Ghost in the Tomb

This story is the third and last of the Elsa - Tomb Raider series. The first of the series is "A Promise by Moonlight", and the second is "Trapping the Raider". As in the other stories, Elsa's curiosity and passionate nature get her into trouble, but Professor Ken Connors and love of her life is always there to protect her.

This is a new genre for me, and I was not sure what category to fit this story into. It could be erotic horror, Sci-Fi or BDSM, but at its core it is always an erotic love story, with some erotic horror mixed in. Of course, all characters are over 21. It will definitely not start out as a love story, but it will get there. Please vote often (fives are most welcome) and of course please leave constructive comments.

PS -- If you have fantasies, ideas, etc. for new stories please let me know, that includes twists on existing stories, and I will see what I can do. Many of my stories have started out that way. This story is the last of the Elsa -- Tomb Raider Series.

Ghost in the Tomb

Chapter 4

Ken had a great day and had found many significant artifacts at the site, but as the light began to dim and his stomach began to rumble, he called it quits for the day. He gathered all the workers and began to herd them towards the camp, when he realized Elsa was not around. He did a quick search and when he couldn't find her shouted, "Elsa, where are you?"

When no response came, he muttered to himself, "Shit! She has wandered off on some side trip."

His anger was palatable as he gathered the workers and formed a search party to try and find Elsa. Within an hour no one had found any trace of her. In the deep jungle, the night falls suddenly like a blanket was thrown over the jungle. Very quickly it was pitch black and everyone could hear the dangerous animals coming out to feed. Now he started to worry and continued to search and call her name, all with no results.

With all the noises coming from the jungle the men in the search party began to shy away from any search that involved going into the jungle. Ken certainly understood, but what if Elsa was still out there? He tried talking to the men, trying to find some that would continue the search with no luck.

Now he had a decision to make. He couldn't leave Elsa out here in the wilds of Columbia, but he needed to get everyone else fed, rested and out of danger at the very least. So, he sent half the group back to camp to cook dinner, gather flashlights, lanterns and such and then bring light and dinner back to the site. The group that stayed would use the meager resources they had and continue to search for Elsa in the dark.

The first group left, and the search group began a grid search outside of the dig site. They searched in groups of threes so that no one would be attacked by the nocturnal creatures that could prey on them, but when they heard the growl of a panther, they retreated to the dig site and built a huge fire.

Once the fire was built, they continued to search for Elsa. One of the other search groups ran into wild boars and escaped with only minor injuries. Another search party kept hearing something stalking them, and they ran back to the safety of the large fire. Fear began to swirl through the camp, and everyone huddled by the fire. Ken was the only one whose fear was for Elsa.

Soon, but not soon enough, the group from their campsite came back with food, water and some sleeping blankets. They shared a silent meal, each in their own thoughts. The fear of the jungle was still there, especially after the injuries that occurred with the wild boar attack. However, no one, except Ken seemed to fear for Elsa's life. Ken pondered whether he should search alone and decided against it.

While everyone else huddled around the fire, Ken worried about Elsa. Where was she, what was she doing, why hadn't she answered him? More importantly how could he find her and rescue her? He had many one-night stands and lots of women wanting his love, but only one woman that he loved ... Elsa. She was constantly wandering off and getting into trouble, but his job was to love her and keep her safe.

The rest of the night the group fought to keep the fire high and keep the animals remote and distant. During this trip they had encountered almost everything the Darién Gap could throw at them, but tonight it seemed to be trying even harder. No one got any sleep that night with all the creatures roaming the jungle and threatening them. Ken got no sleep but for a different reason. He was worried about Elsa, and he wondered where she was and if she was safe.

Throughout the night Ken wondered about Elsa and how he could find her. In his gut he knew she didn't just wander off. He also knew she most likely didn't get kidnapped. Knowing her as he did, the most likely scenario was that she found a new chamber in the dig and got locked inside. That meant that she was most likely okay, with the possible exception that if the chamber was sealed, she might be running out of air. However, he needed to cover all bases.

So, he came up with a plan. One third of the team would search around the dig going from north to south, another third would search going south to north and he would take the remaining group and search for additional unexplored areas in the dig. Ken really felt like his group would find Elsa and hopefully she would be in good shape.

As the dawn broke and the dangerous critters faded back into the jungle, he began to put his plan into action. He made sure that the two groups sweeping the jungle outside the dig searched at least a quarter mile into the jungle. Then his group began their explorations. This kind of search was normal in any dig, but he had been so excited about what he had already found that he postponed the exploration to define the scope of the dig.

Ken knew this had been a major faux pas on his part and most likely led to Elsa exploring on her own. He defined a search grid and assigned various colleagues to search specific areas. He had his own area but would backup anyone that needed help.

As the heat began to rise, everyone was having to take longer hydration breaks. Then one member of his search party found a statue of a feathered serpent and he knew enough to know that it should not be here. He called Professor Ken Connors over and they pondered what this meant. It seemed to be a Mayan depiction of Kukulkan, and this was an Incan dig. The two should not be in the same area.

He knew if Elsa found this she was definitely in this area. It was something that would definitely energize her curiosity, she would begin investigating and never let up until she had some answers. So, his group began to concentrate on this area of the dig.