Chapter 4 - Machete
Lara's POV
I'm so scared. I can't believe Alex let him take me.
Don't be stupid Lara. He had no choice. He will come back for you and you know that.
"Where are you taking me?" I asked frightened.
The man laughed devilish and headed to a nearby shack. He opened the door, took me inside, stabbed his knife into the table and pinned me against the wall. He started sniffing my hair and moved his hand up and down my body. I struggled against it but he was too strong. He moved his dirty hands through my hair and looked me into my eyes with lust. I swallowed and tried to escape from his grip. It was no use, he just pulled me back.
"You're a little too stubborn for my liking. Maybe I should punish you." He chuckled evilish.
He dragged me to a table violently and bent me down onto the table.
I knew what was going to happen. My heart raced and sweat was rolling down my forehead. I was so afraid.
He grabbed me by my waist and touched my butt. He then tried to pull down my cargo pants.
"Please don't do this." I begged.
"Unzip your pants." He demanded.
"No, please let me go, I don't want this." I pleaded.
"Oh trust me, you'll love what I've got for you." He chuckled.
"Now unzip your pants." He demanded again, this time with a gruff tone.
"Why are you doing this?" I sobbed.
"Do you know how long I've been on this fucking island? I haven't seen a hot young lady like you in years. Hell, I've never seen a girl as hot as you before. I need this. I need you. I want you." He told me and squeezed my ass.
"Now unzip your goddamn pants." He added.
I slowly unbuttoned my pants and pulled down the zipper.
"Please let me go." I tried again.
He then violently turned me around and slapped me across the face. I fell to the ground and tried to scramble away.
"Don't waste my fucking time, bitch." He said angry and dragged me across the floor towards the wall.
He pulled me up and slammed me against the wall, pinning me to it with his body.
"I'm gonna fuck you up so bad, you'd wish you listened to me the first time." He threatened trying to pull off my tank top.
I resisted and pushed him off me. I tried to run, but he caught me and tackled me to the ground. He sat on top of me, rendering me unable to move. He pulled my top off and ripped off the gauze covering my wound. He then forced his thumb inside it, causing it to open up and bleed again. I cried out and tears started rolling down my cheeks, the pain was sharp and horrifying.
Alex's POV
I heard a scream coming from a nearby shack. It must've been Lara so I ran towards it. I tried to open the door, but it was locked. I then forcefully kicked the door off its hinges and stormed inside. It was Lara.
The man who took Lara looked up at me in shock. I spotted his machete on the table and ran towards it. He stood up and held Lara hostage. I pulled the machete out of the table and walked towards him.
"I swear I'll kill her!" The guy threatened.
"With what? This?" I said swinging the machete around.
The urge to swallow was killing me, but I had to hide my fear and stay intimidating or else he may do something stupid. I walked closer to him step by step.
"Hey, back up!" He yelled moving backwards, tightening his arm around Lara's neck.
I got close enough and looked Lara in her eyes. She knew what she needed to do to give me an opportunity to strike and nodded.
"Lara now!" I yelled and ran towards them.
Lara elbowed the man in his stomach allowing her to scrambled out of the way.
I stabbed the machete through his chest pinning him to the wall. He cried out in pain and tried to pull it out. He started struggling to get it out of him.
"Oh my god…" I heard Lara gasp.
"Argh! Please pull it out of me! Don't let me die like this, please! I- I can't… breath..." He begged.
My stomach turned. I couldn't believe what I had done. It was horrifying to look at, but I just froze and couldn't look away. I was watching a man die by my own hands.
"Please… kill me…" He pleaded almost inaudible.
"You brought this on yourself." I told him.
When his squirming stopped I exhaled sharply. I didn't realise I was holding my breath the entire time.
I suddenly felt an empty feeling in my chest. Like something was eating me from the inside. Was this how it felt like to kill someone for the first time? The guilt, the pain, that traumatizing feeling everytime you think about it. I couldn't think straight, I couldn't believe that I made him suffer like that. He was helpless, just like Lara. Like Lara...
I turned around and looked at her.
Oh god... Her eyes... Her eyes, they were full of fear, pain and disgust. Was she afraid of me? Did she think of me as a murderer like I thought of myself? Did he do something to her? Was I too late? I'm so sorry Lara... I wish I had never let him take you.
She covered her face and started crying. I couldn't watch her like this. I picked up her tank top and walked over to her. I handed it to her. She didn't pull it on, but instead she held onto it and pressed her body against mine. I was surprised by this at first, but then realized she needed someone to comfort her.
"He tried- he tried to..." She sobbed.
I wrapped my arms around her and let her cry on my shoulder. Her body felt warm, it was a soothing feeling and made me focus on something else for a moment.
"It's okay, I'm here Lara.. I'm here now. He's gone... He won't hurt you anymore." I comforted her.
We stood like this for a minute and then decided to get going.
I gave the body one last look and followed Lara out of the shack. She pulled the white tank top out of the grey one and put it on. She then pulled the grey one over the white one again and covered her wound with her left hand. We walked down the path leading to our camp.
Lara was being distant. She hadn't said a word to me since we left the shack. I don't blame her though, she deserves some alone time. Even if she did talk to me, I wouldn't know what to say. I didn't really know a lot about Lara. I didn't know what to say when she needed comfort, when she needed a laugh to cheer up or when she just needed someone to talk to.
I met her via Sam, who was a closer friend than Lara was. I remember the first time I met Lara, my eyes almost dropped out of my sockets. I couldn't keep my eyes of her and I think she noticed that.
I never really talked to her a lot until we boarded the Endurance. I wish I could talk to her more, but since this wasn't exactly the right place to learn more about each other, I didn't bother asking her anything.
We arrived at our camp and sat down by the campfire.
It's getting late again. Daytime seems to fly by on this island. Where the hell are we anyway?
Lara was staring into the fire that was starting to get low. When the fire died she took a nap. I wanted to sleep too, but I decided against it to prevent something like before happening again. I couldn't let it happen again.
~ Flashback: Summer 2008 ~
The canteen was crowded. Groups of people scattered around the place. Almost all the tables were taken, except for one in the far left corner.
I was walking towards the free table with my lunch when Sam called my name.
"Come sit with us!" She smiled.
I nodded and walked over to her table. I sat down and gazed at the girl sitting in front of me.
She was absolutely stunning. But not just the normal kind of stunning. She was the one-of-a-kind kind of stunning; beautiful brown hair, gorgeous brown eyes and full lips.
"Oh right.. Alex, this is Lara. Lara this is Alex." Sam introduced us to each other.
"Hey Lara, nice to meet you." I smiled and stood up to shake her hand.
"Hey Alex." She smiled back shaking my hand.
"Where you from, Alex?" Lara asked me.
"I'm from Florida. Miami to be exact." I answered.
"Cool, always wanted to go there." She smiled.
Her smile was so beautiful. I felt fuzzy inside everytime she showed it, even if it was just slightly.
"I heard the weather is nice there." She added.
"Lara, everything is considered nice compared to the shitty weather here in England." Sam said dryly.
"It isn't that bad, Sam." Lara rolled her eyes.
"If you don't believe me, ask the new guy." Sam said.
"It's pretty bad." I chuckled.
"See?" Sam said.
"It has its ups and downs." Lara said.
"So, why England?" Lara asked me.
"My parents wanted to move here. They think my chances of finding a job that suits me is higher here." I responded.
"What are you planning to study?" Lara asked.
"Electronic engineering." I told her.
"Sounds… complicated." Sam snarked.
"It kinda is." I confirmed.
"So what do you like to do in your spare time Lara?" I asked her.
"Err… Let's see… I love to go hiking and I enjoy rock climbing too. I also do archery and read a lot."
"Sounds really cool, much more interesting than my hobbies." I chuckled.
"What are yours?" She asked.
"Well, I'm into technology so I invent my own gadgets and tools. I also love to play video games and err… That's about it." I grinned awkwardly.
"Cool!" She smiled kindly.
"I'll leave you two alone for a second, I'll be right back!" Sam said out of the blue.
When Sam left we talked like this for the rest of the lunch break.
Seems like I've just met the girl of my dreams.
~ End of Flashback ~
"Alex, wake up."
"Huh? Oh shit… did I fall asleep?" I mumbled.
Lara didn't respond, stood up and walked into the forest, back to where she killed the deer.
What's up with her, why the hurry?
I stood up and followed her into the forest.
"Hey Lara.." I started trying to take her hand.
"Don't… Don't touch me." She turned around towards me and backed away.
"Lara.. What's up with you?" I asked confused.
She didn't say anything, turned back and continued walking.
What's the matter with her? She's acting really strange.
We walked in silence for a while until I tried again.
"Lara, if there's anything you want to say to me, just say it." I told her.
"You killed him..." She said quietly.
"What?" I asked, unsure what she just said.
"You killed that man... You let him suffer a painful and slow death. How could you do that?" Lara flipped.
"To save you, Lara. How's that a bad thing?" I said slightly offended.
"You could've knocked him out or, or… I don't know, something that didn't involve stabbing a knife through his chest."
"You think I enjoyed killing that man? It was horrifying, but I did it to save you Lara. I did it, because I didn't want…" I paused.
"Didn't want what?" She asked.
"I- I didn't want you to get hurt. I wanted you to feel safe. That's all I wanted." I told her.
She was quiet for a second. "We should get going." She muttered and continued walking.
I know what happened scarred her, but the way she acted towards me was heart-wrenching. I killed him so she wouldn't have to look over her shoulder every minute. I did it all for her.
The path we were walking on lead up a hill. When we got to the top we saw a statue of something that looked Japanese.
"No way…" Lara gasped and jogged towards the statue to get a close look.
"What is it?" I asked walking towards her.
"It's… It's Himiko." She told me quietly.
"Wait… Himiko… The sun queen?" I asked gobsmacked.
"We're on Yamatai."
~ End of chapter ~