City of the Dead

Chapter 6

The night grew silent after the chaos that we had experienced hours ago on that god forsaken river. We were huddled by the fire to dry off and get rested before we departed in the morning. I looked around to see that our group was either sleeping or restless from the battle we just endured. I saw David who was still awake and cleaning the guns that were salvaged from the boat. I was still upset over the situation that we were in, that I worked up what little energy I had to ask, "How much did we lose in the battle?"

David looked over with a tired expression on his face as he said, "Well, by my judgment, almost all the guns and ammo that we bought from the market yesterday were washed away in the river, along with most of our clothes. We at least were able to salvage some money that we had in our pockets so we'll be able to buy rations before we ride through the desert. Not to mention getting food for those damn horses."

I looked over at the supplies that I managed to grab in the fight and see what I had. I was able to save my surgical supplies, some sutures, bandages, and only a handful of medications. I picked up the New Kingdom of Egypt book to see that it was still damp from the river and placed it back down so that it could dry some more. I realized that the dagger was still holstered to my belt, as I set it to the side, adjacent to the book. "I'm going to need to get more medical supplies from the market to replace the ones I lost." I say out loud.

David must have seen how worried I was that he decided to move from his spot to sit next to me and give me a side hug to say, "Don't worry so much Anna. We'll head to the market in the morning and see what we can get. But for now, you need to rest, we need to be on our A game if we're to pull off this treasure hunt." I looked at David as he gave a loud sigh and started rubbing his eyes, to show that he was tired as well. I turned to my left to see that Isaac and Bernard were sleeping next to each other in the most uncomfortable position a person can sleep.

"How is it that they can sleep so easily?" I asked, when Isaac lets out a snore so loud that it wakes up Bernard. I tried my best to contain my laughter as I covered my mouth to muffle the volume, but Bernard ended up falling back asleep soon after. I watched as the wood in the fire started cracking when I broke silence and asked,

"There's no turning back, is there?"

David looked over as he probably was waiting for me to ask this question all night, as he let out a sigh and said, "It's like you said, we have to pull off this excavation if we are to go back home."

My eyes started getting heavy and it was obvious that I was tired.

"Get some sleep Anna, I'll take first watch tonight." he says as I started to close my eyes and drift into a deep sleep and in moments, I was out like a light.

That night, I had a dream about the house I grew up in, but it was different. The house was different inside, brighter and my father was there, he looked clean and sober. Nothing like how he was when I left that last night. I walked through this imaginary house when I heard a familiar face.

"Anna, is that you?"

I paused at the sound as I could faintly remember who that voice belonged to.

I walked towards that voice, to my fathers bedroom, where I saw a woman with her back towards me. She looked like she was getting ready, she had a long green dress on and her hair was hidden under the same scarf that I use to tie my hair up. She was placing earrings on each ear lobe when she said,

"Anna, your father and I are going out. Make sure you lock the doors and if anything happens go to that neighbor boy, Isaac's place. He seems like a smart boy so you should be safe there. Now there's some food ready for you too, just make sure you do your school work before you get distracted."