The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 32

Shortly after lunch my bad luck made its appearance again. A thump sounded from the engine as it lost power. Hank steered it to the side of the road. I gritted my teeth. You have got to be kidding me. I have had more vehicles break down in the last week than I did ever since I started driving. That was a terrible track record considering that I had always driven cheap beaters that were on their last wheels.

Once it stopped Hank popped the hood and got out. Ben also went to investigate the damage. We hadn't seen any abandoned trucks for some time. There was no way we would fit eight humans, two zombies, and a dog into a car. We hadn't seen any vehicles actually...

Ben sighed as he came back to grab his map. Nicky questioned him, "How bad is it?"

He made a face, "Not that bad, but bad enough. We blew a part. It is easy enough to fix if we can find a spare or raid any other diesel truck for it, but we need that part."

Daniel came over to inspect the map that Ben was unfolding. Ben pointed to the map, "There is a truck stop over on this road. There is a chance that other vehicles were abandoned there."

Daniel tilted his head, "That is a ten kilometer cross country walk through the forest to get to that road though. So the big question is, do we all go and return or do just a few of us go check it out?"

Hank spoke to Daniel, "You are the fastest. I doubt it would take you long to get there and back."

Daniel made a face, "Unfortunately, I know nothing about engines. I would have no clue where to start."

Daniel turned to me and tilted his head in a silent inquiry. I shook my head, "Don't bother looking at me. I was very good at driving my cars into the ground, but other than the basics like jumpstarting something or changing oil, I am clueless."

Nicky stood up and stretched, "Well, if it isn't that far, I wouldn't mind a walk. It is probably safer if we all stuck together. Besides, we might find something that is simply out of gas over there. Then one of our red eyed friends can come back to grab enough gas to drive it back here and collect the rest of our supplies."

Daniel gave her a look of disbelief, "One, even I can't see Trinity's eyes through her sunglasses, so you have no idea if she is camouflaging them. Two, my eyes have been brown the vast majority of the time."

Nicky raised her eyebrow in equal disbelief, "One, with her mood, her eyes would undoubtedly be red most of the time. Two, I am not sure I can really call that brown. It is more of an orangey color and it creeps the hell out of me since it makes me think you are a wolf trying to hide in sheep's clothing. I think I prefer you with red eyes, it makes you seem more honest."

I gave her a light growl for that comment, and partly as a warning not to tick Daniel off. Daniel gave her an odd look, as if he didn't quite believe her opinion. Ben shrugged and looked around, "I'm all for a walk since I doubt I have anything to worry about feral zombies if these two are around."

Marissa looked at the big piles of supplies stacked in the middle of the truck box, "What if someone comes while we are gone? There is no way we can pack all of this with us."

I smirked, "We can easily hide it in the forest. What human in their right mind would be digging around in a forest? Just prop the hood and gas cover open. No one will even stop to look at it then."

Nina started chuckling, "She is right on that score. If we put the food in the trees then we don't even have to worry about wild animals getting into it."

Hank nodded, "Good enough for me."

He grabbed a couple of bags and hoisted them over his shoulder. I grabbed two of the big jugs of diesel since they were the heaviest. Even if most here were taller and more heavily built than me, only Daniel was stronger. One perk of being a Nightstalker.