by R. L. Stine
“Wonderful! This is wonderful!” he cried. He stepped forward and shook my uncle’s hand enthusiastically. “Congratulations, everyone!” he boomed. “This is almost too much to believe.”
Uncle Ben’s expression softened. “I still do not understand the need for them,” he said, motioning to the grim-faced officers. “No one in this room is about to steal anything.”
“Certainly not,” Dr. Fielding replied, still squeezing Uncle Ben’s hand. “Certainly not. But word will soon get out, Ben. And I thought we should be prepared to guard what we have found.”
Uncle Ben eyed the four officers suspiciously. But then he shrugged his broad shoulders. “Perhaps you are right,” he told Dr. Fielding. “Perhaps you are being smart.”
“Just ignore them,” Dr. Fielding replied. He slapped my uncle on the back. “I owe you an apology, Ben. I was wrong to try to stop you before. As a scientist, I should have known better. We owed it to the world to open this tomb. I hope you’ll forgive me. We have much to celebrate—don’t we!”
* * *
“I don’t trust him,” Uncle Ben confided that evening as we walked from the tent to dinner. “I don’t trust my partner at all.”
It was a clear night, surprisingly cool. The purple sky was dotted with a million twinkling white stars. A steady breeze made the palm trees sway on the horizon. The big campfire up ahead dipped and shifted with the wind.
“Is Dr. Fielding coming with us to dinner?” Sari asked. She wore a pale green sweater, pulled down over black leggings.
Uncle Ben shook his head. “No, he hurried to phone Cairo. I think he’s eager to tell our backers the good news.”
“He seemed really excited when he saw the mummy and everything,” I said, glancing at the pyramid rising darkly to the evening sky.
“Yes, he did,” my uncle admitted. “He certainly changed his mind in a hurry! But I’m keeping my eye on him. Omar would like nothing better than to take over the project. I’m going to keep an eye on those police officers of his, too.”
“Daddy, this should be a happy night,” Sari scolded. “Let’s not talk about Dr. Fielding. Let’s just talk about Prince Khor-Ru and how you’re going to be rich and famous!”
Uncle Ben laughed. “It’s a deal,” he told her.
Nila waited for us by the campfire. Uncle Ben had invited her to join us for a barbecue. She wore a white sweatshirt over loose-fitting jeans. Her amber pendant caught the light from the half-moon, just rising over the tents.
She looked really pretty. She flashed Uncle Ben a warm smile as we came near. I could tell by his face that he liked her.
“Sari, you’re taller than Gabe, aren’t you!” Nila commented.
Sari grinned. She loved being taller than me, even though I’m a little older.
“Less than an inch,” I said quickly.
“People are definitely getting taller,” Nila said, to my uncle. “Prince Khor-Ru was so short. He’d be a midget today!”
“It makes you wonder why such short people built such tall pyramids,” Uncle Ben said, grinning.
Nila smiled and took his arm.
Sari and I exchanged glances. I could see what Sari was thinking. Her expression said: What’s up with those two?
We had a great dinner. Uncle Ben burned the hamburger rolls a little. But no one really minded.
Sari downed two hamburgers. I could only eat one. That gave her something else to boast about.
I was really getting fed up with my bragging cousin. I found myself trying to think of a way to get back at her.
Nila and Uncle Ben kidded around a lot.
“That burial chamber looked like a movie set,” Nila teased my uncle. “It was all too perfect. All that gold. And that perfect little mummy. It’s all a fake. That’s what I’m going to write in my article.”
Uncle Ben laughed. He turned to me. “Did you check out the mummy, Gabe? Was this one wearing a wristwatch?”
I shook my head. “No wristwatch.”
“See?” Uncle Ben told Nila. “No wristwatch. So it’s got to be real!”
“I guess that proves it,” Nila said, smiling warmly at my uncle.
“Daddy, do you know the words to bring the mummy to life?” Sari broke in. “You know. The words on the tomb that Dr. Fielding was talking about?”
Uncle Ben swallowed the last bite of his hamburger. He wiped the grease off his chin with a napkin. “I can’t believe that a serious scientist would believe such superstition,” he murmured.
“But what are the six words to bring the mummy to life?” Nila demanded. “Come on, Ben. Tell us.”
Uncle Ben’s smile faded. He shook his finger at Nila. “Oh, no!” he declared. “I don’t trust you. If I tell you the words, you’ll bring the mummy back to fife just to get a good photograph for your newspaper!”
We all laughed.
We were sitting around the campfire, its orange light flickering over our faces. Uncle Ben set his plate down on the ground and spread his hands over the fire.
“Teki Kahru Teki Kahra Teki Khari!” he chanted in a deep voice, waving his hands over the flames.
The fire crackled. A twig made a loud popping sound that made my heart skip a beat.
“Are those the secret words?” Sari demanded.
Uncle Ben nodded solemnly. “Those are the words of the hieroglyphs over the entrance to the tomb.”
“So maybe the mummy just sat up and stretched?” Sari asked.
“I’d be very surprised,” Uncle Ben replied, climbing to his feet. “You’re forgetting, Sari—you have to chant the words five times.”
“Oh.” Sari stared thoughtfully into the fire.
I repeated the words in my mind. “Teki Kahru Teki Kahra Teki Khari!” I needed to memorize the words. I had a plan to scare Sari.
“Where are you going?” Nila asked my uncle.
“To the communications tent,” he replied. “I have to make a phone call.” He turned and made his way quickly over the sand toward the row of canvas tents.
Nila let out a surprised laugh. “He didn’t even say goodnight.”
“Daddy’s always like that,” Sari explained, “when he has something on his mind.”
“Guess I’d better go, too,” Nila said, climbing to her feet and brushing sand off her jeans. “I’m going to start writing my story for the paper.”
She said good night and walked quickly away, her sandals making a slapping sound against the sand.
Sari and I sat staring into the crackling fire. The half-moon had floated high in the sky. Its pale light reflected off the top of the pyramid in the distance.
“Nila is right,” I told Sari. “It really did look like a movie set in there.”
Sari didn’t reply. She stared into the fire without blinking, thinking hard. Something in the fire popped again. The sound seemed to snap her out of her thoughts.
“Do you think Nila likes Daddy?” she asked me, her dark eyes locking on mine.
“Yeah, I guess,” I replied. “She’s always giving him this smile.” I imitated Nila’s smile. “And she’s always kind of teasing him.”
Sari thought about my reply. “And do you think Daddy likes her?”
I grinned. “For sure.” I stood up. I was eager to get back to the tent. I wanted to scare Sari.
We walked toward the tents in silence. I guessed that Sari was still thinking about her dad and Nila.
The night air was cool, but it was warm inside the tent. Moonlight filtered through the canvas. Sari pulled her trunk out from under her cot and got down on her knees to search through her clothes.
“Sari,” I whispered. “Dare me to recite the ancient words five times?”
“Huh?” She gazed up from the trunk.
“I’m going to chant the words five times,” I told her. “You know. See if anything happens.”
I expected her to beg me not to. I expected her to get scared and plead: “Please, Gabe—don’t do it! Don’t! It’s too dangerous!”
But, instead, Sari turned back to her clothes trunk. “Hey. Give it a try,” she told me.
“You sure?” I asked her.
“Yeah. Why not?” she replied, pulling out a pair of denim cutoffs.
I stared across the tent at her. Was that fear I saw in her eyes? Was she just pretending to be so casual about it?
Yes. I think Sari was a little scared. And trying hard not to show it.
I took a few steps closer and chanted the ancient words, in the same low voice Uncle Ben had used: “Teki Kahru Teki Kahra Teki Khari!”
Sari dropped the jeans and turned to watch me.
I repeated the chant a second time: “Teki Kahru Teki Kahra Teki Khari!”
A third time.
A fourth time.
I hesitated. I felt a cold breeze tingle the back of my neck.
Should I chant the words again? Should I go for number five?
16
I stared down at Sari.
She had closed the trunk lid and was leaning on it tensely, staring back at me. I could see that she was frightened. She chewed her bottom lip.
Should I chant the words for a fifth time?
I felt another chill at the back of my neck.
It’s just superstition, I told myself. Four-thousand-year-old superstition.
There’s no way that moldy, old mummified prince is going to come back to life just because I recite six words I don’t even know the meaning of!
No way.
I suddenly thought of all the old movies I had rented about mummies in ancient Egypt. In the movies, the scientists always ignored ancient curses warning them not to disturb the mummies’ tombs. Then the mummies always came to life to get their revenge. They staggered around, grabbed the scientists by the throat, and strangled them.
Dumb movies. But I loved them.
Now, staring down at Sari, I saw that she was really scared.
I took a deep breath. I suddenly realized that I felt scared, too.
But it was too late. I had gone too far. I couldn’t chicken out now.
“Teki Kahru Teki Kahra Teki Khari!” I shouted. The fifth time.
I froze—and waited. I don’t know what I expected. A flash of lightning, maybe.
Sari climbed to her feet. She tugged at a strand of dark hair.
“Admit it. You’re totally freaked,” I said, unable to keep a grin from spreading across my face.
“No way!” she insisted. “Go ahead, Gabe. Chant the words again. Chant them a hundred times! You’re not going to scare me! No way!”
But we both gasped when we suddenly saw a dark shadow roll over the tent wall.
And my heart completely stopped when a hoarse voice whispered into the tent: “Are you in there?”
17
My legs trembled as I stumbled back, closer to Sari.
I could see her eyes go wide with surprise—and fear.
The shadow moved quickly toward the tent opening.
We had no time to scream. No time to call for help.
Gaping into the darkness, I saw the flap pull open—and a smooth head poked into the tent.
“Ohhh.” I let out a terrified moan as the dark figure slumped toward us.
The mummy is alive! The horrifying thought swept through my mind as I backed away. The mummy is alive!
“Dr. Fielding!” Sari cried.
“Huh?” I squinted to see better.
Yes. It was Dr. Fielding.
I struggled to say hello. But my heart was pounding so hard, I couldn’t speak. I took a long, deep breath and held it.
“I’m looking for your father,” Dr. Fielding told Sari. “I must see him at once. It’s extremely urgent.”
“He—he’s making a phone call,” Sari replied in a shaky voice.
Dr. Fielding spun around and ducked out of the tent. The flap snapped shut behind him.
I turned to Sari, my heart still pounding. “He scared me to death!” I confessed. “I thought he was in Cairo. When he poked that skinny, bald head into the tent…”
Sari laughed. “He really looks like a mummy—doesn’t he?” Her smile faded. “I wonder why he’s in such a hurry to see Daddy.”
“Let’s follow him!” I urged. The idea just popped into my head.
“Yes! Let’s go!” I hadn’t expected Sari to agree so quickly. But she was already pushing open the tent flap.
I followed her out of the tent. The night had grown cooler. A steady wind made all of the tents appear to shiver.
“Which way did he go?” I whispered.
Sari pointed. “I think that’s the communications tent at the end.” She started jogging across the sand.
As we ran, the wind blew sand against our legs. I heard music and voices from one of the tents. The workers were celebrating the day’s discovery.
The moon cast a strip of light like a carpet along our path. Up ahead, I could see Dr. Fielding’s lanky body, leaning forward, lurching awkwardly toward the last tent.
He disappeared around the side of it. Sari and I stopped a few tents away. We ducked out of the moonlight, into deep shadows where we wouldn’t be seen.
I could hear Dr. Fielding’s booming voice from the communications tent. He was talking rapidly, excitedly.
“What is he saying?” Sari whispered.
I couldn’t make out the words.
A few seconds later, two figures emerged from the tent. Carrying bright flashlights, they crossed the strip of yellow moonlight, then moved quickly into shadow.
Dr. Fielding appeared to be pulling Uncle Ben, pulling him toward the pyramid.
“What’s going on?” Sari whispered, grabbing my sleeve. “Is he forcing Daddy to go with him?”
The wind swirled the sand around us. I shivered.
The two men were talking at the same time, shouting and gesturing with their flashlights. They’re arguing about something, I realized.
Dr. Fielding had a hand on Uncle Ben’s shoulder. Was he shoving Uncle Ben toward the pyramid? Or was Uncle Ben actually leading the way?
It was impossible to tell.
“Let’s go,” I whispered to Sari.
We stepped away from the tent and started to follow them. We walked slowly, keeping them in view, but being careful not to get too close.
“If they turn back, they’ll see us,” Sari whispered, huddling close to me as we crept over the sand.
She was right. There were no trees or bushes to hide behind here in the open desert.
“Maybe they won’t turn back,” I replied hopefully.
We crept closer. The pyramid rose up darkly in front of us.
We saw Dr. Fielding and Uncle Ben stop at the opening in the side. I could hear their excited voices, but the wind carried away their words. They still seemed to be arguing.
Uncle Ben disappeared into the pyramid first. Dr. Fielding went in right behind him.
“Did he shove Daddy in?” Sari demanded in a shrill, frightened voice. “It looked like he pushed him inside!”
“I—I don’t know,” I stammered.
We made our way closer to the entrance. Then we both stopped and stared into the darkness.
I knew we were both thinking the same thing. I knew we both had the same question on our lips:
Should we follow them in?
18
Sari and I exchanged glances.
The pyramid seemed so much bigger at night, so much darker. The gusting wind howled around its walls, as if warning us to stay back.
We crept behind a pile of stones left by the workers. “Let’s wait out here for Daddy to come out,” Sari suggested.
I didn’t argue with her. We had no flashlights, no light of any kind. I didn’t think we’d get very far wandering the dark tunnels by ourselves.
I pressed up against the smooth stones and stared at the pyramid opening. Sari gazed up at the half-moon. Thin wisps of cloud floated over it. The ground darkened in front of us.
“You don’t think Daddy is in any kind of trouble, do you?�
� Sari asked. “I mean, he told us he didn’t trust Dr. Fielding. And then—”
“I’m sure Uncle Ben is okay,” I told her. “I mean, Dr. Fielding is a scientist. He’s not a criminal or anything.”
“But why did he force Daddy into the pyramid in the middle of the night?” Sari asked shrilly. “And what were they arguing about?”
I shrugged in reply. I didn’t remember ever seeing Sari so frightened. Normally, I would have enjoyed it. She always bragged about how brave and fearless she was—especially compared to me.
But there was no way I could enjoy this. Mainly because I was just as scared as she was!
It did look as if the two scientists were fighting. And it did look as if Dr. Fielding pushed Uncle Ben down into the pyramid.
Sari crossed her arms over her sweater again and narrowed her eyes at the opening. The wind fluttered her hair, blowing strands across her forehead. But she made no attempt to brush them away.
“What could be so important?” she demanded. “Why did they have to go into the pyramid now? Do you think something was stolen? Aren’t those police officers from Cairo down there guarding the place?”
“I saw the four policemen leave,” I told her. “They piled into their little car and drove away, just before dinner. I don’t know why. Maybe they were called back to the city.”
“I—I’m just so confused,” Sari admitted. “And worried. I didn’t like the look on Dr. Fielding’s face. I didn’t like the way he was so rude, just bursting into the tent like that. Scaring us to death. Not even saying hi.”
“Calm down, Sari,” I said softly. “Let’s just wait. Everything will be okay.”
She let out a sigh, but didn’t say anything in reply.
We waited in silence. I don’t know how much time went by. It seemed like hours and hours.
The slivers of cloud drifted away from the moon. The wind continued to howl eerily around the side of the pyramid.
“Where are they? What are they doing in there?” Sari demanded.
I started to reply—but stopped when I saw a flicker of light at the pyramid opening.