One Night - Night at the Museum

Seventeen: Tablet Troubles

Five years later...

"How are we doing Sac?" Larry asked.

"Rexy is waxed and buffed, Teddy is grooming his mustache. Oh and I've reviewed fire safety procedures with the Neanderthals."

"Good, good."

"By the way have you seen them lately? The museum has added a new one."

"What? No." He cleared his throat and then addressed everyone. "Okay, everybody. I don't want to make you nervous but the mayor and the governor are out there. It's going to be a great crowd out there tonight guys, but remember, just relax and have fun!"

"Why Lawrence, if anyone seems nervous, it's you," said Teddy, entering the room, mustache freshly groomed, Sac at his side.

"Ah naw - well, maybe just a little..."

Teddy grinned. "Yes, like myself, the Battle of San Juan Hill, cool as a cucumber. Right now, butterflies like you wouldn't believe. But it's not just the show that has you giddy, is it my friend?" He smiled knowingly, and leaned in closer and whispered, "tonight's the night, yes?"

Larry nodded. "Yeah, after the show, that's the plan."

Teddy and Sac grinned. "Well the best of luck to you my friend! Oh, might we be permitted to see the diamond?"

Larry reached into his suit pocket and withdrew a small ring box, opening it to show an engagement ring.

"Oh Larry it's beautiful!" Sac said. "She'll love it!"

"Indeed, Miss Bentley is in for a splendid surprise tonight," Teddy said. "Speaking of-"

Larry quickly pocketed the ring again as Nat herself entered the room. She was dressed in a plum purple dress for tonight's event, and her blonde hair was braided with black and white beads woven into it. She came over and joined them.

"Hey, you look very nice," he complimented.

"Thank you, you as well." They shared a kiss. "I didn't know what to do with my hair so Sac braided it for me. Hey, you alright?" she asked. "You seem extra nervous tonight."

"Oh no, just pre-show nerves," he replied. Sac and Teddy shared a knowing smile.

"Hey by the way, have you seen the Neanderthals lately?"

"No, why does everyone keep saying that?"

"Larry, Natasha." Ahk came over then, looking distressed. "You'd better come see this."

"Have you ever seen it like this before?" asked Larry. He, Nat, and Ahk now stood in the Ancient Egypt exhibit before the tablet, which had started turning black with corrosion in one of the corners.

"Never." Ahk shook his head. "The corrosion has never happened before. It's always been the same."

"Hmm, I wonder what's up with it." Larry shone his flashlight on it.

"I have no idea," answered the young pharaoh. "And to be honest, my father knew the secrets of the tablet better than I did."

"Merenkahre," said Nat.

Ahk nodded. "Unfortunately he swore he would never reveal them. And he kept his promise."

"That makes sense," added Nat. "So much research has been done, but there's very little information out there about the tablet. Lots of theories, but not a lot of certainty." She knelt down before it and gently touched the corroding surface with her fingertips. "It's funny, it doesn't look like corrosion from age. I've never seen this kind of corrosion before."

Suddenly, and without warning, Ahk stumbled back, appearing faint.

"Whoa-" Larry caught and steadied him. "You alright?"

"Y-yes, I'm fine."

"Okay, just take it easy out there tonight, we'll deal with this tomorrow. Right now, it's showtime."

--------------------------------

From her seat in the audience, Nat gave Larry a thumbs-up. He smiled and waved back. Then the show started.

At first, everything was running very smoothly, the show a huge success. Teddy delivered his speech, Dexter did some tricks, and the constellations wowed everyone. But then, suddenly, the unexplainable happened: Teddy began shouting gibberish, resulting in much confusion from everyone. When Larry tried to intervene, Teddy threatened him at gunpoint.

A stampede of animals and people charged into the hall, sending the many guests jumping to their feet and running for the doors, screaming. Through the sudden commotion, Nat tried to reach Larry, ask him what was going on, though he appeared just as baffled as she was - even the head of the Night Program had no idea what was going on. As she was running, her feet were suddenly knocked out from beneath her and she crashed to the floor hard. Looking back, she saw Jed and Octavius and their fellow Romans and frontier folk holding a rope, tripping people as they ran by, including her.

Dexter pounced on Larry, attacking him. Teddy was still shouting. The constellations were whizzing about wreaking havoc of their own, and Attila was hacking away at an ice sculpture with his sword. And, as if to finish everything off, Rexy came bounding into the hall with a great roar.

The guests fled screaming from the hall, leaving it a deserted mess. And then, just as suddenly as it had started, everything stopped.

(Hello and welcome to Part Three, my favourite part! :) I guess it's been exactly a month since I updated last, and thank you so much for the 900+ reads! Hope you enjoyed, thanks so much for reading!)