The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 27

The snoring was not normal. Sure, Hank and Ben were known to shake down buildings with their snoring, but I had never heard Marissa or Nicky snore before this evening.

I murmured quietly, "Daniel, have you noticed anything odd?"

He would be able to hear me, but it was too quiet for an average human to pick up. He was silent for a bit before replying, "No. Why do you ask?"

"Everyone except for us and the mystery man in the corner is snoring."

He sounded confused, "And...?"

I snorted lightly, "When is the last time you heard Marissa or Nicky snore? This is a first for me."

He was silent for some time. His voice sounded a bit frustrated, "I don't recall either of them snoring, but I am not sure what you are trying to hint at. At least we know that they didn't die in their sleep. Humans snore, it happens when they get really tired."

He sounded as if I was being dense and my observation shouldn't have surprised anyone. I couldn't exactly blame him. I was bothering him because a couple of humans were snoring.

I hummed lightly and replied, "It may just be my suspicious Nightstalker instincts talking, but I don't plan on napping tonight."

He didn't reply. I kept a silent vigil while listening to my snoring companions. I had a sneaking hunch that the soup had somehow been drugged with some sort of sleep aid. Zombies were immune to every drug that I ever heard of. I tested the air carefully, wincing slightly as the overpowering human miasma burned my throat lightly.

I sifted through all of the other scents, minutely examining each one. It wasn't as if I had anything else to do. One could learn a lot about their sense of smell and the odors around them if they spent a couple hours consciously focusing on that sense. The world of scent was a complex one and it was packed full of information.

Nicky's scent was getting closer to what it had been the day she chased Ben around the store, which meant tomorrow was going to be fun trying to keep her under wraps and out of mischief. I could still smell that rabbit that Daniel had caught sometime today. Chloe had some nasty gas from the leftover soup.

Our mystery man had drunk several energy drinks sometime this evening and I could smell them on his breath.

Interesting... What is he up to? I highly doubt that he wanted to stay up just to listen to the new snoring orchestra, his taste in music can't be that bad.

Sometimes my Nightstalker instincts surprised me. One minute I was my usual irritable and suspicious self while I tried to keep myself from constantly snarling at people. The next minute I could be endlessly patient if I was waiting in ambush. Some days I was so bipolar that I made Nicky look normal.

My instincts stopped bugging me as I realized what they had subconsciously detected. Now I waited patiently for the man to make his move. I had a pretty good idea what he was after and I made several plans of action. I always preferred to have several backup plans for any backup plan. It gave me options I could use instantly since I had already thought them and their potential consequences out.

Around midnight the faint rustle of cloth told me that my time for contemplation was over. My eyes tracked over to our mystery man. He was sitting up and cautiously peering into the darkness. Faint moon light came in through a few boarded-up windows, but that was it. If he could see his own foot when he stood up, I would be amazed.

For me, even the darkest shadowy corner was a red-hazed detailed view. I could see the dust bunnies on the floor around him. He turned toward the pile of supplies and started carefully crawling across the floor. He may think he was silent, but I could hear his clothing rustle and tiny bits of rock grind into the floor under his knees. If I could hear it, then Daniel could as well.