"All set?" I ask Sam. After months of preparation, the big day is finally here.
"Only for the past 3 weeks," she replies, "you?"
"Yeah, I guess so…"
"Listen, Lara," Sam replies, "if this gets too much for you, you've gotta say something. I mean, it's not gonna be easy on any of us, but you, I mean, there's things you wont even tell me about last ti-"
"Sam," I cut in, "when I'm ready to do so, I will tell you, I mean, there will be multiple books written about it anyway," I joke, "but I just can't bring myself to relive it all right now." Sam's face is still as hard as stone, and I begin to believe that nothing I say will change her mind.
"You may not be able to relive it right now, but in a few weeks we will be back there again, try not reliving it then." She looks at me like shit, then dramatically turns, opens, and then slams the door of my room as-if I'd done something that really affected her. I forgive her though. Me not telling her everything that happened to me on that Island has affected her, because she can't empathize with me, which she hates. But she speaks the truth: In a few days, we will be back, back on Yamatai. Even though this time we will be devoid of the Himiko and her wrath, Father Mathias, and everyone on the island trying to kill me, it will still affect me. But after letting it all sink in, we will be able to explore this time, I mean, everything that we couldn't last time. Although, I contemplate how I will be able to do it this time, especially without Roth, but I won't be alone. Not only will Sam, Jonah, and Reyes be coming back with me, so will some others. Reye's daughter Alisha practically begged her to let her come this time, and after me reminding her that there wont be all the crap there was last time, she agreed. As well as Alisha, we have a new technician, Dan, and a new presenter for the cameras, Johnny, who will hopefully be better than the douchebag Whitman, who I really hope isn't resting in peace. Captain this time is Lewis.
*
As we board the Endurance II, I can't help feeling the dejavu rushing through me. Sam by now has calmed down, and comes to hold my hand as the sound of the boats horn rings through my ears and we set off. I feel my other hand being held, this one by Jonah. Next to him is Reyes. My theory of how people who have died are always with you kicks in, and I imagine Roth, Alex and Grim all standing with us by the edge of the boat, watching the shore slowly become smaller and smaller, until there is nothing but murky blue sea surrounding us.
*
The days pass slowly and just like last time, time is filled by filming stuff like cooking, interviews with the crew, and lengthy sea shots. It's not until day 21, when things become interesting. The night before we're set to arrive in Yamatai, the seas feel uneasy. Lewis warns us that it's nothing, the rest of the original Endurance members and I have an uneasy gut feeling.
"Shut up." I tell, myself without even saying anything. Himiko doesn't control the storms anymore, I know that, but something doesn't sit right in my stomach. As the night rolls on, the sky begins to thunder, and the waves almost reach the deck. I tell myself that it's a natural sea storm, and before I allow myself to overthink anymore, I plug my headphones into my ears, and listen to music until my eyes can't keep open any longer.
I am awoken by a beaming smile from a familiar face. Music still booming through my head, I remove my headphones to hear Sam's tiny yelps of excitement.
"We're back!" We're here! Finally! Come on, we've just docked, let's go look around, I mean, again, ish."
I pull on my 'adventure' clothes as I like to call them, identical to the ones I wore the last time I was here.
As I walk closer to the door of the ship, the hot sunlight hits my skin, hotter than last time, it would seem. But as I walk closer and closer to the door, my heart begins to pound against my chest. Closer. Closer. Now. In front of me, once again, is the beach. The beach the Endurance crashed on, the beach where it all began. Is the sun getting hotter? I walk off of the steps onto the warm sand. Is it normal to feel it through my boots? Why is the sand so hot? My head is pounding, as is my heart. This is all too much. Suddenly, I feel my legs weaken beneath me. Why is the sun so hot? Almost instantly, I fall to the floor, into a deep, deep sleep.