Sorry this took so long. I've been very much distracted. Go see Star Trek! XD

Penultimate chapter!

Mine Fall

Chapter Six

At the top of the ladder, Lara had just the last few shafts that led back to that first cavern left to take. It was in what she still thought of as a human-sized letter box when she heard the sound of someone approaching from up ahead. A single beam of torchlight swung down the tunnel. Had Lord Newbury's soldiers split up? Lara hoped so: it would certainly make picking them off easier.

Flicking off her light, Lara reached the letter box's end, gun ready. A solider appeared ahead of her but he noticed her too late, his weapon coming up too slow. One shot and he was down, the bullet tearing through his throat. Stepping over his body, Lara continued on, heading back to the main cavern. She reached the T-Junction and then she was there, back in the final tunnel before the cavern. She went slowly, listening hard for the sounds of the other soldiers.

Stepping out into the cavern, Lara looked around and saw that it was empty. She could assume that at least one of the other soldiers had take the right-hand branch of the T-Junction but that still left two unaccounted for. Had they taken the tunnel that dead-ended just across the cavern? If so, they'd be back soon...

Lara headed to the pool as fast as she could. She slid into the water, wincing at its chill.

“If you like, I can have a nice hot cup of tea waiting for you when you get back,” Zip offered.

“That would be lovely,” Lara said, before taking a deep breath and ducking under the surface.

The water's current wasn't too strong but Lara made sure she didn't get caught in it. She swam, somewhat awkwardly given the wound in her shoulder, beneath a massive outcrop of rock and, with her light back on, she could easily see the surface of the water above her. Grateful for the short swim, Lara reached the surface and found herself in a very small cave. Pulling herself out of the water, she saw that at the back of the cave was a tiny alcove in which a metal case had been placed.

“Ah, this looks promising...”

“You think you've found it?” Zip asked as Lara crouched down and pulled the box out.

“Let's see...”

Lara cracked open the metal box and revealed its contents: a small wooden box bearing the House of Windsor's Coat of Arms. She lifted it carefully and opened it. Inside was an incredibly old book with a very welcome symbol on the front: a large key.

“At last,” Lara said. “Although I admit I'm terribly frustrated that it was here all along.”

“Yeah, you could've saved yourself a bullet wound,” Zip agreed.

“Or two.”

Opening the book, Lara discovered that the Key to the Kingdom was wisdom and knowledge written down for future monarchs. She scanned over it and discovered that parts of it were even written in code.

“Alas, the necessary knowledge for running a Kingdom is not for me to know,” Lara commented as she carefully flicked through the book. Many blank pages remained for the Queen and her descendants to pass on their own thoughts. As Lara reached the end of the book, something fell out and clanged on the stone floor. Placing the book back in its box, she plucked the item off of the ground. “Well now, this is interesting.”

“What is it?”

“A key.”

“But I thought the Key to the Kingdom wasn't an actual key...”

“There's a tag attached.” Lara flipped it over and read the tiny yet exquisitely neat handwriting. “My dearest Elizabeth, you'll know what this is for. Your Loving Father.”

“Aw, sweet.”

Lara packed it back into the wooden box, before replacing that in the metal one. Closing it tightly, she slipped it into her backpack. “Right, I'm on my way out.”

“Good, you need to get to a hospital.”

“With gunshot wounds? No, I don't need that sort of attention. Call Edward.”

Doctor Edward Williams was an old university friend of Lara's; a man with excellent medical skills and an understanding of Lara's unusual lifestyle.

“Where d'you wanna meet him?”

“Back at home.” Lara slipped into the water. “Tell him Winston will have the kettle on.”

“Got it.”

Lara swam back out of the cave and returned to the main cavern. She pulled herself out of the water just as a shout went out. She turned and saw one of the soldiers emerging from one of the tunnels. He had his gun up, his finger already on the trigger. Lara didn't hesitate. She ran for the tunnel that led back to the bunker. Bullets clipped the rocks, sharp shards cutting into her skin, but she avoided a direct hit. Over the gunfire she could hear the soldier yelling for backup. She had to get out of the mine before all of them came for her.

The solider was fast and he was neither tired nor wounded. He caught up with Lara all too fast and she had no choice but to shoot back. Her shots went wide but they forced the man to take cover, buying Lara enough time to dive through the bunker's entrance. She hurried to seal the door behind her, turning the heavy wheel until it wouldn't budge another inch, sparing an incredibly brief moment to be grateful that Jonathan hadn't blown this hatch open with C4. It wouldn't stop the soldiers from coming after her, but the time it would take them to get through would hopefully give her a chance to get away. As Lara ran deeper into the bunker, she could still hear the soldiers behind her, thumping on the door. She knew they'd be through it before much longer. The question was, how many would be there: one, two or three? She had no idea if the remaining soldiers had regrouped.

She dashed through the bunker but the stairs leading her back to the higher levels were a painful obstacle. Her leg was bleeding freely now, pain spiking. She grit her teeth together, forcing herself onwards. From below came a muffled blast. The soldiers were in.

“Lara?” Zip's voice distracted her from her thoughts. “Where are you?”

“In the bunker.”

“Great, me too. Just gone past the train lines.”

“What?”

“Aw c'mon, you never share the fun.”

Lara found herself grinning. “You're here to go through all those old computers I found, aren't you?”

“What? No way!”

“Zip...”

“Okay, fine, so maybe I wanted to take a closer look but...”

“It's all right Zip. But please, if you're taking something, make sure it's small. We're going to be running out of here.”

“How many are tailing you?”

“I don't know, so let's assume three.”

“That is the magic number.”

Lara took the stairs as fast as she could but the soldiers (and it seemed as though all three were indeed after her) were already running up behind her. She turned, weapons ready. The first figure to appear took a bullet to the shoulder. He fell back with a cry, his prone body blocking the stairs. Lara holstered her weapons and took the chance to get further up. She was nearly back to the bunker's top level where Zip was.

“Lara!”

Well, where Zip was supposed to be. Instead there he was, standing on the landing between one level and the next. He held out a hand and she took it, grateful for the help.

“Look out!”

He pulled her forward, grabbed one of her guns and fired once. A responding cry told Lara he'd hit his target.

“Come on, we need to get out of here,” Zip said, helping her up the few steps between them. He began heading up. “Ready?”

Lara didn't answer. Instead she held her other gun and, as he came into view, disabled the third and final soldier. She turned back to Zip with a grin. “Now I'm ready.”

Together they made it back out of the bunker, although Lara found she couldn't force Zip to not pull one of her arms over his shoulders and take some of the weight off her leg. Back out in the open air, she found that night had truly fallen. She really had lost track of time.

“So, we done here?” Zip asked, guiding them back to the van.

“Definitely,” Lara responded. “Although it'll probably be a good idea to contact the Queen. I'm sure she'll have someone who can come by here and make the appropriate arrests.”

“I'll get Winston to do it,” Zip said, helping her into the passenger seat after she'd awkwardly slipped her backpack off.

“Thank you.” Lara leaned back in her seat, thoroughly exhausted. “It's time to go home.”

“Aren't you gonna tell the Queen the good news?” Zip asked as he dialled Croft Manor's phone number.

“Oh, Winston can do it for now.” She lazily reached up to pull her seatbelt on. “I'm sure I'll be seeing her soon enough anyway.”

“Hey Winston. Good news...”

Lara was asleep before the conversation was over.