The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 127

The brown haired man ushered us in through the gates. "Yes, the survivors from that overrun Stronghold are here. Please come in. We heard a group was traveling around with the cure and we were hoping you would show up before it was too late."

Nina inquired, "I assume from your wording that some are infected? If it was a bite or a direct blood contamination, then we need to get to them fast."

"I will take you straight there. They are in isolation in a hotel just outside the fence. Two have already turned, but most are still surviving. Some probably are not infected, but they agreed to stay there for a week to make sure. We couldn't let them inside the fence in case someone turned."

The man set a fast walk as we crossed the Stronghold before going outside of the fence toward a four story high hotel. I wrinkled my nose against the smell of dozens of infected people. They may have escaped the Stronghold alive, but unless Nina intervened, they wouldn't remain that way for long.

Two people were guarding the door and let us in. I blinked in surprise as I saw that they had replaced the doors on the rooms with jail cell doors. At least that made it easy to see the person within. Daniel paused by the first door and sniffed before glancing at Nina, "She will need the cure."

The doors did nothing to stop sound and the voluntary inmates began to come to their doors as word spread that someone had brought a cure. I could now see that there was one person per room and they were unable to open the doors from inside. I could smell and hear the groans and growls of two zombies. In truth, I was surprised that more hadn't already turned.

Nina spoke quite loudly so that everyone on this level could hear her as she explained about the cure and the serum. The woman in front predictably opted for the cure.

The brown haired leader scratched his head, "Joanne, I hope you don't mind remaining in there at least until morning or preferably for a few more days? I really don't want to chance the cure not working and have someone turn inside the fence..."

She nodded in understanding, "No problem. I can stay in here for several more days. If you bring up more yarn, I can knit some more blankets to kill the time. You have been very hospitable considering most would have turned us away without a second thought."

He relaxed, "Thank you. I will have someone bring you more yarn."

Our group kept moving down the hallway. All of the patients were willing to stay in their rooms for four more days. The leader had agreed to bring a cat in at that time. Those who were able to pet it without it freaking out would be welcome to join their Stronghold.

Daniel sniffed and shook his head, "He isn't infected."

I also checked and corrected Daniel, "You better get your nose checked. He is infected, but it is progressing much slower." The hints were faint even for my nose, but the man was at the bars and close enough for me to pick it up.

The leader looked startled. He had not known I was a zombie. Nina shrugged, "Neither the cure nor the serum will harm him if he is not infected, so I will give it to him as a precaution."

The man wanted the cure, of course. Soon we kept moving. We had injected every person we saw so far and we had stopped in front of at least twenty rooms so far. I sniffed the air and inquired, "How many people got out? I find it strange that everyone we have seen so far is infected."

"Ah, yes. A total of 84 people showed up the other night. We put those that we thought were infected on this floor since it has the strongest doors. The others are on the other floors."

I nodded, that made sense. It also explained the bewilderingly high numbers of infected people. We passed by a room with a piece of plywood nailed over the door. The moans of a zombie told the fate of its occupant.

John looked uneasy as we passed it. Logan didn't pay it much mind, but he watched Nina and Daniel with interest. Even after all of the times he watched Nina administer the cure, he always seemed intrigued and curious. I thought it was odd and kept an eye on him, but never really saw anything else that raised any warning flags.

I watched as Nina emptied another vial, "Are you going to have enough?"

Nina nodded absently as she ensured that no air bubbles were in the needle, "Enough for this place at least. I have just under 200 doses left before the only option is the serum. We could always return to Ironwind to restock, but it would take us two days of driving considering our distance at this point."

"I hadn't realized that you had so much stockpiled in that truck."

Nina injected the arm that the man put through the bars before shrugging, "I saw no sense in leaving more than a dozen vials behind since Luke was going to make more in our absence."

That also made sense and I didn't respond. Nicky yawned in boredom, "I am not sure who originally chose this wallpaper, but they must have been to the Glenbrook Mental Institute since the exact same stuff is on their walls too."

Daniel rolled his eyes, "Behave or we can lock you into one of the empty rooms in this place and just collect you on the way back."

Nicky grinned at his mild threat and wandered over to a door with no occupant. She bent in front of the lock and a few moments later I heard a click before Nicky waved a bobby pin in the air and proclaimed, "You wouldn't even make it down the hallway. The locks on these doors are the same cheap shit the police stations use in rooms to contain drunks or those who just need a time out."

The brown haired man leading us was beginning to look worried as hints of Nicky's past came to light once more. He was probably wondering how often Nicky had ended up in police custody to be able to pick that lock in under ten seconds. I didn't even bother wondering because I really didn't want to know the answer to that question. Some things were better left unknown.

We climbed the steps to the next floor and the mostly human scents were reassuring. Daniel stopped by the first door and glanced at me, "I am not picking anything up."

I came a few steps closer. The man was uneasy, but didn't move away from the door. Some of those who had come along to observe must have come up here to spread the word of our arrival. We didn't have to explain why we were here.

"As far as I can tell he is uninfected. He can try petting that cat every two days for the next week. If he is infected, it will be quite obvious and someone can administer the cure then."

The man was relieved and happy to accept such precautions. It took us much less time to go through this hallway since only four were infected. We kept going through the entire building.

The brown haired man sighed in relief, "Thank you so much. I will bring that cat in as you suggested. Could you also check on the residents as well?"

Daniel nodded, "Yes, let's go back and I can ensure that none have that airborne variant."

The man happily led us back. Daniel paused in surprise as we entered the gate. I didn't blame him. This was a first. Around two hundred people were lined up along one side of the street and were clearly waiting for us.

The man noticed Daniel's surprise and explained, "I sent someone back and every single person is in this lineup."

This man was surprisingly good at thinking ahead and having things organized. Daniel started walking down the long line as the rest of us followed. He easily located the two infected and Nina inoculated them. Checking a Stronghold usually took an hour or more, but this time it took under five minutes for Daniel to check everyone.

Nina left ten vials of the cure since there were so many in quarantine. The leader and quite a few others were very grateful. They were sad that they couldn't offer us lodgings for the night since we planned to keep going. One thing was certain, any of us were welcome to stop here at any time.