This is probably my last update until after I return from my vacation on August 16th. Maybe if I feel up to it, I'll update again before then...
This chapter is quite long. I estimate about two or three more chapters, because I was planning a bit more to happen after the gang meets up with the president at the end of the movie. Those new scenes will have to do with the conclusion of Abigail Gates Morrison's past.
Enjoy this!
Chapter Fourteen
Eventually, Andrea and Patrick had cleared a small opening at the bottom of the piled rocks, and brushing dirt off of her forehead, Andrea spoke, "I'll go first, to help you two come through."
Emily shook her head steadfastly. "No, I'm the smallest, I should-"
"Em," Patrick clutched her arm, "just let her go."
Emily's eyes flicked back to him, the two pupils looking uncomfortable. "But-"
"Too late!" Andrea knelt down to the ground, slipping off her backpack to make crawling through the hole easier. Dragging the bag along with her, she flicked on her flashlight and kept it focused ahead as she wiggled her way through the opening. Standing up on the other side, she jerked the flashlight in the corners of the room before calling out to her grandparents. The area appeared safe, with a solid floor and ceiling. "Come through now!"
Together, Emily and Patrick crawled through, both grunting when doing so. As Patrick scrambled to his feet when reaching Andrea, Emily hesitated, still curled up in a ball on the ground.
"Grandma?" Andrea shone her light in Emily's face. "Are you okay?"
The former Mrs. Gates glanced back up at her, eyes watery. "Please, Andrea…promise me that he'll be okay."
She's afraid for Ben, Andrea knelt down again to help Emily on her feet, stalling as much as she could without assuring Ben's safety.
"Andrea?' Emily's voice rose alertly as she stood. When Andrea glanced away guiltily, Emily's eyes flicked over to Patrick. "Patrick-"
Patrick took her hand in his quietly. "It'll be fine, Emily."
"You won't look me in the eye!" Emily observed. Eyes shooting back and forth between Andrea and Patrick, she wailed, "He's probably hurt now, isn't he?"
"These ancient ruins can be pretty dangerous, Grandma," Andrea replied carefully. "On the last one, I nearly fell off of a platform. I would have been killed if Ben wasn't there with me."
"Was that supposed to make me feel better?" Tears were emerging in Emily's eyes.
"No," Andrea glanced away. "It was supposed to show that anything can happen during these kind of things."
As pearl-shaped tears rolled down Emily's cheeks, Patrick wrapped an arm around her comfortingly. Andrea's mouth dropped open when she saw that Patrick's glasses' lenses were quite foggy, water dripping out from underneath the spectacles. "Grandpa?"
"Your grandmother and I had two children, Andrea," Patrick replied huskily. "We were able to settle our differences long enough to raise them together before we considered them adults, when we divorced. And about ten years later, our daughter was killed. Do you think that twenty years later, we want our son killed as well?"
Andrea froze. Of course – Emily didn't want her only other child to leave her just yet. She still wanted to keep the proof that her marriage with Patrick wasn't a total waste, and that they produced a child that was still alive through their love. She figured it included similar feelings she had of her parents' deaths. For all of her life – besides her first six months on the earth – she had no proof that she wasn't made through force…
…On second thought, even if her parents were still alive, she probably still wouldn't have proof that she wasn't made through force.
"I'm sorry," she peered down at her fingernails to appear more casual and not as crushed as she really was. "I really am." Cautiously and slightly stiffly, she stretched out her arms to hug Emily and Patrick at the same time. The trio could sense each other's uncomfortable feelings as they came together to have a group hug. Even with the tension, Andrea embraced both Emily and Patrick tightly – she couldn't remember the last time she had been involved in a group hug, and with her divorced grandparents, of all people!
"All right," Patrick broke away from the embrace, biting his lip. "We've wasted enough time stalling. Come on, let's see where this path leads to."
He began in the direction his lantern was pointed towards, and Emily and Andrea followed him, their hands entwined together comfortingly.
The screams were merely stiffened voices to him as he found himself flying through the air from the dilapidated, swaying platform. Above him, a golden idol came falling down from a ledge and crashed against the platform, letting Ben dash to the edge of the platform and jump off.
For a moment, he thought he was going to die, all by moving his foot in the wrong direction, or perhaps grasping for a ladder rung that wasn't there. Doing these things would cause him to fall, fall endlessly, this plunge coming to a finale by the life in him being crushed.
He was on the ladder now, clutching the top rung, and Ben was next to him on the ladder. Abigail and Mitch helped them scramble to the ledge they were on, and as he pressed himself against the solid ground, gasping for breath, his fingers automatically flew to his jacket's pocket. Feeling frantically for the familiar bulge, his heartbeat normalized when he finally felt it.
Taking a deep and cleansing breath, he rose to his feet, hand still securely over his pocket. Eyes flicking upward at the wall that flew down when the original platform gave out, he wondered where she was, and if she and her grandparents were all right. Glancing at the wall wistfully, he continued to stare at it until Ben called him, and slowly, he joined the others, mind still on her…
Andrea, Emily, and Patrick reached a pause in their walk, looking downwards to see a threatening and death-defying gorge. Emily let out a sigh of anxiety, as Patrick and Andrea peered below to inspect how deep the gorge was.
"We can't just climb down there and then climb up," Andrea inspected. "The rocks are too sharp…"
"And the walls are too smooth to climb up in the first place," Patrick added. He lifted his lantern to reveal a strong-looking rope hanging from the ceiling, the rope ending about two feet into the canyon. Exchanging a look with Andrea cockily, he swung back his arm, tossing the lantern onto the other side of the gorge, where the path continued. Andrea followed suit with her flashlight.
"What are you doing?" Emily seemed to still be quite frazzled from what was happening in general.
"Here, give me your light," Andrea snatched Emily's flashlight from her and flung it across the gorge.
"Andrea!"
"Don't worry," Andrea patted her shoulder. "It'll work out fine."
Patrick carefully edged himself towards the edge of the rocky floor, and held out his arms to work the greening rope towards him. Tugging at the rope, he proclaimed, "I don't think it's strong enough to hold all three of us."
"Then we'll go one at a time," Andrea replied.
As Patrick began mounting his feet on the rope, Emily stepped forward to protest. "No, Patrick, this is crazy!"
"I make a living on crazy," Patrick said quietly, He stepped forward and then swung himself across the gap. As he took off in the air, Emily clutched to Andrea's arm, squeezing it tightly.
The rope made it to the other end perfectly, but Patrick was too slow to jump off in time. He yelped as the rope jerked back towards Emily and Andrea. Emily must have overcome her petrified state, for she advanced bravely and held out her arms as the rope neared her. "I've got you!"
Andrea stepped forward as well, making to pull Emily back. "Grandma-"
It was too late. Emily had flung herself at Patrick, and now, the two were swinging off to the other side together, Emily holding onto her ex-husband's back, pale-faced. Andrea watched in horror as the two let go of the rope and fell safely onto the other side.
"Oh, sure!" she yelled at them sarcastically, clearly being ignored. "Just forget me! I'll make my way over there somehow!"
As she reached out to pull the rope towards her, a sound of laughing broke out on the other floor. Patrick was lying on his back, chuckling heartily. To Andrea's surprise, Emily began laughing as well.
Rolling her eyes, Andrea wrapped her feet around the rope and swung herself to the other side, jumping off at the other side expertly. She turned to her grandparents, leading to her mouth dropping open, stunned.
For her grandparents – who were divorced! – were kissing! And on the lips!
When her speechless state finally wore off, Andrea spoke, "Am I missing something? Are you really Patrick Gates and Emily Appleton, who got divorced thirty-two years ago and didn't start talking to each other again until a few days ago?" Her voice rose in emphasis on the last few words.
Emily and Patrick turned their heads towards her, both looking solemn. Patrick stood up, helping Emily stand as well. "I guess this hunt changed that," he replied seriously.
Emily kissed his cheek. "I'm so sorry, Patrick – for everything."
Patrick returned the kiss by capturing her lips in his. When they broke apart from each other, Patrick answered, "So am I, Em."
Andrea picked up her flashlight, thrusting the lantern and other flashlight at Patrick and Emily. "Okay, I think my face will now be in a permanent shocked mode from here on."
She set off towards the continuing path, and holding hands and smiling at each other, her grandparents followed. The path led downwards, containing steps leading to who knew where. Now itching to return to the presence of normal people, Andrea led Emily and Patrick down the steps, not fully noticing when she was practically running down the stairs. Eventually, they heard a faint sound, and as they ventured further down the stairs, they recognized the sound as streaming water.
"I think we're coming to the end!" Andrea called out excitedly. "I can hear the water more clearly!"
The steps ended in a tunnel leading to the now strong sound of water. Walking down the tunnel, they were greeted by a golden, ancient-looking face carved in the wall. Emily squealed and set forth to observe it, pulling Patrick along with her. Now slightly afraid of little golden men, Andrea wandered away from the two, approaching the bright archway nearby.
And she found herself face-to-face with the City of Gold.
"Grandpa," she breathed, eyes flicking between the wonders she was feasting on. "Grandma."
Emily and Patrick joined her at the archway, both letting out similar gasps of stun and delight. "Oh, my goodness…" Emily's hand flew to her mouth. "It's beautiful."
"And it's the truth," Patrick said eagerly. "Thomas Gates is innocent."
The three descended the steps leading to the main floor of the City, their mouths still wide open in shock. Their hearts pounded even more when they all noticed specks of other people at another set of golden stairs in the distance.
"It's Ben and the others!" Andrea yelled out, color rushing to her face. Together, she and her grandparents called out his name. Ben noticed them, a wide grin plastered on his face.
"Dad!" Ben was bouncing in excitement. "We found it!"
"Thomas was right!" Patrick called back.
"No! You were right!"
Andrea, Patrick, and Emily hurried down the rest of the steps, running over to where Ben, Abigail, Riley, and Mitch were all standing. As gentle jets of waters began streaming out of several openings in the hall, including holes near a bolted door, Emily embraced her son.
"What happened to you? Your father was worried sick about you…"
Patrick protested, a smile on his face. "She was frantic…"
Laughing at Patrick's protests, Andrea hugged Ben as soon as Emily went to hug Abigail. "Don't look now, Ben," she murmured into her uncle's ear. "But two arguing somebodies might of hooked up over an ancient rope."
Ben's eyes widened musingly and he glanced at his parents for a moment, and looked back at Andrea. "Really?"
"I saw it with my own two eyes," Andrea grinned as she gave a nearby Abigail a friendly squeeze on the arm.
Ben shook his head, laughing, and setting forth to pull aside Patrick for discussion. Emily had shot up another set of stairs, decoding to herself several symbols on a wooden pedestal. Alone at the moment, Andrea glanced around anxiously for Riley. Mitch was sitting at the top of the stairs, murmuring to himself. Ben, Patrick, and Abigail had joined Emily at the ancient pedestal. Where had Riley gone?
A satisfying laugh then sounded, and she turned around to see him, up on a ledge, practically hugging a golden brick. Smiling to herself, she made her way up to the ledge he was on, sneaking up behind an oblivious Riley.
As he began shoving bricks into his knapsack, Andrea leapt at the moment, flinging herself playfully against his back, causing him to scream at the top of his lungs.
"Aaah!" Dropping the brick in his hands, he whirled around, and broke into a grin when seeing Andrea. "Andy!" He embraced her, kissing her gently on the lips. "What happened back there? I thought you were on the platform with us…"
"My grandpa pulled me back up in time," Andrea answered, leaning her head happily against his chest, purposely not mentioning her bumping her head and being led to yet another piece of her mother's past. "But honestly, I would have been just fine falling with you guys. It was pretty crazy being with those two…"
As her words drifted off, and it seemed that they would be conversing no more, Riley kissed her again, this time, soothingly on the forehead. Resting in his arms seemed perfect at the moment, but it most likely wouldn't last long. Ben would uncomfortably interrupt them, or Emily would be questioning why her granddaughter was in the arms of a complete stranger…
The gentle streams of water had turned into more surging jets, and a quiet banging could now be heard. Everyone froze as they listened to this frail noise, and a mere two seconds later, one of the walls by a water opening burst open, gallons of water flowing out.
Before the terror could sink in, several other openings followed suit. Gallons of water were reaching them, and they had no time to spare.
Down below, Ben, his parents, and Abigail huddled frantically together on the platform the pedestal was on, and Mitch quickly made his way down the steps and onto the platform. Up on the ledge, the water surging out from above was soaking Andrea and Riley.
"Andrea! Riley!" The vein in Ben's neck was throbbing. "Get down here now!"
Abandoning his heavy backpack, Riley clung onto Andrea's hand as he led her to the wet and slippery staircase. Her hair sticking to her skin, Andrea could barely see through the veil of water in front of her. She could feel Riley slipping on the steps, and she used both hands to bring him to his feet. Spitting out water, the two cautiously maneuvered their way down the steps cautiously but speedily – when one slipped, the other pulled them up.
Down below on the platform, Ben was yelling over the water, "There's got to be a way out! All of this water has to go somewhere!"
She couldn't properly see the people on the platform, but Andrea could still hear Patrick replying to Ben, "There's a strong current underneath us!"
As the ones on the platform began jumping off of it in the direction of the current, Riley slid his way down the rest of the stairs. As he landed on the water-covered floor, he gently tugged Andrea down the stairs. As they both secured themselves on the main floor, they dashed together in the direction of the others.
Ben was ushering his parents and Abigail into one of the door-sized openings at the platform's base. As Mitch pushed aside him to enter, Ben nudged Riley and Andrea in before following them.
The entryway led them down a set of stairs, and into a low-ceiling room with a thick wheel in the center of the area, and a stone door at the other end of the room. The water was now up to their kneecaps, and Ben announced frantically, "The water's rising too fast! Let's get the door open before we drown!"
He and Mitch set forth to pushing forward the spokes of the wheel, as the others maneuvered their way through the now waist-deep water to the door. They could hear the door slowly rising as Ben and Mitch continue to move the wheel.
"Ben, it slopes down!" Andrea called over her shoulder to him. "It's a drainage tunnel!"
"It fills with water when you open the door!" Patrick remarked. "We've got to get to the other side and close the door before it fills up completely!"
"Mom, Dad, go!" Ben screeched at his parents. Andrea reached out and gave them a push towards the doorway, only for Mitch to let go of his wheel's spoke, for the door to slam closed.
Everyone whirled around to glare at him. "What are you doing? We've got to get to the other side!"
Mitch glanced at them threateningly. "No one leaves until I say so! The door's not going to stay open by itself. One of us has to stay and keep the door open."
"Can I vote Mitch?" Riley piped up.
"This isn't a democracy," Mitch proclaimed silently. He hesitated, and then before they could realize it, he punched Ben in the face, and began trotting through the water. Riley stepped up to defend the others, only for he to get smacked in the face as well. Andrea yelped and caught him as he fell backwards. As Riley rubbed the red hot spot where Mitch had hit him, Mitch himself pulled out a knife and pressed it against Abigail's neck.
"Stop!" Ben cried out. "I'll stay! I'm staying!" He ran back towards the wheel, clutching a spoke with white hands.
Andrea whirled around to face him, arm clinging onto Riley. "What? Ben, no!"
Mitch yanked the knife away from Abigail and pointed it towards Andrea. "You say something, little missy?"
Riley jerked Andrea backwards, and as he did, she murmured into his ear, "At least Ian had some common English courtesy."
Well, I don't know if that can count as a cliffhanger or not...but please leave a review! I enjoyed writing this chapter a lot!