Hello readers! I bring you the next chapter! Finally a longer chapter and some action! Please enjoy and let me know what you think!
P.S. I'm using Google translate for the Italian parts, so I apologize if I got anything wrong.
Nate, Sully, and I made our way through the jungle. Behind us, I heard Sully panting lightly in the tropical heat.
"Hold on. Hold on, kids," he huffed, putting his hands on his knees to catch his breath. "I'm not as young as I used to be."
"You weren't too old for that little barmaid in Lima, were you?" I teased, wiping the sweat from my forehead.
"Well, that was different," Sully replied with a laugh. "Although I must admit, equally as strenuous." I rolled my eyes with a fond smile.
"Well, hang in there, old timer," Nate chuckled. "We're just about there." We continued walking, climbing over some boulders as we went.
"Y'know, this reminds me, did I ever tell you about the time I pawned a phony 16th Century santo off on Pablo Escobar?"
"Are you serious?" I asked, giving Sully an impressed look.
Sully laughed. "Risky move, I know, but by the time he figured it out I was… Nate, are you even listening to me?"
"Hanging on every word," Nate replied absentmindedly.
"Ah, why waste my breath?" Sully mumbled.
"I was listening," I told him. We continued our way through the dense jungle.
"You really think Francis Drake came all the way up here, huh?" Sully asked. "We're an awful long way from England." Nate didn't respond as he pushed aside a large leaf and stopped.
"Nate?" I questioned, stopping next to him.
Nate looked around in confusion. "I don't get it. According to this, we're right on top of the mark," he said, waving the GPS we were following.
"Maybe you're not reading that thing right," Sully suggested. "Let me see it."
Nate handed the GPS to Sully, still looking around. "No, this is the place."
"There's nothing here, Nate. Another dead end," Sully said in frustration.
"Hold on now," I interrupted. "We're not going to just give up. Let's take a look around." We continued walking, hoping to find any evidence that Sir Francis Drake had been here.
"Oh, man, this is like trying to find a bride in a brothel," Sully complained.
"Only you would even attempt to try that," I told him and Nate chuckled. We reached a clearing were an ancient ruin stood.
"Well, now this is more like it!" Sully commented appreciatively. "What do you think this is, Incan?"
Nate shook his head, inspecting one of the pillars. "Nah, it's older than that. Like two thousand years older." As we searched, Nate proceeded to climb the pillars and jump his way across.
"Careful, Nate," I warned. "Those pillars might not be sturdy." Just as I said this, Nate jumped onto the next pillar and the platform broke underneath him, nearly sending him toppling off the edge. I put my hands on my hips, glaring at my best friend as he righted himself. "What did I just say?"
"Hey, there's something funny about the ground down there," Nate announced, pointing. Sully and I walked over to inspect the area. I stomped on the ground and heard dull thuds.
"It's hollow!" I said excitedly. I glanced around and noticed a large boulder just above me. "Nate, use that boulder to smash through." Nate nodded and climbed over. He grunted as he shoved the rock over the edge. As I predicted, it busted right through the ground, revealing stairs and a doorway.
"Good work, kids!" Sully complimented. We climbed into the hole and into the dark passageway. "I think we're gonna need the flashlights for this one." We turned on our flashlights, immediately upsetting a colony of bats, which flew towards us.
"Whoa!" Nate cried and ducked.
"They're just bats," I told him with an amused smile.
Nate shot me a glare. "You'd scream too if you had a rat with wings fly into your face." I shrugged and we continued into the room below.
"What a warm and homey place," Sully commented dryly and I hummed in agreement.
"Not quite what you were expecting, huh?" Nate chuckled.
"Yeah, where's all the dang gold?"
Nate inspected a pillar. "Ah, this place was picked clean centuries ago."
"No-good limey pirate."
"Uh, I don't think it was Drake," I commented, picking up a tin helmet from the floor and passing it to Sully. "Looks like the Spanish beat him to it." Sully inspected the helmet then threw it to the ground with a frustrated yell, causing me to jump slightly. "Che cavolo! (what the heck)"
"Alex, I'm not looking for a lousy piece of tin!" He yelled. "I'm up to my eyeballs in debt!" He sat down heavily on a fallen column. "I was really countin on this one."
"Too many big bar tabs in Lima, I guess?" Nate said, continuing to inspect a pillar.
Sully chuckled dryly. "That, and well, just a few bad deals." He took off his shoe and shook some rocks out.
"Yeah, well, I always told you to stay away from the bad guys - and the bad girls," Nate reminded him.
"Yeah? Look who's talking," Sully quipped, sending Nate a knowing look.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Nate demanded.
"Well, you hang out with Alex."
I sent Sully a mock glare. "Hey, I'm not that bad. I keep him out of trouble, don't I?"
Sully laughed. "Sometimes I think you attract as much trouble as he does."
I waved my hand dismissively. "Occupational hazard." I moved towards the next room. "Come on, you two."
"Those Spaniards sure left a lot of crap behind," Sully said. Nate and I approached a gaping hole in the middle of the room. "Careful, that's quite a drop."
"You're not kidding," Nate agreed, peeking over the edge.
"We gotta find a way across." I looked around and spotted an explosive barrel on the other side next to a large pillar. I pulled out my pistol and shot the barrel. Nate and Sully jumped back in surprise as the pillar crashed, creating a bridge. "That'll work," Sully laughed.
"A little warning next time would be appreciated," Nate complained.
"Now where's the fun in that?" I replied, smirking as he glared at me. We climbed across on the makeshift bridge and into the next room, coming to a closed door. Nate began pulling on a nearby chain and the heavy stone door slowly rose, but as soon as he let go, the door slammed close.
"Here, let me do that," Sully offered, taking Nate's place. "I'll hold it open. See if you two can jam it from the other side." Nate and I entered the next room and pushed a wooden cart under the door.
"All right, let go," Nate instructed. "This oughta hold it." Sully let go of the chain and the door dropped onto the cart, which creaked dangerously.
"Hurry, Sully!" I urged. Sully quickly ducked under the stone door just as the cart crumbled under the weight.
Nate sighed in relief. "That was a little too close!"
"Let's hope this place has a back door, huh?" Sully said. We walked further into the room and noticed a large pillar like structure.
"Y'know, this looks familiar," Nate commented, pulling out Drake's journal. He flipped through a few pages until he found what he was looking for. I peered over his shoulder to see a picture of the object in front of us. "Yeah, here it is. Looks like this thing is some kind of lamp, or brazier. See if you can light it."
"So after all your bitching about the cigar, now it comes in handy, huh?" Sully teased as he struck a match and lit the brazier. The flames spread across the ceiling and lit up two lamps hanging above us. The newly acquired light illuminated a bunch of wood blocking our path into the next room. I walked over to inspect it.
"This wood is really dry," I noted. "Should burn quickly." I glanced up at the lamp above me. "Stand back," I warned, pulling out my pistol. I shot the lamp, causing sparks to drop onto the wood and ignite it. The debris crumbled, opening the way.
"Nice!" Sully complimented. In the next room we discovered a huge hole with no visible way down. "Now what?" Nate didn't reply as he launched himself onto a block sticking out of the wall and began climbing his way around. I put my hands on my hips and shook my head. Always leaping into action, that one. "Uh, Nate… I mighta been able to do that thirty years ago." I peered down below me and noticed something carved into the side of the stone, hidden underneath a large fallen pillar.
"Hey, Nate, I think there might be a ladder or something behind this rubble," I told him as he reached the bottom. "Try shooting those barrels."
"Stand back!" Nate warned. Sully and I backed away from the edge as Nate shot the barrel. The explosion shook the chamber and the stone pillar that had been blocking our route collapsed. Sully and I climbed down the ladder and Sully light the brazier in the next room. The door behind us closed and the next one opened. We followed the passageway and it eventually opened into a large chamber. "Ah, now what?"
"Whaddya make of this?" Sully asked, gesturing vaguely to the room. There was a large circular impression in the middle of the room and four strange symbols on the floor with their partners a level above.
I knelt beside one of the strange symbols on the floor. "Nate, do these mean anything to you?"
Nate walked over to stand beside me. "I think I recognize them." He pulled out Drake's journal again. "The order of these signs has some importance." A few minutes later, Nate had solved the puzzle, opening a hole in the floor.
"Pretty deep," Sully remarked.
"Yeah," I agreed. "It's a good thing none of us are scared of heights."
"Looks like there's a ladder cut into the side," Nate said. "Wait here while I check it out."
"Be careful, Nate." He nodded and climbed down the ladder. He disappeared into the side, where I assumed there must have been a side tunnel of some kind. A moment later, water began to pour into the hole, raising the water level. Nate reappeared.
"Aw, don't tell me you're going to swim in that!" Sully said in a disgusted tone.
"I've been in worse!" Nate replied, jumping in.
"Yeah, and you smelled like a sewer for two days after!" I reminded him. Nate ignored me and disappeared once again. As per my habit when I was bored, I played with the rings around my neck.
"I made it!" He called a moment later. "I'm on the other side!"
"Can you get this open?" Sully asked. Another explosion shook the chamber and the stone door in front of us crumbled. "Nice one!"
"Y'know, it's a good thing the Spaniards left all these explosives lying around," I said as Sully and I walked through the makeshift opening. We approached another stone door and the two boys used the chains on either side to open it. There was a wooden walkway spanning a chasm.
"Ah, this looks safe," Nate muttered sarcastically, making to step onto the walkway, but I held his arm.
"Uh, maybe I better do that," I suggested. "I'm lighter than you." Nate didn't look very happy about it, but he nodded anyway. I slowly and cautiously started to make my way across. The walkway began to creak and I felt it shake under my weight. "Whoa - uh-oh…" The walkway began to crumble.
"Alex, get out of there now!" Sully shouted. I didn't need to be told twice. I bolted across the rapidly crumbling walkway. I had to jump several times as the platforms broke in front of me. I reached the end and jumped, landing safely on the other side with a grunt. Coughing from the dust, I sat up to see the boys making their way towards me across the new pathway created by stone pillars that had fallen behind me.
"You okay?" Nate asked in concern as they reached me. I let out a few choice Italian curses in answer.
Sully chuckled. "She's okay." Sully and Nate were both long used to my habit of slipping into my mother's native language when I was angry or upset. Nate held out his hand and helped me to my up, pressing a quick kiss to my head, which had its usual calming effect.
"Now it looks like we're getting somewhere," Sully said happily as we climbed some stairs.
"After that, we better be," I muttered. We entered yet another room and shone our flashlights around.
"Oh, man…" Sully commented, noticing a recess in a nearby wall.
"The temple must have been built around this," Nate said.
"Around what?"
"A statue…" He knelt down and examined the dirt. "A gold statue."
"A huge gold statue," I added, looking at the size of the recess.
"And look here… these people - they're worshiping the damn thing," Sully said, looking at some carvings on the wall. "At least, I think they're people."
"Of course," Nate gasped. "El Dorado - the Golden Man! Sully, Alex, it wasn't a city, it was this. It was a golden idol."
Sully looked at the place where the statue once stood. "Man, can you imagine what that thing would be worth now?" I suddenly noticed some tracks on the floor.
"Hey, look here," I called, indicating the scrape marks. "Tracks."
"I bet the Spanish dragged it out on cut logs," Nate mused, inspecting the tracks. "Huh...we're four hundred years late for this party."
"So the trail's cold?" Sully questioned.
Nate nodded. "Yeah, it looks that way."
"Sonofabitch!" Sully cursed angrily.
I rolled my eyes at the two. "Really, guys? You don't have to be seasoned treasure hunters to follow the tracks the statue made," I said, gesturing to the very obvious scrapes in the floor. "Why don't we see where these lead first." The two men trailed after me as I followed the tracks through the temple, stopping at a large hole in the wall.
"Huh. They stop here," Nate remarked.
"Yeah, it looks like the back wall of the temple was blown out," Sully said.
"Guess the Spaniards decided to make themselves a shortcut," I added, looking at all the rubble lying around.
"Swell, now what?" We exited the temple and followed a narrow path through the jungle. Nate suddenly stopped almost making me run into him.
"Wait - Alex, Sully, so you hear that?" Nate asked. I listened and the sound of rushing water reached my ears. We followed the sound and stopped dead at the sight before us. "Now there's something you don't see every day."
"My God!" Sully gasped as he spotted the large, rusted out submarine nestled above a waterfall. We climbed the rocks to get a better view.
"Whoa."
"I'll be damned."
"How on earth did that get there?" I wondered out loud.
"Must've come up the river during flood season and gotten stuck," Nate answered. "Let's check it out, huh?"
"Nah… Wait, wait, wait," Sully hesitated. "Something about this feels kinda hinky."
Nate raised a brow. "Hinky?"
"Sully, we specialize in hinky," I pointed out. "Besides, you act like you've never seen a German U-boat in the middle of the jungle before."
"No, I'm being serious, you two," Sully insisted, a serious look on his face. Nate merely laughed at our friend's nervousness.
"Tell you what… Why don't you stay here, Alex and I will check it out ourselves. We'll call you if we run into any Nazis."
"Yeah right, you do that," Sully replied flatly.
Nate turned to leave, paused and turned back to Sully, taking Drake's journal from his pocket. "Hold onto this for me, will ya?" We stopped at the edge of the water, analysing the possible routes.
I kneeled next to the water and swished my hand through it, checking the temperature. "Guess we're going swimming."
"Ladies first!" That was the only warning I got before I was shoved head first into the water. I came up spluttering to Nate doubled over laughing.
"Nathan Drake!" I shouted angrily at him. I spotted Sully trying to hold back his laughter and pointed a finger at him. "Don't encourage him!"
"Sorry, Alex, but I couldn't resist the opportunity," Nate apologized, wiping tears from his eyes.
I glared at him. "Well I'm glad I could be here for your amusement. Now get down here before I pull you in." I narrowed my eyes as a mischievous glint came into his eyes. "No, no. Don't you dare!"
"Look out below!" Nate shouted and did a cannonball into the water, dousing me again.
"I'm going to get you for that," I growled as he came up.
Nate grinned. "Worry about your revenge later. We've got a U-boat to explore." He swam off and I had no choice but to follow.
"Looks like you're gonna have to monkey across those cliffs to get into the U-boat," Sully told us over the walkie-talkie.
I looked up at the cliffs and sighed. "Oh goody, more climbing."
"It's all part of the experience," Nate said, hands on his hips as he studied the cliffs for handholds.
"I suppose so." I ran to the cliffs and jumped, grabbing onto the first hand hold. I glanced down at Nate with a sly grin. "Try to keep up then." I clambered up the cliffs, shimmying my way across.
"You should be able to drop right down into the U-boat from there," Sully informed us. We dropped onto the U-boat and headed for the entrance. "Nate, when was your last tetanus shot?"
"Oh, that's funny!" Nate replied, unamused. He climbed down the circular hole and helped me down. "Okay, we're in." I grimaced at the sight we found inside.
"Whaddya see?" Sully asked.
"Something nasty happened to these guys. There's blood everywhere. And soup."
"What?!" We made our way through the U-boat until we came across a corpse.
I wrinkled my nose at the sight. "Eugh." Nate bent down and moved the corpse. As he did so, several coins spilled onto the floor. Nate picked one up.
"Huh. Now where did you get this, my decomposing friend?" He asked, examining the coin. He passed one of the coins to me. "Have you seen this stamp?"
"No," I replied, turning the coin in my fingers.
"I think the trail just got warm again," he told Sully.
"How so?"
"Well, we just me a guy with pockets full of Spanish gold, only the coins are stamped with a mint mark I've never seen before."
"You're kidding me."
"Guess our German friends had a little secret," I said. We moved through a flooded section and up a ladder. We entered a section that looked slightly nicer than the rest of the boat. Nate moved the curtains to the bed, revealing the captain.
"We're in the Captain's quarters," Nate told Sully. "And get this - he's still here."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Ah - looks like he was killed… ripped to shreds, actually." Nate made a noise somewhere between sympathy and disgust. "What a way to go."
"Sounds terrible. Check his wallet."
"You're all heart, Sully," Nate chuckled and I huffed a laugh through my nose. Something in the captain's hand caught my eye. Reaching forward, I tugged the object, which turned out to be a piece of paper from the captain's hand, breaking his fingers in the process. I unfolded the paper and my eyes widened in surprise. It appeared to the missing page from Drake's journal.
"Nate, look at this," I called, spreading out the old map on a table.
"No way," Nate gasped. He looked between the old map I found to another map already on the table. "You've got to be kidding…" He picked up the map and walked over to a third map on the wall.
"Find anything, kids?" Sully inquired. Nate ignored him and closely examined the map.
"UK2642… U-K… U-K… UK2642… Gotcha!" He tapped a spot on the map in triumph.
"Are you all right?" Sully asked in concern.
"Sully, you're not going to believe this."
"Try me."
"I think Alex and I just found our missing page."
"You're kidding."
"It looks like Drake and our German pals were after the same treasure. And I've got the map that's gonna lead us right to it," Nate said excitedly.
"Nate, this better not be another wild-goose chase. We've got to get something out of this trip or -" I looked up from examining the maps as Sully's voice suddenly cut off.
"Or what?" Nate asked. No reply. "Sully… you there? Sullivan?"
"We need to go," I said, suddenly very worried for our friend. In this jungle, there's no knowing what sort of trouble was out there. We made our way back out, accidentally knocking one of the torpedoes from its holdings. We swam our way out and were met by an older man kneeling by the water.
"Hello," the man greeted. He held out his hand to help us up, but we ignored it. Another man with an AK-47 approached as we climbed out, grabbing Nate's arm and pulling him out then turning and 'helping' me.
"Hey, hey -" Nate protested as the man relieved us of our guns.
"Friends of yours, Sully?" I inquired, glaring at the men. Luckily, they didn't relieve me of the knife I kept on my belt, not that it would do me any good against the guns aimed at us. If I had learned anything in all my years of treasure hunting with Nate, it was 'never bring a knife to a gun fight'.
"I'm Gabriel Roman," the older man introduced casually, as if we didn't have several guns pointed at us.
"Yeah, we know who you are, asshole," Nate replied and I had to suppress a smirk.
Roman didn't seem at all bothered by Nate's comment. "Manners, young man. This is just business."
"Doesn't feel like 'just business'," I muttered, eyeing the guns pointed at me and my friends. The other man with the AK-47 approached.
"Get over there," he ordered, pushing us toward Sully.
"Easy!" Nate snapped, glaring at the man.
"Put your hands up." Nate and I raised our hands.
"All right, they're up."
"See, your friend owes me money, Mr. Drake, Miss King," Roman continued casually. "A lot of money. So when he told me that you three were onto something big - 'the find of a lifetime,' he said. Well, I was intrigued. But he's made grand promises before. Haven't you, Victor?" He moved to stand in front of Sully. "And here we are again. Another fool's errand."
"Sheesh, does he always go on like this?" Nate quipped. Mr. AK-47 slammed the butt of his gun into Nate's leg, causing him to groan in pain.
I moved to attack him, but was grabbed by a couple more guys and held tightly. "Pagherai per quello, stronzo! (you'll pay for that, asshole)" I growled, struggling in the mercenary's grip, but I was ignored. I actually think I heard one or two chuckle at my futile struggles.
"Take it easy, Navarro," Roman said, almost sounding bored. "So, I'm afraid the time is up. Unless of course you found something in there, Mr. Drake -" He glanced back at the U-boat. "- that might compensate for all this unpleasantness?"
"He's screwing with you two, Nate," Sully said. "They heard everything. Just give 'em the map." Nate reached for his back pocket, causing Navarro to point his gun at him.
"Slowly," Navarro warned. Nate took the German map from his pocket and Navarro grabbed it. "What does a Kriegsmarine map have to do with El Dorado?" He passed the map to Roman.
"What, you think this is a coincidence?" Sully demanded. "The Germans were after the same treasure - that map has something to do with it." Roman looked up from examining the map. "So, we square?"
"For now. But in case you need a reminder…" Roman pointed his gun at Nate and I.
"Hey, come on, leave them out of it."
"Yeah, don't you guys usually just cut off a finger or something?" Nate asked, chuckling nervously as he moved slightly in front of me.
Roman smiled sinisterly. "That's far too vulgar. No, I think this will hurt them a bit more."
"Now whoa, whoa, whoa - C'mon, Roman, they've got nothing to do with -" In a flash, Roman switched targets and shot Sully.
"No!" I screamed, struggling harder against the mercenaries holding me.
"Sully! Sully!" Nate shouted. In a rage, he charged at Navarro, wrestling with the mercenary in his attempt to get to Roman. Suddenly, an explosion sounded from the U-boat, throwing us all to the ground. I shook my head to get rid of the dizziness and got to my feet.
"Nate, we have to go," I urged, tugging my friend to his feet. He looked back at Sully's body helplessly. I was fighting my own tears, but I knew we couldn't stay here. "There's nothing we can do for him. We have to go, now!" I tugged him along, hearing Roman yelling at his men. We bolted back through the jungle, dodging gun fire. We hid behind a pillar, breathing hard. Before we could even begin to process what had just happened, Nate was suddenly dragged out. I unsheathed my knife and jumped out after him, but paused when I saw Elena. How the heck did she find us?
"Whoa there, cowboy!" She told Nate who had also readied himself for a fight.
"Oh," he muttered, lowering his fist. He should have kept his arm up as Elena took the opportunity to punch him.
"That's for leaving me at the dock!" Elena shouted angrily, shaking her hand.
Nate held his cheek, rounding on her angrily. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Elena glowered at him, pointing a finger threateningly. "Listen, I'm a good enough reporter to follow three no-luck tomb robbers!"
"Hide!" I hissed, pressing myself against the pillar. Nate pressed himself against Elena and shushed her. Two of Roman's men ran by, shouting to each other. I let out a sigh of relief once they passed. "We're good." I turned back to the blonde, my expression downcast. "Unfortunately, you're down to two tomb robbers, now. Sully's-" I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. "Sully's dead."
Elena blinked in shock. "What?"
"Yeah, and we're next if we don't get outta here."
Elena's gaze softened. "Oh God… I'm sorry."
"Please tell me you have a gun," Nate said.
"Of course." Elena pulled a gun from her belt and passed it to Nate who promptly passed it to me.
"It's better she's the one with the gun, trust me," Nate explained when Elena sent him a questioning look.
I racked the slide slightly, checking to make sure a round was chambered. "Let's go." We fought our way back through the temple, picking up extra ammo and guns as we went.
"You two always been this popular?" Elena asked jokingly as we finally reached the jeep she had hidden.
"Well, we do seem to attract the scum of the earth," Nate quipped. "Ah - no offense."
"None taken." Nate climbed into the driver's seat and I into the passenger while Elena climbed into the back.
"Alex, you remember the coordinates from the u-boat, right?"
I nodded. "Course, UK2642."
"What significance does UK2642 have?" Elena inquired.
Nate pulled the missing journal page from his pocket and handed it to me. "It's Kriegsmarine coordinates. I think I know where the Spanish took El Dorado."
"El Dorado?" Elena questioned.
"Huge golden statue," I supplied.
"The problem is, so do the bastards who killed Sully. Damn it!" Nate growled as he tried and failed to start the jeep. "If the Spanish found the treasure, they had to've moved it there, to that island."
"And Drake followed them," I finished.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Elena said excitedly. "I'll get the story, and you two get… whatever it is you're after."
Nate turned the ignition again. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon." Finally, the jeep roared to life and Nate grinned. "Yeah, haha!"
"C'mon," Elena urged.
I turned to her, a serious look on my face. "Hey, if you hadn't already noticed, this isn't going to be a vacation."
"I can take care of myself," she assured me, sounding a bit offended. "Besides, you two owe me one."
Nate glanced at me and chuckled. "I suppose we do." He put the jeep in gear and drove back the way we had come in.