The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 47

I woke out of my light doze as I picked up faint footsteps on the stairs that led up the roof. I instantly recognized them as Daniel's. After a quick deliberation I decided to pretend to be asleep. I had been napping after all and it might mislead him in the future. Perhaps he would leave me in peace in the future if he thought I was napping most of the afternoon when I was up here on the roof.

He was walking more quietly than usual, as if to avoid overly disturbing me. His normal walking footsteps were quieter than humans usually were simply due to the fact that he was a Terror. I sat still with shallow even breaths as he approached the door to the roof. It had a glass window on it, so he could see me before reaching the door. He turned the handle and I slightly jerked my head in his direction, as if I had been awoken from sleep.

He blinked in slight surprise as he continued to twist the knob and open the door. He walked over to sit in a chair. My instincts cared for his presence even less now that I knew he was up to something. I scanned the tree line out of habit as Daniel simply sat down. He broke the silence to speak quietly, "How are you holding up?"

I was very glad that mindreading was not a skill that Terrors possessed. If I hadn't been suspicious before, his casual and almost concerned question would have caught my attention since it came out of nowhere. We had barely tolerated each other's presence for most of our trip. This behavior was quite out of character for him.

Sure, I could see Kelly or Travis showing concern like this, but the three of us had been at ease with each other's presence and I counted them as friends. Daniel and I did not have anything similar to the friendship I had with those two Nightstalkers. The only way I could describe what we had was to call it an uneasy truce.

I shrugged as if disinterested, "Well enough."

He sighed as he looked toward the forest as well, "It takes a bit to get used to it, but this place is one of the only places I know of that appreciates the skills that zombies have. They mentioned that they hope you stick around. If there is something that will make it easier for you, they will be happy to help."

Now I knew that someone had put him up to this conversation. This was not like any of our past conversations. I was going to have to drop a false lead for my altered behavior. They were going to notice it before too long. I glanced at Daniel, "The smell of humans here is so strong that I can practically cut it into bricks and build a castle. How does it not bother you?"

He looked thoughtful, "You once mentioned that you got somewhat accustomed to the smell of humans and you had only been around them a couple of weeks. I have always been around them, so I barely notice it unless my instincts get triggered or the bloodlust rears its head more strongly than usual. If you give it some time, it probably won't bother you in a month or so."

He glanced at me as a thought hit him, "You aren't having any problems with control, are you?"

I shook my head, "As long as I avoid the mess hall during supper, I should be good on that front unless something really riles me up."

He tilted his head in curiosity, "What is most likely to rile you up?"

I gave him an ironic look, "A Terror is asking a Nightstalker that question? As different as we are, our instincts have more in common than I care to admit. Although my temper seems shorter than yours from what I have seen."

"You seem to be doing quite well."

I snorted, "Don't count on it holding out much longer. I have been trying hard to act human, but I have never managed it for more than a few days. Ben or Marissa can testify to that from our road trip. My instincts are already starting to act up."