Lara's Mansion - Death Trap

by Katie Fleming

"Arrgh," Lara yawned. She closed her eyes tightly and outstretched her arms in front of her. It was 9:00 am, Thursday morning. Lara opened her eyes, expecting to see her blazing fireplace in front of her.

"W-what the?!" Lara exclaimed. She stared blankly at her bedroom…it had turned into a jungle! Thick, green vines wrapped all around her room, completely covering the walls. There were leafy trees and exotic plants in her room, which was covered in a light fog. Lara rubbed her eyes. Am I going crazy? She asked herself. She opened her eyes again. The vines were still there. She sighed, and pushed her body upward off of her bed…a grass bed! Lara was shocked. What's happening?! She walked towards where her door should be, instead a tall tree took its place. Lara looked around, and noticed two levers nearby. She walked over towards them, and pulled the first lever. BOOM, BOOM, BOOM! Lara heard drum sounds, then silence. She pulled the second lever. Nothing happened. Then, the floor started to shake. KA BOOM! Lara spun around and saw a huge boulder rolling right for her! She jumped towards her bathroom, the boulder rolled by her and ran into a tree. Lara let a deep breath out as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. Lara walked further into her bathroom. It was huge! It had also turned into a jungle. Lara looked to her right and saw a quad bike. A smile spread across her face. She ran over towards it, and hopped on.

"Yeah!" Lara yelled as she gunned the bike. Lara was speeding her way through the thick jungle. She flew over tree stumps, and plowed through vines. Lara's mouth formed an O as she flew over a small hill.

"Ack!" Lara spat. "Darn bugs!" She said as she spit out a large beetle out of her mouth, and then closed it quickly - careful not to eat anymore!

"This looks familiar." Lara said aloud. She continued further, approaching a small space between two trees. Lara stopped suddenly, and looked forward. She overlooked a huge mudslide.

"I have been here before!" She exclaimed with a small smile. She was in India in the jungle again, at the top of the huge hill with many threatening spikes.

"Oh well! Here goes nothing." She forced the quad bike forward and sped down the hill. Lara saw a tree stump coming up overhead. She hit a bump on the hill and sailed into the air, over the stump.

"Argh!" Lara grunted as she landed roughly back on the ground, struggling to keep in control. Lara gunned the bike even more. She flew down the hill, Lara was having the time of her life! I hope I don't get my face wind burned after this! Lara thought. Up ahead huge deadly spikes rose out of the ground. She quickly forced the bike upwards as she sailed over top of them. Lara was approaching the bottom of the hill. Several monkeys were hanging from the trees, glaring at Lara as she roared by. Lara skidded to a stop at the bottom, and looked back up the hill and saw a dozen boulders rolling down at top speed. Lara quickly sped through a small passageway into another area. She watched as all of the boulders rolled down the hill, and into the swamp. For some strange reason, the boulders floated on the murky water, creating a path across the swamp. Lara turned her bike around, and drove cautiously over the boulders. She was half way over the swamp now, when up ahead she saw the boulders start to sink! She quickly drove over the rest of the huge rocks, and made if safely to the other side just as the last boulder had completely sunk into the swamp. Lara got off of her quad bike, and turned to her right. She climbed up a few steps and jumped upwards to grab a ledge. She pulled herself up, and looked around. Several monkeys were close by. One was holding something shiny. A key! Lara ran towards him, and tried to grab it.

"Waah! Ooh, ooh." The monkey chattered as he tried to get away. Lara took out a pistol and held it aimed at the monkey. He stared at her blankly for a second before he started slapping his feet on the ground.

"Ooh, ooh." Another monkey stepped out from the rest…in his hand was, a pistol! Lara looked down at her holsters. One of her pistols was gone!

"That sneaky monkey!" Lara yelled. BANG! The monkey was firing the gun. BANG, BANG! Lara fired back, hitting the monkeys. She put her pistol away, and walked towards them. She bent down and picked up her other pistol as well as the gold key. Lara turned around, and safety dropped from the ledge.

"Waah! Ooh, ooh, waah!" Lara heard more monkeys shrieking. She jumped up for the ledge once again and peered over the edge. All the monkeys were alive! They were climbing all over the place, chattering away. Lara had a bewildered look on her face. She dropped back down and got back on her quad bike. Lara rode forward through a small opening in the wall. Gradually the wall began to shrink, forcing Lara to get off of her bike. She walked further inward, and came to a dead end. There was a small hole in the wall, so Lara climbed into it. She wedged her feet on the wall as the tunnel turned upward. Lara's fingers grasped the sides of the tunnel as she pushed upwards. Her arms ached as she pushed on further. Lara climbed up over the top, and closed her eyes for a second while she caught her breath. She re-opened her eyes and gasped. She was in a huge nest…with three eggs!

"I've been here before…" Lara said aloud. "I remember a plane that crashed, and many dinosaurs!" Lara scrambled out of the nest and sprinted across the ground towards a small tunnel. BOOM! BOOM! Lara looked behind her. A huge dinosaur was charging towards her! Lara turned back around, and began to run even faster.

"Ooof!" Lara grunted as she landed face first on the ground. She had tripped over a vine. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. RARRRR! The dinosaur was coming closer and closer. Lara tried to get up, but her foot was wrapped around the vine and her pistols had fallen out of her holsters onto the ground out of reach. Lara looked up, complete terror in her eyes as the huge teeth towered towards her head. Lara closed her eyes and waited for the nightmare to end. Crr - ack, crack, crr - ack, crack. The dinosaur stomped over to the nest, watching all of the eggs. They were hatching, and small dinosaurs emerged from the shells. This was Lara's chance! She untangled the vines from her foot and stood up. She ran towards the tunnel, briefly swiping down to grab her pistols. Lara ran through the dark tunnel. She saw a faint light ahead. At the end of the tunnel, she emerged out of a small hole. She stood up and found herself inside a huge plane! Lara climbed up a ladder and found herself inside a cockpit. Lara sat in one of the pilot's seats, and took out the gold key. She put it into the ignition. The plane sputtered. She tried again. VOOM! The propeller's spun wildly to life. Lara was prepared for take off. She flew upward above the treetops, and headed over top of a waterfall. BEEP. BEEP. A message came up on the screen warning Lara that there was only a little fuel left. As soon as she flew over the waterfall, she landed the plane, on a pile of snow! Lara got out. A gust of cold air made her shiver. She looked around, snow and ice covered everything. There was a huge ship in the water, it was called RX Miner. There was also a small yellow motor boat in the water. Lara hopped in, and sped down a channel of water, just missing the ice chunks that floated in the icy water. Up ahead the channel turned a sharp left. Lara couldn't see beyond that point when she turned. All of a sudden, everything went black. The only sound Lara could hear was the motor of the boat, softly puttering. Lara turned the motor off, and sat in silence. Suddenly, the boat started to move forwards. A strong current was pulling her towards a drop off. Lara still sat quiet as the current kept on pulling her forward.

"Ahh!" Lara screamed as she suddenly was pulled over. Lara fell out of the boat, and landed in water. She surfaced moments later and took in a deep breath, while looking around. A kayak was floating in the water in front of her. She could hear more rushing water, probably another waterfall. Lara climbed up into the kayak and grabbed the paddles. She paddled toward the waterfall, and got ready for the time of her life! WOOSH! Lara sped down the waterfall. SPLASH! The rapids led Lara down an uneven passage. Lara paddled left, then right. Her arms moved quickly and rhythmically to stay in control. Up ahead Lara saw a dark tunnel to the left and to her right a lit tunnel. She had a split second to decide. Lara jammed the paddle down to the left forcing the kayak towards the lit tunnel.

"Waah! Ooh, ooh." Lara looked up and saw three monkeys hanging from the walls. Two of them were holding blades, the other a spear. Their eyes stared hard at Lara as she approached.

"Waah!" One of the monkeys threw a blade towards Lara. It landed in the rapids in front of her. She paddled even harder as another monkey thrust a blade.

"Argh!" Lara yelled through clenched teeth as she brought the paddle out of the water, knocking the blade from the air into the rushing rapids. She paddled as hard as she could through the tunnel. Lara saw a sharp bend up ahead to the left. She got ready to turn her paddle.

"Waah!" Thud. The third monkey had thrown its spear, hitting the back end of the kayak. Water sprayed in through the hole. Lara paddled on, her arms ached. WOOSH! SPLASH! Lara fell over a waterfall, and was sinking down in the water. She struggled to get out, but she was stuck. She shoved her paddle into the bottom as hard as she could, forcing her body out. She surfaced moments later, coughing as gasping for air. Lara looked towards the waterfall, and noticed an opening in the rock behind it. Lara took a deep breath and swam under the waterfall. The force of the water pushed her body onto the floor. Her stomach hit something…a small box. She picked it up, and surfaced behind the waterfall. Lara crawled through the small opening. At the end she emerged out into her freezer. Lara looked to the left, and saw on a pedestal Sophia Lee's head frozen in a chunk of ice. Her head had been severed off, and blood was frozen in the ice around her neck. Lara covered her mouth, trying not to be sick. She ran for the door and pushed it open. Lara gasped as she looked forward over a cliff at Area 51! Lara hopped backwards and did a running jump across the hole, grabbing the other side. She pulled herself up and entered through a door. Lara's eyes darted wildly about. There were two aliens on examination tables in the room. Their bodies had been cut open, revealing their organs. Lara walked over to one of the tables and stared at one of the aliens. Its body was thin and straggly. It had a fairly large head, with pitch black eyes. Suddenly, the lights shut off, startling Lara and making her bump into one of the tables. Lara backed up, and saw a faint movement in the air. The lights turned back on. One of the aliens was sitting upright on the table…looking right at Lara! It raised one of its arms, and pointed towards the other alien. Then, it's arm stretched out and tapped the other's head. It sat up on the table and also looked at Lara. She grabbed her pistols and aimed at both aliens as she backed up into a corner. Suddenly both aliens jumped off the examination tables. They staggered towards Lara, their jelly like arms reaching for her.

"If I was you I'd stop right where you are." Lara exclaimed. Instantly both aliens stopped. She raised both her eyebrows…surprised the aliens had listened. Then, the aliens turned and looked at each other. They grasped a hold of each other's hands. Both of their mouths slowly opened. They stretched down to the ground. Then, their mouths became one, and inside revealed a small staircase. Smoke started to spread throughout the room. Then, the lights started dimming. Without hesitating, Lara ran towards the staircase…

A few minutes later she reached the bottom of the staircase. She pushed open a door and stepped outside, from her basement! Lara looked around, sand dunes were everywhere as far as her eye could see. A blue jeep was parked in the sand nearby. Lara smiled. She ran over to the jeep and hopped in. Lara started it up, and stepped on the gas! VROOM! Lara was speeding over the sand, the warm air flowing through her hair. Every time she came to the top of a sand dune, she would force the jeep into the air, flying above the ground. Lara laughed as she drove crazily along, she was having a great time! Lara skidded to a stop, and watched as sand blew off of the wheels. She got out, and walked forwards a few feet. There was a small water hole in the sand. It looked refreshing! Lara then noticed something yellow floating in the water. She walked closer to see what it was. A UPV! Lara dove into the water, and grabbed a hold of the vehicle. She took in a deep breath, and disappeared down in the water. Lara turned on the UPV and drove through the water. Up ahead Lara noticed a small passage leading somewhere else. She drove through the passage and found herself in a huge aquarium. Lara surfaced and took in a breath of air. Then she went back down and swam around, letting the vehicle float up to the surface. Lara felt something brush across her leg. She jerked her head back. Three sharks were right behind her! Lara screamed and got a mouth full of water. She swam up to the surface and grabbed a hold of the UPV. She dove back down and fired a harpoon at the first shark. It hit him right in the eye. Blood poured out into the water. Lara fired again. It hit him in one of his gills. The shark twitched for a moment before becoming motionless, and floated up towards the surface. Lara surfaced again to get more air before quickly going down again. The second shark plunged forward, it's huge teeth threatening Lara. She fired a harpoon, but missed. The shark wasted no time. It swam wildly towards Lara. It bit into her foot, and blood spurted out into the water. Lara screamed in agony and put the UPV above her head. It brought her up to the surface. Lara coughed, and gasped for a breath. Her foot burned and throbbed in pain.

"You better swim before I finish you off. Lara spoke between clenched teeth. She dove down and fired several harpoons towards the shark. One hit him in the gill, the others into hit's head. Blood burst out into the water, obscuring Lara's view. She looked behind her, and saw the other shark frantically swimming away.

"Well, at least someone listens to me!" Lara said as she surfaced. She climbed out of the blood filled water onto a small ledge. Lara took off her boot and examined her foot. Blood spurted out of her wound, spraying softly into the water. Lara took off her other boot, and sock. She tied her sock around her wound as tightly as she could, and put her boots back on. Lara stood up shakily, and noticed a small button on the wall. She pushed it and watched as part of the wall opened, revealing a small shaft. She stepped inside, and the door closed. One button was lit on the wall. Lara pushed it, and the elevator started moving upwards.

Moments later it came to a sudden stop. Lara pushed open the door, and stepped out into a moving train.

Lara raised her eyebrows as she looked around. Where was she? The cart was full of people. Lara walked over to a young man who as reading a newspaper.

"Excuse me?" Lara asked. The man looked up at her. His eyes were a cold dark brown. His hair was messy, and his lips were in a frown.

"Whaddy'a want?" He replied. "Can't you see I'm busy?" He snapped.

"Well, yes." Lara answered back. "But I was hoping you could tell me where we are?"

"We're on a train." The man replied.

"Well I know that!" Lara exclaimed.

"Good. Then leave me alone!" He yelled, then began reading his paper again. Lara turned to face a young girl. Maybe she will be more pleasant, Lara thought.

"Excuse me please?" Lara asked. The girl looked up and smiled.

"I'm sorry." She said. "Would you like to sit down?"

"No, that's all right." Lara replied. "I just want to know where this train is going." Lara looked out one of the small windows. "It looks like we are in the desert." Lara continued.

"Yes. We're travelling on the Desert Railroad. I'm not too sure where it goes though." She continued. "I'm travelling with my mom." She motioned to her. "I would ask her, but she's sleeping right now and I don't want to wake her."

"Thank you for your help." Lara responded. She looked around the small cart. They were obviously near the back of the train, because there was a door at the back, which read EXIT. Lara walked towards the door and turned the handle. The door wouldn't open, it seemed to be locked from the outside! Lara ran over to one of the windows, they were all locked as well. One of the passengers glanced up at Lara.

"You'd better take a seat. You might get motion sickness!" Lara nodded and sat down. A moment later a voice came on over the speakers. It was a harsh, raspy voice.

"Listen up." The voice demanded. "There has been a kidnapping. Both of the conductors have been captured from the train. Let's just say you've got about five minutes to live. Then, you'll crash into a rather large boulder up ahead on the tracks." The voice started to laugh, then the speakers were turned off.

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

"GET ME OFF OF THIS TRAIN!"

"SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING!"

"SMASH THE WINDOWS!" All the passengers were in hysterics!

"STOP!" Lara yelled firmly. "Please everyone. Take a seat!"

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" One woman yelled. "I'M NOT GOING TO SIT AND WAIT FOR MY DEATH!" Lara had to think quickly, before they really got out of control. She hurried over to the girl she had spoken with before. Her mom still slept beside her.

"Can you do something for me?" Lara asked.

"Sure, what would you like?"

"You need to calm everyone down. I am going to try to get to the front of the train."

"But you can't go through the doors! They're all locked." The girl protested.

"I know. But there might be another way." She pointed near the back of the train at an emergency axe.

"Ok." The girl replied. "But please hurry!" Lara dashed to the back of the train. She picked up the axe and then walked to the door which lead to the cart in front of them. She looked through the small peephole and surveyed the cart. It was worse than the one she was in. Everyone had torn everything apart. There were clothes all over the place, and the people were pounding effortlessly on the windows. One man had a bloody nose from a fight, and a few kids were huddled together crying. I can't go in there. I'll never get through! Lara thought. She looked back at her own cart. The young girl was desperately trying to calm everyone down. Lara looked up and sighed. Then, she had an idea.

"EVERONE GET BACK!" Lara yelled. She took the axe and thrust it up over her head. The ceiling chipped and bits of wood fell down onto the floor. Lara continued to chop at the wood.

"WE'RE SAVED!"

"I'M GOING FIRST!"

"NO, I'M GOING FIRST!"

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

"STOP IT!" Lara shouted. "PLEASE SIT DOWN!" Lara went back to chopping the wood. Pretty soon there was a small hole in the ceiling. She looked over at the young girl.

"Can you give me a boost?" Lara asked. The girl hurried over and helped Lara up. "I'm going to go to the front of the train." Lara explained. "I'll stop it, don't worry." With one last push Lara climbed through the ceiling. She looked back down into the cart. "No one move. I'm going to try to stop the train. You all know you can't jump off this train and live." Lara warned. "So, don't even try to get out." Lara stood up. The train was moving at an incredible speed. Very carefully she made her way to the front of her cart, and looked down. The gap was about three feet. Easy enough. Lara thought. She jumped back and then ran towards the gap, jumping at the last second. She made it safely onto the next cart. She walked again to the front of the cart. Lara backed up and ran forwards, jumping at the edge.

"Ooof!" Lara grunted as she landed hard on the next cart. She looked ahead. Only two more to go. She walked to the edge of the cart and jumped forwards. Suddenly, the track turned a sharp right and Lara hit the left side of the cart. She started to slip off. Lara's foot felt for a window, and then pushed to bring her back on top.

"That was close!" Lara said aloud. She looked ahead at the last cart. Lara ran forwards and jumped, landing safely on the roof. Unexpectedly the roof became soft, and Lara's weight broke through. She landed on her back on the hard floor.

"Ow!" Lara moaned. She looked around. The cart was empty, except for a forgotten bag. Lara stood up and moved towards the front of the cart. The door that separated the front of the train and the cart was open. Lara ran inside and looked around. There were several buttons and levers. But what one? Lara grabbed a lever and pulled it down. The train sped up. Lara gasped. She turned to her right and saw a big red button. Lara turned again and looked through the glass. She could see a large boulder on the tracks ahead.

"IT'S NOW OR NEVER!" Lara yelled. She spun around and slammed the red button in. EEE!!! The train screeched to a halt. Lara was thrown forwards. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She re-opened them a moment later and turned to the first cart. She walked through it, and opened the door to the next. It was empty. Lara made her way through every cart and came to the one she had been in. It was also empty. Lara frowned.

"Where is everybody?" She questioned. She glanced at the windows, none were broken, and the exit door was still locked. Lara walked back to the front of the train and got out. She wasn't in the desert anymore. Lara glanced up at a sign. ALDWYCH STATION.

"I remember this place!" Lara smiled. BOOM, RRR, RRR, KABOOM! The ground started to shake.

"EARTHQUAKE!" Someone yelled. Lara tensed. Part of the roof was crumbling. It was going to collapse! Lara looked back towards the train, it was her only hope. She dashed into the train and pulled all of the levers. It lunged forward. Lara held on tight as it picked up speed. Up ahead there was now a brick wall standing on the tracks.

"Ahh!" She screamed. The train smashed into the wall. Lara fell down and her eyes closed.

When she re-opened her eyes Lara was lying on the floor in a small building. Soft violin music was playing. Lara stood up and looked around. There was a small table and chair. A ladder was propped up against a wall. Lara walked forward, and stepped on something. She looked down and picked it up. It was a small journal. Lara opened it and began to read.

Property of Von Croy

Day 1: Today I head off to Asia. I am looking forward to this journey, as a young girl 'Lara Croft' will be accompanying me. Her father has given me a generous check, so how can I refuse? Afterwards I will search for the Amulet of Hours, a valuable artifact that will make me wealthy…

Day 2: Lara is more than she seems! Her skills are exceptionally good. I'm keeping a close eye on her…

Day 3: Well, Lara's journey is coming to an end. I've taught her a lot of things in the past few days. She is amazing! She is as good as me, if not better. This worries me, because I told her of the amulet that I am hoping to get - I fear she might get it before I do!

Day4: Today I am trapped inside this tomb. I won't waste time writing about it, but Lara escaped, and didn't bother to try and save me. If I ever get out of here, she will pay.

Day 5: I managed to find a way out of the tomb. I have all of my men with me. We are going to track down Lara…

Day 6: Today I sent all of my men after Lara, after discovering where she was. None of them have come back alive. I fear they are all killed. I will follow Lara, as I now know she must have the Amulet of Hours. I'm going to get it and no one is going to stop me…

Day 7: I am one very sneaky man. As planned I followed Lara. I watched as she put the Amulet of Hours into the side of the tomb. After she entered, I ran towards the tomb, and grabbed the amulet. Lara is now trapped inside, I hope she never sees the light of day again. I will fly to Venice where another plane awaits me. Then, I will fly to Antarctica where I can safely hide the amulet until I need it…

Lara's mouth formed a frown. She must get to Von Croy! She climbed the ladder, onto the roof. Lara looked ahead and saw a ledge sticking out of a building. She did a running jump, and pulled herself up onto it. Lara looked over the edge of the short building she was now on. The streets were flooded in water. A motorboat floated in the water unattended. Lara stepped right to the edge, and did a swan dive. She landed gracefully into the water, and surfaced a moment later. Lara swam over to the boat and climbed in. She started the boat, and drove through the water.

"Hey!" Someone yelled. "That's my boat!" Lara looked back and saw a man with his fist in the air. "Come back!" He yelled. Lara sped up, and drove under a ramp. She did a quick 180º turn straight back towards a long ramp that extended high above the water. Lara sped even faster, and drove up on the ramp. SMASH! Lara drove through a glass window, and sailed into the air. She was fast approaching a building in front of her. Quickly she got out of the seat, and jumped upwards to grab onto the edge of the roof. The boat fell back down into the water near its owner.

"Thank you!" He yelled. Lara smiled. She pulled herself up onto the roof. A small plane was getting ready for take off. One of the doors was open. Lara ran and climbed into it. She crawled to the back where the storage was kept.

"Come on Von Croy! We don’t have all day!" A voice shouted.

"All right, let's go!" Von Croy answered back. He climbed into the plane and sat down. The plane started up, and they were soon flying away. Lara kept silent.

"Do you think Lara's alive?" Asked the pilot.

"No. She couldn't have gotten out. The bugs have probably eaten her by now." Von Croy replied. "How long is it going to take to get to Antarctica?" He asked.

"Oh, quite a few hours yet." Replied the pilot. Lara looked around her. Two parachutes lay beside her. A small emergency door stood behind Lara, and there was a small box to her left. Lara shifted to face the box. Inside, was the Amulet of Hours. Lara beamed. She reached inside and grabbed the amulet. She carefully put it in her backpack, and then grabbed one of the parachutes. Lara secured the parachute to herself, and then opened the emergency door. As quietly as she could, she dropped out of the plane. A little while later Lara landed safely on the second floor of her house.

"This is too weird!" Lara said aloud. She looked over the banister and saw red hot lava flowing everywhere. It bubbled and spurted into the air.

"What's next? A fiery red cobra?" Lara joked.

"Hiss, hiss." Lara looked up. The level of the lava had significantly risen. She frantically looked around. A thick vine hung overhead. Lara jumped up, and grabbed a hold of it. She wrapped part of the vine around her leg so she couldn't fall off. Now the lava had completely covered the second floor. Lara looked around, there had to be a way out! Lara glanced downwards at the lava. It seemed to be flowing over top of something. Suddenly, something burst out of the lava, the hot molten rock showering around Lara.

"Hiss, hiss!" A huge red cobra stood beside Lara, it's fangs threatening her body. Lara held tight to the rope where she tied it to her legs. She grabbed her pistols and began firing wildly at the huge snake. It snapped at Lara, as she swung away. Suddenly, a huge gust of wind blew, forcing the vine to swing violently. Lara swung all around the room, she turned her body on a 900 angle, the rope still tied to her. BANG! BANG! Lara shot at the huge beast. The small bullets seemed to be no match against its huge body. Lara put her pistols away. The vine around Lara's legs became loose. Lara turned upside down and tied it tighter. As she did this, the small box she had found fell out from her backpack. Lara reached down and caught it just before it hit the lava. The snake drew nearer. Another gust of wind pushed Lara, sending her flying around the room. She opened the small latch, which held the box shut. Lara looked inside, and saw a rope. She picked it up and let the box fall into the lava. She still swung around the room. The huge cobra was getting ready for attack once more. Lara looked at the huge beast and noticed something sticking out it its neck . It appeared to be a dagger. Lara tied the rope to make a small lasso. Lara put the rope above her head and then threw it towards the dagger. Perfect aim! Lara pulled hard on the rope to tighten the circle around the knife. Suddenly, without warning the snake sprung forward. She forced her body away from it. Sss, heeh! Lara looked back towards the snake. It was being burnt by the lava, and was slowly sinking down under the hot sea of rock. Lara pulled the rope up, and on the end was the dagger. She smiled as she removed the knife from the rope. Lara looked downwards, the lava was slowly disappearing. Pretty soon it was all gone, and the jungle re-appeared. Lara slid down the rope and landed safely on the ground. She walked over to the front door. There was a small hole in the wall beside the door. Lara took the dagger in her hand and sighed.

"Hopefully now I'll get out of this death trap!" Lara said aloud.

"Oh no." a voice replied. "You're not going anywhere." Lara turned around and gasped. Von Croy stood behind her.

"What do you mean?" Lara asked.

"I want that dagger!" He yelled as he lunged forward. Lara jumped over top of him and did a reverse roll.

"Give it to me!" he roared. Lara looked around the room. A vine lay on the floor. Lara quickly picked it up and waited for him to run into her.

"Ooof!" He grunted as he slammed into her. She quickly tied the rope around his wrists and ankles. Von Croy struggled for a moment before finally giving up and lay still. Lara looked at him, still surprised by his appearance.

"I didn't know you were visiting." Lara said to him.

"What are you talking about?" He answered. "You're aunt Corgi made me come." Lara shuddered. If there was one thing she was truly afraid of, it was her aunt.

My aunt? How do you know her? Lara questioned. Von Croy let out a sigh.

We're working together on this one. She wanted me to come capture you and steal all of your artifacts. Then we would sell them and split the money half and half." He replied.

"Well," Lara answered. "You won't be getting any of my treasures." She turned back towards the door.

"Lara?" Von Croy called. She turned around and looked into his dark eyes.

"There's something your aunt wanted me to tell you before I was to leave with the treasures."

"Really? What's that?" Lara questioned.

"She wanted me to tell you that she had always been envious of you. She hated how you always got everything. The house, money, priceless artifacts. She wanted to whisper in your ear, that she would get you someday, and make you pay for what you don't deserve." Lara shuddered. Her aunt really creeped her out!

"That won't be happening." Lara replied. She turned back towards the door and thrust the dagger into the hole. The door started to open and a bright light shone in, forcing Lara to shade her eyes. A figure appeared in the doorway suddenly. Lara looked up. Her eyes widened with fear. She didn't have time to move. The bullet grazed by Lara's head. She fell downwards, blacking out for a moment. The figure stepped over Lara, and she opened her eyes. Her aunt Corgi stood over her. She smiled as Lara's eyes rolled to the back of her head, and all was black.

"Uh huh, uh huh, uh huh." Lara jerked upright. Sweat poured from her face. Lara wiped it off, and gasped. Held tightly in her hand, was the Amulet of Hours. It had all just been a dream - or had it? …




Lara's Mansion Death Trap is ©Katie Fleming 2001. Tomb Raider and Lara Croft are © Core Design and Eidos Interactive