Whispers from the Beyond

In the middle of the night, I woke up to the sound of shattering glass. It took me a minute to figure out where I was, who I was, and what I was doing in bed... Then another ten seconds before I jumped out of bed barefoot—and in my pajamas—to the door of the room... and then to the second floor where I had heard the noise.

This was Dr. Richard's study. No one was there, but the curtain was silently billowing in the dark room, indicating that the broken window was here. I turned on the light and noticed shards of glass on the floor... And of course—as usual with me—I stepped on two shards with my bare feet, let out a curse, and sat on the floor to pull them out.

Then... my eyes caught something...

There—behind the desk—was someone hiding, trying not to be seen... The person who had broken the window with such violence, looking for something I didn't know about... If I ran out of the room, he might attack me, so I busied myself with treating my foot while cursing loudly. The blood was ringing in my ears, adrenaline was surging through my veins, my fists clenched, and then in one swift move, I leaped onto the desk and threw myself at this intruder...

I took a punch to the stomach that knocked the wind out of me... But I pushed through and raised my knee to kick him below the belly. I heard him groan... But who was he?

He was masked... All I could see were two cold eyes, like a London winter, gray like its fog. I aimed a strong punch at his nose behind the mask, feeling the cartilage almost crack... Then another punch to his chest.

I had never been an athlete in my life, and karate, judo, and taekwondo weren't known to our generation, but anyone can fight fiercely when they have a strong motive... And what stronger motive is there than preventing this lunatic from killing me?

We grappled in a long struggle... The bastard was strong and fierce, but I was desperate and terrified, which made me almost an equal match for him... Suddenly, his hand reached for something on the desk, and a heavy metal object came crashing down on my head... No... I won't lose consciousness... I pushed through... but the floor betrayed me...

I must have been unconscious for no more than five minutes... On the floor, a hole puncher lay beside me—the weapon that had decided the previous battle...

Nausea was killing me, but I got up... I staggered to the open door and ran down the stairs to the place I knew I would find him. The basement.

Yes... There he was in the dark, next to Count Dracula's coffin, with an electric flashlight placed beside him on the floor. He had brought his face close to the Count's, whispering words I couldn't make out... like some obscure pagan prayer or something like that...

Ah! Will this madness never end?

I let out a scream that startled even myself... I grabbed a bottle lying on the floor, waved it in the air like a club, and lunged at this impostor... If he hadn't flinched, I would have smashed the bottle over his skull in seconds... He jumped like a startled animal toward the flashlight and turned it off... Then his punches rained down on me in the dark. This bastard could see in the dark like a bat...

This time, I didn't resist much.

I lay panting in the dark for a while, the salty taste of blood filling my mouth... I think I need to regain my composure for the next round.

The basement light came on... Dr. Richard and Lovarsky in their pajamas, their eyes puffy from sleep, surrounded me... I shouted bitterly:

"Congratulations on your clear consciences... The commotion we caused was enough to wake the dead, and you only woke up now...!"

I began to tell them what had happened, and as soon as Dr. Richard heard my story, his face turned pale, and he leaped like a cat to the study. A terrifying thought crossed my mind... What if he came back—as usual—from upstairs to say there was no broken glass and that I had been hallucinating?

But he returned after a few minutes, looking concerned, carrying the hole puncher that had nearly cracked my skull moments ago... and said:

"You were lucky, my friend..."

I pointed to the broken bottle on the floor and said:

"And the bastard was just as lucky as me..."

"Dr. Rifaat, we are civilized people, and I believe what happened shouldn't prevent us from dressing appropriately before discussing matters in a civilized manner..."

"Meet me in my study in ten minutes!"

Ah, these Englishmen! He wants me, when I find a thief in my house, to get out of bed, comb my hair, put on my evening clothes, and then go to him, bowing like a gentleman, saying:

"Sir... If you don't leave my house within a minute, I believe I will be forced to make serious decisions!"

Ah... Damn it!... Anyway, I went back to my room, got dressed, and looked at my face in the mirror... There were no permanent injuries, thank God, but what would these two adventurers make of my short, failed escapade?

In the study, where the curtain hadn't flown away... I asked the two men:

"Now... What do you say?"

Dr. Lovarsky said, avoiding eye contact:

"If you want my opinion, I'd say there are mysterious events connected by one thing... Every time, we either find you heading to the basement or sleeping in it."

Dr. Richard said:

"I wonder what your next story will be to justify your nightly trips to the basement..." I shouted in frustration, as the two men seemed utterly dull and ignorant to me.

"Do you think I love that musty basement and that ridiculous mummy? Am I lying to justify my deep love for sitting next to coffins in the dark?"

Dr. Richard couldn't suppress a smile at my words... He raised his hand, trying to calm me down:

"I didn't accuse you... I didn't say that... But I said there's some attempt to make you go down to the basement alone at night."

"That never crossed my mind, but it's true... Let's assume that... Then what's supposed to happen there?"

"That's what we've gathered to think about..."

"But why couldn't tonight's visitor be a thief... an ordinary thief..."

Dr. Lovarsky gave me a meaningful look and said:

"Thieves don't crouch next to coffins to recite obscure prayers... You said that yourself, remember?"

Dr. Richard added:

"And thieves don't break glass so recklessly... This thief is either a fool or wanted you to hear him..."

"And thieves don't enter houses from the second floor when there are first-floor windows..."

Dr. Richard cleared his throat, walked to the curtain, and pulled it aside... Then he said:

"There's something stranger... Did you notice the broken glass?... It's just a small hole, not big enough for a person to pass through..."

I looked into his eyes... and said:

"But it's big enough for..."

"Yes, big enough for a bat...!"

Dr. Lovarsky said:

"More mysteries...! Do you want my opinion?... I think some secret societies or Satan worshippers know about the mummy we have... and they're trying to steal it."

"But no one knows what we know..."

"If we learned what we did from the manuscripts, what's to stop others from learning the same thing?"

"This calls for more caution... There's only one day left anyway... Let's let it pass peacefully..."

Then he wagged his finger in my face and warned:

"No more mysterious visits to the basement, because the next time won't end well... I want you to return to Egypt in one piece, without any holes!"

The two men went down the stairs while I stayed behind... I was thinking... If the thief didn't come through the window, then he's one of the house's residents... And if he's strong, he's a man... And if it's not me, then it's one of the two scholars... And if he's gray-eyed and strong-built, then it's not Dr. Lovarsky... So it must be...

Yes... This aligns with what happened yesterday... It's always Dr. Richard in every mysterious incident, then he appears to confirm that I'm hallucinating... But... What is this man hiding?

Is he playing a cruel practical joke on me, or is he completely insane—something I don't rule out... Anyone who's lived their life surrounded by this nonsense must be insane...

But why me specifically?... Because I'm the youngest and most reckless... And because he still carries the colonizer's contempt for the people of the country he colonized... It hadn't even been three years since the Suez War... So is he really that hateful, fanatical Englishman?... I don't understand.

In any case, there's only one day left... And all I have in my pocket is caution and patience.

I entered my room and closed the door. I went to the window and opened it... I looked up... at the broken study window... I thought I saw something slowly emerging from the broken glass... Then I realized what it was... It was a small bat that quickly spread its wings, fluttered, circled twice in the air, and then disappeared into the darkness...!