me very much and wanted me to be happy.
When I chose the military, they had high hopes that I would find my niche in
the world. Settle what they called my restless spirit.”
Viper considered what she didn’t
say as well as what she had said. “You never felt like this was where you were
meant to be?”
Lara was uncomfortable with the
conversation and his intelligent observations. It was one thing to feel like an
outsider, a reject, around other people. For some reason, admitting she was a
stranger in her own hometown made her feel like the most unwanted person in the
world, and she didn’t want him to know that.
“I just always felt that I was
meant to be elsewhere, doing other things.” Lara said vaguely, her tone of
voice telling Viper that she no longer wanted to speak of it.
She had unwittingly told him some
of what he had wanted to know anyway. She may not remember who she was, but she
knew something was wrong. It was a start; he thought.
Lara returned her focus to the
forest around them, listening carefully for any signs that danger was near
them. After several hours of silence, she felt it was safe to take a break.
Lara carefully pulled the pack off
of her good shoulder and set it on the ground at her feet. Turning to Viper,
she pulled his pack off of his shoulder and helped him over to the fallen log
she had stopped in front of.
“Are you all right?” Viper asked,
concern evident in his voice.
“Yes, I’m fine. I just thought we
could use some water and food. We’re halfway there, so this was a good place to
take a rest.” Lara answered while rummaging around in her pack.
Lara placed a bottle of water into
Viper’s hand and when he had a hold of it, she went ahead and opened the cap
for him. Grabbing another one for herself, she sat heavily on the log beside
Viper and downed the whole bottle in one long drink.
She had hated to admit it to Viper,
but she really needed the break. She was exhausted. The nights without sleep
prior to coming out here had already taken its toll on her body. Finding him
and trying to do a detour, the long way around, to keep him from the assholes
trying to hunt him, didn’t help things much.
Pulling her pack closer to her
feet, Lara rummaged around in it again, looking for the extra protein bars she
had packed before realizing that she had already given Viper two for breakfast,
so he could keep his energy up. Besides the guy was huge and needed the
calories. John had been the same way; she thought with a small smile.
Lara looked longingly at the last
two protein bars before handing both to Viper. She had more supplies where they
were headed, and she knew she could wait until they got there to eat. With his
injuries, Viper needed the nourishment more than she did.
“Eat those, you need them. I’m
going to scout ahead; I'll be right back.” Lara said as she stood and stretched
her tired, aching muscles.
“Are you all right?” Viper asked
curiously.
He could tell by the sound of her
voice and the subtle difference in the way she was walking that something had
changed since yesterday. Not for the first time, he cursed his still pounding
head and blurry vision that kept him from checking her himself.
“Of course, I’m just a little
tired. Have those gone before I get back.” Lara said, unable to keep the commanding
tone out of her voice.
Viper grinned at Lara, “Yes,
Ma’am.” Then he tore into one of the protein bars. He hated the stupid things,
but had to admit they served a purpose, and he needed to heal so he wouldn’t
complain.
His eyesight seemed to be improving
but not fast enough for him. It wasn’t only the fact that he hated to be so vulnerable;
he couldn’t stand that he was a burden to Lara. He was supposed to be the one
to protect her, and he wasn’t comfortable being a victim.
With the rest of his wounds almost
healed, his body felt much better. In another day, he would be back to
one-hundred percent. It was his head that was
Kenneth Robeson, Lester Dent, Will Murray