Chapter 6 - Lost
With a terrible feeling of dread Lara sat down on the bottom step with her head in her hands, wondering if she'd ever get out of this terrible place alive. She wished she had never come here, never met Robert Palmer and never got into that stupid jeep with him in search of adventure. Thinking of that journey yesterday caused her to remember the conversation that had taken place on the way here. "Your father would be proud of you," she remembered the man saying and the thought of this caused her to stand up with determination. "Daddy must have been in worse spots than this," she said out loud, "I will get out of here alive." Lara smiled grimly to herself and began to ascend the long flight of stairs. As she climbed higher Lara guessed that she must be nearing the surface, and when she finally reached the top her suspicions were confirmed by slants of light which came through cracks in the low ceiling of the corridor in which she found herself. The air was clearer here and she filled her lungs gratefully before carefully making her way along the passage. Looking down at her feet Lara noticed that the slab she was currently stepping on to looked different from all the others, but before she could examine it a sharp burning sensation across her leg caused her to yelp and leap away from whatever had caused it. Blood trickled from a gash on Lara's shin and she was glad Alex had insisted on her taking a first aid kit. After bandaging the wound as best she could Lara curiously dropped her pack onto the differently coloured section of floor and saw a blade swing silently across the corridor a few inches from the ground like the lash of a whip. If she had been just a foot further forward.Lara shuddered at the thought. She didn't doubt that there would be more of these, so she progressed slowly, looking carefully at the floor for changes in colour and wondering what these monks were trying to protect. She soon found what she was looking out for and examined the wall without putting weight on the dubious section of floor. Lara discovered a slit in the stone, about waist height this time which must house the blade. The ceiling was too low to leap over the dangerous area, so she got down on the floor and crawled, the sword swinging harmlessly over her. The next blade was lower like the first one, too low to crawl under. The area of danger seemed to long to step over, and she tested jumping the necessary distance further back but kept bumping her head. After thinking for a moment Lara took a few steps back for a run up, then dived over the sharp metal, somersaulting as she landed. Picking herself up, Lara looked back in triumph and laughed to herself. She slid a short distance down a steep slope and came to a stop just in time at the edge of a sharp drop. Crouching down she held out her torch and saw that the bottom of the deep pit was lined with metal spikes which glinted in the light of the flame. The far edge looked an awful long way away, but Lara figured that she didn't really have a choice but to attempt to jump it. She steeled herself and threw the torch across so she could see where she was leaping to then stepped back to the edge of the slope. Lara ran forward and leapt at the last minute. She immediately knew that she would come short of the other side. Instinctively she reached out and grabbed hold of stone edge and clung on with her fingers screaming out in pain. Lara let out the breath she suddenly realised she'd been holding, then heaved herself up with a grunt. Lara continued through to a room that seemed to contain nothing but a closed door with no handle. She put her shoulder against the door but it refused to budge and there was not even a keyhole to be found. Lara pounded the heavy wood in frustration but to no avail and she began to despair that there was no way forward, and also no way back.
With a terrible feeling of dread Lara sat down on the bottom step with her head in her hands, wondering if she'd ever get out of this terrible place alive. She wished she had never come here, never met Robert Palmer and never got into that stupid jeep with him in search of adventure. Thinking of that journey yesterday caused her to remember the conversation that had taken place on the way here. "Your father would be proud of you," she remembered the man saying and the thought of this caused her to stand up with determination. "Daddy must have been in worse spots than this," she said out loud, "I will get out of here alive." Lara smiled grimly to herself and began to ascend the long flight of stairs. As she climbed higher Lara guessed that she must be nearing the surface, and when she finally reached the top her suspicions were confirmed by slants of light which came through cracks in the low ceiling of the corridor in which she found herself. The air was clearer here and she filled her lungs gratefully before carefully making her way along the passage. Looking down at her feet Lara noticed that the slab she was currently stepping on to looked different from all the others, but before she could examine it a sharp burning sensation across her leg caused her to yelp and leap away from whatever had caused it. Blood trickled from a gash on Lara's shin and she was glad Alex had insisted on her taking a first aid kit. After bandaging the wound as best she could Lara curiously dropped her pack onto the differently coloured section of floor and saw a blade swing silently across the corridor a few inches from the ground like the lash of a whip. If she had been just a foot further forward.Lara shuddered at the thought. She didn't doubt that there would be more of these, so she progressed slowly, looking carefully at the floor for changes in colour and wondering what these monks were trying to protect. She soon found what she was looking out for and examined the wall without putting weight on the dubious section of floor. Lara discovered a slit in the stone, about waist height this time which must house the blade. The ceiling was too low to leap over the dangerous area, so she got down on the floor and crawled, the sword swinging harmlessly over her. The next blade was lower like the first one, too low to crawl under. The area of danger seemed to long to step over, and she tested jumping the necessary distance further back but kept bumping her head. After thinking for a moment Lara took a few steps back for a run up, then dived over the sharp metal, somersaulting as she landed. Picking herself up, Lara looked back in triumph and laughed to herself. She slid a short distance down a steep slope and came to a stop just in time at the edge of a sharp drop. Crouching down she held out her torch and saw that the bottom of the deep pit was lined with metal spikes which glinted in the light of the flame. The far edge looked an awful long way away, but Lara figured that she didn't really have a choice but to attempt to jump it. She steeled herself and threw the torch across so she could see where she was leaping to then stepped back to the edge of the slope. Lara ran forward and leapt at the last minute. She immediately knew that she would come short of the other side. Instinctively she reached out and grabbed hold of stone edge and clung on with her fingers screaming out in pain. Lara let out the breath she suddenly realised she'd been holding, then heaved herself up with a grunt. Lara continued through to a room that seemed to contain nothing but a closed door with no handle. She put her shoulder against the door but it refused to budge and there was not even a keyhole to be found. Lara pounded the heavy wood in frustration but to no avail and she began to despair that there was no way forward, and also no way back.