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

Chapter 13

Faint footsteps woke me as the Terror left the motel and quietly closed the front door behind him, likely heading out to hunt.

I had no desire to cross paths with him, so I remained where I was. Idly, I listened to the nighttime noises, which mostly consisted of Ben and Hank's snoring from the room beside us.

An odd shuffling noise down the hall caught my attention as someone left their room. Only one person was in the room that close to the door, but why would Nina go outside at night?

Her friend had been gone for at least fifteen minutes, and her scent had definitely been human. No human should go outside at night – especially in a place with no protective fence.

I got up and parted the blinds to look out the window. A low snarl escaped my throat when I saw someone forcibly dragging Nina away from the motel. I swiftly and silently ran to the front door while taking off my sunglasses and putting them in my pocket. My Nightstalker abilities and camouflaged eyes were perfect for swiftly catching up without either of them spotting me.

The scruffy man dragged Nina into the trees, and I stifled a growl when I noticed his hand was clamped over her mouth. He smelled like sour cooking oil, which he must have been using to cover his scent. This was the same man I'd smelled earlier.

I slipped soundlessly through the underbrush – a stark contrast to Nina's thrashing and the man's determined attempts to drag her deep into the forest.

It didn't take me long to catch up. Nina struggled wildly, but she couldn't escape the filthy, burly man. The sharp scent of her fear and the tang of her blood saturated the air. The red haze in my sight got more intense in my rapidly building anger.

His hand began to go under her shirt, and I charged forward with an enraged snarl, letting my eyes glow bright red. He jumped and spun around, completely forgetting about Nina. He barely had time to turn in my direction before I grabbed his throat with one hand and pinned him against a tree with another vicious snarl.

Nina dropped to the ground and scrambled backward, holding her hand above her heart as she tried to catch her breath.

In a shaking voice, she said, "Thanks, Daniel. I was worried that-"

Her voice cut off suddenly, realizing that my smaller shadowy form wasn't Daniel. The man in my grasp squirmed wildly as he stared at my brightly glowing eyes in terror. I dug my nails lightly into his neck and felt them pierce his skin with ease. The smell of his blood had my muscles tensing at this close range.

"Run," I growled at him. "If I catch you anywhere near us again, your life will be forfeit."

Gurgling came from his throat as he tried to breathe past my tight grip. I threw him to the side, and he landed in some shrubs. Even one-handed, I had enough strength to throw him quite some distance from us. It probably did a fair bit of damage to the muscles in his neck, but I didn't particularly care. I was letting him escape with his life.

He scrambled out of the bushes, regained his feet, and crashed through the underbrush as he fled. He was probably terrified of being killed right now, but soon that worry would turn to paranoia while he wondered if he'd been infected. Fortunately for him, the virus ran in my saliva and blood and didn't cling to my skin.

I took a deep breath and exhaled as I tried to rein in my temper. He wouldn't be back for days, and with the amount of noise he was making as he hurtled through the forest, he'd better hope another zombie didn't hear him. Or smell the blood from the dozens of scratches he acquired during his crash landing.

I straightened out of my crouch and gave Nina a sideways look. I didn't look at her full on, since those familiar with zombies knew such a thing was often a threat or a challenge.