North || Nathan Drake

07

The sun was setting and they others had slept off their hangovers when they returned to the Church of Saint Mary of the Pine. The warm wood of the pews and the golden decorated alter was lit by warm yellow electric lights that stood in the raisers where once candles had hung. The light cast the dark walls in shadow and illuminated their faces as they walked down the aisle. Chloe and Sully glancing around as if to spot any clues while Dante paused every few steps to take a artsy shot of how the light gleamed on a relic or a carving. He caught a candid side profile of Nate's face, the man walking a few steps before him. 

"Urgh", he let out a groan as a Nun walked past. For a second she stopped and glanced at them before hurrying on. Nate sighed. "Nuns. Why is it always gotta be nun's?" 

"Alright, let's just spilt up and figure out where the keys go huh?" Sully proposed. Nate nodded and he went left, while Chloe went right. Dante stood still as Sully headed for the alter, his camera still held up to his eyes and the lens turning as he focused in on the way the golden light danced across his skin. He watched as the man spotted a rack of postcards in the church's small gift shop section. 

"Hey Sully!" He called as he pulled a bag from his backpack. Dante thought he caught a flash of photos and lowered the camera from his face to see. 

"What?" Sully asked. 

Nate hesitated. "Nothing". 

"What is it?" Dante asked as he walked over to join him. Nate half tucked the plastic bag underneath this sleeve as he approached, before stopping, other hand clutching a postcard the rack. 

"It's fine", Nate smiled slightly as he tucked the bag into his pocket. "I was just wondering if Sam ever made it this far". 

Dante hummed as he began to flick through the photo memory on his camera screen. Nate was hiding something but he wasn't going to push. They all had secrets. "I'm sure he did. Sam was smart and thought on his feet. Like you", he flashed Nate a wry smile before turning and wrapping his arm around Nate's shoulders. "Smile", he ordered as he lifted the camera up and turned the lens towards them. He beamed, Nate blinking in surprise as the shuttle clicked. Dante dropped his hold and turned the screen to show the other with a laugh. "You look like a deer in headlights". 

"Hey, you caught me by surprise", Nate shot back, a laugh on the edge of his tongue. 

"Hey guys!" Sully called. "Come here!" He waved them over towards the pews at the front of the church, just a few feet away from the metal fencing blocking off the altar. The wooden bench clattered on the stone floor as he moved it back. "Look", he gestured to a metal plate set into the stone. Dante and Nate walked over to peer at it. The etchings worn under time. 

"JSE", Chloe read. "Juan Sebastian Elcano".

"The eighteen were here alright". Sully nudged Nate with his elbow. The younger man smiled as he crouched down to trace his finger along the shapes etched into the metal. Dante held up his camera and took a picture. 

"If this is the church, then these must be the stairs", Nate muttered as his finger followed along the half worn lines. "And they lead, that way". He lifted his arm to point towards the top left corner where an arched door was visible, half tucked away behind more fencing. 

Dante reached the metal gate first and it was luckily unlocked. He pushed it open and the four of them slipped through the door and down the spiral stone stairs. There was not very much light down there. The shadows cast by glows of weak orange toned electric lights and lots of candles. The room below seemed to be a private prayer room. It was shaped like a hexagon and in each wall was an alcove where a statue or an altar stood. Nate reached the room first and stood in the centre to spin slowly around, taking everything in. "Thoughts Alter boy?" Chloe prompted. 

"Were you really an alter boy?" Dante asked. 

"No. My orphanage was just run by nuns", Nate mumbled absentmindedly back as he turned his gaze to the stone arch of the doorway they had just entered through. "Caelum. That's um-"

"Latin", Dante answered for him. "It mean Heaven". Nate nodded. 

"It says in the journal, 'trust in your fellow man, for one shall go to heaven and the other to hell'. So if heaven is up there, then hell should be around here somewhere". He gestured round at the room. "I hope". They spread out and began looking around. It didn't take long for Nate to speak up again. "Hey I've got a skeleton with angel wings. That's kind of a in-between, right?" He must of done something, pushed a pressure plate maybe, for something clicked. 

Dante, who had been near the alter with Chloe, paused. "Does Mary look a little off to you?" Chloe asked as she also spotted it. The centre of the alter where Mary stood was now crooked, one side sticking out more than the other. 

"No way", Nate grinned as he met them at the metal gates. 

"Hey open it up", Sully ordered as he pulled a set of bolt cutters from his backpack. Nate looked offended. 

"I'm not going to do that. We're in a church, man. Have a little respect". 

"I'll do it", Dante offered as he grabbed the bolt cutters and promptly clipped through the chains holding the gates shut. "What?" He asked as he caught sight of Nate's face. "I was a choir boy". He grinned as he pulled the gates open. 

"That explains some things", Nate muttered as he turned his attention to the alter. He took the small statue of Mary and turned it, grunting with effort as he pushed the old mechanism along. The back of the idol was painted with images of devils and flames. "So there's hell". Nate then yelped as wood moved and two paintings at the base of the alter moved aside to reveal keyholes. 

"Hey, you did it". Sully's tone was surprised. Dante raised his camera just as Nate turned to beam at him, capturing the expression of joy and disbelief on his face. The curly haired boy smiled. It was a good photo. 

"Get the crosses out", he voiced as Nate and Chloe both grabbed for their bags. The gold crosses both slid into the holes with twin thuds. 

"Wait", Chloe paused. "Which way do we turn? Left or right?" 

"I don't know. What does the book say?" 

Sully began flicking through the journal as Dante took another picture. The tanned boy lifted his head and glanced around, eyes picking up on any small holes in the alter or walls. He took a few steps sideways to lean against the wall. "Ah, right here. It says turn your keys clockwise at the same time", Sully declared. 

unedited