The story continues…
The dead pharaoh dropped the dead maid’s now desiccated body. He unwrapped the linens around his head and revealed that his lifeless flesh now held a glow about it. He was unmistakably dead, but seemed to be regenerating. He shuffled off to find someone else to aid in his regeneration process.
Meanwhile, the loud crash was heard in the dining room. Tom Bertram and Edmund Bertram looked up, alarmed. Everyone else hardly noticed and calmly continued their chatter about society and the latest gossip. Fanny Price, who had absolutely no interest in the subjects in question, also noticed the loud sound emanating from the upper floor. Tom indicated (to those that paid attention) that everyone should stay seated so that he may investigate. He didn’t think it was anything serious and therefore thought it was unnecessary to alarm anyone. He excused himself formally from the table and walked up the stairs.
Tom walked up the stairs and looked at the empty hall in front of him. He wondered which room the sound could have come from and resumed walking slowly down the hall, listening for any more sounds. He heard a rustle in the closet next to Fanny’s room.
He walked slowly and silently up to it and threw it open with a shout. He saw Josephine’s crumpled figure on the floor next to the empty sarcophagus. He exclaimed. “Josephine! Are you all right?”
Hurriedly, he bent to help her up. He recoiled and gasped in horror when he realized that the young woman was dead and looked to have been so for quite some time.
Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, the mummy gripped Tom’s neck, lifting him easily. Tom gave a shout of surprise and struggled against the mummy’s vice grip. He tried to hit or kick the monster, but it proved ineffective as the mummy’s grip continued to tighten.
Black spots danced at the edges of his vision. He knew he couldn’t stay conscious for much longer. His attempts at escape became weaker and weaker until he could hardly lift his limbs anymore. He was about to be engulfed by the darkness of unconsciousness when he was unceremoniously dropped onto the floor. Color flooded back into his world as he coughed and tried to breathe.
When he took a couple of full breaths, he looked up and saw his brother Edmund, striking the mummy about the head with a golden bust of Nefertiti he had found in a random crate. It just seemed to be annoying the creature rather than doing any real damage. Tom attempted to stealthily find a weapon in the closet to no avail. He was about to strike the mummy in the back of the head with his fist when he heard a woman scream downstairs! “How could this possibly get any worse?” wondered Edmund.
* Based on Mansfield Park and Mummies by Jane Austen and Vera Nazarian.
* guest post from Titania of Fishmuffins of Doom
* image source mummy
