The Mummy

Alexandra lay on the cold, stone slab. Her eyes were closed as if she were peacefully dreaming. The black veil that covered her body was the only indication that she was dead. Twelve figures dressed in black knelt around the table where her body lay. The men in the circle were performing prostrations, while chanting O Tem-Heru-Khuti, which in the common tongue means, when thou risest in the horizon of heaven, a cry of joy goeth forth to thee from all the people. This humble supplication rose to Osiris, the Egyptian god of resurrection.

Behind the worshippers stood an ancient sarcophagus, bearing the corpse of the Thutmose, a former Pharaoh of Egypt. Lightning flashed as the group of men continued their bowing. Incense burned in the brazier at the head of the table where Alexandera lay in silent slumber. The group assembled were known as the Order of the Fiery Dawn. They were dedicated to the study of alchemy and finding the secret to eternal life. A few hours prior, Alexandra had drunk poisoned wine from a goblet taken from Thutmose’s tomb. She had agreed to take part in this ritual to reunite the pharaoh with the soul of his long-lost princess, Omorose.

I, Elizabeth Thacker, was curator of the British museum. The Order of the Fiery Dawn was using this facility with my permission. This ritual was a secret to the outside world, and I didn’t want reports of this ceremony being leaked to the local news. As curator of the museum, I knew how to translate hieroglyphs from ancient Egyptian, and the order had invited me to read from the Egyptian book of the dead. We believed that the incantations would call forth the soul of Omorose, which would be incarnated into the body of Alexandra.

. “Ka yateweh, yateweh!”, I exclaimed, my voice reverberating off the walls of the darkened room. Suddenly, there was subtle change in the air. A slight breeze ruffled my hair and caused the candles on the altar to flicker. In the light of the flames, a shadow was moving along the wall, close to where the body of Alexndra lay. The shadow had an ominous, evil shape, like the claw of some demon or monster from the pit of hell.

“Sweet Jesus, what have I done?”, I muttered under my breath.

I thought back to the bible story about King Nebuchadnezzar. You know, how he saw a disembodied hand, writing on the wall after he had raided the temple and used sacred objects at his wild, pagan party? Well, things didn’t turn out so well for him, did it? I really didn’t relish the idea of roaming the countryside like a wild animal, but the feeling I got as the shadow merged with the body of Alexandra made me sense that I might be in for something much worse.

For a moment, I thought that nothing was going to happen. Then, the body of Alexandra convulsed as she raised herself up off the table with a shriek. Oh my God, I thought. I wanted to run and find the nearest exit, but I summoned all my willpower to stay rooted to the ground where I was standing.

Alexandra turned her head in the direction of the sarcophagus containing the mummified remains of Thutmose. She reached her right hand towards the figure that lay resting in the box. Thutmose still lay in his slumber; arms crossed over his chest. His face, devoid of flesh, still carried an expression of serenity as he waited to be escorted into the chamber of the gods. How long had he lain in the sarcophagus? I’m not sure that anyone could say with absolute certainty.

From the corner of my vision, I could see one of the figures in black walking towards the box where Thutmose lay. In his hand, he carried something. It gave off an eerie, blue glow. As the robed figure walked past me, I could see that it was a scarab beetle. Scarabs were sacred to ancient Egyptians and were believed to posses the power to raise the dead. The Egyptian priest lay the scarab onto the chest of Thutmose. The blue light began to pulse with an energy that was hypnotizing. The pulsing light reminded me of a heartbeat, and as I continued to stare, I could hear a faint thumping sound inside of my head. The thumping got louder and louder until I had to cover my ears and sink to the ground. Suddenly, the thumping stopped. Slowly, I uncovered my ears and opened my eyes. I gasped as I looked towards the sarcophagus. The priest who had placed the amulet onto the chest of Thutmose was now helping the mummy step out of the sarcophagus.

“No fucking way”, I said quietly.

Thutmose walked towards Alexandra, whose body was now occupied by the spirit of Omorose. She sat on the edge of the stone slab. The same spot where just a few minutes before her body had lain lifeless. One of the priests handed Thutmose a rose, which he gave to Alexandra. Then, he leaned in to kiss her on the mouth, dead flesh against living flesh. The sight of this spectacle was disgusting to me.

Suddenly, Thutmose turned in my direction. He walked towards me with a wry smile on his rotting face.

“And as for you,” he said in a weak whisper. “I need you. Need your flesh to make me whole.”

At first, I was confused. Needed my flesh to make him whole? Then, the reality of the situation hit me like a ton of bricks.

“No, not me,” I said, backing away in fear.

But Thutmose’s priests had already surrounded me. Two of them grabbed my arms and pinned them behind my back. Then they gagged me with a cloth. I tried my best to struggle, but it was in vain. They carried me to the empty sarcophagus where Thutmose had lain for a couple of thousand years. One of the priests took the scarab beetle and placed it on my chest. That terrible, awful pulsing sounded again in my ears. The blue, pulsing light absorbed into my chest, draining away my strength. Finally, I felt so weak that I could barely keep my eyes open. However, I felt Thutmose’s hand on my chest as he removed the beetle and put it onto his own skin. It was like a miracle. As he absorbed the energy into himself, new flesh started to appear on his skinny, skeletal form. The last thing that I saw before the darkness was the lid of the sarcophagus being slid into place. Finally, I succumbed and closed my eyes, breathing my last.