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

Chapter 89

Everyone finished their breakfast at the same time, so we left the dining hall together. Nina and Jess happily discussed which supplies Jess might need today. As we walked around the side of the main building on our way to the secondary one, a hushed voice caught my attention.

"How are we going to manage this without them seeing?"

Daniel and I turned our attention to the handful of men standing by the corner ahead of us. I wasn't sure what they were looking at, but they were along the main road that ran through the Stronghold and hadn't noticed us behind them yet.

"What are you trying to do?" Daniel inquired.

The five men all jumped and spun around, gawking at us before relaxing.

"The old, blue truck broke down again," one man said, pointing to a rusted and dented vehicle, "and we're trying to get it out of the Stronghold without Trev's group seeing us. They don't like getting rid of any vehicle that still runs, but we have more trucks than we need, and that one breaks down the most."

Another man added, "If it just disappears, they won't even remember it, but if they see us hauling it away, there'll be war. They hate throwing anything away, but if we need more trucks, there are plenty along the highway that are just out of fuel. We want to haul this old junker across the border and dump it in a junkyard. We just need to get it out of here without them seeing it."

I walked over so I could see around the corner. There were about fifty people on the main road, and more that would be able to see this street. I wasn't sure which ones might belong to Trev's group.

Daniel considered the matter. "Taking it out in the evening or night would get a lot of attention since not many vehicles run during those times."

"Exactly," the man replied.

Breakfast was mostly over, and people were out and about, already going about their usual tasks. Clearing such a large area would take a miracle. Or a nightmare...

With that thought, I shrugged off my backpack and dug through it. The others watched me, unsure what I was doing. I pulled a can of tomato juice and a small bottle of liquid dish soap out of my backpack and balanced them on the palms of my hands as I turned to face Nicky.

I grinned ferally at the redhead. "Do you think you can pull an insanity blitz out of a hat?"

She smiled evilly as she reached for the two items. "I'll put that particular captain at the helm of the ship, but you have to deal with her afterward. Weirdly enough, she actually likes you, which is bizarre because she doesn't like anyone."

Oh boy. Her most crazy personality had decided she liked an irritable, bloodthirsty Nightstalker who got caught in an evil experiment. I could only imagine what her psychiatrist would think.

One of the men gazed on in horror and whispered, "Is she talking about herself in third person?"

No one answered the poor guy, leaving him to his own devices and thoughts. Jess looked equally as confused, but now wasn't the time to enlighten her. Nina watched in fascination, although Daniel shifted his weight and frowned at the objects in Nicky's hands.

These were the very two objects Nicky had alluded to time and time again, and he still hadn't figured out how they were used against zombies. The fact that I was carrying them in my backpack wasn't about to put him at ease either.

"Back up," I told the others, also retreating around the corner so Nicky was the only one visible.

The redhead tested the weight of the soap and can as her grin got bigger and a wild glint appeared in her eyes. Standing straighter and looking around, she shouted, "Who wants to play zombie killer with me? I got some new weapons, and I need someone to be the zombie for target practice!"