Cenote – Ambush in the Bone Pit (part 1)

Near the end of the tunnel Lara catches sight of a humanoid figure rushing along a perpendicular passageway.

As you emerge from the tunnel, turn left to follow the creature. It casts a frightening shadow on the wall of the next room, but the first actual enemy comes from ahead on the left.

In a short cutscene, the Uruk-hai looking dude rushes out screaming and tackles Lara.

The wooden floor gives way and Lara and the strange warrior tumble into the room below. Lara kicks him off of her, scrambles to her feet, and retrieves the shotgun.

When you regain control, aim and fire the shotgun to kill the attacker. (Later we will learn these people are called the Yaaxil.)

Perhaps drawn by the noise, more of them appear in ones and twos from the tunnels around the edges of the room. There will be 16 enemies in all, but you won't have to fight them at once. The next enemy (2) comes from the tunnel directly opposite the starting position at floor level.

Since the shotgun works best at close range, aim as he approaches but wait until he's nearly upon you before firing.

Then one or two shots should kill him. This is more effective and helps conserve ammo.

Four more cave dwellers (3-6) appear in the raised opening in the southeast corner. They are courteous enough to jump down and rush at Lara one at a time.

So, again, wait until each one gets close before firing.

Or, if you've unlocked the Puma's Feint skill, hold Aim to keep your weapon drawn. Make sure you have room to maneuver, since this won't work if Lara is backed into a corner. Wait for one of the enemies to lunge at you...

...then press C on the keyboard, Circle or B on the controller, to dodge.

This brings up a QTE interface. When you see the Melee icon (which looks a little different depending on whether you're using a controller or keyboard), you'll have a brief window of opportunity for a counterattack as the white circle contracts inward toward the center ring. If you press too soon or too late, it won't work. But if you press Melee while the white ring is within the colored area of the disk...

...Lara will stab her attacker in the throat with an arrow. Skree, indeed.

If you don't have the Puma's Feint skill, you can still evade when an enemy lunges (by pressing C/Circle/B), then fire back with your weapon of choice. If you've unlocked the Serpent's Glint, you can fire flare rounds with your pistol. One of these will kill a charging Yaaxil. (Not pictured.)

You can also shoot the round, green jars to set off little explosions...

...burning any nearby enemies. (If you have the wherewithal to change weapons before doing this, you can conserve shotgun ammo. I got caught up in the terror and forgot.)

When your ammo starts to get low, the game prompts you to reload. You can also do this during any convenient lull in the action. With the weapon out, press R on the keyboard, Square or X on the controller. You probably already have the hang of this from using the rifle or handgun, but it can't hurt to review. If you run out of shotgun ammo completely, Lara will automatically switch weapons.