Viper (Second Wave Book 1) Page 8

  “Dude, how the hell did you carry this? It weighs a freaking ton. Ugh!” Traze whined, huffing with exaggeration to make his point.

  Viper turned to make sure that David and Traze got the right packs and noticed that Traze was carrying the pack that Lara carried. He stopped suddenly, causing the other three men walking with him to stop.

  “What is it?” Dread asked, looking around the area to see what caused his brother to pause.

  “Give me the pack.” Viper said hoarsely, holding out his hand to Traze.

  “Man I can carry it to the transport. Just head up.” Traze said, looking to David and Dread in confusion.

  “Give me the pack NOW!” Viper roared into the young man’s face.

  “Well fuck dude! You didn’t have to go all native on me! Damn I can see why you and forest ninja get along. You got this Tarzan and Jane thing going on now don’t you?” Traze grumbled as he slid the heavy pack off his shoulder.

  “Viper, I know you’re upset. The boy was just whining like he always does, he meant no offense.” David said, unable to believe he’d just defended the annoying little turd. The world was definitely coming to an end; he thought sarcastically.

  “Yeah man…” Traze began until the hard glares of Dread, and David shut him up. Both were grateful that the boy listened for once.

  “Whatever is in this pack was so important to Lara that she refused to let me carry it for her. She was hiding out here to protect it. She was willing to die for it. Until she is able to protect its contents again or share them with us, then they will be my responsibility.” Viper said grabbing the bag and pulling the surprisingly heavy bag to his shoulder with a slight ‘oomf’ escaping.

  “Viper, we need to know what’s in the bag. There could be something dangerous…” David started; the glare and quick shake of Dread’s head silenced him. He sighed, giving up. This was way above his pay grade; he thought.

  “I have no doubt there are probably half a dozen weapons in here. If not more. But there is something else in here, and it will remain her secret until she is able and ready to tell us. I… trust her.” Viper said walking into the transport beam and effectively ending the conversation.

  Within seconds, the beam of energy acted like an elevator, transporting his cells into the transport. He stumbled slightly as he regained his bearings, the heavy pack unbalancing him.

  “Viper, how long ago did she get this bullet wound? The damn thing is infected to the bone already.” Viper heard one of the medics call out.

  He followed the voice to the back of the transport and stared down at the blurry image of Lara laid out on a bed. He didn’t complain when someone pushed him into a jump seat beside the bed. Lara had been injured. Probably the whole time, he thought. She’d never said anything, never complained.

  “Let me get this mediband on your head. Relieving some of the pain may help your vision. We can’t do much more until Amun can assess the extent of your brain trauma.” Someone told Viper as they placed a band on his forehead. Normally, he would have complained, but right now he’d give anything to see her face and hoped that it would work.

  “I did not know she was shot.” Viper said quietly, embarrassed that he’d not asked. He had assumed that since she was the one pushing them to move that she was fine. Thinking back now he could see in his mind all the times that she would use only her right hand. Her left she had rarely used, except to guide him.

  “It’s her left arm or shoulder isn’t it?” Viper asked, ashamed that he’d never noticed that she was hurt. It seemed he was doomed to keep failing her.

  “Yeah it is. Man did you break her out of a prison camp or something? How did you keep her alive?” Viper heard from the medic on his left.

  “She found me and kept me alive.” Viper said quietly, grabbing for the hand that had slipped off the bed. He gently rubbed the back of her hand, giving her some of his energy to help her body heal.

  “Stop doing that. You’re down low enough, and we’re not sure what it will do to her memories or her mind.” Dread hissed in his ear as he sat next to him.

  Viper jerked his hand away from her. He kept forgetting that she was human, sharing energy with those that were not beast bonded could be dangerous. They had no idea if it could disrupt a human’s brain signals or cause permanent damage.

  “We’re ten minutes from the command center in the caves. She’ll be fine. She’s a fighter, Viper. Remember that.” Dread said laying a comforting hand on his brother’s shoulder. It pained him that his brother was so upset.

  “Hell yeah she’s tough! Forest ninja took out the dark ones and the freaking Relian’s with her forest traps and ninja skills!” Traze said animatedly as he shot his hips to the left and pointed dramatically in the air to the right.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you?” David asked, smacking the kid in the back of the head.

  “Dude! One of these days I’m going to kick your ass when you do that!” Traze said flashing a rare show of temper.

  David immediately stood toe to toe with the boy, nose to nose and chested bumped him. “Today will not be that damn day will it boy? Today you will sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up because now is not the time for your shit and you know it.”

  Traze stared at David for a second before immediately turning his eyes to the floor and sitting down next to Dread. David breathed out a slow sigh, grateful that the kid didn’t take him up on his challenge.

  As a full human there was no way in hell that he could compete with the kid and his beast skills. He could put a serious hurting on the kid, but that would be about all he’d manage before the kid pulverized him, he thought.

  “How is she?” Viper asked the medics that were busy all around Lara’s body.

  “She’s in really bad shape.” One of them said, before another one cut him off.

  “Three vertebrae were crushed and the spinal cord severed. Every abdominal organ has been punctured. She lost half her blood supply before we got the blood booster nanos in her. A severe infection is ravaging her shoulder, and she’s got some serious older injuries that were still healing when they were damaged again.”

  “Malnutrition, exhaustion… you’re going to have to wait on Amun for a full rundown. We’re only dealing with the immediate injuries until we can get her to better facilities. The cave command center is the closest and Ivint sent Amun there the moment he knew we found you.”

  Dread gave a grateful nod of thanks to the Tezarian medic who told Viper the truth. His brother didn’t need bullshit; he needed the reality check to pull him out of the emotional turmoil he was in.

  It worked. Dread could feel the immediate change in Viper’s energy, the determination overtaking the fear and pain. Sitting back, Dread huffed out a small sigh and enjoyed the relative peace of the moment. He had a terrible feeling it would be the last time he and his brother would feel peace for a while to come. He had no idea how right he would be.

  Chapter Seven

  Ivint Torenson, leader of the Alien Earth Alliance and Grai T’Alq, council member, ran through the portal and headed straight to the MedLab. They were met outside the room by a dozen people, all of whom became silent the moment the two men walked up.

  Dread walked up to them. “Amun is struggling with the female. She was apparently in bad shape before the dark one…” Dread paused and shook his head to clear the image of the dark one impaling her through the back with his clawed fist.

  “Viper will be fine in a few more days. His brain trauma was the worst of his injuries.” Dread explained.

  “Who is she? Is she hybrid or gifted?” Ivint asked, curious about the woman everyone was reporting not only saved Viper’s life but wiped out two Relian teams with dark ones.

  “She isn’t either. She’s human.” Dread said evenly.

  “How is that possible? She did all that without some kind of gift to help her? I don’t understand it.” Ivint said, looking to Grai for an explanation.

  David cleared his throat drawing
their attention. “Sgt. Lara Blain, she’s ex-military. She served in a mountain division in Afghanistan. We probably should speak of this privately sir.” David said, looking around at the dozen faces hanging on every word.

  He shook his head with a grin. Advanced civilization his ass, they were still addicted to gossip just like humans; he thought.

  “Is she a danger to us?” Grai asked bluntly. If she was Grai would do whatever he had to do in order to protect his people. They could easily heal her completely, but keep her drugged and out until they could put her back in her cabin.

  “Absolutely not. In fact, I believe she has information that could possibly be of great value to us. My people tell me that she, and her partner got way too close to some secret shit going on over there. She’s the only one still alive. I think that’s how she found Viper; she was out there to hide.” David argued.

  He had no doubt that they would never harm the woman, but he honestly thought that she was one of the good guys and could be of help to them.

  “When can Viper be de-briefed?” Ivint asked, looking curiously to the MedLab doors.

  “He won’t leave until Amun has her stabilized.” Dread answered, hoping they would understand his meaning.

  He really didn’t want to try to explain things with everyone listening and there were things he wouldn’t explain until he talked to Ratoka.

  Ratoka had explained to him, through the Shengari’ that he wouldn’t speak of it anywhere other than in the mountains of their compound in Dillon, Texas. They couldn’t go there until Viper left the woman and was debriefed. He was starting to get pissed at all the crap going on.

  Ivint sighed and shook his head. Reaching out through his private communication path with Amun, he asked when the woman would be stable.

  “I’ll call her stable now to get him the hell out of here, but I need hours with her, and I have no idea what the outcome will be.” Amun said, his sympathy for his patient and his determination to save her coming through clearly along the mental pathway.

  Ivint shook his head sadly. He hated the thought that the woman may still die or be permanently injured. Her bravery was unquestionable, the extent of her skill in the forest already becoming legendary tales around both of the compounds. Someone that special should never have to suffer like that, he thought.

  *****

  Viper stood at the head of the bed, staring down at Lara’s pale face. Amun’s treatment had healed his vision, but he still hadn’t been able to speak to his beast or use the Shengari’. Amun said it could be hours or days before he would be fully healed. But he could finally see her.

  There was nothing about her physically, that he recognized. If it wasn’t for her energy, he would never know who she truly had been. She was still beautiful though, he thought.

  The paleness of Lara’s skin terrified him. The flurry of movement of the techs and Amun told him just how seriously she was hurt, and panic started to set in.

  He reached out a hand and tenderly stroked the side of her face, the only place on her battered body that no one was working on. The softness of her skin surprised him. She was so strong in mind and spirit that her whole body was a surprise to him.

  Although Lara was tall for a human woman, she was terribly thin. The upper part of her pale ribs that weren’t ruptured outwards were protruding easily through her skin, as were most of her bones. He remembered how he had thought that her clothes were swamping her body and could now see why.

  The angry red wound in her shoulder was still swollen, a testament to the seriousness of the infection. The nano tech in the medibands covering the area obviously struggling to get it under control.

  It was the gaping holes in her stomach and back that shook him to the core. The dark one had pushed his fist just past her spine, his long talons puncturing her internal organs before pushing her lower ribs out of her stomach, through her skin.

  Amun had Lara in suspended animation; it had been the only way to keep her alive while he tried to repair the extensive damage. It left her looking so close to death that Viper was scared to leave her side, afraid that if he did, he would never see her again. That he would lose her… again.

  He gently caressed her cheek, admiring her high cheek bones and delicate features that were so at odds with how strong she was inside. She wasn’t beautiful, in an Earth classic sense; it was her striking features that drew the eye to her face.

  The perfect arch of her eyebrows, her clear, smooth skin and full, pouty lips. He could almost see what she would look like with her beautiful light brown eyes open, and his heart clenched as he prayed to his Gods for her to be saved.

  “Ivint says that David knows something about her.” Amun said, hoping that he could get the man’s attention. It was doing him no good to stay in here while they worked on her. When he saw Viper raise his face to him questioningly, he pressed on.

  “Ivint wants to wait for you to get the information, get the whole story at one time so we can figure out how to help her. If we can pull her through… she may not make it next time if they go after her again.” Amun explained, knowing that whatever Viper’s feelings for the woman, he wanted her safe.

  He hoped it would be enough to make him leave. The woman was so close to death; Amun feared Viper’s reaction if anything went wrong.

  Viper considered what Amun said as he looked down at his large hand on her face, his thumb bigger than her button nose. She wasn’t going to do this to him again. Not again. When she pulled through, her fight would be over. He wouldn’t allow her back out there to die.

  She would probably hate him at first, but he wouldn’t allow her to leave them. Her fight would become his own until she was safe from whoever was trying to harm her; and until he could convince her to stay with him.

  Determination flooded through Viper, this time it would be different for her. For them, he vowed. He turned fierce green eyes to Amun and was going to speak when Amun spoke first.

  “Go. There is nothing you can do for her in here, but you can make sure when we get her out of here that she won’t be hunted. I swear to you my friend; I will do everything I can to save her.”

  Viper nodded his head and leaned down. “You will live this time, and we will be together.” Viper whispered into her ear. Ignoring Dread’s advice, he placed both hands on the sides of her head and sent short, rapid bursts of his energy into her body.

  “Sir, her life support signs are increasing. It looks like the little thing is fighting back hard.” One of the techs said with a grin and slap to Viper’s shoulder.

  Amun looked up and gave Viper a hard stare. Viper pulled his hands back from Lara’s head and held them up in the air for a second before turning and heading out of the door.

  Viper was a little surprised to see the crowd outside of the MedLab. Normally, his ability to communicate through the Shengari’ would have allowed him to listen to what was going on, he hated the way he felt lost and alone without his beast.

  Dread looked at his brother strangely, wondering why he was out here. He quickly learned of Lara’s miraculous resurgence of fight and wanted to beat the hell out of his brother.

  Dread understood why Viper would take the chance, Amun said the female’s chances were diminishing slowly until Viper had shared his energy with her. However, they had no idea what the long-term effects of that energy would have on her body, and he should have waited until they could have spoken to Ratoka about it.

  Viper ignored his brother’s accusatory look and headed down the hall with Ivint and Grai, carrying the pack Lara had carried so protectively through the forest. He would end the threat to her.

  He sat heavily in the first chair that he came to in the command center down the hall from the MedLab and waited for everyone to sit down.

  Ivint, Reven Debreskii, Grai T’Alq, Decano, Niklosi Jevasari, Jaxson Adronatof, his brother Dread and Lt. David Jacobs surrounded him at the table while Traze and Risk Demetrios stayed at a command center a few feet away from them.

/>   “Tell me what you know about her.” Viper said hoarsely. He needed to know everything about who she was here, on this planet.

  At Ivint’s nod of approval, David stood and raised his hand to Traze and Risk. The air behind David shimmered as a picture of a smiling Lara dressed in a military uniform appeared.

  “She is Sgt. Lara Blain. She was medically discharged from the US Army approximately eight months ago. Prior to that she was deployed in Afghanistan as part of a combat team in the Mountain Division.”

  “Her records and statements from her team say that she was one of the best that they ever worked with. If you looked at the vids of the traps in the woods, you wouldn’t doubt it either.”

  “She’s smart, intuitive and her teammates said that she had an almost unnatural bond with nature and the animals.” David paused, noticing the strange looks that passed between Dread and Viper.

  Dread kept his thoughts to himself but he assumed that the connection Lara felt had to be her true self coming through.

  Ivint cleared his throat, and David continued as Traze and Risk put up pictures behind him of footage taken from some of the missions Lara had been on that they had hacked from the government computers.

  “She had a teammate, a Sgt. John Miller, who was like a brother to her and just as talented as she was. They were inseparable from what we were told.” He again paused as the Tezarian brothers looked oddly at each other.

  They knew something that they weren’t sharing. He’d find out what it was though, David thought before moving on with his briefing.

  “What the records don’t say, but we learned from some ex-teammates is that the two of them had been doing side missions of their own. Off the books. They never told anyone what they were doing, but it had to do with some secretive unit that was over there with them.”

  “Whatever it was; they got too close. A few months later, they were hit by an IED and John was executed. Lara had been wedged under a seat, out of view and was found later by a local tribe that she and John had been familiar with.”