The question lingered in the air, the stale, hot air. Silence hit the room that was filled with students that were desperate for the professor's attention. For his praise. Like affection starved dogs, they desperately craved more.

But the question. Why did ancient civilisations make their sarcophagus's out of limestone? I smiled and raised my hand, I was the only one. The professor's eyebrow raised at me, an expression that said that I shouldn't offer an answer because I was not the one learning here.

Yes, I was an employee, not one of the salivating. I had his attention even if I didn't want it. Professor Nelson Thomas was a smart man, obviously. He was also a pain in the ass, a real thorn in my side. It was lucky that this job paid exceptionally well. Otherwise, I would have told him to stick his demands where the sun doesn't shine. I had the kind of job that a person could write home about, provided that the bad things were glazed over. They were small, but they always seemed so big, especially when we were often in hot places, usually cramped for space and everyone was just one word away from lighting the powder keg of anger.

"Yes, Miss Harrington?"

"Because they believed that a chemical in the limestone aided the decomposition of the body."

"Thank you, Miss Harrington. Does anyone know why they might have used this lovely black marble?"

He waited, getting nothing aside from seven shaking heads. It made me wonder why these students were picked over others.

"Alright then, what do you think that we will find in here, ladies and gentlemen?"

The professor looked around at the students from the university where he gave lectures on occasions. They were a select few that had been bound to an agreement that ensured the secrecy of this place.

One brave soul raised his hand, warily looking around and realising he was the only one.

"Yes, Barry, was it?"

"Brett," He murmured.

It doesn't matter, little man. He will not remember. It took him a year to remember my name and even now, I think he still forgets, and that's why he calls me by my surname.

The professor flicked his hand with a slight frown, indicating the level of his care. Zero.

"Uh, if they're like the Egyptians, the body will be mummified. Wrapped in cloth."

"Interesting choice considering we're not in Egypt, still, a good choice. The markings are not like the ones that the Egyptians used. However, we can see that there have been some efforts to convey a message on the sarcophagus and the walls. Though, it is probably where the similarities end, aside from the fact that there are a few interesting pieces that this chap was buried with. Anyone else care to have a crack?"

No one answered. Those salivating creatures could have had the entire tomb floor to themselves, offering an answer and for a moment, they'd have his undivided attention, but instead, they cowered.

"Alright then, let's find out, shall we? Miss Harrington, if you don't mind?"

Lifting the box, I handed out the thin paper masks to the students. They did almost nothing, and it was only to stop the stale air entering their lungs. There wasn't a whole lot of point to them. Opening a sarcophagus was dangerous because we didn't know what pathogens would be in there waiting to harm us. Even the tomb itself could be home to toxins that could cause serious issues.

The professor and his team have been in this structure for the better part of a month, searching through all the paths and finding a lot of exciting things. But this sarcophagus, it was everything to Nelson Thomas. This was his payday. His moment in the sun. He said that his time to stand on the world stage was almost here. All he had to do was get that sarcophagus open.

It was a gorgeous piece, pure black marble that was striking. I'd been standing outside the tomb when they opened the door to this room, and the gasps were still burned in my memory. The entire place was a rare find, a hidden building under an old office block. When the developer sent a team in to survey the area, they found a lot of anomalies. He wanted to put an underground carpark in place, and those anomalies were a problem.

The breaking ground ceremony was cancelled, and a quieter dig occurred, one that ended with them calling us. Initially, the owner gave us a week, but the professor's team found something, and the museum and university stepped in and said that all site works would stop until a full investigation was completed by Nelson. Now there was no end date, but I knew that it would have to finish soon. Otherwise, the owner of this place will get frustrated and start causing problems.

When everyone had their masks on, the professor gave the nod. With large crowbars, the heavy lid was cracked open. Slowly it was turned, the massive stone grated and the sound echoed through the cavernous room.

"Miss Harrington, a little light, if you don't mind?"

I turned and flicked the lights on. Before the professor could see it, I rolled my eyes. It was also advantageous that my back was turned. Nelson Thomas was a lot of things, and forgetful was one of them. It wasn't my job to turn on the lights. No, my job was campsite coordinator. He always forgot that and insisted that I do things like this, the dig site coordinator's role. Where Hannah was, I don't know.

The crowd of students had moved closer, and I could not see a single thing. I figured that if I was going to be stuck halfway to hell in this little hot box, then I should at least get to see the mummy. Climbing the makeshift staircase, I stood next to the door and looked over the top of the small crowd.

Lights blazed over them, shining down into the sarcophagus. The mummy was not wrapped, it was fully dressed and extremely odd. It looked like the person had only just died. To make it even more unusual, a piece of wood was stuck in his heart.

It didn't last long, disintegrating in seconds.

"Unfortunately, this can happen. Wooden coffins are often opened in a controlled environment to reduce damage. As for this piece of wood, it is not important. This was a common practice when people believed that vampires were real. If anyone displayed symptoms off a list, this is one of the things that they would do to their loved ones to ensure that they stayed dead. Of course, we know that vampires are not real."

A few of the girls moaned, probably wishing that Edward would turn up. I rolled my eyes and turned out of the hot box.

"Miss Harrington, would you mind searching for someone to translate these markings? I cannot understand anything on this beautiful sarcophagus."

"Of course."

Climbing out of the dig site, I made my way through the ground level of the office block. The glass wall and front doors were walled up to stop onlookers from seeing what was going on in here but the problem was, it took away the natural light. So, we were reduced to living with fluorescent lighting because even the upper floors were barricaded.

The owner did not want anyone to know about it. Not until the dig was over. He didn't want unnecessary people hanging around, he didn't want the media involved. The professor would get his moment of glory, he just had to have it after everything was done.

The ground floor was the office area, next floor up was common use. From there it went to offices that we had altered into rooms for the staff. We had permanent security and our time outside was limited. It wasn't that they wanted us locked in, they just didn't want people walking into the place. That meant that when we tried to leave, the guards would let us out. We had to take our badges with us, and if we forgot, the process to get back in was annoyingly long and unnecessary. Most of the time it was me that got the unnecessary. Paperwork that was ridiculous when I had better things to be doing. My job was to ensure that the campsite was running smoothly and that everyone was happy. It was not verifying information that the guards had on a computer screen in front of them.

Walking into the office, I sighed as I sat down at my desk. Then I spied Hannah who was hiding in the disused copy room. She was sitting on a stool, talking on her phone. I frowned, and she gave me a cheesy smile. I turned back to my desk, thinking that it was only a matter of minutes before I got the lame excuse.

Opening my laptop, I searched through the directory and tried to find the professor a translator. Making a list of everyone that I could find that he might think was worthy, I ripped the piece of paper out of the notebook and offered it to the woman that was looking at me with a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, Lu. My boyfriend called, and I miss him so much."

"It's fine. I won't tell anyone, but you can take this down to Nelson and ask him to pick which one he wants, I'll ring them."

"Sure. Are those students still down there?"

"Yep, fawning all over him."

She rolled her eyes with a grin.

"Bet he loves every minute of it."

"Oh yeah."

After Hannah left, I wandered into the restroom and cleaned up. This had to be the cleanest dig I've ever been to, at least, campsite wise it was. The dig site itself was still the same dusty nightmare, and that's why I was flicking it out of my hair. When I got most of it out, I pulled a long piece of paper out of the dispenser and wet it. There was still a lot of dust, but at least I got a fair amount of it out.

As I returned to my desk, I was surprised to see Hannah returning.

"He said all of them are fine, start at the top and make your way down until you get someone that says yes."

"Did you get a chance to see the markings? The crowd was too thick for me."

She snorted a huff, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, I know, right? But yes, I did. Kind of Egyptian style with the pictures but nothing that is decipherable from the hieroglyphics. There's a paganism theme, kind of witchy occult, maybe even a little rune."

"You have no idea, do you?"

"Absolutely none."

Which made this so much better. Picking up the phone, I dialled the first number and gave a disinterested wave to Hannah. She'd already turned her back as she said goodbye, so there was little point.

After two hours on the phone, I stretched back and groaned. No one. Not one single offer of help.

"What are you doing?" The professor grumbled.

"Begging for patience. I have rung the list, and they've all said no. They're too busy, or they can't get here. One even said that I should tell you to go to hell. Heard of her before?"

The professor narrowed his eyes at the piece of paper. They widened at the realisation.

"Ah, yes. Perhaps you shouldn't have called her. That's my ex-wife. Rather surprising that's all that she said to you. We haven't been on the best of terms since I refuted a few of her claims."

"Oh dear."

"Not to worry, she always was a drama-creating old sea hag. Now, I'm sure you've got lots of things to do. I've got phone calls to make."

Pressing my lips tight, I nodded and stood from the chair. Picking up my folder, I stepped back and let the professor sit at my desk. He had his own, but whatever.

"I'll be up in supplies, the cook complained that we're getting low on rice."

The professor did his frown and hand flick thing at me, I almost rolled my eyes like I always do. He looked up at me, still frowning. It wasn't out of anger, this was out of thought.

"Do you know those little pots of cream rice?"

"Yeah."

"Can you pick up a few of those while you're out?"

"I don't go out, remember? We're not supposed to. I do online orders, and they deliver."

"Yes, yes. Whatever."

I got the hand flicking thing again, and with a slow, inward sigh, I turned out of my office.

Half an hour later, I was in the middle of doing stocktake with the cook when we heard a commotion. One of the helpers from the tomb was groaning as he made his way to the nurse's office. The sluggish movements were odd, he stopped and put his arm onto a cabinet, staying there for a few seconds before moving. When he reached the door, he leaned against the frame. I could see his legs slowly giving way. I was about to rush to help him when the nurse came out. Dana gave me an uneasy smile and turned back to her office.

"Some people will do anything to get out of work." The cook muttered.

Then he turned back into the room. I stood at the doorway, wondering if it was laziness or if he was genuinely sick. The thoughts in my mind rattled, remembering the interviews, the reports, the questions that were raised about archaeological digs. How safe are they?

It really was a valid question, but I had better questions, ones that the professor clearly wasn't asking which that was curious in itself. How could he not see the perfectly preserved body of a man that had purportedly been dead and buried for a really long time? In a marble sarcophagus, in a tomb made of stone walls, under a lot of dirt, rocks and one huge building was a dead man that looked like he'd only been there for five minutes. How come no one thought that this was peculiar? Was I the only one that thought that it would be a good idea to check for a pulse?

It seemed ludicrous so, I put the stock list down and walked out of the storeroom. I wanted answers, and I was determined to find them. Walking into my office, I saw the professor scowling at the computer screen.

"Professor," I began, catching his attention. "Didn't you wonder how the body could be in such a perfect state?"

Nelson frowned for a moment and then stretched back in the seat.

"Whatever do you mean, Lucy?"

So, he can remember my name. Remarkable.

"The skeleton was a little brittle so, I wouldn't say it was in a perfect state. Besides, we lost the piece of wood."

He sighed heavily, gnawing on one of my pens while I stood beside the desk and stared in disbelief.

"I wish they would have sent the scanning equipment that I'd requested."

"There was a skeleton in the sarcophagus?"

"Yes," He drawled out, looking at me with a lot of concern. "Are you ill too?"

"No, I'm fine." I murmured. "Never mind. I've got stocktake to do."

The professor nodded and returned to frowning at the computer screen. Was I going mad or had I really seen a body and not a skeleton?