Viper (Second Wave Book 1) (12 page)

“We can respect that as we would do
the same thing in your position. We had thought wrongly, that Viper had
explained everything to you, and that you were aware of where you are and who
we are. When we’re done I bet half the people, here will want to shake your
hand for shooting this fool.” David said, ruffling Traze’s hair like he was a
small child and not a six-foot four man who turned into an eight-foot tall
monster.

Lara was even more surprised at the
chuckles, grins and whooping the last brought to those even farther down the
hallways. Apparently, the annoying man was well known; Lara thought. She was stunned
when she had to fight her own grin.

“Do not doubt that we respect your
abilities and your loyalty to the Tezarian. Viper is a good friend, as are his
brothers, Dread and Drago. I am Decano. Although I am sort of the same species
as the young fool over there, I like to think I am not nearly as annoying.”
Decano told the young woman, giving her a nod of respect.

“I’m Lieutenant David Jacobs,
former Navy Seal and full-blood human. The young fool is Traze T’Alq, brother
of Grai, who built this place and many others we use as command centers.” David
said, hoping the names would jog Lara’s memory if Viper had told her about
them.

Lara just looked at the man strangely;
she recalled the names. Viper spoke of those people. She shook her head to
clear it; she had to stay focused. It was obvious they were trying to use the
names to convince her that they were the friendlies, but they could have just as
easily tortured the information out of Viper.

“I’m Niklosi Jevasari of Valendra.”
Niklosi said, trying to distract her from the negative thoughts he could feel
in her energy.  

Amun stood and held his hands up to
show Lara they were empty… and covered in the young man’s blood. “We have
already met. I need a few things from in there to help him. Can I go get them?”

Lara was wracked with indecision,
but remembering how hard it was to find a weapon in the medical room made the
decision easy for her, and she nodded her head to the doctor.

Amun wasted no time and hurried
through the door. Lara was surprised when moments later he returned with an
armful of supplies and what looked like tools.

“Yoo Hoo! Niklosi! Hey bro, you
look like you’re constipated or something man. You ok?”

Lara watched in fascination as a
huge blond man, with a beaming smile casually walked through the crowd down one
of the hallways and strode towards them. It didn’t escape her notice that he
was heavily armed and decked out in what looked like armor. She recognized the
logo on the chest piece, but not the style that he was wearing.

“Don’t move any further!" Lara
warned, feeling Niklosi’s body tense.

“Baldy, I’m going to kill you
myself when this is over if you don’t do what the hell she says.” Niklosi
growled at his friend, not liking the feel of Lara’s determined energy.

Balduen just stopped halfway down
the hall to them and laughed. Lara was baffled at what the man thought could be
funny about this situation. Granted, the odds were definitely not looking good
for her. In fact, she was surprised that they hadn’t disarmed her already.

There had been a few times where
she had been distracted enough that the one called Decano could have easily
disarmed her. But he hadn’t. There were only two reasons she could think of
that he hadn’t.

They were telling the truth and
trying not to scare or injure her more. Or they were trying to wear her down
because they wanted her alive to see if she had told anyone else what she knew.

“Hey! Stop with all the negative
thoughts. Damn, just when I think you’re calm, and I’ll live to see Viper show up;
you get all strange and freaked out. Stop thinking so damn hard.” Niklosi
muttered in irritation. He was going to kill Balduen when this was over.

“Come on Nicky can’t you come up
with something better than that? Seriously man, she has your own weapon, quite
skillfully pointed at your back.” Balduen said with a grin, hoping that the
scared woman wouldn’t notice that he’d moved a little closer. He wasn’t that
lucky though.

“You can step back now. You’re not
coming any closer. I can, not only shoot your friend, but there are still a few
other victims I can shoot here until you do.” Lara said, pushing the gun deeper
into Niklosi’s back while nodding her head towards Traze, Amun and David.

“Do not underestimate her man! The
crazy forest bitch shot me!” Traze yelled out to Balduen.

David smacked Traze in the back of
the head again, while Amun deliberately pressed too hard on his stomach wound
causing him to moan in pain.

“Fuck! All right! Stop it already
damn it! Both of you.” Traze yelled at the two men, before turning to Lara.
“I’m sorry I called you a bitch. But you shot me, you damn bitch!” Traze turned
pain; sorrow filled eyes to her. It swayed Lara more than anything else. He may
look like a man, but he was really not more than a child in pain.

“Is he going to be all right?” Lara
asked the doctor, who had been working on the kid.

Amun turned to look at Lara sadly,
“He’ll be fine. I really need to get him in the lab though. Will you let me
move him? Please? He’s not much older than a boy.” Amun’s dark eyes, pleaded
with her.

“Oh come on! I’m a hundred and
twenty one! I can even drink! Which would really be a nice idea right now. You
know… for the pain… damn it! Stop hitting me! Aren’t I in enough damn pain?
You’re going to give me fucking brain damage if you keep doing that shit!” Traze
turned angry eyes on David when he smacked him in the head again.

“You’re going to be dead, you fool,
if you don’t stop antagonizing her! Shut the hell up!” Grai screamed at his
brother through the Shengari’, while dozens of others screamed similar statements
at him.

“Oh my God! I’ve put up with you
for a month, and she’s the one who gets to shoot you! Damn it! Shut the hell up
before I shoot you next!” David groaned as he slapped his hand over Traze’s
mouth to try to keep the boy from getting killed. By Lara or him.   

“Yes, take him in there. For all
our sakes." Lara said to the doctor, unsure if she was saving the boy from
his own mouth or from the angry people surrounding him.

This was all so unreal; Lara thought.
Like she’d truly fallen down some strange rabbit hole. Even the government, as
screwed up as they had become, wouldn’t have people acting this oddly. And the
creature the boy had turned into… she’d never seen anything like it. Had she truly
lost her mind? She wondered.

The pain shooting up and down, her
spine was the only thing keeping her grounded right now. Concentrating on that
pain, Lara reminded herself that it didn’t matter if she’d lost her mind or if
any of this was real or not.

She needed to make sure Viper was
safe, go back and get her pack and finish the promise she’d made to John. Then
none of this would matter; she thought. She’d go back to her cabin and wait for
them to end her.

Lara had no delusions going into
any of this that she would come out alive. Whether or not the information got
out, they would still come for her. She and John had both known it and accepted
it.

Lara pulled herself back to the
present and watched carefully as David and Amun helped the young man to stand
and into the medical room. She knew she didn’t imagine the collective sigh she
heard when the door closed behind them.

“He’s a little hard to get used to,
but he’s a really good kid. He’s got a lot of heart.” Decano said, defending
the young man as he moved to the other side of the hallway that they vacated. It
gave Lara a much clearer view of the man and made her breathe a little easier
to have the large man farther away.

Niklosi sighed, “He grows on you.
If you want to move a little so that you can put your back against the wall,
I’m ok with that.”

Lara thought about his offer with
surprise. She had been thinking of doing just that. She didn’t like being so
close to the door to the room and would prefer the solid wall at her back.
Unfortunately, her earlier dramatic move to grab the weapon had nearly put her
on the ground from the shocking pain that had flooded her entire spine.

There was no way Lara was going to
try moving that far anytime soon. She wasn’t sure she would be able to remain
standing if she did. Her knees were already shaking so badly she was fighting
not to let them give way.

“No… I’m fine right here.” Lara
lied, putting a little bit of distance between them, so he wouldn’t be able to
feel the weapon shaking in her hand.

Niklosi could feel the intense
waves of pain and confusion pouring from the woman, and he informed Amun and
the Tezarian brothers through the Shengari’ that she was deteriorating. Viper
and Dread cursed as they ran through the office building in Dillon towards the
portal.   

A loud screeching yowl erupted and
the commotion down the left hallway drew everyone’s attention. Lara stood in
stupefied fascination as a black blur banged in between legs before bolting
down the hallway towards her.

“It’s mine! Mine human! Mine!
Finally mine! I finally have a human! She’s mine! All mine! All mine! I can
keep it because it’s mine!”

The loud groans and curses did
nothing to penetrate Lara’s shock and horror as the black blur turned into a
small black panther that was weaving in between her legs.

As it talked to her.

Chapter
Eleven

Lara’s hand shook hard as the small
panther wound between her legs, the gown she wore allowing her to feel the soft
fur as it rubbed against her legs.

What the hell was this, Lara
wondered as she looked down and saw the animal’s mouth move as it spoke about
owning a human. This had to be another dream; she thought. All of this couldn’t
be real.

Monsters who became humans, talking
cats… oh yeah, Lara thought, something this fucked up couldn’t be real. She was
dreaming or insane. There were no other options that she could think of.

“Hey, calm down. That’s just Dog’ee.
He’s just an excitable little guy. He means no harm.” Niklosi said, trying to
calm down the now fear and panic stricken woman.

Lara just looked at the man and
burst into hysterical laughter. She couldn’t help it. The situation was just so
screwed up.

“Don’t upset my human! She is
mine!” The cat said to Niklosi as he stood before him, his hair poofed out
comically as he scratched at the ground in front of the large Valendran
threateningly.

The sight was so comical and
bizarre that Lara just laughed even harder, the tears rolling down her face.
When the cat saw her tears, he poofed out even more and took a swipe at
Niklosi’s leg with his sharp claws ready to draw blood.

“You cannot make my human cry
without retribution!” The cat cried out as Niklosi tried to avoid the cat’s
sharp claws without banging into Lara and making her shoot him.

“Damn it Dog’ee stop it before she
shoots me! I didn’t make her cry or hurt her!” Niklosi yelled at the cat in
frustration as he tried to hop and avoid the cat’s swiping paws.

“I will stop seeking atonement for
my human only if she says so!” The cat said on a yowl, narrowing his eyes as he
followed Niklosi’s hopping legs as if stalking prey. Lara couldn’t help it; she
laughed even harder, the tears pouring down her face as she continued to clutch
the shirt of the hopping man in front of her.

“Damn it to hell! Will one of you fucking
stop laughing and help me out before the cat rips open my leg?” Niklosi huffed out
angrily as the cat’s swipes became more calculated and closer to their mark.

“Dog’ee! Stop that before you
frighten your human!”

Lara snickered, trying hard to
stifle the laughter that was causing her back to burn as she watched a new
black panther come strolling down the hall as if he or she owned it.

“But she my human and he made her
cry. He will pay for that!” The little panther hissed, putting his front paws
down and lifting his back end up as his wide blue eyes darkened and followed
each hop of the man, she was holding hostage.

Lara watched in fascination as the
two panthers stared at each other, as if communicating, before the excited
little cat stood up and moved to sit in front of her, while the new one moved
to stand by the one called Decano.

Lara just grinned stupidly at the
strange little animals. All she needed to finish off her little wonderland was
the talking cat. Her delusion was now complete; she thought, feeling detached
and strangely calm while her sanity shattered around her.  

“Yeah," Lara said aloud to
herself, “leave it to me to imagine a talking cat, named Doggy.” Lara sniggered
again, trying not to start another round of hysterical laughter.

“Hey! It’s not doggy! It’s DOJ-EE!
How many times do I have to tell you people it’s DOJ-EE not doggy! DOJ-EE! Say
it!” The cat bristled at Lara, who struggled not to laugh at its poofy, anger.  

“Seriously, say it, so he’ll shut
up and stay calm.” Niklosi whispered back to Lara, hoping like hell, she’d calm
the cat down and save his legs from being laid open.

Lara could see no reason not to
appease the offended cat and grinned as she said, “Doj-ee.” Her grin broadened
when the cat’s fur settled down, and it began to purr loudly. For some reason,
Lara was glad that the brave little delusion was now happy.

Lara grinned and looked in
bemusement at the end of the hall where another commotion was occurring. It
would probably be another talking animal; Lara thought, her mind becoming numb
as the pain in her back became almost unbearable.

She almost dropped the gun when she
saw Viper push his way through the crowd and begin walking slowly to her. Her
mind registered the men walking behind him, but dismissed them as she looked
Viper up and down to see if he was hurt or being forced.

“Lara… it’s me. Are you all right?”
Viper said softly. He could feel the intense pain radiating from her body from
halfway down the hall. He was immediately concerned and called out to Amun, who
said he was ready for her in the MedLab if they could get her inside.

“Viper? Are you all right? Where
have you been?” Lara asked, looking behind him to the tall, thin man who was
walking close behind Viper.

“I went to see my… friend, Ratoka.
I was going to be right back. You were supposed to stay and heal.” Viper said
softly, trying not to upset her. Her emotions were so confused he was afraid
that he would shake her already tenuous hold on her fear and panic.

“You went to see a friend? And left
me in… in…” Lara gestured around her wildly, “in what the fuck land! By myself!
Seriously?” Lara looked at Viper incredulously.

Viper flinched as he looked around,
trying to imagine how she must have felt when Traze changed form, and the cats
started talking to her.

“It hasn’t been pretty man.”
Niklosi told him aloud, having figured out what he was thinking. It hadn’t been
too hard to do. The whole situation was strange… even for them.

Viper turned to glance at Ratoka,
who had stopped behind him when he had. Ratoka was no help and just nodded to
him. Turning back to Lara, Viper sighed.

“I know this all seems really…
strange to you. I tried to tell you at the cabin, but you didn’t believe me.
These,” Viper said moving his arms to encompass the hallway. “Are my people. As
odd as that may seem. We’re below ground, in an abandoned mine that was
converted into a command center.”

Viper was hoping some basic facts
would help her to understand a little more and calm down. Her fear and
confusion, as well as her pain, were pulsing from her like a heartbeat.

Lara looked around at the people blankly;
the the excitable little cat just grinned at her, causing her to have to stifle
another burst of laughter. Luckily, the thought of the pain it would rocket
through her back helped her to quell the urge.

“I understand. You mistake your
confusion for a lack of sanity. I can assure you that you are wholly sane. If
you will allow me, I can assist you.”

Lara stared at the tall, thin man
who stepped out from behind Viper to speak to her. She knew she should do or
say something, but her body no longer seemed to want to listen to her, as if
locked into the position she was standing in.

She was completely still as the man
walked slowly up to her, the room seemed to hold its collective breath as
everyone waited to see what would happen. As crazy as it seemed, even to her,
it was the psychotic cat that pulled her out of it.

An earsplitting yowl rent the air
as the black ball of fluff ran between Lara’s legs and with feet flying and
slipping on the smooth floor it slid into the front of the tall man’s legs,
stopping him from getting to Lara.

She shook her head slowly, as of
coming out of a trance, and watched as the cat regained its feet and stood with
its fur poofed out in front of her.

“She my human and she not want you
touching her!” Dog’ee said, his brilliant blue eyes warning the man to stay
away. The entire room groaned in frustration, all hopes that Ratoka could calm
the woman dashed in seconds.

Viper sighed and moved around the
hissing cat and walked right up to a stunned Lara, who was staring at the cat
with a bemused expression.

“It’s all right. We are both safe
now. I promise.” Viper said softly as he looked into her confused and pain
filled eyes. He brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face and tucked it
gently behind her ear, while his other hand easily pulled the weapon out of her
hand.

His concern grew when she didn’t
even flinch when Niklosi moved quickly away from her, snatching his weapon back
from Viper as he did so. Viper ignored the quiet grumbling around them as the
hall emptied and only a few remained.

“She bad hurt. She need Amun.”
Dog’ee said, rubbing against Lara’s legs trying to comfort her.

“Lara, can you walk?” Viper asked
her softly, drawing her attention from the cat.

Lara nodded her head and Viper
slowly turned her back towards the MedLab door. “Your back is in bad shape and
you need to lay down so Amun can see if it’s still all right. You do remember
being hurt on the roof right?” Viper turned to Lara and asked.

When she nodded her head he
continued, hoping to keep her distracted enough to get her to lay down. “Amun
had to work on your spine. It’s really important that we make sure that you’re
alright and didn’t do more damage. I promise not to leave you this time.”

Viper breathed a sigh of relief
when he was able to sit Lara down in the bed beside Traze. He then instantly
regretted it.

“Oh hell no! You are not putting
the crazy forest ninja in here with me! What the fuck is wrong with you? She
shot me!” Traze said and Viper could feel Lara tensing as if to get up.

“You’re right, you idiot! She
shouldn’t have to put up with your ass while she tries to heal! Not one word!
Not ONE!” Grai said angrily.

The entire room watched in shock as
Grai picked Traze up like he weighed nothing and gently laid him over his
shoulder before turning to Lara and Viper.

“I apologize for my brother’s lack
of manners. If you will excuse us, there is another MedLab, far away from this
one that he can be put in.”

Everyone was silent for a long
moment before David finally stood up and headed towards the door. “I suppose I
should see where my charge has been placed this time. Let me apologize, in
advance for all further offenses that he will commit to you, near you, about
you…” David’s voice was abruptly cut off by the closing of the door.

“Well… uh… let me formally
introduce myself to you this time. I am Doctor Amun Nassur. You had an
infection in the bullet wound in your shoulder that was easy to repair. It was
the trauma to your spine that concerns me. Can you please lay flat?”

Lara looked at Viper, before
looking away almost embarrassed that she had. Viper could feel her hesitance
and moved to the other side of the bed to help her and to stay out of the way
while he stayed by her side.

Lara gave Viper a grateful smile as
she took his offered hand and tried to lay back down. The pain shot through her
spine so hard she went rigid and cried out.

“Easy, easy. Viper, keep hold of
her shoulders while I ease her down.” Amun said, supporting her back.

Lara panted slowly through the pain
as they laid her back down on the same bed she’d escaped from earlier. She had
started to panic when the strange cat jumped up on the bed beside her, drawing
her attention.  

Much larger than a housecat, more
like a small dog, the cat took up the entire space between her and Amun.

“Dog’ee, you can’t sit there; I need
to be able to check her to make her better.” Amun said, trying to keep his
frustration out of his voice. He’d never had such a hard time trying to heal
someone before, and it was irritating.

Especially since he wanted nothing
more than to get back to his reports and scans from earlier. This might work
out better though, he thought looking at Viper.

“I stay with my human!” Dog’ee said
defiantly swishing his tail, unknowingly smacking Lara in the face.

“Dog’ee! Come, you can sit in this
chair while Amun does what needs to be done for her.” Ratoka said, the tone of
his voice telling the cat it wasn’t a request.

Lara heard the cat huff before it
jumped off the bed and padded silently to the other side of the room to the
robed man. She looked up at Viper and pulled him down closer to her face.

“Is this another hallucination?”

Viper’s heart contracted painfully
at her words. Ratoka was right; she'd started having the flashbacks. No wonder
why she’d panicked; he thought sadly.  

“No honey, this is real. I’m so
sorry you are hurting so much. Amun will give you something for the pain in a
second.” Viper looked up to Amun, wondering why he hadn’t given her something
for it already and asked him through the Shengari’.

“Hey, don’t give me that crap. I’m
trying to figure out what to give her since she somehow brought herself out of
suspended animation.” Amun said, ignoring the accusing look Viper was giving
him.

Lara looked between the two men,
confused over their conversation. It was bizarre, like in the hallway when it
seemed like everyone was having a phone conversation, and she was only hearing
their side of it.

She looked up as the strange, robed
man walked up to the bed. “I believe I can help.” Ratoka said as he gently took
hold of her other hand.