Thank you to those of you who've taken the time to review... it's greatly appreciated! Keep the reviews coming, and I'll keep updating.

Chapter 2 - Helpless

Every moment spent within the seemingly endless corridors of the Stahov was torture for both Kurtis and Lara. Minutes seemed to drag on like hours and the little energy that each of them had was gradually decreasing. Although Lara was never one to admit defeat, she came to the awful realization that neither of them could press on for much longer.

With each step, Lara noticed that Kurtis' breathing became more labored as he often struggled for air. His face had taken on a sickly appearance as sweat was steadily dripping down his pallid brow. If they didn't get out soon, Kurtis would surely bleed to death. In fact, Lara doubted that she herselfcould press on any further, as supporting nearly all of Kurtis' weight was draining much of her energy.

Just as they were coming to a door at the end of a rather long passage, Kurtis suddenly went limp and slumped against Lara. Her knees buckled against the extra weight and she nearly collapsed, having no other choice but to lower her companion to the ground. Kurtis' eyes had closed tightly as he laid on the floor, and at that moment Lara realized how frighteningly pale he had become. He was unconscious, apparently going into the more threatening stages of shock. Or even worse…

Oh God no…

Lara immediately checked his pulse and breathing again. Both signs of life were extremely weak, but he was still fighting for his life. Tapping his shoulder firmly, Lara attempted to bring him back into consciousness.

"Kurtis! Kurtis, wake up! Come on, Kurtis, you can't do this to me… Not after we've gotten this far!"

Not surprisingly, Kurtis didn't stir. Becoming increasingly panicked, Lara ran through all of the possible options that she had in order to get Kurtis out of the Strahov safely and without any further harm. With seemingly no other choice, Lara gripped Kurtis from beneath the arms and lifted him from the ground with her remaining strength. She slung one of his limp arms around her neck, taking hold of it, and grasped her free arm around his waist once again in order to support him.

Lara half lifted and half dragged Kurtis down the remainder of the hall and somehow managed to turn the door handle without letting Kurtis fall to the ground again. To her utter surprise, Lara was met by an icy breeze as the door was opened and tiny drifts of snow entered the building.

The door, which was evidently another secret passage into the Strahov, led into a dark and secluded ally and there appeared to be no immediate threats in the vicinity. Immensely relieved, Lara stepped out into the freshly fallen snow and involuntarily shuddered as the chill air met with the bare flesh of her arms and legs. Upon reaching the opening into a semi-lighted square, the scream of a police siren reached Lara's ears and her heart skipped a beat in her chest.

Oh bugger…

Until the current point in time, she had completely forgotten the fact that she was a wanted woman. Lara stood near the end of the alley and peered out into the square, spotting numerous police cars and an ambulance. If they saw her with Kurtis in his current condition, then she would undoubtedly be blamed. Would the authorities even believe her? Admittedly, Lara would not have believed half of the things that she witnessed if she herself hadn't seen them. Even when faced with such bizarre occurrences, they seemed almost too extraordinary to be real, as was often the case with her adventures. For a moment, the horrible possibility occurred to her that the police would never believe her. She could be sentenced to life in prison or even death, and Kurtis would undoubtedly-

STOP.

Lara scolded herself mentally. She was panicking for no reason. She had exposed the underground workings of the Monstrom and had in the process proven herself innocent. All of the evidence was placed in her favor. If the authorities didn't believe her, then they were incredibly dense, but it would be a chance she would have to take in order to save Kurtis. Before she could change her mind again, Lara emerged from the darkened alley and into the light of the square. Her heart was pacing, and she felt as if she was in a daze as the next few minutes seemed to occur in slow motion.

Shouting voices met her ears as officers and medical personnel rushed toward them, but she didn't hear what they were saying. It seemed as if all of her senses had shut down, and the scene before her played out like a scene from a silent film. Two people immediately took hold of Kurtis and began looking him over. Lara let go of him in a daze, and allowed them to lower him safely onto a stretcher. They began questioning her, but she didn't answer. Instead, Lara just stood there, cold and numb in the chill winter air. She scarcely noticed that the police officers were saying her name in hushed voices and before she knew it, two more officers had grabbed both of her arms and began leading her towards a police car. Lara didn't even try to struggle against them as they pushed her roughly against the hood of one of the cars.

"Hands behind your back, ma'am. You're under arrest for the murder of Werner Von Croy."

Although her mind was racing, Lara obeyed as she was handcuffed and her eyes wandered over to the ambulance, where medical workers were struggling to keep Kurtis alive as they hooked him up to various pieces of medical equipment. Had she really come all this way for this? To be captured by the authorities while the fate of Kurtis was out of her hands? The more she thought about it, the more doubtful Lara became of her present situation.

Her trance was interrupted as she felt someone lightly grab her shoulder.

"Excuse me, Miss. What happened to this man?"

It was a paramedic, who had apparently approached her in the last minute without her realizing it. Lara continued to stare in Kurtis' direction as the nurse probed her further.

"Miss, do you know this man? Do you know his name?"

"Kurtis." she stated emotionlessly, as a police officer grasped her arm and pushed her into the back seat of the car. "His name is Kurtis, and he's a friend of mine."

And with that, the officer slammed the door and the car sped off into the uninviting darkness. Lara stared out the window, her eyes still glued to the ambulance as it became farther and farther away, and a single tear traced it's way down her face.