Rising from the Ashes (Andrew and Lauren)

The mummy just stared at Darius with that eerie smile, one bony hand still gripping his wrist.

But soon, Darius started to realize something was off. He gave a quick tug, and just like that, his hand slipped free with no resistance at all.

The corpse's hand stayed frozen midair, curled like it was still trying to grasp him. Even that creepy grin on its face now looked stiff and lifeless.

Darius wiped the sweat off his forehead and let out a long breath. His blood, which had turned ice-cold just moments ago, started to warm up again.

"False alarm..." he muttered, trying to laugh it off. It turned out that he had just scared himself silly.

That mummy had been dead for centuries, and its muscles and bones were already rotting and collapsed in weird ways. So, that was probably why its face looked like it was smiling.

After all, dead bodies could not possibly smile.

"Motherf―" he growled, and then spat angrily at the corpse inside the coffin. "This whole place gives me the creeps. I need to grab the goods and get the hell out of here!"

The scare had sobered up the greedy Darius just enough. With quick hands, he peeled off his jacket and began scooping up everything from the coffin-every piece of treasure, not leaving a single item behind.noveldrama

He bundled it all into his jacket, tied it up tight, and weighed it in his hands a few times. Once he was sure it was secure, he exhaled again, feeling satisfied.

This was more than enough to make him rich for life.

That idiot Lenny could comb through every damn room and still not find half as much as he did.

Grinning smugly, Darius turned and walked toward the exit of the chamber. However, just two steps out, he heard something behind him. It was a faint, papery sound-like butterfly wings flapping, or maybe like brittle bones grinding together.

He did not think much of it and kept walking. Yet, just as he neared the door, the sound suddenly grew louder. He rubbed his ear and frowned, then turned back to check.

Nothing.

"Dammit," he muttered and turned to go.

Then, it came again. This time, Darius was sure that the sound was coming from the coffin, and a jolt of icy electricity shot down his spine.

Just as he wondered if the mummy had come back to life, he snorted. Just now, he had climbed all over that corpse, stolen its treasure, and nothing happened.

What could it possibly do now?

No way was he falling for that superstition.

Clenching his fists to pump himself up, Darius forced his nerves down. He crept back toward the coffin, his heart racing, but curiosity dragging him forward.

Human nature was just like that. You knew you should not, but you simply could not stop yourself.

As the old saying went-curiosity killed the cat.

He leaned in and peeked inside, only to find that everything still looked the same the mummy was lying motionless.

Except now, under its belly,

something seemed to be squirming. It looked like insects were crawling underneath the skin, causing small bulges to rise and fall.

Weird stuff was just par for the course in places like this.

At least Darius had enough common

sense to know-when it did not involve him, it was best to walk away if he continued to stick around, Logan and the others might come looking for him any minute.

So, he turned around, determined not to stop for anything else, no

matter what he heard. Howeve

before he could even take a step, he felt a hand land on his shoulder.

"Dammit, Lenny, you bastard, is this all your doing?" Darius snapped. "Are you trying to scare me, you little-"

Still swearing, he turned to look, but his face instantly drained of color, and his knees almost gave out.

The mummy from the coffin was sitting up, and the hand on his shoulder wasn't Lenny's at all—it was the corpse's.

The mummy's head turned with a stiff, creaking motion, and that horrible, skeletal smile locked eyes with Darius again.

"Sweet mother of—!" Darius screamed in pure terror, chucking his bundle of treasure and bolting. However, it was no use.

Though rigid, the mummy's other hand moved like lightning and snatched the back of his shirt in an instant.