بازگشت مومیایی فصل 10

Return of the Mummy - Chapter 10

I ducked and tried to cover my head as the snake silently dropped toward me.

“Grab it!” I heard someone call. “Grab on to it!”

With a startled cry, I raised my eyes. The light beam followed. And I saw that it was not a snake that stretched from above—but a rope.

“Grab on to it, Gabe! Hurry!” Sari shouted urgently from high above.

Brushing away spiders, kicking frantically to shake the spiders off my sneakers, I grasped the rope with both hands.

And felt myself being tugged up, pulled up through the darkness to the tunnel floor above.

A few seconds later, Uncle Ben reached down and grabbed me under the shoulders. As he hoisted me up, I could see Sari and Nila pulling with all their might on the rope.

I cheered happily as my feet touched solid ground. But I didn’t have long to celebrate. My entire body felt as if it were on fire!

I went wild, kicking my legs, brushing spiders off my arms, scratching spiders off my back, stamping on the spiders as they scuttled off me.

Glancing up, I saw that Sari was laughing at me. “Gabe, what do you call that dance?” she asked.

Uncle Ben and Nila laughed, too. “How did you fall down there, Gabe?” my uncle demanded, peering down into the spider chamber.

“The wall—it gave way,” I told him, frantically scratching my legs.

“I thought you were still with me,” Sari explained. “When I turned around…” Her voice trailed off.

The light on Uncle Ben’s helmet beamed down to the lower chamber. “That’s a long fall,” Uncle Ben said, turning back to me. “Are you sure you’re okay?” I nodded. “Yeah. I guess. It knocked the wind out of me. And then the spiders—” “There must be hundreds of chambers like that,” my uncle commented, glancing at Nila. “The pyramid builders made a maze of tunnels and chambers—to fool tomb robbers and keep them from finding the real tomb.” “Yuck! Such fat spiders!” Sari groaned, stepping back.

“There are millions of them down there,” I told her. “On the walls, hanging from the ceiling—everywhere.” “This is going to give me bad dreams,” Nila said softly, moving closer to Uncle Ben.

“You sure you’re okay?” my uncle demanded again.

I started to reply. Then I suddenly remembered something. The mummy hand. It was tucked in my back pocket.

Had it been crushed when I landed on it?

My heart skipped a beat. I didn’t want anything bad to happen to that little hand. It was my good luck charm.

I reached into my jeans pocket and pulled it out. Holding it under the light from my hard hat, I examined it carefully.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that it was okay. It still felt cold. But it hadn’t been crushed.

“What’s that?” Nila asked, leaning closer to see it better. She brushed her long hair away from her face. “Is that The Summoner?” “How did you know that?” I demanded, holding the hand up so she could see it better.

Nila stared at it intently. “I know a lot about ancient Egypt,” she replied. “I’ve studied it my whole life.” “It might be an ancient relic,” Uncle Ben broke in.

“Or it might just be a tacky souvenir,” Sari added.

“It has real powers,” I insisted, brushing it off carefully. “I landed on it down there—” I pointed to the spider chamber—“and it didn’t get crushed.” “I guess it is a good luck charm,” Nila said, turning back to Uncle Ben.

“Then why didn’t it keep Gabe from falling through that wall?” Sari cracked.

Before I could answer, I saw the mummy hand move. The tiny fingers slowly curled. Out and then in.

I cried out and nearly dropped it.

“Gabe—now what?” Uncle Ben demanded sharply.

“Uh… nothing,” I replied.

They wouldn’t believe me anyway.

“I think we’ve done enough exploring for now,” Uncle Ben said.

As we made our way to the entrance, I held the mummy hand in front of me.

I wasn’t seeing things. I knew that for sure. The fingers really had moved.

But why?

Was the hand trying to signal me? Was it trying to warn me about something?