Chapter 11

After a fantastic lunch of tacos created by Sam, the group set about their various tasks. Bert and Sal retreated through to the control hub and started looking at the coordinates. There seemed to be lots of scribbling on graph paper, scratching of heads and zooming in and out the time computer’s projections that Tom had encountered earlier. The projections didn’t seem to be having the same effect on Bert, but Tom stayed away, keen not to risk losing his lunch. 

Mali had teamed up with Mo to work on her distraction plan. They were deep in conversation at the back of the room on the sofas, and there seemed to be quite a lot of laughter. Tom overheard words like fireworks and camels, itching powder and killer scorpions which made him feel a little anxious. 

Delyth and Cai seemed to have paired up too. They had decided to look at all the artefacts that had been documented to have been in the tomb of tutenkhamun. Cai had pointed out at lunch time that in order to spot the time disruption device they would need to spot the “odd thing out” among all the other objects in there. They decided that if they could memorise all the objects and recognise them, they would have the best chance of spotting something that shouldn’t be there. Tom knew that his memory wasn’t the best, and so he left them to it. 

Tom felt like a bit of a loose thread. He ended up moving over the kitchen area where Sam was busy clearing up the leftover food and dishes from lunch. 

“How come you are so good cooking human food Sam?” he asked while Sam was wrist deep in washing up water. 

“Well, I’ve been on missions to earth before. We tend to make use whatever foods are available on the planet we are visiting as long at they are compatible with our biology. And then our computers are able to access your internet. I found so many different recipes and ways of cooking things there, and I just love experimenting. Luckily the karopean digestive system is pretty similar to that of humans, so we don’t get too many nasty ‘after effects’ I did learn that fast food was best avoided after my last trip here but I’ll not disgust you with the details.”

“What do you think we’ll be able to eat when we go back to 1922?” Asked Tom. “I’m not that keen on the idea of camel sandwiches!” 

“Oh, I don’t think we need to worry too much Tom” said Sam smiling, and moving through the door that opened up from the kitchen area. Tom followed Sam through to a surprisingly large store room with shelves stacked from floor to ceiling. He could see large containers of water, loads of dried pasta and rice, packets of sauces and a range of fresh fruit and veg. There were steel doored cabinets that Sam opened up to reveal large fridges and freezers full of further supplies. Tom looked on in appreciation and realised that they were well stocked for a good few weeks away should they need it. There also seemed to be some medical supplies at the back of the store room which was reassuring in some ways, but brought home the reality of the dangers that they were potentially facing. 

Tom wandered back over to Mali and Mo who were now drawing diagrams and writing lists. Their initial “brain storming session” seemed to have become a more focused plan. Mali looked up at Tom with a smile. “Did you spot any fizzy pop or mints in that store cupboard”? “Maybe” Tom replied with a confused look. “Why”? Mali and Mo then leaned forwards to bring Tom up to date with their plan. Tom smiled and nodded in appreciation of it’s creativity, and also because it seemed like it might have an outside chance of it working. Tom started writing a list of things that would be needed for the distraction and checking them off with Sam to see if they were available in the store cupboard. He then started making a separate list of anything that they would need to get hold of from home before they made the trip. He also started thinking about clothes and practical things like sleeping bags, torches and suntan lotion and added those to the list too. After a few hours the group all came together for a drink and some cookies. Tom started running through his list and there were a few additional ideas offered from other people. 

Bert and Sal shared that they thought that they had worked out the coordinates. Sal still looked a bit nervous, but Bert was offering reassurance that he had double checked all the maths and seemed to be pretty confident that they wouldn’t be becoming rock pancakes tomorrow. 

Mali and Mo shared their big distraction plan. Despite it seeming a bit crazed, everyone agreed that it would definitely have the desired effect. 

Cai and Delyth had been testing each other on the contents of the tomb. Cai had been copying some of the hyroglyphic drawings that were known to have been on various pictures and containers. He said that drawing them helped him to remember them. Delyth had found that writing lists and descriptions had helped her remember the contents, but both agreed that there were just so many objects it would still be a tricky task to spot something that was missing. 

Tom had drawn out lists for each person to take home with them. On the list contained some of the things that they didn’t already have in the hut, and the practical packing lists. He assumed that not everyone had 1920s desert style clothes at home, but instead suggested any clothes in earthy colours. He’d also borrowed Mali’s phone to check what the temperatures would be in the Egyptian desert in November. Although the daytime temperatures would still be pretty hot, he was surprised to find out that the evenings could be pretty chilly. He had added a warm jumper and hat onto everyone’s list when he found that out.

By 4 o’clock the room had been returned to normal history class appearance, and Sal and Sam’s wigs were reinstated. Delyth and Cai were checking through their list of treasures and Delyth seemed so excited to be potentially seeing those objects in real life the following day. Bert seemed calm, but Tom noticed that he seemed to be going back to his and Sal’s calculations and quietly checking his calculations. Everyone had a list of things to get ready and packed for the following day. Tom was struggling to work out how he was feeling. His tummy was grumbling weirdly and his teeth were tingling in a really unusual way. He couldn’t quite work out whether he was terrified or excited, and wondered if it was possible to be both at the same time. 

As the first grown ups started knocking to the door to pick people up, everyone waved goodbye as naturally as possible. They were all going home for a final evening with their families before setting off on the biggest adventure of their lives, and with a good chance that they may never be returning to the reality that they currently knew.