The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 135

I decided to walk around for the short time it would take until the darkness would be able to hide me. We had been given the tour earlier, but another circuit past the fence never hurt. As I had determined earlier, this place had average defenses and would be child's play for me to get over.

No wonder a feral Nightstalker could wipe out a Stronghold so easily. It was a good thing that light or fire would keep the deadly creatures at bay. That is if they could turn on a light or get a fire going quickly enough...

I felt the sun completely leave the horizon. It would get darker much faster now. I walked slowly beside a garage wall in the shadows as I bided my time. I paused as I heard voices not that far away.

John yawned. "I am going to grab a shower before heading back."

Logan responded, "Fine by me. I had one earlier."

"I'll see you later, then." John's footsteps headed the other way.

Well, well, well... I tilted my head as my instincts geared themselves toward some sort of ambush. It wasn't dark enough to easily stalk him. Logan's footsteps were headed in this direction, which made sense since I was between him and the small house. There was no possible way he could have known I was here either.

I leaned casually against the wall and crossed my arms as I waited. Sometimes simply appearing where people did not expect to see you was more effective than an actual ambush. Logan rounded the corner, but didn't see me in the deeper shadows along the garage wall. This is too priceless...

"Enjoying the evening, I presume?"

His jump and inhale of surprise as he spun to face the direction of my voice had been well worth using a faintly bored tone. I didn't let my amusement show on my face though. It still took him a few seconds to spot me in the growing shadows.

The smell of surprised fear and adrenaline was normal when startling someone like this. He exhaled in relief as he realized who had surprised him, "You surprised me. Must you attempt to scare the living daylights out of anyone who crosses your path?"

This was the second time I had startled him so badly. I actually found it amusing. I chuckled faintly, "In theory, no, but in reality, I find it intriguing to see how people react."

He shook his head at my opinion as he relaxed a bit more and glanced around, "I suppose you are waiting for it to get darker before heading out?"

I kept a sharp eye on him although I kept my posture relaxed, "Yes, but since you are here, I have several questions for you."

He looked confused, "What kind of questions?"

"Why exactly are you traveling with us? What is your angle?"

My question was not what he had been expecting. He shifted his weight a bit uneasily, "I want to go to Ironwind. If they accept zombies, then they can't be as bad as the place you found me at."

"You could have gone with a few other groups, yet you continued on with us. Why?"

He shrugged, clearly uncomfortable with the topic I had picked, but he still replied, "They might have stopped elsewhere on the way. Between you and the Terror, I know that feral zombies aren't much of a risk on this trip, so it is safer to travel with you."

I snorted in clear disbelief, "If you are claiming that those details truly concern you, then I call bullshit. That group we cured was not going to stop anywhere else in case the cure didn't work. You were alone for weeks in the middle of nowhere, so I know that feral zombies don't really scare you when you could easily escape with so many slower people around."