Part 2:
INT. SUBTERRANEAN CORRIDOR
There is barely enough light to see. It is dank and
musky, the only sound comes from a light wind
whispering and the "drip-drip" of water.
SUPERIMPOSE CAPTION:
OUTSIDE CAIRO, EGYPT
PRESENT DAY
Suddenly light is cast across these stone walls,
revealing a narrow passage, deep within an ancient
Egyptian pyramid. Then the source of the light
appears - two strong flashlights attached to the
backpack straps of Lara Croft, now eleven years
older. She has grown into an unbelievably beautiful
woman, with an incredible athletic figure and a
disarmingly tough, purposeful demeanour. With
little effort, she pulls herself up through a hole
in the floor. She is wearing khaki shorts, stout
climbing boots, a sleeveless top, and not much else
- it is sweltering and extremely humid inside here.
Her long, brown hair is pinned back and tied into a
braided ponytail running down her back. A pistol is
holstered to her belt and a shotgun slung across
her backpack. She wipes the sweat from her brow.
Then, from below her, a nervous, stammering voice.
WEEKS (O.S.)
Er... um... Miss Croft?
Lara sighs and turns back to look through the hole.
She drops down on one knee and lowers her arm
through, then hauls WEEKS up. Weeks is a short,
rotund little man with a puffy red face and dressed
in safari clothes and pith helmet. He looks like
something from a clichéd comedy sketch set in the
jungle. He’s certainly not comfortable here. He
puffs and pants as he tries to get his breath back.
WEEKS
Where... where are we?
LARA
This corridor leads to the
central burial chamber. Not
far now.
Lara’s refined, upper-class English accent is as
perfect and as spine-tingling as before.
WEEKS
(Relieved) Oh. Good.
Without another word, Lara walks away, into the
darkness. Weeks strains to get to his feet and
waddles along after her.
WEEKS
Wait for me!
When Weeks finally catches up, Lara has stopped at
a dead end and is studying a primitive map on a
piece of ancient parchment. She looks around, and
then up at the ceiling, about five feet above their
heads. Weeks despairs at the sight of the dead end.
WEEKS
Now what?
LARA
We go up.
Weeks looks up, but sees only rock ceiling above.
WEEKS
How on Earth do you...?
Weeks’ words trails off as Lara draws the shotgun
from her backpack.
WEEKS
I... er...
LARA
Stand back.
Weeks wisely does so. Lara chambers a round, aims
and fires diagonally up at the ceiling. The sound
of the shot in this enclosed space is deafening.
When the dust and debris finally settle, there is a
hole about three feet in diameter in the ceiling.
Weeks looks amazed.
LARA
This sandstone is ancient.
Ceilings aren’t that solid
here.
Weeks nods in acknowledgement.
LARA
(Smiling) The only problem
with that is, neither are the
floors.
Weeks gulps and looks down, suddenly aware of the
danger everywhere he steps. Lara slings her shotgun
and leaps up, grabbing the edge of the hole. As she
does, we notice the scar on her inner arm, now
barely visible - but the same scar she had when she
walked into that Himalayan village a decade ago.
Lara pulls herself up through the hole, then
disappears from view. Weeks tries to jump up, but
it’s far too high for him to reach.
WEEKS
Um... ah... Miss Croft?
A few seconds later, a climbing rope is fed down
through the hole.
WEEKS
Ah. Yes.
INT. NARROW WALKWAY
Lara and Weeks make their way through another dark,
damp stone corridor. Lara moves quickly and with
uncommon agility, and again Weeks is lagging behind
- he only catches up whenever Lara stops to check
her map or refer to hieroglyphics on the walls.
Finally she finds what she’s been looking for.
LARA
Here.
WEEKS
(Looking around) Where?
LARA
Through this wall.
WEEKS
What’s through there?
LARA
Ancilliary burial chamber. It
isn’t supposed to be there but
it is. They stopped building
them like this after Tut but
some of the older structures
still have them. You just need
to know where to look.
From her backpack, Lara produces a small device no
larger than a man’s fist. A shaped plastic
explosive charge. She attaches the charge to the
wall and arms it. The device responds with an
electronic bleep.
WEEKS
(Nervous) Is that... is that
what I...?
Lara grabs her backpack and ushers Weeks back down
the corridor and behind a small wall where they
will be clear of the blast.
LARA
Better cover your ears.
Weeks does so and Lara throws the switch on a
handheld remote. The device detonates with an
almighty BOOM which sends a ton of rubble exploding
outwards. Once the explosion has died down, Lara
walks out into the cloud of sandstone dust. Once it
has finally settled we see that a hole around five
feet in diameter has been blown through the wall.
Cautiously, Lara steps through the hole and into
the next room.
INT. BURIAL CHAMBER
It’s too dark to see properly, even with Lara’s
twin flashlights. Extremely spooky. She fumbles in
her pack for a small but powerful portable arc
light and fires it up. Even this isn’t enough to
properly illuminate the entire room, but it does
just enough.
Lara stands before an absolutely awesome sight. An
ancient Egyptian burial chamber, massive in scale
and breathtaking in its beauty. The architecture is
astounding. Two gigantic stone pharoahs tower high
above Lara, guarding the sealed entrance on the far
wall. In the center of the chamber, two ornate
stone tombs, and all around them, dozens of
priceless artifacts - ancient pottery, jewelry,
gold and silver. A thousand fortunes. Even Lara is
impressed.
Weeks steps through and is blown away by the sight
before his eyes.
WEEKS
Oh my. Oh my!
LARA
(All business) Indeed. Here.
Lara pulls a canvas bag from her pack and throws it
to Weeks.
LARA
Make yourself useful. Collect
as much as you can. Gold and
silver only. The rest’s too
fragile.
WEEKS
Miss Croft, may I remind you
that I am here only as an
observer, to confirm the
authenticity of these
artifacts’ origins for my
client?
LARA
So far, Mister Weeks, all
you’ve managed to do is slow
me down. Now if you want to
get out of here as quicky as
possible, which I suspect you
do, I suggest you do as I say.
Lara starts filling a bag with artifacts. Weeks,
looking severely inconvenienced, gets to work too.
He spots a large golden salver in the far corner of
the chamber. Excited, he starts to walk towards it.
WEEKS
How about this?
Lara looks up from her work to see what Weeks is
talking about. She sees the salver, then notices
something very few people would. Dust is gently
blowing up through the cracks between the floor
stones there.
LARA
(Urgently) No wait, stop!
Too late. In his haste, Weeks rushes across the
unstable floor section, which crumbles and gives
way beneath his feet! As he falls, Lara leaps like
a panther and slides across the floor in a
desperate attempt to catch him. She gets there just
a millisecond too late. Weeks has fallen, but
amazingly has grabbed onto a stone outcropping a
few feet below. He hangs on for dear life as the
floor rubble falls below him - smashing through the
floor of the chamber below... and the next... and
the next. Suddenly there is a seemingly bottomless
drop right below him! Weeks is not a strong man and
his grip is slipping.
WEEKS
Help me!
Lara tries to reach down to him, but can’t - he’s
just inches out of reach. Thinking fast, she spools
out a length of rope from her belt and lowers it
down to him.
LARA
Grab hold of this.
But Weeks is too scared to make a grab for the
rope. He daren’t take his hands off the rock he’s
clinging to. Every time he tries, he freezes in
fear.
WEEKS
I... I can’t do it!
LARA
(Thinks fast, then) Hold on.
Lara bolts toward the hole in the wall, grabbing
her backpack and treasure bag along the way. She
races through the corridor and slides down a steep
incline to the level below. Never breaking stride,
she sprints down the next corridor, and down
another steep slope to the next level. Here, she
runs alongside the corridor wall, scanning it
carefully. She stops, draws the shotgun and fires
three shots into the wall. The shotgun is empty but
the wall still isn’t blasted right through.
Desperate, Lara unleashes a tremendous kick into
the weakened section and it falls through. Lara
moves into the chamber beyond, where the falling
rubble has created holes in the floor and ceiling.
Two levels above her, she can hear Weeks crying for
help.
WEEKS (O.S.)
Please God help me, I can’t
hold on. I can’t... aaaargh!
Lara hears Weeks falling and doesn’t hesitate. She
races toward the holes and leaps over, tackling
Weeks in mid-air as he and carrying him over the
abyss to safety. They crash down onto the dusty
floor, Weeks atop Lara, grabbing tightly onto her
in terror.
LARA
Get off me!
Weeks opens his eyes and, realizing he’s safe,
sheepishly relaxes his grip on Lara. She pushes him
off her onto his back by her side. They lay there
for a moment, just getting their breath back, when
a barely audible creaking sound alerts Lara to
further danger.
WEEKS
Thank you...
LARA
Ssshhhh!
Lara is listening intently for that noise. After a
few seconds there it is again - a damp, stony
grinding sound. And then again, louder.
WEEKS
What was that?
LARA
Don’t move.
WEEKS
What? Why?
LARA
I don’t think this floor is
any better than the last one.
And then, another ominous creak, the loudest of
all, and the floor they are lying on starts to give
way, ever so slightly.
WEEKS
Oh no. Oh God, oh God...
While Weeks panics, Lara reaches carefully inside
her backpack.
LARA
Try to spread your arms and
legs out wide, like a star.
Spread your weight.
Weeks does as he’s told. Lara finds what she is
looking for and pulls it from the backpack - a
state-of-the-art piton-firing pistol. She picks a
spot on the nearest wall, about thirty feet away,
and fires. The steel piton shoots out and into the
wall, trailing a cord behind it. The line tightens
and Lara pulls on the pistol to test the fixing -
it holds fast. The floor creaks again and gives way
a few more inches. Any moment now, the whole thing
will collapse.
LARA
Roll over and grab onto me.
WEEKS
You just told me to...
LARA
If you want to survive this,
roll over and grab onto me.
Right now.
Weeks rolls over and clamps his arms tight around
Lara’s waist.
LARA
Got me?
Weeks nods, his head buried in fear.
LARA
Good. Any second n...
The entire floor gives away beneath them. Tons of
rubble crash downwards through the floors below,
and Lara and Weeks fall. Not straight down, but
swinging towards the wall they’re anchored to by
Lara’s piton gun. As they reach the wall, Lara
kicks out with both feet and they smash through the
fragile sandstone into the corridor beyond as the
tons of rubble continue to crash through the levels
below. It is a massive collapse that has affected
much of the internal structure - the very walls
around them are now rumbling ominously.
WEEKS
I think we should leave. Now,
please.
LARA
I think you may be right.
EXT. EGYPTIAN DESERT - DAY
Featureless desert. The great pyramids are far in
the distance, with Lara’s jeep parked in the
foreground. Suddenly, a small piece of the ground
begins to move, and the sand is shaken to reveal a
secret panel covering a hidden tunnel entrance. The
panel slides to one side and Lara, covered in dirt
and coughing up brick dust, emerges into the
glaring sunlight. She stops when she looks up and
sees something ominous off-camera. A moment later,
Weeks emerges behind her.
WEEKS
Well, at least we made it...
He cuts his sentence short when he sees what Lara
sees. A small squad of Egyptian policemen is
standing around the tunnel entrance. All the
officers have their rifles trained on Lara and
Weeks, except SERGEANT FASIL, who steps forward
with a broad smile on his face.
FASIL
(Always in Arabic, subtitled)
Not quite.
Fasil motions to his men, who haul Lara and Weeks
from the tunnel entrance. Lara’s pistol and shotgun
are taken away, along with her backpack and
treasure bag. The bag is opened and shown to Fasil.
He reaches in and pulls out a priceless golden
goblet.
FASIL
And what do we have here?
WEEKS
I have no knowledge of...
FASIL
Shut him up!
A cop strikes Weeks in the back of the head with
his rifle butt, dropping him to his knees.
FASIL
Well, Miss Croft. I’m so glad
to finally meet you. Do you
have any idea how many times
your name has come across my
desk in the last three years?
LARA
I can only imagine.
Fasil looks Lara up and down admiringly.
FASIL
You’re not what I expected,
Miss Croft. You’re a very
attractive woman. In different
circumstances I might be
tempted to be lenient, but...
this is hardly a first
offence.
Lara smiles coyly, flicks her hair back and takes a
step forward - toe to toe with Fasil. Despite being
covered in grime and filth, she does her best to
look sexy and desirable. She succeeds brilliantly.
LARA
Well... I’m sure we can work
something out.
Fasil smiles broadly, exposing his set of
disgusting teeth. Lara does her best to disguise
her reaction.
FASIL
I’m sure we can.
EXT. EGYPTIAN POLICE STATION - NIGHT
Establishing shot of a small police station in
downtown Cairo.
INT. EGYPTIAN POLICE STATION - NIGHT
Weeks languishes in a cell in the officer’s duty
room. Two Egyptian cops sit at a table, smoking and
playing cards. Lara’s effects, including the
treasure bag, sit on a desk by the wall. From
another room, we hear the soft moaning and groaning
of Fasil. The cops hear it too. They look at each
other and giggle knowingly.
INT. FASIL’S QUARTERS - NIGHT
A close-up shot below knee level shows Lara and
Fasil standing toe to toe, Fasil’s bed in the
background. Fasil’s pants are in a heap around his
ankles. He continues to groan and pant. As we pan
upwards, Fasil’s goaning becomes louder, more
urgent and gutteral. Then, as we finally see the
whole picture, we understand why he’s really making
those noises - Lara is choking him! Her hands are
locked around his throat like a vice. Fasil is
powerless to break the hold, his eyes bulging and
face turning purple. Lara turns him and slams his
head into the sink protruding from the wall. Fasil
collapses to the floor, out cold.
LARA
Men.
She unholsters Fasil’s pistol and jams it into her
belt.
INT. EGYPTIAN POLICE STATION - NIGHT
Back in the duty room. From out of shot, Lara lets
out a blood-curdling scream! The two cops drop
their cards and rush into the corridor, out of
sight. We hear a short scuffle, and several punches
being thrown. Moments later Lara emerges and scopes
the room. Weeks is delighted, if a little
surprised, to see her.
WEEKS
Miss Croft!
LARA
Where’s the bag?
Weeks points it out. Lara dashes to it and scoops
it up.
WEEKS
You have to get me out of
here!
LARA
(Looking around) Where are the
keys?
Weeks points into the corridor Lara just came from.
WEEKS
On one of their belts.
LARA
Hold on.
At that moment the station alarm sounds, and we
hear much movement and frantic shouting from cops
around the building. Getting closer.
LARA
No time. I’m sorry.
WEEKS
No! Wait! You can’t just...
LARA
Sorry. I’m sorry!
Lara disappears through the door just as five cops
storm into the room, guns drawn. They scope the
room, then charge after her.
INT. EGYPTIAN POLICE STATION CORRIDOR - NIGHT
Lara runs down the darkened corridor, the bag of
artifacts slung over her shoulder. In the distance
but getting closer, the sound of cops on the move
all around.
INT. EGYPTIAN POLICE STATION - NIGHT
Sergeant Fasil stumbles into the duty room as his
officers rush past in pursuit of Lara. He holds a
cold rag to the lump on his head, while trying to
pull his pants up from around his ankles. He is
furious.
FASIL
Get her! Go, go!
INT. EGYPTIAN POLICE STATION CORRIDOR - NIGHT
Lara comes to a halt - she can hear more police
approaching from the end of the corridor ahead of
her, and the voices of those behind her are growing
louder as they close in. Trapped. The only other
way out is a door set into the wall here. She tries
the handle - locked. At that moment a group of cops
round the corridor behind her.
LEAD COP
(In Egyptian, subtitled) Hold
it! Put your hands over your
head and move away from the
door! Right now!
Lara throws herself at the door and breaks it open
with her shoulder. As she disappears through the
doorway the cops let loose with a barrage of pistol
fire - just as the second set of cops appear at the
opposite end of the corridor, and are instantly
sent diving for cover. Some cops instinctively
return fire, sending those at the other end also
diving for cover. After a few seconds of chaos,
everyone realizes what is going on, and the two
groups of cops start angrily shouting at each
other.
INT. EGYPTIAN POLICE STATION STORAGE ROOM - NIGHT
The walls of the room are stacked with boxes.
There’s no other doorway in or out. Lara looks up
to see a skylight in the ceiling, then back down at
the boxes - climbable.
EXT. EGYPTIAN POLICE STATION - NIGHT
The skylight is flung open and Lara emerges onto
the tiled roof. Carefully, she makes her way toward
the edge, but the tiles are loose, and as some give
way she barely manages to stop herself sliding over
the edge. The loose tiles fall three stories to the
street and shatter - too far down to jump.
FASIL (O.S.)
That’s far enough!
Lara turns to see Fasil standing behind her. At
least four more cops have also followed Lara
through the skylight and have their guns trained on
her. Lara looks down to the ground again.
FASIL
What are you going to do,
jump? Go ahead! (Laughs) My
men will clean up the mess!
The sound of a vehicle approaching. Lara looks down
to see a police jeep pull up outside the station -
directly below her. Time seems to stop for a moment
as Lara jumps... falls... and crashes through the
canvas roof of the jeep, right into the passenger
seat! The driver barely has time to react before
Lara lashes out with both feet, sending him flying
from the jeep and onto the dusty sidewalk. By the
time he gets to his feet, the jeep is already
speeding away. The cops on the roof open fire after
the vehicle, but it’s too late. She’s gone.