Uncharted: Seekers of the Lost
By Obrusnine
Last updated: November 26th, 2012 FD
(ED: Basic Edit / RW: Rewrite / fD: First Draft / FD: Final Draft)
Chapter 1: Awakening
"Not unto us, o Lord, not unto us, but unto your name grant glory!" - Motto of the Knights Templar
The air is cold.
This was what Nate thought as he emerged from unconsciousness. Beyond that, he thought of the pain that all of a sudden hit him everywhere, but especially in his stomach where it struck harder with hunger. His tongue was dry, and he thirsted for water heavily.
He groaned in pain as he continued to stare at the back of his eyelids. He felt some kind of bindings around his wrists and ankles. He moved them slightly and heard the clink of chains. He also felt his back pressed to a cold stone wall.
He concluded that he was hanging from four manacles connected to a wall by chains.
He wondered where they had taken him, and he was determined to find out.
He slowly opened his eyes. A dim light shined down the hallway from the right. Bars enclosed him within a dark cell. He was bound on the opposite wall from the bars. He looked right and found that he had been right; he was hanging from the wall on manacles.
Nate tried to speak, to call out to anyone who might be guarding him, but he only managed a strained and dry croak.
So this must be the next stage in their torture plan. He thought. But… they already got what they want… Why is this necessary?
He continued to wait there, eventually again losing consciousness. The minutes turned into hours but Nate didn't notice as time seemed to blur together for him.
Are they just going to let me die here? He wondered. He felt like he had been there for days.
Sometime later, he heard a distant sound. The sound was repeating and echoing constantly along the walls. Eventually, the sound became loud enough for him to recognize it as footsteps that were approaching at a relaxed pace.
Okay, so now they're coming? He thought. But I still can't tell why…
The footsteps kept approaching, and eventually a shadow was cast from the dim light down the hallway to the wall left from his cell bars.
A petite woman crossed into Nate's view. She was wearing a white beret with a blood red cross dead center on the front. Nathan knew it as the symbol of the Knights Templar.
But, this had been a source of wonder from him since this had all started over a month ago. The Knights Templar had been dissolved by Pope Clement the fifth back in 1312, the Templars had always relied on the support of the papacy. But there was no way Pope Benedict the sixteenth could have formed them again without anyone knowing.
What does that mean? Nate thought. I know what they've become… but how did they survive their dissolution?
He knew then he must be delirious, because these were the same thoughts he had been having for a while now.
But he knew this was not the time to think about this… as the woman entered the cell in her snow white uniform with the symbol of the Templars stamped on her chest. A brown belt met with a holster at her hip, which carried a Beretta M92F pistol. Her long brown flowing hair draped over her shoulders. She looked up at Nate, and her striking blue eyes met with Drake's own.
But Nate was not looking at them for long; he noticed the tray in her hand. There was water in a small cup and a small bit of what looked like mashed potatoes, but he wasn't sure exactly what it was.
He would have said something smart as she stepped up to him, but he was too thirsty. So all he said was, "Water..."
"Now what exactly do you think I'm here for mate…? To eat with the starving tortured man hanging from the wall?" She asked. She had a distinctly British accent.
"Water..." Nate repeated weakly.
"Oh fine!" She said, grabbing the cup and bringing it to Nate's lips. He drank the entire cup in a single gulp.
"Please, more." Nate said, more strongly now that he could talk.
"Sorry, that's your quota for today." She said with a sneer.
"You bitch." Nate said with venom.
She laughed, "Oh I try, but apparently everyone here is good at wrangling insults from you. Just shut up and eat this... whatever it is so I can get going."
He did not particularly remember throwing insults at anyone but Jason, but maybe he'd been tortured more than he thought, and those memories had slipped away from him because of the pain… He didn't even want to think about the ramifications of that, so he paid attention as the woman took a spoon and put a bite into his mouth.
Nate nearly spit it out as the disgusting taste of it hit him, but he knew he needed the energy and ate it as fast as she gave it to him. He took the chance to test the manacles when she wasn't looking, moving them and looking to see if they had any give. He found that the wall connected to the chain binding his right hand was weak.
She finished feeding him and turned to leave.
"Wait a second!" Nate said urgently, keeping her within a good distance.
She turned her head to him and asked, "What?"
"What's your name?" He asked.
She turned to him smiling mischievously and said, "Stacey."
"Sorry about this Stacey." Nate said.
"What...?" She wondered curiously, but before she had a chance to ask what he meant, he jerked his hand on his right manacle as hard as he could and the wall binding the chain broke, releasing the chain and by extension Nate's arm.
Stacey's arm flew to the handgun at her hip and she started to bring it up towards Nate. But, his punch met the left side of her face at that moment and the gun flew out of her hand towards the wall. Upon hitting it, the gun discharged and the bullet popped the chain off if his left hand manacle.
Nate fell forward from the wall yelling right on top of "Stacey" as she was coming back from the punch. She fell backward onto the floor as Nate's head landed on the center of her stomach.
"Ouch!" She yelled. Nate's ankles were still bound to the wall and were hanging two feet off of the ground even as his face was pressed into it.
Stacey climbed away from Nate at which time he spotted the keys on her hip, he grabbed them and pulled them from her belt as she scooted out of his range. She immediately went for the gun on the other side of the room as Nate flipped over and used the keys to unbind his ankles. He managed to get them free in seconds but stood up and turned around to see Stacey pointing the Beretta at him from ten feet away.
"Nice try mate, now turn around and put your hands on your head." She said panting.
"Shit." Nate said, panting himself as he turned around and put his hands on his head. Stacey came up to him holstering the Beretta. She tried to grab his hand, pulling out a rope to tie his hands up. But Nate quickly flipped around, grabbing the Beretta from the holster.
She dropped the rope and grabbed and squeezed the wrist of the hand Nate held the gun in. He grunted in pain and dropped the gun. She tried to use her other hand to grab it, but he kicked the gun through the open cell door and into the wall.
Nate flipped around and tried to elbow her with his other arm, but Stacey grabbed his other arm and pushed him forward towards the wall harshly. He slammed into it face first and collapsed to the floor.
He got up groaning as she pulled out a combat knife from her hip sheath.
"Okay, I admit, your good." He said, but then he saw the knife. "Oh crap... why do you people always have to use knives?"
He raised his fists as he prepared to defend himself. She looked away and went for the radio at her hip.
Nate ran forward and tried to tackle her, but she grabbed him and lifted him over her shoulder… throwing him out into the hallway. As she lifted him he managed to grab the radio. He stood up groaning again and smashed the radio underfoot as he picked up the Beretta. He tried to point it at her, but she was on him already. She slapped the gun out of his hand and it went sliding down the hallway.
"Damn it..." He said, trying to punch her. But she grabbed his wrist and threw him towards the stone wall on the left. He recovered before hitting the wall and spun around to try and defend himself, but she was already gone, sprinting down the hallway towards the gun.
"Oh no you don't!" He yelled, sprinting after her. She picked up the gun and tried to spin around and shoot Nate. But he slammed into her and they both fell struggling to the ground as the gun was thrown farther down the hallway. She slashed at Drake with the knife she managed to keep on her, but Nate jumped up onto his feet. She did likewise and kneed him in-between the legs.
He groaned in pain and leaned forward. She delivered a swift punch to the face that sent him flying backward.
Nate stayed on the ground and was attempting to get up when her foot landed on his right hand and he looked up at her.
"It's not that I'm good..." She said. "It's just that you're not good enough."
He kicked at her legs with his right leg and managed to trip her, she fell backward with a scream. She tried to get up as soon as she hit the ground but Nate was too quick for her and climbed on top of her.
"What was that about not being good enough?" Nate asked. She merely glared at him and remained silent while she tried to struggle, but Nate had her down good and she gave up. He searched her pockets and found some duct tape and zip-ties. He flipped her over and bound her hands and ankles with the zip-ties. Then taped her mouth shut, although if they hadn't heard her already, he doubted anyone was nearby enough to hear her anyway.
Being quick about it, he grabbed her belt and tied it around his hips. To his surprise, he actually noticed that this was his own belt that she been using. It still had the stuff he carried with him, although the extras were stuff she'd obviously added. Maybe she had been about to use it as a mental combat type of thing before he had attacked her. Maybe she had always intended to turn back and look at him regardless of whether he called her or not.
He pulled the picture he always carried with him out of the back pouch. The blond that was his wife was revealed and he smiled slightly.
"Don't worry Elena..." He said. "I'm not leaving just yet."
He replaced the picture and searched for anything else that wasn't his. He found some kind of ID swipe card with Stacey's picture on it. He shrugged and looked around for a way out.
Spotting a doorway nearby, he headed through it and found himself in a small office. A desk, computer, and chair had been left disturbed and out of position. He assumed by Stacey.
He passed his eyes over them and found another door. He went and tried to open it, but he found it locked. There was a card scanner and keypad over the door-handle. He grabbed the ID card and swiped it. The light over the keypad remained red.
After ten seconds a negative beep sounded. He needed a key code. He turned around and returned to Stacey. She returned his gaze with a glare and he removed the tape from her lips harshly. She went through this unfazed.
"What's the key code to the door Stacey?" He asked.
"I'm not telling you." She said.
"Come on, I thought you knights had honor. I won our contest, so please give me the key code."
"Not happening."
"Not a speck of that knight honor in you is there?" Nate asked.
"Nope, I'm not a Knight. I'm a sergeant." She responded.
"Agh, the Templars and their ranks." He said. "But seriously, at this rate, with your lack of honor, do you really expect to become a Knight?"
She remained silent.
"Ooh, touched a nerve." Nate said.
"Fine, but next time I see you, we're going at it again." Stacey said. "Agreed?"
"Agreed."
"The code's 5256 pound. Go."
"Thanks Stacey."
"Go!"
Nate smiled and started to leave.
"Don't die." She said. "I want to do you in myself."
Nate gulped, and left. He returned to the door, swiped the card, and entered the key code. The light turned green and buzzed. There was a click as the lock released. He pulled open the door to reveal a cramped stone spiral staircase.
Wow, this architecture... we're in a castle? Nate thought. This just gets better and better.
He climbed the stairs until he reached a wooden door; he opened it and stepped out into a hallway. The light here was brighter than what had been in the dungeon and he was nearly blinded. He let his eyes adjust to the light and looked around, listening for sounds in the distance.
Hearing nothing, he walked to the nearest window. Gazing out, he found that the castle had a large moat… beyond that were a few scattered trees and lots of grass. He saw some buildings, but not very many.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching from both directions.
"Shit." He said to himself quietly.
He went through the nearest door and found himself in a mess hall. A janitor was cleaning the floors around the tables, and food was still left on them, leftovers from a lunch not that long ago. The janitor looked in his direction.
"Huh, who's there?" He asked. Nate jumped into a closet on his left whose door was luckily already open. It was obviously a closet for janitorial supplies. He heard the janitor place his mop back into the bucket and the stir of wheels as the janitor approached where he had been standing.
"I coulda sworn I just saw someone there..." The janitor said to himself as he walked toward the janitor's closet. "Maybe you ducked in there..."
Nate jumped out from the closet and before the janitor could yell, he punched him in the face, knocking him out cold.
"I'm really not in the mood." Nate said to himself. A pang of hunger hit him again and he approached the tables. He grabbed a few chicken legs from a large serving plate in the center of a one and devoured them. He then grabbed every single cup of water he could see and drank them.
He was concentrating so hard on his meal; he didn't hear the approaching footsteps from outside or the sound of the door opening.
He did hear however when a guard walked in saying, "Hey, Jack, you still cleaning in... Hey! Who are you?"
Nate dropped his food and a cup of water onto the floor which spilled and he sprinted for the door on the other side of the mess hall. The man lifted his C8 carbine and fired a few rounds at Drake, which hit above Nate's head as he dived through the door. There were two staircases ahead of him, he tried to climb them but the guard behind him set another few rounds his way so Nate dived off to the right, standing up and running as fast as he could.
He came to a turn and turned right only to find a squad of three guards waiting for him. A circular staircase was in the corner and he ran up into it as the three men sent bullets his way. He kept climbing until he found the next floor, but when he tried to open the door and leave the stairway he found more guards.
"Oh, hey guys… bye." He said before slamming the door shut and running up further as bullets penetrated the thin wood door.
He kept climbing and climbing because he couldn't get out of the staircase and he eventually reached the top. He exited the door to find himself at the top of one of the towers; he ran to the edge and looked down on the moat.
"Shit!" Nate said. He tried to run back to the stairs but he heard footsteps coming. He ran back to the edge, trying to think of what to do.
"Shit... shit... shit!" He said. Guards wearing Templar uniforms emerged onto the roof. Nate put his hands over his head.
"Hey, I surrender!" He yelled. "Don't shoot!"
They hesitated, and Nate noticed they were going to shoot him anyway. He guessed that they really didn't need him anymore and that the last few days had just been fun for them, but now it was getting out of hand. Not really thinking much, he made up his mind and sprinted toward the edge of the tower and jumped over the edge as they all sent bullets at him.