I had never before experienced such a thing in my life. So much blood...
so much blood. I imagined death as painless, a forgiving time, when God
would take your soul and let it wander freely in the gardens of Heaven.
Each soul would be forever in a peace that no one could explain, and
nothing was ever wrong. But I was wrong. Life before this attack was
hard, but I never could have imagined that something like this was lying in
wait.
I was recruited for the soul purpose to kill a certain Lara Croft. Being young and in the need of money, I accepted. It was the original plan that only money would be given if Croft was proclaimed dead, but so few remained, that it seemed that it was no trouble to give the few survivors some extra money. Sure, I have my money now. But is it worth the awful sights that remain in my memory? Never shall I forget that fateful day which ended with a blood-red sunset. Night approached and everyone would soon be dead. How she did it, I am sure that I shall never know. But I escaped, and that is all that matters. Or is it?
It was early in the morning and the hustle and bustle was unbelievable. It being early had no affect on any of the men that shouted in the huge warehouse where we were to be loaded up into our unmarked vans. Everywhere I went, I heard the boasts of men shouting about how they would kill Croft if they found her. "I'm gonna snap 'er neck when I meet her. She won't know what hit 'er." Everyone chuckled. I walked on. Soon, it was time to be loaded in. We were about to set off when a very short little man joined us in the back of the crammed van. No one was too happy about this, but I kept my mouth shut. I didn't know who he was, and I didn't care to bother him either.
For a long while, everyone kicked him "accidentally" and told him to scoot over. I was becoming nauseated and I prayed that we would be reaching our destination soon. God had answered my prayers. Finally, we were there. We all unloaded and were given our weapons. I couldn't have cared less about mine; I was too busy observing my surroundings. I noticed every window, every place there was to hide. I was good at things like that. My friends said it was paranoia... I said it was survival.
But now it was time to move in. We didn't waste a second; all of us assumed our positions and our commander gave us the signal. I breathed a long breath, this didn't feel right. But how right I was. My mission was not only to kill Croft, but also to be a watcher. I was to know everything about her house, and where everything was. I wouldn't be with the other assassins, but wandering around the house while they all tried to kill her. I'd never met her before, but I knew how dangerous she was. I wasn't one to mess with power like that.
I heard the glass shatter from inside, and then bullets, more bullets. There were men shaking, some men were stiff, few moved at all. I remained quiet, as always; quiet, but ready to fulfill my mission. The first line moved into the house while the rest of us backed away. I was to stay alive as long as possible, that was my job, my objective- stay alive. How easy that was, I wasn't sure. But now I know that I am lucky for living at all.
The second and third lines moved in, quickly bursting through the front doors. The commander and I discussed that those few lines should be enough to stall whoever was inside long enough for me to get in safely. We were right. I slunk through the shadows, not making a sound. I took mental pictures of everything... everything. I noticed the room on the left, full of computers and a room that was connected to it, although I could not see inside. The grand staircase reached to the second floor, which branched to two separate areas. There were columns and banisters of white that stood in the way of my comrades' fire, and the glass ceiling above me now lay all over the floor.
I was in full light now, and I peered quickly around a corner that was opposite the base of the staircase to make sure it was safe. All clear. I gave one last look behind me; about ten men went rushing upstairs. Croft had gotten away. I hoped that she would never run into me, and she never did.
Silently, I walked through the hallways, estimating how long each branch off of the main corridor was, how many doors there were, each window, and how many doors were locked, unlocked, or had locks at all. I inspected everything there was to inspect on the outside, but now it was time for the guts of it all. With my leather gloves on, I opened each unlocked door first and mentally jotted down everything I saw. Carefully closing each door behind me, I moved on to the next, and the next. I never tired of anything like this. This was my forte, and I was the best there was, or would ever be.
I was chosen for this job because I had the most brilliant memory. It was too risky to use paper or electronic devices, so the commander decided to use someone who could remember every last detail- someone like me. In my head was a whole map of the Croft Manor. If I were caught, there would be no evidence of what I was doing; it was the perfect situation. Or so I thought.
In an hour's time, I had checked every room down the whole corridor that was locked and unlocked. Now it was time to go to the very end of the hallway. I paced myself as I neared the last door of the hallway. Turning my hand annoyingly slow, I finally opened the door, just a crack, and peered through. It was a basement, and no one was down there... yet. I rapidly checked each license plate and maker of every car that was in there. There were so many! I never had to remember so much in my life. I was good- possibly the best, and I couldn't forget that. I looked over at the wine rack and inhaled sharply. 'She makes this so damn difficult.' I hesitated a moment before walking up to the rack; I touched the neck of every bottle and saw no real need to memorize anything about her interest in old wine. I moved on to a cabinet that I saw next to a workbench.
There was an extensive collection of guns, no doubt. I ran my hand over the thick wire mesh and nodded approvingly, 'This woman has taste.' I admired her already, and I had only memorized half of her house. I laughed to myself and shook my head. There was still a lot to be seen. 'But how much more can I hold?' I asked myself this over and over. I didn't know how much memorization this mission called for. I wasn't supposed to leave the mansion or carry anything but a gun with me. I set my mind to work, but no solution came. It was as if the information of Croft's household had filled everything up, and there was no room for my original thought. I had to get these observations out to someone, and fast.
Slowly, I walked back to where I came, but noticed something else. It was a dumb-waiter, a shelf on a pulley-system. I raised an eyebrow to no one and walked over to the old-fashioned device. Lifting up the door, I heaved myself in and began to pull the rope. Soon, I reached the top and I lifted the door just a tad to see exactly where I was. Gunshots were sounding; they echoed in the tiny space that I occupied, and it was deafening. I had to get out of there, and fast. Yelling filled my ears as I wrenched open the door and flung myself out. I immediately crashed into the opposite wall. The loud 'thump' I made was nothing compared to the gunfire that was all around. No one heard my embarrassing tumble.
I gathered my thoughts for a moment and faced myself toward the main room. There was no sign of Croft, and the bullets weren't coming from there anyway. Hastily, I made a mad dash for the stairs. I jumped the first couple and almost tumbled down the rest, I was going so fast. None of my comrade's looked at me- they were too busy worrying about themselves.
I had to think of a lie, and I had to think one up quick. If I were found out of the manor without permission, or a very good excuse, I would be in a shit-hole of trouble. I snuck to our transmitting van and rapped on the door sharply. I expected Tod, our tech to open the door, but I was faced with the person that I feared the most. "Willem, why are you out here?" The commander's eyes locked mine in place and I was instantly petrified. I couldn't tell him that there was too much to memorize. What should I say? Something good... 'Come on Willem...' I watched him stare me down. How long could I take this? "It's not too much for you, is it Mr. Parse?" He raised his goddamn eyebrow at me and I felt pure panic. All of a sudden, words flushed out of my mouth, "I was reporting to you that..." My eyes trailed to the ground for a moment, and there lied hope! I quickly pulled at the wire at my feet and continued, "... our connection will be temporarily lost in the Croft Manor because I have shut down the circuit breakers in the basement." I stuffed the wire as far as I could back under the van. Thank god for bumpers.
I watched my commander's eyes soften a trifle as he looked at the monitors near Tod. "Sir, he's right, all connection is disabled." My eyes caught Tod's and he winked at me shortly, I felt a sudden urge to smile, but I hid it well. "Very well, Willem, thank you for informing us. Now if you'll excuse me." I moved slightly to let him exit the back of the van and watched him walk away. I breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly my collar was pulled harshly and I was flung into the van. "Ha ha, you're so clever, Willem." Tod said in a sarcastic tone. "Why don't I just go and unplug all of your wires?" I smiled at him and he smirked at me. "Lucky for you, that wire has a plug. If you would have ripped it, we'd be shut down permanently." I sighed again at my luck. Was this my day or what?
I suddenly remembered why I was there, "Tod, I desperately need you to jot all of this down. Tell Vlad that since I just happened to be here, I told you everything before I left... just in case." I added that to make it all sound more believable. My fate rested with this man, and I hoped that he would see things my way. I watched him glare at me. "I knew this was too much for you, Parse. Why didn't you just stay home and forget about this?" I frowned at him. I was doomed. "Hey, mate, I'm just kiddin'. Tell me what you know, and I'll jot it down." God bless Tod.
In no time, everything I had learned was on countless sheets of paper. Tod gaped at everything I had remembered. "Hey man, don't worry about a thing. Vlad himself wouldn't've been able to remember all of this!" I patted my friend on the shoulder and jogged back to the mansion. I had discovered about thirty rooms. How many more could there possibly be? Well now I know, and I wasn't even half way there.
______________________________________
*A/N: Holy cow! I really didn't mean for this chapter to be so long... So, I'm going to have to add one more chapter before I get back to Lara. I hope no one minds! If you don't like this, please tell me so. I PROMISE that I will write only one more chapter that has to do with this side of the story. Well, at least consecutively... I've planned to make some more chapters like this, but not so many in a row. You know? Well, I hope that this doesn't bother anyone! The next chapter should be up soon!
I was recruited for the soul purpose to kill a certain Lara Croft. Being young and in the need of money, I accepted. It was the original plan that only money would be given if Croft was proclaimed dead, but so few remained, that it seemed that it was no trouble to give the few survivors some extra money. Sure, I have my money now. But is it worth the awful sights that remain in my memory? Never shall I forget that fateful day which ended with a blood-red sunset. Night approached and everyone would soon be dead. How she did it, I am sure that I shall never know. But I escaped, and that is all that matters. Or is it?
It was early in the morning and the hustle and bustle was unbelievable. It being early had no affect on any of the men that shouted in the huge warehouse where we were to be loaded up into our unmarked vans. Everywhere I went, I heard the boasts of men shouting about how they would kill Croft if they found her. "I'm gonna snap 'er neck when I meet her. She won't know what hit 'er." Everyone chuckled. I walked on. Soon, it was time to be loaded in. We were about to set off when a very short little man joined us in the back of the crammed van. No one was too happy about this, but I kept my mouth shut. I didn't know who he was, and I didn't care to bother him either.
For a long while, everyone kicked him "accidentally" and told him to scoot over. I was becoming nauseated and I prayed that we would be reaching our destination soon. God had answered my prayers. Finally, we were there. We all unloaded and were given our weapons. I couldn't have cared less about mine; I was too busy observing my surroundings. I noticed every window, every place there was to hide. I was good at things like that. My friends said it was paranoia... I said it was survival.
But now it was time to move in. We didn't waste a second; all of us assumed our positions and our commander gave us the signal. I breathed a long breath, this didn't feel right. But how right I was. My mission was not only to kill Croft, but also to be a watcher. I was to know everything about her house, and where everything was. I wouldn't be with the other assassins, but wandering around the house while they all tried to kill her. I'd never met her before, but I knew how dangerous she was. I wasn't one to mess with power like that.
I heard the glass shatter from inside, and then bullets, more bullets. There were men shaking, some men were stiff, few moved at all. I remained quiet, as always; quiet, but ready to fulfill my mission. The first line moved into the house while the rest of us backed away. I was to stay alive as long as possible, that was my job, my objective- stay alive. How easy that was, I wasn't sure. But now I know that I am lucky for living at all.
The second and third lines moved in, quickly bursting through the front doors. The commander and I discussed that those few lines should be enough to stall whoever was inside long enough for me to get in safely. We were right. I slunk through the shadows, not making a sound. I took mental pictures of everything... everything. I noticed the room on the left, full of computers and a room that was connected to it, although I could not see inside. The grand staircase reached to the second floor, which branched to two separate areas. There were columns and banisters of white that stood in the way of my comrades' fire, and the glass ceiling above me now lay all over the floor.
I was in full light now, and I peered quickly around a corner that was opposite the base of the staircase to make sure it was safe. All clear. I gave one last look behind me; about ten men went rushing upstairs. Croft had gotten away. I hoped that she would never run into me, and she never did.
Silently, I walked through the hallways, estimating how long each branch off of the main corridor was, how many doors there were, each window, and how many doors were locked, unlocked, or had locks at all. I inspected everything there was to inspect on the outside, but now it was time for the guts of it all. With my leather gloves on, I opened each unlocked door first and mentally jotted down everything I saw. Carefully closing each door behind me, I moved on to the next, and the next. I never tired of anything like this. This was my forte, and I was the best there was, or would ever be.
I was chosen for this job because I had the most brilliant memory. It was too risky to use paper or electronic devices, so the commander decided to use someone who could remember every last detail- someone like me. In my head was a whole map of the Croft Manor. If I were caught, there would be no evidence of what I was doing; it was the perfect situation. Or so I thought.
In an hour's time, I had checked every room down the whole corridor that was locked and unlocked. Now it was time to go to the very end of the hallway. I paced myself as I neared the last door of the hallway. Turning my hand annoyingly slow, I finally opened the door, just a crack, and peered through. It was a basement, and no one was down there... yet. I rapidly checked each license plate and maker of every car that was in there. There were so many! I never had to remember so much in my life. I was good- possibly the best, and I couldn't forget that. I looked over at the wine rack and inhaled sharply. 'She makes this so damn difficult.' I hesitated a moment before walking up to the rack; I touched the neck of every bottle and saw no real need to memorize anything about her interest in old wine. I moved on to a cabinet that I saw next to a workbench.
There was an extensive collection of guns, no doubt. I ran my hand over the thick wire mesh and nodded approvingly, 'This woman has taste.' I admired her already, and I had only memorized half of her house. I laughed to myself and shook my head. There was still a lot to be seen. 'But how much more can I hold?' I asked myself this over and over. I didn't know how much memorization this mission called for. I wasn't supposed to leave the mansion or carry anything but a gun with me. I set my mind to work, but no solution came. It was as if the information of Croft's household had filled everything up, and there was no room for my original thought. I had to get these observations out to someone, and fast.
Slowly, I walked back to where I came, but noticed something else. It was a dumb-waiter, a shelf on a pulley-system. I raised an eyebrow to no one and walked over to the old-fashioned device. Lifting up the door, I heaved myself in and began to pull the rope. Soon, I reached the top and I lifted the door just a tad to see exactly where I was. Gunshots were sounding; they echoed in the tiny space that I occupied, and it was deafening. I had to get out of there, and fast. Yelling filled my ears as I wrenched open the door and flung myself out. I immediately crashed into the opposite wall. The loud 'thump' I made was nothing compared to the gunfire that was all around. No one heard my embarrassing tumble.
I gathered my thoughts for a moment and faced myself toward the main room. There was no sign of Croft, and the bullets weren't coming from there anyway. Hastily, I made a mad dash for the stairs. I jumped the first couple and almost tumbled down the rest, I was going so fast. None of my comrade's looked at me- they were too busy worrying about themselves.
I had to think of a lie, and I had to think one up quick. If I were found out of the manor without permission, or a very good excuse, I would be in a shit-hole of trouble. I snuck to our transmitting van and rapped on the door sharply. I expected Tod, our tech to open the door, but I was faced with the person that I feared the most. "Willem, why are you out here?" The commander's eyes locked mine in place and I was instantly petrified. I couldn't tell him that there was too much to memorize. What should I say? Something good... 'Come on Willem...' I watched him stare me down. How long could I take this? "It's not too much for you, is it Mr. Parse?" He raised his goddamn eyebrow at me and I felt pure panic. All of a sudden, words flushed out of my mouth, "I was reporting to you that..." My eyes trailed to the ground for a moment, and there lied hope! I quickly pulled at the wire at my feet and continued, "... our connection will be temporarily lost in the Croft Manor because I have shut down the circuit breakers in the basement." I stuffed the wire as far as I could back under the van. Thank god for bumpers.
I watched my commander's eyes soften a trifle as he looked at the monitors near Tod. "Sir, he's right, all connection is disabled." My eyes caught Tod's and he winked at me shortly, I felt a sudden urge to smile, but I hid it well. "Very well, Willem, thank you for informing us. Now if you'll excuse me." I moved slightly to let him exit the back of the van and watched him walk away. I breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly my collar was pulled harshly and I was flung into the van. "Ha ha, you're so clever, Willem." Tod said in a sarcastic tone. "Why don't I just go and unplug all of your wires?" I smiled at him and he smirked at me. "Lucky for you, that wire has a plug. If you would have ripped it, we'd be shut down permanently." I sighed again at my luck. Was this my day or what?
I suddenly remembered why I was there, "Tod, I desperately need you to jot all of this down. Tell Vlad that since I just happened to be here, I told you everything before I left... just in case." I added that to make it all sound more believable. My fate rested with this man, and I hoped that he would see things my way. I watched him glare at me. "I knew this was too much for you, Parse. Why didn't you just stay home and forget about this?" I frowned at him. I was doomed. "Hey, mate, I'm just kiddin'. Tell me what you know, and I'll jot it down." God bless Tod.
In no time, everything I had learned was on countless sheets of paper. Tod gaped at everything I had remembered. "Hey man, don't worry about a thing. Vlad himself wouldn't've been able to remember all of this!" I patted my friend on the shoulder and jogged back to the mansion. I had discovered about thirty rooms. How many more could there possibly be? Well now I know, and I wasn't even half way there.
______________________________________
*A/N: Holy cow! I really didn't mean for this chapter to be so long... So, I'm going to have to add one more chapter before I get back to Lara. I hope no one minds! If you don't like this, please tell me so. I PROMISE that I will write only one more chapter that has to do with this side of the story. Well, at least consecutively... I've planned to make some more chapters like this, but not so many in a row. You know? Well, I hope that this doesn't bother anyone! The next chapter should be up soon!