Danger Is What You Taste Like | Sam Drake x Lara Croft

9. Sanctuary

The cold water shocked Lara into full wakefulness yet it simultaneously numbed her burning nerves. They ached from the initial plunge and the impact of her body hitting the water could be felt as she swam up towards the surface, forcing her limbs to move while doing her best to ignore the pins and needles pain shooting through every last vein.

Her oxygen supply was limited and could be felt in the way her lungs felt tight, for she hadn't had enough time to suck in a deep breath before plunging head-first into the water; out of the corner of her eye, she spotted another blurry figure swimming towards the surface and immediately recognized it as Chase. Seeing him instantly motivated her to kick harder until she finally broke through to the surface and started to suck in deep, greedy breaths.

Even so, Lara dragged herself out of the river, gasping because her lungs burned and her body ached and it felt worse than all of the times she had plummeted to the ground after falling from a height. She wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep until her body no longer ached and her nerves didn't scream in agony with every move she made.

Come on, Lara, she goaded herself in an attempt to gain the necessary motivation she needed to drag herself out of the shallows and to her feet. You've literally parachuted through a forest with a torn parachute and lived to tell the tale! This should be nothing for you!

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chase emerge from the water and break off into a run with the puzzle box clutched firmly in his grasp.

"Get back here!" she growled as she scrambled to her feet and ran after Chase. Just like her, he was wounded and still recovering from the shock same as she was but for that reason, it was quite easy for her to catch up to him before she tackled him and sent them both tumbling into the mud.

Despite their obvious difference in heights and the fact that Chase was much more muscular than she could ever hope to be, Lara wrestled with him, struggling to gain the upper hand even though the puzzle box was the only thing on her mind.

Suddenly, her world turned sideways when Chase threw her off him and slammed her into the mud, Lara crying out when she felt the air get knocked out of her lungs following a punch she wasn't able to dodge and left her writhing in pain.

"Stay down, if you know what's good for you. Don't make me regret not killing you," Chase spat.

You bastard... I'll get you, mark my words.

But for now, Lara was forced to let Chase get away.

♦♦♦

The bullet had barely grazed his shoulder.

And while it stung, it was nothing compared to the panic rising up in Sam's chest, uncomfortable and ruthless as it threatened to tear him apart from the inside, refusing to be burnt away even as he lit cigarette after cigarette and wracked his brain for a solution.

This was the second time that he'd watched Lara tumble off a cliff and it was almost like the universe had decided to torture him by forcing him to watch history repeat itself. Sam didn't want to admit it but he was angry, angry that she was all alone down there with Chase, of all people, and even more so at the fact that she had thrown herself at Chase to save him.

To add insult to injury, it took too long to scale the cliff, for he first had to dispatch Chase's goons and managed to send the ones he didn't kill running for the hills before he was able to safely traverse dense forest without looking over his shoulder at every noise like a paranoiac.

Lara, what the hell where you thinking?

Why on earth would she do something so careless?