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

Chapter 39

I just sat down for lunch with a warm, buttered dinner roll when Nina and Daniel appeared. Considering how quickly they had appeared, I suspected that the gossip vine spread information faster than a wildfire in this place.

Nina sat down with a tray of food while Daniel just took a bottle of water.

"What are your plans for this afternoon?" Nina asked.

"I was going to see if I could find a quiet place outdoors for a while. I thought I saw someone on the roof of the secondary building yesterday, so I'll see what it's like up there. Later this afternoon, I might dig up Nicky and go hunting."

Nina nodded sympathetically. "Need a bit of fresh air and solitude, huh? Well, I can show you how to get onto the roof. No one else will be up there at this time of the day."

I watched her eat her lunch silently, surprised that she had known what I was really after. I had never used the excuse of getting fresh air during our trip, so I wasn't sure how she had immediately arrived at the correct conclusion. Although she spent a lot of time around Daniel, and we had talked in the truck, so maybe it was more obvious than I had realized.

Nina wasted no time in finishing her food. Once she was done, she got up and put her dishes in the bins by the door.

"You can put your dishes in the bin with the water," Daniel quietly advised me. "There's bleach or soap in it to kill the zombie virus. They usually let it soak for an hour or so for good measure."

I nodded at the wisdom of that plan and put my plate and butter knife into the proper bin. Daniel had taken my plate and cutlery for me yesterday, so I hadn't known there were special considerations for whatever we used.

We went outside and walked toward the secondary building. I picked up a faint odor and took a deep breath to verify it. I recognized the scent, although I hadn't smelled it since my first days as a zombie. Looking around, I spotted a dozen people chopping wood behind the nearest garage.

I spoke quietly, knowing that Daniel would hear me. "Do you smell that? I think one of those men is infected."

Daniel stopped dead in his tracks and glanced at me as he tested the air. "Now that you mention it, I can smell it too."

He turned to face the busy group. Nina hadn't heard my comment and watched Daniel with a puzzled expression.

"Smell what?"

"Someone's infected," Daniel replied as he walked toward the people splitting wood.

Nina gasped and quickly followed him. I trailed behind, watching. The group noticed our scrutiny and paused in their work. They wore confused or perplexed expressions, but they weren't scared.

"Was anyone here bitten by a zombie?" Daniel asked when he reached them. "I can smell that someone is infected."

The people glanced at one another with wide eyes, wondering which of their friends they might be losing. No one replied, apparently assuming they weren't the infected individual. Daniel walked into the middle of the spread-out group while sniffing the air.

He huffed in annoyance. "The smell is so faint I can't detect which direction it's stronger in." He turned to face me. "Trinity, you smelled it before I did. Can you track it down?"

I slowly walked toward the group, and all eyes watched me. He may have said the smell was faint, but this close to the group, my nose wasn't having any trouble detecting it. I took several deep breaths while walking into the middle of the loose group. This entire place reeked of humans, so the faint tang of zombie stood out.