Cursed Times - Only Yesterday! Sequel to Wattys 2015 winner!

Chapter 53: Trueth - Here we go Again!

Three days after the pizza convention Trueth once more found herself in an all-too-familiar location, a location she would have liked to ban from her memories. Having crossed the Saqqara site, which seemed to have gone into hibernation, the rugged mass of the step pyramid rose right in front of her. Towards its side, she could just about make out the walls enclosing what had been the professor's excavation. Instead of revealing the secret of Imhotep's grave it had eventually yielded the access to another world. Not that their world knew or cared about such fantastic discoveries: Wrappers and drinks containers had blown up against those parts of the forlorn ruins she could discern from a distance and danger signs, covered in spray-painted graffiti, sprouted from the walls. The authorities had gone as far as barring the steps with wooden planks, but those had been forced apart, the broken ends of the wood bristling splintery indignation at the offense.

Trueth was not looking forward to another long slog through the magical corridor. A corridor they had found behind the underground wall at the far end of what used to be the Al-Nour excavation. She was even less thrilled about the trek as it would ultimately take her into the headquarters of their demonic opposition. So many obstacles had stood in her life's path recently, and she had survived them all. It had made her feel curiously attached to her continued existence, and now she was again risking it all for the greater good. If Iseret was reliable, and she tended to trust their old menace a lot these days, there was some additional firepower waiting to join their ranks. Assuming it all worked out the way it was supposed to be. The fact that Metjen still could not divine anything useful among the available futures was less than reassuring.

I must remember to stop doing this shit, Trueth thought as she surreptitiously wiped her clammy hands on her jeans. And maybe she should rather listen to that niggling little voice which kept clamouring for her to run back home. There was only one problem--she did not know which way to run.

Just one more time and be done with it. Trueth forced her unwilling legs towards the pathetic remains of the archaeological site that should have been the crowning point of Professor Al-Nour's career. In a way, it was--he had found who had been searching for. Just not quite the way he had imagined.

'Where do you think you're going?' Metjen's voice sounded behind her.

Trueth stopped in her tracks but did not turn around. 'To the wall. Then to the corridor. Where else would I go?'

He sniggered. 'You wouldn't get very far, dear. They have filled it all in. The experts could not agree on what it was they had on their hands. As they could not find anything behind our wall, they decided to bury the dig.'

Trueth felt her jaw stiffen with annoyance. 'Thanks for sharing, oh big white chief.' She pivoted to face his Nuisance. Some of his mannerisms seemed to be so deeply ingrained not even the fact that he needed their help to overcome their ancient foe prevented him from indulging.

Metjen had the grace to appear embarrassed. 'Sorry, I thought you all knew. We will be using Iseret's entrance. Has the advantage it's much faster as well. She's taken off the curses, and we can just pop in. Follow me, please.' His lapse already forgotten, he crooked and waggled his index finger, smiled his dazzling smile and strode towards the other side of the pyramid, leaving the dig behind in the distance.

Trueth took a deep breath and noticed that Seisi was waiting for her. He grinned briefly, shook his head and made a cutting motion across his throat. So she was not the only one who had not been exposed to the finer details of their battle plan. Together, they followed Metjen, who had stopped next to the pyramidic pile of bricks that once had been the epitome of Kemet engineering.

Seisi was doing a full turn, scanning their environment. 'Guards?' he asked. 'They should not see us enter.'

Taken care of, Iseret's voice sounded from the pyramid's flank they were facing. They will not bother us this time.