The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 41

I lifted my head several minutes later. I could hear a deer approaching me rapidly. Could he be chasing a deer toward me? I hadn't expected that, but I wasn't going to argue. I moved behind a bush along the edge of the trail at the far end of the clearing so I could ambush it when it ran by.

I could hear Daniel's footsteps not far behind the deer. I watched as the deer raced into the clearing. To my surprise, Daniel bolted forward with inhuman speed to slam his fist down on the back of its neck. I heard the spine shatter as the deer collapsed lifelessly down in the middle of the clearing.

Daniel looked around the clearing, his sight must be phenomenal since he managed to spot me despite the fact that I was mostly hidden in my chosen ambush position. "Here you go. I'll be back in about fifteen minutes."

With that, he turned and left the clearing. I remained motionless for several seconds longer to ensure that he truly wasn't coming back to claim his kill. My eyes examined the deer as I walked toward it, it looked like his strike had come close to pulverizing the neck instead of simply shattering or breaking it. If he ever got mad and started swinging his fists, I was leaving the area as fast as possible.

I didn't have a knife, but with a bit of work my sharp nails shaved the hair away from the skin. My teeth sliced easily through the skin to get to the artery. The hot blood was welcome and seemed to bolster my energy levels almost instantly. The pain in my wounds also subsided a bit. By the time I drained the deer I was quite full. I walked away from the deer to the far side of the clearing where I sat on a log to wait for Daniel's return.

I thought hard about seeing if I could try to sneak away, but he would easily catch up with me. I suspected that until my wounds healed that he would haul me back to the Stronghold by force if needed. I examined other possible ways to leave, but came up empty. Even if I left right at sunset, I wouldn't be able to get that far on foot. It may take Daniel a few hours to catch up, but Nina would probably send him after me again with her newfound mother-hen rationality.

Chances of finding a vehicle or gas around here were non-existent. The locals would have checked every place three times over. If I stole one of their vehicles, they would definitely come after me and they would be rightfully quite upset. I gritted my teeth as I realized that I was stuck here until I had healed enough to run at full speed, which would probably take another two weeks after today's stunt.

I had been walking slowly to hide a painful limp after Daniel had caught up with me. Admittedly, most badly injured Nightstalkers tended to hole up until their injuries healed, but a Stronghold was not my first choice. I wasn't being given a choice though.

If I thought that the last week of traveling with this group had felt like forever, I suspected that the next week was going to set an entirely new precedent. I didn't know what to expect from Nina. At this point, I wasn't sure what was worse, her acting like a mother hen or her curious questions. Both were a form of cruel and unusual torture.

I looked up as I heard Daniel's footsteps approaching. He walked over to me with a relaxed expression, "We can go whenever you are ready."

I managed a half smile, "I am really good at procrastinating."

He chuckled as he leaned against a nearby tree. He watched me in silence for some time. I was quite surprised that he was being so patient. I knew that I wouldn't have had nearly this much patience with a bullheaded lower class zombie that was bent on being stubborn.

He spoke quietly, "You said that the guy had tried to kill you before. Nina had mentioned when she patched you up that you had some scars that looked as if you had been shot in the past. Did he do that?"

I was silent for a bit before responding just as quietly, "It happened about a month after I turned. I found half a dozen men cornered by a couple of Runners and helped the men fight them off. They thanked me and invited me back to their Stronghold. They said that they would welcome me in if I could help keep other Runners and Nightstalkers at bay. I agreed and went back with them."