It is often said that the most brilliant people in this world are often the most out of touch with the realities of life on this planet. This is particularly true of Dr. Nicklaus K. Baradu. Here is a man who can communicate in no less than 23 different languages (many of which have not been in use for hundreds of years before modern civilization). He holds countless degrees in all forms of ancient study. He has lived with hidden tribes, just to glean fragments of their lost history. However his interest in the society of man does not extend beyond those ancient memories. His contempt for the modern world is known to anyone who has had the displeasure of speaking with him for more than even a few minutes. There is rumour that he lost his tenure at the University for continually airing his disgust for both the students and other faculty, citing them as ignorant buffoons who mistake modern contrivances as science, when ancient mystics knew more about the workings of this world than any modern scientist could even begin to comprehend. This abrasive demeanor was really of no consequence to my father however, who routinely funded the doctors archeological explorations, because in the end, he was always able to bring in a far greater number of ancient treasures than any contemporary in his field, and to my father, that is all that matters. This earned him profound respect from my father. I on the other hand was little more than a disappointment, my interest in his antiquities business didn’t extend beyond the classic monster movies about forgotten tombs. Needless to say, I met the news of my father’s desire for me to accompany Dr . Baradu on his latest quest with the ardent disgust that only a teenager like myself could muster and within a week I found myself boarding a plane to some desert entombed wasteland. I was left forgotten by the doctor who had little interest in my accompaniment on this venture, and watched from a disinterested distance as the doctor prepared himself for the dig, packing various tools and bottles and an ancient looking leather bound manuscript that bore a symbol that I recognized. It was from the movie “Pharaohs’ Curse IVâ€, a movie that went straight to DVD due to an accident on set that caused the entire production to burn down, ending that entire franchise. But my musings over that the tragic film were interrupted as some excitement broke out in the camp, apparently the door to the vault had been uncovered and they wanted the doctor there immediately. I grabbed my gear and followed along, but as we neared the site, the doctor forbade anyone to go further and had two of his armed personnel remain at the entrance as he went in alone. Remembering “Pharaohs’ Curse 2 – Wrath of Rawtenkhamenâ€, the lone survivor made his way through a small air shaft near the base of the sphinx. There was a weather beaten sphinx near the entrance, but I didn’t expect to really find any opening ...until the ground gave away beneath me and I found myself in a dark and dusty shaft next to the bones of some long dead animal (I think it was an animal). From my pack I pulled out a chemical lantern and followed the path of the shaft finding myself far above the huge vault room. Everything gleamed in gold and was filled with artifacts from a time long forgotten. I hid my lantern and looked down to see the doctor. He had removed his shirt and was covering his body in various oils and liquids which he had taken with him, all the while chanting in some language I had never heard before. He placed relics around the sarcophagus and opened his ancient book. I knew then what he was planning, whenever someone read from old books in an ancient tomb, it meant something horrible was about to be unearthed. Right on cue, the doctor’s flashlight went out and everything was bathed in darkness. One by one he light torches that were placed around the tomb and the reflections of the flames danced off the walls bringing every shadow to life as the doctor once again began reading from his book. The ancient tones and the dance of the shadows were mesmerizing and far better than the effects in any of the “Pharaohs’ Curse†movies. But one shadow did not seem to be following the dance of the flames, it moved with a will of its own closer and closer to the doctor, who was so deeply entranced that he was unaware of anything around him. I shrieked as the skeletal hand reached out from the shadows to grab the doctor, and instinctively threw my lantern directly at the nightmare horror which had emerged. The chemicals in the lantern spilled over everything and caused the whole room to burst into flame. I saw the doctor turn around to see the creature, I believe he even smiled as it grabbed for him before they both were consumed by the fire. I ran through the darkness of the passage, my screams alerted men from the site and they found me and pulled me out of the shaft. I hastily explained what happened and although most of the details were held in disbelief, they sent a crew in to check on the safety of the doctor. However nothing was found in the vault except burnt out ruins. The horror of the trip still haunts me to this day, but the treasures of the vault made my father a very rich man, and for my part of it, I earned my own share of reward, from which I built into a production company, and we are now filming “Pharaohs’ Curse V – The Awakeningâ€. If only the set wasn’t plagued by strange noises in shadowy corners and the smell of smoke. ------------------------------------------------ I didn’t want this to be a story with a simple cliché line from the end of a slasher movie as the only part of the story that related to the theme . Instead I wanted to include the theme of the contest as a major element of the main character. His knowledge of horror movies is what leads him through the tale. I was inspired for this tale by the classic horror movies like “The Mummyâ€, and wanted to incorporate alot of the campiness of those old movies into the storyline, particularly how the tale ended. The word count for this tale is 992 words.