The darkness of the night washed all around them, chasing away the brilliance of the sunset and soon they were submerged in inky blackness.
“I liked them,” Jenni said, finally.
“Me, too,” Bill answered. “They were both great guys.” Abruptly, the cab was filled with a bright, white light and they were both instantly blinded. The red truck veered off the road, through the brush, and impacted hard against a fence post.
Inside the truck, nothing stirred.
Chapter 10
1. Full Circle
Jenni swam up from the depths of unconsciousness, her mind spinning and her body spasming. She fought to wakefulness, pushing her eyes open, straining to see.
There was a loud ringing in her ears that made her feel sick to her stomach.
Something bad had happened, but fragments of memory eluded her as she grasped for them. Where was she? Was she in a truck? The truck had crashed! But she wasn’t in a truck; she was on a bed or cot. She had been in a hospital, but they had escaped. Hadn’t they? Suddenly, she wasn’t too sure.
And were there zombies around?
She forced herself to sit up completely, her eyes fighting to close. Everything was white and bright around her, blurring her vision, making her feel even more woozy. A dark figure lurched toward her and she could barely discern the mottled green that covered it. With a short scream, she kicked out, striking the shape firmly in the chest with the heel of her boot. She heard it moan and fall back.
Dimly aware of her surroundings, she staggered to her feet and saw another figure moving toward her. “Fuck off,” she growled, and backed away from it.
It continued toward her and her swimming vision made it hard to see. It grabbed her wrist firmly and it made a noise, but she could not hear it through the ringing in her ears. Her elbow came up sharply into the thing’s face.
With a startled cry, it let go of her, dropping back. Spinning away from it, she stood on unsteady legs trying to figure out where the hell she was.
Finally, her vision slightly cleared and she made out the red of an exit sign over the door.
Then the door opened and another mottled creature entered. Her hand hit something hard as she scrambled to get out of its way. She grabbed it, with the dull realization that it was the back of a chair. She swung it hard, but the creature was ready and deflected it. Then she saw the dark shape raise something.
Seconds before she lost consciousness, she realized the shape was wearing army fatigues.
*
“How did it go?” “She hurt two of my people,” the First Lieutenant responded. “I think she thought they were zombies.”
“She caught them by surprise. She’s the weaker one. Try again.”
“Yes, sir.”
*
The smell of ammonia brought Jenni to wakefulness sharply and painfully. Her temple was throbbing and she felt like throwing up. She was sitting on a cot and a soldier was leaning over her. The woman in the army fatigues with short cropped blond hair looked at her kindly.
“How you feeling?” she asked Jenni. Jenni promptly slugged the woman in the face. Diving off the cot, she rushed toward the nearest door.
“Grab her!” the army nurse shouted.
One of the guards managed to grab Jenni around the waist and hoist her off the ground. “Let me go!” Jenni kicked her legs and twisted frantically.
There was a sharp prick in her arm, then the world swam and went dark.
*
“Tell me you had success this time.” “I would like to, sir, but she fought back the second she was awake. Sir, I seriously believe we should question the man first.”
“The woman is the weaker link. Try again. Restrain her this time.”
“Yes, sir.”
*
Jenni jerked away as the smell of ammonia assaulted her senses again. She found herself sitting in a chair before a table, her hands restrained behind her with plastic cuffs. Trying to move, she found her ankles were also cuffed.
“Shit!”
Across from her sat a very handsome black man with the kindest green eyes she had ever seen. He was staring at her curiously, his expression quite intense. “Fuck you.”
“We hardly know each other,” the man answered, flashing a brilliant smile. Jenni set her jaw, her gaze steely.
“You know, we’re just trying to get to know you.”
“You fucking kidnapped me!” Jenni nearly growled the words. She was so pissed she wasn’t even sure why she was so angry. Thoughts of Juan were jumbled with the disaster at the hospital and then the bright light blinding her and Bill. “Where the hell is Bill?”
“Is that his name?”
Jenni clamped her mouth shut.
“We’ve met before. You and I,” the man said. “On a road, long ago. You were in a pink bathrobe and you had this dog that looked exactly like my dog when I was a kid. And there was a blond woman with you. I have a photographic memory. I remember people. I remember you.” Taking a deep breath, Jenni glared at him and said nothing.
“I told you to come here. To Madison. But you didn’t. You went somewhere else.”
The man opened up a folder and began to show her photos of the fort. Then the photos became more personal, showing people. Obviously the photos had been taken with a telescopic lens. She saw herself and Juan in one. The sight of the man she loved brought tears to her eyes. “Tell me about your home, Genevieve,” the man said in a soft, warm voice.
“Fuck you, puto.” The man just smiled a little, then said, “Like I said, we hardly know each other. Besides, my superiors have me in here visiting with you to find out more about this enclave you live in than trying to get lucky with you.”
“I’m not going to tell you a gawddamn thing,” Jenni snapped at him. “You fucking kidnapped me! You had no right!”
“We’re under orders to bring any civilians we find outside of the designated rescue center back here. For your protection.” Jenni began to try to twist her hands. She knew it was fruitless, but she needed to remain angry or she was going to cry. Juan needed her and these assholes had kidnapped her.
“Genevieve, please, you need to talk to me. Tell me about your friends,” the man continued in his soft voice.
“How do you know my name?” The soldier silently drew a folded sheet of paper from the folder. “My Darling Genevieve, you’re still a loca bitch, but I love you. Juan.”
Jenni screamed at him with raw hate and struggled to get free. “That’s mine!”
With a sigh, the soldier stood up. “Well, I see you don’t want to cooperate. I’ll give you a little time to cool off.” Jenni never heard his complete sentence. She somehow managed to flip herself backwards and hit her head with a resounding thud.
The nurse sighed. “She’s going to have a concussion from that.”
The First Lieutenant nodded. “Thank goodness she has a hard head.”
*