The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 89

Moving through long grass when I had been human without giving away my position would have been impossible. As a Nightstalker, it was a challenge, but manageable. I moved away from where I had ducked into cover. My head was tilted as I listened intently to the world around me.

After a few minutes of silence I heard a faint rustle of cloth from the other side of the pit. If I hadn't been stationary and intently focused on the sounds around me, I would have missed the barely audible sound in the silent night. I turned toward the noise and started to silently stalk toward it.

I was an ambush predator of the highest level. It took me some time to silently work my way behind the man and get close enough to figure out exactly where he was. He was facing the pit as I rose slightly out of the cover of the grass that prevented me from seeing him. I watched him with glowing red eyes.

I took a deep breath, but it was as if he wasn't there. Whatever he was using to camouflage his scent worked astoundingly well. He wore a mask with some sort of filter that prevented me from even picking up his breath. He still hadn't noticed me standing behind him as he tried to peer through the long grass toward the pit with a pair of binoculars.

I could see a bow and arrows to the side, so it was likely that he wasn't carrying a gun, but with my ability to pick up scents incapacitated, I wasn't about to trust an assumption. At the very least, I didn't see a gun.

I crossed my arms in an irritated gesture as I stood there glaring down at the oblivious man who was lying down in the grass. My shoes were only feet from his boots. I made sure to be ready to move in case he pulled a gun. My speed should be sufficient at this range to disarm him if he turned violent.

Considering the number of traps I had encountered, I wasn't about to trust this odd man any further than I could throw him. Even if he went further than that, I still wouldn't trust him. What kind of lunatic hides numerous traps in the middle of the countryside? Even Nicky isn't that crazy and I sure hope that this is not a distant cousin of hers.

The world was just starting to get light. Soon, I would need my glasses, but at the moment I was a gray shadow with red eyes. He should be able to see me and my stance in this dim predawn light.

I sighed heavily, "I hope you have one hell of a good explanation for the number of bear traps I found. If one of my companions had stumbled into them, I would not have been impressed."

The man practically jumped out of his skin as my irritated voice came from behind him. He flipped over onto his back with a surprised gasp and stared at me. I watched him like a hawk as he grabbed a large dagger on his belt. His knuckles were white from his grip, but he hadn't drawn it yet.

He saw me but started glancing around wildly. He faced me again as he got over his fright and gritted his teeth as he swiftly became quite upset. He tore off his mask and threw it to the side, "So, you are planning to torment me like you tortured my brother? Where are your companions?"

I tilted my head in partial curiosity while my instincts chafed against his tone, "Unless Daniel is your brother, then you have likely mistaken me for someone else. As to my companions, the humans are sleeping with Daniel keeping watch."

Confusion entered his anger, "You think I am going to fall- wait, you are a girl..." He was now more confused than anything else as he trailed off.

I growled lightly at his choice of words, "I am no child. If you insist on calling me girl, then I will call you boy. So, boy, why don't you sit up and tell me what you're mumbling about?" I realized that my instincts were making me snarky and tried to rein them in somewhat.

My words and tone made him clench his jaw in anger, but I would have been far more angry if I had not spotted that trap in the first place. He held his tongue as he regarded me more closely while getting to his feet. I saw him blink in surprise when he realized just how short I was.

I huffed in agitation at his incredulous expression, "So what were you saying about a brother?"

He blinked and refocused. I could smell grief from him now. "A couple of weeks ago three zombies came through. They wore sunglasses and spoke just like humans." He took a deep breath, "The one licked his fingernails before taking a swipe at my brother, drawing blood. They said he was infected now too, and they tied me up as they dragged him off. I heard his screams as they tortured him. I finally got loose and found him tied to that stake already beheaded."

He shook his head and looked at me, "Those three hung around for days. They tormented me with threats before disappearing for several hours, only to reappear later. That is why I put up those traps. They disappeared right around that time, but I know they won't stay gone for long."

Three zombies with sunglasses... Needless to say, I had a pretty good idea of who he was referring to. I tilted my head slightly, "Two with brown hair and one blonde? All men?"

He narrowed his eyes at me, "You know them?"

I snorted, "No, but we ran into them a few days ago. They are as dead as the guy in that pit, they won't be coming back."

He didn't believe me, "I highly doubt anything could kill those three."

I held out my arms and twisted the one so he could see the scabs, "It wasn't an easy fight, but they weren't aware I was around when they tried to kill one of my companions."

"I don't see how you could have killed three of those zombies even if you are a zombie yourself." He was stubbornly refusing to believe that the foes he had been waiting for were truly dead.

I chuckled darkly, "It was those three Nightstalkers against myself and a Terror. I have a bad habit of playing dirty in a fight and they didn't expect that."

He paled slightly, "You are traveling with a Terror?"

I shrugged, "Unfortunately. He is a right pain in the ass some days. He gets along much better with humans. I tend to press just the right buttons and manage to piss him off unintentionally. Some people have heard of him, he is that sane zombie that resides at Ironwind Stronghold."

He blinked in recognition, "I heard of that one... But what are you doing down here and what do you want from me?"

I sighed gustily, "We heard rumors of a feral Nightstalker around here and came to investigate before it located a Stronghold, but it seems that those three were the ones responsible. As for why I came out here, I was trying to figure out where all of the local zombies had gone and was tracking one I had scented earlier. All I want from you, is for you to take down those wretched traps before a human steps in them."

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "That is it? The others made a ton of demands and threats..."

I snorted, "Not all zombies are the same." The man had released his knife now that he knew I wasn't one of his stalkers. He didn't seem to feel threatened by me at this point and there was no aggression in his scent. I also saw no more reason to hang around. I turned to leave and put on my glasses since the world was starting to get uncomfortably bright for me.

"Wait."

I paused and looked back while huffing, "What?" I wanted to put more distance between myself and this strange man who had clearly gone for a few too many rounds on the merry-go-round.

"Where are you going?"

I didn't like that he was suddenly so curious. "Back to my companions. Why?"

"What is your destination? If those three are really gone, then I can bury my brother and finally move on."

"I am not entirely sure. Probably back to Ironwind Stronghold. If it helps, there is a Stronghold if you follow the main road straight in either direction about a day's drive out."

He narrowed his eyes, "How did you know I had a working car?"

"I didn't. But I highly doubted that you wanted to ride cross country while sitting beside two zombies."

He relaxed again as my logic made sense and nodded slowly, "Thank you."

I didn't reply and started heading back while keeping a close eye on the ground. It was getting light enough that my instincts didn't like being in the open. It wasn't inconspicuous enough. He watched me leave before turning back to the pit and looking at his brother's body.

I grabbed one of the bear traps and a few ankle snares on my way back. Their presence should help me get our group on the road before the man potentially showed up.