The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 104

Daniel drove the truck as close as he could to Luke's cave. He stopped in front of the path Luke and I had cleared the other day. It wasn't wide enough for a vehicle, but it wasn't much of a walk. Nina and Nicky had already eaten so we didn't have to drag food out here. It was a given that Luke wouldn't want anything from the breakfast table.

Nina had been excited when I mentioned that Luke was curious about her latest research. She loved discussing it with people. I knew she was hoping to take a peek at Luke's chart of symptoms and hoped to possibly get a blood sample. I was surprised that she had managed to rein in her scientific curiosity this long without asking.

The clearing was empty. The sound of hammering gave away Luke's location though. I called out, "Hey Luke, you have company."

The hammering stopped, "I will be right out, please make yourselves comfortable."

Luke came out a few minutes later with a clean shirt and pair of shorts. He took a seat on a stump close to the picnic table where we sat. Luke looked at me, "I assume I have you to thank for those gifts that mysteriously appeared last night?"

"Possibly."

He chuckled, "Well thanks, they will come in handy and I will make good use of them."

The other three looked confused. Luke noticed and explained, "There were several live traps of various sizes at the edge of the clearing this morning."

Nina blinked in surprise, "Oh, well if you need any more just let us know. Some people occasionally go into abandoned towns to raid and we can add it to their list of things to look for."

Luke shook his head, "Thank you for the offer, but I have more than enough live traps at the moment. I only have about quarter of them set up. There seems to be plenty of rabbits around for some reason. One even hopped into the cave last night."

I suspected that the rabbit hanging from the tree branch by the path might have been that one. Luke took a deep breath as he tested the air and examined us thoughtfully, "Interesting, the bloodlust is greatly reduced. I thought it was a bit less apparent last night, but this is much more noticeable."

Nina's eyes lit up, "Really? Mind if I see your notes?"

Luke pulled out the notebook and gently tossed it to her. Nina started leafing through the pages before pulling out another notebook. She started cross comparing them and I realized that the second notebook had been from my experience.

Nina nodded thoughtfully, "The trend is nearly identical. The symptoms should completely clear up by this evening. Have you noticed anything with your instincts?"

Luke shook his head, "Not really. I can see a bit better at night as well as during the day, but nothing like Trinity had noted when she had lost the tint in her vision. I have never seen that tint unless I was quite angry. There is still no desire for human food, although I am hunting more. The haziness in my mind is less bothersome than it usually is. Not sure if it is just a good day or if the drug is impacting it. Now it looks like the bloodlust is disappearing."

Nina hesitated before carefully asking, "Would it be possible for me to get a blood sample from you?"

Luke stilled at the question. He was likely not sure how far he could trust his control with this newly reduced level of bloodlust. He closed his eyes and took another deep breath as he tested his control.

His eyes moved to me, "I am pretty sure I can let her get that close, but would you mind standing near? My instincts are still as aware of you as ever."

In other words, my proximity still distracted his instincts since I was potentially a threat. The reason he didn't ask Daniel was because he knew me better and trusted me. The Terror was also so much higher-ranking that it would probably put Luke's instincts on the defensive.