"Oh, crap!" Natalie's voice shouted as she quickly jumped behind a fallen pillar, keeping her head down as bullets were flying from all directions.
The sun shined off of her dark brown hair as she kept her back to the cold stone.
"Why is it every time I got to one of these places, people try to kill me!" She told herself as she rose out of her cover before aiming the pistol.
Her finger squeezed the trigger as the gun clicked in response.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Natalie's voice said with a hint of panic as she quickly ran across to another cover spot which was part of a wall of one of the temple buildings.
Her blue eyes glanced all around the land, hoping to find some aid.
There were no guns, extra ammo, or even a grenade.
"Okay, this isn't good." Her voice muttered under her breath as she rolled out of the way just as a grenade landed at her feet.
Not that again, she told herself.
Natalie quickly ran into the nearby jungle before hiding behind one of the trees.
She needed a moment of clarity. Just enough time to think of a game plan.
That's when she heard the sound of leaves rustling and twigs snapping.
Natalie, as quietly as she could, moved to the side of the tree.
Maybe she could take one of those guys out and take his gun? That could give her a chance of making it out alive.
Sully and Sam were right, she thought. She shouldn't have underestimated them.
Better yet, overestimated herself.
Her hand closed into a fist as she heard the noises becoming louder by the second.
Natalie took a deep breath before coming out of her hiding spot and punching the stranger right in the nose.
"Ow! What the hell?!" The guy's voice said as she grabbed his gun, pointing the barrel of it at him.
Her eyes flickered up and down the man's body as she examined him.
He wasn't wearing clothes like those mercenary goons were, he wasn't armed to the teeth, and he almost looked like an adventurer like herself.
The man had black hair and she thought she saw his green eyes go wide before she slammed her fist into his nose.
"Who the hell are you?" Natalie asked the stranger as he looked at her, holding a hand over his nose.
Yeah, she was right. Green eyes.
"Well, I heard the firefight and I saw you getting surrounded so I thought I would help out. Clearly, I should have approached differently." The man told her as they both turned their heads to the temple ruins just as the mercenaries entered the jungle.
Natalie went to hand the pistol back to the stranger just as he pulled out a spare one from his hip holster.
"You had another gun?!" Natalie questioned him as he shrugged while the duo each took cover from the firefight.
The duo worked together to take down the attackers as eventually they were the last two standing.
Natalie held the weapon out to return it to its original owner but the male waved his hand.
"Keep it. You need something to defend yourself with." The guy told her as she began to wonder.
If he wasn't a mercenary then could he be a treasure hunter too? He wasn't a tourist, that was for sure.
"You're after the treasure too, aren't you?" Natalie asked with a knowing tone as the man gave her a smirk.
"Nope, I'm here for the sights. I heard it was beautiful around this time of year." He said as Natalie laughed a little before rolling her eyes,
Of course the guy who helped her is a jokester.
"Oh, then you'll love the view from the cliff. A great place to watch the sun go down." She replied with a joke of her own as he answered with a laugh.
"How about I tag along with you? I could be your backup in a fight. Besides, two heads are better than one." He said as Natalie bit her lip in thought.
If she continued alone, the chances of her being killed or surrounded again were high and the chances of her surviving alone would be lo2.
Plus, the guy she met didn't seem to be so bad. He helped her and he didn't have to do that
"I'm not traveling with a stranger. What's your name?" Natalie asked the dark haired man as he smiled, extending out a hand
"Elliot. Elliot Carver." He introduced as Natalie shook it, a light smile on her face.
"Natalie Drake." She replied before hearing voices in the distance
We need to get out of here before more showed up, Natalie thought.
"C'mon, let's get going." Elliot said as we took off up a small dirt trail.
"Maybe today wasn't so bad after all." Natalie mumbled to herself as she followed behind Elliot.
She could split this treasure fifty-fifty.
Once they found it, that is.