The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 19

Ten minutes later I paused to listen and scent the air. I didn't hear anything, but I was picking up Daniel's scent. He was on my trail. Considering he wasn't calling out, that wasn't a good thing. Unless he didn't think I would answer, which was also a possibility.

I picked up speed again while looking around for something that could resemble cover. Not much would stop a Terror, so unless I found a cave that I could just squeeze into, I was going to be facing him shortly. I doubted that he was going to be out of control like he had been earlier, but I wasn't taking any chances.

I started to pick up the sound of his footsteps. He was gaining on me rapidly. I glanced around wildly, I needed something to give me an advantage before my time ran out. My eyes landed on a massive tree with huge branches.

I jumped up on one of the branches as I turned to face my pursuer. I could hear that he was running in a hunting crouch as he tracked me. I dropped into a light crouch as I drew my sickle. My left hand reached into the pocket of my jacket for an item that might give me an advantage even against a Terror, if I could take him by surprise.

Mace. It was bad enough for a human, but it was agony for a zombie since our sense of smell was stronger. It would bother me, but I could breathe through my mouth since I knew what to expect. If he got a full blast of mace in his face, he would be distracted long enough for me to temporarily cripple him and escape.

He would expect me to go for his neck, but I had no intention of that since he would be expecting it. Truthfully, I didn't want to kill him or potentially strip his human mind of control by knocking him out. I would be aiming for his legs. If he couldn't run, he couldn't chase me.

I was more than ready to play dirty. I knew I was outclassed and I wanted to walk out of this confrontation alive. I kept the small object hidden in my hand. He would undoubtedly know I was holding something, but he wouldn't know what it was. The heat rose in my veins as I took my stand.

I was done running for the moment. My vision hazed a deeper red as my instincts rose to the front of my mind. I let them rise. He entered the clearing at a run and slid to a stop as he instantly spotted my motionless form.

His red eyes showed that his own instincts were quite high from the earlier fight or from trying to track me. Possibly a combination of both. He took a step forward as he started to rise out of his crouch as he began to walk toward me.

I was in no mood to have him any closer to me and I still had no intentions to hear him out or go back. My snarl was closer to an enraged shriek of pent-up emotions. At this point, I was pissed, and I made sure anything within hearing range knew it. He paused with narrowed eyes, he had not expected me to stand my ground and threaten him. His eyes glowed redder, showing that my challenge was hitting his instincts hard.

I growled at him, egging him on as I dropped into a deeper crouch. If I pressed his zombie instincts enough, it could fog the human mind slightly and he wouldn't realize what I was up to until it was too late. A Terror should have no problem beating a Nightstalker. In theory at least.

With luck, he wouldn't question that assumption either. I noticed that he still carried no weapons, but I was armed. Hopefully he would overlook that detail as he relied on his greater speed and strength.

My tactics to rile him up were working. His muscles shook lightly in his desire to attack as he took a step forward. I stared right at him in a challenge as I lapsed into silence. My ambush was set. I could see him struggling for control as he took several more steps forward. He paused and shook his head as he finally took in my silent poised form.

His eyes locked onto the sickle in my right hand and I could see some rational thoughts once more entering his mind. His eyes narrowed as he noticed my sudden silence when I should have been growling or snarling. He took a step backward.