Chapter 27: Warming up
I don't own anything. Resident Evil belongs to Capcom and Tomb Raider belongs to Core Design, Crystal Dynamics, and I think Square Enix. The only thing I own is the changes made to the stories of the Tomb Raider games/comics and Resident Evil games/comics/CG movies, the Government branch S.P.E.L.L., the person that has taken over Kathrine Warren's life, and Rose Warren. This story also will be bloody, violent, and have cursing. It's rated T for Teen.
Country: Russia, State: Siberia, City: Siberian Wilderness, Place: Near Kitezh, Area: Soviet Installation/ Copper Ruins, Month: November, Day: Monday 27th, Year: 2000, Time: 06:32 KRAT…
They all stood straighter.
"Everyone good?" Leon asked looking Kat over first before turning to look at Lara.
Lara nodded. "Bit sore. But not any new scratches."
Kat nodded as she and Leon separated. "Yeah. All good. You?"
Leon nodded. "In one piece."
They looked to the left and their eyes widened. It wasn't the first time Kat and Lara had seen a giant ancient statue. It wasn't Leon's first time seeing a big statue, but it was his first time seeing one this old. The stone was weathered by time and there were pits in the stone where time had taken it's toll. The face was smoothed by time but it was still recognizable. The three walked toward the tall white, aged statue. It depicted a male robed figure, holding the typical religious iconography.
"This statue must be the Immortal Prophet…" Lara breathed as they walked farther into the rounded room.
Leon nodded unsure and then he looked down. "Whoa…" He said as he backed up off the glittering mosaic.
It depicted the image of the Prophet and his people traveling from the hidden temple in Syria. Kat and Lara backed up to look at it.
"What is this?" Leon asked. "They look like they're traveling."
"They are." Kat voiced. "The Prophet and his people…"
"It's showing their exodus from Syria." Lara finished as she started walking around the carved mosaic, Leon and Kat following and seeing more of it. "They settled in a hidden valley and built a great city."
The mosaic turned to the people traveling through many paths in mountains, they had packs and sheep with them. Until they came to a valley it seemed. "They traveled through mountains until they found a hidden valley…" Kat said as they reached the next big image. "And then built the City of Kitezh."
They stopped walking and stared at the image. It depicted the Prophet standing before the city with some farm animals behind between him and the glittering city. Leon looked to the next set and frowned.
"That's not where it ends though…" He said and walked around Kat and Lara to the next set of images. "Looks like…He got an army?" He asked, getting Kat and Lara to follow him and look.
That's exactly what it looked like, Kat thought. The people were praying behind the Prophet. The Prophet meanwhile appeared to be giving a knight hood to a kneed armored man. Behind the man was several other men in armor. It looked like an armory of knights.
"He raised an army to protect the city." Kat nodded as Lara stopped at the next and last image.
"But what is this showing?" Lara asked in confusion.
Kat and Leon walked over and they each frowned at the image. The Prophet sat on a golden chair it seemed. His knights kneeled before him in black and gold armor. His people gathered behind him and looked uncertain but faithful. But it was the strange hexagonal object that hovered between the Prophet and the knights. It was depicted to glow and had a beam going up into the blue sky with strange circular shapes on it.
"Is that it? The Source?" Leon asked as Lara shook her head.
"No. That's not it." Lara told him. "It's something else.
"The Atlas." Kat said to them before switching to Japanese, knowing they both would understand just in case they had eavesdroppers. "It's a map of the whole valley. From the mountains to the city."
Lara nodded in understanding. She kneeled and found text on the mosaic. "And his warriors forged for him an Atlas. That the Prophet might always know his city and its secrets."
"So, if there's a map…then it has to show where the Source is, right?" Leon asked the two, still speaking in Japanese, feeling Kat's Paranoia was a good idea.
"Yes. It's one of the things I remember without my notes." Kat informed. "Remember how I said I remember the big bits? This is a big bit."
"Let's go…" Leon stopped as he saw the golden glint from Kat's belt. "Do you have a golden sword?"
Kat looked and nodded. "Found it when we were all separated. Oh!" She pulled her broken axe. "And my axe finally broke."
"But the other one's good?" Lara asked.
Kat nodded as she put the broken axe and sword into her pack. "Yeah. It's the same one from Raccoon and Yamatai."
"You are okay, though right?" Leon asked as they walked down some steps. "Is any of that yours?" He indicated the blood and bits that he didn't want to think about on her clothes and in her hair.
Kat swallowed thinking about that sensation she'd felt upon seeing the spikes and the blur of the fighting. "Yeah. I'm good."
Leon frowned at the hesitation but nodded. "Okay."
Country: Russia, State: Siberia, City: Siberian Wilderness, Place: Near Kitezh, Area: Geothermal Valley, Month: November, Day: Monday 27th, Year: 2000, Time: 06:41 KRAT…
They sucked in the fresh air as they surfaced from the water of a flooded set of tunnels. They swam to the steps of their exit. At the top they saw the light outside and were hit with not cold, like they'd expected, but heat. A nice humid heat. Leon looked back as he grew confused with the heat.
"What the hell?" He asked looking to Kat and Lara.
"There must be Geothermal vents nearby." Lara voiced as they walked out of the ruins.
"And hot springs…" Kat said pointing to some bubbling water. "Hot water is better than freezing."
Leon nodded. "What would I do for a hot tub right now."
Kat nodded. "Gods that sounds great. My aches have aches."
"In a nice hotel after that dinner we'll owe each other." Lara nodded as she pointed to the other ruins. "Looks like we're gonna be doing some more climbing."
Leon blew out a long breath and rolled his shoulders. "You know, I think we'll have more muscles by the end of this and be too sore to move later."
Kat nodded. "We will be. Lara and I were after Yamatai and I remember the long soaks after Raccoon and Starlight."
With that they climbed up some old broken steps, then just ran up four flights of steps. Warm rain came down, with the humidity and the rain, they all just stayed damp from the swim. At least it was warm and not freezing or chilling them to the bone. Once at the top they found a rope line that took them to another part of the clearing. One by one they each jumped onto the rope and slid down it via their axe handles. They each landed in a large puddle of water that was at lower shin for Lara and Kat and ankles for Leon in his taller boots.
They had expected it to be cold, but it was shockingly warm. Not hot, but still warmer than the glazer water. They all stood from their crouch. Looking around Kat stiffened, suddenly on edge. Leon and Lara saw her hand twitch to her back. She clearly wanted to grab her spear out but was holding back. Seconds after stepping out of the puddle, they heard the crows scatter and boots on rocks.
They looked up and peering down at them from the tops of the ruins were dozens of men and women, bows drown back with arrows ready. Looking in front of them, a small group came through an arch and had arrows pointed at them. With them was the red-haired woman Lara and Kat had encountered before. Her expression was a fierce one.
"Stop right there." She ordered making Lara and Leon freeze from reaching for their weapons.
"Easy, Easy…" Leon said trying to calm himself as he, Lara, and Kat held their hands in the I surrender and mean no harm gesture.
"You know we're not with Trinity." Lara reminded as Kat nodded, but even the people could see she was struggling with something, her eyes unfocused.
"Why should I believe you?" The red head asked glaring at the three.
"Kat and I escaped with one of yours." Lara explained.
"Jacob." Kat added, but her voice fluctuated to her Norse accent at the end, making Leon look to her with concern.
Shock colored the woman's features. She looked around and at her people. Almost silently asking if they saw something she hadn't. But the smallest movement told her they hadn't as she turned her gaze back to the three. "Where is he now?"
"We were all together. In the mines." Leon spoke. "We got separated. He should be behind us or a head of us though." He said, hoping to placate the woman.
"They killed him!" Shouted one of the men with the woman as he drew his bow back more.
"No!" Kat yelled out. "We did not ley a hand upon him!"
"Jacob would never trust one outsider, let alone three." The woman said as all the people tensed up, ready to send arrows at them and Kat jolted painfully at the movement.
"Please, listen! We are not your Enemy." Lara called out as Kat froze with a pained gasp drawing Leon's eyes again.
"I warned you." The woman said as she lifted and drew her own bow back. "You should've left."
Leon moved in front of Kat slightly, reaching a hand back. Ready to take hers if the worse should happen. But the worst didn't come.
"Sofia!" Jacob's voice rang out making her loosen up on her draw. "Enough!"
Jacob came down some stairs and Sofia's eyes widened with a mix of emotions.
"Father!" She gasped out, the voice of a young woman not a hardened leader rang out as she lowered her bow.
The other people lowered their weapons as Jacob and Sofia walked to each other and hugged. Lara sighed relieved and saw Kat leaning on Leon and having what seemed like pained tremors. Leon held Kat and was checking her over.
"What's wrong? Are you hurt anywhere?" Leon asked in a low whisper.
"Not…" Kat hissed as she tightened her shaky hold on his coat. "Not now…Back then…"
Leon frowned at that as her voice was switching with every word back and forth from Valkyrie to human. "Are you in a flash back?" He asked.
Kat had her eyes closed now and jerkily nodded as she started muttering that mantra he'd heard before. The one that reminded her of who she was and where she was. Something about the bows surrounding her had triggered this. He knew that.
"I thought I'd lost you." Sofia said to Jacob as they pulled apart.
Jacob nodded and held his daughter for a moment longer before turning away. He looked to Leon, Lara, and Kat. "I'm glad the three of you made it out of there." He said and looked at Leon with a concerned gaze, as if asking if Kat was okay as she was still shaky. Getting a small nod from Leon, he smiled with relief and turned back to his child. "Forgive Sofia, she is…cautious."
"In her position, I'd be the same way." Lara informed as she looked to Leon and Kat seeing Kat was calming down.
Sofia nodded and looked to her father. "What did you find out?" She asked, confirming that he'd let himself be captured.
All smiles were gone as seriousness took over. "Trinity is coming in force." Jacob called out to the gathered men and women. "We must prepare."
Sofia nodded once then nodded her head behind him at Kat, Lara, and Leon. "And them?" She asked, distrust still in her tone.
Jacob looked back at them as Kat stood on her own, though she didn't let go of Leon's left arm fully. "They are friends." He explained as he let go of Sofia's hands and turned to his people. "On my word, no harm will come to them."
Lara however ignored the conversation as she took in the ruins. "These ruins…" She looked to Jacob. "We must be near the Prophet's lost city!"
Jacob nodded solemnly. "Come." He nodded to the three. "We do not have much time." With that, everyone got moving, Leon, Kat, and Lara following Sofia and Jacob up the steps and passed his people. "Prepare the weapon stores, secure the battlements. Go! Now!" He ordered two of his people who nodded and rushed off to gather more people to aid with both tasks. "They are almost here." He relayed to another one of his people. "But we are outnumbered." The man nodded and rushed off to find other able-bodied people to help prepare.
A woman rushed up to him. "The children and elders are vulnerable." She spoke quickly with a shake of her head.
Jacob nodded as they all stopped walking at the top. "Go. Get them into the catacombs." He ordered as Lara was lost looking around her and partly listening to what was being said.
Then they were walking up the last of the steps and looking into the valley.
"Light the fires—the valley must be alerted." Jacob ordered.
Leon gasped at the sight. "Whoa."
Kat smiled a bit at the sight.
Lara beamed and let out a sigh in delight. "Incredible…"
Before them were living spaces that made use of old ruins, tall watch towers that took over old rooks. A fire arrow flew and hit a tall pyramid of staked wood. It lit ablaze and then farther in the distance, another beacon lit up then another farther away and another.
Kat smiled. "The beacons are lit…Gondor calls for aid." She joked under her breath.
Lara looked at Kat slowly with Leon. "What?"
Kat looked at them and then realized it. "Oh, Nðr ór einn hrímþurs!" (Son of a Frost-Giant) Kat groaned. "It's 2000. Not 2003!"
Leon snorted. "The only Gondor I know is the city in Lord of the Rings."
"It is." She confirmed. "My reference was Lord of the Rings."
"There were no beacons lit. It was a message carried on a red arrow." Lara pointed out with Leon nodding.
"I'm referencing the movies that are currently being filmed in New Zealand." Kat sighed.
"They make them into live action?" Leon asked with something like a childhood joy on his face.
Before Kat could elaborate more, Jacob turned to them. "If we have more time…just four days since my scouts sabotaged landing pads and destroyed equipment."
Lara turned to him and sighed. "Later. For now, I'll do what I can to help."
"All three of us will." Leon volunteered.
"My thanks. Please, ask around. See if anyone needs help." Jacob said and walked away to speak with other people.
"We should rest a bit, make a quick journal before we forget. Make repairs." Lara voiced and nodded to Kat's broken Axe as she walked to a fire to warm up, despite the warmth of the valley.
"Okay." Both Kat and Leon agreed.
As they sat, they checked gear as they took turns recording journal entries. After doing so they found that they had 160 handgun bullets to split between the three of them, 94 rifle rounds to split between Kat and Lara, and 50 arrows to split. They made more arrows and upgraded their gear as much as they could. Leon was given Kat's recurve bow as Kat took the horned bow from Lara. Lara had been given a Compound bow by one of Jacob's people as they hated how complicated the draw was. They loaded up new clips for their handguns and (In Lara's case) magazines. With that done they got out some rations and ate some food.
"So, I can't wait for…" Leon looked at Kat. "What are we having when we get back home?"
Kat shrugged as she swallowed a mouth full of cooked meat. "Not sure. Once we're with Jonah, we can all put it to a vote."
Lara nodded. "I don't know about you, but a nice dinner in Moscow. Have some winter drinks and soups."
"We'll see—"
"Lara, Leon, Kat…" Jacob's voice called from the radios. "I'm sorry if Sofia was…less then welcoming." He apologized as the three pulled their radios from their belts.
"We understand." Leon said.
"I'm just glad you were there to vouch for us." Lara added.
"We'd be quilled porcupines if you weren't there." Kat voiced and shuddered as the image of arrows grouped together in flesh came to mind.
"My people have spent decades fighting outsiders. It's not an easy habit to break." He spoke. "See if you can lend a hand in the preparations. A little hard work will go a long way towards trust building. Once it's dark, get some sleep."
"We'll see what we can do." Lara said as they all stood.
The three split off and started helping where they could. Kat went off to find more herbs for medical purposes in the woods around the valley. She was given a basket and got to work. Lara headed off to gather chickens and put them back into their pen then fed them. She was given a thick leather glove and told to catch them by grabbing their feet. Leon was told to gather any metal, rope, or wood he could find and bring them to two watch towers for repairs and fortification. If he had extra, he was to put them in the baskets by the work areas.
They worked on helping build or cook when they were done with tasks. But as evening fell and they set up their own camp, they couldn't stay awake. They blacked out from exhaustion that caught up with them the moment they laid down by their fire.
Country: Russia, State: Siberia, City: Siberian Wilderness, Place: Near Kitezh, Area: Geothermal Valley, Month: November, Day: Tuesday 28th, Year: 2000, Time: 08:14 KRAT…
Here it was again. The dark sky outside the same rounded windows of the private jet. With the occasional lightning flash. The same haziness to the memory. She was, once again, with her mother in the couch-like seats. She was a small child. Everything was big to her. She held her drawing of the yetis. The colors mostly clear.
"Just because no one's ever caught one, doesn't mean they aren't real." Her tiny voice said with satisfaction and determination once more.
"That is very true." Her mother said, again she pulled some sort of Shard or artifact from her pocket. "But perhaps they do not wish to be found. I heard that they are rather fierce." She said in a teasing tone nuzzling the side of Lara's head.
"Yeti only look fierce." Lara stated before looking at her mother. "They probably don't like being so cold all the time." She informed of the utmost seriousness before looking back at her drawing. "I shouldn't like it either."
"You never have to be cold, my Lara, if you don't want to be." Her mother assured warmly, before kissing Lara's temple.
Lara knew this good memory was about to get bad. The warm exchange between herself and her mother was about to take a dark turn. She both didn't want to know and wanted desperately, no needed to know. Her eyes locked on the orange glow. Fire. The glow of orange flames where outside the window.
"Look!" Lara's child voice called out, her eyes wide at the flickering of the fire.
At once the whole jet bucked from a bad bout of turbulence. Lara was thrown from her mother's lap and the couch. She hit the floor and became dazed. She was confused for a moment, what had happened just then? Then the stinging pain hit as her mother stood on unsteady feet, nearly falling too. Tears rushed from Lara's eyes as she whimpered from the pain.
"Henry! What's happening?" Lara's mother gasped, looking to the cockpit as she braced on the two seats on either side of her.
"Lady Croft! Please get back into your seat!" Henry said as Lara stood and climbed the other sofa to look out the window.
"Mayday! Mayday! This is Bravo-Tango-2-2-niner!" Called the copilot over the radio as Lara gasped. "We've lost our left side engine!
Their left engine was on fire and the fire was growing. Sparks still jumping off the metal in all directions as bits of twisted scorched metal pinged off and vanishing into the night's rain and clouds. Lara jolted as her mother grabbed her arm and pulled her from the window. Lara tried to protest but realized her mother was pulling her to the regular jet seats. The whole jet was shaking, making it hard to move around without stumbling or falling.
"Trying to get cross wings open!" The co-pilot called as Lara's mother heaved her into a seat and shook as she struggled to buckle her daughter in, not caring if the safety preflight lecture said 'Tend to yourself then others'.
Lara gulped on her tears and looked at her mother as she tightened the cross-lap belt. "Are we going to crash?" She asked terror gripping her heart.
Lara's mother stumbled a moment before sitting in the seat in front and facing Lara. The jet jolted violently again, causing her to crack her face to the side of the jet's wall. A crack sounded and Lara saw blood start dripping from one side of her mother's now crooked nose. "Not unless it's absolutely necessary." Her mother tried to reassure her as she buckled herself up sluggishly and then whipped her nose, smearing blood on her cheek, hand, and coat sleeve.
A bag came tumbling from the back of the jet and hit the wall where Lara's mother's head was if her mother hadn't ducked. The jet shook, light's flickered and it started to tip slightly, as if it were beginning to fall.
"Stabilize it, Jim!" Henry called as the two pilots worked hard trying to keep them in the air long enough to find a safe landing spot or crash sight.
"Shit! We're losing altitude!" Jim called out as Lara looked to the cockpit, seeing the front glass spattered with rain and the darkness outside, like it was going to swallow them whole. "We're going down!"
All at once the nose dipped down fully as alerts started beeping from the cockpit. Lara's stomach lurched at the sudden feeling of falling. Like an uncontrolled Roller Coaster. Lara jolted up in her seat and was shaken side to side. Her fingers, tiny as they were gripped the arm rests so tightly her nails would leave imprints in the cream leather. Lara looked to her mother, hoping for some form of guidance. Her mother lowered her head a moment as her nose's blood ran down her lips and into her mouth. She opened her eyes and looked to Lara.
She had fear in her eyes and her face tight with tension, but her voice was calm. "Close your eyes, darling."
Lara's eyes widened. "I-I don't want to close my eyes." She whimpered.
She looked to the windshield and saw shapes forming. They were going down. There was no way to stop it. Only possibly lessen the—
The glass shattered with the grinding of a dying machine and white filled the jet.
Lara let out a yell as she sat bolt upright. She shook and panted on the humid air. That memory. It was the crash. The one she'd read about from Winston's letters, her father's recordings, her mother's letter. "Oh…Oh god…" She breathed as she hugged her legs.
"Lara?"
Lara jolted and pulled her side arm but stopped as she saw it was Kat. Kat looked about as great as she felt. Messy hair, dark circles under her eyes, and sweaty skin. "What…wha-what are you doing up?"
"Nightmare. Same as you I'd guess." Kat said rubbing her eyes.
"Kat woke me up. Four hours ago." Leon voiced as Lara put her gun away. "Wanna talk about it?"
Lara swallowed. "I…I was there."
Kat closed her eyes and lowered her head. "Where?"
"On the jet. With my mother." Lara whispered as tears came to her eyes. "I was there! And I didn't even remember!"
"You were a kid." Kat remined Lara. "Really young from what it sounds like if you blocked it out."
Lara shook her head and tried whipping her eyes. "I was five or four. I should've remembered."
"Don't put younger you down." Leon told her. "That memory must've been when you lost your mom. That kind of thing would be blocked out by anyone. At any age."
Lara swallowed as Kat hugged her. "I wish I remembered everything."
"No…no you don't." Kat told her.
Lara whimpered into her friend's shoulder. She'd forgotten that Kat could remember her past life's death. Not fully, but that was losing a whole life. To Kat she'd lost her whole family in one crack. Kat understood how Lara felt.
Country: Russia, State: Siberia, City: Siberian Wilderness, Place: Near Kitezh, Area: Geothermal Valley, Month: November, Day: Tuesday 28th, Year: 2000, Time: 12:30 KRAT…
Lara, Kat, and Leon dropped off more wood to the forge when they heard someone calling out to them.
"Maybe they can help us find her. Hey, outsiders! Can you come here?" Called a hunter.
With shrugs they came over.
"Maybe you three can go looking for us." The hunter said as the other shook their head.
"We've got so much to prep for that we can't go looking." The other said.
"Look for what?" Leon asked.
"Nadia. She's one of the herbalists. She went out on a scouting trip."
"That she volunteered for because her grandfather's missing." The other added quickly.
Leon and Lara looked to Kat. "Missing?"
"Yes. Her Grandfather was obsessed with getting strong enough to go up against Baba Yaga in the Wicked Vale." The first explained. "We don't know why, something to do with his wife's death? Anyway, he hasn't been home in a week. Nadia's been looking for an excuse to go find him."
"Where's the vale?" Lara asked.
"Near the Soviet Installation."
Kat nodded. "Do you know the way she might've left for the vale?"
"Yes. An old way, but it's only got room for one person to go through at a time. It also might be flooded this time of year." The other said.
"More swimming…" Leon sighed. "Maybe I should invest in wearing swim shorts instead of underwear on missions or digs."
Kat snorted. "Can you point on the map where we need to go for this old way?" She asked and looked to Leon. "Just pack them next time, don't wear them. That can get uncomfortable really quick."
Leon thought about it then nodded as the hunters took the map and pointed out their new path. "No, you're right."
"Thank you for helping us."
"Of course. The more people you have to fight Trinity and protect your families the better." Lara said as she took the map back.