Chapter 36 - The Serpent's Gate

It was several hours later when they reached the end of the subterranean tunnel-ways. Lara was amazed at how long it had taken them. With the main structure of the temple gone, an elaborate series of web-like passageways had been exposed in the sandstone foundation. They had mapped the passages using sensitive thermal graphing equipment, and Lara had decided on the one leading north, as it was the most straightforward of the choices at hand. The trek had been dark and silent, Mason plodding along behind her with his eyes cast ever forward into the abyss. Eyes on the prize. The blackness surrounded them, enclosed them, covered them in what seemed a blanket of unknown elements. Lara felt the heaviness of it, and knew in her heart that they were close. She glanced at Alex. His forehead was bathed in a beaded sweat, and his eyes were wide in the false light of the glow tubes they all carried before them. Bradshaw and his four other teammates seemed almost to cower under the weight of the emptiness. Every sound was magnified and thrown back at them like the moan of ghosts in the hollows.

They came to a crack in the rock, and an eerie green glow seeped from the edges. Lara held up a hand, and the others ceased movement without a sound. She inched forward, the only sound in the black the crunch of small stones beneath her boots. She readied a hand on her right pistol, holding the RLS in front of her. She moved through the gap in the rock, which was just large enough for a person to slip through without much trouble. She glanced about, her eyes fixating on what stood in the center of the cavernous room that opened up before her.

"Boys?" she called back. "Better come and have a look at this." The group slipped through the rock one by one, their equipment grating at the sandstone. Alex's gut caught as he heard the sickening sound of the rock ceiling giving way beneath the weight of the earth above. They emerged into the antechamber, surrounding Lara in a semicircle. Mason moved to her side, his glassy eyes bathed in that strange glow.

"My god," he muttered, letting his hands drop to his sides. Bradshaw whistled, and Bryce gasped slightly.

In the middle of the chamber carved from the natural rock stood an enormous gate. It was solid green jade, and fashioned to look like two entwined snakes devouring one another. The jade glowed with a light of its own, pulsating with an otherworldly power. A low throbbing could be heard in the earth around them, emanating from the gate itself. Lara thought she could almost pick up a ringing in her ears created by the power the gate was guarding. The smell of sulfur hung slightly in the air, like a match burned too long.

"I think we found it," Lara said, her hands on her hips. Mason stood beside her, his face alive with something dark. He moved closer, his hand slightly outstretched.

"The Serpent's Gate," he whispered, his large frame gliding like a shadow in the empty green light. "At last. We come now to the end of all things. Here, beneath the very rock of this wretched planet."

"Mason," Lara said firmly, grabbing his hand before it reached the smooth surface of the gate. "Don't touch the gate before it has been unlocked. You'll be burnt to ash." She forced his hand back to his side, and he broke his gaze long enough to look startled in the pale light.

"Of course," he muttered slightly, turning and giving her a fierce look. "We must play by the rules, mustn't we?" Lara only glared back, hoping her gaze was strong enough to warn him. She stepped up the to the massive green slabs, the pounding beneath her and now in her head growing stronger. She swung her pack around her right shoulder, removing the Leviathan's key. Alex moved up beside her, removing the Shankai key from his own pack. They stood together before that terrible portal, searching one another's faces for answers to the many silent questions.

"Insert the Shankai key immediately after I use the Leviathan's key," she said, her eyes locking with his. He simply nodded, his shaggy hair bouncing slightly. She stepped up to the gate, the throbbing almost on the threshold of pain now. She winced slightly, her mind racing and her heart keeping close pace. The gate stood before her like some great titan. Cold and heavy and shrouded in something Lara felt was much worse than any of them had imagined.

She moved to the first lock, meant for the large golden key. She took a deep breath, her thoughts flying back quite suddenly to something her father had once told her as a child. Not all doors are meant to be opened, Lara. You have to choose them wisely, just as you would any other path. She shook her head slightly, and shoved the key firmly into the lock. It slid home heavily and with a loud clicking sound. Alex was right behind her, fitting the round key into its designated depression in the glowing stone. At once, the keys began to move clockwise on their own accord, grinding and screeching in their infernal machinations. A great boom was heard as the keys settled, and the gate groaned as it began to slowly move open and outwards. A great rush of air blasted out from behind, filling the antechamber with the foul scent of brimstone and smoke. It was immediately sucked back in with a terrible whoosh as the vacuum was broken and the air pressure regulated. The twining serpents almost hissed as they began to move apart, opening into a great cavern built into the rock. A sinister red glow flickered in the far reaches of the tremendous hall, and a rushing, gurgling noise was heard as the gate finally parted completely, allowing entrance to that... other place.

"Holy shit..." Alex muttered, his face ashen. He looked at Lara, who despite the danger was shivering with excitement. The thrill of it raced through her blood like a drug, and her eyes grew hungry in the new light.

"Well Mr. Mason, it looks like we've finally found the resting place of your amulet."

"Indeed Lady Croft," Mason said with an oily tone. "The end is near. Very near. I can taste it." Bryce and Alex exchanged a glance at his words, returning their gaze to Lara.

"I'll go first. Just in case it's a one way street," she said quietly. No one moved or replied in any manner. They were captivated by the strange light and sound beckoning them from the end of the great hall. It rose up like a cathedral before them, the ceiling so high it was masked in darkness. Lara took a step forward, crossing the threshold of the gate. She felt a strange translucence wash over her, though it quickly disappeared. She moved forward quickly, and with purpose. The noise began to grow louder as she advanced, becoming almost like the distant roar of a waterfall. Only this was much slower and thicker.

Suddenly Mason broke and sprinted into the cavern, his footsteps echoing behind him. Bradshaw slipped a hand out to grab him, but was knocked aside as Mason pushed his way past.

"Mason, no!" Alex called after him, running in to catch up. Lara looked behind her, and was blind-sided by him as he ran past. She twisted and fell, scrambling to pick herself back up.

"Mason, no! You don't know what's up ahead! Come back! Mason!" she screamed, running after him. Alex was close behind her now, and Bryce and the others were desperately trying to keep up. Heat began to press against Lara's face as they ran further into the cavern after Mason. The smell of brimstone became much heavier, and Lara thought she glanced small tendrils of smoke curling along the edges of the great stone path. Bryce was calling her name from behind, and the sound echoed crazily in the abyss. She called after Mason once again, but he only disappeared into the darkness looming before them as the great hall turned left abruptly. She could hear him screaming something now, and his voice sounded of madness and a terrible, unquenchable thirst. For what, she did not know. Her breath burned in her lungs as she began to sprint to catch up. The heat became much more oppressive, and smoke was heavy in places now. She veered left after Mason, and emerged full force into the red light and the heat and the scent of baking stone. A shimmering wave rose up before her, and her eyes grew wide as her legs refused to run any further. She stopped dead in her tracks, her breathing labored and stinging as the acrid smoke filled her lungs. Alex skittered up beside her, equally out of breath and sweating from the heat.

"Oh my god..." he breathed as the cavern opened up before them.