Day 8.- The Gates of Hell
A long twisting road akin to a syzygy leads the jeep driven by Colonel Reed into the gates of a Monastery that has been surviving all kinds of sieges from times immemorial. "Mar Mattai," Lara says. "St. Matthew the Hermit… a perfect place for hiding an underworld." Colonel Reed looks at his pager. A warning sign is given to him: red flagged by Area 51. But he decides not to disclose it yet, as he has great hopes for Ms. Croft. "So beautiful," she says, as she makes the first step in.
But a woman in robes and sunglasses surely calls attention. Monks are overwatching her every step as she's getting all sights with her unlikely team. "It looks quite revamped," Minerva says. Lara smiles. "Do you want to do some bookworming or do you want to explore the ancient citadel?" she asks Minerva. "I'm not quite a good explorer," Minerva answers. Colonel Reed pats her in the back. "Guess you'll be the bookworm then," Reed says. "I need some fresh air."
And so, they part ways. It's a general and the explorer, on the one hand, and the estate owner and the monks, on the other hand. Minerva pulls out a book of Egwale and starts talking to the priests. Ge'ez seems to be a passtime for the monks there, which gives way for Reed and Croft to explore the ancient citadel beyond the monastery.
He lights a cigar. Lara coughs. "Smoking is all you wanted, right?" she asks. "You couldn't be more correct," Reed says. "Though I wonder how you killed Rourke." Lara looks at him. She's surprised he even knows. "Mercenaries and US military face each other frequently," Reed says. "You end up finding things you wish you never knew." Lara then relaxes a bit. "I guess he pushed the wrong buttons," Lara answers. Reed makes yet another puff of smoke. He won't even answer, a soldier always gets to such a corner, especially in war.
"A lion," Lara says, as she spots a quite untrodden cave in the upper part of the hill. "Sumerian…" Reed pats her in the back. "Should I stay alert?" he asks. "Not yet," she answers. "Not yet, I hope…" And as they get deeper into the cave… a seeming dead end. Some sort of catacomb. "Should we leave now?" Reed asks, quite bored at the stone wall blocking the way. Lara pulls out her axe and starts trailblazing an ancient path, lost to man on purpose. Reed makes the sign of the cross, as he receives yet another red flag on his pager. "Are you OK?" Lara asks. "You look as if you're going to engage a ghost, or worse… an alien." He gulps, and then swiftly changes to his commanding tone. "Let's move!"
Lara turns on her flares, as light has become scarce again. The sumerian motives increase as they approach a great gate. "Ereshkigal…" Lara says. "Queen of the underworld." She turns and smiles at Reed. "Are you ready?" The first of seven doors, most likely, is upon them. "Are you going to make some jokes now?" Reed asks. "Well, the legend says you've got to play strip poker to open the doors," Lara answers. "Each piece of cloth taken off, opens a door. But… haven't you seen enough?"
Colonel Reed starts laughing hard. "That's a good one, tomboy!" he says. Lara shoots her gun with an almost hit. "You're truly nuts!" Reed shouts, as the bullet passes next to his ear. But Lara has merely hit at a nipple of a statue of Ereshkigal, and the door opens. "That must be a filthy switch," Lara says. Of course, Reed has completely lost it, and is exploring besides a maniac. Or is it that something new is awakening in Ms. Croft?
"What do you expect to find in here, Croft?" Reed asks while regaining some composure. She's trying to discern where to go next, as the path forkens. "A torch, or something like that…" Lara says. "So… Do you come with me or do you compete against me?" Reed uses his flashlight to light the way. "I'll explore on my own," he says. "You are a monkey with a gun." Lara takes the path to the left, like garden tales advice; while, Reed takes the path to the right.
Her path is full of corpses, with flat skulls. She picks one up, and watches paintings on the wall to her side. "Neanderthals?" she asks herself. It's quite irrelevant indeed, especially when the floor crumbles on your feet and you start experiencing a never ending fall.