Chapter 20 – A Treacherous Ascent
Lara labored to slow her breathing down as she kept a careful eye on her readings. If she wasn't cautious, she could end up with blood poisoning… or worse. So far, everything still seemed to be running just as well as when they had descended. She saw Mitchell out of the corner of her eye. She could tell he was trying his best not to panic. She couldn't believe what was happening. Sure, she'd seen her share of supernatural and paranormal circumstances, but this was different. This was the legendary Leviathan. Who knew he was secretly holed up in an ancient Indian river in the Western mountains? All this time, and it wasn't a myth or a scary bedtime story. She had seen it with her own eyes, seen the carnage he brought with him. For as long as she could remember, nothing could ever scare her. She was the steel stomach with a set of iron nerves. She once ran up against a demon that could form itself into her exact image. When she tried to attack it, Lara had taken the damage instead. Even that hadn't fazed her in the slightest. But this… This was something she could not entirely handle. Mostly because of Mitchell. He was the only survivor beside herself, and all she could think about was his wedding band. She could hear him talking about his beautiful new wife Kendra, and it tugged at her gut. She shook the emotions off, determined to get them back to the surface.
She checked the mapping system hurriedly for the fastest route to the northern shores. She decided on a straight ascent to the surface, then high-tailing it to the beach on the ROV's. She would have hell to pay when Bryce discovered the damage to his precious machinery, but it was better than dying at the monstrous grasp of a mythological beast. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure they were still alone… and her heart stopped in her chest. Her blood went cold as she watched the great Leviathan burst into the water with an enormous explosion of current and bubbles, his blood-red eyes focused on her and Mitchell. She would have screamed, but she knew that would only add to the panic. And panic only led to one thing when you were this far beneath the surface: death.
Mitchell saw it too, and his eyes went dark with fear. Lara skirted in behind him, encouraging him to speed up. He revved the ROV, blasting away ahead of her. She turned back around, staring at the advancing creature with hatred and disgust. Of course he could get out into the water. He had to eat somehow, right? And that would explain why the entrance pool was so much roomier than the team had expected. Centuries of harboring a mythical monster will create that much needed space. She cursed herself for being so blind. She watched it as it flew through the water like an eel, ripples of light reflecting off of its scales. She noticed the key on the great chain again, and her imagination began to turn. Of course! That was what they had been looking for all along! "A piece of my troubled past. A key to my last endeavors," the manuscripts had said. A key! Xavier didn't hide his piece of the puzzle deep within the Dragon's Lair! He hid it on the Dragon itself! The Leviathan was carrying Victor Xavier's clue to the location of the Amulet of Immortality!
She slowed the ROV to a crawl, trying to get a better look at the chain. It was thick, and if it came loose it would quickly sink to the bottom of the river. Lost forever in the shadows of the deep. She had to get at it. That was the only way. She came down here in the first place to find the damn thing, and she wasn't leaving without it! She looked back over her shoulder, making sure Mitchell was moving along steadily towards the surface. He was nearly there. He would make it if she stayed down here to do battle with the Leviathan. And as she caught another glimpse of the heavy golden chain around its neck, she decided that was exactly what she was going to do.
Mitchell's eyes were burning, tears streaming down his cheeks. He knew from the feel of things and from the bitter taste in his mouth that his mixture was screwed up. He couldn't tell if it was just too much oxygen, in which case he still had a chance to make it to the surface… or if it was something worse. He decided not to think about it. Instead, he focused on the light. It was getting brighter by the second, and he could feel the water warming up. His heart thrust painfully at his chest, and he realized that if he didn't surface soon, it could give out. He looked behind him and saw Lara slowing her ROV. The Leviathan was approaching and fast. He was terrified, but she knew what she was doing. She had told him to keep going, to get to the surface. But if she ended up dying in order for him to make it out alive, he just might die himself.
The surface was clearer now, and he could see rescue divers prepping in the shallows. Obviously someone topside was on to what was happening to him and Lara. He sent up a prayer as his heart continued to hammer away painfully in his chest. He looked back once more, and was amazed at what he saw. Lara had ditched the ROV, and was coming around on the side of the great beast for a pass. She held a silvery blade that shone beneath the currents. She was really going to try and kill it. Or at least wound it enough to get back to shore safely. He wasn't sure which seemed more appealing to him at the moment. He was nearing the surface, and the light was breaking the waves into a million tiny jewels. His heart was slowing now, and his head was spinning from too much oxygen. His vision swam before him, and the world began to go quietly dark. A whooshing noise filled his ears, and he vaguely felt himself letting go of the ROV, propelling himself upward and out of the water. The instant he broke the surface, his breath came back and his heart began to beat a little more normally. He felt someone ripping his mask off, tearing his diving gear from his battered body. Muffled voices shouted and called directions to one another, and the next thing he knew he was being injected with a blood infusium serum. He had too much oxygen in his system. His blood was thinning to point of no return. A second more and his lungs would have burst, causing his ribs to puncture his heart. And Kendra… he would never have seen her again. He felt himself being dragged onto the beach. He was put on a thin cotton stretcher, and medics began fluttering about him like busy hummingbirds. He tried to open his mouth, to tell them that Lara was still down there. She was down there alone and needed help. She was facing something terrible in the cold depths of the river, and she needed someone. But he couldn't get anything out. The last thing he remembered hearing was someone shouting for Alex West, and a frantic voice calling for emergency choppers to be flown into the Bhima River basin.
Lara glared at the advancing Leviathan, her focus locked on the chain around its neck. She pulled a Ka-Bar utility knife from the casing on her right thigh. It winked in the feeble light from the surface, and she braced herself for the monster's impact.
The beast broke past her on the left, sending a wave of stinging pain shooting through her side. She looked down and saw blood swirling from a hole in her wetsuit. Her favorite wetsuit. Now she was pissed. She grasped the knife tightly, moving her arm a little to keep from going stiff in the chilly water. She glanced at her tank readings. She still had enough juice to go a few rounds with the Leviathan and still make it out alive. The monster faced her now, his jaws thinned into something resembling a sinister smile. Lara gave one back, her grip tightening on the elongated blade. The Leviathan gave his thick, plated tail a good turn, and he was off like a shot through the water. He was coming at Lara at full speed now, his fangs bared and his claws opened. Lara braced herself, and as the monster neared her right side, she kicked backwards. The beast missed her by mere inches, and he continued to fly past her. She immediately plunged the blade deep into the monster's scaly hide, its flesh ripping away against the knife with a sickeningly metallic sound. Green ooze flowed heavily from the open gash, and Lara held on for dear life as she was torn through the water with the Leviathan. The monster howled in agony, its voice hollow and distant in the water. Like the call of a lonely whale. It began to slow itself, and Lara held onto the blade with every ounce of strength she had left. She quickly climbed atop the great creature, taking care not to get her tank stuck on one of the many barbs coating its back. The Leviathan slowed, his howling lessening as it turned to glower at Lara. She quickly tore the blade from the monster's side, and fresh ooze began to flow again. The beast howled, this time in anger. He swerved, trying to get his teeth around Lara's leg. But she had managed to stay just out of reach. She plunged the knife into the monster's neck this time, and the howling grew steadily worse. More ooze, and she grabbed for a flap of hide beneath the creature's shoulder blades. She tore the knife out, stabbing again at the soft flesh between the neck and the shoulders. She began to climb, inching along the back of the Leviathan's scaly frame, up towards the thick chain that swung slowly in the water. The Leviathan screamed over and over, his green blood weeping from Lara's handiwork. She ripped the blade from its flesh again, plunging it in once more above the thick section of its neck. More howling, and the beast came around again, trying to grab Lara from behind its neck. It began to thrash about, screaming wildly as it did so. Lara held on tightly to the padded grip of the blade, her head swimming as she felt the effects of her oxygen tank being shaken. The beast's tail slashed menacingly about, catching her right arm and cheek. More of her own, scarlet blood swirled into the water, drifting away in tendrils. She ground her teeth against the pain, trying desperately to focus on moving up the monster's back. She stabbed again, higher this time, and crawled towards the chain. She was closer now, just within arm's length of the key. She stabbed once more, evading the creature's tail as it swooped around in a deathly arc. She wrapped her legs around the Leviathan's thick neck, using everything she had to raise the blade above her, bringing it down with a flurry of bubbles, burying it deep in the creature's neck. The Leviathan stopped thrashing and swimming violently, and began to spasm. The same green ooze Lara had noticed coming from its wounds now gushed freely from the gaping hole she had made with the utility knife. She smiled a little to herself as she felt the beast groan beneath her, convulsing with pain. She had severed the top of its spinal cord.
The Leviathan's head slumped, hanging limply as it grunted and groaned. In the water, it sounded more like the hollow clanking of a buoy tossed by the waves. The beast began to sink a little, and Lara scrambled to get a hold of the heavy chain before it slipped off of the monster's neck and into the deep. She grabbed for it, feeling the weight of it as it slipped free of the monster's neck. It felt cold and smooth to the touch, and Lara was instantly transfixed. The key itself was a huge, gaudy thing. It was solid gold, but ornately carved with swirls and spirals. In the middle of the keyhead was an ancient symbol. It immediately filled Lara's heart with dread. She knew what it meant before she had even examined it.
The Leviathan suddenly awoke and, using the last of his life force, began rocketing towards the surface. Lara held on tightly, her mind reeling. The beast cried out in terror and pain and anger, but Lara could feel its strength giving way beneath her. Its muscles rippled as it convulsed violently, and Lara gripped the beast's neck tightly to keep from flying off. The surface was close now, and she knew the Leviathan was going to try and break through. Using the last of her strength, she grabbed the chain with all her might, closing her eyes and preparing for impact.
Alex was hurriedly pulling himself into a wetsuit, his mind a million places other than the Bhima River. He had been one of the first people to pull that Mitchell guy out of the water, and he had been babbling like a lunatic about a dragon or something. Alex wasn't sure what the hell was going on down there, but he had been on enough adventures with Lara Croft to know that weird shit followed her every footfall. If it was a dragon, then so be it. He was going to go kick that dragon's ass if need be. Lara was still down there, and he wasn't going to let her go it alone. Not anymore.
All of a sudden, a great roar was heard from the middle of the river basin. Everyone in the camp turned to stare in awe at what was happening. Alex stopped dead in his tracks, his wetsuit all but forgotten. Great white foam caps were forming in the center of the river, not 300 yards from their position. It looked to Alex as though a submarine was surfacing, and in a hurry. Everyone began to crowd along the beach, voices shouting above the noise. Suddenly, a great blue mass burst from the water, waves crashing and flying out towards the beach. Everyone pushed back, screaming in terror. Alex stared as something resembling a huge lizard flew out of the water, howling in misery. He caught a glimpse of Lara, hanging on for dear life to the beast's meaty neck. He saw her tearing off her diving gear, tossing it into the water. She was trying to pry something off the monster's neck. Alex shook himself free of the overwhelming awe, jumping into his wetsuit and throwing on a small tank. He doubted he'd have to go deep, but he wanted to be prepared regardless.
Lara could see the shore from atop the Leviathan's neck. She could barely make out the other team members crowding along the shore. The Leviathan was dying, and quickly. She could feel its scaly hide going colder every second. She was still hanging onto the chain, holding its thick links in a death grip. The monster bucked and swayed, but still she held. Finally, when she thought she might not be able to hold on any longer, the monster uttered its dying roar, falling back into the water.
The impact sent Lara flying, and she felt her arms scream in protest as the chain came with her, dislocating both elbows. She screamed in pain, her eyes suddenly assaulted with white spots. And then she was in the water, sinking fast. She pulled a small cord dangling from her underwater rucksack, sending up another grateful prayer for Bryce. A small float began to inflate itself behind her, jerking her upwards. She broke through the surface again not a second later, the float keeping her on her back. She grasped the heavy chain to her breasts, her breath coming weak and shallow now. Her arms felt hot and numb, and she knew she had dislocated them. Still she held the chain tightly, her entire body quivering with pain and fatigue. She glanced the shore as her vision began to blur, and she noticed a small shape coming towards her. She began to relax as she realized that it was Alex, coming to her rescue.
Everything began to go black, like ink spilling down a milky page. Slowly, dripping, silence engulfing the entire world and everything in it. She felt the chain, its solid body somehow comforting to her. She faintly heard Alex's voice calling her name, screaming for her to hold on. He was coming. Coming to rescue her. How sweet. She let her head fall back. Pulling the chain closer to her as she began to slip into nothingness. She reached out one hand towards the fading shape, and opened her mouth in an attempt to call his name. She wasn't sure if anything came out, but he began to swim faster, his wetsuit glistening in the sun. A faint smile began to caress her mouth as she lost control of her muscles. Everything went limp, and she realized with a sort of giddy delight that Alex was going to be her knight in shining armor. Coming to her rescue, even though she had been the one who defeated the dragon. At that point, nothing really mattered to her anyway. She lost consciousness as she felt the cool strength of Alex's hand grab her and wrap her in the safety of his presence. What the hell… She'd let herself be rescued. Just this once.