“Wilson,” I blurted, “keep your eyes peeled. Something’s about to come up.”
“Understood.”
We continued to travel down the steps for what felt like an hour. When I felt my foot reach the final step, Osaze came to an abrupt halt and waved the torch from side to side. Taking a deep breath in, he brought the torch down and blew into it, spewing fire in a wide fan in front of him. Blue flames appeared above us on torches that stuck out of the walls, lining up and leading up to a massive stone door. On the door was a faded hieroglyphic of a man standing tall, his hands crossed and holding a curved, hooked crook in one hand and a flail in the other.
I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing. My years of research brought me to these pyramids in search of finding treasure from the ancient times, things that were rumored to unlock the very fabrics of time itself—the cure to life and death, total immortality. Scientific breakthroughs were just behind that door. Behind that door was the very thing that was going to get my name printed in history books.
“The tomb of Osiris… We found the tomb of Osiris…” I struggled to contain my overwhelming excitement. My cheeks warmed up, my breathing began racing, and I could feel my heartbeat in the palm of my hands. My legs began moving on their own, bringing me closer and closer to the door. A strange, maniacal laugh came out as I kept speaking, “The sarcophagus of the god of the underworld is just on the other side of that door.”
“Lucia, are you okay?” Wilson called out.
I continued laughing, my hands pressing against the door. The cracks and fractures on the door rubbed under my finger tips as I swiped away at spider webs. The door itself was icy to the touch, stinging me after just a few seconds, but my excitement made me endure the pain without issue. I slammed on the door, almost knocking for somebody to open it from the other side.
“We found the resting place of a god! Let me inside!”
I pounded away at the door, trying to force it open, but it lead to no avail. Dust clouds formed under my hands, getting into my face and making me cough. Swatting away the clouds from my face, I tried to regain my breath. With things finally calming down, I noticed something heavy resting on top of my hand. Small, tiny pricks pierced the top of my hand, latching onto me. Some strange golden mass clung to me. I stared at it and the top of it opened up, spouting thin bug wings that buzzed away. A small head emerged on the front, bright red eyes on top. Two sets of limbs came out from underneath, wrapping around me.
“A golden scarab?”
“It seems the gods has chosen you…” Osaze said as he approached me.
I stared at him, still feeling the high of discovering a dead god’s tomb, “Chosen for what?”
“Rebirth.”
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Copyright © 2021 by Luka Tatsujo
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