The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 72

Word of our return spread quickly. People were happy to see us back, even if a few did make a face as they spotted Nicky. Several in the archery group were genuinely happy to see me, which simply confused me although I thanked them for their greeting since they seemed to expect some sort of reply.

Most were quite excited that we had managed to catch a feral Nightstalker. Some had reservations about having a stronger zombie so close, but they remained silent and trusted that Daniel or I would intervene before anyone was attacked if it did get loose.

Nina and Daniel had spent most of the day in the lab. They were grabbing supper at the moment. I lounged on the chair while Nicky started eating her supper. She held out an apple slice, "Any appetite?"

I shook my head, "No thanks. My stomach neither wants nor appreciates normal food at this point."

Nicky shook her head, "That sounds terrible. Did you hear that the Nightstalker is awake? It is having muscle tremors that are completely in line with the ones you had. It still wants Nina more than the rabbit though, much to Daniel's ire."

I rolled my eyes, "I noticed that his mood took a sharp curve downwards as soon as that creature was on its feet."

I had spent the remaining two or three hours of the afternoon napping and simply resting as I avoided the local population who was thrilled to see that I had returned. I had to admit that it was easier being in this place now that the smell of their blood no longer affected me. My instincts still had an issue with crowds and all of the other situations though.

Nicky snickered, "Is that why you were hiding in your room? I have to admit though, Daniel gets in a pretty sour mood whenever Nina goes into that barn. He never lets her go alone either. Kind of stalkerish if you ask me."

I snorted lightly, "I was letting everyone settle down. Some were so excited that I thought they might try to give me a welcome home hug."

Nicky grinned, "That would have gone over well. They must have forgotten that I am the only one who is allowed to give you hugs. Although with the bloodlust mostly gone, you might have changed your mind."

I growled lightly in correction, "The lack of bloodlust makes being in this oversized chicken coop easier, but it doesn't change how much I detest people invading my personal space."

Nicky rubbed her hands together evilly, "Yeah, and invading someone's personal space is my specialty."

"I noticed. How you are still alive is beyond my comprehension."

She grinned at me, "Only the good die young and the size of my counseling file says that I will live for a very long time."

I shook my head and glanced over as Nina and Daniel came onto the roof. My instincts stirred the moment I saw Daniel. His body language was still borderline aggressive. Having Nina around a feral Nightstalker was affecting him more than the dozen Runners had previously.

I took a slow breath and picked up a very faint trace of Daniel's blood. My eyes eventually spotted one very slight scratch on his upper arm. It was about as big as a paper cut and easy to miss, but I recognized the mark as a scratch from a zombie's fingernail.

The Nightstalker must have managed to land that scratch. No wonder he was in a foul mood. That would have severely insulted his instincts. If a Runner had managed to scratch me, I would have been pissed too. That still didn't give him the leave to put everyone else on edge just because he was too slow. I had a habit of taking out my anger on trees, but he obviously hadn't worked out a method for dealing with his temper.

I examined him carefully from the corner of my eye. Most of the time I didn't care if I pissed him off, but his current mood wasn't one that was wise to trifle with. His instincts were too high and he was still too humanized to recognize most of the usual zombie body language. Playing passive would not help me with Daniel if I riled him up. He wasn't in tune enough with his instincts.