The Virus Within: Third Wave (Book 2)

Chapter 57

As the truck continued driving to our next destination, there was a sense of urgency and boredom. Urgency since the infected people were starting to turn into zombies and our time was swiftly running out, but boredom because it was impossible to remain alert after driving down a dusty road for several hours with nothing noteworthy happening.

Nicky leaned against the cab and finished aligning the colors on her rubik's cube again. She passed it to me. "Jumble this up for me. It's too easy when I do it."

With a sigh, I twisted the colorful little toy into a confusion of colored squares and handed it back to her.

She inspected the newly reset puzzle. "Hey, Daniel, are we going to reach the next Stronghold before or after lunch?"

"About one o'clock. Do you want to stop earlier?"

"It's eleven o'clock now, so there's no way I'm making it that long without something to eat."

Daniel slowed the truck down, although he didn't bother pulling over on the deserted highway. John closed the book he was reading, and Logan stretched, limbering up from his short-lived nap.

Once the truck stopped, I went into the forest to collect some wood. By the time I came back with an armful, Nina was tending a small fire made from sticks and twigs the others had gathered nearby.

After looking up and down the highway, Daniel said, "I'll be back shortly." He headed to the forest, and it didn't take a genius to know he was going hunting.

He returned before the soup was ready. The faint smell of blood tainted his breath, and the skin around his injury was redder, evidence of being recently doctored to the point where it would almost burn.

I smirked slightly. Once he figured something out, he was a very fast learner, but getting to that first step was a whole different story.

Nina passed the bowls of soup around, although Daniel declined his. When she didn't even ask if I wanted any, John glanced at me in confusion. No one else seemed to find it unusual or strange, and his eyes kept drifting back to me as he ate, clearly mulling over what he had seen so far.

I was finding this far too entertaining.

"You're a zombie, aren't you?" John finally said.

I snorted lightly in amusement. "What gave me away?"

He thought for a moment before replying, "The way you skipped all the meals was the biggest clue, but your standoffish behavior also stood out. You don't quite act like Daniel though, so I know you aren't a Terror. May I ask which rank you are?"

John was just as observant as his brother, although he'd taken more time to come to this conclusion than I expected. Still, he had figured it out faster than Ben, Hank, Marissa, and the others had.

"Nightstalker."

He nodded slowly. "That was why you were out most of the night."

"Correct."

John seemed content now that he'd solved the riddle. All of his confusion evaporated, and it seemed like every quirk or mystery was now attributed to me being a zombie.

He helped wash the dishes without asking any more questions. I was kind of surprised at how easily he accepted it, nor was he any more nervous in my presence than before.

Before long, we were on the road again.

~

       "Something isn't right at the Stronghold."

My head came up with Daniel's warning, but I couldn't even count the buildings yet. The others also craned their necks, to no avail.

I took a deep breath before growling faintly in frustration. "We must be upwind. I can't even pick up the scent of the buildings. What doesn't look right?"