Chapter 13

Natla's Mines

The gentle rocking of the boat slowly stirred Lara awake. She took a peek outside of the tiny window, seeing deep orange and purple streaks painting the horizon. She opened the hatch door, stepping out onto the deck of Natla's yacht. There was an island several yards away, topped with a humongous mountain. Many different types of tropical palm trees dotted the perimeter of the small island, adding a touch of decor to the beige colored rocks.

She vaulted up onto the railing, swan diving into the cold water below. She saw a path-extending deep into the mountain, realizing this was where she needed to be. She paddled as hard as she could, lighting a flare for guidance.

"What could possibly be of importance here anyway…?"

She continued her swim through a couple of connecting passageways, stirring several exotic looking fishes from resting on the sandy bottom. They would all swim to one place, and as adventure mode kicked in, she followed them through until she could finally surface in a carnivorous opening, the cavern a shocking turn from the old, ancient tombs she was used to.

There was several cranes hoisting metal crates into the air, with even more in a dark corner and a rowboat tied up next to the shore. There was waterfall in here as well, and aside from several mining lamps attached to the wall, the room was relatively dark and empty. She noticed that most of the crates had the Natla's Industries logo on them.

"But, there's little evidence left of what was being excavated…"

She pulled herself ashore, lighting another flare to illuminate her surroundings. She spied several traces of footprints in the loose soil.

"This is where they came in…"

She was eager to recover her weapons, and she had to remember that until she did being extra careful and staying on her toes might make the difference between life and death, especially in such a modern environment.

"I thought tombs were dangerous…"

She searched as much of the area that she could, but to no avail; they must have taken her equipment somewhere else. She spotted a light shining through the murky water pouring from the waterfall, bringing the touch of a smile to her lips.

"Ah ha…"

She dived back into the water, which was oddly enough warm, swimming over to the crashing water. Sure enough, there was a passageway that extending further behind the waterfall, thankfully enough. She followed it up until she found herself on a ledge overlooking the area she had just been in, and now had a short hop over to one of the crates suspended in the air. She did so, seeing another on closer to the waterfall.

As she hopped to it, she felt the old, tired rope holding it up start to stretch and tear. In a quick moment of panic she flung herself forward, catching a hidden lip near the top of the waterfall. She pulled herself up, seeing yet another passageway, this one lit seldomly by the mining lamps hooked to the cave wall.

She followed it deeper into the mountain, the narrow path finally opening up into a much wider space, more traces of mining equipment coming into view. There was a control room overlooking the place, with another crane for moving heavy items and crates. There were iron tracks on the ground, running the length of the cavern. She decided to follow them to the left, several pieces thick metal and long, steel beams lying along the base of the wall; tools and parts to the unfinished second floor walkway also going down the length of the passageway.

She could see some other openings with mining lights above them, but she would work on that a bit later. Finally a building perched up on the rock wall came into view, with a huge tunnel borer beside the tracks. Sitting on the tracks was a mining cart, filled with various debris and rock pieces.

Several large rats were scurrying about, scavenging around the dumpy site for any traces of something to eat. One of them crawled up and snatched something from the cart, something large and red. She ran over and stomped its tail with her foot, the rat squealing. She picked up the item, letting the disgusting creature hurry back to its other mates. She saw it was a red fuse, something that she wasn't too familiar with.

"The control room…?"

She pocketed the fuse and headed back toward the main area, using the tracks to get back. She climbed the steps up and inside, a vast control panel coming in site. After a quick check of the cabinets in the back, which proved useless, she examined the control panel, seeing three places to place a switch, and beside each one a button with a specific color; red, green, and blue.

She pulled out the red fuse, placing it in the correct place. A light flashed on above the small button, and she pushed it. A loud, metallic scraping sound filled her ears, and she looked up to see a crate sliding down on one of the cranes above a tiny storage building, revealing another passageway above it.

"Better than leaping over spike-filled pits just to pull a switch to god knows where."

Simple. Easy. Tombs filled her need for the adrenaline rush, but at least she wasn't running for her life. She made her way over to the building, pulling a dirty yellow crate over to allow her access to the top of the storage building. Through the dirty glass panes, she spied her pistols, sitting atop a stack of cardboard boxes. She tried kicking through the glass, surprisingly not even cracking it. When a dull ache set into her foot, she finally gave up, tucking her bags behind her ear in frustration.

"Just you wait Jacqueline…"

She hoisted herself up onto the roof, walking over to the newly opened passageway. There was a ladder here, a short one, that led down to another short passageway, some light finally helping her see as a mining lamp came into view. At the end was another longer ladder, and at the bottom she finally caught site of an opening. The old wooden ladder made her extremely nervous, causing her to use caution the whole way down; unable to even wipe beads of perspiration that would occasionally drip into her eye.

At the bottom she took her shirt to wipe her face, turning to face where the opening led. There was a ledge and some sort of machinery there, with the blue fuse lying in a cubbyhole. Down below, she saw other bigger machines, some spinning and others lighting up and making odd noises.

The height was tremendous, she grabbed the fuse and hurriedly made her way back up the ladders and through the passageway. Upon returning to the main cavern, she saw more rats had appeared, up to about six of the large, furry creatures. Each one was scurrying around in a different direction, making dozens of tiny squeaking sounds. She hopped down and hurried back into the control room, inserting the fuse in the correct place.

She pressed the corresponding switch, the crane suddenly dropping the heavy crate onto the top of the storage building. The concrete roof crumbled, then collapsed in a crash and cloud of dust. She made her way over to it and inside, digging through the rock and debris until she found both of her pistols and a pack of flares, sticking the flares into her backpack and holstering her pistols back to where the belonged.

The new heaviness now felt familiar, and she could feel a boost of confidence build inside her. She decided to head back to the second control room that had been perched on the cavern wall, probably allowing her to manipulate the tunnel borer.

She drew one of her newly acquired pistols and shot the glass out from the front of the building, watching as the glass shattered and fell to the ground with hundreds of tiny ping sounds. She pulled a rather heavy crate underneath the window, careful to avoid fragment of the broken window. Here there was to many different buttons and controls to count, but one large switch with a tiny picture of the tunnel borer was all she had needed to see. She pushed it, the tunnel borer moving over and replacing the mining cart on the tracks.

"Now just get behind it and start it up…and hopefully enjoy the ride…"

The small control panel wasn't to hard to figure out, just turn a key before pulling a lever, the pressing the activation switch. It started up with a few shaky jerks, but soon it was taking a steady stride through the tunnel. As the main cavern neared, Lara saw the large metal crate that was suspended from the crane was now on the tracks, preventing the machine from progressing. She turned off the engine and hopped off, surprised to see Larson strolling from the control room. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the blue fuse, waving it in the air.

"Sorry darlin', this is the end of the line." He said in a mock tone.

Lara rolled her eyes then shrugged her shoulders in annoyance.

She said sternly, "Just hand it over Larson, this has nothing to do with you."

"And what in the hell does it got to do with you? The Scion belongs to Natla. Face it, you got no business here." He said, one eyebrow raised in frustration.

"I don't have time for this, get out of the way," she drew her pistols, aiming them at his head, "or you die." To her surprise, he laughed.

"What ya gonna do, shoot me?" His mouth turned into a smile, and he began walking leisurely toward her.

"Now," he started calmly, "I know how bad you want this, but I can't let you pass. And we both know your not gonna kill me for it."

Lara faltered a second, considering his words.

"That's just not who you are…"

These words continued to buzz in her head, quickly infuriating her.

"I'm not who you think I am…" She said reassuringly, aiming her weapons back toward him. His smile left, and was replaced by a look of shocked anger. She fired off a shot, Larson quickly ducking down and sliding to the left, drawing his shotgun.

He raised it up to shoot, and in a split second she fired, hitting him once in the arm. He faltered back, crying out in surprise and anger, then he turned and raised the shotgun again. This time she shot him in the gut, his body quickly quivering and spasming. He fell to the ground, dropping the empty shotgun from his hand. He kept his eyes locked on Lara, his eyebrows furrowing in an almost sad expression. His other hand, which was clinging his stomach tightly, slowly slid to the ground, his body slowly letting go of life. She looked away from his still open and surprised eyes, holstering her weapons. She reached into his back pocket, pulling out the blue fuse. She looked at him a bit longer, her thoughts racing.

"I've…I've never really killed any body before. Is what I'm doing here this important to take the life of another human?"

While no one reacts to death the same, Lara soon realized that someone like Natla couldn't be good to have such immense power like the Scion could produce. If Larson was hell bent on making sure she kept it, then he had to be stopped as well.

She wiped away a few spatters of his blood that had spilled onto her fingertips, making her way up to the control room to replace the fuse and move the crate from her path. After boarding the tunnel borer again, she continued the rest of the trip down the tracks, the cave soon coming in close and making things a little darker. The large device on the front started spinning at a frightening speed, and she soon saw several boards blocking the path come into view ahead.

She jumped off the giant machine, watching as it crashed and destroyed the flimsy looking boards and cleared open her next destination. She could also feel immense heat flowing from deep within, followed by a low reddish glow.

She walked around the borer, the tracks just stopping to…fire.

Heat, burn, hot.

Anything that could describe the feeling came into her mind as she stepped into the blistering cavern, the temperature skyrocketing. Several fragments of ground that the tracks had been on were perched sparsely and sporadically across the enormous lava pit, several tiny streams pouring in from openings in the ceiling. Stalactites of different sizes and lengths covered the ceiling, some crumbling due to constant exposure to such high temperatures.

She was already dripping with sweat, and starting to feel groggy and more fatigued. She started by leaping over to a large fragment still standing, perched high above the lava.

The she could jumped over to a slanted piece left, which would take her to another larger metal column with fragments left on it. She jumped to it, the piece instantly wobbling due to her weight.

She extended her arms and then jumped at the bottom, grabbing on to a metal lip jutting from the column. She clambered up, wanting to get as far away from the heat as possible. She saw a thick, iron rod used in screed construction jutting from the side of the rock, and hooked her grapple on it to swing over to the far ledge and away from this lava filled deathtrap.

Cool air instantly hit her sweat-soaked face, and she stood for a moment to cool down and take several deep breaths of the crisp, cool underground draft. She saw up ahead an incredible sight; a giant, onyx pyramid, covered in dozens of stone spikes, giving the overall massive structure an impending and gothic look. Lava was flowing on either side, popping and bubbling out every so often.

She pulled herself up the ledge and began to stride toward the giant pyramid, seeing the figure of Kold facing away from her. She drew her guns, the sound of them leaving her holsters catching his attention.

"I was hoping you'd show up," he turned around, a large smile on his face, "I wanna make you scream." He finished, a smile still on his face.

"Unless you want to end up like Larson, get out of my way…" She said, trying to sound fierce but instead her voice ended up sounding a little shaky. She was still a little rocked by killing a man.

"It feels so good doesn't it? You cant explain it to people, you have to feel it…" He said, his tone turning more menacingly as he brought the blade of his combat knife across his palm. Lara's eyes widened as she realized that this man was truly a psychotic killer.

"Damn girl," the kid came around the corner zipping his jeans, "you gotta be outta your mind!" He said, raising a pair of Uzi's. Kold whipped the large knife around, causing Lara to perform a harrowing backflip to avoid the dangerously sharp blade.

The kid opened fired, sending a spray of Uzi bullets in her direction. She dived forward, her fingers working double overtime as she repeatedly squeezed the triggers of her pistols. She saw from the corner of her eye Kold leap into the air, combat knife risen defiantly. She jerked her pistols around and fired the last of the rounds into him, causing him to crumble to his knees.

She ejected the clips, her eyes focusing back on the kid as she heard him reload the semi automatics. He beat her first, and was already sending torrents of the 9mm bullets at her. She dived behind a rock, quickly stuffing two magazines into the pistols.

"Not so hard now are ya?" He asked sarcastically, his mock tone echoing in the vast chamber.

She was on her feet in a flash, already running around the other side of the rock to send fresh waves of pistol bullets in his direction. He ducked down, turning to face her in anger; machine gun ammo already whizzing past her by mere centimeters.

"She's MINE!" Came Kold's deep voice, suddenly standing and tearing through the kid with his combat knife, picking him up with the handle of the knife and tossing him effortlessly to the side. He cracked his neck, now turning to face Lara again. She furrowed her eyebrows, taking a defensive stance as he began a death stride toward her. He swiped-

-and she jumped up onto his shoulder, springing off in a 180 degree spin, now filling his body full of hot lead. But, as though immune to the numerous shots, he ran at her again, this time smile on his face. She felt her lips twist into a snarl as she start emptying the clips into the killing machine-

-and he suddenly had her neck in one strong, firm grip. She dropped her pistols, instantly trying to pry his fat fingers from there death grip. She started choking, horrible grunts coming from deep within her throat. He was watching her like a wild animal, almost studying the life slowly draining from her-

-and then there was an eruption of gun fire, Kold's body suddenly belted from behind by the kids submachine gun fire. He let go, collapsing to the ground-dead. She looked between the two dead bodies, somewhere in her body thankful she wasn't the cause of death. She felt her hand ball into a fist of anger, turning instead to examine the monstrous pyramid. Five of the spike-looking stone columns metal and covered in ancient hieroglyphics that she recognized instantly.

"Mummies…Centaurs…bat-demons…This race was part of an actual ancient civilization, still flourishing in places to protect the Scion pieces, tombs in the middle of nowhere, so nothing and no body would ever find them. Without the right keys and information, of course, which is something I luckily have…"

The massive stone door, set around a decorate stone ledge protruding ominously from the front, was locked, five ancient carvings going down the length of the door.

"Have I truly found the lost continent of Atlantis…? Something my father was practically shunned for believing? …And he knew I'd find it one day…"

There were several rocky crags going about halfway up each side of the pyramid. One side was particularly higher, granting her access to the spines covering the structure. Set back on the wall above the giant door was a ledge, a glowing orange light around it.

"Powered by the flow of lava? This technology is frighteningly advanced for its time…I can't even imagine how far back the Atlanteans go…"

She checked Kold's body for ammo, coming up with nothing but a small medical kit, which she stored away. She checked the kid's Uzi's, disappointingly finding the magazines empty. She did find about a dozen pistol clips in his fanny back, with several more in each of his pockets, which she restocked her clip holders on her belt with, having a handful left over to store in her backpack.

After securing for anything else useful, she started her ascent up the rocky cliff, coming dangerously close to flowing molten rock. She would have enough room atop each pillar to barely squeeze two feet on, but she was hoping her keen sense of balance could help her out; of course it was still as sharp as it was in high school. She jumped, landing easily.

She had been expecting something from like the traps in the tombs-skinny, shaky, old. They were not only thicker, but also made of stone; thus they were much sturdier.

She jumped to the next one, which instantly began a slow descent down into a hidden crevice. A bright, red hot light shot up from it, and she quickly leaped forward, almost over shooting the jump.

One of the five big carvings on the large door light up, Lara now realizing that somehow the flow of lava did flow through channels and power the mechanisms and technology for the Great Pyramid. She kept a steady balance, and slowly maneuvered the spikes by small hops, landing on the appropriate one and then hopping back to another stone one.

After all five lit up, two channels going down each side of the door in a mysterious design lit up as lava flow was filtered through it; the door not budging, however. She hopped over to the ledge above the door, pulling the switch with much force. The entire pyramid slightly shook as she felt the stone door slide open, now the sound of gears moving deep from within the pyramid.

"This is it…This is unexplored territory…This is where I step it up…"

She slid down the face of the onyx structure, peering down into the massive stone passageway. Arches were separated evenly down the entire length, each covered in glowing Atlantean hieroglyphics.

"…Wow…"

She muttered softly.