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

Chapter 70

Once she was done, I stood up and shook myself off. The growing restlessness demanded attention in the same way a swarm of ants did if they were crawling under your clothing. In other words, it was impossible to ignore.

"Unless someone needs something, I can't sit still anymore."

Daniel shook his head. Nina continued sorting through her science supplies and didn't turn around, so I assumed I was free to leave. I went to the edge of the roof and dropped down, too impatient to use the ladder even though there was a chance the muscle tremors would strike during those few seconds of freefall.

I made it to the ground without mishap and wasted no time heading for the nearby forest. The moment I was in the trees, I switched to my silent Nightstalker stalk, and the restlessness disappeared. I breathed a sigh of relief and went deeper into the forest.

My instincts were still high and made me more aware of my surroundings, but they weren't trying to push me to do anything. I removed my sunglasses and looked around in amazement; the details were sharp and crisp – even more so than usual. I hadn't noticed earlier due to how dirty the lenses had gotten during our trip down the dusty road.

The heat haze clouded over my vision again, interrupting my observation. Once it cleared, I wrote down the time and duration before continuing to examine my mind and senses.

Simply standing hidden in the shadows was enough to settle my instincts. I took a deep breath and thousands of scents hit my senses. Layers upon layers of smells for me to unravel, sort through, and identify. My instincts and mind did so automatically, and within mere seconds, they painted a vivid picture of the forest around me.

Pine, spruce, and fir trees dominated the landscape, while dozens of shrubs and other underbrush plants took up any available room. I only smelled a handful of rabbits in the vicinity, which was unusual since there didn't seem to be an overabundance of predators. There were lots of deer though.

My mind shifted into hunting mode, and I followed the scent. It didn't take me long to track down a young buck, which was dozing at the base of a tree and oblivious to the glowing red eyes watching him from nearby.

I crept closer, and my footsteps were silent as I launched myself at the deer and snapped its neck before it woke up. I reached for my belt and growled when I remembered I didn't have a blade to shave the hair away. If I had been thinking, I would have grabbed a small knife. Shaking my head, I used my nails to shave the dense hair away from a spot on its neck.

The deer's blood had a sweet undertone, so it hadn't just been the rabbit. This drug was also affecting my appetite and how things tasted. I hadn't felt hungry at dinner, but once the sun had set, I was ready to hunt. Human food might not interest me in the least, but I managed to drain the entire deer even though I had hunted last night.

I clenched my jaws with a low growl as my instincts tried to push me into making a Nightstalker scream, which would probably give anyone within hearing distance a heart attack. I exhaled slowly and tried to shake off the urge to announce my presence. My hunt was done; it wasn't like I needed to tell the world about my hunting prowess. Stupid instincts...

I slipped through the forest as I made a few slow laps around the gas station. Deciding to check on the others, I ventured close enough to see the fire Daniel was tending. As I had suggested, he was letting it burn quite high.

The wind blew gently toward me, and my nose wrinkled at Daniel's scent. My instincts wanted nothing to do with the higher-ranking zombie. Without the bloodlust to draw me to the humans, my instincts saw no reason for me to remain in this area when there was an almost endless expanse of forest I could be exploring and claiming. My humanity was the only thing that kept me here.