The first indication she had that something wasn't right was that she was fully awake. And in the middle of nothingness. It was black all around her again, like when she'd woken up in that corridor of whatever tomb... temple... whatever...
"Hello?"
Nothing, not even an echo. It was like she was in limbo. She could see herself, and she could see in front of her, what there was to see.
"HELLO?!" Leigh was beginning to get nervous again. In the span of a few hours her life had been turned upside down. Slowly she began walking straight ahead, as if that would help somehow. She kept looking around for signs of anyone else, anything else. She was still wearing Lara Croft's outfit of short tight shorts, hiking boots and a tight black tank top... She was willing to bet that if she looked in a mirror, she looked like Lara too... Even the two guns were there.
"Oh this does not sound good..." The roaring of a train was sounding in her ears, but nothing was out there... All of a sudden two points of light struck her and began to grow brighter and towards her. Leigh paused and watched, her brown eyes growing wider and wider. The lights flashed and when the light subsided, she could see two walls of images racing towards her at lightening speed. The wind picked up, blowing the wisps of hair around her face back. The roaring grew deafening and her reaction was to throw her arms over her head and duck down to the ground.
After a few minutes of what she could only describe as a cacophony of voices and sounds accompanied by a slight breeze, Leigh looked up hesitantly. It was brighter now, like in the electronics stores or department stores... On both side of her was two walls that stretched higher than she could see and each little square of it was a different image, like a multi-screen wall.
Leigh wandered down the alley with her mouth open. These were people's lives she was seeing... millions and millions of people throughout the world. "Where's mine..." she wondered aloud...
"Yours is crossed... you must make a choice..."
"HUH? HEY!! Who are you?!" Leigh looked around for the disembodied voice. "At least show me what my choices are!!"
One of the walls faded, the other one dimmed a bit, a portion of the wall itself floated down so she could see. It was a desert, daylight and looked straight out of a movie. With morbid fascination she watched as mysterious men on horseback galloped through the camp she'd been sleeping in. "This is a dream... I'm in my own dream... That's it!! NO MORE GARLIC before bedtime!"
The scene kept moving, following the struggle. Vaguely she could hear the noises around her, as if she were in a surround sound theater. A man in black came thundering at her, his face concealed from view. His intentions looked evil, his eyes dark and foreboding... the scene slowed to half time and allowed Leigh to see his eyes... beautiful eyes... hesitantly she reached out to touch them through the screen...
The next thing Leigh knew, time had sped back up to normal and she was IN the middle of the scene she'd watched. Something stirred in her and she was going to have NONE of this bullshit. In a single motion, she had both of her guns in hand and started firing at the riders as they raced through the camp.
A war cry behind her startled her and caused her to turn around. Racing at her was another horse and rider, scimitar raised high in attack. Leigh took off at a run, still firing both guns in rapid fire. She leapt and twisted in mid-air, landing on her back and taking aim at the rider who had been bearing down on her. He jerked twice where she'd hit him in the chest and fell off of his horse. Another was bearing down on where she was laying, a different one. Rolling to the side, she pulled her legs up out of the horse's path and flipped over onto her back. She took off at a run again, this time for Hamid and the rest of the workers who were behind a stack of crating material marked for Cairo. As she did, she ejected both clips from the guns and reloaded from the spares on her waist.
"MISS CRAWFORD!! Look out!!"
Leigh turned just in time, both guns in hand and ready to rock, to see a black horse bearing down on her, the rider leaning off to the side as if to snatch her up off of her feet.
"Like hell.." she snarled and drew both guns up to aim at his chest. But before she could squeeze the triggers, she felt the breath knocked out of her chest and landed face down across the saddle.
****
"Hello?"
Nothing, not even an echo. It was like she was in limbo. She could see herself, and she could see in front of her, what there was to see.
"HELLO?!" Leigh was beginning to get nervous again. In the span of a few hours her life had been turned upside down. Slowly she began walking straight ahead, as if that would help somehow. She kept looking around for signs of anyone else, anything else. She was still wearing Lara Croft's outfit of short tight shorts, hiking boots and a tight black tank top... She was willing to bet that if she looked in a mirror, she looked like Lara too... Even the two guns were there.
"Oh this does not sound good..." The roaring of a train was sounding in her ears, but nothing was out there... All of a sudden two points of light struck her and began to grow brighter and towards her. Leigh paused and watched, her brown eyes growing wider and wider. The lights flashed and when the light subsided, she could see two walls of images racing towards her at lightening speed. The wind picked up, blowing the wisps of hair around her face back. The roaring grew deafening and her reaction was to throw her arms over her head and duck down to the ground.
After a few minutes of what she could only describe as a cacophony of voices and sounds accompanied by a slight breeze, Leigh looked up hesitantly. It was brighter now, like in the electronics stores or department stores... On both side of her was two walls that stretched higher than she could see and each little square of it was a different image, like a multi-screen wall.
Leigh wandered down the alley with her mouth open. These were people's lives she was seeing... millions and millions of people throughout the world. "Where's mine..." she wondered aloud...
"Yours is crossed... you must make a choice..."
"HUH? HEY!! Who are you?!" Leigh looked around for the disembodied voice. "At least show me what my choices are!!"
One of the walls faded, the other one dimmed a bit, a portion of the wall itself floated down so she could see. It was a desert, daylight and looked straight out of a movie. With morbid fascination she watched as mysterious men on horseback galloped through the camp she'd been sleeping in. "This is a dream... I'm in my own dream... That's it!! NO MORE GARLIC before bedtime!"
The scene kept moving, following the struggle. Vaguely she could hear the noises around her, as if she were in a surround sound theater. A man in black came thundering at her, his face concealed from view. His intentions looked evil, his eyes dark and foreboding... the scene slowed to half time and allowed Leigh to see his eyes... beautiful eyes... hesitantly she reached out to touch them through the screen...
The next thing Leigh knew, time had sped back up to normal and she was IN the middle of the scene she'd watched. Something stirred in her and she was going to have NONE of this bullshit. In a single motion, she had both of her guns in hand and started firing at the riders as they raced through the camp.
A war cry behind her startled her and caused her to turn around. Racing at her was another horse and rider, scimitar raised high in attack. Leigh took off at a run, still firing both guns in rapid fire. She leapt and twisted in mid-air, landing on her back and taking aim at the rider who had been bearing down on her. He jerked twice where she'd hit him in the chest and fell off of his horse. Another was bearing down on where she was laying, a different one. Rolling to the side, she pulled her legs up out of the horse's path and flipped over onto her back. She took off at a run again, this time for Hamid and the rest of the workers who were behind a stack of crating material marked for Cairo. As she did, she ejected both clips from the guns and reloaded from the spares on her waist.
"MISS CRAWFORD!! Look out!!"
Leigh turned just in time, both guns in hand and ready to rock, to see a black horse bearing down on her, the rider leaning off to the side as if to snatch her up off of her feet.
"Like hell.." she snarled and drew both guns up to aim at his chest. But before she could squeeze the triggers, she felt the breath knocked out of her chest and landed face down across the saddle.
****
