The Sun Passage
Lara followed the narrow passage and emerged around the corner into a wider and taller hallway whose ceiling slanted upwards on both sides creating a trough in the center of the reddish ceiling. On the ceiling, Lara could also see faint markings of ancient carvings that have since eroded away from the elements. Lara continued forward and emerged into a large hall filled with beautifully carved square columns and decorated walls. Looking up, the ceiling was higher and lower in certain places where arch structures linked the columns together. The hall did not go very far, but in the middle of the far wall between two columns, Lara could see a large sun symbol above a small opening where a lever switch could be seen. On the other side of the hall, straight across from the switch, Lara could see a well-preserved Incan statue of a human figure dressed in fancy garments.
"Is that the switch that opens the second door?" Lara asked as she approached the lever switch. "If that's the case, it almost seems too easy to go by…Oh well, it just makes getting to the Scion much easier."
Lara approached the switch as she heard the faint pitter patter of tiny spider legs making their way across the hard stone floor. Other than that, the room was extremely quiet; not another sound could be heard inside the tomb complex, not even the heavy footsteps of vicious raptors. The burning flare in Lara's right hand was the only other sound echoing through the room. As she reached for the switch with her left hand, Lara heard a gut-wrenching sound coming from just below her feet. By the time Lara figured out what it was, it was too late. CRASH! The ground beneath Lara collapsed and Lara fell into another dark room, landing on her already-aching feet and ankles. The pain from the fall began to surge through her body like needles as she struggled to stand up. The room was pitch-black and there appeared to be no other way to get out, except for jumping back up through the hole Lara fell. She knew that was never going to happen; the ceiling was too high for her to reach.
Meanwhile, back in the City of Vilcabamba, Larson was just finally making his way down the middle hall of the giant building leading to the door that required the gold idol to open. The swinging blades have since lost their pendulum motions due to gravity and Larson has since lost his overall patience. He was beginning to suspect that Lara had already beat him to the Scion and that she had already found another way out of the caves and was making her way back to the Jeep. What if Lara gets back and finds him gone? What would he do then? Lara would surely suspect him of something suspicious. Nevertheless, he continued down the dark hallway determined to reach the tomb.
"What the hell happened here?" Larson said as he reached the grated doorway next to an already-activated trapdoor leading down into cold water. "There's no way I'm getting in that room without getting wet! Damn girl…You sure have the guts to do anything to get places."
Despite his worries about the water, Larson realized that there was no other way he get to the next area without getting wet. After a deep breath, Larson readied himself and jumped into the cold water below and swam towards the opening in the next room before climbing out and walking over to the gold idol door.
Back inside the tomb, Lara stood in horror as she heard the presence of growling wolves around her. Even though she was dangerously low on ammo, Lara took out her pistols and started firing at the creatures as soon as they started charging at her. There were three of them in all, but Lara was able to keep them off and save herself from a slow and painful death. She held the flare in front of her and saw that the ark room was not as empty as she thought. Along the perimeter, Lara saw two ramps leading up to what appeared to be a balcony with no doorway leading anywhere else. On the ground, Lara saw the scattered carcasses of people that have since fell victim to their horrible fates. Lara could also see more carvings on the walls and on the ceiling, hinting that the room might not be a trap. Lara immediately started heading up the ramp to see what she could find. Right away, she found something at the top of the ramp that seemed hopeful. Hidden in the wall was the outline of a huge square-shaped crevice where a large chunk of the wall containing two large holes in the middle was loose. Lara tried pushing the large stone block, but it would not budge.
"Perhaps if I tried pulling it?" Lara inquired as she reached inside the two "handholds" that were on the large block. She pulled with all of her strength and was able to slowly, but surely reveal the hidden passageway behind the loose piece of stone.
"Hmm. This looks rather interesting. I wonder where it leads." Lara said as she continued up an ancient staircase that continued a little ways before making a left turn where a large gap could be seen. Lara jumped across and grabbed the high ledge, pulling herself up with the remaining strength she had after pulling the large stone block. Lara made another left turn up the staircase and climbed even higher before reaching a doorway that lead into a small dark room. With her flare illuminating the room, Lara could see another lever switch with the giant sun symbol above it.
"This must be the real switch." Lara said. "They sure kept it well hidden if that's the case!"
Lara pulled the ancient lever switch and a strange yellowish-orange glow bathed the room as the symbol started to glow. Somehow, Lara was able to hear the distant echoing of an opening gate and wondered where the noise was coming from. She turned around and saw a hole in the ground that lead back down into the hallway Lara ventured through when she first entered the sun passage. Lara safely dropped down the hole and walked back to the room with multiple doorways. Looking down the hall leading into the main room and down the hallway beyond, Lara saw that the second gate had risen. Another smile crept across her face.
"Only one more to go!" Lara said to herself. "Let's see what the last passage has to offer! This is so exciting!"
With her excitement barely able to be contained, Lara ventured down the last of the three passageways: the passage with the face symbol above it.
Almost there, Lara! Just one more switch to go. So far, Lara is staying on the right track to reaching the Scion and the excitement is starting to catch up with her again as she moves farther along in her quest. However, she still has no idea that she is being followed by Larson.
Larson appears to not be making as much progress like his woman competitor and he doesn't like the idea of getting his clothes wet just to move on to the next area. However, he is starting to pick up the pace and is starting to catch on with Lara's method of doing things (though he is reluctant about it). Still, he presses onward and remains determined to beat Lara after what happened in Rome the previous year. See you the next time I update! It's only a matter of time before Peru is finally complete :)
saturn95