Chapter 2

"Owww." moaned Tamara as she tried to open her eyes then quickly closed them. Even the dim light of wherever she was now strained her pounding head too much. She tried to make sense of her surroundings using her other senses. Besides being fairly sure she was lying down, she was unable to tell much else.

As her head started to clear, she was able to distinguish additional details. Whatever she was lying on was made of stone or rock of some kind, and was cood beneath her clothing.

Having been only semi-conscious due to the impact to her head earlier, Tamara was only able to recall flashes of what had happened to her in the burial chamber, and her mind quickly tried to bury what it did remember, however a dull ache between her legs provided a constant reminder it may have been all too real.

Finally, she was able to open her eyes, squinting even in the dim light provided by some lanterns hanging on what used to be torch brackets around the room. She was lying on the floor of another stone chamber, similar to the one where she had recently been assaulted, although this one had no sarcophagus in the center.

Like the other chamber, this one too had a stone door, Tamara was fairly sure this one was secured in some way. Looking around, careful not to move her head too suddenly, she examined the rest of the chamber. Except for the lanterns and herself, Tamara didn't see anything else in the room, until her eyes focused on a pitcher and tray in the corner.

Abruptly realizing how hungry and thirsty she was, she slowly raised herself up on her hands and knees and began a tortured crawl towards the food. Her whole body acted lethargically, drained, even.

On the tray was a pile of local fruits, and the pitcher was full of room temperature water, still, Tamara raised it to her lips and drank greedily, her body desperately seeking to replace lost fluids.

Only after the food and drink were completely gone did she realize that they may have been drugged, but did not feel any immediate effects. Strengthened by the nourishment, she was able to rise and move about the chamber. As she had suspected, the door was sealed, tugging or pushing on the stone handle had no effect. The walls of the room were smooth and bare, with no hint of a hidden entrance or route of egress.

Finally she paused to examine herself. Her blue top was a little stretched, but basically undamaged. The same could be said for her shorts, although her belt was gone, as were her shoes. Gingerly, she reached down inside the waist of her shorts and felt between her legs. Aside from some soreness, her hand came back up without any trace of blood and she could feel no other damage.

With her wits fully restored, and the room searched, there was nothing else to do but take a seat on the stone floor, and wait.

Rather than stare at an empty wall, Tamara found her attention drawn to the flickering light of the lantern across from her. The dancing flames mesmeric action started to lull her into a daze, but she was quickly roused by the sound of the room's only door slowly sliding inward.

She scrambled to the far side of the room and lowered herself into a crouching position, determined to defend herself as best she could. As soon as she saw the three men come through the door though, she realized it would be useless.

Two men (at least she thought they were men) entered first, with the third a few steps behind. All wore robes and cowls that concealed their bodies and faces, the two in front had ones of black, the figure in the rear was dressed in gold. However, the teen's attention was more focused on the handguns held by each of the black robed men, both of which were pointed directly at her.

Tamara started to yell at them, "Let me go, you fucking bastards!". Her words had no effect on the impassive trio. She gathered breath to scream again, but whatever she said was smothered by the crack of a gunshot and the sound of a bullet hitting the wall above her head.

"Silence!" roared the man who had fired the shot, then returned his gun to its original position. Tamara dropped to a seated position on the floor, quivering in fear, dust falling on her head from the bullet hole above. "You will not speak to the Pharaoh unless told to. Do you understand?"

'Pharaoh?' Tamara wondered to herself as she nodded mutely.

The man who had spoken before motioned with his gun, ordering her to stand up. She did so, her knees trembling. The other man, who had so far remained silent, stepped to the far corner of the room and examined the tray and pitcher she had eaten from, then said something to the man in gold in a language Tamara didn't understand.

The gold robed man nodded towards the one who had spoken, then began to move towards the terrified teen. Tamara frantically tried to back away but soon found herself pressed against the stone wall.

From underneath the cowl, the being beneath spoke, his words slightly garbled, but understandable. His speech was accented in the same manner that the tour guides had used, but was somehow deeper, and a little raspy. "Do not fear, my child. I will not harm you unless you make it necessary." It was as if the words were spoken in English, but there was an echo of some other, older language in the background.

The cowled figure raised its right arm. A black glove covered hand emerged from the end of the robe's sleeve and raised itself to stroke Tamara's cheek. The glove was cold, and Tamara flinched away. The creature hissed in annoyance and gripped her chin with thin, bony fingers, forcing her to look into the shadowy hood. Tamara could only see her captor's eyes, two orbs shining with an almost golden hue. The rest of his face was hidden by the darkness. Gold Robes stepped back. "Remove your clothing, my child. I have need of sustenance."

Tamara clamped her arms around her chest defensively. "No fucking way, you pervert!" she screamed.

The robed figure hissed again. "Very well, then I shall do it myself." He extended his arm behind him and one of his cronies began to pull a very sharp looking dagger from a belt pouch to hand to him. Tammy's eyes widened as he began to approach her, knife extended. As the point of the dagger approached the strap of her top, she pulled away, and shouted "No, Wait! Okay, okay, I'll do it!." Her eyes were fixed on the tip of the knife as it paused, then withdrew.

"Very well. But do not defy me again, or the consequences shall be most severe." Again, the voice carried the odd echo of another language. He stepped back.

Perhaps sensing that drawing things out would be a bad idea, Tamara reached down and quickly pulled the tank top up and over her head. Her breasts settled and she could feel the creatures gaze focus on the valley between them, where a thin sheen of sweat had formed.