Tomb Raider: - Unfinished Business.
This is my first story so please be fairly nice. I am sorry if there are any discrepancies within this story. Also to understand this better you may wish to watch Deus Obscura and Deus Manifestum (a fan film) on YouTube as this is based after those. Happy reading! (Hopefully) I would greatly appreciate any advice that you may have to give me.
Disclaimer- This is a fan fiction and is not intended for profit. The characters depicted in this story belong to their respective owners. Thank you.
Chapter 10: Dreams and Curses.
The trio were awoken by the sound of the pilot announcing over the tannoy that the plane would soon be landing in Hong Kong. Sully stretched his arms before reaching for a drink from the table next to him. Nate began to make sure he had everything he needed with him and that the journal was somewhere safe. Kurtis had been awake for a while, his eyes heavy. When he had managed to fall asleep he soon woke back up, his heart racing.
They felt relieved when they did land in China knowing that they had escaped whoever was following them. It was three o'clock in the afternoon and the sun was basking Hong Kong in a warm glow.
As Sully, Nate and Kurtis left the airport they decided to head straight to the docks hoping to find someone who would take them to the Cascata Island. The streets were filled with people rushing around going in and out of shops. In a courtyard there were magicians and acrobats performing as little children giggled and jumped around clearly enjoying the show.
Nate turned to look at Kurtis and saw him rubbing his eyes. "Are you alright? You look like hell." He asked putting his hand on Kurtis's shoulder as if to shake him awake.
"Honestly…no. I didn't sleep well. I kept having the same dream over and over." At this point Nate and Kurtis slowed down a little letting Sully go slightly further ahead. He was merrily looking around taking in his surroundings.
"I was in a corridor, a long stone corridor. I could see the shadow of a figure on the floor at the other end but as I travelled further down people, dressed in black, emerged from the shadows and attacked me. The closer I got to the person on the floor more people attacked me and the brighter the light above the figure got." Kurtis began to fidget and found it harder to continue.
Sully had realised that Kurtis and Nate were lagging behind and waited for them noticing that something was wrong. "What's up?" with Sully playfully punching Kurtis on the arm he found the strength to continue as they walked on.
"The trail of blood on the floor started at a few drops but turned into small puddles. As I got closer I could see…" he stopped, his voice breaking. Nate put his hand on his shoulder again. "It was…it was Lara. She had a knife through her chest and blood was pouring from the wound. I tried so hard to get to her but when I had fought off everyone else and I was in front of her, she reached for me. As I reached for her the floor crumbled and I fell. As I was falling I could hear her say that I failed her."
Kurtis's voice completely broke and tears had filled his eyes. Neither Sully nor Nate knew what to say to him. "We will find her Kurtis." Said Nate as Sully gently nudged Kurtis. They walked the rest of the way in silence.
The docks were just as busy as the city centre. People were buying various fishing supplies or the fish themselves. The trio walked down the dock looking for someone with a relatively small boat. They reached the end and heard two men shouting at each other.
"Feng you scare everyone off with your spooky stories of that damn island. We will never get enough money to open our own store." The man was irate, throwing his arms around but it was clear that he wasn't even getting through to the man named Feng.
"People have a right to know that island has a curse on it. Every ship that has gone near that island has ended up washed up on its shore." The first man had had enough. With a heavy sigh he barged passed Sully causing him to fall over. Feng walked over to the trio.
"Sorry about him" said Feng helping Sully to his feet "He doesn't understand. Anyway what can I do for you fine gentlemen? You have been stood there a while." Feng was more observant than they had thought. This took them by surprise. "Well then."
Nate thought he might as well be honest with him, well not totally honest. "We want to get to an island called Cascata." He looked at Kurtis "We're looking for a friend. Could you take us there on your boat?" Nate thought that, with the right incentive, Feng may take them but Sully didn't trust Feng's boat to take them there in one piece.
The paint was a dark, murky blue and was peeling from the wood beneath. It was small, yes, but would it fit all of them in it? It looked like it hadn't been washed since the nineteen twenties.
Feng's eyes widened with shock. He marched forward and stood inches from Nate. "Bad people have gone to that island. They are going to unleash evil…I can feel it. What do you want there?" He never blinked once and that unsettled Nate.
"Our…friend has gone there to stop the bad people and we want to help her." Feng turned his attention to Kurtis and stood contemplating for a moment. He ran his hand through his hair and looked at his boat. "Are you gonna help us or not?" asked Kurtis impatiently.
"Hmm…yes. IF you pay me? Let's say…enough to get myself a new boat." Sully's jaw dropped but before he had the time to negotiate Kurtis shook Feng's hand and began to get on the boat. Nate turned and looked at Sully, who was even more flabbergasted, shrugged his shoulders and followed Kurtis onto the rickety boat.
They set off along the calm south China seas. The Sun was now beginning to ease its way along the sky emitting an orange glow. Sully really did not trust Feng's boat. He held tightly to his seat praying that the worn boat wouldn't sink with the slightest wave. The entire ride to Cascata, Feng was constantly talking about how the island was cursed blissfully unaware that not one of the boys was listening to him.
It wasn't long before the island was in front of them; however Feng refused to sail all the way to the beach. Now Sully really hated the man as they had to swim the short distance to the shore. "That superstitious git." Sully grumbled as he rung out the water from his shirt. Kurtis didn't care that he was soaked as he began to survey the area.
"So what are we looking for here Nate? Some random temple in the middle of the forest or…" Kurtis was cut off by Nate whilst Sully was looking back at the sea still moaning about the boat.
"We are looking for two waterfalls next to each other."
"You realise that cascata means waterfall in Italian."
"If you let me finish Kurtis, the waterfalls that we're searching for have a small island in the middle of a lake that lies at the bottom."
"Oh…because that makes it easier." Kurtis was beginning to become more irritated as they wasted time. Nate was, surprisingly, keeping his calm.
"Judging by the drawing in the journal there's a cherry blossom tree and a lantern on the little island. There also looks to be a path that leads there."
With Nate remaining calm the entire conversation Kurtis realised he had snapped at him. "Sorry Nate I…just want to find her." Nate gave Kurtis a small smile as he led the way into the forest.
The forest was dense and humid. Flies began to buzz around their heads as Nate looked for the small path leading to the waterfalls. Animals could be heard rustling in the bushes and the trees. As a precaution Kurtis pulled out his faithful Doran X handgun and Sully unsheathed his own. They walked for what felt like hours and as the sun set Nate gathered a torch he had packed in his bag and turned it on alighting the ground in front of them.
Nate located the path they were looking for but they were not alone. Lights could be seen and cheerful voices could be heard. The trio decided to hide in the bushes as they stole a glance at what appeared to be a camp.
The people in the camp wore the same attire as the mercs who attacked Lara at the hotel. They concluded that the merc were there for the same thing the boys were…Lara.
The commotion grew louder as a crowd formed in front of the fire at the centre of the camp. They were cheering and drinking. From a nearby tent a man in a grey coat emerged dragging someone else.
"Lara!" Sully and Nate had to drag Kurtis back as he almost gave away their position. The man in the grey coat sat her in front of the fire. As the light lit her face they trio could see blood dripping from her lip and her eyebrow. But then the man stood in the light and Kurtis could not believe his eyes.