Uncharted: Animal I Have Become
The negotiation failed. Two women that Nate held dear to his heart were murdered before his eyes. Shot point blank between their eyes. There's wasn't even time for a smart aleck comment from Chloe. There wasn't any time for screams, for any form of reaction at all. Nobody moved. The soldiers didn't dare say a word.
"Well little Drake, it seems that you have nothing else to negotiate with." Lazarevic snickered.
Nate was speechless, motionless, mindless. If he wasn't blinking, one would say that his soul left him right then and there. But who's to say it didn't.
Nate turned around and stared the laughing Russian down. But Nate had this look in his eyes. It was a look full of hate, disgust, vengeance, a flash of red flickered in Nate's eyes. His breathing was low, slow, and heavy. The look in Nate's eyes grew fiercer. The soldiers dropped their guns, all of them visibly shaking in their boots.
"Cowards! Raise your arms!" Lazarevic barked at them. The soldiers didn't listen.
"Surrounded by nothing but cowards…Harry!"
Harry Flynn was no different from the rest. He's known Nathan Drake for as long as the years lasted. He has never seen such anger, such fury in his ex-friend's eyes. Not even when he had betrayed him.
"Harry! God damn, I'm surrounded by nothing but cowards." Lazarevic grew impatient with his soldiers' incompetence.
"Drake, do not think I will backtrack on my promise for you to die knowing that Shambhala was in your grasp. I want you to die knowing that I took it away from you, that I took everything away from you."
For the first time in what seemed like hours, Nate moved, it was small but there. His glare remained glued on Lazarevic.
"Now open the door, little Drake."
Nate complied but said nothing. He did his work and opened the door. The bright lights of Shambhala brightened up the dark room. But it failed to chase away the lingering darkness that grew with each second.
Nate walked through the doors, Lazarevic following in pursuit. The soldiers remained at their positions, now shaking even more. If only one of them had the guts to warn the two of what was surely to come…
The books and pictures did not lie. The beauty of Shambhala was purely indescribable. Blue skies were complemented by white puffy clouds. The trees reached up to the heavens. The birds chirped sweetly.
"End of the line Drake…on your knees."
Nate stood still.
"I said, on your knees…" Lazarevic's temper began to grow.
Nate remained as he was.
"Damn it! Harry, take care of him."
Flynn was absolutely terrified to go near the man. The air surrounding Nate was ominous. He could not clear his mind of the flash of red that he saw in his eyes. He knew about his Lazarevic's anger and temper. He knows to not test it and to remain on his good side at any costs. But in the very pit of his stomach he knew Lazarevic would pale in comparison to Nate.
"If you want something done right…" Lazarevic pulled out his shotgun and approached the motionless man.
"Say goodbye, little Drake."
Nate was seething. Seeing the two women he deeply cared about dead before him flashed in his mind. The sight of Lazarevic's smirk, his laughter, everything about him flashed in his mind.
Nate snapped.
He turned and tackled the Russian with brute force. Nate unloaded on Lazarevic. Punch after punch connected with Lazarevic's head.
"You ruthless, heartless, son of a bitch!" After punching him one last time, Nate's hands wrapped around Lazarevic's throat.
"Now I take everything away from you." Nate's grip tightened and Lazarevic's face turned several shades of red, soon turning to purple.
"Please...Nathan..."
"Rot in hell you god damn son of a bitch."
Lazarevic's struggle slowly faded away with each passing second, while Nate's grip grew unnecessarily tighter and tighter.
"Is he trying to rip his head off?" Flynn thought to himself. He couldn't believe what he was witnessing. This man certainly was not Nathan Drake. This was not "Mr. Donuts Drake". This man was an animal…
Lazarevic has been dead for five minutes. Nate has been choking him for ten.
Nate finally removed himself from Lazarevic and grabbed his shotgun.
Okay, this man is clearly not Nathan Drake. Nathan Drake kills, but certainly does not overkill.
Nate raised the shotgun with one arm and aimed it at Lazarevic's motionless, blue-faced body. He did not hesitate to pull the trigger. The resounding sound of a bullet being released from its chamber echoed in the sky, disturbing the peace of Shambhala, even alarming some of the birds.
It was a direct shot to the head. Lazarevic's blood splattered everywhere, some even getting on Nate. It stained his pants, splattered on his hands, some even managed to dirty his face.
Nate was breathing loudly, slowly, and heavily while staring down at Lazarevic's brutalized body. He stared at him for a good while, saying nothing. He felt no regret, no remorse, no guilt. Only satisfaction.
Then he looked up.
Harry Flynn felt multiple chills go up his spine; his hair was standing on end, goose bumps formed wherever it was possible.
"N-now take it easy Nate, it's your good buddy Flynn…remember?" Judging by the look Nate gave him Flynn knew he was in very, very deep. The man known as Nathan Drake was long gone. Maybe sweet-talking will get him out of this hairy situation.
Nate said nothing as he took a step closer towards his "buddy." Flynn instinctively moved a step back.
"You know, I've been meaning to ditch that asshole for a while, but I didn't know how without pissing the big guy off. So ah thanks mate. What do you say we get out of here and um grab…a…drink…?"
Nate was not amused and Flynn knew it.
"If it weren't for you we wouldn't be here right now. None of this would have happened! If you didn't go and turn all of this could have been a lot simpler!"
"Now wait a minute, know don't forget whom planned to ditch whom during our little heist in Turkey now."
"Did I plan to kill you? Did I plan to have you captured? Did I plan to get you arrested to rot in a Turkish prison?"
Flynn couldn't argue with that logic. Maybe all of this was his fault, or at least part of it. He knew he had to pay. And he knew exactly how he had to pay his dues.
"W-w-wait a second mate, can't we t-talk this out? Make amends?"
Nate snarled lowly underneath his breath but Flynn still caught it. He saw the flashes of red in his eyes. This was not good.
Nate lunged at Flynn but Flynn managed to just slip out range. He made a run for it. When he got back in the cave, he realized that the soldiers were long gone. Now he regrets not doing the same when he had the chance.
Flynn ran for his life, unfortunately being slowed when he got to the heavy snow. He was screwed in every definition of the word.
"Think Flynn, think. What can you-?"
Flynn heard the distinct sound of a gun being cocked behind him.
Flynn had reached the end of his rope. He fell to his knees in defeat.
Nate moved closer to Flynn and aimed at his head, his finger wrapped around the trigger.
Flynn did something he never thought he would do in his life.
"P-please, Nathan. I-I'm sorry for everything. Please…d-don't kill me…" His voice was shaky. He begged for his life.
It seemed like Nate had come to his senses. He brought he gun down and stared blankly at Flynn.
Flynn had looked into his friend's eyes and thought that his begging had got to Nate. He thought he was safe. He slowly began to smile, drying the tears that threatened to leave his eyes.
A smile began to form on Nate's face as well. Flynn believed that he was truly out of the bag. He slowly began to rise to his feet.
But the flash of red told him to remain grounded.
"Harry...Flynn…" Nate put his hand on Flynn's shoulder. "Old buddy…old friend…mate…" The grip on Flynn's shoulder tightened. Flynn had mistaken it for a gesture of reassurance.
"…The time for sorry…" The smile on Nate's face grew wider, before dropping completely.
"…Is gone." Flynn didn't have to time to process what was said to him. Nate had raised the shotgun to Flynn's head and pulled the trigger. Flynn's blood and brain stained the pure white snow. Nate was practically bathed in blood now. He dropped the shotgun beside Flynn. He stared at his body.
What was he doing? This wasn't him. This had to be a nightmare or a lucid dream at least. There was no way he could have done what he just did. But why hadn't he done this before? It felt empowering, enlightening, it felt so damn good.
Without another word, he retraced his steps so that he could close the door to Shambhala, no one will ever find it again but him. He moved slowly, taking his time. He didn't have to worry about being stealthy; there were no enemies to worry about anyway. He eventually found the switch that shut the door, returning it to its state of secrecy. He head back to the concealed entrance, making sure there was no trace of a secret entrance present. A trained eye could find these things. He wanted to make sure that no eyes but his own would find this place. He knows he has some unfinished business here. But that'll be for another day.
Nate went into his pants pocket, pulled out his phone and dialed Sully's number.
"Sully, I need to get out of here…Yeah the mission was kind of a bust…Yeah I saw it...No there was no sapphire…Yeah...Sure I can meet you at the village…" Nate spoke in a tone that was unrecognizable. It didn't sound remotely like Nate. Not even Sully heard this tone of voice from Nate.
"Hey kid? You alright? You sound a little off."
"I'm fine Sully." He turned and looked at Flynn's dead body. The dead bodies of Elena, Chloe, and Lazarevic all flashed in his head.
"I'm just fine."
Song Used: Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace.
I was listening to the song and this just came to me XD.
Leave me your thoughts =)