The Virus Within: Secrets Unraveled (Book 5)

Ch 29: The Horde

My lips peeled back in a silent threat as I glared at the radio. Holding it to my ear, I listened intently, trying to pick up noises past the static. The metallic pinging of rocks on side panels informed me that they were in a vehicle and moving quickly.

"Throw wood in the gasifier," I told Jax, who ran to comply.

"How fast can this thing go?" I asked Wren, running alongside her to the dune buggy.

"Fast, but it needs refueling often."

Nicky kept up with the unranked zombie's speed. "Trinity, get the truck in case we need its range. I'll go with them and leave scent markers until you catch up."

"Are you crazy? You're one of only two people out here who will die if they get shot in the head, and one of them already has a gun pointed at her," I snapped.

"I prefer the term creative," she informed me, ignoring my worried anger, "and we're just going to follow them until you catch up. You can yell at me later, but we need that truck."

The tension in my heart was strung tighter than an elastic band. Nicky should not be chasing a group with guns, but—blast it!—she was right. Jax only had an armful of sticks stacked on the dune buggy, and there was no time to collect more. The truck had been loaded for a full day on the road. We needed its range.

I refused to think about it, but it wouldn't be the first time our truck had partook in a road chase while we followed Nicky's clues. She was also smart enough to mark each intersection and turn in a fashion I grudgingly remembered.

With a conflicted snarl, I turned and raced toward the Stronghold, barely noticing how Jax forced Nicky into the passenger seat, refusing to let her cling to the back bars this time.

Trent's footsteps fell behind rapidly as I reached speeds he couldn't match. He called to me, "I'll stay and protect the Stronghold. Go bring them back."

I gave a sharp growl of agreement and thanks as I sped up. At least this place would have one zombie around to help during our absence. It wasn't ideal, but I didn't really care at the moment.

"Where are you taking us?" Nina asked, her voice coming over the radio once again. I held it near my ear so I didn't miss any subtle clues.

"None of your business."

"Then why kidnap us?" Daniel asked, his voice distant but the underlying rage making each word crisp. Oh, boy. He was pissed. The moment this group lowered their guard, they were going to regret mistaking him for a Runner. No one in their right mind would have messed with a Terror.

"Shut—"

"Might as well tell them," another voice said. "That way we won't waste time when we get there."

When the first voice grumbled, a third man said, "We know you're Nina, and we know you're one of the top scientists on the zombie virus. We have a chemical that calms zombies, but it needs a bit more refining to make it last longer."

"You're from Yersin! Wh-where are the others?" Nina asked earnestly, and I could picture her leaning forward in hope. Why did she sound so relieved when they had her at gunpoint?

We had finally discovered the whereabouts of the missing assistants, but just like the despicable woman whose notes they had read, they had somehow misplaced a few brain cells along the way.

"Dead," the voice said bluntly, so hard with suppressed emotion that it came across as barely-contained anger. "An experiment went wrong, and there's a feral Terror hanging around the Stronghold. We don't trust your protector enough to let him fight it, but we can use his blood to identify the triggers we need."