Chapter 5

Lara arrived late at night in Paris and took a cab through the town. As they drove, she noticed the streets were quiet. It was strange, knowing that Paris was full of tourists who came to the city of love and all that. But seeing it as if it were a ghost town shocked her.

"Sorry, what's going on?" Lara asked the cab driver from her back seat.

The driver glanced at her through the mirror and sighed. "Lady, have you watched the news lately?"

"No, I've been a bit too busy for the news," she said, keeping her cool.

"Well, there have been very grotesque murders lately. The press calls it the Monstrum killer," he said. "This person kills you, rips your guts out, and leaves weird symbols on the walls before they leave."

"They!"

"Look, lady, not my business. I do my job and hope and pray they leave me alone," he said. "We've arrived. Good luck."

"Thanks," Lara said, paying him and climbing out of the cab. He sped off as fast as he could.

Lara shook her head.

I've seen too many things in my life to be scared of a silly man trying to kill people for fun.

Lara looked at the Chantell building in front of her. It still looked in good condition but there was also no soul in sight. As it started drizzling, she walked up the small stairs and entered the building.

It was as dead inside as it was outside.

Let's just go to floor 4, number 24, and get this over with.

Lara took the elevator up the floor she needed to go to and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Werner's voice came from the other side.

Lara could swear it still sounded like he was afraid of something or someone.

She hesitated for a moment. "It's Lara."

The door of the apartment room opened up with a creak and Lara found herself face to face with the very man she once called friend and mentor.

Werner ushered her into the apartment quickly and closed the door. He sat down on the chair in front of a circular window and gestured for her to sit down.

There was silence for a few moments but Lara didn't want to be here so she broke it.

"What's this all about Werner?"

"Help me, Lara. I need you to get something for me," Werner said as he looked at his hands.

"Go on," Lara said, making Werner look at her. He could probably hear in her voice she doesn't want to be here.

"I'm tracking five Obscura paintings for a client called Eckhardt. But he's a psychopath."

He only wanted to use her again to get what he wanted.

Things will never change.

"Why should I care?" Lara said, moving to get up and leave.

"Because I'm being stalked," Werner said, standing up and pointing to the window with his left hand. "People are dying out there."

"Handle it, Werner!" Lara said, standing up to face him.

Werner raised his hands, trying to stop her from leaving. "Lara, please." He turned around and picked a piece of paper up from the small table. He turned back and thrust the paper in her hand. "Look, go and see this woman, Carvier. She can help."

Lara spun to leave.

Werner grabbed her arm to stop her but she was too fast for him. She shoved him back into his chair. "Egypt, Werner." She leaned closer, pinning him against the chair. "You walked away and left me."

"Get out!" Werner pointed a gun at her side. She stepped back as darkness took over.

Gunshots.

Lara found Werner motionless on the ground. She approached him.

Dead.

The absence of a pulse in his neck told her. She held him in her arms as thunder rumbled, the glass of the window flashing.

"Now I won't know if you would have said sorry," she said and kissed his forehead, laying him back down on the floor. She stood up and looked at her hands. They were covered with blood.

Did I kill Werner?

"The last thing I remember is him pointing a gun at me, gunfire, and then I blacked out," Lara said.

Sirens blared outside.

Police, better get out of here and clear my name.

Kurtis and William arrived late that night at the Chantel building. As they parked their bikes out of view, they saw Eckhardt enter the building.

"Brother," William said pointing at Eckhardt.

"Go with the plan," Kurtis said, looking to the door of the building Eckhardt already disappeared into. "You go through the back and block him or anyone from his Cabal. I'm taking the front door."

William nodded and snuck off to the back of the building. Kurtis slowly moved in the shadows of the building. Picking the door into the building, he noticed the elevator had just closed.

He's in the elevator, better move fast up the stairs.

Kurtis moved as fast as he could. As he got to the fourth floor, gunshots roared from the end of the hallway. Not long after he saw Eckhardt coming out of one of the rooms. Kurtis quickly ducked behind a wall, hoping Eckhardt didn't see him.

Sirens wailed as Kurtis peeked around the corner.

How are they always so fast in one of these scenes?

A woman also exited the same room but froze.

Guess she saw me.

Kurtis moved out of his hiding space only to see the same woman run in the opposite direction.

No, you're running to him.

Kurtis ran after her. As he passed the apartment she had exited, he saw Werner's body on the floor. He shook his head and continued to follow her. She ran down the other staircase and she was out on the streets.

Kurtis backed off as he heard the sirens.

Better stay away from them. I'm still a wanted man.

Kurtis went back and he found William busy cleaning his leg.

"What happened?"

"Cabal!" William said and pointed to a van speeding by fast. "But it's nothing I can't handle."

"Eckhardt killed Werner." Kurtis sighed. "But we have a small problem."

"What problem?" William said, releasing his leg and looking at his brother.

"There was a woman also leaving the apartment but she didn't look like Cabal and I figure that Eckhardt kept her alive for some reason."

"Where is she now then?" William asked.

"She ran away from me. I couldn't see her face but either she's out there on the streets or the police have her."

"Then she's a victim of Eckhardt," William said, "We better find her before the Cabal those."

"I know," Kurtis said, starting his bike. They sped off to the nearest hotel they could find.

Lara made it outside at the back of the building. It started raining even harder. Not wanting to be soaked and wanting to be as far away from the building as possible, she ran down the road and took a shortcut through an alley. To her surprise, the sirens rang again very close by.

Lara went full speed and ran as she never ran before, turning a corner only to find the police van had just stopped there. The doors of the van burst open.

Two dogs jumped out and ran straight at her.

Lara turned to her left and ran to the next building's door. She kicked them open, running up the stairs and down a corridor. The dogs barked behind her.

To her dismay, the corridor she'd gone down led to a dead-end aside from a window. She opened the window. Just as she was busy climbing out, one of the dogs jumped on her back, grabbing her backpack.

In desperation, she slipped the bag off her shoulder and fell on top of it, rolling off onto the ground. She stood up, resting her hands on her knees as she looked up. The dog still had the backpack in his mouth, the other one barking at her.

They can't follow me.

Lara turned away from the dogs and rushed to a nearby door. It led to an enclosed courtyard. There were steps to her right through an ornate rusty gate. It led down a street level. She tried the gate.

Locked.

Having no other choice, Lara vaulted over the railing and onto the ground below, bending her knees as her feet hit the pavement.

"This looks like a safe area, but I need to find a way out," she said.

Kurtis walked out of the bathroom as his brother called him from the bedroom. They found a hotel and shared a room with two single beds. On the wall was a small TV, showing what looked like a crime scene.

"Breaking News:

There have been seventeen reported murders in this latest outbreak of Monstrum killings. It would appear to be the work of a single highly psychotic perpetrator. The latest victim's name was just released: professor Werner Von Croy. A female, described as Caucasian, brunette, and wearing a ponytail was seen leaving the most recent crime scene. Officers are advised to use extreme caution when apprehending the suspect. At present, nothing appears to link any of the individuals involved. There are no known survivors of these attacks, so far."

"Won't be long until they know who she is, brother," William said as he muted the television that he was watching.

"Well, at least we know she's still out there," Kurtis said, walking to the window, and looking down to the streets as it continued to rain.

"Where do you think we should look for her?" William asked.

"I'll handle the woman, we have bigger problems," Kurtis said.

"Turkey!" William said.

"Yes, you need to head over there first thing tomorrow morning." Kurtis turned and looked at him. "We can't let the Cabal find that last sleeper."

"I'm on it," William said, fishing out his phone. "I'll call in another favor and leave first thing tomorrow morning."

"Good, I can handle a woman," Kurtis said, glancing at the TV again. "How hard can she be?"

"Maybe she's hiding somewhere scared to come out," William said.

"Can be. If she's smart like running from the police, she'll be hiding maybe in the back streets of Paris."

"Just be careful, brother," William said and headed to the door. "I'm going to get something to drink,"

Kurtis only nodded and William left, leaving him to his thoughts. He unmuted the tv and took out his notebook, started drawing her.

I only saw a glimpse of her but with the rapport, I can picture her already. She can help us find out why Eckhardt kept her alive.

As he drew on the white paper in front of him, the TV went on in the background, going on about the woman and how she'd been seen crossing a rooftop, busting open old building doors, dodging the dogs, and even slipping out of the policemen's view time and again.

Interesting. She's strong. I'll give her that.