Umbilical

Chapter 2 When Darkness Falls

Kali! Lara's eyes shot open. She breathed in, coughing and spluttering. A sharp pain in her fingers had brought her back to consciousness. There were several small crabs gathered around her wounded hand in the hopes of making a meal of it, testing and pinching the bloody flesh with their claws. She shoved them away roughly and pulled it back. Then the realization hit her. She was still alive! How? The pressure and the sand that was likely packed tight around her wound must have stopped the bleeding. Her body was numb and growing colder. She had to think! She had to get out! The next time she passed out may well be the last. 

The sound of rough voices carried down to her. The savages! They hadn't found her. The debris must have concealed her or maybe they thought she was dead. She looked around. The light on the beach was slowly starting to dim. In the distance she could barely make out a few of them moving about. It looked like they were making some sort of bonfire. Who were those people? Where did they come from? Why would they do this?! Lara stopped and steeled herself. None of that mattered right now. The only thing that mattered was getting out. She knew she was running out of time. Injured, suffering blood loss and dehydration, she would only grow weaker. She wasn't going to let herself die on this fucking beach! Kali was alive and she was out there! Filled with unwavering determination Lara began to slowly dig at the sand around her. 

Moments blurred into an eternity. Her fingers bled while the strength slowly drained from her limbs but she never stopped. Inch by agonizing inch she loosened the sand around and underneath her body until at last, movement was possible. So close now! She could feel it. Darkness slowly crept over the beach. Four of the savages remained behind. Lara followed their movements as well as she could manage from her vantage. All the salvageable remains from the crash were dragged into a big pile. They must have taken most of the bodies too while she was unconscious. Maybe they were burning them in the big bonfire. The stench emanating from it was horrendous. They were all there now. Three men and a woman. She could hear the crude sounds of them speaking and occasionally laughing. It wasn't like any language she had ever heard. 

It was time to move. Literally. She started by stretching and gently tensing her cramped muscles. The numbness receded and was quickly replaced by aches and pains. The pins and needles in her legs almost made them feel like they were being devoured by an army of voracious little insects. It was working! Slowly her body came back to life. She was fairly sure she could crawl out now but she suppressed the urge to just go for it. Lara knew she wasn't going to get another chance. She needed a plan. The brutes by the bonfire weren't the only danger. Even if she snuck by them into the woods, she had no idea where she was. How long it would take to get to civilization or help of any sort and then there was Kali. She was injured, which meant she would need first aid supplies at the very least. Dehydration and hunger could be a factor too. She had already spent one full day trapped under the rubble and she felt weak. Last but not least, it was getting pretty cold. 

She scanned the beach. The pile of salvage! There was a good chance it would contain all of those items but she would have to get much closer to the bonfire. It was a risk and she wasn't even sure how bad her condition really was. It was time to find out. Slowly and carefully she started crawling. The pain in her abdomen and chest flared up. Not a great sign. She couldn't afford to start bleeding again. A few more strenuous moments and suddenly she was clear. Lifting her head she noticed that one of the men had walked away from the bonfire and was moving this way. Had he heard something? SHIT! She was so quiet! The illogical temptation to try to make a run for it briefly overwhelmed her but she grit her teeth and lay still. He walked about lazily, absently scratching his matted hair and looking around. Don't see me, don't see me! Her heart skipped a few beats when he looked in her direction but then stopped a few meters away and started relieving himself. Once he was done the man briefly scanned the tree line and started heading back. Thank fuck!