Project Sorna

Thirty-Two

                                        "Right." she sighed deeply. "Nublar. I'll make it there in a jiffy."

                                       I hadn't had the slightest understanding of what her agenda was. "What do you mean?"

                                     A blank stare intimidated me, as if an unlikely entity stood between us.   Did the women think it was a curse to talk about that island? Either it was her dramatic mood swing that was to blame, or I was completely off track.

                                   The interrogation turned on me instead of her. "Who do you think you are?"

                                   "Me?"

                                  "Yes-you! I should've known this place was a sick playground for people like you with your shenanigans! You must be Trinity's follower!"

                                 I was nothing far from confused and dazed-so now was the time to be insecure. This drama queen could pull anything on me the next minute!

                                Lara Croft backed up like an alert went off in her head. "All along..."

                               Two men emerged from the upstairs. One was a witness armed with a pulsating lantern, the other a trooper. All chances of our identities were swept no later when we were targeted.

                              "There she is! I knew you would break the truce!"

                             My heart nearly jumped out of my chest when Lara faced me one last time in shock before barreling herself through the window. I knew the chase was on when every sense in my body launched me out as well. Once my body hit the roof, no longer did I care to know my directions. Escape was on my mind. For probably the 100th time.

                             A cord stretched from the light post to the outskirts. Terrible rain conquered my coordination from above, as I was left to fend alone with Croft way ahead of me.

                             A hop, skip, and a jump got me to the cord. My weight was carried on the line, legs immobile against the sheer drop. Never could I comprehend zip-lining  in this weather.

                            My hands lost all feeling and before realizing my fault in letting go, I was tossed on a roof like a ragdoll and found myself swamped in a dumpster. Another attempt to escape failed, as I could barely stand the odors of trash.

                            There was the sinking feeling, again. Not only was I sinking mentally, but physically in this damned garbage. One hand went to my machete as I grasped for the edge in a terribly hot mess. I wielded my machete to give me an extra force up and out of there.  It took all my will to free myself before catching my breath on a platform of racks.

                          I desperately wanted to shout out my hatred. But that was no way to reveal myself to whoever was hunting me in the night.

                         Instead, I impaled my machete into the rack below repeatedly. Each stab built up the next, and the next, and the next. Soon, I stopped counting at 12.

                       Ackerman.

                      He did this.

                     He wanted me to suffer all along. 

                    The sky was forked by lightening, a clap of thunder scared the living nightlights out of me and somehow the machete flew from my hand onto the ground.

                   I made a move to retrieve the weapon-struggling to stand my guard. I had it in my hands when something came closer from over the maintenance storage and made retrieve back on top.

                Minutes passed.

                Not one moment did I breath. The entire time passed with the machete at my side, hair practically in shambles against my face.

              Then, my anxiety made me lose my cover from whatever was stalking in the dark and rain. I didn't think anything would be able to creep that silently-that is, except for those troopers. I didn't particularly have an agenda against them in the meanwhile.

              An enormous beak was already too familiar. Unfortunately, making a sharp jump off the racks only gave my abductor the advantage to dig their feet into me. I was in the air, ready to hit the ground. The Pterodactyl was way too quick and it flew me into the forest.