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

Chapter 33

The logic was obvious but impossible to manage on a road trip. I would love to find a snug, dry cave and do nothing but sleep between hunts for the next week. Instead, I was being put on the back of a truck on a road that was almost guaranteed to be rough. Gee, as if I didn't have enough reasons to hate road trips.

Nina hummed as she dabbed some salve on the soggy scabs. She paused and gently ran her finger over a pale, marble-sized scar on my shoulder. I growled faintly; that injury was old news.

I heard a growl from Daniel in the other room, although the quiet warning was low enough that the humans likely hadn't heard it. Nina looked disappointed when I didn't comment on the scar's origin, and she started to bandage up my currently-healing battle scars.

Once she finished, I put on my shirt. She stepped to the side to better see the injury above my ear.

"This one is healing beautifully. Thankfully, the wound is much smaller than the others. Just don't try to brush or move your hair."

Fortunately, she was familiar enough with Daniel that she made no move to touch it. Having someone bring their hands near the head or neck was a huge trigger point for any sane zombie.

At least it had only been a handgun. I didn't want to contemplate how long I would've been unconscious if one of those rifles had managed a similar shot. It may have taken a month, but it would have healed as long as my head remained attached to my body.

Nina crouched down in front of me, and I pulled up the pant leg on my shorts without being asked. She unwrapped the blood-stained bandage, revealing the most painful injury. I narrowed my eyes unhappily at it.

I wasn't sure if the bullet had hit at a bad angle, or if it had been the type of gun or bullet, but it was much worse than the others. Instead of an entrance hole the size of a bottle lid, there was a cratered, gaping wound the size of my palm. Under my keen inspection, I was relieved to note it wasn't as deep as I had originally feared, but the blast had still reached and damaged the muscles beneath.

The wound hadn't healed much, and even my slow walk had created tiny tears in the soft scab where blood beaded to the surface. Nor had I expected much progress since my body would put its energy primarily into healing my head, heart, and lungs. In that order. My shoulder and leg were last on the list.

Nina carefully applied more salve and re-wrapped the nasty wound. I was surprised Nina was using salve; either she hadn't consulted with Daniel, or Daniel was so far out of touch with his zombie instincts that he was unaware of the secret method that allowed zombies to heal faster. I suspected the latter scenario.

"That should work for now. If they start bleeding through the bandage, let me know." She covered a yawn as we left the office. "I'm going to bed, so I'll see you in the morning. Good night."

"Good night," I mumbled, trying to remember the last time I'd told anyone that. It'd probably been two or three years ago, and directed at my sister.

I paused in the hallway and watched Nina go into a bedroom and close the door behind her. The others had gone into various rooms to sleep, so I went out the back door.

Outside, I scanned the area, recognizing the boarded-up building across the road as the one I'd been shot in. For some reason, I wasn't too surprised to discover the bandits had built a jail cell in their home. The faint smell of human flesh beginning to rot was strong enough to confirm that several bodies were somewhere in the vicinity.

Rustling caught my attention, and I turned my head. The three rabbits sat in crates on a table. Despite drinking all that blood in the cups around noon, I had enough room for a rabbit at this point. I also had another plan in mind to help my leg heal faster.