Summary: Lara Croft is the tomb raider, the best at her trade. She leads a daring life, feeling truly alive with danger at her heel. But there's a first time for everything, and this time Lady Croft has bitten off more peril than she can chew.

Chapter 1 - Life on the Edge

I can feel my heart pounding, the sweat dripping down the side of my face. The familiar musty scent of air previously undisturbed for three thousand years makes me smile. The unearthly silence causes me to shiver in anticipation.

This is too easy. I know from experience that it won't last long.

Carefully, I examine my surroundings. A rather large, sparsely decorated, seemingly innocent-looking room, located several hundred feet below ground. Innocent? Not likely.

Not when the room itself was crafted by blood-thirsty ancients desiring to meet me in the afterlife. And not when the prize is a mere twenty meters away.

Cautiously, I step forward.

Click.

The sound of the room arming her defenses. A split second later, deadly spikes shoot up from the ground. Too slow to catch me though; I'd already seen the rope hanging high above, grabbed and swung forward by that time. No sooner am I sailing through the air than the rope gives way, triggering a spiked ball after it.

Child's play.

By the time it rolls harmlessly past, I'm pulling up on the ledge beyond.

Of course, as soon as I am on the other side, the ground beneath me begins to quake. Immediately, I break into a mad sprint over the last fifteen meters. Floor tiles are disappearing all around me, but even as each breaks away, I am kicking off of it.

Suddenly, a wide gap that wasn't there moments ago appears before me. No time to think, no more ground left to slacken the pace. Nothing I can do - but jump.

Gathering myself, still dashing forward at breakneck speed, I kick off the last tile, arms outstretched, with all my strength.

My second-long journey through empty space spans an eternity. For a moment, a part of me doubts if I'll make it - the angle of the running jump had not been the best, though orchestrated under the severest of circumstances. Extended to my fullest, the thought disappears as my fingertips brush the surface of cool stone.

I grasp the edge, slowly pulling myself up to relative safety. Breathing heavily, I pause to rest a moment, leaving my legs dangling over the abyss. I smile, wipe the sweat out of my eyes, relishing the familiar tingling of lactic acid in my legs, the adrenaline coursing through my body.

My name is Lara Croft.

Others call me the tomb raider.

I frown, recalling the origin of that title. But there are more important tasks to attend to. I stand and make my way toward the pedestal at the center of the stage.

I live for this excitement, this danger.

Fun, though way too short.

The odds of anyone surviving what I willingly walk into are slim to none. But I've made a profession out of stacked odds.

Ironically, my lifestyle may be a metaphor for the life I lead; on the knife's edge, cheating death at every turn.

Fun, though way too short.

Approaching the pedestal, I observe it from all angles.

Looks safe�

But in my line of work, looks can be deceiving�and lethal. I approach the pedestal on a diagonal, just in case.

Swish. Four gleaming blades lash out, missing my body by scant inches. I laugh, my softly melodic voice reflecting off the dark stone walls, eerily echoing throughout the crypt.

Looks like I was right.

Few things surprise or scare me. I've seen a lot of interesting things over the years.

Reaching for the artifact, I am at peace. Tenderly, I grasp in my hand an object untouched for countless centuries. I admire its beauty and exquisite handiwork, before carefully placing in back upon its throne, watching in amusement as the blades meant to protect it recede.

Removing a camera from the small backpack above my gunbelt, I begin snapping pictures of the artifact from all sides. In addition to being the world's foremost tomb raider, I am also a renowned photo-journalist and expert archaeologist. I know what to take and what to leave be. The beautiful talisman before me is in its rightful place, more safe here than in any museum's collection.

Replacing my camera into my knapsack, I turn back towards the tomb entrance. Smiling, I reach for my twin pistols. Playfully, I twirl them, the cool metal feeling so right against my warm flesh. Now for the best part. I arch an eyebrow.

How in the world am I going to get out of here?

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Lara Croft Tomb Raider © Eidos Interactive Limited. No copyright infringement intended.