Amelia's Blog

It didn’t take more than a week to safely reopen the front entrance to the tomb. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t have recognized the front of the tomb anymore, as General Douglas and his men were thorough in destroying outside of the tomb as well as just blocking it. The statues were gone, as well as any brickwork or writing. Mitchell face went livid when he first saw the destruction, but was reassured by Buck that while disappointing, they still had access to the interior. To discourage what he called “lookie-loos”, Buck talked to a few people he knew from the military, all retired, for help with security. He went out of his way to get reliable and even tempered men. Luckily, General Douglas had few friends. Even those he had left were reluctant to admit they were associated with him. For his part, Mitchell coped admirably with his new responsibilities. He had a few moments of panic, but Cj made sure she was there to help. Which was made all the easier by Buck’s idea to have them stay ou...

The steady “pii… pii… pii…” of the small tracker was loud in the afternoon wilderness. They day was surprisingly quiet, with very few animal sounds breaking the silence. In daylight, they covered the ground far faster than the previous evening. Soon enough, they reached the back exit they had left. “Oh, wonderful. It’s still open.” Hitomi slipped the tracker back into her deceptively small belt. She pulled off her back pack and grabbed a flashlight. Everyone else did the same. “It’s about a thirty minute walk through the passage into the tomb.” CJ flicked her light on and slipped into the tunnel. Once inside, she ran the light over the walls of the tunnel. “Are those petroglyphs?” Mitchell sidled up and squinted at the wall, “Faint, but yeah, I think you’re right. These look like standard cave drawings.” “Is that odd?” He shrugged, “Could be. I hesitate to say yes, but considering the rest of this mess.” They moved down the tunnel, glancing at the walls as they went. There looked to be...

The next morning, CJ was awoken by the house phone ringing next to her head. She sat up, looking around blearily. She had fallen asleep on the couch after talking for a good portion of the night with Mitchell. She smiled, rather tiredly and looked over at him, draped over the overstuffed armchair across from her. If she didn’t ask him to a movie or something after all this, she was going to have to ask Hitomi to shoot her. The phone rang again, bringing her fully awake this time. Normally a morning person, the couch, while comfortable, was not her bed. She snatched the phone before it could ring again, “Hello?” “Hello, Miss McCormick? There’s a man here to see you. His name is… Buck?” “I’ll be right down, thank you.” She hung up and levered herself up. As she stood Hitomi walked in, rubbing her eyes. “He here?” “Yeah, I’m going down to get him.” “Good, I’m going to splash cold water on my face. Bed was hard as a rock.” CJ nodded and pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail, “Alright....

The thankfully uneventful trek to the canyon’s south rim took them the rest of the night. The bedraggled trio wandering into one of the hotels mid morning earned strange looks from the hotel staff. Hitomi jerked her head at the front desk, asking if she should book a room. CJ nodded and found a phone. She told Mitchell to take a seat while she dialed home. She allowed for a small smile as Buck answered the phone, something few businessmen did for themselves. She related the events of the previous night quickly, while Buck made encouraging noises. “By thunder, Cynthia! What is that man playing at? No, don’t answer. Are you sure he invoked Homeland Security? Oh, of course you are, look who I’m asking! Can you two sit tight with this Dr. Carroll until I can get there?” “Of course. Douglas is almost certainly gone, or will be soon.” “I know, I know. That doesn’t matter. As soon as I hang up, I’ll be making a few calls before I come down there. Not the least of which will be to a few friend...

It didn’t take long to find artifacts to take with them. In fact, there was a brief argument over what small set to take. They settled on taking as many pictures of what they left behind as possible. CJ started to seriously consider setting up her own archeology lab once they got back to the Institute. She ran a hand through her thick blonde hair and blew out a sigh. In the time it took to get their small collection together, they should have started losing air. She and Hitomi had been through that experience enough to know that none of the tell-tale symptoms had manifested. Which meant air was flowing into the room. Which meant there was a way out. They just needed to find it. She hoped it was the seam she spotted earlier, but didn’t want to get Mitchell’s hopes up yet. She wasn’t worried about Hitomi, they’d been together long enough and through more than enough that words weren’t the only way they communicated to each other. She looked over at Mitchell briefly. He was looking at th...

The handcuffs dug into Hitomi’s wrists as they were shoved into the back of the tomb. She landed hard on her shoulder, luckily not as bad as she could have, but it was going to hurt. The three of them just glared at the smirking General Douglas who watched. “What, no desperate cries of ‘You’ll never get away with this”? I’m disappointed.” “Good.” CJ said as she stood up. Douglas grunted, “I’d stay back, unless you want to save yourselves some suffering.” He turned and walked out, leaving some soldiers to finish wiring the doors, while another kept a gun on them. As the wiring was finished and the rest of the soldiers withdrew, Hitomi jerked her head at the door, but CJ shook her head, then motioned for them to get down as the cry, “Fire in the hole!” echoed. The tomb shook violently as the charges went off, filling it with choking dust. CJ and Hitomi held their breath, but it set Mitchell into a violent coughing fit. Once the shaking settled, CJ took stock. The tomb was largely intact,...

“These three just stand there in the center of the tent.” “General Douglas says they’re not really a threat.” The airman shrugged. “I trust the General, don’t you, Potter?” “Well, sure, Bunch, but you heard about those two chicks, didn’t you?” “Oh come on, Potter. You heard it from that MP, what’s his name, Starts right?” Potter nodded, “The guy was having fun with you. Nobody that tiny can be that strong.” “Just like there’s no such thing as an Egyptian tomb in the Grand Canyon?” Bunch laughed, “That slip of a girl being stronger than a champion body builder is a matter of physics and the human body. And we’re not supposed to know about the tomb, dumb ass, so don’t mention that again.” “Yeah, yeah.” He was quiet for a moment while he took a gulp of the awful coffee the camp had. Typical military coffee. “Hey, the poker game still on tonight?” “Sure. I think I convinced Thomas to play for actual money this time. Man, for a bad ass Marine, the guy sure is chicken with his pay.” Bunch no...

CJ ran a critical eye over the tent and its contents. There was no cover, and few places to hide things, though she knew that meant little. She motioned her two companions closer and talked in a low voice. “The first thing we need to do, is get out of here and back into the tomb. I would feel better about getting to the bottom of this if we can get away with more than just a scrap of paper.” “How are,” CJ interrupted Mitchell and motioned for him to be quieter, “How are we supposed to get out of this tent, much less back into the tomb?” He jabbed a thumb at the door with the obvious and ever-present shadows of their guards. “Well, there used to be natives that lived in the canyon, right?” Mitchell eyed Hitomi with skepticism, “Sure, long time ago.” “Yeah, but the caves and structures are still here, yeah?” “For the most part sure,” he paused, thinking, “Right, and most cave systems are interlocking. Hmn. We’d need to know which cave leads where. There are no exits from inside the tomb...

“Wha? Why?” “I don’t believe I need to explain myself to you Carroll. After all, this is my dig, not yours.” Hitomi and CJ exchanged a glance, then Hitomi moved forward. “You must be General Douglas, I’m,” but she was cut off with a glare she could almost feel the malice radiating from. “If I want you to speak, to me or anyone else, I will address you.” He turned to the soldiers flanking him and gestured. “Take them to the big tent to be debriefed.” The soldiers surrounded them, and Hitomi went into a defensive stance, but CJ put a hand on her shoulder and shook her head minutely. They’d play along. For now. On the way out, CJ casually bumped against the sarcophagus and stumbled against it. She righted herself and went out after a glare from the soldiers. The tent they were escorted to was the largest in the camp, and located in the center. It was sparsely furnished, with only three cots and a card table in the center. After the guards left them, they took up obvious positions outside...

Author’s Note:         October sucked. Nuff said.         I should note, however, that the article discussed here, from the Arizona Gazette, 1909, actually exists! Check it out for yourself!                                                  <--------> “What. The. Hell.” Hitomi spoke under her breath, so that only Siege would hear. “I know.” “Impressive, isn’t it?” Mitchell was beaming as he looked down at the mummified corpse. “You can hardly tell the jackal head was substituted at the time of mummification.” “What?” Both Hitomi and C.J. said at once. “Look over here, in the corner, “ he gestured at a small wooden box. He carefully removed the lid, revealing a mumm...

“Why keep such a tight cap on this?” “Because our government is being more paranoid then usual, Miss McCormick. We’ve discovered a few things here that would probably rewrite history, if anyone would ever know about it.” “Sir, should we be telling this to them? They’re civilians.” “So am I Sergeant. And their clearance is higher than yours.” “Yes, sir.” There was a slight undercurrent of resentment in the response. “As I was saying. The government would rather something as important as this be under wraps. It would probably invalidate most of what we know. Rather, what we think we know.” Doctor Carroll was of medium build, and had a perpetual slouch. He wore glasses that he was continually adjusting. “Well, why keep up in suspense?” C.J.’s eyes were sparkling. Hitomi knew it wasn’t just from being at the dig. To think, she was just teasing Hitomi about blushing. “Well, considering your reputation, which I got a rather bombastic lecture by the managing general on, I think you’d rather ...

The next morning C.J. and Hitomi had packed lightly and were ready to go. Buck had gotten them clearance to join a government sponsored dig in Arizona. He had been working on getting clearance for them for a couple of months, and word had finally gotten back that it was a go. Buck handed the clearance papers to the two women, “Enjoy it, girls. I don’t know what they’ve been digging up, aside from just ‘ruins’, but I know you enjoy this sort of thing just as much as I do.” “Thanks, Buck. We appreciate it.” He waved off their thanks with a harrumph and gave them both rough bear hugs. “Ring me up when you land, and if you have any troubles with the military overseers. The general in charge is a bit of a hard ass.” “Will do. We’re not there to make trouble. Right, Hitomi?” “Of course not.” She glanced at C.J. “Perfect angels.” Buck gave a hearty laugh and embraced them one last time before heading back to his office. Alana walked up and embraced them after. “Be careful, but enjoy yourselve...

“I can’t Siege, I’m too busy.” “Busy feeling sorry for yourself?” Hitomi felt herself flush at her friend’s blunt tone. “I’m not feeling sorry for myself. I want to be here to help. I have to. I owe it to her.” C.J. sighed, letting her exasperation and worry for her friend show through. “Hitomi, she doesn’t blame you. You don’t owe her. Frankly, I think you’re worrying her. I know you’re worrying me.” Hitomi looked up from the device she was tinkering with, “What? Why am I worrying you?” The set of Siege’s mouth said volumes. “You’ve been making mistakes. You know it, I know it. Now Alana knows it. She’s worried about you.” Her expression softened, “ I’m worried about you. If I screw up, I can handle it. You’re a bit more,” she paused, “fragile.” Hitomi looked annoyed. “Oh come on. I may not be as strong, fast or tough as you, but I think I’ve proven that I can hold my own.” “I’m not saying you can’t,” she leaned back on a bench and crossed her arms. “I’m worried you’ll fall into some...