Masked

XXIV.

HA! I'm not dead! Also, enjoy this picture of my OC Isa in her survival outfit. I may not be the best at digital art, but ay, art is a journey. Enjoy reading!

~*~

The little group had to watch their every step when they tried to climb down the shaft. Lara was the first one to carefully make her way into the looming darkness, Isabelle followed suit right after her. Lopez was next, and finally, Jonah, who constituted the taillight.

They proceeded with caution, but the brunette was the first one to soon set foot on solid ground again.

She looked up to see Isabelle struggling with finding a way down. She was not far away anymore, but if she wasn't careful it could quickly end with a concussion for her.

"Just jump down from where you're standing right now. I'll try to catch you!", Lara called up, making the blonde jolt and almost loose her grip.

"Are you mad? I'm way too heavy! And this is far too high..."

"Don't be ridiculous, I'll manage."

Lara ignored the lump that started to form in her throat. Maybe it was really a little bit too high for Isabelle to-

"Alright, I'm coming down. But I swear if you don't catch me I will disown you!"

"Isa, I- Oh dear!"

Just in the same second, Isabelle turned around and let go of the piece of wood she had clung to a second ago.

Next thing Lara knew, she stumbled back, ending up on the dirty floor – with her friend right on top of her.

"Holy shit I told you I was too heavy! Are you okay?", Isabelle asked, worried, and completely oblivious to the pose both of them found themselves in now.

"No, it's... Fine. You're down with me, aren't you?", Lara wheezed, staring up at the blonde that still sat on her.

"Uh... Could you..."

"Hm? ... Oh. Yeah. Of course."

Isabelle was a flustered mess as she got up, wincing because although her landing had been absorbed by the archaeologist, it still had been a hard landing for her.

She reached out, helping up Lara who also grimaced. The whole action seemed to have taken its toll on her as well.

In the meantime, Lopez had managed to come down as well, landing swiftly on his feet.

"Jesus Christ, you really don't seem to have a problem with climbing, huh?", Isabelle remarked dryly.

"Do I have to remind you that I climbed your house solely with the help of a growth support for plants?", Lopez asked back just as dry as the blonde.

"Excuse me?"

Lara rose her eyebrow, but they had no further time to go into that topic. Further up in the shaft something collapsed, resulting in Jonah crying out and landing down next to them on the ground just a second later – all fours spread just like a star fish.

Lara and Lopez immediately helped him up, which he commented with a groan.

"Station two: Jesus falls for the first time", the brunette sighed, but that comment was enough to make all of them laugh – after making sure Jonah was okay, of course.

The little group proceeded to scan the unusual terrain with Lara taking the lead.

"God, it's freezing down here. Come to think we're in the jungle...", Isabelle muttered, rubbing her arms, "But on the bright side we're one step closer to the box."