If he was going to find anything in this desert, he was going to have to get a move on. Night had fallen now, and it was his best bet to explore. He’d been staking his claim for over a week now, at last he was confident the workers weren’t returning to the necropolis. They said it was “haunted".

If he had a dollar for every graveyard or archaeological site people thought was cursed, he wouldn’t have to go snooping around in them for trinkets to sell. He trudged out the door into the evening sands. The sun was down now, but the night air was still warmer than he expected. Leaving the lights of his dwelling he lit his torch, making his way to the abandoned archaeological sight.

As promised, it was deserted. He chuckled inwardly at the pun and slipped under the perimeter rope and past the signs warning about the curse. Merely superstitious workers, he thought. Crossing into the newly uncovered Necropolis, he noticed here the sand was partially removed. The excavators had abandoned the clearing almost immediately after revealing these small pyramids. Ghosts- shmost, he thought. Dollar signs flashed in the young man’s eyes as he made his way into the partially uncovered plaza.

But shortly after he stepped into the plaza, he noticed something was off. There was a presence, and not one he was comfortable with, and he could feel it descending around him. He tried to ignore it, letting the torchlight guide him to the first tomb. But as he tried to pick the lock, he found his hands trembling.

The presence settled unnaturally on the pyramids, casting a new violet shadow over them. A whisper came over the tomb; “ghost-shmost”. His blood froze, and he ran.

“Intruder”

His legs felt leaden. It felt as if the entire desert was staring at him.

“Thief”

And then he noticed something else was wrong with him. In the torch-pierced dark he saw fine furs spreading across his arm. Claws grew from his fingertips, replacing the nails.

“Defiler.”

The voice hissed again, and his nose pushed forward into a snout. Ears flicked out.

“Eater of the Dead”

Feet arched, and a tail swished behind him. The necropolis repelled him, forcing him away, warping him into the creature hated by the Egyptians, hyena.

Finally able to run, he slipped under the enclosure and ran, without looking back. He didn’t know what truly caused the change, but he would have to deal with it later.

Dropping the torch he ran for his life, hoping to leave whatever was in that place far behind...

---
Commission for Darren Badger
~ Egyptian Commissions ~
Photoshop
2016
~Age