Badass

Chapter 3

"There are a few staggering around but if we stay quiet and away from the windows we should be fine" said one of the new guys. The look out tower is surrounded by windows all around us and the only way in or out is through the floor and there Is counters all around with equipment and paperwork laying all over. The guy that pulled me along by my hand had sat beside me the whole time. I look at him, he is the definition of tall, dark and handsome with a military cut to his almost black hair and his forest green eyes that are looking around, when he notices me looking at him he shoots out his hand "Hi I'm Tatum Blake" I put down my weapon that I was still gripping and place my hand in his and shake his hand "Oh, I'm Dr. Amelia Adams" He rises his eyebrow "A doctor?" Captain Tyler who is sitting next to Lopez who is sitting next to me, interrupts and says "before we get into that, what unit are you?" Tatum turns to the captain still holding my hand which is starting to get awkward "Special forces, Unit Wolf bite and you?" He raises his eyebrow "Army, unit Charlie" They nod at each other then Tatum turns back to me "So?" I look at Captain Tyler and he nods, a go ahead, I turn back "I am an archaeologist, I was part of the team that came back from Libya" it would have been funny if it wasn't a serious situation, the new team do a silent retreat to the other side of the room but Tatum stays where he is, it's my turn to raise my eyebrow, he shrugs "I read the report about you not showing any symptoms and this team were protecting you and the fact that you were doing an amazing job with an assault rifle tells me you are ok" I give him a huge smile and the rest of his team sighs a breath of relief. I won't say it out loud but it was starting to hurt my feelings when people treated my like I was a leaper but this Tatum dude lost points for having information before hand, now I don't know if he liked me or just wasn't scared of me.

Just as the sun was starting to rise over the horizon everyone gets up to see the situation below, "So Dr. Amelia Adams, my team was sent out to assist or recover you from the centre you were being quarantined at" Tatum says as he offers me his water bottle "So we are a five day track on foot away from HQ, the same place you were on your way to when we found you, our scientists seem to think that you are the key to this whole s**t, so the question is, can you make it?" I put the lid back onto the water bottle and hand it back to him I stand up and place my brave face on I say "I'll attempt it or die trying" everyone in the lookout either give a snort or a gasp "I guess that's not as bad ass as it once would have been, since the s**t has hit the fan?" they guy yanks me down again and I'm about to hand his ass to him to when he winks at me.

The new team is kind of badass, I have to admit, as everyone gathers their bags and ready their guns, the Special Forces put a extra layer onto their guns and I realize its silencers. "Here is the POA" Lopez whispers to me "that's Plan Of Action" I nod as he carries on "to get out of here, I want the SFS" she leans over again that's special forces"i smile my thanks "to shoot the remaining infected and grab a running buddy which consists of the Army unit and we'll swing down and run at every direction then when you are certain that you are not being followed we will randevu at this location" he points at the map and everyone gives a single nod, as if to say "Got it" see I'm getting this whole military thing. Tatum looks at everyone again "I want one army with one SF" he looks at me "I will run with the good doctor here, got it?" Everyone gets up and start to pair off, it's a like grade school all over again. They introduce themselves to each other, the ones closer to the door starts gathering the rope that was in a box in the corner that I never noticed. Tatum pulls me to the left corner and starts to wrap a rope around my waist and his own then ties the other end to a hook on a trap door I didn't notice either. Something about his actions start making sweat, I don't know exactly what's happening but I know I'm not going to like it "We are going propel down to the ground, once we touchdown and I want you to start running to the right, don't wait for me to untie us, I will do that as soon as the coast is clear, understand?" I gulp and whisper "I understand" he stands up and does a motion with his hand, suddenly all you hear is a few "whoosh" then a "Go" and then multiple trap doors - boy I'm not really good at noticing small details, am I - are lifted and I didn't realize we jumped until wind wipes past me and the ground came rushing up at me. I didn't scream nor grunt when I landed on the ground mostly because I'm in shock and haven't had time to work through it like a plane during lunch time, I'm on autopilot mode as we run.

The shock and adrenaline mixes and Is flowing as we run, once we hit the tree line, my heart beat faster, warning me that we were not yet out of danger. I could hear the firing of the silencers, giving me an indication that I was correct and the infected were indeed

surrounded us. Tatum pushed me down onto the forest floor, then started shooting as a few infected came running at us, I felt useless as the teams only non-trained link so I thought I would assist by taking some down, I whip my weapon into position but just as my finger starts to tense on the trigger, the gun was pushed upward and I looked at the culprit, Tatum puts a finger to his lips then whispers "No sound". It occurs to me that I don't have a silencer on the end of my weapon, I nod but I feel like a total i***t. Tatum pulls me onto my feet, grabs my the gun and places it across his back, the next thing I know we're running again.

We make it to a river, its rather wide with the water rushing down stream my legs cramping and I have a stitch in my sternum "I can't go in there" I whisper, while I sit on a log, I just needed two minutes, it comes down to that bloody cardio again, Note to self: Do more cardio! Tatum sits next to me but stays alert, he's not even breathing hard, bastard! "Why not, it's not deep nor strong" I roll my eyes take a few deep breaths "Water and me never got along, dammit, I almost drowned at the coast, I have had crabs pinch my skin on fishing trips, trust me the stories just get more ugly" I'm looking down at my hands in my lap while waiting for his reaction, nothing, I look up and then I must have had a look on my face because he burst out laughing. Just then the suns reflection caught him just right because his dark hair, green eyes, full lips and chiselled jaw, looked like a Michelangelo painting, I actually forgot what we were talking about. "Amelia, you are going to have to trust me, I won't let anything happen to you" I didn't give him leave to use my name but I figure he's trying to keep me calm. I could have sworn I heard a "now nor never" come from him, I feel a blush work his way up my neck to my face, mentally shook that thought away and stood up and to cover up my embarrassment I say "Let's do this" with more bravo than I actually feel.

I was doing fairly well, I was a little impressed with myself but it was a slow working progress, I stayed upright and headed in the correct direction, despite the fact that the rocks were slippery and I had an sense of urgency. We just made to the far bank when I stepped wrongly on a rock and went down, thank goodness Tatum was only a few steps ahead of me because he managed to grab my shirt, ripping it straight down the front, exposing my sports bra in the process but managed to stop me from falling completely to a cold death, OK I was being a little dramatic. I took a step up the embankment but my ankle collapsed on me and Tatum, who was helping me get up, catches me in his arms "That bloody water curse" I mutter under my breath while he sets me down. "See I told you it was a terrible idea" but Tatum places a finger against my lips and I take a moment to listen, we hear moaning in the distance and there, across the river are a swarm of infected and they seem determined to reach us as they start to walk across the river "Oh s**t! Ok

Amelia this is what I need you to do, I'm going to give you my shirt because we don't want to attract the boy zombie's" I roll my eyes as he gives me a wink, I think sure and it's ok if he attracts the girl ones "You need to place an arm around my neck while I hold your waist and I'll run and assist you to hop, got it?" I swallow my growing fear and say "Sir, yes sir" Boy, I really need new material. He quickly removes his gun and backpack and yanks his shirt over his head, luckily he’s wearing a vest so I won't be so

distracted that I run into a tree. He helps me up pulls his shirts over my head and down but before I know it I'm hanging onto a almost naked man, running for our lives, just a normal day, folks.