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

Chapter 36

My leg burned and hampered my stride. Every bullet hole in my chest was on fire as my heavy breathing tore the wounds open.

Behind me, the distant clang of a small access door being thrown open hard enough to hit the fence was followed by the sound of the quad accelerating. My time was rapidly running out. They'd caught me like this the last time – out in the open when I had been running for shelter.

I was over halfway to the trees.

I tried pushing for more speed, hoping to reach them before the quad caught up, but my injuries were sapping my speed and strength quite noticeably. I was barely running as fast as most humans, and I simply couldn't go any faster. Warm dampness spread out from around the wounds. The scent of my blood was far too easy to pick up.

The cool shadows of the trees engulfed me as I reached the forest, although I didn't dare slow down yet. Not when one of them had a quad. As I ran through the sheltering underbrush, several branches struck my leg, and I snarled at the flares of pain but kept going.

When I ducked below some low-hanging vines, the bullet wound on my leg struck something. The explosion of pain made me gasp and sent me sprawling into the leaf litter. It was so bad that I couldn't even make a sound.

Breathing heavily, I struggled to sit up, only now seeing the arm-thick branch that I had knocked out of its hiding place in the long grass.

The revving of the rapidly approaching quad engine forced me to my feet, although it took several tries before my leg would hold my weight, and quite a few heavily limping steps before I could manage a faster pace.

The quad suddenly slowed down, so he had likely reached the edge of the forest. I tried to move faster, without much success. Not even a minute later, I heard swift footsteps coming up behind me, although they weren't the ones I'd been worried about.

Daniel clearly had no problems following the heavy scent of my blood as it escaped from the re-opened wounds. He remained hidden in the trees as he circled around me before darting out to block my path.

I slid to a stop as my chest heaved for breath. My heart pounded so hard it was painful, forcefully reminding me that my injuries were barely healed enough to keep my heart and lungs working. If I wasn't careful, they could give out again. I stepped back with a frustrated snarl, so out of breath that it sounded pretty pathetic.

My mind was hazed with exhaustion; that run had taken a huge toll on my recovering body. Even my instincts didn't try to push me for First Strike. They knew he was a Terror, as well as that I was far too injured to even attempt it. I took another step back, instinctively turning sideways with a low growl. Any feral zombie would know from my stance that I wanted no part of a challenge.

Daniel slowly walked toward me with no hint of threat in his body language. Still in flight mode, I barely noticed his concerned expression while I tried to spot an escape route.

My wounds felt like they were on fire, and I knew I wouldn't be able to go much farther. I wasn't thinking clearly, and I just wanted to get away from any human or zombie at this point. With another breathless growl, I took another step back.

Daniel must have realized I wasn't exactly in control at the moment and stopped. He hesitated, uncertain of exactly how to approach me.

"Relax, Trinity," he said softly. "I'm not going to attack you. Your injuries are bleeding."

He took slow steps forward, and the haze in my vision reddened as the powerful zombie approached. I had no chance of outrunning him on a good day, but in my current state, most humans could catch up to me. My head pounded in time with my heartbeat.