DISCLAIMER: I do not own Lara Croft or Tomb Raider. I am not making money
with this work of fiction.
Only to be archived at Fanfiction.net and "Lara Croft's Tales of Beauty and Power". All other sites please email me first at siirma6@surfeu.fi to gain permission.
Tomb Raider: Prevail by Heidi Ahlmen (siirma6@surfeu.fi)
Chapter 9
She hit the cold water hard, forgetting to draw in a breath before she plunged underwater. She fought her way back to the surface, and looked around. No signs of Lara. The boat was still moving away - the last advance payment Josephine Ross was going to make. She dipped her head under the surface, a wave throwing her up and down. She dived down towards something that did not look like seaweed, and pulled it to the surface with all her might.
A split second after her, her arm steady in Josephine's grip, Lara burst into the surface, coughing and spluttering. Josephine stared at her, ignoring the waves, making sure she was alright. Lara blew her nose, and started doing backstrokes with her left hand. The other she crossed on her chest, grimacing.
"I think I might have cracked a rib," she yelled to Josephine who was doing breaststrokes after her. "Hell's Bells Ross, why did you jump in after me?"
So this is how Lara Croft says 'thank you for pulling my wonderful personality out of the depths'.
"If you had drowned, guess who would be the one facing all the blaming fingers," Josephine yelled, the salty water seeping into her eyes causing her to blink. "Wouldn't want - " she coughed as a wave crashes on her, causing her to swallow some water - "want everyone thinking I threw you overboard."
"See that round rock? We could going that way. Seems like less rocks in that direction. Try swimming sideways according to the waves, so ---" the water drowned Lara's voice.
"WHAT?" Josephine yelled, swimming so hard her neck muscles nearly cramped. Her body was definitely not designed with this in mind.
"Swim sideways so that the waves don't crash on you and throw-" Lara drew a quick breath - "throw you on the rocks."
They were some 500 metres from the shore. It was difficult to keep one direction in the waves. They continued swimming, their ragged breaths rhytmical and exhausted. Lara continued backstroke, twisting her neck so she could see where she was going, and Josephine kept to her side, the weight of her wet jeans and sweater pulling her down constantly. Taking them off was no option in this surge.
Nearer the shore, sharp underwater rocks scraped their legs. One made a three-inch cut in Josephine's knee, causing her to nearly faint from the sudden loss of blood. Lara continued, her right hand still draped around her ribcage where the scaffold rail had hit her. They passed the shoreline shipwreck slowly. A flock of white, seagull-like birds had taken over the upturned hull of the rusty skeletal remains of the ship.
Every once in awhile Lara's or Josephine's leg hit bottom only to be greeted with sharp rocks and even sharper seashells.
"Kingdom for a jetski," Josephine yelled to Lara, and grabbed her by the arm again to pull her away from a treacherous rock Lara had failed to notice.
"Jetskis wouldn't hold up in this kind of wind," Lara yelled back.
"Spoilsport," Josephine yelled and felt her leg hit bottom again. This time it was sandy. And it wasn't just a single rock - they were in low water. "Lara, stand up."
Lara took a couple more strokes, then scrambled up on her feet. She tripped over, falling face down in the water, then climbed back up on her feet again. They waded to the shore, and collapsed on the dry sand, which the wind was blowing around. They lied still for some minutes. Josephine shielded her face with her hand - the sun was coming out again.
"Hey Lara - is this what your normal workday includes?"
Lara coughed and turned to her side, exhausted. "Only every second workday."
"Think we'll ever see the mask again?"
"I'm certain of it."
"How?" Josephine asked, raising her brows.
"I have my ways," Lara promised mysteriously, slumping back on her back. "Now I'm going to ask you something. Why, for Christ'ssake did you hit me with that chair leg?"
Josephine laughed, letting the back of her head hit the moist sand. "I expected you to shoot me for it, not ask about it after being stranded on a beach like a pair of whales."
"May it be marked down on the record that I personally resent that comparison."
"Okay, here goes. I wanted to work with you. "
Lara chuckled.
"Shut up. This is an honest woman talking."
Lara cleared her throat. "You could've just asked. It's not necessary to first fool me and then hit me in the head. It's not nice."
"And that is an understatement. I wanted to work with you because I'm interested in how you pull the stunts that bring you fame and fortune. I wanted to know what kind of a person turns her senior thesis two years prior to the rest of us. I figured I couldn't get you here just by asking. True, the papers belonged to my father but he wasn't perfect. The first lead was a cul-de-sac. I met the man my father had talked to and gotten his obviously false information about Malawi. I met him at the bar, before I tried to drink you under the table."
"I never agreed to try to outdrink you."
"True. Anyway, I knew the treatment I would've probably gotten from you if I had told you I had been wrong about Malawi -"
Lara interrupted her. "What treatment? You seriously think I don't go chasing wild geese every once in awhile?"
"Let me continue for Chrissakes, Lara. I realized it would sound a lot better if you had missed something and stayed chasing those birds of yours in Malawi, while I had begun following the right lead here after disagreeing with you."
Lara opened her eyes and raised her brows, finally understanding the whole picture. "And in your little head you somehow boiled up that if Lara Croft failed to prevent herself from getting hit in the head by another woman, she'd be too damned embarrassed to admit it and would have left your story uncorrected?"
"I knew you weren't just a pretty face."
Lara smiled vaguely and looked askance at Josephine. "Your dear brother-in- law once said that to me. I promised to break his nose for it."
"I know. I also know you hated it when he called you bottom bony."
"Yes, that was the phrase. Feel free to indulge me more about your little brainstorm back in Monkey Bay."
"I knew that you'd hunt me down so I had to be quick. I actually was a bit worried I had whacked you out till kingdom come."
"I'm honored for your concern," Lara said in a neutral tone. She sat up and scratched her hairline. Sand fell out her now-dry hair and dissolved plait. "You know Josephine, what you failed to notice was that I never had personally anything against you. Godawful, I hardly knew who you were until that banquet. You wanted my attention and you got it. It's strange how much you actually know about me, by the way."
"Cut it, Lara. I'm not your fan. We still have to decide what to do about our discovery."
"Surprisingly enough you got the pronoun 'we' right," Lara said with a tired voice, and stood up. Josephine patted sand off her clothes and followed Lara towards the jeep that was surprisingly near.
Lara turned back to face her. "We'll do this the Croft way. You'll finally see the side of me you've been so eager to advertise."
Only to be archived at Fanfiction.net and "Lara Croft's Tales of Beauty and Power". All other sites please email me first at siirma6@surfeu.fi to gain permission.
Tomb Raider: Prevail by Heidi Ahlmen (siirma6@surfeu.fi)
Chapter 9
She hit the cold water hard, forgetting to draw in a breath before she plunged underwater. She fought her way back to the surface, and looked around. No signs of Lara. The boat was still moving away - the last advance payment Josephine Ross was going to make. She dipped her head under the surface, a wave throwing her up and down. She dived down towards something that did not look like seaweed, and pulled it to the surface with all her might.
A split second after her, her arm steady in Josephine's grip, Lara burst into the surface, coughing and spluttering. Josephine stared at her, ignoring the waves, making sure she was alright. Lara blew her nose, and started doing backstrokes with her left hand. The other she crossed on her chest, grimacing.
"I think I might have cracked a rib," she yelled to Josephine who was doing breaststrokes after her. "Hell's Bells Ross, why did you jump in after me?"
So this is how Lara Croft says 'thank you for pulling my wonderful personality out of the depths'.
"If you had drowned, guess who would be the one facing all the blaming fingers," Josephine yelled, the salty water seeping into her eyes causing her to blink. "Wouldn't want - " she coughed as a wave crashes on her, causing her to swallow some water - "want everyone thinking I threw you overboard."
"See that round rock? We could going that way. Seems like less rocks in that direction. Try swimming sideways according to the waves, so ---" the water drowned Lara's voice.
"WHAT?" Josephine yelled, swimming so hard her neck muscles nearly cramped. Her body was definitely not designed with this in mind.
"Swim sideways so that the waves don't crash on you and throw-" Lara drew a quick breath - "throw you on the rocks."
They were some 500 metres from the shore. It was difficult to keep one direction in the waves. They continued swimming, their ragged breaths rhytmical and exhausted. Lara continued backstroke, twisting her neck so she could see where she was going, and Josephine kept to her side, the weight of her wet jeans and sweater pulling her down constantly. Taking them off was no option in this surge.
Nearer the shore, sharp underwater rocks scraped their legs. One made a three-inch cut in Josephine's knee, causing her to nearly faint from the sudden loss of blood. Lara continued, her right hand still draped around her ribcage where the scaffold rail had hit her. They passed the shoreline shipwreck slowly. A flock of white, seagull-like birds had taken over the upturned hull of the rusty skeletal remains of the ship.
Every once in awhile Lara's or Josephine's leg hit bottom only to be greeted with sharp rocks and even sharper seashells.
"Kingdom for a jetski," Josephine yelled to Lara, and grabbed her by the arm again to pull her away from a treacherous rock Lara had failed to notice.
"Jetskis wouldn't hold up in this kind of wind," Lara yelled back.
"Spoilsport," Josephine yelled and felt her leg hit bottom again. This time it was sandy. And it wasn't just a single rock - they were in low water. "Lara, stand up."
Lara took a couple more strokes, then scrambled up on her feet. She tripped over, falling face down in the water, then climbed back up on her feet again. They waded to the shore, and collapsed on the dry sand, which the wind was blowing around. They lied still for some minutes. Josephine shielded her face with her hand - the sun was coming out again.
"Hey Lara - is this what your normal workday includes?"
Lara coughed and turned to her side, exhausted. "Only every second workday."
"Think we'll ever see the mask again?"
"I'm certain of it."
"How?" Josephine asked, raising her brows.
"I have my ways," Lara promised mysteriously, slumping back on her back. "Now I'm going to ask you something. Why, for Christ'ssake did you hit me with that chair leg?"
Josephine laughed, letting the back of her head hit the moist sand. "I expected you to shoot me for it, not ask about it after being stranded on a beach like a pair of whales."
"May it be marked down on the record that I personally resent that comparison."
"Okay, here goes. I wanted to work with you. "
Lara chuckled.
"Shut up. This is an honest woman talking."
Lara cleared her throat. "You could've just asked. It's not necessary to first fool me and then hit me in the head. It's not nice."
"And that is an understatement. I wanted to work with you because I'm interested in how you pull the stunts that bring you fame and fortune. I wanted to know what kind of a person turns her senior thesis two years prior to the rest of us. I figured I couldn't get you here just by asking. True, the papers belonged to my father but he wasn't perfect. The first lead was a cul-de-sac. I met the man my father had talked to and gotten his obviously false information about Malawi. I met him at the bar, before I tried to drink you under the table."
"I never agreed to try to outdrink you."
"True. Anyway, I knew the treatment I would've probably gotten from you if I had told you I had been wrong about Malawi -"
Lara interrupted her. "What treatment? You seriously think I don't go chasing wild geese every once in awhile?"
"Let me continue for Chrissakes, Lara. I realized it would sound a lot better if you had missed something and stayed chasing those birds of yours in Malawi, while I had begun following the right lead here after disagreeing with you."
Lara opened her eyes and raised her brows, finally understanding the whole picture. "And in your little head you somehow boiled up that if Lara Croft failed to prevent herself from getting hit in the head by another woman, she'd be too damned embarrassed to admit it and would have left your story uncorrected?"
"I knew you weren't just a pretty face."
Lara smiled vaguely and looked askance at Josephine. "Your dear brother-in- law once said that to me. I promised to break his nose for it."
"I know. I also know you hated it when he called you bottom bony."
"Yes, that was the phrase. Feel free to indulge me more about your little brainstorm back in Monkey Bay."
"I knew that you'd hunt me down so I had to be quick. I actually was a bit worried I had whacked you out till kingdom come."
"I'm honored for your concern," Lara said in a neutral tone. She sat up and scratched her hairline. Sand fell out her now-dry hair and dissolved plait. "You know Josephine, what you failed to notice was that I never had personally anything against you. Godawful, I hardly knew who you were until that banquet. You wanted my attention and you got it. It's strange how much you actually know about me, by the way."
"Cut it, Lara. I'm not your fan. We still have to decide what to do about our discovery."
"Surprisingly enough you got the pronoun 'we' right," Lara said with a tired voice, and stood up. Josephine patted sand off her clothes and followed Lara towards the jeep that was surprisingly near.
Lara turned back to face her. "We'll do this the Croft way. You'll finally see the side of me you've been so eager to advertise."