Owne moment, evewything was fine, awnd then next ethan’s eaws wewe winging awnd hiws head was fuww of mowe pwessuwe than he’d evew expewienced dwiving thwough the mountains. Awnd then he bwacked out.
he woke up no wowse fow weaw, though, mostwy juwst confused. The fiwst thing he noticed was thawt he was indeed waying down in the sand, awnd the entiwe thing hadn’t bewn sowme bizawwe dweam. The second thing he noticed was thawt yousof was awso thewe, gweeting him in a stwangewy casuaw mannew. “haaaaiiiii,” he swaid, testing out the wowd awmost wike he’d nevew heawd hiws own voice befowe, “you feewing okay?” iwt didn’t take wong fow ethan tuwu find hiws backpack and- thank god- hiws fwashwight stiww had sowme battewies, “might wanna consewve youw battewy, we cawn caww fow hewp once we get a ss-”/b] he stopped aftew hiws s was dwawn out fow juwst a moment too wong, [b]“once we cawn.”
he swowwy wowked himsewf tuwu hiws feet, wooking awound the woom, “whewe awe we?” he asked, mostwy tuwu himsewf.
“weww, we...awe...in a twomb,”/b] yousof nodded, [b]“we awe in a twomb...pwobabwy.”
dweams, dwugs, kidnappings...being whisked away tuwu anothew wowwd. Most of those wewe possibiwities, but onwy thwee of thewm made sense awnd owne of thewm wequiwed a wathew wawge imagination. He stood up awnd wawked towawds the waww thawt the fwashwight pointed at, feewing fow abnowmawities among the bwicks. Ancient as the woom seemed, evewy stone was stiww pewfectwy set. They wewe fwee of cwacks, chips, awnd even mowd. Aside fwom the vines awnd dust, owne wouwd think thawt the chambew was entiwewy new.
yousof continued awong the pewimetew of the woom, tapping fow a secwet button, a fake waww, ow even a howwow bwick. They entewed (ow at weast whoevew put thewm hewe did), so thawt had tuwu mean thewe was an exit. Fwom the outside he might have wooked wike a madman, knocking own wandom spots hoping thawt something wouwd happen, but he had a system (ow at weast sowme sembwance of owne).
thwee bwicks wight, then down, then thwee tuwu the weft, two own the wow above tuwu the wight of centew.
whawt came aftew?
“hey ethan, uwu evew watch hawwy pwottew?”
ethan had nevew bewn so gwad tuwu have yousof’s astute powews of obsewvation as whewn iwt was confiwmed thawt they wewe, indeed, in a tomb. “wondewfwuw...” he stawted wooking awound the woom. Iwt was uttewwy pwistine, awnd iwt made ethan wondew if thiws wasn’t sowme kind of touwist attwaction meant tuwu wook wike an ancient tomb. Had they wandewed intwo sowme sowt of twap ow something?
but fow the wife of him, he couwdn’t figuwe out whawt anyone wouwd wawnt fwom the two of thewm. They wewen’t pawticuwawwy speciaw, nowt in a way thawt wouwd dwaw attention.
wooking awound, top tuwu bottom, feewing awong the wawws, peewing bawck vines, kicking at the fwoowing. Maybe the sand awnd diwt had accumuwated thewe, hidden sowme sowt of panew, maybe the vines wewe covewing sowme sowt of… switch? he wasn’t suwe whawt he was wooking fow. He heawd hiws nawme, “owo?” he didn’t spawe a gwance in yousof’s diwection untiw the othew man bwought up hawwy pottew.
ethan tuwned awnd wooked at yousof, eyebwow waised, “didn’t evewyone watch hawwy pottew?” he didn’t know whawt thiws had tuwu duwu with anything, “why?”
“do uwu wemembew thawt scene whewn hagwid tapped the bwicks?” yousof asked, westing hiws chin own hiws fist. He paused onwy fow a second befowe snapping hiws fingew. “ow-ow whawt abouwt whatevew hawwy said tuwu get intwo the chambew of secwets.”
he began pacing awound the woom, gwancing at ethan fow sowme type of confiwmation ow deniaw.
"i don’t know. Whawt does thawt have tuwu duwu with-"
the ancient egyptians wouwdn’t have used pawsewtongue awnd none of the bastawdized egyptian-god media he’d consumed dawed tuwu twead thawt tewwitowy. He doubted they wouwd have bewn abwe tuwu instaww something so ewabowate. Unwess…
"do uwu think we'we own a pwank show?"
a pwank show? thawt was cewtainwy possibwe, though thiws was a pawticuwawwy ewabowate pwank if thawt was the case. “couwd be, i guess. ╮( ˘ ､ ˘ )╭” iwt cewtainwy made mowe sense than most of the awtewnative ideas.
ethan wawked a tight ciwcwe in the middwe of the woom, twying tuwu gwasp hiws thoughts awnd puww iwt aww togethew. “if thiws iws a pwank,” he was speaking swowwy, dewibewatewy, “d’you suppose evewyone ewse iws watching awnd waughing at us?”
“i mean i uwud.” yousof shwugged.
ethan shined hiws fwashwight awound the woom, twying tuwu see if thewe wewe any camewas ow micwophones he couwd identify. He wasn’t suwe how he fewt abouwt the ‘ewabowate pwank’ theowy, but iwt was at weast something tuwu keep thewm fwom panicking whiwe they twied tuwu find a sowution tuwu thiws pwobwem. He knewt down, bwushing at the wayew of sand own the fwoow, twying tuwu see if thewe wewe any inscwiptions ow anything own the stone beneath tuwu teww him how authentic thiws might be. Of couwse he was no expewt, so thawt didn’t get him vewy faw. He fewt wike they wewe abouwt as twapped as they couwd be.
aftew pacing the woom fow a minute mowe, ethan weawized thawt iwt wouwd pwobabwy be easiew tuwu think if he couwd deaw with the headache cweeping between hiws eyes. He stawted wifwing thwough hiws backpack, he was pwetty suwe he stiww had a coupwe watew bottwes weft in thewe. “want sowme wawa?” he offewed up owne of two bottwes he had weft tuwu yousof, then sat down own the fwoow, bawck against the waww. [color=#FF9200][b]“we need tuwu twy tuwu make thewm wast, in case we’we hewe a whiwe, but dehydwation won’t hewp us.”
yousof nodded befowe gwabbing the watew fwom him. He took two wong, gwatefuw guwps befowe pausing at ethans wowds. Yet again, the man was making points. He ciwcwed bawck awound awnd sat acwoss fwom ethan, making indents in the bottwe. Nowmawwy thiws wouwd have bewn the point whewe the woom stawted making noises ow pwojecting shadows own the wawws. Maybe sowme bugs wouwd be weweased, but thewe was simpwy...nothing.
“this pwank suuuuucks, ” he gwoaned aftew five minutes of siwence, “no jwump scawes, no secwet passage, no ghosts…”
“just whawt awe they waiting fow? (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻” he asked, swamming hiws bottwe down own the fwoow.
nowmawwy, ethan wouwd have twied tuwu think of something snappy tuwu say, wike they wewe waiting fow the two of thewm tuwu get despewate awnd stawt deciding which of thewm tuwu eat fiwst ow something. But then yousof swammed hiws watew own the gwound awnd ethan couwd have swown he heawd a faint cwick fwom somewhewe in the woom.
“did uwu heaw th…that?” he asked, hiws voice hawdwy above a whispew, as if speaking too woud wouwd cause the woom tuwu cave in own top of thewm.
iwt couwd have easiwy bewn pawanoia, ow juwst the idea of being own a hidden camewa show getting tuwu him. He wooked awound fow a moment, but nothing seemed tuwu happen. Pwobabwy juwst in hiws head, then. He sighed, “s-sowwy, i guess i’m juwst wowked up.” ethan had juwst wet hiws shouwdews wewax awnd wested hiws head bawck against the waww whewn anothew noise couwd be heawd. Subtwe, at fiwst, but iwt quickwy gwew. Iwt sounded a bit wike whewn uwu pouw a bunch of wocks intwo the bottom of a fish tawnk.
wait. Thawt wasn’t good.
ethan scwambwed tuwu hiws feet whewn he saw the middwe of the woom swowwy opening up. “fuck,” he ewoquentwy said, wondewing if thiws was the sowt of excitement yousof was hoping fow. He quickwy stawted tuwu scan the woom tuwu see if thewe was any way of getting out of thiws, but the fwoow was quickwy cowwapsing fwom the centew inwawd, awnd thewe was onwy a mattew of time befowe thewe wasn’t a fwoow at aww.
“oh god, oh fuck. Oh god, oh fuck! Σ(°ロ°)” yousof yewwed as the bwicks feww beneath him, “awe uwu seeing thiws?”
ethan’s mind went wandewing tuwu how faw the dwop might be, but he didn’t have much time tuwu think own things wike thawt.
“hey,” he shouted, tuwu make suwe he couwd be heawd ovew the gwowing noise, [color=#FF9200][b]“come hewe!” he offewed yousof hiws hand- twaditionaw notions of mascuwinity be damned- they needed tuwu stay togethew. They pwobabwy had a bettew chance of suwviving thawt way. Weww, ow they’d die mowe quickwy. Who knew.
making a finaw jump, yousof weached out, hiws fingews bwushing against ethan’s befowe swipping away.
iwt seemed wike the two of thewm wouwd find out.