Revelations

Isn't it strange what fear can do to people? You know it's somewhere inside you, hiding in the darkest corners on your subconscious, patiently waiting to creep up on you and seize control over your senses, rendering you unable of conducting rational reasoning, leaving you angry and helpless. Isn't it inconvenient? Absolutely. But in her line of work it's even worse: it's deadly.

Up to this moment she always thought that fear was helpful: she felt addicted to the rush of urgency and adrenaline that pumped through her veins every time she was in danger. Ancient blades, enormous boulders hurtling toward her fragile form, threatening to make her just a stain, a part of the interior design reeking of death and destruction, it was all in the day's work. Competing against ancient genius was what she lived for, feeling exhilarated every time she entered an unexplored tomb, breaking its defenses and finding what wonders lay within.

But this time it was different. Fear was not her friend anymore. She had lost control over it, and now it was taking its toll for being abused for so many years.

She was hanging on almost absent- mindedly, suddenly weary and light- headed. She heard Werner but wasn't sure she comprehended what he was saying.

"Take my hand! I can pull you to safety!"

"So sunny outside. Must be warm. Why on Earth does Werner have his jacket on? How thoughtless of him, must be sweating like hell."

She looked up, mesmerized by the glistening drops of sweat clinging to his forehead, and smiled.

"Good to see you again, Werner."

She was about to continue when a loud rumble interrupted her thoughts. Looking up, she was greeted by a cloud of dust and sand that coated her face and made her eyes water. This minor inconvenience made the world snap back into focus, allowing her to get a better grasp of the situation. Clinging onto a shaky rock by what seemed to be a miracle, since her muscles ached so badly and her fingers were sore and bloody, didn't seem very prospective. And to make matters worse, the ground shook again and she felt herself slowly slipping.

Her heart skipped a beat as she struggled to pull herself up. "I will not die today. No fucking way." She mustered all the strength she had left, already knowing in mid- process that her muscles will give away. Driven by the sheer force of stubbornness and the will to live, inching up painfully slow, she fought to clamber up. "Joke's on you, bitch" she grinned mischievously, addressing fate, as she started to believe that she might just make it to safety.

Stone blocks started falling freely, plunging into the dark abyss that lay beneath her. Concerned that they were now barely missing her, she tried to double her efforts. She just managed to shimmy out of the way of a boulder half the size of a sports car, when a piece no bigger than a human skull hit her fingers. The speed at which it connected made the world burst in white- hot pain. Her immediate reaction was to release and before her mind could registered this, she was plummeting down into the darkness.

* * *

"Guess the joke was on me, after all" Lara Croft thought bitterly while wondering how many seconds of consciousness she had left. She didn't ponder upon fundamental questions and didn't pray. Instead she thought about what she would have been doing had she been outside right now. Would she have kissed Werner and hugged him till he could hardly breathe or shot him in cold blood the moment she was out?

"My pistols!" her fingers touched her hips, caressing the cold steel, an idea of putting a bullet through her head before hitting the bottom slowly forming. "If I do it right I'll be dead before I can even register the pain." It seemed reasonable enough: she wasn't religious so she didn't have any moral issues about committing a suicide. "Magnums are a girl's best friend" she smiled, releasing one of them from its protective harness.

A sound registered down below, a distant crashing that was a bit muffled by the air swooshing all around her. "Well, let's do it" Lara thought, raising her hand to her face, looking up one last time to see "the light at the end of the tunnel" that was ironically her only exit, stretching a good two hundred meters above. Though seemingly impossible, it got darker and before she could even question herself whether she really saw herself passing through a hole in the floor, the "about-to-be-dead woman" crashed into murky water, very much alive.

* * *

"Unbelieveable... The huge boulder that was going to flatten me and made me get hit by that other pebble actually saved my life. If there is a God, he must be having some bloody laughs," Lara thought while trying to get to the surface. Now that she had some chance to survive, she was getting a tad concerned by the burning in her lungs and the disturbing absence of light to guide her to the surface. Clawing at the freezing water, she pushed forward with powerful strokes and hoped for the best.

The pleasant chill that enveloped her fingers made her breathe a mental sigh of relief and a moment later she was taking thankful gulps of air, examining her surroundings and letting herself relax and breathe normally again. She was in a fairly small place that didn't look of any particular importance: storage room, perhaps. Taking in her surroundings, Lara started dog- paddling to a nearly invisible inclination next to one of the walls. While her aching body was trying to heave itself on the muddy ledge, she didn't dare give in to the elation of being remotely safe now. Collapsing on the very edge, her body barely complied with basic functions. "Autopilot. Breathe in, breathe out..." The numerous cuts and a few serious wounds stung annoyingly from the slightly brackish water and her shoulder, which she realised was dislocated, was bothering her considerably. Her vision started to swim before her eyes, slowly darkening until she blacked out from exhaustion.

She felt a presence all around, lurking in the shadows, circling her, waiting, reaching out to touch her. Every time she turned around the young adventuress saw nothing but felt the intruder. She heard his faint laughter, almost saw the sneer on his dark face and smelled the foul breath of death on his lips. His glistening fangs were laughing at her, forming a mock expression of fear on his hideous face every time she turned around, grim determination to do away with him creasing her face into a mask of hatred.

A strong rush of claustrophobia hit her head on, the black vacuum enveloping her, making her sweat profusely and choke on her own laboured breaths, hyperventilation making her dizzy. Spinning in all four directions, feeling like a caged animal, anger building up with every passing moment, she searched for the intruder.

"Coming out of there would be really lovely, you know." she said quietly, sarcasm dripping from her every word. "Or are you rather fond of this cat and mouse game?"

"I like your smell," a thick, deep and somehow pleasant voice boomed all around her, tickling her ears. Lara quirked an eyebrow, genuinely surprised by the answer, and opened her mouth to reply.

"You have no idea how intoxicating the sweet aroma of panic is. It clouds one's mind, spreading though each nerve, giving him a taste of what's to come. Delicious. You know, Lara, there's chemistry between us." Low, growling laughter filled the room which made her jaw click shut and grit her teeth.

She took out her pistols, taking a battle stance and spitting out "Well, dinner is served, come and get me."

All she saw was his fist when pure agony spread through the right side of her rib cage, making her lose consciousness for a moment as the blow lifted her off her feet and sent her crashing into the wall behind. The tomb raider barely hung on, falling breathlessly on hands and knees, one of her pistols skidding on the floor. She stood motionless for a second, trying to determine whether any ribs were broken, whizzing as she inhaled. Her vision was blurry but she managed to get up, legs trembling violently. "That was one damn good blow. I wish I had delivered it..." she thought as she looked up to Seth, his red eyes boring into her form.

Brown, glinting eyes narrowed to slits as she studied him cautiously, anger sparkling briefly as her muscles tensed. He looked at the woman amused, waiting to see what she would do next. He was going to have great pleasure breaking her, torturing her, making her beg, feasting on her cries for mercy. "I can hardly wait" was all he could think before she tackled him, both of them sprawling on the cold stone floor. She got up almost immediately, kicking him viciously in the gut, doubling him over. He merely grunted when she stomped on his sternum, breaking the fragile cartilage, putting pressure on his lungs. She took out her pistol and aimed right between his eyes, smiling wickedly but never had a chance to pull the trigger. Seth growled as he lashed his leg out, making her lose balance and hit the ground heavily. Before she even realised, he was on top of her, his eyes now even a brighter shade of red, and opened his mouth. She grimaced as the smell of rot and decay pervaded her nose and mouth, making her slightly nauseous. His slick, warm tongue trailed down her cheekbone to her mouth, invading it rudely and making her gag immediately. She suppressed the urge to vomit, biting down on the demon's tongue.

Seth bellowed and released her as a crimson liquid started flowing down his chin and tapped silently to the floor. He turned around to face her, barely whispering "Dying is too good for you, Lara Croft", bloody spittle splattering across her face.

With impossible speed, he reached for her throat and tried to strangle her. Panic of the unforeseen situation gripped her as she sunk her nails into his flesh, making deep gorges as he continued to choke her. She felt herself being lifted off the ground, as tears from the pressure flowed down her cheeks. She desperately needed air, feeling as if her lungs were submerged into molten iron, her muscles already starting to hurt from the lack of oxygen.

"Do you like it now?" he sneered, watching her gleefully.

"Go...to hell..." she muttered weakly, barely conscious.

He smiled wickedly and broke her neck with a single motion, her body going limp in his hand, staring vacantly into his eyes.

She woke up and instantaneously sprang to her feet, her face showing a look of panic like none she had ever experienced in her life. Her eyes darted to her sides, checking for any activity, hands at ready to pull out trusty magnums, gripping their handles so hard that her knuckles turned white. Sweat was streaming down her face, matting a few loose strands of hair to her forehead. Her heart was palpitating, threatening to burst free from her chest. When she made sure that she was alone in the darkness, she let her body ease and her mind relax.

"I feel ridiculous. It must have been just a strain- induced nightmare. Even though it felt so real." She shuddered and traced a hand down her throat subconsciously, checking for any injuries. There were none, her unblemished skin slick with perspiration, pulse thumping crazily under her fingers.

Looking around one final time, Lara sat down on the damp floor, removing her backpack from her back and placing it in front of her. She rotated her shoulder gingerly, trying to figure out how bad she had hurt it. The scapula scraped painfully against her shoulder joint, forcing a grimace on her face. "Ok, it's pretty bad" she winced while taking out some antiseptic to disinfect her wounds. A nasty- looking deep gash on her thigh had already started to heal, dark, coagulated blood stretching a good fifteen centimetres down the front of her leg. She was thankful that the muscle hadn't been severed even though it still made a serious injury. Her only medipack had suffered badly; most of the bandages had gotten tangled and soggy, but were still intact. She had lost her bottle of anaesthetic, wishing that it were here right now, knowing she was going to need it if she wanted to climb out of this rotten place.

"Well, I'll just have to make the best of it. At least it's better than nothing," she thought while applying some creamy disinfectant to the numerous cuts and scrapes. After nursing her wounds, she got up and went on to further explore the place she was in. The condition of the room was horrible. The walls were covered with cracks lined with mould, the putrid smell heavy in the air. She lit a flare, bathing the space before her in an eerie green glow, making multiple bugs scurry away from the light into the comforting embrace of darkness. The walls were made of limestone, which instantly made Lara walk more cautiously. Now that she inspected her surroundings more carefully the whole construction looked as if would crash down any minute and she wondered whether it was safe to spend the night here... if it was nighttime, that is. She glanced at the ceiling and froze. There was no other opening but the fairly small one the boulder had made when it crashed through. All of a sudden getting out of here seemed even more impossible than before.

She stared at the hole stupidly, realising that there was no way she could get to it since she had no grappling hook or any rope for that matter. She took out another flare, glancing briefly inside the box and finding that there were only four left. Walking to the wall, she felt a familiar tingle inside her chest. The tomb raider had work to do. Hunching over the wall, she started inspecting the surface for anything that seemed odd, hoping strongly that there was a hidden exit.

The woman sighed deeply and sat down on the ground, spreading her legs before her and closing her eyes. There were no hidden triggers, no moveable blocks, no man- made cracks, nothing. "There has to be a way out. There always is." Her experience with tombs and ancient civilisations had taught her that building traps requires a great amount of logical thinking and that there is always a way stop a mechanism. To every action there is a counteraction. She admired deeply the chivalry of these people to always give an intruder a chance to save himself, or herself in her case, by figuring out the way to stop the trap once it has been sprung. She believed that it was a kind of a test to prove whether she was worthy of gaining the knowledge hidden within. That is why she was always so respectful when she entered a newly discovered tomb. But this time there was nothing of the sort. She was unlucky enough to happen to be in a completely useless room that after having served its purpose was sealed shut. Her shoulders drooped with disappointment.

The adventuress knew that a considerable amount of time had passed, but she didn't care, not even making the slightest of motions. She looked as though she was relaxing, or even sleeping, but behind closed eyelids she was thinking. All solutions that she could come up with either needed the use of an object she didn't have or were destined to fail. "Where logic fails, brute force succeeds". Lara Croft opened her eyes and slowly got to her feet.

She gazed at the ceiling intently, trying to figure out how stable it was. Her plan was more than risky so there was no room for mistakes at this point. The structure above didn't look comforting at all but still, Lara took a deep breath and reached into her backpack and pulled out her Uzi's. "Shooting down the ceiling has got to be my worst plan yet. If I live through this, I'll have Winston call up that shrink." Sliding in fresh clips, she strode to a wall and faced the opposite way, raising her arms and aiming at the far corner of the structure. Narrowing her eyes, she slowly started pulling the triggers, heart thumping hard against her chest as a faint smile formed on her lips.

The deafening roar of the guns rang throughout the room, making Lara's ears ring. Her shoulder hurt unbelievably, pain slowly spreading down to her wrist and slackening her grip on the weapon. She tried to concentrate the firepower on one spot but her tired arms didn't comply and her whole body trembled due to the guns' onslaught. Huge chunks of rock were flying everywhere as the bullets were literally eating away the ceiling. Suddenly an even louder boom was heard and Lara's attention swerved immediately to the ceiling that started falling down fast, resembling a mudslide. Cursing, she turned around and ran for the wall. Without thinking, she raised her good arm upwards, shielding her eyes with the other one and started shooting. Huge stones crashed all around advancing at a great speed. The noise of tons of rock falling simultaneously became unbearable as the closest chunks struck a mere three meters away. Her wrist and forearm were screaming in pain but she continued firing relentlessly, unconcerned with the rubble falling down on her head and the tiny stone splinters biting into her flesh. The woman released her gun and dived for the spot under where she had been shooting, executing a not so graceful forward roll, smacking into the wall. She resembled a frightened child, her body huddled against the wall, hugging her knees in an effort to protect her body. Stones crashed all around her, some coming too close for her comfort. One in particular hit the wall on her right so hard that it perforated it, causing rocks to rain down on her tiny form, trapping her beneath the debris.

Shortly, the avalanche stopped, and the air started clearing up, dust settling on every surface. Silence filled the room, the kind of silence that follows a gruesome battle when even nature doesn't dare interrupt the grieving of the live ones. Not the faintest of sounds was heard; the place looked like it hadn't been disturbed for years, centuries even. Only one soul, one Lara Croft struggled to

get free, entombed under the ruins.

* * *

"Heave! Oh, come on, push harder! Damn you get off of me! No, I don't want to die, I don't want to fucking DIE! I can't breathe, I'll suffocate..." She was straining her whole body, muscles on the verge of tearing, fists pushing against cold stone. Panic spread through her entire body, numbing her senses and thankfully shutting out the pain that had become unbearable only moments ago. She couldn't move: the awkward position she was in had minimized all chances of gaining purchase and hurling the enormous mass of rocks off of her. "Oh, no, this time I will die, no more lucky breaks." Hot tears of fear and anger started streaming from her eyes, wetting the bridge of her nose and tickling onto the stone mass. She was getting desperate, realising for the first time that death had come to collect her. Her mouth went dry and she pressed her lips together, trying to gather some of the moisture that her eyes had shed, but there was none. Her parched lips scraped against one another, failing to relieve her discomfort. "Odd". Her mind tried to comprehend what was happening, when suddenly it hit her. "If my nose is wet and my lips are dry then I must be sideways." Then she remembered how she fought against the falling rocks, trying to get out of their way. In her panic she hadn't paid attention to the fact that she has shifted positions. Straining her eyes, she tried to distinguish the rubble in front of her. In the darkness it was hard to see, but she thought she saw some regular patterns and she laughed nervously, as it suddenly dawned on her that all this time she had been pushing against the wall.

Lara started wriggling frantically, moving inch by inch, trying to force the debris out of her way as best as she could with her shoulders and arms, crying out uncontrollably as she put pressure on her injured arm. Anger mixed with panic boiled within her, rushing adrenaline giving her the extra boost she needed so desperately. She managed to turn around after an agonizing minute, every nerve in her body working to transmit full power the pain that tore her apart. She sobbed quietly, as if admitting defeat, not daring to rest for even a moment as she felt the oxygen depleting, her lungs already burning, her throat hurting, as it was covered in dust. Her body trembled violently as she started crying bitterly, trying her hardest to arch her back upwards, so as to push the stones on top of her out of the way. She felt the weight shifting and heard the sound of the first rocks tumbling down. Her head pounded and she felt nauseous, but kept on pushing, suddenly scared that she might pass out. "At least I'll die fighting for my life, knowing that I did my best." she thought grimly, while pushing up, feeling her ribs bending. "It's not working, I won't make it in time..." She pressed her palms on the rocks, and fought, muscles bulging, rocks moving painfully slow. Her vision dimmed and the tomb raider made one last effort, inhuman strength flowing through her muscles as she pushed. The last thing she saw were her bloody fingers pressed against the coarse stone and then she blacked out.

A fairly small rock on top of the pile shifted and made its way down, as a bloody hand emerged from the rubble. Its torn fingers came out for a brief moment, dark with blood and covered in grime, then slid lifelessly back inside the gaping hole.

* * *

She lay trapped under the rubble, motionless but for the almost invisible lifting and falling of her chest. Her body was bent in an awkward position, one hand on an empty holster, the other barely touching one breast. Total shutdown would best describe her current situation. Her body was unresponsive, not quite ready to wake up and function just yet. Twenty minutes had passed to the outside world when some sensations started reappearing. "So unbearably cold. Like in Antarctica," were the first thoughts that formed into her clouded mind. Her skin started prickling, fine hairs standing erect, trying to preserve her body heat. Brown eyes opened, staring blankly above then shifting to look at the small opening through which dim light was infiltrating. She removed the hand from her chest, slowly reaching for the hole, as if to touch the light, retracting startled when she touched stone, surprised that her fingers didn't just pass through. She stood motionless as the preposterous idea that maybe, just maybe she was still alive nestled into her mind.

Lara Croft swallowed hard and grimaced because her throat complained, still sore from the dust. An unnamed feeling rose to her chest as she lifted her arms and started pushing the stones out of her way. With every motion she got angrier, gritting her teeth and watching the rocks with such great malice that would have made every living human being freeze on the spot, terrified. By the time she cleared enough space to get out, she was suffocating, rage so strong within her, threatening to explode any moment and obliterate everything in her path.

Ignoring the pain that spread through her limbs, the woman tried to jump out, landing hard, legs buckling beneath her weight. She struggled onto her hands and knees guided by uncoordinated motions, her whole body trembling. Her head was facing downward, her ruined plait brushed against her cheek, sweeping the dusty ground. Her fingers dug into the dirt and she let out a loud, animalistic cry full of anger, pain and frustration. Out of breath, the tomb raider slumped to the ground like a wounded animal. Barely inhaling, she turned to the lake, eyes staring before her vacantly. A few lone tears made their way down, rolling to the dirt that took them greedily. She tilted her head to look at the glistening surface and reached out, slowly dragging herself to the water. Her knees scraped painfully against the cold stone, leaving red bloody marks as she progressed but she didn't care. Physical pain did not concern her anymore. With great effort she extended her arm, letting her fingertips dip in the water, awakening it with ripples that made the light reflecting off the surface dance. The tomb raider guided her hand back to her parched lips, sucking the water greedily off her fingers, the wonderful sensation of the cool liquid caressing her throat sending shivers down her spine. She didn't even care about the slightly salty taste, enjoying the moment, as it was the first pleasant thing that had happened to her since she last saw daylight. Tensing muscles, gathering strength that virtually didn't exist anymore, she managed to pull herself to the edge and drank hungrily, fully conscious of the possible diseases that were entering her organism right that moment.

* * *

She woke up sweating, violent shivers racking her whole body, chills travelling constantly up and down her form. "The water. Shit" was her immediate thought while she tried to get to her feet clumsily, arms flying out in an effort to help her keep balance. No sooner had she gotten up than she doubled over, vomiting hard, her stomach muscles spasming violently, bile splattering at her feet, its pungent odour assaulting her nose. She stood hunched over a long time, longer than there was anything left to throw up but still gagging at pure air. The world span before her as she straightened up, clutching her midsection and she lashed out a hand, seeking something to lean on. Using the wall to support her, she closed her eyes and tried to fight nausea that rose up once more. After the sensation passed, Lara wiped the sweat off her forehead, breathing in deeply, feeling a little better.

She gingerly made a few steps forward, looking around. "It's high time I left before the whole pyramid falls down on my head." Turning around, she suppressed a shudder, thinking of all that had happened to her in this place. Not one time has her luck been so rotten, playing with her emotions as it did: live, die, live, die once again. "Will I really manage get out of this place alive?" She wasn't sure. All she was sure of was that she needed to get away from here. It reminded her too much of her own death, as this was what she perceived this experience to be: ceasing to exist. She somehow felt that a part of her had died here, a very sane part, a stubborn part that always believed that she would survive because her cause is just, a kind and loving part that was able to forgive and forget. Then what was left? She didn't know, but she intended to live long enough to find out.

Lara Croft strode confidently close to the wall, looking up and judging the distance to the opening above. "Roughly three metres. A piece of cake, had my arm been functional, that is." She glanced around for something that might be of use, her eyes falling on one of the stones that had previously made the ceiling. It was big enough to give her a sufficient chance, but unfortunately it was also a good two metres away. "Either this or I rot here," she thought and headed to it. The woman looked intimidated by the size, feeling hope reappear at the same time, knowing that the bigger it is, the better. She took a step backwards, squatting a bit, her face grim with determination. Sweat droplets formed on her brow, as she suddenly got scared that she wouldn't be able to move it. Without giving herself a second chance to hesitate, she rammed her good shoulder into the rock, pushing as hard as she could. Perspiration hung to her body, wetting her tank top and making her skin glisten. Low grunts brought to life by the effort escaped her lips, the stone mass slowly moving forward. Her muscles ached badly, the pain causing her vision to blur constantly. She struggled for more than half an hour, panting hard, her heart straining to provide her muscles with enough oxygen, thumping crazily. An exerted moan came from her lips as she slid against the stone, dropping to the ground, positively exhausted. She brought her legs to her chin, elbows resting on her knees, trying to catch her breath. A weak smile formed on her lips, her eyes lit with content that she had succeeded. Resting her head on the stone surface, she smiled more broadly, excited to get out of this dank hole.