“Hurry it up, Frankie! I’m getting gray hairs here!”

Frank rolled his eyes fondly. “I’m coming! Just get us a spot up there!” 

They trekked up the dunes towards the fresh dig site. When they reached the top, Frank’s eyes widened.

The vast dig site sprawled across his view, the pyramids lorded over the site, and the equipment scattered across the sand. The site managers barked out orders above the crowd. People milled around the tents- likely other archaeologists there for a chance at digging up the treasures which lay buried beneath them. 

John whistled appreciatively. “Some competition, huh?” Noticing Frank’s pensive mood, he nudged his arm and added “Don’t worry, they’ve got nothing on our streak.”

Several groups of prospective diggers had flocked to the site when the legend of King Tut’s tomb spread. Rumored to hold unimaginable treasures like goblets, rings, and the legendary gold staff of Ra, each archaeologist wanted the chance to dig and analyze such fine specimens themselves. John made quick work of convincing Frank to go, though if Frank had to be honest, it didn’t take much for him to agree. The two of them were quite the team, he thought; they amassed a small local following after a string of minor discoveries in their years together. But they wanted more- the credibility that such a competitive dig could provide enticed them.

Now, looking at the crowd gathered below, Frank felt his stomach churn. He turned to John, who grinned at him, a skip in his step as he bounded down to the site. 

The two were swept into the throng of hopefuls, but they managed to clamber to the center of the site, where people had gathered around a few site managers who were showing a shoddy board displaying pictures of the vast tomb. John and Frank settled in the hot sand, soaked in their sweat, and bristled against the heat of the sun beating down on them as they waited for the orientation to start.

A few hours later, the moon gleamed as the two settled in their tent., The prospective diggers had scattered to the pyramids a few hours prior. The whole site was undeveloped- everyone had to find their own spots to start digging into. John dragged Frank from the meeting site, boasting about how his intuition hadn’t failed him yet. They walked for hours until they happened upon the far edge of the site. Nothing stood near them except for a small village which kept a respectable distance away from the hassle of the dig.

Frank yawned as he settled on his cot and listened to John chatter. “Alright John, I get it, you’re some kind of fortune teller or something. Can we sleep now? We’ve got an early morning tomorrow.”

“You laugh, but you’ll be eating your words when I-  we find that treasure.” He grinned fondly at Frank. “Good night.”

“Night.”

—

They set off on the trek towards the pyramid a few hours before dawn. By the time they arrived, the sun began to peek through the clouds. The two felt ready to drop, but Frank pushed ahead and got his and John’s harnesses ready.  

They wandered around for hours, trying to find any clue or lead to a possible treasure. Frank’s optimism dwindled as hours passed with no clues or change.

The two returned to their tent well past nightfall, discouraged by the day’s results. They went out to the pyramids almost religiously for the next few weeks, but still no discovery. An occasional trip to the main site revealed that no one else had any luck either. As time passed, the number of archaeologists trickled lower and lower, until John and Frank were some of the handful of people who stayed.

As discouraged as Frank felt, he couldn’t convince John to leave. John was like a bloodhound, sniffing up a phantom trail intangible to Frank, working himself into a frenzy over the potential of a discovery.

 If he were being honest to himself, Frank would admit that he felt more than a little scared. John became more obsessive by the day, spending every waking moment curled over the maps Frank had drawn of the pyramid. While Frank kept himself sane by making frequent visits to the local village, John became a recluse; he had blue crescents stamped under his eyes, and his normally cheerful face sunk into his skin due to his missed meals and forgotten sleep.

It all came to a head one day when the two descended into the pyramid once again, five months after they had first arrived at the site. They traversed the inside, making a round rather quickly. 

Frank snorted. “Think we set a record with how fast we got here.” 

John didn’t laugh. Instead, he cried in frustration and began to strike struck the wall in anger. 

“John, calm down!” Frank pleaded with him as he grabbed him from behind. John paused, deep breaths racking throughout his body. He tipped forward in exhaustion until his head thumped against the wall. Then his eyes snapped open.

“Frank, did you hear that?” His voice wavered, still thick with tears. He rapped his knuckles against the wall, and Frank gasped.

It sounded hollow.

John scrambled away from Frank’s arms, running across their path while knocking against the wall like a madman. Frank ran behind him, and nearly into him when John stopped sharply in his steps and laughed.

“Feel it, Frankie! There’s some give here!” To demonstrate, he hit the wall, and it bent in slightly.

Frank moved John aside carefully, then pushed against the wall full force. A sharp CRACK! reverberated throughout the pyramid, and a small hole broke through the wall.

Frank knew the moment he looked at it that he couldn’t fit in there, but it didn’t deter John. He stepped towards the hole and nearly climbed through it alone before Frank grabbed and pulled him back. 

“Are you crazy? You don’t know how far it goes! What if you got hurt?”

John looked up at him, mouth set in a rigid frown. “Shut up, Frank. We’re so damn close, this is the first breakthrough we’ve made!”

“You think I don’t know that? Trust me John, you know more than anyone how much this means to me. But I care more about you than some treasure, alright?”

John’s face crumpled, and he pulled Frank into a hug. “I know, Frank. I know. But God, it’s so close. I’ve almost got it. Please, I need this. I need this so that they all see that I can do something great myself. And this is duck soup, Frank. I’ll go in and out fast, okay? Please.”

Frank frowned in grim acceptance. He couldn’t begrudge John’s motive- after all, he knew John feared his family would see him as nothing more than a flighty fool.

“Alright, you can go. But I’ll rig up the harness first. And John, I swear if one thing doesn’t sound right, I’m pulling you up. Got it?”

John nodded quickly, and the two got to work. John sank into the hole, and minutes passed as Frank waited for him to reemerge. His nerves frayed as more time passed.

“John, you alright? It’s been an hour. What’s going on down there?”

Quiet. Then suddenly, a shout came from the hole. Frank pulled furiously, his mind supplying increasing gruesome possibilities of John’s fate as he yanked the rope further back.

He let out a shaky breath when he saw John come back through the crevice. Then his breath was knocked out of him again when he saw what John had.

Grasped in between John’s own two hands was the legendary Staff of Ra, glinting even in the darkness.

“Johnny, you- you did it! You really found the staff!” Frank hugged his friend, mindful of the staff in his arms.

John laughed uncontrollably, his mouth stretching into a blinding smile. “I did it, I really did it myself!” 

The two headed back to their tent, where John cautiously placed the staff inside the portable safe they had brought, which he then kept right beside his cot. His possessive behavior confused Frank, but he shrugged, rationalizing it as John being protective of the fruit of their efforts.

“We’ll head to the main site tomorrow. I think today we deserve to rest.” Frank told John. “Then we can record our discovery there.” Suddenly, John’s lips twitched down almost imperceptibly, but he quickly smoothed his face out.

“Alright.”

 John then fell asleep as soon as his head hit the cot, but Frank had too much excitement in him to sleep. He took a walk to the village. As he sat and watched the people prepare for their harvest festival, he thought to himself. 

By God, they had done it.

When he got back to the tent, he saw John laying on his cot, staring at the safe beside him, deep in thought. Frank found his uncharacteristic silence eerie.

“You up for a party? There’s a festival that’s about to happen soon.”

John startled and paled when he saw Frank. “No thanks.”

Frank’s brows furrowed. “John, you alright? This isn’t some sort of Pharaoh’s curse you got there?” He laughed a little nervously at his joke. He had hoped John would go back to his normal self now that they had found the staff.

John just smiled weakly up at him. “I’ll be fine. You should go.”

“Oh. Okay, then. Tell me if you need anything.”

Just before he turned to leave, Frank could have sworn John looked guilty. But then he shook his head and walked out.

Hours later, he shuffled back to his room, drowsily stumbling through the door. He paused when he saw John’s empty bed, his things strewn across his bed it.

 Frank started tidying up the bed when he saw a note with To Frank printed on it. He opened it up and began to read.

He was quiet; then he put down the paper and let out a howl of laughter. 

“Johnny, you goof! You’re really trying to trick me? I should have known you would be planning something like this when you wouldn’t come with me.” he crowed mirthfully.

But the room stood still. John didn’t come out of the closet door, laughing about his failed prank. He didn’t pat Frank on the back and promise to fool him another day. 

Frank’s uneasiness grew. He waited for a few seconds, then took out the key from his pocket. He felt guilty just doing this, but with a find so big, Frank knew he couldn’t practice too much vigilance. It was all a formality anyway; Johnny probably just went out for a walk; he could never stay still. No way he could do such a thing. Not John. Never.

Looking under John’s cot, Frank pulled out the small safe. He opened it, anxiety increasing by the second. The key seemed to turn too slowly; it got caught a few times. Finally, the safe opened and Frank looked inside.

 Then his heart dropped into his stomach.

The staff was gone. 

The hall buzzed in excitement. The seats were filled, and the audience  murmured as the curtains drew open.

Behind them, Frank scoffed and looked up as people walked onto the stage. There was something else he was looking forward to.

Then he saw a man standing proudly on the stage. His hair was slicked back, his suit was pressed crisp, and his  charming smile was framed by a smart mustache. 

Even after all these years, Frank could recognize him in an instant. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, it is our pleasure to announce legendary archaeologist and writer Mr. John Wagner!”

John looked around impatiently as he waited for the introductions to finish. He never could stand still. Frank watched him intently until he caught his eye.

 John paused for a moment, a look of confusion on his face. 

Frank felt an ache in his chest. John couldn’t even recognize him now? How could he not? He certainly hadn’t left Frank’s mind since that day years ago.

God, it had been so long since then. Back when the two of them were thick as thieves, one always with the other. They had bonded deeply over their fears, reassuring one another that they were so much more than the labels people put on them. It pierced Frank to think that what he had with John was a lie- to him, it was always them against the world.

As nostalgia washed over him, Frank felt a deep pang of regret. What was he doing? How could he have spent years going after John, trying to punish him for what was now well in the past? John, his best friend, his dearest companion. He couldn’t reconcile the man he once knew with the one who had betrayed him. In hindsight, it made sense, didn’t it? John always wished to be recognized and remembered; the weight of his family’s expectations must have made him greedy. 

Frank stood there, in the shadows behind the seats, frozen in his sorrow. He had given so much up for this plan of his. He stopped digging after John deserted him; he lost all sense of self-control as he obsessed over revenge and grew embittered as he heard the far-reaching stories of John’s success. It was what had led him here. But now? After seeing John for the first time in two decades, all he did was falter. Oh God, he had given up one of the only joys in his life for years of obsession and wasted passion. His life had just passed him by. If only he had focused his anger into something useful. He could have made something of himself. But now…

 It was then Frank knew he couldn’t see this happen anymore. HE caught John’s eye once more, now piquing John’s interest. His eyes followed Frank as he turned to leave the hall. A strategic light began to beam directly at the small diamond on stage.

Frank walked out the doors, a small weight in his pocket and a crushing one on his shoulders as the diamond began to gleam too brightly.