The Virus Within: Secrets Unraveled (Book 5)

Ch 19: A Story From The Past

I reached the fence without the Terror appearing or hearing anything that might have been him forcing the metal doors to open the wrong way. I grabbed the tote bins and darted into the densest sections of the forest. My path was limited to places I could carry the huge bins through, but I easily jumped over fallen logs and ducked below thick branches at chest height.

My fast run left me winded by the time I reached the truck. "Let's go!"

Daniel slid into the driver seat as I jumped into the back, and the tarp spread across the mattress crackled under my feet. I hadn't even set the tote bins down before he started driving.

"If it helps, I didn't hear anything following you. Was it really a Terror?"

"Judging by some files I saw, they tweaked the sanity serum and tried to nail all the Terror triggers. He doesn't smell exactly like one, so they missed something, but he wasn't an unranked zombie. I grabbed the papers in case Nina can make heads or tails of the gibberish."

"I'm not sure I want to leave a feral Terror in a Stronghold in case someone goes to check on the place. If we can lure him in front of the truck lights, I can help take him down." The truck slowed slightly as if Daniel planned on turning back.

"I don't think we'd win," I quietly said. "I'm certain he's stronger and faster than a regular Terror. I watched him take out an unranked Nightstalker with one blow, so there's no way I could sneak up behind him. He heard me without any effort and caught anything I tossed his way. The best I could do was feed him a mouse loaded with controlex. That should keep humans safe enough for now."

Daniel was quiet for some time. "Having a feral that strong on the loose troubles me, but if it's as strong as you say, we'll probably need guns to stop it."

"The guards fired dozens of bullets at him, and I didn't see any injuries or bullet holes in his clothing. We might need to see if Dayton Stronghold is willing to lend us their sniper rifle for a day. Regan might have even used one in the past." I glanced at the road behind us to check if any zombies had stumbled out of the forest. The road was reassuringly empty.

"What kind of gun do you have hidden back there?" Daniel asked. "I've been smelling the gun oil for days, but I haven't searched for it."

"Just a handgun and some ammo. I never practiced with one, so I'd waste most of the ammo learning how to properly aim it."

"If you gave him the controlex, we have some time. We'll ask Bryer Stronghold to send a radio warning out and tell people to avoid that area, especially for the next three days while the controlex takes effect."

"There were several unranked Runners and an unranked Nightstalker as well, so anyone who values their life will avoid it," I said as I sat down and pulled a tote bin closer, making sure no loose papers might fly out.

Just because I didn't understand the few papers I glanced at, that didn't mean I wasn't a snoop. Two tote bins were full of the files I'd grabbed off the main tables, and I had a long drive ahead of me with nothing to do.

I located the folders for the revised sanity serum and leafed through them. Most of it was mumbo jumbo, although a section was hypothesizing which triggers Terrors had based on the sanity serum's formula. It also analyzed the earlier versions that hadn't worked, which dated back to the days before Nina met me and was just using blood from Daniel and Runners.

It almost sounded like the writer was arguing with himself, so I put those folders back and picked the only neon orange one. A bundle of aged papers were sealed inside a heavy plastic case with three photocopied booklets behind it.

I picked up one of the photocopies and frowned at the number of times Nightstalker triggers were mentioned. I hadn't seen photocopies of anything in the other folder, nor did I recall seeing any when packing the boxes. Why was this document so special?