The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 70

My muscles twitched restlessly as I waited for the sky to darken further. The restlessness was back and a bit worse than before. It was hard to sit. My instincts were definitely stronger though. They wanted to head to the forest instead of hanging out on this open rooftop.

The fire was burning merrily and giving off enough light that Daniel didn't need his flashlight to watch me, although it was in his hand just in case. My senses seemed to come alive as my instincts strengthened. Even from up here the small movements of animals on the edge of the forest caught my attention.

Details were sharper and my sense of smell was even keener. A heat haze interrupted my watch of the forest. "Ten seconds. This one was 20 minutes from the last one. The one before was 18 minutes."

Nina nodded and recorded it in her notepad as well. "The drug is probably breaking down faster now. I assume your headache is fading. How is your control?"

I nodded slowly, "Yes, the headache is fading to something that I can actually ignore."

I was silent as I evaluated my control and noticed an anomaly. I examined it in bewilderment. Nina noticed that I hadn't answered her one question and I had always answered each one so far, "Trinity? Are you having any problems with your control?"

All three were watching me closely. I slowly looked toward Nina with a confused expression, "My control is fine. The bloodlust is gone though. Your scent is even less appealing than that apple was."

Daniel looked at me in complete disbelief, "Are you sure?"

I took a slow deep breath, I halfway expected to be hit with their strong scent, but it didn't bother me. The burning in my throat was truly gone. The faintest hint of desire for their blood was there, but I had to look for it to notice it. Normally I had to constantly use control to avoid giving into the siren-like temptation. I wasn't sure when this change had occurred.

I exhaled slowly, "I know I was getting accustomed to the scent of humans back in the Stronghold, but this is different. I actually have to look for it to find even the smallest hint of bloodlust. The burning in my throat is gone as well. I am so used to suppressing it that I am not sure when it faded."

Nina took quick notes, "Has your sense of smell changed?"

I took another deep breath, the strong scent of the humans still didn't bother me. Daniel's scent bothered my instincts as it always did. I could smell the animals in the forest beyond and their scent caused a thread of bloodlust that I usually felt. "My sense of smell got stronger as my instincts rose. I can easily smell the wildlife in the forest. Their scent makes me want to hunt, but neither you nor Nicky cause any noticeable bloodlust."

Nina looked intrigued as she made notes, "Let me get a blood sample so I can compare the samples. The batteries have about an hour of charge left."

She pulled out a needle and with a sigh I held out my arm for her. I was beginning to develop a dislike for needles. Nina also took note of my vitals before heading back to her microscope. I shook myself as I stood up. The restlessness demanded attention as much as a swarm of ants did if they were under your clothing.

I glanced at the three, "Unless someone needs something, I really can't sit still anymore."

Daniel shook his head and Nina was too preoccupied to respond. I turned and went to the edge of the roof before dropping down. I wasted no time heading for the nearby forest and switching to my silent Nightstalker stalk. The restlessness disappeared.

My instincts were still high and making me more aware of things, but they weren't trying to push me to do anything. I removed my sunglasses and looked around in amazement. The details were sharp and crisp – even more so than usual. I hadn't noticed earlier due to how dirty my glasses had gotten while riding down the dusty road.