The Virus Within: The Road Ahead (Book 1 - SERIES COMPLETED!)

Chapter 8

As afternoon turned into evening, I asked Hank, "Can you undo the metal on the doors so I can take Chloe out?"

It was a convenient excuse to slip out for a breath of fresh air and a quick hunt. I could have easily untwisted the bucket handle, but this was the best way to remain inconspicuous. The back doors had been chained shut by the previous owner, so there was no way to sneak outside.

Ben replied, "Tom managed to get her to pee in the janitor's closet. She's fine."

"Then it will give her some exercise." I also really wanted some fresh air. The number of people in this place was doing a number on the air quality.

"It's safer if everyone stays inside until a vehicle comes."

I stared at Ben with disbelief. "You want to wait in here until someone drives by?"

He shrugged as if it was logical. "Someone is bound to pass by within the next week. There's no reason to go outside, and if you go out, zombies could follow you back. It's safer if everyone remains inside for now."

I wasn't used to anyone putting limits on what I wanted to do, and it annoyed me to no end. I really wanted to growl at him, but managed to merely grumble, "Then let me outside so I can check to see if any of the vehicles around here run. I'll go mad if I'm cooped up in here for days on end."

He shook his head. "No. We already saw several zombies walking by on the highway. It's too dangerous. We'll wait here until someone comes. There's plenty of food."

He must have been trying to test my patience – and I didn't have much of that left.

"Just let me out. I'll stay in one of the other buildings until someone passes by or you give up on your waiting game. Even if someone did come, you wouldn't be able to undo that metal twist in time to flag them down."

He shook his head. "Hank can undo it quickly enough. And no, no one is leaving."

I stilled as I faced him. His words were a challenge, and they hit my instincts like gasoline on a fire. Hank seemed to sense that Ben had overstepped an invisible boundary; he got up and folded his arms as he stood behind Ben.

I turned my head slightly to examine the massive man who probably thought my desire to go outside was a death wish. Had I been human, I would have been intimidated by his size and strength. What he didn't realize was that he was like a mouse glaring at a cat.

I grabbed my control with both hands and turned around with a pissed-off huff as I silently stormed off to the back of the store. It wasn't wise for me to be around them while I was this angry. I knew that my eyes would be glowing very strongly in my current mood – a warning that was invisible to them. I glared at the solid chains on the back door. Each link was almost as big as my fist, and even my Nightstalker strength wouldn't be able to damage them.

There were only two small windows back here, but it wasn't dark enough for my preferences. I shimmied up a couple of pipes until I got into the rafters where almost no light reached me. I sat on the narrow, metal beams while I fought to rein my temper back down to something that was safe for the humans to be around.

Part of my growing irritation was due to the strengthening smell of humans in the building, and part of it was the fact that I hadn't hunted last night. The largest part was that he had stomped on my Nightstalker instincts in such a way that they wanted to retaliate. It was probably best if I remained up here until I calmed down.

This could take a while.

Nicky and Liz entered the dark room below, checked around, and left when they couldn't find me. It wasn't long before they returned, this time with a flashlight. They didn't think to look up and went to check the rest of the store again.