Graveborne

Chapter 9

The man watched, hidden from sight by the bushes that covered this side of the museum car park.

His pale linen suit was crumpled and wrinkled from the flight over from Egypt.

He had not had anything to eat or drink since his dinner on the plane the previous night and now his belly gnawed with hunger, but he ignored it.

Kasim was on a mission of great importance, one of honour and dignity, and in such circumstances, mere hunger was very low on his list of priorities.

The doctor was clever. She had managed to give his people the slip two days ago in Cairo. It took them a while to discover she had booked an earlier flight than the one they believed she would be on.

But it was no matter.

He was here now, and he was determined to succeed in his task.

Kasim tensed as he heard the staff door open as it had countless times that evening.

It had to be her.

From his vantage point he saw the figures of two young women emerge from the door.

Neither of them was the doctor.

Perhaps she intended to work through the night? It would not be the first time.

Her reputation for immersing herself in her passion to the detriment of her own physical health was well known among members of the board of antiquities.

Indeed, Doctor Anmali was considered almost inhuman amongst her peers, because of her capacity to work on a new discovery day and night, seemingly without need of sleep or sustenance.

But if this was going to be one of those occasions, then he knew he could not wait for her to show herself.

If necessary, he would have to find a way to break into the museum and confront her.

His was a sacred mission, and justice would not be denied indefinitely.

Kasim waited for another hour, during which time several other members of staff left for the night. He watched as the security staff changed over and noticed with interest that only one night guard appeared to have been left on duty.

After a while, he saw the night guard let the cleaners out.

It was now almost ten o’clock. The summer sky had given way to the dusk, and stars lit the sky above his head.

Still there was no sign of her.

Enough! He decided that fate had left the doctor alone inside the museum with only one solitary guard for company.

The security man had looked old and weak, too weak for such a duty.

Even so, Kasim wished he had a weapon with him. Under normal circumstances, he would have his revolver at hand, just in case of trouble. But, with the risk of being caught too great to consider it an option, he had reluctantly left his trusty gun back in Egypt.

He looked around him for something substantial he could use as a club.

There were some discarded building materials dumped in a corner of the car park. He went over to investigate and managed to find a piece of a broken wooden curtain rod.

He slapped it against his palm several times to test it.

It was not ideal, but it would do.

Carefully checking the area to ensure he was not being observed, Kasim crept forward, keeping the wall of the car park to his right.

There were now only two vehicles left in the park. One he had seen the security guard drive up in. The other, he suspected, must belong to the doctor.

He considered trying the car doors, to see if she had left one unlocked.

If so, he could get in and lie in wait for her, hiding on the floor at the back.

Just as he was about to reach for the nearest handle, he remembered that most cars now had motion alarms fitted, and the last thing he needed was to draw unwanted attention to himself.

He continued on his way, heading for the staff door.

As he reached it, he stopped and looked up at the building. There were still several windows open, which with luck meant the guard would be on patrol at some point to close them.

They did offer him a point of access, however. But he would need to find a ladder to reach them, so they were not going to be his first choice.

Then, he realised, there had to be a fire escape somewhere, which might mean there was a metal staircase on the outside of the building.

Kasim looked both ways along the side he was on.

There was no sign of one, therefore, it had to be either at the front, or more likely, down one of the other sides.

While he was here, it made sense for him to try the staff door, just in case.

As he was about to test it, he heard a movement from the other side.

It was too late to run and hide, so he lifted his wooden pole, ready to attack.

He held his breath and waited.

The locking bolt shot back, and the door opened towards him, blocking his view of whoever was coming out.

The good thing, he realised, was that it also blocked their view of him, so he stayed still, poised to strike if the need arose.

He heard a young girl call out to the security guard, wishing him good night.

Seconds later, she appeared from behind the door, walking towards the entrance to the car park.

She had not seen him.

The staff door began to swing shut on its hinge.

There was no sign of the guard.

Perhaps the girl had let herself out?

After all, Kasim had heard her shout out to him. If he had been nearby, she would not have had to call out at all.

He took his chance.

Just as the door’s lock was about to engage, he sprang forward and wrapped his fingers around the edge of the door. He pulled gently and the door hesitated for a second before giving way. Kasim managed to pull it open.

As he suspected, there was no sign of the old guard.

Kasim slipped inside and carefully pulled the door closed behind him.

Once inside, he looked about him.

There was a long corridor before him, with different types of props and scene-drops leaning against both sides. In the distance, he could see a small office, with a dim light coming from inside. Probably the security office.

Kasim wondered if he should take care of the guard before commencing his task.

But then he remembered his instructions. He would kill the guard only if it became necessary to conceal his presence.

Kasim walked along the side of the wall, keeping as close to the leaning props as possible. Several of them stuck out at right angles and would make excellent places for him to hide, should the occasion arise.

As he drew closer to the office, he could hear the sound of a television with the volume up high. The old man was probably hard of hearing, which in this case was a blessing Kasim had not expected.

He crept past the office and turned the corner that led him through a labyrinth of corridors, finally bringing him out in the storage area behind some of the exhibition galleries.

Kasim tried the first door he came to, but it was locked, as were the second and the third. Starting to grow frustrated, he decided that the next door would open for him, regardless.

He turned the handle and braced his shoulder against the wood, ready to ram it open.

But, to his relief, it opened without resistance.

Kasim found himself in the main entrance lobby of the museum.

At the front, next to the ticket booth, was a board with a map of the whole museum, illustrating where everything was.

Kasim studied the directions until he found what he was seeking. He could feel the excitement within him growing.

As he walked from room to room, ignoring the amassed treasures and the rich treasury of knowledge and learning that surrounded him, Kasim felt an eerie shiver run through his veins.

Being closed, the museum was illuminated only by the emergency lights, which were barely enough to let him see where he was going.

The faint buzz emanating from the fluorescent bulbs that lit many of the display cases and vitrines around the room was the only sound that filled his ears.

More than ever, he wished he had more with which to defend himself than his lump of wood.

Kasim walked on through several smaller rooms and turned a corner at the reptile section of the natural history wing. In the distance, he could see the awnings masking off the section that the museum had dedicated to their latest acquisition.

He could see the light reflected from behind the fabric shield.

Someone was still working there.

Kasim knew only too well who it was.

Stealthily, he crept towards the awning, and peered around the edge.

In the distance he could see Doctor Anmali bent over a desk, concentrating on whatever she had laid out on the table before her.

Even with her gown and mask on, Kasim recognised her instantly.

He gripped the club in his hand until his knuckles grew white.

Crouching, he edged his way forward, leaving the protection of the awning behind him. He kept to his left so as to remain out of the woman’s peripheral vision.

There was an eerie silence in this part of the museum.

Kasim could hear his heartbeat in his ears.

Though he was treading as carefully as he could, he felt he could still hear his footfalls echoing in the silence.

Suddenly, the doctor looked up from her work and saw him. She did not appear at all surprised by his presence. It was almost as if she had been expecting his arrival.

Now the game was up, Kasim drew himself to his full height.

The two of them stared at each other for a moment.

The woman pulled down her face mask. “I wondered how long it would be before one of you came here,” she said. “I don’t know what you hope to gain, but whatever it is, I cannot assist you.”

Kasim moved closer until he was within reaching distance of the doctor.

“What you are doing here is sacrilege, and you know it.” He spat the words through gritted teeth.

“Sacrilege? According to whom, exactly? A deluded bunch of fanatics like you and your group? What I am engaged in is scientific and historical research, nothing more.”

Kasim moved closer, his wooden club held tightly in his hand.

The doctor did not flinch although she feared he was ready to strike.

Just then, they both heard a muffled creaking noise coming from behind the doctor.

They both turned, and stared off, into the dim light towards the far end of the exhibition.

Without looking back, the doctor began to walk towards the sound.

Kasim’s club struck the back of her head before she had taken her third step.

She crumpled to the ground.

Kasim took a moment to check the doctor’s pulse. He could feel something, but it was very faint.

No matter. If she died, she had only herself to blame.

He stood up and walked towards the area from where the sound had just come.

He wished more than ever now that he had remembered to bring a torch. But he had been in such a hurry to leave once he received the call that he barely remembered his passport.

Kasim moved cautiously across the room, squinting in the dim light to try to see what lay ahead.

Finally, the sarcophagus came into sight. It stood tall and erect in one corner of the replica tomb that had doubtless been created by the museum’s construction crew.

The front cover was ajar and stood at right angles to the main body. But, as its hinge was on his side, he could not see what was inside.

Kasim walked around the open casket until he stood directly in front of it.

Inside he saw the mummy of Anlet-Un-Ri.

The mummy towered over him. The wrappings, grey from thousands of years, together with the poor lighting, made it impossible for him to make out any definite details.

He stared at it, mesmerised. The life of Anlet-Un-Ri was a legend in his country – her death a mystery.

The location of her earthly remains had been disputed among scholars since as far back as the 18th dynasty, and yet here he was, a humble servant of his sect, standing before her.

Kasim fell to his knees and bowed down.

He uttered a silent prayer of thanks, during which he lifted his upper body and gazed up at the mummy, before lowering it again to continue his worship.

The third time he rose, something odd caught his attention.

Although it was too dark to tell for sure, the mummy appeared to have opened her eyes, and was staring down at him.

Kasim halted his mutterings and tried to focus through the shadowy darkness.

It was true – the mummy had come back to life!

Before he had a chance to jump up, the mummy took a tentative step outside her sarcophagus.

Kasim screamed, in spite of himself, no longer concerned with raising the alarm.

The mummy cleared her sarcophagus just as he found his feet.

One of her enormous arms shot forwards and her bound fingers wrapped themselves around Kasim’s neck, lifting him clear off the floor until their faces were level.

There was nothing behind the ancient wrappings that resembled eyes, only black sunken pits. But to Kasim, hell itself poured forth from within them.

He struggled to scream, but the hold on his neck was too tight to let him emit a sound.

He fell into a world of darkness within seconds.