The Virus Within: Third Wave (Book 2)

Chapter 25

We visited with Luke for an hour before taking our leave. Nina was itching to get back to the lab and look at his blood sample. We were also expecting a group from another lab sometime this afternoon, so Daniel drove the truck back while the rest of us caught a ride.

"I know you usually patrol around now," Nina said, "but do you mind hanging out in the Stronghold until our guests arrive? One's actually a scientist, and he's hoping to meet the Nightstalker who helped develop the cure."

"Why does he want to meet me?" I asked, suddenly suspicious. Normal people did not want to meet zombies – sane or feral.

Nina thought for a bit. "I think it's because he's never seen a Nightstalker before. They don't even know your name – just that you're currently residing here and occasionally letting me collect a few saliva and blood samples."

"Like a celebrity?" Jess asked with a mischievous glance in my direction, knowing just how much such a thought would impress me.

"That's actually a good comparison, at least among the scientists," Nina responded, unaware Jess was teasing me. "Several of the closer ones have come here in the past to meet Daniel. It's just-" She cut herself off and shook her head. "I'm not explaining this well, but Trinity and Daniel have been so instrumental in designing these drugs we wouldn't have succeeded without them. To meet one of the people – well, zombies – for someone who has spent countless hours researching, it's an honor and possibly a once in a lifetime chance."

"Going on a patrol is sounding better all the time," I muttered, absolutely thrilled to my toes to be such a sought-after person. Not.

Nina smiled sympathetically. "They probably just want to say hello. They know questions aren't recommended, and I'm sure Jess is willing to come find us after ten minutes to request your presence elsewhere."

"What are the odds of telling them Nightstalkers only come out at night?"

"They know you use welding glasses, although that's about all we told them. Oh, that reminds me. One second." She dug around in her backpack for quite some time. "Here, I was going to give these to you when we were visiting with Luke, but I got distracted." She held a small box through the back window of the truck.

I examined it before leaning forward to take it. A few small streaks of bright pink marred the white cardboard box. "If whatever is in here matches the color of the clothing I helped Nicky burn last night, I'm requesting a refund."

"The dye on the box was an accident, but I think you'll like what's inside."

Still not sure what to expect, I opened it and pulled out a white cloth bag with a very familiar shape inside. Suddenly intent, I tugged the drawstrings open and slid the object inside onto my palm.

They were welding sunglasses.

They were almost the exact same type as what I was wearing. I turned them over in my hands, noting there was nothing about them that resembled goggles. They were a very dark pair of stylish sunglasses, which were the type I loved. Brand new too.

"Thank you," I finally said, with real gratitude in my voice as I raised my head to face Nina.

"You're welcome. I'm trying to get more like that, but they aren't common."

I knew exactly how hard they were to find. I'd only ever found four pairs in all my wandering, and as a zombie, I could freely wander through any overrun or abandoned town. Humans didn't have that luxury.

With one last look at my new treasure, I put the sunglasses back in their bag, then into the box, hoping it'd provide enough protection for now. I'd have to leave them in my room until I found a proper hard case for them. It would probably be wise to leave one of my backup pairs in my dresser in case something ever happened to my backpack.