The Virus Within: The Road Ahead (Book 1 - SERIES COMPLETED!)

Chapter 37

Several minutes later, I lifted my head as I heard a deer running in this direction with Daniel's footsteps approaching equally as swiftly. Could he be chasing it toward me? I hadn't expected that, but I wasn't going to argue.

There was a deer trail nearby, so I got up and moved behind a leafy shrub. If the deer tried to escape along this route, I'd be able to ambush it as it went by.

The deer raced into the clearing. It hadn't even gotten halfway across before Daniel bolted forward with inhuman speed and slammed his fist down on the back of its neck. I heard the crunch of the spine shattering, and the deer collapsed lifelessly in the middle of the clearing.

Daniel looked around the clearing; his eyesight must be phenomenal since he managed to spot me even though I was mostly hidden in my chosen ambush position. "Here you go. I'll be back in about fifteen minutes."

With that, he turned and left the clearing. I remained motionless for several seconds longer to ensure he wasn't coming back to claim his kill. My eyes examined the deer as I walked toward it; it looked like his strike had come close to pulverizing the neck instead of simply shattering or breaking it.

I didn't have a knife, but with a bit of work, my sharp nails shaved the hair away and pierced through the skin to get to the artery. The hot blood was welcome and seemed to bolster my energy levels almost instantly. The pain in my wounds also subsided a bit.

By the time I drained the deer, I was quite full. And just like when I had been human, when I was stuffed, I was also tired. Badly injured Nightstalkers tended to hole up until their injuries healed, but a Stronghold wasn't exactly my first choice.

My leg was still throbbing, so I walked to the far side of the clearing and sat on a log to wait for Daniel's return. It wasn't long before I heard his footsteps approaching.

He walked into the clearing. "We can go if you're ready."

I managed a half smile. "I'm really good at procrastinating."

He chuckled and leaned against a nearby tree, calmly watching me in silence. I was quite surprised he was being so patient. It wasn't a trait normally found in zombies.

"You said that guy tried to kill you before?" Daniel quietly asked. "When Nina was patching you up, she mentioned you had some scars that looked as if you had been shot in the past. Did he do that?"

I was silent for a bit before responding just as quietly. "It happened about a month after I turned. I found half a dozen men cornered by a couple of Runners and helped them fight the ferals off. After thanking me, they invited me back to their Stronghold. They offered me a room and a hot meal for the night since I'd helped them. They also said they were going to give me directions to the nearby Strongholds, so I agreed and went back with them."

The memories weren't fond ones. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before continuing, "I had been there less than two hours before the same group tried to ambush me with guns and other weapons. I dodged the swords, although I ended up twisting that guy's arm to get his gun out of my face. I'm still not sure if I actually broke his arm or not."

With a shake of my head to refocus, I continued, "It wasn't easy, but I got out of the Stronghold without any serious injuries. The biggest problem was that there was a large field between the walls and the forest. They caught up in their cars."

A low growl rumbled through my chest, although the faint bubbling in one lung only reminded me of my most recent brush with death.

"Six bullets hit me as I tried to dive into a nearby river. One struck my heart dead on and stopped it. Did you know that even if your lungs fill up with water and blood, a zombie doesn't actually pass out?"