Hello everyone, thank you NFI, BlackAngels, HeartbrokenMya, and EmDeSea for you're great reviews! Alright well this chapter is the longest one I have written, but hopefully it's just as good as the others. I already have the ending in my head, but I refuse to write it down until I actually get to it. Anyways, enough rambling and chit-chat, here is the newest chapter to "Making Up Lost Time"...
Four suited men were walking across the hotel parking lot. Three of them separated and surrounded the building; the other strode over to Kurtis' bike, making it impossible for Lara and Kurtis to reach it. The morning wind was picking up, causing some stray branches to scratch against the buildings' thin windows.
"What?" By the time Lara had gotten to the window, Kurtis had already rushed to his room and collected his belongings. She watched the men disperse and walk in different directions. Lara felt her stomach drop to floor, the same sickening feeling she got every time she had to run from someone, or something. She quickly grabbed her things, and stuffed them into one of the plastic bags that had come with food. Muffled footsteps were approaching her door. Instinctively, she pounced onto her deadly steal weapons, not knowing if they held any ammunition. Then, the terrifying sound abruptly stopped in front of her white wooden door, and she knew, at that exact moment, what might happen. Kurtis! Where the hell are you! Loud knocks echoed into her room, making Lara jump slightly. She could imagine the room shrinking around her, the air thinning, and reminding her of the daunting experience in Egypt that had nearly taken her life. But something had forced her to move, and she childishly hid in the corner, right behind the door with her guns at her sides.
Suddenly, the entrance blew out of its hinges in front of her. She watched in surprise as Kurtis and the dangerous stranger rolled into her room, grunting and wrestling for the black weapon that the assassin held. The gun slid out of the man's tight grip and Lara snatched it up from the floor and pointed it directly at the unwanted guests' head. But before she could fire, a sudden loud crack erupted from his neck, and his figure went limp. Kurtis slowly moved his hands away from the body, only to return to it a second later to search the man for any identification. Neither of them said a word to each other, only nodded and proceeded into the main hallway with their steel guns pointed out in front of them.
"Someone was bound to hear the door smash in; we should go through the back. There are a couple of cars out there that need some borrowing." Kurtis whispered to Lara, and winked. "Good thing we have a thief."
Lara glared at Kurtis. So what if she stole art for the thrill of it. It's not like he was some angel sent from the heavens, either. She nodded her head in agreement and they slowly maneuvered towards the back of the building; quietly moving through the emergency exit. Lara stuck her head out first, and then swiftly retreated back into the hotel.
"There's a man up ahead, he's facing the road so I'll be able to take care of him. You find us a bloody car." With an annoyed expression, she crept through the door and cautiously tip-toed towards the oblivious assassin. Lara accidentally brushed a small stone with her foot and froze instantly as the man turned his head to investigate the noise. In a split second decision, she extended her leg into the air, forcing her foot against the terrified man's neck while backing him into the cement wall. "Did Vasiliev send you?" She was trying to keep her frustrated voice low, questioning her victim before the man would die from suffocation. She increased the pressure on his neck, "Didhe send you or not?!" A gurgling mumble escaped from the mans' lips while he desperately clawed at her foot, trying to break free and inhale any possible air. With no other choice, he violently nodded and Lara released him, watching as he clasped his neck and began to breathe again. He yanked his pistol out from the shoulder holster and was about to fire it at Lara, but she swiftly turned and crashed her fist down into the back of his skull. Ow. She walked away shaking out her hand in pain.
Kurtis had chosen his prey wisely. The ebony Jeep Wrangler sat innocently in a corner of the spiritless parking lot. As though a lion, he stalked his target, watching it intently and while walking up to the drivers' seat, guided his hand along the newly polished hood. He glanced at his guarded love- the beautiful motorcycle seemed so distant, parting with it was something Kurtis had never imagined. Replacing his bike with a new transportation vehicle would be like cheating on his betrothed. He simply could not do it. But, it had to be done, and while sighing, he elbowed the drivers' window making the glass shatter into hundreds of little pieces. Soft leather seats greeted him as he swung the door open and yanked out a selection of colorful wires below the steering wheel. With a wide grin, he groped his pockets, then reached into one and produced a switchblade. Kurtis sliced the slender flexible metal and began to lightly tap each end against the other making the wires spark to life. On the eighth attempt, he was finally able to ignite the engine. The vehicle swerved out of the parking spot screeching to a halt mere feet from Lara. "Need a lift?" He leaned against the wheel and smiled.
Lara eyed the Jeep and couldn't help but laugh. Shaking her head in amusement and chuckling, she hopped into the car, slamming the door a bit too harshly. Their tires screamed as they sped off onto the main road.
"Is stealing cars part of the job description?" Lara curiously questioned Kurtis. He beamed and shifted gears, increasing their speed.
"I used to do it before I joined the Legion. It was a good way to get some fast cash," He turned to face her, "but I ended up doing time for about 6 months when I took this old bastards' Mercedes in Boston. After that I dropped the whole ordeal, decided I should do something more productive with my life, escape the demons that kept haunting me." He snickered while blankly staring at the pavement ahead and continued, "After Prague, I went back home pretty much paranoid. Everything had become suspicious to me, even the most unintentional things, the mailman for example." He smirked and shook his head. "That's probably what got me into the job. Some asshole had been following me for days, tracking my credit-card numbers, the places I was going, who I was friends with, everything. I remember shoving the guy against the wall of my apartment, furious that I had been pursued. He explained to me that he worked with the CIA; apparently you were a suspect for the Van Gogh theft. They said they needed someone who knew you, knew how you worked, and knew your tactics. I thought it was a good idea at the time, thought that maybe you'd be excited in seeing me again." The sarcastic arrogance in his voice was unmistakable. "So that's really it, now I'm here with you in this stolen Jeep."
"Hm, and I thought you just wanted to see me." She turned her head, gazing out the window into the beautiful country-side horizon.
Kurtis sensed some bitterness in her voice but didn't push it. They had been heading south, riding out many silent miles together. Other cars had passed them by carelessly; sluggishly heading towards more over-populated cities.
A large delivery truck had changed lanes behind Lara and Kurtis, revealing two black SUV's. Kurtis immediately noticed how out of place the vehicles looked, and watched them cautiously through his rearview mirror. "Think those are Vasilievs'?" He motioned his head to the mirror, and Lara glanced back realizing they were once again running from their killers.
The Jeep suddenly accelerated, inertia causing Lara to be pulled back against her seat. They weaved through traffic, almost disastrously crashing into oncoming cars. The two alloyed hunters behind them were hot on their heels, spreading out and taking up the two lanes, purposely to block off any other traffic that might interfere with their task. The slow paced car in front of them was obviously not going to speed up, so Kurtis was forced to turn into the dirt side road and pass the tortoise-like vehicle. Lara shuffled through the contents of her bag and pulled out her handguns. Sunlight reflected off the cold steel, giving a sense of holiness to them. She slid out the magazine and checked the cartridge.
Kurtis watched her movements while speeding frantically. The sound of bullets ricocheting off metal made both of them duck instinctively. Lara slid half of her body out of the cars' window, positioned her weapon and fired back, aiming for the tires. A stray bullet caught the back wheel of one of the advancing SUVs' and it skid out of control, spinning 180 degrees and flipping onto its side. She recoiled back into the car for a quick moment, "One down, one more to go." A victorious smile spread across her lips.
"Make that three. This guy really wants you dead, huh?" He turned to her and smirked. "Well since I'm in this car, and I'm in no mood to die, I think we've come to the conclusion that Vasiliev will have to wait for a better opportunity to kill you, one in which I am not present. Sound good?" He changed gears, the engine roared to break free of its steel chamber.
Two more of Vasilievs' hell-sent trucks were slowing down ahead, boxing in the stolen Jeep. They we're nearing a bridge that was under construction, orange yield signs were commanding drivers to slow down. The GMC automobiles in front of them we're closing in, one ahead of the other and filling up both lanes. Kurtis' Jeep was now cornered; the last metal monstrosity had filed up behind them. All four vehicles we're racing to the bridge in constant momentum. Kurtis' adrenalin was pumping, the hair on the back of his neck stood straight up. He yanked on his seatbelt, fastened it with a free hand and glanced at his rearview mirror. Common Trent, think dammit! By then, they had passed the ramp that guided them onto the bridge.
The charcoal truck was now parallel to the Jeep. Its tinted automatic windows lowered and exposed a man pointing a M16 rifle directly at Kurtis. "Get down!" Kurtis threw an arm at Lara and was just fast enough to shove her down when the passengers' window exploded, scattering tiny pieces of glass over Lara's hunched frame. Out of pure impulse, Kurtis bolted upright, snatched the pistol from Lara's hand and discharged several rounds at his assassins while keeping consistent speed.
The bridge was narrowing before them; both sides of the road were now surrounded by flowing water. Seeing the consequences in her head, Lara leaped into action, grabbing Kurtis' arm and screaming.
"No!" Just as the sound had reached his ears, he realized this was not his most brilliant idea. The driver of the onyx SUV unexpectedly jerked forward, disclosed the bullet wound in his head, and sent the car into turmoil. His companion dived for the wheel and tried to regain the vehicles' composure. At his failed attempts, Kurtis and Lara watched in horror as the truck lurched toward them and collided with their Jeep.
Within moments, Kurtis had lost control of his abducted car. It skidded right and left, not knowing which direction was meant to be their final destination. The only space for the Jeep to stop was off the road, in the river. With no warning, it wheeled to the left and launched itself off the bridge and into the crisp autumn air.
It was as if time itself had slowed. The airborne Jeeps' tires spun freely thirty feet above the river, finally liberated from its' paved destiny. This was the exact vision Lara had seen seconds before Kurtis had fired the weapon; both of them gazing in terror as the opaque river drew closer and closer until it plunged into the unsanitary water. The instant the Jeep hit the water, its' windshield snapped under the pressure and water poured into the car.
Lara was thrown against the dashboard, she could hear her ribs splitting as she collided with the hard interior. She screwed her eyes shut from the excruciating pain and tried to force the agony to the back of her mind. The car was filling with water faster than Lara could comprehend, so she forced her battered body upward and sucked in a deep breath before the freezing liquid engulfed her entirely. Pushing herself out of the wrecked vehicle, she swam up toward the surface with all her strength.
A young girl was approaching him, her ocean blue eyes gleaming with joy. She giggled and began to run away, looking back at him with a motivating expression. Everything around him was white; the ivory ground was soft under his feet. He held up his hands to observe them in curiosity only to find they were faint in color and almost transparent. Am I dead?
"Kurtis!" The girl called to him playfully. He looked up and willingly chased after her.
"Abigail... Abigail!" A familiar woman's voice filled the magnolia silence. "Abigail, your dinner is getting cold!" The little girl turned to the calling direction and looked back at him. Then she smiled, ran off and faded into the misty environment, leaving Kurtis the only spirit in the white atmosphere.
Lara gasped as she broke the surface. Small parts of metal were still descending from the bridge. She casually floated in the water, clutching her side and gritting her teeth. Kurtis had not yet surfaced, when Lara remembered the cringing image of him slamming his head into the dense steering wheel. She drew in another deep breath and dove back under. She could barely see anything; her fingers almost nonexistent to her vision in the caliginous water. The faltering feeling of small air bubbles rising was her only guidance back to the submerged vehicle.
Using her sense of touch to locate the sinking SUV, she began to lose hope in finding Kurtis. It must have been more than a couple of minutes he had been unconscious and underwater, and if she didn't get to him soon, he would most likely settle at the bottom of the river with the Jeep.
Suddenly something fluttered in her hand, and Lara intuitively shrunk her arm back, hitting it against cold metal. Realizing she must have reached the car, she extended her hand and felt the soft sensation of hair drifting in between her long fingers. She blindly felt the figure in front of her and detected that the seatbelt had done a wondrous job of strapping Kurtis into the seat. Though it might have saved his life on impact, it wasn't doing much good at the moment, instead trapping him inside the steel container. Lara moved around the drivers' chair, trying to figure out a way to haul him out of the Jeep. She found the belt locked into its' latch and vigorously tried to wrench the woven polyester apart. A sharp sting emitted from her wrist and she could feel a pointed object jutting out from the dashboard. The switchblade that Kurtis had used to start the car was nailed into the steering wheel, its dark rubber grip poking her hand. She tugged on the knife, stuck it in her mouth and began to feel around for Kurtis' neck. Despite not being able to see anything in the darkness she imagined the vision in her mind. Lara severed the seatbelt near his head, slightly cutting him, and pushed his body out of the car wreck. The oxygenated world above them reminded Lara of their quickly diminishing air supply. She briskly pinched his nose and pressed her lips to his, exhaling half of her remaining breath. As the light hit the water, it cast a beautiful range of colors, mystifying and glorious. Lara swam up towards the surface, an arm around Kurtis' waist pulling him upward. They were so close, mere meters away from the freedom of air when Lara's vision began to blur. Her chest burned immensely, and the pounding in her head caused her to let go of Kurtis, sending him back down into the eternal abyss. With or without the torturing pain, she understood one thing: if it wasn't for Kurtis, she might have not made it through the night. The thought compelled her to scoop him up and with every inch of her body screaming in agony, she towed him to the surface.
The sudden intake of fresh oxygen made her lightheaded and disoriented. The rivers' light current was sweeping them to the edge of the flowing water. She was indescribably exhausted and could think of nothing more pure and desirable than wrapping herself in her fresh linen sheets and sleeping for hours with nothing to worry about other than who will make coffee in the morning. The riverbed brushed against her feet and she pulled Kurtis out of water, dragging him onto the shore and collapsing beside him. "Kurtis stay with me, listen to my voice, stay with me." His entire body was blue and unmoving; the freezing river had held him under for too long. She checked for a pulse but only discovered a fraction of a beat pulsating through his veins. "Stay with me Kurtis, don't you bloody leave me." Squatting alongside him, she began to administer CPR.
Kurtis had been walking through white emptiness for hours, or at least it seemed like hours, could have been days, weeks, perhaps even a year. Every now and then he'd hear a soft laugh in the distance, possibly Abigail's childish giggle. Something about her, her striking blue eyes and facial features kept picking at his conscience, as though he knew her from somewhere, but couldn't acknowledge ever seeing the child.
A cry had ruptured off to his left, painful and needy. Hearing the call for help, his innate reflexes compelled him to investigate the unexpected outbreak of commotion. As he closed in on the noise, the adolescent girl he had seen beforehand emerged in front of him, gripping her right arm with newly formed tears rolling down rosy cheeks. Kurtis approached the helpless child, not exactly sure of what to tell her.
That comforting female voice, so familiar yet so vague, once again echoed into the misty environment. She rushed forward toward the young girl, embracing her tightly and assuaging her pain. "Abigail I told you not to run around like this when you're sick." The woman checked Abigails' arm for severe injuries.
"I fell on it mother, I didn't mean to, I didn't." She croaked through wet rivulets.
The mysterious woman touched Abigails' cheek, and held her protectively, rocking her back and forth until the child grew quiet, and her whimpering subsided.
Throughout the touching moment of motherly instinct, Kurtis had stood behind them, staring at the two, feeling his face rush with blood and eyes welling with compassionate tears. The entire time the brunette woman had her back turned to Kurtis, not noticing the man watching them. The mother who had eased Abigails' distress looked very similar to someone he had known during his life. They shared some of the same physical characteristics; slender figures, auburn hair and the same soothing voice- No, it couldn't be. She's not the type to have kids…He chivalrously maneuvered toward the pair, stretching out his hand to take hold of the woman's shoulder. Kurtis was about to call out her name, curious on whether his assumptions were correct, when something lodged in his throat. Unable to speak out and catch his breath, he stumbled backwards, grasping his neck and struggling to inhale fresh oxygen. The corners of his perception began to darken, finally mixing with pigments of gray and black. Before he blacked out, his last few thoughts cursed himself for not discovering the womans' name.
Lara had been persistently compressing Kurtis' chest. There was absolutely no trace of life in his frozen frame. Desperately, she pounded a fist at his torso, angry and pessimistic. "Kurtis don't you dare leave me, don't even think about it!" She blew a breath into his mouth; if it took her fifteen hours to get him to breathe she would do it. But as second after second passed, guilt began to consume her moral.
As she leaned in to tilt his head back, a stream on water trickled down his chin and absorbed into the solid ground. He began to convulse slightly, then the spasms increased and he began to violently cough. Lara's heart almost skipped a beat. She rolled him on his side and watched him thankfully gag and begin to breathe. Kurtis looked up at her and swallowed hard, then searched the clouded sky for some explanation.
Both of them had been freezing; shivering in attempt to conserve body heat. Lara rose and observed her surroundings while Kurtis sat upright, focusing on her. "Thanks-"
Lara turned around to face him. "Wait, I'm sorry, what was that?" She lifted a finger to her ear, imitating a sarcastic gesture. "Is that you're pathetic way of thanking me?" Kurtis' brows furrowed, taken aback by her bitter question.
"What? 'Pathetic'? I must have not of gotten the memo of having to shower you with 'thank-you' cards and flowers. Did you want me to get on my knees and worship you as well?" He paused watching her advance on him. "I saved you're life, and now you've saved mine. We're even." He got to his feet, shouldering past her without glancing back.
She had to restrain herself from jumping on him right then and there, and strangling him to death. Clenching her fists, she narrowed her eyes at his distancing back. What a prick! Lara exhaled through clenched teeth. As the pressure decreased on her jaw, it filled the rest of her body, particularly her ribs, with immeasurable pain. A sharp breath escaped her lips and she clutched her side vigilantly.
Kurtis had begun to climb the steep dirt hill that held a base of the bridge. He kept mumbling something arrogant under his breath, but Lara decided she would wait until she was in dry and comfortable attire to argue him on it. Following his carefully placed footsteps, Lara tagged after him up the hill.
Okay, so now you've read it. Tell me what you think, I love hearing from you guys, and it also helps me write better and faster : ) So why not take a spare minute out of you're busy day to review, it'll mean a lot to me :D