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Bedazzled101: THANK YOU SOOO MUCH! :) I'm glad you like my writing and that I'm able to portray the emotions of the scene well enough to get emotions in real life! :) :) :) Your review MADE MY DAY! :) THANK YOU!
Important Notice at the bottom!
Hannah waited a few seconds before the two men were gone before moving over towards the small doorway and looking through.
It lead into another chamber, this one had a small golden tomb in the centre, about the size of the doorway. There were torches burning around the room, allowing her to see into it easily.
Hannah squeezed herself through the small doorway and walked over to the tomb, wondering what was in it.
She knew she shouldn't open it.
She knew it was probably another mummy.
But she opened it anyway.
To her surprise there wasn't an ancient mummy lying in the tomb but a small child!
He looked vaguely familiar but Hannah brushed it off, the boy had short blond hair and round cheeks, his nose dotted with freckles. He looked around five years old or so.
The boy was wearing dark grey trousers and a white button up shirt that was covered in blood over his left shoulder and chest. It looked as though he had been stabbed.
What surprised Hannah most was that he was sleeping! The boy wasn't dead!
Unsure of what to do, Hannah decided to take the boy back into the larger chamber to show Ardeth and Jonathan when they returned, it was obvious that neither of the grown men would fit through the small doorway easily.
She slipped her arms underneath the boy's legs and his back, carefully lifting the boy out of the tomb and holding him bridal style against her chest.
The kid stirred slightly, his eyes fluttering under their lids as he groggily opened his eyes.
"Who're you?" He mumbled tiredly.
"I'm Hannah" The girl replied. "Who are you?"
"Alex"
Something clicked in the back of Hannah's mind. "What's your last name?" She questioned.
Alex frowned at her, looking around and suddenly realizing he was being carried. He squirmed out of Hannah's grasp and forced her to release him.
"Why do you want to know?" Alex asked, yawning. "Who are you anyways?"
"I told you. I'm Hannah" The girl said, frowning. "What are you doing in here?"
Alex looked around him and scowled. "Am I in the Temple?" He asked.
"Of course you're in the Temple" Hannah said, slightly confused. "Why wouldn't you be?"
"I'm not supposed to be in here" Alex replied slowly, he looked over at Hannah. "Why are you in here?"
"I'm here with my uncle and a friend" Hannah replied, squeezing back out of the small chamber and into the original one.
Alex looked around. "Why?"
"We're looking for something" Hannah said vaguely.
Alex rubbed his eyes tiredly with his fist.
"Do you want to tell me why you were in that tomb?" Hannah asked him.
Alex blinked tiredly. "What?" He asked.
"Why were you in that tomb?" Hannah repeated.
Alex frowned. "I wasn't in the tomb" He yawned.
Hannah scowled at the boy. "That's where I found you" She pointed through the tiny doorway and towards the tiny tomb. "In there"
Alex frowned and wandered over towards the tomb again, looking over it quickly before coming back to Hannah.
"What's the sacrifice?" Alex asked.
Something in Hannah's mind clicked and she gasped. The sacrifice, what Ardeth had said, was used to bring this Armac guy back to life and takes his strength from them.
"Do you feel strange?" Hannah asked.
Alex gave her a weird look but shrugged. "I'm just tired" He said.
Hannah looked at the blood stain covering Alex's chest. "What about that?" She asked, pointing to it.
Alex frowned lightly, tugging his collar down to expose where the wound was. It was merely a small scar now, but it looked as though the boy had been stabbed directly through the heart.
"I'm not sure" Alex muttered.
Hannah frowned and sat down in the sand to wait for Ardeth and Jonathan. "Why don't you tell me about yourself Alex? We could be here for a while waiting for my friends"
Alex shook his head and leant sleepily against the wall as he slid down to the ground. "Lady, I have no idea who you are, I'm not going to tell you my life story"
Hannah scowled. "Well too bad, because it wasn't an option"
"What are you going to do about it?" Alex mumbled sleepily, his eyes fluttering closed.
Hannah pursed her lips into a tight line but didn't reply, it was only a few seconds before Alex had fallen asleep by her side.
"HANNAH!" Jonathan's voice echoed through the chamber. "We couldn't find it! Ardeth thinks that its hidden in the centre of the temple!"
Hannah looked up from her spot on the floor and over to the doorway where Jonathan and Ardeth appeared.
"Didn't you find it?" Hannah asked sadly.
Jonathan shook his head. "Not yet. We're going to go further into the temple"
"Well I found something Uncle Jonathan" Hannah replied smugly.
Jonathan frowned. "What?"
Hannah gently moved her arm away, revealing Alex, who was curled up into a ball at her side.
Ardeth and Jonathan froze, their eyes were wide and confused for a few moments before they understood what was happening.
"ALEX!" Jonathan cried as he scooped his nephew up in his arms, the boy looked exactly as he had last been seen, still six years old, but sleeping peacefully.
The sudden movement around him brought Alex out of his slumber and he looked groggily up at his uncle, who was clutching him tightly to his chest.
"Uncle John" Alex murmured sleepily, leaning his head against his uncle's chest.
Jonathan cried with delight, even Ardeth was showing his happiness as he moved towards the sleepy child. "Alex, are you alright?" Ardeth asked cautiously. "Do you remember what happened?"
Alex turned to Ardeth, giving him and weak smile. "I'm just tired Ardeth" He murmured, yawning and subconsciously snuggling deeper into his Uncle's chest. "You got old" Alex muttered.
"Alex, this is important" Ardeth pressed. "What do you remember last?"
Alex shrugged, opening his eyes wider, realising he wouldn't get time to sleep soon. "I don't know" He said. "I was with Mum and Dad" Suddenly his eyes widened and he looked around. "Where's my Mum and Dad?" He thought maybe they had been in the temple and brought him in, but now that Ardeth and Jonathan were here he knew something was wrong.
He noticed Ardeth frowning and his eyes grew wide and shining with confused tears. "What's going on?" He asked in a quiet voice, squirming out of Jonathan's grip. His uncle placed him reluctantly on the ground as he walked towards Ardeth.
Alex glanced at Hannah suspiciously. "You said one of them was your uncle?" He asked.
Hannah nodded, she realised what was happening, this was Alexander. "My name is Hannah O'Connell" The girl replied. "What's yours?"
"Alexander O'Connell?" The young boy's eyes were wide. "I didn't know I had a cousin?" He looked expectantly at Jonathan who grimaced.
"She's not your cousin Alex" Ardeth said gently.
"My parents are Richard and Evelyn O'Connell" Hannah said bluntly, frowning slightly at the boy, whose eyes grew wide.
"But I don't have a big sister!" Alex said slowly, his eyes flickering back to Hannah for a second.
"You don't Alex" Ardeth explained. "Alex, you've been missing for twenty one years, Hannah was born five years after you were presumed dead. Its 1952 now Alex"
Alex's eyes widened in confusion. "How is that possible?" He stammered. "I-I was with Mummy and Daddy last time. I-I was building a sandcastle" He shook his head. "That can't be true"
"Alex calm down" Jonathan said gently, kneeling down in front of the distressed child and lifting him up. "We're going to get you out to see your Mum and Dad, alright? And everything will make sense"
Alex nodded mutely, holding tightly to Jonathan's shirt as he stood carefully. "Why didn't they come and get me?" He looked over at Hannah. "If I've been gone for years, why didn't they look for me?"
Even Hannah felt bad for the boy, she now knew why her parents had been so sad all of her life. They had lost their first child when he was only six years old.
Alex's bottom lip trembled as he buried his head in Jonathan's shirt. "Didn't they want me anymore? Did I do something wrong?"
"No, no, no, no!" Jonathan exclaimed quickly. "Alex, they thought you were dead, the temple locked you inside and you stopped screaming" Jonathan hugged the crying child close to him. "Alex, they never forgot about you, they would have done anything to get you back, but they really thought you were dead"
Alex glanced at Hannah through tear filled eyes. "How old are you?" He asked.
"Sixteen" Hannah said.
"How old am I?"
"You would be twenty seven this March" Jonathan said, smiling.
"Does that mean I get to drive your car?" Alex smiled weakly up at his uncle, who grinned at him.
"We'll see"
Alex yawned again, his eyes drooping heavily.
"Alex" Ardeth said cautiously. "Do you know why you're tired?" He asked.
Alex shook his head before falling asleep again in Jonathan's arms.
Ardeth looked over towards the Egyptian writing on the walls and frowned, moving over towards them, Hannah glanced worriedly at the sleeping child in her uncle's arms.
Her big brother. She reminded herself mentally as she watched Alex's peaceful face thoughtfully.
How could this six year old be her older brother? It was impossible.
She thought back to when she had entered Alex's room back at their house.
How could he be her brother? From what she could tell about him he was a book worm, mostly enjoying Egyptian history. He didn't have many toys apart from the building blocks which had been arranged into a pyramid in the corner of the room, and small Egyptian sculptures that were placed around on desks and book shelves.
She thought back to how her room had looked, a soccer ball was resting on the floor and clothes were spread out over the floor, there were some school books in her room that were shoved under her bed to make way for jewellery and more clothes. Her desk was unrecognisable, covered by pictures of friends and dirty dishes.
Ardeth cursed in a foreign language and turned to Alex, catching Jonathan's eye solemnly.
"What?" Jonathan asked, holding Alex's body protectively to his chest. "What is it?"
"We need to get Alex out of here" Ardeth said solemnly, holding out his arms to take the boy from his uncle.
Jonathan reluctantly passed over Alex to him and frowned. "Why?" He asked.
Ardeth turned held Alex easily in his arms, passing him to his sister. "Hannah I need you to take Alex out of the temple and get him to the village. Try to keep him awake, it will be faster if you do not need to carry him" He looked back at Jonathan. "We need to find the Sacred Dagger" Ardeth explained. "It is the only thing that will kill Armac but not harm Alex"
Awkwardly Hannah held the sleeping child in her arms, unsure of how to react to holding him. Jonathan frowned. "Harm Alex?" He asked.
"Alex was used as a sacrifice to bring Armac back to life; it is how the mummy stays alive. If Alex dies, Armac dies. But if Armac is hurt or killed, so will Alex" Ardeth explained. "The only way to break the curse from Alex is to drive the dagger through Armac's heart"
"What happens if we don't?" Jonathan asked slowly.
Ardeth grimaced. "If we do not defeat Armac soon, he will drain Alex of all of his strength and he will die. Now that he is awake. And Armac will become invincible if he buys his eternal life, which is why he has taken Richard and Evelyn"
Jonathan closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and looked over at Alex. "Hannah, you have to take Alex and get him away from here"
Hannah frowned slightly. "If this mummy is going to take over the world and kill millions of people, why don't you just kill Alex?" It didn't sound so bad in her mind, Alex's life or millions of lives. But when she said it out loud even she was disgusted in herself.
Jonathan's eyes flashed angrily at her. "That is NOT an option!" He growled protectively. "He's your BROTHER!" Jonathan glared angrily at her, snatching Alex from her arms and waking the boy from his light slumber.
"What's going on?" Alex mumbled groggily, as he noticed the glare that Jonathan was sending Hannah.
"Alright!" Hannah said, holding up her arms in defeat. "It was just a suggestion. It would solve all of our problems!"
Alex frowned sleepily. "What problems? Is there something wrong?"
"No" Jonathan said instantly.
Ardeth moved forward and held out his arms for Alex, who complied and reached out to be taken from his uncle's arms. "Alex, Hannah is going to take you out of the temple and to the village. Just wait there for me and your uncle, we'll be there soon and then we can go and find your mum and dad"
Alex nodded, glancing warily at Hannah. "Why can't I go with you?" He asked.
"It's too dangerous Alex" Ardeth said calmly, placing him on the ground and pushing him gently towards Hannah. "Hannah will take care of you; she'll make sure you get out of here safe"
"Hannah's a girl" Alex said quietly. "If Hannah is looking after me, who is looking after Hannah?"
"Hannah can look after herself" Said girl exclaimed irritably, she grabbed onto Alex's hand and began to pull him towards the door. "Come on Alex" She told him. "We'll see Ardeth and Uncle John when they get back"
Alex nodded mutely, rubbing his tired eyes with his spare hand and yawning sleepily as Hannah dragged him through the narrow corridors that he didn't recognise.
They reached a fork in the road and Alex glanced worriedly at his 'sister', he didn't like her very much. She was scary. "Do you know where we're going?" He asked shyly.
"Yes" Hannah snapped, turning quickly on her heel and taking him down one of the halls, her steps were fast and long, making Alex run to keep up with her.
"Hannah" Alex panted, he held onto her hand with both arms to keep himself upright. "Hannah, please slow down" He asked tiredly.
Hannah rolled her eyes. "We need to get out of here" She said sternly. "We can't slow down"
Alex gasped in pain. "Please" Alex pleaded; he clamped his hand to his side, his face twisted in pain. "I feel strange"
Hannah was about to reply when she felt Alex's weight drag down on her hand. Quickly she grabbed his arm as he passed out, swearing like a sailor and wondering what to do next.
"Alex" Hannah said, holding him upright by his shoulders. "Alex wake up" She shook his shoulders gently, but all that happened was that his head lolled to the side.
Finally she scooped the six year old up in her arms and continued walking, realizing that he wouldn't wake up any time soon.
She noticed his hand holding the side of his stomach and gently lifted his hand to reveal a large bruise forming, as though someone had kicked him.
Hannah frowned lightly, thinking back to what Ardeth had said in the temple.
"If Armac is hurt or killed, so will Alex"
Evy looked over at her husband who was slowly but surely managing to get his wrists free from where they were still tied behind their backs by rope.
Hannah had gone over a week ago and Evy was sure she'd found Ardeth already and they were on their way to find a way to stop Armac.
Now all Evy and Rick had to do was get free. Which was easier said than done.
"Yes" Rick murmured triumphantly from beside her, quickly he released his hands and moved to Evy's. "Let's go find our daughter" Rick grinned.
The two adults jumped to their feet and moved towards the door or their prison, only to find it opened the second they reached it.
"Thought you would escape?" Armac said calmly, he was obviously not fazed by the two adventurers because he simply blocked the doorway, not making a move.
"I know we will" Rick stated as he suddenly leaped forward, slamming his foot directly into Armac's stomach, sending him reeling backwards.
Armac seemed deterred for only a second before he stood up straight, smiling at the O'Connell's.
Rick didn't wait as he lashed out again, attacking fiercely with kicks and punches, which Armac blocked and sent a few of his own.
Finally Armac knocked Rick to the ground with a kick to the head and grabbed the rope that was lying on the floor.
"Can't have you running around here, now can we?" Armac hissed in Rick's ear as he tied the man's hands behind his back again.
Evy growled from behind the un-dead man and sent a kick at him, but Armac turned, blocking her attacks and punches before knocking her out.
Hannah looked down at Alex, who stirred slightly; she had been walking for ten minutes at the most and was getting annoyed at having to carry the boy. "Alex" She said gently. "Alex, can you wake up for me?"
Alex mumbled something in a foreign language that Hannah didn't recognize. "Alex, are you alright?"
The small boy opened his eyes slightly, a frown marring his cute features as he tried to remember where he was. "Hannah?" He asked.
His sister nodded. "Yeah. Do you want to tell me what just happened?" Nodding her towards his bruised ribs.
Alex frowned and his eyes travelled down to where a boot shaped bruise was forming on his skinny abdomen. "I don't remember" He muttered, his large eyes looking up to Hannah for answers.
"What happened?" He asked.
Hannah frowned. "I'm not sure" She told him.
Alex frowned and suddenly realized that he was being carried, he squirmed out of Hannah's arms and dropped to the floor.
Hannah scowled at him but allowed her brother to do as he pleased, they continued down the corridor for a few more minutes before Alex stopped.
"Hannah?" He asked, carefully, obviously not wishing to spark her fiery temper.
"Mm?" Hannah muttered, lost in her thoughts.
"We're going the wrong way" Alex told her.
Hannah froze and looked irritably down at the six year old standing below her. "How do you know that?" Hannah asked.
Alex pointed to some Egyptian Hieroglyphics that were carved into the wall.
"What about them?" Hannah asked, sceptically. "They're written in Egyptian, how's that going to help us?"
Alex gave her an exasperated look. "Lady, I've been learning to read Egyptian since I could walk. This isn't hard to figure out" He snapped tiredly, his exhaustion making him irritable.
Hannah looked taken aback. "You read Egyptian?" She asked.
Alex sighed and turned back to the Hieroglyphics. "They say this is where the Sacred Dagger lies, in the middle of the temple, nowhere near the exit. We've been walking further into the temple, not out of it" He stated, closing his eyes for a second as he leaned on the wall.
Hannah scowled at the boy and walked over towards him "What are you talking about?" She growled, kneeling down beside him and looking over the pictures that Alex was point to.
Alex yawned and pointed to some of the pictures. "It's the dagger's chamber" He murmured. "We have to get through some challenges or something" He added, his small hands tracing the carvings in the wall.
"Can't you give me something more specific?" She snapped. "I need to know what we're going into"
"I don't know!" Alex said sharply, rubbing his eyes with his hands to try and stay awake. "I can't remember the symbols"
"Well, try harder" Hannah exclaimed, her patience finally at its end. "You're not the only one who wants to get out of here to see their parents you know! I'm dirty, hungry, thirsty and tired and I am not in the mood for you to have a little memory loss that could get us both killed! I have had the worst week of my life and I am NOT going to end it by getting killed by a booby trap or something! Don't be such a wimp, just read the God-damn pictures!" She growled angrily at Alex, who stared at her through watery blue eyes...wait...watery.
Alex was crying.
Hannah instantly regretted yelling at the boy and knelt down in front of him. "No, Alex, please don't cry. I didn't mean it"
She looked carefully at Alex, remembering he was still six years old and exhausted, not to mention having an un-dead mummy feeding off of his strength to stay alive. It was a wonder the boy was awake, let alone coherent enough to be translating Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics.
But the boy's bottom lip continued to tremble slightly as Hannah repeatedly apologized.
"Please, Alex. Please don't cry. I'm sorry I said that. I'm really sorry and I didn't mean it" Unsure of what to do she placed a hand on Alex's shoulder and pulled him into a hug.
It was obviously what the boy needed because he latched his arms securely around her neck and sobbed into her shoulder. "Alex I didn't mean it" She murmured by his ear.
Alex sniffed and shook his head. "I want my Mommy and Daddy" He cried. "I want to see they're ok and that they still want me"
Hannah pulled Alex onto her lap and sat down against the wall, gently rocking him back and forth. "Alex, Mum and Dad have been sad ever since they thought you died. Throughout my whole life they weren't the same as everybody else remembered them. Your room is still the same as it was when you left. I only went in there once when I was ten and I've never gone in since. Alex they never forgot or stopped loving you, every day they thought about you and wished you were there with them. You have to know that"
Alex closed his eyes tiredly, letting his head rest on Hannah's chest. "Alex, I really need you to think about those paintings. We need to get out of here but we need to know what they say. We'll get back to Mum and Dad faster if you we get the dagger" Hannah said gently, not wanting to send the boy into hysterics again.
Alex clutched her shirt tightly in his hands, refusing to let go as he buried his head deeper into her shoulder. "I wanna go home" He whimpered.
Hannah sighed and nodded, rubbing his back soothingly. "I know, kid. But to do that you have to read the writings"
Alex shook his head. "I can't remember them" He whispered, looking up at her. "Mommy showed them to me a few times, but... but I can't remember what they mean. I couldn't look in the book again because Mommy put it on a high shelf in her room. I wasn't allowed to go in there"
Hannah grimaced. "Alex, how did you learn Egyptian? Did mum teach you?"
Alex shook his head, smiling slightly. "I learnt from my books and the museum. Daddy used to take me there all of the time to study the Medjai. I wasn't allowed to stay home by myself, so I visited Mummy in the Egyptian display at the museum. At home there were heaps of books as well, so I read those"
"You taught yourself how to read Egyptian?" Hannah said doubtfully.
Alex shrugged. "Mommy helped me learn how to speak it after I learnt some of the letters"
Hannah nodded, realising this was a safe subject to talk about that seemed to stop Alex when he cried. "Should we have another go at looking at those pictures?" Hannah said softly.
Alex rubbed his eyes with his fists and nodded slightly, Hannah suddenly realized how cute he looked, his eyes drooping sleepily.
"Come on" Hannah said gently, pulling him back over to the wall for another attempt.
I brought Alex back for you guys! And I LOVE HIM! He's so cute and adorable and cute and adorable!
Did you like it? Please tell me! I really want to know! Although flames are NOT excepted, because even one little flame will RUIN my day. And if you ruin my day, I don't write because I feel bad, so then it takes longer for you to get an update.
IMPORTANT! Alright, so I'm going away to my friend's batch for a few weeks in a couple of days, there is no internet and I'm not allowed to bring my computer, so obviously you guys can't really get an update. I will continue as soon as I get back, alright? I'll update all of my stories, including the two that haven't been updated sine September! So anyone that reads my AR fanfics I WILL UPDATE WITH ANOTHER CHAPTER! :)
Have a great holiday! Wherever you are! Whether it's summer, (Like in New Zealand AKA: BEST COUNTRY EVA!) or winter, like in Europe, (HI ALEC and LACEY! AKA: My cousins!), or anything in between, (All the countries between here and England) :)