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scripsiThank you for all advice concerning prologue, or not. It ended up one prologue and two chapters.
Title: Ghosts
Fandom: The Mummy
Rating: Teenage and up
Genre: Drama
Word Count: 759
Chapters 1/3
Characters/pairings: Evelyn O’Connell/Rick O’Connell, Evelyn O’Connell/Imhotep, Evelyn O’Connell/Ardeth Bay
Warnings: Character death for the prologue.
Summary: Evelyn returns a widow to Egypt after World War II. And the past reaches out to greet her.
AN: As I disliked the third movie and only saw it once, years ago, I have completely disregarded it for the purpose of the fic. The prologue is terribly sad, I’m afraid.
Prologue; Rick
London, 1940
Evelyn ran. Her heels clicked against the floors, faster and faster. Around her there were the sound of other feet, walking quickly in all directions. There were screams and moans and soothing voices, but she barely heard them. She didn’t notice the stench of blood and vomit and sharp disinfectants either, but she could feel the strength of many people’s pain and anguish like a blow to her senses. Her own fears, which she had kept in check on her way to the hospital, now rose inside her, making her feel almost sick with worry.
It was a mistake, of course. It had to be a mistake. It would turn out not to be Rick in the end. She would find another poor soul in the hospital bed, but not Rick. Surely her husband wasn’t the only man in London who would rush into an unstable house to save a child? And Rick was always lucky, a building wouldn’t dare to collapse on top of him. Enchanted ruins hadn’t been able to crush him, so how could something as mundane as modern bricks and mortar kill him?
But it was true. An exhausted doctor took a few minutes to tell Evy how Rick’s body had shielded the child from serious injuries when the walls fell down on them. The cost for him was fatal, internal damages so bad it was only a matter of hours before he succumbed. Evy looked at her unconscious husband in the hospital bed. The face which never quite lost its tan even in winter, now had a grey pallor, and his breaths were shallow.
“Do you think he will wake up, before- before…”
The doctor looked sympathetic, “Possibly. It won’t do any harm if you sit here and talk to him, but don’t expect him to answer. I hope you can find comfort in knowing he saved someone else. Your husband is a hero.”
“I know”, Evy said. “He always was.”
She sat down beside Rick and took his hand. With a low voice she told him what she had done during the day. The ordinary, humdrum things she would never have bothered with telling him had it been any other day. Then she talked about Alex, and how glad she was they had sent him away from London, even if she missed him dreadfully. And then she talked about the first time they had met, how annoyed she had been with him on that hot smelly prison yard. She told him how annoyed she would be with him now, for leaving her like this. Evy talked and talked until her voice broke and then she just sat there, stroking his hand, as if that alone could call him back to her.
Time ticked away and Rick’s breathing became more laboured and his pallor deepened. Evy thought she would have to accept she would never hear his voice again when Rick’s eyes opened. When he saw her he smiled his familiar cheerful grin.
“You don’t have to lie about me getting on my feet soon,” he told her. “This is it, I can feel it. Sorry about that.”
Though his tone voice as carefree as ever, Evy could see it was painful for him to speak.
“Take good care of yourself and Alex now. Tell Jonathan I will haunt him if he doesn’t shape up and do his job as a big brother. And don’t read mystical books aloud unless you are sure nothing will happen.”
Evy wanted to promise him she wouldn’t, but when she tried to speak, the tears came instead. Rick looked worried and clutched her hand a little tighter.
“You’ll be fine, Evy. You’ll see. And don’t you dare go around mourning me for the rest of your life. One day some other chap will turn up, and when he does- don’t turn him around on my account.”
He closed his eyes and fell silent, and Evy though he had slipped back into unconsciousness again. But then he smiled faintly.
“Well, aren’t you going to kiss me one last time?”
His lips were as firm and warm as they had been in the morning when he had kissed her good morning. Evy closed her eyes and kissed him softly so she wouldn’t cause him unnecessary pain. He said nothing more, his breathing changed again and then there was nothing. But Evy sat there holding his hand, long after the last warmth had leaked away from it. Now the time for adventures was over, only bleak reality was left.
Title: Ghosts
Fandom: The Mummy
Rating: Teenage and up
Genre: Drama
Word Count: 759
Chapters 1/3
Characters/pairings: Evelyn O’Connell/Rick O’Connell, Evelyn O’Connell/Imhotep, Evelyn O’Connell/Ardeth Bay
Warnings: Character death for the prologue.
Summary: Evelyn returns a widow to Egypt after World War II. And the past reaches out to greet her.
AN: As I disliked the third movie and only saw it once, years ago, I have completely disregarded it for the purpose of the fic. The prologue is terribly sad, I’m afraid.
Prologue; Rick
London, 1940
Evelyn ran. Her heels clicked against the floors, faster and faster. Around her there were the sound of other feet, walking quickly in all directions. There were screams and moans and soothing voices, but she barely heard them. She didn’t notice the stench of blood and vomit and sharp disinfectants either, but she could feel the strength of many people’s pain and anguish like a blow to her senses. Her own fears, which she had kept in check on her way to the hospital, now rose inside her, making her feel almost sick with worry.
It was a mistake, of course. It had to be a mistake. It would turn out not to be Rick in the end. She would find another poor soul in the hospital bed, but not Rick. Surely her husband wasn’t the only man in London who would rush into an unstable house to save a child? And Rick was always lucky, a building wouldn’t dare to collapse on top of him. Enchanted ruins hadn’t been able to crush him, so how could something as mundane as modern bricks and mortar kill him?
But it was true. An exhausted doctor took a few minutes to tell Evy how Rick’s body had shielded the child from serious injuries when the walls fell down on them. The cost for him was fatal, internal damages so bad it was only a matter of hours before he succumbed. Evy looked at her unconscious husband in the hospital bed. The face which never quite lost its tan even in winter, now had a grey pallor, and his breaths were shallow.
“Do you think he will wake up, before- before…”
The doctor looked sympathetic, “Possibly. It won’t do any harm if you sit here and talk to him, but don’t expect him to answer. I hope you can find comfort in knowing he saved someone else. Your husband is a hero.”
“I know”, Evy said. “He always was.”
She sat down beside Rick and took his hand. With a low voice she told him what she had done during the day. The ordinary, humdrum things she would never have bothered with telling him had it been any other day. Then she talked about Alex, and how glad she was they had sent him away from London, even if she missed him dreadfully. And then she talked about the first time they had met, how annoyed she had been with him on that hot smelly prison yard. She told him how annoyed she would be with him now, for leaving her like this. Evy talked and talked until her voice broke and then she just sat there, stroking his hand, as if that alone could call him back to her.
Time ticked away and Rick’s breathing became more laboured and his pallor deepened. Evy thought she would have to accept she would never hear his voice again when Rick’s eyes opened. When he saw her he smiled his familiar cheerful grin.
“You don’t have to lie about me getting on my feet soon,” he told her. “This is it, I can feel it. Sorry about that.”
Though his tone voice as carefree as ever, Evy could see it was painful for him to speak.
“Take good care of yourself and Alex now. Tell Jonathan I will haunt him if he doesn’t shape up and do his job as a big brother. And don’t read mystical books aloud unless you are sure nothing will happen.”
Evy wanted to promise him she wouldn’t, but when she tried to speak, the tears came instead. Rick looked worried and clutched her hand a little tighter.
“You’ll be fine, Evy. You’ll see. And don’t you dare go around mourning me for the rest of your life. One day some other chap will turn up, and when he does- don’t turn him around on my account.”
He closed his eyes and fell silent, and Evy though he had slipped back into unconsciousness again. But then he smiled faintly.
“Well, aren’t you going to kiss me one last time?”
His lips were as firm and warm as they had been in the morning when he had kissed her good morning. Evy closed her eyes and kissed him softly so she wouldn’t cause him unnecessary pain. He said nothing more, his breathing changed again and then there was nothing. But Evy sat there holding his hand, long after the last warmth had leaked away from it. Now the time for adventures was over, only bleak reality was left.
