Well, here I am again with a new chapter to boot. I have finished my English coursework and to celebrate I thought another chapter was in order, lol.
Thanks for the reviews:
godavari- thanks for all of your reviews! I'm glad you like the story, and there was no need to add this to your favourites blushes lol.
nickless- thanks for the review, I hope you like this chapter!
SilverDragon67- Thank you for the review, though the story was always set in 1988, I said so in the second or first chapter I believe. Well, I wouldn't say there are masses of new chapters, yet, lol.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The brunette continued to haul the cocky American towards a set of double doors that led out to the harsh cold of Prague.
"Lose some weight along with the blood next time Trent," she muttered, as she kicked open the doors.
He didn't answer, making Lara even more concerned for her accomplice's health.
Her dark eyes quickly found the beat up red car from which the reporter brought to her the Strahov. She made a beeline towards it.
Luckily the door was unlocked, allowing Lara to stash Kurtis - lying down - in the back seat.
The brunette herself dashed towards the bonnet of the car and started to hot wire it, knowing that the keys wouldn't be in the car.
After a few minutes the tired out English woman managed to make the engine run, causing a startling amount of noise in the otherwise tranquil street.
Lara stepped into the car and proceeded to step on the gas, without regard for a seatbelt.
She drove around the dark streets, hoping to find any sign of a hospital or anywhere that Kurtis could get medical attention.
She did not want to admit that she was worried about him, but as the brunette eyed his ragged breathing through the mirror she knew that she would be distressed if he died.
After about ten minutes of searching around the dismal streets of Prague Lara found the hospital. Although it looked rather dingy from the outside, she was glad of any medical attention that Kurtis could get.
She parked the beat up old car right in front of the entrance, not caring if it got towed or not, as it wasn't even hers.
A nurse came out of the brightly lit hospital to meet Lara as she struggled to get Kurtis from the back seat.
The blonde haired woman said something in a language that Lara didn't understand, though with the pointing at a sign Lara got the general impression that she was being moaned at for parking there.
Lara glared at the woman and eventually pulled Kurtis out of the now bloodstained backseat.
The nurse blanched at the sign of the blood, causing Lara to frown. What kind of nurse can't deal with blood? she thought, amazed why a nurse would be scared of blood.
After a few moments a few doctors rushed out, all saying something in the natural lingo around here.
"I don't understand you," Lara said slowly, pointing at an ear.
They seemed to get the message as they got to work putting Kurtis on a stretcher. Slowly, the American was wheeled into the hospital. Lara walked in after him, careful to make sure that all of her weapons were concealed.
She was pointed into a small waiting room with white painted walls and fake pot plants in plastic pots. Overall, she was rather surprised at the general cleanliness and modern look of the hospital; she assumed that any hospital in this city would be as dismal as the rest of the buildings.
She sank into a grey chair, relieved to be able to sit and relax slightly. Within moments she was asleep, unaware of her surroundings.
Lara did not know for how long she slept, but when she awoke sunlight was streaming through the blinds in the waiting area, giving the impression that she had been asleep for several hours.
She stood up hesitantly, trying to ignore the various protests her muscles made.
I need to get a real room, with a bed, she thought, looking around for a toilet.
After relieving herself, she went straight to the front desk, where surprisingly very few people crowded around.
The brunette approached the desk, not knowing what to say. She was unsure if anyone spoke a word of English in the hospital.
"English," she said clearly, pointing at herself. The raven haired assistant stared at her blankly for a few seconds before leaving the computer she studied.
She returned a few minutes later with a tall, lanky woman of Chinese origin. She was obviously very young, about 18, with long dark hair pulled up into a pony tail high on her head.
"Hello, I am Faith Lu. Welcome to Prague City hospital," the Chinese woman said, shaking Lara's hand.
Lara was experiencing difficulty speaking, trying to withhold tears when she realised that there was someone she could communicate with.
"Lady Lara Croft," she announced, hoping her status would help get information quickly.
"A Lady? We don't get many of them around here," Faith observed, flipping through a sheath of papers she was holding.
"Can you help me locate my…err… boyfriend? He had a stab wound to the stomach. I brought him here last night and fell asleep in the waiting room."
Lara tried to hide her nervousness of calling Kurtis her boyfriend, but it seemed a believable lie, for Faith asked no questions.
"Tall, dark and handsome with dark hair?" Faith enquired, looking at Lara in the eye.
"That's the one. Can you tell me about his condition?" Lara asked, hoping she would get answers quickly.
"He underwent surgery immediately to the stomach. Luckily, very luckily, the weapon did not hit any vital organs or nerves, so he was unharmed in that sense. Some major tissue damage that required operating but mostly a stitch up job."
Lara sighed in relief, knowing that Kurtis would survive.
"Can I see him?" she asked the young woman.
"Yes, I will take you to his ward," Faith answered.
The walk through the hospital was done in silence, for both parties had had a long night.
"How come you're English and work in a hospital over here?" Lara asked, trying to break the tension that had formed between them. She had recognised the cockney accent earlier.
"Well, my mother was English and my father Chinese. That's why I have a strange name. I am studying to become a doctor over here and am training up while working at the main hospital. It may not look it, but Prague is quite a good place to study medical science," Faith said, happily chatting to Lara about her private life.
She is a gossip, and is probably relieved that she has someone English to talk to, she thought, as they reached a closed off ward.
"Here you are Lady Croft. I will be back to collect you in twenty minutes."
Lara stopped the woman from walking down a plain corridor that led to the children's ward. She laid a hand on the other woman's arm.
"Thank you," Lara said simply, hoping that Faith understood her sincerity.
The younger woman smiled and left.
Lara prepared to enter the room, to face the man she had been avoiding like the Black Death until less than desirable circumstances threw them together…
……………..
There you all go, don't worry, Lara and Kurtis meet in the next chapter, so, I will have to start writing it, lol.
Please review, please?
Lol. Also the thing about Prague being good for medical science I made up, it could be but I don't know.
Dan.