Chapter Seven

Lara groaned as she regained consciousness. The fall had hurt. She looked up to the ledge twenty feet above her and wondered what she'd broken this time. Her arms and legs seemed to work alright, and stretching lightly, she found that her ribs hurt the worst. There was no doubt in her mind that she'd broken at least one. She didn't think that she was in danger of dying from the injuries, but they would be enough to hamper her.

"Shit!" She swore vehemently. For good measure, she swore again. She forced herself to her feet, staggering pathetically for a few steps. Two falls in on job was a new record, even for her. The thought brought on a fresh wave of swearing. She uttered words so vile that would have shocked even the worst docker.

Dragging the rope out of the water, she looked at the frayed end was something close to anger. No doubt, the handy metal peg was still stuck in the bank. Frustration was building up inside of her again and she fought it down. It wouldn't do her any good to get angry. There was nothing for it but to climb out. The small beach that she was on held nothing that would help her. Pulling as hard as she could without her rib complaining, she tested the rope that had become her lifeline. It held, but that was no guarantee that there wasn't something nasty waiting up there for her.

It took her twice as long as it should have to climb up to the bank. She flopped over the edge, out of breath, raising her head to scan for danger. It didn't take much finding. A pair of the creatures stood around ten feet from her. Both of them were slowly, but steadily advancing towards her. They seemed to glide above the ground.

"Uh-oh." She said, rolling into a crouch. Her hands automatically went for her pistols. She immediately felt better when her fingers wrapped around the grips. The guns were like lucky talismans to her. It was easy to feel better with them in her hands.

Staying low, she moved away from the bank, staying on a diagonal line to the advancing trouble. With the river to one side of her, she raised her right gun, putting a round into the forehead of the closest creature. It didn't even flinch. The noise was shockingly loud. It echoed for what seemed like eternity. She was amused by that even as she assessed the situation again. If gunfire didn't slow the creatures down, then she was willing to bet hand to hand wouldn't either. Slamming the guns back into the holsters on her hips, she did what any sane person would do.

She ran straight towards the creatures. Only at the last second did she change her course, heading towards her destination. The run made her rib ache mercilessly and she was quickly panting. Dropping back into a fast walk, she turned and scanned the area behind her. Through skill or sheer luck, she had lost the creatures for now. Betting they wouldn't stay lost for long, she picked up her pace as best she could. Even in the freezing air, she was soon sweating from a combination of exertion and pain.

The built up area turned out not to be the ruins of a hut like she had first thought. It was instead a complete circle of large, jagged stones. Each tip looked to be razor sharp. They were the same shade of red as the rest of the stones. No easy way in offered itself to her.

"I guess we do it the hard way, then." She muttered to herself.