House of Scarabs

by Hazel Longuet

  They ran down one of the side wings to a large row of sarcophagi. One had an intact lid resting on four wooden posts. The gap between the lid and the sarcophagus was just large enough to allow a body through – a careful body. Both the top of the walls and the bottom of the lid appeared finely finished and as smooth as polished glass.

  Ben jumped three feet down into the antechamber in which it rested. The granite behemoth was taller than him. He circled it, inspecting for holes, cracks, or imperfections that could let the insidious gas seep in to them.

  "Guys, the air's much clearer down here. It seems the Ammonia is denser up higher. This big fella appears intact and as good a choice as we've got. We'd just need to get inside and then kick those lid supports out. But if we do that, how the hell will we get out again? And who's saying we won't come face-to-face with the gas men if, by some miracle, we're able to get the lid off and escape?"

  Gerhard's rake-thin body was racked with deep coughs, and his eyes streamed torrents. He asked for a helping hand and lowered himself down into the antechamber. He didn't answer at once, his hands on his knees, bent as he waited to recover his breath from the coughing fit.

  "I'm afraid, my dear boy, we don't have too many other options. Our little guides protected us in Black Cat Books. I see we have little choice other than to trust them with our welfare again."

  Ellie clambered down. Her eyes looked like a red eyeliner had vigorously attacked them. "Come on, then. Decision made. Let's jump to it," she agreed.

  Ben crouched down, linking his hands to create a step for Gerhard to use to ease himself up the side of the coffin. He grabbed the top edge and wriggled his way cautiously beneath several tonnes of granite lid.

  Ellie chewed her lip. "Gerhard, be careful not to hit the wooden posts," she urged.

  "Don't worry, liebling. I'm good."

  "You next, Ells."

  "No, hang on a moment. How are you going to get in?" Ellie asked.

  Ben studied the area and pointed at a pile of rubble. "I'll go get one of those rocks and use it to climb inside."

  "It makes more sense for you to go next, rest on the rim, and reach down and pull me up. You're stronger."

  Ben weighed the options and gestured for Ellie to help him with the rocks. Together, they shunted a huge lump of sandstone to rest at the side of the coffin.

  Ben clambered up the rock. "Okay, Ellie, give me a bunk up then."

  With a grunt, Ellie helped push him onto the sarcophagus. Ben wriggled around, balancing his body on its pivot point and reached down to haul Ellie up. She eased between the gap and dropped inside, landing lightly.

  “Guys, take your belts off and pass them to me," Ben said as he wriggled free of his own. "I'll loop them around the support posts, and we'll use them to pull the struts away and drop the lid down into its resting place." After sliding and wriggling along the rim, securing the belts to the struts, he slipped down to join the other two. Pointing at the front left-hand strut, he said, "I'll pull this one first, so we can retrieve the belt and fasten it to the fourth post over there. We must pull the others simultaneously, so the lid lands true."

  Coughing slightly, Ellie turned to Gerhard, whose face was in the partial shade. “Ready, Herr Webber?"

  He smiled at her and saluted. "Ready as I can be, my dear."

  She rushed to his side and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. Surprised by the unusually affectionate gesture, Gerhard drew her towards him and patted her cheek.

  "Together, we will survive, mein liebling, for together, we are stronger than our separate parts." He turned to Ben. "Let's do it now, Ben, before the air in here becomes more polluted."

  Ben wrapped the belt straps for the first post around his hands and, using his feet as leverage against the walls, pulled with all his might. The post slid across the rim with almost zero resistance and crashed into the sarcophagus. Ben tumbled down onto his rear end with a thud.

  Patting the dust off, he said, "I didn't expect that. I thought I'd need to give it a strong tug. Those surfaces must be super slick." He bent to retrieve the belt. "Righto, Ells, you climb up onto my shoulders and secure the belt onto the last post."

  With all the belts secured, they each chose a strut and grabbed the belts. Ben wished them luck and counted them down. "Three, two, one, pull!"

  All three fell as the lid slammed down into place and the posts flew down on them. The darkness was absolute, and the boom had deafened them.

  “Well, that was spectacular," Ben quipped. "I think it's fair to say the lid is now well and truly closed."

  Ellie groaned. "I'm frightened to move in case it slides down onto us," she whispered. "Gerhard, are you okay?"

  Silence.

  "Gerhard, can you answer me?"

  Ellie turned onto her hands and knees, feeling around in the darkness. She moved, easing herself towards Gerhard's corner, calling for him. Her hand patted fabric, sliding up what she realised was a leg. A stationary leg. She eased up the body, shaking slightly as she moved.

  "Ben, come over to Gerhard, and for God's sake, turn on your mobile's light."

  Ben scurried over, blinding Ellie as he switched it on directly into her eyes. He gasped as the light illuminated their friend.

  Gerhard lay sprawled across the bottom of the tomb, one leg stuck out to one side crookedly and one arm under his body. Around his head, the dust had darkened in a spreading pool of blood, which oozed from a jagged cut on his forehead.

  "Jeez, Gerhard, can you hear me? If so, answer me, buddy, or squeeze Ellie's hand."

  No response. He neither moved nor appeared conscious.

  Ellie put her head to his chest and her hand to his mouth. "He's breathing, and his heart sounds normal."

  Ben eased Gerhard onto his side and rolled his own jacket up as a pillow, sliding it with care under his head. "We need to stop the bleeding. Head wounds can bleed profusely. Tear off a strip of your shirt, Ellie."

  Ellie threw her backpack from her shoulders and rummaged inside, bringing out a small first aid box. "No need. I have bandages and plasters in here.”

  “Only you, Ells! Well, thank God for your control-freak tendencies," Ben said with a shake of his head.

  Ellie ignored him, pulling out antiseptic wipes, cream, and bandages. She turned her full attention to Gerhard, dusting away a smudge of dirt with care from his angled cheekbone. As she worked, she kept up a full, gentle commentary, telling Gerhard everything she was doing and apologising repeatedly in case she was hurting him.

  As she cleaned the wound, it was clear the cut was deep. "This needs stitches, Ben. I'm not certain these sticky plasters will hold."

  Ben glanced down and nodded. "Do your best, Ellie. We're low on options. To be honest, I'm more worried about his colour. He’s deadly pale."

  As their ears adjusted to the pressure, they heard the rattle of Gerhard's breaths slowing. Each breath had a large gap between it and the next. Every rise of his chest became more laboured.

  Ben pulled Gerhard's shirt to one side and pressed his ear to his chest. "Gerhard, man, stay with us. Fight, damn it. Don't let these bastards win. Come on."

  They heard a gentle rasp of breath. His chest rose no more.

  "NO!" Ellie screamed. "No, Gerhard, no!"

  Ben leapt onto him, turned him onto his back, adjusted his head, and gave Gerhard mouth-to-mouth. "Ellie, sing 'Staying Alive' by the Bee Gees. Don't argue; just do it. Now lock your fingers together, knuckles up, and press down, hard and fast, in time to the beat of the song. GO!"

  Ellie's anguish paralysed her as silent tears washed her cheeks.

  "Ellie, NOW, for God's sake!"

  She hummed the tune and did as Ben asked. He adjusted her hand placement and then she pumped down two inches into Gerhard's chest rhythmically in time to the music. They worked, stopping to check for a pulse or breath, and continued again when finding neither.

  "Gerhard, buddy. Come on, FIGHT! God damn it to hell. Fight!" Ben screamed in frustration. Ellie worked l
ike an automation, tears pouring, whilst singing the seventies disco classic.

  After ten minutes, Ben reached across and stilled Ellie's hands. She glanced up, waiting for him to check for a pulse. "Ellie, sweetheart, he's gone. We've lost him."

  She looked up at him, grabbed his shirt, and shook him. "No, we don't give up, not while he's got a chance. Come on..." She went back to giving heart compressions. "Ben, we're his only chance. Keep him breathing."

  Ben circled Gerhard's body and pulled Ellie away. She turned on him, kicking and throwing punches. He grabbed her from behind, hauled her to the farthest corner of the tomb, and pulled her down into his lap.

  "Ells, I'd do anything to keep him alive, but he's gone. We did our best, but the force of the post hitting him was too much for his body to absorb."

  Keening wails rose from Ellie as shudders racked her body. "No, Gerhard, no!"

  Ben just pulled her closer and pressed kisses down onto the top of her hair. They sat with just the noise of Ellie's tears for a long time until her grief quietened down into little hiccupped sobs. Ben rocked them, lost in his own thoughts.

  The yellow glow of the mobile faded, eventually tipping them into a deep, velvet black that knew no grey. It muffled their ears as much as it deprived their eyes. Ellie huddled in closer to Ben, burying her face into the arch of his neck.

  "Ellie, we still have to face this situation. Okay, we're in here, safe from the gas, but at some point, the people who did this will come and check their handiwork, and we can't be here then." He shuffled a little to find a more comfortable spot. "We need to honour Gerhard by getting to the bottom of this and surviving."

  Ellie pulled away as if to study his face. "We need answers and vengeance. I will not lose another person I care for while chasing ghosts and stupid mythological gods for Lord knows what reason. We'll take revenge for Gerhard and for Stefan. I won't stop until I do."

  "Well, let's get out of here first - shall we?"

  Ben looked down. He'd been worried that Ellie would break under the stress of the situation, but this deep, simmering pit of pure rage was worse.

  "Time for everything else later." He pulled her to her feet and pressed a kiss down on her forehead. "Let's summon these stupid mythological gods and see if they can't help us out of here."

  The Escape

  Ben paced at the far end of the sarcophagus, thinking as he walked and turned. He returned to Ellie, pulling her down to sit on the floor of the coffin. He positioned them until they sat crossed-legged, knee-to-knee, hand-to-hand.

  “Focus on your familiar, Ellie, like we did in Black Cat Books." He rubbed his fingers across the fleshy part of her palm at the base of her thumb. "Close your eyes. Try to clear your head and focus on Khepri."

  After several minutes of calling Khepri's name in her head, Ellie gave up in disgust. "It's not working." Ellie reached across the sandy, cold granite base of the tomb, through the darkness, searching for Ben's hand. "I can't feel the scarab. It glimmers in the distance of my mind and then fractures into tiny shimmers and dissipates."

  Ben rubbed her hand. "I know. It's the same for me - as if something’s missing."

  Ben linked his fingers and reached his arms up into the air, pulling up to release every vertebra. As he eased out of the stretch, he opened his eyes and stared over Ellie's shoulder, towards the other end of the tomb. He let out a gasp, leapt to his feet, and rushed towards Gerhard's body. In the darkness, he forgot Ellie was in his path and tripped over her, landing in a jumble of arms and legs.

  "Ouch! Bloody hell, Ben! That hurt." Ellie rubbed her elbow, which had been the recipient of a rather hard blow when Ben landed on her.

  Ben extricated himself from the pile of limbs, hitting Ellie in the side as he did so.

  “In the name of all that is merciful, will you be careful, you lumbering ape?" Ellie slid away from him, turning onto her stomach to rise onto her hands and knees. "Ye Gods! Ben, look at Gerhard."

  Ben eased his way to his feet. "Um, yeah! Why do you think I ran towards him?"

  "I have learnt not to question your motives as they are rarely based on logic or reason." Ellie dusted herself down and moved towards Gerhard's body.

  He was as they had left him. On the cold stone floor. Still. Silent. Dead. Yet, his skin had an otherworldly glow, a blue translucency that bore no place on any human on Earth. It was so slight that the duo might have missed it except for the beacon of blue light focused around his head wound. As they moved closer, they saw the light was focused, like a spotlight, on Gerhard's wound. As they watched, the wound sealed, millimetre by millimetre. The skin closed, scabbed, and then healed, leaving fresh, clean skin - free of any scarring.

  Ellie peered across at Ben, who was illuminated by the eerie blue glow. He was staring at the proceedings, mouth agape. He lifted his eyes, eyebrows raised. He reached for her hand, squeezing it. Neither uttered a word as the light completed its work on Gerhard's head wound.

  The concentration of light moved down Gerhard's head until it focused on his mouth. As it stopped there, his mouth opened and Sobek emerged, smaller than a penny coin. He moved to Gerhard's chin and made a tiny gesture, almost like a bow. From there, he moved across Gerhard, towards Ben, growing as he moved, until he finally came to rest at Ben's feet. He was the size of a small iguana when he bumped his head against Ben's leg and lay down for a snooze. Ben leaned down and gave him a scratch under the chin.

  Ellie nudged Ben, who looked away from Sobek and saw Khepri making his way in little scurries up Gerhard's body. As he entered Gerhard's mouth, Ben turned away, squirming. Ellie gave him a sharp crack in the ribs with her elbow, and he looked back to see the blue glow again shoot across Gerhard's skin as Khepri made his procession inwards. The spotlight flowed down his body until it settled on his chest.

  Ellie leaned into Ben and whispered, "Are they hurting him? Should we do something?"

  Ben turned to her and raised an eyebrow, "Well, a nasty, great beetle just entered our dead friend's mouth and worked its way down to his heart. That doesn't sound great, does it? But wait, he's DEAD. So, it's pretty unlikely they can do anything that puts him in a greater predicament than he's in at the moment."

  She moved away and then swung her hip at him. "There's no need for sarcasm, Ben. It was an honest question!"

  "Sorry, Ellie. That was unnecessary." He rubbed his eyes. "This whole situation is bizarre and, if I'm honest, more than a little frightening, but that doesn't make it okay to take it out on you." He reached for her shoulders and turned her towards him. "We're in this together. Come what may. It seems our little buddies are trying to help Gerhard, so we should leave them to continue their work. They can't make him worse after all, can they?"

  She nodded as she slipped her hand into Ben's and watched Khepri toil.

  The light continued to beam in blue rays from Gerhard's chest for a while before it pulsed, at first imperceptible and intermittently but gradually becoming clearer and stronger. The light’s intensity grew until a pulse of light flowed lightning-fast across Gerhard's entire body, from the farthest tip of his snowy white hair down to his toes. It was so bright, it burnt itself onto Ellie and Ben's retinas.

  Darkness followed, so shocking for its depth and utter blinkering effect.

  Ellie fumbled around, searching for her rucksack, which she'd abandoned in the shock of Gerhard's death. When she found it, she delved inside, muttering to herself until her fingers touched the cold, cylindrical metal case of her torch. She pulled it free and turned back towards Gerhard just as Khepri emerged from his mouth and flew to her shoulder. She froze for a second, then turned the torch on and focused its beam upon Gerhard's lanky frame.

  A shimmer of pale blue light floated above the body, sweeping down in a caressing touch as it swirled gently around him. Ellie knelt down and peered at Gerhard's face. "Ben, come see. His face seems different."

  Ben joined her and leaned over Gerhard, and as he watched, he saw a deep crease around Gerhard's eye puff up
and smooth out. This process repeated across the plains and valleys of Gerhard's features, tautening and resurfacing as it progressed. Ellie grabbed one of Gerhard's hands and saw an age spot fade and disappear before her eyes. His fingers plumped up and straightened. Ben leaned even closer, hovering just inches over Gerhard's face.

  An eye opened, blazing in its azure intensity. "Are you planning on kissing me, my dear boy?"

  Ben and Ellie scrambled backwards until their backs hit the wall of the tomb.

  Gerhard sat up. "Oof, I feel like I've been cranked through a mangle." He looked across at the other two, his eyes blazing blue. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

  Ellie leaned forward, shuffling towards him. "Gerhard, it can't be. You're dead..."

  Stretching his head from side to side, he replied, "Well, that would explain the aches and pains away! Although, I didn't envisage heaven like this." He grimaced as his hand came away from his head covered in congealed blood. "Did you hit your head as well, my dear?"

  Ben shook himself out of his stupor and rushed to Gerhard's side. "No, don't get up yet. How are you? Try moving your legs."

  Gerhard’s eyes flicked back and forth between them as he stretched out each of his lengthy limbs. "Well, all seems well except a rather horrendous headache. We need to stop worrying about me and focus on our predicament. Shouldn't we try to escape this cavernous burial chamber?"

  Ben reached for Gerhard's hands and peered straight into his eerie eyes. "Ellie wasn't confused, Gerhard. I don't know how to sugarcoat this, so here goes. You died. In our arms, as a matter of fact, and you remained so for over forty minutes. We tried to resuscitate you but failed. So, imagine our surprise right now."

  Gerhard turned to Ellie, who gave him a gentle smile and nodded.

  "So, how am I lucky enough to be alive and well?"

  Ben gestured towards the scarab still perched on Ellie's shoulder and the snoozing crocodile at his feet. "You owe it to our friends, Khepri and Sobek, who somehow healed you. Prepare yourself for one more shock..."