Hello everyone,
Just a quick note before you start reading this chapter:
This is not exactly about a special warning, but some may find the end of the chapter a little uncomfortable and kind of difficult, morally speaking. I'm perfectly aware it's a difficult subject, which I'm taking very seriously and I perfectly understand some may find it disturbing. In any case, feel free to share your feelings with me, I'll be more than happy to read about your opinions :)
I would like to thank from the very bottom of heart all the people who encourage me, all the silent readers or at least all the people who have taken the time to read this story so far. And, I really want to thank Ferilium and Tales-from-of-fallen-star for all your help and comments, and for keeping me going :)
12 - Breaking Point
A heavy silence fell into the room as the two adventurers came face to face. They did not take their eyes off each other, both shocked.
Lara couldn't believe her eyes. She had imagined the worst possible scenarios and situations the mercenary could have found himself in. He hadn't been heard from for weeks. And yet here he was, in front of her, dressed in camouflage like the others. The Englishwoman's gaze fell on the very young woman standing behind him, lurking in the shadows as she watched her insistently with her large, clear eyes.
"Guess you might have heard about Miss Croft, Trent," Tobias said suddenly, turning to the mercenary. "We're guessing she presumably arrived with the freighter. She broke into our house a few days ago. Looks like she was looking for information about us and our... activities."
His two-coloured eyes looked into the azur ones of the mercenary, who was trying to control as best he could the stress that had taken hold of him.
"I'll let you take her to the cell," the Norwegian said authoritatively. "I'm counting on you to make her feel comfortable."
The other henchmen gathered and approached to seize the young woman, who struggled in her chair, but the mercenary was unable to move. Tobias watched him carefully.
"Is there something wrong?"
Kurtis seemed to come out of his torpor and looked at the Norwegian. He merely nodded and turned abruptly on his heels, Saija following at full speed. The other men forced Lara to her feet and pushed her forward, she let out a grunt of protest. The group started walking down the long corridor to the isolation cells.
Her eyes did not leave the mercenary as he walked a few feet ahead of her, closely followed by the young assistant of Tobias and Miranda.
I hope for your sake that you have a good explanation, Trent...
The young woman walking in front of her suddenly turned to her. Her eyes met hers. The adventuress detected a strange glint in them, halfway between satisfaction and anger, and obviously, a certain arrogance. She wasn't sure, but it seemed to her that a slight and extremely subtle smile had appeared on the young norwegian's lips. She broke eye contact with her, and leaned dangerously towards the mercenary. The young man felt Saija grab his arm and felt her breath as she whispered in his ear.
"Don't worry, we'll take good care of her."
Kurtis didn't react, or at least didn't show any emotion, and just kept walking without a word. The group walked down a few more corridors before arriving at the prisoners' quarters. They stopped in front of an empty cell and forcefully pushed the aventuress into it. She staggered and collapsed to the floor with another angry grunt. She tried to sit up on her elbows, but she didn't feel strong enough. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Kurtis and the other guards disappear behind the door they had just closed.
Heels clicked on the metal floor, and Miranda finally appeared to join them.
"We'll deal with her later, I need you in the experiment room," she told the mercenary with a cold voice.
He forced himself not to rush into the cell to check that the young woman was all right. He could feel her fatigue, her irritation, her physical pain, but also all the questions that were running through her head. He couldn't stand it. But he was aware that he should not draw attention to them. The mercenary turned around and followed the Norwegian, leaving behind the cell in which Lara was locked up.
"What will you do with her?", he asked.
"That's not your problem at the moment," the Norwegian replied coldly.
They entered a room where a man was already set up on a metal table. The glove was waiting for the mercenary in its glass box. Miranda suddenly turned to him.
"Unless you have an objection to make?"
They stared at each other for a few seconds, but the mercenary did not respond. Miranda lifted the glass bell under which the glove lay, and invited him to take it.
—
He slammed the door behind him and stood there stupidly in the middle of his cell. He had a terrible headache, which seemed to compress every millimetre of his skull a little more every second. He clutched his face in his hands, unable to shut out all the thoughts that went back and forth in his head.
This could only be a nightmare. How could she have come here?
You're getting to know her though...
What did he expect, except that she would find him and come to help him? How could he believe that she wouldn't say nothing when she had doubts about this mission from the beginning?
That's exactly who she was. Lara in all her determination, stubborn as she could be. But she was about to put them both in danger. He put them both in danger. And it was clear that the Svendsens would not spare her. Worse, it was very likely that they would use her too...
Exasperated, Kurtis threw his fist into the wall beside him with all his might. The metal wall twisted under the impact, and he felt his skin tear in places and his bones break in his phalanges. He let out a cry of rage and pain mixed with frustration, this time unable to hold back. He looked at his broken and bleeding hand. A new pain shot through his arm, and suddenly his bones returned to their original position, the bleeding stopped, and the skin gradually regenerated.
He was clearly not the same man he had been since the injection, and all this was beyond him. But he had to pull himself together. He had to find a way to get them out of there.
—
The door slammed violently and was locked. The voices gradually disappeared further down the corridor. She found herself alone, in the oppressive silence of the cell into which she had been brought. She lay there for many minutes on the cold floor, conscious only of her breathing and the emptiness she felt at that moment.
She felt betrayed and scorned. And above all she felt stupid. Stupid to have found herself in such a situation, and stupid to have thought that he could be in danger, when it was the opposite. She wanted to scream out her frustration and anger.
With difficulty, she finally managed to get up, and sat down. She quickly undid the gag that was binding her mouth, and felt her muscles suddenly relax and regain their shape as the cloth finally released the pressure on her jaw and lips. She made several movements and stretches to relieve her aching muscles. Her fingers grazed her cheek, which was pierced by a sharp pain. She felt a scab of blood where she had been hit earlier, not far from the mark she already bore from her altercation with the security man at the Svendsen home.
It will only be one more bruise
She remained leaning against the wall, slumped over, staring into space. She looked at the thick rope wrapped around her wrists that still held her captive. She could no longer feel her fingers, and the skin caught against the rope was beginning to itch badly. She looked around for something she could use to cut it, but apart from the old mattress on the floor, the room was completely empty. She sighed, and let herself go backwards.
What was going on? What had gone through Kurtis's mind to get himself into such a situation? Did he know what they were up to and what their connection was with Eckhardt and his research?
How can he not know? If he's working with them, he must know... what's his point then?
What was he waiting for to act and stop them? Why this silence in front of her? Had he rallied to their cause? And not to mention what had just happened. She had felt Miranda's presence in her head, like when she and Kurtis were communicating mentally. How could this be?
She sighed loudly again and took her head in her hands. She had to take some time to think. She had to find answers, and wait for the right moment to act. This had gone on for too long. There was no way she was going to be stuck here, or risk going crazy. She had to find a way out.
—
The metallic click of the lock startled her. The door opened, and a guard entered her cell.
"Get up," he said coldly.
"You forgot the magic word."
"Don't start giving me shit, bitch. I said, get up, move your ass."
After a few seconds of hesitation, the adventuress finally got to her feet and limped towards the man. Just as he turned around, thinking he was leaving the cell followed by the young woman, Lara jumped on him, put her arms around his neck, and tipped him backwards. They both fell and rolled on the floor. She put her legs around him to block him. The man struggled, but she held on. He elbowed her several times to get out of her grip. She felt one of his hands try to grab her hair. She then sank her teeth into the soldier's forearm, who screamed as she bit him until he bled.
Footsteps sounded around them. Before she could react, someone hit her in the face with the handle of an assault rifle. She let go, and the soldier she was holding pulled away. He got to his feet and kicked her hard in the back. The young woman screamed. Two other guards grabbed her and forced her to her feet. The man she had bitten came towards her at full speed and grabbed her by the throat.
"We're going to take care of you, bitch."
Lara shook off his hand with a jerk of her shoulder, and they started walking. Supported by two other men, they walked down the corridor and up the base. She glanced around in panic, hoping to find a loophole, but she saw no escape. A little further on she suddenly heard a man's cries of pain, which echoed all around them. All around her she saw that entire cells were filled with prisoners.
The people from the cargo ship
Further down the corridor they passed a stretcher, on which a body was lying. Lara couldn't help but look, and immediately recognised Ben, the American she had met on the ship. He had ugly blue and purple marks on his almost transparent skin. A terrible expression of horror had frozen on his deformed face.
The soldiers led her into a room on their left. She knew immediately that this was no ordinary cell when she saw the metal table in the centre of it. Lara began to struggle again, but the guards held her firmly. They pushed her forward and laid her on the table. They managed to block her arms, but her still free legs were flailing around, trying to hit the soldier who was trying to tie her. She kicked him away once, then again. The third kick hit him right in the face. The man staggered backwards, his nose bleeding. His colleagues rushed to help him, and finally managed to block her legs. Lara let out a grunt of frustration. The man she had just hit pulled out a pocket knife and came back to her. He threatened her with the blade.
"I'll get you for that, honey."
Lara spat in his face. Out of his mind, the man raised his fist above her.
"It's okay, you can leave us now," they all suddenly heard.
Miranda Svendsen had just entered the room, followed by a science technician.
"We'll call you if there's a problem," she said, addressing the group of armed men.
She nodded at them, and with a look, told them to get out. The three men looked at each other, and then came out one by one. The man who had been threatening the adventuress a few seconds earlier finally put away his knife, gave her one last murderous look, before disappearing with his colleagues.
Suddenly the room fell silent. Lara turned her head around to try to understand what was happening. The technician and Miranda had their backs to her, busy handling some products and materials on a table. The half-breed turned around and slowly approached the young woman, looking at her from every angle.
"You are kind of a tough woman, Miss Croft. I really admire your strength of character and your... nerve. It's a pity we're meeting under such circumstances. I would have loved to discuss a lot of things with you."
"Well, go on, please, I'm untouchable in terms of general culture."
The dark eyes of the half-breed suddenly looked into hers. Lara felt that she was trying to distract her in order to get into her mind. Luckily, she was getting used to this kind of exercise, and blocked as much access to her thoughts and memories as she could.
"What exactly are you looking for? Why did an archaeologist like you break into our villa and go looking for us?"
Lara felt an extra pressure against her skull as Miranda tried to delve deeper into her thoughts. She suddenly felt trapped, unable to think of a valid excuse. Kurtis' attitude was clearly not normal, whatever they had done to him, even she couldn't risk putting them both in danger by revealing that he was the one she was after in the first place. Or maybe she had. An idea came to her.
"I was contacted a few weeks ago by an old friend I had met on one of my previous expeditions. A friend who lives on the continent, in Argentina. He asked me to help him finish an investigation he had started several years ago now. He is looking for his son, Bastian Lopez, who disappeared in 1989. And from what I've discovered, he was undoubtedly used as a guinea pig by your predecessors and Bickenbach..."
"And so your investigation led you to us."
Miranda was silent for a few moments, as if looking for a flaw in the young woman's story. But Lara held her ground.
"That name sounds vaguely familiar, indeed," the Norwegian muttered.
She turned to the technician and nodded. The man left the experiment room without a word. Perhaps ten minutes passed before he returned with a thick paper file in his hands. He handed it to his boss, who began to leaf through it without paying attention to the aventuress. Then she finally looked up and showed the Englishwoman something: a medical summary sheet in the name of Bastián Lopez.
Miranda let her look at the notes for a few moments. Lara discovered a guinea pig form with the young man's personal details. Everything seemed to match, from height to physical description. Although he was older in this photo, his features were exactly the same as in the one posted at the hostel in Puerto Deseado. Lara also had no trouble recognising his resemblance to Diego.
At the bottom of the page, a handwritten note said that Bastián had died from an injection that had gone wrong. She felt a twinge of sadness.
"I think you have your answer," the woman said, closing the file in a sharp gesture.
She handed the file back to her assistant.
"It's a pity that you probably won't be able to see your friend again to tell him the news. That's very sad for him. Now, tell me why you really came here for, Miss Croft."
Lara didn't answer. Miranda shrugged her shoulders with a disinterested look.
"You're right, it doesn't matter after all. And we'll find out sooner or later anyway."
She nodded again to her technician, who approached the table this time with a bunch of equipment. Miranda suddenly grabbed the Englishwoman's arm and held it firmly against the table. The assistant then put a rubber strap around it and pulled it tight to make a tourniquet. He then took cotton wool soaked in alcohol to disinfect an area in the crook of her elbow.
"What are you doing?"
The man took out a syringe and stuck it into one of her veins. She felt a slight tingling as he drew blood and filled a first small tube.
"I just want to study your case more closely, Miss Croft. And for that, I'm going to need some more data."
Miranda fetched something from the table behind. She returned to Lara, and began to put something on her head. She put patches on her temples, on her forehead, but also on the back of her head. Out of the corner of her eye, the adventuress noticed that the technician was still drawing blood from her. He had already filled about six or seven tubes.
"We will take care of you, I promise. Although this won't be the most pleasant part, I'm sorry."
Lara shook her head, but the patches were stuck to her skin. The technician finally packed up the bloody test tubes and walked away without a sound.
"In any case, please know that your help will be most valuable to us. It will contribute to the scientific research that will create the world of tomorrow."
Lara could not hold back a cynical laugh, but it was immediately interrupted by the pain that shot through her head. A powerful electric shock pierced her skull bones through and through. She felt her bones vibrate dangerously, and her brain was paralyzed for a second. She had never experienced such pain in her life. She felt as if the electric shocks were burning her skin and veins, and that her internal organs would explode at any moment. She almost lost consciousness when the electric current was suddenly interrupted. Her head fell limply back onto the metal table.
She heard the door to her cell close and realised that she was now alone. She tried to control her racing heartbeat, but her whole body was in agony.
The pain returned, even stronger, even more penetrating. She could feel nothing no more except for this unbearable pain. She held on as long as she could, but the pain was too much. She began to scream.
—
SOME HOURS LATER
The technician knocked a few times before entering. He walked over to the Svendsen couple, who were enjoying a cup of tea and a whisky respectively, sitting quietly on a sofa in the cell adjacent to their private quarters. Whenever he came here, the man couldn't help thinking that this was one of the few cells in the world that was at least minimally equipped and comfortable. It was a strange contrast to the atmosphere on the base.
The two Norwegians looked up at him. The man shyly stepped towards them and handed the scientist a paper file.
"I think there's something you should see, ma'am."
The half-breed grabbed the documents and began to leaf through them, intrigued. After a few lines, she could not help but raise her eyebrows.
"What's going on?", Tobias asked, worried.
He moved closer to his wife and leaned over the sheets she was holding. After a quick glance, he too could not hide his surprise. He let out a cynical laugh.
"Do you think it's his?"
Miranda didn't answer right away, because she was obviously in deep thought. He gave her a questioning and slightly insistent look.
"I don't know. But it's clear they know each other. They're connected in some way, that's obvious."
"It could be. But does that really matter?"
"Not much indeed," his wife said as she handed the file back to the technician. "On the contrary. It might be an advantage for us."
She grabbed her cup of tea and sank back into the sofa.
"It doesn't change anything," she added. "We'll follow the protocol, just keep going as planned."
—
There was no light in her cell, but she had finally gotten used to it. The darkness comforted her in a way. She lay there, curled up in a ball on the old mattress that reeked of dampness and dirt. She couldn't move, locked in her own thoughts.
She didn't even react when she heard the door open. She felt someone approach and crouch down beside her. A warm hand came to rest on her.
"Lara...", she heard in a whisper.
She turned slowly, and found herself face to face with Kurtis, who was looking at her from every angle with a horrified expression. Against all odds, she felt a rush of anger come over her.
"I know about what happened with Bickenbach and Eckhardt here," she told him abruptly. "I know the Svendsen are trying to use Eckhardt's knowledge-"
"They have Eckhardt's glove."
The young woman sat up on her elbows.
"What?"
The mercenary glanced towards the door, suspicious.
"They sent me to Prague, back to what is left of the Strahov to retrieve it. They're trying to use it to modify human DNAs. But I'll explain everything in detail later."
Lara shook her head sharply.
"But without Eckhardt how can they make it work? I thought only black alchemists could use it..."
The young man took her face in his hands and forced her to look up at him.
"Lara, listen. I don't have much time. All I know is that their research is progressing at a rapid pace. I'm looking for a way to stop them and destroy the glove."
They stopped talking and watched each other silently. The young woman could feel the stress that was running through the mercenary, which was mixed with her own doubts. She wanted to believe him, and yet she resented him terribly. The situation was even worse than what she thought, not to mention the doubts she was beginning to have about their own survival.
"That's also why they needed you... They needed you to use it...", she muttered suddenly as she faced the obvious.
Lara shook her head to put her thoughts straight, and pushed Kurtis away, almost disgusted.
"Tell me this is a joke, Trent."
The mercenary did not reply. He straightened up and headed for the door, visibly hurt by the young woman's reaction.
"I have to go, before I get spotted. I'll try to come back and see you later," he said without turning around.
He closed the door behind him and disappeared into the darkness of the corridor. He walked briskly back to his cell, without thinking and without looking back. He couldn't shake the bitter feeling that the conversation he had just had with the adventuress had given him. He had been waiting for this moment since he saw her tied to that chair. And here they were, once again.
As he reached his cell, he suddenly changed his mind. He turned around and headed for Miranda's laboratory. He needed to check Eckhardt's grimoire again.
—
SOME DAYS AFTER
Her eyes were lost in the void, blinded by the light bulb hanging from the ceiling. The bright light emanating from it prevented her from fully opening her eyes. She was covered only by a simple white hospital gown, which exposed her completely to the cold. She was shivering. She couldn't even feel the metal underneath her, and the iron bars that imprisoned her ankles and wrists. She had suffered so much over the last few days that she had lost all sense of time.
She hadn't seen Kurtis since their last altercation. She felt heavy, and completely lost. She had tried to hide her feelings from Miranda, but she knew she wouldn't last much longer at this rate.
"How are you feeling?"
The scientist's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. Lara gently rolled her head from side to side.
"What do you think...", she replied in a broken, distant voice.
"Don't worry, it will all be over soon. But not necessarily in the way you think."
The Englishwoman could not hold back a cynical laugh. Miranda approached slowly, an extremely gentle and serene expression on her face.
"Why are you doing all this? What exactly are you looking for?"
The Norwegian shrugged, obviously taking the question very seriously.
"My ability to read mind is a gift, Miss Croft. But I was born in a part of the world, and I grew up in a culture where being different can only get you killed. My own sister was persecuted, raped, and beaten to death in front of me, because the people in my village had discovered she was able to move objects by thought. When my mother discovered that I was gifted too, we had no choice but to run away from our home. Because differences are scary, Miss Croft. But more than anything, ignorance scares people. I realised much later that it shouldn't have been this way. Our gifts had been passed down for generations. My family and I were not the ones who had to be afraid of others. We are not monsters. We are the strongest, the ones who were meant to survive. And I know that other beings with extraordinary abilities are hiding all over the world, and are waiting for their time too. And that time has come. All I wish is to bring humanity into the shape it should be in."
She fell silent and looked Lara straight in the eye.
"And you will help us to do that."
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't play innocent, Miss Croft. Who in this world doesn't know that you have much higher than average, not to say exceptional intelligence and physical abilities?"
Lara continued to watch her without understanding.
"I don't understand what I'm supposed to infer from this. What does my physical condition have to do with your research?"
"Everything."
Miranda took a few steps forward, her gaze downcast, her arms crossed against her chest.
"We've been fighting for decades for the human race to evolve, to transgress the limits imposed by a body envelope that doesn't correspond to what it can potentially be. That does not correspond to what it should be. And you, you are the perfect example that this is possible. You are the perfect example of physical strength. You have extraordinary strength within you..."
"It's only about training, habits..."
"Not only that. You are one of those people who, for some reason that is still unknown to me, have developed exceptional abilities more than others. Abilities that deserve to be exploited to their full potential, and that will help us to forge the human race of tomorrow."
Lara gave her a frightened look.
"You can't be serious."
"I'm more than serious, Miss Croft. We have made relatively good progress in our research, we are now at a crucial point, perhaps even the most important phase. And I am delighted to announce that you are now part of the new development protocol."
The half-breed turned her back to the technician, who was still watching from the sidelines. He handed her something. Miranda came back with a syringe in her hand.
"What are you doing?"
Lara wriggled to try to escape, but she couldn't move. She saw the technician approach her and grab her head to keep it turned on its side. The Norwegian leaned over her.
"I will help you reveal the woman you really are, Miss Croft. In all its power."
She held up the large syringe filled with a relatively dark, silvery liquid and stuck it into the young woman's jugular vein. The Englishwoman felt the liquid spread through her veins in a sensation of intense cold. She felt her heart beat and her breathing quicken. The technician finally released her head.
She was taken by a violent dizziness, and before she could react, she fainted.
—
THE DAY AFTER
She had not yet fully regained consciousness. But she could feel herself being carried and dragged. Her vision was blurred, but she saw the neon light above her, and knew she was being moved to another cell. There was a jolt, during which she felt herself being dropped, and then she fell heavily to the floor. Her head hit the concrete and everything started to spin around her again.
She didn't have time to regain her senses when she felt someone rush at her and grab her by the hair. Her head was pulled back. She thought she recognised the young woman who was with Kurtis the other day.
"Hello, bitch," she heard in her ear.
Lara turned her eyes towards her. Her beauty contrasted strangely with the fine features of her face, which looked extremely young.
"It looks like the injection hurt you more than the American."
She let go of the adventuress' hair, and the latter toppled forward with a grunt. She waited a few moments to regain her senses before trying to stand up. But she was hit with a punch. She felt her eyebrow arch start to bleed profusely. She managed to sit up, leaning against a wall. She was back in her cell. Saija stood firmly in front of her, her arms crossed against her chest.
"Honestly, I thought I would have felt more impressed than that to meeting you in person. It is clear to me that all I've heard about you is not quite true."
Lara raised her disillusioned gaze to the young Norwegian.
"Tell me how am I supposed to feel about that, especially when it comes from a brat like you?"
The smile disappeared from Saija's face.
"I know about you and the American."
"And so what, tell me?"
The young woman suddenly raised her arm and slapped the adventuress. She then knelt down to her level. Lara could feel her eyes watching her from all angles.
"This is not the way it works, Miss Croft. He is mine. I have plans for him and me."
Lara couldn't help but laugh.
"You sound like a five year old who didn't get the doll she wanted for Christmas."
The Englishwoman went into an uncontrollable nervous laugh.
"Why don't you go back kissing up to your bosses, young lady? I'm certainly not accountable to you..."
Saija threw another violent punch at her. But this time, the adventuress did not give in. Although very weakened, she stood up and threw herself at the Norwegian, who, taken by surprise, had no time to dodge. Lara grabbed her by the hair and they both rolled on the ground. She blocked the assistant on the floor underneath her, and in turn punched her in the face. Saija shielded herself with one arm as the adventuress' fist came at her a second time. She hit Lara in the ribs, she gasped for breath. The assistant pushed her to the side and pushed her away. Lara didn't have time to turn around and stand up again, Saija was already standing over her and throwing her foot into her stomach. Lara fell to the floor from the impact.
Saija crouched down to her level again and grabbed her by the hair. She whispered a few words to her in a hissing voice.
"Know that when I want something, I always get it."
"What are you doing here?"
Taken by surprise, the young woman let go of Lara and suddenly straightened up, coming face to face with Kurtis, who had just entered the room.
"Hey, handsome. Nice to see you're joining the party."
The young woman gave him an evil smile and glared at him.
"Get out of here, you don't belong here."
"I hadn't been introduced to our dear guest, so I thought it might be nice to get to know her, and to let her know who she's dealing with."
Saija looked into the adventuress' eyes, her own full of hatred. Kurtis stepped forward and grabbed her firmly by the arm.
"I said, get out of here, Saija."
After giving him a petty smile, the young woman broke free of the mercenary's grip and stroked his chest with her fingertips, her own chest bulging slightly forward. She glanced back one last time.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Croft."
With that, the assistant left the room with her head held high. Kurtis waited until she was out of the room before rushing to Lara. Rolling up in a ball on the floor, her face was swollen and bloody, and she was breathing with difficulty. But even at her wits' end, she moved back as the mercenary approached, and swung her arm to push him away.
"Don't touch me," she hissed through her teeth.
The young man stood there, shocked at having been pushed away this way. His pale eyes met for a brief moment the hazel eyes of the adventuress, hidden behind a few strands of hair that fell over her face. Her face, though covered in bruises and scars, was seething with rage. Kurtis felt his heart clench in his chest.
Slowly he got up and headed for the door. Lara did not even look up.
—
She couldn't sleep. Her battered body, too weak and stiff, seemed to scream every time she tried to move or find a more comfortable position. She could feel the blood pulsing in her swollen eye. The wounds on her cheeks and arms burned more than ever and never stopped.
Her eyes half-closed, she stared at the empty space in front of her, unable to shut out the thoughts that kept racing through her head. She could feel the anger bubbling in her veins and her jaw tightening.
All of a sudden, her abdomen began to contract violently. She escaped a cry of surprise and pain. She felt as if all her inner organs were writhing and would explode at any moment. The pain went deep into her gut, cutting off her breath. She rolled into a ball and clutched her stomach, as if that would help ease the pain. She felt all her muscles tense up, ready to tear at any moment. She clutched the bed and let out another cry of pain.
The cramps were getting stronger and closer together. She tried to catch her breath, but could not. Then she felt a warm liquid coming out of her crotch. Looking down, she noticed something: blood.
She struggled to sit up. Her eyes widened in horror as she realised it was coming from her. The dark red liquid was dripping down her thighs and had stained the mattress beneath her.
Another cramp sent her into a tailspin. She thought her belly would split in two. And then she understood. She understood everything. All the strange remarks against her suddenly came back to her. Winston, Diego... everyone had seen it but her. How could she have been so stupid and blind to the signs of her own body?
She bit into the foam of the mattress to stifle the cry of pain that was about to escape from her mouth. She felt as if a dagger was being thrust into her lower back. When her body calmed down a bit, she slowly sat up. Her eyes dropped to the bloodstains. She let out a sob, unable to control herself. Maybe it was shame, maybe it was just pain. The fatigue, the terror, the emptiness she suddenly felt. She would never have believed...
Her blouse was stained on the bottom, as well as the mattress. She had to pull herself together and move quickly before anyone noticed what had just happened. She tried to move, but her lower abdomen hurt terribly. She tried to ignore the pain and forced herself up with a sigh of pain. She undid the blouse she had on and wiped her legs and thighs as best she could. She was still cramping, but now it was much less violent. She then turned the mattress over to the other side, and slipped the stained blouse underneath to hide it. Slowly, despite the cries of agony from her body, she crawled over to the dirty, rolled-up gown in the corner of the room and put it on. She had barely got her arms through when she heard the door to her cell unlock. She jumped, and tried to get back on the mattress. But the person had already entered the cell.
She looked up at the man who had just appeared before her.
"What are you doing here?", she grumbled in a voice she didn't recognize herself.
Lara settled herself back on the mattress, avoiding the young man's gaze by all means. She felt completely disoriented, she had difficulty keeping her composure. She felt herself shaking uncontrollably. The mercenary approached and came towards her.
"Lemme check this out," Kurtis said softly, watching her from every angle.
He hadn't noticed anything for the moment. He tried to take her face in his hands to analyze the wounds on her eye and cheek, but she pushed him away with a wave of her hand.
"Don't you dare touching me!"
"What the hell's wrong with you?", the young man suddenly asked, annoyed by her attitude.
She was seized by a new cramp, which made her wince in pain. She tried to hold back and not let anything show, but the pain was much too sharp. She saw the mercenary's eyes droop and widen. Gently, he grabbed the dirty cloth and lifted it. There were a few traces of blood on the young woman's thighs. Kurtis felt his insides liquefy. He felt as if a multi-ton truck had suddenly mowed him down. His blue gaze finally met the young woman's. But before he could react, the adventuress pushed him away.
"Leave me alone," she told him coldly.
Kurtis caught her face in his hands and tried to turn it to him.
"What happened? What have they done to you?"
Although the feel of his skin against hers felt so good in this moment, she shook her head to get out of his reach.
"If you're so worried about me, why didn't you tell me what was going on?"
The young man moved back a little, obviously both hurt and surprised by her reaction.
"I had to find a way to stop them, I had no other choice-"
"Come on…", Lara replied cynically. "Didn't you find a better excuse?"
"That was the only way to protect you from all this."
"The only way to protect me?", she repeated ironically. "Seriously? Who the hell do you think you are to think that I would need you to protect me? You just didn't have the right to make that decision for me!"
"I needed to know what they were planning to do. I had to gain their trust so I could approach the glove. I had to do it," the mercenary answered very seriously. "Don't think it was easy for me to-"
"This was easy to leave me behind obviously."
"If you think it was easy for me to lie to the only person I can trust!"
"Are you kidding me? How do you dare talking about trust? This has nothing to do with trust, this is nothing but cowardice."
There was suddenly silence in the room, during which they just glanced at each other. The expression on the young woman's face had suddenly changed, turning to something as cold as ever. The young man sat up slightly, shocked by the adventuress' words.
"Are you calling me a coward?", Kurtis hissed through clenched teeth.
"So what, you don't like being confronted with the truth? Did you really think it was heroic to disappear and put yourself in danger like you did? You made choices, you have to face the consequences now..."
The mercenary's face, though impassive until then, also changed.
"Don't you dare calling me a coward... after everything I've been through, after everything we've been through, everything we've survived..."
"Um, sorry, did I hurt your superior male ego? You thought you were playing the lone hero once again... but what were you thinking? Were you thinking of dying as a fallen warrior to prove your worth as a man and your sense of honour?"
"And tell me Lara, what exactly were you playing at? Did you think you could just sneak in and play the saviour of the world, as you like to do? Once again, you're only blaming me for what you are not capable of doing yourself…"
"Don't talk to me like that."
"And stop lecturing me Lara, we both know you would have done exactly the same thing in my situation."
"You have absolutely no idea about what I would have done."
"I definitely do. You would have done exactly the same thing. Because you can't help but stick your nose into other people's business but above all, you just can't stand loosing control over something..."
"I don't accept losing control because it usually keeps me out of stupid situations like this, you know!"
"If you were to trust others a little and get out of your egocentric bubble, if you had trusted me a little-"
"Who said I trusted you?"
Kurtis took the hit and fell silent. He ran a nervous hand through his hair, trying to stay focused and not get carried away, but he definitely felt unsettled at this moment.
"As usual, you're turning the problem around... that's exactly what I said, you can't help but think only the others are wrong…"
"You were wrong all the way, Kurtis! I told you you were getting yourself into something dubious, but you didn't listen to me...", the young woman threatened him with a finger pointing at him. "You can only blame yourself, you're the reason we've come to this."
"This was the only way to protect you both!", he shouted angrily.
They both fell silent again, and time seemed to stand still for a few seconds.
"So you knew...", Lara said breathlessly.
Kurtis remained impassive in front of her, his cold and hard gaze fixed on her.
"You knew all along," the adventuress repeated.
The adventuress raised her arms in helplessness. Kurtis did not react nor move. She looked at his tired face and the features of his usually gentle face, which she suddenly found very hostile. The mercenary showed no emotion, and she felt deeply hurt to see him so impervious to what was going on. But most of all, she was feeling so stupid, stupid to have been so blind, and she knew it was also the reason why she was so mad at him.
"As you can see, so far, so good…", Lara told him coldly, moving her hands towards her abdomen as to make a reference to what had just happened to her. "Did you really think it would make me weak? Did you really think I was that weak?"
"Of course not…", Kurtis answered as he shook his head in despair.
"Why didn't you say anything then? Why you did that to me?"
The mercenary remained silent.
"Why did you do that to me?", she asked in a whisper this time.
He finally looked up at her, and they looked in one another's eyes deeply, both hurt by each other's words, and both panting. All the emotions were mixed up at once. The mercenary tried to keep a straight face as long as he could, unable to move. He knew how much she was suffering physically, because he felt it himself. But the mental pain, all the rage, disgust and contempt she was feeling towards him at that moment was even worse.
"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?"
"'CAUSE I LOVE YOU, LARA!"
The atmosphere suddenly grew even colder in the room, as if a huge wave of ice had run through them both. Lara felt her whole being shaking, as if it was slowly tearing itself apart, and was about to fall and explode into thousand of pieces to the ground, just like a broken mirror. She just stood there, staring at him. Kurtis did not take his eyes off her, his breathing was panting.
"Is that a joke?"
"Is it what I am to you?", he answered dryly.
She saw him swallow with difficulty. She let out a small, cynical laugh, unable to help herself. Obviously, there wasn't nothing funny in all this, but she understood she just couldn't believe it, this was too ironic. She looked down, unable to face the mercenary's gaze anymore.
"Get out...", she murmured in an almost inaudible voice.
The mercenary did not move.
"I said. Get. Out!", she snapped, suddenly looking up at him.
But Kurtis still didn't move.
"GET OUT OF THAT FUCKING CELL!", she yelled.
Drawing on what little strength she had left, Lara raised her arm and gave him a monumental slap, whose sound resonated all around them in the room. The mercenary let it happen, unable to retaliate against the young woman's anger. Suddenly the darkness seemed to spread around them and imprison them, as if they had just crossed an invisible boundary into another world. Then, slowly, Kurtis got to his feet and walked towards the door, and walked out without a word.
Lara kept her eyes on him until the door closed. She fell forward onto her hands and just screamed, feeling out of strength more than ever.
—
The door slammed behind him, and he found himself alone again, in the silence and darkness of the corridor. He tried to calm his breathing, which had quickened without being able to control it. He didn't understand exactly what had just happened, as if his brain had blocked out all his senses and reflexes. He felt completely lost and empty, at the end of his strength too.
He could not imagine a worse situation. A feeling of rage and frustration took hold of him as he felt the whole world falling apart around him. More than pain and grief, he felt rage inside him. A deep, and uncontrollable rage. He felt his fists slowly clench and his face twist into a grimace.
It was time to put an end to all this.