Chapter 12: Captured
"Let go of me!" Spit the words Rose as she was trying to struggle her arm out of the soldier's tightly grasping hands. She had been dragged by her right arm for long minutes now, closely following Huxley and his men. She had been trying to fight herself free continuously, but her knee hurt so much and now her shoulder joined the arsenal of hurting limbs as well, she felt her struggles getting weaker and weaker.
"If you don't stay put, I'm gonna tie your hands together." Grunted the mercenary simply, as he had enough of her tries, and, just to show the soldier she cannot be controlled, she pulled her arm one last time, but stopped after that.
Rose stumbled by the mercenary, her arm held up high, as she was trying to keep up with the marching. Her mind was desperately trying to find a solution but the a heat and humidity seemed to be drowning her thoughts and nothing really came up to her mind.
"I'm not going to help you!" She then yelled after Huxley, trying to seem brave, even raising her chin up high, but her stomach was trembling wildly as she pinned her eyes to the back of his head.
"Oh, you've no idea how much you've already helped me, Miss Anderson." Said the man, turning back to face her, his voice as cold as his smile, and just to prove himself, he showed the small journal in his hands, he'd been reading for minutes now.
"Oh, no..." Rose breathed the words out when she realized what kind of journal he was holding. Huxley must have taken it from her backpack. She hadn't got the chance to read the small book herself, but since she'd taken it from one of Fawcett's men, she was sure it contained all the useful information...
"According to what's written in here, we'll soon find a cave - it's got to be here in less then a quarter mile - through which we can get to Z... - he explained, seeming like he was just plainly wanting to annoy Rose first, with the stolen information. But then something sparkled up in his eyes as he continued: "After so many years... I can finally have a hold on the whole world soon." He said, leaning closer to face Rose. "Thanks to you and Samuel Drake. By the way, where's your lover hiding?"
"First: he's not my lover," said Rose, and despite all her efforts to stop it, she felt her cheeks burning up slightly on the thought. She tried her best to ignore it and continued. "Second: why on earth would I tell you? And last: how dense do you have to be, to believe if you find a bunch of ruins you can rule the world?" She asked her last question with her eyebrows furrowing. Z, if it even really existed, must had been nothing but a pile of ruins and remainings of people for hundreds of years now.
"I bet your books have never written anything about the true potential of Z, have they?" asked Huxley, chuckling so coldly that shivers immediately started running up and down Rose's spine. What on earth was he talking about?
"Z is cursed." He continued, a shadow of mad admiration appearing on his face as he talked. "To be more exact, the gold Z is hiding, is cursed. Why do you think it disappeared without a trace?" His face completely changed as he talked, no trace of chilling coldness could be seen in his eyes anymore as his mind was filled with his feverish thoughts. "It taints your soul and if you're weak enough to give yourself in to its luring, you will become..." he couldn't finish his sentence, even though Rose was eager to hear the end. Trough the drumming of her own racing heart inside her ear, she could hear the voices of a newly arrived group of mercenaries, cutting Huxley's sentence in half with their yelling.
"Look, who we've found, sir!" They stepped out from behind the cover of a tree - dragging none other than Samuel Drake after themselves... He looked horrible, tired and sick, but had fire in his gaze when he looked right into the cold eyes of Huxley.
"We found this in his pockets." Added the soldier and reached the artefact towards their leader. Oh, damn... thought Rose as she watched the little, glimmering piece of metal change hands.
"Well, this is more than convenient." said Huxley, taking the golden orb in his hands. "Very interesting..." he hummed, examining the artefact from every side, but just like when Rose held it, nothing happened.
"Long time no see..." said Sam, trying to smile lightly and straightening his posture, though it was visible he was in pain. Little drops of sweat were glistening all over his body as well, possibly because of a fever.
"Samuel Drake." said Huxley coldly. He stepped closer to him as he said: "It was just about time we meet again. I owe you this." and he punched the man into the stomach with so much force, Sam almost fell to ground as he grunted up in pain.
"Sam!" Rose screamed his name immediately, trying to free her arm to be able to run to him, but the soldier's hands were clasped onto hers so hard, she had no chance of freeing herself at all.
When Sam looked at Rose, his face got even paler - if it was even possible - and turned to Huxley immediately: "You lay a hand on her and I end you." He said in low voice, just barely audible, still Rose was able to catch his words and, of course, she felt a tingling sensation in the depth of her stomach.
"Very convincing, hearing threats from a man who can barely stand." Chuckled Huxley coldly. "But no worries, I need you both - for now, at least." He said and gestured with his head towards the soldier who was holding Sam. He nodded and started dragging him towards Rose's direction who was now struggling to get herself free again, even harder than ever before.
"Sam..." she huffed between two tries. "Are you all right?" She asked, her eyes immediately jumping to the wounds on his shoulder. Now it seemed much, much worse as half of his arm turned black under the web of tainted veins.
"Yeah... You?" he asked and immediately after Rose nodded back at him, he rolled his eyes. "I leave you alone for five minutes... And you get yourself captured right away. Seriously, women..."
They both felt a huge push on their back as the army was now continuing its journey into the heart of the forest. At this rate they'd pretty soon be at the cave Huxley was talking about.
"As far as I can tell you are just as captured as me..." Rose snapped and pulled her arm with all the strength she got - only achieving his capturer to clench onto it tighter.
"Yeah but, unlike you, I very well know how to get myself out of tough situations." answered Sam. His eyes were checking out their positions and everyone around them as he walked; when he looked back, very well be possible that Rose just imagined it, but seemed like he was trying to gesture something for the girl.
"Could you please lovebirds shut up for one second or I'll have to stuff both of your mouths." The mercenary, who's been leading Rose grunted again, this time it was clearly audible that he was loosing pretty much all of his patience.
"Well, then... I'm waiting..." Rose answered, ignoring the soldier completely, looking away from Sam and his silly faces. They'd walked for minutes in silence when Rose finally realized what the man had been signaling her all this time, when her eyes drifted towards a grenade, being in just an arms reach, dangling from the belt of the mercenary walking in front of them...
She looked at it, then her eyes flew back to Sam's who was also looking, trying to make out if Rose finally understood what he had been trying to say. When she, just barely noticeable, nodded at him, he took a deep breath and said:
"It was just about..." here he paused to deepen his elbow into the ribs of his capturer. "Time..." another pause to kick another mercenary, realizing their actions. "God damn it!" He was free now as he finished and though he seemed tired as hell, he punched another one of Huxley's men right in the face.
Rose wasn't staying put either. She stomped on the leg of the soldier who's been grabbing her arm with all her might - making him finally letting go of her in his pain - and immediately after that, just before he could notice, tore the grenade off of the man's belt who'd been walking in front of them.
She pulled the safety pin out right away, and without thinking too much, she threw it behind their back, between the bigger group of Huxley's men.
She heard the beepings of the small explosive getting faster and faster and by the time the solders could realize what they were hearing, it went off. Throwing both Sam and Rose and also Huxley and the remaining of his men completely off their feet.
Rose's ears were ringing as she felt her body hurtling towards the forest's ground. The impact pushed all the air out of her lungs and she felt the need to cough in the sudden storm of dust and earth invading her respiratory tracts.
She couldn't even open her eyes out yet, when she felt a huge, warm palm urging her to get up. She opened her eyes just to see that it was Sam, holding his intact hand out to her and she took it right away. They immediately started running forward, right by the lying bodies of Huxley and a few of his mercenaries, but Sam got left behind soon after.
When Rose stopped to look back, she saw him just catching up with her - the artefact shining in his healthy hand.
"You got it!" Rose yelled up happily as they were getting farer and farer from the scene. They were only running for a few minutes when Rose felt her leg slip on the ground - or rather on the lack of the ground - and she let out a small scream when she felt her stomach journey up into her throat.
She slipped down into a natural cave. Probably the one they were looking for. When she landed - after a few seconds - she immediately looked for Sam but the man was right next to her.
"Is it our cave?" She asked.
"Probably..." answered the man and they both started to run deeper inside but after only a few meters, they encountered a huge, smooth stone wall being hidden in the shadowy depth of the underground opening.
"What the..." Rose yelled up in panic as her eyes were desperately looking for a way to move forward - but there were none, at first she thought. But then she saw it.
"Sam... look!" she pointed to the middle of the wall, where there was a hole, just big enough for their artefact to fit in. When she took a better look at it she also saw how the wall had been slit in half under the hole.
"Yeah, that must be it!" Huffed Sam excitedly and started towards the wall but sudden rounds gunshots made them stop immediately. She felt Sam's huge body pulling closer to hers as the man stood in front of her, trying to hide her completely with his own body.
"Stop trying or I'll shoot - both of you." They heard Huxley's voice coming from the cave's entrance. In his hands there was a machine gun. "One..." he started as he slipped down. "Just one! single wrong movement..." he said when arriving at the bottom of the entrance, slowly starting to limp towards Sam and Rose's direction. "And you are both immediately dead." When he finished, he was standing only two meters apart from the duo. He ran his hands through his hair to comb his strands back to their original place and the remainings of his men were now also at the entrance, sliding down to them, one by one.
His nose was bleeding and his eyes were even colder then ever before as he stepped one step closer.
"Do it!" He gestured towards the hole on the wall with his gun. He saw the artefact in Sam's hands, its little teeth pooped out on every side and raised his gun to point it on the man's head.
"I'm not doing anything." Sam grunted in response, looking the man deep in his eyes. Rose watched the two of them, silently standing and watching the other, not breaking the eye contact for the slightest second.
" Fine." Huxley than said - the end of his machine gun causally moving towards Rose's face. "I'll have to make you do it by force then." He pulled the trigger and bullets flew only centimeters by Roses head, dragging a few curly locks after themselves before hitting the stone wall behind her. She screamed up in her surprise and grabbed her head with both of her arms in her fright.
The impact seemed to shuffle the whole cave a little, making small bits of rock fall down from the ceiling.
"Okay! Okay, I'll do it!" Sam yelled immediately, rising his arms - as much as his injured shoulder let him - in the air as he stepped towards the stone wall, right where the little hole was.
"Sam.." Rose started, but he looked at her, and before putting the artefact into its place, he nodded encouragingly - to signal her that it was fine. He then raised the orb and placed it in the opening.
At first nothing happened.
"Okay, now..." said Sam and rotated it clockwise once. It seemed to be starting up a huge machine somewhere inside the walls as the whole place rumbled up immediately. The ground under their feet was buzzing and their eardrums were trembling in the sudden, deep, booming sound that could be heard all around them. Making newer, and bigger pieces of rock fall down again.
And the gate opened up.
As they stood there, in the huge entrance to unknow, yawning coldly towards them, Rose felt the most reckless she'd ever been.
"Sam..." she said in a very low voice but the man still heard her. When their eyes met, she signaled towards the entrance and after that, threw herself on Huxley with all her might. She felt the cold body of the machine gun under her trembling fingers and when they found their way to the trigger, she didn't hesitate to pull it right away.
The bullets flew by her face again, this time aiming at the ceiling of the cave and when a round of bullets hit it, she felt a soft rumbling again. Yes! She thought as she felt the walls giving themselves in.
"Jump!" She screamed and kicked herself away from Huxley, right inside entrance with Sam by his side, just before the heavy peace of rocks closed it up again - separating them and the group of Huxley for good completely.
Dust was all around them in the complete darkness as they were both huffing on the cold and wet ground of the cave. Wait. Not complete darkness! Rose could see a tiny light at the end of the tunnel, somewhere in the distance and she just could hope for seconds that she hadn't died before, seeing the other side now.
"Sam, look!" She pointed towards the tiny source of dim light in the distance but something wasn't right. Sam was lying on the ground, clenching onto his injured shoulder and when Rose touched him again, she let out a painful moan. His face also distorted into an agonizing grin as he looked the girl into the eyes.
"I can't..." he groaned, but Rose cut into his words. "Oh, yes, you can!" She said, and used all her strength to help him onto his feet.
He must've used all his strength up when they fled the mercenaries, thought Rose as she dragged his half unconscious body towards the tunnel's end.
When they were halfway already, she saw movements at the end and as they got closer and closer, she could clearly see a row of men standing up in the opening.
They almost reached them - about 8 men, all standing still, their hands clasped onto the grips of their long spears - when Sam stumbled and fell. Being so huge Rose couldn't stopped him - he only just dragged herself with him.
"Sam!" She yelled up, shaking the shoulder of the man wildly but he didn't move anymore.
She felt the tears burning up her eyes and fear clenching onto her chest as she looked up at the men still just standing there, doing nothing but staring. When her eyes met the man in the middle, she immediately recognized his face.
Though it was impossible, then and there Rose didn't care about it at all as she screamed into his face: "Help him! Please..." she asked, looking right into the very eyes of Percy Harrison Fawcett...