Whoo hoo a proper update at last!
Akkon - Umm..sorry, did I keep you waiting long? ;-)
SilverDragon 67 - Thanks for the critique of the original chapter 14. :-) It helped a lot with my rewrite.
Odd Little Turtle - Here's your update at long last! Sorry about the wait.
LostandConfused - Thanks! I hope I'm not offending you or anyone else with any of the religious aspects in this story.
Mystique1515 - Don't worry, you didn't miss anything - until now, no-one knew who the other Lara was. Actually, even after this, it's still not totally clear - I'm leaving it up to the reader to decide.
NFI - Of course it wasa cliffhanger! What else do you expect from me? ;-)
theharshlightofday - Hee Hee, if you like Bryce and Kurtis fighting, you'll like the last chapter...
lara-is-my-rolemodel - Here's your update, you can stop poking me now!
spitfire511 - Nope, nowhere near another six months. Thanks!
Thanks for the reviews, everybody! Always appreciated. :-)
As a reminder after my six month delay, Lara has been left trapped in the underworld under attack from a Minotaur, but Mysterious Dream Lara chick has just shown up to save the day and send dead fellow raider Gareth Fishman onto his next life according to his belief in Heaven. Kurtis, Bryce, Hillary and Gareth's protege Maria nearly wrote Lara off due to the imminent attack of the Minotaur and the fact that the ritual that could allow Kurtis to rescue her can only be performed at night, but Bryce unintentionally reminded Kurtis that Lara had been wearing the Eye of Horus necklace - a protection amulet according Egyptian mythology - that he sent her for her birthday. Meanwhile, Travis Sunderland - who kidnapped Kurtis in an attempt to drink from the Styx to gain immortality in order to escape from his terminal illness - has returned from the afterlife but still hasn't managed to drink from the waters.
Reunion
As a white light engulfed Gareth Fishman, spiriting him away to his next life like rising ash from luminous flames, Lara screwed her eyes shut against the brightness and turned her head away. As quickly as the light had appeared, it faded, and Lara looked back up to see, through recovering vision, the Minotaur faltering under the unexpected flash. It snorted, hooved the ground, and then charged again.
Just as Lara was about to react, She stepped in front of her, standing Her ground calmly, unafraid. The bull got closer and closer, hot breath escaping noisily in short, fast pants.
With Lara's body laid safely behind the rear seats, the Jeep sped along the roads back towards the river, the sun rising steadily in the sky casting the vehicle in shadows and patches of blinding light as it caught the dawn.
"What are we going to do? Are you opening the gate again?" It was Sunderland, still dripping wet and now squashed into a corner of the back seat of the Jeep nervously after having slunk along the walls after the rest of the group after his return from the underworld.
"Yes," said Kurtis at the wheel, "we're going to open the gate again."
Maria, slumped miserably between Sunderland and Bryce, spoke, her voice small and quiet. "I hope you're not too late."
Bryce looked over at her, the sympathy etched onto his face enhanced with appreciation for her selfless comment. "I'm sorry about Fishman," he said.
"Maria, he was a good man," Kurtis offered, eyeing her gingerly in the rear view mirror. "He could have come back but it was his time and he accepted that."
Maria leant forward, suddenly intent. "I thought you said the Minotaur killed him?"
Kurtis glanced at Sunderland in his wing mirror, who quickly looked to his lap. "The Minotaur was attacking him when I was sucked through the doorway, yeah."
"I don't understand." Maria's face was hard, accusing Kurtis of tainting Fishman's memory with lies.
"This is our turning," Hillary interrupted from the front passenger seat, and Kurtis, quickly brought back to attention and saved from answering, swung the car right.
"Maria," Bryce said gently, "no-one's trying to hide from you what happened to Fishman, but we have to think about Lara first, whilst she still has a chance."
"Well according to him, Gareth might still have one too!" Maria shot back angrily.
"I didn't say that!" Kurtis protested. "Look, when I left him he was in a real bad – "
"We are not giving up on him as long as there's a chance!"
"He didn't go down there alive, Maria," Hillary said.
"I don't care!"
"Maria," Kurtis said, his voice harsh and demanding her to be quiet, "whether he's 'alive' down there or not, he's not coming back. He said it himself. Now I will gladly tell you everything when the time's right, but right now I have Lara to think about. Ok?" He brought the Jeep to an abrupt halt upon the river's bank, and leapt out, tearing over the muddy uneven ground to the water's edge.
"ANUBIS!" Kurtis bellowed, slipping as he skidded on the mud at the edge of the bank. "ANUBIS!"
Behind him the others followed, gingerly hurrying over the mud brought on by recent rainstorms that had plagued the area since Lara had been lost. "I thought the ritual could only be done at night," Hillary called. "It's only just dawning!"
"I'm not doing the ritual," Kurtis threw over his shoulder. There was a hint of derision in his voice that Hillary didn't think was directed at him.
"ANUBIS!" Kurtis cried again. "Anubis! Keeper of the dead! By the power of the Lux Veritatis I command you to appear!"
A lashing of rain immediately took up again, the skies opening to an instantaneous pelting of heavy raindrops that splashed into the shallow pools already present in the pitted earth and smashed the surface of the river into a million tiny shards of liquid glass. Thunder broke the air and lightening forked across the landscape.
The group turned towards the estuary and the sea further out, waiting for Anubis to rise from the churning waters. Sure enough the surface began to bubble and then rose upwards, waves crashing down around the glistening onyx body of the jackal headed god.
"Who commands me?" Whereas the voice before was gentle under the booming omnipotence, this time it was venomous and malevolent, cowing everyone except Kurtis who stood his ground and stared back defiantly.
"I do!"
"Perform the proper ritual and bow before me in respect or I will extinguish you all."
"Open the gates!" Kurtis shouted up at the imposing, massive presence with false courage. "Let Lara through!"
"It is not my duty to sort the living from the dead, only to guard those who have entered the realm of Osiris and even if it were, you cannot order me. Bow!"
Maria, Bryce, Hillary and Sunderland shrunk back under the spat order, gasping in terror and dropping to their knees, oblivious to the mud as they clung onto each other. Kurtis, visibly shaking, set his jaw and took one step forward.
"Then you will die!" Anubis thundered. His body became rigid and he raised his face skywards, the clouds above blackening even further. The air crackled with electricity and, tearing the atmosphere apart, a thunderbolt struck downwards directly at Kurtis. Having sensed what was about to happen, he dived forwards, the lightening missing him by inches. He fell, limbs flailing, into the river, coughing and spluttering as he surfaced and fighting to stay afloat in the churning waters.
The others ran forwards, clustering together on the edge of the bank, reaching out to him in a desperate attempt to pull him back onto land, but Anubis' presence had brought turbulent currents to the flow and Kurtis couldn't fight his way through them.
"She's wearing the Eye of Horus!" Kurtis screamed over the din of the storm. "That means she's protected! You have to honour that!"
The god stared down at Kurtis, tiny in comparison as he was tossed about by the currents. "Her protection does not grant her the right to a rebirth."
"It grants her the right to continue living when she's not supposed to be dead, and it grants her the right to safety, and she is in danger down there!"
Anubis did not respond.
In Hades, the Minotaur charged on, drawing ever closer, and Lara's breathing quickened as she stared at Her, seemingly doing nothing more than awaiting Her fate.
Kurtis screamed up at the uncaring deity. "You fail to protect her whilst she's in your realm and you answer to Horus!"
Anubis still did not respond, but continued to stare down at Kurtis. The moments passed, Kurtis fighting for air against the splashing, choking waters and the others staring fearfully up at Anubis, hearts racing as they waited for his decision.
At last, the god bowed his head, and the waters, already raging, began to bubble.
At the last possible moment, She thrust a flattened palm out towards the beast. "Stop!"
Lara started at the sudden shout, gasping as the bull obeyed. It snorted again, alarmed, and skidded to a halt, leaning back against its momentum as broken shale flew from the path of its hooves and chinked and broke underneath as the animal's steps clattered violently until it eventually managed to halt just inches from Her. It stood, breathing heavily with its nostrils flaring, the frighteningly wild stare in its eyes fixed directly on Her. Mouth set defiantly, She stepped forwards to run a hand over its muscled flanks, leaving Lara to stand gaping from the ordeal from which she had just been rescued.
"Shhh," She calmed, stroking the Minotaur's snout, Her voice a whisper. "Stay with me, now. I'll get you back to your creator."
"As for you," She said, her voice harder and louder as she turned towards Minos, "you will also be going back to the elder Gods. They gave you your powers in the underworld and they can take them away again. They'll decide what to do with you."
He stepped towards Her, opening his arms entreatingly. "But my intentions were good!"
"At first, maybe. But they quickly degraded."
"I'll stay! I can save my people – "
"Only the Gods can save them now. It's time for you to go."
"No. No! You can't!" Minos panicked, terrified at the prospect of finally being judged.
"I can and I will." She and Minos stared at each other, Minos' gaze of fear met with one of derision. Raising one arm slowly, She casually flicked a finger. Minos and the Minotaur vanished.
She turned back to Lara, smiling. "It's almost time. They're coming for you."
Lara's face was written with confusion. "Who's coming for me?"
"Your friends."
"They're coming back to get me?"
"Of course they're coming back for you!"
Seeing the bubbling waters of the stix, tantalising him with the promise of immortality once again, the terminally ill Sunderland scrambled forwards, laughing as he stretched his arms downwards to the water to cup it within his hands.
"Stop him!" Kurtis yelled, fighting forwards towards the land once again.
Obediently Hillary pounced upon the prone man, wrestling him away from the waters and fending off struggling punches and kicks from the determined Travis.
"Hang on!" Bryce shouted to Kurtis, gaining an idea. He ran off towards the Jeep, scrabbling around in the back and returning moments later with a towrope. Taking one end he hurled the other out across the river and Kurtis caught it, hauling himself towards the land as Bryce and Maria leant back against his weight.
"Help!" Hillary called. "Help me!" With desperation on his side, Travis was winning and was now on top as he and Hillary brawled, their holds on each other tenuous in the slippery mud.
"Maria, go," Bryce grunted, struggling to hold the rope as the turbulent river threatened to wash Kurtis away. She did so, running over to the fight and falling to her knees as she yanked Sunderland off Hillary and scratched viciously at his face.
"Hold on!" Kurtis begged Bryce, calling on every reserve of strength he could find to pull himself up the rope before the other man lost his rapidly waning grip.
"But…who are you?" Lara asked as She walked towards her.
"You don't know?"
Lara shook her head slowly, her gaze never leaving the other woman's eyes.
"Remember," She said, smiling. "Remember the darkness. Remember the exhaustion, the pain, and the freezing cold. Von Croy thought he'd found you but he was too late. The tribe had found you, taken you, healed you – but not until after you'd closed your eyes that one moment too long."
Lara's voice faltered. "I…I don't understand."
"Yes, you do."
Lara watched as She continued to walk slowly towards her, and she gasped. Her double's image was flickering, jumping, as though She was a picture on a badly tuned television, but that wasn't all. Through the flickering picture of Her dressed in Lara's old tomb raiding clothes of brown shorts and green top was a slightly different likeness, one where the outfit was torn and ripped, where dust and dirt caked the material and where Her grimy skin was cut and bloodied, Her arm bent awkwardly in the tell tale sign of a break. As She came to rest in front of Lara, Her image settled into the macabre picture of Lara on the brink of death. "You do remember," She said.
"Where are they?" Lara whimpered, her face beginning to crumple as she fought back tears. "When are they coming?"
She smiled. "Right now. It's time to go home." She opened Her arms, holding them wide for Lara to enter into an embrace. "Let's go."
Giving in to the tears, Lara stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Herself. Everything went white.
Laraawoke to find herself lying uncomfortably squashed into the back of a Jeep, gasping in lungfuls of overdue air and wiping away droplets of water that ran into her eyes and dripped across her chest from her sodden hair. Gasping, frightened, she stared around to find the car empty and the hatchback closed with no-one in sight. A storm was raging outside, pelting the windows and drumming on the roof. Whimpering with the memories of her ordeal fresh in her mind, she managed to clumsily clamber over the seats and open the door, falling out into the rain.
There were desperate shouts nearby and she falteringly got to her feet, eventually managing to stagger away from the vehicle and around to the other side.
She was on the riverbank, the river still churning and bubbling as it had when she had seen it last. Hillary and Maria were frantically fighting against Sunderland, rolling over and over in the mud and scratching and clawing at each other, whilst Bryce was clutching onto a rope, Kurtis clinging onto the other end and struggling against the pull of the watery gateway that threatened to sweep him away again.
"I'm alive again," she whispered, and then sheer joy began to wipe away the numb shock on her face. "I'm alive again!"
Anubis looked up, and, seeing her there, did nothing more than fade away. The rain abated, the waters calmed, and the skies cleared. Distracted by the sudden loss of the roaring waters and bombarding raindrops, the three clashing on the bank stopped, staring around in confusion, as did Bryce as Kurtis, similarly stunned, just trod water.
Being the only one facing in her direction, his eyes fell on her first.
"Lara!"