A humid, cold air hung between the walls of the tomb. Sam led the way down the stairs, which had turned slippery from years of moisture leaking into the crevices. Lana's eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness. She clicked her flashlight on at the same time Sam's lighter lit up. The flame caught her eye, and she laughed when he shone it underneath his face jokingly.
Skulls and cobwebs decorated the space below the graveyard. Lana scrunched up her nose at the sight of countless bugs scurrying away from the beam of her light. After a few dead ends and reroutes through the maze of the tomb the three found themselves in a larger room. Three statues stood in the middle, decorating the wall that seperated two halves of the space.
Lana recognized the middle figure to be Jesus, unmistakeable when hanging from the cross with a crown of thorns on his head.
''Gang's all here!'' Nate joked.
''So, the left one is our guy?'' Lana asked the two brothers.
Sam nodded. ''The one on the left is Dismas, you know, the penitent thief.''
''What does that make the other one? The not-so-penitent thief?'' She replied.
Sam flicked her nose in amusement and smiled. ''You're not far off, actually,'' he said, making her frown in confusion. ''That's Gestas, the impenitent thief.'' He chose to ignore the fluttering in his chest at her confused expression.
The two hadn't noticed Nate studying the wall in the middle of the room until he beckoned Sam over. ''Hey, Smoky, get your lighter over here.''
Sam gave Lana a funny look and hurried over to Nate.
''You know, that hurts my feelings,'' he said.
''Not as much as it hurts your lungs,'' Nate shot back.
''Thank you, Father Duffy.''
Lana bit back a smile at the bickering. Sam lit the small lamp Nate was pointing at. They all took a step back as the crevices of the stone wall filled with flames. The fire ignited a light that reflected on the wall behind them.
''I got this,'' Nate said, and all but ran to the other side of the wall. Not long after, the lights began to shift as he tinkered with something behind the wall.
''What's Avery's obsession with Dismas anyway?'' Lana asked, looking behind her to find Sam playing with his lighter while leaning against the stone wall.
''He considered himself to be a ''penitent thief,'' he said, eyes meeting hers.
She paused for a second. ''Was he?''
''Maybe,'' Sam shrugged. ''As far as a ''good thief'' exists.''
''Would you consider yourself to be a good thief?''
His playful expression gets wiped off his face. He closed the lighter one final time before putting it in his pocket and pushing himself off of the wall.
A moment passed, one in which Lana couldn't help but feel awkward. Did she strike a nerve? Being uncomfortable was foreign to her, she was used to being in control and anticipating the other party's movements. Sam, however, was unreadable. She couldn't tell if he was just that good or if her skills were simply failing her.
He looked up at her. His eyes were more serious than she had ever seen them before.
''I don't believe you can be a good thief. If my life hadn't been the way it was I wouldn't be doing this.''
Her eyes soften. His words were vague but she understood what he meant. Life hadn't been kind to either of them. She felt for him, truly, but at the same time felt thankful that their shitty childhoods had caused them to meet.
''What would you have wanted to be?'' She asked him.
He was caught off guard by her question. He hadn't expected himself to answer her first question honestly, he was much better off making a silly joke about it like he always did. Something about her made opening up all too easy. The nagging voice in the back of his head reminds him that this is what she does, this is what she's good at. The realization hits him without remorse, and he feels himself closing up and backing away from her.
She realized, too. A frown crept onto her face as she searched his eyes for an explanation to his sudden change of demeanor. He looked away.
''I'm gonna go see if Nate needs a hand,'' she said. The tone in her voice sounded off. Hurt, even? He couldn't place it.
Her footsteps were soft yet they echoed between the walls. She found Nate peering through what looked like a telescope. He jumped slightly when he noticed her presence and frowned when he saw her expression.
''What did he say to you?'' He asked. She smiled and shook her head.
''Nothing, is what you're doing working?''
He sighed and returned his attention to the puzzle in front of him.
''Can I try?'' Lana asked. Nate nodded and stepped back.
She fiddled with the device for a bit, until a clicking noise caught everyone's attention. They hurried back to the front of the room, where the stone wall that stood there moments ago started to shift and creak.
The stone door opened, revealing an old window, beautifully decorated with intricate shapes. The view showed the cathedral, they were closer than they thought. Another explosion shook the ground.
''Open, sesame,'' Sam joked.
''Wrong treasure,'' Nate remarked, to which he was promptly shushed by his older brother.
''What are we supposed to see?'' Lana mumbled.
Her fingers traced the linings of a smaller, circular glass right in the middle of the window. It was then she noticed the three large crosses decorating the mountain ahead.
''Is that a cave?'' Sam asked. Upon closer inspection the smaller window in the middle indeed seemed to point at a cave located right in between the large crosses.
''I think Avery's trying to tell us where to go next,'' Nate answered.
Lana's shoulders slumped at the thought of having to cross another mountain in this cold, snowy weather. Her heart was still heavy from Sam's sudden rejection, but she shook it off. She never cared before, and she wasn't going to start now, is what she told herself. She avoided his gaze when they made their way back up to the graveyard.
The wind above had picked up while they were down in the tomb. Lana almost missed the sound of a bullet whizzing past her head, inches away from the tip of her nose. A hand pulled her down behind the stone wall as more bullets followed the lead of the first.
''Shoreline,'' Nate stated.
''How did they know we were here?'' Lana started slightly panicking. A touch of a hand on her arm brought her back to reality as she looked behind her to find Sam's reassuring eyes. Using the half wall, the three made their way to the other end of the graveyard. Confused shouts came from the Shoreline crew when they lost sight of their target.
''Up there,'' Sam whispered, pointing to the ledge of the ruined building that once stood proudly in the middle of the graveyard.
''We're gonna go around?'' Lana asked.
''There's too many. We can't fight them. Not all at once, at least,'' Sam replied.
The edges of the ruin are hardened and brittled down by years of wind and weather. The group tried their hardest to stay quiet, which was made easier by the wind muffling their climbing. Lana's heart stopped when rough footsteps come to a stop right above them.
Her hand slowly reached for her gun, but before she could she saw Nate lunge forward to punch the guy in the jaw and pull him over the edge. None of them made a sound as they waited a beat to see if the other shoreline members had noticed their position. Nothing came.
Sam motioned with his hand and they continued climbing. Nate and Sam took out a few more guys in the same manner. Lana had dropped down once to quickly silence the one below them before hurrying back up the ledge.
A huge wooden door was etched between the rock, leading to the direction of the large crosses they'd found. She caught Sam's eye and motioned to the door with her head.
The wind howled. Nate took the lead climbing up the last part of the ruin. Right as he hopped over the half wall, Lana heard yelling followed by dozens of guns blazing.
''Nathan!'' Lana screamed. A man down below turned the corner at her voice and soon bullets embedded in the old stone. Furious, she turned his attention on his and pulled out her gun, using one hand to cling onto the cold ledge. It took four shots, and he was down.
''Nate!'' She yelled again, despite Sam telling her to shush.
A few shots sounded, along with a body thudding to the ground. ''I'm okay!'' Nate shouted over the noise. The tension left Lana's body momentarily, and she could tell Sam was relieved too. She risked a quick peek over the ledge before hoisting herself up and quickly finding cover.
Her hair whipped back and forth as she tried to listen for any sound cues regarding their opponents. Once the bullets stopped, she risked a peek, at the same time as Nate rose from his hiding spot. Their bullets found their mark, and the last of the Shoreline crew dropped down to the floor.
As the three hurried over to the large wooden door, Lana looked back at the men they'd just downed. It was a harsh, cruel world they lived in, and it was kill or be killed. The men wouldn't have hesitated to shoot her right between the eyes. She told herself to look away.