Hello! As I pomised, when I finished the work I had for the last week, I started to write the new chapter. But let's put the explanations for later and now enjoy the chapter!


When Eric and I went to cross the bridge, I knew it would be difficult and that we were going to have a lot of problems. Perhaps I didn't expect the many times in which both almost fall into the void while trying to advance on a bridge that was getting destroyed really fast because of the wind. I still don't know how the hell we reached the next part alive after having to advance literally crawling through the wall with the only support of our hands. And all this while suffering the strong wind that was pushing against us. After we reached to the next part of the temple, we had to face some hunters but at least it had been a much easier task.

'Well, I don't know how but we're still alive.' - said Eric giving a long breath after finishing with the enemies. – 'Now we just need to find a way out of here.'

'Hmm... I think I have an idea. Let's go to the second floor.' – I pointed to Eric and both went up.

'What have you thought?'

'See that giant bell up there? And the big pendulum that is hanging in front?'- I said pointing both.

'Do you want... to ring the bell?' - He said confused and I sighed.

'Not really. I want to make the bell fall to break the wooden gate from the ground. The pillars that hold it are quite deteriorated and we could use the pendulum to destroy them.'

'Okay, all that makes sense. But even if we push the pendulum towards the pillars, we don't have enough strength to make it reach the pillars.'

'I know, I have another plan. You see those wheels that are on each side of the windows? They are the ones that keeps them closed.' - I pointed the windows that were covered with wooden boards that were shaking violently because of them but didn't open at all.

'Okay. So you want to open them so the wind could push the pendulum.'

'Exactly, but we will do it separately. If we open both windows at the same time, it will be impossible to direct the pendulum to either side.'

'Clever girl.' – muttered Eric and I'd have smiled it wasn't we were still trapped and in danger. - 'Time to work.'

After that, both headed to the right and, after opening the shutters, violent wind entered to the room. As we saw it was pushing the pendulum to the left, I got ready my bow and the rope. After connecting the rope to the pendulum, Eric and I pulled with all our strength and after letting it go, the object was thrown into the pillar. It quickly broke and the bell fell a bit but was still held in the roof. We repeated the same process with the other side and after breaking the pillar, the bell almost fell completely but it still didn't fall. Then there was a loud noise and watched as the walls of the room were torn by the strong wind.

'Shit! This place is falling apart! We gotta get out of here!'- said Eric loudly so I could hear him.

'I know! We must break the center beam!'

'Up there! They're in the second floor!'- suddenly some hunters appeared from one of the sides.

'Dammit... I'll take care of them! You take down that bell!'- he said pulling out his rifle and attacked the enemies.

While he kept them busy, I rushed to open the first shutter; after allowing the wind to enter from both sides to enter from all sides, I rushed to pull the pendulum. Although I didn't have Eric at my side to help me to pull the pendulum, it wasn't necessary put much strength as the wind made the rest of the work and launched the big object directly to the bean. The bell fell straight to the ground, knocking the great gate that blocked access to the floor from below. But all that work caused the room to fall completely apart. The floor creaked under my feet and I saw Eric running at me.

'Careful Lara!'

He took my hand and in that same moment, the ground jumped, causing both to fall through the hole that the bell had created. As we fell, Eric hugged me in his arms, causing he took all the blows. When we hit the ground, I noticed as he ran out of air.

'You okay?' - I asked worried because the blow had been quite strong.

'Uggh... I think so...' - he said gasping for breath. Then we heard screams.

'No…. No! Ahhh!'- a hunter heard screaming and suddenly sounded very loud grunts.

'The guardians are here! Come on, move!'

We looked back and saw the enemies running away as a great figure entered to the corridor where we were and threw the body of a dead hunter towards us.

'Eric, run!'

I rushed to help him up and we ran thorough the only way possible. The inhuman grunts became roars but both didn't stop run neither dare to look back. The hallway was breaking fast, the ground disappeared under our feet and we had to use our reflexes to jump in the right time to avoid to fall into the void.

As we advanced as we could, I noticed Eric's hand grabbing mine and I admit I didn't want him to let me go. I was afraid that if he did, one of us wouldn't get out there alive and didn't want that to happen. But suddenly the ground violently sank and my fears were about to be fulfilled when we fell. But as we hit ground and I still got hope, again felt Eric's grand grabbing me and he forced me to get up.

'Come on! We're close!'

We both made a last effort and just when the corridor was going to definitely collapse, both jumped. We were lucky that we fell right where there was a bridge but as we reached it, it also broke and this time we fell down. I felt fear came over me because I thought this time was the end but I entered into a tunnel inside the mountains and seeing that I was sliding across the surface, I stayed alert. I used my reflexes and the little strength I had left to dodge rocks and debris that was in the middle but couldn't avoid getting hit a few times. After a few seconds of real chaos, I finally the end and fell into a semi-sunken cave. I was really grateful I fell into the water instead than take a good blow against the ground and also it helped me to clear some dirt. Then I saw a small piece of rock inside the cave that could be used as isle and walked toward it. But then I stopped as I remembered Eric.

'Eric? Eric!?'- I said looking around. Then I heard movement in the tunnel where I fell and he just appeared from there. As he fell on the water, I run at him. - 'Eric! Are you okay?'

'Uggh... huh... yes.' - he said wincing. I helped him to reach the rock and exhausted both fell to the ground. All what had happened was really exhausting and we should be really thankful we were still alive... Then I saw Eric touching the same place where he was wounded.

'Sure you're okay? I mean… your wound.' – asked worried.

'Yeah... the blows made it to hurt again but I'm fine, really.' - said still in pain and laid on the ground. However, I took a quick look to his bandage to make sure the wound didn't open. After that, both allowed ourselves a little break.

'I admit I can't believe we're still alive.'

'Same to me. What happened up there was too crazy.' - said Eric sitting up and looked around. - 'Well, at least the water cleaned some dirt that covered us. Damn it, I wish I could have a real bath.'

'Hello? Hello?'- suddenly called a female voice from the radio and Eric and I looked at each other.

'That's…'

'Sam!' - I said suddenly and hurried to take the radio.

'Hello!?' – Sam called again and sounded more nervous.

'Sam, it's Lara!'

'Oh god, Lara... it's good to hear your voice.'

'Yours too, Sam. I'm with Eric. Is the rest of the crew with you? '

'No, I just managed to steal this radio off a guard.' - I looked and saw Eric looking worried.

'A guard?'

'I've been kidnapped.' – said Sam almost crying and Eric took the radio.

'Sam, do you know where you are?'

'I don't know... some old Japanese palace. They keep talking about a "fire ritual" .' - I felt as I paled and Eric cursed. – 'Eric, Lara... I'm fucking terrified. Please, come…. Shit, someone's coming. I've got to hide this thing.'

'Sam... Sam!' - I called her this time but got no response.

'Shit... this is not good. This getting worse.' – said Eric very nervous.

'The "fire ritual"... the same we saw in the mural at Himiko's tomb. Eric, you were right, they want use Sam as sacrifice.'

'We have to reach that palace as soon as possible.' - Then he picked up the radio and channel changed the channel. - 'Roth, are you there?'

'Yes, I'm heading towards the palace. The others are being held there too.'

'Shit... Okay. Now we'll be heading there so we can go together.'

'We must come to that palace as soon as possible.' - I said as we left the cave.

'I know. Hopefully it isn't too far.'

After leaving the cave, we both started descending the mountain. Along the way we meet a group of hunters who confirmed our suspicions that they wanted to use Sam as sacrifice. After taking them down, we kept going until we reached a hut.

'Do you see any way to keep going?' - I asked looking around.

'No, but for sure there is road close.'

'Oh god, that was close... Lara? Eric? Are you there?'- suddenly called Sam and hurried to answer.

'We're here, Sam. Are you okay?'

'What do they want with me, Lara? A fire ritual? This is so fucked up!' – she said very nervous. Eric came and took the radio

'Listen, Sam. We're coming to get you.'

'Please, please help me…' - Sam begged almost crying and I felt desperate.

'I promise Sam. I promise we'll get you out there at any costs.' - I assured her this time.

'Hey! She took your radio!'- said suddenly the voice of a hunter and Sam gasped.

'Oh no!'

'Sam!? Sam!?'- I called her but all I heard was Sam begging for help. - 'Stay away from her, you bastards! Stay away!'

'Lara...' – Eric called me after getting no response and he put a hand on my shoulder. In that moment I noticed I was shaking. - 'Listen, I know you're worried about Sam. That's why we must keep going'

'Yes... yes you're right.' – said calming and then I saw the palace in the distance. – 'Look, there's the palace.'

'Hmm… it's still far. We must climb down the mountain quickly. Let's go.'

After that, Eric found a road to keep going and hurried to follow it. The route was almost identical to the one we followed before. The only difference this time is we went faster and then met a river falling down the mountain that cut our road.

'I see no other way to keep going. And I doubt we can go around to reach the same road.'

'Then we have no choice but cross the river.'- Eric sighed. - 'Look, there are some poles that held an old bridge. We can use them to cross.'

'There is no other way.' – then I saw him pulling his rope. - 'What are you doing?'

'This river has a strong current so it would be safe if we got tied to each other by this rope. Just to be careful.' - He said as he tied one end around his waist. It was logic so I did the same with the other end.

After finishing getting ready, we went to cross the river. I admit this was more difficult than I actually thought since the water was too cold and the strong current was making really difficult to reach every pole. At least Eric helped me in certain wat. Since he was stronger than me, he went ahead and thanks to the rope, indirectly he helped me to reach every pole. But trouble came when I got into the middle of the river and the post that I was holding began to lean.

'Eric!' - I called him and he turned alarmed.

'Shit... hold on!' - He said as he hurried to try to pull the rope to help me but the pole gave up and I felt as the water was trying to pull me down the mountain. As I struggled to keep my head off the water, Eric tried to pull me while making a huge effort not to let go the pole he was holding. But the strength of the current and the water itself caused him to fail and we were dragged down by the river.

Al we fell down from a wall, the water us down and both started descending pretty fast, making really difficult to have any control of the situation. Amid the chaos, I noticed a hand grabbing my arm and Eric pulled me to hug me tightly.

'Don't let me go!'

I had no intention of doing so. Both descended at full speed and we tried our best to avoid rocks and the rests of and old plane. Then, as we reached the waterfall, we fell inside of the old plane that was stuck in the edge. Both went to move but suddenly the structure moved violently and fell right into the head of the plane. As I fell on Eric, before I realized what was happening, I saw that we were against the glass that covered the structure and panicked not only because I saw the void under us but also how some fissured were appearing because our weight.

'Don't move.' - said Eric as he slowly reached for a backpack parachute that was hanging near us. But suddenly the cracks appeared faster and Eric hurried to get the backpack and wear it. - 'Hold on to me!'

Just when I did, the glass broke and both fell into the void. Eric was quick to activate the parachute but we panicked as we saw it was broken. Then he activated the second parachute and thank God it worked this time. While I hugged Eric with all my strength, it was very difficult to see what was going on. Only could saw that we were flying very close to a forest and dodge the tree branches had become an impossible task. Amid the flight and the blows that we suffered because of the branches, I turned my head and saw that we were approaching to the palace.

'There is the palace! We must descend!'

'I know but don't know how!'

'Use a tree to stop us!' – I suggested. Although the idea was extremely dangerous, I was being very serious. We had to get down and that was the only way possible.

'Okay! But this is going to hurt!'

I noticed how Eric moved the parachute and from the corner of my eye, I saw we were approaching directly to a tree. Eric broke one of the parachute's straps so it caused we descended and then we hit the tree. The blow caused me to release Eric and one of the branches broke the rope that tied us. After losing the count of how many blows and scratched I got from this, I reached the ground and I couldn't help but groan in pain. All my body hurt and the scratches I got because of the branched burned. Then I saw Eric falling close to me and crawled at him.

'Eric... '- I called him while trying to catch my breath. He was lying face down and I got very worried he didn't move too much and moaned in pain. - 'Eric, are you okay?'

'I… I don't think… so...' – he answered weakly. I helped him to turn around and then stopped as I saw blood in my hand. Eric finally turned and saw that his jersey and of course his bandage were stained with blood. I went to examine his wound but pulled away my hand as he hissed in pain after only touching him.

'The blows must have opened your wound. We have to treat it as soon as possible.' – he nodded and slowly got up. We walked a bit but had to stop as Eric stumbled against a root and fell into the ground. He groaned and couldn't help getting more worried. – 'Sure you can go?'

'I… I'm okay.' – he said finally as he slowly kneeled.

'Take my hand. I'll help you.'

I helped Eric up and again let him lean on me as he was limping. We moved slowly and then saw the palace close to our position.

'At least... we've reached the palace.' – said Eric between gasps.

'We'll go there later. Now we must find something to heal your wound. '

Both moved forward and every time got more worried about Eric. Because of his status, his stumbled easily and had a lot of problems to walk. Then to move forward we saw that we had to make a small jump into a platform and to help, I jumped first and then reached my hands at Eric to help him. But when Eric jumped, the wound caused him to fall and fell through a hole that was leading to the village that was down.

'Eric!' – I called him as I heard how he got some blows and broke something. Quickly jumped into the same hole and after reaching the ground, saw him lying in the end. – 'Eric! Oh god, are you okay?'

'Yes... give me a moment…'- he said as he groaned. Again I helped him to get up and then I noticed the helicopter that was near to our position.

'Look, a helicopter. There should be a medical kit.'

'Let's go…'

After giving him a moment to catch his breath, both moved through that town. After listening some hunters, we decided to take a short detour to avoid fights and meanwhile, I couldn't avoid noticing the bad stench besides the remains of bodies piled up in some corners. Then we reached a courtyard and this time we had no other choice but to fight the enemies.

'Eric, stay here. I'll clear the area.' - I said while helping him to reach a cover. Although he hated being like this, he knew he couldn't fight as he was too weak and accepted.

'Okay. Be careful.' - He said as he leaned against the cover.

After taking my gun, I walked around the area and began to attack. Although I quickly took down a couple of enemies, the other hunters were well positioned and had to step back as some of them started throwing molotov bombs. Then I felt like something was pulling my leg and suddenly I found myself hanging down.

'Shit! Not again!'

No time to try to free myself from the trap, I began to attack the enemies from my position. Though I tried my best respond quickly to their attacks, I found myself in trouble but then I saw the hunters retreating. I turned and saw Eric attacking with his pistol from his cover.

'I'll cover you!' - told me while he kept attacking and I took advantage to free myself. As I was on the ground, I joined the attacks and finally finished them. While I made sure there were no more hunters around, Eric approached me still limping.

'Looks clear for now.' - Then I looked at Eric and noticed he was pale. I couldn't avoid touching his cheek and felt he was shaking. - 'We need to reach that helicopter as soon as possible. Come on.'

I helped Eric to move forward and took a detour to reach our goal. We had to face more hunters but I took care of them quickly and hurried to bring Eric to the helicopter. Every time I looked at his wound, saw the bloodstain was getting bigger and Eric was paler. After we reached the helicopter, I forced to open the back door and hurried to help him in.

'Come on. Sit here.' - I said Eric and helped him to sit on the ground, leaning against the wall.

While he rested, I rushed to look for the medical kit. When I found it, I looked inside but found literally nothing. Damn, there wasn't bandages neither a damn pill... I looked inside of every box I found there was nothing that could help and started to get desperate. Then I looked at the pilot seats and I hurried to go there. In the seat there was still the pilot's body and couldn't help but feel bad.

'Sorry...' - muttered and then I started to check pocket he had on his suit. I found nothing useful except for a lighter... and then I had an idea. An idea that wasn't going to be pleasant but couldn't find another option. I returned and saw Eric panting slightly.

'You found… something?' - he asked weakly.

'There were no medical supplies but I found this.' - said as I turned on the lighter. When he saw the small fire, Eric sighed as knowing what mi idea was about. – 'Eric, we have to close your wound before it gets worse. And this... this is the only way.'

'I know... Okay. Come on.'

First I helped Eric to take off his jersey and t-shirt, and then his bandage. After the bandage was no longer covering the wound, I confirmed that it opened and had blood around. Although the bleeding stopped, the stains from the jersey and the t-shirt confirmed Eric lost blood. After cleaning the wound as much as I could, I took an arrow from my quiver and the lighter. While I warmed the tip of the arrow with the small fire, I noticed Eric's gaze on me and I knew he was nervous. When the metal started to get a read tone, I waved away the arrow to push the smoke and then looked at Eric.

'This is going to hurt. Are you ready?'- Eric looked at the tip of the arrow and took a shaky breath.

'Yes. Let's go.'

Then he took his own shirt and put it in his mouth to bite and grabbed the bars of the wall from the helicopter. When he was ready, I approached the arrow to the wound. When the metal touched the skin, I heard how the shirt suppressed Eric's cries and his arms tensed as he gripped the bars. I had to make a great effort to stay calm and kept the arrow until I made sure that the wound had healed completely. When I pulled away the metal, Eric fell exhausted and breathed heavily as tears fell from his eyes.

'Shhh... It's okay.' - I said trying to calm him as I touched his cheek. I took the shirt from Eric's mouth and he made a great effort to calm down. While I tried to help him, I sat beside him and then I realized I was shaking. The escape from the temple, descending from the mountain, knowing that Sam was kidnapped, healing Eric's wound... I was so tired of everything. Then I noticed Eric's hand on mine.

'Lara.' - I looked at him and saw his gentle look. - 'You're okay?'

'Y-yes, of course.'

'Then why are you crying?'

His question surprised me and quickly touched my cheek. As I felt the tears, I rushed to wipe them and wanted to show I was okay, but couldn't. The anxiety and nervousness that was suffering in that moment were stronger and couldn't help but start to cry. I felt Eric's strong arm covering my shoulders and pulled me so I could lean on him. I couldn't help hugging him and cried everything I had inside. Although I wish I could show a stronger side, I needed the comfort he offered me. I was so grateful he was beside me...

Minutes passed and I kept hugging Eric's neck. When I felt I had nothing to cry more, I spent a little time to calm down. I didn't even matter that Eric wasn't wearing any shirt. Then I decided that it was enough and let him go.

'Better?' - He asked gently.

'Yes. Thank you.' - I said as I wiped my cheeks.

'Don't need to. I'm glad I could help.' - I couldn't help but smile when I heard him.

'Why don't you get some rest? Probably we won't stay here too long but I'll be watching and make a camp outside the helicopter.'

'I'm not going to lie, that idea sounds… great.' - He said giving a yawn. He took his jersey that was still dirty with blood and leaned on the wall as he tried to get comfortable. - 'Call me if you see anything suspicious.'

'Sure.' - I went to exit thorough the front entrance from the helicopter and then looked at Eric. I wasn't sure if should say this but… - 'Eric?'

'Hmm?' - He responded with his eyes closed and I thought before saying it.

'I'm really glad you're here with me.' - I said finally. From my position, though he hadn't opened his eyes, I saw him smile. After that I went out and got ready to set up the camp.


(Eric's POV)

Finally a break... I was terribly exhausted and I was even more after suffering the healing process from my wound. I needed to rest even if we were going to stay just a small time. Then I heard Lara get out of the helicopter and sighed.

When she finished healing my wound, she looked so broke that I feared she was going to give up. So, though I wasn't sure it was going to work, I hugged Lara. There was no other way to help her. It was clear she needed support and was glad to see that my gesture worked to calm her. And what she told me before she left the helicopter... I couldn't help but smile. Frankly I thought the same. Though I knew how to perfectly handle survival situations, it's always good to have someone next your side. And Lara had shown what she was able of despite being in such a dangerous and extreme environment. And while I was thinking on Lara, I fell asleep.


And here ends the chapter. Looks like those two are starting to get a long very well with each other despite all the problems... but who knows what will happen in the future.

As for this episode, I know it's a little short but I used it as a small break to prepare to introduce the next ones. If you played the game, you now a lot of things happen so that's reason. About the new one, I don't when it'll come but I'll try to publish it soon.

See you soon and remember to post reviews and share you opinions with me!