We came upon a large crypt, the walls lined with holes containing dusty coffins. In the middle of the room were some stairs which led to a small landing. There laid a golden sarcophagus with a lit torch on either side. It was rectangular and rounded at the edges, with the sides covered in Olmecian carvings. Behind it, at the top of a small ramp, sat a small golden head trapped in a cage, which I assumed is what we came to find.
Nate and Sully walked up the stairs to the sarcophagus. Using their machetes, they pried off the top, which had been encrusted with dirt. Inside was a skeleton covered head to foot in several jewelry. Around its neck was a key which, unlike the rest of its attire, was plain and rusted. The smell of the rotting carcass nearly made me gag. Nate carefully removed the key and gave it to Sully, who went to the top of the ramp while Nate sketched the bones.
Sully inserted the key and turned it clockwise, causing the cage encasing the head to fly apart. He took a few steps back, surprised by the sudden event and ready for a trap. He waited a few seconds, but nothing happened. Grabbing the golden head, he turned to hand it to Nate. Suddenly, its bright sapphire eyes started shining. The room's coffins jettisoned from the walls, their owners smashing open the lids as they pounded to the ground. The cave started to shake; boulders rained down from the ceiling, smashing everything under them.
"Uhh… guys, we need to get out of here!" Nate shouted as he readied his rifle, pointing it at the reanimated cadavers.
Sully, who had also drawn his weapon, yelled to Nate "Jeez, zombies again?! We've gotta put some of these things down, there's no way we'll outrun all of them! Kid, you start running!"
"You don't have to tell me twice!" I shouted, heeding his instruction; there's no way I'm sticking around here! I sprinted down the hall, which had opened up to the entrance to the cave. I could hear gunfire behind me. I looked back and saw Nate and Sully running, firing their weapons at the zombies, causing several of them to crash to the ground, falling apart as they did. I could no longer see the tomb, which had been crushed by the mountain.
Upon reaching the edge of the cave, I could see another group of soldiers across the encampment who had started shooting at us.
"Ah, you've gotta be kidding!" roared Sully. "Nate, you take care of our friends in the cave, I'll get these guys! Lillian, go chop that rope with my machete!"
He unsheathed the blade and handed it to me, then continued shooting at the soldiers.
Stunned that he actually used my name, I took the large knife and chopped at the rope, which cut in a single slice - it must've been pretty old to be that weak.
We clamored into the boat. As the gunfight raged, I took the paddle and made the little boat go as fast as I could. As I looked back I could see the rest of the cave collapsing as the remainder of the zombies scampered out, quickly being shot down by the guards.
Out of their range now, I continued to paddle. Nate and Sully laid their weapons in the boat as they caught their breath.
"ZOMBIES?! Did you know there would be zombies?! And what do you mean AGAIN?!" I shouted as I rowed.
We found a statue named El Dorado. The dust inside turned everyone who inhaled it into the undead," Nate explained.
"So… this insanity is nothing new for either of you?"
"'Fraid not," Sully shrugged.
Nate began panicking, shouting, "Uh, guys, I hate to interrupt the conversation, but… WATERFALL!"
I handed the oar to Nate, who desperately tried to row in the opposite direction, but the current was too strong.
"Everyone hold on!" screamed Nate.
"You two are idiots!" I screamed back, holding to the boat for dear life.
I could feel the boat starting to tip, gaining downward speed.
"Ooohhh crap!" shouted Nate.
"You always say that!" scoffed Sully.
We were in freefall, the air rushing past. The water splashed my face, making it hard to see. It felt like we were falling for miles. Suddenly, we halted to a stop as a surge of water consumed the boat. I hit my head on the side, and everything went dark.
I woke up tied to a chair. I could hear the waves and smell saltwater. Upon opening my eyes, I saw we were at a large dock site, peppered with small buildings and boxes seeming to contain munitions. I couldn't hear the waterfall anymore, so I figured we had traveled a great distance; perhaps we were captured and driven here while knocked out. To my left I saw the end of a river, which I assumed came from the waterfall. I could see land on the other side of the water, meaning this is a lake, so we're still a fair distance inland. Sully and Nate were lined up on my right, tied to two other chairs, both still passed out. Nate had a small trail of blood coming down the left side of his face, and Sully's shirt was slightly tattered on the right. When I tried moving my legs, a sharp pain shot through my right knee. I looked down and saw a dark bruise covering my entire kneecap. I guess I should feel lucky I came out of falling over a waterfall with only a bruise.
I'd assumed the rest of the guards were sleeping, as I couldn't see anyone else around. Quietly struggling in my constraints, I was able to free one of my hands due to the knot not being tied very well. I gently shook Sully's shoulder, but he didn't budge. Determined to wake him up, I started yanking at his mustache.
"Ah, what the hell? Stop yanking at my mustache!" Sully yelled.
So much for being quiet, I thought.
"Sorry, Sully, I had to wake you up somehow!"
Nate must've heard the commotion, as I heard groaning coming from his direction.
"Wha… where are we?" Nate dazedly questioned.
Sully analyzed our surroundings.
"Looks like a dock belonging to the same idiots we were fighting back at the cave. I guess we passed out after going over that waterfall. Speaking of which… Kid, why the hell didn't you keep us from going over?!"
Before I could answer, Nate interjected. "Come on, Sully. You know as well as I do that the rapids were too strong for her to do anything," he explained.
"Yeah, yeah, I suppose you're right. Sorry I snapped at ya, Kid," Sully apologized.
Wow, a genuine apology. From Sully. Not something I thought I'd hear any time soon.
"Hey… how'd you get your hand free?" asked Nate.
"These guys must really suck at tying knots; I was able to just pull it right out!" I answered.
"Great! Okay, all you have to do is use your free hand to pull on the knot, looking for the loosest part of the rope, then pull on that," Nate instructed.
I followed his instructions and easily freed myself. Having dealt with knots in the past, I quickly freed Nate and Sully.
Suddenly, I saw a guard sleepily saunter out of a small shack by the water. He unzipped his pants and started peeing into the lake. The three of us froze, as there was nowhere to hide. A blonde, slim woman snuck out from some boxes behind the building and kicked him into the water. Glancing back and winking at us, she pulled a flare gun from her holster and fired it into the sky, then started running toward the exit on the right side of the dock.
I started to hear engines blaring from where she ran to. They began growing louder as I saw several men armed with rifles driving ATVs onto the dock. By that point, a large number of soldiers had emerged from the buildings and started shooting at the drivers who were coming straight toward us. The blonde woman had gotten on an ATV and was speeding through the others, directly at Nate.
The woman arrived with another ATV and a motorcycle with a sidecar.
"Hop on!" she called. Nate mounted the seat behind her and started shooting his pistol at the soldiers. As I was getting on the other ATV, I heard Sully growl at me.
"Come on, Kid, this is your seat," Sully said, motioning to the sidecar.
"Sully, just get in, we don't have time for this!" Nate called out.
A disgruntled look on his face, Sully got in the tiny sidecar and the three of us sped off. As we left the area, the rest of the ATVs followed us. Despite being battered and tired, somehow, we escaped.