The Virus Within: Secrets Unraveled (Book 5)

Ch 6: The Cougar

I moved to the side unhurriedly as the unranked zombie rushed toward the zombies who'd been following me. The last time I'd seen a zombie with muscle problems like this, it had been the screamer, although this one's legs didn't have the tremors that had slowed the previous one. One noticeable difference was that her eyes were slightly cloudy.

She ignored me as she ran—well, it was more of a fast, shaky jog—into the middle of the group. Her body and head twisted this way and that as she tried to find what the zombies had been chasing.

Her rapid head movements were making the zombies focus on her, but they clearly recognized her as a zombie. After a while, the zombies gave her about as much attention as they gave to each other, which was just enough to avoid bumping shoulders too often.

A high-pitched snarl of frustration made me frown. It was far too similar of a tone to the screamer zombie, and I had to find out if she had the same hunting-focusing cry as the other one had.

After considering my options and my surroundings, I waved both arms and shouted, "Here!"

As I took off running, I glanced back. The zombie glared the other way, clearly not having heard me, but as the zombies around her started running, she turned and also gave chase.

No scream pierced the cloud of growls, although she hadn't tripped or otherwise been frustrated yet. I vaulted over cars and trucks but she went around, remaining fixated on me. When I reached a shoddy chain-link fence, I climbed over and slowed to a tantalizing jog as the horde hit the obstacle.

Her eyes never left me as she tried to detour around the fence. When it took her farther away, she doubled back with a sharp snarl. I slowed to a stop and waited to see what she'd do.

She kept trying to go around, before returning to the closest point. No attempt was made to climb over the fence, and not once did she look away from me. To my relief, she didn't seem capable of making that rallying hunt cry that made other zombies focus on a single target.

I crossed my arms and considered the oddly-fixated zombie. She actively tried to find a way around the obstacle and didn't stand in one place like most of the other zombies, but she seemed quite aware of when she got farther away and only went so far before turning back. "Up" didn't seem to exist, which was a common unranked trait that didn't surprise me at this point.

Her scent was similar to Wren's, being closer to a regular zombie, but still missing a clearly definable "rank". Unfortunately for this zombie, different also meant more dangerous for humans.

Wren and Jax hadn't shown up yet, so they either hadn't heard me or were still on their way and trying to find me. Instead of waiting for them, I jogged toward the side of the fence as the unranked zombie and a handful of others figured out there was a corner and went around.

I scaled the fence and led them down a back alley and opened a gate, leading them into a random backyard. I waited in the far corner until the unranked zombie came inside, then jumped over the wooden fence and ran to close the gate. The tall wood planks were sturdy enough to contain my new prisoners, so I jogged off to find my companions and let them know we could begin shopping.

~

After one glance in the garage, I ignored it and went to the next one. We clearly weren't the first sane zombies to search the town. A dim glow down the dark street revealed Wren's whereabouts, and I doubted Jax was far away.

From his comments, his sight was better than a Runner's but used to be better, particularly at night. The way he described the various decreases in night vision was a stark reminder of how unstable the triggers were and how fast things could change.