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500 metres below surface..
#WritcoStoryPrompt35
The discovery was mind blowing by most standards. I mean who unearths an Egyptian mummy after so many centuries?
"Dr.Hima! "
I turn surprised by my assistant's shout. His wide, frightened eyes stare back at me. "What is it, Ron?"
He points at the corner of the mummy's coffin. "That's dried blood, Doctor. I think there's someone else in there with that mummy."
"How is that possible? We dug 500 metres below the surface in this pyramid to excavate this coffin! We surely would have seen some signs of a human activity if there was any."
"Errr...Doctor, I don't think this is fresh human blood from our time. But I will have to scrap some and test it to be sure."
"Hmm.. okay, at least move the mummy to our vacuum-sealed glass box."
Ron turned to obey my fresh orders. Three other people were helping him. They gathered around to move the mummy.
The moment they removed the mummy, they found a deteriorated human body, a woman's remains. They pulled out the body and put it on a stretcher.
"Doctor, the body seems to be at least 300 years old. I wonder how the little mass left on her survived three centuries. She wasn't preserved like the mummy.."
Ron was right. There was something eerie about the whole scene. Why didn't we notice any human activity while excavating 500 metres?
And how did this lady end up 500 metres below earth's surface in this coffin with the mummy?
We turned the body to examine the back. She had a very clear stab wound in her upper spine, although the cut was oddly shaped. It would have been a curved blade, at least 5-inch in length.
"Maybe that's where the blood came from. But we didn't find any weapon here." Now I was thinking out loud.
"Let's keep digging. I am sure we will find some answers." I ordered the team.
"Ma'am, there seems to be a metal door here!" Cooper shouted from a few metres away.
It was badly jammed. All our efforts didn't fruit. We decided to escort the mummy out of the pyramid for further research. Another stretcher was called to take the woman's body out for post mortem.
"Ron, please ensure you take the woman to Dr Simons and keep me posted with everything that he says about her death."
Ron started leading the team out. They put the mummy in a glass coffin especially built to handle such delicate items. The woman's body was put on the stretcher. Just when they picked up the mummy to put in the glass box, we heard a huge bang on the metal door a few metres away.
"What was that?!"
Another bang followed. This time with a heavy weapon that put a dent on the door from inside.
The team put the mummy down. and stood still. Ron looked at me, this time more terrified than before when he had seen blood in the coffin.
The banging increased in speed and intensity. There were three bangs at a time now. How many people were there behind the door?
"Does anyone have a gun?" I enquired.
"Yes, ma'am. I have a 45 mm."
"That should do. Give it to me and everyone out. Ron, you stay with me."
I saw regret, anger and fear in his eyes at the same time. But there was no time for requests and apologies.
The team hurried out panicking. It took a few seconds for the area to be cleared.
The door was about to tear down. I was holding the gun pointed at the door ready to fire at whatever came out. Ron was next to me holding the hoe we used to excavate.
One last massive blow and the door came flying towards us. Both of us fell down and the gun slipped from my hand and fell a few feet away from us. The edge of the door struck Ron on his head and he lost consciousness, blood oozing from his temple.
I somehow managed to crawl out from beneath the heavy metal door and looked at the doorway.
It looked like a cluster of sand in the air, but alive. It moved slowly towards me, but a few feet before my face turned right to look at the mummy on the ground. It moved swiftly towards the mummy and started circling around it.
The mummy lifted upright in the air. I didn't know if I had struck my head too on the door to be hallucinating.
The sand cluster lifted the mummy and carried it through the door. Then everything went silent.
It took me a while to take hold of the situation. The doorway was still open. I started shaking Ron to consciousness.
"Ron! Ron! Wake up!"
After a few moments which seemed like eternity, he regained consciousness with a wince, clutching his head.
"We have to get out now! It is not safe here."
"Why? What happened? Wait...where is the mummy?"
"We don't have time. Get up."
I helped Ron get up. I asked him to start moving while I searched for the gun that had jolted from my hand.
"I will guard our backs on our way out."
It took me a few seconds to locate the gun. I quickly picked it up and turned to leave when something at the doorway caught my eye.
The sand cluster had returned with something sticking out from it. It was a 5 inch long knife, curved at the end. With a blood-curdling scream it darted towards me..
© Ishita Nigam Garg
The discovery was mind blowing by most standards. I mean who unearths an Egyptian mummy after so many centuries?
"Dr.Hima! "
I turn surprised by my assistant's shout. His wide, frightened eyes stare back at me. "What is it, Ron?"
He points at the corner of the mummy's coffin. "That's dried blood, Doctor. I think there's someone else in there with that mummy."
"How is that possible? We dug 500 metres below the surface in this pyramid to excavate this coffin! We surely would have seen some signs of a human activity if there was any."
"Errr...Doctor, I don't think this is fresh human blood from our time. But I will have to scrap some and test it to be sure."
"Hmm.. okay, at least move the mummy to our vacuum-sealed glass box."
Ron turned to obey my fresh orders. Three other people were helping him. They gathered around to move the mummy.
The moment they removed the mummy, they found a deteriorated human body, a woman's remains. They pulled out the body and put it on a stretcher.
"Doctor, the body seems to be at least 300 years old. I wonder how the little mass left on her survived three centuries. She wasn't preserved like the mummy.."
Ron was right. There was something eerie about the whole scene. Why didn't we notice any human activity while excavating 500 metres?
And how did this lady end up 500 metres below earth's surface in this coffin with the mummy?
We turned the body to examine the back. She had a very clear stab wound in her upper spine, although the cut was oddly shaped. It would have been a curved blade, at least 5-inch in length.
"Maybe that's where the blood came from. But we didn't find any weapon here." Now I was thinking out loud.
"Let's keep digging. I am sure we will find some answers." I ordered the team.
"Ma'am, there seems to be a metal door here!" Cooper shouted from a few metres away.
It was badly jammed. All our efforts didn't fruit. We decided to escort the mummy out of the pyramid for further research. Another stretcher was called to take the woman's body out for post mortem.
"Ron, please ensure you take the woman to Dr Simons and keep me posted with everything that he says about her death."
Ron started leading the team out. They put the mummy in a glass coffin especially built to handle such delicate items. The woman's body was put on the stretcher. Just when they picked up the mummy to put in the glass box, we heard a huge bang on the metal door a few metres away.
"What was that?!"
Another bang followed. This time with a heavy weapon that put a dent on the door from inside.
The team put the mummy down. and stood still. Ron looked at me, this time more terrified than before when he had seen blood in the coffin.
The banging increased in speed and intensity. There were three bangs at a time now. How many people were there behind the door?
"Does anyone have a gun?" I enquired.
"Yes, ma'am. I have a 45 mm."
"That should do. Give it to me and everyone out. Ron, you stay with me."
I saw regret, anger and fear in his eyes at the same time. But there was no time for requests and apologies.
The team hurried out panicking. It took a few seconds for the area to be cleared.
The door was about to tear down. I was holding the gun pointed at the door ready to fire at whatever came out. Ron was next to me holding the hoe we used to excavate.
One last massive blow and the door came flying towards us. Both of us fell down and the gun slipped from my hand and fell a few feet away from us. The edge of the door struck Ron on his head and he lost consciousness, blood oozing from his temple.
I somehow managed to crawl out from beneath the heavy metal door and looked at the doorway.
It looked like a cluster of sand in the air, but alive. It moved slowly towards me, but a few feet before my face turned right to look at the mummy on the ground. It moved swiftly towards the mummy and started circling around it.
The mummy lifted upright in the air. I didn't know if I had struck my head too on the door to be hallucinating.
The sand cluster lifted the mummy and carried it through the door. Then everything went silent.
It took me a while to take hold of the situation. The doorway was still open. I started shaking Ron to consciousness.
"Ron! Ron! Wake up!"
After a few moments which seemed like eternity, he regained consciousness with a wince, clutching his head.
"We have to get out now! It is not safe here."
"Why? What happened? Wait...where is the mummy?"
"We don't have time. Get up."
I helped Ron get up. I asked him to start moving while I searched for the gun that had jolted from my hand.
"I will guard our backs on our way out."
It took me a few seconds to locate the gun. I quickly picked it up and turned to leave when something at the doorway caught my eye.
The sand cluster had returned with something sticking out from it. It was a 5 inch long knife, curved at the end. With a blood-curdling scream it darted towards me..
© Ishita Nigam Garg
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