The Virus Within: Secrets Unraveled (Book 5)

Ch 41: Testing Day

The other two zombies were similar. One stood back defensively, growling. The other stuck an arm through the bars for a voluntary blood sample. All four of the promising ones had received an injection from the same vial.

It was an interesting development. I'd have to come back in an hour. It was time to check the forest again, which would give Regan a chance to slip up here to examine the proceedings.

~

I jumped over the canal and heard a splash and spluttering growls behind me. Now that the zombie was no longer a threat to the humans, I slowed to a stop and scanned the area. Jax hadn't returned yet, although the zombie he had been luring away was an unranked one, which he wanted to trap in an abandoned house. It could take him a while to return.

A shifting of the shadows among the trees near the trench confirmed Regan was present. It was safe enough for me to check on the caged zombies, and I really wanted to know why the truck was going that way with Logan and Nicky in the back.

My feet swiftly carried me to the clearing. Wren stood well to the side as Nicky and Logan helped four humans with disheveled hair and clean clothes into the back of the truck. In the cages, six humans lay on the ground as if in a deep sleep.

I wandered over to Wren. "Bringing them clean clothes was a nice gesture."

"There were a bunch in the house, and we just hung a blanket for some privacy," she replied with a shrug. "I'll get Jax to take me into town tonight so I can get more clothes for the others. Daniel figures Nina will be ready to test the other ten tomorrow."

"They're going to need more houses at this rate," I commented.

"If Nina can create a drug that works on every zombie, how can we stop?" she asked simply.

It was an intriguing concept. The chemicals Nina was using weren't endless. They were either the dredges of old-world versions or created in various ways, much like how she had been using bacteria to create insulin.

My eyes never left the four settling into the truck as I murmured, "Even if we had gallons of the stuff, we couldn't move fast. The people we are bringing back need support, and if they turned during the Outbreak, they will only remember the old world. Life in a Stronghold is very different."

She nodded. "I can't wait until I can help. Human or zombie, I don't care which."

A few tasks came to mind if she needed a distraction. "We'll probably need to build more cages. I can borrow the truck later and grab more of those fencing panels. We can build them in the south forest so you don't have so many guests."

"Actually, can we build them here? Seeing them gives me hope. I don't mind the zombies. I'd love to help the humans, but I just can't go near them right now." The frustration in her voice was replaced with determination. "But I can guard them from any zombies wandering through."

If it gave her a purpose, I wasn't about to argue. Nicky waved at me as the assistants gathered their last blood samples and climbed into the truck. Daniel began driving them back as Ethan wandered over to us.

"I agree. We're going to need more cages," he said. "I've been taking the blood samples to Nina as soon as they were drawn, so she probably already knows why the other six didn't wake up. We just reinfected them, so they'll be on their feet by morning."

I should have known he'd be eavesdropping, although with his sensitive hearing, it was pretty much impossible for him not to do so.

"Why don't we grab the truck and go fetch those panels?" I suggested. "I can help Wren build the cages if you want to work on the trench and help keep zombies at bay."