Jared Padalecki and the Mystery of the Egyptian Mummy Ch 3
Chapter Three
Akil was as happy as always to take Jared’s business and his money. Jared had been working with him since he’d come to Egypt more than seven years earlier. He’d spent time among the men, watching who they respected and who they challenged, and paying real attention to who challenged them.
When he met Akil, he’d been tested himself and Akil had liked what he’d learned about Jared. Even if he was an American, they learned he wasn’t the yahoo cowboy they all feared and all too often met. Jared might have an adventuring spirit, but it was an educated one as well. He impressed the others with his work ethic and his knowledge and let other people talk about his protégé language abilities and his uncanny ability to find anything hidden.
Given the undertaking, Akil promised a group of men that would be honest, hard working, and most importantly, trustworthy. Jared thought he’d be lucky to get 15 men of that caliber on such short notice but Akil promised 25 and he’d never let Jared down yet.
Akil was a good man, an interesting man that Jared had come to rely on since he’d come to Egypt. He was one of the few who knew about Jared’s dreams and believed in the sometimes prophetic nature of them. It made working with him easier when he didn’t have to lie about where his information came from. With Akil as his foremen other men listened. They worked where Akil told them, for as long as he told them, and trusted his judgment. Jared did the same. When Akil said it was best to dig one way to get to a location, that’s the way they went. If it went against something Jared had seen, they debated it between them, but always Jared took Akil’s advice and concerns as strongly as his own. He’d saved their lives enough times to merit it.
When the next morning came, Jared was met with 32 men and Akil’s smiling face outside the city walls. They rode horses and camels and had extras with equipment and supplies and Jared just shook his head. “You amaze me my friend.”
Akil’s smile grew. “You have a good reputation for being a fair and patient employer Jared. They would rather work for you and take this journey than be working for some stuffy museum man anyway.”
Jared took the compliment and nodded to the other man. “Then we had best get off before they start to think I just mean to walk them back to the basement. Let’s find ourselves a mystery Akil.”
Two days into their journey and Jared was more than happy with the progress they had made. The scroll he had translated gave the location of the marker that would give them a real indication of the scope of their trip. When night came he was bundled up in his tent, taking comfort as he could in his blankets and wishing in some ways that he’d been the type to stay with a museum. It wasn’t that he couldn’t, but Jared loved being in the field. He had a quick mind for linguistics and he wasn’t above asking the natives for more information if he thought they knew it. In fact, he liked to think that in most cases, the natives knew a fair bit more about whatever he was trying to dig up since it was almost always rich in their own historical lore. Most archaeologists preferred to keep the locals out of it, trusting only to their books and their foremen.
Jared was too hands on for that though. He wanted to mix it up with others, wanted to get his hands dirty and to learn to speak with the people. His mother claimed it was his downfall, his need to be in the field with uncouth men and that it was what had started his ‘unnatural’ appetites. She’d died when he was only 16 but it had been two years before that since he’d seen her face to face. Her reaction was part of the reason he chose not to get emotionally involved with others. A few friends that he could be close with was enough for him. Most nights.
That night was different though. For some reason, when he closed his eyes, instead of the dark calling to him, it was green eyes that found their way into his head and strong arms around his own, pulling him close.
When he woke in the morning he felt as tired as when he’d gone to lie down. He felt something in the air about him and the animals were acting up a little. When he found Akil, the other man looked wound up. “Do you feel what I feel?” Jared asked the other man.
Akil just nodded and they were both running through the camp to get things packed up as quickly as they could. They could see a rock outcropping in the distance, something Jared was heading for because it was one of the few structures in the area that might be able to be used as a marker. They needed to get to it and quickly if he and Akil were right. He just hoped they were wrong. Or that they had enough time.
An hour later the winds began to pick up a little. The men were eyeing the dunes on all sides of them, looking for the smallest sign that the wind was about to turn into something more devastating. Jared kept the pace going as fast as he could without risking serious injury to the men or animals. He’d make a run if they had to but he didn’t want to risk losing men, animals, or equipment to the fickle footholds of the sand when he didn’t have to.
They didn’t stop for meal, just ate in the saddle what they could and made sure everyone had their water bottles filled in case of separation. They all knew what to do, how to survive if need be and they knew to keep some provisions on their person, not trust entirely to the caravan, but they were Jared’s responsibility even if they did all know what could happen out in the desert. It was a hostile environment and no precautions they took could change that.
Two hours past noon, it came for them. The animals began to dance around and when Jared looked back he saw the wall of sand advancing on them. “RUN!” He screamed and didn’t look back to make sure they were following. Even if they hadn’t heard them, they were seasoned men who knew when to follow.
They had a chance. They’d pushed as hard as they dared and now it gave them the chance. If they could get into the outcropping, if there were places to hide among the rocks, they might survive it.
He felt others close by, others running slightly behind him and he was afraid of how many they’d lost already. The sand was kicking up around him as he made the dash towards the rock opening but he wasn’t sure if it would be enough. A hand grabbed at his reins from the side and he was about to lash out to gain control back when he looked up and saw green eyes staring back at him. The horses didn’t slow, but he led them into the rock. Jared took over his reins again, but let the other man lead them. The man’s horse turned left suddenly and when Jared followed they were suddenly in a small cavern. The man with the green eyes didn’t stop but led Jared further back as his men followed them in. Twenty feet in, the rock split into a larger cavern and walkways went along either side. Thirty feet in and there was no sound of the sand storm, just his men dismounting and trying to check on each other.
Akil was among them and he nodded to Jared. He could see the way he eyed the stranger and they’d worked long enough together that Jared interpreted it to mean that he had the men and he wanted Jared to check on the other. Considering his dream, he had no desire to do anything else.
He followed the other man further into the caves and found him tending his horse in a secluded alcove off to one side. It gave them privacy and Jared was grateful for that much. “Thank you.” He said, coming up behind the other man.
He turned and there it was again, those eyes that had been haunting him since he’d dreamed of them. Sometimes he felt they were watching him, even when he was awake. He took a deep breath and smiled, hoping it melted away some of the tension. “We would have found the caves but who knows how many men we would have lost while looking for them. I owe you a debt.”
The other man looked at him for a minute and then nodded. When he pulled the tightly wrapped hat off his head and pulled the bandana from his mouth Jared barely managed to contain a gasp. The man was beautiful. There was no other word for it. Green eyes and full, lush lips. Even with sand in his hair he could see the dark blond at the roots of the short spiky mess. Jared pulled his own hat from his head and tried to shake off a little of the dust that he knew had to be clinging to his brown curls. He held his hand out to the other man. “My name is Jared Padalecki. I’m an archaeologist.”
His hand was met, though the other man smiled as if he was amused at the custom. He grabbed a bottle from his horse and took a long sip before handing it to Jared. He cleared his throat then and to Jared it sounded like someone clearing rust from metal. He took a sip of water from the bottle that had been offered, taking it as a sign of hospitality, before he sat down on one of the stone benches that his eyes were just adjusting to see.
“Jensen.” The other man said as he sat down across from Jared. “Jensen Ackles. I’m…” he paused as if the words were amusing as well. “I’m something of an adventure.”
On to Chapter Four
*manip by insane_songbird * :P