Tomb Raider Fanfiction Competition #3 - Entries

[LightningRider]

Anyone done with theirs?

I finally have time to do this, so I've decided on ye olden times.

[Johnnay]

What's the prize greenkey2????

[Rai]

^ The winner gets to choose the next theme and host the round, just as it has been for the last two rounds.

[tomblover]

Ohh, BTW, I gotta ask: Can my location be based off one of the TR comics? (I'm having Lara revisit Shangri-La.)

[Greenkey2]

By all means, tomblover

[jackles]

Can I do 'generic' Greece without specifying where?


please.

[Greenkey2]

All yours Jackie It doesn't have to be the exact geosychronous coordinates of a place she visited - as long as it's in the vicinity and/or theme and/or country/setting, then that's fine


Togas optional

[Quasimodo]

Any chance we could get away with more than 1500 words?

[Greenkey2]

Whenever I've submitted written work to a formal comp or research project, there's always been a 10% margin either way for the word count - so really, as long as it falls within 100 words above or below 1500, I'd say that's fine

[Quasimodo]

Sweet. Luckily I only needed 17 words grace!

Rescue

Without warning, the stone snake coiled its massive body around mine. Only my head and arms remained free, and with the crowbar I had been using to pry a jewel from the wall mere seconds ago, I hacked at the granite scales. My head swam as the thing slammed me against the wall, showering debris on my head. Another cracking sound, this time coming from my ribs, followed an agonized scream ripping through my throat.

Through my teary gaze I could see the creature’s feathery head as it brought me closer. The things eyes rolled madly in their sockets, and its breath carried the smell of rotting carrion, stirring my heart into fretful palpitations. I reached behind me to grab the SMGs strapped to my backpack. I tugged them free after a great effort and fired into the thing’s face. It bobbed and weaved around the rain of lead and rammed me against a column. The back of my head smacked against stone, and I saw stars erupt in my eyes. The guns fell out of my limp hands and clattered to the floor.

The creature lifted me high and opened its maw, gagging me again with its breath. The coils loosened around me and I fell into the snake’s mouth.

Instead of feeling the tusk-like fangs sink into my flesh, I continued to freefall down the snake’s throat. It was smooth with helical grooves like a rifle barrel. Down, down, down I tumbled after the dark like Alice in the rabbit hole. I fell for an eternity, flopping end over end until the tunnel widened enough to where I couldn’t reach out and touch its walls. Now it was totally dark, and the air that sped past me stopped. I felt no ground beneath me; it was as if I were suspended in nothingness, oblivion. This must be death.

A dull red bead floated in front of me. It grew and brightened to orange, and my stomach lurched into my throat as an invisible force drew me toward the light. The orange disc dilated until I rocketed through it out of the tunnel. I gasped for air just before plunging into a cold pool. Bubbles tickled my skin. My pale arms groped at the turquoise sky, and then I willed my legs to thrash against the water. When I broke to the surface, I saw I had arrived in a cave. Behind me I saw where I must have arrived here from: a spout shaped like a snake’s head spewed water into the subterranean lake. Orange torchlight bounced off russet stone and glittering stalactites.

I paddled ashore and my skin erupted into gooseflesh as I lifted myself out of the water. To my surprise I was uninjured and absolutely starkers. How was that possible? I had heard my ribs cracking, felt them break, but now there wasn’t as much as a bruise to provide evidence of my struggle with the stone serpent. Where had my clothes gone? Was this some kind of magical healing and undressing beast? I laughed and my voice echoed off the cavernous walls.

I looked around me and saw several doorways carved in the cave walls and adorned with fearsome snake motifs. The largest doorway had large torches and intricately embroidered banners on either side. How convenient. I ripped a banner off its hook and fashioned a makeshift tabard. Fresh air gusted in through the doorway; it must lead outside. I grabbed a torch off the wall and walked through. Once inside the passageway, I saw crude paintings representing seven caves with seven peoples springing forth. “This must be Chicomostoc, the place of the seven caves. Legend has it all civilizations began here. ..At least I know I’m still in Mexico.”

It was still dark once I exited the cave. A small footpath zigzagged down the steep mountainside into the jungle below. I crept down carefully, slowly. Sharp rocks and gnarled roots stabbed into my bare feet. My breath became more labored in the heavy, humid air, and sweat dripped down my body from exertion. I heard a light padding sound behind me and froze. Before I could turn around, I was knocked down off the path and sent tumbling the rest of the way to the forest. Stars whizzed past ground and tree line, then a dark hulking shape blotted out the moon as it streaked toward me.

It roared and jerked in mid-air, falling with a thud ahead of me. I rolled right into it – a jaguar with several arrows sticking out of its side. I struggled to my feet and raised my gaze to meet the group of men who saved me. Their tanned bodies were adorned with feathers, beads, and embroidered robes. Most carried large round shields; others had gruesome looking clubs or small axes. I walked up to the man carrying the bow and extended my hand. “Thank you for defending me from the jaguar. Would you happen to know where we are, exactly?” I tried my Spanish on him.

His brows knit together in confusion and he answered me in what I suspected was Nahuatl. Sadly I do not understand spoken Nahuatl very well. “I came from up there in the cave,” I pantomimed, “out through the snake’s head.” His face broke into a grin and he chattered excitedly to his fellows. Thank goodness, something must have gotten through. He placed a hand on my shoulder and motioned for me to follow them through the forest.

Morning light filtered through the trees as we approached a clearing. My jaw dropped as I took in the sight of the valley below – a perfect and huge city in the middle of a glittering lake, laced with canals. Tenochtitlan. The men lead me to a canoe tethered to the shore and rowed toward the magnificent city. The main temple pyramid rose gloriously in the center, brightly painted in azure, red, and gold. My rescuers took me on a tour of Tenochtitlan – markets thrived with activity; heady smells of bread, fruits, and meat filled the air, pottery, baskets, tapestries, and all manner of baubles were displayed under bright banners in front of neat mud brick buildings. A group of scholars huddled around a fountain in the square, deep in discussion.

Everywhere I was greeted with smiles and treated to all sorts of gifts: food, clothing, jewelry. I wondered if this was the same Tenochtitlan the Spanish saw in 1512, and if like Cortez, I was viewed as a god come to visit them on earth. I certainly seemed to be enjoying such a welcome! Once I had adjusted somewhat to the shock of finding myself touring an ancient city in its entire original splendor, I began to feel something was…off. People spoke in low, concerned voices, sometimes gesturing to the dry, parched fields across from the lake.

Before I could manage to translate any of the conversation I heard, drums sounded in the distance. The people all looked lively again, anxious. My entourage gathered on either side of me and marched me toward the main road. The sun hung high in the sky, an angry red disk illuminating the main temple ahead of us. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I could not wait to see what the temple must look like inside with its murals, carvings, and sculptures yet untouched by time. Truly alive, instead of the dried carcass I was so accustomed to raiding.

The drum beat grew stronger as we climbed the steep steps; the people below whooped and sang for joy. At the top, the warriors grabbed me by the upper arms toward a dais surrounded by a frightful group of men and women. Some had painted their bodies all black: small bones hung from necklaces and skirts and their hair was matted with filth. Others wore tall feather headdresses – priests and priestesses, I presumed.

Someone grabbed my ankles, another got my knees, my body…I struggled against their hold as they carried me toward the dais. “Wait! What the bloody hell is going on?!” They set me down on the cold stone and held fast to my wrists and ankles, binding them with rope. “No, no, no, untie me now!” They didn’t know what I was saying anyway. A priestess stood over me, face painted blue, eyes wild. She chanted over me and withdrew a dagger from her belt. I screamed.

I heard my shirt rip open and felt a clammy pair of hands fasten under my jaw and hold my head back against the dais. The priestess raised the dagger slowly above her head. I shut my eyes.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!” pain erupted in my chest. She knelt down; I felt a fierce tugging inside me. Blood bubbled up in my mouth, filling it with a coppery taste and spilling out, muffling my screams. The priestess lifted something above her head, blood coursing down her arms. I watched the angry red sun devour my heart with light before my eyes rolled back and I saw no more.



And then the rain came.