"So what the hell was that thing doing down here? Aren't dinosaurs
supposed to be extinct?" asked Larson.
"The ancients of this civilization did a lot of experimenting with genetics. There are some theorists who say they created whole new breeds of animals. In this case, it looks like they were able to recreate an old one." Lara applied the medical kit to a deep claw mark in her side. Within seconds the wound dissappeared. "Aahh!" Lara sighed. "They also knew how to accelerate growth and healing. These kits are thousands of years old but still potent. Completely irreplaceable though, so we have to use them sparingly."
Larson was feeling mystified. Dinosaurs and instant healing? Could this place be real? It was giving him the creeps, and the sooner he could get back outside the better. His laptop began chirping which meant he had an incoming call. Yet another mystery, since radio signals normally can't pass through a mountain. But with the day he'd been having this mystery seemed trivial by comparison. He flipped the computer open and saw Natla's smirking face on the screen.
"Ah, my two adventurers. Since we're able to transmit I take it you have reached our objective. I've positioned our satellite directly over the tomb entrance. You may notice the ceiling crevice which is letting our signal through. Lara, be a dear and scout ahead for me while I talk to my associate in private?"
"Of course," said Lara, and headed for the tomb entrance.
"So how goes it?" asked Natla when Lara was gone.
"Nat, you won't believe it. Me and Lara just killed a damned 20 foot tall dino-"
"Seal it, Larson!" Natla interrupted. "Not over the air, you fool. There are secrets in that cave that no one knows about. Things that need to remain secret. Anything that you see in these caves needs to stay in the caves. Understood?"
"Yes, Ms. Natla."
"Good. I let you go down there because I trust you. I don't give my trust out lightly. That's why it's very important that you get rid of her. Don't forget."
Larson braced himself to drop his bombshell. This was going to be hard, especially after Natla's talk about trust. "Ms. Natla, I . . I can't do it. I can't kill Lara in cold blood. I've spent some time with her, and I know you can trust her. Tell her what you told me and she'll keep your secret."
"Going gutless, Larson? Have you forgotten all the ways I have to motivate you? I can have my men at that cave in an hour. If you don't do you're job I'll see you both dead."
Larson knew she was serious, and every bit capable of carrying out her threat. Natla had men all over the world ready to do her bidding. He couldn't betray Natla, but he couldn't kill Lara either. Larson did what he knew was the only thing he could do - pretend to agree.
"Sorry, Natla. I've just got the jitters, I guess. Killing's never easy, but I'll see it through."
Natla reflected for a second. "I trust you, Larson. Don't make me regret it." And she ended the transmission.
Larson folded up his laptop feeling uneasy. He wondered if Natla still trusted him or if her faith in him had been irrepairably damaged. He cursed himself for voicing his doubts to Natla out loud. He should have known that Natla wouldn't be swayed once she had made up her mind.
Lara returned from scouting ahead in the entrance to Qualopec's tomb. "I triggered a boulder trap on the way in. I'm okay but the boulder's blocking the entrance. I'm not sure if you'll be able to make it past." Larson took a chilly swim through the drink and saw the tunnel ahead nearly blocked by a giant round boulder. With Larson's broad shoulders he was unable to pass, but slender Lara was able to leap lightly through. "Looks like I'll have to stay behind again. Holler if you need any of them magic first aid kits- I've still got a couple."
"Right." Lara disappeared inside and Larson was one again left alone with his thoughts. To help pass the time he pulled his emergeny whisky flask from his back pocket and drank deeply. Soon he was feeling toasty and worrying less about Lara. He could tell Lara about his orders and have her go into hiding. A new name, a new home- people do it all the time. Maybe the FBI would help her create a new identity. Just as long as Natla thought she was dead, everything would be okay. He watched the rippling pool and allowed himself to be hypnotized by the waves. Soon it would be over, and everything would be alright.
Then through the rippling waves he could see Lara's graceful form returning from the tomb entrance. She swam underwater to the pool's edge and then surfaced, holding up the Scion piece triumphantly. "Got it!" she shouted to Larson.
Larson squinted at the strange piece of metal in Lara's hand. "That's what all the fuss was about? That little thing? I thought it would be bigger, or shooting fire or something, for all Natla was goin' on about it."
"It's powerful, alright. You just have to listen carefully to tap into it." Lara knelt down and squeezed the Scion piece with both hands. "I can almost hear it-" She stood up and looked at Larson with suspicion. "There's something funny about you, Larson. A strange kind of aura."
"Could be 'cause I've been drinkin' a little."
"No, that's not it. It's a feeling like. . . danger, and death." She drew a pistol and aimed it at Larson. "Put your pistol on the ground please."
"Lara, what on earth-?"
"I'm going to ask the questions, if you don't mind. The Scion is telling me that you're a danger to me, but it's not telling me why. Can you enlighten me, please?"
So Larson explained about the last two satellite phone calls he had with Natla, her paranoia about the cave's secrets being revealed, and threats against his own life if he didn't comply. "But I was just pretending to go along with it. I was going to get you to safety- honest!"
Lara looked bemused but wasn't entirely convinced. "There has to be more to it than that. She must realize that with all of my experience I would know just as much as she does about these caves. Unless-" she looked down at the artifact in her hand. "Because I've felt the power of the Scion myself? And she can't allow me to live . . . because she's planning to use it for some evil purpose? World domination, maybe. Such a cliche," she finished disgustedly.
"What are you going to do with me?" Larson asked.
"Hmm," Lara said. "You told Natla in your last call that you didn't want to kill me, and you reversed yourself after she threatened you. And now I'm sensing danger coming from you, but my gut tells me it's not from you directly but rather connected with you in another way. My guess is that Natla already has backup on the way. We really only have one choice. We're going to have to help each other and take out Natla's bad guys." Lara picked up Larson's dropped pistol, removed the magazine and gave it to him. "You'll get the bullets back when the bad guys show up."
As Larson took back his pistol a strange vibration filled the air. A faint, rhythmic thumping. At first they thought it could be another dinosaur but the vibrations remained faint and distant. thumpa-thumpa- thumpa. Larson looked up at the celing crevice and realized what the sound was. A helicopter. The Natla chopper, without a doubt. "I think they're already here," Larson said.
"The ancients of this civilization did a lot of experimenting with genetics. There are some theorists who say they created whole new breeds of animals. In this case, it looks like they were able to recreate an old one." Lara applied the medical kit to a deep claw mark in her side. Within seconds the wound dissappeared. "Aahh!" Lara sighed. "They also knew how to accelerate growth and healing. These kits are thousands of years old but still potent. Completely irreplaceable though, so we have to use them sparingly."
Larson was feeling mystified. Dinosaurs and instant healing? Could this place be real? It was giving him the creeps, and the sooner he could get back outside the better. His laptop began chirping which meant he had an incoming call. Yet another mystery, since radio signals normally can't pass through a mountain. But with the day he'd been having this mystery seemed trivial by comparison. He flipped the computer open and saw Natla's smirking face on the screen.
"Ah, my two adventurers. Since we're able to transmit I take it you have reached our objective. I've positioned our satellite directly over the tomb entrance. You may notice the ceiling crevice which is letting our signal through. Lara, be a dear and scout ahead for me while I talk to my associate in private?"
"Of course," said Lara, and headed for the tomb entrance.
"So how goes it?" asked Natla when Lara was gone.
"Nat, you won't believe it. Me and Lara just killed a damned 20 foot tall dino-"
"Seal it, Larson!" Natla interrupted. "Not over the air, you fool. There are secrets in that cave that no one knows about. Things that need to remain secret. Anything that you see in these caves needs to stay in the caves. Understood?"
"Yes, Ms. Natla."
"Good. I let you go down there because I trust you. I don't give my trust out lightly. That's why it's very important that you get rid of her. Don't forget."
Larson braced himself to drop his bombshell. This was going to be hard, especially after Natla's talk about trust. "Ms. Natla, I . . I can't do it. I can't kill Lara in cold blood. I've spent some time with her, and I know you can trust her. Tell her what you told me and she'll keep your secret."
"Going gutless, Larson? Have you forgotten all the ways I have to motivate you? I can have my men at that cave in an hour. If you don't do you're job I'll see you both dead."
Larson knew she was serious, and every bit capable of carrying out her threat. Natla had men all over the world ready to do her bidding. He couldn't betray Natla, but he couldn't kill Lara either. Larson did what he knew was the only thing he could do - pretend to agree.
"Sorry, Natla. I've just got the jitters, I guess. Killing's never easy, but I'll see it through."
Natla reflected for a second. "I trust you, Larson. Don't make me regret it." And she ended the transmission.
Larson folded up his laptop feeling uneasy. He wondered if Natla still trusted him or if her faith in him had been irrepairably damaged. He cursed himself for voicing his doubts to Natla out loud. He should have known that Natla wouldn't be swayed once she had made up her mind.
Lara returned from scouting ahead in the entrance to Qualopec's tomb. "I triggered a boulder trap on the way in. I'm okay but the boulder's blocking the entrance. I'm not sure if you'll be able to make it past." Larson took a chilly swim through the drink and saw the tunnel ahead nearly blocked by a giant round boulder. With Larson's broad shoulders he was unable to pass, but slender Lara was able to leap lightly through. "Looks like I'll have to stay behind again. Holler if you need any of them magic first aid kits- I've still got a couple."
"Right." Lara disappeared inside and Larson was one again left alone with his thoughts. To help pass the time he pulled his emergeny whisky flask from his back pocket and drank deeply. Soon he was feeling toasty and worrying less about Lara. He could tell Lara about his orders and have her go into hiding. A new name, a new home- people do it all the time. Maybe the FBI would help her create a new identity. Just as long as Natla thought she was dead, everything would be okay. He watched the rippling pool and allowed himself to be hypnotized by the waves. Soon it would be over, and everything would be alright.
Then through the rippling waves he could see Lara's graceful form returning from the tomb entrance. She swam underwater to the pool's edge and then surfaced, holding up the Scion piece triumphantly. "Got it!" she shouted to Larson.
Larson squinted at the strange piece of metal in Lara's hand. "That's what all the fuss was about? That little thing? I thought it would be bigger, or shooting fire or something, for all Natla was goin' on about it."
"It's powerful, alright. You just have to listen carefully to tap into it." Lara knelt down and squeezed the Scion piece with both hands. "I can almost hear it-" She stood up and looked at Larson with suspicion. "There's something funny about you, Larson. A strange kind of aura."
"Could be 'cause I've been drinkin' a little."
"No, that's not it. It's a feeling like. . . danger, and death." She drew a pistol and aimed it at Larson. "Put your pistol on the ground please."
"Lara, what on earth-?"
"I'm going to ask the questions, if you don't mind. The Scion is telling me that you're a danger to me, but it's not telling me why. Can you enlighten me, please?"
So Larson explained about the last two satellite phone calls he had with Natla, her paranoia about the cave's secrets being revealed, and threats against his own life if he didn't comply. "But I was just pretending to go along with it. I was going to get you to safety- honest!"
Lara looked bemused but wasn't entirely convinced. "There has to be more to it than that. She must realize that with all of my experience I would know just as much as she does about these caves. Unless-" she looked down at the artifact in her hand. "Because I've felt the power of the Scion myself? And she can't allow me to live . . . because she's planning to use it for some evil purpose? World domination, maybe. Such a cliche," she finished disgustedly.
"What are you going to do with me?" Larson asked.
"Hmm," Lara said. "You told Natla in your last call that you didn't want to kill me, and you reversed yourself after she threatened you. And now I'm sensing danger coming from you, but my gut tells me it's not from you directly but rather connected with you in another way. My guess is that Natla already has backup on the way. We really only have one choice. We're going to have to help each other and take out Natla's bad guys." Lara picked up Larson's dropped pistol, removed the magazine and gave it to him. "You'll get the bullets back when the bad guys show up."
As Larson took back his pistol a strange vibration filled the air. A faint, rhythmic thumping. At first they thought it could be another dinosaur but the vibrations remained faint and distant. thumpa-thumpa- thumpa. Larson looked up at the celing crevice and realized what the sound was. A helicopter. The Natla chopper, without a doubt. "I think they're already here," Larson said.