Cadaver Island by Pro Se Press

licked Angelique’s ankle, then nudged
Dr. Stine’s hand with his wet nose. Razor guided them into the left
passageway. They followed him without hesitation.
    The corridor spilled into a
huge room with a vaulted ceiling, which Dr. Stine estimated to be
about twenty feet high. The golden statues of Egyptian pharaohs
rose from tall hills of gold coins. Emeralds, rubies, and diamonds
sparkled on the mounds of coins when the glow of Dr. Stine’s
scepter illuminated them. Enormous, Egyptian rugs boasted bright
colors despite their frayed edges and old age. Dr. Stine and
Angelique admired the treasure in the room as they followed Razor
toward the tallest statue, which stood in the middle of the room.
Razor’s sensor beeped so loud that Angelique covered her ears with
her hands. Dr. Stine winced, bent at the waist, and pushed a red
button on Razor’s stomach. The noise ceased immediately. The
silence in the room made them nervous.
    The battery pack rested in
the outstretched palms of the giant statue’s hands. Dr. Stine
scanned the area for sharp objects, trip wires, and booby traps. He
thrust the scepter toward dark areas of the room and sighed when he
didn’t see anyone lurking in the corners. He glanced over his
shoulder and noticed that Angelique had found a different corridor,
which branched off from the northern side of the room.
    “ Don’t go in there without
me,” he warned. He sensed that they weren’t alone.
    “ I can see an empty
sarcophagus,” she said. Her voice conveyed fear.
    Dr. Stine’s fingers
quivered as he reached toward the statue’s hands and snatched the
battery pack. Angelique, who’d entered the adjacent corridor to
look at the sarcophagus, screamed when a huge block of stone slid
from the ceiling and blocked her path into the room. Dr. Stine ran
toward the block of stone, placed the battery pack in the pocket of
his robe, and pounded on the wall with his free hand.
    “ Angelique! Can you hear
me?” he screamed. He blamed himself for not being
careful.
    Stanley stared at him from
his perch on the jewel-encrusted arm of a statue. Razor slid on a
mound of coins and whined when his feet couldn’t find solid ground.
Dr. Stine gasped when he heard loud voices and footsteps in the
corridor behind them. He whirled on his feet and listened to Arabic
voices scream and yell.
    “ Hide somewhere, Stanley!
Go into stealth mode, Razor!” he said.
    Stanley crawled into the
gaping mouth of a giant statue. Razor blended into his surroundings
and became camouflaged with the hieroglyphs on the wall. Moments
later, several men charged into the room. They wielded swords and
scimitars. They wore black robes and red, cloth masks on their
faces. One of the men placed the blade of a dagger against Dr.
Stine’s throat and pointed toward the exit. He jammed a fist into
his back and forced him to march. Dr. Stine glanced over his
shoulder. He heard Razor whimper and Stanley hoot as the men
abducted him. He hoped the men wouldn’t accuse him of theft and
chop off his hands or kill him. He listened to men order commands
in a language he couldn’t understand. Then he followed the men
toward the Oasis Café, where several camels and horses were waiting
for them. He prayed that Stanley and Razor would find a way to help
Angelique and rescue him from his captors.
     
    ***
     
    Angelique listened to large
chunks of stone grind against each other as an enormous block
descended from the ceiling and clogged the doorway to the treasure
chamber. She ran toward the opening and tried to slide under the
block before it reached the floor, but she didn’t arrive in time.
She placed her ear against the stone wall and heard Dr. Stine
calling out to her. She tried to respond, but she realized that the
stone wall was too thick.
    A cold gust of wind blew
through her hair. She whirled on her feet and stared at the empty
sarcophagus. Large flames flickered at the tips of tall,
free-standing torches, which were scattered throughout a