Tomb Raider: Hera's Staff

Chapter 1

Mysterious Thief

"Okay Lara, your climbing gear should be in the trunk," Zip came through her headset as she stepped out of her jeep and attached her holsters with .32 pistols to her legs. She stretched her arms and legs, then approached what she intended to enter.

"Wow," she stated as she looked down. It was a large hole in the earth that lead into a deep cave. It was recently discovered by a couple of hikers, one of which, currently resided at the bottom, at least, what was left of him. According to etchings on nearby rocks, it was the resting place of a staff. A staff that belonged to the goddess Hera from Greek mythology. A find that would quickly make Lara one of the happiest people in the world. As soon as she heard, she raced to Greece as fast as possible, intending to be the first one in.

"Yeah 'wow'. That is a giant drop!" Zip said shuttering from looking down in it.

"Really? It's a bit smaller than I imagined," Lara said.

"Of course," Zip muttered.

"Well, let's get started," she said gladly.

"Right. Like I said your climbing gear is in the trunk-" Zip started. Lara dropped into the opening, catching the edge, and lowered herself in. "-which you obviously won't be using."

"Never cared for that stuff. To much to keep track of. Wouldn't want to loose anything, would I?" Lara asked.

"No, I suppose not," Zip said sardonically. Lara slipped on a rock and saved herself from a fall by latching herself onto the nearest vine.

"Whoops," she said as normal as someone who had just dropped a pen.

"Careful!" Zip shouted nervously.

"Always," she said. She slowly slid down the vine until it reached the end, then climbed back onto the wall of rocks. "Half way there."

"I hope you brought your flash light," he stated, noticing the increasing darkness.

"I'm stubborn, not stupid," she stated as she flicked it on and positioned it securely on the strap of her backpack. She noticed a small stream jutting from the wall and falling to a large pool at the bottom. It looked deep.

"Lara," Zip said in a warning tone. "Don't disprove that stupid remark." Lara took another look at the pool of water.

"Zip, don't look," Lara said, releasing her grip and pushing off the wall to fall head first into the water. She cut through he water silently with a perfect dive and arched her back to quickly pull up and reach the surface. She laughed at the thrill of the moment.

"Lara! That was insane," Zip yelled.

"That was fun," Lara corrected him as she waded to land. "Now, what do you have up top? Any visitors I should know about yet?"

"Nope. It's clear. No one should bother you," Zip informed her.

"Wonderful." Lara pulled herself out of the water and stepped forward a bit to view the cave. Two corridors lied ahead of her, each going in different directions. "Hmm. Left or Right?"

"Uhh...Right," Zip answered. Lara went left. "Thanks for your faith in me."

"You're welcome." She found the corridor started to get smaller. The ceiling was within inches from her head. She came to an abrupt stop as her foot brushed the edge of a deep chasm.

"Yikes," Zip said.

"I can't see across. This flashlight is too small," Lara stated, reaching into her backpack for a flare. She bent it a couple of times to cause it to illuminate in green. She carefully threw it across the chasm. It revealed a room on the other side. Lara squinted to view it. "It's a staircase."

"Well if you had gear, that wouldn't be to hard to get to, but-" Zip started before being cut off.

"Nonsense," she told him. She took a couple of steps back and took a deep breath before running to the edge. She let her right foot bend on the ledge before thrusting up to jump. She grabbed the ledge opposite, but lost grip with her left hand causing her to only have one hand for hanging on.

"Lara?" Zip asked in shock as she started to slip.

"I'm fine," she said as she quickly threw up her other hand to grab the ledge. She pulled herself up and rolled onto the ground above.

"Whoa," Zip exclaimed. Lara stood up and brushed her front off.

"Now, to descend in a much proper manner," she said as she began walking down the stairs cautiously. It spiraled down for several minutes before it ended at a door. It was made of wood, and looked extremely old.

"How you getting through?" Zip asked, although he truly knew the answer. Lara swiftly kicked the door down to reveal a giant chamber that looked as though it had barely aged.

"Woah!" Zip yelled.

"What?" Lara asked, instinctively letting her hands fall to her pistols.

"Weird. A lightning bolt just struck near your jeep," Zip told her.

"Not that unusual. It looked fairly cloudy," Lara said, far more concerned with what was in front of her.

"I guess," he said. Lara took a couple steps in the chamber. It had marble floors, marble walls, and a marble ceiling. It had a spectacular chandelier hanging over a pedestal and a large golden statue behind that. The statue resembled Hera with outstretched hands.

"Interesting," Lara said. She approached the pedestal and quickly noticed that she was staring at something much smaller than a staff. It looked like a small gem, made of gold that resembled a crown. As she got closer, it appeared to have three small openings in it, as though you could fit three small jewels in it. "This isn't the full staff. This appears to only be the top of it. And it is missing three parts-" Lara stopped speaking as door her right opened and a someone draped in a black cloak, sprinted towards the pedestal, snatched the piece, and began running back to the door.

"Who is that-" Zip started.

"Hey! Stop!" Lara screamed as she grabbed her pistols and shot twice simultaneously at the person. One bullet hit the person's leg. The scream gave away that the person was female. She quickly regained her balance from the shot and ran through the door. Lara sprinted after her and when she reached the door, she fired several times down a hallway. The woman rolled and took a sharp right up a similar staircase Lara had came down.

Lara followed her up the stairs, trying to move quicker to reach the woman. When she got to the top, she saw the tail of the cloak whip around a corner which Lara desperately shot at. She dived at the corner and unloaded each clip at the woman, hitting her several times in the legs and once in the back. She fell, but stood up, and sprinted away again.

"How is she still moving!" Lara cried as she chased her again after reloading her guns. She came out at the exact location she came into the cave in, except the opposite corridor. Lara looked up and saw a rope fall down from the top where it had been cut.

"She just passed your jeep," Zip told her.

"How did she climb that rope with that many injuries?" Lara asked. "And how did you not see her come down?"

"I don't know. Nobody was there. You can check the tape," Zip said.

"I intend to. I'm coming back to the manor. If I find out who that was, I will place several bullets between her eyes."

Okay, reason behind the extremely short chapter is, I want to know what people think of it immediately before continuing. I would like to have at least two reviews before updating.