Author Games: The River of Night

Finals: Sure as the Sun Will Rise

"Ah! There's the confounded cartouche of the fallen. I was beginning to worry that I was simply going mad. I'm afraid the battle proved too much for Mr. Tahir. According to this passage, he was swallowed whole by the Serpent, and promptly destroyed. Nonetheless, his companions managed to drive Apophis away, injuring the snake in the process. He fled to the Sea of Chaos to heal..." The professor trailed off. "And that is the last reference I can see of him. Really, there isn't very much left of the tale. 

Fatima tried and failed to suppress a yawn. "If there isn't much left, we might as well power through. That symbol in the corner there is the name of Khepri, right? The scarab of rebirth?"

The professor stared at her pointing finger dully for a moment before looking at the spot she indicated. "Quite correct, my dear. However, his name occurs all over this particular section and I'm not certain whether or not it truly indicates the god or rather the concept of rebirth. I'm afraid the prose becomes quite dense at this point. I can make out the name of Ra, as well as the symbol for 'death;' perhaps Ra kills them? Whatever takes place, I can clearly see the sun rising in the next mosaic-"

"Professor. Pause for a minute. Look outside."

Professor Wyndham stopped his ramble and turned around in his seat. A sliver of glorious yellow peeked over the horizon, painting the sky in brilliant pinks, oranges, and crimsons. He blinked for a moment. "Good heavens. Is it morning already?"

"By most common definitions of the word? Yes. Dawn, if we wish to be precise." Fatima checked her watch and winced. "Son of cow-fucker! I promised my uncle I'd call him at midnight. He's in Qatar, so he'll still be awake... Professor, can you wrap this up in under five minutes?"

The professor shook his head. "I think not, Miss Charobim. To tell you the truth, five hours may be too little time to untangle precisely what took place here. In any case, I have several classes to teach today, in addition to a presentation on our initial findings. Hopefully this little all-nighter won't inhibit my performance too severely." He yawned widely. "I think we had best be on our way. Don't you in particular have a class to teach in a few hours? In addition to a call from your delightful uncle. Is this the same one who addressed me as-"

"The very same. We'd best be on our way, then."

They both rose, stretching and creaking with various degrees of discomfort. Eventually they meandered over to the door. As the professor left, Fatima took one final look at the photos, scattered and marked up in the early sunlight. A faint smile touched her face.

"Fatima? Where on earth did you put the teabags? I'm not teach a class decaffeinated!"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, for heavens sake-"

The door closed with a thud.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Requirements

-Congratulations on our wonderful finalists! Time to finish strong.

-Continuing down the path, you find the withered body of Ra. Though he is technically still alive, it is very clear he will not survive the hour. However, there is one thing that may save him (and thus the world.)

-Consume the golden scarab beetle, the symbol of Ra's power, and the god will use your life force to be reborn. Your body will become the god's; your soul will burn away.

-Only one of you needs to consume the beetle. Choose whether or not that someone will be you.

-And then tell me what happens after! If you don't die.

Due Date: Saturday, January 7 at 10 PM EST