Blattella Lophiidae

Chapter 3 – Epilogue

Lara Croft gingerly opened her eyes to a bright white funnel. The light hurt, but not as much as the soreness in her shoulders. She tried to understand what she was seeing, but was simply unable to make sense of it. Was she still looking down the creature’s gullet? Somehow, she didn’t think so, but her eyes were having a hard time focussing.

“About time you woke up.” Said a male voice to her left. Startled, she had just decided that the funnel was mosquito netting, when she slowly turned her head and was met with a familiar face.

“Thomas?” She asked, weakly, her voice cracking as his features solidified. He nodded.

“Talk, but don’t try to get up. You’ve been through quite a bit.”

“What happened? Where am I? For that matter, what the hell are you doing here? Last I remember, you were still in Thailand. As I recall, you were trying to beat me out of a flight to Bangalore… A game you lost, if I remember correctly.”

“You do. But, there was another flight to Goa and from there to Bangalore, so I was only a day behind. Lucky for you, it would seem.”

Her eyes widened as she remembered, and she started to reach for the sheet covering her in a panic. The man stopped her.

“Relax… They’re gone.”

She still had to see it for herself, and the sight of her flat abdomen made her nearly giddy. When she was finally satisfied, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, forcing her body to relax again.

“You’re at the medical clinic. Doctor Fenzi was able to completely remove all traces of the, er… larvae. He believes that there was no permanent damage to your uterus. And yes, the critters were all killed. They actually died when exposed to the air. Something about being underdeveloped.”

“How in the world did I get here? The last thing I remember was being… being violated… into a coma.”

“True enough. Like I said, I was only a day or so behind you. I thought maybe there was a chance that you would get sloppy in your haste to get to the idol first. Seems I was right, though I had no idea what had happened to you until I entered the temple myself. I found you already hanging like a corpse, and figured you were just leftovers for that… thing. But I hadn’t come all that way to get squeamish at the last second, and slipped on by while the beast was busy with you. I snagged the idol and was on my way out when I first heard your screams of terror, and then, well, other kinds of screams…”

She shivered. “Go on.”

“Well, there was no way I was going to leave you to that fate. I know we have had our differences, and that you pretty much think of me as an uneducated mercenary, but even I’m not that cold. So I went back in for you, if only to put a bullet between your eyes if I couldn’t get you out of there. I got lucky and found you alone. You looked dead, but I cut you down anyway and skedaddled. Once outside, I tossed you into the back of the truck and noticed your abdomen. So, I grabbed a couple canisters of methyl bromide…”

“You gassed it…” she said, surprised. Such tactics were considered unthinkable, even for someone in her quasi-legal trade.

“Yup. Sorry Lady Croft, but I knew what it had done to you. There was no way in hell I was going to let that monster live.”

“You believe it to be dead then?”

Thomas, frowned. “Well, I wasn’t going to go back in yet again and check; I was straining my good fortune as it was, but I don’t see how anything could have survived that kind of fumigation.”

She sighed.

“Blattella Lophiidae, Mr. Barrington. It’s a cockroach. They’re built to survive.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe. Not going to sweat it, and neither should you. In fact, I’m seriously thinking that it might just be a good time to retire… while I’m ahead.”

“You have the idol. That should put you in pretty good standing for some time I would imagine.”

“‘bout that. I don’t feel right taking all the reward… not after, well, you know.”

She stopped him. “No. You earned it ,Thomas. Especially after rescuing me. I… owe you.”

“Well, regardless, I’m due for a serious vacation. I’ve got a little place on one of islands north of Jakarta. Nice and quiet. No adventures. Just me, a beach, and a bottle of tequila.”

“That sounds rather nice, actually.” She sighed, knowing that it was going to take more than a little rest to clear her mind of the horrors she had experienced.

“You’re welcome to join me, Miss. No strings. Professional courtesy.”

She glanced over at the man, her brows raised. He was right about how she felt about him. But perhaps there was more to Thomas Barrington than the unscrupulous mercenary he portrayed. He did go back into the temple for her, knowing what was inside, something she wasn’t at all sure she would have been able to do if their situations had been reversed.

“Perhaps.” She replied.

“Well, the offer is open. I’ll leave the coordinates with the Doctor.” He stood. “See ya around, Miss Croft. Take care of yourself.”

“You as well, Mr. Barrington. And Thomas…” She reached out and snagged his hand. “… Thank you.”

He smiled and then simply nodded.

Alone again, Lara felt her belly. Aside from a little discomfort internally, she seemed okay. What had Thomas said? No permanent damage to her uterus? She was insanely lucky. If the man had missed the second flight, or… She stopped herself. She was alive, and that’s what counted. For now, all she needed was time. She would deal with the deeper scars later… maybe on a beach with a bottle of tequila?

No. Her first order of business was to get checked out by Doctor Fenzi, and then replace her pistols. Right now, the feel of a solid weapon against her thigh was the only therapy she wanted. She was about to ring for the nurse when she noticed a pile of clothes under the nearby examination table. Just peeking from under a pair shorts was the obvious muzzle of an HK, and she chuckled. The weapon was placed so that only she would have seen it.

Thomas.

Sighing, she decided that she might just take the man up on his island vacation after all.