Here we go, another quote because I like them :) I guess Lara and fate are connected! Enjoy reading!
"Every man has a million paths he could walk. Choosing the right one is hard, letting your feet carry you is destiny."
Lara was just standing there, leaning against the thin column, trying to collect herself. She hated it that he had such an effect on her. The worst timing ever. The worst place. Those feelings were fighting inside her even more than before. She did not want to feel anything for him, but it was too late. Probably it had been too late years ago. When she had first seen those eyes, felt his touch for the first time.
And then he had been gone. Thought to be dead, just like all the others. Lara still could hardly believe that Kurtis was there with her….alive. For a short moment she had questioned her sanity when she had pulled that sack off his head. After all these years, she thought that it was over. She had gotten over it, moved on to live her life. But whenever she had felt stronger, something terrible had happened again and Lara was not sure how she would survive that once more.
She watched him walk towards the door that just opened at the other end of the small room. It was not more than a small, dark hole. Lara rubbed her face, took a deep breath and went after Kurtis. Picking another torch from the wall, she held it into the opening to light up the way.
"What do you think?" – Kurtis asked in a casual voice as if nothing had happened before. How could he not be confused? When he leaned closer to look into the hole, his scent filled her senses again, making it even worse.
"I don't know. I need to check it out." – the fact that he did not try to hold her back, to play the macho and try to keep her safe, surprised her.
"Be careful, please." – that was all he said before Lara climbed into the darkness. In front of her there was a tiny corridor. More like just a shaft. Sand between the stones, darkness all around. It was slightly sloping downwards. Not having any other choice, Lara started to crawl on all four. She threw the torch far ahead to show her the direction and used the flashlight to check the walls around her. If there was any trap, she would be lost. No way to avoid it.
"Can you see anything?" – his voice suddenly talked behind her and Lara started.
"God, Kurtis. Why did you come after me? I told you, I needed to check the place first." – there was some reproach in her voice.
"You didn't tell me to wait there if I remember well." – he answered lightly. Wasn't this just perfect? Being closed in with her for hours... just the two of them. He would find out what was hurting her, even if it was the last thing he did in his life. One thing was sure. He needed to keep her safe without her realizing it. As he was contemplating what he should do next, he could not miss to see how awkward the situation was. They were crawling in a narrow passage and all he could see was her bottom. Not a bad view after all, he smiled a bit. Drop it, Kurtis, he ordered himself. The last thing she needed now was his stupid sexist thoughts. But he was a male after all, and no man with a bit of sanity could resist having such thoughts looking at her.
"Ohh please." – she sighed. "That's the worst excuse I've ever heard." – but deep inside she did not mind it. Having him close calmed her and stirred her at the same time. The ideas popping in her head confused her. It was a good thing he could not read her mind or see her face now. One part of her wanted to lean on his strong shoulder, tell him everything she felt and cry till there were no more tears coming. Another part of her wanted to jump him and kiss him till he could not breathe anymore. And the third and strongest part of her just pushed all those feeling aside, burying them somewhere deep and kept the mask on her face that showed no emotions.
"Hey, I'm just here to help. You can't deny that I've helped a lot so far. What would you have don…."
"What was that?" – Lara interrupted him suddenly when she heard a faint click. She stopped so abruptly that Kurtis did not even notice it in time and almost bumped into her.
"What was what?" – he did not hear anything.
"Shhh!" – Lara hushed him impatiently. "Something's happening." – she whispered nervously. Kurtis could hear the tension in her voice vibrating, but there was utter silence all around them.
"I don't…"- then he felt it too. Another click and then some light rumble. "What the hell?" – they looked around frantically, but they came too far. There was no way they could reach the opening anymore. The rumble became stronger, as if the floor under them was shaking.
"God damn …iiiiiitt" – all Kurtis could hear was Lara's voice fading away and she was gone. The small light of the flashlight she was holding appeared sometimes, but where she was standing a moment ago, there was only a dark hole now.
"Lara!" – Kurtis cried out, but he could not grab her hand anymore. The rumbling went on and a second later he lost his balance as well and started to fall into the nothing.
Lara landed hard on her back with a huge growl. For a moment she was unable to move, feeling pain in her shoulder and everywhere else. In the dark it was impossible to see anything. The flashlight rolled further away from her, she could not reach it. Right in that second when she wanted to grasp it, Kurtis dropped next to her, cursing under his breath. He could not feel much better than her, it was only pure luck he had not fallen right on the top of her.
"You're okay?" – she heard his voice a second later. His voice was followed by his hand that touched her shoulder lightly. Despite the pain, his touch sent warm feelings through her. "You're hurt." – he pulled his hand back when he felt the warm moisture on her skin. Lara could hear him sit up. Reaching for the flashlight, he pointed it on her, looking at the injury on her shoulder. There was a cut, blood oozing out of it slowly.
"It's nothing." – Lara tried to turn away, but he did not let her. "Please don't care for me." – she whispered, lowering her head so that she did not have to look at him. For a moment she almost lost it, but she could not let him close. Having his hand on her arm was already close enough. It made her suffer, feel guilty and long for him at the same time.
"Let me… " – his voice was soft, tender, caring and she could not resist. No matter how much she tried, she could not move away. Lara craved for his touch, his fingers on her skin, his closeness. And feared losing him. More than she feared losing her own life.