Synopsis: When Doctor French and Doctor Gold, partners in archaeology and in life, start excavating the ruins of a ziggurat, they have no idea what they are about to uncover. Buried in the sands for thousands of years, all they know of the tomb is the intriguing legend that surrounds it. Once upon a time a trickster god of magic held court there – he was known only as the Dark One. Two teams of four walk inside the tomb, to learn it’s secrets, but soon the only question that remains, is who is going to walk out alive?
Note: This is a Rumbelled version of 5.08 The Tomb (Stargate SG-1). I know I gave this fic such an imaginative title 🙂
The final word count is just over 13k, which I know is a little bit longer than it was supposed to be …
My three prompt words were ‘Ruins’, ‘Scaredy Cat’ and ‘Fallout’ and I went with ‘Ruins’. I hope you guys, and especially my giftee @lawnmower-manatee enjoy it!
Warning: Rated mature, major character death, minor character death, mention of being eaten alive, possession, creepy beast monsters – it’s a horror fic. Not for fans of either Zelena or Hook, they aren’t in the fic but they are talked about in less than complimentary terms.
Chapter One
There was
nothing quite like the desert. Doctor Daniel Gold stepped out of the RV which was
his home for the duration of this dig. He was wearing full dark aviator
sunglasses, but the intense glare of the sun still caused him to squint until his
eyes adjusted. Gold took a deep breath. He had done archaeological excavations
all over the world, from the rainforests in South America
to the ice in the Antarctic. However, he preferred the desert, there was just
something about the air.His current dig
was near Rafha in Southern Iraq, not the friendliest of spots but it was where
the former kingdom
of Mesopotamia had been. From
the depths of a sand dune, a ziggurat had been unearthed, of Babylonia
design. When he wasn’t digging for history, Gold had tenure at the University of California,
Berkley. The
university had worked out a deal with the Iraqi government, which allowed them
to excavate and study the site. Most of the staff on the dig were hired locally
but he’d brought his core team with him.Gold weaved his
way through the buzzing digsite to the large tent that was their headquarters.
He pushed open the flap and smiled softly, seeing Belle was already there. She
was frowning at the rubbing they had taken of the door to the ziggurat a few
days ago, the translation was proving troublesome, and they couldn’t open the
door until they worked it out.“Good morning
sweetheart,” Gold greeted.UGH YOU COULDN’T GET ME TO WALK INTO A DEATH TRAP LIKE ONE OF THOSE PLACES FOR A MILLION DOLLARS. I WAS LIVING FOR THE MOMENT THEY FOUND THE EXIT AND ESCAPED INTO THE FRESH AIR AND YOU ONLY REFERRED TO IN IN FLASHBACK??? THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE PAYOFF FOR ALL THE CLAUSTROPHOBIC TOMB HORROR THAT HAD GONE BEFORE! *GLARES*
Otherwise, y’know, well-told tale of terror.
Awwww I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that was a key moment. Though it sounds the tension in the fic worked well and there was a happy ending as a reward, so maybe it worked out? Heh, thanks for this awesome comment! I’m really glad you liked the fic, even if I did skip writing that scene 🙂