Chapter 12: For Whom the Bell Tolls
Tears won't bring Sully back. That's what Lara told me when I regret about Sully's dead. Sam my brother, I hope you don't know what happened here. Our parents is dead, there's no more stories about treasure hunter, no more conversation about Francis Drake. Oh God, I wish that giant just squish me when we was at the river, not Sully. But I can't keep regret this. I want Sully to know that he's worth as my mentor. So I have to get them out from here. No exceptions, leave no men behind Drake, you can do this. Remember, this is for Sully.
With only Lara, Nathan, and Sam on the team, this make the will of getting out from the Kemujan alive looking impossible. The only mentor for Nathan and Lara has gone. Both of them has remembered Sully's teaching, wheter want it or not, they must ready to face the reality, if they want to escape from this place. It was night, and the rain was done, they need some shelter to take some rest, luckily they found some cave so they take shelter in there. It's been two days they not eat anything, and they need something to eat, more like meat for the record. Considering that Lara is the only person who got the right tools for hunting, Nathan and Sam ask a favor to Lara, yet she must hunt an animal for their dinner. Lara accept their favor and hunt some animal. Lara instinct directly work fast, she feel animals around her, and not long enough, she managed to kill a deer. Her experince on Yamatai has forged her to become a perfect hunter. At ease, she managed to skin the deer and return to the cave with them meat. Arrived at the cave, Lara found Nathan and Sam building a campfire. With the meat ready, and the fire burned, they roast the deer meat above the campfire. After the deer's done, they ate the deer. While they having their 'imperfect' dinner, they start to talk about this island.
"Where is this tomb located Lara?" Sam ask her question about the Bandung tomb.
"You see that radio tower? The tomb just below that radio tower. It's about 3-4 km of walking from here to the tomb. We're almost there Sam." Lara points the radio tower where they found the cartography map. When they discussing about the tomb, Sully's satellite phone ranging. It was Eddy who call.
"Eddy, what is it?" Nathan answer the call
"Nathan, did you find the tomb?"
"Not yet, we nearly there. Just a couple of walking and we'll be arrived on the tomb."
"Is everyone alright Nathan?" When Nathan hearimg Eddy's question about everyone, Nathan sights at the phone. Leaving Eddy in confuse about what happening on the team.
"Nathan, answer me." Eddy back to ask his question about the team. Nathan then tell the truth about the team right now.
"He didn't make it Eddy. Those 'animals' kill him." Eddy knew what has Nathan refers as 'he'. Eddy know that Sully's dead because this island 'ate' him. And in that time, Nathan starts to think how many people has been 'eaten' by this island. On that time too, Eddy then gave Nathan his best of luck to escape from this island, and end his call with Nathan.
After done eating, they're going to get some sleep. But before they went to sleep, Sam found a small metal box that contains a notebook and a family photograph. Sam realised that this poor family never gone home. This island has eat so many people than they just think. And on that time too, Lara went to Sam to see Sam's found.
"Lara, this place is just like the Yamatai. They never make it out from here alive. I'm scared if we have the same fate as this family Lara." Sam was frightened when she saw the family photograph. Like they never make it out from this island alive. Lara know that Sam got more experience on Yamatai. But she's also anxious about everything that they has done in this island, will become such a waste in here. Even her mind told Lara about her anxiousty, Lara still optimize about her progress. She know in her gut that everyone gonna go home safely from this island very soon. It just a matter of time till they see the truth about this island.
"Y'all know, when I arrived in this island, I feel something inside it. Waiting for us, watching our movement. We're just like a tresspasser here. Come uninvited, and return unpicked up. This place is cursed." Nathan tell his opinion about his feeling on this island. They feel like this island is a sleeping dog, it just waiting for victim and take it, dead or alive. But no matter the conditions are, nothing stand in front of their will to get out from this island alive.
While they discusing about this cursed island, a bell was tolled from long distance until they heard even inside cave.
"D'ya hear that?" Nathan ask the team about the bell tolls
"Looks like a bell." Sam answer Nathan question about the bell toll.
"The sound comes from the radio tower. I got a bad feeling about this." Lara comment to the bell sound and tell where'd the bell sound come from.
"Locke, what the hell he want now?" Nathan already know if the sounds come from the radio tower means he's going to do another crazy-ass ritual, maybe to bring extinction to the whole island.
"Let's go, we have no time for resting. We're leaving." Lara command the team to go, and head to the radio tower. They walked for about 4 kilometers to the radio tower, when they arrived at the radio tower, they realised on the west side of the radio tower, they found a big palace made from cobblestone and it's located on the top of a hill. The bell then tolls again for the second time.
"Alright, got to climb this hills. Locke must be inside the palace, we disengage him, and destroy Jonggrang body, then it's over. Let's go." Nathan command the team to climb the hill and enter the palace.
They start to climb the hill to the palace. Some of the hill was steep enough to be climbed, but they managed to climb those hills. They arrived at the arch of the palace, first thing what they do was scout the arch first. They're surprised when they're scout the arch because they saw 2 guardians dressed in ancient Indonesian warrior armor guard the arch. They armed with spears and talk to each other in ancient hanacaraka language. Nathan then try to figuring out how they could get passed these guardians.
"Hey, this guardians should be dead right? Jonggrang must be summon these guardians for her." Nathan share his opinion about the guardians of the arch.
"It means there are more guardians inside. But first, let's figure out how we pass these guardians." Sam told the team to man up and figure out how to pass the guardians of the arch. While they thinking about the guardian, Lara was recalled about the stormguards guardians, the Samurai and the Shogun of the Yamatai, and she was reminded of Whitman who died because of the stormguard guardians. Because of that recall, Lara have a fresh idea to takedown the arch guardians.
"Sam, do you remember Whitman?" Lara ask her question about Whitman to Sam. Sam didn't answer her question, in fact she scoffs at Lara and then she ask her another question
"Why do you ask me such a stupid question Lara? You ripped Whitman face from the Endurance photograph, because he was betray all of us. He also the man who almost make me become the new Himiko of Yamatai, just for his fame. Now what's inside your brain right now, so you ask me about Whitman Lara?" Looks like Sam didn't want any recall about Whitman, because she hate Whitman just as Lara hate him. But Lara just grin at Sam, that makes Sam even confuse about her mind. So Lara starts to explain why she ask about Whitman to Sam.
"Okay, Sam, okay, no need to answer it in angry way. I just got an idea, that you could be 'Whitman' for these guardians." Lara told her plan, and guess what? That make Sam much more angry about Lara.
"Screw you Lara, I though you hate him as well. I knew you inherit his character. I'm not going to do this, we're going to do another way." Looks like Sam still doesn't know everything that Lara plan for the guardians, so Lara explain her plan to Sam and to Nathan. But eventhough Sam has heard Lara's plan, she's still anxious about the plan.
"Are you sure about this Lara? I'm afraid they're going to slash me if you're too late for the actions."
"Trust me Sam, just like you trust me back in Yamatai. I won't be late for this. I promise." Lara comfort Sam about her plan, and finally Sam step out to the arch and introduce herself to the guardians, of course those guardians didn't greet her, they stand up and wield their spears at Sam.
"Hi, don't attack me. I don't have weapons, I come in peace for just a little sightseeing on your palace ." While Sam doing her job, Nathan talk to Lara about Sam from the other side of cover.
"Lara, is your ditsy best friend Sam always pesimist when something comes to her?"
"Ah Nathan, if I must say she's a party girl. She shouldn't be pesimist if something comes to her. Indeed she's a journalist, she always want me to come with her to anything that she like, but mostly I don't like it. Anyway, how old are you Nathan?"
"25, and you?"
"I'm 23."
The guardians was pissed of by Sam's behaviour. So the guardians start to chase her, and Sam run towards Nathan and Lara. And when the guardians was close enough, both of them takedown the guardians. Strangely, these guardians turn into dust after killed, leaving only their weapons and armor.
"I get it, they lived in afterlife world, but their body left in mortal world. Leaving them becoming dust of the world. I see something like this before." Nathan remember his expedition to find Shangri-La in Shambala, when he encountered the guardians of Shangri-La, he saw the same thing that happened to this palace guardians.
"Me too Nathan. There must be something that support the guardians life, and if we destroy it, they all becoming dust." Lara remember the deathless guardian who guard the divine source. Lara believe there's something inside the palace that hold the guardians and if they destroy it, the whole guardians will become dust.
"Well whatever it is, that source can be dangerous if it fall to Locke or Jonggrang's hand, we got to find it first, and destroy it." Sam told the team to find the source and destroy it. But no one knows that the source itself is the body of Jonggrang.
They advance to the inner section of the palace. Then they saw a big gatehouse that made from wood and cobblestone and guarded by a lot of guardians on it. There are spearman, defender swordsman, giant people about 7 feet tall, and archers. There's a total about 20 guardians inside it. Of course they're shocked saw how many guardians that they need to kill.
"Lara, do you know the battle of Thermophylae?" Nathan try to encourage Lara about the guardians.
"Of course I know. What about it?"
"Do you know what King Leonidas words about the warriors of the Thermophylae?"
"He says 'Dead to the last Man'." Nathan then grin to Lara about what she says.
"Now you know what I mean right?" Lara then grin back at Nathan when she heard what Nathan just said. She pull out her climbing axe and ready to fight the guardians. Sam then ready to fight too. She kept Kaz AK-47 and load the magazine then feed the gun chamber. So the trio went to the battlefield and start to fight every single pf the guardian. Every guardian that they fought, they managed to kill it. Except for the giant people. The giant resist to gunfire, and it's impossible to kill the giant. But when they fight the giant, Nathan then got an idea to defeat the giant.
"Lara, do you read bible?"
"Sure Nate, King James version. I'm Christian, just like you. What is it?"
"You know about David vs Goliath right?" Then Lara know that Nathan want Lara to defeat the giant in dirty tricks. Lara then splash some sand at the giant eye, and blind the giant. When the giant blinded, 3 of them pushed him to the edge of the cliff and the giant fell to his death.
"Nathan, I'll never doubt bible again. Thanks to you, we did it." Lara say thanks to Nathan about his idea, but Nathan deny her thanks.
"Don't thank to me Lara. You can give your thanks to Jesus, He save your life by making you become Christian."
"Right, let's keep moving. Locke 'waiting' for us inside." Sam told the team to keep moving. The team then enter the gatehouse. Inside the gatehouse, they saw 3 big building on a giant courtyard. They know that building must be crawled by guardians. So they choose to sneak up againts the building. It was a tough job to sneak past building, but they made to get out from the courdyard and advanced to the inner section of the palace. They saw a big stairway that lead to the top of the mountain and in the top of it, there's somekind a giant shrine on it. They know Locke must be waiting inside that shrine. But before they start to walk the stairway, one of Locke's men spot them and shoot a red flare to the sky, indicates there's an intruder inside the palace. When Locke inside the shrine, he was discussing his battle plan with his elite soldier.
"Alright people, I know you want your freedom. I know you want to escape this place. In no time, all of our prayer will be answered. All of our wish will be granted. This is our final battle in Kemujan, and all of us gonna get out from here once we done our battle, so don't screw this up. This is our base, all that we gonna do is just doing defensive position. Not attacking, Jonggrang will be summon her majestic power to get us out from here. While she doing her shit, we're gonna do everything that we can do to cover her from here. Eddy won't be stay put about our plan. He must ready his army to attack us and destroy our victory. So right now, you can kill whatever that doesn't inside the part of our group. Any question?" Locke done with his grand plan about defending Jonggrang, and in that time, a red flare was shot above the sky. When Locke saw it, he only think about one person: "Drake." As he think about Drake his elite soldier take position outside the shrine to defend any rebel that try to destroy Jonggrang. But before they starts to engage, the third sound of the bell was tolled and in this time, black clouds comes out from the sky, followed with thunder storm weather around the island. Lara, Nathan, and Sam know that they now Jonggrang just one call away from her immortality. So the team know that they're gonna have to save the whole island from Jonggrang immortality and giant plan.