Chapter seven
Beached and Broken
"What do you think?" whispered Elena, her hand pulling apart the thick jungle leaves to get a better view.
Sully exhaled loudly, a puff of cigar smoke blowing in Elena's face which caused her nose to involuntarily wrinkle.
She bit her lip nervously. This isn't quite what she had been expecting, a massive army marine liner, docked as close to the church as the shore could take them. But really, Elena thought to herself, what really had she expected to find here?
The second she had heard about Nate breaking down, her heart had physically ached. Her stomach felt nauseated, her head pounded with migraines. Such a reaction had never happened before with other man Elena had dated. There was no denying the intensity of their relationship, their feelings for each other, this connection.
But this connection, this likeness was the reason for their downfall. Elena knew it to be so. They were too alike. They were so focused on their jobs, curiosity being their sins. He had taken a job as soon as he got back from Tibet. She had waited patiently for him and healed from her wounds. When his job was over, Elena was back on her show, filming in Indonesia. When she was done with that, Nate was in Egypt for a month exploring catacombs and the great pyramids.
The timing just wasn't right she thought glumly.
She gazed at him for a moment, taking in his bloodshot eyes, his week old stubble, the lines appearing at his forehead when he was deep in thought. He looks ill, she thought. In fact, if Elena had to describe the way Nathan Drake was looking at the present moment she would have to say he looked like someone suffering from the flu who just drank 10 red bulls in one sitting. He was pale, his eyes sunken as though he hadn't slept for days, but there was a definite air of energy surrounding him. It felt electric.
"Let's go" whispered Nate.
Elena was suddenly jolted out of her daze. "Excuse me?"
"Let's go" Nate gestured to the marine camp. "We'll sneak into that main tent over by those guys with the weapons" he pointed at a small team of marines who were cleaning their weaponry by a small table.
"Are you nuts Nate? We can't sneak past these guys" hissed Elena
"Hey you two, don't wanna interrupt your thrilling conversation.." called Sully from behind them "But Chloe's not looking too good, we might just hang back here"
Elena turned around to see Chloe smiling weakly , obviously embarrassed by her state. She was sitting with her knees curled up against her chest, breathing a little heavily. She looked pale still a little shaky from the earlier events.
"No problem. Lets go Elena" Nate said grabbing her hand.
"We haven't thought this through..." pleaded Elena
"Trust me. I have it all under control"
"Nathan Drake. I'm an archaeologist explorer" he held out his hand for the man to shake.
"Lieutenant S. Hawkins of the American Marines" said the man not offering his hand in return. "What can I do ya for Mr Drake?"
Though Elena had to admit, Nate had gotten them further than she had expected, she still couldn't help but scowl at him as they were introduced to the Lieutenant in charge. They had been skulking around for a little over 5 minutes before two pairs of rough hands seized them up and marched them through the camp, parading them as prisoners for all to see. Now, Elena wasn't so sure how much trouble they were actually in. The lieutenant had dismissed his men once they arrived, she wasn't handcuffed, and the lieutenant didn't seem to be carrying any weapon.
Well, any she could see at least.
Elena studied the man standing in front of Nathan. He was tall, muscular with graying hair and a small scar running horizontally through his upper lip. He gave off a presence extreme authority. If Elena hadn't known he was in charge by his introduction it would be no trouble picking him out of the lot. He was exuding authority, she could feel it, but something else was coming through she couldn't quite put her finger on....
"I was just wondering about the nature of your visit. What exactly are you and your team doing out here?" Nate asked pleasantly
The Lieutenant was silent for a moment looking back and forth at Nate and Elena. He gestured for them to follow him towards a few fold out chairs set up under a large tent which offered relief from the still warm setting sun. They sat down while the lieutenant stood facing the ocean. He pointed far out into the distance of the water.
"I think you know why we are here Mr Drake" he said finally.
Nate looked at his hand. "You're not going to find it" he said softly.
Elena and the Lieutenant turned to look at Nate in surprise.
"The idol" he explained off her look. "It's untraceable by their machinery. It can only be seen by the human eye"
"Is that so?" smiled the lieutenant. "That would explain a lot"
"How did you know? That me and Nate were here before?" asked Elena curiously.
"You can't hide that much gunfire and fatalities from the government ma'am" said Hawkins. "No matter how remote the island is. They know you must have found something. We just followed the trail"
"How did you know it's in the ocean?" she pressed
"That..." started the lieutenant. "Is a difficult story. We were setting up camp here when we felt a sudden sonic boom. Or perhaps even a mild earthquake, we're not quite sure"
"When did this happen?" asked Nate, Elena was suddenly sure of the answer.
Hawkins shrugged. "A few days ago perhaps"
When his symptoms started finished Elena in her head.
"Anyway, we traced the signal to the water. The only place we hadn't looked yet. It made sense"
"So what, you're sending your diving team down their next?" Nate asked grinning. He put his hands behind his head. "Good luck. That could take the better part of.. oh I don't know.. a hundred years.. scanning that whole ocean floor"
Lieutenant Hawkins gave a wry smile. He pulled up the empty chair and sat down. "It would appear so"
"We were exploring some of the areas around your camp and we came across a few bodies" pressed Elena stepping in front of Nate. "Was that your men's work?"
"Those creatures" the Lieutenant asked and Elena nodded. "Wait...A few bodies?" he repeated with a curious look.
Elena nodded.
Lieutenant Hawkins looked at her oddly. "We have counted at least 100 dead bodies surrounding this camp area. It was the work of none of my men. They were here when we arrived"
"100 bodies? No that's impossible. We walked right through the surrounding jungle and saw just two" countered Elena.
The lieutenant frowned. "They're all over this area, hidden away. Some up trees, hidden in the tall grass. All dead. All hiding. You probably weren't looking hard enough"
"That's strange" mused Nathan. "What were they hiding from?"
"And why didn't they move from their hiding spots when they were getting killed?" added Elena.
The Lieutenant sighed. "Your guess is better than mine. I'm open to suggestions"
Nate pulled his chair in closer to the man. "So here's a suggestion. I'm telling you guys. It's time for you to pack up and....
"---We're not staying" interrupted Hawkins.
"----Get the hell out of.. wait hang on what?"
"I can assure you that we will be off the island by tomorrow morning" he said not quite meeting Nate's eyes.
"Any particular reason for the sudden departure?" Elena asked quizzically
The colonel shook his head. "None whatsoever" he said with a perfect poker face.
"Right" she folded her arms.
The lieutenant's expression did not waver but there was a definite air of defeat about a just audible sigh that escaped his lips. Suddenly, Elena realised this was what she could feel from Hawkins when she had first sussed him out. Defeat.
"I'm concerned about the health of one of my crew members"
There was a moment of silence between them before Elena broke it. "Go on"
"One of my crew members has begun acting a little strange. He started seeing things that weren't there. Talking about monsters that weren't there"
Elena glanced ever so slightly at Nate in her peripheral vision but he looked unaffected by this information, or if he was, he certainly wasn't showing it.
"May we go visit this man?" asked Nathan hopefully, eyeing Hawkins
Colonel Hawkins frowned. "Why?"
Nathan shrugged. "As you know sir, me and Elena have been here before and have had experiences with this island that you couldn't possibly comprehend. You said it yourself, my guess is better than yours"
The Lieutenant stared at Nate thoughtfully for a moment before he nodded slowly.
"Go ahead. Knock yourself out. But don't say I didn't warn you...."
