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

Chapter 14

The sky slowly grew lighter. Before too long, it became uncomfortable enough that I had to put my sunglasses on. As the world outside brightened, I heard movement from Tom and Marissa's room as they woke up. Their footsteps were joined by Liz's as they went to the roof to make breakfast.

I overheard Marissa say, "Oh, someone put the soup on. That was nice of them."

Things grew quieter, and I knew from the lack of snoring that Hank and Ben had woken up.

A loud bang came from their room, followed by Ben's sleepy and irritated voice. "Darn chair. You weren't supposed to fall over like that."

Of course, blame the chair. He was the main reason I put the coffee out. Nicky was the second reason. I looked over as that very lady sat up with a grumble.

"There is coffee and soup on the roof," I informed her.

Nicky jammed her sunglasses on her face and wrapped her sleeping bag around her before standing up with a scowl. She trudged out the door without so much as a good morning. I shook my head and slowly trailed in her wake.

As I reached the bottom of the stairs, Hank and Ben came out of their room. Farther down the hallway, Daniel also emerged with Nina behind him. He eyed me up with an expression that looked like curiosity with a hint of a challenge. Nina would have told him who the Nightstalker really was, so the guessing game was over.

I went up the stairs, both to avoid Daniel as well as to not block the narrow stairway. I sat in the same seat I had yesterday, declining the bowl of soup Marissa offered me. From the way she immediately passed it to Hank, she had expected my response. They had gotten used to me skipping most meals.

I couldn't eat much in the way of real food anymore, and one small meal a day was my limit. I could easily go a day or two without real food. In theory, I was technically unable to starve to death, but I had no desire to attempt it. I liked my food too much.

To my surprise, Daniel accepted a small bowl of soup. I watched Ben down his cup of strong coffee like water. I couldn't figure out how he managed to swallow it – it smelled strong enough to enter a kickboxing ring.

After appraising the amount of soup left, Ben opened up a can of beans and put them by the fire to warm up. Liz finished her bowl of soup and came to sit on my lap. I made a face but let her climb up.

My sunglasses shielded my eyes and allowed me to observe Nina and Daniel without getting caught. A few tiny scratches crisscrossed Nina's arms, and there were a few small scabs on her elbow, but otherwise, she didn't have any noticeable injuries.

Nina kept glancing at me with an intrigued look. Daniel was more open about his watching, and his eyes often strayed to me. He didn't seem openly hostile, although every time I shifted my weight, I gained his immediate attention. He looked pretty laid back with the other humans, but I clearly recalled his growling as he went to check on Nina. I could also pick out the signs of distrust in his body language.

Ben yawned and held his bowl out. "Hey, Nicky. Could you please wash my dishes?"

"They're disposable styrofoam," she retorted. "Wash your own bloody dishes."

"Pretty please?" He wiggled the bowl mid-air.

Nicky whipped her spoon at him, and Ben moved his leg to avoid the off-course missile. Daniel examined the fiery lady who had clearly not woken up enough for Ben's teasing. I suspected she was wearing her sunglasses as an attempt to confuse Daniel. If it hadn't been for last night's events, it could have kept him uncertain for a while longer.

Ben chuckled at Nicky's reaction before turning his head to appraise Nina. I began counting in my head as I waited to see how long it would take Ben to make a nuisance of himself.