Egyptian Tomb Raider

• Charlie Allen, Grade 4
• Short Story
• 2014

Egyptian Tomb Raider

The sun glared down on the hot, dry terrain of the desert. The famous tomb raider, Craig Daniel, slowly trudged past a cactus and slid down a sand dune. He was days away from finding the hidden tomb of Tutankhamun. (Or King Tut.) He had found a map buried in a rusted treasure chest which led him to the site of the tomb. “It’s just over this sand dune.” He thought to himself. He imagined a spectacular, golden entrance, filled with booby traps. What he didn’t imagine was what he saw when he climbed the sand dune. An empty, small, dirty desert well, just big enough to fit a man. “The map was a fake.” thought Craig, frustrated. “They tried to put me off the scent.” Suddenly he realized that there was some hieroglyphics carved into the marble walls of the well. He pulled his hieroglyphics guide from his pocket. He read, “ENTER THE WELL, IF YOU DARE!” “The map wasn’t fake! The well IS the entrance!” thought Craig excitedly. He looked down into the well. The well was too deep to see the bottom. “Here goes nothing.” thought Craig, and he jumped into the well, disappearing into the darkness.
Craig fell down the well, and landed face first into a pool of water at the bottom. He swam to the surface and pulled himself out of the water. He stood up and saw before him a corridor lit by flares. A soft moaning sound came from around a bend at the end of the corridor. Craig pulled his pen knife from his belt, ready to battle. “MOAN...” The moaning grew closer, and louder, and closer, and louder. A mummy slowly edged around the corner and spotted Craig. “GRRRRRR!” growled the mummy. “OH NO!” screamed Craig, dropping the knife. The mummy crept closer and without any weapons, Craig was doomed. “And I didn’t even get too see Tutankhamun’s sarcophagus!” thought Craig sadly.
He shut his eyes and waited to feel the mummy eating him alive, but it never came. Craig opened his eyes and saw the mummy lying on the floor, an arrow in its leg. “It must have set off a booby trap.” thought Craig, grinning. He pulled a flare from the wall, walked down the corridor, and round the bend. He found a giant pit of lava blocking his path. “Oh great.” he thought. He picked up a stick and threw it in. It slowly sunk, catching fire in the midst. “Oh well, at least I tried.” he thought, turning back towards the well entrance.
Suddenly a wall made of sandstone fell and blocked the way to the well entrance. “Oh well done, Tut. Very well done.” thought Craig. He turned back to the lava. “How am I ever going to get across this?” Craig asked himself. Then suddenly, he saw it! A vine hanging from the ceiling of the tomb! “It’ll be hard, but I’m pretty sure I can do it.” He jumped.He grabbed the vine and swang across the lava!He let go of the vine and landed safely. And there before him was the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun! "Yippee!" yelled Craig. "I'm rich!"