Two years ago my mom got an offer to excavate the Egyptian ruins in Cairo. It would be a four-year-long project. That means four years of no human interaction except the five other archeologists with us. First I was happy but then I learned Cairo gets one inch of precipitation a year and there are no records of it ever snowing. Then I was a little hesitant; winter is my favorite time of year. I was born in the middle of a blizzard in Fairbanks, Alaska. My mom even named me after a flower that blooms even in the coldest weather, Pieris.
When I got to the excavation site the five other archeologists were already there. There were three women Kiki, Nora, and Lilly. There were two men named Pita and Miguel. Kiki and Miguel would play with me and tell me stories of spirits and hidden rooms in the towers they were excavating. The others would completely ignore me or say I should not be there since I was just a child. Sometimes my mom would let me come to the excavation site and help dig up pots and other cool things.
As the months passed and winter was coming up I wished for the cool breeze across my face and snowflakes melting in my hand, but it never came. After a while, I became very sad. I wished upon every star for a white Christmas.
One day my mom came home oddly excited. I asked her what happened and she said, “We found a door leading to a secret room!” I asked if I could come with them and see it, and she said yes. I was so excited! The next day I got up early and went with my mother. We got to the door and opened it. It was pitch black so we stepped inside. Then we heard the doors shut behind us and the lights flicked on. I opened my eyes and before me was my dream, a winter wonderland. I was so happy my dream came true! Everyone was astonished. How is this scientifically possible?
We walked around for a while then we rested by a tree. I took in the beauty of my surroundings. I chased rabbits and played in the snow.
After around twelve hours we heard footsteps coming from the way we came. Pita said he would go see what it was. A few minutes passed and he did not come back. The footsteps grew louder. Then we saw the outlines of a giant dragging something behind him. As he got closer we realized it was Pita,’s body. I ran as fast as I could from where he was.
While I was running I remembered a story Miguel had told me about. It was about an Egyptian Pharoah who was killed by assassins from the Kush empire. To get revenge he lures people into his room with illusions of their desires, then he plays a game of Hide and Seek. The people have twelve hours to hide then the Pharoah has twelve hours to hunt them down. If they survive they are immediately teleported outside of the room.
Soon the rest of the crew caught up to me and Miguel said we need to form a plan. Nora said we should sacrifice me so we have more time to escape since I was the one who started this mess, but nobody agreed. Kiki had an idea to lure him into the back of the cave and push rocks on him. After a few minutes, the Pharoah found us. Miguel lured him into the back of the cave while we loosened the rocks. When Miguel was done we pushed the rocks and ran. The Pharaoh somehow found his way out and chased us through the snowy mountains. Then he caught up to us and took Nora and threw her against a tree
BOOM! Time is up said a big voice.
After that scary experience we moved back to Alaska so I could play in snow as much as I wanted.
