“Briiing Briiing!” The sound comes from my land line detective agency phone. Leaping out of my bed, I pick up the handset.
“Hello?” came the disembodied voice. “We need Anna to solve a mystery at the museum.
It’s urgent.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Arriving to find the door to the Ancient Egypt Exhibition slightly ajar, I slip in. A crack of thunder makes me yelp in surprise. It’s a thunderstorm, like the forecast said.
The mayor and some of her officials are looking at an open sarcophagus. The mummy that was supposed to be in there, is missing.
“What’s going on?” They turn to me.
“He left.” They say in unison. Their voices sound weird, almost forced.
“Who left?” They smile, "Abdelrahman, and he needs a host for the sun goddess, Sekhmet."
“What are you talking about?” I say, just as I hear a door creak open. In the doorway is a hulking form. Bandages litter the floor, and the laughter starts.
“Just because it’s a week from Halloween, doesn’t mean you can try to scare me for a laugh. I wasn’t even scared!” They don’t laugh with me as the hulking form comes into the light and I abruptly stop laughing. It looks just like a mummy. It has eyes though, dead eyes, but still, eyes. As I look at it, a scratchy voice emits from the mummy.
“I am Abdelrahman, and Sekhmet demands a host. You are the one who fits her demands. Your mind and soul are strong, and you're of good health and strength. You must die.” The mummy shuffles forward and brandishes a dagger made of flint. It has hieroglyphs on it, but they are almost illegible. I’m running too fast, and the mummy can’t keep up with me. I tear off a vent on the wall and climb in. To secure my hiding spot, I put it back on to make it seem like I kept running down the hall. A scream of pure terror can be heard as I hold my breath.
“What happened?” I whisper, then I hear a women’s voice.
“Find her, and you will serve as my right hand, brought back to life. Remember, for me to take her as a host, you will have to do the ritual of daggers.” The mummy grunts in acknowledgment.
“Keep the dagger with you or you won’t be able to complete the ritual.” My heart stops at the sound of a loud roar and returns to beating as the sound dissipated and the woman speaks no more. The mummy shuffles past the vent I’m hiding in. Holding my breath, I wait for the mummy to leave. My heart feels like a bomb that’s about to explode.
When I think it’s safe, I go back to the Ancient Egyptian Exhibition. The mayor and the officials are on the ground, wrapped in bandages. Some of the bandages are soaked with what looked like blood. The mayor looks at me as I rush over to help.
“He’s coming.” She says, and then bandages wrap her head up and she shrieks a terrifying sound. All the other official’s heads are wrapped up and they join in the screaming. I don’t know how the bandages had wrapped up the mayor and officials, but I know I’m scared and disgusted. The revolting smell of decay reaches my nose and I look at the skin peeking from under the mayor’s bandages. It’s rotted and the mayor’s eyes are dead, like the mummy. The mayor and officials slowly come after me as I stumble back. Abdelrahman shuffles towards me as I run from the exhibit.
Abdelrahman's dead eyes stare at me as it reaches its arms out, “Die in sacrifice to the sun goddess, and you will be greatly rewarded.” His scratchy voice booms out. “Your body is young and youthful, the perfect host body for Sekhmet."
How dare you think I would help you and Sunny! I cross my arms and give a disapproving look, then I burst into a run. How I forgot about mummy mayor and officials, I don’t know, but I’m cornered. Abdelrahman throws the handle of the flint dagger sideways at my head and I see it spinning towards me just before everything goes black.
When I wake up, I’m in a damp cave with bioluminescent crystals and a pool. This is the cave at the beach, I think. I’m tied down to a stone slab but I struggle, nonetheless. The only thing I can move is my head, so I look up. Then I notice a woman, staring at me. There is a glow around her.
“She’ll do nicely for a host.” Then she disappears. Abdelrahman and the mummy mayor and the officials are reaching for and crushing crystals.
“Soon Sekhmet will rule this world and I, too, will be flesh and bone again.” Abdelrahman looks at me and fingers the crushed crystals. He covers the area around me with crystal dust and then grabs the flint dagger. I close my eyes and wait for the dagger. Abdelrahman plunges the dagger down.
“Briiing Briiing!” It comes from my detective agency phone. Leaping out of bed I pick up the phone.
“Hello? We need Anna to solve a mystery in the woods. It’s urgent.”
“I’ll be right over.”
When I get to the scene, bodies litter the ground. Moving in for closer inspection, I see that there are bite marks criss crossing around their arms and legs. A guttural snarl comes from somewhere ahead and I freeze except for my eyes, which are rolling wildly to locate the sound. A hulking form comes out of the bushes, it is covered in fur and stands on two legs. The eyes glint and saliva slips from its mouth. Except, it’s not saliva. From the light of the full moon, I can see that it’s blood. The monster’s mouth is covered in it and then it howls a loud piercing sound. More creatures like the one in front of me come, all covered in blood. My mind is racing, how can I get out of this situation? Where’d all these people come from? And where and how had these horrible beasts gotten so much blood covering their mouths? What gory parts of their lives would I become a part of?
My paralysis suddenly breaks. The sound of me running through the brush could wake up my entire town. In my blind panic I run into trees and rocks. The monsters follow me, no, keeping pace with me. They let me see glimpses of them, to let me know they’re still there. They’re obviously toying with me, playing with their food. As I catch a glimpse of one of the monsters, I trip and fall into a crater in the earth. When I get up and see the monsters, I can tell they’re smiling by the larger stretch of their mouths that reveal even more red-stained teeth. Then I start walking and I hear the crunch of bones. Looking down, I see that the floor is littered with them.
Then I hear a sound that makes my heart stop. It is the rhythmic sound of heavy beings hitting the earth, and a gnashing of teeth. The most bloodcurdling howl comes from behind me, and when I catch a glance of it, I know I have no chance of surviving. A giant monster has a gleam in its eye, and I know that it’s hungry. Despite my efforts, the beast backs me up to a wall. Its hot smelly breath fills my nose and I get a sense of déjà vu. The beast gets closer, and I close my eyes. Its teeth scrape my stomach.
“Briiing Briiing!” It comes from my detective agency phone. Leaping out of my bed I pick up the phone. “Hello? I need Anna to solve a mystery in the medieval castle at the amusement park. It’s urgent.”
“I’ll be right there.”
When I get there, I see no one. My echoing footsteps are all I can hear as I walk into the castle. Then the sound of a bat squeak as it flies over to me. It is small, almost like a mouse, and then it morphs into a man, right before my eyes.
“More food. Finally.” The voice is thick and has a Count Dracula type accent.
While running I yell. A lot. My stomach and chest hurt like I’ve been stabbed. I run through the medieval castle and a dead end is all I get for my efforts. The bat comes up and reverts back into a man. He grins and moves to a dark corner in the wall. He starts moving his hand around searching for something, and then the sound of a clunk of a lever reverberates through the room. A spiked cage falls down around me, caging me in. There is nowhere to go. The man reverts back into a bat, squeezes through the bars and flits over to my neck.
It lands on shoulder and no amount of flailing and clawing can get rid of it. Getting the sense of déjà vu, I close my eyes tight, and I feel the bat’s teeth on my skin.
“Briiing Briiing!” It comes from my detective agency phone. Leaping out of my bed, I pick it up.
“Hello? I need Anna to solve a mystery in her neighborhood. It’s urgent.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Turning onto Main Street, I hear moaning and see a hoard of zombies moving towards me. My heart stops as I recognize my parents in the moaning group of zombies. They limp towards me, and I spin around, only to see another mob of zombies blocking off my escape. My neck aches just like my chest and stomach. The zombies get closer, and my mom gets to me first.
“Come on Mom,” I almost sound pleading. “You wouldn’t do this to me, You’re my mom!” No use. She latches onto me, and I can’t shake her off. Tripping over my feet, I fall to the ground. Zombie Alina moans and I smell her zombie breath. I get déjà vu as I close my eyes and wait.
“AHHHHHHH!” I scream for my life.
I’m free falling through the air. In the void, I spot a figure glaring at me as I fall.
“Why won’t you die!” He yells. “I have sent my trusted minions to collect your soul, but you always slip away from them, just before the finishing kill!” That’s when I realize it’s the Devil.
He yells in frustration. “I’ll do it myself.” He raises his hand and a ball of fire forms. He shoots it at me, and I feel the scorching heat of the flames. I get déjà vu and I close my eyes.
Opening my eyes, I yawn and stretch. Ready for the weekend, I leap out of bed and catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror.
Bite marks on my head.
Two marks on my neck.
More bite marks on my stomach.
A large scar on my chest.
Burn marks on my arms and legs.
“How did those get there?” I ask myself.
Then my room burns with me trapped inside. It reveals all of what I had forgotten and more gruesome scenarios. Then I fall down a deep pit. Someone laughs maniacally. I never saw the light of day again.