Project Terminar
(Author's Note: This chapter is dedicated to Tennessee13 for making her awesome covers for me :) -Bri*
Chapter 1: Hunters (Britt Nicole as Brittany Slater, picture above. If the picture is not visible, please let me know.)
"We can't land here, we don't have any weapons! Not to mention it's dark!" Sawyer yells over the whipping blades of the helicopter.
"We're running on fumes! I'm going to have to put us down somewhere!" Talon argues.
I go to the back of the helicopter and sit down. I can't believe this. This isn't supposed to happen. We're supposed to be able to land, then cheer and scream for having our freedom back. Then we're supposed to go home, see our families again. I thought getting us off the island would solve everything.
I lean my head back on the rumbling metal. It's like we escaped Purgatory, and now we're being thrown into Hell.
My father wanted domination, but how is he supposed to get it when there is no one left to dominate?
Suddenly a loud beeping comes from the front, a flashing fuel symbol in unison with it, and Talon yells, "I have to bring it down! I don't have a choice!" He wasn't joking, you can feel the engine trying to cut out.
Suddenly a sick feeling starts in my stomach as we quickly start to go down. None of the buildings around us are stable enough to hold the massive death trap, so he takes us to the least populated place on the street.
It hits the concrete with a loud thud and the engines then go out completely.
"Oh no, run!" Zoey yells. I instinctively reach for my gun, but it's not there. We jump from the helicopter, landing on the concrete, and take off running. There is a wave of Grounders ready to kill not far down the street.
Suddenly gunshots ring out, some aimed at us, some aimed at the Grounders.
In front of us, around fifteen Grounders come around the block and are heading straight for us. We have no choice and end up getting separated, all of us going different directions through the buildings and alleyways. I can't believe this!
I take a back alleyway and go the direction away from all of the commotion. I have no clue how we're going to regroup after this. I round the corner and find myself in a very familiar situation.
"Who the hell are you?!" The boy demands while aiming a black pistol at me, causing it to shine in the moonlight. He can't be a day over twelve. I immediately put my hands up and reply, "Relax, okay? I don't-"
Suddenly something hard hits me in the back of the head, and that's it for me.
- - - - -
My head throbs and I sit up from the cold floor.
"She's awake." Someone say's.
I look around and see I'm in some kind of large office space. There are many desks everywhere but no cubicles. In front of me sit's the same boy who aimed a gun, and to the side of him is a slightly older boy. I look out the window and see we're up a few stories in the building, and the sun is now coming up.
"Did I seriously get my butt kicked by two boys?" I groan as I try to get up, but that's when I realize by hands are tied with rope in front of me.
The older blond looks at me, "Who are you?"
I look back and reply, "I could ask you the same."
"I'm not playing games," He points a pistol directly to the front of my head, "Who are you?"
Okay, that's it.
My right leg and arms go up at the same time. I grab his gun and my foot gets him where the sun doesn't shine, causing him to lurch forward. I shove him backwards with my feet and quickly stand, aiming my gun at him.
The other boy, whom I assume is his brother because of their resemblance, aims a shotgun at me.
I sigh and turn the safety on the gun, tossing it away from us all, and tell the boy, "My name is Britt, and I think you need more practice."
"You're not a Hunter?" The younger boy asks.
"No. Wait, what's a Hunter?" I ask.
"You're lying." The older boys retorts, standing from the ground.
I growl in irritation, "Look you little Brat, I could have killed you, but I didn't. I can tell the long story if you want to hear it, but I don't have time. I need to find my friends."
The older boy takes the shotgun from the younger one, pointing it at me from a distance this time, "You're not leaving, not until I hear a story. A detailed one."
I roll my eyes and sit down.
- - - - -
"Wow," The older boy comments to himself as he lowers his gun. After the long story of how I got here in a helicopter, he now believes me, "Sorry, we just can't trust anyone."
I shrug, "I know how you feel, but I would feel better if you untied me now."
He nods and undoes the complex knot from the rope, letting me go. I lean back on the desk and ask, "Did you see where my friends went?"
"They headed West, Infected were tailing them." He reply's.
"You mean Grounders?" I ask.
He nods, "Yeah, I guess, down here we call them Infected. Anyways, I'm Collin, that's my little brother Dylan."
"How old are you?" I ask.
"I'm fifteen, Dylan is twelve." He reply's. Huh, I was right.
"When did this happen?" I ask.
"We were born into it. No one knows how it happened in the first place. All we know is people started to go wild, biting other people, turning them crazy too. We never asked our parents when it happened, but it was a long time ago. I thought you said fear and stress trigger it?" He asks.
"In my experiment it did. I guess it was altered so that it goes through the blood stream. We were in that place much, much longer than I thought. Where's your parents?" I ask.
"They're m gone." He say's firmly.
I nod my head and change the subject, "Look, I have to find my friends." I get up to leave but Collin grabs my arm.
"You can't, you won't make it five feet from here." He warns.
"Why?" I ask.
He sighs, "During the day Hunters patrol, they'll kill you. There's too many of them and they have vehicles. During the night, Infected come out as well as the bigger creatures. You don't have a chance. There are quarantine zones, but they're very strict and you can't leave once you get there. They're actually quite harsh."
"Then how do you guys travel?" I ask.
"We run the second the sun peaks over the horizon, only for an hour. Then we have to hide again. Almost got caught by a few Hunters the other day." He reply's.
"Look, I've been through more creatures than you can count or even dream up. I think I'll leave tonight." I growl and take a seat again.
"But you weren't alone. You will be this time." He comments. I look at him. I didn't think about that; I won't have back up this time.
"Then I'll leave in the day." I retort.
"You'll have to have some serious stealth to get past these guys. Look, where are you trying to get to?" He asks.
I shrug, "I don't know. Usually we leave coded messages to get together. Talon was bound to leave one."
"I'll make a deal with you." He offers.
I raise an eyebrow, "And what is that?"
"I'm trying to get to my Uncle's. It's in the West. If you can find out where you are supposed to go, we can help you get there. In turn, when you find your friends, you help me get my brother to my Uncle's house. It should be safe for him there." He offers, but I can hear the 'begging for help' sound in his voice.
I nod, "I take it I'm on my own on finding the flier." I groan to myself, knowing Talon will post something around the city.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not putting my brother in danger." He explains.
"It's okay, I understand," I sigh, "Give me a few days so I can find the flier, poster, or something."
"Here," He hands me a loaded pistol, "Get back before dark. Good luck."
I nod, "Yeah, thanks."