Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Battle Begins

 

***

 

Unable to sleep, Rick woke in the early morning darkness.  The other slaves slept all around him, but Rick knew that it was time for him to wake.  He blinked rapidly, accustoming his eyes to the dim light.  The very air around him shivered with tension.

 

Slipping out of the slaves’ quarters, he walked, feeling the cool night air against his face, trying to relax.  But something kept him awake, urged him onward.  In his gut he knew that today was the day, the day he had been waiting for these last two years.

 

No one stirred.  Rick walked around the slave compound completely alone, cold in the morning dampness.  His eyes roved over the huge black gates that stood between himself and the desert–and freedom.  They stood, locked, huge testaments to Imhotep’s power over those he had conquered.

 

Rick sighed and exhaled softly in the silence.  He turned, his eyes falling on Imhotep’s golden castle.  The giant palace lay darkened and colorless behind him in the early morning.

 

Abruptly he turned away from Imhotep’s palace, leaving it behind him, and turned to face east.  He was ready to watch the rising sun, the dawn of the most important battle ever to be fought.

 

Rick stood alone, quietly, ready to face his destiny.

 

And he felt Anjelica’s hand brush his own.

 

Somehow, for some reason, he was not startled, nor surprised.  He did not turn his head to look at her face, although he knew what he would see: dark hair, grubby clothes, her solid features dim in the meager light.

 

He did not question her.  The same force which had driven him to the dawn had driven her too, both of them from their beds to the dawning of the final day of judgement.

 

Rick and Anjelica stood together, alone, in the darkness of the early morning.  The sun had not yet appeared but the sky was slowly lightening all around them.  He could feel her presence, calm and soothing by his side.  She was alert and ready, and Rick felt a small seed of comfort stealing through him.

 

The tender wind brushed through Rick’s hair, and he could feel it ruffle against his skin.  He tightened his fists.  He was ready.

 

Rick licked his lips, allowing his thoughts to drift over the night before.

 

The previous night Rick, Adil, and Anjelica had spread the word among the slaves.  Speaking quietly, casually, all three had informed as many prisoners as they could of the coming Med Jai attack. 

 

The news traveled quickly around the camp in the dark hours of the night.  Secrecy was imperative, but a year and a half in a forced labor camp had taught everyone how to be cautious.  Rick was satisfied at the level of restraint and control that the men he spoke to showed.  Most of them probably did not believe that an attack was actually going to happen, but it did not matter.  As long as they were ready for the possibility, they could join in the fight.

 

Rick closed his eyes, steadying his churning mind.  He never remembered having this feeling before a battle before–the fluttering in his gut, the hard knot of nervousness in his stomach.

 

He had never been afraid because he had never lost.  Now he knew that he could lose everything.

 

“Rick,” Anjelica breathed beside him.  Rick opened his eyes.

 

Dawn had arrived to Egypt.

 

The sun peaked over the rim of the desert.  The golden rays filled the morning, stretching across the dewy sand, to where Rick and Anjelica quickly shielded their eyes against the brilliant glare.

 

The burning light shone across the morning, warming the sand under their feet, filling the world with light.  The burning ray warmed his forehead, and for a moment, Rick’s vision wavered, and he was not sure what he saw...he stood, kissed by the sun, blessed by the new day...

 

The two solitary souls stood on the sand, looking past the barbed wire fences, taking in the endless desert before them.  Without knowing why, Rick felt his body turning, and he twisted to see Imhotep’s palace.

 

The golden castle had been dulled in the darkness of the early morning.  But now it shone, glimmering brightly in the sunlight.  The gold walls glistened and shimmered.  It almost seemed that the palace was winking at them.

 

 

***

 

Dawn would break soon.

 

Ardeth, Jonathan, Hubert, and the Med Jai army stood in the dimness of the early morning, assembled in military formation in the open desert.  They stood, waiting tensely, about a mile from Imhotep’s palace.

 

They had been hiding in the mountains to the west, behind Imhotep’s grand palace, which faced east to the rising sun.  They now stood, facing the palace’s grand backside, waiting for the sun to rise.

 

It had taken all night to sneak the entire army down to the desert.  Tensed and quiet, the few hundred warriors had climbed slowly down the mountains.  Now the army was finally ready, and Ardeth stood, waiting, at the head of his warriors.

 

Jonathan stood next to him, and next to Jonathan stood Hubert.  On Ardeth’s other side Rashid stood, his scimitar gleaming in the early light.

 

Pierre and a small group of Med Jai had already snuck forward to break open the slaves’ quarters and free the prisoners.  But all of the Med Jai were waiting for Ardeth’s signal to begin.

 

And no one knew what Ardeth was waiting for.

 

Jonathan fingered the gun in his belt nervously, searching the face of his friend.  Ardeth seemed serene and composed, completely the opposite of the anxious distress Jonathan himself was feeling.  That man always seems so calm and undisturbed, Jonathan grumbled to himself.  Why does my face betray every fearful thought that crosses my mind?

 

“What are we waiting for?” Rashid’s voice echoed softly in the growing light.

 

“I’m not sure,” Ardeth replied slowly.

 

Ardeth turned over his shoulder, letting his piercing gaze sweep over the Med Jai army behind him.  They had all lost their horses long ago.  They stood plainly in their dark robes, armed with nothing but their scimitars.  Ardeth’s heart swelled with pride as he looked on them.  They were fulfilling their duty to the land of their ancestors.  And they were following him.

 

He loved his people so much. 

 

But he would have to sacrifice them.

 

Ardeth knew: in this battle many of his people must die.  He took a deep breath, trying to control his emotions.  He knew that he had made the right decision.  He knew he would lead the Med Jai into this battle a thousand times over.  But deciding to attack made him responsible, in part, for the deaths of his friends.

 

They had to fight to free the world and fulfill their duty.  They had no choice as warriors, as men, and as Med Jai.

 

But Ardeth’s heart twisted.  He had waited so long for this moment, and now, when the day of battle was finally upon him, Ardeth still grappled with the human cost of fulfilling his duty.

 

There are no answers.  Only choices.

 

“Ardeth,” Jonathan breathed beside him, and Ardeth turned away from the Med Jai behind him.  His turned his face east to watch as the dawn broke before them.  It was so beautiful.  For a moment, Ardeth wondered how a world that had so much beauty could contain so much evil.

 

 

***

 

 

Rick shielded his eyes against the newborn sun.  He squinted at Anjelica, and he could see the sun glinting in the grey of her eyes.  But what–the light was fading–

 

Clouds abruptly began sliding, slowly, across the horizon.  They were moving slowly towards the sun.

 

“The light–” Anjelica’s voice died in her throat.

 

The clouds moved to where the burning sun lay low in the sky, moving to block the sun’s fiery rays.  Abruptly, the light faded, the rays trapped behind the white clouds.  Rick dropped his hand, no longer needing it to shield his eyes.  The desert before him was still light–but it was a muted light, the glory of the sun covered and hidden from their eyes.

 

He did not move, watching as the clouds that covered the sun began to grey, darkening before his eyes.  The blue sky faded, as though it might rain, and the clouds looked darker and heavier.

 

“What’s happening?” Anjelica asked, twisting her hands together nervously.

 

“The earth is bunkering down for a fight,” Rick replied.  His calloused hands tightened around the manacles fastened on his wrists.

 

 

***

 

 

The sun shone brightly across the desert towards where the Med Jai were gathered.  The backside of the castle looked dull and dim, and that lack of brilliance somehow comforted Ardeth.

 

“When will we begin?” Rashid pressed, nervously drawing and brandishing his sword.

 

Ardeth sighed, pressing his lips together.  “I will know when I know.”

 

Rashid wisely remained silent.  Behind him, Ardeth could hear the nervous breathing of his army.  He sighed, hoping they were ready.

 

“The light–Ardeth, old chap, the light’s going–” Jonathan’s amazed voice cut through the air.

 

Ardeth looked up abruptly, watching as clouds covered the sun and the sky darkened before him.  The sky continued to slowly grey overhead.  The wind picked up and Ardeth could feel the breeze through his hair.

 

And he knew that the Gods themselves were preparing for this battle.

 

It was time.

 

Ardeth sighed.  He reached down to the sand and lifted the black Book of the Dead.  At Ardeth’s nod Jonathan lifted the key out of his pocket.  Placing it in the book’s lock and turning it expertly, the book slowly clicked open.

 

Jonathan looked for the last time upon the cover, his eyes alighting once again on the winged scarab.  The chiseled image gleamed on the dark obsidian.

 

 

***

 

 

Rick and Anjelica still stood, facing the gray dawn.  Slaves and guards alike stood in the open slave compound, but hardly anyone moved.  Everyone was oddly silent and still in the morning.  They were all watching the rapidly greying sky.

 

The sky continued to darken, turning a dark gray, and the clouds hung heavily.  The wind picked up, blowing ominously through the camp.

 

It was as though everyone–slaves and mummies alike–recognized that today was different from all other days.  Everyone waited, tensed and poised, for what would happen.

 

Rick shivered in the cool air, although not from chill.

 

“What are we waiting for, Rick?” Anjelica asked, finally breaking the silence.

 

Rick sighed, watching as the sky seemed to turn a shade darker.  “I don’t know,” he confessed, feeling a breeze blow through the camp.

 

“The world is darkening.” Anjelica shivered. 

 

Rick gave her a quick smile of reassurance.  “But we’re ready for it.”

 

She sighed and looked down, tucking some of her sandy brown hair behind her ears.  “I was in the military for fifteen years.  But I don’t know if it will be enough.”

 

“Who can say how much is enough?”  Rick looked back up at the sky.  “We will each give whatever we can.  There’s no other way.”

 

The two stood in silence, mentally readying themselves for whatever would come.

 

“Rick–” she hesitated.  “If I don’t live through this battle, will you find my father?”

 

Rick looked at her, then nodded silently.

 

Anjelica sighed, pressing her lips together to keep her churning emotions in control.

 

As if to answer her unspoken thoughts, Rick spoke, his voice rough with feeling.  “After this day–” Rick’s voice caught in his throat.  “After this day there will only be one side left.”

 

She looked into Rick’s eyes, finally admitting aloud the thoughts that had been plaguing her these past few days.  “I don’t want to live in this world anymore if there are no choices.  If all we can do is follow the whims of a madman.”

 

“If Imhotep wins this battle there will be no world left.”  Rick sighed, closing his eyes and exhaling heavily.  “I won’t live in this world any longer without my wife and son.”

 

Anjelica’s eyes glistened as she looked on the face of her friend.  “Oh Rick,” she murmured, strands of her tangled brown hair dancing across her face.  “We will triumph.  We must.”

 

Rick swallowed, finally looking over and meeting her eyes.  She was tall for a woman and only a few inches shorter than him.  He gave her a faint smile.  “Thank you.”

 

She nodded, biting her lip, looking at him tenderly.  He was the brother she never had.  “I’m ready.”

 

Rick turned, looking back out into the desert.  “I’ve been ready for two years.”

 

Anjelica looked up at the sky, the clouds darkening and muting all but a tiny bit of sunlight.  She licked her lips nervously.  “I’m ready.  But I’m not afraid of this battle, Rick.”

 

He looked down at her, her long brown hair whipping around her head.  “What are you afraid of?”

 

She met his eyes.  “What happens after.”

 

The pair silently readied themselves for whatever would come.

 

 

***

 

 

For the first time in his life, Jonathan said nothing.  Releasing the key, he swallowed and knew his hands were shaking.  He was more scared than he had ever been in his life.  But he had never been more determined.

 

Ardeth, meeting Jonathan’s eyes, recognized the look in them.  Giving his friend a quick nod of support and encouragement, Ardeth swung open the cover of the Book of the Dead.

 

There he paused.  He stopped and took one last look behind him at the Med Jai army.  Finally, taking one, final deep breath, Ardeth turned his gaze and his concentration to the Book of the Dead.  Opening his mouth, Ardeth prepared to read aloud the sacred words that would bring the dead from their graves to walk once again upon the shattered earth.

 

And Ardeth began to speak.

 

The words, hallowed and ancient, flowed from his mouth.  Spoken only a few times in recorded history, the words were the floodgates of incredible power.  They were the ability to change time, the ability to alter the irreversible human procession of birth, life, and death. 

 

Once spoken, the words blurred the line between the dead and the living.

 

“Sooayah Haram Aktus Sinmas Ibet Baya Imatipen Simpeek et Sooay Eyatooway Eyatooway Eyatooway.”

 

The eternal words echoed from Ardeth’s mouth.  He looked up from the dark text, bracing himself for whatever would come.  The entire Med Jai army waited, tensed, for the response.

 

And then it came.

 

With a sudden crash and a roar, the very earth before them cracked and split apart.

 

The desert sands slid into the opening abyss, the earth shaking and trembling beneath them.  The Med Jai staggered in the earthquake, struggling to remain standing as the split in the earth widened.  Tremors spread out for miles as Ardeth could see the entire desert as far as the eye could see shaking and shuddering.

 

The Black Book fell from Ardeth’s hands as he staggered.  The book fell, sliding with the sand towards the great opening chasm in the earth.

 

“No!” Ardeth yelled, but his voice was drowned out by the screaming wind.  He watched stricken as the book slid towards the cleaving desert.

 

But he couldn’t stop it as it slid, sand sliding and covering it, until the book suddenly disappeared, falling into the gaping hole to the underworld.  “It’s gone,” Ardeth whispered to himself in shock.  All around him the Med Jai were shouting, struggling to maintain control as the earth trembled and roared beneath them.

 

Chunks of sand flew into Ardeth’s eyes and he covered his face with his hands, desperately resisting falling to his knees.

 

And the fabric of time rippled as the earth parted, perverting and twisting the natural human cycles of life and death.  Ardeth watched, frozen in disbelief and fear at what he had done.

 

 

***

 

 

Rick heard a huge rumbling and a crack of thunder, and suddenly the very earth beneath his feet began to shake.  The desert beneath him trembled and shook violently.  Rick shouted and fell to his knees, shutting his eyes as a gust of sand blew into his face.

 

He quickly opened them again, grabbing Anjelica’s arm from where she crouched next to him on the sand.  Shouting filled the air as people began running, desperate to escape the shaking earth.  Men and women stumbled and fell, screaming for help.

 

Rick could hear the sounds of the mummy guards bellowing as the slaves disobeyed orders.  He helped Anjelica up, the two of them surrounded by frantic and panicking prisoners.

 

Some of the mummy guards began running away from the rebelling slaves towards their special locked entrance.  “Imhotep!” one of them brayed, brandishing its sword.  Its dark body oozing in the gray light, the beast turned and sprinted frantically towards the exit, shouting for its master.

 

There was complete confusion as the slaves began to revolt.

 

 

***

 

 

Ardeth stared at the fantastical scene unraveling before him.  He blinked, sure what he saw was a fantasy or an illusion of his exhausted mind.  He blinked again, disbelieving what he saw, the sight utterly surreal.

 

From the bowels of the earth came the dead, marching stiffly towards the living.

 

The entire army of dead burst from the underworld to the surface of the desert in streams, walking stiffly, their hands at their sides.  Row after row of them emerged, each perfectly in formation.  Each second thousands more emerged, falling into place beside their dead comrades.

 

“They have no weapons,” Rashid yelled to Ardeth over the loud noises.

 

“No matter!” Ardeth screamed back against the wind.  “They’re only a distraction!”

 

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the entire army surfaced.  Before him stood hundreds of thousands of dead bodies in military formation, awaiting orders.  With a jolt, the great chasm in the earth shuddered and began to close, spitting up sand as it contracted.

 

Finally the walls of the earth joined together with a roar, the pathway to the underworld once again closed.

 

The army stood, still and waiting.  Ardeth and the Med Jai straightened in the sudden quiet and stillness.  Ardeth’s gaze roved over where the chasm had been.  It looked pure, pristine, flat: as though it had never happened.

 

He looked behind him quickly at the Med Jai army.  They were ruffled and wary, but ready.  Ardeth turned towards the army of the dead.

 

They were ready for their orders.

 

“To the palace!” Ardeth screamed, his voice echoing across the sand.  “Kill Imhotep!”

 

And the army, thousands and thousands of dead soldiers, as well as the Med Jai warriors, began marching towards the palace.

 

 

***

 

Pierre reached the gates of the slaves quarters first.  With about twenty Med Jai warriors closely behind, they charged the huge black gates.  Within, they could see men and women running around, yelling and screaming, some desperately trying to get off their chains, others trying to hide, yet others battling the mummy guards where they stood with whatever weapons they had found lying around.

 

“On three!” one of the Med Jai shouted, and the warriors charged the gates.  They hurled their weight against it, and the gates heaved, groaning.

 

“One more time!” Pierre echoed, and the twenty warriors threw themselves again at the great gates.  The gates leaned back but did not break.

 

“Again!” the cry was heard, and the Med Jai heaved their forms at the huge gate.  Finally, with a groan, it broke open.

 

The prisoners now had access to the open desert.

 

 

***

 

 

The Med Jai came in attacking, cutting down the mummies where they saw them and freeing the slaves when they could.

 

Pierre edged through the mess, sand flying up into his face as he tried to find the one man he was looking for.

 

He narrowly dodged a blade from a mummy and kept going.  All around him Med Jai were cutting the chains off of the men and giving them weapons to fight Imhotep.

 

Pierre coughed in the dust as a burly man pushed into him, but Pierre kept going.  He heard shouts of freedom as people began running towards the broken gates.

 

Finally he saw the man he wanted.  The legend himself stood, tensed and ready, his arm clutching a brown haired woman.  They stood cautiously against the side of a building, warily watching the screaming and fighting slaves and mummies.

 

Pierre walked up quickly, hanging his sword at his side, and approached them.  He met Rick’s eyes.  “So you are O’Connell.” 

 

The broad shouldered man looked back at him warily, then held out his chained hands.

 

Without a word Pierre swung his sword down, breaking the chains that held Rick’s wrists together.  Rick shook off the manacles, rubbing his wrists.  He looked up at Pierre.

 

The two men stared at each other.

 

A grin crept across Rick’s dusty face.  “Call me Rick.”

 

Pierre grinned back.  “Pierre.  Friend of your brother-in-law.  I’ve heard a lot about you.”

 

Rick smiled, happily taking the sword Pierre handed to him.  “Glad to meet you.”

 

“Anjelica,” the woman said, holding out her arms.

 

Pierre quickly sliced off her manacles as well.  She sighed with satisfaction.  “Thanks,” she said simply.

 

“Let’s get out of here,” Pierre began, about to fill them in on the rest of the plan.

 

“O’Connell!” A mummy bellowed, its black oozing body striding menacingly towards him.  The soldier mummy drew a sword, brandishing it as he paced towards Rick.  “O’Connell!”

 

“I hate mummies,” Rick muttered to himself.  He sighed and turned the sword expertly in his hand, watching the undead creature come for him.  “I’ll take care of this,” Rick said resignedly.

 

Pierre and Anjelica watched with interest as the mummy stalked towards their friend.

 

Rick tensed, ready.

 

The mummy threw himself at him and Rick expertly dodged the creature’s blade.  The mummy’s weight carried him past Rick, and turning, Rick swung the sword over his head and sliced it through the mummy’s neck.

 

“I’ve missed my weapons,” Rick commented dryly as the mummy’s head lopped off, falling onto the sand.

 

“Nice,” Pierre commented admiringly, his lower lip jutting out in appreciation.

 

More slaves rushed by them, tossing off their manacles as they ran for cover and freedom.  Most did not understand that a final battle was being waged, but they understood that this was their chance at liberty from Imhotep.

 

Rick, Pierre, and Anjelica stood over the headless body of the mummy, watching the commotion.  Most of the guards had fled, searching for Imhotep.  A few had stayed to fight, but they were no match for the Med Jai and for the angry slaves. 

 

Anjelica reached down and pried the sword from the prone mummy’s hand.  She lifted it and swung it, testing its weight and feel.  “It’s been a long time,” she admitted, admiring the long golden blade.

 

“Let’s get out of here,” Pierre said again, gesturing to the huge black gates which had been smashed open.

 

“Sounds great,” Rick said, taking a step towards them.  Suddenly, he heard slicing sound.  He half turned to see a mummy explode before his eyes.  The decomposed body flew apart, a shower of black goo raining down on him.

 

“Yuk!” Rick exclaimed.  As the mummy’s spray fell to the ground, he saw Anjelica standing in ready position, her sword naked in her hand.

 

She shrugged.  “He wanted to cut off your head.”

 

Rick looked down at the gooey mess on the ground.  “Thanks,” he said grinning.

 

“Let’s go, Rick,” she responded, swinging the golden blade.  The three of them turned and began running towards the smashed black gates.

 

As they reached the gates, Rick slowed, taking one last look at the place that had been his home for a year and a half.   Chains and blood filled the sandy ground.  Mummy and human bodies alike lay, dead and dying.  Screams and yells filled the air as people ran for freedom, shoving each other in their attempt at reaching the open desert.  It was a mess: a brutal, bloody mess.

 

The battle was just beginning.

 

Rick sighed, turning and seeing the way to freedom.  All he had to do was step outside of these gates.  He began walking, beyond the huge black gates, and into the desert.  He was leaving that part of his life behind him forever. 

 

He would never again be a slave.

 

 

***

 

Rick, Pierre, and Anjelica broke into a run.  As they cleared the giant slaves compound, all three skidded to a halt.  They stood, shocked and still, staring amazed at the sight that greeted them.

 

Thousands of the dead were marching alongside the Med Jai warriors towards the palace.  Pierre’s mouth gaped open at the dead masses coming towards him.

 

Rick tightened his grip on his sword.  This was it.  The battle had begun.

 

 

***