The Misplaced Mummy Read online

  “Yeah . . . about that. Where is here exactly?” Flo asked.

  “My world,” Furry said, glancing around. “My old one, I mean. And coming here was not one of your better ideas.”

  Flo looked back toward the desert city and the enormous pyramids. “No one asked you to follow me,” she said.

  “Well, I couldn’t just leave you here all alone,” Furry said. “What kind of friend would I be if I did that? Besides, my shard is in your lunchbox, remember? I have to get it back.”

  “Why is that necklace so important to you, anyway?” Flo asked. “I don’t get it.”

  “It’s not just a necklace,” Furry explained. “It’s a portal shard. It’s how I ended up in your world in the first place.”

  “So it’s like a key of some kind?” Flo asked.

  “Sort of,” Furry said. “I was playing around one day, and I made a crack in the seal that leads from my world to yours. That’s how I came through.”

  Flo looked around the sandy landscape. “So where’s the crack now?” she asked. “I don’t see anything.”

  “There isn’t one,” Furry said. “The shard was what was keeping it open. As soon as it went back through, the crack started to seal itself back up. I barely made it through before it closed.”

  “I thought you being in our world was keeping the crack open,” Flo said. “Isn’t that why all those monsters have been coming through and trashing our apartment building? And how are we supposed to get back if there’s no crack?”

  “I think some of them are coming through to get me,” Furry said. “But it was the shard that was keeping the portal open.”

  Furry turned away from Flo and started digging. In moments, he’d uncovered a small stone circle embedded in the sand. The edges were worn, but a decorative pattern ran around the edge.

  “This is our way home,” Furry said. “But we have to get the shard back. That’s the only way to reopen the seal. And we only have until sunset.”

  Flo crossed her arms. “What happens at sunset?” she asked.

  “The portal changes,” Furry explained. “Not all the paths lead to the same place. Who knows where we’ll end up. But it sure won’t be Corman Towers.”

  “How do you know?” Flo asked.

  Furry grinned at her. “You’re in my world now, remember?” he said. He looked around the sandy desert again, seeming a little confused. “Even if I don’t really recognize this part of it.”

  Flo checked the horizon for any sign of the mummy, but she didn’t see it anywhere. She couldn’t even see any footprints that would let them follow its trail. The mummy seemed to have completely disappeared — with her lunchbox.

  “Well, I guess we both have something we need to find, then,” Flo said. “What happens if we don’t get the shard back?”

  “Then we’re stuck here forever,” Furry whispered.

  CHAPTER 5

  Furry and Flo started walking toward the city in the sand. Flo thought it would take forever to reach the city. And when the wind started blowing sand in their faces, it felt even longer.

  I could really go for some air-conditioning, Flo thought as she wiped sweat off her forehead.

  After they’d been walking for several minutes, Flo glanced back behind them. The wind had blown sand into their tracks, making it impossible to see where they’d started.

  “Um . . . you remember how to get back to the portal, right?” she asked Furry. “Like, where it is?”

  “Don’t worry,” Furry said. He was panting. His doggy tongue hung out of his mouth. “I might not know exactly where we are, but I’ll find it. What do you think this nose of mine is good for?”

  “How do you not know where we are?” Flo said. “I thought this was your world.”

  “It is,” Furry said. “But it’s just as big as yours. Maybe even bigger. I mean, think about it. Have you been every single place in your world?”

  “Good point,” Flo admitted. She watched her werewolf friend blink as sand blasted across his eyes and stuck in his fur. He was covered head to paw in grit. The poor little beast looked miserable.

  “Why don’t you switch back to being a person?” Flo suggested. She noticed Furry still had his swimming trunks on. They’d obviously been through a few werewolf transformations. Flo could see that they’d been sewn back together in a few places. “You’d probably be a lot cooler.”

  Furry flashed her an extra-toothy wolf grin. “Nothing is cooler than a werewolf,” he said. “Besides, I can’t. In my world, I’m always a werewolf.”

  “Even if you burp?” Flo asked. She’d learned a few weeks ago that when Furry wanted to change back into his human form, all he needed to do was burp. It was gross, but effective.

  Furry shook his head. “That trick doesn’t work here,” he said. “I was never a human until I showed up in your world and Curtis found me. I just have to stay like this. If we get back, I’ll change.”

  Flo shot him a look.

  “When we get back, I mean,” Furry said. “We will.”

  Flo turned away and kept walking. This crazy sand world has our stuff, she thought. We’re not leaving without it.

  * * *

  Flo wasn’t sure how long it took them to reach the city, but by the time they got close, she was ready to collapse. “So, how are we going to find this missing mummy?” she asked. “Do you think someone sent it through to find you?”

  Furry shook his head. “I doubt it. Like I said, mummies aren’t the smartest monsters. It probably fell through the crack on this side by accident.”

  Up ahead was a large stone platform. Flo stepped onto it and spotted two tall figures. They wore ornate, golden armor that shone in the desert sun. Their skin was painted a deep, dark black, and they wore large animal masks on their heads. One had the head of a hawk and the other the head of a dog.

  As Flo watched, the figures poked a bunch of balled-up rags on the ground.

  “Back into the sand, wretch!” the hawk-headed soldier said. “You are not permitted passage inside!”

  Suddenly Flo realized the soldiers weren’t simply looking at trash in the sand. “It’s the mummy!” she whispered.

  The soldiers gave the mummy another hard shove, and the pile of rags toppled over the edge. It landed face down in the hot, gritty sand.

  As Flo raced across the stone platform, the mummy buried itself deeper into the desert. By the time she reached the edge, it had disappeared.

  “No!” Flo shouted, forgetting about the animal-headed guards. It was only when Furry growled and scampered closer that she realized her mistake.

  “Flo,” Furry barked. “We’ve got a problem here!”

  Flo had never seen Furry look so angry. His big teeth showed as he growled at the tall soldiers. He looked ready to attack if either of them made a move.

  “You will come with us, beast,” the hawk-headed soldier commanded. “You and the stranger.”

  “Look, we don’t want any trouble,” Flo said. When she spoke, the dog-headed soldier turned to face her. She couldn’t tell if the creature was angry or not, so she keep talking. “We just want our stuff back. That mummy stole —”

  “Silence, stranger,” the dog-headed guard interrupted. He didn’t shout or seem angry. His voice was flat and direct.

  “Okay, okay,” Flo said. She put her hands up. After all, that’s what people did on TV when they needed to surrender.

  “We need to run, Flo,” Furry growled through his teeth. “I don’t want to get stuck here.”

  “Well, we’re not going anywhere without our stuff,” Flo whispered back. She took a step forward and squinted as the sun glinted off the soldiers’ armor. “We give up.”

  CHAPTER 6

  Flo knew Furry wasn’t happy about surrendering, but she didn’t know what else to do. There was no way they could take on the giant ani
mal-headed soldiers and expect to win. The hawk-headed one held Furry by the scruff of his neck, making him whimper as he trotted to keep up. The dog-headed one gripped the back of Flo’s T-shirt, making sure she stayed with them.

  The soldiers led them deeper into the city. They climbed ornately carved stone steps, walked beneath grand archways, and passed giant statues of other animal-headed creatures. The sitting sculptures stared out into the desert, their hands resting patiently on their enormous laps.

  “This is just like ancient Egypt,” Flo whispered to Furry.

  It was true. Flo had seen enough at the museum to recognize the towering pyramids, giant statues, and hieroglyphics that covered almost every surface. It was like they’d traveled back in time, before centuries of sandstorms had buried ancient Egyptian civilizations.

  And yet, there was still something that seemed off.

  As they continued through the city streets, Flo realized that none of the “people” she’d seen looked human. Everyone was incredibly tall and had dark mud smeared over any exposed skin. They all wore masks with large, oval-shaped eyes that had curly swirls at the ends. As Furry and Flo passed, the crowd stared from behind their unblinking masks.

  “I don’t think being captured is going to help us get our stuff back,” Furry said. He yelped as the guard pinched his fur again. “That mummy had it.”

  Flo didn’t know what to say, so she kept quiet. It didn’t make her feel any better to see the sun sinking lower in the sky. If we don’t get back to that portal before the sun goes down, she thought, we’re going to be stuck here forever.

  They continued through the city until they reached a golden palace. Jewel-covered pillars flanked the grand entrance. The soldiers stopped Furry and Flo, pausing in front of a pair of enormous doors.

  “Now we’re getting somewhere,” Flo whispered to Furry. “Someone important must live here. Maybe they’ll help us find my lunchbox.”

  “Do you recognize anything?” Flo asked, looking around.

  Furry shook his head. “We must be a long way from where I grew up,” he whispered.

  Somewhere inside the palace, a horn sounded. A moment later, the magnificently carved doors opened outward. Two more animal-headed soldiers, both wearing lion-head masks, stood inside.

  “This is the palace of Bastet,” the hawk-headed soldier announced. “Here, your fates will be decided.”

  Flo cringed. That really doesn’t sound good, she thought.

  “I don’t like the sound of that,” Furry growled under his breath. “We should’ve run when we had the chance.”

  “Silence, beast!” the dog-headed soldier ordered.

  The guards pushed Furry and Flo into the palace and led them down a shadowy hallway. Statues and paintings of cat-like creatures adorned the walls. In the paintings, other animal-headed beings seemed to be offering gifts to the cats.

  What is this place? Flo wondered as she glanced around. She knew she couldn’t get too wrapped up in the strange world. Their visit needed to be short if they hoped to get back to the portal in time.

  If we can find it again, that is, Flo thought.

  The animal-headed guards pushed them through a tall archway, and Flo found herself standing in a grand throne room. A tall cat-like creature wearing a long white gown and an elegant black mask sat atop a jewel-encrusted throne.

  The soldiers both knelt before the creature. “Behold,” they said in unison. “The goddess Bastet.”

  Flo looked at Furry. “Are we supposed to bow or something?” she asked.

  Furry shrugged. “How should I know?”

  “What else has this day brought before me?” the goddess asked.

  “We found these two near the farthest desert view,” the dog-headed guard replied. “They hoped to steal our treasures.”

  Flo glared at him but kept her mouth shut. Treasures? she thought furiously. We just wanted what was taken from us!

  Bastet shifted on her throne. Like the soldiers, her exposed skin was painted a deep, dark black. Small sapphire circles were wrapped around her arms and wrists. In one hand she held a tall, golden scepter. Like everything else in the sand city, the scepter looked like it had come straight from a book on ancient Egypt.

  Then Flo saw something that interested her way more than the throne room’s splendor. Clutched in Bastet’s left hand was Flo’s Dyno-Katz lunchbox.

  CHAPTER 7

  Flo took a step toward Bastet’s throne. “That’s m—” she started to say. But the dog-headed soldier immediately stopped her.

  “These creatures are curious to me,” Bastet said, rising from her throne. Flo’s lunchbox dangled from her ring-covered fingers. “They are not like us.”

  You got that right, cat lady, Flo thought. She wanted nothing more than to snatch her lunchbox and make a break for it. But there were guards everywhere. They wouldn’t get far. Well, maybe Furry would, Flo realized, but not me.

  “What is to be their fate, my goddess?” the hawk-headed guard asked, bowing his head. “Their arrival could bring impending doom to our people.”

  Bastet stepped down from her raised throne and studied Furry and Flo. “Throw them into the pits,” she said with a wave of her ringed hand.

  Instantly, the guards grabbed Flo and Furry and began dragging them out of Bastet’s chamber. Flo had no idea what the pits were, but they sounded like . . . well, the pits.

  “Wait!” Flo shouted frantically. “I know about that box you found! I’ll tell you all about it!”

  The servants and guards all gasped and froze in fear. Everyone stared at the cat-headed goddess, waiting for her reaction.

  Bastet gazed at Flo through her black mask. “How dare you speak out of turn?!” she said. “And what do you know of this treasure? My servants found it in my kingdom!”

  Flo didn’t care if she angered the cat goddess. She wasn’t leaving without her lunchbox. “That mummy took it from me!” Flo cried. “It came from my world and I need to get it back.”

  “But why?” Bastet said. “It has images of cats upon it. Surely the gods meant for me to have it.”

  Flo smiled as an idea began to form. She knew she only had one chance, though. Otherwise, they were headed for the pits.

  “The cat box is dangerous,” Flo warned. “It contains something that can crack your world in two. I’ve come to take it back so you and your people can live in peace.”

  Bastet raised the lunchbox up to examine it. She turned it in her hands and Flo heard the contents clank around inside.

  “It is unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” Bastet marveled. “I do not know the story of the cats upon it. Are they the bringers of destruction?”

  Flo nodded. “I’ll tell you their tale,” she said softly. “If you’ll let me.”

  Bastet nodded to the dog-headed guard, who immediately released Flo.

  “Will you let my dog go, too?” Flo asked.

  “Hey!” Furry protested. “I’m not your —”

  “We mean you no harm,” Flo said, interrupting her friend.

  Bastet waved her free hand toward the other guard, who quickly released Furry as well. Bastet motioned for Flo to come closer.

  Flo stepped up near the throne and pointed at the lunchbox. “All of these cats are fighters,” she said. She pointed to the green cat on the front. It held three sticks of dynamite taped together. “This is Blast Kat. She can topple mountains with her bombs.”

  “Bombs?” Bastet repeated, sounding confused.

  Furry looked confused too, and Flo realized she’d never told him the full story behind her most-treasured possession.

  “Magic sticks that can destroy things,” Flo explained. Next she pointed to the red cat wearing an eye patch and holding a sword. “This is Kutty Kat. Her blade can slice through any armor or metal. This one episode —”

  “You speak in ri
ddles, tiny stranger,” the goddess interrupted.

  “Sorry,” Flo said. She’d gotten carried away. “Let’s just say that even giants fall when she swings her sword.”

  Bastet was silent for a moment. “And the last one?” she finally asked.

  “That’s Acro Kat,” Flo said. “She’s fast, sneaky, and deadly. No creature alive can catch up with her. She could be anywhere, hiding in the shadows, waiting.”

  “What does the Acro Kat wait for?” Bastet asked.

  Flo smiled. She knew she had the goddess’s interest now. “Like any good cat stalking its prey, she waits for the perfect moment to STRIKE!”

  As she spoke, Flo leapt into action. She grabbed the lunchbox, wrenched it free from Bastet’s hands, and tossed it in Furry’s direction. “Furry, catch!”

  The goddess gasped as the lunchbox sailed across the throne room. Furry bounded across the shiny floor. His paws slipped, but he recovered and leapt into the air, catching the lunchbox handle in his teeth. He immediately turned tail and ran toward the hallway.

  “Seize them!” Bastet shrieked. “And bring the cat box to me!”

  Flo jumped down from the elevated throne and quickly raced after Furry. They had to escape . . . now!

  CHAPTER 8

  Flo raced after Furry, hoping the little werewolf knew where he was going. Guards ran after them shouting angrily, and sandaled feet pounded on the floor. Somewhere in the palace, a horn sounded. It felt like everyone in the sand city was after them.

  “Seal the palace!” a voice shouted. Flo looked up and saw that the entrance they’d come through was quickly being closed. Apparently their way in wasn’t going to be their way out.

  Furry stood up on his hind legs and grabbed the lunchbox with a free paw. “We have to find another way out!” he barked. “C’mon!”