The Virus Within: Third Wave (Book 2)

Chapter 41

My path veered toward the road while I remained in the shelter of the trees. When I reached the edge of the forest, I could see Nicky and Nina in front of the gas station. Both of them gazed at the forest in worry, although they didn't stray from the building. As expected, Daniel was nowhere to be seen, likely checking the area I had just vacated.

Nina knelt down to turn the chicken so it would cook evenly. As I reluctantly left the dubious shelter of the trees, Nicky immediately spotted me and the tension left her shoulders.

She waited until I was closer before saying, "You know, if you made that sound at night, you could scare the crap out of an awful lot of people."

Nina looked over her shoulder and stood up with a relieved expression when she saw me.

"Considering it was just a proximity call, which is only made by sane Nightstalkers, I fail to see why it's worse than a Nightstalker scream," I retorted lightly, most of my attention still on the tree line as I waited for Daniel's inevitable arrival.

Nicky just grinned and shook her head. "Well, we had no way of knowing that, and that sound would be perfect at a Halloween party."

"We were worried you wouldn't return for hours," Nina said. She turned toward the forest and cupped her hands around her mouth before shouting, "Daniel! She's back!"

I gave her a half-glare. "You could have left him out there a while longer."

"That wouldn't be nice. Besides, he felt bad enough for almost going after that guy. Chasing you off was hitting him pretty hard. He's been trying to find you the entire time."

I snorted but didn't reply. For someone who knew more about the zombie virus than anyone else, she clearly didn't know as much about zombies as she thought she did. I wasn't sure what kind of mood Daniel was in, but until his instincts were appeased, I doubted remorseful was even in the ballcourt.

He would likely be more restrained if we had human spectators, or at least, that was what I was counting on. It was the entire reason I had snuck back here undetected. I had interrupted his kill as well as ambushed him without warning. His instincts were going to be out for blood unless he had an insanely good handle on them.

I moved away from the women and leaned against the truck as I waited for Daniel to return. It was too much to hope that he was too far away to hear Nina's call.

It wasn't long before I heard Daniel's footsteps blasting through the trees. He must have already been on my trail to have arrived so quickly. He slowed his pace before emerging from the forest.

His chest wasn't heaving, but he was breathing heavily, which was something I hadn't seen before. I could only imagine how hard he must have been running the entire time he circled the area for a scent trail. Only to be frustrated by the numerous dead ends I'd left...

As I half expected, his eyes were dull red, and he growled faintly when he spotted me. He was far too focused on me, and the smoothness in his stride was another indicator of how high his instincts were.

Nina also noticed the building tension and frowned. "Daniel? You said she didn't hurt you. Why are you glaring at her like that?"

The roundabout question might have been a subtle rebuke from the scientist, but Daniel barely even glanced at her as he got closer. His attention was almost entirely on me. My instincts wanted to avoid the obviously irate Terror, but I knew this had to be settled. I just wasn't looking forward to the outcome since I knew I was about to lose.

Nicky wasn't stupid and quickly pulled Nina to the far side of the fire, just in case this showdown covered more ground than expected. Nina watched in worry, but let Nicky drag her away.