So yeah, Uncharted 4 came out…

I've had a go and so far it's been pretty damn amazing…..more serious than any of the others…it's like watching the final series of a tv show…it's going to end at some point…and I don't think I want it to lol…

So in the last chapter of this 'short' tale the terrorist was loose in the resort...Nate got angry at Sully for bringing potential harm to his son...Chloe got tipsy on free drinks...Elena and Ted didn't do much…

The style of this chapter doesn't really fit in with the rest of story but playing Uncharted 4 has put me in a rather serious mood…I had written most of this before playing much of the game but some of the issues I'd written about kinda cropped up as I played the game which was pretty awkward so I had to change it a bit…if there are any similarities, they are coincidental and not intentional…

Extra Chapter

Part 6

Ted sat in the CCTV room, the very picture of frustration.

How the heck had he landed this job? He should be out there, protecting his friends; instead he was here, doomed to watch the inevitable battles unfold.

'Ted? Heads up. The weird dude is splitting up from the terrorists don't lose him. I'm going to follow the main group, they are planning to attack the resort,' Chloe's voice crackled over the walkie-talkie.

'Copy that, I'll keep an eye on him,' Ted replied and relayed the message to the rest of the group and the hotel security.

The bank of monitors consisted of rows upon rows of colour screens. In the confusion of tracking the group of terrorists and their leader, Ted had neglected checking the parts of the resort where no one was. Where he assumed no one was.

The capering mad man was heading towards the children's activity zone, leaving behind him a trail of destruction and fire. He'd gained a rifle of some sort from the others and was shooting up the place with reckless abandon. Ted wasn't even sure if there was a target. Every so often the man would hit the bars and leave a burning match. Even though there were no speakers connected, Ted could have sworn he heard the whumph every time he saw the alcohol go up in flames.

Something flickered at the corner of his vision and he stared at the offending screen with a growing sense of dread.

Cowering in the corner of a jungle gym complete with a plastic ball pit was a knot of children. Alone and scared amidst the sound of gunfire and smoke.

Ted's first instinct was to run out there but there was no one else to keep track of everything. He slammed a fist on the desk feeling utterly powerless and hailed the others on an open channel.

'Guys, we've got a problem. There's a group of kids stuck in the children's activity zone. The crazy guy is heading their way.'

'Will he hurt them?' Barry asked.

Ted stared at the chaos the terrorist leader had left behind. He could recall the manic giggle and the tint of crazy in his eyes. He'd stared at the man for no longer than a few seconds but its impression had etched itself it his memories, never to be forgotten.

There was no doubt in his mind.

'Yes.'

…

Elena was still trying to grasp the enormity of the situation when she heard Ted's voice.

Children in danger.

It was all adding up. But she could deal with this. Couldn't she?

She supposed she never really got enough credit for her work in past adventures but those were old thoughts and this was now.

Now is what mattered.

She'd pull her weight. She always had. She never had to be asked to do it. She filled whatever role needing filling.

Right now, this was all just a giant shopping list. A to-do list with a little bit more on the line than a missed nursery admissions meeting. Some part of Elena's exhausted mind managed to still make a note of the rescheduling phone call that would have to take place when they got out of this.

Focus.

Elena sat down again on the lounger and closed her eyes for a few moments. Right, Alex was being taken care of by Sully. Nate would be joining them shortly if she had her way. Chloe was following approximately thirty terrorists. Ted was keeping an eye on things. Everyone else was safe in the resort building for now. Everything was accounted for except the stranded children.

Priorities shifted, compromises debated and decisions made.

'Ok, Nate, help Chloe with the terrorists and make sure Sully and Alex can make it out of here. I'm gonna' head over to the children. I can save them,' Elena said with such determination and grit in her voice that no one, neither Nate in person nor anyone listening on the walkie-talkie could object.

'But the crazy guy...,' Nate began to protest weakly after a while.

'Fuck the crazy guy,' Elena said shortly.

…

Nate was astonished.

He'd just seen Elena gone from zero to sixty in a matter of seconds.

Where did she get this strength?

Was he the only one struggling here?

Why was he even surprised?

He knew Elena, but it seemed more often than not, that she knew him just that little bit better because now she was facing him with a penetrating stare as if she were reading his thoughts.

Elena sighed.

'There isn't time,' she said simply.

She stepped up to him and Nate felt her fingers on his face. Why did it feel like he needed to treasure this moment, savour every second?

'But since you looked so confused you can get the abbreviated version,' she laughed softly, 'we complement each other. Like pizza and beer or something like that. If you're a disappointing pizza, I'll be the cool refreshing beer. If I'm a warm beer you'll be the outstanding slice that everyone fights over. It's ok to not always be one hundred percent. I'll be the remainder. I think you forget that sometimes. It happens so rarely so I don't blame you.'

Nate was quiet for a moment. He knew though. He knew no matter how many times she said it, being the weaker one would never sit right with him. It wasn't in his thinking. It simply did not compute.

He rested his forehead on hers and said, 'That was a shit analogy. There are no bad pizzas. And why'd I have to be the pizza? I'd be a great beer.'

Elena snorted.

'Fine then, butter and popcorn or spaghetti and meatballs.'

'Yeah, yeah…I'd butter your popcorn any day,' Nate found himself saying as if on autopilot. It felt so right to just stand there and say stupid things. He'd missed it.

'Jeezus,' Elena muttered, 'we broke a bed already.'

'Yeah, I know. I'm also the meatballs in this outfit,' Nate replied.

'Chrissakes' I can't keep up with this. When did the food stuff stop and the suspect anatomy lesson begin?' an irritated Chloe began.

Nate frowned at the walkie-talkie clipped to his belt. It had been broadcasting the whole time for some unfathomable reason.

'Also, can I just remind everyone: small humans. In trouble,' Ted joined in.

'Goddamned Miguel's in tears, don't worry about the kids, Barry ran off to save them,' Sully huffed.

There was a moment's silence as everyone digested this news.

Elena backed away from Nate.

'Yeah, I guess I'm on a mission to save the kids and Barry then,' Elena said.

Her hand lingered on Nate's and he held her back, just for a second more. For some reason it was enough. He'd found a shred of resolve.

It seemed to him that Elena's presence was the only therapy that could save Nate from himself.

It was a start he supposed.

He watched Elena disappear round a corner and mentally shook himself.

Time to finish this stupid mess he'd got them all into.

…

Sully hurtled through the resort, heart pounding with every step.

He'd made a mistake and as far as mistakes went, this was probably the worst. He'd endangered Nate's son.

Sully didn't think he could even forgive himself for such a thing and he wasn't sure how Nate would either.

He supposed this wasn't the right time to be thinking about that though. There were more important things to worry about.

Mainly the ridiculous terrorist who'd turned up.

What was it about them that attracted the crazies? Like worms outta' the woodwork or something like that.

A few moments earlier, Barry had run off to save the kids so now it was just him and a sniffling Miguel to save Alex.

Sully's mouth was set with grim determination. He could do this. He could die doing this but for some reason that didn't seem to bother him.

He would pay for his mistakes. Of that he had no doubt.

'Hey,' Miguel's voice broke up Sully's depressive train of thought, 'everything will work out fine. You'll see.'

'Yeah?' Sully wondered as they finally reached a bank of elevators, 'I'll believe you when we get out of this place.'

Miguel pressed the button and they heard a whirr as a lift headed towards them from the thirty first floor.

Sully grumbled something and punched the button a few more times.

'You know that does nothing, right?' Miguel added helpfully.

'Shut up,' Sully muttered.

Alex was laughing, enjoying his adventure strapped to Sully's chest.

To spoil the brief lull of calm, the lift clunked to a stop. The lights went out.

'Shit,' Sully said, 'Powers out.'

'You think it was the terrorists?' Miguel asked.

Sully headed towards a stairwell.

'Doesn't matter, we just gotta' hurry,' he waved Miguel over, 'here, we'll go up these.'

'There's sixty floors,' Miguel said doubtfully.

'And?' Sully looked at him, 'You sayin' I'm not up for it?'

Miguel was quiet for a moment, recognising the challenge in the older man's voice. He could see that there was no way he could persuade Sully to find another way or restore the power.

Sully had to do this and Miguel would do his utmost to make sure it happened.

'Nah, nothing of the sort,' Miguel said and together they hurried upwards into the semi darkness.

…

Elena was lost. She'd known it for a few minutes now but enough was enough.

Time to take stock of things.

A sign post declared that the children's activity centre was somewhere to her left. She'd been following the signs for a while now but she kept arriving at the same circular tiki bar: the first open area she had come to since leaving Nate by the pool.

It was like taking a short cut in Ikea because you thought it would mean getting to the warehouse bit quicker but in reality you ended up in the arse-end of nowhere where the mirrored bathroom cabinets were on display and no matter which way you went you always found yourself in that same lonely annex. Though, if she were actually looking for bathroom cabinets the shortcut probably wouldn't have led there. There was a strong possibility it would've led to a black hole or discount garden pottery.

Elena decided to ask for directions.

'Ted, where the heck am I supposed to be going?'

'Uh, one second, aren't there signposts? I'm trying to follow the crazy dude and the terrorists...they've all split up. Crap, crap, crap, Nate? There are a bunch of guys heading towards you. Sorry Elena, I've got my hands full with this, Barry's nearly with you though, maybe he will be able to help,' Ted replied.

Elena sighed in doubt.

Soon she could hear the sounds of footsteps and sure enough, Barry careened around the corner at full speed, sandals and socks slapping on the decorative floor.

'Oh, hallo, Elena,' he said after skidding to a stop.

'Hey, you know the way to the children? This place is a maze,' Elena cut to the chase.

'Not a clue. I think there is a map of the place online though. You got your phone still? Mine's out of battery,' Barry said.

Elena pulled out her mobile and smiled in relief. There was still some battery. There was one hitch in this plan though.

'Wait, I don't have roaming data. It's going to cost me a hundreds of dollars to get that image,' Elena said wistfully.

'Wow. Saving small children or a hundred dollars on roaming charges,' Barry said, 'that's some ethical conundrum right there.'

Elena scowled unwilling to take criticism from a man in socks and sandals. 'Ugh, fine, fine.'

Barry looked around at the scattered tables, 'Oh, look,' he said, picking up a flyer from a table, 'they have free Wi-Fi.'

'Thank god for that,' Elena muttered and opened the internet settings on her phone.

Barry craned to see the screen, 'It's that one. The one called 'Free-WiFi' and no padlock sign next to it.'

'Yes, thanks, Tech Support, I understand how internet works,' Elena grumbled sarcastically.

'Yeesh, sorry, I was just trying to be helpful,' Barry replied.

Elena let out a groan that could only have been borne from the deepest and most real of frustrations.

'It wants me to register my details before letting me get access to the internet,' she moaned.

To make things worse the connection was lousy and the webpage kept shifting so Elena found herself typing her surname in the address box by mistake.

Elena was close to throwing the phone on the ground.

She hit the refresh button accidentally and let out a strangled scream.

'Whelp,' Barry concluded, 'we tried. Those kids are dead. I'm definitely putting down internet issues on the feedback form when we get out of this.'

He sounded so sure of himself that Elena couldn't help but ask him if he really thought they were going to be ok.

'Of course,' he said simply, 'we always win.'

Elena had to smile at his ardent belief in such a ridiculous notion. If it was anyone else she would have said something but he was right in a way. They did win. And they weren't going to get anywhere if she didn't start believing that too.

Feeling better about herself she turned back to her phone and decided to give it another try. The online form jumped erratically, dancing to some arcane coding error. Elena squinted in concentration. Almost there.

She hit the wrong link.

The page reloaded in a different language.

'Argh! That's it. I'm done with this,' Elena cried out and stomped over to the signpost.

'Wait, what happened?' Barry asked.

'I hit the wrong link, Barry. Dammit, the form is in another language now. I can't go on like this. I don't know how to change it back,' Elena was close to tears.

Barry took the phone from her gently and looked at the screen.

'Oh, this is British English, don't worry, I can translate this,' Barry said confidently.

Elena sniffed, 'Really? It looks like gobbledegook to me. I can read the letters but the rest of it….'

'It must have been postcode, right? It's our version of a zipcode. No biggie,' Barry said amiably and tapped away at the screen.

'Oh, now it wants me to continue but the cheeky sods have auto-ticked a box that says I have to make a blood sacrifice every month to Satan otherwise I'll be charged nineteen ninety nine in late fees,' Barry muttered darkly. He un-ticked the box.

A pop up message appeared.

'Am I sure I don't want to make a blood sacrifice every month to Satan?' Barry read out aloud, 'wow, these guys are really persistent Satanists.'

He finished up, read the screen and threw the phone over his shoulder. It landed in a tank for exotic fish.

'What the - ?' Elena started as Barry started to jog away.

'They wanted me to wait around for an email with a confirmation link in it. We don't have time for that,' Barry explained.

'You didn't have to throw my phone away though,' Elena complained.

They were running now, following the signs towards the children's centre.

'So what's the plan,' Elena asked.

Barry handed her what appeared to be a handgun with coiled wire at the end of the barrel.

'I passed a security room on the way here. No guns but they had a few Tasers,' he replied, 'I figure we get the kids and keep them away from the resort since that's where all the terrorists are.'

'Sounds like a plan,' Elena agreed, mentally cursing herself for forgetting about the spare pistol in Nate's backpack, 'what about the crazy guy?'

If we see him, disable him and get him away from the kids. If we don't, secure the kids and then find him and disable him.'

'Ted? You got a location for the whack job?' Barry asked.

'Yeah, he's still heading towards the kids. He stopped a few times to blow stuff up so you could probably get there before he does,' Ted replied.

'Cheers,' Barry said and stopped.

'What's the matter?' Elena asked him. He was staring intently at a signpost.

'It says that going right is a shortcut to the golf course,' Barry said in a far off voice, 'I wonder….'

'Uh, we want to get to the kids zone,' Elena said, pointing to the sign that signalled a left turn was in order.

'I really want to go to the golf course though,' Barry muttered and followed the right path.

Elena cursed and followed him.

Inexplicably the path opened out to the kids' zone.

'I can't even,' Elena managed to say.

'Never underestimate the power of shortcuts,' Barry said in a knowing tone.

Elena shook her head and tried not to question anything. What mattered is that they were here in time.

They ran past deserted attractions and cafe tables. It felt like a budget horror movie.

A couple of minutes later they ran under a brightly painted archway, proclaiming that they were now in Jungle Land.

A smaller sign underneath asked politely if patrons could please remove their shoes and that there was no drinking allowed in this particular area, thank you very much.

Barry paused long enough to un-Velcro his sandals.

'I really don't think you have to do that,' Elena said half exasperated.

Barry shrugged, 'At least now, I can be super sneaky.'

Elena shrugged, hands on hips, and gazed sadly at a pile of tiny abandoned shoes. What a day, she thought. She wanted it to be over already.

Once Barry had removed his shoes he padded over to a large ball pit moat that separated the two adults from the forebodingly quiet soft play area.

Barry whistled appreciatively. If only this had existed when he was a kid. Heck, he'd probably enjoy playing there now.

Netted ropes, padded beams, a giant slide, crawl spaces and the faint smell of plastic. The very scene of childhood birthday parties.

'Is anyone there?' Barry called, hands cupped around his mouth to amplify his voice.

'Who wants to know?' A plaintive voice called back from the depths of the colossal play area. Shadows moved around but they couldn't make out anyone. It was an eerie sight.

'Uh,' Barry began, 'we're adults and we're here to rescue you from some terrorists who have invaded the resort.'

'Don't forget the fire,' Elena whispered.

'Oh yeah, there are also multiple fires and a crazy dude will be here soon to kill you all. Please come with us so that we can lead you to safety,' Barry added.

'Don't wanna',' the voice replied. It sounded like it belonged to boy.

Barry tapped his foot impatiently, 'Don't make me come over there and get you,' he threatened.

There was a muffled pop and Barry grunted.

'Oof,' he staggered backwards, his hand clutched at his shirt which was sticky and red, 'little bastard shot me.'

'It's just a paintball,' Elena said, the panic fading quickly as she inspected Barry's T-shirt.

'Doesn't mean it didn't hurt,' he grumbled.

There was an alarming crackle of gun fire not too far behind them.

'Shit, he's here,' Elena whispered to Barry.

'What are we going to do? The kids don't want to come out,' Barry replied grimly.

Elena stared at the ball pit.

'We can't go back, he'll find us, and there isn't any cover. There might be a fire escape at the back of the play area though. Find the kids and lead them out. I'll distract crazy guy. The place is big enough,' Elena said.

'You sure?' Barry asked concerned, 'I can do the distracting.'

Elena shook her head, 'No it's fine, I could probably move about more easily in there than you can. I'll be safe, don't worry.'

'Your words are wounding but wise,' Barry said with a dramatic sigh, patting his soft belly as he did so.

'Go now,' Elena urged, 'before he gets here.'

Barry nodded and dived less than elegantly into the ball pit.

She watched him struggle to the other side where he pulled himself up and hurried towards a darkened entrance.

Picking up and plastic ball and bouncing it in a palm, Elena wondered what to do next.

She could fire the Taser once and at fairly close quarters. She had to make it count.

She heard footsteps moving about just beyond the archway.

It was time to act.

…

Nate rolled into cover, knees protesting, back creaking. It felt so natural but his body felt it necessary to oppose him at every sudden turn.

He loved it.

He had never felt so alive.

Nate felt years he'd never even realised he had accumulated peel away. He was a different person. A younger man, playing a younger man's game. His shoulders lifted and squared as if a burden had been removed from them.

The reassuring weight of a gun in his hand was all he needed as he peered out over the dining room, now hazy with gun smoke.

Nate saw a dark figure moving clumsily behind some furniture. He fired; there was a pained grunt and a satisfying thud. Strike one.

Something shifted in the corner of his vision and the staccato burst of machine gun fire crackled to his right. He was being flanked. A stone pillar near him exploded as stray rounds drilled into it relentlessly.

A stone chip flew towards Nate's face and his hand came up a fraction of a second too late. The jagged rock dragged passed a cheek, splitting the skin with little resistance. He felt wetness on his cheek but there was no pain. Maybe it was the adrenaline. Intoxicating and drug-like.

He crouched low and darted towards the flanker who was busy reloading. Two shots later and Nate was standing over a still body.

With ease he pressed forward. Dead men littered his feet. He had managed to scavenge an AK-47 from one of the corpses. The way it felt in his hands, the way it chattered when he pulled the trigger. An overwhelming sense of nostalgia crashed through him.

A terrorist popped up out over an upturned dinner table. Without so much as a second to sight the enemy, Nate fired and the man fell with a short terrible scream.

Nate ran forward, intending to jump through the gap in the bar and hunker down while he tried to contact the others. He had nearly made it when a group of men entered the dining area Nate was occupying.

Skidding to a stop near another stone column, Nate peeked around his cover and seeing that the enemies were more or less sticking together, lobbed a cooked grenade into the middle of them.

The explosion was deafening. Masonry dust showered the room.

Ears ringing Nate stepped out to check on his handiwork. They were all dead. They never even had the chance to raise a weapon.

It was a thing of beauty.

Or was it?

Nate's grin faltered for a second.

Some small part of him was cowering in fear. Not for Elena. Not for Alex. For himself. For this man he had become in such a short amount of time.

He'd been riding a high and now, staring at the destruction and mangled, crisp bodies in front of him, Nate began to feel ill. Was that bile rising in his throat? Was that his vomit on the floor? When did that happen?

Nate stumbled to the bar and sank to his knees.

Dimly he was aware of Chloe saying something about the power going out over the radio.

He let the AK fall to the floor. It was almost a violent movement, as if it were suddenly burning hot.

He felt weak and shaky, feelings that he was not accustomed to. How long had it been since he had killed a person? Not long enough, it would seem, as it had come back to him so easily. But then again, it was self-defence; these people were clearly a threat. Could he have done any of this without killing anyone?

After replaying the scenes in his mind, blurred and horrifying as they were, he decided not really. It did little to make him feel better though. It was a necessary evil. Yada yada yada. He could imagine the pep talk in Sully's gravelly tones. It was comforting.

But it shouldn't come so naturally.

Nate closed his eyes and massaged the sides of his temples with a hand.

He could have this crisis later. He needed to meet up with Chloe and stop the terrorists from attacking the resort. He needed to make sure his son got out of this alive. That they all got out of this alive.

Checking that the room was clear, Nate made his way to the end of dining pavilion and back out into the sunshine.

The resort towered above him.

Elena had given him two tasks. Help Chloe with the terrorists and make sure Alex was safe. He considered the first task more or less done considering he'd taken down about ten guys on his own.

Chloe would be fine with the rest.

At least until he had checked on Sully's progress.

He was just about to call him on the radio when Chloe's voice crackled over the radio once more.

And once again, after finding resolve, it was taken from him, stolen away by panic and hysteria.

...

Chloe watched the group of terrorists she was following. They'd reached some sort of generator room.

There was a burst of gunfire.

'Uh, guys, I've just lost the resort cameras. I can't make out diddly squat,' Ted said.

'They've just shot up the generator room,' Chloe explained to him.

The terrorists were on the move again and were slowly making their way to the resort.

Chloe was wondering when the best time to strike would be. Minutes crawled by.

She was meant to be meeting up with Nate but they had ended up following different groups of enemies.

Discreetly following her targests she found herself heading down a slope towards an underground parking lot directly beneath the resort. To her dismay she saw the terrorists take out bricks of plastic explosive.

They swarmed through the underground space, planting explosives every so often on concrete columns.

'They've rigged the car park of resort with C4,' Chloe said quietly into the walkie-talkie, 'We've got to get everyone out of there but it's not safe - the terrorists are watching the entrances.'

Chloe heard Nate hail Sully, his voice reaching a yell.

'Sully, where are you? How close are you to the helipad?'

When the reply came, Chloe's veins ran cold with ice.

'Shit, shit, shit. Sully's in a bad way man.' Miguel's voice sounded shaky and fuzzy, 'He's having a heart attack or something. He's not moving.'

Chloe was acutely aware that they were running out of time and that she was probably the only one in a position to make a difference. Her ears could make out the shouting of the others over the radio but she wasn't listening.

Things were dire but Chloe knew what she had to do.

Her task was going to be damn near impossible but that wouldn't stop her.

She had to make time.

I've realised in this story, Nate has come out as an emotional wreck lol…it wasn't intentional but it just seemed to work out that way…

I apologise for the ultra-cheesy food analogy…and Nate speaks the truth when he says there is no bad pizza…all pizza is good pizza...I won't apologise for the meatballs though...that was the right kind of silly lol...

As I child I never got lost in Ikea, as an adult…I get lost all the time…

The bane of my existence is the concept of free public wifi lol….it's just impossible to get in the UK without signing your soul away, giving enough of your personal information to send a passport application off or providing at least three proofs of your address plus a credit check…

I have to admit…one of the only reasons I started writing this chapter was because it was exam season once again and of course during revision everything seems more interesting than work…especially continuing long dead sequels that shouldn't really have happened in the first place…

I wonder if you guys are enjoying the new Uncharted too, I've heard some interesting reviews about it…not all of them good lol…

Apologies for typos and such like...let me know if you spot any...I'l' fix them if I can.

Til next time…