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xxxbut still inside a whisper to a riot
xxxto sacrifice but knowin' to survive
xxxthe first to climb another state of mind
It took a lot to curb Novaâs enthusiasm for life and for exploring new and exciting places. Day one of the tour, sheâd been full of life and energy, excited to explore the city and get to grips with a new culture. Sheâd already picked up her fair share of souvenirs, including a new tea cup sheâd found at a random stall and had immediately fallen in love with. Truth be told, it had all been a welcome distraction from once again being in proximity with a certain somebody.
But by day two, the heat and the jet lag were starting to get the better of her. They hadnât completely won out, her excitement replenished by the promise of getting to see the Great Pyramids, but she was perhaps less excitable than she had been. There was less of a bounce in her step, and slightly more irritated muttering to herself as she reapplied her suncream. By the end of the day, her energy was starting to wane significantly and truth be told, when the professor said that they wouldnât be getting the bus back to the hotel, there was a part of Nova that could have cried. She just wanted to sit in her hotel room and read for a while. Or possibly just collapse the minute she got into bed. Either sounded appealing. When it became apparent that they were lost, a significantly larger part of Nova could have cried. She wasnât one for superstition and ghost stories, but sheâd also seen enough horror movies to know that avoiding the localâs warnings about staying out after dark was a sure fire way to find yourself in a horror movie. At least her father would be amused if they met in the afterlife and Nova had to admit she'd died on a history trip.
Fears of ending up a victim of some cheap, shitty horror movie aside, she stayed following the group. The promise of a passing grade wasnât much of an incentive to get Nova to climb down a ravine into an unknown tomb; she was already somewhat confident sheâd pass the class regardless, and it wasnât even that relevant to her major. Honestly, sheâd only taken it because sheâd felt particularly nostalgic when picking her classes and wanted to take a history class to relive the stories her father used to tell her. âSir, Iâm not sure any of us are capable of giving you a piggyback back up that ravine if you break a leg,â she joked as Kayden and Tarren mentioned the bad light. They had a point.
She might have remained outside, had he not mentioned something about having their names written into history. It was as if she could hear her father telling her to go for it, to have an adventure for once. Her determination and curiosity renewed, she nodded at Tarren and followed them into the chamber. At least she'd have Tarren if they got attacked by evil mummies. Even still, she dug into her bag and pulled out her torch, holding it tightly in case she needed to use it as a weapon. She'd seen Indiana Jones and The Mummy movies too many times to be unprepared going into a tomb.
It didn't take long for Nova to forget her uneasiness and lose herself in the architecture of the tomb. There was a certain pang of sadness too. Her father would have loved to have seen this. She could hear his voice, clear as day, getting excited about the thoughts of seeing an actual Egyptian tomb. She stuck beside Tarren and Astrid, trusting them to pull her away if she got too lost in her own thoughts or in her surroundings. She had to suppress a cackle at Tarren's comment about wondering how long it would take for them to get entirely lost and Astrid's addition. "Fifteen minutes is a little optimistic. My money is on someone tripping over something or stepping on the wrong block and triggering a trap the minute we're all inside the tomb," she mused. Her guess appeared to be wrong as they delved deeper; although it was apparently still dangerous enough. Tarren had to shove her back from stumbling into a sinkhole. Once on more secure ground, she wandered away from the others to explore a little more, scanning the walls around her. She'd never seen anything like this before. She found herself wondering if anyone had. Were they on the edge of some great archeological discovery? Once again, that bittersweet feeling rose in her chest. God, how her father would have loved to have been there. Her mother would have been standing a few feet behind her, laughing at how ridiculous it was that he was getting so excited over some old paintings, for god's sake William-
A scream broke her out of her thoughts, and she ran to the next room, skidding to a stop as she scanned the surroundings. Ren seemed to be fine, or at least fine enough for Astrid to already be teasing them. But there was something else she noticed. "Guys. Where's Price?" She asked, frowning.

xxxi got no one to smile for,
xxxi've waited a while for a moment to say
xxxi don't owe you a goddamn thing
She told herself that the fact that she was only close with a handful of people on the trip really didn't matter. Besides, if she was out vlogging and getting some good shots of the city and whatever they were up to, well then, maybe she was better being by herself anyway. She was used to doing everything by herself, this wasn't going to be anything new. As if to prove it to herself, she spent most of the first day just out and about in Cairo by herself, vlogging as much of the city as she could before heading back and spending the evening researching what else she needed to see and do while she was there. All by herself. All fine by herself.
The fact that day two was a group trip was a welcome one. Getting to see the great pyramids was a fun experience, and she made sure to rope Tarren and Izzi into some goofy shots too. But the day was wearing on, and it was beginning to get cold. She had presumed they'd be back to the hotel before the sun was properly down, and so hadn't bothered to bring any layers. With her arms wrapped tightly around herself, she begrudgingly trudged after the others and the professor. Truth be told, a warm hotel with a bar seemed a whole lot more appealing than an old cave right then, but apparently everyone else was enough of a history nerd that the latter won out.
Still, when the challenge to head down into a dangerous-looking ravine came up, Charlie wasn't going to turn it down. It turned out the ground was soft enough that she was able to somewhat gracefully slide down and land on her feet, bouncing back upright and brushing herself down. She looked around to see if anyone else had noticed. But Tarren had gone ahead of her into the tomb, so they certainly hadn't seen her cool trick. It wasn't like anyone else she wanted to impress was going to see it either. Swallowing, she forced herself to keep her triumphant smile on her face and headed into the tomb after them. As everyone else flicked on their torches, Charlie's stomach sank as she remembered she hadn't even thought to bring one. She thought by now she'd be back in her room, either settling down to edit or... going out on the town or... something. Not exploring a dark ass cave that probably would just have a whole bunch of old boxes that weren't even that interesting. Charlie had only taken the class because she wanted to learn about Egyptian myths because she thought they were cool like the Greek ones. Not to look at some dumb old broken boxes.
But still, she cautiously followed the others into the tomb. She briefly thought about using the flashlight on her phone, but she didn't want to run down the battery unnecessarily. So she just stuck close to everyone else who had torches and hoped for the best. The tomb was more or less what she expected. Sure, it was cool to get to see something new, but it was hard for her to get excited over some old paintings and a whole bunch of cobwebs. Lost, tired, and starting to get quite cold, she found herself idly tailing after Ren and Astrid. Ren screaming about a creepy-crawly made her smile a little bit; but mostly it just made her notice that Price and Kayden had vanished. Nova appeared a second later, noticing the exact same thing and commenting on it. "Great. They've definitely left us here to die," Charlie said, shrugging a little.
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xxx I'm chasin' freedom for the fearless
xxx I gotta do it cause' I can't chase fear myself
xxx I'm bout as broken as I confess
xxx But better than most that lay cower
Out of breath, she trudged up yet another sand dune as they moved further and further out into the desert. What are we even doing here? she thought as the soles of her feet throbbed in time with her heart. She wasn't used to this kind of heat coming from the north. Sure it could get hot in Boston, but not hotter-than-the-depths-of-hell hot She limped up beside Charlie and said, "Where... do you think... we're going?" She braced her hands on her knees and she took deep breaths, but before she knew it, they were already moving again. She groaned. "Curse my wanderlust. I should've stayed home." She adjusted her pack on her back with a grunt. "Or at least could've packed better. My sweat has sweat." She called up ahead to the professor. "Professor Price, I'm pretty sure people travel through the desert at night when it's cooler."
Of course, he was too busy rambling to his frustratingly attractive assistant. Her reasons for joining the expedition were threefold: 1) because how dope a trip to Egypt would be, 2) for the grade, and 3) to impress Kayden. But of course, she looked like a soggy towel with frizzy hair instead of a hot desert traveler.
In the distance, she could see a large object coming into view. She could also see that the sun was setting which meant cooler temperatures to travel in, but it also meant that they wouldn't be back to their lodgings for an absurd amount of time and she was already exhausted. Grumbling to herself she trudged on until they came to a stop at the base of a tomb. Professor Price had that twinkle in his eyes that Izzi had learned too well. They were definitely not going back tonight. She sighed and set down her pack before ripping off the cape she had around her shoulders and revealing her outfit beneath. She pulled a small electric fan out of her pack and sat down, basking in what little breeze it made.
The professor invited them inside the tomb and at first, she refused saying, "I'd rather sit than risk activating a booby trap, thanks." But then curiosity got the best of her and she found herself wandering inside after them. She gazed around in amazement, or at least of what she could see in the fading light. There were plenty of hieroglyphics for her to attempt to decipher. As a botany major, she had no experience with doing so before, but there was something about being inside an ancient egyptian tomb that made her want to try. Though she refused to touch or take anything. She'd seen The Mummy. She knew better.
The group crowded around a mural of the gods battling one another and she stared at it, puzzled. She tilted her curly hair, hazel eyes roving over the image. She took the class because she was fascinated with history and mythology and in everything she had ever read, she couldn't identify a single tale that told of the gods battling one another. Although, she had to admit that Set leading the charge made a ton of sense. He was the god of Chaos after all. She had this... prickling sensation crawl up her skin. Like she was being watched... or that something bad was about to happen. Her... "Izzi sense" wasn't super specific. Either way, she decided to head back outside into the cooling evening air. The last thing she needed was getting groped by the rag wrapped undead.
She was 10 feet from the door when she heard a spine-chilling scream rip through the air of the tomb. She snapped her attention back to the group and in the silence that followed heard Nova ask, "Where's Price?" The air on the back of her neck stood up (well more than it was with just frizzing) and dread filled her stomach. "Oh, shit..."
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xxx The age of man is over
xxx A darkness comes at dawn
xxx These lessons that we've learned here
xxx Have only just begun
The very same people he walked through the desert with now. He was joking around with them, trying to distract himself from watching the curly head of his gorgeous ex as she walked ahead of the group. The day Nova walked into their classroom was the day he felt his soul temporarily leave his body. They didn't end terribly... but they also didn't end well. He missed her every day. Things just... hadn't worked out between them and he wished he could take it all back and try again, but he was too nervous... no, honestly too afraid, to even try.
Don't even get him started with Mia.
So, instead, he roughly pat Benji and Denali on the back and said, "We're almost there, I can feel it." Then he adjusted his pack and ran a hand through his sandy blonde hair. "Or at least we better be. My calves are killing me. I can stand for hours and walk for days but these hills are going to send me straight to hell."
That's when they saw it. The tomb. Excitement coursed through him as he imagined what he'd find. The whole trip made him feel like a real-life Indiana Jones. Only without the rad hat and the badass whip. Once they had arrived and Professor Price invited them to join him inside, he couldn't wait. He bounced on the balls of his feet which looked a little ridiculous considering his size. Once they filed in, he gazed around in awe at the colorful hieroglyphics and the piles of gold and organ jars. "This place is amazing," He mused to no one in particular.
One image caught his eye as Professor Price discussed the mural on the wall. Horus, the god of the sky. He could almost swear there was gold in the paint that shone on his hawklike head. He reached out and touched it, feeling sand and cool stone against his fingertips. He took in the rest of the image from there, noticing Set leading the charge against them. Something troubled him about the image but he couldn't figure out what it was.
He saw a dark head out of the corner of his eye and he grinned. He started to race ahead to meet up with the girl who was as close to a sister as he could ever have: Astrid. But as soon as he took a few rushed steps forward he heard the scream. He stopped just short of where she stood with Tarren their gazes turned towards the source of the sound. "That can't be good..."


For some reason, Teddy felt the compulsive need to be Graysonâs guide this entire trip. He had also taken it upon himself to describe each place they visited in as much detail as his vocabulary allowed. He knew he meant well by it. Itâs the only reason Grayson ever just went along with whatever Teddy chose to tag along with him on. Heâs just too nice. Itâs so annoying.
He had hoped their day was coming to an end. He could feel the sun setting and it finally started to cool down around him. Grayson felt like he was caked in sweat despite being appropriately dressed. Of course, Professor Price had the ingenious idea to coerce them all to going into a tomb. Well, he wasnât forcing them. But itâs not like Grayson was going to pass on the opportunity to be a part of a discovery. Superstitions be damned. âBlind Man Makes Great Discovery in Egyptâ. Get famous and laugh about it at the same time. Sounds perfect.
It wasnât necessarily easy using a walking stick in a desert, so Grayson opted for grudgingly holding onto Teddy most of this trip. The part of the group trekking inwards, gave Grayson the opportunity to break away and grab onto whoever was closest first to start making his way away and a chance to breathe. But also in hopes of being able to find Nova or Charlie. At least they understood his humor. Explaining these things to Teddy was too much work. That leads into wondering how he even got into this school even though Grayson is fully aware that this man is somehow a musical prodigy blessed by the gods. And they have such a strange sense of irony.
Things had gone single filed as they delved further in. Grayson kept himself outwardly calm except for gripping a little too tightly onto the shirt of whoever was in front of him. He could follow the voices but he still couldnât help but feel uneasy. He didnât like small spaces and not being able to at least find the person privileged to know that fact was not helping.
The group that stopped was looking at a mural. Grayson listened in as he attempted to continue to feel through and follow the voices while he picked out and followed them. He chuckled as they described the scene of the mural. âThe gods fighting among each other. Sounds like chaos.â Somehow, he ended up with Teddy again. Absolutely no idea how he managed to just appear next to him without Grayson noticing. âHow do I always get stuck with you?â
âWe have to do the buddy system. Did you see that sink hole?â Teddyâs face flushed over at realizing what he just said. [color=#]âI mean-â[/color] It wasnât really words after that. Just southern mumbling before Grayson finally saved him and cut him off. âJust stop talking and be my walking stick. I give up.â Grayson had no energy for this. He was tired, stuck in a small space, and the best he had was this idiot as a guide. But then, Teddy surprised him.
Teddy already knew Grayson was uneasy the second they went through the entryway. Grayson never really talked about himself as much as he acted. Teddy never asked. Heâd tell him if he wanted to. Instead he just noticed. He saw the ways heâd change if they were in small spaces. The times heâd tried to act calm even though he was feeling disoriented and anxious. Teddy wouldnât ask why but he could at least try to comfort and help where heâd let him. So he put his hands on Graysonâs shoulderâs to steady and face towards him and then gave him a brief hug. He really wanted to hug him for long but he also knows Grayson isnât the biggest fan of affection so he had to take what he could get.
âIâve got you, bro.â Grayson actually managed to smile at him. Teddy was beaming. Then a scream broke Teddyâs âmomentâ and he needed to run towards the direction of the sound with Grayson being dragged along as a result. He couldnât just say heâs got him and then ditch. Thatâs against Bro Code. It ended up being a creepy crawly. Teddy wouldâve screamed too. So would Grayson.
"Guys. Where's Price?" Teddy finally looked around and noticed Price and Kayden were gone. Probably not good. Grayson deduced this much given everyone elseâs reaction to them being gone. Great. They've definitely left us here to die," That familiar voice caused a devilish smirk to form on Grayson as he quickly made the few strides over to her. His hand landed on top of her head. âI finally found you, Pix.â He couldnât help himself from ruffling her hair a bit. âWe already made the mistake of following the crazy professor into an Egyptian tomb. At this point, itâs death or curse and we certainly asked for it-â Grayson shrugged and took his hand off her. âRight now Iâm just hoping dear olâ dad rememberâs to add âdevilishly handsomeâ on my grave stone.â
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