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

Chapter 53

We finished eating and went our separate ways. I headed to the forest to doctor my leg again and leave more trails to entertain Daniel tomorrow.

~

       I came back earlier than usual and went to relax on the roof until Nicky decided to grace me with her presence. I had done everything I could think of. All that was left was to wait for the sun to set.

Nicky exited the dining hall alone; when she reached the roof, I could see my plate was fuller than usual. She set it on a chair and put two buns and some other food into a bag before passing me what was left.

"Packing a snack?" I inquired in amusement. "I can hunt, you know. You won't starve."

"That's why I'm packing things like bread and vegetables."

I turned my head and examined the ground below. "It looks like Nina and Daniel are joining us again."

"No real surprise there. They usually show up at lunch or dinner."

We fell silent and ate while waiting for them to climb the stairs. Daniel exited the door first and held it open for Nina. They sat on the opposite side of the circle of chairs.

Without any of her usual pleasantries, Nina said, "Guess what I just heard."

I examined the brown-haired woman's excited eyes, hiding my sudden unease as I wondered if or how she had heard about our plans to leave. "What?"

"One of the Strongholds found your sister."

I just stared at her, almost unable to process the words.

Nina continued, "A Stronghold with a radio tower found her in a neighboring location during one of their trading runs. They told her that you were currently at Ironwind and looking for her. She's getting ready to travel here."

It took me a few seconds to get the stilted words out, still shell-shocked by this rather unexpected news. "Are you sure it's her?"

Nina pulled out a piece of paper and read it. "Jess Kessler, twenty-four years old. Sister to Trinity Ariel Kessler, who is twenty-eight. Was studying fourth-year horticulture when the initial outbreak hit."

I closed my eyes and exhaled slowly. It was definitely her. I had never mentioned her age, nor mine, and I had never told anyone what my middle name was.

"Where is she?"

"A small Stronghold called Tolsona, but she went back with the traders to Willow Creek Stronghold where the radio tower is. They're up in Alaska. From what I was told, her teacher flew half of his students out of a national park in Montana and went up there in hopes of evading the zombies. Apparently, there are about a dozen people in this Stronghold who want to go somewhere warmer before winter hits, so they're organizing a group trip to come here."

No wonder her scent had disappeared. Airplanes didn't exactly leave tracks while flying. "How long will it take her to get here?"

"They're going to do what's called 'Stronghold hopping'. They go to a Stronghold, and stay and work there until a trading group there goes in the direction they want, and they tag along. It often takes two to five days between each hop. Sometimes a week or more. It'll take them at least four or five hops, maybe even seven or eight, depending on how far the traders are traveling. So, at a very rough guess, they'll arrive in three to five weeks."

I was silent for some time. After so many months, my fruitless searching was finally at an end, although that detail wasn't sinking in quickly.

"Are you sure she's coming here? I could have gone up there."