Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #17 August 2015 | Page 51

With a click the stones loosened and we laid the mask down and gently pulled the face off. Inside something spherical was wrapped in old linen, which was all that separated us from being face to face with this ‘god’. With a pair of tweezers in one hand and surgical scissors in the other, I slowly cut away the browning textile. My assistant turned the lights back on before taking his place at my shoulder. I gently peeled away layers of linen eventually revealing an actual head! “Is it mummified?” my assistant asked. “I’m not sure!” I answered shocked. not. Just two more layers and Mentz and I would be making history together, his research leading up to this very moment as I peeled away the final layer of wrappings and stared face to face with Dr Richard Mentz himself! I stepped back in horror to see that there were no signs of cutting, hacking or gore on his neck; as if it was never attached to anything at all. We stood with our mouths open whilst the horror before us continued as Mentz’s eyes opened. My assistant broke the silence and let out a scream of pure terror before running from the lab. I stayed still locked in a stare with my old colleague. His mouth moved with great excitement and urgency. He was mouthing the same thing over and over again. “Tijaboo now walks among us.” My hands shook but I could not stop, I dared 51