"Alex, where are you?" mom and dad were going to kill me, I can't believe he ran off again, I should have kept a closer eye on him but the hieroglyphs on the wall distracted me for a few seconds and that was all Alex needed to escape. I know he thinks he is too old for babysitting which under normal circumstances I must agree with, but not when we're at a crumbling ancient Egyptian structure, it's not safe.
"Alex please come back" I gave a heavy sigh my shoulders drooping I could barely see the entrance into the great room from which I exited I had traveled so far to find Alex, I quickly turned around thinking I had heard something behind me.
"Alex, is that you?" no answer.
"If you're trying to scare me knock it off okay, we need to get back to the great room before mom and dad find out we left." Sand is rustling up ahead of me right behind the next turn, it must be Alex trying to scare me it's always him. He thinks it's funny but after hearing the stories mom and dad have about ancient Egypt you can't blame a girl for being nervous. Gathering my courage, I quickly trot towards the turn, and before I can think twice go around the corner just in time to watch Alex quickly jump back at my sudden appearance.
"Alex, what do you think you're doing?" He smirks at me before walking around me back to the great room.
"Alex, you have to stop doing this, okay I know you're too old for a babysitter but these places are dangerous, I don't want to lose my little brother all right" I gave him my puppy dog eyes and could see him starting to melt.
"Oh, all right just stop it with the face okay I'm sorry" I smiled as big as I could before I grab him in a huge hug squeezing tightly. Many older sisters would say they hate having a little brother but not me I love Alex so much, we are best friends. He laughs and pushes me away before climbing up the little fort me and him made to occupy us while waiting for mom and dad to finish their exploration. I followed him up thinking to myself that it could also be the fact that I never talk to anyone and all my classmates think I'm a total freak, that my only friend is Alex.
Making sure that Alex had settled into building his little contraption I pulled out my kindle and started to finish my latest book. Erotic romance novels were my little dirty pleasure. This one was a favorite, I had already read it three times but can't stop myself from coming back to it. I finished the book with a smile on my face loving the steamy romantic ending. Alex was still building his contraption and mom and dad were not back yet.
"Hey Alex, can you stay here, I'm going to go check on mom and dad, okay?" he nods at me not stopping his messing with whatever it is he is building. I sigh and leave the great room, taking out the flashlight I have in my backpack I head to the sight where my parents said that they would be. They were up ahead I could hear them talking and see their light from the torches. Mom and dad thought that bringing flashlights into such an ancient place was insulting so I quickly shut mine off. Walking around the corner I saw mom open the wall like she had been there before.
"Okay, now you're starting to scare me," dad said looking shocked
"I'm starting to scare myself" mom walked into the room without looking back at dad. Dad followed watching after mom. It always made me sigh whenever I saw them together, they were perfect soul mates, they moved together hardly ever fought, and could communicate with each other using just their eyes. I was a supreme romantic and their relationship just filled me with hope and joy, that love like that still exists and that one day I might be able to have that.
"You know you could open the box easier if you used the key" I pointed out after seeing my mom and dad struggle to open the box in the center of the room. They both jumped turning around rapidly to see me. Dad quickly stowed his gun hoping that I wouldn't catch it.
"Nova, you scared us," mom says coming over to give me a quick hug. I smile at her before walking further into the room and picking up the necklace that I saw hanging on one of the statues. I placed it inside the box and with a satisfying click, it popped open.
"Way to go munchkin," my dad said giving me a side hug while ruffling my hair. I'll admit that I am a major daddy's girl so I beamed before pushing him away while smiling.
"How much longer do you guys think that you're going to be Alex is getting bored and so am I, to be honest," mom gave me an apologetic smile. At the same time, dad shook his head at the mention of Alex.
"yes, I saw Alex earlier, he mentioned finding a picture on the wall that had the same tattoo as me"
"oh yeah, I remember that, I said we should show it to you later, I guess Alex decided later should have been then. I found him after I noticed he ran off, he is currently building something although I have no idea what it is" I shrugged giving dad a small smile. He shook his head at me as if to say it was okay that I lost my little brother for a bit.
"Will be done shortly dear, why don't you go make sure your brother is ready and has his backpack all packed and we will see you in a bit" mom gave me a wide smile and another hug, she was a big hugger so I was used to the constant hugs. I hugged her back and nodded my head showing that I would do what she wanted.
Walking back to the great room I kept thinking about how mom and dad met. I remember that mom said they did not get along at first but that she still felt drawn to him, which turned out to be a good thing as she married him. They had the perfect relationship my dream relationship. Unlike Uncle Johnathan who adored his bachelorhood, dad said that he knew as soon as he met mom, that she was the one for him, he was ready to give up that life. Hearing a scuffle up ahead in the great room, I rolled my eyes what mischief has Alex gotten himself into this time? As I neared the entrance three men exited and ran toward the outside of the structure.
I began a full-on sprint to make sure Alex was okay, by the time I reached the entrance to the great room, sand and dust were billowing out so fast I couldn't see but I heard plenty of extremely loud crashes. When the noise stopped and the sand was beginning to settle I could hear Alex muttering no, and stop. The entrance was now blocked, a huge pillar had fallen in front of it and I would have to climb up it to reach the other side.
"Alex, Alex can you hear me, I'm coming to get you so don't move I will be right there as soon as I can," I screamed, hoping that mom and dad would hear me and come running, I would have gone back to get them but I didn't know if Alex was hurt and he needed me right now. I heard him calling my name but not very well, he sounded very far away, and he seemed to be coughing. I began to climb up the crumbling pillar, fortunately, I had experience climbing all sorts of things, it was a sport I did with my dad often, rock climbing. Mom thought it was a better idea than teaching me how to shoot a gun.
I grunted as sweat fell into my eyes my curly hair falling out of its bun and hindering my sight even more than the sand. I hated that I inherited my mother's unwieldy hair. I lifted my hand trying to push it out of my face while still holding myself up with the other hand. I began to slip before I quickly re-adjusted my grip on the pillar, and hoisted myself over the top of it. I pulled one leg over the pillar so I was straddling it while I rested, it also gave me the perfect vantage height to search the room for Alex. He was straining to push a pillar back into an upright position and keep it from falling.
"Alex what are you doing, you're going to get yourself killed." I hopped off the pillar and ran towards Alex, he had looked up when I yelled and stopped focusing on the pillar, when I was close enough I grabbed him and pulled him away from the falling column. There was a loud crash and water began to pour in from the wall. I and Alex watched as our parents were washed up to our feet, coughing and spluttering looking soaked.
"Mom, dad, I can explain," Alex said.