As the jeep rolled across the desert, I looked back at the walled city, now only a small dot on the horizon. I realized that we were on our own and the mission had begun. We were a team of four – the most experienced archeologists in Europe. Joe, our driver, was a strong and muscular guy in his thirties entirely familiar with the area, having been exploring the region for the last two years. Frank, my good fellow, had earned a presidential scholarship in Archeology and his knowledge on historical events and facts was a complete coverage necessary for our mission. Claudia, a colleague of mine, had specialized in ancient cultures, but in addition to that she had earned a degree in alternative medical treatment. And here am I, sitting in the front seat and heading towards one of my biggest archeological dreams. For the past five years I had dedicated all my time on doing research on the Egyptian Pyramids. I had found that in some historical sources there was evidence that one more pyramid existed but was never discovered.

We were heading South-West from Cairo. Day after day, the only thing we could clearly observe were the orange sunsets over a sea of sand. The local tribes we met treated us like guests, fed us and gave us their blessings. Day four of our trip. We woke up with unpleasant taste in the mouth. I could feel the sand all over my face and could barely see any surrounding. I heard Joe talking to the locals and when I approached, I saw them trying to pull out our jeep from the sand hill. Frank ran behind me with his body all covered in sand and could hardly talk in his panic. He thought that he had been buried alive. Yet the desert storms were nothing to surprise us. They are common phenomenon in the core of Sahara, and you must be well prepared for them. And so, we were.

We managed to take on again and if we were on the right way, it should not have been more than two hours’ drive to our target point. According to Frank’s notes there was a shortcut to the entrance of the pyramid. He knew something precious for the human civilization was hidden there and it was very well secured. We had to be sensitive to signs and traps.

Finally, we saw them, the Seven Hills. Enormous, gorgeous, and mysterious, they stood in front of us with all their ancient glory. I took the measurements and estimated the most accurate option. It must have been the fourth one. We went around to the north side of the hill and saw a sign. We were lucky that the entrance was preserved from the desert storms. It was time.

The tunnel was fully engraved with drawings of deities and symbols of prehistoric times. It let us to a hall with eleven ways in different directions. Joe noticed that the construction was similar to the Pyramid of Khentkaus II. Claudia was the one who could best read the symbols, so she and Joe went back to find which way we must take. In the whole silence from time to time we could hear strange noises. They were short and coming from different directions. I could read Frank’s thoughts in his eyes. And he was right. That was a home of snakes and they felt invincible in their kingdom.

The signs let us to the sixth path. We had to move very slowly and without any tension. We walked in a row because the tunnel was extremely narrow. After a few meters I tripped into a thin rope that activated a rain of poisoned arrows. We ran as fast as we could, but one scratched Frank’s arm. Immediately Claudia squeezed the blood out and washed the wound. We kept going. We reached an interesting room. It was all red and only its floor was engraved. I noticed that some of the plates were not even. They ended into a column on top of which a box was placed. Frank was the lightest of us and despite his panic he was the one who had to go through the plates. He passed them very slowly and carefully. He reached the box and pulled it out. We thought that the plates were the last trap, but we were wrong. We felt the earthquake under our legs. The whole place started to ruin down itself. With no hesitation we ran backwards to the exit. Rocks and dust blocked the way behind us, and we were at the edge when we managed and made it through.

We were shocked for a moment but save. Then we loaded the box and our backpacks and got into the jeep. Along the whole way back to Cairo I was eager to know what was actually into the box and why nobody ever wanted to find that out.