Chapter 3: Chapter 0003 – Run, Ravela, Run

Ravela opened her eyes and tried to sit up like a spring that was allowed to stretch after being pressed till it was fully cocked.

 

THUD!

 

The lid buckled under her superpowered headbutt.

“Ungh!” Ravela howled through gritted teeth, trying to not scream her pain out. Ravela slumped back down as her vision blurred from the pain. Her helmet did many things for her, yet it couldn’t protect her from the pain of running herself into a wall. Tears were streaming down her face. The disoriented pain-clouded mind tried to grasp her current situation.

 

Screams could be heard outside. She was no longer alone! She sniffled trying to suppress the pain throbbing through her forehead and nose.

Ravela was no stranger to pain but this was just too humiliating.

 

Ravela couldn’t, at the moment, appreciate the fact that her crazy plan had worked.

 

An eternity of waiting for her “lifeboat” to be moved followed. She hoped to get out inside a museum and waited to be transported. Patience beat wandering through what may be an eternity of jungle so bad it wasn’t even a contest.

 

It felt like an eternity in which Ravela had time to prepare herself, so she wouldn’t move under any circumstances. While she waited for anything to happen she took note of the fact that she no longer had anyone announce to her what dimension she just entered.

 

“Freedom”, Ravela whispered with an unseen grin. She was having an actual high just by not hearing the unknown voice toying with her.

---

 

Dr. Ito stood in her lab excited. She had financed an entire expedition on her own. Years of research, planning, and probing went into her biggest achievement so far.

 

Locating the ancient grave chamber was a feat that would rock her scientific field and other fields beyond. Already the scientific community was scratching at the doors of her laboratory. The president of her alma mater had visited upon her return, trying to learn something about her discovery.

 

As the last crates rolled in, Dr. Ito was almost at the point where she would be tempted to just open them while the crew was still in the lab.

Himiko Ito needed every bit of self-control to stop herself from jumping around in triumph. That would be undignified and the undignified had to wait until she had the cargo to herself.

 

When the last of the support staff left, Dr. Ito opened the crates. As she made herself a fresh pot of tea and put on some booming orchestra music. She began to lower the large isolation tent to the ground. Sealing and pressurizing it.

Once everything was prepared she turned off the music and calmed herself before going over everything she had uncovered.

 

Many artifacts now lined the walls of her lab. She once again had proven herself the foremost expert of the ancient period. Tombs from the age of the Antique were exceedingly rare. An intact grave chamber of this magnitude from this part of the world was unheard of and would send shockwaves through her scientific field.

 

She stood in what was formerly used as one of the assembly halls of her company. Retrofitted into an archaeological lab that could hold the entirety of her massive excavation. Today would be a good day. Inventory came first.

 

21 sarcophaguses, check. One Statue and the parts of the one her expedition workers broke, check. Dozens of copied wall paintings were in various states of disrepair. Saving all the paintings on the walls had been impossible for some had deteriorated too far.

 

But the tombs were the real treasures. All are preserved including the carvings. The bodies inside are waiting to be analyzed by her to tell her secrets untold till now.

 

It was her research that led her to this gravesite. It had surprised her that most sarcophaguses were lining the steps and few made it down to the base. And only one had the honor to inhabit the big room at the end. A sarcophagus made from the same stone as the entire grave. At its side were traces of one set of bones.

 

Dr. Ito speculated that either this had been a servant that refused to leave the Emperor's side, a spouse perhaps, or maybe even another Emperor, who his people put at the same level as the one they gave the tomb but who was refused a tomb out of deference to the one that rested here. 

 

But this tomb contained someone unknown, invisible to the eyes of historians around the globe. The new thread on a subject that was thought obfuscated from exploration. Already she wondered if there were other gravesites nearby with older rulers than this one to explain the lack of other rulers.

 

Dr. Ito pushed her retrospective off to the side. The crane began lifting the lid from her prized tomb.

---

Ravela blinked under her helmet against the light. She was in some kind of tent that no doubt stood inside a lab. After waking up Ravela hoped for someone to open the tomb fast allowing her an easy escape. 

 

It had only taken a few days Ravela estimated for the lid to open but it seemed like an eternity. Without her suit, she would have suffocated three times over by now. The weird stasis that stopped most of her bodily needs were features she was especially thankful for.

 

A person in some kind of hazard suit came into view. It was hard to look at them while remaining completely still. A female voice was droning on while walking around her tomb. The language was unknown to her but she imagined hearing a distinct peak of excitement.

 

Ravela had to figure out whether this woman was alone or in the company fast. The attention of her excavator seemed to be solidly glued to Ravela. The gloved hand of the scientist began to touch the blanket, Ravela assumed. The one put beneath to soften her own ‘grave’.

 

Then she felt the hand touching her plated leg. This suit however advanced had the downside of some haptic feedback which made this situation quite irritating. Ravela remained perfectly still while the voice became ever more excited. 

 

Ravela chastised herself for picking the language drink expecting to understand every language. Of course, this world could not be among those languages, or else those gargoyles would have uprooted it and turned it into a graveyard. Well, it was a brilliant idea when she was still in the Endless City.

 

Ravela had to choose before this woman put a can opener to work on her suit. She decided that the scientist was indeed by herself for no one else had come to glimpse at her body or replied to the woman. Flipping a coin in her head whether to wait for nightfall to try and escape or to bail now in full view of the scientist.

 

Deciding that this woman would probably work till she passed out atop her tomb and thwart her escape that way the coin landed on: ‘Do it now!’. Ravela made her move.

 

Grabbing onto the unsuspecting woman's arm she sat up. The squealing squeak was so high-pitched it rang in her ears. Ravela flung herself over the edge of the tomb while holding on to the woman’s arm. 

 

Her eyes had adjusted properly to the light and at once she noticed the cameras on tripods through a reflecting surface hovering over her ‘open grave’.

 

Being on tape for her resurrection wasn’t optimal but not a hindrance. The technical level of these cameras looked ‘retro’. The woman began talking fast but didn’t dare move. Ravela’s other hand still held the sword tightly in her hand.

 

Ravela looked directly at the scientist which immediately led to the woman going silent. Ravela recalculated her options. Ravela let go of the woman's hand who promptly withdrew while clutching her arm to her body. Hurting her had not been part of the plan and still wasn’t and Ravela worried now.

 

She put down her sword and signaled with her open hand that she didn’t mean to be a threat. Ravela slowly looked around at the cameras around her.

 

She walked over to the nearest camera and turned it away from them both. While she did so the scientist walked around the sarcophagus. Smart choice putting something in between herself and the unknown being. Ravela walked over to another camera and turned that away from them too. Scanning the room for other cameras she did not spot any.

 

She slowly turned toward the woman who now looked somewhat terrified. Ravela stood between her and this tent’s exit. Ravela tilted her head thinking.

 

She turned around and checked on her backpack. It was fully intact. The items of her deceased benefactor meant nothing to her; they belonged in a museum. She looked down at her backpack and remembered the treasure in her backpack. Maybe not all of them. Ravela smirked to herself. After all, she found the grave first.

 

When Ravela picked up the sword the scientist reacted by further retreating from her, putting another sarcophagus between them. Ravela moved slowly and with care.

 

Keeping both tombs between them, Ravela placed her sword atop the unopened grave, right on the edge of the opposite side. She showed her hands open-palmed and empty to the woman even stepping back from the tomb.

 

The woman seemed to relax and the amicable gesture at least a little bit. How best to approach this awkward situation, Ravela wondered.

 

Ravela opened the backpack and retrieved the laurel from it. When Ravela turned back to the scientist who to her surprise stood now right on the other side of the tomb.

 

Ravela put on her backpack and stepped to the tomb laurel in hand placing it on her side of the tomb. The scientist looked nervous yet intrigued, her hand reaching out to the laurel but promptly stopped as Ravela was holding her hand protectively over the golden wreath.

Ravela reached for her helmet and took it off slowly. Studied the face opposite her for any reaction. There was shock there, actual fear even. Ravela said with her strange and vibrating voice in a language the scientist couldn’t possibly understand:

 

“This is mine.” As she picked up the laurel and put it on her head. It fit like she hadn’t robbed a dead man for it. Ravela felt weird about her lie. Ravela reached for her helmet. The scientist was in some kind of shocked state and she intended to use this momentary paralysis.

 

After putting her helmet back on together with the laurel, Ravela slowly took the sword from the other woman’s side of the tomb.

 

Ignoring the woman she began slowly walking. Looking down the length of the tent Ravela spotted a door and decided that ‘paying her respect’ to the other tombs would bring her closer to the exit.

 

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She began slowly walking down touching each sarcophagus on her way. At first, the scientist didn’t follow her, too absorbed by what she had just seen.

 

Soon Ravela could hear the voice of the woman calling out behind her which she kept ignoring. She planned to hit the streets but before that, she’d need civilian clothes. The rings would help her vanish into the crowd. Afterward, she would figure out how to organize herself a life here.

 

Ravela began to walk faster down the line of tombs. The scientist's voice now sounded concerned as she began hurrying after her discovery. The door to the lab was just a few meters and a plastic wall away.

 

Ravela turned around and the scientist stopped in her tracks. Getting back to her ‘task’ she walked past the last few tombs and then drew her sword. It had no marks of passing time on it and looked just gorgeous. Ravela worked fast, slashed through the tent wall, and sprinted for the door.

 

As she reached the door she could hear the alarmed calls of the scientist chasing after her through the lab. The door looked like one that was secured through a card swipe, but being already in a secure location was not warded against violent entry or exit in her case.

 

Ravela sheathed her sword and just kicked the door with force. The contact resistance was minimal and her foot burst through the door like it was nothing. She just used the momentum and pushed the door open with her shoulder.

 

At least that was the plan. The next thing Ravela had to do was pull her shoulder out of the wall opposite the door. Her force surprised her but she went on to race down the hall as fast as she could. Navigating in the maze of a building with a fairly good routine.

 

Soon enough she found herself in a bigger office space. Ravela scanned the cubicles for anything useful.

 

The lucky break here is that the building, so far, remained empty. Weekend maybe? A holiday perhaps?

 

While searching the desks of the low-level employees it dawned on her that she would need some more convenient disguise to get her whole haul out of there.

 

Janitor trolleys were out of the question for her escape from the building. Ravela's mind began racing.

 

Well, mid-level management would be just the kind of people to have reserved clothes hidden in their office or perhaps a gym bag or some suitcase for emergency business trips. She made for the far side of the office where the bigger actual room offices were hidden. 

 

She went right into the first office ‘opening’ the door as carefully and silently as possible when she found it locked. Ravela placed her bets and crossed her fingers hoping these doors weren’t wired to an alarm.

There was no time to waste. The photographs on the wall of the first office reminded her of something important. So far each office cubicle had only a few if any pictures. Their outward appearance varied wildly.

 

A college graduation photo showed a very close group of friends. Looking happy with hope and the promise of glory in their future. An older man with the distinct gleam of aloof deserved success stood out to her. In another picture that man stood surrounded by his family. She focussed for a moment. How were humans described?

 

Her eyes once again wandered to the photo. Her memories became clouded for a moment. The continent of origin for people of certain skin colors in her mind was mostly used to refer to people.

 

African, European, and Asian were common placeholders used when referring to people's skin color. She remembered how stupid these categorizations felt later on in human history when people were born on different planets. Yet still, it had stuck. 

 

She shook off her curiosity and focussed on the task at hand. Aimlessness turned into a frantic search for clothes and maybe a sports bag. Going for the big corner closet turned out to be a jackpot as a spare suit was neatly hung in a plastic hull.

 

Going back to the door and leaning it so it would appear shut at a glance, Ravela fixed the door by putting a decorative plant behind it.

 

Cover assured Ravela took off her backpack and began to peel out of her armor suit. Evaluating the man in the pictures Ravela reached into her backpack past the laurel crown and her flask of “never thirsty again”.

From her ring boxes, she picked the one that would most likely fit the suit Ravela needed to fill. 

 

Her current build was too tall for these suits and decisively not human enough unless she wanted to walk the uncanny valley. For this occasion, three of her 21 rings of hers could fit.

Placing both boxes on the table before her, Ravela considered her options. One ring would change her into a young Asian man that looked like an FBI agent or maybe a soldier.

The second ring would turn him into an older Asian man. Very much the same cut of person that used this office. Lastly, there was the ring of the older African gentleman.

The last two could work since they were different from her current body type and would not be directly associated with her current build.

 

The decision came to Ravela when she glanced at the photos on the wall. Same build, the same clothes, the better chance of passing. It made perfect sense in her mind. She put on the ring and began dressing.

 

Even socks and shoes were stowed away in the closet together with a hard shell travel case that held neatly folded clothes and quite a lot of currency. Ravela knew money when she saw it.

 

Their bluish hue gave the neatly stacked notes a cold, polished finish. Ravela took everything out of the suitcase and put her armor inside. The sword wouldn’t fit but her backpack fit inside with ease. The wheels on the case would make it easy to hide the weight of the suitcase and help her cover it.

 

Ravela put a bunch of the money back into the closet. She took around four straps and put them into her suitcase then put some of the spare clothes back in to fix the armor suit in place.

 

It was theft no doubt but somehow all on its own a saying shot into her mind. Necessity knows no law. While she had often used it jokingly this situation called for any edge she could get. Which led her to pause and grab more stacks of cash and stuff the suitcase.

 

However, necessity and overkill were two different things. Could she rob a man of what might be his emergency reserve? Ravela reached back into the closet and took out one more strap.

Which she opened and divided among her pockets. Ravela had one more problem left; the sword. Pacing up and down the office space wrecked her brain on how to solve this problem.

Strangely enough, she was attached to her plunder. It was rightfully hers!

 

She shook off the possessive thought. Yes, this wasn’t optional it had to come with. But how? Suddenly the solution came to her when retracing her steps.

 

There were some cardboard tubes in one of the cubicles she had passed. Peeking out the door she found the office space empty. 

 

No heavy boots rushing down the hall. No scientists going from room to room with guards. Surprisingly there has, till now, not even been an alarm blaring. Unexpected but not unwelcome.

 

Ravela walked past the cubicles until she found a fitting tube. They even had straps to fix them into shoulder carriable tubes. Back in the office, Ravela put the sword into the tube.

 

It fit pretty well but there was too much movement for her liking. With a sigh, she returned to the closet, pulled out more straps, and began to rip them open and file them into the tube until there was no more unwanted wiggling. By the time this was achieved almost half of the cash out of the closet was gone.

 

Closing the tube Ravela put it over her shoulder and began pulling her suitcase. Ravela carefully closed the door behind herself and walked at a leisurely pace through the building searching for signs of an exit.

 

Eventually arriving in a big corporate lobby. From the gallery, Ravela could see the person who freed her from the tomb. Frantically talking to someone on the phone behind the front desk. A bunch of security guards stood at the exit, blocking her way out.

 

Taking a step back Ravela thought about how to get out of there without knowing a single word. Then a thought struck her. She wasn’t a fleeing archaeology piece, she was a rather old man who had returned to his office on an off day and there was a scary undead rampaging through the halls.

 

It required some mental preparation for her to visualize the exact manner in which she would display this deception. She lifted a bunch of stuff telekinetically and began throwing them around.

 

She let out a yelping shout and began to dramatically run across the gallery toward the stairs. Theatrically looking behind herself while carrying the suitcase.

 

Stumbling before the stairs and crawling the first few stairs down to complete the farce. Wild eyes, heavy breathing and then pretending to see the woman and all the guards after struggling to get back up. 

 

Ravela made her way down the stairs with eyes she hoped were mortified. Pointing behind herself to the upper first floor seemingly out of breath and therefore without words.

 

The woman was very collected and saw exactly what Ravela hoped an intelligent person would conclude from this display. Specimen spotted, send out guards, and ignored the fool and why he was there. Science takes precedence.

 

To that end, Ravela even stumbled toward the Scientist seemingly trying to explain but the good doctor did exactly what Ravela hoped a bookworm with her experiment on the loose would do.

 

I waved her off and pointed toward the exit. The guards began to move up the stairs under the commands of this woman while Ravela kept running for the exit. A big fat grin began to expand across her face.

 

After exiting the corporate seat, Ravela let out an impish laugh.

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