Sarcophagus

by Ben Hammott

  Pleased to find the curtain in place, he had turned away to return to the group when a grinding sound halted him. He glanced back at the curtain where he thought the noise had originated from. It had sounded like the grating of stone. His eyes flicked to the heating grill set in one wall when it vibrated briefly with a metallic rattle before falling to silence. Though convinced the antiquated heating system was responsible for the sound, he was reluctant to leave anything to chance. The curtain, currently dimly lit, would hide anyone behind up to no good. Had someone crept away from the group to have a sneak peek inside the sarcophagus? There were many reporters here and perhaps one of them had snuck away to grab an exclusive.

  The sarcophagus had been purposely left unopened; they knew it only contained dried beetle husks. A grand public opening was scheduled to take place later, when ticket sales and interest in the exhibition waned. That didn’t look likely in the foreseeable future, but it was better to have a plan-B. He moved to the curtain and pulled aside the flap where they joined. Even in the gloom he noticed the lid of the sarcophagus was askew. He hadn’t been hearing things. Someone had been here. His glance around the curtained sarcophagus revealed no other presence. Whoever had been responsible had fled.

  When he stepped forward to heave the lid back in place, a soft rustling and a waft of stale decay exited from the coffin. Curiosity won him over. He moved to the gap and peered inside. Fear gripped him when he saw two red eyes looking back at him. Before he could scream or flee, small clawed hands reached out. One was forced into his open mouth to stifle his scream, while the other stabbed at his throat. The claw pierced his flesh, wrapped around his windpipe and squeezed. Unable to breathe, Trevor pulled at the creature’s arms to no avail. When he bit down on the claw in his mouth, sharp talons scraped the back of his throat and tongue as they ripped at his flesh. Blood gurgled in his mouth as his life slipped away. The stone lid was forced open wider when Trevor’s corpse was hauled inside.

  A few minutes later, Greyson and the guests entered the display room housing the gold panels. Though the panels were set in the same position in the recreated chamber as when they had been found hiding the doorway to the original tomb chamber, they were secured in a glass box with enough room between them and the wall to allow visitors to pass behind and enter the sarcophagus chamber.

  Wondering where Trevor had disappeared to, Greyson climbed onto a small podium set up for the occasion and recounted the story of his and Kramer’s discovery of the sarcophagus enclosed in a golden cage and the jade god figures set in a circle around it like sentinels. As he described the story of how the Maya had trapped the monster, he pressed a series of buttons on the small control he held. Strategically positioned spotlights highlighted each detail of the gold panels as he told the tale.

  When it was time for the grand finale, Greyson led the select group behind the gold panels and into the tomb chamber. The guests stared in fascination at the golden cage that had once imprisoned the monster inside its sarcophagus and the many jade figures encircling the curtained sarcophagus.

  When everyone had viewed the room’s exhibits, Greyson motioned for the mayor to join him and handed him the cord that would part the curtain.

  “If everyone is ready?” announced Greyson, bringing the excited babble to silence. “The mayor will now say a few words before doing us the honor of revealing the sarcophagus that kept a ferocious Maya god imprisoned for hundreds of years.”

  Greyson nodded at the mayor. As the mayor took the podium, Greyson moved to the wall and switched on lights that bathed the hidden sarcophagus in light and revealed its form through the curtain.

  Having drawn strength from its human meal, the small monster climbed from its captive tomb and perched on the askew lid. It cocked its head while it listened to the human voices and gazed around at their shadowy shapes through the veil that hid them from view. Its tongue slithered over bloodstained teeth in anticipation of tasting again the human flesh it was about to gorge itself on. It was about to leap through the curtain and begin the slaughter, when lights flashed on.

  The mayor smiled at the gathering.

  “I would like to thank Trevor Essington, who seems to have wandered off, no doubt to attend to important museum business, Doctor Greyson, the talented Ms. Nickels and the museum staff for the most amazing and interesting exhibition I have ever had the pleasure to attend. We must also not forget Doctor Kramer, who was responsible for discovering the city where everything we have seen here tonight was found. Doctor Kramer, who remains in the Amazon jungle exploring the lost Mayan city, is, I’m sure, even as we speak, finding many more amazing artifacts that will be brought back to amaze us.”

  Hoping it would open smoothly as designed, Greyson gazed along the top of the curtain. He lowered his eyes when he noticed movement within. Fear gripped him when the shape of something moved on top of the sarcophagus. Though he knew it was impossible, he recognized the smaller monster’s form. There had either been another monster dormant inside, or the impossible had happened and the monster has been resurrected.

  “So, without further ado, I give you the Mayan God sarcophagus.”

  The mayor tugged on the cord.

  The curtains swung open smoothly.

  “RUN!” shouted Greyson. A glance at the creature revealed it to be smaller than any he had encountered before, but just as dangerous. “Quick, everybody must leave! “He started roughly herding people toward the room’s exit.

  Confused by the man’s sudden change of temperament and strange behavior, the gathered guests failed to respond. At first, when some of the guests saw the creature on the sarcophagus, they thought it was another statue. A smaller, slightly different version of the one the Maya warriors fought, but when it snarled and viscous blood-tinged saliva dripped from its jaws, they quickly grasped the danger. Screams rang out. Others turned and headed for the exit, knocking people aside as fear commanded their actions.

  The monster leapt into the panicking crowd. Its claws slashed indiscriminately. Its teeth tore into flesh.

  Blood sprayed.

  People died.

  The monster feasted.

  Those who survived the mad dash from the room, rushed through the exhibit rooms with one thought on their minds—to escape from the monster and reach the exit.

  To avoid the monster’s attention, Greyson rushed around the back of the sarcophagus and joined the throng filtering through the doorway. When he reached the warrior room, he pushed through the barging horde, stepped over the rope cordoning off the display of the warriors attacking the monster god and yanked a spear from one of the their inanimate hands. When he turned, he almost stabbed Mary in the gut with the spear tip.

  Though frightened by the monstrosity that had suddenly appeared, when the killing began it brought Mary to her senses. When she noticed Greyson moving with a purpose, she had followed.

  Mary glanced at the spear Greyson held and guessed his intention. “Do you have one of those for me?”

  Though surprised by her request, Greyson handed Mary the spear, grabbed another for himself and both headed back to the sarcophagus room.

  They paused in the archway and peered inside.

  Through the bars of the gold cage, Mary stared in horror at the monster feeding on the dead and wounded. She began to regret her hasty decision to help, but the small monster should be easy enough to kill if they could get near enough. Trembling slightly, she fought back her fear and whispered to Greyson, “How are we going to do this?”

  Greyson wished he had an answer. All he knew was that he couldn’t let the monster escape from the museum and had to act fast before it changed and grew.

  “The gold net killed the one aboard the ship, so maybe these gold-tipped spears will kill this one, or at least injure it,” he answered softly.

  With the ancient weapons held ready to attack, both experienced fear as they cautiously moved around the edge of the room to get behind the monster.

  As it bit off another chun
k of flesh from the victim it straddled, the monster glanced at a man with blood pouring from a rip in his back dragging himself toward the exit. It knew the wounded human wouldn’t get far. Its head spun when it detected danger, and snarled at the two humans creeping toward it. Its eyes flicked to the weapons and the light reflecting from the yellow tips. It screeched and bounded for the opening when the humans lunged at it.

  Encouraged by the monster’s obvious fear of the weapons, Greyson and Mary gave chase.

  Two men of the security detail heading for the exhibition rooms to find out the cause of the disturbance, opened the staff entrance and froze on sighting the strange creature that skidded on the marble floor when it noticed them. Its small claws left gouges in the smooth tiles as it scrabbled for purchase. When it came to a halt, it turned and dived at the men.

  The men dodged back through the doorway, but they were too slow to avoid the creature. It crashed into them, knocking them to the floor. One man screamed in agony when its claws ripped his body when it scampered over him and sped off along the corridor. The other guard knelt beside his friend and checked his wounds. Though the wounds weren’t too severe, they bled profusely and required stiches. He needed medical attention quickly.

  Greyson and Mary arrived in time to see the monster fleeing deeper into the museum. Greyson glanced at the injured man and turned on hearing approaching footsteps. “This man needs immediate help, and there’s others wounded in the tomb room.”

  The two guards looked at the wounds suffered by their co-worker. They had been informed of the attacking monster by those fleeing from the museum, but hadn’t believed it until now.

  As one of the men helped the other guard lift his friend to his feet and head to the exit, the remaining guard informed Greyson of the situation outside. “The mayor has requested police and ambulances attend the scene, so they should be here shortly.”

  The guard gazed around nervously and asked, “Where is the monster now?” The words felt strange.

  “It headed toward the labs and workrooms. Mary and I are going after it,” Greyson replied. “Did the surviving guests get out okay?”

  Harry nodded. “And two guards are stationed at the entrance. They’ll stop anyone wandering in. I’ll head back there now and guide the emergency services to the wounded when they arrive.” He looked doubtfully at the spears Greyson and Mary held. “Maybe we should call the army to come and deal with it?”

  Greyson held up the spear. “This will harm it more than bullets.”

  “If we can get close enough,” added Mary, nervously.

  Greyson looked at his brave companion. “Though I’d be glad of the help, you’re not obliged to come.”

  Mary shook her head. “No, I’m coming. That thing needs to pay for what it has done. As well as the suffering it’s caused, it’s ruined the exhibition we worked so hard on.”

  “If you are sure, let’s go.”

  Relieved he wasn’t called upon to accompany them, the security guard watched them head along the corridor.

  Greyson and Mary’s eyes constantly searched the dimly lit corridors for their foe. It wasn’t an ideal environment to track down a ferocious ancient entity.

  Greyson cautiously poked his head around the corner of a side passage and peered down its gloomy length. He should have asked one of the guards to go to the control room and switch on the main lights; though with the monster on the loose he doubted any would have been keen to volunteer. The dark areas the low lighting failed to penetrate left many places the monster might be lurking, waiting for them to walk into its small but deadly clutches.

  Mary gazed along the right-hand corridor of the crossroad intersection they had arrived at. “The monster had three choices, so which direction do we take? And before you suggest it, we are not splitting up.”

  Greyson was of a likeminded opinion; no one should face the ferocious monstrosity alone. He gazed down each passage in turn before stepping into the corridor that led straight on and pointed at the floor. “Scratches.” He stared along the corridor. “It went that way.”

  Mary took a deep breath. “Then I guess we do also.”

  They started down the corridor.

  Mary altered her grip on the unfamiliar weapon and glanced at its golden tip. “Are you sure these spears will kill it?”

  “Far from it, but the Maya used them to herd it into the sarcophagus, and from what we have witnessed back there, we know it’s obviously wary of them.”

  “But in your talk about the Mayas’ capture of the monster, you said the warriors’ bodies were covered in gold dust. We are not.”

  “Well, unless you have a large quantity of gold dust handy, we’ll have to be careful to avoid its teeth and claws.” He halted and looked at her. “To be honest, Mary, I am terrified and have no idea what effect these spears will have on the creature, but I do know I am responsible for bringing it to England and thus all the death and suffering it has caused. I can’t just runaway and let someone else risk their lives going after it. As I said before, you have no such obligation. I urge you to leave, because the small monster you have seen is nothing compared to what it will soon grow into. If that happens, I doubt the two of us will stand much of a chance against it.”

  “I must admit, chasing resurrected monsters wasn’t on my agenda for today and not something I am enthusiastic about doing, but I am here now, so let’s get after it before it becomes an even more formidable opponent and I change my mind.”

  Greyson gave her an anxious smile. “Thank you, Mary. It’s something I’d rather not do alone.”

  They continued along the corridor.

  CHAPTER 15

  Emergency Services

  Sirens wailed and blue lights flashed across the building when four police cars screeched to a halt outside the museum. Their doors sprung open. Uniformed men poured from the vehicles. Some guided the following ambulances into position ready to receive the injured, while others pushed back the crowd that had quickly gathered to find out what was happening.

  Chief Superintendent Victor Conway—accompanied by his Chief Inspector, Nathan Archer—strode through the gates with his eyes searching the shocked dignitaries for the mayor. Spying him sitting on a bench on the grass, he hurried over.

  The mayor rolled his eyes when he spied the approaching superintendent and climbed to his feet. “Did you contact the army, Victor?”

  “Yes, Mayor. They are on their way.”

  “Good, because we can’t risk anyone going in to rescue the wounded until there’s an armed escort.”

  “What are we dealing with here, Mayor?” asked Conway, glazing at the museum entrance. “Is it true there’s a wild animal loose inside the museum?”

  “It’s not an animal, at least not a known species. It’s a monster,” stated the mayor.

  Conway raised his eyebrows skeptically. “A monster?”

  The mayor glared at the superintendent. “Yes, Victor, a monster. I watched it rip people apart like they were rag dolls, so you can wipe the skepticism from your face and take what I say as fact or I’ll put your chief inspector in charge and you can go back home, put your feet up and sip that expensive brandy you are so fond of.”

  “Yes, Mayor.” The screech of tires on tarmac saved the red-faced chief superintendent any further embarrassment and signaled the army’s arrival.

  The mayor glanced over at the army trucks as armed men started emerging. “Inform whoever’s in charge of the threat and have them organize an armed escort to accompany the police and medical personnel into the museum to give aid to the wounded. The museum personnel by the entrance will show them where to go.”

  Victor halted the salute he started to give and promptly turned, almost barging into his chief inspector.

  The chief inspector smiled at his superior hurrying away. “You were a bit hard on him, Raymond.”

  “Not hard enough in my opinion,” stated the mayor. “The man’s a pompous ass. He cares more about hobnobbing with those he thinks
are special and can aid him in his craving to rise higher up the ranks and attending fancy dinners than focusing on the tasks his excessively paid job decrees he should.”

  Nathan raised his eyebrows at the mayor. “And yet he received no invitation to this auspicious event, which did piss him off.” He took out a packet of cigarettes, handed one to the mayor and lit them both.

  “I regret blocking his invitation now. I would have liked to witness his reaction when the monster appeared.”

  Nathan let out a stream of smoke and looked seriously at his friend. “It’s true then, there really is a monster on the loose?”

  The mayor nodded. “Unfortunately, there is. It climbed out of that sarcophagus the archeologist Greyson Bradshaw brought back from the Amazon.”

  Nathan frowned. “I thought he killed it aboard the ship that crashed into port a few months ago.”

  The mayor unconsciously rolled the cigarette in his fingers as if he wished it would magically transform into one of the expensive cigars he enjoyed smoking. “That’s what he believed, but obviously something went wrong. It either somehow got back inside its coffin, it’s a different one, or Greyson lied, which I’m not inclined to believe.” He looked at Nathan. “Whatever it is, it’s small, but damn vicious and extremely fast. It killed some of my friends before they had a chance to react.” He glanced around at the shocked survivors. “It’s going to be the subject of a lot of people’s nightmares for some time, including mine.”

  Hurried footsteps distracted them.

  Twelve men dressed in army fatigues and armed with rifles, led a group of anxious ambulance personnel carrying stretchers and first aid kits toward the museum entrance and disappeared inside.

  “I have organized everything, Mayor,” said the chief superintendent, louder than necessary as he joined them, hoping the mayor would be impressed.