Re: Quicky Sanders Collection
Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2021 12:43 pm
The Exhibit
Sanders checked her watch. Five minutes until closing time. It was getting stuffy in the closet, but from her visits to the exhibition, she knew this was a blind spot for the cameras. She just had to wait until the security guards began their closing routine. Then she would have her chance to snoop around. She knew that this museum was too good to be true. A small town like this wouldn't have such a significant display of ancient artifacts. She had a few leads. Rumour had it that the artifacts on display were clearly fake, but it was a front for the mob to run an actual smuggling ring for relics. It made sense in a strange way - hiding a real criminal business beneath a fake one. Clever, in a criminal way.
Finding her opening, Sanders sneaked out of the janitor's closet. Her route took through the Ancient Egypt exhibit, where her shoes crunched noisily on the sand. It was an overly decorated desert-themed display, complete with palm trees, miniature pyramids and toilet-paper mummies that looked like a high school project. But there was a LOT of sand. It must have been a nightmare to truck all that sand just to make the exhibit look like a real desert.
Suddenly, one of the figures in the exhibit moved. Sanders jumped and fell back in surprise, nearly crying out. She looked at who it was and stared incredulously.
"Victoria?" Sanders hissed at her intern. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I was checking out the museum," Victoria replied innocently. "I didn't hear the closing announcement and got lost finding my way out. It's like an Ikea store. Did you get lost too?"
"Long story," said Sanders. She leaned against one of the obelisks to remove the sand from her shoe. She nearly fell over again when it moved. "Whoa!" she cried, thinking that she had knocked the decoration over. Instead, the movement came from a panel that depressed when she leaned on it. Like a typical adventure movie, it revealed a secret door inside one of the model pyramids. "Are you serious?" she thought out loud, but not one to complain, she and Victoria headed into the pyramid.
The passage led down a flight of dark stairs. While they couldn't see what was in the chamber, they figured that it was the basement of the museum, located underneath the Egypt exhibit. There didn't seem to be a light switch, but Sanders could make out the shapes of crates and tarp-covered objects. She pulled the cover off one object to reveal the face of a golden sarcophagus. "This is either one of the most elaborate fakes, or it must be the real thing," said Sanders. "Why else would they keep this here?"
Suddenly, they heard a loud clatter. The pyramid door had shut behind them. "What was that?" Victoria asked. They tried to make their way back up, but with the door closed, they were plunged into complete darkness. They tripped and stumbled over the containers and items. Then they heard something else - a click, the sliding of panels, and then the sound of rushing sand.
"What's that coming from?" Victoria asked, feeling her way around before she managed to get up. Before she could get a reply, she felt a sudden rush of sand around her legs. "What the..."
"The room is being filled with sand!" Sanders shouted, the sand now roaring through the openings in the ceiling. She figured that the sand must be coming from the Egypt exhibit above. They must have triggered an alarm or been spotted by the guards, and the sand pit was an emergency measure to conceal the basement in case they were raided. Unfortunately, they were trapped and being buried alive!
Within seconds, the sand was up to their hips and rapidly rising all around them. They couldn't even move. The sand continued to get higher and higher, burying the artifacts in the basement - and if the reporters couldn't figure something out, they would be next! Will they escape the sand trap, or will the exhibit become their tomb?
Sanders checked her watch. Five minutes until closing time. It was getting stuffy in the closet, but from her visits to the exhibition, she knew this was a blind spot for the cameras. She just had to wait until the security guards began their closing routine. Then she would have her chance to snoop around. She knew that this museum was too good to be true. A small town like this wouldn't have such a significant display of ancient artifacts. She had a few leads. Rumour had it that the artifacts on display were clearly fake, but it was a front for the mob to run an actual smuggling ring for relics. It made sense in a strange way - hiding a real criminal business beneath a fake one. Clever, in a criminal way.
Finding her opening, Sanders sneaked out of the janitor's closet. Her route took through the Ancient Egypt exhibit, where her shoes crunched noisily on the sand. It was an overly decorated desert-themed display, complete with palm trees, miniature pyramids and toilet-paper mummies that looked like a high school project. But there was a LOT of sand. It must have been a nightmare to truck all that sand just to make the exhibit look like a real desert.
Suddenly, one of the figures in the exhibit moved. Sanders jumped and fell back in surprise, nearly crying out. She looked at who it was and stared incredulously.
"Victoria?" Sanders hissed at her intern. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I was checking out the museum," Victoria replied innocently. "I didn't hear the closing announcement and got lost finding my way out. It's like an Ikea store. Did you get lost too?"
"Long story," said Sanders. She leaned against one of the obelisks to remove the sand from her shoe. She nearly fell over again when it moved. "Whoa!" she cried, thinking that she had knocked the decoration over. Instead, the movement came from a panel that depressed when she leaned on it. Like a typical adventure movie, it revealed a secret door inside one of the model pyramids. "Are you serious?" she thought out loud, but not one to complain, she and Victoria headed into the pyramid.
The passage led down a flight of dark stairs. While they couldn't see what was in the chamber, they figured that it was the basement of the museum, located underneath the Egypt exhibit. There didn't seem to be a light switch, but Sanders could make out the shapes of crates and tarp-covered objects. She pulled the cover off one object to reveal the face of a golden sarcophagus. "This is either one of the most elaborate fakes, or it must be the real thing," said Sanders. "Why else would they keep this here?"
Suddenly, they heard a loud clatter. The pyramid door had shut behind them. "What was that?" Victoria asked. They tried to make their way back up, but with the door closed, they were plunged into complete darkness. They tripped and stumbled over the containers and items. Then they heard something else - a click, the sliding of panels, and then the sound of rushing sand.
"What's that coming from?" Victoria asked, feeling her way around before she managed to get up. Before she could get a reply, she felt a sudden rush of sand around her legs. "What the..."
"The room is being filled with sand!" Sanders shouted, the sand now roaring through the openings in the ceiling. She figured that the sand must be coming from the Egypt exhibit above. They must have triggered an alarm or been spotted by the guards, and the sand pit was an emergency measure to conceal the basement in case they were raided. Unfortunately, they were trapped and being buried alive!
Within seconds, the sand was up to their hips and rapidly rising all around them. They couldn't even move. The sand continued to get higher and higher, burying the artifacts in the basement - and if the reporters couldn't figure something out, they would be next! Will they escape the sand trap, or will the exhibit become their tomb?