The Hidden Threat
---Lara pov---
I shot an arrow to a nearby enemy before ducking for cover. I then blindly threw my last remaining grenade towards them. All of them scrambled to find shelter while I ran towards one of the corpses and grabbed the assault rifle.
When I had the weapon on hand, I then pointed it toward Matsu, who has Sam. Sam is used as a hostage towards me. He led a gun at her head while he looked menacingly at me.
Matsu: "Give up Ms. Croft; you don't want this girl's head all over the floor, drop your weapon and surrender."I was going to drop my weapon, but Sam stomped on Matsu's toes. He let go of Sam, which gave me time to shoot him with my rifle. But the bullets didn't hit him but stopped in front of him. He looked at me and with a smug smile on his face.
Matsu: "Did you forget Ms. Croft that I control the air, there is no way you could defeat me with your weapons." He then waves his hands, and all the bullets drop to the ground. Then he swung his hands towards me, and a gush of wind came towards me. I hurriedly took cover as the razor-sharp wind cut through his remaining men by accident.
Lara: "Shit, I need to find a way to get near him…" I said while looking around and saw an empty can. I then grabbed it and threw it toward Matsu. Matsu ducked behind cover, thinking that it was another grenade, so I ran towards him with a climbing ax on hand. But the next thing I knew, I was being lifted by Matsu powers.
Matsu: "Did you think I would not notice that you ran out of grenades... You just threw an empty can towards me, I just pretended to ducked behind cover to fool you." he said with a smug smile on his face. "Goodby, Ms. Croft…" he said while pointing a gun at me.
He was about to squeeze the trigger, but suddenly his gun was shot out of his hands. I looked around and saw three people I know. Jonah was running toward Matsu, trying to tackle him. But he pushed Jonah away before he could even get near him.
He grabbed another gun from his holster and pointed the gun at me, who can't move. But before he could kill me, a blade went through his chest. I looked at who had killed Matsu and saw Sam, who looked surprised at what she had done. She let's go of the weapon and slowly steps back and looks at her bloody hands.
Sam: "What have I done, Lara…" she said while shaking in fear. I ran toward her and hugged her.
Lara: "You did it for self-defense; you don't need to worry about that, Sam… all you need to know that you are safe now." I said while caressing her back to ease her from her first kill. Jonah ran towards us and gave us a big hug and spun us around.
Jonah: "Thank god you alright, little birdy, I thought you were still in the burning ship." he said with a worried look on his face. I looked at him and saw burn marks on his arms.
Lara: "where did you get this burns," I said worriedly at him.
Jonah: "Don't worry about it; there is a guy who controls fire, but we already got rid of him," he said while putting us down and pointing at the two people who were nearby. Grant and Viper were looking around as they walked towards us.
Grant: "where is Hana.." he said worriedly.
Lara: "She is down at the beach trying to call for backup." when they heard that Hana is okay, they sighed in relief. All of a sudden, a helicopter flew over us. The aircraft turned around and hovered over us. On the helicopter, we saw Hana, who was excitedly waving her hands at us while shouting.
Hana: "GOT US A RIDE GUYS!!!" she said while having a big goofy smile.
Jonah: "this finally ended. I hope I never have to hear the four guardians or the Himiko ever again." he said while patting me on the shoulder. But I didn't feel that this would be the last thing I would hear about them. I felt there was something big happening in the shadows. My instincts are screaming at me that there is more danger lurking in the shadows. I can only hope that the threat doesn't come too soon.
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Two weeks have passed; everything was going back to normal except for Sam. Sam has acted weirdly since the day we got back. When she was in the kitchen, she would always stare at the knife whenever I cook her food. Sam hasn't slept since the day when we got back from the island. And she became more unhinged and violent.
Jonah moved to London to protect us from danger. He has been helping out taking care of Sam. the Vallor team stopped hiding in the shadows and actively started talking to us. Hana has been teaching me martial arts in her free time.
Currently, I'm eating lunch with Jonah and Hana in a nearby restaurant that Jonah has been working at since he moved here in London. Hana is the only one in the Vallor team to be more sociable and would actively socialize with us.
Hana: "Hay, Lara, when are you going to confess your feelings toward Joseph... You have had wet dreams about Joseph." she said while having a smirk on her face. I choked on my food when I heard her words. Jonah poured a glass of water when he saw me choke. I just quickly drank the glass of water and asked Hana how she got her information.
Lara: "How did you know about this… It is not a wet dream; it was a nightmare," I said, remembering the dragon stabbing Joseph through the chest. Hana rolled her eyes and pointed at Jonah, who was avoiding my gaze.
Hana: "who knew that you would say anything when you're drunk…" she said with a wicked smile on her face. I just looked down, trying to avoid Hana's gaze.
Jonah: "little bird, you have been dreaming about Joseph… don't you think that is a sign?" he said while sighing. "And he has been helping us covertly. when we were back in the USA." I looked at both of them and sighed.
Lara: "Hana, can you help me pick a dress…" when Hana heard my words, her eyes shined like a diamond and grabbed my hands.
Hana: "Don't worry, Lara I will help out my new friends…" she said with a smile on her face.
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The next day I am now in front of Joseph's cafe. I saw myself in the reflection of the window. I am wearing a black one-piece short dress and black high heels. The dress hugged my body while showing too much of my skin in the chest area and my legs. When I saw myself in a provocative dress, I wanted to hide in a hole.
Lara: "why did I agree to wear this…" I whispered to myself while trying to pull down my dress to hide my exposed legs. I then remembered Hana's words on why I agreed to wear this revealing dress. Hana told me that Joseph would instantly be awed at my beauty and not think twice before accepting my confession. "I am already regretting wearing this already.."
I then opened my fancy handbag that came with the dress and grabbed the key to open the cafe. I went in and heard someone crying upstairs. I slowly walked upstairs and saw Haru crying and a red-haired man trying to comfort the little girl. Haru noticed me and ran towards me and hugged my waist. I went down and carried her and saw her crying eyes and asked what was wrong.
Lara: "Little Haru, why are you crying…" I said while caressing her back while I carried her. Haru cried harder as she tried to talk to me.
Haru: "Mommy *sniff* Papa *sniff* went missing…" when I heard her words, I shook in fear while I remembered the nightmares that I have been having since I got back from the island. "Mommy, please find Papa…"