Chapter One "The Ghastly Tomb"

CHAPTER ONE

“The Ghastly Tomb”

                                                         

Which way was it? Ah yes! “Down the corridor to the left. Hurry, Hurry!” he commanded. In no time at all the darkness had descended on all in the party. Torches were lit and handed down the line that was 6 deep. Trampled and muffled footsteps could be heard up ahead. His heart raced knowing that soon they would uncover the great secret that he had labored so long to find. The walls at this point were covered in ancient hieroglyphs. The colors were vibrant not faded as he had expected. They hurried along almost running.

Eerily; the flickering of the torches cast ghastly shadows as they trekked on. Every other second Andrew thought a mummy was materializing out of thin air. The ancient stone floor was covered in sand, all of their shoes tapped loudly as they tried not to slip on the slippery combination. Suddenly they stopped. The corridor had ended and there was now a decision to make; go left or go right. Andrew asked the man to his left to hold the torch while he pulled out his tomb journal. He hurriedly flipped through the worn yellowed pages looking desperately for the map he knew was there. Finally after a few moments he found it. To his left he could hear that the party ahead had chosen their path, did they know something he did not? No, No. Read your notes - trust yourself! Andrew said to himself. It was clear by the map; the right direction was north, after looking at his compass, it happened to be the opposite direction of the other party.

“Follow me!”

Andrew veered right, grabbing the torch back and stuffing his book in his satchel in one motion.

…

 

Creeky bones and an oppressive heat could not hinder professor Belderson from his goal of unearthing the ancient prize. He had uncovered many a tomb and his instincts had never failed him. He was not about to let a young start up pull the rug out from under him. Go left you fools, Belderson bellowed out to his team. Left they went. The sound of the other team faded behind them as they kept up their torrid pace. Sweat now dripped from below his straw hat, the professor anxiously wiped it away with his handkerchief.

The ceiling ahead was starting to angle down and soon he and his team would have to start slouching as they progressed. The professor quickly glanced at the hieroglyphs on the ceiling as now they were only a few short inches from his head. Is that the glyph for warning, an oblong circle with a slash through it? With such low light it was hard to tell. He thought he had seen it but with time short decided to move on.

Belderson was in his mid fifties, tall and thin. He towered over the Egyptian locals he had hired to help him find the ancient tomb. A professor’s salary was not quite enough for him, he dabbled on the side with antiques dealers. Twice a year he would go on trips looking for treasures he could sell. A short temper and angry disposition kept the professor from having many friendships and he was generally disliked in the school halls. Not that this bothered him, he despised the “little rats” as he called his students. 

The feeling that something was wrong crept back into his head. He let the others in the party go ahead.

“Keep the pace up!” The professor snarled.

He slowed to sneak a look at his notes. He kept walking making sure not to bump his head on the ceiling, he had to bend over as he walked.

Suddenly the sound of screams echoed all around him.  

Belderson stopped dead in his tracks. He was now alone. Where could the others have gone? The screams were so close and now gone, yet he saw nowhere for them to have come from. It must be a booby-trap. But he was still here. He dared not move a muscle.

…

 

Andrew stopped quickly reacting to the screams he heard from behind him. Maybe it was Belderson, maybe Andrew was in over his head. Nervously he turned and muttered:

“Carry on” to the others. They anxiously obliged. Their pace was now noticeably slower and their footsteps had grown quieter. All that could be heard was the flicker from the oil torches. He could feel his heart pounding, he was sure it had enough and was trying to burst out of his chest and go back. His hand was noticeably shaking and he gripped his satchel to stop the trembling. His eyes darted around searching for any hint of trouble. None came and on they pressed. The heat outside was unbearable but inside deep within the bowels of this subterranean labyrinth the air was dead, and it only magnified the misery they all were feeling.

 Just as the drama seemed to reach a crescendo the hall ended unceremoniously. The corridor did not continue on and there was no door or writing to clue him in on what to do next, which was unusual because the rest of the maze was covered in writing, it was almost as if this construct was an afterthought. Andrew walked up to the wall to take a closer look. There must be a clue on this wall. He stepped within inches of the old stone surface surveying every nook and cranny. He dusted off areas where he thought he had seen something, maybe a secret lever or button, but to no avail. He stepped away from the wall and turned to his men.

“I guess I was wrong let’s go back” Andrew said defeated.

The others groaned and slumped.

 Andrew reached down and picked up his torch that he had laid down to survey the wall. As he was standing back up something curious happened. The shadows the torch was creating on the ceiling were of the most curious sort. The shadows were not on the ceiling but on a shaft that was hidden from view when they had came down the hall. Looking up he could see that the shaft was narrow. He had to crane his neck but he could see that if he had help he could get up into a ledge that was a few feet from the mouth of the shaft.

He had one of the men help him onto the shoulders of Jahim his trusted right hand man on all of his adventures in Egypt.

“Jahim once I am on your shoulders lift me just a little more and I should be able to reach the ledge.”

“But Andrew if I do that you will have to go all alone; none of us can fit through the shaft.”

“I realize that, but what choice do I have? We’re at a dead end.” Andrew retorted.

Jahim lifted Andrew off of his shoulders guiding him for the ledge. Reaching out and grabbing the edge, he pulled himself off of his friend and onto the outcrop. Jahim tossed up a torch. And so it was, Andrew was all alone.