Chapter 6

Rakel had pulled away from Austin as she had felt better not even a second into the hug. The warmth coming from Austin she loved and even though she didn't want to end the hug it was getting to the point where she didn't like it. Austin wasn't ugly she just didn't want to think of him like that. She had too much to deal with even though her brain needed a break. " We need to keep going." Austin however sensed a change in the atmosphere but he wasn't sure what it was. He only brushed it off as she moved past him into the room that wasn't terrifying at all. What was it that had a dark gloomy area just laying their bones everywhere? So they weren't the only ones that had found it, it had just been too long for anyone to see it. Bones were scattered everywhere Rakel looked at the layout of the room as empty tables and chairs were also scattered. A fight must've broken out as it seemed to be obvious as swords and different types of guns laid scattered. They had killed themselves. Austin behind Rakel looked around the room in a disgusted look before muttering to himself. Rakel only laughed a little before asking him if he saw anything out of the ordinary. " No, but why is it always a fight?" It was a good question at least in a way that what Rakel thought as Austin only seemed to judge. " Treasure, not in an agreement, Contracts. anything really." Rakel after saying kinda shrugged as she noticed barrels around the room one facing away from one body against the other wall. It was the one closest to her as she awaited to trap that might come after lifting the lid. Nothing happened and she wasn't shocked but she wasn't sure if she was feeling safer anymore as she would rather be in a hug. Lifting it fully off she set the lid on the table as Austin opened another. " Is this gunpowder? Were they trying to kill each other and the whole place with them?" it seemed to give off other vibes to Austin as he noticed something else, a door, or what seemed to be a door. " Hey, this looks like a way out." Austin looked everywhere near it as it looked at the Barrell and then dug through it. " Maybe we blow the door down?" He wasn't sure when he had said it and when Rakel pulled away from the barrel in frustration she wasn't just wanting to give up Rakel looked at the wall and then at the dead bodies as she saw a lever just like the one in the weird vision. " Please don't lead to a maze." She said it out loud but to herself as Austin only questioned what she had said. After she pulled the lever they both heard the mechanical wheels turning as clicks were also heard before the door slowly opened. It wasn't what she had seen in the vision but she knew it felt something familiar to it. Different pathways lead toward the unknown and Rakel was wishing so badly to not be haunted as she still saw the images clearer than before. She didn't want to see the images as everything became white even the hallways that led to the unknown. " Why is there so much just for a map?" Austin wasn't complaining he was getting tired of all the traps. " Is this a trap?" Austin turned around looking at everything that was white. Nothing seemed to grasp at him before Rakel started walking to the left near her. " How do you know if this is the one? " Austin was curious as her focus was on the ground as he to stared at the white flooring. He was confused as he only followed after Rakel. " You don't see it? The faded color is like a trail leading somewhere."

He only went with it because he wasn't really sure as he only was more confused. Not only did they take a right turn when they came to another 4 way but she didn't seem to hesitate as she knew exactly knew where to go. " You're amazing but weird." Austin turned to look behind them as everything was white. Austin was expecting something by now but he was just happy nothing was happening just yet. They continued walking until they came into an open door that looked too much like her vision, only it looked abandoned. "

What Rakel saw through her eyes must've dated back to when the dead bodies were still alive. She didn't want to think about it but she couldn't help herself. Austin couldn't see past the spider carvings that seemed to be more of an X that seemed to be carved all around the room. " Why does that creep me out?" Not even a second after saying it Austin and Rakel both heard a groan come from around them. Austin however didn't like it any more than Rakel as she immediately grabbed her small dagger from her pocket and thought of what could be worse. Not only did Rakel see it but so did Austin when the door from the side wall opened just like in the vision. Rakel wasn't happy and if anything her anxiety was kicking in as she felt utter terror rise up in her before the same little boy ran in chasing after the ball. The boy didn't seem to care at first before Rakel and Austin looked at each with a weird looks. The detail of the little boy was impeccable and the way the little boy picked up the ball and then looked at them like there was something else stranger than them behind them. It wasn't hard to tell what was wrong with the situation but Rakel felt like she was in the wrong. If they were dead shouldn't the little boy also be dead?

Austin wasn't thrilled about the situation and it bothered him as he stared at the open door Rakel only stared back at the little boy. Something didn't seem right and it didn't just go down her spine she felt it in the atmosphere. " Hey, " Rakel tried to keep her voice from shaking as she didn't think of wanting to speak to him. " You my sissy?" Rakel felt like her brain had been shot as everything seemed to be unreal before the little boy Beni seemed to be too real in her eyes. " No. Do you know where she is?" After asking she felt bad before the little boy seemed to be saddened by the thought of something about his sister. Rakel regretted asking and it hurt her to see him with a sad face. " I don't remember. We were here and then she was gone. She left me."

Austin didn't like any of this as he walked towards the open door and looked down the lit hallway as 4 doors and one at the end that seemed to be open. " This is too weird." He said it to himself as not once did the little boy look at him as he swore he was staring him down as he felt the burning stare on the back. " Rakel. There's a hallway in here." Austin wanted to walk in and see for himself what there was that seemed to scare him even more, but it was like a barrier was pushing him back to where he couldn't get in

" Sissy swung. Blinding light. Ocean, people, no more." Rakel got on one knee looking at the little boy and the look on his face as she knew how she would feel as if it was the same way but only with her dad. She was older than the little boy and everything about this didn't just scream but she felt like she could still hear the whistling. Rakel got up looking back at where she and Austin had come from wondering why she could still hear it. " Whistling only stops when you succeed. " She didn't understand before looking back at the little boy and the room as her eyes went towards the ceiling and the lever that seemed to still be there from the vision. " The lever. Blinding light." She understood right then as she turned towards the little boy only he wasn't there. Looking around the room he wasn't there. Austin however looked shocked as he saw something she didn't. His eyes were wide with fright and he only stood staring at the wall from her vision. " The boy isn't a boy." Not only was she confused about why he acted like that but the door he was beside was closed. Rakel didn't know how she was going to get to the lever in the first place till she looked at the far wall. She could climb as Nathan Drake did in the game.

Rakel climbed easier than she thought as she got closer and closer, looking down was never creepy and how high she was never bothered her unless she fell. It wasn't her main concern as Austin still felt the shuttering fear as he didn't see the little boy transform but as it, past him, he didn't have to know from it to already know. Fear swept through him like he was stuck outside without a coat in the dead of winter below freezing. He knew his eyes were wide and he tried to speak more than once but the only thing that seemed to come out was " Not a boy." Austin's eyes alone saw the face, the eyes, the not so much in them as it only drifted past him like smoke only clear. Austin fearful not really knowing what to do just looked back up at Rakel. Sometimes playing a video game was easier and if it had to be scary he'd play Tomb Raider. Austin watched her climb as she then practically jumped to the floor above. Rakel grabbed the lever breathing out before pulling it down hard. Moving backward she could still see the vision playing on in front of her, only what was left of the floor crumbled as she yelled out falling. " Austin look out!" Grabbing out at the air she wasn't ready to die again not in just 2 hours. Austin just watched in horror before acting on adrenaline and instinct. It was weird as he only threw himself at the wall pushing off by his legs and lunging at her falling body as they both landed on the ground. Austin had both his feet planted on the ground as Rakel only had eyes closed tightly and her arms only wrapped around herself. Austin pulled her up at arm's length as her breathing only was shallow.

Rakel felt dizzy as she didn't want to open her eyes as she couldn't just stand there not doing anything. She again felt relieved that Austin was there and that she wasn't alone. Breathing out trying to calm herself it wasn't as easy. Austin looked at her as she knew she was pale as she had felt her blood sugar decline. She felt heavy as she felt like she would've blacked out only she made herself stand up straighter as she tried to gulp down the life she had almost just lost. Looking past Austin she noticed it wasn't a blinding light but just a gateway to the outside. " About time. " Austin wasn't liking the underground things before looking out past the ocean that lay out in front of him. He felt suddenly relaxed as he only watched as Rakel climbed down running around the bend. " Rakel, wait up." Rakel heard him but she didn't want to feel trapped as it wasn't just a little island. The only thing that was wrong with anything was the part where they didn't know where the vehicle was at least from Austin's point of view. He didn't even understand if they were still in the same country or state, he felt like they had traveled under the ground and all the way to China. He still saw the ocean around them but the wind blew in his face as he lost sight of Rakel.

Austin was honestly getting tired of the tricks, he was patient enough, right? " Rakel!" He yelled her name over and over screaming it as there was just no way she got that far ahead of him. " Seriously. Where the hell?" He murmured to himself climbing down the huge stairs that looked like stairs only to giants. He started getting pissed off little by little and by the time he noticed the vast jungle around him he questioned where they really had gone. He barely had a trail to walk on as he found himself questioning what was all out there. Where was Rakel? Tree limbs got in the way but he only tried to keep his cool. The way he did that was to keep on walking as he heard the noises from the animals around him. He never heard a yell back from Rakel and it scared him to think of the worse. He walked way too long for his liking as not only was he sweating because of the heat but he wanted to have AC. " Ugh. Hot." He pulled at his shirt before breathing out as he only felt slightly better.

Rakel freaked after she barely touched the wall after almost tripping down the path before something whizzed past her. Looking around her she didn't see anything as she felt like her surrounding changed suddenly before everything got dark fast. " Austin?" She wasn't just confused but kind of scared because of what she was surrounded by. Dark masses of the walls loomed over her at least that's what it was like. She stared at everything around her jumping at the slightest thing as she tried to get out as fast as she could. She did not once question where she was as she could've sworn red eyes stared her down from every direction except the way she was going. She brushed by the trees that fell at her feet and the only thing that came out of her was more of a gasp than a yelp. Her brain screamed for help as nothing came out of her mouth. The whole time she fast-walked ahead of herself she couldn't shake the eerie feeling that she was already dead and she was trying to escape it.

Rakel ran looking behind herself as she didn't see the not so much of cliff as a real scream came from her. She hit the mud and rocks as her scream died out as she could've sworn she heard a yell from a distance. She didn't want to move as every bone screamed her body felt numb and weak. Hissing from the pain she couldn't really move but again she didn't want to. " Rakel! I'm coming." She saw Austin's head as he disappeared yet again from view. Where had he gone? Moving was the last thing she wanted to do as she forced her body to cooperate with her. Turning on her side she barely had to lift her head at the skull of a door. That wasn't creepy. Groaning as she got up from the ground she wanted to fall back to the ground. Everything screamed in her head and body before Austin ran at her only she didn't watch him she was too busy staring at the eyes of the skull door. She felt in her that this was it only what would be more dangerous than a door in the middle of the Jungle; everything. "

Rakel grabbed her side in pain as blood showed through it her shirt. She hissed in pain again before grabbing her hip right below the blood-soaked shirt. Austin ran towards her as she reached out towards the door Austin ran into her worried written all over his face. " Please tell me you're okay?" He looked down as her hand made contact with it as he simply felt bad. " You're not okay." Before he could say anything the door creaked open as The mysterious wind came out with the stench of death. " Ugh. already." Austin wasn't liking any of this and it was bothering him a lot. If they kept going she would die, again or he would. He wanted to complain so badly about everything they were doing. He could feel her tensing up as it had opened and now it seemed that she was hesitating. He wouldn't have blamed her. " Find them, kill them!" They heard the yelling before they both jolted in the direction of the cliff as heads appeared before they started shooting at them. " Hell freezing over no!" Austin yelled throwing them both inside as the door shut by itself behind them. " Why! " He yelled out already over it. " Imma go nuts, I'm already going nuts." His hands found his face before he looked down at himself as his mind went back to Rakel. She hissed out trying to stand as he helped pull her up. " Ah! that hurts." Rakel was in a lot of pain as her hand went to her side she used Austin as her anchor.

" You're going to be okay just breathe. " Austin gave her a look over as she went sideways falling to the cold tile floor. Everything wasn't doing great for her and she already felt like she should already be long gone dead. " Can I lay down? Rakel asked her eyes closed as she felt the weight of the world crashing down on her over and over again. Feeling weak she only felt the soft touch of Austin's hands tracing the wound. Rakel hissed when he accidentally put too much pressure. " Sorry. I didn't mean to." He pushed harder against her pulling her into a sitting position. She tried to not make a noise that would end up turning into her hissing out in pain. She bit her lip as it bled before she opened her eyes as saw the worry written all over Austin's face. " Please tell me it's not bad." She didn't want him to lie to her but she knew she might feel better if he did. " I'm putting this makeshift belt around the wound. It's going to put pressure on it, it will hurt. " He looked faintly at her lips before going back to his job putting it around her and pulling it tightly around her waist. She whimpered while a few tears fell. " You're going to be okay. I'm going to help you up now when I do plant your feet and lean against me." He not once asked and she liked how he took charge as she did exactly what he said he would do only when she tried to plant her feet firmly her knees buckled as she felt her body and her eyes turn up into her head. " Crap! Rakel!" She was only partly awake but he knew they shouldn't stay there. They had already wasted time even though it was urgent.

Pulling her tightly Austin had his arm around her hip as her arm was around his neck she only tried to do so much. She wasn't losing any blood due to the wrap around it as the belt hung over it with pressure. What worried him was if they followed or worse anything else happened that would kill them both. " Almost there, I hope." He grunted pulling her body with every step he took as dark but perfectly shaped clubs stood out as an entire room laid out in front of them both. A fountain lay at one side and in the middle seemed to be a dark metal globe. He didn't understand it as he sat Rakel beside the fountain making sure she was still breathing. It wasn't like he could do both things when she was in his arms. He had his gun ready for anything the only thing he had to do was start shooting. He even had a grenade if he needed to use it, he just didn't know how old the place was or where they were in the first place. Looking at the lever then the globe he wondered if he should as he hesitated too much before only doing one thing before getting ready for anything. " Austin. What's that noise." He looked over at her not understanding what she was hearing as the only thing that he suddenly felt was the gust of wind from behind him. Turning around he was expecting something anything only instead he heard the splashing noise he turned yet again as his gun still in his hands wavered as he dropped it immediately. Running towards the water he wasn't just blasted away but he felt as if he was torn apart little by little before he looked at himself and then at Rakel who only stood in the fountain grabbing at her head and then pulling the bandage away from her body.

" Woah, No way," Austin murmured as Rakel only didn't seem fazed by what just happened. " Rakel how.?" She only smiled as she breathed through her mouth she only grabbed ahold of him looking at the scar that didn't hurt anymore from several years before. The simplest thing she had done next made him want to be rich and forget about anything else; healing water. " Holy Water, only real healing Water. Cool." She said it so calmly yet in a daring way as she only cupped her hand as the water ran along his arm and down back into the fountain. He understood it but what were they supposed to do with a fountain of healing water? Austin looked into the water and then back to Rakel who was still drenched. " What if they notice this and want this?" Rakel looked into what she was standing in and then at the globe, reaching out Austin grabbed her helping her out. She still had blood on her shirt but she knew she was a whole lot better than before she grabbed her side as it didn't hurt her. Rakel's clothes clung to her as her main focus of the action was to get dry and fast. She did however notice Austin looking at her but it wasn't like she didn't like it. it was the part where she didn't want to add to their friendship. The globe to Rakel did look like the earth from far away but it was moving on its own.

It wasn't creepy till they both jumped from the door from across them opened on its own. " Let's just hope they don't recognize what it is." Austin was still confused as he traced where the scar used to be. He followed after Rakel but he kept looking back at the fountain wondering just how much it would be worth before he wondered why it looked so familiar to him. " Woah. Okay, hold on." She stopped in her tracks as the whole time they didn't realize something was watching them. She could feel it boring into the side of her face as in the corner of her eyes she could've sworn she saw an eye looking at them only when she turned and looked it was as if nothing was there at all. It wasn't even what she was even talking about as different Engravings laid out on the tiles in front of them. Some looked like they were in order and some looked like they didn't belong. Looking at Rakel she looked back at him after staring at the walls as if something was supposed to be there. " Do you have those pictures from before in your notebook? They look familiar."

Austin grabbed his notebook looking through it before seeing at least 4 symbols. " Okay. Just step where I step." Austin moved around her stepping on one with a straight line coming out of it than one that had half white and half black as it made an entire circle. It was the same thing as he made sure to get it right instead of getting it wrong. He didn't want to think of what would happen if he got them both in a pickle. There were two sets of the same symbols. Austin knew they meant something but he wasn't sure what it was or if it was a good thing or a bad thing. They were both blinded by the light that came from the wall that fell. " The heck!" Rakel and Austin both put their hands over their eyes at the same time as they both squinted before walking out. Austin wasn't surprised by the distant yell. the only problem he had was the fountain if they found it. " I hate these guys." Rakel only knew that feeling all too well as she was used to it as well as death and pain. Austin knew about it only just recently but Austin wasn't fond of it at all. She could still see the pain behind his eyes as he tried to hide it from her with everything that was going on. When was she even going to tell him everything; maybe he already knew what was all going on. She felt weird all of a sudden and only looked behind her when she noticed Austin staring in shock behind her. " You felt that right?" She asked as she turned to look at the trees and the sky above it as she wondered where the door had gone. Stepping back she honestly didn't even want to know what had happened.

Austin felt like he was breaking little by little as he felt like his soul wasn't there as he was physically and mentally tired. He wondered how Rakel even handled these situations or how she felt mentally. Austin knew that she was hiding more than one thing from him only he wanted to be patient and not be the type to demand. He just wasn't sure if she was ever going to trust him, why would she? Austin could only think of so much since being with her and saving her way too many times, to begin with.