Okay, take it slow. I had to push onward and meet up with the others. I was shaking all over but I steeled myself to step onto the tree. It was terrifying, but not as terrifying as what I just got through. Ok, I can do this. I can make it. It felt like an eternity crossing the gap, my anxiety growing with each second. After getting halfway across, I almost took a stumble over the side, but I avoided yet another grisly death and got back up. Eventually I was on the other side.
A short distance ahead, I approached what appeared to be a camp site. Not only that, I saw Sam's pack! They must have come this way! I went over and picked it up, while simultaneously looking around for signs of my friends.
"SAM!" I hollered. I'm not sure if I was expecting a response; just as before, I didn't receive one. I proceeded to search the bag for useful supplies. I took her camera, her box of lighters, and then I took a walkie. I picked it up and switched it on.
"Sam, Alex, Roth, Jonah... can anyone hear me?!" I really needed to hear one of their voices, but still there was only silence. I've got to find them. Just then, when I thought it couldn't get any worse, it started raining. I didn't find the cliche to be amusing at this point. Luckily, trees blocked where a fire once was, so I took a match from Sam's match box to reignite the fire. I grabbed what wood I could find nearby and then sat on a log by the fire. I took some time to reflect on everything that had happened, and I was glad nobody could see the hot tears streaming down my face. I would have given anything to have had Alex holding me, telling me everything would be alright. I needed something familiar, so I went for the best option: Sam's Camera.
The camera focuses on me, as Sam talks. Here's the soon to be famous archaeologist, Lara Croft, in her native habitat. The camera move to a mirror, showing Sam with the camera in the reflection. She's on the hunt for the lost kingdom of Yamatai, home to the fabulous Himiko, mythical Sun Queen… and ancestor of yours truly. Then I hear me telling her how this is serious. Oh sweetie, I know! I'm just trying to lighten the mood here. Everyone's so on edge. What are you so worried about? I was expressing my lack of confidence that the others would listen to me. Lara, you know this stuff better than anyone! I'm not just saying it to make you feel better. We all trust you… you've got this. The next scene Sam recorded showed me and Whitman disagreeing over virtually everything, but everyone else was taking my side. The rest of the group listened to what I had to say about Yamatai and its location. I soon turned off the camera and got some sleep, thoughts about my friends bouncing around my head.
I dreamed we were back on the Endurance, and it was almost as if my memories were playing back in my head. I saw some of the things I just watched on Sam's camera among other things. In one dream I was sitting with Sam discussing Yamatai and Queen Himiko who once ruled there when Sam decided to call Alex over to us. She leaned forward and winked at me.
'Ladies. What's happening? Hey Lara,' he said slyly as he approached. I gave him a weak smile.
'Lara never stops stressing herself out over this Yamatai stuff, she needs to be more confident. She seems to think the rest of us don't trust her calls.' Sam explained to Alex. He took off his glasses to clean them and put them back on as he turned toward me.
'Sam, Jonah and Roth all trust you…and I trust you, Lara. It doesn't matter what Reyes and Whitman think... not only are you incredibly beautiful, courageous, and hard working, but you are also one of the smartest people I've ever met. ' he replied as blushed, and then he surprised me with a swift but gentle kiss. Alex always knew how to cheer me up.
I woke up to the sun, and realized the rain was gone. I missed the rest of the group terribly, especially Alex and Sam.
I got up and started moving, trying to shift my thoughts. I can't just sit here; I've got to find something to eat. As I advanced downhill, my eyes caught onto a corpse hanging upside down from a tree branch. It was more of what was on the corpse that caught my attention: a hunting bow and arrows. I climbed up the tree until I was about level with the corpse and I reached out to grab it. I had it… but I fell from the tree and smacked into the ground.
Roth's words came to mind quickly upon picking up the weapon. "You can have the best form and techniques in the world, but it won't mean a thing if you can't focus. The key to using any weapon is focus. So hungry… I need to find something to eat. I was famished. As I glanced around looking for something to eat I spotted a deer, and it was too hard to resist. Killing an animal is no easy task, and I don't just mean physically, but survival instincts took over and before I knew it I was aiming an arrow at the deer. I hid my target dead center, and I ran over to check and, I suppose, gut the deer. It was disgusting, and I almost threw up, but I sliced along the underbelly with the blade of an arrow and took some meat back to the camp.
I roasted the meat over the fire, and after I finished eating I had a pleasant surprise. I heard Roth's voice over the radio!
"This is Conrad Roth, captain of the Endurance. We are shipwrecked on an island inside the Dragon's Triangle."
"Roth! You're Alive!"
"Lara! Easy, easy. Are you okay? What happened?"
"I remember the beach… then it went black and I woke up in a cave. There was this crazy man, Roth… and a dead body."
"Oh god… Where are you now, Lara? Are you safe?"
"It was so horrible! It's all my fault! This is all my fault…"
"Lara, listen to me. I sent an SOS from the Endurance before I abandoned her. Hopefully someone caught it. I've spoken to others; we're regrouping at my location. I'm in some abandoned village by the mountains."
"Please come and get me…"
"I have to stay here… you can do this Lara. Remember when we climbed Snowden? You said the key was knowing that all you've got to do is just keep moving. Remember everything I've taught you, Lara, you're ready for this. Keep your radio on." With that, Roth's voice was gone. I had to press on… just keep moving. Roth believed in me, now I just had to believe in myself.
I got up and kept going in the same direction I found the deer, when I approached a small building with the door hanging open.
"Hello? Is someone there?" No reply. I was getting used to that. I walked in and observed an open hatch leading underground. It looked a bit too inviting to me, but then the door swung shut behind me. Damn it. I was trapped and this was the only way forward. This could be a way through. There was a torch in there, which I grabbed before climbing down the ladder into the unknown.