Prologue

Sweat stung Nathan Drake's eyes as he moved through the dense jungle, swatting insects and thick branches out of his way while he sprinted through the foliage. He tripped over an exposed root and stumbled to the ground, cutting his forehead on a rock.

"Just my luck." He whispered through ground teeth, pushing himself up and wiping the sweat and blood from his face with the sleeve of his shirt. A high pitched sound was heard behind him, an odd mix between a squeal and bark. Drake looked over his shoulder in fear.

"Oh God, I gotta keep moving."

Turning around, Drake began sprinting, paying more attention to the ground so as to not trip again. The barking sound could still be heard behind him, accompanied with the sound of something moving through the forest. Drake began running faster, his legs beginning to seize up as he struggled towards where he hoped to God the jungle ended.

"Almost there." He gasped as the tree-line came into view. He burst through the last few trees and bushes into open air only to skid to a halt.

"No, no, no, no, no!" He cried out as he almost toppled over the edge of the cliff before him into the dense undergrowth of the ravine below. He looked over the edge for a moment, trying to calculate a way down, but his mind was freezing. The barking lessened to a wining growl and Drake turned to see various shapes amongst the trees, hidden by the shadows of the dusk. He immediately realized that he had a choice between the cliff and his pursuers.

"Down we go!" Drake said to himself as he dropped over the edge of the cliff. He hugged his body close to the rocks and dragged along it, his hands desperately grasping for some sort of hold to halt his fall. Thankfully, his fingers grasped a small lip in the cliff, and he was brought to a shoulder tearing stop. Drake dangled for a moment, clutching the small handhold for dear life. He looked up and down the cliff, scanning for another means of stabilizing himself. He noticed a rock jutting out that was easily within reach of his left foot. Setting his foot on the rock, Drake tested it lightly to see if it would hold his weight. The rock shifted slightly, but seemed stable. Drake put the rest of his weight on the rock, but it gave out, catching him by surprise and hurling him from the cliff.

Branches swatted and dragged at Drakes body and clothes as he fell through the canopy. No branch or vine seemed to support his weight, but Drake was at least able to slow himself down so that when he thudded to the ground he was alive. Dirty, scratched, and badly beaten, but alive.

Drake remained immobile for a few moments, unable to muster the strength to even swat away the bugs that swarmed him. It was the humming of an approaching vehicle that caught his attention. Drake rolled onto his belly and pushed himself up, ducking behind a tree and watching as a rusty, dirty jeep drove up and two men dressed in cargo short and shirts as dirty as the jeep jumped out.

"Saya fikir dia jatuh ke sini, merebak keluar dan mencari dia!"

"Shit." Drake swore, shielding himself behind the tree. They had seen him fall down the cliff, and those pistols made it clear these men wanted to make sure he was dead. One of the men went off to the side, while the other walked straight towards him. Drake kept himself as low and covered as possible, and just as the man unwittingly passed him, Drake jumped onto his back, and snapped the man's neck.

Dropping down, Drake picked up the pistol and stood back up, pointing his newly acquired weapon at the other man and shooting him. Drake quickly bounded over to the jeep and revved it up, driving away from the cliff and down the ravine along the stream. The trees in the ravine were thinner than in the denser jungle up top, and Drake knew that the cliffs on either side of him guided the stream towards a large floodplain, where he was supposed to rendezvous with the others. He hoped they were there and ready for him.

"I just want to get out of this damn jungle." Drake muttered angrily. Just then, the barking sounds started up again, and Drake fearfully started looking around trying to see where they were coming from. However, the barking sound was drowned out by another sound, which confused Drake.

"What the hell is that?" He wondered, then looked up "Oh hell no, that is not a helicopter." As if on cue, a helicopter flew over the trees and into sight, lowering itself down slightly into the ravine and skimming the tree tops. "God damn it!" Drake shouted, applying more pressure to the gas pedal. The jeep sped up, but the helicopter was still able to keep pace. The loud chatter of the helicopter's machine gun started rattling, and the ground behind Drake was ripped up by the bullets.

The stream of bullets drew closer and closer to Drake's jeep, no matter how fast he tried to urge it. He glanced up at the helicopter and became aware of shadowy figures moving on top of the cliffs as fast as the helicopter. Several of the creatures jumped onto the helicopter, and it started swaying back and forth. Suddenly it veered at a hard angle, crashing its tail into the cliff side. The helicopter exploded, and the burning remnants immediately pitched downwards.

The flaming wreckage crashed into the ground behind Drake, and he could feel the flame's heat on his back as the ball of fire and metal tumbled and slid only a few feet behind his jeep. The helicopter came to a crashing halt, but before Drake could begin to feel lucky, the helicopter exploded once more and the ensuing shockwave caused the jeep to spin out of control.

Drake jumped out of the jeep, rolling along the ground just in time to see his vehicle crash and meet its own fiery demise. Drake struggled to his feet and began limping along the stream when the barking began once more.

"Can't I get a break?!" Drake cried out, frantically glancing around and looking for any means of escape. He noticed a small concrete structure nestled amongst the trees, and began jogging towards it while keeping weight off of the leg he had injured jumping from the jeep.

"Well this works." He muttered to no one in particular.

Kicking open the metal door, Drake limped into the small room and closed the door shut behind him. He leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, trying to catch his breath and remain calm despite the incessant barking that could be heard just outside the building. Drake opened his eyes and immediately became aware he was not the only man in the room, for there was also a tall man in a lab coat there, pointing a gun at him.

"Nathan?" The man questioned with a thick Russian accent, his jaw dropping and his gun arm going slack. "How did you-"

"You lying son of a bitch!" Drake said, lurching forward towards the man, pointing his gun threateningly.

"Please, Nathan, I-"

"No excuses, just tell me what the hell is going on here!"

"I- I can't!" The man stammered, backing away nervously. Drake stepped closer and the man slid through an open door and down stairs, slamming the door shut behind him. Drake ran over to the door and tried to pull it open, but it was latched shut.

"Damn it!" Drake shouted "How the hell do I keep getting in these messes." He mumbled. After a few more attempts at opening the door to the stairwell, Drake turned back to the front door and walked over, pressing his ear against it, listening for the barking of the creatures.

"Alright, I think it's clear." He whispered to himself, undoing the latch. Suddenly, the door burst open, flinging Drake back against a wall. The gun flew out of Drake's hand, leaving him unarmed as he crumpled to the floor, fresh blood dripping down the back of his neck and his vision blurring. He recalled at that moment what Antonio Pigafetta wrote about the death of Magellan, and wondered if he would be remembered with similar words.

"They killed our mirror, our light, our comfort, and our true guide." He mumbled while dark growling figures crept into the room towards Drake as he lay helpless, his half-conscious mind slipping back in time to two months ago in Madrid, when this had all started…

Author's Notes: Okay, so a bit of a writer's block with my original novel and replaying the series has resulted in a new idea forming, and after a ton of research, it is ready to begin publishing. If you enjoyed Tides of War, you should also enjoy Behind Shadows. Let me know if this prologue was enough to grab your attention, and soon I'll update the official Chapter 1!