The Horror of the Pit

Imhotep stood on the other side of the ceremonial pit, his face cold and impassive. Paulito was surprised that the creature had not commanded the other guards to rush forward and attack. The brave knight would not let this opportunity pass. Again the scimitar flew through the air and again it found its target. A plume of dust exploded outward as the curved blade cut through Imhotep's heart. Shechem gasped. But Imhotep merely reached up and pulled the scimitar out, letting it clatter to the stone floor. "I don't die that easily," he said in his dry, sandy voice. Then he reached out and pointed at Paulito, and the creature's black eyes shone with a malevolent power. "Come to me," he said.

Against his will Paulito took a step forward and then another. He struggled just to stand still, but the force of Imhotep's will and whatever power lay behind it dragged him step by step closer to the pit. Once again he could feel something crawl across his body and the sygils that stretched around his chest grew warm and pustulant. Paulito opened his mouth, wanting to scream. Imhotep was not pleased. "If you utter another sound," he warned, "I will have your tongue removed." Paulito stood with his mouth open, the scream caught in his throat. His feet had reached the edge of the pit. Imhotep nodded and Paulito hopped into the grave-like hole. He lay down on his back and his limbs grew cold and still. His hearing dimmed and the chanting voices that began to fill the chamber sounded dull and muffled. A heaviness pressed down upon him like a blanket and then Shechem clambered down into the pit with him. The fat man folded Paulito's arms across each other and laid them on his chest. Producing a fine haired brush, the sinister figure began to paint lines and shapes upon Paulito's unholy wrappings. When Shechem had finished, the fat man left the pit and rejoined his evil master.

Though not a handful of dirt had been laid upon him, Paulito felt like he was being buried alive. The truth of it was far more horrible. The macabre music of the chanting voices reached toward a feverish crescendo but Paulito did not hear it. His ears were filled with another sound. A wind, hot and crackling, tore through his mind and blew against his skin. But that wind was soon overtaken by the slow crushing rumble of stone. What was this sound, of stone scraping against stone, of monoliths unlocked and ancient chambers shut no more? And why, beneath it all, did Paulito hear the rushing march of a hundred million bone-shod feet?

Imhotep gazed down upon the ceremonial pit as the slaves pulled the stone lid across the floor of the chamber and set it over the unhallowed tomb. With a thud the lid came to its rest and Imhotep turned away. When all was done, the tall, cadaver-like creature would call Paulito forth. But not until the ritual was complete; not until Paulito had become his slave, mind and body; and not until the death scarabs had feasted upon the knight's tender, young soul. Within the ceremonial pit, beneath the thick stone lid, blood red tiles slowly slid back revealing empty black holes. And then a writhing, crawling, chitting mass was vomited through those holes until the entire width and breadth and depth of the pit was weighted down, bulging and squirming. And the beetles began to feed. And then, Paulito did scream.

1. Curse of the Mummy

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