to face Cody, Justin, Daniel, Evie, and Megan. Seeing the twinkle in his eye, she knew what Cody was going to say before he spoke.

            “How would we know? We’re all here for the first time together, right?” He gave her a reassuring smile and shrugged his shoulders.

            Annie doubted that he didn’t know which way to go, but it was obvious that no one was going to tell her. She blew out a breath in frustration. “Okay, I guess we’ll just have to pick one or split up.” She looked directly into the faces of those around her. “What do you guys think?”

            “There’s safety in numbers,” Evie said in a quiet voice.

            “I agree,” Justin said as he reloaded his gun. “If we split up, we won’t be able to help each other when the mummy returns.”

            A queasy feeling threatened to overwhelm Annie as she thought about running into the mummy again.

            “All right,” she said as she nodded. She headed toward the passage on the right. “Let’s try this way, I guess.”

            Megan cleared her throat nervously behind Annie. “Don’t you think there’s a better way to choose than just blind guessing?”

            “Do you know which way to go?” Annie asked her, trying not to sound angry that Megan hadn’t volunteered this information earlier.

            Megan looked almost embarrassed. “I couldn’t tell you that, but can’t you feel which way to go?”

            Annie looked at her blankly. What did she mean by that?

            Looking like she might be breaking the rules, Megan gave her a guilty smile. “Remember how you felt your way away from the mummy before?”

            It was obvious that Megan was trying to give her a hint, but Annie couldn’t think what it could be. Then she remembered. “Oh!” she cried in excitement. Brushing her hands along the walls, she searched for anything out of the ordinary. The stone walls were rough, but they were definitely made of stone this time. Perplexed, she dropped her hands and thought what else Megan might have been trying to tell her.

            Closing her eyes in concentration, Annie debated which path to choose. She had no idea. Giving up, she opened her eyes to see something strange. Had that been there before?

            The path on the left shone brilliantly, the light source coming from somewhere farther down the tunnel. Where had it come from? Walking partway down the left path, she knew that this was the right way. She wasn’t sure how, but she knew. “This way!” Confidently now, she led the others down the now brightly lit corridor.

            They came to more intersections where they had to choose which way to go. Each time, Annie would close her eyes and think about the way to the treasure. When she opened her eyes, one of the ways would be brightly lit.

            Now they were deep inside the pyramid. Annie led the group at a near sprint. An ornate golden door stood at the end of their path, and Annie’s heart leapt to her throat. It had to be the treasure room!

 All she had to do was get inside, and then she could go home.

            Hurrying toward the golden door, she put both hands on it and pushed.

            Nothing happened. It was locked. Of course it had to be another locked door. Thankfully, she knew what to do. Closing her eyes tightly, she concentrated on getting inside. A loud clicking noise sounded next to her, and she opened her eyes.

            The big door hadn’t opened, but the mummy had appeared right next to her. She screamed as she jumped backward, nearly knocking over Evie, who had been standing behind her. Daniel was the one who kept them both from falling, but Annie was focused on only one thing—getting herself away from the monster. She ran back the way they had come, not bothering to see what the others were doing. Justin’s gun fired once… twice, and she ran faster.

            A door stood ajar up ahead to her right, and she headed straight toward it. She waited for the others to follow as she stood on the inside of the door, ready to close it. But no one was there. Chancing a look back toward the ornate door, the entire hallway was empty. What had happened? Nothing but silence filled the area.

            She leaned back against the wall, trying to figure out where the others could have gone as she sucked in big gulps of air. What was she going to do? Had they all been captured by the mummy somehow? Thoughts raced through her head before she forced herself to slow down and focus. Once she could finally breathe a little easier, she took several more deep breaths to slow her racing heart.

            When she was finally calm enough to think properly again, she looked around her. The door she had run through led to a large room. She jumped when she realized what this room was. Piles of treasure lay everywhere. Her jaw dropped when she saw mountains of precious gems, golden dishes, and other trinkets. This was the treasure room, not that other place with the beautiful door.

            A laugh escaped through her open mouth. She’d done it! She’d made it to the treasure! She could go home now, right? She spun around, looking for the door that had led her to this adventure in the first place. She scanned the entire room, but it wasn’t there. What was she supposed to do now?

            The answer came to her as she thought about Cody and the others. Where were they? They were just actors and part of this adventure, right? Had they really been kidnapped by the mummy?

            Guilt over not being able to escape the mummy with them made her realize that this adventure wasn’t over yet. She had something else she needed to do before she could go home. She summoned her courage and walked back to the last place where she’d seen her friends. Somehow, she had to go find them and rescue them from the mummy. For the first time in this adventure, she deliberately sought the danger she had been trying to avoid.

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.