The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 60

I kept my ears open while peeling veggies and it was no surprise that word was spreading like wildfire about me knowing what was going on. None of the staff approached me about it, but I heard faint whispers from them and from those just outside the open kitchen door.

Nina once more joined Nicky and me at lunch. I glanced around, "What did you do to Daniel? I don't think I have ever seen you two apart."

Nina grinned at me, "He is off with a group of people to cage some feral Runners and take them to a holding barn to the south. He will help me get some blood from them. The more samples we have, the better it is for us. Most of our testing is done in blood samples. Using feral Runners also gives us a chance to try out any promising cures on an actual zombie without putting a sane zombie at risk of unforeseen side effects. Forewarned, he will be a bit grouchy when he gets back. Dealing with ferals always puts him in a bad mood."

I blinked slowly, "Are there a lot of those unforeseen side effects?"

Nina sighed, "Yeah. The virus is tenacious. Kind of like trying to treat a really nasty wide spread cancer, but worse. No cancer ever had the power to regenerate entire limbs and keep a body from failing even if its host bled out."

Nicky shuddered, "Ughh! I am trying to eat here! Obviously scientists and zombies have one thing in common, not much grosses you out when you are eating. But please let the rest of us eat in peace without nausea."

Nina looked amused, but changed the topic, "Trinity, you mentioned earlier that the night called to you, can you elaborate on that?"

She dug into a side satchel to pull out a small notepad and pen. The interrogator was back. Fantastic, just what I wanted... Perhaps we should give Nicky some coffee just to make this day even better.

I knew that Nina had never managed to talk to the first Nightstalker that passed through and it looked as if she was trying to make up for lost time.

I sighed, "A Nightstalker's instincts strengthen once the sun has set. There is a strong desire to go outside at night. As a human, I loved big thunderstorms and enjoyed sitting on our porch to watch one while feeling the cool breeze. It always seemed to make me feel alive and invigorated. It is somewhat similar to that, but different."

Nina's hands flew as she took notes. She glanced at me, "I had a look at your sunglasses while you were unconscious. How did you customize them? Daniel said that the soft stuff around the edges smelled like silicone when he scratched a bit off."

I made a mental note to check my other two pairs to ensure that he hadn't damaged their fit. "No pair of welding glasses that look like sunglasses has a perfect seal, other than some rather ugly goggles, so I do have to make some modifications. I took black silicone and put a line of it around the frame before putting a strip of plastic wrap over it. Then I put them on and the silicone molded to my face perfectly. The plastic kept the silicone from sticking to me and once the silicone had cured, I just trimmed the plastic off."

"Can you see with them on at night? How well can you see?"

I resignedly regarded the overenthusiastic lady who had completely forgotten about her half-eaten plate of food, "You have to eat at least three bites between each question."

I took a slow bite of an apple slice to emphasize my point. Nina screwed up her face, but reluctantly traded her pen for her fork. She took exactly three hurried bites and grabbed her pen while still chewing her last mouthful.

I rolled my eyes, but held up my end of the deal, "I can see with them on even during the new moon, although it is quite dim. With your curiosity, I am sure that you tried them on. How much could you see?"