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Haley looked at the
door.
    The sound of a loud dragging noise
filled the corridor.
    The man appeared in the doorway. He
dragged a long oblong-shaped object at his side.
    He clambered down the stone steps
and raised the object in his hand. He hurled the item with a grim
huff.
    The dusty thing soared across the
room and it landed on the floor in the center of the space with a
resonant thump.
    The thing was large and covered
with dust. The object was wrapped in thick layers of cream colored
bandages and it possessed the shape of a man.
    The man moved to the dusty thing.
He fell to his knees and grabbed at the thing’s head. He ripped the
bandages from the object.
    The twisted face of a mummy
appeared beneath the torn cloth bindings.
    Abigail screamed.
    Haley shivered.
    The man raked his hands along the
shriveled thing’s cheek.
    A thick flap of discolored skin
fell from the corpse. The stark white bone of a skull lay beneath
the marred flesh.
    The man released his hold on the
mummy. He rose to his feet.
    “ Let’s see if this convinces you,”
The man said.
    The man flung his hand at the mummy
while murmuring softly.
    A faint scream echoed in the
room.
    The air in the chamber became still
and the sound from the television was suddenly mute.
    A rattling cough poured from the
mummy just before the preserved body sat up with a quick jerking
motion.
    The thing turned its head with
great difficulty and it looked at Abigail and Haley.
    The mummy leaped to its feet and
several layers of its bandages fell from its form. It thrust out
its arms and moved clumsily towards the young women.
    Abigail dropped the
sword.
    Haley dropped the cell.
     
     

Chapter Four
     
    Haley grabbed Abigail's arm
and she ran across the room.
    Abigail ran clumsily at
Haley's side.
    The two young women
sprinted across the room.
    Haley and Abigail stopped
in front of a far wall. The two young women pressed their spines
against the stone partition while they watched the mummy shuffle
clumsily towards them.
    "My Mom brought him back
from one of her expeditions," the man said. "He just wants to say
hi."
    "Peter stop it!" Abigail
screamed.
    "Stay away from us!" Haley
howled.
    The mummy continued its
shuffling steps forward. A low moan poured from the bandaged
figure's lips just before it stopped its stride in the center of
the room.
    The dark haired man danced
across the room and he stopped a few feet away from Haley and
Abigail. He smiled at Haley and pointed at the mummy.
    “ Now do you believe me
Haley?” the man asked.
    “ No!" Haley shouted with
indignation. "That thing's not real! It's just some crazy guy in a
mummy costume!”
    “ Okay,” The dark haired
man said calmly.
    The dark haired youth
turned away from Haley. He stared at the fireplace.
    A loud crackling noise
suddenly filled the room.
    The two stone dragons
beneath the hearth shuddered and came to life.
    Their stark white bodies
were awash with blinding bursts of red, orange and yellow. Their
scale-covered bodies increased in size. They released loud
shrieking noises before they burst from their perch within the
wall.
    The two beasts spread their
magnificent wings. They released loud cawing noises before they
flew around the room.
    The twin creatures floated
around the room in slow circular motions. Their ruby red eyes were
fixed on the inhabitants in the chamber.
    Haley and Abigail watched
the flying creatures with screams of terror.
    One of the stone dragons
closed its eyes briefly. It released a gagging choke before it
opened its mouth and breathed a torrent of yellow fire from its
throat.
    The jet of crackling flame
spewed from the creature’s mouth and it landed atop the sofa with a
deafening crack.
    The settee exploded in a
burst of cracking flame.
    Haley and Abigail rushed
away from the couch. They cowered near the curtained
windows.
    The dragon’s flying
companion swooped towards the curtains. It closed its eyes briefly
and shot a streaming jet of yellow flame in the shivering