The Virus Within: Third Wave (Book 2)

Chapter 16

Luke took another break and sat down in his chair, spacing out his wood-gathering trips in hopes his snares would catch something in his absence. The sun was already touching the horizon, so the animals would shortly become more active.

A pack of coyotes started howling to the east, not too far away. The opportunity was too golden to pass up. I tilted my head and turned toward Luke, who was already watching me with hope in his eyes.

I bared my teeth in the parody of a grin. "I think that coyote pack is calling us over for a visit. Feel like meeting a few of the locals?"

Luke eagerly rose to his feet. "I was hoping you would offer."

A Runner had no chance of catching a coyote, so Luke's anticipation of this meal was understandable. Even if he used heavy wire instead of the light flexible type he was carrying, the coyotes would smell his scent on it and avoid it. This might also be another reason why he skipped dinner, in case I offered to take down something bigger, which I would have done if his snares failed.

"Just don't let me forget to dig up a rabbit before we return," I said as I stood up and walked to the edge of the roof.

Luke bared his teeth in silent humor. Any type of blood would help heal wounds, but this was just another way to mess with Daniel's head. Besides, if he went after rabbits, that left more coyotes for us.

I jumped down to the ground and waited, although in his haste to get down, Luke also dropped down without using the ladder. He landed with a heavy thud and staggered to the side from the impact. Once he recovered his balance, we began jogging toward the trees.

The coyotes howled again, as if beckoning us onward. Luke took a deep breath of the air and winced at the strong smell of our human companions. I flashed a canine at him, and he refocused on me, his instincts distracted by my mild threat.

I kept to a slow run as the light rapidly faded around us. About fifteen minutes later, I took another sniff before growling faintly. Having hunted with me before, he slowed to a stop as I disappeared into the trees.

I picked up speed and went into stealth mode. Very few animals would linger in an area if they realized a zombie was near, so I had to take down two coyotes before the pack discovered a hunter was stalking them. Otherwise, I'd be relegated to rabbits while Luke enjoyed a canine dinner.

From their earlier howls, I would have assumed they were all in one area, but now that I was closer, my nose told me differently. I carefully cased the perimeter as I located several individuals who had strayed too far from the pack for their own good. Normally, such a thing wasn't a concern for a coyote, but my presence tonight changed that.

I circled back to where a young male was trying to dig a mouse out from under a tree root, so focused on his snack that he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. I had to kill this one without a sound, or the others would take off. Considering how fast a terrified coyote could run when it was spooked, a Nightstalker didn't stand a chance of keeping up. I wasn't even sure if Daniel could catch one during their initial burst of speed, although his endurance was more than sufficient to keep close until they tired.

Under the cover of the growing darkness, I crept closer and tensed as I waited for the perfect moment – both to keep my kill clean and humane, as well as to catch it completely by surprise.

It lowered its head to chew at the root, and I silently leapt at it, snapping its neck before it realized the hunter had become the hunted. It didn't even have time to manage a surprised yelp.

Now for the second one. My instincts wanted to stay and claim my prize, but I overruled them and slipped into the undergrowth. With the prospect of another kill, my instincts easily shifted back into hunting mode.