A Survivor Is Born

by Delta 727

Chapter 2: Hard Landing

Hard Landing

Remember how I said being a Tomb Raider wasn't easy? Well, it's not only because it's dangerous, but because just getting there isn't easy. Just because we have a large, steel boat doesn't mean it's always capable of smooth sailing. In fact, I think all the extra weight just makes it toss around more. Coral does the best he can to keep it steady, but it's still not much of a joy ride. And especially on this endeavor.

We were sailing in unexplored seas, and we didn't know what the weather would be like. As it turns out, it was like Cloudsdale decided to move every storm cloud right to where we were. The seas were more violent than we'd ever seen before. For the first time in years, we had to start improvising ways to strap down important equipment so it wouldn't fall over. Craw had the hardest time with this, since he was in charge of a fully loaded kitchen. He was "beaten half to death with his own belongings". Of course, I'm paraphrasing, since he said something a lot more... Inappropriate. He never liked it when people told him not to curse.

Wire was more worried about sensitive equipment being broken. I tried to tell him that most of the things that he was worried about were bolted to something and even Craw couldn't pry them from where they were. But he didn't listen. Like I said: twitchy. And I'd bet all of my bits that half of the things he was worried about we didn't even need.

And then there was Aura. She hates being on rough water. Just bloody hates it. She spends most of her time in her living quarters with a wet cloth and a bucket. And I, being the loving pony that I am, spend most of my time right with her, fetching her a glass of water, a new cloth, or, worst of all, another bucket. I keep telling her she doesn't have to come on the oversea endeavors if she doesn't want to, but she always insists.

"A little sea sickness isn't going to make me miss the adventure of a lifetime!" she always says.

That mare's gonna drown in her own nausea one of these days.

And me? Well, I never minded rough waters. I don't enjoy losing my balance every three seconds, but I have long legs, so I can handle it. The one thing I mind is how much longer our trip is because of how long it takes to get out of the rough waters. I'm a Tomb Raider. I enjoy adventure. And I can't adventure stuck on board a ship. So, I spend most of my time with Aura, Craw, or my bed. They're the most interesting things on that entire boat. Especially my bed.

One night, at about two in the morning, I was lying in bed across from Aura, and I couldn't sleep. Whenever that happens, I usually go find out if anypony is awake and start a conversation for a while. Aura was out cold, and I didn't want to wake her. So, I got out of bed, slipped on my climbing shorts, a blue v-cut shirt, and my lucky green amulet, and trotted out into the hallway of the ship.

Just down the hall, I saw that the kitchen light was on. Craw was still awake. And I heard him singing in there.

He was singing to himself as he was organizing cooking ware on a counter top. "Scale the mountains! Sail the seas! We hunt history-"

I smiled and leaned against the door frame, finishing the lyric. "And we live free."

Craw jumped in surprise, slamming his head against a hanging pot, knocking it from the rack and landing right on his head.

"Ow..." Craw's voice echoed from inside the pot. "Golden! I didn't see you there!" He paused. "Well, I can't see you there now, either."

I giggled as I trotted to him, pulling the pot from his head, and setting it on the counter. He rubbed the side of his head. "Aww, I didn't know a big strong stallion like you was just a little scaredy cat!"

"Scaredy cat, huh?" Craw grabbed me around my back, picking me up off the ground in his enormous front legs. I squeaked and started giggling like a filly.

"Put me down, Craw!" I tried to push my way out of his bear hug.

"What's the matter, scaredy cat?" He said teasingly. "Afraid of heights?"

"Alright, alright!" I finally stopped giggling, but my smile never faded. "You've made your point!"

"I can't let go," Craw said. "You'll fall!"

"Then put me down gently!" I replied. "And I mean gently, Craw!"

Craw smiled, and set me back down on my hooves. I slipped out of his grasp, and gave him a playful shove with my hoof. "Everypony on this whole bloomin' ship probably heard that!"

"Coral's wrapped up in his maps, Wire's probably babysitting a calculator, and Aura's out like a rock." Craw smiled at his own words. "I'm pretty sure we're fine. Question is, why did you come here? Couldn't sleep?"

"No," I replied. "Something's bothering me."

"Well, lucky for you," Craw trotted over to the dining table and pulled out a couple of chairs, "I'm a good listener." He took a seat in one of the chairs, and patted the other. I trotted over, and took a seat in the opposite chair. "Now tell ol' Crawfish what's givin' you trouble."

"Well, that's the thing, Craw." I rubbed the back of my neck. "I'm not sure what it is. I just don't feel right."

"Oh, I get that feeling all the time," Craw replied. "Usually means the stew's burning." He chuckled.

"Then I guess I have a stew burning somewhere." I giggled, then thought for a second. "You don't think it's something wrong with Aura, do you?"

Craw waved the question off with his hoof. "Aw, c'mon, now. You know she's a tough mare. If something were wrong with her, she woulda told ya by now."

"I don't know if that's entirely true." I looked back toward the door. "There could be a lot of things I can see her not telling me."

"I'm pretty sure she's not interested in mares, Golden." I stared at Craw with shock, and he shrugged.

"That's not funny, Craw."

"I ain't laughin'." He rested his front leg on the table. "I know the thought's come to your mind once or twice. Aura can read you like a book, but she wasn't comfortable with asking you to your face. So, she came and told me about it. By the way, don't bring it up to her. It's a very sensitive topic to her."

"I had no idea..." I shook my head. "But I don't feel like it's that bad. It's just kind of an itch in the back of my skull. It's driving me up a bloody wall."

"Well, there's gotta be something that-" Craw was cut off as the ship shook to one side, nearly knocking us out of our chairs. "Well, what the bloody hoof was that?"

"Probably just a bad wave," I replied, then immediately perked up. "I hope Aura's okay!"

"Yeah, good thought. You should go check on-" Craw was cut off again as the ship flung to one side again, this time much more forcefully.

I flew out of my chair, fell away from the table, and felt my head hit something hard. I figured it was one of the ovens. My mind went numb, as did my entire body, and all I could do was lay there. My vision was fading in and out of black, and my ears were ringing. I'd lost sight of Craw, but all I could see was his kitchen being thrown in on itself. Pots were falling off of shelves, the dining table fell over not inches from my hooves, and a whole bloody oven slid across the room, and tipped over.

The ship had hit something. And I didn't have time to worry about it before I blacked out.

---

After I finally woke up, I thought I was in a dream, or a coma, or that I'd drowned. Somehow I was on a beach. In the daytime. On a cushioned mattress with a pillow and a blanket. All I could see was sand, and a huge rocky outcrop in front of me that was dotted with vines and vegetation, and surrounded by a dense jungle. I thought I'd dreamed up my own endeavor in my mind, and somehow, I was there, sleeping on the beach.

And then, I realized why I was really there.

The beach was littered with supplies. Large crates, a few set-up tables, and several pieces of electric power supplies, floodlights, and equipment. But what I noticed the most was our ship. Docked on the beach with an enormous gash in the hull.

I immediately tried to sit up, but flinched when my headache came flooding back. I grunted, and put a hoof on my forehead. It was wrapped in a bandage. I felt a hoof on my shoulder.

"Easy now, Goldy," I heard Craw's voice. "You were pretty banged up. You need to rest. You hungry?"

"No..." I groaned as I slowly sat up, ignoring Craw's advice to rest. "Just extremely thirsty..."

"Yeah, I figured," Craw grabbed a canteen from a supply bag that he had next to him. "You've been lying in the sun for a few hours. Been sweatin' so much, I had to change your bandage." He unscrewed the cap from the canteen, and hoofed it to me. I took it from him, and downed at least half of the water inside. The cold reinvigorated me a bit. I ran my other foreleg across my muzzle and hoofed it back to him.

"Thanks, Craw." I looked back at the ship, and placed a hoof on my bandage again. "What happened?"

"Coral said he was trying to land the ship on the island, but he hit a rock on the way in," Craw replied. "A really big rock, by the looks of it. Says the ship's gonna take days to patch up. You took a pretty bad spill last night. Hit your head pretty hard, and knocked you out for hours. I got you outta there, and put you here to rest up."

I thought for a moment, then turned back to look at him in alarm. "Aura! Is she okay!?"

"Calm down, calm down, you'll open your cut," Craw said. "She's fine. Pukin' her guts out, but fine."

I sighed in relief, pulling the blanket off of my body. "So what should we do until the boat's fixed?"

"You aren't doing anything," Coral trotted over to Craw and I with Wire and Aura just behind him. Wire was a nervous wreck, and Aura was shaking like a leaf, her face pale from sickness. "You need to rest, Compass. You're hurt badly. This endeavor's cancelled. We're fixing up the ship and we're going home."

I opened my mouth to protest, but then there was a gunshot from the nearby jungle. Several birds flew from the trees, scattering up into the mountain.

I looked back at my friends. Craw had a stern look, Coral was staring in shock, and Aura and Wire looked ready to head for the hills.

But me, I was ready to get in there and find what we all knew they were looking for.

I sighed. "Alright, Coral," I said. "You can stay here if you want. But if there's bandits here, then that means that whatever we're looking for is probably in there."

---

Day Two

I spoke too soon about wishing for luck. I took a hard hit to the head when the ship hit a rock. Now we're stuck on an island with a damaged ship, and armed bandits not a rock's throw from us. But if there's bandits, and even more likely since they're armed, then that means that the artifact we're looking for is definitely here. A headache isn't going to stop me from finding it. I'm doing what my father would do. As soon as I'm able to walk again, I'm going in to look for it. I didn't come this far just to turn back now. Watch out, bandits, the Tomb Raider's coming for your treasure.

~ Golden Compass