House of Scarabs

by Hazel Longuet

  "That's all well and good, Sister. However, you are within the blast zone. We must clear the area. They have ordered me to move everyone to the car parks, where we will process them and make certain they are returned to their respective groups. If you'd follow me," he said, gesturing along the side of the temple.

  Ellie searched the area, looking for Ben and Gerhard. She spotted them easing some of the wounded down into chairs to the rear of the open-fronted shack that normally served coffee and soft drinks to the overheated visitors. It now resembled a triage post.

  "Father Ernst, Father Patrick, could you come over here?"

  Ben glanced up, his eyes twitching as he saw the armed guard so close to Ellie. He patted the hand of the man he'd just assisted into the chair and followed Gerhard, who walked sedately towards Ellie.

  "What is the problem, my child?"

  "You must leave the area, Father. I was just explaining to the Sister that this area is within the blast zone. I must insist that you evacuate now."

  Gerhard walked towards him and smiled gently. "Surely, you're not asking a man of the cloth to abandon those in need? Why, that would be a dereliction of our duty to our dear Lord Jesus Christ and God himself. Thank you for your concern, my son, but we will stay with these poor souls until you get medical support or evacuation via stretchers." He smiled at the man and patted his hand. "Now be a good chap and gather your burly colleagues to go back into the temple and help the injured in there. Be a hero, my boy."

  Aboud, the guard, watched his colleagues in the distance uncertainly before turning back to Gerhard.

  "Come now, there are people in need. Isn't that who you signed up to help?" Gerhard said, pointing back into the temple.

  Aboud closed his eyes, shook his head from side to side, and then rolled his shoulders backwards. "Yes, Father. Yes, it is, and it's long overdue I did it."

  Ellie and Ben watched in disbelief as the man pounded back towards the special ops soldiers and shouted orders for them to round up the wounded and to call for paramedics.

  "Hmm, that could have gone either way. Seems I was in luck," Gerhard said with a grin. "Come on, let's move."

  They returned to the café, smiling at the people inside reassuringly. "What the fuck are we going to do now?" Ben hissed as they stared out at the scarab statue on the top of the pillar some distance in front. "We're just a few feet away. Shall we run for it?"

  Gerhard gave an indiscernible shake of his head. "It has snipers focused on it. Look at the tent behind and up there, on the top of the temple. It's far too risky for Ellie. She'd never make it there. I think we should..."

  "Father Ernst! Father, come here. Hurry!" Gerhard turned sharply to his right and saw Aboud beckoning him with a desperate wave of his arms. "There's a man – he’s in a bad way and asking for a priest. He wants the last rites. Hurry, now!"

  "Jesus Christ! We're done for now," Ben murmured under his breath. "Now what?"

  Gerhard raised a hand in acknowledgement to the soldier and said, "No matter what, we must stick together. Let's go see if we can give this fellow some peace and help others to get out of that damn temple before the idiots blow it up around our ears."

  Ellie frowned slightly and asked, "Gerhard, do you know how to administer the last rites?"

  Gerhard grinned wryly. "I have a rough idea, but we'll wing it, as you Brits say. They won't know."

  Gerhard led the way as they crossed within metres of the statue, towards the Hypostyle Hall. Ellie stared at the scarab that had caused them so much anguish. It sat atop a granite pillar not much taller than the average man. One side was flat, with hieroglyphics adorning the surface. The statue was a slightly incongruous sight, having neither the polish nor grandeur of the other statues in the temple complex, and sat alone on the lakeshore.

  Visitors now trotted around it as the guides delighted in spawning the story that doing so improved your chances of finding love. She stared at the carved beetle that crowned the pillar, an ugly fellow that didn't seem to warrant all the troubles they'd faced. Just an ugly old bug stood on a plinth of stone.

  Ellie didn't notice the raised stone in the paving and stumbled slightly, bumping into Ben. He grabbed her arm, helping her keep her balance as she tipped forward.

  "What's that fool playing at?" Eurydice pointed out of the tent's flap to the guard blatantly disregarding his orders to clear the complex. Instead, he was encouraging a group towards the temple.

  Kawab looked out to where his leader was pointing. "He appears to be beckoning to a priest."

  "I'm not entirely blind. I can see that. Get your men under control, Kawab. Oh my God, we appear to have a religious convention. There's three of them."

  Eurydice pushed past Kawab. She watched the nun stumble and one of the priests reach to help her. Eurydice spun to face her deputy.

  "Tell me, since when a nun has worn jeans and mountain boots under her habit?" She spun around and grabbed her gun and detonator. "Get out of my way, man. I'm ending this now!"

  Kawab watched as his leader ran, far faster than seemed possible for a woman of her age, towards the Hypostyle Hall, into which the false priests had disappeared.

  He smiled widely, lifting the walkie talkie to his mouth. "Everyone to the hall. Targets spotted. Repeat, everyone to the hall."

  He stepped out of the tent and walked calmly towards the job he'd trained for his whole life.

  The Last Rites

  Gerhard knelt at the side of the gravely injured man. There seemed little doubt he wouldn't make it. The man's eyes fluttered open when Aboud touched his forehead gently.

  "Father Ernst is here to give last rites, my friend." He clasped the man's hand and nodded for Gerhard to start.

  "Blessed is our God, always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages," Gerhard intoned, forming a cross on the man's forehead. The man smiled weakly at him before staring up at a dust-ridden ray of sun that shone behind them. He beamed.

  Aboud patted his hand, leaned across to close his eyes with great respect, and said, "Alas, he's passed away." They stared down sadly at the stranger who'd started the day excited to visit one of the world's greatest wonders and ended it dead on the dusty floor.

  "I'm sorry for my part in this, Father," Aboud said, rubbing his forehead and studying his boots.

  "It's not our past actions that measure our worth, my son, but the learnings we take from them and how we apply those in the future."

  Aboud nodded with tears in his eyes, looking at the injured around him. "Get these people out of here. NOW!" he screamed at his men, who scurried to obey his order.

  "ELENA! Ellie! My heart's own love. Where are you?"

  "Mama Aida," Ellie spluttered. She turned around to face the displaced voice. "Mama Aida, run. Please, God, there's a bomb in here!"

  "I know. I planted it. There's one on each column. Can't be too careful, can we?"

  Ellie blinked, staring. Speechless.

  In front of her didn't stand the wizened, crooked old crone she'd known her entire life. This wasn't a peasant woman in a long, black galabiya. The woman in front of her shared the same face and voice but none of the characteristics or vocal patterns. She stood straight and tall, dressed in black military fatigues, with a belt of ammunition and the Guardians of the Ankh's preferred weapon of choice: a machine gun. A gun pointing straight at Ellie.

  "NO... no," Ellie mewed. "Not you. Mama... no!" Her legs collapsed before the gun spluttered its first round. It swung her sideways as a bullet hit her shoulder. Another blasted into her stomach. She felt the weight of a body landing on top of her and hands dragging her behind a column.

  Ellie saw Ben's eyes flooded with tears as he shook his head at Gerhard. She turned to see what they were looking at and saw Sam lying next to her on the hard floor. Her glorious Sam. The man she'd loved her entire adult life staring back at her, his black curls framing his sweet face.

  He winked at her. "I'd do it all over again, my Elena, knowing this day would come, to share just on
e day with you. It's been a ride, my love." He smiled gently at her.

  "Sam," she croaked weakly, gasping as pain grabbed her. "Sam. I'm sorry, so very sorry."

  His eyes fluttered shut for a moment. "Don't be! You've been my life. I love you, Elena, and nothing will change that. Just promise me to live. To move on and live."

  A fine trickle of blood ran from his mouth across his golden cheek. Ellie tried to move to him. She fought to get closer but could only move her hand. She slid it across the floor, through the stream of blood, reaching until her fingertips touched his. He smiled and stared into her eyes as he took a breath... a final breath.

  She stared, her brain slowing to protect her from the truth. He appeared so peaceful, as he had on so many lazy Saturday mornings during their marriage. Laying there looking at her with an expression of such love. His final expression of love.

  Then it hit her. A weight so heavy thundered down onto her chest. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't speak. The pain paralysed her cognitive senses and her physical being. She was drowning in a tsunami of anguish that had taken her far away. Everything else receded – Ben, Gerhard, the danger they were in – everything. She was lost, staring at a face that would laugh, kiss, smile, frown no more, and all she wanted was to join him. To give her life force free rein to fade away as her blood soaked deep into the Egyptian sands.

  From a great distance, she heard a voice screaming. "Why? Tell me why? Mama, I thought you loved me." She realised it was her own.

  "But I do, child, more than I love anything on this earth. I only love God more, and it's His calling I'm answering. Do you have any idea how much I've given up to try to save you? I came from a good family. I have a degree in electrical engineering, and yet, since I graduated, I've worked as a maid and then a nursemaid for your family. I could have married and had children of my own. But from the moment I saw you, I knew I'd protect you with my life. You are the daughter of my heart."

  Silence resonated louder than any gunshot.

  "They ordered me to kill you, and I disobeyed every order. I thought if I could just make certain you never married or had children, then your line would die out, and the House of Scarabs would cease to be a threat. But then you ran away with that man," she spat, "and came back married. I knew I had to break you apart. I laid so many traps. So many opportunities for him to stray, and yet, he was as loyal as an old flea-ridden mongrel in a warm new home. I watched, feeding you contraceptives in your morning breakfast, doing my duty. Then he kicked me out – me, the woman who'd raised you, who'd kissed every scraped knee, who'd taught you to walk and talk."

  Ellie shivered. She was so cold. She listened, unable to process the depths of deception.

  "Argh!" Aida shrieked, "It's your fault, Elena. If only you'd stayed in England, none of this would have come to pass. Now I have no choice. You must die and me with you. I'm an old woman and ready to meet my maker, but you, you needn't have died. Elena, you're not evil, but you're the vessel of such evil. You're an affront to God, and so, you must die. You understand that, don't you, my Elena? You're a smart girl and always have been. I'm just sorry we have to leave such destruction behind us. Mourad would have cried to see this."

  Gerhard had crept around the columns, following the path of Mama Aida's voice. He saw her crouched low behind a column just to left of the one protecting Ellie and Ben. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a little box, innocuous in itself. Time slowed as she lifted the clear tab which covered part of the box, revealing a button. Her finger lowered towards the button, little sparkles of dust shimmering in its path.

  Gerhard ran towards her, everything in slow motion. Each footfall puffed sand up as one fell after the other, narrowing the distance between them. Eurydice's head turned, her focus eagle-sharp, none of Mama Aida's rambling characteristics visible. Her hair falling across her cheek, the finger faltered for a second before continuing its inevitable descent. The corners of her mouth twitched into a serene smile as the button connected.

  Each column was illuminated for a microsecond by a ring of sparks that radiated from the base, growing into a wave of fire. The pillars that had stood for several millennia crumbled from the base as a shower of stone and grit exploded out. They hung in midair before tilting and falling. The stone goliaths hit each other and split into gigantic meteors that exploded around the confined space, that contracted and then expanded outwards. Dust blocked the sun and choked the air.

  Gerhard felt the first impact of the explosion but through a bubble of cotton wool. As Aida's finger hit the button, a sphere of energy puffed up around him like a balloon, wrapping him in a bubble that was tossed through the air as the explosion expanded. Missiles flew straight at him, but they hit the sphere wall and bounced away harmlessly. He watched the destruction of one of the world's greatest wonders.

  When the dust settled, nothing remained standing. Rocks were scattered far and wide but all he had eyes for was the other blue sphere sitting atop a five-foot-high remnant of a column. Inside it, Ben held Ellie limply in his arms. Even from that distance, Gerhard saw him shouting at her. She was ghostly pale.

  The spheres dissolved around them. As Gerhard looked around, he saw a few of the soldiers picking themselves up from the ground. One man turned and saluted him. Aboud turned back to his men and organised them into a search and rescue team. Gerhard smiled weakly. After all the problems they'd faced, it was warming to see human goodness prevail. He lifted his face to the sky, circled his shoulders, and hurried over to help Ben.

  Ben and Ellie hadn't fared so well in the explosion. They were both covered in cuts and scratches, their clothes shredded. A deep veneer of dust covered them, changing them into a monotone beige, the only colour coming from the deep green of their eyes. Eyes that stared at each other as Ben ordered Ellie to stay with them.

  "Pass her to me, Ben. Ben, you can let her go now. Pass her to me." Ben didn't lose Ellie's gaze as he carefully transferred her to Gerhard before jumping down and retrieving her.

  She screamed as he pulled her back into the cradle of his arms. "You stay with me, Ells. I haven't come this far to lose you now. You still owe me lessons, and I'm going to claim them - so help me, God."

  The path to the scarab pillar was littered with boulders, rocks, and pits. Ben marched with determination. Every step judged. Gerhard trailed behind like an elderly footman. Ellie's gaze never left Ben's face as he swapped between blasting her and cooing endearments. He was all that was anchoring her to this plane, but his desperation was clear to her.

  The dust billowed in whirls around them, coating the sun in a yellowy haze. She drifted, remembering the sandstorms of her youth. She remembered lazy days on digs, reading under a canopy for hours on end, and the paddock of yellow daisies she'd danced in with her grandmother. Everything was so peaceful.

  Ben ran the last few steps and eased down onto his knees next to the statue. Ellie nestled in his arms. Her eyelids fluttered down, dark lashes fanning against her cheek. She sighed as Ben lifted her hand to touch the statue, an exhalation that didn't contract.

  "Ellie!" Ben shook her. "Ellie, you will not go back on your word to Sam. We need you. I need you." He shook her, with silent tears washing a path through the dust on his cheek, until Gerhard stilled him.

  "It's too late, Ben. She's gone…"

  The two men held each other, with Ellie as she'd been in life – their centre.

  The Other Plane

  Ellie snuggled deeper into the cosy bed. Taking a long breath of the honey-sweet air, she opened her eyes lazily. She frowned at the unfamiliar setting.

  It was a large, airy room bathed in the pink glow of the early evening sun. White furnishings and deep carpet offset walls of warm gold. Two over-sized comfy chairs – the type she loved to curl up in with a mug of cocoa and a good book – flanked a huge, white marble fireplace. Gauze curtains that fluttered softly framed the French doors, partially shielded by a large chaise longue. Beyond the doors was a beautiful Juliet balcony covered
in a mass of white roses, which fragranced the entire room with their heady scent. The four-poster bed on which she lay was swathed with white, sheer fabric that rippled in the gentle breeze.

  She gazed around for anything familiar. Slowly, so as not to attract attention, she crawled across the bed and eased onto the floor, her feet sinking into the soft pile of the white carpet. All she could hear was the summer buzz of insects flying and birds singing. No sounds of human activity. No roars of cars or hums of air planes overhead. No sounds of construction or music floating on the air. Just nature at its purest.

  Her lips tightened as she saw she was wearing white yoga pants and an off-the-shoulder sloppy top. She knew the clothes were not hers and wondered who the hell had dressed her. She crossed on tip-toe to the window and glanced out, checking no one was around. Her mouth dropped at the vista.

  She was in a vast building, a gatehouse for the largest gates she'd ever seen. Her balcony faced meadows and woodland that stretched far into the horizon. Meadows danced with an array of wild, abundant flowers and hummed to the happy buzz of bees. Trees in the woods stretched up to the skies, gigantic gladiators, proud and tall. The foliage was greener and the sky bluer. She'd never seen nature display such vigour or beauty.

  Turning to her left, she studied the gates. They stretched up four stories high and shimmered and shifted. As she looked closer, she realised they were veins of water that twisted and moved, changing patterns, some geometric and others nature-based, all complex and achingly beautiful. The water reflected the colours of the meadows and forests in every twisting vein.

  But where was everyone? There was no sign of humanity. Frowning in confusion, she padded across the floor to the door, eased it open, and peered into the corridor. It was empty except for a row of doors and a console table topped with more of the white roses. The corridor ended in stairs to the lower floor.