The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 40

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I headed for the forest since I had a better chance of losing them in there. They would also be unable to bring the quads after me. I snarled in pain as I felt several branches strike the injury on my leg. I tried pushing for more speed anyway, but my injuries were sapping my speed and strength quite noticeably. I was barely running as fast as most humans and I couldn't go any faster. As it was, I felt the scabs on my injuries pulling open more and the scent of my own blood was easy to pick up.

Mere minutes later I heard swift footsteps coming up behind me. Daniel was having no problems following the heavy scent of my blood as it escaped from re-opened wounds. I growled as he put on a burst of speed while circling widely around me hidden just out of sight in the trees.

I slid to a stop as he darted around me to cut me off. My chest was heaving for breath as my heart pounded hard as it tried to keep up. The injuries to my heart and lungs were barely healed enough to keep them working. I stepped back with a frustrated snarl. The snarl was pretty pathetic since I was out of breath.

My mind was somewhat hazed from exhaustion, that run had taken a huge toll on my recovering body. Even my instincts didn't push me to try for First Strike. They knew that he was a Terror and that I was far too injured to even attempt it. I took another step back as I turned sideways with a growl, any feral zombie would know from my stance that I wanted no part of a challenge. It had been an instinctive action though, so it would have no real effect on sane zombies.

Daniel slowly walked toward me. His stance held no hint of a threat. I blinked as I noticed that he actually looked somewhat concerned as he approached. My wounds felt like they were on fire and I knew I wouldn't be able to go much further. The lack of an escape route didn't sit well with me. I took another step back with a faint growl, I wasn't exactly thinking clearly. I just wanted to get away from any human or zombie at this point.

Daniel seemed to realize that I wasn't exactly in control at the moment and stopped. He hesitated, uncertain of exactly how to approach me. He spoke softly, "Relax Trinity. I am not going to attack you. Let me check your injuries, from the smell you are bleeding quite a bit."

He took slow steps forward and my vision hazed a bit redder as the powerful zombie approached. I knew I had no chance of outrunning him on a good day, but in my current state, some humans could outrun me. My head was pounding in time with my heartbeat, and my mind still wasn't working clearly.

He reached out to touch my shoulder and I backed up a step out of reach with a faint growl. He sighed faintly as he took another slow step forward, "Take it easy. I just want to make sure you didn't injure yourself too badly. You have fresh blood stains where each of those bullets hit you."

I glanced down to see that he was correct. Huge splotches of red marked each injury that was hidden beneath my clothing. Half of my pant leg was soaked from the wound on my thigh. My shoulder wasn't too bad, but it still throbbed and bled. The two spots from the lung strike and heart had merged, although it looked as if the wound that damaged my lung had bled the most. It was a small miracle that the scab on my head hadn't re-opened.

No wonder I wasn't thinking straight, the blood loss would be affecting me, not to mention that I had managed to run myself into near exhaustion. My body's energy had been channeled into healing since I had been injured and it had nothing in reserve for strenuous activity.

He slowly reached out again. I gave a faint growl, but didn't move. He ignored my growl and carefully peeled back my shirt sleeve until he exposed the wound in my shoulder. Blood was slowly seeping out of various cracks in the scab. He held up something that looked like a pepper shaker and I narrowed my eyes at it. He explained, "This is cayenne powder, it will help stop the bleeding. I can do this wound, but I am pretty sure that if I try to patch up your other wounds that you will take a swipe at me."