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

Chapter 43

I was still on edge the next day. My instincts were trying to spot more hints of what was going on, and it was altering my behavior slightly. I knew just enough to fire up my suspicious nature, but not why they wanted me to stay. The tension left me feeling like an overtightened guitar string.

Those in the kitchen didn't seem to notice any difference as I peeled various vegetables. Several women occasionally came over to take the baskets as I filled them, thanking me as they had the last two days.

I listened to the various discussions as the morning passed by, noticing that there wasn't a single mention of zombies, which was rather strange when so many of the creatures roamed outside the fence.

When another woman walked over with an empty bowl to replace the one I'd filled with diced potatoes, I commented, "I don't think I've seen Nina around. What does she usually do during the day?"

I kept my tone idle, as if I was just mildly curious. What I hadn't expected was how nervous the question made her.

"Uh, she usually stays inside the fence. Helps out here and there. She assists the doctor in the hospital sometimes. Do you want me to go find her for you?" Her words were rushed, yet chosen with care, as if she knew I would be able to smell any lie.

"No thanks. I was just curious. What does Daniel usually do?"

She relaxed marginally. "He often patrols the area and tries to keep feral zombies away from the small groups working outside the fence. The animal tenders, people working in the gardens, and such. He tries to check on them regularly in case of any trouble. He helps haul large trees out of the forest where our men can cut them up and bring them back. If there's a task that requires a lot of strength, he usually helps with that as well."

That was enough to keep him fairly busy. The more-elaborate answer flowed more smoothly and naturally – unlike her first response regarding Nina. Unless the woman simply didn't know what she was doing, which was possible since some people seemed to take turns with many chores here. It still gave me a lot to think about.

To keep the woman and the dozen or so other intent listeners in the kitchen from thinking too much about my two main questions, I also asked, "What does this place do about zombies that show up at the fence?"

Every time I had inspected the fence, there was almost always a feral zombie pressed against some part of it.

"People on quads or horses usually lead them away. There's a ravine to the east, and if the quad drives across the narrow bridge and turns left or right, the zombies fall into it. It's too steep for the normal ones to climb out, so they end up following it far away."

"And Runners?"

"Daniel usually intercepts them." She quickly added, "So far, we've only found feral ones."

This was a better opening than what I had hoped for.

"And if a sane one showed up?"

"If their control wasn't in question, they'd be invited to visit or stay for as long as they liked." This time, there was no hesitancy in her words. From her tone, they'd probably try to convince the zombie to stay.

I tilted my head, as if confused. "I still don't understand why you welcome zombies inside so easily. No other place I've been to would have even considered letting one stay."

The question was a risk after overhearing that conversation last night, but I felt it was worth asking since we were on the topic. There was no point in mentioning that I'd only ever gone inside one Stronghold previously.

She hesitated before meeting my eyes solemnly. "It's hope. Hope to survive for another day; hope for our children. Hope that the day I grow old and can't run, I don't have to worry about feral zombies every minute of the day. This place would have fallen four times if Daniel hadn't been here. The thing is, he can't be in two places at once, and our lives hang in the balance. Having even one more sane zombie around would be an immense relief."