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

Chapter 10

The five adults must have heard the truck since most of them were looking through the door. Considering they weren't outside trying to wave the vehicle down, they must have known it was me returning. Then again, ever since the zombies began plaguing the roads, I'd never seen a human drive at night.

After I parked the truck in front of the store and turned it off, I pocketed the keys and got out. I slowly approached the grocery store. Hank and Ben held their ground by the doors while Nicky watched almost eagerly from farther back. Tom backed up until he was standing nervously by Marissa, who remained sitting on the floor by Liz.

I paused in front of the glass doors as I looked at those watching me. "Did I scare you guys shitless or are you still willing to put up with me?" They would have no problem hearing me with just two old glass doors separating us.

Hank pushed the door open, and I grabbed the handle as I slowly walked inside. My caution was both to avoid scaring them as well as to ensure they weren't about to try ambushing me. Hank warily backed up until he stood by Ben.

Nicky came forward with an amused expression, ignoring Hank's caution. "So, what's the casualty count?"

I somehow doubted she believed the story the guys had given her.

"There's one less moose in the forest, but that's about it."

For them, the room would be almost pitch black since it was well past midnight, but I could see them perfectly.

She came closer fearlessly, almost eagerly. "Can I see your eyes? Ben kept claiming they were glowing red, but I think he needs his vision checked."

I had kind of expected this. With a sigh, I reached up and took my sunglasses off. Unlike other zombies, a Nightstalker's eyes normally had a faint glow in the dark, which probably had something to do with our excellent night vision.

She blinked in shock at my red eyes. "Wow. That's so cool. How come they were brown yesterday?"

I gave her a confused look, uncertain how she was accepting this so easily. Most humans put as much distance between themselves and me as possible, if they didn't try to kill me first.

"I can control the color and glow to a certain extent."

Ben turned on a small pocket flashlight, and as he was turning it in my direction, I growled sharply at him, which made him freeze as the blood drained from his face.

"Don't you dare point that in my direction. If you want light, then point it at the ceiling." Having a light pointed at me flared up my temper in a fashion that little else could.

Unease rolled off him as he complied. The low ambient light allowed the humans to see me better while hopefully not being so bright as to lure in zombies. I avoided looking at the flashlight or the spot it was illuminating on the ceiling; it was dim enough to be tolerable, although it still emitted more light than was comfortable.

Despite my growl, Nicky's excitement only climbed as she bombarded me with questions. "How long have you been a zombie? How come you can talk and the others can't? Are you always grouchy because you're a zombie? I have a hard time believing you're a zombie considering you haven't tried to eat us yet."

The questions came too fast to even attempt a reply, so I waited until she finally ran out of breath. She didn't seem bothered in the least as my glowing red eyes watched her.

"I turned about a week after the zombies first appeared. I can talk because I'm still in control. Yes, the irritability is common in all zombies. I don't attack humans mindlessly because I'm in control."