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

Chapter 40

Thankfully, Nicky drove in a fashion that didn't leave me wondering if I would make it back alive. It didn't take long to reach the small forest, which happened to be the same one I'd fled into yesterday. She drove down the trail until she reached a clearing.

She stopped the side-by-side. "Supposedly, he put the animal traps down that deer trail and tied some orange trail ribbon above each one. He also said you'd probably have no problem locating them."

I nodded and tossed the bag of peanuts to her. "I should be back shortly. I don't smell any zombies, but keep an eye open, just in case."

She stared at me. "You're just going to leave me here alone? What if I get kidnapped?"

"Honest, they would bring you back."

"That's exactly what Hank told me!"

I shook my head in disbelief and went down the narrow trail. It didn't take me long to find all three traps. Two had rabbits in them. I drained both and treated the injury on my leg since I wanted it healed as soon as possible. The stitches had already dissolved, although the edges of the wound were holding themselves together on their own, albeit barely.

I headed back to where Nicky was waiting and slowly sat in my seat as I tried to figure out what she was doing.

"Why did you line up the peanuts along the top of the dashboard?"

She shrugged as she scooped them back into the bag. "I wanted to see how wide it was when measured with peanuts."

Sometimes you meet people who are just a few screws short of a full set, and at other times, the whole freaking toolbox is missing. I bet a squirrel had given her advice on how to measure things after he stole her tape measure.

I refrained from commenting as she started the small vehicle and began driving back to the Stronghold. Nicky parked it in the garage with several quads and other all-terrain vehicles.

She looked at the clock. "We're just in time for dinner! Let's go before all of the good stuff is gone!"

"I'll drop these rabbits off with the butchers and meet you there."

She wasted no time in running toward the dining hall. I shook my head and walked in the direction of the butchering building. I hadn't gone far when voices came through an open window above.

"They've locked Mack in one of the old jail cells. Nothing seems to get through to him. They aren't sure how he lost control – he hasn't even been in contact with a human since he turned."

"He turned into a Runner, not a regular zombie, right?"

"Yeah, he's definitely a Runner, but he goes ballistic whenever he sees a human. Daniel keeps going in with whatever animal blood the butchers collected."

"I hope he snaps out of it and gains control soon."

A door shut as the two left whatever room they had been in, although the news I'd overheard wasn't the best. Against all odds, he had turned into a Runner, so the zombie in the creek must have been a Runner after all. The smell of so many humans was probably throwing his bloodlust into overdrive and completely clouding his mind. Runners weren't exactly the brightest bricks in the wall to start with.

I found it odd that he had completely lost control; anyone here was smart enough to avoid giving him raw meat or human blood. Other than me, Daniel was the only one who could approach the Runner safely, so I doubted I'd be seeing much of the higher-ranking zombie for a while. That didn't hurt my feelings in the least.

I reached the butchering building and went inside. It smelled surprisingly clean, although no amount of cleaning would ever remove the iron tang after so long.