The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 53

The person guarding the gate looked surprised to see me going out on foot, but after one glance at my expression, he opened up the gate even before I got there. I held myself to a fast walk as my temper bubbled like a hot pot on a stove. Something was going to die today.

I headed in the familiar direction of the rabbit traps. I knew that the guard would run to find Daniel if I went in a different direction. I had kept my pace to a walk to also prevent any observers from racing off to locate Daniel. As it was, he would probably come track me down before too long.

It was a bit of a walk, but I got there within fifteen minutes. I occasionally struck out at random trees in my rage, leaving deep claw marks in the bark. I sniffed the air and growled faintly before leaving the path to stalk through the trees. I stalked in closer to the source of the smell. The rabbit had likely died of a heart attack, but the small black bear was still trying to break into the live trap.

It was oblivious to my presence as I crept closer. I bared my teeth in a silent snarl before launching myself onto its back. It tried to run from the sudden attack, but I had a good grip on its fur. I grabbed its neck and gave a hard twist. The snap was loud as the bear collapsed into the leaf litter.

I still didn't have any weapons and had to rely on my nails to shave some of the fur away. The hot blood was welcome. It had been a long time since I had hunted a bear and it was a welcome change. I made sure to doctor my leg wound as well. If Nina was going to insist on checking my remaining injuries every three days, then I wanted to be gone before the next time rolled around.

I left the bear where it was. I wasn't going to try hauling that around, especially considering how much my shoulder hurt. The wind shifted and I could faintly pick up Daniel's scent. He was likely running a much wider perimeter to double check that I was still inside this piece of forest.

I had zero desire to have to deal with the Terror. My instincts tried to prod me to go in a certain direction and I followed them, partly out of curiosity. Sometimes my instincts picked up more than I did consciously. I had just hunted, it was daytime, and I was in pain so my instincts wanted to go to ground and hole up.

Once more the perceptiveness of my instincts surprised me. As I got closer, I could smell the damp air that could only be a cave. A small trickle of water exited the cave that was barely visible in the side of a rocky hillside. It was large enough for me to walk right into. I didn't realize that this was here. Why didn't I stumble across it earlier considering how close it was to the rabbit traps?

I cautiously entered the cave and followed it. It was a single curving tunnel that went back to a slightly larger room. A creek as wide as my hand escaped from a crack in the wall before it flowed toward the entrance. Most of the tunnel was pitch black and the room at the end was so dark that only a Nightstalker could truly appreciate it.

I looked around, it was perfect for a Nightstalker without any eye protection. It was actually dim with my welding glasses on. A feral would have readily moved in if it had come across it. I took a deep breath, but I didn't pick up any hint of zombie other than my own scent.

Daniel's scent was quite sharp due to him being a Terror and he ran such a large perimeter that any Nightstalker wouldn't get close enough to scent the humans. They would avoid the area due to the resident Terror, never realizing the potential food source hidden deep within his 'territory'. Had they realized it, Daniel's scent would not have stopped them from coming.

"Trinity? Are you in there?"

Speak of the devil and he shall appear... I narrowed my eyes in displeasure. It was a pity that there was no second exit out of this place. I crossed my arms and leaned against the cave wall to wait. The cool wall actually felt good on my shoulder. I didn't bother answering him. Perhaps he would leave.