کتاب آمون‌را

Chapter five

The Book of Amun Ra

“How do we know this god,” asked O’Connell.

“Horus,” said Jonathan. “He has a big nose. Look for a big bird. That will be him.”

“OK,” said O’Connell. “Where do we start?”

He looked at the houses and the temple in Hamunaptra. He had no ideas.

Below O’Connell and Jonathan, Beni had a gun in Evelyn’s back. Imhotep was in front of them.

“Walk,” said Beni.

“You’ll die in the end,” said Evelyn.

“I will,” said Beni.

“Oh, yes,” said Evelyn, but she walked.

They came to the Sah-Netjer.

At the same time, Ardeth Bay and the Med-Jai were on their way across the desert.

When Jonathan and O’Connell went down under the ground near the statue of Anubis, Imhotep heard them. He took some water from the gold box with Anck-su-numan’s heart in it and threw it at a wall. His mummified priests, from 3,000 years before, walked in.

“Find them,” said Imhotep.

Jonathan and O’Connell found the statue of Horus. Then, the mummified priests found them. Ardeth Bay and his soldiers came in and fought with the mummified priests.

“Does anybody have a white cat,” asked Jonathan.

“Find the book,” shouted Ardeth Bay.

Back in the Sah-Netjer, Evelyn was in a coffin. The coffin was open, but she couldn’t move her arms or her legs. In the next coffin was the mummy of Anck-su-namun. Imhotep sang. He had the Book of the Dead in one hand and he put the other hand on Anck-su-namun’s dead face.

“This is a love story,” thought Evelyn. “He loved her for 3,000 years. And now I’m going to die for his love!’

Ardeth Bay and his soldiers fought hard, but there were more and more mummies. When they shot a mummy in the arm, the arm came off. Then, it fought, too. Jonathan and O’Connell didn’t stop digging.

And then– then, they found a gold box, and in the gold box there was the Book of Amun Ra. It was beautiful, but they couldn’t look at it now.

“Take the book and help the girl,” Ardeth Bay shouted.

Imhotep read from the Book of the Dead.

“When you die,” he told Evelyn, “Anck-su-namun will live. And I will never die.”

Anck-su-namun’s eyes opened. Imhotep opened the coffin and took a knife. He stood with it over Evelyn’s heart. This was the end.

Suddenly, O’Connell and Jonathan ran into the room. Imhotep turned to them.

“I found it, Evy,” Jonathan shouted. He showed her the Book of Amun Ra. “I found it!”

“Stop talking,” Evelyn shouted at her brother. “Get me out of here!”

Imhotep put the knife down – and walked to Jonathan.

“Open the book, Jonathan,” Evelyn shouted. “That’s the only way.”

Jonathan tried, but he couldn’t open it.

“Is there a key,” he asked.

Imhotep smiled. He had the key. He moved nearer to Jonathan. O’Connell took a sword from a statue’s hand and started to cut into Evelyn’s coffin.

Imhotep’s going to kill Jonathan,” thought Evelyn. She thought quickly. “Jonathan, are there any words on the front of the book?”

Jonathan ran away from Imhotep and looked at the book at the same time.

“Words,” he said. “Yes.”

O’Connell started to break the coffin. Imhotep turned and called the mummified priests back into the Sah-Netjer.

Jonathan tried to read the Egyptian writing on the front of the Book of Amun Ra. Why didn’t he listen carefully in Egyptian classes at school?

O’Connell pulled Evelyn from the coffin. Jonathan read the words.

“Rasheen – ooloo – Kashka,” he said.

The big doors to the room opened. Ten mummified soldiers walked into the room. A new kind of mummy - worse than the other soldiers.

“Tell the soldiers that you’re the boss,” said Evelyn.

“Who - ME,” said Jonathan.

“Finish the words on the front of the book, you stupid boy.”

“Oh yes,” said Jonathan. “The book, the book.”

Above Jonathan, in a room full of gold, Beni was a happy man. Here was the gold of the Pharaohs. He carried a lot of gold up to his big, white horse and put it in some bags on the horse. Then, he went down again for more gold.

Below, in the Sah-Netjer, Imhotep walked to Jonathan and looked down at him. Jonathan looked at the book.

“I can’t read this,” he screamed to Evelyn. “This Egyptian letter – There are two lines at the top. One line at the bottom. There’s a little–”

“It’s an ankh,” said Evelyn.

“Ah.”

Soldier mummies fought with O’Connell. He was on the ground. Their swords were above him.

“Hootash im Ahmenophus,” shouted Jonathan.

The soldier mummies stopped. Imhotep looked back at them. The soldier mummies looked at Jonathan.

“Why are you looking at me,” Jonathan asked them.

“You’re their boss now,” shouted Evelyn. “Tell them.”

“Tell them what,” said Jonathan.

Anck-su-namun started to get up from her coffin. She wanted her life. She hit Evelyn again and again. Evelyn screamed.

“Jonathan,” screamed Evelyn. “Tell the soldiers – Stop her!”

“Oh - Yes - Right,” said Jonathan. And then, “Fa-kooshka Anck-su-namun.”

Anck-su-namun took her knife and put it above Evelyn’s heart. But the soldier mummies jumped across the room and killed her. Imhotep screamed when he saw the love of his life die again. He jumped on Jonathan and took the Book of Amun Ra from his hands.

“Now, you die,” he said.

O’Connell ran across the room and cut Imhotep’s arm off with the statue’s sword. Imhotep smiled. Nobody could kill him. He took Jonathan in his other hand.

“OK, so he can fight with his left hand,” said O’Connell.

But the Book of Amun Ra was now on the floor and the key was on the floor, too. Evelyn got out of the coffin and ran to the key. She opened the book.

O’Connell pulled Imhotep away from Jonathan. Imhotep turned and threw O’Connell across the room.

Evelyn looked into the Book of Amun Ra.

“Can you fight with Imhotep for three or four minutes - Please,” she shouted to O’Connell.

Imhotep threw O’Connell across the room again with his one arm.

“No problem,” O’Connell answered.

Imhotep took O’Connell’s sword.

“You are going to die,” he said.

Evelyn read from the gold book.

“Kadeesh mal,” she shouted. “Kadeesh mal! Pareed oos! PAREED OOS!”

Imhotep turned. He was very afraid. How did she know these words? They were the end for him.

The god Anubis came into the room. He walked through Imhotep and left again. Imhotep was now a man, only a man.

And a man can die. O’Connell took the sword and pushed it through Imhotep. And Imhotep, the man, died. But he said something before he died.

He said, “This is not the end.”

Above them, Beni found gold on the wall of a room. His eyes opened. He smiled. He took out his knife and pulled the gold off the wall. The room came down on top of him. He remembered Evelyn’s words: “You’ll die in the end.”

“Yes,” said Beni. And he died.

“Run,” shouted O’Connell. “The place is coming down!” Jonathan, Evelyn, and O’Connell ran up, above ground, and Hamunaptra fell back into the desert behind them. Now there was nothing there.

They found three horses and got on them. Then, they started across the desert, away from Hamunaptra.

A hand fell on Jonathans arm. Jonathan screamed.

“Oh, it’s you,” he said. “Thank you very much.”

“No, I thank you,” said Ardeth Bay. He looked at O’Connell and Evelyn. “From all my people, I thank you. Imhotep is dead and now there are no undead or scarabs in the city of Cairo.”

“Oh that’s OK, my friend,” said Jonathan. “Thanks are fine,” he thought, “but we didn’t get any gold.”

Ardeth Bay smiled and went off into the desert.

“My horse is walking slowly,” said Jonathan. Then, he stopped and looked in the bags on the big, white horse. “Evelyn,” he shouted. “Gold!”

But Evelyn was busy. She put her arms around O’Connell and they kissed.

Maybe this wasn’t the end. Maybe it was the beginning.