Hunted

Hidden atop a rock outcropping within the tree line, Lara watched with great satisfaction as her captor danced in circles on the beach cursing the sky. While listening to the pleasant scene on the beach, she had time to continue reflecting on everything that had happened. The Endurance had been shipwrecked in the storm, she had made it to land and considering how close they were to their destination... "Welcome to Yamatai" she whispered, smiling to herself. Her first expedition as a certified Archaeologist and it was already a resounding...well, not success but surely something noteworthy. She just hoped that ass Whitman didn't take all the credit, it was technically his exped-

BANG!

The unexpected gunshot almost made Lara fly off her perch but the shot wasn't intended for her. The sand exploded some two feet from the madman on the beach, causing him to jump a full four feet into the air, spin, and sprint back into his cave.

"Ah, missed the fucker." "We goin in after him?" "Hell the fuck no. I ain't chasin a scavenger through some god-forsaken cave. Mathias asks? We never saw 'em"

13 men advanced out of the woods, ragged but fully armed (and clothed). The crude emblem of a sun was emblazoned on their jackets, signifying them as Solarii. The Solarii were the dominant (mortal) **** on the island, a ragtag bunch of castaways unified by the need for survival and escape. They worship Himiko, the "Sun Queen" who ruled the original kingdom built upon the island and supposedly had command over the weather. They make sacrifices in her name, hoping that one of them will please the Queen and allow them to leave unmolested by the storms.

Lara of course knew nothing of them and a thousand wild possibilities flashed through her head. Mercenaries? Locals? They obviously had no proper supplies from the outside world, everything they had seemed to be salvage from the wrecks. Why hadn't they radioed for help? Did the Dragons Triangle have some kind of electromagnetic interference? Moving slowly she carefully slipped from her perch and further inland, away from the men fanning out across the beach.