Hope you didn't wait too long for this chapter.
I know I have a few projects right now, but be on the lookout for a new story by me and Fang soon!
I don't own Tomb Raider. All OCs belong to me and XFangHeartX.)
Chapter 14: Mission to San Juan
Owen noticed Lara was tense, so he pulled her into a hug,
"Everything's gonna work out, babe."
"I just hope we're in the right place and we can find the Box before Trinity," she sighed. "The earthquake hit last night at the oil facility and now there's a volcano. I want to end this before this town ends up like Cozumel."
"Hey, look at me," said Owen, causing Lara to look him in the eye. "We've beaten the odds before...and we can do it, again. I know this. You know this...so don't give up...because everyone in the world is counting on us...our families are counting on us...our little girl is counting on us."
Lara sniffled as she hugged Owen tightly.
"I love you."
"I love you, too," he whispered back.
They went over to the right of the market area and found part of the dirt road.
"Abby!" A woman called. "Can you help me with this? It's broken."
At that moment, a woman appeared, wearing an orange plaid shirt and a gold locket around her neck.
"Hang on," she said. "Are you...that Lara? Lara Croft?"
"I am," Lara answered. "And this is my husband, Owen."
"Hello," Owen said.
"Of course, I recognize you both from your pictures," the woman said. "What's your interest with this place?"
"We're following a riddle- "The heart of the serpent is in the cup, near the many stone faces"," Lara explained.
"The stone faces?" the woman repeated. "That's why I'm here, too."
"We don't want to step on your toes," Owen assured her. "It's the serpent in the cup that we're really looking for."
"Well, I can tell you that the faces have been here for at least 400 years," said the woman. "According to documents in the library, they keep watch. Legend has it they're guarding a secret crypt."
"A crypt?" Lara asked.
"We've never been able to find it," said the woman. "As you can imagine, it's been driving the treasure hunters crazy."
"But, if the infamous Lara Croft and her husband are as clever as they say they are... Well, if you were find it, you might be doing me a favor."
"So, we should start at the library?" Owen asked.
"Yes, it's over by the cemetery," the woman replied. "It's one of the oldest buildings here. Make sure you credit me if you find anything."
"Thank you," said Lara. "We will."
"Much obliged," Owen added before they headed off for the cemetery.
Lara then looked at the man standing next to her who had been talking to Abby earlier,
"Did you mention someone was missing?"
"Yes, Isabela," the man replied. "Another member of the field study. I checked on her after the first tremors this morning, but her tent was empty."
"You should ask Manu," suggested the woman. "He probably told her where to find El Dorado."
"This is serious," said the man, urgently. "We...we had a fight. A bad one."
"I'm sorry, Guillermo, I didn't realize," the woman apologized. "Please continue."
"You had a fight?" Owen asked. "We don't mean to pry, but..."
"It's all right," Guillermo assured. "We've been very close friends for almost a year and I think both of us would like for there to be more, but...neither of us has broached the subject."
"Sounds rough, man," said Owen.
"Isa and Sara don't often get along," the woman gave him a look. "Sorry Sara, but it's true. She insists on her team being more down to earth, while Isa has a passion for folkloric tales of hidden temples. I often get caught in the middle."
"Those stories always come from somewhere," Lara said. "Even if most of it is made up, there will be some kernel of truth to it."
"She's right," Owen said. "Even myths can turn out to be real."
"That's Isa's viewpoint, too," Guillermo said. "Anyway, there's an old blind man who lives here, named Manu, who's full of these kinds of stories. He convinced her there's a secret crypt hidden around here, and last night she asked me to come with her and find it. I refused, and we got into the old fight. It ended with her calling me a "hidebound coward" and me calling her a...a "foolish child"."
"Hmm, sounds familiar," Owen muttered, giving Lara a knowing look.
She looked down, feeling slightly ashamed, but then he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"After that, she ran off, wanting to, as she put it; "prove all you naysayers wrong"," Guillermo said. "This morning, I heard rumors that she vandalized the cemetery last night. That's when I started looking for her. When I found her missing, with no one knowing anything, I started to worry. What if she went looking for the crypt and something happened? I would never forgive myself..."
"We'll find her for you," said Owen.
"You'd do that?" Guillermo asked.
"Of course," Lara replied. "To be honest, I'm as curious about that crypt as she is."
"Just be careful," said Guillermo. "You don't know what could be in there. It could be very dangerous."
"Hey, it may be dangerous, but that's kinda one reason why we love it," Owen said before he and Lara left.
They headed for the cemetery and when they got there, they noticed one tombstone was knocked over.
A woman and some children were standing beside it.
"Calling me a witch - imagine!" the woman scoffed.
"Beg your pardon?" Lara asked.
The elderly woman sighed as she began to explain herself. "I'm an herbalist, a shamefully unrecognized branch of medical science...and that child's grandmother was a dowser! The things people ignore that are right in front of their faces..."
"Well, that's how some people can be, I'm afraid," Owen said. "They tend to be afraid of things they don't understand."
The woman laughed a bit, "You sound like Isa!"
"You mean Isabela? You know her?" Lara asked.
"A smart girl, a good researcher, and not afraid to admit there are things she doesn't know. She's the one who broke the cross - by on it!" The woman gestured to the tombstone that was knocked over.
"Ooh," Owen winced. "Well, I'm sure she didn't mean it."
"I don't know what she was thinking," the woman lamented. "I tried to stop her, but she was...very upset about something. Angry and full of grief at the same time."
Lara nodded in understanding, knowing why Isa was upset,
"Do you know where she is now? We're looking for her."
"I don't know," The woman answered. "After the cross broke, she ran away, but I didn't see which direction. In the state she was in, I knew better than to try and stop her. I'm sorry."
"It's alright, you've given us more information than we had," Owen said. "Do you need help with the cross?"
"Yes, but first we have to move those children out of the way; it's not safe for them to be running around while we work," the woman replied. "That blind trickster filled their heads with tales of treasure, and they think I mean to steal it."
Lara chuckled a bit, "We'll talk to them."
Soon, Lara and Owen approached the kids.
"Perdonanos," said Owen. (Excuse us.)
"¡Oye!" said the boy. "¡Vete de aquí! ¡Este es nuestro tesoro!" (Hey! Get away from here! This is our treasure!
"Se está haciendo tarde," Lara scolded him, her Motherly side kicking in. "¿Qué tal posponer la caza hasta mañana?"
(It's getting late. How about postponing the hunt until tomorrow?)
"No," The boy refused. "No nos vamos hasta que lo encontremos." (No. We're not leaving till we find it.)
"Dormiremos aquí si es necesario," A girl stated with stubbornness. (We'll sleep here if we have to.)
"Oh, boy," Owen muttered. "This might be a tough one. They say kids get to be a bit stubborn as they get older."
Lara chuckled, "¿Hay algo que podamos hacer para ayudar?" (Is there anything we can do to help?)
The boy got even more mad, "¡No! Te lo contamos! ¡No estás consiguiendo nuestro tesoro! Manu dijo que si lo encontramos, podemos mantenerlo."
(No! We told you! You're not getting our treasure! Manu said if we find it, we can keep it.)
Lara hummed playfully, "Es una pena. Las hermanas nos dijeron que eras muy bueno compartiendo. Y sabemos MUCHO sobre la búsqueda del tesoro."
(That's a shame. The sisters told us you were very good at sharing. And we know a LOT about treasure hunting.)
The kids went from stubborn to scared.
"¿Conoces a las hermanas?" The girl asked. (You know the sisters?)
"Ella podría contarnos," The boy said. (She could tell on us.)
"Nosotras no diremos si tu no," Owen assured them. (We won't tell if you won't.)
Lara looked around, then leaned in close to whisper to the children, "También tengo un secreto: soy la valiente aventurera Lara Croft."
(I have a secret too: I'm the Brave Adventurer Lara Croft.)
"Whoa...!" the children whispered.
"No lo diremos.," The boy said. "Puedes ayudarnos? Si encuentras el tesoro, lo dividiremos equitativamente."
(We won't tell. Can you help us? If you find the treasure, we'll split it evenly.)
"Acuerdo," Owen replied, smiling. "¿Que necesitas?"
(Deal. What do you need?)
"Manu nos dijo que tendríamos que resolver un acertijo para encontrar el tesoro," said the boy. (Manu told us we'd need to solve a riddle to find the treasure.)
"¿Ustedes dos son buenos en acertijos?" asked the girl. (Are you two any good at riddles?)
"Tenemos algo de experiencia," said Owen. (We do have some expertise.)
"¿Qué tienes para nosotras?" asked Lara. (What have you got for us?)
"Quiero que tomes mi suministro," The other boy said. (I want you to take my supply.)
"Me nutre cuando los cielos lloran," The first boy added. (I'm nourished when the heavens cry.)
"Si me enfermo, muere un pueblo," The girl finished, then all three of the kids asked, "¿Quién soy?" (If I get sick, a village dies. Who am I?)
Owen and Lara looked at each other, smirking. They both already knew the answer.
"Volveremos en seguida," Owen said before he and Lara walked away, heading toward an old stone well, where they saw something not so subtly buried nearby.
(We'll be right back.)
"Hmm..." Lara hummed as she dug it up. "Iron pyrite: fool's gold...and costume jewelry. Not really much treasure, but the children will like it, at least."
"That Manu guy is just a conman," said Owen.
They went back to the children and gave them what they found.
"Nosotros somos ricos!" The second boy cheered. (We're rich!)
"Espera, dijimos que dividiríamos el tesoro, así que..." The first boy said. (Wait, we said we'd split the treasure, so...)
"Oh no, no podríamos aceptar ninguno de tus tesoros," Lara said. (Oh no, we couldn't possibly accept any of your treasure.)
"Ella está en lo correcto ," said Owen. "Ustedes quédense. Es tuyo." (She's right. You guys keep it. It's yours.)
"¡Wow gracias! ¡Le mostraremos el tesoro a Manu!" The boy exclaimed before he and his friends ran off. (Wow, thank you! We're gonna show the treasure to Manu!)
"I don't know how you got Diego and his friends to leave, but I'm glad you did," The elderly woman said.
"Let's just say we have a way with kids," said Lara. "Especially since we have a daughter of our own."
"Oh, how old is she?" The woman asked.
"She was born a few months ago. We hated leaving her, but there is something in this country that we have to resolve," Owen answered.
"I see," said the woman. "Well, I still thank you for your help."
"Now that we helped you out," Owen said, "Perhaps you could help us?"
The three of them lifted the tombstone until it was back upright.
"I hope you find Isa, I'm worried about her," the woman said. "Maybe something about the cross will tell you where she went."
Lara examined the cross on the tombstone and found an inscription,
"Look through me to find the way."
Owen looked in the direction that led out of the cemetery,
"You know, I noticed some crosses similar to this one on our way here. Maybe they'll lead the way."
"Then let's go and follow them," Lara said before she and Owen turned and headed out of the small town, following the crosses back outside and into the jungle.
They went down the dirt road and went down a side path, jumped over a gap and found one last cross.
There was an embedded cross on the stone, and Owen pressed it. A wall opposite to them opened up.
"You think this might be what we're looking for?" Owen asked.
"Only one way to find out," Lara answered.
They went inside and called for Isa.
"Hello?" Lara called.
"Isa?" Owen called out. "Are you in here?"
No answer.
They jumped over to a wall and climbed down till they got to an area that looked like it had collapsed from the inside.
"Ooh...that does NOT look good," Owen winced.
They crouched down and went through the crevice.
"Isabella, are you in here?!" Lara called. "Isabella?!"
"Down here!" A female voice finally responded.
Soon, Lara and Owen climbed down a rock wall into a deep pit, rappelling down when they reached the bottom. When they realized their ropes weren't long enough, they dropped down into a pool of water below.
"Oh, thank God!" Isabella exclaimed in relief.
She had long black hair, was dressed like an explorer and wore a cowboy hat.
Owen and Lara climbed out of the water and went over to her. She was sitting on the ground, holding her leg.
"There you are!" Lara exclaimed.
"Yes," Isabella answered. "Who are you?"
"This is Lara Croft," Owen said. "I'm Owen Taylor, her husband. Guillermo sent us to look for you. He's really worried."
"Oh, poor Guillermo! He's probably killing himself with guilt, too," Isabella said. "I guess we were both right: there WAS a hidden crypt, and I DID have an idealized view of what it would be like."
"How did you injure yourself?" Lara asked.
"I was on a rope when the tremor hit," said Isabella, rubbing her ankle. "The rope snapped and I hit the water hard...I think I broke my ankle."
"Well, if we're gonna get you outta here, we're gonna need help," Owen said. "Several people, in fact."
Isabella chuckled in response.
Lara raised her eyebrow, "What's so funny?"
"Can one of those people be Sara?" Isabella asked. "I'd love to see the look on her face when she has to admit that one of Manu's fantastic stories turned out to be true!"
Lara and Owen could only laugh with her.
"I'll suggest it to Guillermo," said Lara. "Now, I don't think we can get out the way we came in, so we'll have to find another way."
They went over to one of the walls and crawled under it.
They came into another tunnel and went to the left, squeezed through a tight crevice.
They grappled over a drop and clung to a rockwall with their pickaxes and climbed up it.
"Lara? Owen?" Isabella asked as she heard the sound. "Was that you?"
"Yeah, it was us," Owen answered. "No need to panic."
They went over to another rockwall and began to climb up it.
"We must be on the right path. The air is getting fresher," Lara said.
"Don't tease me; I've spent the night in a crypt," Isabella griped.
Soon, they made it to the top, but they knew they still had a ways to go before they could find a real exit.
"Careful," Owen said. "There might be some traps around. You never know what you might run into."
Lara carefully stepped forward, but the moment she did, the ground started to give way from underneath her. Thankfully, she and Owen managed to jump over the gap before either of them could fall. However, the traps weren't done there. When Owen tried to go into a dark tunnel, a stone pillar with spiked logs attached to it came swinging down, almost impaling him, but luckily, Lara blew it away with her pistols.
Owen looked down and saw the trigger for the trap,
"Note to self; watch your step."
Lara chuckled as she walked ahead, patting her husband on the shoulder as if to ask "What would you do without me?".
She pushed a switch in a stone lion head, which opened a wooden gate that showed another way out.
"Aha!" Owen exclaimed. "There's our ticket outta here!"
"Not to mention Isabella's," Lara added.
They swung across the gap and climbed onto the ledge.
"Isabella, we see daylight. You'll be out of here soon," Owen called to her.
"Oh, thank you so much," Isabella replied, sighing in relief.
They soon approached a wooden barricade, which Lara pulled apart using one of her rope arrows, then they continued climbing up a rock wall.
They climbed up the ledge, ducked under the collapsed area and climbed up a broken wooden ladder before they were back outside.
They got back to the village and found Guillermo.
"Please tell me Isabella is okay?" he asked.
"She is, but she's hurt her ankle, so we have to go back for her," Owen replied.
"No, I could not stand to inconvenience you any further...and besides, Sara told me you have something important of your own to do," Guillermo said. "Please, let Isa's friends take care of her.
"Well, if you insist," Lara responded. "But you'll need a couple of people and a lot of rope to get her out."
"I'll round them up, right away," said Guillermo. "Where is she, exactly?"
"Take the main road across the river," said Lara, "Then follow the crosses."
"Wait...the crosses?" asked Guillermo. "Did she find something?"
"She did, actually," Owen answered. "The crypt that Manu told her about."
"She did?! Oh, that's wonderful!" Guillermo exclaimed. "I'm so happy for her! I should have gone with her and I feel terrible about her ankle, but despite that, this is the adventure Isa's always dreamed of!"
"She also suggested that maybe Sara could be a member of her rescue party," Lara suggested, chuckling.
"She just wants to rub it in her face that she was right," Owen added.
"Oh, that's a great idea!" said Guillermo. "I'll make sure of it! Oh, and speaking of Manu and his crazy stories, if you're looking for something hidden around here, you should probably talk to him."
They headed over and spoke to him.
Manu was an old, blind man with many stories to tell. He recognized the thrill in Lara and Owen's voices, the kind of thrill of wanting to discover things that hadn't been seen hundreds or even thousands of years.
Finally, they met up with Jonah, Tommy, Tsume and Sam by the cemetery.
"So, there's a crypt around here somewhere?" Sam asked.
"A secret crypt," Owen specified.
"Oh yeah, the best kinds," Tommy joked. "The kind you spend time looking for in Assassin's Creed II."
"Jokes aside," Jonah began, "Why is it secret? If Lopez is involved, there's bound to be a trick."
"That's a solid theory," said Lara. "What about you guys? Did you find anything?"
"Got a pamphlet... Seven Steps Closer to God," Tommy responded, making Lara and Owen laugh.
"Who knows, maybe it'll help," she said as Tommy handed her the pamphlet.
The pamphlet had small pictures of Jesus with the Cross.
"Strange," Lara noted. "There are only seven stations...this must be based on an older tradition. Jesus takes up the Cross, falls the first time, and meets his Mother, then Veronica wipes his face before he falls a second time, then he is crucified and finally entombed."
Everyone approached the church and went inside, coughing from all the dust.
"Ah, one of an archaeologist's best friends; dust," Owen quipped.
"Feels like a mausoleum," Sam said.
"Means we're on the right track, right?" Lara asked.
Soon, they began looking around for anything that could be of use.
"Find anything yet, guys?" Owen asked.
"Nothing over here," Sam answered as she looked through some old scrolls.
In one of the next rooms was a mural of Jesus crucified, and it looked like it was broken.
Lara went over to it and broke it apart with her pickaxe, revealing a hidden cross.
"Whoa, Lara! What are you-" Tommy shouted as he ran over, only to gasp. "Oh!"
"This cross, looks like it's from the 17th century," she observed.
"You think it could be a clue?" Sam asked while taking a quick picture.
"Could be," Lara said. "Let's keep searching."
"Yo, guys!" Owen called from the second floor above them, and they could see and hear him because the ceiling was mostly gone.
"There's a book up here that describes a stranger's arrival at the mission," he explained. "He founded the Sect of Seven. Maybe it was Lopez."
"Just like on the pamphlet," said Jonah. "We must be getting close."
"Keep looking," Lara said, "But watch where you step."
"AAH!" Sam cried as her foot fell through a rotted part of the floor, but thankfully, she didn't fall all the way through.
Everyone tried really hard to not laugh, even Sam!
"Thanks for the warning," Sam quipped, hiding the smirk on her face.
Lara kept looking around for any clues she might find, as did Owen and the others.
Tommy joined Owen on the second floor, and found another picture behind a cracked wall.
Using his own pickaxe, Tommy broke it apart until the whole picture was revealed.
"Bro!" he called to Owen, who came over immediately.
"The sun will be darkened and the moon will not give it's light," Owen read. "Hey guys, those two Bible quotes: "The sun will be darkened and under His wings you may seek refuge"."
"What does it mean?" asked Jonah.
"Wait...that's it!" Lara exclaimed in realization. "Guys, look for a heron and an eclipse!"
"You mean like this one?" Sam asked as she pointed to another mural on the wall, this one showing a heron diving toward a darkened sky as the sun set.
Everyone gathered around it and saw there was a piece missing by the heron's head.
"Sorry great bird," Owen joked/apologized before pulling a piece of it off with his pickaxe, revealing a completely different picture.
"There's a mural under here," Lara surmised.
Soon, they started to break the wall apart, and as the dust cleared away, they soon found a mural depicting Jesus taking the Cross.
"Whoa...!" Sam whispered before she took a picture with her camera.
"If this doesn't say 'clue', I don't know what does," said Tommy in amazement.
"Vera Cruz, the True Cross," Lara said.
"Is that what I think it is?" Jonah pointed at a man standing by the cross, holding something.
"No doubt, the Silver Box," Owen confirmed.
"Jesus takes up the cross. These are the stations of the cross. But there's a bunch missing," Sam pointed out.
"Before 1600, there were only seven," Lara said. "This could date back to the time of Lopez."
"This is one of his clues," Jonah pointed out.
"Yeah," Lara answered. "It's the kind of thing he does."
"So, what do we do, now?" asked Sam.
"Let's see if we can find a cross around here," Jonah said.
"Don't need to," Lara led everyone over to the 17th century cross.
"Like I always say," said Sam, "Leave it to Lara!"
"So, what's next?" Tommy asked.
"...'Jesus takes up the cross'," Lara repeated. "Owen, Jonah, help me with this."
They lifted it onto the mechanism on the wall, making it lower from the weight.
The roof of the church opened, shining sunlight with the shadow of a cross on a spot on the floor, which opened up.
"Wow...that actually worked!" Jonah said.
"This has total Indiana Jones vibes," Owen grinned, causing everyone else to chuckle. Soon, Jonah and Tommy pulled the door on the floor open further, creating a space begin enough for them to jump into.
"Looks like a long way down," said Lara. "Let's see where this leads."
"Ladies first," Tommy gestured.
Lara gently hopped down the wooden boards till she got to what looked like catacombs.
"Oh, great," Sam said with a shudder.
"Well, let's get going," said Owen. "That box won't find itself."
Everyone else went down except Tsume. The wolf had a feeling that getting out of the catacombs wouldn't be as easy.
Jonah kinda broke the wooden boards and fell, then Owen helped him up.
"Stage two: "Jesus falls the first time"," Lara said/joked.
"Hey, look!" said Owen as he walked up to the wall in front of them. "There's an inscription on this wall!"
"It says 'Ambulate dum lucem habetis'," Jonah said.
"What's it mean?" Sam asked.
"It means 'Walk while you have the light'," Lara translated, and as she looked around, she saw a large pedestal that held a mirror. "Owen, help me with this."
Soon, she and Owen pulled the pedestal and moved the mirror under the sunlight, causing it to reflect onto the spot over the door, which soon opened up.
Everyone squeezed through, walking past a hall full of crosses.
"Hope we don't damage any of these, I do NOT wanna go to hell!" Tommy joked.
"Tommy..." Sam said, scoldingly.
"Sorry, just lightening the mood," said Tommy.
"'Walk while you have the light, or the darkness will overtake you'," Lara repeated.
"Sounds like it could be a hint," said Jonah.
"Or a threat," Owen added.
They came to a statue of a woman, where the light had stopped.
"Looks like Virgin Mary," Tommy said.
"Station Three: "Jesus meets his Mother"..." Owen said.
"That mirror looks pretty dusty, doesn't it?" asked Sam as she looked at the mirror over the Virgin Mary.
"Give me a boost," Owen said as Jonah helped him climb up onto the statue while being very careful not to break it. Owen then rubbed the dust off, allowing the sunlight to hit the mirror and hit another door, which began to open.
They went into the next room, and were met with a rather creepy sight.
There were corpses hanging from ceiling...and there were even some sitting around on their knees with their hands in prayer.
"Ugh...what happened to these people?" asked Jonah.
Lara went to the left to examine a pushing mechanism.
"Wait!" Owen stopped her and tried kicking the switch into place. But it was a little rusted, so it didn't budge.
A few seconds later, spikes shot out of the wall in front of them! Luckily, they were far enough away.
"Holy shit!" Sam cursed as she stumbled back from the surprise.
"That was close!" said Jonah.
"Remember the term "LOOK before you LEAP"?!" Tommy questioned.
"Right," Lara chuckled in response. "This must be station four."
"Let's have a look at these frescoes," Owen said.
Soon, they all took a look around at the frescoes that were painted on the walls.
"These people look like they were tortured, hung up in the ceiling," Sam muttered.
"I don't think this was just a crypt," Lara said as she looked at the painting with a woman on it. "Owen?"
"Got it," he turned the mirror reflecting the light to where the painting was, making the switch pop out of the wall.
"What do you think it does?" asked Tommy.
"Only one way to know," said Owen. "Brace yourselves, just in case."
He hesitantly pushed it in, which made the floor crumble and they all fell through.
"Thank God it's not a fall to our deaths," Sam said.
"Still...I wish these things came with a warning label," said Tommy.
"Station Five: "Jesus falls a second time"," Jonah said as he got up.
Everyone headed down the tunnel, which interestingly had a cross shaped exit.
"You think that might be our way out?" asked Sam.
They squeezed through and looked around the next large room.
They soon found themselves in yet another chamber filled with mummified bodies.
"Ugh...Lara, is that what I think it is?" Jonah asked in disgust.
"The Station of the Cross, again," said Lara.
"Yeah, but with mummies," said Tommy. "Isn't this kinda...sacrilegious?"
"Not necessarily. They could've been paying the ultimate homage," Owen said.
"Or they were just sick," Tommy said.
"This must be station six," Lara said.
"This place looks like a church," said Jonah as he looked at some of the mummies. "These people look like monks."
"Yeah," agreed Sam. "It's really creepy."
"...If these come to life, I'm outta here," said Tommy. "Seriously."
"Relax, Tommy, this isn't The Mummy," said Owen.
"So, Lopez staged the whole crucifixion with...mummies? Seems sacrilegious," Jonah said.
"I think this was a place of worship for an underground sect," Lara stated.
"Literally," said Jonah. "I guess this is the sect from the pamphlet."
Lara, meanwhile, was looking at the mummies, trying to look at them all in order of the crucifixion.
"He's carrying the cross."
The next one, "Think he's taking up the cross."
"This is fucking disgusting. I'm glad we weren't around when Lopez was," Tommy said.
"And here's another one," said Sam as she looked up at the mummies, one of which was nailed to the cross.
"...Jesus...nailed to the Cross," said Lara.
"That inscription," Jonah said. "'Do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul'...do you think that's meant for us?"
"Don't let it get to your head, Jonah," Owen spoke. "That's exactly what Lopez would want. That sicko's caused enough trouble already."
Lara went over to a cart with a big cross on it with a mirror, and pushed it to reflect some of the sunlight.
"Jonah, move that cart to the far right," Lara requested.
Jonah did as asked, "Now what?"
Lara turned the cross to reflect the light at the depiction of Jesus being nailed to the cross.
"Try and point it at the right stage," Sam directed, and Lara soon pointed the mirror to the spot where Jesus was nailed to the Cross, causing a switch to appear.
"I got this," Owen said as he pushed the switch into the wall.
However, the mummies ended up falling apart, causing Lara to sigh.
"I think that might have been the wrong one," she said. "Try a different one."
"Jonah, move that other cart to the far right," Owen requested.
Jonah did as asked.
Lara turned the cross on it to reflect the light at the depiction of Jesus being nailed to the cross.
Tommy pushed the switch this time.
This time, the light ended up hitting another cross...revealing a hidden door that slowly opened.
Everyone walked in, seeing one skeleton on the ground and some kind of structure in the middle.
It also looked like the wall behind the structure had a hole in the wall...and as Lara inspected the skeleton, she found a large hole in the skull. Obviously, whoever this person was, they were shot at point-blank range, given the size of the hole.
"What the hell happened here?" asked Jonah.
"Oh..." Lara sighed. "Lopez had his disciple wall him in, and then...bang."
"No witnesses," Tommy stated.
Lara and Owen dug through the bricks with their pickaxes until they revealed a mummified body, holding the Silver Box!
"Oh, my god...that's it!" Sam exclaimed. "It's the Box of Ix Chel!"
"We found it!" Tommy cheered. "WHOO!"
Owen looked at the writing above the mummy, "Only the hands of the Righteous One may seize destiny from mine."
Lara sighed, "He led us on this goose chase, sabotaged every clue..."
"All to keep the Box from Trinity?" Jonah asked.
"And the people of Paititi. He was totally consumed by it," Lara added.
"Didn't Unuratu say that the Box might tempt us?" Sam asked. "I wonder what it tempted Lopez with that drove him mad."
"That's neither here nor there," Owen said before he looked at Lara. "...Lara? Care to do the honors?"
She nodded before she carefully pulled the Box out of Lopez's hands.
Predictably, the place started to shake!
"Oh, great, here we go again-" Owen said, but then he and Lara ended up falling through the floor and into the water...and what's worse, Lara dropped her rebreather!
Owen quickly put his in his mouth, then pulled her along as they started swimming.
Rocks started falling around them as they swam through a tunnel.
As they swam, they saw skeletons floating around them, but they pushed on in spite of it. However, as they went further and further, Lara began to struggle to breathe, so Owen took his rebreather out and put it in her mouth.
They tore up a blockage of wood and squeezed through it.
They then began to squeeze through a tight crevice of dead bodies.
By now, Owen was running out of breath himself and the crevice was getting tighter and tighter. Lara tried to give him back his rebreather but he refused to take it.
Finally, they saw light and moved towards it.
They eventually made it to the surface, but heard Jonah and Sam grunting in distress.
They snuck behind a pew and peaked around the corner. Dominguez/Amaru, Rourke and a couple men had Jonah, Tommy and Sam on their knees, at gunpoint.
Tsume was lying on the floor, having been hit by a tranquilizer dart...two, in fact. They figured he must have followed after them cause he was worried.
"Where are they?" Amaru asked.
"We don't know," Jonah responded.
"I just need the Box," Amaru said.
"Fuck you!" Tommy spat.
One of the soldiers bashed him in the back of his head with the butt of his gun.
"Tommy!" Sam cried, but then one of the soldiers grabbed her...and he had a rather perverse look in his eyes.
"Hey, Dominguez," he said. "How about we save this one? I got a thing for Asian chicks."
"Get your slimy hands off me!" Sam shouted.
Sighing, Lara called out, "Amaru!"
She came out of her hiding spot, holding the Box. Owen came up next to her, hands in the air.
Rourke and the soldiers pointed their weapons at them.
"Stop!" Amaru ordered.
"Let them go!" Owen exclaimed.
Amaru looked at Sam, Jonah and Tommy as the couple walked over to him.
"Let them go, and I will give you the Box," Lara said.
"Lara, what are you doing?" Jonah questioned.
"I've lost enough people," she responded.
Rourke had an evil smirk on his face, but Owen glared at him.
Amaru silently took the offered Box, "I know you have. Your father was brilliant."
"He was taken from me before I could know," Lara looked down in sadness.
"He was my friend," Amaru added. "But he was obsessed, relentless-"
"You didn't know him," Lara cut him off, harshly.
"He refused to see the potential destruction in his work," Amaru argued. "He had to be stopped."
Everyone's eyes widened as realization hit them.
But it hit Lara the hardest, "You...you had him killed?"
Amaru sighed, "He was going to lead the public to Paititi. Everything I love, everything I fought for; my world would've been destroyed."
"AND WHAT ABOUT MY WORLD?!" Lara screamed, tears of sadness and anger in her eyes.
"You took away a little girl's father, Amaru," Owen said, just as angry as she was. "Was orphaning a little girl really worth that?!"
"I did what I had to do!" Amaru shouted.
"IT DOESN'T MAKE IT RIGHT!" Owen yelled in his face.
"There was too much at stake; an entire civilization! Hundreds of years of independence! Thousands of lives!" Amaru argued. "I had no choice!"
"THERE'S ALWAYS A CHOICE!" Lara shouted. Then she calmed down, "It's not too late. You can honor Unuratu and restore the sun."
"Please, Amaru...if you really want her to rest in peace, then PLEASE, do her this one kindness!" said Owen. "And think about Etzli! Did you even think about how heartbroken he would be, knowing his mother is gone because of you?! He's just a BOY, Amaru, and he's forced to grow up even faster because you took away the one parent he had left...just like you did to Lara's father!"
Amaru looked like he was contemplating it, then looked down,
"No. The threat must be removed."
Lara scoffed, "You're a low, selfish, murdering coward!"
"And you, Lara, how many lives have you ended, hm? In pursuit of what?" Amaru countered.
Tsume had regained consciousness a minute ago, but he remained still; waiting for the right moment to strike. He knew it came when he noticed that Jonah and Tommy wanted to make a move.
The wolf sprang into action, biting the neck of the soldier who held a gun to Sam's head!
"AGH!" the soldier cried as he tried to get Tsume off. "GET HIM OFF ME! GET HIM OFF-"
Those were the last words he spoke before the wolf ripped his throat open, and he soon fell to the ground, blood spraying from the open wound.
Seizing the opportunity, Jonah and Tommy kicked or punched the other two soldiers and pushed Amaru, making him drop the Box!
Tommy picked it up and ran like hell, "GO GUYS, GO!"
Everyone bolted out of there like the Devil was chasing them!
"GO, THEY'RE RIGHT BEHIND US!" yelled Owen.
Lara climbed up the structure of the church to a way out, and saw some soldiers patrolling outside.
"Oh, shit...!" she cursed. "They've got the place surrounded!"
"What do we do?!" Sam asked.
"You stay here," Owen told her before he, Lara and Tsume dropped down to the ground, hiding among the plants.
"Was that Rourke?" One of the soldiers asked.
"Running past just now? Yeah," the second soldier responded.
"Think we should call him?" A third soldier asked.
"Hell no. If there's any change in our status, he'll tell us," the second soldier said.
A soldier wearing black armor with red stripes got out his radio, "Commander Rourke?"
"Keep this channel clear!" Rourke ordered.
"But sir, we're hearing disruption to our northwest," the soldier responded.
"The situation is being handled. I say again; keep this channel clear. Rourke out," Rourke cut transmission.
Just as the soldier put the walkie away, Lara sprang up from the bushes behind him and stabbed him with her knife, covering his mouth before he could alert anyone.
Owen snuck up behind another that was to the left and snapped his neck.
"Take a little nap, okay?" he asked before they moved on to their next victim.
Lara covered herself in mud and hid against a wall. She waited for the other two soldiers to leave the last one alone before she grabbed him and stabbed him.
As for Owen, he snuck up behind another soldier, covered his mouth, and stabbed him in the back before letting him drop to the ground.
Tsume snuck over to the third soldier, pounced on him and ripped his neck out with his teeth.
"Good boy..." Owen praised as he pat his head.
They picked the dead bodies for supplies and moved on.
"This is Rourke, Tommy Wilson and Jonah Maiava have the Box. Lara Croft, Owen Taylor and Samantha Nishimura were last seen in the church with that damn wolf. Find them!" Rourke ordered over the radio.
The four of them squeezed through a whole in a brick wall. Around the next corner were two more soldiers.
Lara and Owen grabbed one each and stabbed them.
There were three more nearby, so Owen threw a poison smoke grenade at them.
The soldiers coughed and gagged as they tried to run away from the smoke...but they ultimately succumbed to the poison that filled their lungs and dropped to the ground, one-by-one.
"Croft, Taylor, I know you're out there," Rourke said from the radio. "I shoulda killed you both in Siberia, but Dominguez was against it. That's on me. But I'm gonna fix that mistake - now."
Lara gasped a bit, "So, he shot Anna..."
"Well, you can't say she didn't deserve it, Lara," Owen whispered.
"But she was giving us answers," she argued.
Owen shrugged, "True..."
The four of them kept moving, going through some vegetation when they heard a helicopter up ahead.
"Get down...!" whispered Lara as they all ducked down, just as the helicopter flew over.
Owen pulled out his assault rifle and checked it. Lara drew her own rifle and handed Sam the extra pistol she'd picked up during her rampage.
"Cardinal Six, we have visual on Croft, Taylor and Nishimura! They're at the distillery!" The chopper pilot said.
"Deacon team, deploy!" Rourke ordered.
As the soldiers moved in, Owen and Lara wasted no time in shooting them down the moment they left any sort of cover.
"Guys, we're in the chopper! We got a pilot!" Jonah said from the radio.
"Oh, thank god!" Owen exclaimed. "I thought that was Rourke for a moment!"
They ran into the old building the chopper was next to, making their way to the other side of it.
As they did, they felt a fore-shock, almost making them fall over!
"Give me that Box!" Rourke's voice exclaimed from the radio.
"Fuck off asshole!" Tommy yelled.
"Yeah, we're keeping it!" Sam shouted, only to gasp and duck as shots were fired!
Tommy and Jonah fell out of the chopper and hit the ground, hard.
Owen drew his pistol and fired at the chopper, but it flew away, with Amaru and Rourke on board with the Box.
Lara, Owen, Sam and Tsume ran over to Jonah and Tommy as Abby arrived.
"Jonah!" she was immediately at his side.
"Jonah, are you okay?!" Owen asked as he tried to help him up.
"Ugh...I...I'm fine," Jonah said, weakly. "I'm fine..."
They heard a noise come from the chopper and saw smoke coming from it.
"The engine must be malfunctioning," Tommy grunted as he stood up. "They won't get far..."
"We need to hurry back to Paititi," Lara said.
"Right," Owen said. "Let's hurry. We don't have a moment to lose."
We're coming towards the end people! Probably a few more chapters left.
Read and review, please!