Opening his eyes, he grunts a little as he takes in his surroundings. Pale blue and white stripped curtains concealing him on his right, fluorescent light above his head, a chair across from him backing the wall, a nightstand to his left with a water pitcher filled with ice and water, Winston sitting in a chair to his left reading the newspaper. He blinks and flexes his right hand to feel the IV in the back of his forearm, looking up to see that with the IV is a heart rate monitor how did the beeping not get to me sooner?
Moving a hand to either side of him, he listens to Winston clear his throat, "there is a much easier way to do that Jonah." Turning his head to the older man, Jonah gives him a quizzical look, Winston doesn't look up yet. "There is a small control pad hanging from the left side of your bed rail, it will help you to adjust."
Looking down, Jonah smiles at the sight and picks it up, kind of awkward to hold it with the wrong hand and on a short cord he examines it before pressing the right button and feeling the bed shift to sit him up, "oooh that is much better," he smiles and in the corner of his eye Winston stands up to pour him water into a styrofoam cup.
Swallowing Jonah finally notices his mouth is dry, "thanks, how come you're here and not at the mansion?" he asks as Winston passes him the drink.
"Lady Croft called and asked me to come and see to you while on her flight to San Francisco," Winston answers and Jonah happily chugs down the whole cup before resting it on his hip.
"Is she okay?" Jonah asks and Winston nods, "is someone with her?"
"Liam is going to meet up with her," Winston answers and Jonah's hand crushes the cup. "Why such distaste for the man?"
Jonah takes a moment to gather his thoughts on the matter, "every time I see him I see the mask he wore when he was hurting Lara… when Sofia, Roger and I were storming through the halls and I heard her screams," he closes his eyes. "It was psychological torture through and through… knowing that Liam was one of the people who caused her to scream like that," he looks at Winston, his hand clenching on the broken cup. "I still have her screams playing over in my head... when he helped in healing her," his eyes soften, "on the helicopter… I swear she was on the brink of death."
Resting his head back and looking up at the ceiling now, "I was too engrossed in getting out of the cave, in waiting on help to get Lara out of there while she was dealing with Fernando. I… I didn't hear this guy grab for Sofia's bow… I didn't hear the quiver slipping out of it's sheath… it is on me that Lara was shot with the arrow and I watched helplessly as it went through her." Tears brim his eyes as his mind is watching the scene take place again. "Watching her fall might as well have been me who put that arrow into her."
"She is fine, Jonah," Winston reminds him and Jonah looks at him, his head still resting on his pillow.
"I didn't think it was a good idea that Lara hired Liam… now he is in the same house as her with camera in her room. I just hate the idea that the man could be looking in on her while she's changing," Jonah says and Winston sits back in his own chair.
"From what I have seen in Liam, he looks to respect Lara. I know everyone has a dark side to them, but I do not think he'd stoop to that level. I could be wrong but it is a vibe I'm getting from him," Winston says and clasps his hands together on his lap. "How do you view Lara?"
Looking at him confused, "like a little sister," he answers truthfully and Winston nods in accepting.
"I heard on the helicopter you genuinely thanked Liam for saving Lara's life," Winston comments and Jonah sighs before rubbing his eyes.
"Yeah… I did… in that moment I had finally gained respect for the man. He risked his hide to go into Fernando's tent and find the one and only thing that was going to save Lara… and I was ready to leave him behind," Jonah runs his fingers through his hair before gripping and rubbing the back of his neck.
"Now you feel guilty… one of the men who hurt Lady Croft, you were going to leave him to die and he had saved her life… you feel guilty for almost causing her to lose her only chance at living," Winston reasons and Jonah lets his head fall.
"Maybe… I went on Lara's first adventure with her, her second and third and now… I can't!" Jonah feels himself getting angry and Winston stands up to walk to the foot of his bed.
"You already have, need I remind you," he looks at Jonah, "you went to the desert with her, met Prince Auda and helped her get on track. You also protected her and," he raises his right index finger. "Sent her on her way to continue her journey, you did the right thing," looking at Jonah, "I'll talk to the doctor about when you can be released."
With that Winston walked out and Jonah sat there mauling over what Winston had just said to him, he takes the rim of the sheet and pulls it back to look at his leg, several layers wrapped around his leg, it doesn't hurt but he has no doubt that his pain killers must be good. "I can't help you right now Lara…" he pulls the sheet back onto himself, "but I promise, when you need me to be… I'll be there. Count on it."
The plane shakes as the wheels run along on the bumpy, dirt, air strip. Lara watches the trees going by, the area around the air strip is sparse of most plant life, tall weeds scattered about and a wall of trees lining both sides. A couple of foot paths leading through the foliage and two dirt roads, Lara looks past the line of trees at the mountains in the distance with a few giant hills covered in either lush trees or having a large around of rock along the base.
Clutching at her arm rester as the ground outside gradually comes to a stop, reaching down Lara quickly unbuckles her harness, picking up her brow and quiver that Liam brought. Her handgun is in its holster on her right hip, she watches as Liam grabs the latch and pulls the door open.
Again, fresh air fills her lungs quickly, she smiles at the outdoors that now greets her, and Liam lets her step out first and then steps out after her onto the dirt ground. There is a small, old wooden building with a radio tower on top of it, a couple of chairs out front but no one is there to greet. Lara frowns at this, few come and land here but shouldn't there be someone here? She wonders and her eyes survey the area and realize there is no vehicle nearby either.
Turning to the plane, Lara goes to the door and pokes her head in, "thank you for flying us here, we'll be here for a while," she smiles and the pilot smiles back. He has bushy, dark hair under a John Deer hat and a large black and grey beard; he nods his head and flips a few switches to get the plane started back up.
Turning around Lara heads for the small shack ahead, Liam follows her line of sight and follows behind her.
"Whoever mans this spot could be in town or at the nearest village," Liam reasons, having picked up on the same concerns as Lara.
She glances over her shoulder at him, "this is true," she turns her gaze to the door and watches it as she gets closer. "But at the same time I don't trust it." Once reaching the door Lara quickly notices the door is open just a bit, "hello?" she calls out as she opens the door, her hand resting on the grip to her gun.
There is a ceiling fan going slowly, some stacks of paperwork, a bag of unfinished pistachios on the desk next to the microphone and radio. Her eyes travel down to land on the body, an older dark man, white beard, wearing a khaki dress shirt and cargo pants with two bullet holes in his chest. "Someone got here first…" Lara says as she steps in and takes a glance at the papers to see if a flight plan, manifest, anything is around.
Liam steps in and gives a light sigh, "this could be either company, both are ruthless," he glances out the window to the air field as the plane takes off.
Finding nothing more recent than a week old, Lara looks at the body and kneels down, touching his chest, "he's still warm," she looks up at Liam, "he was killed this morning," she looks at her watch to double check that it is indeed noon.
"We should get moving, they've got a head start… though from Fernando's stand point he had a couple days on you and you still wound up on top," he smirks and Lara stands up to turn and face him.
"That is only because you withheld information," she turns to the radio and frowns when she sees bullet holes in it, having the intention to try and radio the nearest town about the dead civilian.
"There's nothing we can do for him now," Liam watched her line of sight and saw the look on her face of disappointment.
Nodding, Lara walks with him to head out of the shack and closes the door firmly behind her as she doesn't want any wild animals going after his body. Both start examining the ground for tracks and feel a strong breeze sweeps through which tells them most of the foot prints they'd usually see are already gone.
"Let's try up this foot path, it's the closest to the shack, it could lead to a local village," Liam suggests and Lara nods in agreement, feeling the sun start to heat up the back of her neck already.
They start up the path; neither of them speak knowing that they could lose the element of surprise on Trinity or Frutana Corp. Stepping over tree roots, ducking under tree branches, moving around thick bushes, stepping on rocks as they hear birds chirping over head. A dragonfly buzzes past her head, looking up Lara sees a large spider web in the tree branches, looking along the ground she spots a grass hopper leap from the path she's on to disappear into the foliage.
The air is heavy with moisture, hearing a buzz of a mosquito come to the right side of her neck she gives a smack, pulls her hand away to find her hand empty I'll get you next time.
She feels a small thud hit her on the top of the head, pausing and knitting her eye brows together in confusion she reaches her left hand up and gingerly taps around with her finger tips until she feels prickly hair. Smiling to herself, she turns to face Liam who looks confused as to why they've stopped, "I think I have a caterpillar on my head."
He smirks at this, she bends her head down a bit as he peers at the top of her head and sure enough a yellow, with taller black hairs, caterpillar is on her head, and currently curled up into a ball. No doubt from her having touched it. Liam reaches his right hand up and gently scoops the hairy thing up into his fingers, careful not to drop or squeeze it too tightly, and glances around for the nearest tree.
Stepping off the pathway he walks up to one, a thick trunk on it, finds some small branches with a few leaves on it and places the caterpillar onto the first leaf. He stands there watching it, as does Lara and slowly the little insect uncurls itself, looks around, and then turns itself around to head for the base of the branch the leaf is on.
"Nature…" Liam smiles as he turns to Lara and walks back to the path, "it's unpredictable and full of little surprises," he then gestures an imitation of the caterpillar having dropped onto her head.
"Yeah," Lara smiles back and looks back up the pathway, she continues up the path and they walk on in silence. Listening to the critters around them, the sound of leaves rustling above their heads as squirrels or chipmunks move from one tree to another.
Slowing down, Lara can hear movement and voices, they're murmur's and not in English. Peering through the thick foliage of the woods, she is able to make out wooden huts, native people moving around and picking up clothes, buckets, and other small things. Stepping into the open Lara and Liam notice that even though the atmosphere is hot, a chill runs down their spines and causes goose bumps to rise up their arms and spread.
The people have paused to take them in, fear on their faces, dirt on their skin and clothing; their hands are shaking before they start to hurry along and cleaning up more. Watching them hurry to sweep up the mess, pursing her lips, Lara examines the area and the layout, walking to a hut across from her she frowns as she runs her fingers over small holes. Closing her eyes she looks over her shoulder at Liam, "bullet holes…"
Lara's head snaps at the sound of the door to the hut opening on her right, she looks around the corner to see an older man stepping out, he has a crown of white hair on his dark skin. He glares at them, "get lost you two!" he barks hoarsely, "have you not done enough?" he points a shaking index finger at them. She cannot tell if he's shaking from fear or his nerves being shot or both, but she can see the mental exhaustion in his eyes.
They've been put through a lot… when did this happen? She wonders and listens to additional footsteps from behind, Liam moves to stand in front of her as they both feel the mood has changed. Turning to face the center of the little village, in the middle is a large fire pit, and it seems most things have been cleaned up but now the villagers are holding brooms, hatchets, rolling pins and shovels.
"Get out of here!" a younger woman shouts as she gets closer, Lara peers behind the group of angry and still frightened people to see the children in the back hiding behind the buildings, chairs, and the odd over turned table.
Studying the faces, Lara sees the worry lines, one of the companies came here hours earlier and terrorized these innocent people. I may not see blood, but that doesn't mean they were not emotionally traumatized. The children were most likely threatened, the husbands shoved around at gun point… it's no wonder they're still shaking. No one is prepared for a group of soldiers to come in and start demanding things they know nothing about continuing to watch their advances Lara looks up and around the village.
It's a steep climb to the nearest rock ledge on the mountain they're on, but her concern is the plentiful trees within the radius of the village. Plenty of cover to have men watching over the village, the team probably has a base camp set up at the top… I got here in time for these people to feel the fight come into them for any more strangers.
Her eyes landing back on their haggard faces, torn and dirtied clothing. She raises both of her hands to make a show of no harm, "I'm not here to cause any trouble, and I came here to stop the people who hurt you from getting what they want."
A slender, teenage man walks up in a white shirt and beige shorts, bare footed and brandishes a large solid branch at her. "They promised us no trouble as well and the next thing we knew their men came out of the bushes and they started shooting! You're no better than them!" he states and they get closer, hunched over and flexing their fingers around the handles to their weapons, gathering their courage to chase her and Liam out.
Moving her hands down, Lara pats her waist, their eyes watch her hands carefully and start to advance faster. She can hear the click of Liam's handgun latch being released, looking over her shoulder at him, Liam looks ready to draw his gun, "please, let me try," she whispers and Liam gives her a look of 'are you serious?'
Her attention back to the villagers in front of her, "I'm going to remove my gun and toss it, nice and slow, alright?" she says, "I will unlatch my gun, but I'll use my index and middle fingers to pull the gun out and drop it. My friend behind me will do the same thing and then I'll remove my bow," Lara says it all in an even tone, although nervous of one of them jumping at her, she will defend herself but the last thing she wants to do is hurt any of them.
Carefully Lara does as she described, using her middle and thumb fingers to lift the gun out of its holster and then she holds it out with her finger tips before tossing it onto the dirt ground. A small puff of dirt rising and falling with the action, they continue to watch and Lara looks over her shoulder at Liam, giving him a nod.
He sets his jaw, not happy about being disarmed, even though he can take most of them down easily but he also knows that these people look desperate. Desperate people will do dumb things if they're pushed too far. Using the same fingers he pulls his own gun out and like Lara, he tosses it out, it does one flip before settling on the ground in front of the woman who had spoken first.
Reaching up, Lara takes her bow and slowly pulls it off from being around her back and tosses it to the ground as well. It clatters and the group stare at them, their eyes darting left and right, she can see the sweat start to build up along their hairlines. They're expecting people to come out at them… whoever is in charge of the company must have done the same thing she takes a deep breath and raises her hands up again, her heart starting to beat faster, not liking the idea that she may be following in the same footsteps as those she's trying to stop.
"I promise, I mean you no harm… my friend and I just got here from the air field. Can you tell me who it was that came here terrorizing you?" Lara asks and the older man steps up behind her.
She glances over her shoulder at him, "he came looking for a set of wings called Darkness, and none of us have seen it! Now go!" he shouts the last part and points towards the air field. "If you truly mean us no harm then get out of here!"
Thinking fast, Lara remembers the name of the friend that was given the Wings of Darkness. Her eyes snap to the group of people in front of her, "Tahir!" they all jump at her saying the name and blink at her, Tahir was given the Wings of Darkness by his friend who asked him to hide it for him," Lara watches the villagers exchange glances.
"That's true," comes a voice from behind her, she hears the older man groan, turning around she watches as a man in his mid twenties comes out. He's wearing green BDU's, his left arm is in a handkerchief sling, right hand is holding a large tree branch as a walking stick, a piece of torn shirt is wrapped around his right calf. Dreadlocks, small mustache and goatee and a busted lip to go with it, "how do you know?"
Lowering her hands slowly, "I was given a note by Prince Auda, who sold the Wings of Darkness to Eli Drachir," she goes into her right thigh pocket to procure the letter and hands it over to him. Tahir opens the letter and reads it quickly, looking up at her, "what happened with Eli?"
Swallowing, and then taking a breath, "Eli was attacked by possibly the same people as you; he told me that on his way home he dropped the Wings of Darkness off with you. But the people who came after him didn't believe him… he was shot but my friend and I got him medical attention, he's now in the hospital. While we were there someone came to possibly get more information or to take him out," Lara purses her lips briefly. "I… I chased him but he was killed during the pursuit, I found a letter in his pocket.
Reaching into his right hip pocket, she pulls out the letter and hands it over to him, he reads it over and he looks crest fallen. Closing his eyes he folds up both documents and hands them back, "he feared he would get a target on his back once he discovered how dangerous the wings were." Looking back at Lara and Liam, "he didn't know he was being watched… the man who came here said he was from Trinity."
Putting her hands down, Lara's head falls back to look up at the sky, "shit…" she uses both of her hands to rub her face, "they'll do anything to get what they want," she looks at Tahir.
Nodding, he glances at the villagers, "they're okay, I trust Eli and her documents," slowly Lara watches the weight lifting from their shoulders. The fear isn't leaving their eyes as they go back to their business, because the nightmare is not yet over, she looks back at Tahir and he motions for her and Liam to come inside the hut.
Picking up their weapons and putting them away instantly, they step into the small hut. One bed in the far corner, a table at the other end with two chairs, a chest at the foot of the bed, a shelving unit to the left of the door going in that has pots, dishes and mugs, a large basin of water sitting on top and a large tub to the far right of the door. All of the wood is oak and aged, "They took everyone's valuables, medical supplies, half of their food, weapons, you name it," Tahir says and takes the chair on the left at the table. Lara takes the one on the right and Liam stands just behind Lara while the older man stays outside with everyone else.
The table is very old, lots of cuts and cracks to show the ware and tare. Resting her hands on top of the rough surface, she looks at Tahir closely, "what can you tell me about the Wings of Darkness?"
He sighs and rubs his eyes with his index and thumb fingers slowly, "I got them just over two days ago, all I knew was not to touch them and not to put them into water," he pulls his hand down to look at her and then Liam seriously. "They're poisonous to the touch… and there's no way anyone is finding them," he sits back in his chair to get a little more comfortable and points his right index finger at Lara. "What will you do with them if you get your hands on them?"
His eyes are dark, she stares into his eyes as he asked the question, this is no trick, and it is a cut through the bull shit to get to the point. Clasping her fingers together, without blinking and no reason to lie, "I honestly don't know. I found a different artifact just as powerful and dangerous before. It was called the Divine Source, it could cure, heal, you name it but the closer I got to finding it the more I learned about it… the truth came out that it was not Divine," she wets her lips and sits back in her chair and watches his reactions. "It was used to create an army… a Deathless army, Trinity was killing all who got in their way to find it," she purses her lips, her mind drifting to Sofia, remembering her running in the snow from the soldiers. Looking back at Tahir, "in the end… I destroyed the Divine Source as I realized it was too powerful," leaning forward and placing her right hand onto the table almost in a chopping motion, left hand on her left thigh. "I realized that if we take away all of the death, then we lose what it is to be human, to die is a part of being human," she takes a slow breath and looks at her hand on the table.
"I don't know what I'll do with the Wings of Darkness," looking back up at him to make eye contact, "all I know is I cannot let them land into the hands of Trinity."
Footsteps are heard and Liam looks over to see the older man stepping in, he'd been standing in the doorway silently as Lara spoke and regards them carefully. "The Wings of Darkness never should have been brought here for safe keeping, another fact in the matter is… there is no safe place for them to be kept," he watches Lara turn and face him. His eyes darken, "I want those wings out of Columbia, my son tells you where he hid them and he takes no further part in any more of this. Understand?"
Lara nods, "of course, I don't want your people getting terrorized any further by Trinity." She turns to Tahir, "I do have one question for you though," at this he blinks in confusion.
"Just one?" Tahir smiles jokingly to try and lighten the situation.
Smiling back at him, happy that he is in good humour still after everything he'd endured, "how did you know Eli?"
Wetting his lips he nods, "Eli came to Columbia a few times; he was studying certain archeological areas. He hired me to be his guide, we got along really well and I learned a lot from him. He taught me about his studies, I taught him about survival in the wild, we had a mutual respect so when he called and asked for a favour I had no reason to say no…" his eyes wander to the table briefly. "He told me right away 'you cannot say yes straight away… I need to tell you about the risks first'," he looks up at Lara and then Liam. "Eli didn't hide anything from me; I just don't believe either of us was prepared for the gravity of the situation that had landed in our laps."
Nodding in understanding, knowing that the artifact is very dangerous is one thing, knowing the kinds of people out there who'll do anything to get their hands on it is another. Leaning forward towards Tahir, "where are the Wings of Darkness located?"
Looking at his father, Tahir nods and the older man walks to the shelving unit to move the plates and bowls to the top of the unit. Taking the shelf from the far ends he tugs carefully and slides the shelf out, holding it in his left hand he goes to the far right side and squeezes his fingers into a small gap to pull out a folded piece of paper. Placing the paper between his lips he puts the shelf back before turning around and opening it to reveal a map of the terrain to the whole area. He walks back to return the dishes to the shelf while Tahir leans in and starts to point around the map.
"You need to climb up and over our mountain here, but you must be careful as there are wild boar and other dangerous animals in these parts. You'll need to make your way around the mountain this way," he makes a line with his finger to go around the left side. "When you get around you'll find this area here is pretty dry, it is very steep and covered in rocks, be careful not to fall down as you could easily crack your head open," he moves his finger along lower. "You'll then need to get to the bottom and go up this area here, it is almost like a jungle here just like where we are now, but there is a stream. If you can find that it will lead you to a waterfall, it isn't huge, you have to climb up those rocks and there will be a crevice that is hidden by the lush plants there. No matter what time of year it is concealed," he sits back, "there is a hidden tunnel within the rocks there," looking at Lara, "you can most likely fit," he looks at Liam, "you not so much," he wavers his hand like 'maybe.'
"It sits inside of an aluminum box, I think that is what Eli said," he shrugs, "whatever won't rust in the water, and inside of the tin box is the wings in a fully sealed 'snap and click' I think he said glass and plastic container just in case there is water that gets inside somehow." He watches the gears turn in her mind, as she's working out her plan, he chuckles, "this isn't your second rodeo."
Her eyes snap up at him and she smiles, "no… it isn't," she sits back and rests her chin in her right hand, deep in thought. "There's no way that Trinity will just leave you be… they have a hidden agenda for you I know it," biting her bottom lip she listens to Liam as he starts walking around the room.
"Your right about that," Liam says and looks at the older man, with a straight face, "how long would it take to evacuate the village?"
The older man almost jumps, "evacuate? Why should we leave our homes? Those men who came here have gone already," he argues and Liam walks over to him, pointing to the door.
"Are those your people out there? Do you take care of them?" Liam asks and the man nods firmly, "then you need to do what is best for all of you. You need to evacuate from the village and go into town or something till all of this blows over. Those men will be back," he points at the older man now, "and they will kill all of you, they don't care how many they have to murder to get their hands on those wings." He looks around the small hut, "what more do you have to lose? They've taken the things you need to survive, all that is left are things that can be replaced, rebuilt… but lives cannot be replaced."
His eyes go downcast, looking crestfallen the older man nods, "I know your right… I… I just didn't want my people to give up what they made here," he looks up at Liam and then glances at Tahir and Lara. "I'll get them organized outside, you still have half a day left to trek and it's going to take a while to get to the Wings of Darkness, best to get a move on," with that the older man walks out of his hut.
Tahir looks at Lara and pushes the map towards her, "take this with you; I know you probably have it memorized but I don't want Trinity to get their hands on it either."
Nodding firmly, Lara folds up the map and puts it into her left thigh pocket, she stands up with Tahir and the three walk out of the hut to hear some of the villagers protesting. Tahir turns to Lara and Liam, "I will help my father, best of luck to the both of you," he takes Lara's right hand and gives it a firm shake before turning to Liam and doing the same thing.
"Thank you," Liam smiles and with that they both turn and start to head to the woods again, a small footpath to take that no doubt the villagers use for hunting.
Moving along, the terrain slopes up and up, having to use some of the trees to just touch as they maneuver their feet and angle their bodies to adjust to the climb. Stepping over tree roots that are protruding out of the ground more than the ones they encountered earlier, Lara watches as a butterfly flutters past her and has her look ahead at what looks to be a rock wall. Once closer, feeling the sweat building up on her upper and lower back, as well as on her chest, she scrunches up her nose at the feel of it dripping between her breasts.
Reaching the rocks she glances around to find foot holds and spots to slip her fingers into. Wasting no time she starts to climb, sticking the point of her boot into a crevice, hearing the crunch of dirt as she wiggles it in, "they climb this rock often," Lara comments as Liam watches her.
"What makes you say that?" Liam asks and she smiles.
"I'm confident you know the answer to that already," she looks over her shoulder at him to see a smirk on his face.
"Wear marks," Liam winks and watches her lift herself off the ground to find a spot for her left hand to slip around and grip before looking down to find a groove for her right foot to slip into. Damn Croft… the way you look and the way you move… no matter what you make it look sexy Liam thinks to have a small pebble hit him on the forehead. He blinks and realizes he is now falling behind due to his activity of just watching his boss move.
"Hope I'm not moving too fast for you," Lara quips, looking up at the length of wall that she has yet to scale, frowning to herself at it. Her right hand moves up the rough rock with bits of marble and graphite in it. She feels around for what she cannot see and feels a flat part of rock that she can clamp her hand onto, feeling her left hand around she finds a small curve in the rock. It isn't very deep, but it'll have to do for some minor support as she pushes up from her left knee to see that she has in fact reached a ledge.
"Is this… the same one?" Lara wonders to herself, having seen a rock ledge from the village that looked like it was a steep climb to reach. Moving her left hand up to the ledge as well she uses her upper body strength to lift herself, her knees rising together and slipping up and over the edge. Turning herself around, she smiles at the sight, "this is a nice view," she lets her right leg dangle over the edge for a moment as Liam's hand finally clamps onto the edge.
"You didn't need to slow down for me," Liam teases, pulling his left hand up to the edge and Lara backs up to give him space to hoist himself up. Pulling his right knee up first and then swiveling himself to kneel and sit next to her, his eyes light up at the view. "This… I could get used to," he beams, and looks over at Lara to see she is enjoying the sight for the moment as well.
Her eyebrows knit together and she is able to make out the villagers filing together, most have their belongings and are leaving while some are sitting in chairs out front of their homes.
"You cannot help it Lara, we've done what we could for them," Liam says, knowing she's thinking about the innocent people below them.
Giving a small sigh, Lara stands up and Liam follows suit, she rubs the back of her neck and looks to her right to see the path leading around the major part of the mountain that Tahir had told her about. Looking back out at the village she closes her eyes.
I know I cannot protect everyone she thinks as she starts to walk along the path with Liam behind her. All I can do is warn them and hope that the majority of them take the warning as the threat it truly is. Yes I am an outsider, but I have Tahir and his father to back me. She looks over her shoulder at Liam who is looking up at the sky as she finally realizes an angry squirrel is chirping away at them.
"Yeah, yeah I'll be out of your territory soon enough," Liam grunts and Lara smirks.
"Making friends with the wild animals?" Lara teases him and he chuckles at the comment.
"Why yes, from little caterpillars to grumpy squirrels," Liam answers and reaches up to a tree branch that has grown out from a couple of boulders. He watches her continue along, "so long as the day ends with a smile on your face, it will have been a good one Croft."
To Be Continued…
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