The Virus Within: Secrets Unraveled (Book 5)

Ch 41: Testing Day

We watched Ethan pin the zombie against the cage bars so Nina could administer the drug without going inside.

"Normally, I'd prefer to watch the samples for a day or so," Nina said as she gave the injection to the feral, "but the situation is a bit dire." She made a face. "The worst that could happen is that we'd have to re-infect non-responsive bodies. But none of the blood samples had any lasting negative effects, and the virus had been completely removed, so we can try it."

Wren watched hopefully from upwind, not realizing that Nina would never use the word "dire" lightly. The scientist alternated between two different vials as she visited ten zombies, another clue that she hadn't tested as much as she usually did. If she hadn't spent countless months studying these chemicals, I would have questioned her decision.

Ethan noticed my faint frown and spoke too quietly for Wren to hear. "We talked about testing for another day, but a set of triggers in Wren's blood are destabilizing. Nina is certain if all of them release, her mind will disappear. This is just a version of the cure, so it won't cause any lasting harm to the zombies if it fails. They'd just be comatose like with the regular cure."

I didn't like it, but I'd never been a fan of reinfecting the unresponsive humans. I wasn't sure why this felt different from when Nina had tested the original cure in Ironwind, unless it was because she had tested until the blood tests couldn't tell her anything more.

Nina hadn't enjoyed the re-infection process back then, and judging by her tone earlier, that hadn't changed. It was the only consoling part about the race to save Wren before time ran out.

"There," Nina said as she dosed the tenth zombie. "I'll get the assistants to take a blood sample every thirty minutes so we can track the cure's changes."

Daniel turned to Wren. "I hope you don't mind if I hang out here most of the day."

"You're always welcome," she said quietly. "If—if the wind shifts, I'll go into the forest."

He didn't argue, merely inclining his head in acknowledgment of her decision. His gaze didn't linger on her, but I knew he'd seen her muscles tremble on and off, usually whenever she looked at one of our human companions. It would be a long day for her with the human assistants hanging around.

Ethan murmured, "Once Nina is in the lab, I'll go hunting and bring back some deer blood. Maybe an elk if I can find one."

I hoped it would be enough to tide her over.

~

I swung by the clearing yet again, drawn back by unrelenting curiosity. Some zombies had been making unusual sounds during my last two visits. Could it have been an early attempt at speech? One of them had blood streaked all over his clothing as if he had fed on an animal carcass, so his mind should have been gone forever.

From my observation post behind the trees, I saw six zombies sluggishly trying to stand or reach their arms out to grab the assistants, which was typical behavior around the sixth hour after getting the cure. The assistants never noticed my hidden form, although I was sure Daniel had noted my presence.

My eyes locked onto the other four. Daniel spoke with one, who replied by baring her teeth from where she stood against the back of the cage. She shook her head yet again, as if trying to clear her mind. He let her be and moved to the next cage.

The man in that cage stuck an arm toward the assistant with a blood collection vial. The hand was palm-up, not reaching, as he leaned his head against the bars, breathing heavily and blinking in a dazed fashion.

Daniel gently held his arm steady as the assistant took a sample. When his other arm tried to reach for her, Daniel blocked it by simply putting his hand in front. When the assistant stepped back, the zombie sat down and leaned against the bars, closing his eyes as the drug warred with the virus.