The Virus Within: Secrets Unraveled (Book 5)

Ch 43: Hope Arising

*Two weeks later*

The zombie in the canal growled at me and clawed at the sides as it tried to climb out. I checked the air and thought I detected a very faint metallic scent, but it might have just been something the zombie was churning up in the water.

Nowadays, it was hard to tell which ones were unranked since most of the unusual triggers had let go. It was only a matter of weeks until the unranked were just a memory.

I let my eyes resume their glow, which made the zombie pause, then wade down the canal. I wandered back into the forest. Now that the trench was completed, there wasn't much to do out here.

I couldn't even annoy Regan since he had left a week ago. He had waited just long enough for Nina to figure out the B-negative blood type and then asked for several vials of the restoration serum, which Nina had happily given him for his assistance.

There was no point in hunting since Daniel or Ethan would take the truck to some distant forest before sunrise in search of several deer or elk. It was easier to tag along with them. They couldn't drink that much blood, even with Jax helping, but the meat was welcomed by the Stronghold as it tried to awaken as many zombies as it had resources for.

I lifted my nose to the air and headed to the east. Ethan's scent carried very well on the wind, so even though he was easy to track and just walking, it took me some time to catch up.

Circling ahead, I climbed into a tree and waited. The circle of light bobbed as Ethan came down the deer trail. I remained in the branches as he passed below. There was no way he was unaware of my presence.

My hunch was proven correct when he stopped and turned around. "So much for my attempt to lure you into ambushing me."

I crouched down on the branch. "It was a bit too obvious."

"Daniel was right though. If a Nightstalker is in the area and it isn't a game of hide and seek, you guys always swing by to check things out. I didn't even have to search for you."

Refusing to comment on Daniel's observation, I said, "Well, you found me. Now what?"

"How hard would it be to convince you into one last wrestling match?"

We had only wrestled twice, so it was an unusual request. I considered it. "Why don't we see if we can drag Daniel out here as well? At least it will keep you from yawning."

To the best of my knowledge, those two had never wrestled, and it would do Daniel good to end up on the losing side for once. I already knew Daniel and I wouldn't win, but between the two of us, we might be able to delay the inevitable for ten seconds or so.

"That's an idea," Ethan said as he took Nina's radio off his belt and turned the volume low. "Hey, Daniel. Trinity figures you should come out here for a two versus one wrestling match."

The radio remained silent long enough that I wondered if Daniel had switched it off to pretend he hadn't heard the suggestion. "Okay. Where are you?"

Ethan gave him the directions to our exact location.

While we waited, Ethan said, "I'll miss you when you go home tomorrow."

I stared at him, still perched in the tree. "Me? Why?"

He gazed up in my direction, although the flashlight remained pointed at the ground. "It's...hard to put into words. It's like you're always around, somewhere. I could be looking across the field and catch a glimpse of you in the forest. Or hear you pass by in the night as you patrol the forest. I think I'll miss that."

This was making no sense to me. I eventually said, "Not many people like the idea of someone lurking in the shadows. They usually find it creepy."

"I occasionally dream of the times I was trapped in the shadows," he quietly said. "But your face always materializes out of the darkness and frees me, just like you did in Yersin. I still remember that, and I'm still grateful for what you did."