The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 57

Daniel headed back to the secondary building and went to a door on the main level. I had thought it was a bedroom door, but it actually opened up to reveal a staircase going down. As if this building didn't have enough staircases already... The architect was definitely smoking something to put three sets of stairs in one fairly small three story building.

I followed Daniel cautiously in case I was walking into a trap, but I didn't think that there was one. He had already pinned me once and would have acted then if he had planned on doing anything. The stairs only went down one level to a door that opened to reveal a long hallway. The smell of bleach and other sterilizers was strong.

I could see that doors lined both sides. This basement was as big as the other floors, but these shiny metal doors did not lead to bedrooms. They were clearly meant to be easy to clean, although I was a bit relieved to see that they were not the solid kind that were meant to stand up to an attack.

Daniel headed to an open doorway and went inside. I cautiously approached it and looked in before entering. It was a lab of some sort, and judging from how strong Nina's scent was, she spent a lot of time down here. Despite the late hour, that very lady was sitting on a computer chair waiting for us.

She smiled apologetically, "Trinity, I do apologize for not asking permission to take your blood. Please let me explain our reasons and I will answer any questions you may have."

I stopped just inside the door as I silently watched the lady in suspicion. They had better have one hell of a good reason for taking my blood without my permission. Daniel sat down in a chair not far from her. There were several other chairs scattered around, but I was too on edge to sit.

Nina took my silence as the cue to begin, "It may be easier to start at the beginning. Before the first zombie appeared, I had been working in one of the biggest medical research facilities in the country. I was one of the many people who were directed to start researching the zombie virus to see if we could come up with a cure, or at the very least, create a vaccine.

"The fact that we are here shows that no one had any success in that area. Mere weeks later about half of us were sent out to small towns where no zombies had appeared, to see if something there was preventing the spread of the virus. We had no idea it was in the flu vaccine at that point, even though we knew about the sneezing symptom and helped spread word about that.

"While I was in that small town I met Daniel. He had just started sneezing so we put him into isolation. There had been rumors and other reports of the different types of zombies and the potential for them to remain sane. Someone on a different research team happened to turn into a Nightstalker early in the first wave and managed to remain in control. Anyone who was sneezing was given that same warning that you heard on the radio.

"We helped Daniel in the early days, but the town ended up getting overrun. Daniel was quite instrumental in getting the fifty-some remaining survivors to a nearby Stronghold. That place was terrified of him though, and asked him to keep going. I decided to tag along with him and see if I could continue my work. We eventually found a place that was more than eager to help and that is how we ended up here.

"As for what we are doing, it is mostly blood tests as we try to understand exactly how the virus works as well as come up with a vaccine or a cure for it. The problem is that the virus has different triggers and that is what decides what type of zombie a person turns into. Different types of zombies are, for all intents and purposes, carrying a similar, but different type of virus.

"In all honesty, all I have done with your blood is examine the triggers and differences. You have no idea how valuable your blood has been so far. Within days we managed to pin down the regular zombie trigger and create a medication that inactivates it. So if a person hasn't turned yet, we can at least stop them from becoming a regular mindless zombie."