With the last wolf down and her heart racing, Lara pointed her readied bow at the bushes warily, as if expecting yet another wolf to leap out at her from the bushes. When she realized that that should've been the last of them, she set it down to the grass and reverted her attention to the trap, attempting to pry it open with a loud, exasperated grunt.

"Over here!" She heard a familiar voice call in the distance. Feminine, yet gruff. It wasn't Sam. Hers was more delicate, and much less demanding. Speaking of Sam, where was she? As she looked up, continuing to pry open the stubborn, steel trap, wincing as it dug into her palms, she saw Reyes, her attention directed to something - or someone - behind her. Sam?

"Reyes!" Lara yelled, continuing to pry the trap open.

"I found Lara!" She called, shuffling towards Lara with a pistol clasped inbetween her hands. She looked down at the trap, Lara's hands still trying to pry it open. "Let go." Reyes directed, aiming her pistol at the trap, and obviously not sounding like she was particularly ecstatic to see Lara. Lara almost scoffed.

She removed her hands from the trap, clasping them together and raising them up to her chest, still visibly shaken. She was momentarily distracted by Alex, Grim, Dr. Whitman, and Jonah emerging from in between the trees, and she felt herself release a heavy breath she didn't even notice she was holding in until then. Even if Reyes didn't seem so glad to see her, she knew for a fact she was glad to see them, since God only knew what this treacherous island had in store for her. She sure didn't want to trek it alone and find out what.

Alex, on the other hand, was equally, if not more, happy to see her.

The jarring sound of Reyes' pistol shooting the trap loose startled Lara back to reality, her heart returning to its quick, yet labored, thudding, and her leg throbbing like a second heartbeat once it was freed of the trap's sharp metal grip. She sighed in relief when Jonah came forward to completely pry the loose trap open with a forceful grunt, lifting her leg and accepting his outstretched hand, Reyes helping her up by her left arm. A dull, yet insistent pain surged up her bad leg as she stood, so she began to lean on her bow, ignoring the pain since it wasn't as strong as she had feared it would be.

"It's good to see you, little bird." Jonah said as he helped her up, Lara still breathing heavily.

"I'm so glad you're here," She responded breathlessly. "Is Sam with you?"

"She was with you." Jonah responded, a bit flustered, as Lara continued to catch her breath, becoming more dependent on her bow.

"She was here.. with that man, Mathias," She explained, contempt laced in her tone at the mention of his name. "But I passed out. When I woke up, they were both gone."

"You girls shouldn't go wanderin' off." Grim muttered gruffly, scowling. Lara seemed to ignore him, as did everyone else.

"We need to find them."

"Uh, w-wait, what about Roth?" Dr. Whitman inquired, turning the collective attention towards him. Nice to see he's actually thinking about someone other than himself for once. "Okay, let's split up. One of us go with Lara and meet up with Roth, the rest of us should fan out and look for Sam." Reyes reasoned.

"I'll go with her." Alex piped up, his gaze flicking towards Lara. The others, including Lara, eyed him with slight disbelief, inclining their eyebrows. But no one chose to object, not even Lara. Reyes stepped towards him, her gaze the most meticulous, handing him a pistol.

"Know how to use one of these?" She asked as he took the gun from her hands, gripping it with loose, tentative fingers, and looking down at it as if he were holding a ticking time bomb.

"Well, I've played a ton of Call of Duty and Halo, so I would say I'm pretty skilled." Alex chuckled, trying to crack a smile. But trying to joke with Reyes on anything, especially at the worst possible time to do so, was just playing with fire, pure and simple. You were just begging to be burnt. In more ways than one. The blank, yet irritated look she gave him made him step back a little, with a mumbled apology that not even he could hear. It was obvious he was simply bluffing to impress a certain someone in the group. His gaze flickered towards that someone for a split second, almost frowning at her ever-present raised eyebrow. Man, did that backfire. Alex should've known pulling that to try to impress her was a futile attempt, because what girl - especially a girl like Lara - would be impressed by someone's gaming skills?

On the bright side, at least the look she gave him wasn't assessing or irritated, like Reyes' look - it was more so of a slightly skeptical look, as if she didn't quite believe in his possible ability to possess and/or use a firearm. Areal firearm.

Most likely because he was Alex run-home-to-his-mommy-if-he-saw-a-gun Weiss.

Well, honey, I'm about to disprove that for you, just you wait.

"We'll find Sam and regroup with you guys once you've found Roth." Jonah said, placing a thick hand on Lara's shoulder and rubbing it gently. He kept a protective set of eyes on her as he led the others deeper into the forest, the noise of their feet sloshing and squishing in the mud beginning to wane, until Lara and Alex were finally alone. Alex gulped.

Lara just stood there with a stoic expression on her face, watching them leave, before another sharp pain shot up her leg, this one a lot less dull than the last. She whimpered slightly, clutching the tear in her pants, limping towards the stone stairs. Alex, still dazed, stood in front of her, stopping her from going any further. Lara looked up at him, her lips parted in slight surprise. "Do you need to rest?" He asked.

Of course, you idiot, that's why she's heading towards the stairs.

Lara nodded, taking her first step on the stair before grunting and hunching over to grip her leg. "Careful." He said softly, guiding her arm around his neck. He could still feel the deep imprint in her palm that she had gotten when prying open the trap, and as he clutched her hand in his, he wondered if she could feel his body heating up. He swore he could cook rice on himself.

He slowly walked her up the stairs and back to the campfire, setting her down gingerly, and gently pulling her leg out. She was still panting, so Alex figured she might need some water, but he didn't want to tell her to just drink it as it came down. He looked around for some leaves that would be big enough for her to gather the rainwater in, but before he could walk away, he noticed her holding her hands out, slurping up rainwater from her palms. Alex literally kicked himself.

Or, yeah, you could do that, too.

He didn't quite understand why Reyes thought it would be best to have Lara be accompanied by someone. She could totally hold her own. She was smart enough to know what she was doing. Hell, she could get off of this island by herself if she really wanted to. And now, Alex would be a liability, a weight holding her back.

He watched her as she slowly unrolled the nearby sleeping bag, keeping her bad left leg straight and stationary. She cradled her head in her right hand so it would serve as a makeshift pillow, lying on her right side with her right leg crossed under her left. As she closed her eyes, Alex thought of another idea - one he hoped she most likely hasn't thought of. Removing his backpack, he quietly edged towards her, her breathing becoming more even and quiet. She looked like an absolute angel. Hopefully he wouldn't wake her. He crouched down to his knees, and slowly, but surely, lifting up her leg. She suddenly hissed, lifting her head, her rheumy, pained eyes glaring down at Alex. He gulped, cursing himself inwardly.

"I'm sorry! I was just trying to.." Prove myself to you.

He sheepishly slid his backpack under her leg, and slowly put it back down, so the backpack served as an elevation mechanism. Her intense, irritated gaze became more mild, and she sighed, placing her head back in her palm. "It's okay. Thanks."

You don't think you could've warned her, Weiss? God, no wonder why she doesn't like you.

At least she was going back to sleep - soundly, at that. He decided to keep watch, since he wasn't tired, and he might as well be somewhat useful for once. Pistol in hand, he sat down at the spot alongside Lara, keeping a watchful eye down the stairs, in case something else sprung out of the darkness. He doesn't know if he's good enough, smart enough, or quick enough to protect her, but he'd gladly give his life to do so, even though he wasn't exactly sure if he deserved the same treatment from someone like her.

Sorry it was so short! The next few chapters should be longer, I promise. R&R!