Cursed To Be With You

Chapter 4 (Part 2 ~ ONC 3 of 5)

If there was anything worthwhile that Nelson has taught me, it was that I should always listen to my gut instinct. That and always believe that the government is watching us. He wasn't paranoid, but he knew better than to just accept what we could see. I'd heard whispers that he'd been put on a watch list because he had some very firm views on things and happened to be vocal about them too. So, I guess it was no surprise that he'd made me collect the notes and his laptop.

Watching the minivan pull away, I huffed dejectedly. The end of a dig was always a low point in our lives. Some saw it as a relief to be home again, but most of us lived for the discovery.

It was late afternoon; the sun was already starting to set. I opened the curtains and windows, hoping to air out the place before the chill of the evening began.

My modest unit was like the others in the street. It's a quiet neighbourhood that's mostly filled with young professionals who work in the city. Weekdays were quiet, weekends were filled with their sounds of lawnmowers and power tools. There weren't many kids here yet, I'm sure it won't take long for the weekends to be filled with their laughter and screams of merriment.

Putting everything on the table, I begin the arduous process of sorting and washing my things. I didn't have to worry about meals, I was a girl that knew how quickly things could turn ugly. My freezer was full of frozen dinners, and my cupboards were stocked with tinned food. I picked items that had expiry dates that were at least a year away, and I kept an eye on everything to ensure that I never had to think about groceries too much.

When everything was in order, I put my dinner into the microwave. The messenger bag was sitting on the countertop, wordlessly reminding me that it needed to be hidden in a safe place. I didn't have a lockable safe which was clearly a mistake, I should have invested in a quality one a long time ago. Spending a lot of time away from home warranted one, so I found it surprising that it had never occurred to me before now. I suppose that considering that I've never been burgled, it didn't enter my thoughts.

Until now.

Keeping these items safe would hopefully be easy considering that no one knew I had them. Well, those on my side of the door were quite some distance away from me. As for those on Nelson's side of the door, I don't know. He was secretive about a lot of things, and this would be one of them. Nelson would be seriously upset if someone stole his work.

Curiosity got the better of me, so I quickly shut the curtains and opened the bag. Pulling myself up onto the stool, I looked over the professor's notes and studied the drawings he'd done of the markings. He didn't even have the chance to find someone to decipher them. Well, not yet at least. I'm sure he'll be knocking on my door in a week to take everything away.

Reaching into the bag, I felt to cold stone burn against the warmth of my hand. Pulling it out, I looked at the simplicity of it. Compared to the sarcophagus, it was rather dull.

The lid looked like it could be removed, but I didn't want to take that away from Nelson, so I kept inspecting it from the exterior. The microwave pinged and frightened the life out of me, and inadvertently, I broke the lid seal.

"Damn it."

Putting it down, I slid off the seat to turn off the microwave. Its incessant beeping was annoying. The delicious scent of lasagne hit me as I opened the door. Lifting the plate out, I shut the door and turned. When I saw the man standing next to the counter, I screamed and dropped the plate.

It was the man that I'd seen in the sarcophagus.

Was I losing the plot? Did I fall down a shaft and was now unconscious?