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

Chapter 74

The howling wind, thunder, and downpour kept the humans huddled inside their buildings, although it didn't dissuade me. The guards on duty had tried to talk me out of my nightly patrol, but I had gone anyway. It was about the only extended period of time I got away from the press and smell of humans, and I wasn't about to miss my chance.

It wasn't as if I could come down with hypothermia. The cold barely bothered me, and even though my skin was cold to the touch now, it would warm up once I dried off. My instincts were high as they tried to survey my surroundings while the storm raged around me.

There was no chance of Daniel coming out here in a storm like this after dark. His flashlight wouldn't light up much in this downpour, leaving him practically blind. The thunder and rain would also render his enhanced hearing useless.

Truth be told, I couldn't hear much either. It was mildly annoying, but at least I could still see halfway decently through the downpour. Since my eyes and ears were handicapped by the raging storm, I relied on my nose and took another deep breath of the cool, damp air.

The rain was killing most scents and enhancing others. The smell of wet rabbit was strong; some nearby bunny had likely been displaced from its burrow by a predator. The same storm that hampered my senses also made me much harder to detect, turning me into the ultimate ambush predator.

Following my nose, I closed in on the rabbit. As I silently crept up to the hollow log it was sheltering in, I paused and turned my head, taking a deeper breath as my suspicious instincts flared.

Taking a step away from the log, I took another deep breath, but picked up nothing out of the ordinary. That didn't mean anything in a storm like this though. That first gust of wind had brought me the faint smell of wood smoke. I was near the border and much too far away from Ironwind to pick up the smell of smoke from their chimneys in a downpour like this.

It was the rabbit's lucky night. I silently disappeared into the shadows to locate the source of the smell. Smoke didn't travel far in a downpour, so I wouldn't have to search too hard.

It didn't take me long to find the rain-besieged fire and the small rag-tag group of humans slumbering beside it. The handful of struggling flames forced me to put my glasses on, and of course, the deluge of rain immediately streaked the lenses and made it difficult to see.

I regarded the seven people who had wedged themselves into the gap formed by a fallen tree's roots. Between the half cave and their tarp, they were mostly dry. This place was nowhere near a road, which was probably the only reason a zombie hadn't discovered them yet.

They must have crossed Daniel's perimeter after his last afternoon patrol; otherwise, he would have found them. My footsteps were silent as I backed up and moved some distance away. I had never used this communication radio before, so this could be interesting. I also didn't want the group to hear me.

"Trinity to Ironwind. I've spotted a group of seven humans near the border." Taking my cue from Nina, I omitted the word "over".

The radio was mostly static, but understandable. "What is their purpose? Are they bandits?"

The voice was so demanding my eyes immediately narrowed at his tone. What kind of questions were these? Bandits didn't exactly wave a flag around announcing who they were.

"I doubt they are bandits, and how the hell am I supposed to know why they're sitting in the middle of a forest in a torrential thunderstorm? I said I spotted them, not that I sat down and had a tea party with them."

The radio was silent for half a minute before a different voice came over the radio. The first man had either been fired from radio duty or had decided to pass this hot potato to the next unfortunate victim.