From Dust To Dust
By Ann Stratton
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About this ebook
Dr. al-Zariki is on his way to the backside of nowhere to investigate claims that a living man has been found in an unknown tomb. It's impossible, but what's worse is that only Dr. al-Zariki can resolve the problem, and he is the last man alive who can.
Ann Stratton
Ann Stratton started writing at age thirteen with the usual results. After a long stint in fan fiction, honing her skills, she hopes she has gotten better since then. She lives in Southeaster Arizone, trying to juggle all her varied interests.
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From Dust To Dust - Ann Stratton
From Dust To Dust
The Smashwords Edition
Ann Stratton
A Blind Woman Production publication
Copyright © 2016 Ann Stratton
Smashwords License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment. It may not be resold or given away. If you would like to share this ebook, please purchase an additional copy for each person with whom you want to share it. If you're reading this ebook and did not purchase it, or if it was not purchased for your use only, please return to Smashwords and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.
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Disclaimer
This is a work of fiction, a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance or similarity to any actual events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
* * *
Credits
Cover photo courtesy of http://www.bigstockphoto.com
Editing, formatting, and cover design by Ann Stratton
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Table of Contents
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
From Dust To Dust
One
But, he’s all juicy,
Bonaventure objected. He’s three thousand years old, why is he still all juicy? And he smells terrible!
Professor Sharp leaned over the coffin, magnifying glass and probe in hand. Maybe some humidity got into the sarcophagus and rotted the body. Sometimes the seals dry out and let in water or animals. Maybe the embalming wasn’t as thorough as it should have been. Juicy and smelly or not, this is an incredible find. Make sure you photograph every inch of the body and inside of the sarcophagus, Garcia.
Carefully he tested the edge of the bandage wound around the mummy’s bulbous head. That’s interesting. Why is this so tight? I wonder if he has some kind of congenital deformity. I can’t wait to get him back to the lab.
Garcia finished arranging the floodlights, and stepped back behind his camera. Hold still, Doc, while I get this shot. Okay, you can move now. Wow, he’s really rank. I’ve photographed others and they didn’t smell nearly this bad. His feet are all torn up, too, see? His fingernails are all grown out, and so’s his toenails. They keep growing after death, but I didn’t think they got this long. This guy’s really different.
He is, which makes this find so important.
Professor Sharp backed away from the sarcophagus to let Garcia move in for a close up. The coffin suggests that this person was of considerable rank. Maybe even a member of the priesthood. This man has no external ornaments, certainly none that I would expect for someone buried in a religious coffin, in fact he has no ornaments at all, and only the very poor buried their dead with nothing to support them in the afterlife.
He fingered his lip and wandered over to the lid of the sarcophagus. Help me turn this over, Bonaventure.
They had to get Garcia to help them, grunting and shoving until the heavy lid finally rolled over. Professor Sharp dragged one of the floodlights over so he could examine the inside with his magnifying glass.
I don’t know how to read hieroglyphics,
Bonaventure commented, but I recognize a curse when I see one and they put this one right over his face. Maybe he wasn’t completely dead when they put him in here, eh Doc, wanted him to know they were really pissed at him.
Nonsense. How could he have seen it, wrapped up like he is? Even if he wasn’t, the embalming process would have killed him. They removed the organs, you know.
Bonaventure shuddered again. He backed away from the sarcophagus lid. Yeah. Disgusting.
Professor Sharp continued with his examination, leaning deeply into the cavity. He directed Bonaventure to adjust the lights some more and nearly pressed his nose into the painted clay lining. Well, this inscription is interesting. It’s not so much a curse as a sentence… a life sentence.
Garcia brought his camera to the lid and aimed it inside. What d’you mean by that, doc? How could it be a life sentence if they removed his organs and buried him?
I don’t know. I think I may be misinterpreting the glyphs, but my first impression is that they sentenced him to life, not death.
Professor Sharp leaned back and pointed. I’ll have to do some more research to make sure I’m reading it right, but that’s what it looks like. Get some good pictures of that, Garcia.
Yessir.
Garcia moved the floodlight around and adjusted the settings on his camera, trying to get a good image of the painted glyphs on the box. I think the last thing I’d want staring me in the face for all eternity is my sentence, especially if it was a sentence of death. I’ve seen other coffins where they painted scenes for a happy afterlife for the deceased to look at, but this is a first. D’ya think this is a new fashion, Professor?
How could he see where it was in the dark?
Bonaventure asked. He was still staying far away from the sarcophagus. Especially after they removed all his organs.
The dead don’t need eyes to see, Jamie.
Professor Sharp moved down the lid, examining it in the floodlights. That’s interesting—there’s dents and smaller scratches here, where the knees and toes would be.
He went back to the sarcophagus and knelt down to look at the mummy again. The bandages over his knees are damaged, and the bandages over the overgrown toenails. Well, how did that happen? He couldn’t have kicked the lid himself. This is all very interesting indeed. I really can’t wait to get this one back to the lab and x-rayed. I wonder who he was? I wonder why they buried him in such a damaged coffin, and tore up his wrappings like this?
Well, you’ll figure it out, Doc,
Garcia said. I’m going to photograph the walls here. Maybe there’s some inscription or something that’ll tell you something.
Yes, yes, the curse over the door. Superstitious nonsense, I say, and after all this time, the statute of limitations has run out, I’m sure. Get pictures of everything.
Professor Sharp waved Garcia off, who gathered up one of his floodlights and headed for the nearest wall. This is an important find and I’m not letting anyone else get their hands on it.
They all worked in silence for a while after that, Bonaventure holding the floodlight for Professor Sharp while he continued his examination of the mummy and Garcia working his way around the chamber. The little chamber was cool and dry and full of dust, and the men moving around raised fine clouds of it.
Ahchoo!
Gesundheit! Bless you!
the three men said in chorus. They looked at each other in confusion. Who sneezed?
Wasn’t me,
Bonaventure said, looking around the chamber in dread.
Wasn’t me either,
Garcia said.
And it wasn’t me,