Read Online 05 - The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb by R.L. Stine - (ebook by Undead) - Free Book Online
Authors: R.L. Stine - (ebook by Undead)
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in any mood for
practical jokes.
I began making my way through the tunnel again. As I jogged, my hand brushed
against the beeper at my waist.
Should I push it?
No, I decided.
That would only give Sari a good laugh. She’d be eager to tell everyone how
I’d started beeping for help after being in the pyramid for two minutes!
I turned the corner. The tunnel walls seemed to close in on me as the tunnel
narrowed.
“Sari? Uncle Ben?”
No echo. Maybe the tunnel was too narrow for an echo.
The floor grew harder, less sandy. In the dim yellow light, I could see that
the granite walls were lined with jagged cracks. They looked like dark lightning bolts coming down from the ceiling.
“Hey—where are you guys?” I shouted.
I stopped when the tunnel branched in two directions.
I suddenly realized how scared I was.
Where had they disappeared to? They had to have realized by now that I
wasn’t with them.
I stared at the two openings, shining my light first into one tunnel, then
the other.
Which one had they entered?
Which one?
My heart pounding, I ran into the tunnel on the left and shouted their names.
No reply.
I backed out quickly, my light darting wildly over the floor, and stepped
into the tunnel to the right.
This tunnel was wider and higher. It curved gently to the right.
A maze of tunnels. That’s how Uncle Ben had described the pyramid. Maybe
thousands of tunnels, he had told me.
Thousands.
Keep moving, I urged myself.
Keep moving, Gabe.
They’re right up ahead. They’ve got to be!
I took a few steps and then called out to them.
I heard something.
Voices?
I stopped. It was so quiet now. So quiet, I could hear my heart pounding in my chest.
The sound again.
I listened hard, holding my breath.
It was a chattering sound. A soft cluttering. Not a human voice. An insect,
maybe. Or a rat.
“Uncle Ben? Sari?”
Silence.
I took a few more steps into the tunnel. Then a few more.
I decided I’d better forget my pride and beep them.
So what if Sari teased me about it?
I was too frightened to care.
If I beeped them, they’d be right there to get me in a few seconds.
But as I reached to my waist for the beeper, I was startled by a loud noise.
The insect chittering became a soft cracking sound.
I stopped to listen, the fear rising up to my throat.
The soft cracking grew louder.
It sounded like someone breaking saltines in two.
Only louder. Louder.
Louder.
Right under my feet.
I turned my eyes to the floor.
I shined the light at my shoes.
It took me so long to realize what was happening.
The ancient tunnel floor was cracking apart beneath me.
The cracking grew louder, seemed to come from all directions, to surround me.
By the time I realized what was happening, it was too late.
I felt as if I were being pulled down, sucked down by a powerful force.
The floor crumbled away beneath me, and I was falling.
Falling down, down, down an endless black hole.
I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out.
My hands flew up and grabbed—nothing!
I closed my eyes and fell.
Down, down into the swirling blackness.
12
I heard the flashlight clang against the floor.
Then I hit. Hard.
I landed on my side. Pain shot through my body, and I saw red. A flash of
bright red that grew brighter and brighter until I had to close my eyes. I think
the force of the blow knocked me out for a short while.
When I opened my eyes, everything was a gray-yellow blur. My side ached. My
right elbow throbbed with pain.
I tried the elbow. It seemed to move okay.
I sat up. The haze slowly began to lift, like a curtain slowly rising.
Where was I?
A sour smell invaded my nostrils. The smell of decay. Of ancient dust. Of
death.
The flashlight had landed beside me on the concrete floor. I followed its
beam of light toward the wall.
And gasped.
The light stopped on a hand.
A human hand.
Or was it?
The hand was attached to an arm. The arm hung stiffly from an erect body.
My
practical jokes.
I began making my way through the tunnel again. As I jogged, my hand brushed
against the beeper at my waist.
Should I push it?
No, I decided.
That would only give Sari a good laugh. She’d be eager to tell everyone how
I’d started beeping for help after being in the pyramid for two minutes!
I turned the corner. The tunnel walls seemed to close in on me as the tunnel
narrowed.
“Sari? Uncle Ben?”
No echo. Maybe the tunnel was too narrow for an echo.
The floor grew harder, less sandy. In the dim yellow light, I could see that
the granite walls were lined with jagged cracks. They looked like dark lightning bolts coming down from the ceiling.
“Hey—where are you guys?” I shouted.
I stopped when the tunnel branched in two directions.
I suddenly realized how scared I was.
Where had they disappeared to? They had to have realized by now that I
wasn’t with them.
I stared at the two openings, shining my light first into one tunnel, then
the other.
Which one had they entered?
Which one?
My heart pounding, I ran into the tunnel on the left and shouted their names.
No reply.
I backed out quickly, my light darting wildly over the floor, and stepped
into the tunnel to the right.
This tunnel was wider and higher. It curved gently to the right.
A maze of tunnels. That’s how Uncle Ben had described the pyramid. Maybe
thousands of tunnels, he had told me.
Thousands.
Keep moving, I urged myself.
Keep moving, Gabe.
They’re right up ahead. They’ve got to be!
I took a few steps and then called out to them.
I heard something.
Voices?
I stopped. It was so quiet now. So quiet, I could hear my heart pounding in my chest.
The sound again.
I listened hard, holding my breath.
It was a chattering sound. A soft cluttering. Not a human voice. An insect,
maybe. Or a rat.
“Uncle Ben? Sari?”
Silence.
I took a few more steps into the tunnel. Then a few more.
I decided I’d better forget my pride and beep them.
So what if Sari teased me about it?
I was too frightened to care.
If I beeped them, they’d be right there to get me in a few seconds.
But as I reached to my waist for the beeper, I was startled by a loud noise.
The insect chittering became a soft cracking sound.
I stopped to listen, the fear rising up to my throat.
The soft cracking grew louder.
It sounded like someone breaking saltines in two.
Only louder. Louder.
Louder.
Right under my feet.
I turned my eyes to the floor.
I shined the light at my shoes.
It took me so long to realize what was happening.
The ancient tunnel floor was cracking apart beneath me.
The cracking grew louder, seemed to come from all directions, to surround me.
By the time I realized what was happening, it was too late.
I felt as if I were being pulled down, sucked down by a powerful force.
The floor crumbled away beneath me, and I was falling.
Falling down, down, down an endless black hole.
I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out.
My hands flew up and grabbed—nothing!
I closed my eyes and fell.
Down, down into the swirling blackness.
12
I heard the flashlight clang against the floor.
Then I hit. Hard.
I landed on my side. Pain shot through my body, and I saw red. A flash of
bright red that grew brighter and brighter until I had to close my eyes. I think
the force of the blow knocked me out for a short while.
When I opened my eyes, everything was a gray-yellow blur. My side ached. My
right elbow throbbed with pain.
I tried the elbow. It seemed to move okay.
I sat up. The haze slowly began to lift, like a curtain slowly rising.
Where was I?
A sour smell invaded my nostrils. The smell of decay. Of ancient dust. Of
death.
The flashlight had landed beside me on the concrete floor. I followed its
beam of light toward the wall.
And gasped.
The light stopped on a hand.
A human hand.
Or was it?
The hand was attached to an arm. The arm hung stiffly from an erect body.
My
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