Chapter 7: Relics
They had barely gotten out of the camp when the voices of more henchmen paused them.
"It's freezing out here!"
Lara shushed Leon, though she didn't need to. He already knew to be quiet.
"You'll get used to it. It's even colder up by the radio tower."
"The weather on this island is crazy."
"Everything about this island is crazy, brother."
"Hey! Get that damned gun off me!"
Using her bow, Lara shot out the spotlight just above the pathway.
"Aw, damn it."
"Burned out again."
"Surprised they even work after so many years."
"You men are idiots," Leon grumbled as Lara aimed for the guards next.
After several well-executed shots to the head, the men all lay dead strewn upon the ground and they were advancing forward.
"You're becoming deadly with that bow, Lara. Keep it up," Leon praised her, to which she smiled a bit proudly.
They entered the building and Lara prepared to silently kill the man welding something when he suddenly turned around and spotted them.
"Shit!" Leon cursed as he quickly drew his gun and shot the man in the head, as Lara was too close to use her weapons. Unfortunately, the gunshot alerted the man's reinforcements as a second henchman came running down from the upper level. Still, Leon was quicker and disposed of him as well.
As they continued up the stairs and onto the balcony, three more men intercepted them.
"God, how many of them are there?" Leon growled, ducking behind some boxes with his gun drawn to provide Lara with cover fire as she went at them with her bow. When she had to take cover herself, Leon took the reins and shot at them til she got her bearings back.
After dispatching the men, they jumped a still partially there walking into another building this a WWII era bunker. They scaled walls and climbed walkways, heading toward the top. Zip-lining down from the top, they landed in some partially flooded ruins.
"Ah, it's freezing!" Lara gasped as she hit the water.
"Even through my pants," Leon agreed. His pants were thick enough to protect him from several environmental changes, but the cold water seeped through as if they were nothing. His shirt, also wet from the water, was thinner and not as protective from the unstable environment.
"Over here!"
"Alright, let's get these lines hooked up. The brothers inside need power."
"Ow, fuck!"
"You okay?"
"Fine, fine. Just do the job!"
Leon stopped them when he discovered a journal. It appeared to belong to one of the islanders, the "First Solarii" according to the entry. The entry talked about controlling the guns and food. Anything the storms bring to the island was theirs and they decided the fates of the new survivors. Any who defied them were killed.
"We are the masters of this fucked up prison," Leon finished quietly.
"My God. Who are these people?" Lara questioned.
"They may have once been like us before losing their sanity to the island. At least now we have a name for them. Solarii. They sound almost like a cult," Leon replied. "We better be extra careful from here on out." Lara nodded in agreement.
"How many came in from the new wreck?"
"A couple dozen and some women. Father Mathias brought one in himself."
"For the ritual?"
'Ritual?' Leon wondered.
"Probably. We'll find out tonight."
Lara used her axe to turn the valve and shut off the gas. It was then Leon noticed a message on the wall under an old breaker box.
No one leaves
'That's unsettling,' Leon thought as he followed behind Lara into the next room. The voices were getting closer.
"Careful, careful! It's loaded with fuel!"
"Yeah...no shit!"
"What do they need it for?"
"Generator, probably...for the tower."
"How the hell are we gonna get it up the stairs?"
"Good question."
"Let's just leave it here for now. We can get some of the others up front to help us out."
"Fine with me. Let's go."
They then started walking toward Leon and Lara's current position. Quickly, they dashed back to the crawlspace they came from. When one of the men came into the room, Lara snuck up and utilized her silent kill, and the guard fell dead at her feet. Turning toward the other one just outside the door, Leon went for him. Holstering his gun, he quickly ran at the guy, wrapping an arm around his neck and his opposite hand covering the man's mouth as he snapped the man's neck with a sharp jerk.
As Lara killed a third guard at the top of the stairs, they were caught off guard by another man jumping through an opening up above them. Acting before thinking, Leon drew his gun again and shot the man before he got too close to them. They then climbed up and through where the man had come from.
In the next room, there was a large window.
"That glass looks weak," Lara commented.
"Still probably need something with a lot of kick to bust it," Leon replied. "Maybe there's something in there."
They climbed over into what looked like an old power room. As Leon hit the ground, he noticed Lara already messing with a valve.
"Lara, wait!"
But he was too late. The valve switched on the gas as another guard came toward them from the other side.
"There's nowhere to run, outsiders!"
"What the hell?" Lara questioned as he attacked the glass with the butt of his rifle.
"Lara, back through here! Get out of the room!" Leon called from the opening. Lara was quick to follow him. Once out of the gas-filled room, Leon picked up a lantern and aimed for the opening. With a careful toss, the lantern shattered and created a massive explosion in the confined area.
The resulting blast blew everyone back, and Leon was rammed headlong into the wall behind him. Spots danced in his vision before everything when black.
AN: New chapter FINALLY! Sorry it took so long but my fiance and I went through a tragedy on the 17th, two days before my birthday. Then, I was away from my computer til today and...well, yeah. Anyway, I'm back and I'll try to update at least every other day for a bit to make up for the wait. I appreciate your patience, everyone!
Next time on Resident Tomb Raider: The fight to get to the SOS sent out continues as Leon and Lara attempt to locate a power source.
Stay tuned!