Kurtis woke with a start. His eyes snapped open and what he saw was bad. Lara was standing up, with help of the steel chair, and had her shirt lifted a little. He saw that she had a boot shaped bruise on her ribs and a stab wound that was still bleeding slightly. He noticed that when she touched the boot mark, she hissed in pain. Lara sank to her knees when and let the tears fall. She couldn't believe that at a time like this, her emotions had gone overboard.

Kurtis went over to her and using his thumb, he wiped Lara's tears. When she looked up at him, he decided to find out what they had done to her.

"Let me see" Kurtis said, gesturing to her ribs.
"No, I'm fine" Lara said hastily. She didn't want to start and argument with him.
"I know that you're not. I want to help." Kurtis said calmly.
"Fine" Lara said reluctantly. She lifted up her shirt.

Kurtis tenderly touched the imprint, and felt a twinge of guilt when she gave a whimper because of the pain. Kurtis took off one of the two shirts he was wearing and wiped some of the blood away. He knew that she needed to see a doctor or at least someone who had a medical kit.

"You've got a broken rib and you've been stabbed" Kurtis said, trying to keep calm. He noticed that her eyes weren't quite focusing on him; he concluded that it could be blood loss.

"Lara? Lara, stay with me" Kurtis said, panic settled in his tone. He placed his hands either side of her face and lifted it so she was looking at him. She sagged in his arms and he held her close to his chest. He then repositioned her against the wall so that he could use farsee.

Hillary was going out of his mind with worry and dread. There had been no word from Kurtis and Alex still hadn't returned. He dashed out of the hut and went in search of Alex. He located him near the edge of the excavation site and walked up to him.

"Alex, we need to talk" Hillary said slowly and calmly. Alex looked up and saw the expression on Hillary's face; it showed fear and a hint of anger.
"What happened? Where is she?" Alex asked frantically.
"They took her. The mercenaries took her." Hillary said slowly, looking down at the ground, ashamed.
"Which way did they go?" Alex asked, trying to be calm.
"I'm not sure Mr West. What I do know is, is that they have Lara where they also have Kurtis and Bryce" Hillary spoke calmly. Alex looked at him in confusion.
"How would you know that?" Alex asked, getting even more confused as the news sank in.
"I spoke with Mr Trent. Through mind of course, he said they have Lara. He also said she was in a bad way and that they had taken a knife to her." Hillary said, recalling the conversation with Kurtis from earlier in the day.
"We need to find her. Now." Alex said, frustration setting in.
"We do indeed" Hillary replied and they both walked back to the hut.

Kurtis slumped back against the wall. Using farsee takes a lot of energy out of him. He took a glance at Lara, who seemed worse than before. Placing two fingers on her throat, Kurtis checked Lara's pulse, it was weak but it was still there. He pulled her into his arms and held her there, secure and safe. The doorknob rattled, Kurtis knew someone was going to come in. He placed Lara back against the wall and stood in front of her, being her only defence. The stranger stepped in and flicked on the lights. It was Byron Coyle.

"Ahhh, Mr Trent, good to see you're finally awake. I was beginning to think you were going to sleep for eternity. It's a shame that didn't happen; I was hoping that I could have a little chat with our favourite tomb raider. Alone that is" Byron said, emphasizing the term 'little chat'.
"Well that's not going to happen, and if it does; it'll be over my dead body." Kurtis declared threateningly.
"I think that can be arranged" Byron said, signalling towards the mercenaries to grab Kurtis, but Kurtis wasn't going to let things go down easily. He threw his hands up and sent a wave of kinetic energy their way. They fell to the floor like sandbags. Kurtis sent Coyle into a nearby wall and ensured he stayed down.

After that, Kurtis took the limp body of Lara and held her securely in his arms – bridal style. He carried her through the doorway and into the open air. Lara struggled slightly in his arms but he held on tight as he carried her past the excavation site. That was when he heard it, the faint click of a gun having the safety released. He whirled and saw three mercenaries, all with pistols aimed at him and Lara. Behind them he saw Alex, Hillary and Bryce; who had been released not long before Kurtis and Lara escaped. Alex was looking worried and then concerned whilst he was looking at Lara's body in Kurtis' arms.

"Last chance, give her up" Coyle said, walking from behind Kurtis. "If you give her up, you can walk away free from us, and go back to your demon hunter lifestyle"
"Never!" Kurtis said as Alex shot Coyle in the back. Byron stumbled and fell to the ground motionless. The mercenaries scurried away, fearful of the wrath of Kurtis and Alex.

Alex ran up to Kurtis and Kurtis passed Lara into his arms. Alex cradled her to his chest.

"God Lara, I should never have left, I'm sorry" Alex said mournfully. "This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been so stupid and let myself get carried away."

He noticed Lara's eyes flutter as she began to wake. He entered their hut and placed her down on one of the sofas.

"Mr West can you please step back, she needs help only me or a medical team can provide" Hillary said calmly. Alex took a few steps back and sank down to his knees. Hillary began his work to keep Lara alive and all Alex could do was wait, he felt utterly helpless.