Lara found herself face down in the dust for what seemed like the hundredth time today. Apparently, being a daughter of Zeus didn't help her co-ordination much when she was on the ground, and there were a lot small holes for her to fall in. She was surprised that she hadn't sprained her ankle yet. To make matters worse, she had run out of food by midmorning. Lupa clearly did not have an understanding of the amount of food that a teenaged girl could eat.
Lara thought about just laying there, face down in the dust and giving up. Maybe someone would find her and help her down so that she wouldn't have to walk on these treacherous trails anymore. It would be just like Lupa to find the most difficult, irritating, and frustrating way down the cliffs and into the valley.
The sound of scuffling broke Lara's thoughts. She cursed. Something, something rather large by the sound of it, was after her. She rolled over, just in time to avoid being run over by…what exactly was it? She scrambled behind a rock and listened intently. There was nothing there. Then, something warm and wet hit her t-shirt.
"Ugg!" she said, rolling as the giant…pig charged towards her again. Well, she thought, leaping off of the cliff, I guess this qualifies as an emergency.
She hadn't planned on all of the branches smacking her on her way down.
"Ouch, oww, haha you missed. Ouch, ah, never mind. Ahhhhhh" Lara lost her concentration as a particularly large branch smacked her upside the head. She started free falling, disoriented. The world spun in circles. She could see the blur that was the pig racing down the slopes, up the slopes, she couldn't tell. Then, her arm jarred painfully on a thick branch. She clung on reflexively, ignoring the pain throbbing through her arm. She legs dangled below her. She risked a glance down. The boar was circling below her, pawing and the ground.
It was this moment that she chose to remember third grade gym class. She was the next in line to swing across pile of mats to the other same pile, where the "monsters" couldn't reach her. She remembered hitting the edge of the mat, clinging on with one leg over, wobbling, dangerously close to falling into the "pit", with some of her mean classmates laughing at her. She had scrambled over the mat, falling unceremoniously on her face. But her classmates, the ones who had laughed, could never reach the other side after that. They claimed that the mats had moved away from them, while Mrs. Hillencrof, their mean gym teacher had rolled her eyes and given them S- for the day.
Lara mustered a smile, thinking of that. Then, her smile vanished, replaced by a look of concentration as she launched herself upwards, like a high jumper, landing sitting on the next branch up. She teetered dangerously, steadying herself by reaching over to put her good arm around the tree. The boar snarled below her. She peered through the trees, trying to see into the valley below. How far was she away from the camp? Would she be able to make it, flying from tree to tree.
The tree below her shook, nearly dislodging her as the boar rammed into it. The thing was huge, with giant, glistening tusks. The boar backed up for another attempt. Lara leaped, aiming for the next tree. When she tried to surge upwards, she nearly blacked out. Spots danced before her eyes and she was falling, right towards the tusks of the boar.