Tomb Raider:
The Adventures of Lara Croft
Book 1-Curse of the Scorpion
Chapter 24- By the Entrance...
"Huh?! WAAAA!!".
THUD!
"Priceless.". Lara smiled, looking down at the man sprawled chaotically and still pretty much half asleep at her feet. The sight alone almost made up for a fraction of his actions the other night. Almost.
"Uhhhh… Dammit Lara, I'm not deaf.". Alex groaned, pulling himself off the floor and back onto his cot. Cocking her head to the side, Lara shot him an annoyed and slightly astonished look. "Well I didn't think so either, but apparently you are.".
Rubbing his head, Alex sighed heavily. The morning had NOT gotten off to the best sort of starts. Still, there was one thing that both tomb raiders would have instantly agreed on that morning as they set off through the scorching desert and towards the entrance of god knows what kind of danger filled environment… it was soooo going to be one of those days.
Long and annoying…
Annoyingly long…
As it turns out, the journey there certainly was…
…
They chased me all through the night
Arrived without us knowing
The scorpions grow larger each year
Filling our minds with dread and fear
I came here just like you
A traveller seeking a prize
Answers I sought out in a tomb
Here I found nothing but dread and doom
It's now too late for me
The poison will run it's path
The locals in the nearby village
Told me the legend of a cure
But even they have never found it
I'm slowly losing my mind
Those I came here with are dead
They all just went insane
The scorpion symbol
Drawn with their own blood
Didn't fade until they died
Leaving an unknown cause of death
I found out a few things though
Things you may want to know
My notebook was lost somewhere near the entrance
The artifact seems so close
But it's far out of your reach
Heed this warning from an old adventurer
BEWARE THE CURSE OF THE SCORPION
Arabic words echoed and translated through her mind. Over and over they repeated, almost as if they had been hauntingly etched into the back of her mind. Etched in stone… just like where she had found them. An adventurer… someone had come close once. Closer than she had ever been last time.
"Hey Lara I…". Alex tried multiple times to break the silence that had swept over them not long after she had given up making idle chatter with hints of annoyance and sarcasm lacing her voice. A voice he hated when she was angry, and yet still loved because it was hers. At first he couldn't think of anything worst than having her angry and talking AT him… but he was soon to be found wrong. It was worst to have her mad at him and not talking. Then again, he was wrong. For he found that it was probably worst to have her silent, lost in her own thoughts and leaving him without so much as any kind of clue as to what she was thinking and feeling.
Meanwhile, Lara wasn't really noticing any such feelings coming from Alex. In fact, due to the silence, she had almost forgotten that she wasn't traveling alone.
The journal… the adventurer said it was near the entrance. Perhaps it's still there. It may be just the key that I'll need in order to finally find this thing. Something I missed last time… maybe this guy actually solved it. Deep in thought, Alex's voice no longer reached her. In any case, just the thought of the journal itself helped her feel a little more confident this time. Yet, it also made her wonder if it was the adventurer's confidence that may had led to his own demise.
"LARA!".
She heard that.
Turning her head, her brow arched. Almost as if she was wondering why he seemed so upset. "Oh at least you noticed this time! God dammit Lara! You could at least answer when--". But he was cut off. "When you yell at me?". She inquired. "I… arg! Let's just…talk about something okay? Anything. I don't give a damn what, just something so I don't feel like I'm talking to myself or that you're pissed at me.". He sighed heavily.
"And what if I am?". Lara inquired further. "Huh? What? What if you're what?". Honestly, he didn't really understand what she was talking about. Though he had to admit that he was happy she finally talking to him again.
"Pissed at you.". Lara smirked slightly, looking back at her map. "Hahaha…hey at least you're talking.". Alex grinned, more relieved than she could ever imagine.
"You know, this traveler… he may actually have seen the artifact before he died. He might actually have left some sort of notes in his journal documenting the curse, the artifact and the whole history behind it.". Lara continued the thoughts she had started in her mind out loud. Alex nodded, "Yeah maybe, I mean it would really be helpful to us… hopefully more than it was to him and… Wait, what makes you think he died?". Alex questioned, almost feeling a little more hesitant about the journal idea.
"The artifact.". Simply. "What about it?". Alex pressed her further. "We wouldn't be after it if someone already had it now would we?". She continued to examine her map. Alex just nodded, she had him there.
At about the same time that the sun began to set, they arrived at the entrance. Judging by the sun's position, they only had two or three hours of sunlight left before the temperature would begin to cool off and darkness would set in. Still, there was plenty of time to explore a little before setting up camp. Of that, Lara assured Alex.
Dismounting, they tied the horses to a rock formation by the tomb. Careful to leave them in some sort of shade, they crossed the line that separated the scorching sand from cooler. Looking around as they started inside, Alex wasn't long noticing that something was missing. "Of course it's not right right here… that would be TOO convienently easy wouldn't it?". He rolled his eyes, his hopes of some sort of direction dashed in the few moments where they had begun to explore the area closest to the entrance.
"Well… there IS something…". Lara replied, as the flashlight on her backpack caught something sticking out from the sand. "Really?!". Alex questioned, finding his way to Lara's side. "Pair of old boots.". Lara smiled with a shrug as she continued deeper into the darkly lighted corridor.
"OH real- hey it IS boots!".
Aven
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