Chapter 2 Vuelta

Lara edged towards the moon light window; once again she heard the booming noise. She swiftly twisted herself around to face the assault course. There was nothing to be seen. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see something slightly moving. She flicked her head around and noticed her zip-wire slowly swaying. She tilted her head out of confusion. A vigorous gust of wind passed.

"Must have been the wind." She explained to herself plainly.

Her mind was constantly playing tricks on her ever since Prague. Whenever she heard an American voice she made herself believe that it was Kurtis'. Eventually she was beginning to see reality and remember that he was dead and would never return. A slow sigh passed through her full lips.

Placing her pistols back down onto the wooden chair, she wrapped a gown around herself. The softness comforted her. She felt so alone trapped in this world. Inside she was screaming. A sound of rattling china moved her focus from the moonlight towards the entrance of the pool.

"Winston?"

"Yes it's me Lara dear, I couldn't sleep so I've made you some coffee, you look freezing, come over here." He commanded

She slowly walked over to him, like a weak child. He passed her a cup of coffee and they both headed toward the library, Lara always seemed to be relaxed by the calming fire.

Winston sipped his tea loudly and Lara sent him an irritated glance.

"What's up Lara?" he asked concerned.

"Just leave it Winston." She replied dismissively.

He sighed and looked out towards the dismal night. Lara continued to stare into the fire. Her eyes were filled with anger. Unexpectedly she slammed her coffee on the table and stormed off towards the corridor. Winston quickly followed. He found Lara sitting on the floor by the grand father clock with her head in her knees. She was silently crying.

"What on earth is the matter Lara?" Winston called as he crouched down next to her.

"Leave me alone!" Lara screamed.

"Lara I have to know what's wrong. This is all very sudden, have I done something to upset you?"

"No…no, it's just…" she shrieked.

"What is it? Lara? Lara?" he tilted her head up with his trembling hands. She closed them remembering her memories of the past few years.

She began to speak.

"It's all just building up inside me, all the painful memories. I want to forget them all, but my head just won't seem to let them go. Werner…"

The mention of his name made the colour in Winston's face drain.

"Lara, you have to forget about him, you cannot blame yourself for his death. Come on I'll take you up to your room, get some sleep. You'll feel better by the morning."

Lara wiped the tears from her cheeks and brought herself to her feet.

" I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. I've never acted like this before. My emotions seem to change very rapidly. I can get to my room from here. I'll see you in the morning." Lara explained. They began to walk their separate ways.

"Winston..." she called.

"Yes Lara?"

"…Thanks." she admitted.

"My pleasure."

A faint smile spread across her face.

The old stairs creaked as she stepped. Even the walls made noises in the old house. It was so full of memories. Some good, some bad. The atmosphere in the house was somewhat suspicious. The smell of dust from the carpet felt homely, she started to become her old self again. Lara Croft against the world. Her positive thoughts quickly became negative. She thought of Kurtis, his manly scent that once she was present with, his soft touch. When at the Louvre they almost touched lips, she could feel his warm breath against her face. She shook her head trying to remove the thought.

"I must be strong and realistic." She said to herself. With her head high she approached her bedroom. She jerked her head towards the door as she heard yet another noise.

"Just what I need at a time like this." She said in a sarcastic tone. Gripping a pistol in her right hand she silently twisted the door handle. Lara took in a deep breath and swung the door open firing her gun in every direction. Her arms lowered. There was nothing in there. She heard a gust of wind and turned to look towards the balcony. The doors were wide open and the silk white curtains where floating in the wind. She rolled her deep brown eyes and slowly approached the balcony. Peering around the corner, she still saw nothing. She squinted. There was something odd here. She had heard noises before when she was in the pool. Maybe it was not just her imagination. Whilst thinking of a reason behind the noises she heard a slight rustle from below. She shot out onto the balcony and her eyes traced the line of hedges beneath. She made out a dark figure hiding. Her eyes had only just adjusted to the darkness. She shot down into the hedges at the intruder. Pissed off that she could not do with this kind of thing at 11 at night.

"Shit!" the intruder shouted.

She heard a voice from below; once again she shot now aiming at the figure scrambling towards the edge of the shrubbery.

"Crap, she's seen me!" the intruder whispered to himself.

Lara took off her gown as it was to bulky and jumped down from the balcony with only her swimming costume on. The cold pierced into her skin. It did not bother her; she had been in worse situations before, why should a bit of cold bother the tomb raider? She flipped backwards as the intruder shot towards her. Just missing the lead she flicked a piece of hair out of her face and followed the tracks the intruder had made on the gravel. She walked slowly and cautiously as she began to come to the corner of the manor. Peering to the left towards the gate she could not see anyone.

A gasp fell from her lips as she was grabbed with force from behind. Cold metal was carefully placed against the base of her slender neck. Her breath began to quicken as a hand reached out and removed her pistol from her hand. The trespasser's head moved towards her ear.

"Miss me?" he whispered.