The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 44

Nicky even drove in a fashion that didn't leave me wondering if I would make it back alive. She pulled up to the side of a trail and pointed, "Supposedly he put them down that side trail. He tied some orange trail ribbon above each one, although he said that you would probably have no problem locating the traps."

I nodded and tossed the bag of peanuts to her, "I should be back shortly. I don't smell any zombies, but keep an eye open just in case."

She looked at me in surprise, "You are just going to leave me here alone? What if I get kidnapped?!"

I rolled my eyes, "Honest, they would bring you back."

"That's exactly what Hank told me!"

I shook my head in disbelief as I ducked behind some trees. It didn't take me long to find all three traps. Two had rabbits in them. I drained both of them and made sure to treat the injury on my leg while I was at it. I wanted it to heal as soon as possible. The stitches that Nina put in had already dissolved.

I headed back to where Nicky was waiting. I slowly took my seat as I tried to figure out what she was doing. "Why did you line up the peanuts along the top of the dashboard?"

She shrugged as she scooped them back into the bag, "I wanted to see how wide it was when measured with peanuts."

Sometimes you meet people who are short just a few screws, other times the whole freaking toolbox is missing. I bet that the squirrel had given her advice on how to measure things after he stole her tape measure.

I refrained from commenting as she started the small vehicle and started heading back to the Stronghold. Nicky parked it in the garage with the other ATVs. Nicky looked at the clock, "We are just in time for supper. Let's go before all of the good stuff is gone!"

I picked up the two rabbits, "I will drop these off and meet you there."

She wasted no time running toward the mess hall. I shook my head and headed toward the butcher building. I heard some voices through an open window.

"They have Joe locked in one of those old jail cells at the moment. Nothing anyone says seems to get through to him. They aren't sure how he lost control considering that he hasn't even been in contact with a human since he turned."

"He did turn into a Runner and not a regular zombie, right?"

"Yeah, he is definitely a Runner. He goes ballistic whenever a human approaches the cell. Hopefully he will eventually calm down enough to snap out of it."

I heard a door shut as the two left whatever room they had been in. So that guy had turned. It was surprising that he had turned into a Runner considering the odds had been stacked against him. The zombie in the creek must have been a Runner after all. The smell of so many humans was probably throwing his bloodlust into overdrive and completely clouding his mind. Runners weren't exactly the brightest bricks in the wall to start with.

I found it odd that he would have completely lost control since they would have known to avoid giving him raw meat or human blood. Daniel was the only one here, other than me, who could approach the Runner safely, so I doubted that I would be seeing much of Daniel for a while. That didn't hurt my feelings in the least.

I left the rabbits with several people who said that they would clean them. The mess hall was pretty packed as supper was in full swing. The smell of over a hundred people in one room was an assault on my nose and the amount of noise tormented my ears. I was never coming here in the middle of the supper rush again.

People gave me some space and I took care not to follow too closely to those ahead of me in the lines waiting for food lest I make them nervous. There was nothing like having a bloodthirsty zombie following you in a supper lineup to make you uneasy. Elsewhere others bumped elbows without qualms and gave little regard to personal space.