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

Chapter 64

I sniffed the air again and grumbled under my breath, still unable to locate a fresh trail from Nicky. Usually, she was the one pestering me to finish chopping wood so she had an excuse to get out of work early. This was the first time I had to track her down for what had become part of our routine.

I'd seen her at lunch, so I knew she was around. A nearby scent belonged to someone else I knew, and he might know where Nicky was. It didn't take me long to track down the large man, who was leaning under the hood of a truck.

"They made you a grease monkey, huh?"

Hank's deep chuckle echoed off the engine in a strange fashion as he stood up. "It's work I enjoy," he replied, stretching his back. "How have you been doing?"

"Well enough."

"Your sister should arrive in a couple of weeks. Are you getting excited?"

I snorted faintly. "When have you ever seen an excited Nightstalker?"

"What one feels and what one shows are two different things," he replied. "People like you and me rarely show our emotions unless we get mad."

I bared my teeth in a grin. "And if we reach that point, people had better look out."

He chuckled in agreement, before asking, "Are you nervous?"

Had almost anyone else asked me that, I would have snapped at them and denied it, but this quiet man had never given me cause to distrust him. We had also gotten along quite well on our trip here.

"A bit," I admitted. "Mostly because she's a huggy type of person, and I'm probably going to end up growling at her a few times before she realizes I need my space."

"You two will do fine. Give her a week or two to settle in and figure things out."

I nodded slowly. "If she gets a bit overbearing, I can always send her after Nicky. Speaking of which, do you happen to know where that red-headed terror might have ended up?"

"I think she tagged along with the group that went foraging for berries and mushrooms after lunch."

If they had driven there, Nicky wouldn't have left a scent trail on the ground, which would explain why I couldn't find her.

With a faint snort, I muttered, "I have my doubts on how many berries are going to make it into her basket."

"That was my thought as well. Anyway, the keys for the quad she's been using lately are just inside that door." He pointed to the garage beside us.

"Thanks."

The long keyholder was easy to find, and each key was labeled with the color of paint they'd applied to the handlebars, which made it simple to find the key's counterpart. I shook my head as I realized this was going to be my first time driving any of the vehicles in this place.

It easily started with a turn of the key, and after a few tentative squeezes of the thumb throttle, I slowly drove the quad to the north gate. I stopped briefly to check if the guards knew where Nicky might have ended up. The man in the tower checked his notes and said their checkout plans were to go past the town since they hadn't been over there for a while.

After thanking him, I drove through the gate and slowly sped up, giving myself time to get accustomed to depressing the thumb lever. I made much better time than my usual jog. If the guards ever just wanted a quick circuit around the border in the future, I'd probably take a quad again.

Occasionally, I stopped the quad to sniff the air. Closer to the town, I picked up traces of Nicky's scent on the gentle breeze. Once I could smell her, it didn't take me long to locate the people among the sparse trees.