Disclaimer: I don't own Lara Croft!
I'm really enjoying writing this story. I can't help but love writing angst, and Lara and Alister are a great couple. I'm going to be sorry when this story's over. Anyway, thanks so much for all the reviews, I hope you're enjoying this too!
Lara shut her eyes, suppressing a shudder as snow blew into her face. The thick, heavy flakes had begun to fall about fiffteen minutes ago, and was dragging her down. They were beginning to fall faster now, a swirling blanket of white that almost blocked out her vision. She could barely see three metres in front of her. Alister hung from her shoulder, nearly slipping away, and she had her hand fisted in the back of his jacket in an attempt to keep hold of him. She had lost track of the time by now. All she knew was that they were moving uphill, and up was good. But her legs were beginning to shake, and she didn't know how much further she could go.
Alister stumbled slightly, and Lara almost tumbled over with him. She dug her heels into the snow and managed to keep her balance, steadying herself. She squinted up through the snow and saw nothing but white. Letting out a heavy sigh, she squeezed Alister's hand tightly.
"Alister? I think we should rest for a moment. I need a break."
Alister didn't reply. She waited, but all she heard were his shallow, rasping breaths.
"Alister? Alister?"
She jostled him a little, and he let out a low moan.
"Whu... what?"
Lara's stomach flipped at his slurred, weak tone and she gently lowered him onto the snowy ground. She held him in a sitting position as she crouched down in front of him, her knees aching from the long walk.
"Alister? Can you hear me?"
His eyelids drooped and he swayed beneath her hand. Lara tightened her grip on him, and he blearily met her gaze, although his eyes seemed to stare straight through her. She rubbed his arms, horribly aware of how cold he was.
"How do you feel? How bad is the pain?"
He blinked slowly. His mouth opened slightly, but no sound came out. Lara felt tears threatening and swallowed hard, shutting her eyes for a second to gather herself.
"Alister, you have to stay awake, okay? Keep listening to me."
His eyes began to close once more, and she shook him slightly. Her actions made almost no difference. She dug in her pocket for her mobile and checked the signal. Nothing, nothing...
"For god's sake!" she hissed. "Give me something, please!"
She held it up and out, but got nothing. Why did everything have to go wrong for her, just when things appeared to be looking up? Why, why could she never have anything good for any length of time? Why was her life so full of crap? She looked back at Alister, struggling to hold back her tears again. She was going to watch him die. Maybe afterwards, when everything was over, she would just throw herself off a cliff and be done with it all...
A red bar appeared on her mobile scream.
Lara froze, her eyes fixed on it. Hope flared up in her chest. The bar flickered for a few moments and then vanished. But it had been there, and that meant that somewhere close by was an area she could get a signal from. She still had a chance. She hesitated, glancing back at Alister. His eyes had glazed over, a thin sheen of sweat appearing on his forehead despite the freezing cold. Taking him with her would take up too much time, and she didn't know how much longer they had left. But leaving him alone... if he fell unconscious now, there might be no waking him up. But she had no damn time...
"Alister, stay awake," she said. "I'll be right back, I promise. Just stay awake for me."
She rose to her feet and pushed herself into a run. Her feet slipped in the snow, but she forced herself to continue. She reached a small rocky out crop and looked down at the mobile again. The red bar had reappeared. It wasn't enough to call for help, but it was enough to send a second surge of hope through her. Lara clenched her fist around the mobile and began to move again, the hill becoming so steep that she almost had to move on her hands and knees. A blast of freezing air hit her in the face as she reached another group of rocks, the hill abruptly vanishing, and then the snow died slightly. Lara pushed back her hair and looked down, breathing heavily.
Far below her, the skeleton wreckage of a plane lay stretched out on the ground.
Lara let out a heavy sigh of relief and lifted the mobile before her. Four green bars flashed in front of her on the screen. A grin broke out across her face.
"Yes. Yes!"
She hurriedly dialed a number and pressed the mobile to her ear.
"Hold on, Alister. Help's on its way."
I know this chapter is unbelieveably short, but we're getting near the end now. Think of this as a bit added on to the last chapter. Promise the next one will be longer! Please please REVIEW!!
SUPRNTRAL LVR.