Free Viper (Second Wave Book 1) by Mikayla Lane

Especially not to the crazy man she was
leaning far too close to.
    Lara jerked back from him as if
burned and went back to gathering items from the kitchen. Why she was
entertaining the man’s craziness was beyond her own comprehension, but here she
was, doing just that.
    Then again, there was really
nothing left to do but wait, and she hated waiting. This at least gave her
something to occupy her time while she waited for the world to erupt around
them.
    Dark ones, that no one could see
but the special aliens? Lara snorted while she carefully measured items in the
biggest pot she had. She had to admit, even if the story was as crazy as the
man telling it, she still had questions. Hypothetical ones of course, she
thought.
    “What do these…” Lara struggled to
remember the name Viper had used. “Relian’s, have to do with Afghanistan?”  
    “I think you know the answer to
that. It’s why you were coming out here to begin with isn’t it?” Viper knew he
was right when Lara flinched. Not wanting her angry again, he continued.
    “We found that they are embedded in
every government, every religion, just about every organization on the planet
is infested with them. We have a few ex-military among us who have spoken of
their encounters with the Relian’s in the military.”
    “I have no personal knowledge of it
since my brothers and I have only been here a few months, but Lt. David Jacobs
is an ex-Navy Seal, and he could fill you in on what he experienced.” Viper
hoped that bringing up a fellow member of the military would lend some credence
to what he was telling her.
    Lara sighed in irritation as she
checked the consistency of the goop she was making in the pot. Blowing her
bangs out of her face, she added more ingredients before responding to Viper’s
wild tale.  
    “Is this imaginary Seal here now?”
Lara asked without turning around. She wasn’t sure she could look at him right
now without either laughing at him and his imagination or smacking herself for
being a fool.
    “No! He’s a real man, and he’s
either with the team coming or back at one of our command centers.” Viper hated
that Lara doubted him, but he honestly couldn’t blame her.
    From her point of view, this had to
be the craziest thing she had ever heard; he thought. Until a few months ago,
even he would have laughed at the thought of something called a dark one. He
had hoped that she would recognize something in what he had said, but if she
did, she had hidden it very well.
    Lara tested the consistency of the
goop in the pot and began ladling it carefully into some large freezer bags she
had kept to store her jerky in. Once it was filled, she sealed it, then taped
it closed to make sure it didn’t leak before starting on the next bag.  
    “What weaknesses do they have?”
Lara asked. When Viper just looked at her in confusion, she tried the question
again.
    “Is there a sweet spot to hit? Does
something besides salt work on the… Relian’s or the dark ones?”
    “As far as we know, only salt and
brain penetration will kill the dark ones. The Relian’s can be killed just like
any human can. They can bleed to death. Shots to the head and heart will kill
them quickly. There are no specific weaknesses that we are aware of, I’m
sorry.” Viper explained.
    “Good enough. If they can bleed,
they can die. Stay here for a minute, I’ll be right back.” Lara said as she
carefully carried several large bags to the door.
    “What are you doing?” Viper asked
curiously.
    “Leveling the playing field. Stay
here, I’m just going on the roof.” Lara said with a grin as she headed out the
door.
    Viper followed her out of the open
door and watched as she carefully placed each bag on the low-hanging roof.
Moving to the side, she climbed a ladder attached to the side of the house.
Viper leaned his head back and watched as she grabbed the large bags and moved
them behind the arch in the center of the roof.
    “Can I help?” Viper asked,