Sometimes I wonder what actually comes out of my mouth. Usually, I'm stammering out something awkward so I can get back to what I was really interested in. Sam dragged me to a party once, and I was nursing a drink while trying to shake off some guy that was hitting on me. I started talking about menpo, which is part of a Samurai's helmet, and his eyes predictably glazed over. Fortunately Sam rescued me and pulled me out onto the dance floor. It wasn't the first time we ever danced, but it was the first time I realized how good it felt.
Our hips had pressed together and the space between us had been the kind that was usually reserved for a lover. I hadn't cared. Her skin had been warm beneath the shimmering fabric of her dress and for the rest of that night Sam was my whole world. At least until she went home with a hot Spaniard and I went home alone. I thought at the time I'd just done my duty as wingwoman, but it wasn't until after Yamatai that I realized why it had felt like my heart was breaking. I'd wanted to be the one she took to her bed. I just hope I'm going to be enough for her.
"Lara?"
"Yes Sam?" I look at her, realizing I'd been completely elsewhere. She has a concerned look on her face, and her hand checks my head out again. "I'm fine, Sam. Just thinking about something."
"Yeah?" We start walking, and I focus most of my attention on the ruins around us and anything that might clue me in to what this place was. We had let ourselves get distracted, but I really aren't that phased by the brush with death. It was becoming something second nature to me. I'll worry about that later (which usually meant I'd ignore it). I think we need to talk about all of this, if we want any chance of not ruining things between us.
"What were you thinking about?"
"Just...us. When we were in University, how I could possibly have not noticed…" I trail off, staring at a statue. It is about four feet off the ground on a pedestal, covered in moss, most of it's face eaten away by rain and wind. But it's eyes are looking right at me. I feel a thrumming in the air, and my skin tingles. It's calling to me. I can feel it in my chest. "Do you feel that?"
"Yeah. This is kind of freaky, Lara." I'll give Sam credit. Her voice doesn't shake and she looks determined. She's probably as scared as I am, but she's learning to ignore it. A smile comes easily to my face. She called that smile dorky once.
"Can you step to the side a bit, hon?" We're standing on some kind of circular dias, and I don't want her standing on it while I try to figure out what it means. I hear her move away, and I back up myself. There's a pattern in the stone circle, and it's set into grooves. "I think we have to align this up."
"Yeah? Then what happens?" Sam's voice is to my left, and I glance over at her. She's filming the statue. I wait until she' turned around and filming me, and gesture at the stone. "It'll open the door to the temple."
I spend a few minutes talking about the statute and the designs around us, while looking for something I can use to turn the circle. I settle on a large wooden stick, and jam it into a hole. Maybe this isn't the best idea, but Sam seems to be safe where she's standing, and I smile for the camera. "Chances are we're going to be the first people entering this place in centuries."
My muscles strain, and it sticks in places, but slowly, slowly I twist it. There's a clicking sound, and the stone sinks into the ground. The statute starts to shake and that humming grows louder and more intense. It twists around suddenly and Sam disappears. In seconds I'm at the statue but it's swiveling shut. "No! Sam! Sam! Fuck!"
She's gone, she's gone. I've got to get in there.