The Virus Within: Secrets Unraveled (Book 5)

Ch 12: A Call In The Night

I wasn't sure why Regan had made the friendly call, but I answered with my own proximity cry. The forest would be a better meeting place, so I left the town and jogged in the direction he had called from.

Much like when I met up with Kelly, Travis, or any other Nightstalker, I went at an angle and used certain plants to help hide my trail. About halfway there, I raised my head to the sky and let another owl-like signature call ring out.

His answering call was much closer, but like I had assumed, he wasn't traveling in a straight path either. I let my instincts rise as I circled around and stuck to the shadows. I didn't trust Regan enough to playfully ambush him like Kelly or Travis, but I did want to spot him before he noticed me.

I camouflaged my eyes as I crept through the shrubs. I was picking up his scent; he had to be close by. Movement to the side caught my attention; Regan's eyes were also camouflaged as he scanned the foliage, not spotting my motionless form behind the leaves.

Letting my eyes resume their glow, I stood up and walked out of the shrubs. He immediately noticed me and knew he'd been spotted. He abandoned his attempts at stealth as he weaved through the underbrush.

"I hope I didn't call you away from something important," he said, his eyes now glowing the typical Nightstalker red.

"No, I was just killing time and looking for more live traps so the two unranked zombies have an easier way to catch prey."

He nodded. "I don't think I've seen someone hide their scent trail as well as you do. It was rather interesting."

My skills had been honed by several years of practice with several other Nightstalkers, and his roundabout comments made me suspect he didn't encounter many sane zombies, or at least not other Nightstalkers. That might also explain why he didn't seem to know what to say.

Our previous discussions had all been business. This was our first meeting on casual terms, and traces of curiosity lingered in his scent. Perhaps he wasn't sure how to ask? Or didn't want to seem rude?

I decided to humor him. However, simply standing and talking wasn't the Nightstalker way. "Thanks. Feel like a game of hide and seek?"

He blinked slowly, not having expected that reply. "That could be entertaining." The confidence in his words was undermined by the confusion in his scent. Now I was quite sure he hadn't interacted with another sane Nightstalker on friendly terms before.

Since I doubted he knew how such a game was played, I said, "Let's count to two hundred and see how easily we can find one another." As I darted into the growth, I murmured, "One one-hundred, two one-hundred..."

That would give him the counting times so he didn't come looking too early. I needed time to prepare. Most such games remained in a certain area, but since he had expressed interest in my scent trail, he was going to be the seeker, even if he didn't know it yet.

Once I was some distance away, I spotted one plant that could temporarily mute my scent and rubbed a handful of leaves over my clothing before pointedly dropping the crushed greenery onto the middle of the path to show Regan exactly which plants I had used. This type only worked for a short time, not even a minute, so he'd have no problem locating my trail after.

I jogged down a deer path before climbing a tree, making sure to break a few branches and knock several leaves off to leave some clues behind. Alas, there were no creeks in this area, or I could have really sent him on a wild goose chase.

Two different scent-masking plants and four trees later, my time was up. I kept going, albeit more cautiously since my trail was fairly prominent with all the clues I'd left. I quickly laid a false trail and doubled back on it.