The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 132

I carefully approached the barn. I had passed it earlier and had noted the scent of a Runner within, but had assumed that someone had locked a feral inside to keep it from attacking the Stronghold. The scent trails showed that one or two people visited this place daily. After what I had overheard, I doubted it was to solely ensure that the creature locked inside hadn't gotten loose.

The windows were easy to look through. A large wooden cage held a red-eyed zombie. I warily opened the door in case cameras or microphones were present. I looked around intently before stepping through the doorway.

No cameras were to be seen. I didn't see a microphone either. I examined the Runner who was growling at me. It looked and acted feral. I dropped into a light crouch and snarled lightly at it as I flashed my eyes in warning.

The Runner backed up a few steps before falling silent as it realized that I was not a human. I had spoken to other sane zombies in the past, but I had never attempted anything like what I was about to do. In theory, if a zombie hadn't eaten raw meat, human flesh, or drank human blood, then the human mind within was still present even if they were a snarling mess that resembled a feral.

I sniffed the air, but no scent of blood was present. If he hadn't been drinking animal blood, his bloodlust would be unmanageable to the point where the human mind was dormant and the body just ran on instinct.

I was curious to see if I could help reverse this process. This was a situation that Luke or another sane Runner could end up in. I had to be careful how I went about this though.

I put the bucket of deer blood down on the floor and pulled out the plastic cup I had scavenged from an old house. I filled the cup no more than a quarter of the way full before putting it inside the wooden bars. The Runner had backed up as I approached, but the smell of blood brought it forward when I didn't snarl at it.

Runners had no qualms about sharing kills. Nightstalkers were more finicky and tended to keep others off of their kills. If I wasn't about to drive him away, he would see how close he could get. Especially with the bloodlust driving him on.

I made a face as he grabbed the cup and tried biting it, before realizing the liquid was inside. Half of the contents within ended up spilling over his face and dripping onto his clothing as well as onto the floor. He attempted to lick the cup clean.

I swiftly reached through the bars and snatched the cup from his hands. He snarled at me, but my growl shut him up. I filled it quarter way once more and put it back inside. It took him almost a minute to approach after I had taken the cup. I continued the process.

Feral Runners may be slow to catch on, but even a feral wasn't exactly stupid. They could learn and adapt. He had figured out that the cup wasn't edible, but the stuff inside was. He still slopped a lot, but was gulping down far more than was wasted.

I poured the last of the blood into the cup and left to go track down another large animal. It took me only minutes to locate a deer. I bled it out and left it hanging since the humans were bound to come this way. I glanced at the sky, but I still had at least four hours before sunrise.

The Runner approached the bars with a low growl. It looked like it had come to associate me with food. I continued the process. It wasn't as if I had anything better to do and the blood would help him if he did require the controlex after all.

About halfway through the current bucket the Runner's behavior altered slightly. He was starting to gulp in a more coordinated way and he no longer slopped. Four cups later there were more signs of improvement. A human wouldn't have been able to manage what I was doing since the smell of the human would override the smell of the animal blood.