Chapter 2

At the entrance, a museum tour guide was holding the door open, motioning people in. I followed the flow of crowd, and soon I was inside where it was dry and warm.

Guide : Would you look at that strom go! Is everyone alright?

There was a member of agreements, but most of us were distracted by the outside. It looked like walls of water were slamming against the windows, and the sky was ominously inky. Occasionally, spikes of dramatic lightning would make everything go white. Thunder rumbled the floor. And on our opening day too... She heaved a sigh and then turned to us. I noticed that she looked quite crisp and professional; she probably loved her job. It was too bad that we were dripping all over the floor of her work. Well, we might as well make the best of a bad situation, right?

Guide : My name is Ikuko, I work as guide here, and I'd love to take you all on a tour.

(Name : Ikuko, Age: 25,

Height : 5'7, Museum Guide)

Guide : Free of charge! That sounds like fun, doesn't it?

There was another consensus of yesses, and before long we were shambling through the hallways. Although I was a bit chilled, I let myself enjoy the beautiful history all around me. We started off with ancient Egypt. I could tell Ikuko was incredibly enthusiastic about the subject. I enjoyed watching someone talk with their passions, there were something invigorating about it.

Ikuko : Sadly, one of the greatest repositories of history was wiped out in fire. The Great Library of Alexandria. Scientists theorize that we would be several hundred years ahead of where we are now. If it weren't for it's destruction.

Hannah : How did it catch fire?

Ikuko : It's believed it was an accident, by Ceasar's troupes during a siege.

I tried to wrap my head around the thought.

Hannah : That's... incredible. it's like there's a whole world that was just lost.

Ikuko : I think we would be surprised at how much about this Earth we know nothing about.

I nodded, and milled about, looking at each other display and reading all the text.

Ikuko : And now we'll move on to our next showcase. I think you'll all find this one quite exciting...

I was kind of half listening, preoccupied with trying to covertly snap a pic of a statue. When I got the photo I wanted for my blog, I looked up and realized I was alone. I bit my lip, and hurried after the direction I thought the group had gone. But I ended up in a darkened part of the museum.

Hannah : Ikuko?

There was no answer, so I figured I would just go back to the entrance and wait. Sure, I would miss out on some cool stuff, but at least I wouldn't get in trouble.

Unknown : Come find me...

I turned back into hall, but no one was there.

Hannah : Hello?

My voice echoed down the hall, and I cautiously took a step forward. The hair on my back of neck was standing straight up, and I felt like someone is watching me. But as far as I could tell... no one was there.

Hannah : Is something there? If this is a prank, it's not very funny.

The Unknown : ... we're over here...

I still couldn't see anyone, but I followed the voice. I eventually rounded a corner into a faintly lit room. I blinked, my eyes adjecting to the change, then looked around.

The Unknown : Over here.

I whipped around. There was still no one there. But there was something... a display case, with a small, open chest inside. Once I reached the brightly lit arrangement, I read the plaque beside it.

//PLAQUE//

Ancient Assyrian Chest, recovered from sunken ship in the Golden Age of Europe. Contains ancient sealed scroll and intricate amulet. Origin unknown.

I looked into chest, and sure enough, the items were in there. I... I wanted to touch it. Feel the cool metal in my hand. Let my eyes drink in the old text. I leaned against display, my breath fogging the glass. I hadn't been this enraptured in ages. I wanted... I wanted...

An earth shaking clap of thunder seemed to explode behind me. And I jumped.

I knocked into the display case with full force, sending it crashing to the floor. I tried to catch the tumbling stand, but it was too late. Glass hit the floor, and the contents of the chests clattered to the out.

The Unknown : FREEDOOOOM!!!

It all happened in a second. I landed a few feet away, confused and dizzy. I shook my head to clear it. My mouth dropped open. I saw two figures rising out of the swirling clouds of red and gold/sliver.

Hannah : H-h-h- how?

The red one faced me, teeth sharp in between smiling lips. He was devilishly handsome, but was oozing danger, swagger and charm.

Red one : Huh, a human. it's been a while.

The other one slowly faced me too, his features tinged golden, and much softer than his counterpart.

The Golden one : I'm sleepy. What year is it?

I couldn't think, couldn't formulate a sentence. All I knew was two oddly colored, attractive men had burst out of ancient items.

Hannah : W-w-w-hat a-are you???

The red one's grin grew even stronger, and he took a large step towards me.

The red one : What do you mean, 'What are we?' Isn't it obvious? We're Djinni, of course.

Djinni. Of course. That explained everything. Expect it didn't. What kind of strange thing had I gotta myself into? I looked up at the two beautiful men towering over me. For the first time in a long while, I had no idea what to say.

I wanted to say something... anything but my mouth refused to work. The two strange but breath taking beautiful men stared down at me, gazes unwavering.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***