The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 93

I sat silently as Luke was deep in thought. I was surprised that he hadn't asked more questions. He must be more interested in it than I had originally thought. I was pretty sure I knew what his choice would be as well.

It was obvious really. I had survived the controlex drug with no negative side effects and it would be a tantalizing option for him. Besides, the cure had not actually been tested on a sane zombie and the possibility of ending up in a comatose state wasn't exactly a comforting scenario.

A Runner might be a bit slower than their human selves, but they were stronger and had much more endurance. He may have hated the virus for a long time, but the prospect of having the bloodlust disappear and being able to join a Stronghold that didn't mind zombies meant that being a Runner would be an advantage.

Luke exhaled slowly before lifting his head. His red eyes slowly scanned the small crowd watching him.

Luke's eyes rested on Daniel for a few moments, before gazing at me, "I assume if something went wrong that you would stop me from doing something stupid that would cost me my sanity?"

I suppressed a grin as I knew that he didn't really trust Daniel. I nodded, "Yes. I can manage to tie you up before dropping you in a jail cell with a bucket of blood to play with."

He made a face at that mental image and shook his head, "Here I thought friends didn't let friends end up in jail."

I smirked, "If jail is the only answer, then you can sit in there for a week to cool your heels while you think about your behavior."

He snorted before laughing. I grinned and chuckled at our joke. Nina looked baffled as she saw how well the two of us got along. Daniel was watching with a perplexed expression, possibly noting that we were using a fair bit of zombie body language and yet were not getting riled up. Both Luke and myself had toned it down with Daniel's civilized inability to understand.

Nicky also grinned at the joke, but didn't comment. She was being unusually quiet, although I had noticed that she didn't say much if strangers appeared when we were on the road. Luke turned to look at Nina, "If you are willing, I would like to try the controlex serum."

Nina was slightly startled, "I am surprised that you would agree with so few questions. If you choose to accompany us back, I have the controlex drug in the Stronghold. You are more than welcome to stay there with us."

I exhaled gustily in irritation at Nina's shortsightedness, "He will not do well inside the fence until his bloodlust is gone. It was bad enough for me. The forest where we had those live traps is a much better choice. No humans wander in that particular piece of forest except for Nicky, and even then she only does it when I am around."

Nina blinked as realization crossed her face, "Oh, I didn't even think of how the smell might bother him." She turned to Luke, "Sorry about that. Sometimes I think I am just too accustomed to Daniel and Trinity. If I make a similar mistake in the future, please feel free to correct me."

Luke nodded, "No worries. Trinity is correct though, unless the bloodlust disappears, I do not plan to set foot inside of any Stronghold or safe area."

Nina nodded and scribbled down some notes. Daniel commented, "Living in a forest doesn't sound that appealing to me. What can we do to make your stay more comfortable?"

Luke shrugged, "I really don't need anything."

I tilted my head in consideration and chimed in, "I would dig up those live traps again. That cave I found would be a very good temporary place and it is better than any tent. If the slightly low ceiling bothers him, or if he gets bored, he can chisel the rock so he can stand up. He won't want to travel far for those three days as the controlex takes effect."