The Virus Within: The Unranked (Book 4)

Ch. 17: The Mysteries Of The Unranked

"That's correct. I even did a few blood tests to double-check. This is a different chemical combination, and it's very unstable. The triggers aren't locked in place well, and I actually had two flip back into their proper position when thinning out the blood."

"That would explain why the zombies are different," I said. "But if this has a chemical origin, then someone has to be responsible. And those zombies couldn't have traveled that far in a month."

Daniel entered the room. "The radio room is going to contact every Stronghold with a radio tower and ask if they know anything or have seen any other mutant zombies."

"They're not really mutants," Nina said thoughtfully. "Their triggers just don't line up with the ranks as we currently categorize them. Unranked is probably a better term for non-typical zombies."

Nicky paused, looking up from the potato-mountain she built. "If it's possible to turn regular zombies into Runners, or something like them, is it possible these unranked ones might regain the ability to be sane?"

"I don't know... In all my previous testing, the zombie died as soon as we changed the rank."

"So why are these alive?" I asked.

"I think it's because the base triggers are still the same rank. If those triggers had changed, the zombie would have died."

"So we don't need to worry about a regular zombie suddenly turning into a Terror?"

"No, those triggers are quite different. This ties back to the markers the virus leaves when it turns its host. It looks like they can adopt some triggers from the next rank up, but the primary triggers remain the same." Her face grew thoughtful. "As much as I need the blood samples, I'm really tempted to try the cure on one of them and see if they might be sane." Her gaze moved to me. "Would you be able to check their scents and determine which one might have the best chance?"

"If they've been a zombie for years, they likely found dead animals or cornered something. The one with the head wound wouldn't survive the injury as a human."

"True... I'll have to do more testing first and I know there's almost no chance of success, but I'd still like to try. It's an area I've never looked at simply because I've never managed to get the triggers to hold unless they lined up with the four regular ranks."

Logan sat down with a plate of food. "I thought this was the only Stronghold with a larger lab in the Washington state?"

"That's what I thought," Nina replied. "There are a couple who can make the cure, but they struggle with that. Something like this would be very sophisticated. That's why I asked Daniel to get the radio room to contact the Strongholds. At least two within a day's drive have radio towers."

"We need to find the source," I stated. "Once we have that, I'm sure we'll find more answers."

"I agree," Daniel said. He glanced at me. "Feel like coming with me for a drive and checking the area? Nina can keep running tests while we're gone."

"Sure. As much as I'd rather avoid another boring road trip, something about this doesn't feel right. Nothing is lining up, and I don't like it."

"That means I'm stuck on guard duty again!" Nicky groaned. "Can I at least have a coffee so I don't fall asleep?"

"No," Daniel, Logan, Nina, and I all replied at once.

"Come on! The guy who brought the food said to have a good day, and I'm sure that meant 'here, have a coffee'. He even left the pot!" She pointed to the small carafe on the table.

"No," Daniel repeated. "They have to pay the traders to bring that up here. We don't need you to turn it into a weapon of mass destruction. We have enough trouble on our hands already."