Field Trip
"Right this way children," Miss Randall called to her fourth-grade class as they approached the structure. The temple may have been a glorious sight at one time, but now it was in ruins. The restoration project fell behind and the state cut funding. Now the entire project was supported through donations. And there were few.
"Welcome to the Temple of Almukhut, the only known Egyptian-built structure to be found outside of the Nile delta." The tour guide waved his arm in a wide, proud arc to the children's delight. "In fact, the site is the single ancient Egyptian structure to be located outside of Egypt anywhere in the world!"
The group approached the rubble which formed the temple entrance. Bill, the tour guide, let them know that the site was unstable and dangerous. But he assured them that on his walk through the structure that morning, he found nothing to worry about. In they went.
As the children popped out of the darkened tunnel one by one they blinked at the bright light of the central chamber. High on the domed wall, Bill had lit more than a dozen torches. The flames danced and light filled the room. A smell of soot and age mingled together.
"This is the most sacred chamber of the entire structure," Bill explained. "It is so well preserved because it is so deep underground. Weather and human civilization have been unable to tamper with this portion of the site for untold millennia." In the corner, a dust-covered sarcophagus rested.
A group of boys shouted and punched one another. Miss Randall approached to quiet them, but she was too slow to prevent what happened next. On that Tuesday afternoon, deep below the Ohio bedrock, the field trip took a dreadful turn.
Samuel Gronks punched Alexander Tibolt square on the jaw. As he spun away from the hit, Alex flailed his arms and caught Amanda Warring by the hair. She screamed and toppled backward into Mrs. Hursh who was pushed into the sarcophagus. The container rocked on its base, and began to slide, leaving a gash in the soot and dust-covered wall. The whole class quieted and watched.
The thud reverberated through the room and sent a shock wave through the onlookers. They stood frozen in place. Moments later, the lid of the sarcophagus cracked, a strange gas poured out, and then creaked open. The room emptied in a flash, leaving behind only terrified screams and the woken corpse of High Priest Almukhut.
THE END