The ceiling fan spun around and around and around. It was that time of day again. It was that kind of class again. Dr. Seguin was now lecturing about the Great Pyramids of Egypt, Jeffrey LaDow loved it. LaDow would sit back in his desk, stare at the ceiling fan, and let his imagination run wild. As a child, he remembered going to the theatre and watching old movies about the Egyptian kings and queens, and the great pyramids.
A rustling sound shook LaDow out of his daydream. The class was ending, and the students were leaving.
"Mr. LaDow, I see you've been riding on your magic carpet again," laughed Dr. Seguin. "Don't forget, you have a test on Friday."
"Thanks professor," smiled LaDow.
"Yeah Cloud Nine," don't forget your test Friday," laughed a group of students leaving the room."
LaDow's active imagination was something not lost on fellow students in class, hence the name "Cloud" or "Cloud Nine."
The 19-year old history major left the classroom, made a beeline across the campus quadrangle, and eventually to the bus stop.
As the 4th street bus approached, Jeffrey felt a tap on his left shoulder. He turned, but saw nobody. He boarded the bus for home.
The bus came to a stop right at 1527 4th street. Home sweet home.
Up the steps and into the two-story house he went.
"Hello nephew," bellowed a voice from the kitchen.
"Hello Aunt Jade," replied Jeffrey. "You know Aunt Jade, you really ought to keep that front screen locked. You-"
"I'll lock it when I feel like it," she snapped. "I know these people in this neighborhood."
Jeffrey knew the people in the neighborhood too, and he knew they were not as good as they used to be. But, he was not about to argue with Aunt Jade, whose real name was Jada Scott. A lovely, firmly built, dark-haired woman of 44, she was Jeff's mother's sister. LaDow's mother was a single parent named Lana Travis. Lana was in a mental institution. When Jeff was six-years old, she suffered a nervous breakdown. She claimed to have seen smoke coming from the walls of her bedroom on frequent occasions. One afternoon she had one vision too many. She even claimed to have had some after she was committed. No one else saw these visions.
Aunt Jade stepped right in to raise him and had been a pillar of strength. Jeff loved her dearly.
As "Cloud Nine" climbed the stairs to his room, he noticed the familiar smell coming out of the kitchen. Dinner would be baked chicken, mashed potatoes, and cream spinach.
LaDow made it to his room, threw down his books, and raced quickly to his computer. He turned it on. As soon as his desktop appeared on the screen, he logged on to the Internet. Immediately he went to a search engine, and requested information on pyramids. Over 3,000 different options availed themselves.
"Jeff, dinner is almost ready," said Aunt Jade from downstairs.
"Okay, be down in a minute," he replied.
The third web page on the search revealed a topic saying, "Great Pyramids of Ancient Egypt." LaDow clicked on the link. A website appeared with digital photos of several pyramids with an eye between them. Right below the eye, it said "click to enter the chamber."
"Jeffrey, are you up there fooling around on that computer again??" came the voice from downstairs.
"Uh, no, just changing my socks," lied Nine.
LaDow clicked on the eye, and his screen went black, with nothing showing but a blinking cursor.
"Hello," hissed a low-sounding voice.