The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 110

I watched the gate sentry open up the gate for me.

"Just call out as you approach so we know it is you. Are you sure you don't want to wait until morning?"

I chuckled dryly, "There is a reason kind are called Nightstalkers."

My comment did not do anything for the smell of unease and fear coming off of him and his companion. I walked out the gate and easily disappeared into the darkness since the light above the gate was rather pitiful. I had seen better porch lights.

For the lack of anything better to do, I circled the compound to learn the lay of the land as well as to ensure that nothing sinister lurked out here. The tension faded away as I wandered aimlessly through the dark forest. It had been a long day and the fact that it was just the first was not comforting.

I shook myself lightly before turning my nose to the wind. Too bad Luke hadn't been here. I guess he would have to wait to collect his mountain lion. I went in search of the big cat to claim it for myself.

It was drinking from a puddle and unaware of my presence. I left the trees and silently crept up behind it. It paused as it sniffed the air. I was close enough that it could pick up my scent even though there was no wind. Considering I was already standing beside its tail, it was far too unobservant to survive the night.

It started to turn its head and I launched myself at it. A loud crack marked the moment it instantly died. The blood was hot and welcoming after a vexing day. The heavier predator taste combined with the sweetness that the controlex had caused was an odd combination.

One perk of traveling was that I could kill larger or more uncommon animals each night without worrying about the local population since I would be in an entirely different area the next day. People rarely realized just how many animals were actually around.

I finished and was in a much better mood. I dragged the carcass to a nearby road and hung it from a tree. The locals would find it tomorrow morning since this was a main route for them. The marks on the neck showed that it was a sane zombie kill, so if they were brave enough to turn it into soup or jerky, then they had extra meat with no work. Or they could just take the hide. The choice was theirs.

I passed by the fence for a lack of anything better to do. This place didn't have much in the way of nighttime lighting and people clearly hid inside once the sun went down. There were two gates with a dim light each and that was it.

I paused and narrowed my eyes as my instincts roused even more, which was quite an impressive feat considering how high they already were since it was nighttime. Nina was walking toward a bathroom and three people were following at a distance. None of them were Daniel.

The chain link fence was more than twice my height, but my Nightstalker abilities allow me to get over the fence without a sound. I bared my teeth in silent anger as I picked up their scents. These were the same three who had tried to kill me when I first arrived at Ironwind. The very ones who had shot me almost half a year ago.

There was one gun present as well. I didn't see it, but I could smell it. I had thought that I had picked up their scent on our tour, but when I hadn't spotted them, I had assumed it was someone else with a similar scent.

I was an invisible shadow as I slipped around them. It didn't surprise me that the same trigger-happy idiot was the one with the gun. They spread out around the washroom in the darkness, clearly waiting in ambush for Nina. Too bad for them that the hunters so often become the hunted.

I carefully crept up behind the one with the gun. He had undone the safety strap so he could easily grab it if he needed to. He slowly crept up behind the washroom and I slinked in closer to him. My instincts wanted me to kill them all in silence. The controlex had no curbing effect on my instincts since it was a self-defense and vengeance reaction and had nothing to do with bloodlust.