Masked

XV.

Only one and a half chapters to go after this one, which follow the original story - bare with me, peeps! Isa will make her next appearance soon enough.

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Lara felt horrible when she awoke. Her vision was first blurred, but suddenly clear as day when she realized where she was. She survived the plane crash, which was good, but now it appeared that she still was stuck in her part of the wreck, dangling in airy heights while the only thing that held her in place was her still fastened seatbelt, which was not that... good. It pressed into her lower stomach and so caused the unwell feeling Lara experienced right now. She groaned. This journey was just one train wreck after another. With shaking hands, she fumbled for the seatbelt, trying to undo it – with modest results – it seemed to be stuck. Panic rose within her when she looked around, searching for something to help her get into freedom. While she was frantically scanning the area, her gaze locked on the empty seat next to her. Where was Miguel?

She grasped around the seatbelt again, more determined to open it this time. ... But what Lara didn't calculate in was the very uncomfortable landing on the muddy jungle ground. The brunette had to catch her breath after the not-that-soft impact with the floor, mud now all over her. Only with difficulty Lara got up on her feet again and instinctively wrapped her arms around her bare arms. It wasn't exactly cold out there, but strangely enough even the thought of being all alone sent shivers down her spine. Lara began walking forward.

"Miguel? Are you here?"

No answer. Lara exhaled and continued trying to find a way through the dense jungle. She needed to find her equipment, and more important – she needed to find Jonah and their pilot.

It took the brunette a good while of walking, getting stuck in the mud and climbing a few rocks before the rainforest finally opened to reveal a breath-taking view of the jungle itself. The weather had cleared and the first few sunrays were warming the land again – it would be sultry in no time.

"The silver crowned mountain! I'm getting closer."

Lara had no time to admire the scenery, though – she heard something which sounded like a gun being fired, and the next thing that caught her eye was a bright red signal fire that rose into the air a few hundred yards ahead of where she was standing. Someone must've had survived!

With new won energy, Lara continued her path – over huge branches of the jungle trees. It was a good thing the brunette wasn't afraid of heights, but she still had to admit that the loftiness did elicit considerable respect from her. And the fact that the critters of the wild did not seem to like someone walking over their homes did not help. Several howler monkeys accompanied her on her pathway through the treetops. Fortunately, it didn't take long until Lara stumbled upon solid ground again – directly in front of a little camp someone had erected.

"A fire! Someone must be around... Hello?"

Lara didn't expect someone to answer, so it was no surprise that she got no response. She tried again, though.

"Jonah? Miguel? Can you hear me? Where are you?"

This time, all she got for an answer was the loud screaming of the howlers which seemed to be everywhere. Lara decided to leave the camp behind since it was clear that it was deserted. Next thing she knew, she found something which – on the one hand relieved, but on the other hand disturbed her.

"Parts of the plane landed here...", she mumbled to herself and approached the wreck, when the realisation hit her.

'My gear is in that cargo, I need to cut it down somehow.'

Even if she didn't have her knife anymore, Lara needn't search for long for another suitable object. She spotted the main propeller, which was partly broken down. Swiftly, she climbed up and tried to rip off a scrap, but of course like so many times, her plan backfired. Instead, the propeller moved sideways, causing the brunette to lose balance and stumble backwards onto her rear. She had to watch the rest of the wreck slipping down its resting place and into the pond that was located just beneath it. Lara had the urge to give herself a facepalm.