The Virus Within: Secrets Unraveled (Book 5)

Ch 20: Change of Battleplans

The dune buggy zipped past the truck as Daniel and I returned to Bryer Stronghold just before noon. I gave a half-wave to Jax and Wren, who veered off and continued their patrol with a distinct look of relief. A cloaked figure emerged from the forest to the south just long enough to make sure we saw him before disappearing back into the trees.

The wind wasn't in my favor to check if there were more dead zombies to the south or not, but I was sure I'd hear later if problem zombies had shown up. The fence was intact, so I dismissed that concern for now. We had bigger issues, like tens of thousands of unranked zombies spilling out of a city to the southeast.

As we stopped beside the lab, Nicky climbed down from the roof. "Sheesh! Where did you learn to tell time? Back by nightfall, my ass!" She reached the ground and paused when she turned around. "Since when do you just wear a t-shirt?"

The door opened as Logan and Nina came out of the lab.

"The feral Terror wanted it more than I did," I said as I grabbed a tote bin and jumped out of the truck.

Nicky scratched her head. "It sounds like you had a better time than we did."

"How did the night go?" Daniel asked as he grabbed the other two.

"Only one owl," Nicky promptly replied. "Possibly one or two unranked zombies, but otherwise, Jax came by before dawn to lure away the collection that had gathered outside the fence. The pitfall traps work pretty well, but apparently you have to wait a while for all of them to stagger up the ramp. I think Regan guarded the southern forest the entire time you were gone."

"I'll have to thank him later," Daniel murmured.

"He threatened to tie me up!" Nicky exclaimed indignantly. "And Wren offered to help him!"

I gave the redhead a long look as I set the tote bin on the ground beside the door. "Why?" I had given Regan permission to tie her up, but it surprised me that he had actually taken it seriously.

She paused. "I think I'm going to plead the fifth on this one."

"What's this?" Nina asked, glancing at the tote bins.

"Notes from Yersin Lab and a few vials," I said. "It looks like they weren't as cautious when experimenting as they should have been."

"What happened?" Nina asked in concern. "Gerald was always so careful."

I raised an eyebrow and bunted a toe against a tote. "Did he mention he got a copy of Louise's notes about six months ago?"

Her jaw dropped open. "No, he didn't." Her eyebrows furrowed. "Wait— I think he said some traders brought some research notes from another lab." She shook her head. "But he definitely didn't mention Louise's name."

I grunted. "To be fair, her name wasn't on them, but they're definitely her notes. Either way, you now have a lot of papers to dig through."

"I'll have to radio them and ask for details..." she murmured as she took the lid off a tote.

"It won't do you any good," I told her. "They got overrun."

Her hands froze, and her voice trembled. "O-overrun? How many got out?"

Remembering these were her friends, I softened my voice. "I'm not sure how many escaped, but I don't think many. There is a strong possibility that most of the lab assistants were still out spreading the aerosol serum and hadn't returned yet. Anyone near a running vehicle should have been able to escape."

That was a bit of a stretch since at least one vehicle had been knocked over by the gate, but it was better than telling her that there were hundreds of rotting bodies and no evidence that anyone had come to check on the silent Stronghold.