The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 79

Minutes later I heard the side by side drive up. That would be Nicky. After some discussion, they had decided to send Nicky out five minutes ahead of Daniel and Nina just to prevent Daniel's presence from messing up this test.

The moon provided just enough light for Nicky to see the door and open it. The Nightstalker watched silently from its spot as she entered the room. Nicky glanced around and saw the two pairs of red eyes in the darkness watching her. She started walking down the hallway toward me.

The Nightstalker silently watched her walk past the cage, but didn't move or do anything. Nicky stopped in front of it and stared directly at it. The Nightstalker closed its eyes, knowing that she could see them. Seconds passed and neither of them moved.

I could smell Nicky's nervousness, but the Nightstalker wasn't feeling bloodlust so it had no interest in her. Nicky could have been a log bobbing in the water for all the Nightstalker cared. The Nightstalker's instincts wanted her to remain invisible and she was simply following her instincts.

Nicky kept walking to me, "Okay, this is super creepy. Those screams earlier really riled up Daniel. We were by the gate when we heard them."

"That barely even classified as a disagreement. Did you bring the cages?"

"Yeah, I will go get them."

Nicky carefully made her way back through the darkness that was barely lightened by the moonlight through the windows. She ducked out the door before coming back in with a few animal carriers. She closed the door before opening up the cages.

Soon a dozen wild rabbits were scampering around the lab as they tried to find an exit. The Nightstalker had opened up its eyes and was watching them intently as it slowly walked back and forth along the bars of its cage. It was determined to silently stalk the rabbits so it wasn't banging on the bars or making any noise.

One rabbit made the mistake of squeezing through the bars on the far side of the cage. The faint scrape of its nails on the hard floor caught the Nightstalker's attention. The rabbit had barely taken two hops before the Nightstalker was on it. It screamed in pain as the Nightstalker swiftly grabbed it.

Like any predator, the Nightstalker went straight for its throat. Once the rabbit was limp the Nightstalker started eating it. I wrinkled my nose in distaste. My bloodlust for humans may be gone, but it still longed for the raw meat of animals. Watching this Nightstalker chew mouthfuls of raw meat had my instincts egging me on.

I ignored the urge as I had in the past. It was easy to overrule considering I had hunted before coming here. Nicky was a bit pale, "That just sounds disgusting. Please tell me that your table manners are better than that."

I snorted lightly in disdain, "I only drink the blood. Considering I don't return with blood-splattered clothing, the answer should be quite obvious."

I heard a truck pull up and stop. This could be interesting. Nina had somehow managed to convince Daniel to at least attempt to come into the barn with no lights. He would be nearly blind.

The door opened and Daniel's brightly glowing eyes showed that he was worked up. His eyes located mine on the far side before tracking over to the halfway visible eyes of the feeding Nightstalker. He knew where both of us were, although until Nicky moved or spoke, he would have no clue where she was.

The scurrying noise of the rabbits would also create a number of small sources of sound that he would undoubtedly be tracking since he couldn't see. He took a couple of slow steps into the room and I could see his flashlight grasped tightly in his hand in case he needed it. The Nightstalker was still busy voraciously feeding and she hadn't noticed Daniel yet.