Zombies Begin (Zombies Begin Series Book 1) (11 page)

The shot had missed.

Still stunned and in shock, the ground crew were already all over her and were reefing her arms back to secure her hands with flexicuffs.

Fuller and Becksworth wrestled for control of the weapon. Becksworth strained to keep grip of the rifle, as Fuller overpowered him. Fuller pounded into Becksworth’s face with hammer fists. The other men in the cabin jumped on Fuller to subdue him.

“SHOOT HIM!” yelled Becksworth.

One of the team members aimed his rifle ready to shoot. Fuller lunged at him, smashing him into the door on the other side of the copter. Several shots blasted off. The ground team could see the muzzle flashes in the dark helicopter as shots were fired.

“Put it down! Put it down!” a ground team member yelled into the radio to the pilot.

Fuller smashed an officer out of the chopper cabin. He fell to his death, crashing to the desert floor. Becksworth grabbed Fuller around his upper body, taking him down to the floor. The two men rolled around in the tight cabin space. Becksworth landed heavy blows to Fuller’s face. Fuller felt nothing. He threw Becksworth off, smashing him into the pilot.

The helicopter started to lose control and veered off, coming to a hard landing. The pilot shut down the engine. The eight-man ground crew rushed the chopper. They quickly surrounded it, guns ready.

Fuller grabbed the shotgun and threw all his will into a power swing—smashing into the face of Becksworth. Teeth flew. Blood splattered the seats, and Becksworth crumpled, unconscious.

Fuller turned to the remaining two men in the cabin and made similar work of them. He didn’t need to shoot them. The gun club worked just fine.

The ground team advanced slowly. They couldn’t see what was happening in the darkened cabin. All was now quiet. Two shots rang out. Fuller fired two shots into the copters control panel, disabling the craft. The ground team took cover, diving to the ground and behind rocks.

With all the commotion, no one had finished securing Santiago. She quietly slipped into one of the four-by-fours, grabbing the keys. She then moved to the other vehicle, getting behind the wheel. Its engine was still running. She now faced a dilemma—rescue Fuller again, and maybe get shot for real this time, or just make a run for it? She wiped her forehead.

She revved up the engine and floored it straight towards the chopper. This man had also saved her twice and she owed it to him to try once more. The men scrambled to get out of her way. She crashed into the tail of the helicopter causing it to spin. She slammed on the brakes, bringing the four-by-four parallel to the chopper, making a barrier between the soldiers and the helicopter. The men started firing, sparks lit up the heavily armored vehicle. Fuller dived into the back of the four-by-four, packing the twelve gauge. As soon as he hit the back seat, Santiago jammed the accelerator to the floor.

Bullets shattered windows. Santiago screamed as shots impacted the vehicle body. But the two were safely shielded inside. She burst into tears, with her foot still planted.

No idea where to go, she just wanted out of there.

A few of the men tried to pursue the vehicle on foot. A few shots rang out, but none seemed to hit the vehicle as it disappeared into the night.

***

The four-by-four slowly pulled to a stop. They had been driving for a couple of hours and knew they were safe, for now. Santiago was tired of driving, especially in this rough terrain. She had no sense of direction and wasn’t sure if she was getting further and further from the main road and deeper into the desert. It would be sun-up in just a few hours and things would be clearer. Maybe now it was time for rest.

The warm morning sunlight crept across the cold desert floor, displaying the beautiful red rocks and soil. Santiago slept on the back seat of the four-by-four. Her lab coat covered her as a makeshift blanket, providing a small degree of warmth.

The fresh scent of the outdoors and sleeping under the stars reminded her of the camping trips she’d take with her father to northern California every six months. Places like Lake Tahoe were frequently visited while she was still a senior in high school. But that was a different time back then. Life was easy and innocent.

Still covered in dirt, her soft, olive skin glistened as the first morning light cut across her body. For the first time in many hours, she was fully relaxed, at peace.

Suddenly her sleep was shattered by loud banging from the back of the vehicle. She quickly sat up, dazed, to find Fuller searching around for what the vehicle had to offer. He noticed Santiago awake and rubbing her eyes, like she just woke up from the worst night out on the town.

He held up two MRE (Meals Ready-to-Eat) packets. “Breakfast is served.”

Fuller sat on a large rock and mindlessly munched on whatever was in the pack. Santiago sat in the front seat of the four-by-four, with the door open, facing toward Fuller. She stabbed a tiny plastic spoon into the vomit-like contents of the MRE packet. It was some kind of disgusting chunky stew. She mustered up the courage and took a small bite. The food tasted worse than it looked. But it was food. And she needed the energy.

The silence was awkward, at least for her. Fuller chomped on the food loudly with his mouth open. After a moment he looked at Santiago. She was staring at the ground in her own world. She contemplated the previous night’s wild ride and what would become of her life.

“Not the best food, but it’s okay for a first date,” Fuller said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. “We made it through the night.”

Santiago gave a forced smile. She wasn’t interested in his antics. She choked down a little more of the stew and speared the spoon into the plastic/foil pack.

She let out a sigh and looked up at the clouds. “I’m not supposed to be out here. I should be home having a hot bath and a glass of wine.”

“I’d join you with that,” Fuller mumbled, digging at his food.

“What?”

“I said, ‘A glass of wine this early?’”

Santiago ignored his uselessness. “I didn’t picture any of this. I was doing everything right. Go to school, get a good job, work your way up the ladder. Not any more! All gone in a moment of stupidity.”

She looked at Fuller with contempt.

Fuller stopped eating. He moved his tongue around his mouth, clearing some meat from his teeth. “A moment of stupidity? What’s that suppose to mean?”

“Never mind.” Santiago took another bite.

“No, I want to know,” he said, annoyed. “What are you saying?”

“I’m not saying anything. Okay?”

“Well, this wasn’t my grand plan either, sweetheart.”

“Don’t call me that! I’m not your sweetheart! This isn’t a date! I’m a doctor! Show some damn respect! I deserve that at least!”

The conversation was making her meal taste even worse, and she didn’t think that was possible. She threw the packaged food to the ground. Some of it splattered up on Fuller’s face. He started to feel the rage kick in. He wiped his face. His breathing started to increase.

Santiago was oblivious to the fact that her food had splattered on him and that he was tripping. She was in her own world. She grabbed a slice of bread in her MRE pack, held it in her two hands, and took small bites.

Fuller got to his feet. He could feel he was losing it. He couldn’t take her emotional rollercoaster. He had his own problems to deal with.

“You chose to be here! I didn’t choose to be here. All I did was eat some damn soup and my life has turned upside down. I don’t want to hear all your worries. I’ve got some serious mind games happening up here.” Fuller tapped the side of his head. He was fuming like a crazy man. He was annoyed that all she seemed to care about was how her life had fallen apart.

“If you don’t want to be here, then just go,” he yelled as he rushed toward her. She winced, anticipating an attack. He snatched the bread from her hands, standing over her, breathing hard.

A small tear ran down her cheek. “I’m sorry,” she said softly.

Fuller looked at the fear in her eyes. He looked around at the wide, open desert. He wasn’t himself anymore and he wasn’t equipped for this.

He gently placed the bread back in her hands. “That’s okay. It’s alright. I’m sorry too.”

She wiped her tear.

Fuller returned to his rock. They both went back to their meals, eating in quiet.

Santiago’s eyes wandered around the truck cabin. She realized Fuller didn’t have his box of pills.

“Where are your pills?!” She asked.

Fuller stopped eating, pulled a bottle from his pocket, and held it up. He unscrewed the bottle and popped a couple of the pills, chomping them into powder between his teeth. He knew Santiago wouldn’t be impressed that he had forgotten them. But she knew anyway, by the way he had reacted.

“Where’s the rest of the pills?” Santiago stopped eating. “The box?”

Fuller wasn’t sure how to answer the question. He didn’t want another outburst of emotions; she was probably going to freak out when he told her he left the meds behind.

He gave a big swallow. “I couldn’t carry them and you at the same time.”

Santiago gave an amused smile, realizing she was still the boss. “I thought you were supposed to be super strong.”

“You’re not as petite as you think you are.” He nodded at the bread she was eating. “You might want to cut back on those carbs.”

She gave a small laugh, throwing a chunk of the bread at him. Fuller laughed with her. The laughter was good for them, but it soon turned into an awkward, silent moment.

“Just make sure you ration out that bottle, until we get some more,” she said, pointing at the bottle with the small chunk of bread left in her hand.

Santiago looked around the vast desertscape. They were alone in the middle of nowhere, with some government department chasing them—shooting to kill. Their lives as they knew them were now over.

“I’ve never been a fugitive before,” she said in a cracked, positive voice. She was trying to be upbeat, but couldn’t handle it. She buried her head in her hands and began to cry. Fuller stopped eating. He looked around, as though someone might be available to help him (or her) with the recurring emotional outbursts.
And here we go again
. He wasn’t sure whether to get up and hug her, give advice or to ignore her and pretend she wasn’t crying.

She continued to sob.

He didn’t ignore the crying for long; the damsel in distress got the better of him. He moved over, squeezing in beside her. He slowly put his arm around her and patted her back.

“I’m not a dog you know!”

Fuller was confused at first, but then realized she didn’t like the patting on the back.

He switched to rubbing her back gently. “It’s going to be okay,” he said.

“How is this going to be okay?! We’re in a desert, with nowhere to go! Are we going to live out here?! I had big plans you know!”

Fuller scratched his dirt-laden hair. She was right. What could they do? He didn’t have the answers. He didn’t even know who was chasing them. He hadn’t been a fugitive before either and had no idea what they were in for. If he could find his way out of this place, then they could stick to the plan. His plan.

All of that started to fade away as he caressed Santiago’s back. He pulled her closer to him. She was a mess, but still looked beautiful. He could still smell her sweet perfume; the same one she wore when he awoke in the research lab for the first time. Her very presence in that room was the first feeling of comfort he had felt in a long time. The warm, golden glow of the morning sun caressed the back of her head, giving her thick dark hair a halo. He wondered what it would be like to kiss her. He leaned in. His lips were just about to touch hers when—

She jumped up, pulling away from his hug. “What the hell are you doing?!”

Fuller was speechless. He wasn’t even sure what he was doing. It just felt right in the moment. He was still just a man that had a little thing for a beautiful woman. The only woman around right then.

“You can’t do that!” she yelled. “For a couple of reasons!” She started to pace back and forth a short distance from the four-by-four. She wasn’t sure why Fuller tried to make a move on her. It wasn’t the first time a guy tried to go for a kiss, but not under these kinds of circumstances.

“Did I in any way indicate that I wanted you to kiss me?!”

Fuller wasn’t sure how to answer. He stared at the ground during the chastisement.

“Well? Did I?!” she continued.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I was caught up in the moment.”

“What moment?! We’re barely clinging to life here.”

“It’s been one night and we have food, water and a truck. It could be worse.”

“It could be worse?! Has your brain been twisted up that much?! The lives we once had are now gone! I almost got shot last night! We are being hunted like animals, until we’re dead! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!”

Santiago stormed off, walking a small way from Fuller. But she wasn’t done. She came back for another go at him. “The parasite passes through bodily fluids. You could infect me!”

Out of everything that was said, those four words sank in deep. Fuller realized his place. He was no longer him. He had changed. He was an infected one, a monster in waiting. Fuller got to his feet, breathing in deeply. He moved to the back of the four-by-four, grabbed a backpack and started to fill it with a few MREs, water and his bottle of pills. Santiago watched on, not sure what he was up to.

Fuller slung the pack over his shoulder and grabbed the twelve-gauge shotgun and a box of ammo. He looked up at Santiago watching him. He knew she needed the gun more than him, so he threw it back into the four-by-four. He walked around to Santiago on the other side of the four-by-four. “Whether you like it or not, we’re in this together. Good luck.”

Fuller gave Santiago one last look over, then turned and headed into the open desert. His boots kicked up dust as he headed into the morning sun.

“Where are you going? Come back!” she yelled after him. “Come back,” she whispered to herself.

Santiago stood alone. Everything still, except for the slight breeze of the desert wind.

Fuller’s natural instinct was to respond—especially to someone as fine as Santiago. But not this time. Maybe leaving her in the desert for a while would knock her over-zealous pride down a peg or two. Besides, he had his own problems to deal with. Just keep walking. Don’t look back.

Now fending for herself, Santiago laid a large map of the area out on the hood of the four-by-four, pegging the map with two small desert stones.

Where to start? She wasn’t quite sure where she even was on the map. She looked up at the rising sun. That was roughly north of due east. She scanned the map to see if she could see where the facility might be and how far they might have traveled.

***

Fuller climbed a small, rocky hill to try to get an idea of where to head. Before him lay a valley with miles and miles of wild landscape: rocks, dead trees and some tumbleweed. While contemplating his direction, his ears pricked at the sound of a four-by-four quickly drawing closer. His first reaction—run! But, as he glanced over his right shoulder at the four-by-four, he saw Santiago in the driver’s seat.

A cloud of dust blew over him as the four-by-four came to an abrupt stop.

Santiago opened her door, standing up in the door well, grinning. “It looks like the main road is only a few miles in that direction.” She pointed over her shoulder.

Fuller turned back to look at the expansive landscape in front of him. He was hesitant to return to the four-by-four.  He turned back to look at Santiago, who had pulled out the twelve gauge, resting it on top of the roof of the four-by-four.

“Do I need to take you hostage?” she said with a smile.

Fuller weighed up in his mind—a beautiful woman with a truck and a shotgun—or a lonely walk through unknown wilderness. “No more crying and complaining!”

“Get in the truck.”