Chapter III Preview
The still vulnerable wounds from 20 years ago were sliced right open for my father. First Christa, and now Jamie... How much punishment could one tod take? What has he done to deserve such misfortune and hardship? My father thought about this as he sat on the warm desert sands, leaning against the dusty old Land Rover.
He then suddenly saw an outreached paw. He looked up, and it was Rita. He grabbed her paw and she helped him back to his feet.
"We've gotta go back in..." She said.
Alex attempted to say something in response, but he only let out a faint moan.
"I failed by abandoning your son in their time of need... We've gotta go back in and do what we can to rescue Jamie."
"But... That pyramid is cursed... What's the point of going inside if it'll cost us our lives too?" Alex finally replied.
And then Alex noticed a strange shape, in the direction of the pyramid. It looked somewhat like a pillar of fog, but under closer inspection, it was shaped like a female fur--a vixen. The fur on the back of Alex's neck stood up on end as he realized what he was looking at--He was staring at the ghost of Christa!
"What's the matter, Alex...?" Rita asked.
But, he didn't answer as he slowly walked towards the spirit. He slowly approached her until he was face-to-face with her. She looked exactly how he remembered her to look... Her cute, yet spunky appearance, her short hairstyle, and those eyes... Those fiery yet vulnerable eyes...
"Ch... Christa....?" He asked.
She said nothing. Instead, she turned her head towards the pyramid.
"You want me to go back inside, right?"
She said nothing. And then when the others approached Alex, she suddenly vanished.
"Are you all right, Alexander?" He heard his former boss ask.
Alex turned around and saw Dr. Lyons and Rita Lopez standing there.
"We must go back inside..." Alex uttered. "I won't rest until the mystery behind this accursed pyramid is solved!"
But, little did he know, the mystery was rapidly deepening. Just a few miles away, something sinister was unfolding by the very minute. Just a few miles away, in the pyramid, my situation was about to come to a head. Still terrified, I could do nothing but stand still as the wraith-like figure inched closer and closer to me.
"What do you want with me!?" I finally wailed.
"Heh heh... Twenty years is such a long time to remain imprisoned inside of a sarcophagus, do you not think? I think it is just about time I go outside and get some fresh air. There is a small problem, though. I am hopelessly tethered to this room. This body cannot leave this room. But yours, on the other hand..."
I continued to stare into her glowing red eyes, feeling my nerve endings go cold as ice.
"No... You wouldn't do this to me." I replied. "A mother would never do anything so selfish to her child..."
She let out a laugh.
"You still think I'm your mother? Silly vulpine... Yes, you are speaking to the physical manifestation of your birthmother, but, heh heh, her soul was ousted long, long ago. It certainly wasn't easy either."
"You... You monster! What have you done to her soul!?"
"Oh? I wouldn't worry about her. She has been wallowing around in purgatory for the last two decades. In fact, I thought that I was doing her a favor by releasing her from this horrible place. But, enough about that. I have business I have to take care of."
Her eyes suddenly turned from that glowing shade of crimson to a dazzling bright white, almost like a camera's flash or a lightning strike. I was blinded for a moment, but when I could see again, I was in for a shock! Almost as if I was looking into a mirror, there I stood, right in front of me. For a brief second, I thought that I was cloned or something, but when I looked at my hands, they were black and shiny. Fuck, my body must've been swapped with my mother's!
The red-maned fox's face twisted into a devious smile, before saying, in my own voice,
"Well, I have important matters to take care of. Have fun doing nothing at all in this drab tomb!"
But, before I could stop this malevolent spirit, a strong wind whipped up once again, blowing sand and stinging my eyes. Once it died down, my body, and the spirit controlling it, was gone.
Thoroughly panicked, I ran to the threshold leading out of the room. But as soon as I reached it, I ran into what felt like a gigantic balloon, and I was knocked back. I got back up and I was shocked when I could rest my hand flat on the gap, hopelessly looking down the hallway I couldn't access. I sat and lied down, letting out a loud groan. What was I going to do now?
A convoy of off-road vehicles pulled up at the pyramid entrance. Rita and my father immediately leaped out and walked up to the rather ominous-looking entrance. They hesitated for a moment, knowing that many unknown horrors lied inside, but before they could make a move, someone came out, walking at a slow but confident pace.
"Jamie!?" Asked my father. "Is that you?"
"Yeah, I guess you could say that..." It responded.
That spirit, in full control of my body, had come out of the pyramid. What she was going to do now, was anyone's guess.