I actually got the idea for Nate and Elena's trips to Thailand and Egypt from 1000 Places to See Before You Die. As far as the story goes, the next few chapters may be a little slow; the story I want to tell has a lot to set up. But I promise that it will pick up and feel more like an Uncharted adventure! Hopefully tough, if I tell it right, it won't be a typical adventure!
Nate looked deeply into Elena's eyes, those beautiful brown doe eyes of hers. God, he couldn't think of any moment that he loved her more than he did right now. He had promised himself he wouldn't cry. But as the wedding continued, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to keep that promise.
It was a small service, held in a local church, with only close friends and family in attendance. Sully was best man of course, and Elena had an old friend from college as her maid of honor. Elena's whole family had flown in from Colorado, and they greatly outnumbered the few friends that Nate invited. But Nate didn't mind, he was happy Elena had a loving family. He never knew what that was like, but the fact that it made this day so much better for her was enough for him. The few guests that were there for him were some of his closest friends. Charlie Cutter actually flew in from London, though he made wisecracks the entire time about wanting to be reimbursed for the flight. There was also David Reese, a reformed con man from Kentucky, who Nate had been friends with ever since Reese saved his ass in a bar fight eight years before. Next to him was Gabriel Finch, an archaeologist who Nate befriended in college. Nate had dropped out after a year, but the two of them had kept in touch. What was more surprising to Nate than the fact that Chloe Frazer even managed to make it, was that it was Elena's idea for her to come. Nate had avoided the subject, unsure about what old issues it would stir up. But Elena seemed happy to invite her.
Nate recited his vows, barely noticing how uncomfortable his tuxedo was. He just stared at the lovely blonde standing in front of him, and as far as he cared, nothing else in the world existed. Just the two of them, together. Elena started to tear up as he slipped the silver band on her finger.
Shortly afterward, Nate held Elena's hand tightly as they ran for their car. They ducked as everyone threw rice, cheering for the new couple. As he ducked his head down, he made eye contact with Elena, sharing the moment of joy. But as he opened the door to the car, his heart skipped a beat, and all of his joy was replaced with terror. What was looking back at him from the back seat of the car was impossible.
Sitting in the back seat was a bloody Harry Flynn.
Nate shuddered as he heard the words come from Harry's mouth. "Parting gift from Lazaravic," he said, "Pity he took the pin." Nate filled with panic as Flynn dropped a grenade. The world seemed to go silent as it rolled between their feet, and before he could move, they were both engulfed in the explosion.
But Nate's eyes opened, and he had to squint at the blinding white light that assaulted him. But as his eyes adjusted, he realized he had no idea where he was. He was lying on the floor, staring up at the ceiling of an unknown room. He blinked a few times, and then he screamed for Elena, but no sound came from his mouth. He paused in confusion, and then tried to sit up, but none of his muscles responded. He tried to turn his head, but he couldn't budge. His entire body was completely limp. He laid there helpless for a moment, only able to move his face and eyes. Then, after what felt like an eternity, he heard footsteps. He hoped it was help, but then he heard a disembodied voice that struck fear into him.
"You think I am a monster," the Serbian voice said, "But you're no different from me Drake." Nate laid there in terror as Zoran Lazaravic stepped up and stood over him.
"How many men have you killed?" Zoran asked, "How many, just today?"
Nate tried to respond, but he was still only capable of silence.
Lazaravic smiled a look of pity, and then crouched down next to Nate. "Don't bother Drake," he continued, "You can speak when you have the will."
Then Lazaravic grabbed Nate by the hair, and pulled him up into a sitting position. Despite the pain of being lifted by his hair, Nate couldn't move a muscle, and Lazaravic had to put a hand behind Nate's back to prop him up. Nate never felt so helpless before. Lazaravic grabbed him by the jaw, and turned his head so they were face to face.
"So, do you even know how many people you've killed? You claim to be a better man than me, but you continuously put yourself in situations where you had to kill. You could've walked away when you realized what your work often entailed. But you didn't. You kept coming back for more. You enjoyed it,"
Nate tried to tell him he was wrong, but all he could manage was a look of protest on his face. Zoran smiled that same pitying look. "You don't need to say it Drake. You think I'm wrong. You think you only ever did what had to be done. But on top of it all, you put everyone you claimed to care about in mortal danger on a regular basis. So tell me, who's the real monster?"
He stared at Nate with an evil grin, knowing Nate couldn't respond. "You're just as big of a monster as me, Mr. Drake. And now you suffer for it."
He turned Nate's head to face front, and Nate looked on in horror. Sully, Elena, Charlie, and Chloe were on their knees, tied up in front of him. Nate's breathing became ragged as his adrenaline surged, wishing he could do something. Standing behind them were Talbot, Katherine Marlowe, Eddy Raja, and Ramses.
"I told you no one messes with me bule!" Eddy said, and then Nate watched in helpless terror as he pulled out his golden pistol, and shot Charlie in the head. Marlowe was next, stabbing Chloe through the chest.
Nate fought with all of his will to move, to speak, to be able to do something. But he was forced to watch motionless, a look of sheer terror on his face, wishing he could go in their place, but to no avail. Talbot picked up a rifle, and with that sick grin on his face, shot Sully in the back.
Nate was frozen in terror, staring at the dead bodies in front of him, their blood splattered on him. He heard Lazaravic laughing next to him.
"See you in hell, habibi," Ramses said, pulling out his pistole. As he aimed at Elena's head, Nate finally found his voice.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he yelled, his voice broken, full of pain and anger, still unable to move. "Please, just kill me, kill me instead."
Lazaravic smiled, and looked Nate in the eye. "We're about to." He taunted.
Nate made eye contact with Elena, who was shaking in fear, tears running down her face. They maintained eye contact, their last moment together.
Nate cringed as Ramses pulled the trigger, and his stomach wrenched as Elena's blood splattered onto his face.
"ELENA!" Nate shouted, screaming and leaping upright in a panic. Drenched in sweat, Nate looked around frantically, feeling the worst rush of pure terror he had ever felt in his life. As his adrenaline pumped, and the blood rushed in his ears, he barely heard the female voice struggling to get his attention.
"NATE, Nate! It's- Nate it's alright, It's Ok," Elena said, trying desperately to calm Nate down. He was completely incoherent for a moment, panic written all over his face. She put her hands on his shoulders, and he turned to face her, but he still had panic in his eyes. She cupped his face in her hands, and though his breathing was still ragged, Nate slowly calmed down.
"It's OK, Nate, I'm here," she said, "I'm here, you're OK, it was a dream."
She looked at him, tears staining his face, his breath ragged. After a moment, he finally seemed to realize where he was, that she was real. He started to cry as he rested his head on her shoulder. She embraced him, and they held each other tight as he sobbed. Tears filled Elena's eyes as she held him. Most people never saw this side of Nate, the part of him that was haunted by his past. It was painful for Elena too. She loved him, and seeing him tortured like this broke her heart.
"Oh god," Nate mumbled between sobs, "You were… you were… he…"
"It was a dream, I'm here now. It wasn't real," Elena reassured him, guiding Nate back down into bed, tears silently flowing down her cheeks.
Nate trembled, and elevated his gaze, looking her in the eye. Feeling powerless to help him, Elena did the only thing she could do. She kissed him, which quickly became a passionate, all-consuming kiss. Before she knew it, Nate had her in the most loving, I need you, to hold you, to know you're real and alive embrace he ever had before. He embraced her, felt every inch of her, wanting and needing her more than he ever needed anyone else in his life. He passionately kissed her, and when he slipped off her pajama pants, she didn't say a word. She knew she didn't need to. She just followed his lead.
When it was over, Nate laid on his back, running his fingers though Elena's hair as she rested her head on his chest, her arm draped across his stomach. She smiled as she gazed deeply into his eyes. She loved those blue eyes of his. As he looked lovingly into her eyes, he seriously doubted he would've made it this long without her. She listened to his breathing, felt the steady rise and fall of his chest, and shivered as his hands ran up her bare torso, stroking every inch of her. Nate smiled, and gave Elena a quick kiss. But despite his improved mood, she could tell he was still troubled. His eyes looked distant. So she had to ask the tough question.
"What was it this time?" she asked, and felt guilty as she saw him visibly sadden.
"It wasn't any one dream in particular," he replied, his voice tired and weak. "It all seemed to happen at once. All of my nightmares, all happening at the same time."
"Want to talk about it?" she asked, holding him tighter.
"No, not really," Nate said blankly.
"Nate," Elena said in a stubborn tone, "You need to talk about it."
Nate sighed, and tried to turn away, but stopped when he saw the look in Elena's eyes, and relented. He described his whole dream to her, all of its detail. She listened attentively to every word. As he told her about every terrible part of his dream, she held him tighter, wishing she could do more to help him.
"You're not a bad person Nate," Elena reassured him when he was done, "You did what you had to do to survive,"
"But I kept going back for more," Nate said, tears returning to his eyes, "I knew the stakes, I knew what was likely to happen, but I still jumped into all those jobs whole heartedly. I could've just walked away."
Elena gazed reassuringly into his eyes, "You have walked away Nate," she replied, "You left it all behind. And you never took any of those jobs because you wanted to kill people."
"But I had no right to put any of you in danger."
"Nate," Elena said seriously, "None of us would ever have gone with you if we didn't want to. You didn't force us into anything." She watched his face, and could tell he doubted what she was saying. "We came with you of our own free will. And we all have to take responsibility for the consequences of our own actions Nate. Whatever danger that Sully, myself, or anyone else you know got into is not your fault. We wanted to help you. We chose to help you"
He stared at her blankly for a moment, and then smiled weakly. "I guess you're right," he relented.
"Damn right I am," Elena quipped. Nate chuckled, and hugged her tighter as she closed her eyes. Nate took a deep breath, and closed his eyes, Elena's warm, bare skin relaxing him. But right as he was about to fall back asleep, he heard crying over the baby monitor.
Elena started to get up, but Nate stopped her. "I'll take care her," he said, a reassuring smile on his face. She smiled, but then stared at him quizzically as his eyes darted around the room, a look of confusion on his face.
"What is it?" she asked.
Then, his tone completely serious, he replied, "Have you seen my pants?"
Elena laughed, and looked around with him. Then she picked up his pants off the floor on her side of the bed, still chuckling at his expense, and handed them to him.
A moment later, Nate walked into the baby's room, tying the string on his pajama pants as he went. He could hear the baby wailing. He looked down into the crib, and smiled as he delicately lifted his daughter up onto his shoulder, patting her lightly as he gently rocked back and forth.
"Hey Juliet, what's wrong?" he asked as he checked her diaper. The baby just continued to cry, but the question answered itself as a foul smell reached his nose. He sighed; half tempted to ask Elena if she would take care of it for him. But he decided against it, and took a deep breath before placing Juliet on the changing table.
Shortly afterward, Nate walked into the living room, baby on his shoulder. Unfortunately, Juliet didn't want to be cooperative about going back to bed. So he sat down on the couch, and began rocking her in his arms, hoping to lull her back to sleep. Held her head delicately, and stared lovingly into her green eyes, but she just wailed in distress. As she continued to cry, Nate prepared a bottle of formula for her. He sat back down, holding Juliet in one arm, cradling her close, because as far as Nate cared, she was the most precious treasure he had ever handled.
"It's okay Juliet," Nate whispered as he held the bottle in his free hand. "It's alright, daddy's here." He paused after he finished his sentence. He still wasn't entirely used to it, the idea of being a dad. But he knew he wouldn't trade it for anything.
After calmly feeding her, Nate placed Juliet in her cradle in front of him. Juliet began to fall asleep, but much to Nate's dismay, he found himself restless. So he walked over to the bookshelf, and pulled down one of his favorites, a worn hardback copy of The Complete Sherlock Holmes. He flipped the book open, and sat down on the couch, rocking Juliet's cradle with one foot.
"It is with a heavy heart," Nate read aloud, "That I take up my pen to write these, the last words in which I shall ever record the singular gifts by which my friend Mr. Sherlock Holmes was distinguished."
He continued to read as he rocked Juliet's cradle. He paused, and looked away from his book to see Juliet fast asleep and peaceful. So he kept reading, and hoped rest would visit him eventually.
I love Sherlock Holmes, I don't know about you. I actually just got a very nice hardback edition of The Complete Sherlock Holmes for Christmas. But on to the story. I had a lot of difficulty with the dream sequence. I wanted to do something a little different than what had been done in other stories, and went through about four versions of it before I found one I liked. Once I figured it out though, it was a lot of fun. Another sticking point was finding a baby name I liked. I thought for a moment about naming her Emily (tee hee, inside jokes) but decided against it. The boy name I had thought of was Henry (surprisingly, not a reference to Indiana Jones, but to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, another favorite of mine). I hate to repeat myself, but please, please, give me constructive criticism! I want this story to be as good as possible.
Lastly, in case you were wondering, the Holmes story Nate is reading is The Final Problem, the story where Holmes battles wits with James Moriarty. Coincidence?