Chapter 3: Syria part 1

I don't own anything. Resident Evil belongs to Capcom and Tomb Raider belongs to Core Design, Crystal Dynamics, and I think Square Enix. The only thing I own is the changes made to the stories of the Tomb Raider games/comics and Resident Evil games/comics/CG movies, the Government branch S.P.E.L.L., the person that has taken over Kathrine Warren's life, and Rose Warren. This story also will be bloody, violent, and have cursing. It's rated T for Teen.

Country: Syria, State: Northwest Border of Syria, City: Near Prophet's Lost Tomb tunnels, Place: Guide's Truck, Area: Passenger seat, Month: November, Day: Tuesday 14th, Year: 2000, Time: 12:31 EEST…

Lara tried to breath as she kept looking around outside the bumpy old jeep. Syria was hot, and she was sweating in this car. It's air-conditioner was broken and thus the windows were down to allow air flow. But still, Lara felt like she was baking and every breath dried out her mouth and throat.

"Hey," The Driver/Guide said getting her attention. "We're heading into a war zone now. You better be sure about this." He informed keeping his eyes on the bumpy road.

Lara nodded as she looked at him. She felt bad for the people out here. The bleed over of the civil war from Iran and Iraq was a scary thing. No matter what, Lara knew that she had to do this. "We're close." She assured him. "There should be an oasis in the canyon just ahead." She looked back down at her lap, the icon on a GPS giving her directions she herself had calculated.

"You're wasting your time. There's nothing out here." The driver said, sounding like he was trying to persuade her otherwise.

"Just keep driving, please." Lara told him; eyes glued to the GPS.

He sighed. "It's your money." He decided.

Lara looked up at the road. Then her eyes widened when she saw a helicopter fly around the side and at them. It wasn't one of those leased helicopters for taking tourists around and it wasn't a rescue or emergency helicopter either. It was a war helicopter. It had the arms on the sides where guns were mounted. Not good. It flew over them and Lara looked back out the back window.

"Something isn't right…" She said slowly.

"Uhhh," The driver said slowly as the aircraft turned around to follow or pass back over them. "that's just…local militia." He tried to say.

Lara looked at him slowly as it dawned on her. "You told someone, didn't you?" She accused in anger.

"They…they paid more than you." He defended himself.

"You bast—"

Lara didn't finish as bullets rained down on them, cutting through the center of the cab. Pure luck neither of them were hit as they jumped in their seats and moved to either side of the car. He yanked the wheel, and they rounded a bend, trying to avoid any more gunfire.

"Damn, this road…!" The Driver yelled sending rocks over the cliffside.

Lara had her head ducked down as they got on a straighter road.

"Shit!" The Driver yelled in shocked panic. "They weren't supposed to shoot at us!" He tried to defend himself still.

"Get us out of here!" She yelled at him as she lost sight of the helicopter but could hear it was above them.

"Shit…shit…" The driver panted as Lara peered out the window.

She spotted it and it seemed the world went into slow-motion as it spun around to be in front of them. They really wanted her dead. Seeing the helicopter appear in front of them made the poor greedy driver feel like he was seeing the beast that guarded hell.

"Oh, no, no. No!" He yelled.

The bullets rained on them. Lara ducked down again, just barely ducking the gunfire that cut into the metal and broke the windshield. Fire erupted from the engine as the oil and gas caught on fire. But the pained jerky yell from next to her and the hot liquid that hit the side of her arm, told Lara what she'd find when she looked up.

She looked up and over she shook the bullet rattled body for a moment. "No, no, no…!"

She pushed the body aside and tried to steer the car. But it was too late to take control and redirect. The front of the very old jeep hit a very large rock, that could have been avoided but Lara didn't see it in time. With a whine of metal, the jeep tipped forward and flipped on its nose. Then turned to the side and started tumbling down the side of the hill. Lara and the body were tossed around, but the car finally slid to a stop on its side.

Lara held her head in pain as she tried not to move it to quickly. She nearly blacked out from her head smacking on the metal of the inner cabin. Didn't help that this jeep was so old and damaged already that the air bags didn't deploy. That and it didn't have very secure seat belts. They had snapped in the crash in the last roll she was bouncing around like a coin in tin can. She pushed herself up and crawled to the open back of the jeep, dragging her pack along with her. She was still a bit dazed as she slipped and fell to the ground just outside the jeep. Her arms and body sported a few new cuts from the glass and lose tools that were tossed around with her as the jeep rolled.

She lifted her head and looked back as she propped herself up on her arms. Her eyes widened at the fire burning along the underside of the jeep. It was spreading at a steady rate. Now yes, most cars don't explode for no reason. But this one just might with the short cut repairs done to it. She stood and stumbled into a run clutching her bag. She only got two paces away when the entire thing exploded.

Lara was thrown from the wreckage and was sent tumbling down and over the sided of the cliff. She pulled her axe from her belt and struggled trying to sink it into the rock and lose sand. Little stones were knocked loose as she continued sliding down the steep sloop. As she felt herself go over the edge, her axe hooked into the rocks for a second. She let out a sigh too soon, the axe lost its grip and she fell from the side of the rocks.

It was only a six-foot drop, but her body was still in mid swing, so she landed on her side. It hurt and she coughed on dust and from the wind being knocked out of her. She also held her head from the second hit to it that day. She rolled shakily onto her back, waiting for the throbbing to lessen and for the ringing in her ears to go away. She struggled to her feet, holding her head. She bent her knees for a few moments before looking around her.

"No turning back now…it has to be here…" She muttered then checked her gear, while still holding her head.

Her dual pistols, the tactical ones, were on either thigh, in hand reach. Her climbing axe she hooked back to her belt. She also had her radio on her hip. Just in case she needed to call for help at all. Her small pack, she swung on to her back. It held glow sticks and her father's tape recorder. Other than that? Sadly, the rest of her gear blew up in the jeep. She didn't have the GPS, she was sure it was one of the things that bounced off her and added to her new bruises. She took a few steps forward as her world danced and then spun.

She stumbled and leaned on a rock for a bit hissing though her teeth at the dancing world. She took a few breaths and pushed off. She held her head in hopes that she could hold it still as she walked, each step jostled her and sent pain throbbing through her head. Every few steps she would stop to catch her breath as she continued along the narrow path on the cliff side. The orangey toned rocks seemed to radiate as much heat as the sun did. She stopped again and leaned on the hot rocks for a moment. She lowered her hand from her head and looked at the rock formation before her. They were familiar.

"There was something in dad's research about this." Lara muttered as she reached back and pulled her father's tape player from her pack.

She hit the play button once it was in front of her as she slid down to rest for a bit. She used the forward and reverse to find the spot she needed. After about 10 minutes of going back and forth, she heard what she was listening for. "It was said the Prophet's Tomb was hidden in the cliffs above one of the forgotten cities." Her father's voice greeted her as she listened and started hiking up. "Legend speaks of an oasis where the prophet was laid to rest."

She stopped tape and nodded as she put it in her pack. Her head was clearer after her rest. She gingerly jumped onto the rocks of the cliff side. She climbed up the hand and foot holds then looked to her right. No foot holds, but plenty of hands holds. She jumped to that small ledge and gripped it tight. She then started to shimmy to the right. Just as she got to where she could climb up the rocks like a ladder, the ledges she just left, broke apart like shattered chocolates. She grimaced, glad she had moved in time.

She climbed up then moved to the right again, pausing to look at the next hand hold. She'd have to jump for it. If she didn't jump right, she could miss and fall backward, away from the wall and to her death. She swallowed and propped her feet to the rocks, bending her knees and preparing the jump. She let out a grunt and jumped. Her right hand grabbed the ledge. She swung a bit relived. She made the jump. She grabbed the edge properly with both hands and hoisted herself up.

She struggled as she didn't have a foot hold. She pulled herself onto her stomach then pulled her legs up to push herself onto the solid ground. As she pushed herself up to her feet, she smiled as she saw the partly blocked cave entrance before her. It was very clearly man made with uniform niche in the rock next to it for candles at one point maybe.

"Something's here!" Lara gasped with a smile.

She spotted a box to the side of the old tree. It was half buried under sand and twigs from the tree. She walked over and kneeled to it, gently digging some of the sand away from the seam so when she opened it, sand would not pour in. Once it was cleared she pried open the lid, one corner crumbled under the pressure of her hand. She hissed and moved slower. Lifting carefully, she saw the inside was in better shape. There was a dried old cloth wrapped in a bundle. She gently pulled a cloth away, letting out a soft gasp at the sight of the artifact. It was a Gilded Cross made of silver with ruby or garnet stones near the center. It was beautiful, but it was broken, like someone wanted to split it four ways.

"A religious icon…" Lara muttered as she held it delicately. "Detailed and inlayed with gems. It looks Byzantine…perhaps 10th century. It fits with the legend of the Prophet…"

She debated for a moment then wrapped it up in cloth and tucked it into her pack. She stood and walked back around to the cave entrance. She walked up to it by the sandy path that led down around the tree. As she stepped on the sand she could see water pool up for a second only to be whisked away in the dry heat. She leaned on the rocks, squinting at the dark interior. The edges of the cave had very old faded red paint on it. It must have been a very bright red long ago.

"Could this really be it?" Lara muttered to herself.

Some rocks had fallen and covered the bottom half of the entrance. She pulled herself onto the rocks, there was enough space that she could roll on them and into the tunnel. Her legs hit the ground on the other side. At this angle, the top of the cave blocked the few rays of hot sunlight from entering the darkened room. Her boots and trousers were instantly soaked. Looking down she saw water all over the floor. Now she understood why the outside path was wet. It was seeping under the rocks at the entrance form somewhere in here.

She looked up and started walking farther into the tunnel. She pulled out a glowstick for light. She cracked it then shook it, so the inner chemicals mixed and began glowing. The blue light of the stick brightly lit up the room and tunnel.

She entered the room this tunnel led to; the floor was dry here as she had moved upwards slightly so this was now higher ground. There was an open spot in the ceiling of this cave and thus let in sunlight. But her eyes were pulled to what the sun hit in the middle of the room. A tall column with carved writing on its faces.

"Incredible…" She breathed as she quickened her approach. "It's some kind of marker…" She said as she got to it and gently ran her fingers over the writings. "I can't quite make out the translation…"

After a moment she knew it was Byzantine. Then she muttered the language of one of the words.

"But this word…" Lara muttered as her mind tore through her mental library. Then she gasped with a smile. "Prophet!" She breathed out in a whisper. "This is it…" She beamed as she backed up from the column, but the smile faded with a touch of sorrow. "Dad was right."

She looked around the room and found a beautiful mural on the wall behind the column, on a raised platform. She walked over and stepped up the stone steps to the mural. Though it was faded, she could she see what was depicted. Mourners were gathered around a man in a bed. A man with a golden halo around his head, stood by the side of the bed, hold the man's hand.

"Okay, he's shown here…" Lara muttered to herself. "…preforming healing miracles. Dad's notes mentioned this."

She turned from this mural and walked to the other side of the room and looked at another one. It too was faded like the last, but she could still make out the scene. It depicted the Prophet unarmed standing before an army of foreigners. He simply had his hands cupped in prayer before them. They were bowed before him holding their swords to him, not in a fright or threat, but as if giving up the fight.

"It's the Prophet, speaking with a foreign army…" Lara muttered shining her stick at the image as it was in a shaded area of the cave. "He convinced them to lay down their weapons."

She backed up and saw another tunnel, or rather a hallway. She walked to it and spotted another mural. She dashed over to it, excitement building in her chest. This one showed the Prophet in front of many people, seemingly leading the way to an Oasis.

"He led his followers through the desert…to an oasis…" She breathed as her eyes looked from them to the water and trees.

She turned back and reentered the room and stopped when she heard a voice from above, from the open hole.

"Still no sign of her." The soft male voice reported as Lara quickly ducked into the shadows and hid her glowstick with her body. "I don't think she survived the crash."

"All right, let's go." An older male voice ordered. "Konstantin wants us to breach the tomb before sundown."

Lara held her breath for a few moments. Then she let it out with a hushed gasp. "They're after the tomb…" She shook her head. "I've got to find it before them!"

She spotted something on the walls she had been up against. She turned around and gasped lightly. It was a mural plaque. She lightly brushed some sand and dust from it as she held her stick close.

"'These are the miracles of the Prophet of Constantinople,'" Lara read and dusted more away to read the old form of Greek. "'Unjustly murdered by Order of…'" She paused then sighed. "Trinity."

She turned back to the previous tunnel and found a crack in the wall. She peered through the crack. There was a hallway on the other side. She hissed and hit the old bricks in frustration, thinking she'd have to find another way around. But a brick broke and fell to the floor at her feet. She looked at it then the wall. It was old and the bricks were weak.

She pulled her climbing axe. 'A secret entrance…' She thought then, gripping her axe with both hands, she swung it's point into the hole of the wall.

Her axe broke into some of the bricks, causing many to crumble and fall to the floor. She pulled her axe back and swung again at a bit of an angle to hook it behind the bricks. With a grunt, she pulled on it sharply. The top half of the wall crumbled to reveal an arch along the top of the entrance. She slammed the axe back in again and yanked sharply with another grunt and half cry of joy as the bricks fell to the ground. She had a big enough hole to slip through now.

She holstered her axe and slipped through the opening. It was a tight squeeze. But as she came out, she shielded her eyes from the bright sun shining right into her eyes. As she lowered her arm she let out a soft gasp. Before her were the ruins of a large building that stretched along one wall to the left side. It was like looking at a movie set of a lost temple from so very long ago. Columns, arched stone windows and doors of red stone that match the color of the stone in the mountain sides. Long vines drape along the crumbling walls of the building. Some of the columns had remains of wood that may have been a trellis between the columns to form a covered courtyard. At the center of the cavern she could see two waterfalls creating a fine mist that looked like a fog floating between the columns and the building. She leaned over a bit to look down into the valley below. It looked like there might have been other buildings built into the walls blow, but are now just faded rubble. She looked up at the opening in the cavern where the sun was shining through to light up the area.

"It's amazing…" She smiled then sighed as it faded to a frown. "If only dad could have seen this." She breathed feeling her throat tighten with the remembered grief for a moment.

She turned to the left and noticed another crumbling building that was more of a tomb entrance than a residence. She could see a broken path leading down to the entrance. She took a few running steps to jump a small gape then lightly jogged to the structure. As she got closer she saw that the entrance was complexly blocked off, but up to the left there were small gaps in the stones that she could use as handholds to get on the top of the building. She picked up speed to gain the momentum she needed. She jumped toward the wall at the side of the doorway, silently praying that it would not crumble under the impact. It held so she was able to push off and launch herself at the wall as she reached out to grab the first handhold. Still in mid swing she dug her fingers into the second handhold. She let her body hang still a moment before she looked along the wall and the top of the building.

She shifted around the side and planted her feet against the wall to give a little jump up to the next handhold. She looked to the left and saw the open gap she would have to swing herself past. It was a miracle this whole area was still standing, much less holding her up. With a grunt she jumped the gap and caught herself on the handholds on the other side. The wall started to crack and crumble. She hissed as the handhold shuddered a moment, sending dust up and some chunks of stone began tumbling down.

She planted her feet to the wall then bounced a bit, prepping. On the final bounce she launched herself up to grab the last handhold. As she pulled herself up on top of the building, she heard then saw the helicopter pass over head. She paused in a crouch watching it fly pass.

"Oh no…" Lara breathed as she stood slowly. "They're already here." She turned to the left. "Got to get inside."

She dashed for a section of aged wood that looked like a beam. She took a few breaths, then she stepped onto the beam, arms out. Things were fine, until she was close to the middle of the wooden beam. The wood, which was groaning and creaking, cracked loudly and the bricks of the other end, the end she was heading to, broke apart. She stumbled for a moment, but got her balance back, getting her arms back to her sides, she got moving again. When she got into the middle where the support poles were still intact, the whole thing broke apart the moment she put foot down. She pulled her weight away quickly. Luckily again, she was able to gain her balance back and watch as the wooden beam and bricks fall far below. She swallowed and looked ahead of her. There was a bit of left-over brick structure. A bit of a jump and as a platform it didn't look fully stable. But it was the only path forward.

She jumped from the beam with a yell. She landed but fall to her knees, bracing her hands on the ground to not fall on her face. From the jolt of her jump and fall, some of the platform cracked and crumbled. She pushed back up to her feet as the whole column started to tip forward. She yelled as she ran two steps then jumped off from it, aiming for the overhanging ledge. She landed on her stomach as the whole structure behind her fully collapsed. She pushed herself up and rushed a few steps forward before spinning around and looking back, seeing the last of it breaking apart and falling to the valley below.

She sighed holding her side and shaking her head. 'Lucky, I haven't broken anything…yet.' She thought.

She turned to the ledge before her. There was a waterfall to the left and lower platform ahead of her. A good four feet down and about three feet away. She backed up a few steps then ran and jumped another gap to the next level. After jumping over the waterfall-like gap, she hit the ground and stumbled on the lose sand and rocks. She ran around the side and saw the decorative parts of the building were just across a four-foot gap. They looked like perfect hand holds. Lara backed up again, sent a prayer up to any deity that could hear it, then ran forward.

Once she landed, it was a slow but steady process of shimmy walking on the walls, jumping gaps until she found a way to pull herself up on the upper balcony. Once she was on her feet, she looked around the ruins. She pulled her father's tape and played it again.

"The Order of Trinity pursued the Prophet and his people relentlessly, until finally confronting them in their hidden oasis." Her father's voice said as she looked at the path she needed to take.

She put the tape player away and clambered up a fallen bit of rubble then jumped up to grab the top of a wall. She pulled herself up and onto a ledge that had an entrance into the temple-like building. She looked around it as she slowly walked into it, pulling her glow stick from her belt and shining its blue glow lighting up the area.

"A way through…" She muttered, pushing some old webs from her path.

The path was narrow with old spikes and weapons. She turned her body to the side and walked sideways, her right hand up high with the stick to light up the pitch-dark path. She was a bit far from the entrance of the path, surrounded by webs, when her stick started to lose its glow. Glow sticks weren't known for lasting long. She gritted her teeth as she lowered her arm and shook it, it still steadily got dimmer.

"Damn it…" Lara hissed then dropped it to the floor as it flickered, getting duller and duller. "Come on!" She hissed into the darkness as she reached back to get a new stick.

She cracked it and shook it to get the chemicals mixed. She raised it up in time to see she had leaned too close to a skeleton. She yelped at the sight of a scorpion crawling on its face. She pulled back from it in time to avoid its angry stinger swing. She looked around and swallowed sharply at the other scorpions around the walls. She walked carefully, but some fell on her as she walked under some webs. She brushed the two off quickly and gentile as to not piss them off.

She could hear all the scorpions scuttling around and saw the old skeletal bodies of long dead Prophet followers. The end of the tunnel straight ahead of her had a long crack, letting some light in. She swallowed, tuning out the sounds of the arachnids and crouched down then stepped closer to the wall then laid on her side. She pulled her leg back to her chest and kicked out, hard. The wall crumbled a fair bit, but she needed a bigger entrance. She pulled her leg back closer, trying not to think about how many scorpions were around her and could sting her.

Her kick landed but it wasn't enough. She took a breath then tensed up and slammed her shoulder into the wall. That was finally enough and she fell through it to the floor of the other side. The dust settled and she found herself in a large room with many skeletal bodies. She paused to catch her breath, shaking her head and dusting herself off. She stood and took in the room or hallway rather. The bodies looked like two different groups. Some in armor, others not. Some had weapons in hands, others had weapons stabbed into them.

"There was a battle here…" Lara breathed seeing that it was the only thing this could be meaning. "Armed soldiers…against religious pilgrims…" She muttered as she lifted her glowstick to light up the darker spots of the room. She felt her arms shake as she walked around, seeing that black or red bird symbol on some of the soldier's armor. "The Order of Trinity."

She passed by a grouping of dead pilgrims before coming to another mural. The colors on this one was brighter, preserved by being in a dark corner of the room. The hole where the sun's light came in never hitting it to fade the colors. This one looked like a city being sacked, soldiers attacking normal people and a man, the Prophet, being killed.

"The Prophet…slain by the Order of Trinity…" Lara breathed understanding the grim depiction.

She turned away from it but saw a scroll. She walked over and gently unrolled it, lifted her glow stick, using its blue glow to read the writing. She squinted a moment then nodded. This was written in old Italian and appeared to come from a Bishop.

My Son,

The Order of Trinity has received word that the Prophet's followers are building a great tomb at an oasis outside of Beroea. But more upsetting...while we thought they were building the tomb for their Prophet, Trinity now believes he still lives.

We have learned he is preaching his heresy among the local citizens, drawing more to him daily with tales of how he conquered death. He is a liar and a heretic, claiming miracles that come only from the Divine.

You swore that he was dead. Have you failed us?

'An ancient message from the Leaders of the Order of Trinity. They tracked the Prophet and his followers to this place.' Lara thought as she looked around her, tucking the scroll into her bag, glad for it.

There was something fun about this pack. It was a birthday gift from Sherry this year. She had figured out the mysticism needed to make something bigger inside. She could only do it to small things for the moment. Nothing as big as item boxes. But Lara was making good use of the Poppins I. She could hold a lot of things in this pack. She planed ahead and packed some energy bars that Kat told her about and a first aid kit.

With it securely tucked away, she turned away from the old wooden table and jogged down a hallway. She was about to duck under a collapsed beam, when a trap was triggered and swung at her. She yelped and fell back and away from the three spears. She got her breath back as her heart hammered for a bit. She sighed and hooked her stick to her belt before looking over the trap's mechanism.

"Damnit…that was too close…" She sighed.

Lara saw a weak point, the part that attached the spears to the swinging Pendulum. She pulled her dual pistols and fired two bullets at the trapezoid shaped joint. They hit and the whole thing broke to pieces. She holstered her guns and ducked under the wooden beam then turned to the only open path, a dark hallway to the left. She pulled her glow stick and lifted it up, following the hallway with a bit more caution.

The sound of an explosion reverberated through the area. She looked around and up as the shockwave rattled the walls, dust fell from above. She really hated idiots that used explosives to get into a tomb. They destroyed so much of the structure that it would be unstable, not to mention the destruction to artifacts. She shook her head and picked up the pace.

"Blasting their way in…" Lara sighed.

She stepped onto the stone floor, away from the sandy one. The ground shook then broke apart. She yelled as she fell four feet down and into water. She stood up quickly after gaining her footing. She coughed and sputtered on the water, shivering as it was surprisingly cold. She looked around her, seeing a platform above her partly broken and hanging. She also saw a wall leaking water. She nodded slowly forming a plan.

She pulled only one of her pistols and fired a shot at the only support of the platform. The wooden platform fell into the water and splashed and bobbed as it sank then floated back up. She waded over to the leaking wall as she holstered her gun and pulled her axe. She reared her arms back, gripping her axe, then swung it at the bricks. The axe point hit but only chipped off a few crumbles of rock.

She pulled back again and swung one more time. This time it sunk in. She hissed then grunted as she pulled and twisted the axe head to pry open the gash in the bricks. With the pressure of the water aiding her, the bricks broke apart allowing the water to freely rush in. She backed up as the water started to flood in faster. Turning away, she waded toward the wooden platform.

'Let's hope this works…' She thought.

She had to swim the last few feet over to the platform and pulled herself up and onto it. Standing up, she placed her feet apart to keep her balance as it bobbed and rocked with the waters current. Looking down, she took note that the water had washed away some of the driver's blood from the crash. She felt a little bad for the man, he didn't know who he had made a deal with. She looked up and saw a ledge about a foot above her, it was the other side of the pit she had fallen in through. She waited until she was in jumping distance then jumped to the ledge. She could not find a toe hold so she muscled herself up and over the edge and slowly got to her feet. She shook her arms of the water and squeezed out her ponytail as she continued down the dark hallway.

At the end, she came upon more water pouring in making a mud slope at the end of the hall. She placed a hand on the wall for balance, then in a half crouch, she slid down the sloop. She stumbled at the bottom of the sandy mud looking around worriedly. These walls were not stable, if they gave way, she'd trapped in the flooding space, just like…

She yelled as something clamped around her ankle. She looked down and saw a rust covered metal clamp had deployed and was gripping her ankle like a nonharmful beartrap. She dropped down looking for a leaver, button or something that meant a quick release. She heard something scraping stone. She pulled her pistols and looked up scanning the ceiling with her eyes and the sights of the pistols.

The ceiling above her split apart and she saw the same spear trap as before, coming at her from the opening. She squeezed the triggers aiming at that same joint point from the other trap. It broke apart before it ever touched her. She let out a sigh of relief as she holstered her pistols.

Just as she relaxed a bit, the walls cracked open more and as she feared, water began pouring in. Her mind flashed back to South America, two years ago. The rocks collapsing, the water flooding, and a leg trapped. Lara shook her head.

'Not gonna happen.' She thought then took a deep breath.

She ducked under the water and pulled her axe from her hip. She slammed the butt of it into the trap and worked it side to side sharply. After a few seconds the trap snapped apart. With it broken, Lara hooked her axe to her belt and swam toward the light she could feel it warm her skin as she swam.

She hadn't done the proper breathing before ducking under the water. Because of this, she felt her lungs burning, wanting to breath new air. She let out some bubbles, hoping to relive the pressure, but couldn't. She ran out of air just as she came close to the surface. The moment she broke the surface of the water she coughed and sputtered. She threw herself on to the ledge in front of her, rolling to her side, she sucked air in and coughed it back out.

Once she could breathe without coughing, she slowly sat up, then got to her feet. As she stood, her lungs expanded more and that brought on a fresh fit of coughing as she leaned a hand on the wall, she coughed up a bit of water. After a moment she could once again breath. She was just grateful that it was not the bloody water that she was in on Yamatai.